Sunday, May 10, 2009

Vista and XP Networking Issues

Summary:

> Both OS must be on the same network group.
> Both OS file sharing option must be enabled.
> Both OS Network Discovery option must be enabled.
> Both OS Firewall (internal/external) should match your configuration in the file sharing and Network discovery option.

On small office and home office networks, Windows XP and Windows Vista cooperate about as well as cats and dogs. But you can teach them to get along.

When you combine Windows XP and Windows Vista PCs on the same peer-to-peer network, such as you might have at home or a small office, you may run into all kinds of problems. It may be difficult for your Windows Vista PCs to find your Windows XP PCs, and vice versa.

And the Windows Vista Network Map -- which may be the best networking feature Microsoft has ever introduced into Windows -- won't work properly with XP PCs. They won't show up properly on the network map, if they even show up at all.

Fixing workgroup woes

The first problem is that the default name for your workgroup on the network has been changed from Windows XP to Windows Vista. In Windows XP, the default name for the network is Mshome; in Windows Vista, it is Workgroup.

The fix for this problem is easy; you can change the name of the workgroup on Windows XP to match the name of your Windows Vista network. On Windows XP, right-click My Computer, click the Computer Name tab, then click Change. The screen shown nearby appears. In the Workgroup box, type in the name of your Windows Vista network name. If you're leaving it as the default used in Windows Vista, type in Workgroup. If you're not using the Windows Vista default, change it to whatever name you've given your Windows Vista network and click OK.

After you click OK, you'll see the confirmation dialog shown in the figure below. Click OK again, then restart your PC.

Success -- you've changed your workgroup name

You can, instead, give your Windows XP and Windows Vista machines both new workgroup names, as long as they match. To change the name of your workgroup in Windows Vista, right-click Computer and select Properties. You'll see the name of your PC as well as its workgroup name. Click Change Settings, then from the screen that appears, click Change. In the dialog box, shown in the figure below, type in the new name for your workgroup and click OK.

Changing the name of your workgroup in Windows Vista (Click image to see larger view)

As with Windows XP, you'll get a confirmation that the name has been changed. You'll have to restart your PC for the changes to go into effect.

Patching Windows XP for Vista network compatibility

Making sure that both Windows XP and Windows Vista are on the same workgroup will go part way toward making the PCs get along on your network, but won't go all the way. A bigger problem has to do with the new Windows Vista network map.

The network map is possibly the best addition it comes to networking that Windows Vista has made. To get there, select Control Panel --> Network and Internet --> Network and Sharing Center --> View full map. A screen like one below appears.

The map shows you all the PCs and devices attached to your network -- those in your entire network, not just your workgroup. This map is more than nice to look at; it's extremely useful as well. Hover your mouse over any device, and you'll be shown information about it, such as its name, IP address and MAC address, as shown in the figure below. Click a PC and you'll connect to it.

There's a rub, though. Look at the bottom of the screen in the network map Vista drew of our network. You'll see a number of devices listed. Windows Vista has found them, but doesn't quite know what to make of them. It can't figure out where they fit in on the network. And it won't give you any information about them if you hover your mouse over them.

The problem is that to discover information about devices, Windows Vista uses a new protocol, called Link Layer Topology Discovery. LLTD is built into any Windows Vista PC, which is why they show up properly on the network map. However, LLTD isn't built into Windows XP, which is why they don't show up properly.

Another Method:

If you run Windows XP Professional, open "My Computer" and select Tools and then Folder Options. Under the View tab, go to the advanced setting window. Scroll down until you see the option to "Use Simple File Sharing." Uncheck it, if it is checked, Now, click Apply, then OK, otherwise the change will not occur. Go to your Start menu, select Control Panel. Find the Network and Internet connections button. In the Network Connections panel, right-click your Ethernet card (usually referred to as "Local Area Connection"). Under the General Tab, make sure that "File and Printer Sharing For Microsoft Networks" is clicked.

Now, you’ll go back to the main Control Panel and select Performance and Maintenance, and select System (if you are using Classic View, select System). In the window that opens, select the "Computer Name" tab, and down three-quarters of the way, click on the Change button. From here, make sure that the Workgroup name is the same for all computers. Windows XP Home uses MSHOME, while XP Pro uses WORKGROUP. I’d leave it as WORKGROUP, but you could switch it to your last name or anything else, so long as you use the same workgroup name on all the systems. You will need to reboot the computer now to make the changes.

