It seemed that c:\windows\system32\iertutil.dll for one reason or another went missing. I found a working Windows XP Home computer and copied that file to the affected machines, and all of a sudden login works again. Although strangely both machines loaded the IE 8 install wizard and apparently re-installed IE 8.

This link has some further information on the fault.

I also have a Samsung Galaxy Gio running Android which is currently the Cyanogenmod firmware. The best method to use contacts by far on this device is “in the cloud” on Google Contacts. The calendar is the same with Google Calendar. And so are notes with Notes in Google Docs.

I previously have had lots of problems sync’ing to Android. I first used Samsung Kies which seemed alright except it had a tendency to duplicate contacts and calendar events continually so that my phone’s memory eventually filled up. Cyanogenmod won’t actually support Samsung Kies, mainly because the USB device function seems to be broken on the Samsung Galaxy Gio port and Cyanogenmod also lacks the Samsung Apps framework.

I found GO Contact Sync Mod after trying several other methods of sync’ing. When run on a PC which uses Outlook, it essentially sync’s your Outlook Calendar & Notes with Google.

Google also have put out Google Calendar Sync which will sync your Outlook to Google Calendar.

So with those two apps, you have a total sync solution that doesn’t fuck out if you run it on two PCs – and it uses the Internet connection so no direct connection between the phone and PC is needed, just the Internet on both devices.

While 1.9.7 still works perfectly fine for me and every update sees no change to the status of Windows Activation Technology, new versions are worth noting because of the addition of further SLICs taken from OEM pre-installations of Windows 7, and further advanced options to fiddle with. I haven’t bothered to install 2.1, I figure I won’t install a new version of Windows Loader until activation stops working, but its worth noting for any new installs to use the latest version available.

Current releases for Windows Loader by Daz can be found here.

Windows Loader by Daz v2.1 can be downloaded here.

I tried to install the System Update Readiness Tool but was presented with the error “Installer encountered an error: 0xc8000222”.

The fault was caused by a corrupted SoftwareDistribution folder. So if you rename or delete %windir%\SoftwareDistribution and then try Windows Update or the System Update Readiness Tool, the problem is then fixed.

Supposedly the same issue can occur on Windows Vista and would have the same fix.

Of course I simply pulled it up on rlslog, copied the scene release name and searched NZBClub, then used my Astraweb account to leech at high speed.

However if you’re povo and don’t pay for usenet – you can get it here, here or here.

1. Remove malware/spyware/virus infections. Use MalwareBytes, Microsoft’s Malicious Removal Tool, ComboFix, or whatever is necessary.
2. Run “System File Checker”. Go to start, type “command prompt” and when it pops up in the list, right click, select “Run as administrator”. In the command prompt enter the command “sfc /scannow”. Reboot after completed.
3. Run Microsoft’s System Update Readiness Tool
4. Check the computers date and time and verify its correct
5. Reboot
6. Run Windows Update. Should work this time.

Instant messaging has been popular since the late 90s, probably most notably around the time ICQ and Dialup Internet was mainstream. ICQ ended up being bought up by AOL and integrated into AIM. ICQ and AIM lost their war as AOL failed to prevent spam issues on their platform.

Windows Live Messenger, sometimes called MSN Messenger, has also been popular for some time. But Microsoft have probably lost their war also to Skype who enabled P2P calls and NAT punch through technologies. Skype is relatively new to the market however appear to be losing already for some of the same reasons as Microsoft.

I was using both Windows Live Messenger and Skype until recently because the clients are simply too bloated – it runs quite slow on an Intel Core2Quad 2.66GHz Q6600 with 8GB DDR3 of memory – which seems like poor form on Microsoft and Skype’s part. It highlights that with Microsoft’s code, while they do produce some really good products (like Windows and Office) that not all their products are good and in fact some are terrible. Skype is also making the mistake of focusing too much on interfacing to the PSTN (public switched telephone network) when the real stronghold of their product is simply computer based instant messaging. Both Microsoft and Skype are making the mistake of bloating their clients up with advertising and focusing on integration with social media like Facebook. If I want social media I have a web browser, I’d like to know who actually uses their social media through an instant messaging client?

So who is the winner right now in instant messaging?

Its probably Google Talk followed by Apple iChat. Apple iChat simply loses due to the lack of compatibility across platforms however is in fact superior to Google Talk as video calls are supported by iChat but not by Talk. My experience however tells me that most people rarely use video calls.

Both Talk and iChat however are winners as they both lack advertising, both have very low resource clients that are simple to use, and they both have a focus on use on smart phones which could potentially see instant messaging technology replace SMS. Google Talk takes the cake because it furthers this by its web integration making Talk available on Gmail, Google+ and other Google sites, and the vast array of platforms (including smart phones) that you can run Google Talk.

So as of today I no longer use Windows Live Messenger or Skype and just use Google Talk.

Wireshark is already a tool I use, although rarely. So I skipped the first one.

AMANDA looks like a good app. I’m interested in how it stacks up against Bacula so I will try it out later.

MailArchiva looks interesting. Essentially its to archive e-mails for at least 7 years to comply with e-mail retention laws in various countries. Although its not exactly open source as MailArchiva’s primary focus is their commercial edition.

Then the article went off into Microsoft Exchange land. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. What kind of retard pays thousands of dollars for a software license for an e-mail server that is inherit with limitations, when there is free software that’ll do a better job?

OCS Inventory also looks good, I know about it already, but I’m yet to tinker with it.

UltraDefrag looked like a really good app. It supposedly can defrag locked files which I presently solve by booting a CD bootable XP. If done in userland that seems like a better solution.

nmap is already an app I use and I’m advanced enough to not require zenmap.

PowerGUI doesn’t interest me at all cause I’m a command-line type guy and have been since 1992.

ClamWin? Really? I’ve tried ClamAV and outside an e-mail server it appears to be useless. Avast AntiVirus Free Edition may not be open source, but it is good.

VirtualRouter is an app to turn any Windows machine into a WiFi hotspot. I wonder though – why wouldn’t you just get a low-cost WiFi hotspot which likely does the job a million times better and more reliably?

VirtualBox I’ve used quite a few times for emulation on Windows desktops. Thanks Jason M for suggesting this to me several years ago.

So not really surprised at all that a list of 15 essential items ends up getting cut down to 9, and some of these I already use. Mostly this is because Microsoft Exchange some how made it to a list of essential open source software?

So how do you login as the Administrator since its missing from the logon screen?

Press Ctrl + Alt + Del at the logon screen. The administrator account will either appear, or you’ll be taken to the form based logon where you can enter Administrator as the username.

To delete files from the Windows shell you can run:

forfiles –p “C:\path\to\directory” -s –m *.* -d 90 -c "cmd /c del @path"