Wii game prompts for update even though the System menu is newer than the one on the disc

I softmodded a friend's wii, and went from 3.3 to 4.1 using this guide. I tried inserting Mario Kart Wii (original), which wouldn't run unless I ran the updater on the disc. It worked with the old 3.3, why would it do this with 4.1?

Apparently the game checks a whole lot of IOS that it needs in order to run, and if even one of them is missing, it prompts for an update (which will probably damage the wii, since it "updates" to an older System menu). I found many lists of games, along with which IOS they need in order to run; but I checked and all of the needed IOS were installed.

I tried Mario Kart Wii on my wii, and it was fine (I had followed the same procedure to upgrade/softmod mine), thus I ran AnyTitle deleter and compared the IOS installed on both wiis. The culprit was IOS14, it was present on my wii but missing from my friend's (but none of the lists I found online mentioned that IOS14 is needed for Mario Kart). I installed it with the help of Dop-IOS MOD. It worked, the update prompt disappeared and Mario Kart Wii was launched.

I know this is quite a specific problem; unlikely to happen to someone in the same way. I'm hoping that this post will help other people figure out why they're getting an update prompt even though their System menu is newer than the one on the game's disc.

"An error occurred while attempting to format the drive." error with WBFS Manager

Just close the program, right click its shortcut/exe and "Run as administrator" :)

Sansa clip+ not appearing in My Computer

Just navigate to
  Settings -> System Settings -> USB mode

and set it to "Auto"



If you happen to know what MTP/MSC are, then I guess you shouldn't be reading this post!

Chromium OS login error: "Network not connected and offline login failed"

Try using:

Username: Facepunch
without password

or
Username: chronos
without password

or
Username: chronos
Password: chronos

Internet explorer/Messenger don't connect while other browsers do

1. Close messenger

2. Go to the task manager (ctrl+shift+esc) / processes, and "end process" msnmsgr.exe

3. Reset IE (don't do this if you use IE as your browser, I don't thus didn't mind resetting everything) IE->Tools->Internet Options->Advanced->Reset

4. Re-open messenger.

Might not work for you. It did for me! If it doesn't, unchecking the "Automatically detect settings" box from Tools->Internet Options->Connections->Lan settings, might do the trick.

Cant detect network computers in Win 7 (maybe vista)

I did a Win 7 fresh installation on two machines and both had the same problem of detecting other pc's on the lan. So i disabled the IPv6 protocol in the properties of the network adapter and presto all the network pc's were automatically detected.

Time Machine "The backup volume could not be found" and "Time Machine could not be configured The built-in network interface could not be found".

Time Machine sais:
The backup volume could not be found
and
Time Machine could not be configured
The built-in network interface could not be found

This worked for my hackintosh, I hope it works for you as well!

1. Open osx86tools
2. Click on "Add EFI Strings/Boot flag"
3. Click "Ethernet settings"
4. Click "Import string to boot editor"
5. Click "Apply changes to com.apple.boot.plist"

If you get the Applescript /bin/sh error, check the previous blog post on fixing that one

Solution to osx86tools': Applescript Error /bin/sh: /Applications/OSx86: No such file or directory

I was trying to "Apply changes to com.apple.boot.plist" but I kept getting the error:

Applescript Error
/bin/sh: /Applications/OSx86: No such file or directory

I looked in my Applications folder, and saw that osx86tools were in their own folder. Moving the application out of its folder and straight into Applications rather than its own subfolder fixed the problem. I had problems launching it afterwards but I "Force quit" it and it worked!

Debrand / Rebrand the c905 on your own for free

This procedure will reset everything in your phone, backup your stuff before proceeding (the memory card won't be affected). Please note that A2Uploader might be detected as a virus, DISABLE your antivirus before proceeding, you can't afford to have it stop A2Uploader while it's connected to your phone. I can't guarantee that it's a 100% false alert, what I know for sure is that the majority of software that perform low-level functions on phones might trigger false alarms on less-able antivirus suites. I used this version that I have uploaded, if that makes you feel better!

