Mac OS X Lion wi-fi disconnect fix / solution

Had the same problem. The problem is not the OS, the problem is the router probably has old firmware.

SOLUTION:
Click the antenna symbol.
Open Network Preferences.
Select your wi fi connection then click Advanced (lower right).
Select TCP/IP from the list at the top.
Under Configure IPv6.
Change from Automatic to Link-Local only.
Click Ok.
Then click Apply.

Done. Enjoy!

Want automatic graphics switching on your late 2008 Macbook Pro AND a possible fix for the 9400m 9600gt display blink problem?

As some of us know, on the late 2008 Macbook Pro you have to switch graphics via the Energy Saver in Preferences MANUALLY.

This small utility lets you switch based on what power source you use AUTOMATICALLY.

http://codykrieger.com/gfxCardStatus/

Just install it and check the "Use power source-based switching" under Preferences.

Neat!

To top it off, my display blink problem under 9400m Energy Saver has been reduced from once every 3 min to ONCE every 6-8 hours, when using the above mentioned settings. YES!

Extract and Create archives and multi-part archives in Mac OS X with Keka

Extract RAR, 7z, Lzma, Zip, Tar, Gzip, Bzip2, ISO, EXE, CAB, PAX, ACE (PPC)
Create 7z, Zip, Tar, Gzip, Bzip2
Both Extract and Create multi-part archives supported.

Keka - is all you need.
http://www.kekaosx.com/

I found this the other day. I LOVE the icon and the flawless functionality.
I can even create and extract multi-part archives.I really need that when sending big files via a service that has a file size limit.

:D

The best C# course a beginner can take. (period)

I've been a member of learnvisualstudio.net for about a year.

It had a lot of videos, including lots about "old" microsoft technology. It helped me fix a lot of bugs in existing systems. I'm a "new gen" kind of developer and refer to WinForms and WebForms as "old tech". But there's lots of good stuff built on that and it sometimes needs fixing.

But this is NOT what i want to talk about. For about 6 months, Bob Tabor, the owner of the site, has started a series

http://www.learnvisualstudio.net/content/series/Visual_CSharp_2010_Express_Edition_for_Absolute_Beginners.aspx

which in my opinion SETS A GOLD STANDARD of things to come. The title IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. This course will take you all the way from zero to hero. I especially like the parts on Interfaces and Linq. It even has Entity Framework built in there, and he keeps on adding video after video... WITH HOMEWORK. :)

The way it's built... oh... it's flawless. If only every course in the world were like this...

I am trying to contain myself... and NOT burst out "BUY IT"... but it's hard. I've been contemplating on buying a membership as a gift for someone i know... IT'S THAT GOOD.

Give yourself a gift!

C Language Programming with Visual Studio 2010

One of the best videos on MSDN Channel 9 to date :)

Can you believe it? C-Programming with Visual Studio Ultimate 2010, Pro 2010, or VC++ 2010. WOW!

Check out this video to see how to use Command Line compilation or the Ultimate IDE!

Make sure to view full screen, really, it's better that way.

http://channel9.msdn.com/posts/Sam/C-Language-Programming-with-Visual-Studio-2010-Ultimate-Pro-or-VC-Express/

New ASUS RT-N16 firmware 1.0.1.4

Get it here:

ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/wireless/RT-N16/

or directly from here:

ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/wireless/RT-N16/FW_RT_N16_1014.zip

Working With ASP.NET MVC Membership Provider

I found this really cool video on how to get started with ASP.NET Membership Provider in MVC. I goes through everything, including how to add the default membership tables to your own database.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wek-blnTo2w

Quick and easy to set up.

Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 R3 now free...

I don't know you anyone knows about this yet. Microsoft released R3 for the Robotics Development Studio.

Not limited to robotics... the environment has HUGE potential.
My personal take: This is the way all new gen apps will be built.


Details here:
http://www.microsoft.com/robotics/

Download it here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=c185a802-5bbe-4f28-b448-aefe63a7eff7

New beta / latest firmware for the Asus RT-N16 wireless router

Many people bought the Asus RT-N16 wireless router for its amazing specs.
As many have pointed out, the firmware is full of bugs.

You can get the latest beta here:
ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/wireless/RT-N16

Just look at the dates and find the latest one. As i am writing this post, this is the latest:
ftp://ftp.asus.com.tw/pub/ASUS/wireless/RT-N16/FW_RT_N16_1012.zip

A new firmware 2.27 for the DLINK DIR-615 rev.B wireless router fixing pppoe issues

A new firmware for the DLINK DIR-615 rev.B wireless router.

