Monthly Archives: June 2011

Belkin f5d7000 WiFi card doesn’t like Windows 7

Computer Aid Posted on by

I got called about a PC that suddenly wouldn’t connect to the internet once it had Windows 7 (64 bit) installed.

Since it was a WiFi connection, I thought: it probably doesn’t have the correct drivers… it should be an easy fix.

Well, I soon found myself connecting the PC to the router via ethernet, then having to (unexpectedly) wait over 40 minutes for updates to complete… grrr

Normally, Windows 7 is really good at automatically finding drivers… but this was one of the few times it didn’t work.

The WiFi card is a Belkin f5d7000 version 3000au

So, my next step was to go through the Belkin website, and find an appropriate driver.

I eventually find the correct area but I see no Windows 7 drivers. The closest driver is a vista 32-bit driver… I try it but that doesn’t work.

Not wanting to spend any more time I eventually conclude that the f5d7000 v3000au is not compatible with W7 64-bit, and install a WiFi card from a different maker (ASUS), which works perfectly.

Since then, I have stumbled actross a website (http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/w7itprohardware/thread/102a8764-1e02-4dbc-ab79-2a46f3a04b91), where there is some mention of a solution, but nothing specific to this version of WiFi card, and W7-64bit

Mcnamara
Belkin f5d7000 version 3000au
wont work with W7

flash player won’t install on windows 7

Computer Aid Posted on by

This computer is running windows 7 64-bit on an i5 CPU, and had been running well for about 9 months.

At some stage, the owner got the usual prompt to upgrade adobe flash player.

She does what she always does, and upgrades.

The upgrade to 10.2 seems to complete normally

But now ie8 will not run flash files (and prompts the owner to install flash, because its not installed).

I spend a few hours trying various tricks like:

  • disable the acrobat add-on
  • install ie9
  • reset IE9 to default settings
  • remove and re-install flash
  • download the install file and install “manually”
  • download and install 2 earlier versions of flash
  • check for infections

But I do notice that flash actually works well with firefox & chrome…

So: the problem seems to be centered around Internet Explorer.

I eventually have to conceed defeat, but at least the customer is content to use firefox for now.

 

sbamsvc.exe uses 100% CPU, slows PC

Computer Aid Posted on by

PC (core2 duo) was running slow for about 15 minutes after starting… after which, it would speed up a bit, and the hard drive light would stop flashing like crazy.

But as soon as something was started (eg internet explorer), everything would slow down again for about a minute or so.

Task manager showed that the main culprit was sbamsvc.exe

So, I start investigating and find its a part of Bigpond Internet Security (BIS) called SunBelt.

OK, I’ve never liked BIS, and in this case, I advocated upgrading to Windows 7 – 64-bit, which meant I would be able to remove this annoying excuse for internet security.

WordPress lightbox

Computer Aid Posted on by

I needed to create a photo gallery using wordpress, and decided to use a lightbox effect.

For those that don’t know: a lightbox effect is when you click on the thumbnail of a picture, and it displays a larger version of the picture overlayed on the original website (without going to a new browser window)… so it makes browsing thumbnails easier.

After trying a few different lightbox plugins, I eventually settled on WP-Slimbox2… mostly because the website seemed to have problems with most other plugins.

However, I soon found that I also had a problem with WP-Slimbox2:

Some parts of the wordpress “background” would actually show on top of the zoomed picture (the zoomed picture is supposed to be on top of the whole webite).

It turns out the theme I used wasn’t well written, and had done some crazy things with the z-image variable.

And z-image is used to adjust what elements on a page appear on top of others.

The theme was using z-image values set in the range of 10000 to 20000, while the lightbox plugin was “assuming” that themes wouldn’t have z-image values over 200.

So, I had to go through the style.css theme file, looking for z-image variables, and removed the last 2 digits of the number (eg 20,000 became 200).

And now I have a nicely working lightbox effect, with no overlay problems.

How can software asset management help SMBs?

