AppCrash!net

Windows 7 Themes

2009-01-24T13:00:00.004-05:00

It's been a while since my last post, but I thought this was useful enough to share. I'm running Windows 7 64bit on a spare drive that I loaded into my macbook. I chose 64 bit because I was tired of paying for 4GB of memory that was not being fully used in Vista 32bit. I love Windows 7. It's fairly stable once I found the right drivers for my macbook and decided to install onto a new drive (actually an older WD USB drive that I caniballized and installed, but that's another story).

A new feature in Windows 7 is the ability to have a slideshow as your desktop background. You control how often the pictures change. I thought that it would be nice to be able to create my own theme. It wasn't very obvious how to do this. It is easy to do once you know how. Here are the steps with my pictures.

First, open windows explorer and browse to your Public Pictures directory. I created a new folder named "Wallpaper".

Open the new directory and copy whatever wallpaper files you'd like. I went to DeviantArt and found a few new Windows 7 wallpapers that people have created and saved them to the new folder.

Next, right click on the desktop and select "Personalize". This will display the new theme page.

On this page, you'll see an area for the desktop, windows color, sounds, and screen saver. Click on the words 'Desktop Background'. You'll be able to browse to a directory to pick pictures to be used as your background. Pick the directory that you just created.

Once the directory is selected, you'll be able to select the pictures and set some options.

Set the time to change your pictures. This is defaulted to 30 minutes but can range from 10 seconds to 1 day. You can also change the window border color, standard sounds, and screen saver. I won't go into them since they are very straight forward. You will now see a screen that allows you to save the theme.

Save the theme and you are done.

I guess I brought up a few more blog entries that I need to write about. One is how to repurpose a Western Digital drive as a new disk for your laptop. The other would be how I got Windows 7 64 bit onto the macbook. (Hint, search apple.com for bootcamp 2.1). You'll need the original OS X disk that you got with your machine.

Been a while....

2008-05-26T20:55:00.001-05:00

It's been a while since I last posted to this blog.... a lot has happened. I started a new job with neudesic llc. A great consulting company based in Irvine, CA. Founded by exMSFT folks and lots of exMCS people like me there. I'll try to be better being more timely.. I noticed that my hits have dropped a bit, but not much.

Chumby!!!

2008-03-09T11:24:00.001-05:00

Hopefully this won't crash Vista... Since I don't have to attach it to the machine, I don't think it will.

HP MediaSmart Home Server - You'll want one.

2007-11-29T11:59:00.000-05:00

I just received a HP MediaSmart home server EX470. I was on the beta for Microsoft Home Server for about a year and have been anticipating the hardware from HP to be released. The whole story in on my new blog dedicated to this very cool system.

Check it out if you're interested in a device that will automatically backup all of the systems on your home network while you sleep, host and serve up all (non-DRM) songs in all the iTunes directories, centralize all of your digital photos, or access all of your data, including iTunes, remotely from any internet connection.

Read all about it here.

What to do when Windows Vista Crashes

2007-07-24T15:38:00.000-05:00

Information Week has a great article on Vista Backup and Recovery strategies. Seven pages of great information about how to repair a boot record, do a total backup of your system, and even crash Vista by pressing the Windows key and E, the shortcut to bring up Explorer, for about 10 seconds. This floods with Windows queue with Open Explorer in a New Window command and quickly swamps the system. I'm sure if you waited for 30 minutes or so, it would come back and you could close all the windows. Another tip to recover your system, KEEP THE ORIGINAL INSTALL DISK. I don't know why anyone would throw it out, but I guess some people do.

Antitrust Complaint by Google Prompts Changes to Vista

2007-06-20T14:47:00.001-05:00

WASHINGTON, June 19 — Microsoft has agreed to make changes to its Windows Vista operating system in response to a complaint by Google that a feature of Vista is anticompetitive, lawyers involved in the case said today.

OH NO.... maybe Vista is a good thing. If Google cares, then maybe the government will start looking harder at Microsoft again. Shades of 1998 and that Janet person.

read more | digg story

ReadyBoost doesn't really "Boost" Vista all that much.

2007-05-17T15:59:00.001-05:00

Windows Vista's Windows ReadyBoost sounds too good to be true, and based on our extensive lab tests, it is. The technology promises to let you speed up Windows by plugging an inexpensive USB flash drive into your PC. But we found that while ReadyBoost may speed up Vista a tiny bit, it can also slow it down in some instances.

