Monthly Archives: May 2010

HP Pavillion DV6-1107AX WiFi dropouts

Computer Aid Posted on by

The DV6-1107AX laptop seemed to have a lot of difficulty connecting to the WiFi network… it would connect only about 1 in 4 times.

I figure: this should be easy… if the WiFi circuit has failed, I’ll just plug in an external USB WIFi adapter.

Getting a WiFi lock seems to work correctly.

Vista reports that the WiFi in connected, but has limited or no internet connectivity.

So its not a password problem, and the laptop is actually connecting to the WiFi access point.

The WiFi signal strength is good.

I re-enter the WiFi password, but that doesn’t help

After a few attempts, I do Windows updates (via ethernet cable)… but that doesn’t help, either.

I’m told that the laptop seems to get quite warm, so I clean out the CPU fan… I wish laptop makers would make it easier to clean the fan… just add a hatch and one screw.

I then try a USB WiFi adapter, and… I get the same problem!!!

So this is looking like a Vista / software problem.

Next, I look at Norton 360… Its always a prime candidate for unusual network problems… But uninstalling Norton doen’t fix anything 🙁

At this stage, I’m left with doing a complete re-install of Vista…

I take the PC back to the office, create the recovery disks, then, before I do a data backup and a re-format, I look more carefully at the windows updates… I find that there are some hardware updates that need to be done… but nothing related to the WiFi… so not much chance of fixing the problem… but manually tick the updates, and force them to install.

Amazingly, the DV6 laptop now maintains its WiFi connection, and never has a problem connecting to the internet…

Who would have thunk it?

Dell Studio Hybrid won’t eject CD/DVD disk

Computer Aid Posted on by

I was told there was a disk “stuck” in the Dell Studio Hybrid PC.

This is one of those cute “Apple look-alike” PCs.

Its a very small PC. On the front it has a thin slot for a CD/DVD, and on the front, starting from the top, it has a power button, a HDD activity light, then a CD eject light/button.

The CD eject button is not a “real” button, like the power button.

Instead, its a touch-sensitive panel, thats part of the front casing… no moving parts.

The strange thing is that the eject light only lights up if there is a disk in the drive.

So when I look at the PC, the light is off, and pushing the empty spot where the light should be, has no effect.

Is there a disk in the drive? Well, I cannot insert a disk, as its blocked by the disk already in there.

So now what do I do?

I don’t have any pliers thin enough to pull the disk out… and I’m not sure I should even try it.

So I decide to restart the PC, and see if there are any bios options that might help.

Nope, nothing… and no way to eject the disk while in BIOS either… even though the light finally illuminates while I’m looking at the BIOS settings.

So I now restart Vista… and once Vista has completed its startup, the eject panel lights up.

I press it, and the disk finally ejects.

I find out that the owner never shuts down the PC… so thats a reasonable explanation for the problem… with PC restart the solution to getting the CD to eject.

Windows 7, Vodafone K3765, This installation package could not be opened

Computer Aid Posted on by

This PC is an i3 Medion PC, running windows 7.

The PC got infected, but the infection was removed before I got it.

The problem was that the Vodafone USB 3G modem (K3765) would not work.

OK, do the full windows updates, then download the latest Vodafone software.

But when I run the Vodafone software, I get the error:

This installation package could not be opened. Verify that the package exists, etc etc.

I take a look at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/236597

I try Method 2, download the windows installer, but when I try to run it, I get:

Setup error: Not enough storage is available to process this command.

What? 3Gb RAM and over 300Gb of free disk space… this doesn’t sound right.

Next, I try to get the installer to run by editing the registry:

HKLMsystemcurrent control setcontrolfilesystemntfsDisable8dot3NameCreation

I change the value from 2 to 0

I also make sure the windows installer service is started and set to run automatically.

But it still doesn’t work, so I abandon this avenue and try to download the Vodafone software again (in case it got corrupt during the download), but still no go.

Since this is a 2 week-old PC, and the customer has no important data on it, we agree that a clean-install of Windows 7 is the best way forward.

The install works perfectly, as does the Vodafone software.

Its very rare for me to see an infection cause such strange damage to a windows system.

I’ll need to wait and see if this is a common occurrence with Windows 7.

wait 20 minutes before the power button will work

Computer Aid Posted on by

I worked on a very unusual PC:

As soon as I plug mains power into the PC, the power button would not start the PC until I waited for about 20 minutes, and then the PC would start normally.

Ok, looks like a faulty power supply… I replace it with a new standard 680 Watt PSU… The PC seems to start immediately, but I hear strange crackling sounds from the power supply… sound like its struggling to supply enough power.