Computer Aid Posted on by

If you are a successful entrepreneur who has made it big, then the chances are you will be running you own SMB (small or medium sized business) and the amount of software you have will be gradually growing in number. Software Asset management (SAM) Software is normally perceived as software for large companies but when used properly, Software Asset Management software can help to make SMBs work smarter and more efficiently by freeing up resources. Here are some benefits of using Software Asset management software for SMBs.

 

Track software licenses

SMBs often do not have sufficient knowledge about the various types of licenses that are available today which can often land them into trouble when it comes to software licenses.  Software Asset management software helps to eliminate this problem as it will outline all the various types of licenses that the company has and will notify the company when they have insufficient licenses.

Protection from a software audit

 

The Business Software Alliance encourages staff to anonymously report their employer if they suspect them of using illegal software and this will no doubt result in a surprise software audit which could end with a heavy fine due to insufficient licenses. The problem is that many SMBs know that they have a particular piece of software but they are unaware of what the license that they own allows them to do with that piece of software. For example many programs will have a basic and premium version of their own software and when you purchase the basic version, the features for the premium version will come bundled in with the software as trial versions. Once the trial has expired, it is up to the SMB to remove it if they do not want it and this is where many SMBs get caught out. A software Asset management system will keep tabs on all software and will notify you when you have insufficient rights to a particular piece of software which will protect you from a fine when you are hit with a surprise audit.

Up time

All good Software Asset Management systems will notify the user when a new software update or patch is available for the software that they are using. This means that the company can be up and running faster which gives it more time to perform its daily duties.

 

No doubt all SMBs will be looking to eventually expand their business in an attempt to maximise profits but as a business grows, it becomes harder to track the changes that are occurring within the business. This inevitably results in businesses failing to keep track of any software changes that have occurred but a Software Asset management system can provide a solution as it can track all the changes that have been made to the company’s software in terms of the quantity and version of software that the business has at its disposal.

Android task killers & task managers: useless

Computer Aid Posted on by

Like most technical people, it didn’t take me long to realise that the amount of free memory on my android phone was starting to run quite low.

And as most technical users from a non-android background, I immediately thought: I need to shutdown (or even kill) some running apps, in order to stop my phone from slowing down.

It turns out that the Android OS is a lot smarter than an average OS, and it deliberately keeps RAM as full as possible.

Why?

It all revolves around giving the user the best possible “experience” while using the phone.

Ie the user needs to “feel” like all the apps are running in the background (even if they actually are not), and when a user re-enters an application it should start as quickly as possible, and if appropriate, continue running from where it was last left.

In order to do this Android uses Applications and processes in an interesting way:

  • Multiple applications may share processes
  • An application may use multiple processes

So, just because a process is “running” it doesn’t mean that the associated application is actually doing anything.

Since there is a limited amount of RAM available for processes, Android needs to get rid of unneeded processes.

It decides which process to get rid of by guessing at which process will least affect the users experience, and then force-kills the process, and immediately reclaims the processes resources (like RAM).

At this point I’m thinking: that’s crazy!

But that’s because I’m used to traditional operating systems, where a process needs to be asked to stop nicely, so it gets a chance to finish anything critical, before closing.

So what does Android do differently?

It saves important state information about the application at the time the user leaves the application… so if that applications processes are killed, the state information has already been saved, ready to be restored when the application/processes are restarted.

Now, given the way Android handles memory and processes, it should always have memory available (by just killing off the appropriate processes), so deliberately shutting down all “unneeded” processes actually isn’t needed, and can actually lead to a situation where Android will actually “seem” slower.

Besides that, some processes are not meant to be killed, so deliberately killing them will just result in them getting re-started anyway.

The only time a task killer would be useful, is if a badly-written, out-of-control application is run on Android… but then, but I’ve yet to see anything like that.

Save Money and Go Green with Your Mobile

Computer Aid Posted on by

By changing a few ways in which you use your mobile, you can save a lot of money – both for yourself, and for the world. Here are a few ways to cut down on your bill, and some more ways to change your mobile usage to help the environment.

Monitoring the Usage

Many subscribers pay for a larger plan than they need, resulting in wasted money to the phone companies. If you notice that you rarely go over 500 minutes per cycle, but you are paying for 1,000 minutes, downgrade your plan.

