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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