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All of the information, instructions, and recommendations on this Web site are offered on a strictly "as is" basis. Remember "Murphy's Law." Please take the proper precautions before attempting any of the tips or modifications listed here.

Contents

HyperTerminal is no longer part of Windows

According to Microsoft, "HyperTerminal is no longer part of Windows."

Purpose of HyperTerminal

HyperTerminal is a terminal emulation program that supports communications over TCP/IP networks, Modems, and serial COM ports.

I use HyperTerminal to connect, via the serial port, to the console port on Cisco switches and routers. This lets me do the initial configuration, like setting the IP address and subnet mask. Once the device has an IP address, I can then switch to using telnet to access it.

Where to find HyperTerminal

If you have access to a clean Windows XP computer, you can copy the HyperTerminal files from it and use them on Windows 7 without a problem.

Locations:

• C:\Program Files\Windows NT\hypertrm.exe
• C:\WINDOWS\system32\hypertrm.dll
• C:\WINDOWS\Help\hypertrm.chm
• C:\WINDOWS\Help\hypertrm.hlp

You can copy all of the above files to the same directory on your Windows 7 or Vista PC.

Reference

• What happened to HyperTerminal?
• Alternatives to HyperTerminal in Vista
• Tera Term
• PuTTY: A Free Telnet/SSH Client
• HyperTerminal Private Edition

Built-In Tools

Problem Steps Recorder (psr.exe)

• You can use Problem Steps Recorder to automatically capture the steps you take on a computer, including a text description of where you clicked and a picture of the screen during each click (called a screen shot). Once you capture these steps, you can save them to a file that can be used by a support professional or someone else helping you with a computer problem.

Reliability Monitor

• A advanced tool that measures hardware and software problems and other changes to your computer. It provides a stability index that ranges from 1 (the least stable) to 10 (the most stable). You can use the index to help evaluate the reliability of your computer. Any change you make to your computer or problem that occurs on your computer affects the stability index.
• Control Panel > System and Security > Action Center
  • Click Maintenance. Then, under Check for solutions to problem reports, click View reliability history.

BCDEdit (Boot Configuration Data Editor)

• Boot Configuration Data (BCD) files provide a store that is used to describe boot applications and boot application settings. The objects and elements in the store effectively replace Boot.ini.

  BCDEdit is a command-line tool for managing BCD stores. It can be used for a variety of purposes, including creating new stores, modifying existing stores, adding boot menu parameters, and so on. BCDEdit serves essentially the same purpose as Bootcfg.exe on earlier versions of Windows

How to enable AHCI in Windows 7 after installation as ATA

To enable AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface) after Windows 7 was installed with ATA mode, do the following:

• Start Windows 7
• Run Registry Editor
• Go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Msahci
• Change the "Start" value from 3 to 0
• Reboot and go to the BIOS immediately
• Set BIOS to AHCI
• The next time Windows 7 loads, it will auto-detect the AHCI setting and install the drivers/devices it needs for proper AHCI operation.

Note: eSATA drives require SATA Operation in the BIOS be set to AHCI for proper eSATA operation.

Reference

• How to enable AHCI in Windows 7 RC after installation
• Windows 7 and AHCI
• GUIDE - Enabling AHCI mode AFTER Windows 7 Installation
• Error message when you start a Windows 7 or Windows Vista-based computer after you change the SATA mode of the boot drive: "STOP 0x0000007B INACCESSABLE_BOOT_DEVICE"

How to Create a Bootable USB Flash Drive to Install Windows 7

Requirements

• An ISO of the Windows 7 installation DVD or a Windows 7 disc
  • You can download ISO's from the list of Windows 7 ISO Direct Download Links.
  • You'll still need your own valid product id key to activate Windows 7.
• A USB Flash Drive that has a capacity of 4GB or larger.
  • This USB flash drive will be totally erased and formatted with NTFS!
  • All data on this USB flash drive will be lost!

How to Make a Bootable USB Flash Drive Without Using the bootsect Command:

• You'll need the DiskPart utility on the system you will use to prep the USB flash drive. This is a free disk partitioning utility that may already be installed on your Windows system. If not, you can download DiskPart.exe from Microsoft.
• Insert the target USB Flash Drive into the computer
• Start the DiskPart utility by typing diskpart at a command prompt, and issue the following commands:

• Copy everything from the Windows 7 installation DVD or ISO onto the USB flash drive.
• You now have a bootable USB flash drive that you can use to install Windows 7.

