All my shortcuts are opening with the wrong programs

I have seen this one a number of times and at first it looks as though it might be an impossible problem to fix, many people will tell you that windows would need to be reinstalled or that it cant be fixed.
But superkev has the know how to get you back working as you should be.
So you open up your computer and this is what you see all of your icons have changed mysteriously to the one program and everytime you try to open a shortcut to the internet or you favorite game it fails and tries to open with what ever program is asscociated with that file type.

You can change the file asscociations in Default Programs on the start menu but this wont help you in this situation as the files which have changed are all .lnk files which are shortcuts, these files do not have a specific program attached to them and that is all you can fix in Default Programs. so the first step is to download this file from my blog on another computer or if you already know how to load up your browser from the original EXE file then you can use your own computer.
Once you have downloaded the file open it up and extract the contents.
Run the program called Unassoc.exe and you will be greeted with the window as below

You then need to type in the search box .lnk and select the .lnk option.

Press the Remove file association (User) button.

Once this has finished you can click on the OK button.

You will now notice that all of your shortcuts are back to normal with the correct icon for each program.

Repair Windows 7 Install After Replacing Motherboard

Ever wanted to not have to reinstall after replacing your motherboard on windows 7 ? this is not a issue if you replace with identical hardware but if you are unable to find that same motherboard then this is the fix for you.
You will need to get the latest drivers for your new motherboard these can be found on the manfacturers website, the main driver that you are looking for is the hard drive controller driver IDE/AHCI/SATA.
Once it ahs finished downloading them put them on a USB or burn them to a cd.
Once you have this turn on your comptuer with your new motherboard installed and put in the windows 7 cd choose to boot from cd by pressing the appropriate button once you get to the screen as below, choose your language and keyboard layout and press next.

On the next window chosse to repair your computer

On the next window choose the command prompt, the startup repair wont fix this issue 9 times out of 10 but you are free to give it a shot, if it does not work and you get a BSOD then follow the steps above to get back to this point.

If you burned the drivers to a disk then eject the windows cd and put in your drivers cd or just plug in your USB, You need to figure out which drive your cd/thumbdrive/external drive is – so try different drive letters and type dir until you see the one that has your folder. if you burned a cd, chances are it’s the D: drive(unless it was an HP or something, then it will be E:)if it’s a thumb drive or external hard drive and you only have 1 cd-rom, it’s the E: drive. Maybe F: — check it out.
Once you have that figured out you need to type this
dism /image:c:\ /add-driver /Driver:X:\ /recurse
Replace “X” with the drive letter from the previous step:
Hit enter and it should find the drivers you extracted into the folder in the second step.

After it does that, type “exit” and hit enter, then press the “Restart” button.
When windows boots it will take a LONG time to start this is normal do not press the reset button as this will make you have to start over again from the start, go sit back and grab a coffee and wait, once it has booted up fully you will more than likely have to install the rest of your drivers for your new motherboard.

The Computer Restarted unexpectedly or encountered an unexpected error during installation of windows

Ive been a little slack of late when it comes to blogging, had heaps of work to do and not enough time to blog, but whilst i have been working away hard i have come accross a few issues that i would like to share with you all.

This one was a bit of a pain when i was recently recapturing my distribution image at school, over the school holidays i thought it would be a great time to re-image the student computers with all the latest updates for the applications i had previously installed.
I fired up my previous image i had in Hyper V, so that i could install the updates and recapture it again ready for deployment, to my surprise when it turned on i was greeted with the screen shot below, i was aware that running SYSPREP would make the computer think that it was a fresh install on the first turn on, but i wasnt expecting to see the error below.

so here is how to fix the error then you can boot into your image to install your updates.
Step 1. When you see the error dont click on OK hold down the SHIFT key and press F10, this will open a command prompt window.
Step 2. type in regedit like the image below and press the enter key.

Step 3. Navigate to the following registry entry HK_Local_Machine/SYSTEM/SETUP/STATUS/ChildCompletion, find the key called Setup.exe and change the value from 1 to 3, once you have done this close down regedit and then hit the OK button on the error window and the computer will reboot, it will go through the same process as before "Setup is preparing your computer for first use" but this time it will actually get you to the login screen then you can login and continue installing your updates.

iOS 7 Voice Memo 00.00 Fix

Have you upgraded to iOS 7 recently and tried to use the Voice Memos App ?

