Whenever I would start Outlook on my computer, it would launch minimized in the Windows taskbar. A left-click on the Outlook icon, which normally should display the window on the desktop, had no effect at all. A right-click and the selection of the task had not effect either. Last but not least, a left-click on the Outlook icon in the system tray area, or a right-click and the selection of Open Outlook did nothing either.

No matter what I did, I could not get the window to show up on my desktop.

After some playing around I discovered a solution to bring back the Microsoft Outlook window. Here is what I did:

Click on the start menu and locate Microsoft Outlook there. Right-click on the program and select Properties from the options. Locate the Run menu and select Maximized from the options. Please note that you need elevated rights to save the change. Windows will automatically display an authorization prompt when you click ok or apply in the menu.

Relaunch Outlook once you have completed the process and clicked on the ok button.

You should now see the Outlook window open in fullscreen on the desktop. This has fixed the issue only partially though. Once you minimize the window you will notice that you cannot open it up again. While you could now close Outlook to start it maximized whenever you need to access the program, you’d probably prefer a permanent fix.

With Outlook displayed in full screen on the Windows, right-click the Windows taskbar and select the Cascade Windows options from the right-click context menu.

Once you have done that, you have fixed your Outlook issue. To check that you can now open Outlook normally again do the following:

• Close all running instances of the messaging client on your system.
• Go to Start > Microsoft Outlook, right-click the entry and select Normal Window under run.
• Start Outlook normally. If the window appears, you have fixed your issue.

Here is a video that walks you through all the necessary steps.

Hope this helps Outlook users who are experiencing the same issue.

Microsoft Support has released a new Fix-It solution to fix Windows display quality issues. A Fix-It is a small portable program that can resolve common Windows issues automatically. Each Fix-It offers to resolve issues that it finds automatically or give the user the option to select the fixes manually. The second option is usually the recommended one as it gives users more control over the troubleshooting process and repair.

The display quality Fix-It is available as an app that downloads needed files from the Internet and as a portable version.

When you start the program the following screen is presented to you.

I’d recommend to select Detect problems and let me select the fixes to apply to avoid additional issues that the troubleshooter may cause. The Windows Display Quality Troubleshooter analyzes the system and displays fixes after the diagnosis has been completed on the next screen.

Here it is then possible to run some or all of the fixes if the manual option has been selected. It is also possible to display a detailed report that displays all issues that the Display Quality Troubleshooter checks for.

• Clear Type settings may not be adjusted
• Display settings are not optimized
• Calibrate display color settings
• The video card driver is not Windows Display Driver Model compliant
• Blurry text or graphics

The troubleshooting tool runs all selected fixes to resolve display quality issues in the Windows operating system. Depending on the issues, wizards may be displayed that walk the user through the configuration or fine tuning of a feature. This is for instance the case if Clear Type settings appear not to be adjusted.

Windows users can download the solve windows display quality issues Fix-It from the Microsoft Support website. (via)

Recovery mode is indicated by appearance of iTunes and USB icons on the screen of the iOS device. By whatever cause, and there can be a few, the device is unable to access its operating system. So, it displays these icons to prompt the user to recover the operating system. Usually this is no big deal.

Whichever machine you use for syncing the device to iTunes, make sure its version of iTunes is the most current. Ensure that all iTunes updates are installed. If you are in doubt, launch the Apple Software Update manager. Once it checks with Apple’s servers and is certain that iTunes does not need an update, you should be ready to get started.

This image indicates the user has an update pending and it should be installed before restoring the iOS device.)

Completely power-down the iOS device. This is done by holding the home button (front, center-bottom, in default portrait mode) AND the sleep button (corner, top edge opposite the home button) at the same time until the power-off slider appears. Use the slider to completely shutdown the device.

Before connecting the iOS device to the computer, hold the home button in place. This lets the firmware know you are about to do more than the usual sync. Once iTunes recognizes the device, which can take one-to-several seconds, depending on the speed of your computer, it will prompt you to restore the device. If you have a backup from your last sync of the device, you will be given an option to use this during the syncing process. This is most likely the option you will want. iTunes should prompt you to select which backup you want to use as your source. Make your choice and the restore may take between five and ten minutes to complete from that point.