And the PC just crashes after just 2 minutes.

Fine, I’ll use a 860 Watt PSU. That works a bit better, but it still makes crackling sounds and still crashes, or sometimes it just refuses to start.

At this point, I’m suspecting the video card (an inno 3d 7300GT DDR2), as it needs external power (from the PSU), but when I replace it with a low-power video card, I get similar problems…

I try to test the RAM, but the system doesn’t stay up long enough to run memtest.

I unplug the HDD and the 2 DVD drives, the floppy, remove the sound card and the dial-up modem… and now the PC starts normally.

After a careful process of elimination, I track the problem to one of the DVD drives…

It seems that one DVD drive is faulty (maybe an internal electrical short circuit), such that id draws a large amount of electrical current from the PSU… so much that the rest of the system is affected.

The strange thing is that even when I remove the faulty DVD drive, the original PSU (and my new 680 Watt unit) is still not able to run the system correctly.

In the end, considering the time taken, the cost of a new DVD drive and PSU, the customer decides that its not worth fixing, and will buy a new PC instead.

moving microsoft outlook to a new PC

Computer Aid Posted on by

I’ve done this quite a few times, and often I need to do it for a PC with a damaged motherboard, so all the usual advice about exporting and importing from within outlook is useless.

Here is what I do (instructions are for XP, but I’ll also include some information for Vista/Win7):

Connect the hard drive to a working PC.

You might need to change the folder view options within windows explorer, so that you can see hidden / system folders… just remember to change these settings back when you are finished.

Copy the following folders (and their contents!) to a safe place (and don’t mix the contents together!):

  • c:documents and settings{username}Application DataMicrosoftOutlook
  • c:documents and settings{username}Application DataMicrosoftAddress Book
  • c:documents and settings{username}Local SettingsApplication DataMicrosoftOutlook
  • The Vista / Windows 7 location start as: c:users{username}Appdataetc and c:users{username}AppdataLocaletc

On the new PC, install microsoft outlook, start outlook, setup your email account (but don’t download any emails yet… in fact, make sure you are disconnected from the internet). If you are not sure about your internet settings yet, just use some dummy data to start with.

Shutdown outlook… you might need to check with task manager (Ctrl-Alt-Del) to make sure there is no outlook.exe process running… end the task if its still running.

Now copy the contents of the folders you saved into the equivalent locations on the new PC… you will need to over-write the existing files in the new locations… they shouldn’t have anything, since you just created the files when you started outlook (and didn’t download any emails)… if you downloaded new emails, then they will be deleted by this process.

Now when you start outlook again, it will have all your original emails and contacts list from the original PC…

If you haven’t done so already, then make sure your email account details / password are correct.

Copying your email account details/password is complicated, so its easier to just re-enter those details.

McAfee mskolplg.dll could not be installed or loaded

Computer Aid Posted on by

This PC once had McAfee installed, but it was uninstalled and replaced with another security product…

Yet every time Microsoft outlook was started, it would generate the error:

mskolplg.dll could not be installed or loaded. This problem may be resolved by using Detect and Repair on the Help Menu.

The PCs owner tried, but just couldn’t figure out how to remove the message…

Funnily, outlook would still operate normally after the initial error.

A quick search of outlook found the solution:

From outllook:

Tools -> Options -> Other ->Advanced Options -> Add-In Manager

then untick any McAfee add-in, and ok to get out of the options window.

Restart outlook, and you shouldn’t get any more errors at startup.

using Edimax BR-6204WLG in client mode WiFi

Computer Aid Posted on by

I’m in the market for a cheap client-mode WiFi router, but information is quite scarce.

Looking at my local supplier, I try the very inexpensive TL-WR340G from TP-link… its almost the cheapest WiFi router I can get ($34), and it has WDS… so I figure it should work in client mode. I’ve had good experiences with TP-Link in the past, so this seems promising

Well, I tried, but it wouldn’t work in client mode, and using WDS meant I needed to change my main Netgear Access point to WEP encryption (Yuck!). Its otherwise a good device (3 year warranty!), so I repackage it to be on-sold to the next customer that needs one.

Next, I try the absolute cheapest WiFi router I can buy: an Edimax BR-6204WLG ($29).

Edimax is a relative newcomer to this market, so I don’t know how good its going to be, but given the price, its worth a try.

Initially, I have many problems establishing and maintaining a client-mode connection.

