Computer Trick; Uninstall MagicDisc

Have you known MagicDisc? MagicDisc is a freeware program which allow you to mount your ISO files, so you can view the final result before you decide to burn your ISO. Generally this program is better if we combine it with the MagicIso (shareware program). MagicIso is a burning tool which has small in size. We can burn many ISO files like *.nrg, *.uif, *.iso, and the most today’s ISO format.

Although MagicDisc has a powerful function, but it has a bug instead. We had met some difficulties when we tried to uninstall it. In the initial uninstall progress, it seen like a normal process, but the progress bar suddenly stopped for unclear reason. I have tried to uninstall MagicDisc in many times, and the result is same, the uninstall progress bar stopped.

I looked for the answer to Google and found some answers. The most effective trick is as described bellow:

1. Boot into Safe Mode Windows by pressing F8 just when the black screen appears before Windows loaded.
2. Type in the Run box "%systemroot%\system32\drivers".
3. Delete mcdbus.sys (this is the MagicDisc SCSI Host Controller) which is what’s causing all these problems.
4. Reboot and start Windows normally then uninstall it.

That’s all our Windows Trick today, hope will be usefull for you. I got this trick from sevenforums.com. Say thanks to beatsme.

Windows Tips; How to Disable Autorun

Windows has a feature called Autorun. Autorun is a program like autoplay. Microsoft Windows has launched it since Windows 95 generation. Generally, autorun was found in a program to make easier in the installation step.

We often meet the autorun program on the hardware driver disk. Using autorun, we don’t need to look for the setup application to install the correct driver.

Autorun looked so friendly now, but sometimes autorun can make us have a bit of peevish. That happens when several viruses spread himself using autorun. So, I think is a good idea if we turn off the autorun feature. We still can run the hardware driver installation from the setup.exe file.

So, how to disable autorun programs, do these steps:

1. Press Win Key + R and type "gpedit.msc"
2. Under Computer Configuration double click Administrative Templates
3. Go to the System, and double click Turn off Autoplay
4. In the Turn Off Autoplay Properties window, select Enabled. From the dropdown next to Turn Off Autoplay on, select All drives and then click OK. Exit Group Policy by selecting File, then choosing Exit from the menu.

That’s all our windows tips today. If you have some questions, just give us your feedback and we will try to help you...

Various Ways to Make The Program Started Up Automatically

Hello, meet you again with some Windows Tips. Now, I'll share you some computer tips about making auto run a program. We decide it into two parts.
From the registry, we have four Windows tricks:

1. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. Values defined under this key cause tasks to run for every users that logs on to the systems.
2. HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RuValues defined under this key cause tasks to run for every user that logs on to the system.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce. Values defined under this key cause a task to run the next time any user logs on to the system (and not after that).
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnce. Values defined under this key cause a task to run the next time the current user logs on to the system.

From the Startup Folders

1. Programs placed in the following folder are run after any user logs on to the system: %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
2. Programs placed in this folder are run for a specific user: %USERPROFILE%\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

That's all our Windows tricks today, hope you get some useful thing from what I posted today.
Adopted from Windows Server Cookbook @Team LiB. Say thank to them.

Security Tips; The Reasons Why Should Use Normal User

Log on using WIndows Administrator privilege is more efficient when you need to install or uninstall software. You don’t have to enter some password when you did. Administrator has no any restriction about computer system. That’s why some of the effects of the virus freely working when infect users who login using Administrator privilege.

A best practice system administrators should follow is to log on using a normal user account that has no administrator level privileges other than on that system. The Windows administrator should be log on using administrator privilege when the systems have to do using administrator privilege only. This has three distinct advantages:

1. It reduces the impact a virus can have on your network if your machine becomes infected.
2. It reduces the chance of accidentally deleting important files and folders or making administrative changes unknowingly.
3. It ensures the network remains secure even if someone gains physical access to your workstation while you are logged in.

Since Windows 2000 and the earlier OS have the Run As feature, you didn’t need to logon using Administrator privilege when you have some administrator job. Just press the Shift button and right click the program you want to run and select Run as and then insert the username and password from the administrator user.

Windows Tips; Repair on IRPStackSize

Hello, this time I will share tips on the Windows system error. It has been taken from my real experience.

Exactly one day ago, when I check the event viewer from my Windows machine I found some errors. It repeated periodically. That's why I want to write this for your Windows tips. The source is Srv, which related to event 2011. When we clicked the report twice (event viewer logs), so we will see the Event Properties like the picture below.

The Description from the Properties above tells us that: The server’s configuration parameter "irpsracksize" is too small for the server to use a local device. Please increase the value of this parameter. I really do not know the direct effects of these Windows errors, but when I shut down the computer, blue screen appears and the computer cannot be turned off.

If you are experiencing the same thing, please do the following Windows tips:

1. Go to regedit.
2. Export current registry configuration first, click File > Export and give the name.
3. Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services \LanmanServer\Parameters.
4. In the right pane, double click IRPStackSize or if no one there please create a new Dword value with name IRPStackSize (case sensitive).
5. In the Base section, select Hexadecimal.
6. Give a value among 15-50, match your needs. I gave the value 25 on my Windows computer.
7. Log off and Log in back.

