Double Click Always Opens Search or OpenWith in Windows Explorer

Posted: Thursday, 26 May 2011 by Unknown in
0


If you mess around in the registry, or install some different software packages that add things to the right-click menu, you can end up with a problem where the default action on a folder is always "Search…" or "Open With", even though you set it to something else.


There's a quick and easy fix for this problem. Open up regedit.exe by using Start\Run and then browse down to this registry key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell
Double-click on the default value and set it to "none" without the quotes, as seen here:
This will restore the normal behavior.


If you are also experiencing this problem when you try to click on a drive, you can run this command from the run box or command prompt:
regsvr32 /i shell32.dll
This should restore the normal behavior.


If you are getting a message that says "Windows cannot find 'PET32.exe'" or anu other error messages, then at some point you had a virus, or still have a virus. First, make sure that you run a virus scanner to get rid of the virus. Then run the regsvr32 command above, which should fix the problem.


To remove the virus-


1. Use SDFix
2. Use ComboFix


This will clean your pc. 


Warning: Please read how to use guides before using these software. 


After problem is resolved remove SDFix and ComboFix from your system and run a full system virus scan before doing anything.


Use a good antivirus and antispyware to keep your pc clean.

How To Repair or Replace Boot.ini in Windows XP

Posted: Sunday, 22 May 2011 by Unknown in
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When you start your computer after you upgrade to Microsoft Windows XP, you may receive one or both of the following error messages:

Invalid Boot.ini

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: 
Windows\System32\Hal.dll
This issue may occur if the Boot.ini file is missing, damaged, or contains incorrect entries.

To resolve this issue, start the computer from the Windows XP CD, start the Recovery Console, and then use the Bootcfg.exe tool to rebuild the Boot.ini file. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Configure the computer to start from the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive. For information about how to do this, see your computer documentation, or contact your computer manufacturer.
  2. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, and then restart your computer.
  3. When you receive the "Press any key to boot from CD" message, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM.
  4. When you receive the "Welcome to Setup" message, press R to start the Recovery Console.
  5. If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the installation that you have to use from the Recovery Console.
  6. When you are prompted, type the administrator password, and then press ENTER.
  7. At the command prompt, type bootcfg /list, and then press ENTER. The entries in your current Boot.ini file appear on the screen.
  8. At the command prompt, type bootcfg /rebuild, and then press ENTER. This command scans the hard disks of the computer for Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 2000, or Microsoft Windows NT installations, and then displays the results. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to add the Windows installations to the Boot.ini file. For example, follow these steps to add a Windows XP installation to the Boot.ini file:
    1. When you receive a message that is similar to the following message, press Y:
      Total Identified Windows Installs: 1

      [1] C:\Windows 
      Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All)
    2. You receive a message that is similar to the following message:
      Enter Load Identifier
      This is the name of the operating system. When you receive this message, type the name of your operating system, and then press ENTER. This is eitherMicrosoft Windows XP Professional or Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition.
    3. You receive a message that is similar to the following:
      Enter OS Load options
      When you receive this message, type /fastdetect, and then press ENTER. 

      Note The instructions that appear on your screen may be different, depending on the configuration of your computer.
  9. Type exit, and then press ENTER to quit Recovery Console. Your computer will reboot.

Partition and format your USB drive and make it bootable with RMPrepUSB (a Windows utility)

Posted: Saturday, 14 May 2011 by Unknown in Labels: , , , ,
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RMPrepUSB is similar to the HP Format utility, but much more flexible and should be better at creating a USB Flash memory drive that will boot on most systems successfully.
RMPrepUSB is a Windows utility that can be used to format any USB storage device, e.g. USB Flash drive (UFD) or USB hard disk as a bootable device. It can be used to partition, format, write a Master Boot Record,  partition table and/or Volume Boot Record (sometimes called a Partition Boot Record) and operating system boot code to any USB storage device (e.g. USB flash memory drive or USB hard disk).
RMPrepUSB makes a single user partition of any size and is primarily intended for USB Flash Drive (UFD) memory sticks although it can be used on USB hard drives to create a single partition.
The utility also places boot code on the USB device for either XP/WinPEv1 (ntldr), Vista/WinPEv2/Win7 (bootmgr), MS-DOS (io.sys) or FreeDos (kernel.sys).
RMPrepUSB does not place any files on the UFD – you must copy these over yourself or set the option in RMPrepUSB to copy over the contents of a folder of your choice.