If you happen to have the sudden urge for a clean configuration, set up as a new iOS device. iTunes will return your device to factory-default setup. Even iOS can get relatively cluttered – apps, notes, photos, music, etc. While generally organized very well according to the native management scheme of the system itself, sometimes a device can seem less pleasant to operate after heavy use. Starting fresh from factory defaults not only allows you to clear up some of the unnecessary stuff your system accumulates, but lets you to start out with the level of understanding you now possess, with your current usage patterns, and to re-encounter the system with a different set of eyes than you had when you first started using it. Experience is a great thing. Experience combined with a lean setup is even better than that.

Note: In iOS 5 or later, restoring the device wirelessly is an option with or without a cable connection to a computer, provided the device is functioning properly prior to starting the restore process. There are a lot of improvements in iOS 5 that allow for updates, restores and other functions to be managed without requiring use of another computer with iTunes. This guide is intended for circumstances when the iOS device has locked into recovery mode and cannot access a wireless connection or the device itself is running an earlier version of iOS.

iOS was designed to be one of the least fussy, most responsive operating systems around. It was also designed to be stable and secure. A lot of people dislike the absence of a visible file system on the largest of that family of devices, the iPad. This is a simplification over other navigation models and it is beneficial in that it prevents the user from accidentally doing something to the file system which might result in device instability. While it shouldn’t be necessary to be an expert to use most devices, it is a good idea to learn some of the little tricks available to you. Although many people still find technology to be intimidating, the more you learn, the more fun tech can be for you.

The operating system basically deletes the files information from the system while leaving the file itself on the storage device. File recovery software like Undelete Plus, Pandora Recovery or Recuva may restore those files. Windows will use the storage space of the deleted files eventually which means that they will eventually become partially and then fully unrecoverable.

Eraser on the other hand speeds up that process by overwriting the entire space a file occupied on the computer’s hard drive. Once done it is no longer possible to recover the file with file recovery software or other means.

For some time now I received the error message “Eraser has stopped working” when trying to start the software. Running the software with administrative privileges, from the context menu or in compatibility mode did not resolve the issue.

Uninstallation and re-installation of Eraser did not resolve the issue either. Then I discovered that Eraser was using a folder in the application directory, and that the file Task List.ersx was in that folder. The path of the Eraser folder is C:\Users\Martin\AppData\Local\Eraser 6 under 64-bit editions of Windows 7.

Made a backup first and deleted the file afterwards from the folder. After that, Eraser was starting up just fine without error message or other issues.

Windows users who are receiving the “Eraser has stopped working” error when trying to start the program should check the application directory to see if it too contains a Task List.ersx file and if it does, delete it to resolve the issue.

Installation of Light Explorer was not a issue. All I had to do was to click on Plugins > Plugin Manager > Show Plugin Manager to bring up the built-in plugin manager to install the Light Explorer plugin.

Listed there are dozens of plugins created by the developers or users of the service. From plugins that let you customize the program’s toolbar to a document monitor or translation plugin. Plugins can be easily installed by selecting them first, clicking the Install button afterwards and restarting the program when the installation has completed.

The issue that I experienced was that the graphical user interface of the program was not starting up anymore after installing Light Explorer. I checked the Windows Task Manager and noted that Notepad++ was running in the background.

Since I had only installed that one plugin I was pretty sure that it was the culprit that prevented the program’s gui from starting up. This happened on a Windows 7 64-bit system.

The idea now was to disable the plugin and see if that resolved the issue I had with Notepad++. After some looking around I discovered that Notepad++ plugins are installed as dll files in the Notepad++ directory on the hard drive.

I went to C:\Program Files (x86)\Notepad++\plugins and found the LightExplorer.dll plugin in the root directory there. Copied and moved it to a backup location, killed all Notepad++ processes in Windows before I deleted the file. The program started up fine once again after the operation.

Windows Repair is a free software program for the Windows operating system that users can use to repair and troubleshoot issues they experience.

One interesting aspect of the program is that it suggests troubleshooting steps prior to running repairs on the system. A total of four steps are suggested, which include running a virus scan on the system (by suggesting popular free antivirus solutions like TDSS Rootkit Remover or Microsoft Security Essentials), checking the file system for errors and running a system file check.