For Windows XP Home Users: From this point, pick which folder you want to share and right-click on it. From the menu, select Sharing and Security. You’ll get a box that will show the folder sharing options. Click the box that says, "Share this Folder on the Network". For ease of use, also select the box next to "Allow Network Users to Change my Files." Do this to all drives or folders you want to share. From there, Windows XP Home is ready to share files with other computers that are connected to the same network.

For Windows XP Professional Users: From this point, pick which folder you want to share and right-click on it. From the menu, select Sharing and Security. You’ll get a box that will show the folder sharing options. Click on the box that says "Share this folder," the share name will be the folder name itself. On the Permissions button you can allow Read, Change or Full Control. Make sure to click Apply then OK once you have picked which permissions you want for your shared folder.

Admittedly, this is dry and tedious stuff, but it’s worth it in the end.

On the Vista computer, you’re going to click on the Start menu and type "system" in the Search Box. Click on System when it appears in the menu. In the Computer Name Domain and Workgroup Settings, you’ll see the name of the workgroup that Vista has set up already. Change that name to whatever you’ve set on the XP systems. To change it, simply click on Change settings. Vista will pop up the now familiar (or obnoxious) UAC (User Account Control) warning. Select Continue. From here, change the workgroup name to the one you’ve selected. Make sure you’ve picked the Computer Name tab. Click on Change next to the words "To rename this computer or change its domain or workgroup, click Change..." At the bottom of the system properties window, you will find an option called "Member of." Choose Workgroup. The default name should already be WORKGROUP. You can change it to the one you want to use. Click OK. Now, reboot the computer. Do not choose Domain. That is mainly in use in corporate environments or if you are running a Windows server in your house with a domain controller. That, of course, is not a likely scenario for the average home user.

Reboot the Vista machine, then proceed to pick the folders you want to share from Vista.

Go to the Network and Sharing Center (find it by typing "sharing" in the search box on the Start Menu). Turn on Network Discovery and File Sharing. To share from the Vista folder C:\Users\Public, turn on Public Folder Sharing. Turning on Password Protect Sharing can also turn on an increased level of security when you share files. You can also turn on Media Sharing (to share files in Windows Media Player).

To share a folder on Vista, right-click on the folder in question, select Properties followed by clicking on the Sharing tab. Under Advanced Sharing, click on the Advanced Sharing... button, and a new Advanced Sharing window will appear. Put a check mark in the Share this folder box, same as with Windows XP Professional, choose Permissions and select the access permissions for this folder as appropriate. "Read" gives the user ability to open a file but not change it. "Change" gives them the ability to edit it. "Full Control" allows them to do anything to it.

Once Vista is configured, and all of the other computers are on the network, they should be able to see each other. To check on XP, go to "My Network Places" in the Start Menu. From Vista you’ll also be able to see the XP computers in the Network folder. Just select the "Start Menu" button and click on Network. From here, the folders and drives you selected should be visible and accessible.

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Saturday, May 9, 2009

Windows® SteadyState™ 2.5

SteadyState Helps Make it Easier to Manage Your Shared Computers Shared computers are commonly found in schools, Internet and gaming cafés, libraries, and community centers. It is increasingly common for owners, teachers, or non-technical personnel to manage shared computers in addition to their many other responsibilities.

Managing shared computers can be difficult, technically challenging, time-consuming, and expensive. And what’s more, without system restrictions and protections, users can inadvertently change the desktop appearance, reconfigure system settings, and introduce unwanted software, viruses, and other harmful programs. Repairing damaged shared computers can require significant time and effort.

User privacy is also an issue for shared computer environments. Shared computers often use shared user accounts that make Internet history, saved documents, and cached Web pages available to subsequent users.

Windows SteadyState provides a more effective way to help defend shared computers from changes by untrusted users and unwanted software installations. It can also help safeguard system resources.


Windows SteadyState Features Windows SteadyState includes the following features to help you manage your shared computers:

Getting Started – Provides the initial steps to help you during your first time use of Windows SteadyState.

