All posts by Jim Guckin
Q&A Monday: Reinstalling Wan MiniPort
Question: My WAN miniport has gone missing. I accidentally deleted it durring some computer troubleshooting. Do you know how to get it back short of a complete Windows re-install? Thanks, Howard S. Jordan Montgomery, AL Answer: It’s been a while since I’ve been in this situation, but this should work: Download devcon.exe from some Microsoft site. Open netrasa.inf…
Windows 7 Command Prompt
One thing I like in Windows 7 is the easier way they have to open Command Prompt, and it can be done from any folder. To open a command prompt just press and hold down the shift button and select the “Open Command Prompt here” tab. It’s that simple, and was a time saver for…
AVG Free vs Microsoft Security Essentials
For the longest time when asked about a free anti-virus/anti-spyware software that I would use and recommend, usually top of the list would be AVG Free and I think that many of the techs that I worked with would agree with it. Infact another tech originally turned me on to the software and it became…
Admin Toolkit: 5 Linux tools you need for Windows
I think most System Admins have a USB thumb-drive with a bunch of tools that may be needed to diagnose any problems that might come to their network or their own computer. (Or is it just me?) I plan to go over what tools I use in more detail at a later time, but for…
Q&A Monday: Test your Security
Question: Hi, I’m not a computer expert, but I just switched internet providers and I want to make sure that my home network is secure by seeings what “ports” are open? –Leah J. Hemby, Stockbridge, GA Answer: There is a website that I’ve used and recommended to other to use to self test their own…
Delete Hiberfil.sys to regain space
Just incase you didn’t know when you activate the hibernate function on your laptop or computer, Windows takes a snapshot of your running programs, open files, etc. and writes that information to your hard drive in a file. The hibernate function was designed to speed up shutdowns and restarts and save power on laptops. Hiberfil.sys, is the name…
Q&A Monday:How can I display computer information on my desktop?
Question: I was visiting another data center and while given a glimpse of their servers, I saw on the desktops of their server had their server information. I’ve seen this at other companies, and with the large amount of physical and virtual servers I have in my data center, it would help me keep the…
Blackberry Java Exception
A Blackberry was handed to me, that wouldn’t turn on the Bluetooth on the device. When I would click to turn it on…it would try and then uncheck the box and show me a red X. Going to the Bluetooth options or attempting to connect the Bluetooth would do nothing…I could click and click…
Exchange 2007 and Shared Mailboxes
In many environments it might come in handy to create a “Shared Mailbox”, this would be a mailbox that does not have an “active” user associated with this. Exchange 2007 lets you create a shared mailbox, that created and then disabled an active directory account. This creates the mailbox without the pesky problem of having…
Q&A Monday: Move Files to New Computer
Question: Hi, I have an XP SP3 setup that I’ve tweaked to perfection (for me at least) and would like to maintain those files and settings when I get a new PC. Both machines have ASUS motherboards, the old with Intel Core 2 Duo E8400, the new with Intel i5. I have done some research…