The repair Windows options are accessible with a click on the Start Repairs tab in the program interface. Here you can select one of the three available repair modes. Basic Mode and Advanced Mode both run repairs automatically on the system, while Custom Mode displays the available repair options to the user. So what can be fixed by the software?

Reset Registry Permissions
Reset File Permissions
Register System Files
Repair WMI
Repair Windows Firewall
Repair Internet Explorer
Repair MDAC & MS Jet
Repair Hosts File
Remove Policies Set By Infections
Repair Icons
Repair Winsock & DNS Cache
Remove Temp Files
Repair Proxy Settings
Unhide Non System Files
Repair Windows Updates

Here is the screen that you see when you select the custom repair mode from the options.

The program explains every repair option in detail when custom mode is selected. That’s handy for users who need more information on a particular repair option.

Take a look at the Windows Repair that I found on YouTube.

Windows Repair can be downloaded from the developer website over at Tweaking.com. The portable software is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system.

Sometimes though it is not the Internet connection itself that is causing the connectivity issues. Sometimes it is a configuration on the computer. This can be after installing new network adapter drivers, a Windows update or other software that may interfere with network traffic.

Connectivity Fixer is a free software for Windows that can fix Internet connection issues automatically. The program can monitor the Internet connection actively, to fix any problem or issue automatically when it is discovered.

The description on the developer website mentions IP and Winsock related issues that are repaired by the software.

Two options are displayed when the software is started. The Fix Now button runs the repair of the Internet connection manually when clicked on. The Monitoring button starts the Internet connection monitoring which will trigger the repair program whenever connectivity issues are discovered.

A click on Settings open the program options. Here it is possible to configure the program to start with Windows, to enable the connection monitoring on program startup and to let the program fix problems automatically without notification (the default is set to notify the user when connectivity issues are discovered).

The program can detect connectivity issues for both wired and wireless Internet connections. Windows users can download the program from the developer website. The software is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the Windows operating system. It requires the Microsoft .NET Framework to be installed on the system. (via)

Some customers running those operating system versions have reported that their systems stop responding randomly. Microsoft has analyzed the issue and discovered that it will typically occur when the memory usage is high and when the Windows memory manager performs “frequent paging in and paging out actions”.

The cause is a deadlock situation int he Microsoft Filesystem Filter Manager (Fltmgr.sys).

Microsoft has released a hotfix and instructions on how to pinpoint the random freezes and lock-ups of the operating system.

The hotfix is available for download at the Microsoft Support website. Users who want to download the hotfix need to access the terms of service and fill out information on the Hotfix Request site including their email address before they can download the program to their computer system.

Microsoft sends a download link of hotfix to the email address entered in the form on the hotfix request page. This in itself is a rather complicated process; A simple download link would make it a lot easier for users to download the fix from Microsoft.

It should be noted that only users who experience freezes and responding issues should download and use the hotfix to resolve those issues on their operating system. The hotfix will eventually be included in one of the scheduled patches for the operating system.

From what I can tell, the hotfix replaces the old version of Fltmgr.sys with a new version that does not cause the issue on the operating system anymore. The fix is available for 32-bit, 64-bit and IA-64 Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems.

I have to admit that I did never experience related issue so far and I’m running Windows 7 since the beta on my main system. Did you ever experience freezes? Let me know in the comments.

The issue is caused selecting the checkbox to “Treat all future networks that I connect to as public, and don’t ask me again” during configuration of the network connection.

A Fix-It has been created by Microsoft to resolve the issue and restore the option to click on the network location. Since it is a Windows 7 specific issue, the fix is only provided for that operating system.

Windows 7 users can download the Fix-It from the Microsoft Support website. All it takes then is to execute the program on the target system. The fix resets the settings and displays a prompt to select a location for the active network.

The Fix It displays a fixing status report in the end with options to leave feedback, get online help or read additional information about the Microsoft Fix It.

Experienced users and users who have no success with the Fix It can try the manual fix to repair the network location issue instead. The manual fix is listed on the same support web page. Here are the steps to troubleshoot the network location issue manually.

• Close all applications that use the network connection.
• Click on the Start Orb, type device manager in the search and run box and press enter.
• Expand the network adapters listing
• Right-click on all network adapters and select Disable from the context menu.
• Now re-enable the adapter that is causing the troubles.
• Click on the Start Orb again, type in network and sharing center and select the program with the same name from the available selection.
• Select Choose homegroup and sharing options on the lower left side of the window.
• Click on the What is a network location link and select the network location
• You can continue the Homegroup setup dialog or exit it at this point.
• Re-enable all disabled network adapters in the last step.

