supered55@hotmail.com
supered55@hotmail.com
Answers to problems I've had on my computer. WINDOWS XP/Vista
some changes may work with earlier versions of Windows but are mostly for XP and Vista
Click the link below for older answers for Win 95/98/ME
ADOBE SHOCKWAVE DOESN'T WORK
If Adobe Shockwave doesn't work (you get a black screen)
or nothing happens when you try to download Shockwave, do the following:
Open the registry and go to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility
and check if the following Registry file is listed - {166B1BCA-3F9C-11CF-8075-444553540000}
If this file is listed then delete it as this is stopping Shockwave from working.
BIOS CREATION DATE
To find the date your BIOS (Basic Input Output System) was created
Open the registry and go to;
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ ENUM \ ROOT \ PNP0C01 \ 0000
BLANK PAGES WITH Internet Explorer 6
I had a problem with IE6 showing a blank page when I tried to view some stats on a secure webpage.
Enabling META REFRESH cured this problem.
Open Internet Explorer
Click on TOOLS / INTERNET OPTIONS
Click on the SECURITY tab
Highlight the INTERNET icon (globe icon)
Click on CUSTOM LEVEL button
Scroll down to META REFRESH and click on the ENABLE radio button
BROWSING PROBLEMS - BROADBAND CONNECTION
Try this option if you are having connection problems
Open Internet Explorer
Click on TOOLS / INTERNET OPTIONS
On the GENERAL tab click on the DELETE FILES BUTTON (XP Users click on DELETE COOKIES) tick the box and click OK
On the CONNECTION tab click on the LAN Settings button
Ensure there is a tick in the AUTOMATICALLY DETECT SETTINGS box
Remove ticks from any other options currently selected
Click on APPLY and OK
Slow Connection Speeds
USB v Network (ethernet) card
A network (ethernet) cards only function is to allow computers to connect to the internet and connect them
together (network) and share files / printers.
USB on the other hand has many functions. If you are using USB to connect your computer to the modem you will require
a minimum of 80% system resources to be able to achieve optimum browsing and download speeds.
System resource availability is dependent upon the number of tasks the computer is being asked to perform at any one time.
Certain non-essential programs load as soon as the PC starts and will consume resources without your knowledge. You can
help this by closing down all unnecessary applications.
Using USB you can expect a greater fluctuation in speed than someone with the same machine using a network card which
is rarely affected by these problems being far less reliant on the system resources previously mentioned.
Error 403 Forbidden Message
Error 403 Forbidden Message relates to what is known as a proxy being set by another Internet provider.
To resolve this,
Open Internet Explorer, click on TOOLS / INTERNET OPTIONS, CONNECTIONS tab
Click the LAN settings button and take the tick out of USE PROXY SERVER box
Also, tick the AUTOMATICALLY DETECT SETTINGS box
Netscape users should click on;
EDIT / PREFERENCES / ADVANCED / PROXIES
Ensure that you have selected a Direct connection to the Internet
CHECK ACTIVE INTERNET CONNECTIONS
To see what connections your computer has to the internet, click on;
START / PROGRAMS / ACCESSORIES / MS DOS PROMPT
Type netstat at the prompt, press ENTER key
CLEAR THE BROWSER CACHE
If you find changes to web pages you've uploaded are taking a long time to show or you want to be
sure you are seeing the latest version of a web page
Hold CTRL + F5 (for Internet Explorer) SHIFT + F5 (for Mozilla) to force the latest page to be shown.
CONNECT YOUR XBOX 360 TO THE INTERNET THROUGH YOUR COMPUTER
With your laptop connected wirelessly to your network access point (router),
connect an ethernet cable from the ethernet port on your laptop to the ethernet port on the back of your Xbox 360
Click on the START(Globe) BUTTON / CONNECT TO / SHOW ALL CONNECTIONS
(in WinXP click on START / CONTROL PANEL)
Right click your Wireless Network Connection and choose Properties from the list.
On the Advanced tab, tick the box to Allow other network users to connect through this computer's internet connection.
In the Home Networking Connection drop down list choose Local Area Connection.
Uncheck the box to Allow other network users to control or disable the shared Internet connection
CREATE A BACKUP REGISTRY FILE
Click Start
Click Run
Type in regedit
Click OK
Highlight My Computer
Click the Registry menu at the top and select Export Registry File
Name the file backup and save it to your Desktop.
Should you encounter problems, locate the "backup" file on your Desktop and double-click it.
Select Yes and your registry will be restored.
