How to Repair Damaged Winsock2

When we try to release and renew an IP address using IPCONFIG command then sometimes we get an error massage which says:

An error occurred while renewing interface 'Internet': An operation was attempted on something that is not a socket.
Again Internet Explorer may give the following error message:
The page cannot be displayed Additionally, you may have no IP address or no Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA) address, and you may be receiving IP packets but not sending them.

Actually this error occurs if the system winsock2 file is damaged.

To confirm that winsock2 file is damaged. Follow the steps below:

Winsock Test Method 1
Run netdiag /test:winsock
After execute his command
Lastly tell Winsock test ..... passed

Winsock Test Method 2
go to Run and type Msinfo32
Click on the + by Components
Click on the by Network
Click on Protocol
There should be 10 sections if the Winsock2 key is ok
MSAFD Tcpip [TCP/IP]
MSAFD Tcpip [UDP/IP]
RSVP UDP Service Provider
RSVP TCP Service Provider
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...
MSAFD NetBIOS [\Device\NetBT_Tcpip...

If you see the names are anything different from those in this list, then determine that Winsock2 is corrupted and needs to be repaired.
Now let see how we can repair Winsock2 file:

To repair Winsock2
Just Run Regedit
Delete the following two registry keys:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Winsock
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Servic es\Winsock2
Restart the computer

Then Go to Network Connections
Right click and select Properties
Click on the Install button
Select Protocol
Click on the Add button
Click on the Have Disk button
Browse to the \Windows\inf directory
Click on the Open button
Click on the OK button
Highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
Click on the OK button
Reboot

Format usb flash drives to NTFS [Windows XP]

Removable usb flash drives are usually formatted in FAT32 file system. While this is sufficient for most users, there’s always a possibility of hitting the maximum file size that FAT32 can handle. The FAT32 file system has an upper limit of 4GB per individual file, this means that you cannot copy a file larger than 4GB to your usb flash drive. This becomes a problem in case you need to copy high definition videos or database/installer files larger than 4GB. To resolve this problem, format your flash drive to the Windows XP NTFS file system. The NTFS file system can handle file sizes up to 16TB per file!

By default Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 will always recommend you to format usb flashdrives to FAT32.



If you attempt to copy files larger than 4GB for a FAT32 flash drive, you will get a weird error:




We need to tweak Windows’ settings to allow formatting to NTFS.
1. Open My Computer, right-click on the usb flash drive, click Properties
2. Click Hardware, select the name of your usb flash drive, click Properties




3. Click Policies, select Optimize for performance, click OK, disconnect your usb flashdrive




4. Reconnect your usb flash drive, and click Format. The option for format your usb flashdrive to NTFS is now available



5. You can now copy files larger than 4GB to your NTFS formatted usb flash drive



Tech details about why Windows defaults to FAT32
Why is this – why bother with FAT32? And why not just give the better and larger limit through NTFS? Microsoft has carefully thought of this issue. Its true that the current size of media files (movies, music, dvd’s, game and installer files) will occasionally grow beyond 4GB and will simply not fit FAT32. However, setting usb flash drives to NTFS also has some drawbacks.

1. A usb flash drive formatted to NTFS needs to be properly removed and ejected. NTFS formatted usb flash drives are not as easily and quickly removable when compared to FAT32. While you can simply pull a FAT32 disk out from the usb slot, this proves risky to NTFS. Simply pulling an NTFS removable drive out of the usb port can cause data corruption.

2. NTFS file system offers a double-edged feature of data security through its encryption. NTFS preserves the file permissions and security of each file. This will work good if the usb flash drive is stolen (and assuming you have set encryption). This is bad if you want to freely share the contents of the flash drive – if the files are encrypted, other users might not be able to copy and view the contents at all.

3. NTFS is not 100% compatible with older Linux and MAC systems. Some older versions of Linux and MAC might not fully support writing into NTFS file system, they would often restrict to just copying the drive contents.

=========================

In summary, the FAT32 file system works best for most home and office users. Take the tips given above and use only when needed. Remember to revert the formatting back to FAT32.

