Archive for August, 2008

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Backing Up DVDs – Try DVD Shrink

August 11th, 2008

From time to time we give people advice on how to make backups of their DVDs and for those of new to it, hopefully this quick little guide will put you on the right track.

Note: This info should only be used for backing up your own DVDs and not for circumventing copyright protection.

Backing up DVDs is a little more tricky to CDs. Especially if you are trying to backup certain movies and DVDs with encryption. This is where DVD Shrink comes in handy. This awesome piece of FREE software will allow you to easily backup any DVD.  DVD Shrink overcomes encryption with its own built-in algorithms, it also shrinks DVDs to a size that can fit onto a single DVD-R disk.

Using DVD Shrink is extremely simple. The software is lightweight and installs in less than a minute. Once installed, you simply select a DVD then click the “Backup” button and it will get shrunk to your hard drive or external drive. From here you can then burn the image using something like Nero.

Remember, this software is FREE and it is one of the best around for backing up your DVDs.

Download DVD Shrink here

 

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Posted in General, Windows Software

Windows Live Messenger 9.0

August 10th, 2008

The soon to be released Windows Live Messenger 9.0 will be upgraded with some new features including a new user interface. Rumours have it that the new Live Messenger will use graphic effects through WPF – “Windows Presentation Foundation”. Although to get the full benefits you will probably need a pretty good graphics card.

The overall design should be roughly the same, but you should expect to see the cool transparency effects now common in Windows Vista. The other new effects we have heard about are improved smilies and animations.

Lets just hope the new Live Messenger will have less errors and problems than the existing one. Current versions can be quite a resource hog, and many users have emailing us with the usual error codes.

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Posted in General, Windows Software

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Fixing and Updating Windows Drivers

August 9th, 2008

We have all experienced some kind of driver errors at one point in time, and just in case you are wondering what drivers are? Well they are just small programs used to run the various devices on your PC.

Drivers are required to run anything from keyboards, mouse, fax, monitors, scanners, printers, USB devices and the list goes on.  In most instances you can use the default drivers that are available, but quite often these can provide substandard results. We have all reformatted at one point or another and the standard system is pretty poor until you start re-installing all the drivers – hopefully you still have the CD/DVDs that came with the system.

Driver Errors

Over time it is quite possible that driver files can go missing, you might accidentally delete them, or they can be lost due to malware or for a variety of other reasons. Driver files can also become corrupted and may fail due to invalid registry entries and registry errors. If you are experiencing driver errors, then you can find more info here on: Fixing driver errors

Whatever the case may be, your best bet is to replace the driver files in question. If you don’t have the original CD, then it is generally a matter of scouring the internet, looking for those long lost drivers at various manufacturer sites and archives. This can be time consuming and we will show you a much better solution shortly.

Updating Drivers

Another common reason for drivers failing is due to them being out-of-date. It is important to keep your drivers updated if you want to keep your PC in top operating condition. Some devices come with software that will automatically update the drivers, for other you may have to do this manually, which again involves visiting manufacturer sites.

There is luckily a much better method now available for updating ALL of the drivers on your PC. There is some powerful software that will scan your system and check a huge database of drivers for any missing drivers or updates drivers that you might require. This can save many, many hours of work and we now throw this program onto every PC that comes through the office – especially the Vista boxes.

Below we have provided a free download of Driver Detective, which will automatically scan and update your drivers. Try it out and see what you think.

Free Driver Scan and Update

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Posted in General, Windows Errors, Windows Software

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Repair Exe Errors in Windows

August 8th, 2008

EXE (.exe) files are executable files common to Windows operating systems. EXE files may also rely on other resources such as image files, for use in graphical interfaces.

EXE Errors

Most of you will be very familiar with EXE files and since they are so common on Windows they are also prone to various errors.  Errors in EXE files may be hard to detect and repair and can be caused due to file corruption, missing files or Windows registry errors.

How to Fix EXE Errors

Because it can be hard to diagnose EXE errors, the first option is to try and replace the EXE file with a new copy. This will solve the problem if the original file was corrupt or missing. If the source of the EXE errors is unknown, or if there are Windows registry problems, then you will need to run a third party registry repair.
Click here to scan your PC for EXE errors.

EXE Files and Malware

Quite often EXE files are used to spread harmful malware. Always be careful when downloading or running an EXE file that did not come from a trusted source. For example, never open EXE files sent in an email – this is a common way to spread viruses. EXE files can also be hidden in .ZIP files.

For more information on fixing EXE errors:

Fix Exe Errors

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Posted in General, PC Errors, Windows Errors

Common Outlook Express Errors

August 7th, 2008

We get quite a few emails regarding Outlook Express problems and troubleshooting. So I will cover some of the common Outlook Express errors that you might encounter.