According to the article, about a 4% to 6% increase depending on the speed of the device you have. The problem is that it's difficult to determine the speed of usb flash drives until.you actually buy one and test it. As always, the more RAM the better but you MAY see a boost in performance in theory with an easy to install usb or flash drive.

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ExtremeTech: Windows Easy Transfer is a piece of something warm and steamy"

2007-04-09T08:51:00.001-05:00

Here I sit, brokenhearted...but don't worry, there's nothing scatological about this situation. Unless you'd like to join me in calling Windows Easy Transfer (WET) a piece of something warm and steamy.

read more | digg story

I've had a different experience with Windows Easy Transfer but my situation was different. I was transferring from a Vista machine that was upgraded from XP and was successfully was running Office 2007. I did a backup of all my files (my docs, public files, etc) onto an external USB hard drive. I then went to my shiny new Dell Lattitude D820 and copied the files into the exact directories. I used Easy transfer on the old machine and ONLY transfered my mail and application settings. It only took a few minutes and the files size was about 1GB. I went to my shiny new D820 and pointed to the shared area on the old machine. Voila! All my mail worked perfectly, all my mail archives were there, and all my applications worked as before.

I have heard of other people who had TERRIBLE TIME CONSUMING experiences with Windows Easy Transfer so you may want to try my method first rather that wasting a few hours and then getting a failure.

OS 10.4.9 Update Causing Ugly Crashes

2007-03-16T12:08:00.001-05:00

If, like me, you install every new Apple software update the second it hits their servers, you might want to reconsider. Loyal ready Darcy wrote in to tell me about the nasty, violent crash he dealt with from the update to Mac OS X 10.4.9, which was released yesterday.

read more | digg story

I'm running a Mac Mini and didn't even realize the upgrade was going to happen. I just clicked through the upgrade screen without seeing what it was really doing. I haven't had any problems.
Check out the forum pointer to see who is being affected. The first guy had a macbook pro (intel) vs. my G4 mac mini.

Quick Fixes for Five Nasty Vista Problems

2007-03-16T07:03:00.001-05:00

Windows Vista certainly has its quirks. Here are some common conundrums and how to thwart them.Going through this article brought up several problems and FIXES for AMD Quite and Cool drivers, VPN connection issues, Adobe Reader installation problems, Firewire not working and Apple IPOD corruption. I actually had the VPN problem so the link to the fix is great. Thank to PC Magazine.

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How to bluff your way in Web 2.0

2007-03-11T19:07:00.001-05:00

Andy and Jeremy ROCKED THE HOUSE. Panel discusses how to bluff your way through Web 2.0 at a party or conference. Don't be the idiot who does not know how to speak the speak even if you have no idea what it means. Also has a video about the definition of Web 2.0 and pictures of some of the best of Web 2.0 bluffing.This isn't Vista or Appcrash specific... just funny. If you don't know what Web 2.0 is this will help.

read more | digg story

HP 2510 All-In-One printer/scanner....

2007-03-03T16:47:00.000-05:00

For the first time since installing Vista, I had to scan a document. No problem, I'll use my trusty HP 2510 printer/scanner that I have on my home network. I load the Scanner and Camera Wizard.. no scanner? Ok, on to control panel, Scanners and Cameras and add device. I got the picture shown above. Ok, go to HP's site to download drivers and I see the following:

HP Printers - Installing the Printer Driver Located in Windows Vista

At this time there is not a downloadable full-feature Windows Vista driver solution available for your product.

The short-term driver solution is included in your Windows Vista Operating system and is already on your computer. There is no need to download anything at this time. This driver makes it possible to use the basic functions for the printer and can be used until the full-feature driver is available. Follow the steps below to quickly and easily get your product working with Windows Vista.

HP is currently working to make the HP full-feature driver solution available as soon as possible.

???? It took five years to create Vista and HP doesn't have drivers for it??? How in the world does this happen? No network scanning at all. In order to use the scanner, I have to unplug my laptop, find a USB printer cable, then hook it up, wait for the driver to load, then scan.

What I actually did was go to a mac mini that I have and scan it nicely over the network.

Be aware of this when you're ready to update to Vista. Check that the drivers are available that you really need before you take the plunge.