I've been using 2.25, a firmware from 2008, for about 6 months now with some issues. I recently got a new DSL internet connection and i was having some issues with it dialing pppoe correctly but then disconnecting after about one min.

I found a new firmware for it, stamped in 2010?!. It seems they still support the model. The downside is that it is in GERMAN. I know some german and i uploaded it and IT WORKS... no more issues. Thanks goes to german tech and support :), keep it up. I also had to redo all the settings, uploading the backup configuration file produced some weird errors.

Here is the link:

ftp://ftp.dlink.biz/dir/dir-615/driver_software/DIR-615_fw_revb_227DEb01_ALL_de_20100115_fixHNAP.zip

you can browse other rev. here

ftp://ftp.dlink.biz/dir/dir-615/driver_software/

Have fun!

How to fix tablet issues with the Wacom Cintiq in Windows 7

Issue #1: Every pen click produces a gray splash/ripple animation around the cursor
1. Open Local Group Policy Click the Start button , in the Run field type: gpedit.msc and hit enter
2. Navigate to User Configuration - Administrative Templates - Windows Components - Tablet PC - Cursors
3. Right click on Turn off pen feedback
4. Select Enabled, Click Apply

Issue #2: Photoshop will lag when you try to use your pen pressure to drive a feature such as fade. Pressing down too long will launch the right click menu.
1. Click the Start button , click Control Panel, then click Hardware and Sound
2. click Pen and Touch
3. Highlight Press and hold, then click settings….
4. Uncheck the Enable press and hold right-clicking

Issue #3: A handwriting dialog appears on the edge of the screen when using the tablet
1. Click the Start button , click Control Panel,
2. click Programs
3. click Turn Windows features on or off.
4. Uncheck Tablet PC Components
5. Restart


Found this the other day. It fixed ALL my issues while drawing.

Do you have a problem with your Autodesk license files? Here is the location.

Do you have a problem with your Autodesk license files? Here is the location.

Autodesk keeps all the files there, delete one an you'll have to redo the activation for that product.

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk\Software Licenses

How to update the BIOS on an IBM Lenovo Thinkpad from a USB Flash Memory Thumb drive

How to update the BIOS on an IBM Lenovo Thinkpad from a USB Flash Memory Thumb drive

I found this on http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/BIOS_Upgrade/X_Series and it worked on my Thinkpad X61t with the latest 1.24 bios.

1. Download the BIOS Update iso image and the USB Stick Formatter.

2. Now get access to Windows -- be it in an emulator, or a colleague's PC. Steps 3, 4, 5 needs Windows to complete.

3. Install the HP USB Stick Formatter.

4. Go to the directory where you installed the tool: e.g. C:\DriveKey and extract HPUSBF.EXE to a new directory HPUSBF\ (using WinRAR, 7zip or similar).

5. Run the HPUSBFW.EXE utility, selecting the location of system files as C:\DriveKey\HPUSBF, and let it format the USB stick.

6. Extract the iso image to the USB stick, for example to K:\7buj22us (K: being the USB stick).

7. On the target computer, boot with the USB stick and issue the commands "cd 7buj22us" then "command.com"

This brings up the BIOS flash interface and you can update your BIOS from here.

That's it! :D

How to fix the IBM Lenovo Trackpoint scroll not working in Visual Studio 2010 and others

It seems the problem is within the trackpoint software itself.

I managed to fix this for Visual Studio 2010 Express on my Windows 7 install.

Go to C:\Program Files\Lenovo\TrackPoint\ and find the file "tp4table.dat"

Open it in Notepad and under

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; Pass 0 rules (These rules run first)
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;


Add these lines:

; Visual Studio 2010
*,*,VWDExpress.exe,*,*,*,WheelStd,0,9

Be sure to edit the name VWDExpress.exe to match either the express or "normal" studio install. You can modify the name above to anything you want, and use the .exe to fix any other app that has these issues.

Restart the computer. Enjoy!

Error when updating database, IDENTITY_INSERT is set to OFF while coding ASP.NET MVC

If you made changes to the table in the database, after you created your table in the server explorer (*.dbml file)

You need to drop the table from the designer and add it back in to the server explorer.

OR

Open de codebehind file for the database. Something like Project.designer.cs and add it to the Column in question.

[Column(Storage="_FileID", AutoSync=AutoSync.OnInsert, DbType="Int NOT NULL IDENTITY", IsPrimaryKey=true, IsDbGenerated=true)]
The important bit is the IsDbGenerated=true.

