Disable Microsoft Software Wavetable Synthesizer, My Music’s Cutting Out...
We recently encountered a system that had an intermittent sound problem. After running for a few days, any music played would fade and recover repeatedly. After researching the problem, we started with a typical round of updates to the usual suspects. Those being sound card drivers, codec’s, any media player software being utilized for playback. At first this seemed to resolve the issue, but after just a few days, the problem returned.
Not only was this a problem with our media players, but it was also effecting streaming online music. Our current favorite online music service is Last.Fm. After Pandora’s recent decision to limit users free listening to 40 hrs a month.
So at this point we were able to eliminate our browsers and media players, as these were both up to date. The next thing to rule out was our hardware. This was simple enough as the hardware is a home theater system that’s utilized by other devices, all of which never have an issue. By process of elimination were left with drivers and media enhancement software’s.
As it turns out there’s an enhancement loaded by windows, our version being “Windows Vista Ultimate 64 Bit”. That particular enhancement goes by the name of “Microsoft Software Wavetable Synthesizer”. When opening your sound properties from the control panel, you’ll typically see 3 tabs across the top of the window. These are, Playback, Recording, and Sounds. You’ll more than likely be on the Sounds tab by default. If windows sounds drive you nuts, as they do us, this is a good opportunity to disable them. Simply choose “No Sounds” from the drop down on the sounds tab. In Vista you also have the option to load the startup sound separately.
Now select the “Playback” tab, and double click the upper device, usually called “Speakers”. If you’re not sure which device is your default playback device, play some music and look for the device with active levels. Double click that device and navigate to the “Advanced” tab. If selected, unselect both boxes under “Exclusive Mode”. Don’t be tempted to increase your sample rate on this tab. Typically the defaults are optimal, and increasing them could lead to an exaggeration of what we’re here to fix.
Keep in mind systems will vary in these areas depending on drivers, system setup, and so forth. So you’re settings may look slightly different. Next choose the “Enhancements” tab. Disable everything on this tab, if possible.
Now restart you computer, and the issue should be resolved. We mention earlier in the article that as part of our diagnosis, we updating system drivers and codec’s. In the long run, regular updates will lead to a much more positive computing experience, and will drastically reduce the number of errors you encounter. Let us know if this was helpful by leaving a reply below. Happy computing. 
AT&T U-verse 2wire Gateway and DD-WRT Router in DMZ Mode...
We’ve recently upgraded our ISP to AT&T U-verse. With this switch AT&T provided a 2wire gateway. So far the service has been excellent. Recently we setup a live chat support feature on the website, as you can see to the right. With this feature we also plan to integrate a remote desktop feature, to allow us to provide our clients with live and instant support.
MySQL Server on Windows Vista x64 Setup Guide, An Install That Works!!!
After hours of beating our heads against a wall, we’ve finally come up with a solid MySQL install guide. It wasn’t easy, but it’s something we needed, and obviously something our fellow developers needed. We spent hours reading through endless threads with errors such as;
Cannot Create Windows Service for MySQL. Error:0,
Vista x64 could not start the service mysql,
Windows could not start the mysql service on local computer error 1067,
Can’t create/write to file,
Can’t connect to [local] MySQL server,
Table ‘tbl_name’ doesn’t exist,
Yet even after reading through what seemed like hundreds of cries for help, and just as many supposed fixes, we were still no closer to resolving this issue. So after coming to the realization that there was little help to be had online, we just attacked our install, and dealt with the issues one by one. After repeated failed installs, and botched setups, we were able to get MySQL loaded properly. The setup instructions you see below were repeatable on 4 different machines, when followed properly. If you run into an issue, please let us know. Good luck with your setup.
We’ve Added A Live Support Function...
If you look to your right, you may have noticed a live chat button. If we’re online and available to chat, feel free to try it out. We strive to provide our clients with the highest level of IT support and service. When it comes to innovative design, leading edge customer support, and guaranteed satisfaction, the Gurus are the leaders of the pack.
Do you have a website your interested in developing? If so, let us give you free quote. We’ll utilize the latest tools and applications to make your dream site a reality. Thanks for reading our post. Feel free to leave a comment.
Media Player Skips When My Browser Loads a Page..
I had this very same problem with my brand new Microsoft Vista X64 machine. At first I though it was the fact that I was using the newest version of Firefox. But after a bit of research we came to the conclusion that it wasn’t actually the browser causing the system lag, it was the audio codec. Most people are having this issue with Sigmatel HD Audio Codec. In my case it was Realtek HD Audio. Luckily for everyone reading this, the fix is quite simple.