You can check the result when you shutting down your machine. It works in my "Windows machine", hope it work too for you.
Ok, that’s all my computer tips today. Give your feedback for the better Windows tips.

Tips to Monitor Registry Activity; Windows Tips

Today, I'll share you a bit of Windows tips. We'are talking about Windows registry now.The Registry is a database used to store settings and options for the Microsoft Windows Operating System.

It contains settings for low-level operating system components as well as the applications running on the Windows platform: the kernel, device drivers, services, SAM, user interface and third party applications all make use of the Registry.

Monitor the registry is an act that is extremely useful, especially for those of you lovers of the Windows operating system. Now I will explain the 2 Windows tips to monitor the registry, use registry auditing and registry monitor (regmon.exe).
Using registry auditing:

1. Open the registry editor (regedit.exe).
2. In the left pane, browse to the key you want to audit.
3. Right-click the selected key, and select permissions.
4. Click the Advanced button > Auditing > Add.
5. Enter the object name, and select the type of auditing in the Auditing Entry.
6. Click OK.
7. Open Local Security snap-in (type "secpol.msc" in the Run dialog box)
8. In the left pane go to Local Policies > Audit Policy.
9. In the right pane, double-click on Audit object access.
10. Check the box beside Success to audit successful actions or Failure to audit failure actions.
11. OK.

Using the regmon.exe:
It’s quite simple, just download it from softpedia buddy.
OK, that's all. Hopefully it will usefull for you. See you in the next Windows tips .

Viewing Shared Folders; Network Tips

Hello, meet again with thecyebrgal. Now, I will share tips on how to view shared folders.

This may sound familiar to you, but this network tips is particularly important for me. This stems from my experience, when I use my office computer that was once used by my friend. He (my friend) shares several folders and I want to close some shared folders by my friend for some security reasons.

Surely it will take so long time when we find a shared folder by check is there a hand icon under the folder which is the sign of shared folders. To facilitate you, please go to command prompt and type "net share".

Click the picuter for detail view

It makes clear view from the shared folders on your computer. But, if you want a more complete you can set it via computer management. Simply write compmgmt.msc on the Run dialog box > System Tools > Shared Folders > Shares. In the right pane, manage your shared folder as you want.

Click the picuter for detail view

You can use right-click on the selected folder for more commands.
Good luck, see you in the next tips.

How To Edit boot.ini File; Windows Tips

boot.ini is very important file. The first thing had done by Windows system is running NTFS like: ntldr, ntdetec.com, nt.sys and also the boot.ini file when the computer turned on (booting).

This file type (boot.ini) is almost similar to the autoexec.bat file on the DOS system. So, the Windows boot process is very dependent on this file.

Changes you had done in this file will change your computer booting configuration. Before you make a change I suggest you backup these files first.
To change the file, follow these steps:

1. Go to command prompt and move to the root of drive C: (cd\) and press enter.
2. Remove all attributes from boot.ini file. E.g.; attrib –s –h –r “boot.ini” (the attrib parameter depends on your boot.ini attributes).
   
   
3. Open notepad and open the boot.ini file (it located on C:\). Make sure you have changed the File Type into All Files in the Open dialog box.
4. Change as desired and store the results of these changes.

The change can give you some benefits, like when you change the portion /noexecute and give the value with AlwaysOff (the default is OptIn). The change like the example above used for turn off DEP (Data Execution Prevention) which make the computer failure to booting because improper configuration of any hardware or software.

Ok, that’s all the Windows tips today. I hope it will useful for you. Give your feed back and see you in the next tips.

WinLAME; Trick To Resize Your Audio Files

This may sound like an old trick for you, but I don't think much about it because I just want to share.

This time I will share software just for you. This software allows you to compress audio files. It supports many audio file formats. The large audio files will take some space from your music player, like on a computer hard disk or memory stick on your phone and so forth.

This software can be downloaded easily and run in all Windows systems. Because the size and ability, maybe it will be the tool that you store in your flash disk and take it wherever you go.

click the picture to get detailed view

This software named winLAME, and you can download it for free. Intrigued with this software, you can download it here
Give your feedback and see you on the next Windows Tips.

Windows Tips; Check Your File Activity

This computer tips talking about your files and hard disk activities. Have you ever felt that your hard disk worked so hard or LED indicator flashing when you do not perform any activity on your computer?

Maybe you feel do not open or run any application, but something is still accessing your hard disk and you keep looking for answers. So, I would like to share some pretty tips for you.

Yes, the answer is something is accessing your hard disk and it's a very logical answer. If you do not know what is accessing your hard disk, you can use software from Sysinternal called Filemon.exe. This program runs only on Windows platform.

