Month: August 2008

Running old programs on Vista (tips and tricks)

Paul

So We’ve talked about how to get Vista to shut down better.  So I thought we talk about getting Windows XP programs to run on Vista and be more stable.  You can do this with Windows XP, ME, 2000, NT,. and 95 programs.

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  • Run the program in compatibility mode — This is something Vista comes with now for running old programs in Vista. To do this you will have to do some minor things.  Go to where the program is and right click on the program.  Select properties>compatibility.  Select “Run this program in compatibility  mode for:” Select  windows Operating System that you think would work with the program.

  • Run the program as Administrator —  This is a really good tip and trick to sometimes get programs to run with vista.  It goes hand in hand with the last one.  Right click on the program and select “Run as Administrator”.  I find some old programs don’t know about the kernel protection in Vista and you need to give them permission to use the kernel for the program to work.

  • Give the program special access —  Yes this one takes a little skill but should fix some of the problems with vista and old programs.  Right click on program and select properties.  Select security, and then select the group you want to associate with it.  I always suggest putting it in the administrator group because of the problems with Vista and the kernel.

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These few tips and tricks will greatly increease the likely hood of a old program to run in Vista.  Now remember if you have a Vist x64 Version you might need to do the Run as Administrator more than not.  I am not sure why I just know it is sometimes required.  Let me know what other tips and tricks you use with Vista and I’ll be sure to pass them along!!

Hulu Brings on Paramount Movies!

Paul1 Reply

As you can see Paramount has been seen at Hulu.  I thought I would talk about some movies that I could be coming to Hulu.  So let’s talk about some of them shall we.  I can see so many good movies:

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  • Paycheck — What seemed like a breezy idea for an engineer to net him millions of dollars, leaves him on the run for his life and piecing together why he’s being chased. full summary | full synopsis

  • The Saint — Simon Templar has no real family, no real home and Simon Templar isn’t even his real name. Yet Simon Templar … more | full synopsis

  • Ghost — After being killed during a botched mugging, a man’s love for his partner enables him to remain on earth as a ghost. full summary

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So these are just a few that I looked up and can see them possibly coming to hulu in the next few weeks to months.  I am willing to bet most of the shows I’ve mention will come because they are the most adored by the public and others.  I will be doing even more searching later on!!!  I also think they will bring Star Trek : The Motion Picture but that is almost a given. I expect them to bring most of the Trek movies to Hulu being they have a lot of science fiction viewers.  If you have any ideas of what movies will come to Hulu by all means make a comment and talk about it.

Tips and Tricks to Shut down Windows Vista!

Paul

Yes we will be talking about why Vista won’t shut down properly.  It is a common problem in all models.   It has been know to cause some issues with boot up.  In the past, Vista when you hit the shut down or you did the short cut Windows key>Right Three Times>Enter, it wouldn’t shut down instantly.  I’ve recently found out how to fix this problem and why it comes and goes.  Here are some great ways to get Vista to shut down properly