If you use the voice memo for long recordings (above 15 minutes) you may have noticed that when you finish your recording and it asks you to name it that when it has been named that th length of the recording shows at 00.00, and does not play back what you just recorded.

after much research and reading online including on the apple forums not one apple rep had mentioned when or how to fix this issue. although i do not have an iPhone anymore i still have an iPad and Apple TV, not that i use the memos but even so this still needed to be investigated.

So as a temporary fix (maybe permanent) if you have any previous recordings from your older iOS from before the upgrade, then make sure that these are backed up in iTunes.

Once they have been backed up then delete them all out of your voice memos app, and try a new recording i tried a long recording of about 35-40 minutes just to ensure that it was not a fluke that it worked, once it had finished recording and i had renamed it i then checked to see if it worked and it did.

I then proceeded to make another recording to see if the initial fix would work (the fact that old recordings were present) once again i made a 30 minute recording and then i renamed and saved and once again the recording saved and replayed fine, thus leading me to the conclusion that any older recordings made prior to iOS 7 are not compatible with the new revamped Voice Memos app for iOS 7, so until apple fix this issue i would recommend that you do the above to capture your meetings/lectures.

MDT Error - Windows could not parse or process the unattend answer file for pass

So its the school holidays with a week left i decided i needed to install some new applications on the school computers and the easiest way to do that was to create a new image and roll it out using MDT 2012.

I made my image in Hyper V and installed all the latest versions of java,flash and a few other new applications that we want to use in the new school term.

All good i created it all and captured it ready for deployment, imported the WIM file into MDT and recreated my Litetouch files and then reimported them into WDS ready for PXE booting.

I have a test machine in my office that i roll out all new images to before i go ahead and do the rest of the computers, i fired it up pressed the F12 key to tell the computer to PXE boot, it connected to the server and started into the Deployment system, i then chose the new image and told it to begin.

All went well until the computer rebooted after seeing the screen ( Setting up your computer fo rthe first time) then this error appeared.

Windows could not parse or process unattend answer file [C:\windows\Panther\unattend.xml] for pass [specialize]. A component or setting specified in the answer file does not exist.

I was thinking this is a little weird as nothing in the answer file MDT creates would have chenged as it was the same answer file i had used before i just updated the WIM file.

After a little digging and checking the log files i realsied that it was to do with the fact that the new image had Internet Explorer 10 installed, so i had to look through the answer file to find out where it was specified.

This took a little bit of research and trial and error but i eventually found the issue, it was basically this line of code in the asnwer file.

<IEWelcomeMsg>false</IEWelcomeMsg>

To fix this issue i simply commented out the whole line saved the xml file and then ran the deployment again, and viola it works as it should do.

So open up your answer file in either notepad or another plain text editing program and search for the line of code

<IEWelcomeMsg>false</IEWelcomeMsg>

And change it to this

<!-- <IEWelcomeMsg>false</IEWelcomeMsg> -->

If you use notepad ++ then it will automatically change the line to green to show that it has been commented out.

Removal of qv06.com Browser Hijacker

I recently had to remove this for a member of my staff who unfortunately got hit with this one and it was a pain in the bum to remove, every time you change the homepage and close and reopen the browser it would reappear again.

To remove this follow the steps below and you should be free of this hijacker for good.

First off i would run an anti malware program such as malwarebytes or combofix to eliminate any hidden files that it may have downloaded without your knowledge.

Then i would also go in to your programs and features within control panel and uninstall any instances of qv06 like toolbars and such.


Once you have done this then follow the directions below to remove it from your home page within your preferred browser, if you use more than one browser then repeat the steps below on all browsers.

Internet Explorer

Step 1.Click the right mouse button over Internet Explorer's shortcut (it should be on your Desktop). Here, choose 'Properties', locate 'Target field' and eliminate all text, which is related to Qvo6 and is entered after "C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\iexplore.exe".


Step 2. Open Internet Explorer, go ‘Tools‘ -> ”Manage Add-ons’ -> ‘Toolbars and Extensions’. Here, look for Qvo6 and click 'uninstall'. Now open IE -> Tools -> Internet Option -> General tab. Enter Google or other address to make it the default start page.

If you have any shortcuts pinned to the taskbar along the bottom then you will need to un-pin them by right clicking and then reopen internet explorer from the start menu or desktop and then right click on the icon and select Re pin this Program to the Task bar.