Vista Won’t Remember My Folder Views
*** Update ***
This fix is no longer valid. After a month of smooth sailing, we’re back to the same problem. To our knowledge, there is currently no fix that lasts longer than a month. This fix will last at least that long, but you’ll be back to the same problem a month later. If you’ve tried something that seems to show promise, please let us know with a comment. Thanks for reading.
Vista has made huge strides in becoming a better OS. If you’ve read anything we’ve written to date about Vista, it’s all bad. But since the release of Service Pack 1 and 2, Vista has really come into its own. Rarely do you see the dreaded Blue Screen of Death. This due to Vista’s ability to selectively shut down and restart services before causing critical errors. The user interface is beautiful and somewhat familiar to XP users. The ability of Vista to repair itself has made leaps and bounds. But there is still one thing that is an absolute annoyance and frustration, and that is Vista’s ability to remember folder views.
I can’t Find My Firefox Bookmarks After a Recovery
Firefox has changed the default location of its bookmark store in Firefox 3. It used to be that you could find your bookmarks located at
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Documents and Settings\ (name of the user) \Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ (name of the profile) bookmarks.html
This has now been changed to
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Documents and Settings\ (name of the user) \Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\ (name of the profile) places.sqlite
What’s a good Anti-Virus to use?
We wrote this post in response to a comment on another post. We most often recommend Avast, AVG, and Zone Alarm. Our choices are based on products that are efficient in preventing virus infections, semi transparent, unobtrusive, and user friendly. And FYI. if you see the image below when copying files, you may have a virus.
Avast free and Avast Pro:
Avast provides a free Anti-Virus, however we found it to be a little intrusive and irritating. Avast seems to pester its free users with constant pops and related to their paid product.
Their paid product however is a dream to use. The only time Avast Pro will ever pester you or slow your flow of work and surfing, is if you encounter a malicious script from a webpage, download malicious software, a viruses, or any other problem you may have.
Can’t uninstall Java 1.6.0.11, Unable to locate jre1.6.0_11-c-l.msi
We’ve come across this issue on quite a few occasions. It seems that this issues arises after a botched uninstall of Java products. It seems to leave a registry entry behind that makes it nearly impossible to reinstall Java. We’re not exactly sure what the registry entry is at this point, but we have found that running the registry cleaner in Ccleaner removes it. Ccleaner is an excellent product, and its totally free. But we do recommend making a donation to them to keep their product free.
The process is simple. Download Ccleaner, run the cleaner first, then run the registry cleaner second. Restart you’re computer, and you should now be able to install the latest Java.
UAA HD Audio Driver Missing, Can’t Update
This issues can be caused by an accidental uninstall of the HD Audio drivers, or a bad install of the HD Audio drivers. Our fix is as follows.
Toshiba Satellite 1800 laptop, the display is blank but works when hooked up to an external monitor.
Here’s a question we recently received. My Toshiba Satellite 1800 laptop display is blank but it works when hooked up to an external monitor. There’s any number of things that could cause this issue. So we’ll try to cover everything we think would cause this issue.
1. The first question we’d ask is, was the operating system recently reinstalled? If so do you have the correct drivers installed for the system?
2. The second thing we would look at is the display itself. While the screen may be blank it can still be displaying an image. Take a flashlight and shine it at an angle to the screen. If you can see the “shadow” of your screen, and your mouse moving around, the problem is most likely a LCD backlight problem, or an LCD inverter problem. If the backlight went out suddenly, its typically the inverter. If the light faded over time, its typically the actual backlight. Seeing that an external monitor works, this is more than likely the answer to your problem.
3. If you can’t see a “shadow” of your display and you haven’t taken your computer apart, and you haven’t reinstalled your OS. Then it’s most likely not a display issue. The next step is to diagnose the video card. This is a little more in depth, but in most cases, if a video card is suspected to be the problem, it should simply be replaced. This doesn’t apply to all laptops. Most laptop motherboards use integrated video cards.
Hopefully this was helpful. If you have any follow up questions, please feel free to ask.
No USB After Bios Update, Intel Desktop Board D845GVSR
After updating to the newest bios on the Intel Desktop Board D845GVSR, we lost our USB. The problem was that the CMOS map was changed to include the “USB Enable/Disable” function. In order to get back your USB, you must use the procedure listed below.
