chrome & windows profile space

This is a bit like the problem I had with netbeans; chrome default installer puts a lot of stuff - including the executable - in your user directory.  On my work laptop, that's profile space.  And some genius decided to put a quota on profile space...  therefore, merely installing chrome will fill the quote, and result in a million and one pop-ups and errors.

Google provide a nice alternate installer - and there they describe how you use this to install it for multiple users.  If you're not a machine with multiple user accounts, you may not consider the need...  In fact, the alternate installs to Program Files (sensibly), so every account can use it, but as a side affect, it stops filling up your individual profile.

xp, excel and scroll lock

I still don't know why it does this, but it does it rarely enough for me to forget how to fix it.

Excel decides scroll lock is on, and won't allow cursor navigation of cells.  The little box on the bottom says "SCRL" in it.

The scroll lock key on the keyboard (with or without any combination of alt, ctrl, etc) does nothing.

Open up the on-screen keyboard, and click the 'virtual' scroll lock key.

Programs->Accessories->Accessibility->On-Screen Keyboard

Windows XP rebuild, minor annoyances

For me to remember for next time...   to turn off all the sliding, popping, animating pish on the default UI, and set things back to 'normal'...

• System Properties->Advanced; sort out all the other visual nonsense in Performance (click Settings)
• Taskbar right click ->Properties; sort out all that stuff too (like grouping, hide inactive, etc..), including customising start menu
• Usual stuff on control panel, but be sure to get Locale in Regional & Language panel for UK & French, and fix proxies in Internet Settings panel (if not done from IE)
• Tools->Options from Windows Explorer, notably uncheck "Automatically search for network folders", "Launch folder windows in a separate process" and stuff about hidden/system files as needed.
• office suite, Tools->Customise->Always show full menus (check box)
• internet explorer, Tools->Internet Options->Advanced->Enable Personalised Favourites Menu (uncheck box), plus fix the ton of crap in there too
• oh, and stinking autocorrect options...!
• fix outlook so it looks normal, in Tools->Options mostly, making sure cached exchange mode is on (in accounts), fonts done, sig added, maybe find old dictionary/lookups?, spelling is set to something sane, reading pane works as expected, turn on enterprise vault pish too.
• run firefox -profilemanager from cli to point to old profile
• sort out synctoy and syncmycal
• configure up google desktop
• map network drives
• move application caches to somewhere normal (Java, IE)
• remember VPN client too..
• er, that's it..?

USB NAS and Windows 7

Ok, i've got one of those cheap little USB NAS devices, it's probably an Addonics or something, branded GigaNas or Sumvision but they all look the same,  mine came with a CD with SyncQuick software (which I never used).

Edit: it looks identical to this WANSER-R thing - same colour too...

Anyway, besides the normal LAN IP setup - easy enough, my router handed out a nice IP - it needs a tweak in Windows 7 (and perhaps Vista).

The answer universally seems to be to heading off to Control Panel, Administation, Local Security Policy and then...  oh, hang on - i've got Home Premium - it doesn't exist.

(the fix is to change the network settings such that lan manager authentication level is allowed to handle both LN & NTLM, and not just NTLMv2 which is the default.  Also advised to drop the need for 128bit session security)

So without the security manager panel (secpol.msc), I need to open up regedit.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Contrl\Lsa\LmCompatibilityLevel
and change it's value from 3 to 1.   Exit, NAS starts to work.


(not sure about the lack of '128 bit' went but it seems to work now)

Vista, adding ram and weird wifi consequences....

So, i'm being tech support for my mum, not a great hassle.  She's got a relatively simple Fujitsu Siemens Esprimo machine, and it's ok.  Bit slow, so I ordered another 1gb stick of RAM (from Crucial, as always).  Windows Experience Index of 3.0.

Fitted it easily enough (tinkered with paging file), and seemed ok.  Except wifi was dead.  Completely dead as in "can't see any wifi hotspots"....  Ok, so I know about Vista and AES, so was careful there on the router - nothing, deaf as a post.  Other devices - even my phone! - could connect to wifi, so not router side...  Assume I may have knocked wifi card when doing memory - nope, nothing there.

