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Repair Windows WMI

There are a few different methods to try when it comes to repairing a corrupt WMI (Windows Management Interface)

1. Open Up a Command Prompt

If running Windows Vista or Windows 7 you need to Run The Command Prompt As Administrator. Right click the Command Prompt and then click Run as administrator.

2. Type this command and press Enter net stop winmgmt

3. Using Windows Explorer rename the folder C:\Windows\System32\Wbem\Repository to C:\Windows\System32\Wbem\Repository.old

4. Type this command and press Enter net start winmgmt

5. Restart the computer

The second method to try is

1. Open Up a Command Prompt

If running Windows Vista or Windows 7 you need to Run The Command Prompt As Administrator. Right click the Command Prompt and then click Run as administrator.

2. Type this command and press Enter

rundll32 wbemupgd, UpgradeRepository

This command is used to detect and repair a corrupted WMI Repository. The results are stored in the setup.log

C:\Windows\system32\wbem\logs\setup.log

3. Restart the computer

The second method to try is

1. Type this command and press Enter

winmgmt /salvagerepository

2. Restart the computer

Posted on February 13, 2013 by Administrator, Reply

Steven Sinofsky Leaves Microsoft

Steven Sinofsky, the executive in charge of Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system and the driving force behind the new OS, is leaving the company effective immediately. Sinofsky the public face for Windows 8 and its new Metro interface has lots of nice things to say about his former employer, the 23 year veteran of the company was the possible next CEO of Microsoft.

Steven Sinofsky departure barely two weeks after launching the flagship Windows 8, could not come at a worse time for the software giant as they struggle to compete with Apple and Google in the gadget market. Shares of Microsoft Corp slid Tuesday after the surprise departure of a key executive; the shares were down 2.8 percent in afternoon at $27.21.

Sinofsky is credited with unveiling the most radical revamp of Windows since 1995, designed to catapult Microsoft back into the forefront of Internet-based, touch-screen technology and reinvigorate a stock price that has been static for the past decade.

Analysts fear that Chief Executive Steve Ballmer is driving out talent just as the company needs it most and moved to tighten his grip on the company. Ballmer has replaced the heads of Microsoft’s five main operating units in the past four years making company employees and shareholders skeptical.

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Administrator, Reply

Windows Live Messenger Retired For Skype

There is no denying Microsoft’s software shake up with Windows 8 and Office. Microsoft’s newest version of office adds many new features including Skype integration. If you still regularly utilize Windows Live Messenger you might want to consider moving to Skype soon. It seems that Microsoft is planning to retire WLM very soon, according to sources close to the Microsoft.

With Skype having many more advanced features (including land-line calling abilities) and better brand recognition Skype has been seen heavily used on shows like WWE Raw and many other sitcoms. So there is no surprise Microsoft would push the product not to mention shareholders were speculating after the 8.5 billion dollar purchases of Skype back in May 2011.

Windows Live Messenger just isn’t necessary for Microsoft going forward. Recently Skype added on to its list of supported log-in methods by allowing Microsoft and Facebook account users to log-in without needing a traditional Skype ID. Which in my option hurt start up companies like Airtime.

With Windows Phone 8, Windows 8, Office and Xbox 360 all supporting Skype naively it would not surprise me if Microsoft retired WLM sooner than later. There has been some talk about Microsoft retiring Lync in favor of a commercial version of Skype. Only time will tell but I think everyone is pretty sure that we can see the end of Windows Live Messenger in next few weeks.

Posted on November 8, 2012 by Administrator, Reply

No Service Pack 2 For Windows 7

Perhaps serving as further proof that Microsoft is supremely confident in Windows 8 and expects nothing less than success, it’s being reported that Windows 7 will not see a second Service Pack. It’s still unusual for Microsoft to stop after Service Pack 1 but over course of the last decade we have seen Service packs on the decline

Windows 2000 – Service Pack 4
Windows XP – Service Pack 3
Windows Vista – Service Pack 2
Windows 7 – Service Pack 1

It took three years for Microsoft to release an Service Pack 2 for Windows XP. Which was delayed might I add because of the blaster issue which affected so many people. As of last month, it’s been three years since the release of Windows 7 in October 2009.

People familiar with the matter have hinted that Windows 8 could mark the end of service packs, as a similar strategy could be extended to all the other operating systems in Microsoft’s product family. Service Packs are expensive and time consuming for Microsoft to develop and deploy. IT Professionals then have to deal with the task of deploying them on large scale networks, and cleaning up the pieces.

Service Packs are handy because they contain numerous security and performance updates all rolled into one, saving IT managers and home consumers time when it comes to patching Windows and making sure they’re up to date on new systems.

Windows 7 users will have to update their operating systems every month until support for this particular version is no longer offered. Which in my personal option will not be supported as long as XP which just never seems to go away.

Posted on November 2, 2012 by Administrator, Reply

Windows 8 Released

Microsoft launched Windows 8 yesterday morning to the public at an event in New York City. The new Windows 8 operating system and Surface tablet are an effort by Microsoft to regain interest in the flagship product Windows, and compete against Apple and Google in ground lost in the mobile computing market.

Windows 8 devices and the company’s new Surface tablet, which aims to challenge Apple’s popular iPad went on sale at midnight on Thursday. The new operating system offers something for everyone, touch-screen functionality for tablet enthusiasts, a slick new interface for the younger set, and multiple versions to make it compatible with traditional desktop PC software.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer stated at the launch

“We’ve reimagined Windows and we’ve reimagined the whole PC industry,”

Windows 8 has a new look that’s intended to create a seamless experience for users, whether they’re on PCs, tablets or smartphones. Featuring a colorful array of tiles that fill the screen instead of the familiar start menu and icons, it’s designed especially for touch-sensitive screens. Windows 8 will come pre-installed on almost all new computers from PC manufactures.