Both the Fix-It program and the manual repair should fix the issue under Windows 7. Did you ever run into this problem? Let me know in the comments.

The first idea that I had was to run Autoruns to see if the task was listed in the program.

To do that run Autoruns and switch to the Scheduled Task tab. You should see some, but not all, of the tasks configured on the system. The task that caused the corruption error was unfortunately not in the list.

The next step was the Windows Registry. All scheduled Windows tasks, custom and default, have an entry in the Registry.

Open the Windows Registry Editor. An easy way to do that is to press Windows-r to open the run box, type in regedit and hit enter. Navigate to the following key in the tree structure in the folder view on the left side.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Schedule\TaskCache\Tree

You will see a list of scheduled tasks, more than what Autoruns displayed in its interface. The task that is causing the error message when opening the Task Scheduler should be listed as a folder underneath the Tree folder.

My advise is to backup the Registry key first before you start deleting it. Right-click the key that is causing the problems and select Export. The Registry Editor saves the key and all of its information in a Registry file on the system. A double-click on that file imports the information back to the Registry. Please note that you need the right permissions to import the Registry information into that structure.

Once you have backed up the Registry key you can delete it by selecting it with the left mouse button and a tap on the delete key.

Restart your Task Scheduler to see if that fixed the issue. If you do not get the The Task Image Is Corrupt Or Has Been Tampered With error anymore you have fixed the issue. If it still appears double-check the Registry again to see if the key has really been deleted.

Malicious software sometimes disables Safe Mode among other things to prevent an easy recovery of the system. That’s a problem if you do not want to reinstall or restore the operating system, or do not have the means to do that.

Windows Safe Mode Fixer is a straightforward application that can be used to repair the Safe Mode, so that it becomes accessible again.

The troubleshooting software needs to be run from within the operating system, which may be the program’s biggest downside. If you still have access to Windows you can run the program to repair the Safe Mode. If you do not have access anymore, the program won’t do you any good.

A short explanation and three buttons are displayed on startup. The program requires no installation and can be started directly after downloading it from the developer website.

The tool does not explain what it does to repair the Safe Mode, only that it does repair the troubleshooting mode. A click on the Fix button applies the repairs to the operating system and restarts the system automatically afterwards. It is recommended to safe all work and open windows before you click on that button.

The developer recommends to disable all antivirus and firewall solutions prior to pressing it. I personally would not recommend that, and would use it as a last resort if pressing the button without doing so did not fix the broken Safe Mode.

You should try to boot into Safe Mode during that restart to find out if the issue was fixed by the program. I recommend to press F8 repeatedly after BIOS until you see the selection menu with Safe Mode as an option.

Safe Mode Fixer can be downloaded from the official program website at Sergiwa. The program is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system. (via)

ServiWin is a Nirsoft application that aids the administrator and user in troubleshooting driver and service related issues.

The program starts up in driver list mode on startup. It is basically a list of all system drivers that are currently known to the system. This includes drivers that are loaded or stopped.

Each driver is listed with is name and display name, status, startup type, description, versions and company related information. Especially the startup type and driver version are helpful in troubleshooting driver related issues.

The toolbar at the top contains buttons to start, stop and restart a selected driver. The right-click context menu offers even more of those including changing the status to pause and the startup type.

As you can see from the screenshot there are also options to research a particular driver on Google and to create a HTML report of selected drivers or all drivers of the system.

The File > Save Selected Items menu can be used to save the selection to a text, xml or csv file.

You can switch to Services Mode, the second featured mode of the program. You do that with a click on the Services button in the toolbar, via the View menu or by pressing F8.

This list mode displays all services of the operating system along with their names, statuses and startup types. That’s handy to troubleshoot related issues, for instance the Print Spooler service when troubleshooting printer drivers.

This mode supports the very same options as the driver mode. From changing statuses and startup types over researching a driver on Windows to exporting the information to a file or a HTML report. The software supports troubleshooting remote machines. This is done by entering the IP address of a remote computer via the File > Select Computer menu.

