Saturday, November 13, 2010

IE Fix (General purpose fix for Internet Explorer)

  • When you click a hyperlink in an e-mail message or on a Web page, or right-click a hyperlink on a Web page and then click Open in New Window, you may experience one or more of the following issues:
    • Nothing happens
    • The new window may be blank
    • You may receive a scripting error message
  • When you use the Print command or the Print Preview command in Internet Explorer, nothing may happen.
  • When you try to connect to Web folders, you may receive the following error message: "The current operation could not be completed because an unexpected error has occurred."
  • Internet Options Advanced tab is completely blank.
  • Internet Explorer About box version information is completely blank.
  • Address bar search does not work.
  • Unable to type in text boxes in a search engine or website.

What IEFix does?

  • Registers the core Internet Explorer libraries.
  • Repairs Internet Explorer using IE.INF method. (Windows XP)
  • Fixes the application path setting (Windows XP)

IEFix Usage

  1. Download IEFix and run it.
  2. Click the Apply button.
  3. You'll be prompted for the Operating System CD or the Service Pack Files location:
  • If you're using Windows XP, insert the Operating System CD. For OEM systems, point to the Operating System source path when prompted. If you've applied a Service Pack separately, you need to insert the Slipstreamed Operating System CD (if you have one) or point the installer to the ServicePack source path when prompted (see Fig 2 below). Mention the path as  "C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles\i386" or "C:\Windows\ServicePackFiles"
  • If you don't have the Windows installation CD, and if the installation source files are not present in the hard disk, you may click Cancel when you see a dialog similar to Fig 2below. IEFix will continue with DLL registration part.

Fig 2
  • Restart Windows

Abort button for shutdown scheduling

  1. Right click on your desktop and select New > Shortcut.
  2. Copy and paste “shutdown.exe -a” (copy without quotes) in the only text field available in new shortcut window.
  3. Click next and write short cut name “Abort scheduled shutdown”
  4. Click “Finish” now you have abort scheduled shutdown button

Schedule Computer to Shut Down at a Specific Time

  1. We need to calculate after how long we want computer to be shutdown. We have to put specific amount of time in seconds like if you want your pc to turn off after 2 hours then it will go like this. 2 hours are 120 minutes so 120 * 60 = 7200 seconds.
  2. Right click on your desktop and select New > Shortcut.
  3. Copy and paste “shutdown.exe -s -t 7200″ (copy without quotes) in the only text field available in new shortcut window and change “7200″ with your desired time.
  4. Click next and write short cut name “Schedule shutdown”
  5. Click “Finish” that’s it.

Schedule Computer to Shut Down at a Specific Time

  1. We need to calculate after how long we want computer to be shutdown. We have to put specific amount of time in seconds like if you want your pc to turn off after 2 hours then it will go like this. 2 hours are 120 minutes so 120 * 60 = 7200 seconds.
  2. Right click on your desktop and select New > Shortcut.
  3. Copy and paste “shutdown.exe -s -t 7200″ (copy without quotes) in the only text field available in new shortcut window and change “7200″ with your desired time.
  4. Click next and write short cut name “Schedule shutdown”
  5. Click “Finish” that’s it.

Schedule a Windows XP-Based Computer to Shut Down

To work around this problem, use Task Scheduler to schedule the computer to shut down and restart at a specific time. To do so, follow these steps:
  1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
  2. Click Performance and Maintenance, and then click Scheduled Tasks.
  3. Double-click Add Scheduled Task. The Scheduled Task Wizard starts.
  4. Click Next.
  5. Under Click the program you want Windows to run, click Browse.
  6. In the Select Program to Schedule dialog box, locate the %SystemRoot%\System32 folder, locate and click the Shutdown.exe file, and then click Open.
  7. Under Perform this task, specify a name for the task and how frequently you want this task to run, and then click Next.
  8. Under Select the time and day you want this task to start, specify a start time and date for the task, and then click Next.
  9. Type the user name and password to run this task under, and then click Next.
  10. Click to select the Open advanced properties for this task when I click Finishcheck box, and then click Finish.
  11. Click the Task tab.
  12. In the Run box, specify any additional parameters that you want to use with Shutdown.exe.
  13. Click OK.
Alternatively, you can change the account used by the at command, as follows:
  1. Open the Scheduled Tasks folder as described earlier in the "Workaround" section.
  2. On the Advanced menu, click At Service Account.
  3. Type the required account name and password, and then click OK.
Notes
  • This change will affect all tasks scheduled with the at command, not just Shutdown.exe.
  • The account used must have the SeRemoteShutdownPrivilege right on the local system.

Thursday, February 11, 2010

How can I prevent users from connecting to a USB storage device?

USB storage device is already installed on the computer : set the Start value in the following registry key to 4: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\UsbStorWhen you do this, the USB storage device does not work when the user connects the device to the computer. To set the Start value, follow these steps:Click Start, and then click Run.In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.Locate and then click the following registry key:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\UsbStorIn the details pane, double-click Start.In the Value data box, type 4, click Hexadecimal (if it is not already selected), and then click OK.Exit Registry Editor.
If a USB storage device is not already installed on the computer : When you do this, users cannot install a USB storage device on the computer. To assign a user or group Deny permissions to the Usbstor.pnf and Usbstor.inf files, follow these steps:Start Windows Explorer, and then locate the %SystemRoot%\Inf folder.Right-click the Usbstor.pnf file, and then click Properties.Click the Security tab.In the Group or user names list, add the user or group that you want to set Deny permissions for.In the Permissions for UserName or GroupName list, click to select the Deny check box next to Full Control.
Note Also add the System account to the Deny list.In the Group or user names list, select the SYSTEM account. In the Permissions for UserName or GroupName list, click to select the Deny check box next to Full Control, and then click OK. Right-click the Usbstor.inf file, and then click Properties.Click the Security tab.In the Group or user names list, add the user or group that you want to set Deny permissions for. In the Permissions for UserName or GroupName list, click to select the Deny check box next to Full Control.In the Group or user names list, select the SYSTEM account. In the Permissions for UserName or GroupName list, click to select the Deny check box next to Full Control, and then click OK.

How to disable all Autorun features in Windows XP Home Edition and other operating systems

Windows Server 2008 or Windows VistaImportant This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 322756 How to back up and restore the registry in Windows
For operating systems that do not include Gpedit.msc, follow these steps: Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK. Locate and then click the following entry in the registry: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\policies\Explorer\NoDriveTypeAutorun Right-click NoDriveTypeAutoRun, and then click Modify. In the Value data box, type 0xFF to disable all types of drives. Or, to selectively disable specific drives, use a different value as described in the "How to selectively disable specific Autorun features" section. Click OK, and then exit Registry Editor.Restart the computer.