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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