Connecting dual 1600x1200 monitors to the HP docking station

I have an 8710w and a HP 1.1 Docking station.

Another two 20.1' 1600x1200 Eizo L887 monitors connected. One via DVI and one via VGA both on the docking station. That's 3200x2400 :D

Make sure you have a good quality cable on the VGA part.

NB. You can't use HDMI out, on the laptop, and DVI out on the docking station. Dual digital is not supported by my Quadro 1600m.
Also, when connected to the dockingstation, the VGA out on the laptop displays a black screen, you have to use the VGA out on the docking station.

Web Platform Installer on Windows 7 64 bit with SQL Server 2008 Express Edition

Solution to SQL Server 2008 Express problem on 64 bit machines!
I ran into this huge problem when doing the MVC series. If you are on a 64 bit machine, it seems the Web Platform Installer dowloads and installs the 64 bit version of SQL Express 2008.

1. Now you have a 32 bit Visual Studio and a 64 bit SQL Express 2008 install AND they do not work!
You need to manually install SQL Express 2008 32 bit from

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=58ce885d-508b-45c8-9fd3-118edd8e6fff&displaylang=en

Scroll down and find "Files in this download" and select the middle one

SQLEXPR_x86_ENU.exe

2. BEFORE you try to install, right-click on that .exe and go to compatibility and select Vista SP1 ( i'm on windows 7 x64)
If you do not do this it will fail the WOW64 test and refuse to install.

3. BEFORE you launch the install you have to UNinstall the SQL Server 2008 Express Edition 64-bit from Add Remove Programs in Start -> Control Panel. Othewise you will have to use a "non-default" instance name for your server (if you are a newbie, you might not want that)

4. Now you can try to install that SQLEXPR_x86_ENU.exe.

Good luck!

NEXT

If you get this error "Failed to generate a user instance of SQL Server due to a failure in starting the process for the user instance. The connection will be closed."

Start up Microsoft SQL Server 2008 > Configuration tools > SQL Server Configuration Manager
(by typing "sql" in Start -> Search box)

Select SQL Server (SQLEXPRESS) and right click and choose Properties and you'll get the properties window. It must say Built-In Account: Local System.

Then go to C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server Data
AND DELETE THE "SQLEXPRESS" directory.

THAT'S IT.... NEXT TIME YOU DOUBLE CLICK ON THAT DATABASE INSIDE VISUAL STUDIO... it will open (might take 20 sec the first time)

Live Mesh

Are you using Live Mesh ( www.mesh.com ) to sync your files between multiple devices?

I am! It is a VERY usefull service. But recently i noticed the free space on my hard drive was going strong towards, well, zero.

In researching why this is, i ended up in the folder:

C:\Users\ YOURUSERNAME \AppData\Local\Microsoft\Live Mesh\GacBase\HoldingArea\

This folder had no more and no less than 85 GB of data in it. Old files that either i deleted from mesh folders or synced.

Make sure your devices are synced and no transfers are in progress, if they are, let them finish, and delete all the files in this folder. FIXED!

The service is still beta, so i guess they need to fix this in the release version.

Logitech MX1000 Bluetooth mouse disassembly ( MX5000 Keyboard combo )

Thought i post this here... I droped my mouse on the floor and the laser stopped working. There was a problem with it being out of it designed place. I just pushed it back... and it works again.

Took some close up shots of the mouse and battery L-LB2 ( 1700mAh 4.2V battery )

Mobility NVIDIA driver for Windows 7 RC1 / Vista SP1 SP2

Mobility NVIDIA driver for Windows 7 RC1 / Vista SP1 SP2

A rock stable driver for your Nvidia notebook graphics card. Very hard to find lately.

http://www.badongo.com/file/15647146

Revit Architecture 2010 crashes and Nvidia Quadro FX 1600m

Well, as if happens, i am the proud owner of an HP 8710W mobile workstation with Vista SP2 X64. I has worked flawlessly until Revit Architecture 2010 came out.

Apparently they moved from OpenGL to Direct3D and A LOT of problems started to happen. As you can imagine i LOVED the HUGE speed improvement but hated that the program seemed to crash every hour or so when the video driver apparently crashed.

Went to HP's website and tried every driver in sight, to no avail. I went and tried every driver on Nvidia's website too, same issues.

I was getting a little frustrated, with some other small bugs the release had, but this was getting on my nerves.

SOLUTION 1:

Consult this list. NVIDIA Partener Certified Drivers... i've found the Autodesk one to be quite stable.

http://www.nvidia.com/page/partner_certified_drivers.html


SOLUTION 2 (hacking):

Well i manually installed a "Dell" Precision M6300 driver for the 1600m. It has ISV certification and no more crashes.