1. Download A2Uploader, USB drivers and customize_upgrade.xml here

2. Install ggsetup-2.2.0.3 (USB drivers)

3. Download the Sony Ericsson Update service software

4. Launch A2Uploader and click on Identify.

5. Remove-insert your phone's battery

6. Hold C (on your phone) and plug it in. Note that on some phones you have to press 2+5 instead of C

7. Take a note of the CDA number (format 12xx-xxxx) for future reference

8. Select the CDA of the firmware you want to use from this list. When debranding I used the Western Europe (Uk customized) 1214-7311

9. Modify the CDA code in the customize_upgrade.xml to match the CDA you chose from the list

10. Disconnect phone, remove/reinsert battery and click FileSystem tool in A2Uploader

11. Hold C and reconnect your phone

12. Once the filesystem is read, drag and drop customize_upgrade.xml to tpa/preset/custom/

13. Check that the file has been transfered and click "Shutdown FS manager"

14. Turn on your phone and let it install the new CDA

15. After it's finished launch the Sony Ericsson Update service and follow the instructions.

When I was in the process of debranding my phone, SEUS told me that I already have the latest software, even though I followed this procedure. I did two things, one of them was to perform a master reset AFTER having copied the xml to the phone, the second one I can't remember! After that, SEUS gave me the choice to re-flash my phone.

Based on this tutorial found at esato, which was copied from somewhere at topsony

boot0: MBR boot0: Done Non-system disk press any key to reboot

Right. I have windows on HDD1. I have OSX on HDD2. They are on different HDDs. I was messing around with HDD2's partitions through linux and then through OSX, everything turned out fine in the end. A couple of days later, I get a kernel panic (probably my first) and I reboot.

boot0: MBR
boot0: done
Non-system disk press any key to reboot

This is what solved my problem:
1. Booted Ubuntu 9.04 live cd
2. Started Partition Editor (GParted)
3. Set my OSX partition's BOOT flag to ON.
4. Reboot

Et voila!

Not this might not work, or might mess things up for you since the same error might mean many, many other things than just your partition not being active.

Using Harvard style references in MS Word 2007

1. Download the "BibWord styles" from the nice guys at BibWord

2. Extract to \Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\Bibliography\Style\

3. Restart Word. The new styles should be in the Style list

For Mac users, the Word Styles folder should be at:

/Applications/Microsoft Office 2008/Microsoft Word.app/Contents/Resources/Style/

iPhone jailbreak stuck at "Waiting for reboot"

I tried going to 3.0.1 from 3.0, using redsn0w and its developers' suggestions. I updated to 3.0.1 through itunes, and tried to JB with redsn0w 0.8 and the 3.0 ipsw. The jailbreak kept getting stuck at "waiting for reboot".

I just removed the USB cable from the iPhone and reinserted it back at once. It worked, the jailbreak was succesfull - I tried this with two iPhones and I had the same problem which got solved with the same solution.

Although this worked for me, there are no guarantees it will work for you; I bear no responsibility if you break your iPhone!

3Com router claims that "You don't have the priority to operate this DUT!"

I was playing around with voteforninja's 3Com wireless router, when I turned off its DHCP server. It was working fine at the moment; next day I had to assign manually an IP to the computers connecting. The computers could then connect, but I could not get into the router's administration pages. The login page loads fine, a wrong password gives a corresponding error message while a correct password gives the very, very meaningful "You don't have the priority to operate this DUT!".

Unfortunately I found no solution for this problem. I tried changing my IP, I tried through wireless and wired paths; nothing. I was basically locked out of the router since without DHCP I got this error and without getting in I couldn't turn DHCP on. Way to go 3Com!

I reset the router to its factory defaults by turning it off and connecting a cable from its internet port to one (any) of its LAN ports, then turning it on and waiting for the status lights to settle down.

Anyone comes up with a solution, let me know!

Steve Jobs cartoon saying HELLO! BEFORE! in Russian(?) after Jailbreak

It seems that the Steve Jobs cartoon staring at me after an attempted 3.0 jailbreak with redsn0w, meant that the phone was in recovery mode. Jailbreak failed.

Re-trying to jailbreak did not solve the problem. Instead I restored the phone with iTunes (3.0 fw) and then retried with redsn0w which reflashed the 3.0 fw with the good stuff succesfully.