Using the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool to Create a Bootable Windows 7 USB Flash Drive

• Download the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool from the Microsoft Store
• If the "Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool" thinks the ISO is invalid then:
  • Use the Windows 7 ISO AVDP Copy Tool by Rafael Rivera to patch the ISO.
  • Or, open the ISO with PowerISO (full version), go to File > File properties, Check UDF, and then press OK

Note:

• If you're trying to create a 64-bit USB bootable device using a 32-bit version of Windows, then the last step of the "Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool," running bootsect, to make the USB flash drive bootable will fail.
• You'll have to download the 32-bit version of bootsect.exe from your account in the Microsoft Store.
  • See: "When creating a bootable USB device, I am getting an error about bootsect" under the Troubleshooting section
• Or, insert the USB flash drive into a 64-bit Windows 7 PC and issue the following command from the command prompt. (Replace f: with the drive lettter of the USB flash drive):

bootsect /nt60 f: /mbr

Reference

• Installing Windows XP 64-bit on a Latitude D630...here are the drivers...
• How to create a bootable USB flash drive for the purpose of installing Windows Vista or Windows 7
• How To Create Bootable Windows 7 USB To Install Windows 7 From USB Flash Drive (Using Windows 7 DVD/USB Tool)
• Windows 7 ISO Direct Download Links
• Bootsect Command-Line Options
• How To Make Bootable USB

No Internet Access Because of Invalid 0.0.0.0 Network

The Gateway IP address for the default route, 0.0.0.0, should be the IP address of the Default Gateway/router for your current network.

At a Command Prompt type the following command, then press the Enter key:

route print

If the Gateway IP address for the default route, 0.0.0.0, has the wrong IP address for your current network or says "On-link," then you will not have Internet access, because the proper default gateway/router isn't known by the PC.

Solution

At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

route delete 0.0.0.0

If your system gets an invalid default route again, then there may be some contention for the network resources on startup with the Bonjour Service.

Cause:

• If  the Bonjour Service starts before the NIC retrieves DHCP settings, the default gateway 0.0.0.0 is added.

Fix:

• For the Bonjour Service, change "Startup type:" From "Automatic" to "Automatic (Delayed Start)"
• If you don't see "Bonjour Service" it may be listed as ##Id_String1.6844F930_1628_4223_B5CC_5BB94B879762##

Turn Off Auto-Restart For Scheduled Automatic Updates

1. Open a Command Prompt, (Run As Administrator)
2. Type gpedit.msc then press the <enter> key
3. Go to Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update
4. Change the setting of "No auto-restart with logged on users for scheduled automatic updates installations"
5. To "Enabled"
6. Close the Local Group Policy Editor
7. Reboot the computer

Copied from gpedit.msc

Specifies that to complete a scheduled installation, Automatic Updates will wait for the computer to be restarted by any user who is logged on, instead of causing the computer to restart automatically.

If the status is set to Enabled, Automatic Updates will not restart a computer automatically during a scheduled installation if a user is logged in to the computer. Instead, Automatic Updates will notify the user to restart the computer.

Be aware that the computer needs to be restarted for the updates to take effect.

If the status is set to Disabled or Not Configured, Automatic Updates will notify the user that the computer will automatically restart in 5 minutes to complete the installation.

Note: This policy applies only when Automatic Updates is configured to perform scheduled installations of updates. If the "Configure Automatic Updates" policy is disabled, this policy has no effect.

Add Telnet to Windows 7

With Windows Vista and Windows 7, Telnet is not installed by default. To enable Telnet, do the following:

1. Go to: Start > Control Panel > Programs
2. Under "Programs And Features" select "Turn Windows features on or off"
3. Tick " Telnet Client"
4. Click the OK button

To start Telnet for with first time, open a Command Prompt and then type telnet.

After that, you can press the Windows key and type telnet in the search field.

Gadgets Not Loading or Missing from The Desktop

1. Use Task Manager to end the sidebar.exe process
2. Right-click on the Desktop and select Gadgets from the Context Menu to restart sidebar.exe

Unable to Print Multiple Copies

1. Go to: Start Button > Devices and Printers
2. Right-click on the printer and choose "Printing Preferences" from the context menu that pops up
3. Click on the "Output Options" tab
4. Change "Output to:" from "Verify Print" to "Printer"
5. Click OK

Other Possible Fixes

For HP Printers: Disable Mopier Mode

The HP printer option called Mopier Mode causes only 1 copy to be sent to the printer, then the printer uses its internal memory to print the multiple copies.  If the printer does not have enough internal memory, only one copy gets printed.

1. Select Start, then Printers
2. Right-click the LaserJet printer icon and select Properties
3. Select the Device Settings tab
4. Scroll down to the bottom
5. Click on Mopier Mode, which is the last of the Installable Options
6. Disable Mopier mode
7. Click OK.