ServiWin is a handy portable software for the Windows operating system. You can download it directly from the Nirsoft website. (via)

One of my networking classes included the basics of troubleshooting a network connection. It included basic command line tools that really were very easy to use and understand. Most of the students thought they were fun to use.

Knowing these commands before having to deal with the frustration of a network connection problem is not a bad idea. A working connection shows you what is supposed to happen. If you see something different, you will know something is up. When problems strike, at the least you can get an idea of what is going on.

Step 0: Check the Cords & Power

The first thing you should always do is check to make sure everything is plugged in: your computer, router, device, etc. Many laptops have a button to turn off the wireless connection; the icon looks like a signal tower. When in doubt, read the manual (which you can often download from the manufacturer’s website). Bear in mind, we all forget this step at some point, so do not feel too silly when it happens to you.

Step 1: Ping Yourself

You want to test that your machine is working properly. To do this, you want to ping yourself. You use the loop-back address (127.0.0.1) to do this. Pinging the loop-back address tests to make sure software on your computer is working properly. Typically, if something is not working at this stage, you may just need to restart your computer.

ping
http://www.ghacks.net/2011/05/12/network-troubleshooting-basics-the-ping-command/

Step 2: Ping Your Router (AKA: the Default Gateway)

The next step would be to ping your router. You can find your router’s IP address with ipconfig as well (it should be on the bottom of the unit and listed in the manual too). Remember that ipconfig lists your router as the “Default Gateway.” It is very likely to be 192.168.1.1 or a similar number.

This is done to test if your router is responding. If it is not, and you have already checked to make sure it is on, then it may need to be turned off and turned on. Every once in a while it may need a refresh. If the problem continues, contact you ISP for assistance to see if they can help.

Note: Routers, like anything else in the IT world, will someday fail. There is a chance that this has happened. Your ISP help desk should be able to help you determine this. If the router is one of theirs, they will likely send you out a new one.

Step 3: Ping Yourself with Your IP Address

We want to test to make sure everything is working correctly between your router and your computer. To do this, ping your IP address. It is listed in the ipconfig command at the same time the router IP number is. If this works, you can be pretty confident that a problem is outside your home (or maybe small office) network.

Step 4: Ping and Tracert Outside Your Network

From here, you want to test something outside your network. In a medium or larger network setting, a server on another branch of the network will do. For a home network, the Internet is often your only option. Since chances are the problem is that one or more websites are (or seem) down, this is a logical thing to check.

You can use a few different tools. First try the ping command because it is the fastest. It will only tell you if the site is working or not. For more detailed information, use tracert and pathping. They can give a better idea of what is going on. For instance, if you can reach your router, but no further, the node that connects you to the Internet may be down: an ISP issue. If you can reach only a couple (one or two) steps past your router, then it still is probably an ISP issue. Your Internet is down. If you can reach a lot further, the site may be having issues (see is Facebook down, ways to check if a website is really down, for pointers) There even is a chance that other sites, either from the same proximity or even hosting service, are having the same problem. If it is an e-commerce site, there may be a number to call, but there probably is not much to do besides wait. At least you know where the problem is.

Parting Thought

On a parting note, one other benefit of trying these commands out on a nice day like today is that it creates a positive mental association with the tools. That might change with enough problems, but they are worthy of a good first impression. Having the skills to deal with a problem ahead of time is always a good idea.

Refresh PC is a free program for Windows that adds a similar restoration option to current Microsoft operating systems. The freeware is not restoring the whole system like Windows 8′s feature, but only select parts of it.

Refresh PC offers to restore all Registry settings and system services to their default state. Say you have used Windows tweakers or manual editing of the Registry. Later you found out that the settings caused problems that you cannot seem to fix anymore. Another example would be a virus attack or other malicious code that changed system settings. And while you managed to clean the malware from your system, you do not know which Registry settings you need to change to restore the system to its previous state.

That’s where RefreshPc offers to help as it can reset those settings when you run it.

You need to install the program after you have downloaded it. The program recommends to create a System Restore point when you run it which you should create unless you are using other means of backup. Just make sure you have a backup in reach in case you need to restore your system.

The program detects your operating system and version on startup, and displays the information in the program interface.

The interface itself has only one button that will restore the settings to their factory defaults when activated.