DESKTOP ICONS KEEP REDRAWING
Increase the size of the Icon cache
Open the registry and go to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer
On the toolbar Click on:
EDIT / NEW / STRING VALUE
Call the string:
Give it a value of 2000 or higher if you like
DVD PLAYER - NO CONTROL PANEL ICON
WIN XP ONLY
PROBLEM
Windows successfully loaded the device driver for this hardware but cannot find the hardware device (code 41)
Also the DVD icon doesn't appear in Control Panel
HKLM \ SYSTEM \ CURRENTCONTROLSET \ CONTROL \ CLASS \ {4D36E 965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
Locate the UpperFilters, note its value, and then delete it
The following may not be necessary (check Contriol Panel for DVD icon)
FIND YOUR IP / NETWORK CARD ADDRESS
Every machine on the Internet has a unique identifying number, called an IP(Internet Protocol) Address
Most broadband connections have DYNAMIC addresses which means they change each time the computer is rebooted.
Click START / RUN and type winipcfg
Click on START / PROGRAMS / ACCESSORIES / MS DOS PROMPT
Type IPCONFIG and press the ENTER key
Click START / RUN type command and then type ipconfig and press enter
HEADPHONES, NO SOUND
If you plug headphones into your CDRW and cannot hear any music, try the following;
Right click on MY COMPUTER
INTERNET EXPLORER 6 - PREVENT THE INFORMATION BAR FROM BEING DISPLAYED
When you visit a site which uses the automatic download prompt, the Information bar appears instead of the download window.
To disable this,
Open Internet Explorer.
In the ActiveX controls and plug-ins section of the list, under Automatic prompting for ActiveX controls, click Enable.
INTERNET EXPLORER 7 - SECURITY WARNING IN WIN VISTA
If you alter any default security settings in IE7 in Win Vista, you will see the following page every time you open a web page
HKCU \ SOFTWARE \ POLICIES \ MICROSOFT \ INTERNET EXPLORER \ SECURITY
Note: create the Internet Explorer and Security keys if they don't exist
• DisableFixSecuritySettings
Close and reopen IE
INTERNET EXPLORER WON'T DISPLAY MULTIPLE WEB PAGES
for example:
On the Internet Explorer tool bar click on TOOLS / INTERNET OPTIONS
Reuse windows for launching shortcuts
Click the APPLY and OK buttons
MISSING SYSTEM TRAY ICONS - WIN XP
If some Icons are missing from the System Tray(next to the desktop clock), try this;
Open CONTROL PANEL
For your info this is a list of the items in my Windows Components
Accessories and Utilities - Tick Box
NO - STEREO MIX - OPTION
My HP laptop has no LINE IN socket only a Microphone socket.
To resolve this problem, download and install this program called FREECORDER
It is in the form of a toolbar which can be hidden when not in use and uses it's own drivers to record straight from the
OPENING THE REGISTRY
Click on the START button on the taskbar
Click on the START globe on the taskbar
REMOVE DESKTOP SHORTCUT ARROWS
Open the registry, go to;
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ Piffile and HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ lnkfile
Change the text IsShortcut to IsNotShortcut
REMOVE SURPLUS DRIVERS
Boot into safe mode
Win XP/Vista
Win 98/ME
Your computer will boot to the startup menu until the box is unchecked-
When you are in Safe Mode;
On the desktop right click on MY COMPUTER click on PROPERTIES select DEVICE MANAGER tab.(Win95/98/ME)
This will help your computer to boot faster.
SPEED UP INTERNET EXPLORER 8
Spybot Search and Destroy, Spywareblaster and possibly other spyware removal programs load up IE8 with a large number of
How to remove them
PLEASE NOTE; Using the Immunize feature in Spybot Search and Destroy or updating Spywareblaster will put the entries
STOP GOOGLE AUTO SUGGEST DROP DOWN MENU
If your home page is Google.com and you get a drop down menu of suggested searches when you type a query and you
Set your home page to;
http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=0
If you want the auto suggest back simply change the 0 on the end of the address to a 1
STOP WINDOWS SCANNING HARD DRIVE AFTER BAD SHUTDOWN
If your computer is shutdown by a power failure/switched off at mains etc windows will prompt you to scan
WINXP/VISTA
In the registry, go to;
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SYSTEM \ CURRENT CONTROL SET \ CONTROL \ Session Manager
Right click on BootExecute, click on Modify, type autocheck autochk /k:c * Close Reg editor
SYSTEM INFORMATION
Click on START / RUN type msinfo32
SYSTEM RECOVERY KEY DOESN'T WORK
If you have a shop bought computer you will usually have a recovery partition on your Hard Drive which will
To get the restore key working do the following;
Click on START (the Globe in Vista)
Select MARK PARTITION AS ACTIVE
WINDOWS PRODUCT KEY
In the registry go to;
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ MICROSOFT \ WINDOWS \ CURRENT VERSION
The Product Key is in the right hand pane
USER DATA PERSISTENCE
User Data Persistence was developed to offer the ability to "persist" information which also lets
Disable User Data Persistence
Open Internet Explorer
TOOLS / INTERNET OPTIONS, SECURITY tab
Highlight the INTERNET icon (It's the Globe amongst the four icons at the top of the box in WINME)
Max Cached Icons
Exit the registry
Your DVD player has a yellow mark next to it in device manager and In the properties is the following message:
ANSWER
Open the registry and go to
Locate the LowerFilters, note its value, and then delete it
NOTE: Only one of the above values may exist
Exit regedit
Go to Device Manager
Right click on the optical drive(s) displaying the error and select Uninstall
After Device Manager has refreshed, select Action - scan for hardware changes
Reboot computer
A typical IP address looks like this: 216.27.61.137
STATIC addresses stay the same.