Google Chrome

Step 1. Open your browser, go to Google Chrome Settings, in the “On Startup” area, please click on Set pages.

You will now see Startup pages, in this page, click on the X button to delete Qvo6.com.

Once Done click on ok and you will return back to the settings page.

Step 2. Click on the Appearance area, and then click Change. 

Remove qvo6.com from the Open this page tab and then Select Use the New Tab page and click OK to save changes

Step 3. Move down to the Search section and click on the manage search engines button.

Select Google or any other search engine you like from the list and make it your default search engine then select Qvo6 from the list and remove it by clicking the "X" mark as shown in the image below.

Step 4. Close down Chrome and then find the shortcut either on your desktop or on the start menu and right click and select properties, In Shortcut tab, please remove "http://www.qvo6.com...." from the Target field and click OK to save changes. 

Once you have clicked on OK and the properties window has disappeared you may need to re pin your shortcut on the task bar like above for internet explorer, simply open chrome again and then right click on the chrome icon on the task bar and select Pin this Program to Task bar.

Firefox

Step 1. Click on the Qvo6 search icon as shown in the image below and select Manage Search Engines.

Step 2. Select Qvo6 from the list and click Remove to remove it. Click OK to save changes.

Step 3. Find the Firefox shortcut on your desktop on on the start menu and right-click on it.

In Shortcut tab and remove "http://www.qvo6.com...." from the Target field and click OK to save changes. 

Once you have clicked no OK you may need to un pin and re pin your shortcut to the task bar again simply find your shortcut and open it and then right click and select Pin this Program to Task bar.

If you are still experiecning issues with firefox you can also reset your web browser to original state. To use that, please follow steps below: 

1. At the top of the Firefox window, click the Firefox button; go over to the Help sub-menu and select Troubleshooting Information.

2 Click the Reset Firefox button in the upper-right corner of the Troubleshooting Information page.

Firefox will close and be reset. All data keep in Firefox will be removed, please save your important date before you move on. 

Once this has been completed i would also run another scan with your anti malware program to double make sure that it is completely gone

Adobe Error 213-19 Licensing Issues

Adobe Error 213-19 is a Licensing error which will not allow you to start your adobe application wether it be photoshop to acrobat, follow the steps below to fix the issue, but please have your legitimate serial number to hand as you will need to input this in again to re setup the activation.

Log in to your Windows computer as an Administrator.
Click the following link to download the patch file:
*Adobe 213.xx Licensing Fix Tool.zip
When prompted "Do you want to open or save this file?,” click Open.


Extract the file. The location varies depending on your operating system and the utility.
Double-click the extracted LicFix_21319.exe file. If the file executes successfully, Command Prompt closes automatically.
Launch Adobe App.
Solution 2: Install the patch for Acrobat using Command Prompt (Windows only).

1. Run the Command Prompt as an Administrator.
2. Navigate to the location of the extracted hot fix in Solution 1 (Step 4).
3. Type LicFix_21319.exe to execute it.
4. If the execution is successful, Command Prompt shows Exit Code:0
Run the Command Prompt as an Administrator.
Navigate to the location of the extracted hot fix in Solution 1 (Step 4).
Type LicFix_21319.exe to run it. If the file runs successfully, Command Prompt shows Exit Code:0.

Solution 3: Make sure that your user account has full permissions (Read and Write).

Windows 8
C:\ProgramData\Adobe\Slstore
Or, C:\ProgramData\Adobe

Windows 7, Vista
C:\ProgramData\Adobe\Slstore
Or, C:\ProgramData\Adobe

Windows XP
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe\SLStore
Or, C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe

Mac OS X 10.5.x or 10.6.x
[Home]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/SLStore
Or, [Home]/Library/Application Support/Adobe

Dlink DWA-510 Constant Disconnecting or Not connecting to wireless network

If you have the Dlink DWA-510 Wireless Network card and have been having issues with it constantly conencting and disconnecting, you have tried updating the drivers from Dlink and still no luck then i have the solution for you.

Dont just chuck the card in the bin or buy a new one as this fix is 100% guaranteed to work.
Go in to device manager and right click on your card and select properties.
Click on the last tab called Power Management.


And untick the box that says "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power"

Click on OK and then try to conenct to your wireless network again, this works with all versions of the driver from 2008 upwards and with WPA2 / AES encryption.