I hope you enjoyed this tip and the background info on FAT32 and NTFS issues on usb removable flash drives

The Fastest Desktop Search Tool is Everything

As we accumulate more digital files of documents, pictures, music, and video, we find ourselves occasionally challenged with sorting and categorizing files into numerous subfolders and directories. While it is practical to sort and classify data into folders, it is still not as fast - when time comes that we need to sift through our folders and files for past documents. It’s easier and faster to search with Desktop Search programs.

Windows comes with a built-in desktop search feature. Windows XP’s search feature is bad in terms of speed and results. The supposed indexing feature does not work well, the search keywords are not very flexible and sensitive. Windows Vista and Windows 7’s Desktop Search has been greatly improved that it rivals that of Google Desktop. The popular third party Google Desktop continue to improve despite the initial security concerns about its huge and possibly vulnerable index file.

If you observe your desktop search activities, you might notice that a good percentage of your search keywords are actually partial filenames that you can remember. For this scenario, an even faster desktop search program can be used, it is called “Everything”.

Everything is literally the fastest desktop search tool for Windows. It is fast because it indexes only the file and folder names. It works only on NTFS file systems. It does not work for old FAT32 formatted flash drives. Despite these limitations, it remains the fastest desktop search tool. Everything is also made to be a portable application!

Download  here: http://adfoc.us/631408270664




Upon extracting the Everything application. It immediately scans the NTFS hard drives and creates an index file. While Google Desktop requires hours to sometimes even days to fully index your computer, Everything does all the indexing in a matter of minutes!


Again, this is made truly fast because Everything indexes only all file and folder names. It does not view and index within the document contents. Search results in Everything appear real time as you type!



Everything adds support for searching with filters such as those below
(taken from the Everythin FAQ at http://www.voidtools.com/faq.php

Everything Boolean Search Operators

• AND is the default boolean operator.
• For example, here is how to search for foo and bar: foo bar
• To search for either of two search terms, add a | between the terms.
• For example, here is how to search for .jpg or .bmp: .jpg | .bmp
• To exclude something from the search include a ! at the front of the term.
• For example, here is how to search for abc and not 123: abc !123

Everything Wildcard Search Operators

• Using a * in your search will match any number of any type of character.
• For example, here is how to search for files and folders that start with e and end with g: e*g
• Using a ? in your search will match one character.
• For example, here is how to search for files that have a 2 letter file extension: *.??

Everything is a good and a truly fast companion to your current desktop search tool. It does not eat gigabytes of your hard drive space, it is less likely susceptible to security breaches in case an index file has been copied or tampered with. Remember also that Everything is a portable application. You no longer need admin rights to use Everything on a friend’s computer to help look for documents.

How to get better screen shots for screen display

Here are five simple things you can do to make your screen shots look better on-screen. Use these tips when you need to make screen shots for the Web or other types of on-screen presentations.
1. Save Application Windows as GIF format. Screen shots almost always compress better and look better as GIFs. There is rarely a reason to save screen shots of application windows as JPEG files. The only exception is when the image contains continuous tone areas such as a photo or texture. Don't believe me? Just take a look at these examples:

 

This example was reduced to 16 colors and saved as a GIF resulting in a file size of 3,177 bytes.

This example was saved as a JPEG with zero quality and resulted in a file size of 5,678 bytes. Even using 100% compression, the file size is still larger than the GIF example, but just look at it... Yuck!

2. Avoid reducing the pixel dimensions. If possible, avoid reducing the size of your screen shots, particularly if they've already been saved to a paletted format like GIF. If your image is already in GIF format, convert the mode to RGB before resizing. Reducing the size of a screen shot also creates additional colors in the image which usually results in a larger GIF file. Usually you can get a smaller file size by using the full size image and reducing the color depth instead of the dimensions. Cropping out unnecessary elements also helps, especially if they add more colors to the image.

The original actual-size screen shot is a 64-color GIF with a file size of 7,613 bytes. Now take a look at the two examples of resizing the image to 50%, both with and without changing the color mode....

