How to use Truecrypt without having to burn ISO file to a CD.

The other day I Found A Fix for a recent problem I was having. The issue is described as follows;

While trying to encrypt a laptop using Truecrypt, I realised I had no CD drive (or CD’s). Luckily there is a simple workaround you can use to bypass this requirement.

In the Run or Search box, type the following;

Alternatively type the path via the DOS Command Prompt i.e

– CD\

– Cd “C:\Program Files\Truecrypt”

– “TrueCrypt Format.exe” /n

I hope you too have found a fix.

Windows logs off immediately after logging in

The other day while browsing the Internet I Found A Fix for a recent problem I was having. The issue is described as follows:

The problem was when logging into windows, it immediately logged off automatically. This was the same for each user account and even attempting to log in using Safe Mode.

This turned out to be due to userinit.exe not running correctly. A virus had hijacked the log in process, running its own executable instead of userinit.exe. A registry key referencing userinit.exe had been altered.

The solution is as follows:

Read the rest of this entry »

Replacing the keyboard on a HP Pavillion DV6000

The other day while browsing the Internet I Found A Fix for a recent problem I was having. The issue is described as follows.

To remove and replace the keyboard on some laptops can involve some work. Here is the procedure to remove the keyboard on a HP Pavillion DV6000.

Read the rest of this entry »

Top 10 Tips for Successful Virus Removal

There’s no one way to remove viruses, spyware and general pc problems. Your best bet is to throw as much as possible at these threats. Try the following; 

1. Try Combofix. Disable whatever anti-virus you are currently running first and download here.
2. Visit http://safety.live.com and click on “Full Service Scan”. Follow the steps for a complete scan.
3. After this has completed, go to http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ and Click on “Scan Now. It’s Free”. Again, follow the steps for complete scan and removal of threats.
4. From the control panel, Go to Add/Remove programs and remove any unnecessary programs. Look out for browser add-ins, search programs, free or demo software, shopping , advertising, toolbar extra’s, and so on. At the very least, this is good pc maintenance. If you have more than 1 ant-virus software, then remove at least one of them.
5. Download and run RogueRemover.
6. Download and Run SmitfraudFix
7. Download, Install and run CCleaner – This is a free tool for removing temporary files, cookies, history, and cleaning up registry problems. Run the Cleaner and then the registry fix.
8. Download, install and run Spybot – Search & Destroy –  Homepage is http://www.spybot.info
9. To analyse and remove items from your startup list,  download HijackThis to a temporary directory. This tool is a great way to see what programs are starting up when you pc logs in to windows. My advice here is to remove obvious entries but consult Google for a second opinion. Be careful with this tool as you can adversely affect genuine programs such as your ant-virus software. Alternatively, you can use the startup manager in CCleaner to simply disable the startup items.
10. If you do not have any anti-virus software, download AVG Free .

I hope you have Found A Fix!

Fix for missing DVD drive in Windows Vista

The other day while browsing the Internet I Found A Fix for a recent problem I was having. The issue is described as follows:

On a Windows Vista laptop I found that CDs and DVDs were not picked up. When I opened ‘My Computer’, there was not CD or DVD drive listed at all!

My next check was to look in Device Manager an see if anything was listed there. The DVD drive was listed there but marked with an exclamation mark. Opening the entry it showed ‘Error Code 19’. A Google search soon gave me a solution:

Right click on the CD or DVD drive that has a yellow exclamation mark next to it and delete it.

For Vista click the windows “start” button on the bottom left and in the search box type regedit . (You might be asked for permission if UAC is enabled in Vista Just hit next or continue.)

This brings you to the Registry Editor. Browse to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

BE SURE you follow the path 100% There are many similar files and folders so double check they all match up.

Now that you are at the {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} Folder on the right side you will see several entries. Right Click and delete the Upperfilters and Lowerfilters. These will be recreated on the next reboot.

Once I rebooted it was all working fine.

Reading and Troubleshooting the Windows Minidump (.dmp) File

The other day while browsing the Internet I Found A Fix for a recent problem I was having. The issue is described as follows;

My Computer kept getting the BSOD (Blue Screen of Death). I needed to be able to analyse the windows minidump file to fully understand what was causing the computer to randomly reboot.

The solution and description to this error is set out below;

Read the rest of this entry »