iTunes for Windows crashes when opening iTunes Store

Problem: running iTunes 11 on Windows 7 or 8 64-bit, it crashes when you try to open the iTunes Store.

Solution:

Run the following command on an elevated Command Prompt or via the Run shortcut by right-clicking the Windows button:

%windir%\System32\rundll32.exe sysdm.cpl,EditEnvironmentVariables

This will launch the Environment Variables window.

Under System variables, select the Path variable, then click on the Edit button.

Type the right arrow key to go to the end of the text box, then add the following to the end of the line:

;%HOMEDRIVE%\%ProgramFiles(x86)%\Common Files\Apple\Apple Application Support

The ";" is to separate the previous path from this new one that you are adding.

Click OK.

How to rename an Android device

In order to rename an Android device:

1) From within the device itself, change the Device Name under Bluetooth Settings.
2) Connect the phone to a computer using MTP (instead of mass storage) and rename the device.
3) If you want to rename the Wi-Fi hostname, use the Change Hostname app.

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How to take a screenshot on Android

In order to take a screeshot on your Android 4.0 and above phone, press the Power and Volume Down buttons simultaneously.

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Troubleshoot Microsoft Office 2013 installation issues

It is very common to run into issues when upgrading from previous versions of Microsoft Office to the 2013 version, including the infamous "Microsoft Office Single Image 2010" error.

Most problems can be solved by running the Program Install and Uninstall Troubleshooter tool.

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How to prevent tables from breaking across pages on Microsoft Word

This is a very frustrating thing. By default Microsoft Word will break tables between pages, even if you deselect the "Allow row to break across pages" checkbox under Table Properties > Row.

The solution is to select the entire table, go to the Paragraph section of the Home tab, click the little icon on the bottom right to launch the Paragraph dialog box, go to the Line and Page Breaks tab, then select the "Keep with next" option, then click OK

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How to see the server name on the logon screen of a Windows Server 2008 or higher computer

In order to see the hostname of a Window Server 2008 or higher computer at the logon screen, just type .\ in the User name field.

Anything you type after ".\" is considered a local account.

How to insert a data validation dropdown list menu from another worksheet on Excel

1) On the worksheet that contains the list, create a range name.
2) On the worksheet where you want to use the list, click Insert > Name > Define.
3) Make sure you can see the range name specified on the other worksheet. Click OK.
4) Select the cells or the entire column or row where you want to insert the dropdown menu, then click Data > Validation.
5) In the Allow box, select List.
6) In the Source box, type =ListName (range name). Click OK.

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How to change or delete range names on Excel

1) On the Insert menu, point to Name, and then click Define.
2) In the Names in workbook list, select the name you want and you are free to delete or change it.

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How to change values on drop down menus on Excel

• Click a cell that has data validation settings that you want to change.
• On the Data menu, click Validation.
• On each tab, select and change the options that you want.

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How to list the Windows environment variables

In order to obtain a list of all Windows environment variables applicable to your system, run command "set" on Command Prompt.

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How to change the language of the Command Prompt

In order to change the language of the Command Prompt, just click on the application icon to bring up the context menu, then select Properties.

Then go to the Options tab and verify the Current code page menu.

437 - OEM United States is the default.

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How to run Windows PowerShell scripts

The default PowerShell execution policy prevents running any scripts. You need to change it to Unrestricted with the following command:

Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted

Then you can just right-click the .ps1 file and choose Run with PowerShell, or you can run it from within the PowerShell prompt:

PS> cd C:\path_to_my_script\
PS> .\script.ps1

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Fix forward slash / interrogation key on Lenovo ThinkPad

Problem: the ?/° key does not work on Lenovo ThinkPad notebooks.

Fix: download and run this registry fix, then reboot the computer.

Registry file contents:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Keyboard Layout]
"Scancode Map"=hex:00,00,00,00,00,00,00,00,02,00,00,00,73,00,1d,e0,00,00,00,00

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uTorrent installer does not open / cannot run / will not execute

The most recent uTorrent Windows installer (utorrent.exe) cannot be run immediately after the download.

First, you need to unblock the executable by clicking the Unblock button on the file properties page. Then you should be able to execute the installation wizard.

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iTunes 11 for Windows interface resetting to defaults

Problem: Recently iTunes 11 on my Windows 8 notebook started to show the Welcome screen and reset the interface to defaults whenever I opened it.

