I don't understand why things just can't seem to work seamlessly.  Especially when you are talking about Microsoft Products.  You would think that one Microsoft product would work without issue with another, and you would think that you are pretty much guaranteed that this would be the case when the Microsoft Product in question is installed through Windows Update.  Enough of the babbling and on to the point... When installing updates for Windows Server 2003, I was pimp slapped with another error "The Requested Lookup Key Was Not Found In Any Active Activation Context".  (more...)

As you may have read, I am a fan of Microsoft Security Essentials.  Prior to MSE, I had been using Microsoft OneCare on almost all of my machines, and in case you didn't know; Microsoft is no longer supporting the product.  Instead, they released MSE to replace it.  With that said, my subscription was about to expire.  I figured it was time to uninstall OneCare on my HTPC and install MSE in its place.  In the immortal words of Biz Markie "I didn't realize I was in for such an event".  The event was an error... error code: 0x80070643 to be exact.  Unfortunately, I didn't find much help on the net but I did find a solution that worked for me. (more...)

It was a dark and stormy night, May 5th; it was intense, my dog was hiding in the bathtub, the wind was blowing like a child with a new kazoo, the rain was coming down in sheets (11 x 17), and my PC was left to fend for itself.  Suddenly, the ground shook and my home felt epileptic.  The phone rings, the same quake is hitting China, the U.K, Japan, Canada... this is a worldwide earthquake? This wasn't a typical earthquake, this was a digital earthquake; at least that's how Matousec.com describes it.  They named it KHOBE! (more...)

This is a subject that can be attacked a few different ways.  There are many reasons why people want to log into Windows Automatically and the ways to do it are just as various.  For my purposes, logging into windows automatically is an absolute must for my HTPC's.  The last thing I want to do is try to spell out my password using an IMON remote! (more...)

In the computing world, it can be dizzying trying to pick the right software for our needs.  Everyone knows we need to have anti virus software loaded on our Windows work stations but trying to find the right one out of hundreds can be daunting to say the least.  Luckily for us, some companies offer free alternatives that offer some of the features we are looking for.  Once in a while, we actually come across a piece of software, at no cost, that works the way we would hope it works.  Enter Microsoft Security Essentials, a Virus, Malware, and Spyware software package at NO COST! (more...)

Windows Vista has a lot of things that bother a lot of people.  I, however, don't mind some of the things that bother other people.  Vista has a feature called UAC (User Account Control) enabled by default.  The purpose behind this utility starts many applications in a restricted shell, offering the user a reprieve from apps that he or she may not want installed.  In previous versions of windows an application can be executed as administrator without the user's knowledge.  This was one method in which many malware infected systems.  Vista, in trying to reduce one avenue for these applications, opted to restrict applications to this shell and prompting the user to elevate the installer. (more...)

In my efforts with Vista/ Windows 7 I keep encountering some nagging issues.  My latest was on one of my laptops; when logging in, I am prompted with an error: "The User Profile Service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded." Luckily for me, I was able to piece enough information together to get it resolved.  Now, I hand the resolution over to you. (more...)

I recently had an interesting issue that was near impossible to find a solution to.  My Windows Vista installation had suffered a bit and it seems that all of my folder views were completely whacked.  I couldn't reset the views to defaults and it was driving me crazy. (more...)

Media Center in Windows Vista has the capabilities of displaying and playing DVD content stored on your personal computer, however this feature is not enabled by default.  Enabling this feature is pretty easy and can be done by simply modifying your registry. (more...)

The administrator account is disabled by default in Windows Vista, here is how you can enable it at logon. (more...)