This example was reduced to 50% without converting the color mode to RGB. Since the image consists of a limited color palette, and because pixels are being thrown out by reducing, the resized image is not readable at all. This image is 2,567 bytes.
This example was reduced to 50% after converting the color mode to RGB. It's a bit better than the example above, but take a look at the file size... it shot way up to 11,205 bytes. The resampling also caused the colors to increase to 256. It's still not very readable, so in this instance resizing was not even worth the effort.

3. Avoid interpolation when increasing pixel dimensions. When increasing the size of the screen shot, in most cases you should not use a resampling method that results in blending pixels or anti-aliased edges. Both Bilinear and Bicubic methods in Photoshop blend pixels, which results in blurry screen shots that don't compress well. Instead, you should choose Nearest Neighbor in the resampling menu of the image size dialog to resize without blending.

Original image 8 colors, 263 bytes.

Resized to 200% using "nearest neighbor" setting. 8 colors, 569 bytes.

Resized to 200% using "bicubic" setting... yuck! 256 colors, 3,238 bytes.

4. Disable color gradients in Windows title bars. On Windows systems, the default appearance for title bars includes a gradient color transition. This increases the number of colors in the image and significantly increases the file size. When producing screen shots for the Web, be sure to change the title bar appearance to a solid color, or crop the title bar out of the image. You can change the appearance by right clicking the desktop and choosing properties, then going to the Appearance tab. In Windows XP, you can simplify the window appearance by using the "Windows Classic style" rather than the XP style themes.

With gradient: 16-color GIF, 2,633 bytes

Without gradient: 16-color GIF, 1,562 bytes... which one looks better?
5. Cursor Tricks
If you want to include a cursor in your screen shot, but you forgot to include the cursor in your capture, you can save an image of a cursor with a transparent background and drop it into your screen capture anytime you need one. Better yet, download these cursors I've already created for you in transparent PSD and PNG formats.
The saved cursor is also useful for creating animated screen shots. By changing the location of the cursor and assembling a series of screen shots into an animated GIF, you can demonstrate movement. Don't overdo it, though,

How to Create Windows Live XP CD

If you need to make a windows Live XP CD you just follow the steps:

1) Download & install pebuilder (3.15mb).( Bart's Preinstalled Environment (BartPE) bootable live windows CD/DVD)

2) Open pebuilder & click I Agree, then come 'Search files?' Click on NO .

3) Goto Plugins > Add & add this plugin (Download Sherpya Windows PE Stuff from SourceForge.net) for Start Menu & Task Bar

4) Click on right side button where source box have, here click and select XP (From backup XP)

5) Go to Media output>None check-in then select path (Where it will build & give a file name.

6) Click on Build

7) Now write in CD ROM.

7 Tips for Using System Information

 

Launching System Information

There are several ways that you can launch System Information in Windows 7. The easiest is to click the Start button and type msinfo32 in the Start Search box. When you do, msinfo32.exe will appear at the top of the search results and you just press [Enter]. You can also find System Information on the Start menu by going to All programs > Accessories > System Tools > System Information.
If you are in the Control Panel, you can search for and launch Performance Information and Tools, choose Advanced tools, and then select View advanced system details in System Information. Also while in the Control Panel, you can search for and launch Administrative Tools, launch System Configuration, and access System Information from the Tools tab.

 

1) Looking around

System Information employs an expandable tree structure to break down system configuration information into four categories: System Summary, Hardware Resources, Components, and Software Environment.
System Summary - displays a general profile of your computer and the operating system including CPU type, amount of RAM, and information about the page file.

 

Looking around

Hardware Resources - displays detailed information about hardware resources including DMA, IRQ, and the I/O channel.
Image created by Greg Shultz for TechRepublic.

 

 

 

2) Find what

You can use the Find what panel to quickly locate specific configuration information. Just type the term you want to locate and click Find. When you do, Find what will search through all the data in System information for that term.
If you don’t need the Find what panel, you can get more viewable space by clicking the Close Find button to remove the Find what panel from the window. Press [Ctrl]+F to bring it back.

 

Find what

You can target your search by selecting either the Search selected category only or Search category names only check boxes. If you select Search category names only, Find what will only search in the Category pane. If you select Search selected category only, Find what will only search in the category that you have selected.