Windows Disk Protection – Help protect the Windows partition, which contains the Windows operating system and other programs, from being modified without administrator approval.Windows SteadyState allows you to set Windows Disk Protection to remove all changes upon restart, to remove changes at a certain date and time, or to not remove changes at all. If you choose to use Windows Disk Protection to remove changes, any changes made by shared users when they are logged on to the computer are removed when the computer is restarted

User Restrictions and Settings – The user restrictions and settings can help to enhance and simplify the user experience. Restrict user access to programs, settings, Start menu items, and options in Windows. You can also lock shared user accounts to prevent changes from being retained from one session to the next.

User Account Manager – Create and delete user accounts. You can use Windows SteadyState to create user accounts on alternative drives that will retain user data and settings even when Windows Disk Protection is turned on. You can also import and export user settings from one computer to another—saving valuable time and resources.

Computer Restrictions – Control security settings, privacy settings, and more, such as preventing users from creating and storing folders in drive C and from opening Microsoft Office documents from Internet Explorer®.

Schedule Software Updates – Update your shared computer with the latest software and security updates when it is convenient for you and your shared users.

I suggest use surun to address limitation issues.

link: http://www.mediafire.com/file/g5vymzmwmzn/surun.zip
link: http://www.mediafire.com/file/4ljygydmygi/windowssteadystate.rar

Friday, May 8, 2009

Power On Self Test Beep Codes

When an IBM compatible computer is first turned on, the hardware runs a Power-On Self Test (POST). If errors are encountered during this POST test, they are usually displayed via an audio beep or in the form of a code number flashed across the screen. With this audio code in hand, you can determine what part of the system is having problems and find a solution.

The pattern of beeps whether its the number of beeps or the length of those beeps will give you an indication of the actual problem. Its a distress signal from the computer in a morse code like pattern. Unless you have a diagnostic card to tell you more about the particular problem, you will have to use the charts below to decipher the computer error and get your machine back up and running.

Standard Original IBM POST Error Codes

1 short beep = Normal POST - system is ok
2 short beeps = POST Error - error code shown on screen
No beep = Power supply or system board problem
Continuous beep = Power supply, system board, or keyboard problem
Repeating short beeps = Power supply or system board problem
1 long, 1 short beep = System board problem
1 long, 2 short beeps = Display adapter problem (MDA, CGA)
1 long, 3 short beeps = Enhanced Graphics Adapter (EGA)
3 long beeps = 3270 keyboard card

IBM POST Diagnostic Code Descriptions

100 - 199 System Board
200 - 299 Memory
300 - 399 Keyboard
400 - 499 Monochrome Display
500 - 599 Color/Graphics Display
600 - 699 Floppy-disk drive and/or Adapter
700 - 799 Math Coprocessor
900 - 999 Parallel Printer Port
1000 - 1099 Alternate Printer Adapter
1100 - 1299 Asynchronous Communication Device, Adapter, or Port
1300 - 1399 Game Port
1400 - 1499 Color/Graphics Printer
1500 - 1599 Synchronous Communication Device, Adapter, or Port
1700 - 1799 Hard Drive and/or Adapter
1800 - 1899 Expansion Unit (XT)
2000 - 2199 Bisynchronous Communication Adapter
2400 - 2599 EGA system-board Video (MCA)
3000 - 3199 LAN Adapter
4800 - 4999 Internal Modem
7000 - 7099 Phoenix BIOS Chips
7300 - 7399 3.5" Disk Drive
8900 - 8999 MIDI Adapter
11200 - 11299 SCSI Adapter
21000 - 21099 SCSI Fixed Disk and Controller
21500 - 21599 SCSI CD-ROM System