To find your IP address in WIN 9x/ME;
To find the addresses of any Network Cards on your computer,
To find your IP address in WINXP;
Click on PROPERTIES
Click on DEVICE MANAGER Tab
Click the plus sign next to your CDRW entry
Highlight your CDRW
Click on the PROPERTIES BUTTON
Click on the PROPERTIES tab
Untick the ENABLE DIGITAL CD AUDIO box
On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
On the Security tab, click Custom Level.
In the Downloads section of the list, under Automatic prompting for file downloads, click Enable.
To turn off the Information Bar for ActiveX controls,
To disable this, In the registry, go to;
Create these two DWORDs in the SECURITY key and set them as 1
• DisableSecuritySettingsCheck
You have a web page open and click on a shortcut and Internet Explorer closes your open
web page and opens the shortcut page,
do the following:
Click on the ADVANCED tab
Under the BROWSING heading untick the following box:
Click on ADD / REMOVE PROGRAMMES
On the left side click on ADD / REMOVE WINDOWS COMPONENTS
Highlight NETWORKING SERVICES
Click on the DETAILS button
Untick the box UPnP USER INTERFACE
Click on OK.
Fax Services - Untick Box
Indexing Service - Tick Box
Internet Explorer - Tick Box
Management and Monitoring Tools - Untick Box
MSN Explorer - Tick Box
Networking Services - Tick Box
Other Network File and Print Services - Untick
Outlook Express - Tick
Update Root Certificates - Tick Box
Windows Media Player - Tick Box
Windows Messenger - Tick Box
The drivers for the built in Conexant sound card don't support a STEREO MIX function, only a microphone, therefore programs to
record music off the net use the microphone channel and the qualiity is poor.
sound card in WAV or MP3 format.
In the Options simply tick the boxes that use the freecord drivers and untick any boxes that use the microphone.
Select RUN
Type REGEDIT
Click on OK button
In WinVista
Click on ALL PROGRAMS link
Click on ACCESSORIES folder
Click on RUN
Type REGEDIT
Reboot the computer
How to boot into Safe Mode
Start your computer
Repeatedly tap F8 when computer boot window appears(black screen with white writing) or when manufacturers
logo appears.
Click START / RUN type msconfig
On the GENERAL tab, click on the ADVANCED button
Tick the box ENABLE STARTUP MENU
Reboot computer
A menu will appear, select SAFE MODE
---------------------------------------
Click on START / CONTROL PANEL / SYSTEM / HARDWARE (WinXP/Vista) Control Panel classic view needs to be
enabled in Vista
Click on the plus sign next to each device and remove the drivers for any Device which is not installed on your computer.
sites in the restricted zone,
(Tools/Internet Options/Security tab, highlight Restricted Sites icon, click on Sites button to view entries)
This will slow IE8 down when starting up and loading pages
Either remove them one at a time or use DelDomains.inf to remove them all in one go
back in the Restricted Sites list.
want to get rid of it, do the following.
the Hard Drive when starting up, this is ok but sometimes Windows does it at every bootup.
To stop this do the following
C is the Hard Drive, if your Hard Drive has a different letter simply change the C to the appropriate letter
restore your computer to the condition it was in when you purchased it.
The recovery is accessed by pressing one of the F keys (often F2 or F11) at bootup.
For various reasons you may find this key doesn't work and if you haven't created restore discs you are stuck.
In the menu, right click on COMPUTER
Click MANAGE
Click DISK MANAGEMENT in left hand menu
Right click the Recovery Drive
(probably D:\ but if you're not sure click on START(Globe) / COMPUTER and it will show your Hard Drive
partitions, it should say RECOVERY or RESTORE with a letter next to it)
When you reboot your computer the F button should work
you retain style and state beyond a single web page.
User Data Persistence appeared in MS IE 5.0 and is not as well known or as easily managed
as cookies but it allows web sites to store information from your system.
From the Toolbar, click on;
Click on CUSTOM LEVEL button
Untick USER DATA PERSISTENCE
Last updated - November 23rd 2009