RefreshPC restores the Registry settings and system services, and cleans the temp folders and prefetch files at the same time. There is no option to select only some of the options. When you press the button, all actions are carried out.

Refreshing the system services will restore the services to their initial values. The Registry refresh requires some explanation. The program will only reset Registry settings that ship with Windows. It will not reset keys that have been added by third party installations.

RefreshPC can be a handy tool if other means of restoration like using system restore or backups have not been successful. The program can only be used if it is possible to boot into the Windows installation, which limits its reach somewhat. An option to only select some of the refresh options in the interface would be handy as well.

The application is compatible with all 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system, from Windows XP to Windows 7. It can be downloaded from the developer website.

I read through dozens of blog and forum posts to finally discover the solution that re-enabled jumplists on my system. Instead of just writing down what solved the disappearing jumplist issue for me, I have decided to post all solutions that I encountered during research.

Enable jumplists

First thing you may want to do is to check if jumplists are disabled in Windows. A right-click on any pinned icon on the taskbar is an indicator that something’s wrong with the jumplist display if none are shown, but that does not necessarily mean that jumplists are disabled. Right-click the taskbar and select Properties from the context menu. Switch to the Start Menu tab and make sure that “Store and display recently opened items in the Start menu and the taskbar” is enabled.

If the feature is already enabled you need to further troubleshoot the issue. If it was disabled you may want to re-start your PC to see if the change enabled jumplist support under Windows 7 again. I suggest you test that by right-clicking on a program that is know for supporting jumplists, web browsers come to mind.

Missing Folders, corrupt files

The method mentioned under Enable Jumplists did not work on my system. I had to look elsewhere and found a solution that suggested to delete files in the following directory:

%APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\AutomaticDestinations\

Only problem was, the Recent\AutomaticDestinations\ folders did not exist on my system. And yes, I made sure to display hidden folders and operating system files.

You can copy and paste the path into Windows Explorer to open it there. If it works for you, you can delete or rename the file 1b4dd67f29cb1962.automaticDestinations-ms in there to fix jumplists under Windows 7.

I made the decision to create the folders instead. I did that in Windows Explorer and created the Recent and AutomaticDestinations folders there. Windows did create another folder there called CustomDestinations.

Jumplists did not work right away, it took a few minutes before I was able to make use of them again. But creating the folders in Windows fixed the missing jumplist issue on my system.

The Ipconfig Command Basics

The ipconfig command gets its name from the acronym IP (Internet Protocol) and a shortened term for configure. Understanding this served as a mnemonic device for me when I was first learning networking. It is used to display and configure your connection to the Internet. This tutorial will focus on the display and what that means.

Deciphering the Information

To get to ipconfig, we have to get to the command line.

• Click Start, click Run, type in “cmd” & hit enter.
• Type in ipconfig & hit enter. (you can use ipconfig /all for detailed information)

You will get a screen that looks like this.

To find your router’s IP number, look next to “Default Gateway” (listed last). For a mnemonic, think of the router as your gateway to the Internet or another network. To find your computers’ IP number, look next to “IP Address”. Do not worry about the other information like the subnet mask.

In this case, the computer number is 192.168.1.4 while 192.168.1.1 is the router number. It is common for 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1 to be the router’s IP address. There are a few reasons for this, which were covered in a previous article.

Ping Your Router (Default Gate)

We are using the ipconfig command so that we can get the IP number of the router. As discussed at the end of the last article on the ping command, we want to ping our router. If we can ping it, then it should be working properly.

To do this, type in ping and the router (default gateway) number as shown.

Some Possible Problems

Consider a case where the connection to the Internet seems down. If you cannot ping the router, or the ipconfig command says the default gateway is 0.0.0.0, then the problem may be in the router. The first thing to check is whether the router is on and everything is plugged in. The next thing to try would be to either restart the computer or to try and ping the router from another computer. From here, you may want to call your ISP’s help line and let them know what you have tried. An experienced user may restart the router; I have found that mine needs this from time to time. For a beginner, it is better to get some help. You will learn from the experience.

There is a possibility that your router may be failing. That has happened to me once before. Fortunately, a friend helped me troubleshoot the device, so stay in touch with networking pals. The culprit may likely have been heat from a lack of proper ventilation. Be sure your router has proper air flow. While they may run warm, if they are hot to the touch, it may be bad for the device (check your manual or consult your manufacturer).

ipconfig Command Line Options

Ipconfig has several command line options that you can utilize. You can display all of them with the command ipconfig /?. Here is a short selection of the most common uses.