I guess the correct way to re-jailbreak and re-unlock your iPhone with 3.0 is:

1. Upgrade to 3.0 through iTunes
2. Download 3.0 for iPhone 3G here, (iPhone 2G here, and 3GS here)
3. Download redsn0w here (download links at the end of the post, both mac and win)
4. Follow the instructions carefully and wait until the process ends
5. If you haven't done step 1, Steve Jobs might greet you in Russian; start over!
6. If you also need to unlock the iPhone, launch Cydia and add the source "http://repo666.ultrasn0w.com"
7. Download Ultrasn0w.
8. Restart!

If all went well you should have an activated, jailbroken and unlocked 3.0 iPhone

VoodooPS2 wont save changes after restart

replace the original file in /Library/LaunchAgents with this file.

credits to:
jag from here via Lebidou from here.

Recovering from garbled display after selecting "Mirror displays" on the NC10

I know I shouldn't have, but I have selected "mirror displays" on my NC10, after connecting it to a monitor. The display became garbled and I couldn't fix it since I couldn't find the checkbox to unselect "mirror displays". Removing the external monitor fixed the netbook's display, but chaos kept coming back after re-pluggin it.

I found out that the displays prefpane preferences, are stored in:
/Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist

So I restored that file from a timemachine backup I had. Not the best solution, since it presupposes that you do have a backup, but...

NES Cartridge 2.5" Hard drive enclosure

NES Cartridge 2.5" Hard drive enclosure - More DIY How To Projects

How to play Canon EOS videos in VLC

Go to Tools > Preferences or press Ctrl + P. In the preferences window locate the "Show settings" box to the lower left and turn on "all".

Then go to Input / Codecs > Other Codecs > FFmpeg. There there is a setting called "Skip the loop filter for H.264 decoding", set the option to all.

the EASIEST way to resize pictures in winxp for free

Use Image Resizer powertoy from microsoft, just right click on a picture and choose "Resize Picture"

Get it from here.

Why microsoft have not included this for vista is beyond me.

Windows live messenger doesn't start/run/work after Vista SP2 update

After updating Windows Vista to SP2, I noticed that Messenger Live wasn't running. Double clicking its .exe didn't do anything either. I logged off and on and tried again, nothing.

I then proceeded to redownload it, and run the installation again, which updated the messenger, and it now works.

Note to self: Fix for Orange SATA disks in OSX

Fix here

ps: Also updated to 10.5.7 without the only issue being no sound. Reinstalled AppleHDA and HDAenabler kexts, everything all right!

Uninstalling FFscroll from OSX

1. Go to System Preferences
2. Right click FFscroll
3. Remove
4. go to Terminal and type

sudo rm -fr /Library/StartupItems/FFScroll

5. enter your password

This only prevents it from starting up, and from System Preferences. I believe in order to completely remove it, you have to replace ApplePS2Controller.kext with the original one as well; just disabling it from startup did it for me though.

OSX 10.5.6 on my desktop PC

Installed 10.5.6 on my desktop PC. This post is mostly an index of the kexts that I used, so that people with similar specs know easily what to use. The release I used is iPC Universal 10.5.6 . Installation went through without any issues at all.

Before installing make sure that in your BIOS, you set your Sata controller mode to "AHCI" or you'll probably get the dreadful "Still waiting for root device".

Kexts used during installation:
Kernels [Intel Q9550]:
None chosen, so "9.6.0 Vanilla kernel" is installed by default

Graphics Card [Powercolor 4870 1gb]
None chosen during installation. Used this simple guide after installation, works like a charm at last!

Chipset drivers [EP45T-DS3R]

• Intel ICH10 SATA support chosen during installation
• JMicronATA for JMicron IDE chosen during installation

Audio drivers [on board ALC889a]
The ALC889a kext chosen during installation didn't do it for me, so I chose nothing during installation the second time around. After installing I used an AppleHDA.kext and HDAenabler from here which enabled sound but with constant, annoying popping.
I then downloaded another AppleHDA and HDAenabler which I packaged here (credit to AndrewNZ @ Insanelymac). I installed BOTH kexts BEFORE restarting, and I booted with -x -f -v (also important, did not work without -x and then another restart). Popping problems gone, audio works like a charm!