I then decide to update the Firmware (from 1.04 to 1.12). After the upgrade, I found that some Admin pages would have missing buttons…

Oops, this doesn’t look good… maybe I’ve ruined the router (the technical term is: bricked).

Well, after a few factory resets and a few minutes switched off, I finally had it running normally (phew!),

After some trial and error, I found the settings I needed in order to make it work the way I wanted (which allowed me to retire my Linksys router as well!).

So now, from my workshop, I can (once again) plug customer PCs into the ethernet port of a router, and I will be “wirelessly” connected to my main modem/router, and to the internet.

If you want to know how to configure a BR-6204WLG in client mode, then here are a few screenshots of what you need to change (just remember to first upgrade the firmware to at least V1.11):

This shows the main “home” page for the router. Note that the IP address is not the default (192.168.2.1)… the reason is that I changed it to fit with the my main router IP address (192.168.8.121). Also note that the main router has a DHCP address range of 192.168.8.1 – 192.168.8.99. Within the main router (a Netgear unit), I have reserved 192.168.8.88 for the Edimax router.

Select “General Setup”, and you will get this screen.

When you pick “wireless”, you get the main WiFi screen. This is where most of your configuration will occur.

Pick Basic settings, then select Client mode. Enter the SSID of your main router. Note: If you also want wireless computers to use the Edimax as a router (as well as you main router), then tick “Enable universal repeater mode”. I suggest don’t tick it unless you really need it. Click Apply, then go back to the main wireless screen.

Pick Security, then select the Encryption, Cipher, and passphrase key for your main router. Click Apply, then go back to the main wireless screen.

Now go to Site survey, click refresh, and the SSID of your main Router should appear in the list (in my case, its computer-aid.com.au). Click the select box next to the SSID of your main router, then click connect. You should get a “connect successfully” message. Click OK, then go back to the General Setup screen.

Click LAN, then change DHCP to “client”. This means that the 6204WLG will get its IP address from your main router… and if your main router has a reserved IP address for the 6204WLG, then you will be able to easily connect to it from anywhere on the network.

Now you just need to restart the Edimax Router, restart your PC, and everything should work well.

Client mode WiFi routers

Computer Aid Posted on by

My main workshop is not connected to my house… and I don’t want to string a network cable to it, so my best option is to go WiFi.

Now, since I often work on multiple PCs at the same time, as well as running the main workshop PC… I find I need to have easy internet access from the workshop.

This normally means plugging a customer PC into an ethernet router, and then using the internet almost straight away.

If I use WiFi I need to use a USB WiFi adapter, and install the drivers for it, before I can access the internet.

But with some PCs, this is just not an option… infections and hardware failures can make something as simple as installing a driver an ordeal that can take hours.

But there are a few solutions available.

One solution is called WDS. But WDS seems to have many problems with WPA encryption (which I strongly recommend to anyone using WiFi)… as well as many cases where the throughput speed is halved… It just seems prone to problems, unless I just want to use it as a WiFi repeater (but I want to do much more)

So, my solution is to use a WiFi access point in “client” mode.

What this means, is that the router “pretends” to be a WiFi client (like a laptop or a WiFi-enabled PC). Once you plug a PC into the WiFi router (via ethernet cable), then the PC can access the internet, as if I had plugged it directly into the router in my house.

The only disadvantage, is that if I plug in multiple PCs into the client “router”, then they all share the bandwidth (which, in my case, is unlikely, as 2 or 3 PCs won’t be doing major file transfers at the same time)

Until quite recently, I was using a Netgear access point, connected to a linksys WiFi router (which had faulty WiFi… so I disabled it). From the Linksys, I could connect up to 3 PCs.

A few months ago, the Netgear access point broke down, so I started a search for an inexpensive WiFi router that could work the way I wanted it.

And thats the subject of my next post. 🙂

WiFi g-only mode doesn’t work

Computer Aid Posted on by

This has happened to me a few times… with a few different WiFi routers, so I suspect its a common flaw.

While setting up wifi accesss, most access points offer options like: B+G mode, B only (up to 11Mbps), G only (up to 54Mbps), and turbo (108Mbps) modes.

To me, it looks like the G-only mode has advantages such as less interference with 802.11b devices, and thus, better speeds and coverage.

I don’t want to support the virtually extinct “B” devices… so flipping the WiFi option to G only, should be an obvious decision, right?

Wrong.

I have found quite a few WiFi routers, when they are switched to G-only mode, will actually switch to B-only mode!

The amount of headache that has generated (for me), means that I now leave the WiFi option to the default B+G mode (or whatever “auto” mode the access point will allow.