Hijinks Inc.

Category: Tips

  • 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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  • 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.

  • 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).

  • iTunes Error -9808

    A friend of mine suddenly couldn’t access the iTunes Store after upgrading to the latest version, every time he tried to purchase something he kept getting the following error:

    “We could not complete your iTunes store request,an unknown error occurred (-9808)”

    I couldn’t find anything online about it, so here’s how we fixed it under Windows XP. Go to Start -> Control Panel -> Internet Options -> Advanced Tab, make sure that both the SSL 3.0 and TLS 1.0 options are checked. Then under Security make sure that the “Check for server certificate revocation (requires restart)” is unchecked. Then click ok, restart and fire up iTunes.

  • Prolonging the Life of Your Laptop

    Spending a large amount of time in various coffee shops has given me the opportunity to observe quite a few people breaking basic rules of laptop care, probably due to the fact that no one ever told them that what they were doing was stupid.

    Here are five tips for prolonging the lifespan of your laptop computer. Please note, this list is merely in the order I thought of them and not necessarily ranked by severity.

    [ 1 ] Don’t put your computer in standby, or worse leave it on, and then put it in your carrying case/messenger bag! Even if it’s only a five minute drive to your local coffee shop.

    [ 2 ] Don’t close the lid while the laptop is still on. Planning on leaving your laptop on all night to finish that illegal BitTorrent download? Take the time to turn the screen off in your power prefs (or using the functions keys on your laptop to dim the screen) and leave the lid open. Closing the lid causes heat that would normally escape through the keyboard to build up and could damage your screen in the long run.

    [ 3 ] Don’t use your laptop on a bed, blanket, pillow, or any surface that your laptop is going to sink into. This blocks the airflow to cooling vents on most laptops, leading to heat issues.

    [ 4 ] Don’t eat or drink around your laptop. Pretty obvious, right? Yeah, but I still break it almost every day (in fact, I’m breaking it right now!). And because I ignored this rule my laptop was killed a few months ago by a poorly placed glass of iced coffee *sniff*

    [ 5 ] Don’t run with scissors, right? Same applies to laptops 😛