Ethernet drivers [on board Realtek 8111c]
Chose Realtek R1000 during installation, works like a charm

Misc:

• Legacy time machine fix installed, solved the "Time Machine could not be configured. The built-in network interface could not be found."
• PS /2 Keyboard fix also installed, since my ps2 keyboard refused to work after the first installation. Mouse problems (USB) the first boot time after fix, removed and reinserted and works flawlessly after that.
• Also installed Dual Boot time sync fix, speaks for itself

The only problem remaining is a restart problem. I'll post the solution as soon as I find one!

Message "Folder In Use. Close the folder and try again." in Vista

I created a folder called "sh" on c:\, dropped a couple of documents inside and shared it. A couple of hours later , I tried to delete the folder and its contents. Note that I didn't even touch the documents in that folder on my computer or any of the other computers.

Nevertheless I get a lovely message:
"Folder In Use
The action can't be completed because the folder is open in another program
Close the folder and try again. "

I managed to delete the contents of the folder manually, but the folder itself would refuse to go. I even tried to end explorer.exe and delete the folder from commandline, same error. Then I found this.

MS sais it's a bug and that it occurs after trying to delete a shared folder. Their solution is:

In this case, you have to restart the computer. After that, you can delete the folder.

Worked for me :D

Opening files with .cbr or .cbz extensions

.cbr or ComicBook Reader Files are actually .rar archives, and
.cbz files are actually .zip archives.

Just open them with winrar, or rename their extension!

Installing Ubuntu to USB flash drive/Installing Ubuntu from usb flash drive

I got my hands on Ubuntu 9.04 Netbook remix and wanted to try it out on my NC10 (note that everything said here probably applies to the non-netbook, ordinary images as well). After downloading the Netbook remix image, I used Win32 disk imager (can be found here), which extracted the image on my USB drive and made it bootable.

I succesfully booted into Ubuntu "live" from the NC10 and liked what I was seeing. There's a problem with the "live" mode, for anyone wishing to use it for more than previewing; it's not a proper installation, so you can't update or make any changes that require a restart (among other things).

Having the NC10 Restore partition, XP, OSX, OSX time machine and DDMAC partitions, doesn't leave much space for an Ubuntu installation. I tried booting from the USB and doing a proper installation TO the USB disk and not my hard disk, but it didn't work, there was no choice for a USB installation (duh). After some research I found that Ubuntu CAN be installed to a USB drive without any extra hassle, so I figured that I should try again, using a second drive to install to.

So I just booted with the "live" USB drive, and installed to another usb, by following the "Install" shortcut. If you're doing this, make sure that you have selected the USB drive so that you don't accidentally format another drive. Also make sure that only the bootsector of the USB is changed; there's an "Advanced" button somewhere at the Partitioning stage (although this should be taken care of automatically, double check).

Steam is temporarily unavailable, please try later

So I forget that I already have Steam on my hdd from a previous windows installation, and I download the new version and try to install it on top. The installation fails, and I keep getting the lovely "Steam is temporarily unavailable, please try later" message which wouldn't go away whatever I did.

After searching around I found that I had to delete two files:

• ClientRegistry.blob located in C:\Program Files\Valve\Steam

• platform.gcf Located in C:\Program Files\Valve\Steam\Steamapps\

That didn't do the trick though, so I deleted two Steam exe files as well. I can't recall their exact names but they probably were SteamNew.exe and SteamTmp.exe (the Steam installer must have renamed one of them and created a new one, is my guess).

Deleting these three files allowed me to run a quick installation on top of my previous install, which sorted everything out!

How to eject a dvd or cd from a MacBook or MacBook Pro

So. How do you eject a cd or dvd from a MacBook Pro or Macbook during boot? (this will actually work on a MacPro aswell) Keep the trackpad button or, the mouse button pressed until the disk is ejected.

Braid GlovePIE Script

This is a custom GlovePIE script made for Braid.
Download the .pie file from here (right-click, save target as) or just copy/paste the code from here to a new GlovePie file.

Get GlovePie from here.

Winamp MPC plugin (0.99g)

Note to self: plugin here
Deposit in /winamp/plugins/ .
Restart winamp.

Setting XBMC as the dashboard on Xbox 1

This is the method I used to set XBMC as my dashboard. It's also useful when upgrading XBMC. Please note that this is specific to softmods done with Krayzie_SC-PAL_Ndure_Installer_v1.1 as other softmods might use different folders.