Anyone running a copy of Windows from the last decade can upgrade to Windows 8 for $40. Considering Windows 7 was a whopping $200 when it came out, Windows 8 is quite a deal. Microsoft I be leave is doing this in an effort to get users off the old versions of there operating systems. It will be interested to see how this play’s out for Microsoft they are taking a major gamble redesigning the look, price point and cross platform compatibility.

Posted on October 26, 2012 by Administrator, Reply

Microsoft Surface Tablet

You can now preorder Microsoft’s 10.6-inch Surface tablet to at

http://www.microsoft.com/Surface

With prices starting at $499 for the 32GB model and $699 for the 64GB model. Both tablets are Wi-Fi only with VaporMg magnesium casing and a kickstand, and runs on the Windows 8 operating system. The Microsoft surface is only 9.30mm thick, and weighs 1.5 pounds.

There are two models to choose from, the Windows RT model which you can pre order, and the Windows 8 Professional model which is still not released.

Windows RT Surface

Operating System – Windows RT (Windows 8)

Battery – 31.5 W-h (About 8 hours)

Processor – NVIDIA T30 quad-core processor

Display – 10.6-inch multi-touch display with resolution of 1366 x 768 16:9

RAM – 2GB of RAM

Storage – 32 or 64GB storage options (expandable)

Camera - 720p rear and front-facing cameras

Ports – Stereo speakers, Full-size USB 2.0, microSDXC card slot, Headset jack, HD video out

Not much difference in the professional model a thickness of 13.5mm, and weighs a little more at 2.0 pounds. You get a little better display, battery life and bigger hard drive if you choose the 128 gig.

Windows Professional Surface

Operating System – Windows 8 Professional

Battery – 42 W-h (About 10 hours)

Processor - Intel third-generation Core

Display – 10.6-inch multi-touch display with resolution of 1920 x 1080 16:9

RAM – 2GB of RAM

Storage – 64 or 128GB

Camera - 720p rear and front-facing cameras

Ports – Stereo speakers, Full-size USB 2.0, microSDXC card slot, Headset jack, HD video out

Posted on October 18, 2012 by Administrator, Reply

SCCM 2012 Remote Assistance Not Working

How to fix SCCM 2012 Remote Assistance Not Working.

After a brand new successful roll out of SCCM 2012 (System Center Configuration Manager) into a live environment I got a call from client clamming there Windows Remote Assistance was not working and it worked under there old system meaning SCCM 2007. They sent me the error below.

After some research and a little digging I found the following. You need to set the Manage soliciated Remote Assitance settings to True. Otherwise the Remote Assistance will just work if your customer is sending you a Remote Assistance offer. So I went into there SCCM 2012 Client settings under Administration and Client Settings and changed these to settings as seen below.

Posted on September 20, 2012 by Administrator, Reply

Installing XP drivers on Vista or 7

1. Downloading latest drivers (v14.19.50) for XP from the manufactures site and extracting them to a separate folder

2. Booting Windows 7 or Vista in the safe mode

4. Then navigate to Device Manager -> Video Adapter (VGA compatible) -> Properties

5. Click Driver -> Update driver -> Browse -> Let me pick -> Display adapters -> Have disk -> give path to the folder of the extracted driver

6. After you get error about driver installation in Device Manager click on “Scan for new hardware”

7. Boot your W7 or Vista in “Disable driver signing enforcement” mode

Posted on August 22, 2012 by Administrator, Reply

Disable Driver Signing

To disable windows driver signing follow these steps:

1. Run command prompt as Administrator

2. type bcdedit -set loadoptions DISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS

3. Then type bcdedit -set TESTSIGNING ON

4. See security risk warning above.

5. If it doesn’t work for whatever reason you can just remove loadoptions

6. Use bcedit and switch testsigning off bcdedit /deletevalue loadoptions

7. Then bcdedit -set TESTSIGNING OFF

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Administrator, Reply

Winamp Review

With so many Desktop media players available for the desktop and smart phone these days its hard to pick the right player for your non DRM protected music. There is so much media out there podcasts, streaming radio and MP3 files. I’ve used dozens over the years iTunes, Windows Media Player and MediaMonkey just to name a few. Any all are slow, crash or are not just cool. My personal favorite that works great is Winamp.

We all remember Winamp as the first player of MP3 files and had a great streaming radio service at the time from Shoutcast. I have been using Winamp since Windows 98. Then the company got purchased by AOL and stayed around into the later years.

Winamp has been stagnant for years, lacking a number of the features that make more modern music players popular. Now, however, a new version of Winamp has hit the streets, with a new look and tons of new useful features. The thing that impressed me most is Winamp for Mac.

The latest version of Winamp for Mac Sync is available and is in Beta. This latest update of Winamp for Mac Sync Beta allows greater music management features, play queue enhancements and will allow future releases to be updated automatically.

Some of the new features available are

Play Queue Window
Drag and Drop
Auto-update
Growl and Notification Support
Additional Watch Folder Support
Introduction of Release and Beta Channels
Additional Keyboard Shortcuts

Winamp for that Mac looks cool, it’s light weight and takes up very little resources. Winamp has also uped there game making there new Winamp available for the Android. To make things even better you can turn your smart phone into a remote for Winamp. Winamp is back and better then ever!

http://www.winamp.com/mac

Posted on August 9, 2012 by Administrator, Reply