1. Shut down the computer safely and remove the chassis cover.
2. Move the BIOS Configuration jumper to the Maintenance position. Aka; the CMOS jumper.
3. Power on the computer and enter BIOS Setup (press F2 during boot).
4. Go to the Advanced > USB Configuration menu.
5. Enable the USB Function.
6. Go to the Exit menu and select Save Custom Defaults.
7. Save and exit the BIOS setup.
8. Turn off the computer.
9. Move the BIOS Configuration jumper back to the normal mode position.
10. Power on the computer and enter the BIOS Setup again to verify that the Advanced > USB Configuration menu is now back to normal.
Hope this helps someone Let us know if you have a questions.
After I Uninstall Norton 360 I Can Ping Websites, But Not Browse The Web
I’ve never been a big fan of Norton. Their products always seem to slow systems down, and seem to cause more problems then they resolve. This system was no different. Norton 360 had been uninstalled through add remove programs. Norton ended up leaving bits and pieces of itself all over the computer. Which left the machine in an unusable state. Using a command prompt we could ping google.com, which means DNS is ok. We then attempted to rebuild the Winsock, which again didn’t work. It was at this point we knew the problem had to be Norton. After a bit of googleing we found “The Norton Removal Tool” After we ran this little gem the computer restarted, and we were back in business.
After the repair we loaded on Avast Professional. Avast is an excellent anti-virus that’s uses far fewer resources than Norton. We also recommend AVG anti-virus.
How Do I Re-enable Ballon Tips?
To Enable The Notification Area Balloon Tips
1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then press ENTER.
2. Navigate to the following subkey:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced
3. Right-click the right pane, create a new DWORD value, and then name it EnableBalloonTips.
4. Double-click this new entry, and then give it a hexadecimal value of 1.
5. Quit Registry Editor. Log off Windows, and then log back on.
These steps enable all Notification Area balloon tips for this user. There is no way to disable balloon tips for specific programs only.
How Can I Make Office 2007 Save in The Older Format by Default?
To change default file save options in Office Excel 2007
1. Double-click Microsoft Office Excel 2007, double-click Excel Options, and click Save.
2. In the right pane, right-click Save Excel files as, and select Properties.
3. In Save files in this format, select Enabled.
4. In the drop-down box, select a default file save format.
5. Click Apply to save the settings.
To change default file save options in Office PowerPoint 2007
1. Double-click Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007, double-click PowerPoint Options, and click Save.
2. In the right pane, right-click Save files in this format, and select Properties.
3. In Save files in this format, select Enabled.
4. In the drop-down box, select a default file save format.
5. Click Apply to save the settings.
To change default file save options in Office Word 2007
1. Double-click Microsoft Office Word 2007, double-click Word Options, and click Save.
2. In the right pane, right-click Save files in this format, and select Properties.
3. In Save files in this format, select Enabled.
4. In the drop-down box, select a default file save format.
5. Click Apply to save the settings.
Netgear MRVGINA.dll, disables fast user switching XP
We came across this issue after installing a Netgear wireless card in a desktop running Microsoft XP. The fix was quite simple. Start by opening regedit, Start-Run-Type regedit. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows NT/Current Version/WINLOGON And delete the key named GINAdll
Its as simple as that. Restart the computer and your good to go.
Unable To Access E-mail, With Outlook, Through Port 25, AT&T
After hours on the phone with AT&T techs, we’ve come to find that AT&T is blocking port 25. AT&T’s doing this in an effort to curb spam, and unsolicited Emails. If you’re having this issue, we recommend you call AT&T and have them unblock the port. Keep in mind that AT&T now has two divisions, U-Verse and DSL. Be sure to call the correct department.
AT&T DSL Support 1-877-722-3755
U-Verse support 1-800-288-2020
Today We Repaired An Averatec 3150 Laptop....
The machine came to us in an inoperative state. We were also unable to get into the bios due to a lost password. We diagnosed the problem to a bad hard drive. Most laptop hard drives fail due to being dropped.
The TredShed’s Got Wireless…….
We were asked recently by the owner of TredShed, Craig, to reconfigure their network. They also wanted to add wireless capability, and update all their computers. The first thing we do when setting up a new network is to evaluate the existing hardware. After an evaluation we found that their main router was causing intermittent problems. Another issue was that their last IT guy had limited networking experience and assigned their machines a seemingly random array of IP addresses, with a totally unnecessary, and confusing static IP address setup. Because of this setup they were unable to add or move machines to their liking.
Windows Vista Ultimate Edition, Administrative Pop-up Fix
Here I’ll provide you with a simple fix for this annoying feature in Windows Vista. You may not be able to access “Local Security Policy” with some versions of Vista. If not I’ll find a fix for you at a later date. (more...)
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