RMPrepUSB has many different uses, including:
  1. Partition, format and make bootable a USB drive
  2. Clean (erase/wipe) a USB drive
  3. Backup a USB drive (or parts of a USB drive) to an image file
  4. Restore an image file (or part of an image file) to a USB drive
  5. Install the Grub bootloader onto a USB drive
  6. Test a USB drive (useful for testing fake USB flash memory drives
  7. Eject a USB drive (for safe removal)
  8. Display the partition structure of a USB drive (or image file)
  9. Use after PEBuilder to install your XP PE files to a bootable USB drive.
Six steps to make your USB drive bootable
  1. Select the USB drive in the listbox if more than one is present and either leavethe size as MAX or change it (e.g. type 512 for a partition size of 512MiB).
  2. Change the volume label text if you want to.
  3. Set the type boot loader that you want installed onto the new partition after ithas been formatted.
  4. Change the Filesystem and Overrides. You may need to experiment with these before you can find a combination that works. Different models of PCs or Noteboooks may require different settings.
  5. If you want to, you can copy the contents of a folder to the new empty partition after it has been formatted. Tick the COPY OS FILES box if you want this. Note: RMPrepUSB will not place any boot files on the USB drive and it will not be bootable unless you copy the boot files onto it.
  6. Click on the blue Prepare drive button.

Creating Multiboot USB/ISO for Troubleshooting PC

Posted: by Unknown in Labels: , , , ,
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1. XBoot- A utility for creating Multiboot USB/ISO


XBoot is a easy-to-use utility for creating Multiboot USB/ISO.You may have seen many bootable ISO files like Linux live CDs , Antivirus rescue CDs etc. XBoot can combine these ISO files in to oneMultiboot ISO file or create Multiboot USB in just few clicks.

Simply Drag and drop ISO files in to XBoot and click Create ISO or Create USB button.

Support for some ISO files have been added , support for some other ISO files will be added later on the request of users.

Official website of Xboot: http://sites.google.com/site/shamurxboot

2. Sardu


SARDU (short for Shardana Antivirus Rescue Disk Utility) is a free software application that can produce a CD / DVD or a USB device with multiboot support.

The CD/DVD/USB device may include comprehensive collections of antivirus rescue cds, collections of utilities, popular distributions of Linux Live, and the best known Windows PE © , recovery disks and Install of Windows XP © and Windows Seven ©.

Official website of Xboot: http://www.sarducd.it/

Error Loading Operating System

Posted: Sunday, 8 May 2011 by Unknown in Labels: , , , , , ,
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" Error Loading Operating System "

This one is a classic problem. It shows up when one is booting up the pc.

Now there are 2 different scenarios  in which this error may crop up.

1. You are booting your computer and this error comes up.
2. You are tring to install a new OS and during the first reboot in the process this error comes up.

According to microsoft : 

This issue may occur if your computer BIOS does not correctly manage or support the capacity of the hard disk on which you are installing Windows XP.

To resolve this issue, use one of the following methods:

1. Make sure that you are using the latest BIOS revision for your computer. Contact the computer manufacturer to inquire about how to obtain and install the latest BIOS update that is available for the computer.

2. If you are using an IBM computer with an AWARD BIOS version 4.5x, visit the following IBM Web site: http://www.ibm.com

This issue is caused by any of the below reasons.
  1. The computer's BIOS does not support the computer hard disk drive's size or settings.
  2. Computer Hard disk drive is not properly setup in CMOS.
  3. Issue with drive's partitions ( corrupt partition table in mbr )
Solution:

1. This issue is often caused when the BIOS does not properly detect the hard disk drive. To resolve this issue, update the computer motherboard's BIOS.

2. Verify that the computer's hard disk drive is properly setup in CMOS setup.Once in CMOS, verify the below hard disk drive settings.
  1. Verify the hard disk drive is detected.
  2. Try changing the "Access mode" on the hard disk drive to Large or LBA. This setting may vary depending on the BIOS.
3. This issue can be cause if the disk drives are not properly setup or have been changed by another program, such as a utility that comes with a Linux distribution. To resolve this issue, delete and recreate all the partitions before running the Windows XP setup.