Take it home and try with my router.  It works!!   Haha, must be that crappy Asus router.  Then, 2 days later, it stops working...   I even booted Ubuntu from USB and that couldn't find wifi - it didn't exist...

Then noticed start up and shut down issues.  It would only boot every other go, and would never shutdown properly...  Curious.  And this fault was pre-startup, before BIOS appeared...   Hmmm...   A Windows memory test reported no problems - so it seemed the stick was ok.

Now, I suppose it's not curious - you've added memory!  you changed something and it went bad - take it out!  Yes, obvious, but this is meant to be the 21st century - can memory clashing really be it...?  Can bad memory really cause weird boot issues and knock out wifi?

Yes, it seems so.  So, removed 2nd 1gb stick, and left it with 1gb original.  Went to BIOS and reduced memory used for video card down to 64mb (from 256mb), on the basis that my mum doesn't play 3d games and the like...   So, i'd rather give memory to Vista than graphics card.  And - seems better.

And Windows Experience Index?   Despite being a rather crude measure, it's now 3.1, RAM performance leaping from 4.2 to 4.3 thanks to higher allocation of memory.  So, more memory is better, particularly if you give it to Vista, but not so much if it's bad sticks...

Rule number one though, if it goes bad - get rid of what you just changed...   even if it makes no sense whatsover why it should be related.
(and yes, it needs getting rid of Vista)

Thomson TG585v7 wifi adsl router & Windows Vista

Ok, so I got me a nice new laptop, and Acer 7735Z (I wanted something cheap-ish, with as large a screen as possible - for browsing, moves and maybe some freeciv.  the 17" screen clinched it, vista didn't - it won't last long)

Anyway, I digress.  The main problem I had was with getting Vista talking to perhaps the worst router i've ever ever had the misfortune to use; the Thomson TG585v7.   Setup wifi easy enough, too few options to see what's actually happening, but nevertheless - Android/Moto Dext works, Dell D420 / XP works, old linux boxen with really old PCMCIA card works, so looking hopeful.

I'll spare the long winded explanations - suffice to say, it doesn't.  Something about the passphrase being incorrect (er, no, copy & paste from wifi config screen - connected via LAN first, disconnect, try WLAN).  I think the Thomson tries to be clever with WPS (button on the front seems disabled, at least on my Plusnet one) and Vista tries too - both of course failing.

There's a million and one posts about
a) Vista not liking WPA2/AES (use TKIP)
b) Thomson being pish (upgrade firmware if you can find it - mine was on 8.x.x.x, newer than most posts from years ago)
c) updating to latest Vista drivers (from Atheros)
d) avoiding Vista anyway (booted Ubuntu 9.10 from USB - very nice, waiting for Windows 7 upgrade disks before doing Ubuntu)
e) slinging it in the bin...

I couldn't be arsed with diagnosing it, and dug out an older - but slightly more trusted Siemens Gigaset SE572.  I say trusted, it itself is truly nasty cheap pile of crap, but, after 5 minutes rejigging the DSL, it's up and working with WPA2, and everything works just right.

Moral of the story - don't waste your time with a Thomson 585.

Google Chrome, Google Desktop & corporate proxies

So, my work internet proxy configuration (c/o Windows control panel..) doesn't allow localhost access.  Which means Google Desktop doesn't work with Chrome, since Chrome uses the Windows internet configuration.

Solution#1 - simply update the Windows proxy configuration to ignore the automatic config (via PAC file) that work gives me, and manually configure the same proxy but add an exception for localhost.  That works.


Then some BOFH decides to push out the proxy configuration (somehow - XP profile?) much more frequently than they were.  Such that every hour or so, my lovely manual configuration of Chrome (ie the Windows one) is reset to use the automatic (no localhost!) proxy configuration.

Solution #2 - use Firefox as default browser, since this (in a sensible fashion) lets me manually set the proxy configuration just the way I like it.