Here is the link:
Dell M6300 Quadro FX 1600m driver

PS. NVIDIA PLEASE FIX YOUR DRIVER ISSUES.

How to remove SPTD after removing Daemon Tools

Well... removing Daemon Tools does not remove the driver that it uses and it has, on more than one ocasion, caused a lot of problems.

To remove SPTD:

1. Go to http://www.duplexsecure.com/downloads/
2. Download the SPTD for your system... either 32 bit or 64 bit... and save it on your desktop.
3. Click Start and type "cmd" and the right click on "cmd.exe" and select Run as Administrator.
4. Go to the folder where you downloaded SPTD and run it. When the dialog appears select Uninstall.

How to install or uninstall ATI drivers from the command line...

WITHOUT displaying any setup windows using the command line.

So:

Required step for both install and uninstall:

Open an administrator command prompt:
1. Start (windows button)
2. Type "cmd" (or click Run and type "cmd") then right click and choose "Run as Administrator" (or just run if you are on XP)


To uninstall existing drivers:
3. Type "cd C:\Program Files\ATI\CIM\Bin64" or "cd C:\Program Files\ATI\CIM\Bin" (you are either 32 or 64 bit)
4. Type "ATISetup.exe -Uninstall"

To install new drivers:
3. Download them from ati.
4. Extract them somewhere.
5. Type "cd ZZZZZZZZZZZZ\Bin64" or "cd ZZZZZZZZZZZZ\Bin" (you are either 32 or 64 bit) and ZZZZZZZZZZZZ is the folder you extracted.
4. Type "ATISetup.exe -Install -output screen"


Wait a little while... it wil take a couple of minutes to install or uninstall.

have fun

Why Vista setup gets stuck sometimes during first time install?!

Just spent 1h changing BIOS setting, everything from SATA-AHCI to ACPI settings, then to a full bios update.... with no avail.

My retail VISTA SP1 disk would boot but and get stuck forever right after it displayed the setup screen. I could move the mouse but the menus to click on would never load.

THE SOLUTION: Believe it or not... ALL BIOSes come by default enabled to display a 1.44 floppy (you know, the one nobody uses anymore)... I do not have a floppy disk but the BIOS has it enabled by default anyway. The quick fix was to set the setting to DISABLED ... and voila Vista SP1 installed right along.

How to setup Windows Live Mail (Hotmail and MSN) from within Microsoft Office Outlook

Hello everyone!

I do not understand why they made this such a pain. The bottom line is that NOW you need a plug-in to do it for you.

OK... here goes:

1. Go to and click Download (right side of the page).

2. Select Run when you are asked to weather you'd like to save it.

3. When the setup launches you are presented with numerous downloads... ALL YOU NEED IS "MS Office Outlook Connector".

4. Wait for it to install. Then start Office Outlook.

5. The plug-in will launch automatically, and ask you for your ID and password.

6. The end!

New Sony ebook reader PRS-505 firmware 1.1.00.18040

The new firmware is SUPERB. Pdf support is now PERFECT. Try it for yourself!

Here:

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/swu-download.pl?mdl=PRS505&upd_id=3622&os_id=7

New mobility driver from ATI

This IS one of the MAJOR releases from ATI. The new driver is a BIG step forward and one of the most stable to date, even compared to the FireGL release.

Ati Catalyst Mobility 8.3 Vista X64

How to make Vista remember the size of the Windows Explorer window

How to make Vista remember the size of the Windows Explorer window?!

Every time i used the {Windows Key}+E shortcut to open up Explorer... the size would be too small and as i browsed and resized, it never seemed to remember my settings. It would start up, by default, smaller than i expected it to.

Here's how to do it:

1. Press {Windows Key}+E to start Explorer.

2. DO NOT CHANGE THE FOLDER OR NAVIGATE ANYWHERE... now resize and do any cosmetic changes to the window... close it using the X in the top right corner...

3. Press {Windows Key}+E to start Explorer again... now it remembers the size...

From now on, to modify this "first window", you must remember to make any changes HERE and not in some other folder.

New 7.11 drivers :D

Well... i've been using these for a while... they ARE stable (not like the new 7.12 that are FAR from stable and even slower) you may find these all over the web... and give them a little test... but i've had my first freeze with these ones... first ever for my nx9420.

Without futher delay...

Ati Catalyst Mobility 7.11 Driver Vista X64

How to middle click on a "two-button" nx9420 touchpad

How to middle click on a "two-button" nx9420 touchpad?!