Solution: Delete all files in "C:\Users\Username\AppData\Local\Apple Computer\iTunes" and adjust interface settings one last time.

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How to run an offline chkdsk scan on Windows 8

Problem: If you issue the "chkdsk c: /f" command in order to run an offline chkdsk scan on Windows 8, it will accept the command, but when you reboot the computer, chkdsk will not run.

Because of ReFS, you should not need to run an offline chkdsk scan anyway. However, there are times we simply just need to run it to rule out file and file system corruption.

Solution: Disable Fast Startup: Control Panel > Power Options > Choose what the power buttons do > Change settings that are currently unavailable > Disable Turn on fast startup (recommended) > Save changes.

Issue the "chkdsk ,drive_letter>: /f" command and reboot. You should be able to see the offline chkdsk scan progress messages below the Windows (or computer manufacturer) logo while the computer is booting up.

Fast Startup does allow for a faster bootup, so you really should turn it back on when finished with the chkdsk scans :)

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How to enable telnet (client or server) on Windows 8

• Control Panel > Programs and Features > Turn Windows features on or off
• Select Telnet Client and/or Telnet Server
• Click OK, finish Wizard, reboot computer

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How to embed entire files into a Microsoft Word document

In order to attach an entire file to a Word document, so the readers can download and save that file to their workstations:

1) Open the main document in Microsoft Word.
2) Click the Insert menu to display inserting options.
3) Choose Object.
4)This will open a dialog box. You are presented with two tabs: Create New and Create from File.
a. Create New allows you to create a new document or even image of your choosing from the list within that tab.
b. Create from File allows you to browse to a file you have already created.
5) Choose Create from File and click Browse to locate your file.
6) You have several options as to how to insert your file.
a. If you do not check the check boxes below Browse, the entire contents of your document will be displayed within your current document.
b. If you check the box, Link to File, you insert the entire contents of the file, but can click the link to open the file separately in its own window or application. For instance, inserting an Excel document will display the spreadsheet. When you click on the spreadsheet, it will open in Excel as a separate document.
c. If you check the box, Display as Icon, only an icon will appear in your document. This option allows you to change the icon and its caption. Clicking the button, Change Icon will give you the opportunity to change the caption to something other than the file path. For instance, you may have a spreadsheet as Figure 2. You can change the caption to Figure 2, so readers know what they are clicking. Upon clicking the icon, the file opens in its appropriate application.

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How to lock Function keys as multimedia control keys on Dell notebooks

In order to lock the keyboard Function (Fn) keys permanently as multimedia control keys on Dell notebooks, you need to access the System Setup utility while the notebook is booting up.

As soon as the system starts, press the F2 key until the blue "BIOS" Setup Utility screen is shown. Under System Configuration, edit the Function Key Behaviour value. Exit using the Esc key and make sure you save the changes.

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How to fix error 0x800F0818 when installing Windows Server SP1

This fix should work on all Microsoft Windows versions that are experiencing error 0x800F0818 when installing SP1.

1. Find CheckSUR.log in C:\Windows\Logs or in a subfolder.
2. Open the log file and find which files under c:\Windows\servicing\packages are corrupted.
3. Download the KB hotfixes that relate to each corrupted package.
4. Take ownership of the packages folder with the following command: "takeown /F c:\Windows\Servicing\Packages /D y /R"
5. Make sure your user has Full Control to c:\Windows\servicing\packages.
6. Delete the .mum and .cat files for each corrupted package from c:\Windows\servicing\packages.
7. Extract the files from each KB hotfix and copy the .mum and .cat files for each package to c:\Windows\servicing\packages.
8. Try installing SP again.

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How to extract files from hotfix packages using the command line

Microsoft Hotfix Installer (.exe)
setup.exe /t:C:<target_dir> /c

Microsoft Update Standalone Package (.msu)
expand -F:* update.msu C:<target_dir>
cd <target_dir>
expand -F:* update.cab C:<target_dir>

Microsoft Patch File (.msp)
msix patch.msp /out C:<target_dir>
msix.zip

Windows Installer Package (.msi)
msiexec /a setup.msi /qb TARGETDIR=C:<target_dir>

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How to start a VMware Workstation VM via Command Prompt

cd "\Program Files\VMware\VMware Workstation"

vmware -x "C:\My virtual machine\winxppro.vmx"

Simple as that.