Oh, and the Chrome command line switch (--proxy-server=proxy:port) doesn't work either - can't manage the exception for localhost, and thus Google Desktop.

Java deployment cache, XP

Default deployment cache is
C:\Documents and Settings\\Application Data\Sun\Java\Deployment\cache\ 
which is right in the middle of my XP profile space...
So, every time I do something java-ish, it'll eat up loads of space, and I get XP profile warnings.
Change location in control panel / Java, to somewhere not in profile space.  Delete old space using that panel too.
(to be honest, i'm sure it reset itself to Application Data when I wasn't looking...)

Windows XP and SDHC / SD high capacity - 4gb+ cards

I guess most people would have had this KB update applied sometime in the past.  Lurking on a corporate laptop means I miss this kind of stuff.

SDHC cards inserted don't mount, or files show up as gibberish if you don't have the right stuff.

Normal SD cards should work, so 2gb cards are fine.

For SDHC support, you'll need KB923293.  That'll get you working up to 4gb.

Then, for larger than that, you'll need KB934428.  Largest i've tried is a 16gb class 4, which now works very well indeed.

It's left as an exercise for the reader to find those patches...

Editing the Windows XP 'Send To' menu

Over time, this becomes filled with junk, old windows mobile shortcuts, old apps (Skype!) and so forth.

See this page.

2Gb SD card, part 2

Back to this old chestnut, it's partitioned & formatted as 971Mb FAT 32 yet it's a 2Gb card. 

Windows XP SP2 has a hard time partitioning these things... so go fetch HPUSBF.  There's two versions, one dos, one windows (it has W in the exe name!), both of which are in the zip.

This works for USB drives, so put the SD card in a USB card reader.  Note that this doesn't need to be SDHC for a 2Gb card, but would be for any larger (e.g. 4Gb+).  It doesn't work in the inbuilt SD card slot in my Dell D420, hence need for adaptor.

XP picks this up as a USB drive, so run HPUSBF, and partition that as 2Gb as expected.  Eject it, then stick SD in SD slot.  Windows notices it's not formatted, so format it as 1.91Gb as you'd expect.  Done.

Cleartype tuning & XP

Goto Control Panel -> Display -> Appearance and find it in there, or...

goto http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/tuner/tune.aspx

Windows mobile & internet proxies

Nasty bug, only really causing me hassle with WM 6.1...

I've got two connections on my phone, internet and work. Internet has no proxies, and connects straight to the Orange orangeinternet apn. Easy.

My work connection uses a private APN, but doesn't need proxies. It sync email, calendar, contacts and tasks over-the-air. But, the phone is also synced with my PC, to sync files, and SplashID.

However, when I sync with the PC, it knows I sync OTA, and doesn't touch those conduits. But it decides to add my corporate proxy (which my laptop needs for internet) to the proxy of the work section; thus, after an activesync with the PC, the work connection has "connects to Internet" ticked, and also "uses proxy" ticked, and set to the laptop proxy.

The consequence is that the internet browser (pocket IE, or Opera) fails since it can't find a proxy.

Solution (and a bad one at that): untick proxy on the work connection after each PC sync... bah .

Palm desktop, Hotsync & Centro

Dug out my (early) Centro, and decided i'd use it again. Getting fed up with WM6 & 6.1 (too clunky).

So, needed to install the apps. Palm Desktop 6.2 seems latest, so grabbed that.

It complained about an old version of Palm desktop, and it couldn't find the .msi. This was an old issue (see previous...) so fixed that, and got new version in. (as an aside, got a new Dell D420, with corporate build on it. Usual fun & games with it half copying old laptop profile, which is why I think the old Palm desktop 'sort of' existed... needed to fix bluetooth too, although shortcut to control panel is dead - it opens in quickview... oh, and the old palm desktop reappeared in Start/All Programs too. nevertheless...)

Connected up hotsync to new bluetooth COM port (COM ports - this is the 21st century, sheesh...). Found laptop ok, paired up ok - a first really, maybe now we're in 2008 Windows bluetooth is working as i'd expect it to.