After the softmod process finishes, the xbox boots from the file default.xbe in e:\dashboard\. There is nothing more to it that copying the contents of the XBMC folder (in t3ch's zip), to E:\dashboard\, replacing everything.

The catch is that you can't ftp the files while the current dashboard is running, since their files can't be replaced while in use. This is how I'm doing it:

1. FTP another copy of evox/unleashx or even XBMC to e:\Apps\

2. Boot into that copy

3. You should be able to FTP XBMC into e:\dashboard and replace the current dashboard.

A couple of side notes:

- Again this only works if your current dashboard is in e:\dashboard. If not, search around and find alternative solutions or redo the softmod process using the aforementioned Krayzie package (which I've found the best overall).

- If you copy XBMC in e:\Apps\ for step 1, you can avoid copying the whole XBMC folder (which can take quite a while), by only copying XBMC's default.xbe. This makes XBMC run in a mode which only allows FTP transfers (enough for our needs).

- If you copy the WHOLE XBMC folder for step 1, you can do step 3 through XBMC instead of FTPing (just copy/paste XBMC from e:\Apps to E:\Dashboard).

For any help/clarifications, just ask:)

Mental Note: xbox Softmod

This the softmod we used:
Krayzie_SC-PAL_Ndure_Installer_v1.1

Dashboard location: E:\Dashboard\

Webcam installation in ubuntu

Many webcams just work in ubuntu, in the case that this doesn't happen here are some resources to help out.

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Webcam

tool for installing webcam drivers -> https://help.ubuntu.com/community/EasyCam

Time in ubuntu changes windows time

One good day i decided to install ubuntu on a spare drive on my computer, everything went okay but when i booted back into windows the clock was back 2 hours. This is because ubuntu (and Mac OS X) assumes that the hardware clock is in GMT and according to the option that you have set for it, it calculates the correct time (for my case GMT +2). so when you boot back into windows, it assumes that the hardware clock is set in local time.

Solution: make ubuntu read the hardware clock as local time by modifying "/etc/default/rcS".

set the UTC=no and this will make ubuntu read the hardware clock the same way as windows does eliminating the time difference problem.

LG w2252TQ and Force3d 4870 problems - UPDATED

So one day my monitor turns itself off while I was working, and it wouldn't turn on again. I removed the monitor's power plug from the mains and tried again a bit later on, and it worked; the monitor turned on.
Dissapointment after a while, the monitor turned itself off again. And it wouldn't turn on again unless it was left a while with the plug off the wall. I updated the graphic card's drivers - nothing changed.

The monitor worked well when I connected it to another pc, so it lead me to believe that it was the graphic card's problem, a Force3D 4870 512mb. Checking the ATI control panel, EDID automatically "detected" that the maximum refresh rate of the monitor is 200hz. Mind you, an LCD screen has a refresh rate of 60hz only!

So there's a setting to override that and I set it to 60hz. And it works fine since then! It seems like the monitor turned itself off to protect itself from damage.

Oh, and I challenge you to find drivers for the LG w2252tq.

UPDATE: Problems persisted after a while, monitor sent back for repairs. Works fine now!

"The disk in the destination drive is full. Insert a new disk to continue" although there is lots of free space

Recently I tried copying a file larger than 4gb, on my 8gb USB stick. I kept getting a message saying that "The disk in the destination drive is full", (although there was lots of space) so I tried reformatting the stick. Still, I got the error.

I checked and found out that the USB stick was formatted in FAT32, which I remembered limits files to 4gb. NTFS doesn't have this limitation so I tried formatting it to NTFS, unsuccesfully; there was no choice for NTFS when I right clicked and selected "format", nor there was when I tried through the Disk management.

Doing a bit of research, I learned that a disk can be optimized "for performance" or "for quick removal". By default USB drives are optimized "for quick removal" which limits them to FAT filesystems. In order to have the choice for NTFS format:

- right click the USB drive
- go to the "Hardware" tab
- find the disk in the list and double click it
- go to the "Policies" tab
- select "Optimize for performance"

Now you should be able to format as NTFS and copy files larger than 4gb!

Installing OSX 10.5.6 on a Samsung NC10; what works and what doesn't

So I have managed to install Mysticus' 10.5.6 release on the NC10, following his guide.