Does Visual Studio 2005 crash in Vista? Try this.

2007-02-27T16:22:00.000-05:00

MSDN forums has a fix for crashes in Visual Studio. You need to apply Visual Studio 2005 SP1 and then apply the following patch:

VS80sp1-KB929470-X86-Beta-ENU

Read the release notes to make sure it applies to you. I didn't have this issue but I think it was installed in one of the first Windows updates for Vista.

Build your own Perfect Home Theatre PC

2007-02-26T22:04:00.001-05:00

There are a few advantages that a home-built Home Theater PCs (HTPCs) give you over TiVos or cable provider DVRs. Among them are the lack of subscription fees, the ability to play back DivX and other downloaded programs, and the fact that you can use it as a computer when you're not watching TV on it.This is a tremendous article talking about the latest hardware and software to build your own Home Theatre PC.

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Vista Compatibility Lisst

2007-02-26T21:41:00.000-05:00

Here is a Wiki list of Vista Compatible software. It looks very complete for things that I'm using. This definitely looks like a post to keep around.

Off Topic: Turn any Image into Text Art ONLINE! To use in forums or Digg

2007-02-25T10:28:00.001-05:00

All you have to do is upload a photo. That will take about 3 seconds, and the image that you chose to upload will be turned into text, using keyboard characters. Its very hard to describe, so go try it out yourself.

I know this is off topic, but it's too cool to ignore. I remember when I was a kid in the 1970's getting this done on the Jersey Shore boardwalk for about $1.00.

read more | digg story

See the example in the expanded post. If you lean back from the monitor, you'll see it better.

The parameters for this are 80 character fonts, use small fonts, white on black (since I use a black background. The look great when printed and viewed from a little distance.

.,,,,,,,,,,.++I7=I?777~,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,..,,,,,,,:::::..........................
...,,,,,,,,,,..~~?~7:,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,::::::::::::::::~,..................
...,,,......,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.,.,,,,,,,:,......::::::::::::......................
...,,,...,,...,,,,,,,,,,,,,.,,.,,:,::,....,.,,,,,:::............................
,,.,,,........,,,,,,,,..,,,.,,,,::::...,:,,:~:,,,.,.............................
,.,,,,,,,.,,,.,,,,,..,,,,,,,,,:,:::.,,~==++++++==:..............................
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,....,~==+??????+==:,............................
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GlassGiant.com

Virtual PC 2007 and Vista migration tool now free Microsoft downloads

2007-02-21T08:28:00.001-05:00

"Want to run more than one copy of Windows on your PC, or run an older version while Vista happily hums on your new machine?" Microsoft has released a new version of Virtual PC 2007 and it's free! What is it??? It will allow you to run an image of other operating systems under Vista. Why would you want to do that? Well, if you have issues with key applications that you need to run and they run fine under Windows XP or OS/2, you can run in a virtual machine on your vista desktop. Perhaps there is a game on XP or corporate application on OS/2 that you'd like to run while also running Vista, you can do it with Virtual PC. You'll need some memory in your machine to do it though, the recommendation is a minimum of 128MB for Windows XP and 512MB for any version of Vista.

You can get it right here.

We're Number 1!!! wow.

2007-02-19T15:28:00.000-05:00

It may not be a big thing but I'm number one on Google search when looking for appcrash and vista. I'm down a bit further when searching vista and appcrash. Number one, just before Microsoft, pretty funny.

Another thing, I do most of my blogging on a Mac Mini. I do have a Dell laptop running Vista Business and Dell Desktop running Vista Ultimate.

Can't Hibernate? - Try This...

2007-02-13T19:10:00.000-05:00

In trying to figure out how to get Vista to sleep, I was able to get it to Hibernate first. Usually, I'll put my laptop to sleep overnight when plugged in or if I'm going on a short trip, like to work. If I'm going on a longer trip where I won't use my laptop or don't plan on using it for a while, I'll hibernate the machine. If you're having problems with this, here is how I got it to work.