    • Boot into Safe Mode —  Yes booting into safe mode will fix the problem to a point.  Here is what you need to do at start up of computer.  Press F8 as soon as you see the screen flicker black and you will be given a choice.  Choose Safe Mode.  Once done booting into safe mode.  Log into you user name.  There you will want to check with Msconfig. Make sure you aren’t loading up anything that might stop shut down from happening.  Once done they do the shut down procedure.  By doing it in safe mode you have vista reset all procedures to shut down.  This sometimes resolves the issue.
    • Don’t Shut down Vista improperly — having seen this from time to time.  If you do a hard shutdown, which you drop power or remove the battery.  This has been know to cause a issue with shutting Vista down properly.  There seems to be a correlation with vista and hard shutdowns.  I do not know how or why, I just seen that with my current Vista machine.
    • Make sure you exit out of legacy programs before you shut down — legacy programs are programs that aren’t designed for vista but are designed for Windows XP, 2000, 3.1, 3.0.  I don’t recommend using programs that are designed for Windows NT and nothing else.  If it’s in the list when you buy a program.  NT and Vista are siblings, they both use the same kernel.  Microsoft has said that in the past and I believe it.  So it only comes with reason that NT programs can work with Vista.  I’ve not tried but I’d be willing to say it could be done.
    • Let it think about shutting down — I find if I tell it to shut down and walk away it will eventually shut down.  I think it has a long wait time before shutting down.  Some program has to time out before it can shut down, or it has to tell vista that it needs to unload a program from memory.
    • Try using the registry hack — I’ve not tried this one but some say they get Vista to shut down properly and quickly by cutting the wait time out protocol in the registry.  I’ve seen it done on some Windows XP, it will shut down almost instantly because it doesn’t wait for the program to say anything.  It forces the program to quit.  So it could very well help you with shutting down Vista if your in a hurry.  Also try this: Faster Shutdowns using the Run Dialog
    • Don’t put the computer in sleep mode — This is only good for those who have laptops.  It seems putting the system in sleep mode slows down Vista when you are ready to shut down.  It seems to have a conflict in the system and has been know to cause interference with other shutdown procedures, so I recommend if you are done with your system to either leave it on, or shut it down but not to put your system into hibernation.

If you follow these steps you will find that Vista stops having this shutdown issue.  I had the same problems as others but after doing these steps myself, I’ve found Vista to shutdown faster and quicker and not hang during shutdown.  If you have any other ideas feel free to email me or make a comment on how to get Vista to shutdown quicker. If you like what you’ve seen by all means click on one of my ads to show support to my site.

Is IPv6 a Problem or is it still in Beta?

Paul


Due to the high volume of people, I have thought of how best to go about describing my issue with my DSL router and why I”ve disabled IPv6!!!   First off, I have a VISTA Premium System, with an OEM license.  That isn’t nothing new.  The problem is that if I use IPv6, I would constantly get no internet.  I would always get local but not Internet.  I didn’t know why until recently, and that was IPv6.  It isn’t to say I don’t stop getting this.  I still do but it is less of the problem.  I could re-install the system and see if that fixes the problem.

Would that fix the problem?

Yes it probably would if it is a driver issue.  I say it isn’t because if it was a driver issue I could just downgrade to an earlier driver, which there is none.  I am going to guess that no one has done any new drivers for the IPv6 Since Vista came out.  I don’t know why but with my DSL it has been an issue when I was on my cable.  I recently switched, I had no problems.

Could it be my DSL Provider?

It is also a probability.  I do know like any DNS providers with the latest scare.  Is your DNS Safe?  I talked about DNS cache Poisoning and how to fix it. I talked about OpenDNS.  I have been using OpenDNS since I’ve gotten DSL and if it was an DNS issue, I’ve read reports that Open DNS has never had this type of issue.  So it can’t be my DNS although, there is always a chance the DSL provider could be having problems with the IPv6 Protocol.  Check out Failing to plan is planning to fail post about this same type of issue.

Could I have a bad DSL Modem?

Let’s just say this, If it is the modem then that would be a problem.  You try telling you provider that you are having problems with IPv6.  I am sure they would be scratching there heads like what is that and how do you know?  So I would love to flash the DSL modem with the latest software but for some reason I can’t find any updates.  It’s a Westell 325W and I looked and can’t find anything!!  I could see if I couldn’t find a Linux distro to flash into but I am not that good at this stuff.  So If you know how to fix that problem.  By all means tell me.

Could I use a AYIYA tunnel to fix this?

The only problem I see with this that it would slow me down even more.  I only have so much bandwitdth to worry about.   Having to Tunnel this through a service would hinder me.  So I can’t think of any reason why I would want to slow me down.  I am really not concerned with IPv6 because when they do go into being required, they should have this fixed.  Will they fix the problem soon, I hope but I hold no definite answers on that one!!