A brand-new Xerox Phaser MFP (Multi-Function Printer) with an ADF (Automatic Document Feeder).

Printer work fine.  Scans work fine on the glass.  Copies work find on the glass.

However, the ADF won’t feed; it claims that there is paper on the glass.

The issue?  Too much light in the room.  Yes; this Phaser apparently writes in blood.  Or steals your soul.  Or something.

Actually, the light reader is just too sensitive.  Sigh…

1. Their support, for the most part, is pretty good.
2. Their machines, for the most part, don’t come preloaded with AOL crap (looking at you, Sony!)
3. Finding drivers for their machines is fairly easy, and has gotten easier with newer models.

However, for a long time, Lenovo/Thinkpad had the market beat when it came to updating the drivers.  You could start up the ThinkVantage System Update (TSU) utility, it would scan your machine, and suggest updates that you could use.

Then, for some odd reason, Lenovo decided to stop supporting the TSU utility, and instead insisted on going through their website.  Which would be fine, except for the fact that the downloaded software would not auto-launch the setup/update utility (like Dell would), and as a result it would take twice as long to install.

Well, the TSU is back, and I am happy again.  Now, if only they made their machines less…boxy.

I have a client who just purchased a software package.  For reasons that shall be soon made clear, I cannot mention any names.

The client wants to load some data from another source into the new software.  In looking through the help file and typical menu locations, I couldn’t find a logical way to do this.  So, I called Tech Support.  Their solution?

Either pay them to do the work….or sign a NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) so they can send me a white paper.

Really.

1. Start in safe mode
2. Delete all files and folders in the following locations: C:\Windows\System32\Spool\Printers and C:\Windows\System32\Spool\Drivers\w32×86
3. Open RegEdit and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Environments\Windows NT x86. Keep the Drivers and Print Processors subkeys and delete the rest of them.
4. Locate the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Monitors. Keep the following keys: BJ Language Monitor, Local Port, PJL Language Monitor, Standard TCP/IP Port, USB Monitor. Also, if you have the Adobe PDF key, keep it as well. Delete the rest.
5. Try restarting the Print Spooler service.
6. Restart the machine.
7. Reinstall the previously functioning printers, but find a different install file for the printer install that flummoxed your machine previously.

That is what worked for me.  Good luck!

Thanks to the fine folks at Petri for pointing me in the right direction.

• Open the Exchange Management Console and go to Server Configuration/Hub Transport
• Click “New Receive Connector”
• Give the new connector a meaningful name (”scanner”), select Custom as the type, and a port other than 25 or 587 (which are used by the default connectors).  Obviously if you have changed the default ports then you need to pick something other than those.
• Right-click the new connector, go to Properties make the following settings:  Permission Groups Tab; Anonymous Users only.  Network Tab; remove the default IP address range and add the IP address(es) of the appropriate device(s).  Authentication Tab; Transport Layer Security (TLS) only.
• Open the Exchange Management Shell and run the following command:  Get-ReceiveConnector “scanner“ | Add-ADPermission -User “NT AUTHORITY\ANONYMOUS LOGON” -ExtendedRights “ms-Exch-SMTP-Accept-Any-Recipient”. Note that the “scanner” name is what was used in this example, and you should change the command to match waht you named the new receive connector.
• Restart the MS Exchange Transport service.
• Use your favorite MX Record checker (like MXRecordToolbox) to ensure you haven’t created an open relay.
• Configure the Scanner/Copier/MFP to use the SMTP connector, including the port number you set up.

Now, go forth and scan some more!

A client had a computer where when she went to log in, the desktop picture would flash, and then it would immediately go to “logging off…” back to the startup screen.  This would happen in safe mode as well as standard mode.

As one would suspect, her machine was virus infected.  Here were the steps I took to fix it.

