Hijinks Inc.

Author: Aaron Nelsen

  • Windows XP Won’t Recognize CD Drive

    Recently someone approached me with a question about their CD drive, basically Windows XP wasn’t recognizing it, it would only show up in the device manager with the following error message…

    The device is not working properly because Windows cannot load the drivers required for this device (Code 31).

    Uninstalling and reinstalling the drive yields the same result. I finally managed to track it down to a leftover registry value from when they’d removed some disc burning software.

    You might give the following steps a try if you’re having similar difficulties.

    Step 1:
    Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.

    Step 2:
    In the Registry Editor, expand My Computer, and then expand HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
    Expand SYSTEM, then expand CurrentControlSet.
    Expand Control, then expand Class.
    Under Class, click {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}.
    In the right hand pane, select UpperFilters.
    With the UpperFilters entry selected, press the delete button on your keyboard
    It will ask you “Are you sure you want to delete this value?”, click Yes to confirm the deletion of the registry entry.

    Step 3:
    In the right hand pane, select LowerFilters.
    With the LowerFilters entry selected, press the delete button on your keyboard
    It will ask you “Are you sure you want to delete this value?”, click Yes to confirm the deletion of the registry entry.

    Exit the Registry Editor and reboot.

    Following these steps may result in your current burning software no longer working, to fix this just reinstall it. If you use the built in Windows burning utility, just uninstall and reinstall the CD drive from the device manager.

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  • Passive Income – March 2008

    Here’s the break down for my passive income for March.

    • Interest: $84.54
    • Dividends: $22.56
    • Credit Card Rewards: $32.72
    • AdSense: $7.64
    • Text Ads: $25.00
    • Misc website income: $15
    • Surveys: $6.00

    That’s a total of $185.82, meaning that March was my highest grossing month since the start of this project.

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  • Spybot Pwns Your Windows Firewall

    Yes, I did just use the word “pwns” in the title of my post… blame it on the fact I’m typing this on my iPhone since Apple has my computer for the next week.

    So apparently Spybot has a nasty habit of taking away your ability to disable your Windows Firewall, go figure, so now when you go to disable it, the disable option is grayed out and cannot be selected.

    Here’s how to disable it manually:

    Click Start

    Hit Run

    Type services.msc

    Once it opens, find the entry marked “Windows Firewall/Internet Connection Sharing [ICS]” and right-click on it and hit Stop.

    Now right-click on it again, and select Properties.

    On the General tab change the Startup Type to Disabled. Click Ok.

    And there you have it, no more Windows Firewall. Of course I would recommend installing another firewall solution after disabling the Windows Firewall, but that’s your call.

  • Exodus to the Apple Store

    In a few short hours my fellow blogger Fred and myself will be heading to Omaha to visit the Apple Store there for some “sweet” repair action.

    The LCD on my laptop has a few janky spots and the power button needs to be reset back into position, and his iPod Nano has a “special” click-wheel which randomly freezes up.

    Anyhow, we’ll see how Apple’s “legendary” customer service actually ranks.

  • Troubleshooting iPhone Reception Problems

    When I first started using my iPhone I was having some major problems with getting consistent cell reception, I ended up having to send it back to Apple for repairs, but there are a few things you can try before that.

    Reset Network Settings: Go to Settings -> General -> Reset -> Reset Network Settings (Confirm prompts to reset).
    Turn Airplane Mode on and then off: Settings -> Turn Airplane Mode on -> Turn Airplane Mode off.
    Restoring the iPhone: Open iTunes with your iPhone connected and hit Restore (mainly if you’re having problems with a jailbroken iPhone).
    Eject your SIM card: Eject the SIM card using a paperclip and then reinsert the card (the idea is that the card isn’t making proper contact).
    Add some tape:     Eject your SIM card and remove it from the tray, next add a small piece of scotch tape to the tray (under where you place the SIM card), reinsert the SIM card in the tray and load it into the phone. Again, the idea is this forces it to make a better connection.
    Swap your SIM card:     You might just have a bad SIM card, swing by AT&T and have them swap it out for a new one.

    And if all that fails, it’s time for a call to Apple iPhone Support @ 1-800-MY-IPHONE (1-800-694-7466).