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Path to Windows 8 Start Screen Shortcuts

All users: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

Current user: C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

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How to launch other programs from the Command Prompt

On Windows, if you need to launch another application while using the Command Prompt all you have to do is use the start command:

start /?
Starts a separate window to run a specified program or command.

START ["title"] [/D path] [/I] [/MIN] [/MAX] [/SEPARATE | /SHARED]
      [/LOW | /NORMAL | /HIGH | /REALTIME | /ABOVENORMAL | /BELOWNORMAL]
      [/AFFINITY <hex affinity>] [/WAIT] [/B] [command/program]
      [parameters]

This is a great way of running scripts that close the prompt that started them, and also starting tasks that need to be monitored separately.

Windows 8 boot error after cloning HDD

Problem: After cloning a small HDD with a Windows 8 installation to a larger one, the system won't boot with the new HDD. When trying to run system restore with the Windows 8 installation media, there's an error saying the drive is locked.

Solution: Use Windows 7 or Windows Vista installation media to run system restore.

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Firefox hanging every few seconds while scrolling through a web page

One of the most annoying glitches I've ever seen in an application: Firefox begins to hang/freeze for a few seconds, every 10 seconds or so until browsing a long web page becomes unbearable.

Turns out this is caused by some flaky internal Javascript code in Firefox, used in the routine that stores your session information so that Fox can restore the session in case it crashes.

Ironic if you ask me, especially as that's one of the most useless features in the browser. So I just disabled it:

Type in "about: config" in the address bar, locate the "browser.sessionrestore.resume_from_crash" line, and double-click it to change to false.

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Disable Microsoft Error Reporting

I have Windows Home Server running on my HP MediaSmart server, and recently the awful Samsung Allshare app decided to crash more often than usual. This caused the c:\windows\temp directory to fill up with trash from the dw20.exe process, the Error Reporting Service.

As I am fully aware Samsung Allshare does not run well and I have absolutely no plans of troubleshooting it, and also that is the only app that crashes often, I decided to disable the Error Reporting Service.

Just use Task Manager to close any running instances of dw20.exe, then use the Computer Management console, Services list, to stop then disable the Error Reporting Service.

I also deleted all files under c:\windows\temp to regain 10 GB of disk space.

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Re-enable Mount option for ISO images on Windows 8

1. Right-click the .ISO file, choose Properties.
2. Click the Change button.
3. Choose Windows Explorer from the application list.
4. The Opens With option will change back to Windows Explorer.
5. Click Apply, then OK to close the properties window.
6. Right-click the ISO file. Mount will be one of the top options.

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Fix poor (washed out) image quality in VLC

No doubt VLC is the best video player there is. However I experienced poor image quality (dark washed out) on several computers on which I installed VLC and had a hard time trying to tweak the video effect settings to no avail.

Turns out the problem happens only on NVIDIA video cards, and the solution is amazingly simple:

1. Go to Nvidia Control panel
2. In Nvidia Control Panel select adjust video color settings
3. In How do you make color adjustments? Select with Nvidia settings.
4. Select advanced of Nvidia video settings
5. Select FULL(0-255) in dynamic range.

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How to disable / enable User Account Control (UAC) via command line

Disable UAC
"C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /k %windir%\System32\reg.exe ADD HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v EnableLUA /t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f"

Enable UAC
"C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /k %windir%\System32\reg.exe ADD HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v EnableLUA /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f"

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Firefix is already running, but is not responding

"Firefox is already running, but it is not responding. To open a new window, you must first close the existing Firefox process, or restart your system."

Yeah, like users are supposed to bother themselves with that. It's puzzling that Firefox is at version 19, and still hanging with this errors.

How-To Geek has put together a great article on how to fix this. Basically it's killing the firefox.exe process, if it's running, then deleting the parent.lock file that resides in "%appdata%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\random_rubbish.default\", where random_rubbish is... just that.

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How to use the Apple Wireless Keyboard on Windows

I am a big fan of Apple hardware, but not so much of Mac OS. Therefore, my primary workstation runs Windows. However, as I want the best of both worlds, I use the Apple Wireless Keyboard with my Dell Precision PC.

Using any generic Bluetooth adapter, we're able to pair the keyboard with Windows and use it immediately.