• ipconfig /release – Releases all IPv4 addresses (requires DHCP)
• ipconfig /renew – Renews all IPv4 addresses (requires DHCP)
• ipconfig /flushdns – Flushes the DNS cache

Linux & Mac Use Ifconfig & Route -n

For those running Linux or are on a Mac, the commands to use are ifconfig and route -n. Is ifconfig identical to ipconfig? No. The ifconfig command will show you your computer’s IP number and other information. You just type in the command, ifconfig, into the terminal to find out information about how your computer connects to the Internet. To get your router’s IP number, you use the route command with a -n (netstat -r should work too). Both are shown in the screen shots. Make sure you use lowercase letter; the commands are case sensitive. (Side Note: Linux also has a iwconfig command for wireless specific tweaking (e.g. frequency).)

Just a note about the Mac ifconfig command. We are using it to view network settings, which is fine. In doing research for this article, I read that it is not advised to use this to change settings. From what I read, it works, but with possible complications.

Closing

We use ipconfig to find the router’s IP number. Once you have that, you can ping the router to test if it is responsive. The problem with the ping command is that, while it is fast, is doesn’t give you a lot of information. For that, we use the tracert command, which will be covered next.

Overview

Knowing the basics of network troubleshoot can help you find out where problems are. It could be your computer, your home router, your ISP (Internet Service Provided), the website itself, or something in between. First each tool will be looked at individually and then the process with be explained. The tools used will be the commands ping, ipconfig, and tracert. The process that will be covered is one of the most basic ones.

• Step 1: Ping yourself with the loopback address.
• Step 2: Ping the router (default gateway) and how to get that address (ipconfig).
• Step 3: Ping or tracert outside the network (e.g. the Internet).

The Ping Command Basics

The ping command got its name from the sound sonar makes when it “sees” something. In sonar, you send out a signal and measure the time it takes to get there. The ping command does the same thing. This tells if a computer or device is out there or not, which is the purpose of the command.

To use the ping command, you type “ping” followed by an IP number or a website name. It will show you if a destination is reachable and how long it takes to get there. It will work in Windows from the Dos Box, Linux from the terminal, and Mac from the terminal (or the Network Utility).

Click on the “Start” button > “run” > and type in “cmd” & enter to bring up the command line.

Type in ping ghacks.net and hit enter (there is a space between the two g’s).

The Loop-Back Address

Step 1 in the process is to ping yourself. To do that, we use the loop-back address. This is a special IP number, 127.0.0.1, and is useful in checking your own computer. When you ping this IP number, you ping your computer to test if the system is working. It is an internal process. If this does not work, you know the problem is in your computer. In this case, you may simply need to reboot the machine, but it could be a more serious issue.

Type in ping 127.0.0.1 and hit enter (there is a space between the “g” and the “1″).

Exceptions to the Rule

When it comes to websites and servers, not all of them will let you ping them. For example, Microsoft’s website will not show up if you ping it, but Google will. These sites, while working, will give you a “Request timed out.” error message.

How can a website show up on your browser and not on the ping command? The Internet works using a system of standard instructions called protocols, TCP in a website’s case. The ping command works with another protocol called ICMP. The main use for ICMP is to test connections and find out where a problem is. It is supposed to send back information to the sender letting them know if the message was received. If you turn off ICMP, then ping will not work. A firewall is usually used to do this.

In school, when we tried to ping classmates; this was a problem. With the firewall on, we could not ping each other until we turned it off. That is not something you should do at home, but it can explain why you cannot ping a computer on your home network. If you do decide to try out something that requires turning off your firewall (not recommended), unplug your router from the Internet and do not plug it back in until your firewall is running again.

Ping Command Options

The ping command will try to reach site four times by default. Personally, I think twice is enough. You can limit the number of times by using some switches. Switches are extra text you include with a command to tweak what it does.

• In MS Windows, use ping -n 2 destination
• In Linux, use ping -c 2 destination
• On a Mac, use ping -c 2 destination

Some people think once or thrice is enough, so feel fee to swap that 2 for a 1 or a 3. There are more options too, but this is what I find useful. You can always type “ping” by itself to see all the options (in dos, ping /? works too). Tip: If you are using Linux, and the ping command just keeps going, use ctrl+c to stop it.