- or -

1. Properties > Advanced > Print processor
2. Select winprint for the print processor

- or -

1. Open Control Panel > Devices and Printers
2. Open "Printer Properties"
3. Select the "Advanced" tab
4. Unselect the "Print directly to printer" option and make sure "Printer Spooling" is enabled.
   

Offline (The disk is offline because it has a signature collision with another disk that is online)

Issue

I replaced a drive that had Windows Vista Business 32-bit so that I could do a clean install of Windows 7 and still keep Vista just in case. After Windows 7 was fully installed, I hooked up the original hard drive using an Apricorn DriveWire USB Hard Drive Adapter. The Apricorn DriveWire was detected by Windows 7 but the hard drive did not show up in Windows Explorer. I then installed the original hard drive as a secondary SATA drive. Still no joy. I then checked Disk Management, and low and behold, the drive was listed but was "offline" with the following message:

Offline (The disk is offline because it has a signature collision with another disk that is online)

Solution

I right-clicked on the drive in Disk Management and choose online. I was then able to access the drive without any problems or conflicts.

The file AdobePDF.dll on Windows Vista CD-ROM is needed

Issue

During the installation of Adobe CS3, a dialog box for Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional displays the following:

File needed

The file 'AdobePDF.dll' on Windows Vista CD-ROM is needed.

Solution

1. On the Adobe CS3 DVD, copy AdobePDF.dll_64 from \Adobe CS3\payloads\AdobeAcrobat8en_US\Data1.cab to the hard drive.
2. Rename AdobePDF.dll_64 to AdobePDF.dll
3. Browse to AdobePDF.dll using the Adobe Acrobat 8 dialog box
4. Continue the installation

Reference

• Error "The file AdobePDF.dll is needed..." when you install Creative Suite 3 on 64-bit Windows
• CS3 web premium installation woes on Vista 64bit
• Vista - Problems Installing Adobe Acrobat Professional

Windows 7 XP Mode without Hardware Virtualization

Update May 2010: The current versions of Windows XP Mode for Windows 7 no longer requires hardware virtualization.

Windows XP Mode and Windows Virtual PC on Windows 7 requires a processor capable of hardware virtualization, with AMD-V, Intel VT or VIA VT turned on in the BIOS. Windows XP Mode is only available for Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise. It is not available for Windows 7 Home or Home Premium.

The Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E7300 (3M Cache, 2.66 GHz, 1066 MHz FSB) in Dell OptiPlex 760 does not have hardware virtualization.

Solutions

VMLite XP Mode offers similar functions as Microsoft Windows XP Mode, but doesn't require hardware virtualization.

VirtualBox is a x86 and AMD64/Intel64 virtualization product which is freely available as Open Source Software.

References

• XP Mode in Windows 7 without Hardware Virtualization
• Windows 7 Virtualization
• Search via Dogpile.com

Windows 7 XP Mode: Creating a "Seamless" shortcut to an XP Mode Application

• When installing an application in the Windows XP VM, make sure to install it for "all users." Usually the install will place a shortcut under "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\."
• Shortcuts added in the Windows XP VM to "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\" will usually be seamlessly added to Windows 7 under Start Menu > All Programs > Windows Virtual PC > Windows XP Mode Applications.
• You can manually add a shortcut to the Windows XP Mode application by creating a shortcut to the program in the C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\ directory in your Windows XP Mode installation.
• If the target in the Windows XP VM contains parameters, it may not get published to Windows 7 automatically. Try this in the Windows XP VM:
  1. Add the shortcut to the executable, without any parameters, to "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\"
  2. Wait for it to be automatically published to "Windows XP Mode Applications"
  3. Modify the target of the shortcut, in the Windows XP VM, to add back the required parameters.

Reference

• Managing and troubleshooting virtual applications in the Windows 7 Start menu
• Publishing Virtual Applications in Windows Virtual PC
• How to Install and Setup Virtual Windows XP Mode in Windows 7
• How to install and use Windows XP Mode in Windows 7

Create a Restore Point for Windows 7

I recommend that you create a restore point before you install applications and device drivers.

Here are the steps to do so:

1. Click on the Start button and right-click on "Computer"
2. Select "Properties" from the Context menu to get to the System area of Control Panel
3. Click on the "System Protection" link on the left hand side to open the System Properties window
4. Click on the "System Protection" tab to get to the System Restore section.
5. Click the "Create" button to create a new restore point. You'll be prompted for a name. Give it a descriptive name that you'll be able to easily identify later if you need to restore
6. Click the Create button to create the restore point