If you are still having issues then i would go ahead and see if there is a newer driver and make sure that the same settings are applied as above.

How To Get Free Apps on iDevices For Free Without Jailbreaking

Have you ever wanted the free apps that you can get once your iDevice is jailbroken but not wanted to lose your warranty or the hassle of un-jailbreaking when you have to take it to the shop for repairs.

Then this is for you, i have been trawling the internet as i accidently updated my device to a non jailbreakable version, but i still wanted my apps that i use all the time, but didnt want to pay for them, thats when i cam across a nice little application from a chinese developer, you dont need to speak chinese as the process is self explanitary.

Follow the steps beloew to get yourself on your way in as little as 5 minutes.

All you need is the following

An active Internet connection
A iDevice on any iOS
An this Application Here

When the app has downloaded double click on it to set it up then follow the steps.
Step 1

Click on the highlighted button.
Step 2

Select the Highlighted options
Step 3

And again select the highlighted option to continue
Step 4

Leave the defaults in place and click the highlighted button
Step 5

Leave the ticks in the box and click the highlighted button
Step 6

Click on the highlighted button to continue.
Step 7

Leave the tick in the box and click on the highlighted button this will finish the install of the application and open it up automatically.

Once the Application has opened up it may look a little daunting at first, and you may think that your going to need to learn Chinese to work it out but that's not the case its a pretty simple interface to work out to get the apps you want, follow the instructions below to get going.
Step 1.







When the application has opened it has 2 main areas, The Search Bar and the Top 100.

Step 2

Enter the name of the App into the search bar and click on the button to the right of the white X in the gray box, one the search has completed you will see the results below with images that you will recognize from the app store, if you hover over the name you will see that it changes to a red button as per the image above. Click on the button and it will start downloading, to check the progress click on the option highlighted at the top next to the number 4

Step 3

Here is where you plug in you iDevice, if iTunes opens please close it as we don't want to confuse the process, once its plugged in hit the highlighted button and it will start to push it to the iDevice

Step 4

You will see the progress of the transfer, once it gets to 100% you can unplug your iDevice and then check to see if it has been transferred correctly
Enjoy your free apps i will post troubleshooting tips below also

Troubleshooting

If you get any apps that do not want to open or close straight away when you try to open it then you may need to reconnect the iDevice back into the computer and then click on the button














You will see that when you have click the button you get a new window in the middle of the screen click on the button that is highlighted and let it run through the download

Once the Download has finished try to open upp the app again and it should work fine.

You may also get a warning about opening an app that is from another developer, just click on yes or continue, once i have a screen shot i will update the blog with the exact message.

Happy Free Apping.

Reset Mac OSX Admin Password

This one has bugged me for a while, i support a few mac users at my workplace and also we have a mac at home, but how do you go on if you have forgotten the admin password,

You cannot install any apps as you have to input this password every time (unless you have no admin password), you may be thinking that you will have to format the computer and reinstall OSX so that you can install things again, whilsts this is an option it is also time consuming you can also restore a backup from your time capsule, but this may not fix the issue also as if the admin password has been set since the install then it will still remian on the current install.

So i hear you thinking how can we fix this ???

Ok so what we will do today is reset the default admin accounts password, it is pretty simple but you will need to have a copy of the OSX Install Disk.

For 10.7.X

Start from the Recovery HD by holding down the Cmd and R keys while starting your Mac.  If that doesn't work, hold the Alt/Option key instead -- that will show a window with all possible startup sources, including the Recovery HD -- select it. you can also use the CD Drive and boot from the disk.

Choose Terminal and type resetpassword all together with no spaces and press the return key.

For 10.6.X and Earlier.

To start up from your OSX Install disc, insert it in the SuperDrive or plug in the Software Reinstall drive on a MacBook Air.

Wait for the Mac OS X Install DVD window and double-click the Install icon;  or power down, then start up while holding down the "C" key.  Either way, that takes a few minutes.

Select your language when prompted.

On the next screen, select Utilities in the Menubar, then Reset Password.

The next option is the next step for both of the above, the Password Reset Window

 

Select the drive/partition and account you wish to change.                                  

To change the password, type it in both places, and a hint, then click theSave button.

To reset the home folder permissions and ACLs, click the Reset button.

Reboot the Mac and there you go the password is now reset without having to reinstall the Operating system and saved yourself heaps of money from not having to take it to the shop.