Warning: Before deleting partition backup your data as you will lose all you data. There are free programs out there with which you can backup your data.Do not backup partitions as after you try to restore the partitions it will corrupt the mbr and you will end up with the same error.

To backup your data use any free live cd distributions eg. partedmagic, damn small linux, puppy linux etc. Download the iso file, write it to cd and boot from the cd. browse the partitions and copy your data to an external HDD.

If simply deleting and recreating partition does not solve your problem, then write zeros to the entire drive which is nuking your drive. You can use " Dariks Boot and Nuke " software for this purpose. You can download it from the download section.

** Before deleting your partition, try and fix your boot/mbr which is also one of the reason for this error.

1. boot from your windows xp installation cd.
2. after loading is done, press r to repair installation.
3. now you will see a command prompt like screen - select the harddisk on which you wish to repair installation by pressing 1 or as shown in the prompt.
4. type fixboot and press enter
5. typr fixmbr and press enter
6. type exit and press enter

Your pc will restart and if your problem is still not solved then follow the above methods of deleting and recreating partitions.

PC hangs and shutsdown while viewing online videos ( black screen )

Posted: by Unknown in Labels: , , ,
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I faced this annoying little problem. Whenever i view online videos, the pc hangs after a few seconds  and shutsdown ( black screen). I have to do a hard reset to operate my pc again.

Well i searched a lot but could not get any idea as to what was causing this problem. Found out later that this issue was of adobe flash player.

1. While viewing online videos right click on the video, deselect enable hardware acceleration.  This option was causing the problem. Enable hardware acceleration is used for webcam.

2. If the above does not solve your problem then -
  • uninstall flash player, java.
  • restart pc.
  • download new version of flash player and java.
  • now first install java and then flash player.
  • restart pc.

Warning 0251-System CMOS checksum bad - default configuration used

Posted: by Unknown in Labels: , , , , ,
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0251-System CMOS checksum bad - default configuration used.

This error creeps up during computer startup.

The main reason for this error are -

1. CMOS battery is discharged/faulty. 
In this case the CMOS battery needs to be replaced. This is the reason 99% of the time  for this error.

2. CMOS battery connector in motherboard is faulty.
In this case motherboard needs to be replaced or repaired.  This is rare and is mostly caused by voltage fluctuation.

Take ownership of folders/drives and grant permissions !!

Posted: by Unknown in Labels: , , , , ,
0


Has it ever happened to you that you doubleclicked a folder or drive and a message sprang up saying " Access Denied ".

Well it means you don't  have the required permissions to access that particular drive or folder. In order to access it you have to take ownership of that drive or folder. You need  to have administrator priviledges to make changes to permissions.

Now there are 2  ways to do so -- 

A. Through Windows GUI

1. Right click on the folder/drive and select properties.

2. Click on advanced button at the button and now click on owner tab. Under current owner you will see the current owner of the folder/drive. By default it is the administrators group. Do not change it. If it has been changed to some other account change it to administrators group. Click on edit and select administrators under " change owner to ". Select the tickbox below which says " replace owner on subcontainers and objects ".  Now click ok.

3. Now go  to security tab and check if your username is present under " Groups or usernames: ". 

4. If yes, then select your username and look if you have fullcontrol under " Permissions for usernamename ". If fullcontrol is not selected then click edit button and select your username. Now select the tickbox next to fullcontrol under allow and click ok.

5. If no, then click edit button and then click add button in the window that opens. Now a window opens  " Select users or groups ". Click on advanced.  Now click on findnow button in the window that opens up. Select your username from the search results  and click ok and again ok. Now you can see your username under " Groups or usernames ". Select your username and select allow fullcontrol under " Permissions for username ". Click ok and then click apply.

B. Through Command Prompt

Click on start, then run. Now type cmd and press enter to start command prompt.

1. takeown /F D:\foldername /A /R
2. cacls D:\foldername  /T /P username:F
3. icacls D:\foldername  /grant username:F /T  ( use if cacls is not supported )