The first and most annoying problem we notice is that the delete key won't work as a "normal" Del key of PC keyboards. It works as the Backspace key. The other problem is that we can't use the Multimedia controls that are concatenated with the Function keys.

If you've ever used Windows on Apple hardware with their native tool Bootcamp, you know that Apple solved the problems described above by giving users the option to use the fn key together with the delete and Function keys to emulate the Del and Function keys to which PC users are accustomed.

As Apple does not separately provide the Windows device drivers bundled in Bootcamp when you purchase their devices, the solution resides in hacking.

The nice folks at the InsanelyMac forum have put together detailed instructions:

"""""Begin optional part""""""
Burn or mount the Bootcamp_Driver_3.0.iso
Go to Folder "Boot Camp" > "Drivers" > "Apple" then copy "BootCamp64.msi" to your desktop.
In the folder "x64" copy the file "AppleKeyboardInstallerx64.exe" to the desktop too.
Extract "AppleKeyboardInstallerx64.exe" with your archive packer of choice.
You can remove the disk or image now.
""""""""End optional part""""""""""
Make sure the extracted "AppleKeyboardInstaller64" directory and "BootCamp64.msi" file from my archive are both on the desktop.
When it's done run the file "DPInst.exe"
Note, that the keyboard special keys will not work yet.
After that, search you need to run "BootCamp.msi" as administrator:
1. You need to open cmd as administrator ("start menu" > "all programs" > accessories > "command prompt" then right click "run as administrator")
In the command prompt, go to your desktop (cd /Users/*your users' name*/Desktop).
Then type "BootCamp.msi".
When the install is finish, reboot and it's ok!
***Note***
1. After install and restart type "msconfig" (without quotes) in the start menu and remove "boot camp" entry from the "Startup items", because it is not necessary and just
delays start-up procedure.
2. Stop and disable following services (type "services" in the start menu):
- Apple OS Switch Manager
- Apple Time Service
2. To change the fn-key behavior (to default F1-F12 and not to fn+F1 - fn+F12):
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\KeyMagic\OSXFnBehavior
Change the value to REG_DWORD and value zero.

If you choose to obtain the files from their site, you will need to register.

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How to fix yellow exclamation mark on iCloud system tray icon

When I installed the Apple iCloud software on my Windows 8 system, the installer gave an error then quit. The iCloud Control Panel was successfully installed, but its system tray icon had a yellow exclamation mark (or exclamation point?) on it.

The fix was easy. Just repair the installation using the Programs Control Panel. Select iCloud, click on the Modify button, then use the Repair option.

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How to verify an Apple Time Capsule disk drive

During power failures or outages, I used to wonder about the integrity of the data on the internal Apple Time Capsule disk drive I use for backups.

Turns out I don't have to worry too much about it, as Time Capsule takes care of verifying the disk itself:

"Simply restart your Time Capsule. Time Capsule automatically performs a file system check on the internal drive during startup. If the Time Capsule detects an issue that it can resolve, it will repair the file system of the disk. If an issue is found that cannot be resolved, the Time Capsule's LED will flash amber, and AirPort Utility will state the issue. You should use the most current version of AirPort Utility."

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Change SkyDrive desktop folder location on Windows 8

In order to move the SkyDrive folder to another location, just quit the SkyDrive app, and rename or delete the current SkyDrive folder.

When you launch the app again, it will complain that the Skydrive folder is gone, then let you run the configuration wizard again.

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System Preparation Tool (Sysprep) on Windows Server 2008

Sysprep is a native tool on Windows Server 2008, available at:

c:\Windows\System32\sysprep\sysprep.exe

In order to generate a new SSID, make sure you select the "Generalize" checkbox.

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Solving Windows 7 installation error 0xc0000225 on VirtualBox

If you run Oracle VirtualBox on your Mac like I do, and ever try to install Windows 7 on a VM, you may run into this issue:

Windows Boot Manager

Status: 0x0000225
Info: An unexpected error has occurred.

In order to resolve this, just change the following VM settings under the System tab:

Change chipset from PIIX3 to ICH9
Enable IO APIC

That's it.

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How to clean up old Java installations

Today I had the need to uninstall all instances of Java Runtime Environment (JRE).

We know that unfortunatelly very few uninstallers do a thorough job.

Turns out there's a nifty portable tool just for that: JavaRa!

Currently a GPL license.