It took ages to sync the media, and I had to let it run otherwise it complained... After ~20 minutes (there were lots of photos on, well, somewhere)

Lesson learned: remove photos and large things before sync. Besides that, it was ok.

SD card slot with Dell D420 & XP SP2, and SDHC

Seems not to like it, and drivers from Dell are for SP1 or before.

Pop the SD card in, then goto device manager. It will show the card with a yellow question mark. So, uninstall it. Reboot, with the SD card in. Upon reboot, all will be well.

BUT, this only works with 'normal' SD cards; 4Gb or greater are SDHC spec. Google KB934428 and install that (reboot, and wait)

Powerpoint, multiple/dual monitors

Open up "Slide show"->"Set Up Show", and choose the display from the pull down in there.

It seems this is set on a per file basis... [yes, it is...]

Outlook calendar events not syncing?

Some recurrent events don't sync to the mobile.

Check the recurrence on them; the default is to have 'no end date', which basically means it repeats for 100 years (until 2100). And it won't sync.

Add an end date, or a number of repeats, then it will sync ok.

1.1 inch digital photo frame / keyring, Sitronix

Little egg shaped 1 inch screen digital photo frame, about £13 from Amazon reseller, imported from somewhere unknown in China.

Works well, had a few hiccups with the sync software. It works on Windows only (bah) and I thought the issue was with drivers. Numerous installs, reinstalls, nothing. The frame kept saying "Loading END" but when disconnected, "No Photo!"

Solution: use a different USB port, the one connected to laptop dock didn't work. A direct USB port on the laptop worked perfectly.

HP LaserJet 4L & Mac OS X 10.3.9

Ingredients:
1 old LaserJet 4L, the one without the mac goodies, just the parallel port, cost £0 from freecycle
1 parallel to usb cable, cost about £8 from ebuyer
1 copy of gutenprint (v5.0.1, cost £0, right here)
1 copy of usbtb (v1.0.15, cost £0, right here)

Recipe:

1. plug in printer to power, but not usb cable...
   
2. install Gutenprint on mac
   
3. plug in printer usb cable to mac
4. open printer setup (in Apps/Utilities) - remember to hold the ALT key when doing add printer, else you don't see the 'Advanced' menu
5. read Gutenprint howto document (a rather good pdf), follow instruction there.
   
6. be happy when printer is in printer list
7. be happier still when you print a page and it works beautifully (if a little slow... hey, it's a 10 year old printer!)

As for usbtb, seems great. I installed it after the above, and it detected the laserjet easily enough during the install, and sorted out the queues and whatnot. As an aside, it didn't like the deskjet 840c I have, but hey...

Does it make things go faster? hard to say, will need to play, and i've not reason to disbelieve 'em...

As for the cable, I did find a whole bunch of expensive looking ones, and spurious reports that these expensive ones have 'special' stuff. Whatever, my cheap £8 one works just fine thanks. See ebuyer, product code 130599.

[update Feb 09; as per comment below, not working on 10.4 - can't retest myself...]

Save Task Order - Outlook-Exchange 2003

Save Task Order - Outlook-Exchange 2003

This was really annoying, basically every time you do a 'Save & Close' for an open task 'edit' window, it'd pop up with the annoying "Please save the task order by clicking Save Task Order blah blah" message, with an annoying sound effect too.

The Microsoft support site seems to be lying; it suggests creating a new tasks folder and copying all the old tasks, which does nothing.

Instead, the above link seems to have the fix, although i'm not sure which bit actually fixes.

Basically;
1 - "Customize [sic] Current View..."
2 - in "Filter..." disable all filters. I had complete=no in advanced.
3 - in "Other Settings..." un-check the "Allow in-cell editing"

Now, when you double click a task in the list, it opens. When you "save & close", it closes, no hassle.

I went back and enabled the filter (so I don't see completed tasks) and it didn't break anything. Then I went back and checked "allow in-cell" again, and that didn't break anything either. hmm.