1. Boot into Recovery Console from a Windows XP disk.  Having one that was of the same Service Pack is needed.
2. Check under C:\Windows\System32 to confirm that userinit.exe is missing.
3. Run this command:  copy d:\i386\userinit.ex_ c:\windows\system32\userinit.exe, assuming that D is the CD drive, and C is the boot drive.  Your mileage may vary.
4. Restart
5. Assuming all is well, run Malware Bytes with the latest updates, as well as ComboFix.  WARNING:  Use of ComboFix has the potential to damage your OS install, but I have yet to have it cause an issue.  Also, restart inbetween each scan job.
6. Update the machine with the latest MS patches and AV software.

Note; this particular virus ruined Microsoft AutoUpdates, and this fine Wiki helped me find the answer, although the “C:\Winnt…” didn’t apply, as that path wasn’t available.

Good luck!

1. WTF?  England gets this, and we get David Cook?
2. Gee….people seem to like good music.
3. You truly can’t judge a book by its cover.
4. “Britain’s Got Talent” isn’t nearly as Draconian about You Tube as some other companies are.
5. In re: #1, “America’s Got Talent” doesn’t count!
6. I still have a chance!

And, for once I agree with Entertainment Weekly.

Hmmmm.  I’m suddenly hungry.

In any case, enter TuneUp…an iTunes add-on that actually seems to do what it promises.  While it isn’t instantaneous, and it is a little too wishy-washy if it cannot find more than one song from an album, it does what it should; find and tag my music.  It will do up to 500 songs at a time, but if you through that much at it, be prepared to wait, and wait, and wait….

But, I am very happy with it, and it will even work on multiple libraries!  Just be sure to get the lifetime option, rather than the monthly payment.

I have found that clients (and I am talking about individuals here, not businesses) fall into two basic categories:  those who want you to come in, get the work done, and then leave with a minimum of fuss; and those who want to deal with you on a personal and technological level.

It is these latter people who not only want to get their computer problems solved, but who also want to talk to you as a person.  They discuss what the Giants did that week (or will do in the upcoming year).  They find out if you share a common TV show connection, like 24, and then help conclude if Jack Bauer really is that kick ass (hint: he is). They will introduce you to interesting new music, like Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour.  They will challenge you to work on some products you like (an HP MFP, for example) and others you don’t (like AOL), with a sense of humor and understanding that sometimes it works like magic, and other times it just doesn’t.

Jeff Rosen was such a guy.  And, today, he lost his battle with cancer.

I leave with you with Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, the second movement.   I sang this a few years back with the San Francisco Choral Society (not this MP3), and it is one of the most beautiful choral pieces written.

Chichester Psalms, 2nd Movement (click this to listen)

Psalm 23

Adonai ro-i, lo echsar.
Bin’ot deshe yarbitseini,
Al mei m’nuchot y’nachaleini,
Naf’shi y’shovev,
Yan’cheini b’ma’aglei tsedek,
L’ma’an sh’mo.
Gam ki eilech
B’gei tsalmavet,
Lo ira ra,
Ki Atah imadi.
Shiv’t'cha umishan’techa
Hemah y’nachamuni.

Ta’aroch l’fanai shulchan,
Neged tsor’rai
Dishanta vashemen roshi
Cosi r’vayah.
Ach tov vachesed
Yird’funi kol y’mei chayai,
V’shav’ti b’veit Adonai
L’orech yamim.

Psalm 2, verses 1-4

Lamah rag’shu goyim
Ul’umim yeh’gu rik?
Yit’yats’vu malchei erets,
V’roznim nos’du yachad
Al Adonai v’al m’shicho.

N’natkah et mos’roteimo,
V’nashlichah mimenu avoteimo.
Yoshev bashamayim
Yis’chak, Adonai
Yil’ag lamo!

(Donations can be made in Jeff’s name to the Alameda County Food Bank or the American Jewish World Service organizations)

Install the printer driver locally on each machine.

Oh…and also make sure that the IP address is hard coded in the printer itself (I apparently was using DHCP mapping on this machine).