There are some common categories of errors in Outlook Express, so I will break the errors down into their appropriate category.

Problems Sending Mail in Outlook Express

Sending email in Outlook Express can return various error messages and these are very common. First start by checking that you are properly connected to the internet. It is amazing how many people try to send without first being connected. Also note that some errors may be on the other users end – such as: user not found, mailbox not found etc.

Error 550 – Relaying Not Allowed
Can’t Send Mail, No Sender Specified
Mal-formed message ID: Line 3 References too long

Errors Opening Outlook Express or Outlook Express Crashing

This is quite a common problem in Outlook Express and in most cases the crashing is due to a corrupt .DBX file. These files are the database files for Outlook Express and store all the mail messages. If these files become corrupt, Outlook Express can fail to open or crash.

To avoid these errors it is important to compact your mailboxes on a regular basis. If OE wont open at all, you may need to move the DBX files until you get OE open.

In some cases, you may also have registry errors associated with Outlook Express and your mail files. You will need to run a registry repair tool to fix this common problem.

Error codes:

0x800c012e
0x800c0131
C0000006h

DBX File Errors

As mentioned above, the DBX files associated with Outlook Express can get corrupted over time. It is recommended to do regular compacting of inboxes to help avoid this problem. In certain situations you may need a special DBX repair tool. We will discuss more on that later.

Common Outlook Express Error Codes:

Below are some of the most common errors you will experience in Outlook Express.

0x800CCC00 
0x800CCC01 
0x800CCC02 
0x800CCC03 
0x800CCC04 
0x800CCC05 
0x800CCC06 
0x800CCC07 
0x800CCC08 
0x800CCC09 
0x800CCC0A 
0x800CCC0B 
0x800CCC0C 
0x800CCC0D 
0x800CCC0E 
0x800CCC0F 
0x800CCC10 
0x800CCC11 
0x800CCC12 
0x800CCC13 
0x800CCC14 
0x800CCC15 
0x800CCC16 
0x800CCC17 
0x800CCC18 
0x800CCC19 
0x800CCC1A 

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Fix Outlook Express – Free Download

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Posted in Email Errors, General, PC Errors, Windows Errors, Windows Software

Dr Watson Errors

August 7th, 2008

Dr. Watson is an application debugger included with Microsoft Windows that is used to help detect, decode and log errors that are encountered while windows or windows programs are running.

Whenever an error in your system occurs Dr Watson creates a text file and records the information needed by technical support personnel to diagnose the problem. The file recorded by Dr Watson is recorded as Drwtsn32.log or user.dmp.

Dr. Watson will shut down the offending program but the other programs and their data are untouched.

The Dr Watson errors generated fall in to three main categories :

1) Your processor has attempted to access an illegal instruction
2) Your processor has attempted to access invalid data or instructions.
3) Your processor has attempted to access data or code that the program is not privileged to access.

Find out more on Dr Watson errors here

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Posted in General, PC Errors

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Fixing DLL Errors

August 6th, 2008

Most Windows users will have experienced at one time or another, some form of DLL error. As with most errors, you probably have no idea what it means, or what a DLL even is.

DLL stands for Dynamic Link Library and these are common files used on Windows systems. They are not stand alone files, but are intended to be run from other programs. They are generally loaded on demand and linked in at run time.

So what causes DLL errors?

There can be a variety of reasons for experiencing DLL errors. Most commonly, the DLL file itself may be corrupt, you may have some invalid registry entries, or even adware/spyware on your PC.

In most cases, the problem can be fixed by replacing the DLL file with a new copy. But if there are other underlying problems, then you probably need to clean your computer’s registry. Certain adware/malware/spyware/viruses can replace DLL files with their own malicious copy, so be sure to run a regular anti-spyware scan on your PC.

Find out more about fixing DLL errors here

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Posted in General, PC Errors, Windows Errors

Installing New Fonts

August 1st, 2008

I just had a quick email from someone trying to add a new font to their PC but is having some serious trouble. Adding a new font is actually a really easy process, so just follow this;

  • Find the font you want – there are heaps of really cool free font sites out there
  • Download the font – usually comes in a .zip format
  • Extract the font file from the zip – one of the most common font file extension is .ttf
  • Open up control panel
  • Open appearance and personalization
  • Click install or remove a font
  • In the folders section you have to navigate to find the folder that your font is in
  • The font should be added to the List of Fonts section
  • Select that font and click install
  • Done

If you like doing things through Run you can do it this way;

  • Click start
  • Type Run
  • In the run box type this – %windir%/fonts
  • Here you are at the font section, just follow the tips from above

If you play around with your fonts and find some new ones you can really have some fun with them, good luck!

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Posted in Useful Stuff

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