It was quite a problem for me.I could not pan in AutoCad and/or 3ds max and i really wanted to. I even thought about getting a 3 button replacement from hp and install it myself. I use a mouse most of the time but, a touchpad middle click CAN help a lot when you're "tab" browsing with Firefox or IE, not to mention when taking a quick look into a dwg file.

Today, while browsing, i discovered something wonderfull... You can middle click by pushing BOTH buttons with your finger at the same time.... YEY... superbly done :D

There is onle one catch though, you have to use an older synaptics driver version 8.3.8, which is available through windows update(recommended) or hp's web site at

Synaptics 8.3.8M driver

New 7.10 drivers from Ati

The 7.10 Catalyst drivers are out the door. "Dull colors" are fixed, it defaults to Microsoft black levels. OpenGL has improved A LOT. I have no more artifacts in Revit SP2 even with Overlay planes ON. (a big PLUS... you no longer have to Disable Desktop Composition, as it works super)

New Divers from HP

A new display driver has been released from HP. I noticed they finally fixed the opengl implementation in Vista 64. Autodesk Revit, Autocad no longer produce artifacts but you HAVE to disable desktop composition under Properties -> Compatibility.

Here is the direct link:

HP ATI Catalyst 8.391.3-070626A-50374C

And the info page here:

INFO

A new audio driver has been released for the soundmax audio chip that "Resolves issue where "blue screens" occur due to speaker vibration when sound is played at maximum volume. - Fixes a microphone recording noise issue." It happened when you played Heavy Rock at maximum volume and the hdd sensor kicked in because of the vibration.

Here is the direct link:

SoundMax Audio 6.10.1.5200; 6.10.2.5200 sp36683

And the info page here:

INFO

New Display Driver

An experiment i've been conducting for quite some time now. Mobility modding the firegl driver from AMD/ATI. Why? Well the FireGL driver is supposed to give much more smoother performance than the Radeon one plus A LOT more stability. So here it is the 7.9 mobility for the nx9420 (and other models).

Ati 7.9 mobility

Here are a few of the improvements i noticed:

* smoother vista animations (this is nice).
* better directx performance under Autodesk's line of products.
* opengl is still the same since you do not have a true firegl to use the optimised version.

Windows Update drivers

Today i checked "Windows Update" ( in Start-> All Programs-> Windows Update ) and they post two drivers under the recommended section, one for the wireless, one for the touchpad. Also they have a driver for the Hdd 3D protection system but it's older than the one i posted earlier. They work 100% stable so far, Windows Update HAS come a long way. (back in XP, updating a driver through the windows update was NOT recommended)

Also, check "Problem Reports and Solutions" in the control panel for advice on how to fix things. ( to get to it faster type the word "problem" in the Start-> "Search box" )

drivers

As some of you might know, hunting for drivers on windows is an irritating but necessary task... i've spent some time searching for drivers, and found these to be the best (compatibility and performance wise).

I will guide you on how to install these drivers. They are ALL that is needed to get the system up and running.

This is what has to be installed, please install them in the order you find them here:

1. Install Windows Vista x64 (doesn't matter which variation... since they all require the same drivers).

2. After the setup has finished, the first thing to install is the Intel Chipset driver, unrar it and run "setup.exe". The screen will go blank a few times, and you should restart after it's done.

3. Next install the TI Card Reader, 3D HDD sensor, Intel WLAN, SoundMAX audio, HP modem and the HP Quick Launch Buttons.

The Broadcom LAN should work out of the box, but there are minor problems with the driver so here you'll find a new one (you'll have to install it manually from the Device Manager).

4. Install the ATI mobile catalyst driver 7.7. This driver introduces a new setting, the "Black and White Levels" option. After you install it colors in Vista might seem "washed out". To fix it go to: Ati control panel (right-click on desktop and choose advanced if starting for the first time) -> Color -> SCROLL DOWN to the "Black and White Levels" and choose Microsoft MCE black and white levels and click apply.




You should now have a fully working Vista x64 system.... mine runs a lot better than xp BUT you need a lot of ram... some people say 2 GB is just right but i rather think you need at least 3GB.

i recently switched to vista x64... it works like a charm... finally a better solution to xp

my nx9420 experience

well... i recently bought an hp nx9420 laptop...

it's been quite a wonderfull exprience... the laptop fits my habits like glove and i thought about starting a blog, and sharing my experience with the community (the on-line community that is)...

since this is my first blog AND my first ever "journal" of any experience you will see a lot of edits and a lot of mistakes here and there... but hey... nobody's perfect...