 

3) Create configuration data sets

You can use System Information to create configuration data sets that you can then use to compare past and present configurations. Basically, what you’ll do is create a configuration data set when your system is functioning normally. Then, if your system begins to behave oddly, you can compare the current configuration data set with the one that you created earlier and see what has changed.
To save a configuration data set as a System Information File (.NFO file) just pull down the File menu and select the Save command. To save a configuration data set as a straight text file, pull down the File menu and select the Export command. Once you click the Save button, System Information will refresh its entire database before creating the file.
Either way you save it, be sure that you append the date to the end of the file name. For example, you might use the file name SysInfo 8-5-12.nfo.
For more details on how to use configuration data sets, see the article Use System Information to create configuration data sets for quicker troubleshooting.

 

4) Remote Connection

There may be situations where you will want to gather the type of data that System Information provides from other computers either for comparison or inventory. If so, you’ll want to use System Information’s Remote connection feature. To do so, just pull down the View menu and select the Remote Computer command or press [Ctrl]+R. Then, select the Remote Computer on the Network radio button, fill in the computer name, and click OK.

 

5) Running Tasks

The Running Tasks section of the Software Environment category is similar to the Processes tab in Task Manager, but provides several unique pieces information that makes it a valuable troubleshooting tool. For example, in Running Tasks you’ll find Start Time, Version number, File Size, and File Date information, all of which can provide helpful information when troubleshooting various problems. You won’t find that type of detail on the Processes tab.
You’ll also notice that in Running Tasks, Priority is listed using a numeric scale running from 4 to 13 whereas the Processes tab’s Base Priority is listed using a scale of Low to High. In some cases this more finite measurement can be very valuable. (When comparing the two priority ratings I have noticed that the two scales differ slightly, but for the most part a Low equals 4, a Normal equals 8, and a High equals 13.)
Working Set information differs as well. Running Tasks simply shows Minimum and Maximum values, if they exist. I suppose in some way this might be valuable information, but I have not really paid much attention to those values; besides the majority of tasks show these values as Not Available.
Of course, the biggest difference is that Running Tasks’ display is static whereas the data on the Processes tab is updated frequently. However, take note that there is a Refresh command on the View menu.
Now keep in mind that the Processes tab in Task Manager provides all sorts of valuable information and the Running Tasks is no substitute, but used concert the two provide a great source of information.

 

6) System Drivers

System Drivers provides you with detailed information about all the system drivers available on your computer and is a great companion tool to use alongside Device Manager. As you can see, basic information includes the Name of the driver, a Description, the File location, and the Type of driver.
You can then see whether the driver has been started (Yes or No), its Start Mode (such as Auto, Boot, Disabled, Manual, or System) as well as the driver’s current state (Running or Stopped).
You’ll also see the driver’s Status, which should be listed as OK.
The Error Control setting (Critical, Normal, or Ignore) essentially indicates the level of the driver’s importance to the system and indicate what to do in the event of a problem with the driver. For example, a driver with an Error Control of Critical is critical for system operation. In other words, if that driver couldn’t load properly, the system wouldn’t be able to boot up normally (Safe Mode is the solution.). An Error Control of Normal means that if the driver can’t load properly, display an error message but continue loading the operating system. An Error Control of Ignore means that if the driver can’t load properly, simply ignore it, don’t display an error message and continue loading the operating system.
The Accept Pause and Accept Stop value indicates whether the driver can accept a user initiated Pause or a Stop. (Via Device Manager.)

7) Find out how long has Windows been running

If you leave your Windows 7 system running 24/7, you may have wondered how long your system has been running since the last reboot. Similarly, you may have wondered how long you have been running Windows 7—exactly when you did you install the operating system. Fortunately the command line version of System Information can answer both of those questions.
Press [Windows]+R, type cmd /k systeminfo, press [Enter], and wait a few moments while the system gathers the necessary information. When it completes the process, scroll to the top of the display and look for System Boot Time and Original Install Date

Windows XP Installation With Screenshots