Closing

The first step is to ping yourself. The next step is to ping your router. To do that you need to know how to use the ipconfig command, which will be covered in the next article.

Sometimes however you may be left in bewilderment why a specific application hangs. If it freezes regularly you may want to analyze the situation to find out why that’s the case, in hope of finding a way to resolve the situation.

WhatIsHang is a new Nirsoft software that tells you why a program is not responding in Windows.

The portable software tries to detect software and processes that are currently not responding. Information about those applications are then displayed in the program interface.

Here you see the process name and window title of the application, the process ID and thread ID as well as the full path to the program executable.

The report created by the program may reveal information why the application is not responding. In the case of Notepad, it suggests that it may have something to do with a remote network file that may have caused the freeze of the program window.

You may notice that most of the information displayed is intended for tech savvy users. Some information, like file names or strings can however be used in searches to investigate the cause of the hang. Combining those names and strings with a search on the Internet may lead to possible fixes or explanations for the hang. Plus, you may be able to copy and paste the information into a forum or email to ask a proficient user about it.

WhatIsHang is another excellent Nirsoft application that should be part of everyone’s tech tool collection. The program is compatible with all 32-bit and 64-bit editions of the Windows operating system starting with Windows 2000.

Downloads are provided at the official Nirsoft website. The project web page offers some instructions on how to interpret the reports of the program, a good starting point for all users who intend to use the application.

A remark. WhatIsHang needs to be started on Windows Vista, Windows 7 and the server variants with elevated privileges if the active user account is having system or administrative privileges. Otherwise, no hanging applications will be detected.

The Full Tilt Poker application receives regular updates that increase the application’s functionality and stability. I have recently created an account at the website and was puzzled when the first “There is a new version” notification appeared on the screen after starting the application from the Windows start menu.

I was not puzzled because of the update, but because nothing happened. I selected to install the update only to see the application window shut down completely. A restart of the application displayed the update notification again. It simply would not update the program and I was stuck in update loop hell.

I could not play until the software was updated. I then decided to run the application as an administrator, to see if this fixed the issue.

Fix: run as administrator

Windows users can run software with administrative privileges by right-clicking the executable and selecting Run as administrator from the context menu. To run Full Tilt Poker as an admin you need to open the start menu, locate the application there, right-click it and select to run it as an admin.

The update notification appeared again. A click on Ok this time did not close the application without updating the software. The program switched to an installer that copied files on the system.

The update took a few seconds and the poker interface was started after the updating finished on the system.

I’m not sure why it is necessary to run the application with elevated privileges to update it. It may have something to do with file access rights.

I should also note that the problem occurred on a Windows 7 64-bit system. It can be that users of previous Microsoft operating systems do not have problems updating the software. Windows 7 users on the other hand may be able to use the information to resolve updating issues with other applications as well.

Have you encountered a similar issue before? If so, let me know in the comments.

The reason for the behavior? Apparently to protect users from “accidentally performing these actions on a large number of files”.

Take a look at the screenshots below. First a screenshot when one file is selected:

Now compare that context menu with one when 16 files are selected in Windows Explorer.

Notice the difference? Several context menu entries that programs have added are removed, for instance the option to securely delete the selected files or to run the files sandboxed.

The only option to correct the situation is to add a new key to the Windows Registry. But first, lets take a look at a screenshot that shows the same situation with the Registry setting in place:

Notice that some of the context menu entries are visible again. Please note that some are missing because of the mix of file types.

Change Context Menu Limit

A parameter needs to be added to the Windows Registry to change the limit of the context menu. The fastest way to open the Registry Editor is to press Windows-R, type regedit, and the return key afterwards.

Navigate to the following Registry key

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

and look for the entry MultipleInvokePromptMinimum on the right side. If it is there good, if not create it with a right-click on the right side and the selection of New > DWORD (32-Bit Value). Copy and paste the name from above into the text field and hit return.

Double-click the item afterwards and change the Value data to 16.

16 is interpreted by Windows as unlimited.

The change is immediate and it is a good idea to test it right away in Windows Explorer. Keep the Registry editor window open in case you need to make changes to the parameter.