Filemon will monitor and display files system activity on a Windows system in real-time. Its advanced capabilities make it a powerful tool for exploring the way Windows works, seeing how applications use the files and DLLs, or tracking down problems in system or application file configurations. It was very simple in use and installation process.

All you need is that you have permissions as an "Windows administrator" of the computer and you just copy files to the hard disk.
So simple isn’t it? Yup, so simple and so useful for a little computer repair jobs.

Just click this text to download that.
See you on the next tips.

What Is Alcmtr.exe; Windows Issue

This morning when I open the registry editor, accidentally I found the odd values which located under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. The odd value is alcmtr.exe. I find out information about the file using Google and found some answers here.

click the picture to see detailed view

After I read and studied about alcmtr.exe, it turns out this file is part of RealTek AC97 Audio Driver. The file stored in the folder C:\Windows

click the picture to see detailed view

So we can take some conclusions about this file, that:

1. alcmtr.exe is not a spyware.
2. alcmtr.exe is not an adware or popup.
3. alcmtr.exe is not a Trojan or virus.
4. You don’t have to delete it and you don’t have to worry about it.
5. Be careful about something that you didn’t know, maybe it was a dangerous file or may be also an important file.
6. Update your antivirus regularly.

See you in the next post. Give your feed back for the better post, thank…

Run Commands: Windows Tips

On the past occasion I have briefly explained some tricks on how to use Microsoft Natural Keyboard Shortcut.

Combination between the Windows logo and certain buttons can display something very useful for you.

Now I'll write some commands that will be useful when you write it in the Run Windows. Please try one by one to determine the purpose of each command.

• CONTROL: opens the control panel window
• CONTROL ADMINTOOLS: opens the administrative tools
• CONTROL KEYBOARD: opens keyboard properties
• CONTROL COLOUR: opens display properties.Appearance tab
• CONTROL FOLDERS: opens folder options
• CONTROL FONTS: opens font policy management
• CONTROL INTERNATIONAL or INTL.CPL: opens Regional and Language option
• CONTROL MOUSE or MAIN.CPL: opens mouse properties
• CONTROL USERPASSWORDS: opens User Accounts editor
• CONTROL USERPASSWORDS2 or NETPLWIZ: User account access restrictions
• CONTROL PRINTERS: opens faxes and printers available
• APPWIZ.CPL: opens Add or Remove programs utility tool
• OPTIONALFEATURES: opens Add or Remove Windows component utility
• DESK.CPL: opens display properties. Themes tab
• HDWWIZ.CPL: opens add hardware wizard
• IRPROPS.CPL: infrared utility tool
• JOY.CPL: opens game controllers settings
• MMSYS.CPL: opens Sound and Audio device Properties. Volume tab
• SYSDM.CPL: opens System properties
• TELEPHON.CPL: Opens phone and Modem options
• TIMEDATE.CPL: Date and Time properties
• WSCUI.CPL: opens Windows Security Center
• ACCESS.CPL: opens Accessibility Options
• WUAUCPL.CPL: opens Automatic Updates
• POWERCFG.CPL: opens Power Options Properties
• AZMAN.MSC: opens authorisation management utility tool
• CERTMGR.MSC: opens certificate management tool
• COMPMGMT.MSC: opens the Computer management tool
• COMEXP.MSC or DCOMCNFG: opens the Computer Services management tool
• DEVMGMT.MSC: opens Device Manager
• EVENTVWR or EVENTVWR.MSC: opens Event Viewer
• FSMGMT.MSC: opens Shared Folders
• NAPCLCFG.MSC: NAP Client configuration utility tool
• SERVICES.MSC: opens Service manager
• TASKSCHD.MSC or CONTROL SCHEDTASKS: opens Schedule Tasks manager
• GPEDIT.MSC: opens Group Policy utility tool
• LUSRMGR.MSC: opens Local Users and Groups
• SECPOL.MSC: opens local security settings
• CIADV.MSC: opens indexing service
• NTMSMGR.MSC: removable storage manager
• NTMSOPRQ.MSC: removable storage operator requests
• WMIMGMT.MSC: opens (WMI) Window Management Instrumentation
• PERFMON or PERFMON.MSC: opens the Performance monitor
• MMC: opens empty Console
• MDSCHED: opens memory diagnostics tools
• DXDIAG: opens DirectX diagnostics tools
• ODBCAD32: opens ODBC Data source Administrator
• REGEDIT or REGEDT32: opens Registry Editor
• DRWTSN32: opens Dr. Watson
• VERIFIER: opens Driver Verifier Manager
• CLICONFG: opens SQL Server Client Network Utility
• UTILMAN: opens Utility Manager
• COLORCPL: opens color management
• CREDWIZ: back up and recovery tool for user passwords
• MOBSYNC: opens Synchronization center
• MSCONFIG: opens System Configuration Utility
• SYSEDIT: opens System Configuration Editor (careful while using this command)
• SYSKEY: Windows Account Database Security management (careful while using this command)

That’s all the tips today. Hope it will be useful for you. See you in the next tips, if you have any other tips please divided for shared knowledge with us.