I was able to get my Dell Inspiron 9300 to Hibernate (not standby/sleep)
which is better but not perfect or how it worked in XP. Here's is what I
did. it's not for the faint of heart...it worked for me may not
for you

Hit start, type in 'command prompt', right click 'command prompt' from
the list, select run as Administrator.

type in powercfg.exe -? - this shows a bunch of commands to control the
power management from command line.

type powercfg.exe -A this shows what your computer can suppport. I
got the following:

C:\Windows\system32>powercfg.exe -A
The following sleep states are available on this system:
Standby ( S3 )
Hibernate Hybrid Sleep

The following sleep states are not available on this system:
Standby (S1)
The system firmware does not support this standby state.
Standby (S2)
The system firmware does not support this standby state.

BINGO. according to Vista, I can't use S1 or S2 standby - S3 is deep
sleep. The list is:

S1_supported List devices supporting light sleep.
S2_supported List devices supporting deeper sleep.
S3_supported List devices supporting deepest sleep.
S4_supported List devices supporting hibernation.

type powercfg.exe -H ON this turns on S3 sleep for me. It actually
hibernates the laptop.

Hopefully it works for you. If not, please leave feedback or post in the forum.

Magic ALT Key

2007-02-13T08:29:00.000-05:00

This may be obvious to some people, but it wasn't to me. Windows explorer has a great interface and puts many often used features along the top of the screen. I really do like it. I do miss the typical File menu that was in ALL previous versions of Windows.

The following screen shot shows a typical explorer window.

In order to get the old File/Edit/View.. Menu, just press the ALT key. The menu you know and love will appear.

In order to make this the default, Select Tools from the menu, Folder Options, View Tab. You'll see a screen like this:

Check off "Always Show Menus" and Apply/Ok. File/Edit/.. will now appear on all explorer menus. I guess once you get used to the new interface, you can turn this off eventually, but in the transistion from XP to Vista, I'll keep the menu around for a while.

Nvidia Faces Potential Legal Trouble Over Vista Driver Issues

2007-02-12T22:24:00.001-05:00

...He never once returned any of several e-mails or phone calls regarding the 2 destroyed motherboards or the over 150 times my laptop crashed because of their drivers. Hell, I had 51 driver crashes with the Nvidia drivers that shipped with Vista RTM.

I haven't had this many problems with my nVidia drivers on the released version of Vista drivers on my Dell Inspiron, hopefully it will stay that way. In the story, there are links to the class action suit if you're interested.

read more | digg story

Can't Sleep - Try this..

2007-02-11T10:43:00.000-05:00

Since I loaded Vista, I have not been able to get my laptop to sleep. It worked fine under XP but would immediately come back. The answer that I found is to turn off the Wake On Lan feature of the network card. Apparently, this is now turned on by default. Here are the steps that I followed to get it to work.

Right click on Network and bring up properties OR select Control Panel and then Network and Sharing Center

Select Manage Network Connections

Double-Click on the Ethernet Card to bring up Propertied

Select Properties and OK the permissions

Select Configure

Select Advanced

Select Wake Up Capabilities and then NONE on dropdown list on the right

Select OK and then you should be able to sleep.

This worked for me on my Dell Inspiron 9300. Hopefully it will work for you too.

Windows Vista Destroys Photo Metadata

2007-02-09T17:20:00.001-05:00

Bad news for photographer using about Vista. Apparently if you tag a photo's metadata in Vista, it destroys other important metadata used by image editing apps such as Photoshop. Not exactly an application crash unless you consider the vast loss of valuable, non-recoverable data a crash.

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How to build a PC for Windows Vista

2007-02-09T15:42:00.001-05:00

The Tech Report has put together an in-depth guide on how to build a new PC for Windows Vista. The TR folks detail Vista driver support for each major component they recommend, and they also walk readers through picking between the four Vista editions as well as their 32-bit/64-bit and retail/OEM variants.I built my own XP Media Center computer once. I was fun to do and I did feel a great sense of accomplishment when it was done. I really felt like I owned the computer! If you're so inclined to build your own, this is a fine article on the "how-to" for various price points. For me, the last computer I aquired was a $300 eMachine from Best Buy. Talk about economical!

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BlackViper returns? Windows Vista Services breakdown

2007-02-09T15:35:00.001-05:00

Apparently, Windows Vista has around 130 Services?! Ouch. Site lists of all vista services and which you can disable. Also has registry files for backing out changes. This is awesome. BlackViper's XP Site really helped me determine what are virus dlls and what are not. It's great that he's moved along with Vista. It's not done yet but it's much better than nothing.

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