Installation issues
The previous Windows 7 beta installation had (apparently) messed up my MBR and I kept getting the dreaded "Still waiting for root device". I can't recall how exactly I fixed it, but I used MBRWizard (/repair), which messed things up (could not boot). I used a USB stick with WinSetupFromUSB which allowed me to boot into my XP partition, and set it as active again. That "reset" my MBR somehow and allowed me to boot into the OSX installation.

Other than that, the installation went as normal. It's noteworthy that the second time I tried installing OSX (yes, I messed my installation up the first time), the Darwin bootloader would not identify my OSX partition but would rather label is as an NTFS partition and would not boot from it. The OSX installer identified it as a "Windows_NTFS" type partition instead of an HFS (if I remember correctly). Disabling the MacDrive installatio on my XP solved the annoying problem and I could reinstall succesfully.

The Atheros AR 5007 EG issues
I spent a couple of days trying to get the wifi card to work with Airport and I failed miserably. I managed to see networks and connect to them using kismac for 4-5 times, but wether it would work or not was totally random. I'd say it worked about once every 10-20 reboots. That's how I messed up my installation - I tried to install the 2008 004 Airport update which I probably shouldn't try to. I got a loop during boot, just before the login screen which forced me to reinstall.
I found a Dell DW 1390 on ebay for £5.99 plus £2.99 shipping which I swapped with the Atheros last night and works like a charm without any drivers or messing about. I hate to say this but its money well spent, £8.98 in total.

Dell DW 1390 installation
The Samsung NC10 doesn't have any warranty seals on either the ram slot or the whole bottom cover, only a bunch of screws (none of them under a label). Opening the bottom cover was quite easy - the only difficult part being unclipping the cover from the rest of the body after the screws were removed. I managed to do it by using a flat screwdriver - be EXTRA careful near the monitor hinges.
The Atheros card is clearly visible once the cover is removed, just one screw and two antenna cables and it can be pulled off its socket. Insert the new card, plug the antenna cables (white at white marker, black at black!), screw and that's it really!

What works - what doesn't
-Speakers work - you only have to choose "internal speakers" from the audio preferences.
-Mic/Headphones need drivers in order to work. have drivers now!
-Wifi works with the Dell 1390 (currently denying connection on 12,13 channels). -Bluetooth works and can be turned off with a fix from bike town.
-Trackpad works tap/drag as well although there is no multitouch at the moment because of the differences with apple trackpads (usb) and other makers (ps2). This is a fix that would be extremely welcome! multitouch drivers released!
-Wired ethernet doesn't work now works!
-Brightness and most other settings don't change with Fn key (volume works!); there is a workaround with Quicksilver for the brightness


I'm very pleased with the setup - currently dual booting XP and OSX. The only thing that I would really wish for is the multitouch trackpad (especially since it works in XP). Battery life is great, and startup/shutdown quite fast.

Big thanks to Mysticus for his efforts!
I should really split my posts into smaller chunks.
Anything I could help with, just ask!

Vista sais "You need permission to perform this action"

The folder is mine. I just want to delete or move it, who do I need to get permission from? I have discovered 2 things that work when I get this message:

1. Delete folder contents and then try to delete the folder again.

However this doesn't always work, as trying to delete the contents might give you the same error. So:

2.
a. Right click folder.
b. Properties
c. "Security" Tab
d. Advanced
e. "Owner" Tab
f. Edit
g. Select your username from the list
h. Check "Replace owner on subcontainers and objects"
i. click OK on all open windows.



That should have done the trick. At least it worked for me.

I was trying to remove an older installation of Vista (through Vista) and I managed to remove the old Program files and Users folders this way.

There is another easier way, which gives you a "Take ownership" option when you right click a folder, you can fire more on that here.

I was not able to remove the old Windows folder this way. I've found many ways to delete it - none of them worked. I instead popped in my Ubuntu live cd, and deleted the folder through Ubuntu in just 5 secs.

If even one person benefits from what I've written here, I'm happy for spending the time to write it:)

Bad command or file name

I use computers daily. Problems concerning software and hardware get on my nerves daily. I've often found solutions on blogs. I think its time to contribute my two cents.kthx.