Earn Cash back

Next, attempt to earn cash back on your plan. Websites such as Quidco pay commission to certain mobile carrier customers when those customers click on links. Some sites pay a straight commission for clicking or buying, but some are a percentage of the eventual purchase from the links. These sites may charge a small fee, but if you use them diligently, you will earn money off of them.

Recycle your old phone

Also, when you decide you would like a mobile upgrade, do not just throw away the old one. See if you can sell your mobile phone, either to a third party or to a provider, for some money to put toward a new model. This way, you are both eco friendly with phone recycling and economically savvy for your own wallet. You may also donate it, as many carriers take donations inside their stores.

Finding different ways to contact customer services

Since many charge per minute, you may end up paying hefty charges when you need to speak with a company representative. You may use the free app downloadable for smart phones, which changes digits within service numbers to make them free. Then, the calls simply deduct from your cyclical minutes.

Go on a SIM only plan

There are also several methods to make your mobile usage eco friendly. Several savers, such as selling, donating, or recycling your mobile, have already been discussed. You may also try to obtain a SIM only deal; you can find out more about these deals with this guide to SIM only plans. This can benefit you when you are ready to change service carriers. With SIM only you change the service only without necessitating new equipment. If you already have a smart phone that you like, such as a Blackberry or iPhone, you may not want to “downgrade” to a lesser phone with which you are not familiar.

Solar Power

In addition, look at the charging methods of different phones. If you want to reduce your carbon footprint, you may consider phones with chargers that use solar or kinetic energy, rather than non-renewable electric sources. This can also help you save money, as you will pay less on your electric bill to charge your phone.

A little bit of research

Do some of them have more eco friendly records than others? If so, they may be the ones more likely to offer more eco friendly options in the future. They will also be more likely to allow you choices such as SIM only upgrades and mobile recycling.

 

Article written by Spencer Hogg from the SIM only website where SIM only deals can be found to help you save money and help the environment.

Android is the future of mobile phones (and maybe even computers)

Computer Aid Posted on by

In the past 2 years, I have tried most types of smart phones.

I’ve tried Windows Mobile 6.1, iphone, Symbian S60, and just recently, android 2.2 (on a HTC desire).

I must say I’ve been keen to try android since I first heard about it a few years ago… and was frustrated at how long it took to be adopted by phone makers.

But now, its finally a mainstream product, and very successful as well.

Its great to see such a wide range of devices (first phones, but now tablets as well), and I cannot see any reason for android to progress onto mainstream PCs as well.

After having used an Android phone for about 2 months now, the only negative part I have encountered, is that there is no application that is capable of showing most media files… In order to view a MKS video of a downloaded documentary, I needed to use “Any Video Converter” to convert the video into an mp4 file that the phone could use.

This shows that the Android platform is still developing, and that some areas are still “unpolished”.

Compared to the propriety platforms like IOS (iphone) and Windows Mobile 7 (microsoft), it now has enough developer backing, that it will continue to gather momentum faster than the Apple and Microsoft offerings.

What about Nokia?

I recently heard that Nokia has effectively dumped Symbian for Windows Mobile 7. In my mind, Symbian was never going to be able to make the transition to smart phones, but WM7 is also unlikely to gather much support… not because it is inferior, but because past versions were very inadequate, and the latest WM7 is probably 4 years too late to change peoples mind about Microsoft smart phones (even I thought: oh no, not another weak attempt by Microsoft).

So, it looks like the great might of Nokia (and I was a big fan of Nokia phones before moving to smart phones) is now going to gradually fade, unless they can make a good decision on which smart phone OS to support (my opinion is that Android would have been the best bet, as it would have strengthened both Nokia and the Android movement).

Anyway, I’m finding Android great to use (I just wish the battery life on my phone was better), with lots of great apps, and a simple, yet powerful interface. You can just use it as it stands (eg for the technophobes), or you can customise it in so many ways.

Keep an eye out for my list of great app for android… coming soon!