AMI BIOS Beep Codes

1 Short Beep One beep = is good! Everything is ok, that is if you see things on the screen. If you don't see anything, check your monitor and video card first. Is everything connected? If they seem fine, your motherboard has some bad chips on it. First reset the SIMM's and reboot. If it does the same thing, one of the memory chips on the motherboard are bad, and you most likely need to get another motherboard since these chips are soldered on.
2 Short Beeps = Your computer has memory problems. First check video. If video is working, you'll see an error message. If not, you have a parity error in your first 64K of memory. First check your SIMM's. Reseat them and reboot. If this doesn't do it, the memory chips may be bad. You can try switching the first and second banks memory chips. First banks are the memory banks that your CPU finds its first 64K of base memory in. You'll need to consult your manual to see which bank is first. If all your memory tests good, you probably need to buy another motherboard.
3 Short Beeps = Basically the same thing as 2 beeps. Follow that diagnosis above.
4 Short Beeps = Basically the same thing as 2 beeps. Follow that diagnosis above. It could also be a bad timer
5 Short Beeps = Your motherboard is complaining. Try reseating the memory and rebooting. If that doesn't help, you should consider another motherboard. You could probably get away with just replacing the CPU, but that's not too cost-effective. Its just time to upgrade!
6 Short Beeps = The chip on your motherboard that controls your keyboard (A20 gate) isn't working. First try another keyboard. If it doesn't help, reseat the chip that controls the keyboard, if it isn't soldered in. If it still beeps, replace the chip if possible. Replace the motherboard if it is soldered in.
7 Short Beeps = Your CPU broke overnight. Its no good. Either replace the CPU, or buy another motherboard.
8 Short Beeps = Your video card isn't working. Make sure it is seated well in the bus. If it still beeps, either the whole card is bad or the memory on it is. Best bet is to install another video card.
9 Short Beeps = Your BIOS is bad. Reseat or Replace the BIOS.
10 Short Beeps = Your problem lies deep inside the CMOS. All chips associated with the CMOS will likely have to be replaced. Your best bet is to get a new motherboard.
11 Short Beeps = Your problem is in the Cache Memory chips on the motherboard. Reseat or Replace these chips.
1 Long, 3 Short Beeps = You've probably just added memory to the motherboard since this is a conventional or extended memory failure. Generally this is caused by a memory chip that is not seated properly. Reseat the memory chips.
1 Long, 8 Short Beeps = Display / retrace test failed. Reseat the video card.

additional reference;

link(home): http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Find and Delete Duplicate Files with Duplicate Cleaner!

Duplicate cleaner is a tool to assist anyone in cleaning up the contents of their personal hard drive or corporate network. You'd be surprised just how many redundant or duplicate files you could find forgotten in an obscure documents folder. Photos, music, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, videos - you name it, if it appears twice on your computer then Duplicate Cleaner will find it.

Features
Find Duplicate Files by content
Cleaner hard drives means faster performance
Fast Scanning and accurate duplicate comparison.
Deep scans music - locate duplicate mp3,wma,flac,ape,ogg formats
Flexible search parameters
Intelligent Selection Assistant
Search home or networked drives
Search multiple locations
Export / Import results in CSV format
View Path,Size and Date of files
Large, resizable list window
Image preview window
Delete duplicate files to the Recycle bin
Move duplicate files to a new location
Turn duplicate files into hard links (NTFS file systems only)
Protection for Windows and system files
Supports multiple languages (Currently English/French)
Freeware

link: http://www.mediafire.com/file/zxj1mzmmuq0/DuplicateCleaner.rar

Video Download Helper (Free Firefox Addon)

DownloadHelper is a way to discover many sites showing Web videos from all around the world. They are here !
DownloadHelper is also a free Firefox extension for downloading and converting videos from many sites with minimum effort. Install the extension !

Using DownloadHelper, you can easily save videos from most of the popular video sites.

It is also possible to capture all the images from a gallery in a single operation.

Note that DownloadHelper does not break any real protection implemented on the sites. It just give an easier access to clear content that will be downloaded by your browser anyway. Unless exceptions, downloaded videos must be kept on your disk for personal use and not shown on other Web sites.

link(home): http://www.downloadhelper.net/index.php

Monday, May 4, 2009

EASEUS Partition Master Free Edition

EASEUS Partition Master is a comprehensive hard disk partition management software for Windows Server 2000/2003/2008 and Windows 2000/XP/Vista partition to Resize and Move, Copy, Create, Delete and Format, Convert, Explore, Hide and Unhide server and non-server partitions and much more.

link: http://www.mediafire.com/?aqhyd4z2yzj