Wireless Laptop Switch Quick Fix

If your laptop wireless switch stops to work one day. There is an answer. The answer is really simple.
Most laptops have a hardware switch which disables the wireless card. More than once, I've come across a laptop which has had that switch either broken or broken off. The obvious solution would be to fix the switch, but that involves opening every screw on the laptop to get access to the motherboard, just to solder two small points. There is a huge potential of breaking something important in the process. So honestly, it wasn't worth the effort to open it up. So I started looking up how the wireless card is actually turned off and on using the switch.

1)First you need to know what kind of wireless pci device you have.
Is it Mini-PCI o mini PCI-Express.

2)    A)  This fix, applies to MiniPCI wireless cards only. Pin # 13 controls the "silent RF" mode. That is what most hardware switch activate in order to turn off your wireless. You'll notice that while you lose your internet connection when the switch is turned off, your hardware is still visible in device manager. The solution is to take your wireless card out, and apply a small amount of tape over just pin #13, and put it back in. That's it. Your wireless card will always see the hardware switch as being turned on. You can still disable the wireless using Fn+f2 or whatever the hotkey is for your laptop.
This is pic of mini-PCI.

http://s5.tinypic.com/mjbfwh.jpg

    B)    For mini-PCI Express, it is pin #20, which is responsible for the same function (also active low). It is located on the underside of the board, second pin from the notch toward the side with more pins.
This is a pic of Mini-PCI Express.



Do this and you will have a permanent wireless card, that's always enable.  I hope this helps someone else as this took me hours to figure out.
Mine was Realtek Mini-PCI Express and it worked perfectly.

Enjoy :)

Compare and check High speed Internet in your area

Just found about a good place to check your high speed Internet in your area. Most of the time we hear about 1-2 Internet providers. But there are more out there. Check This place and see what offers are in you area. Best thing is Free of Charge for just checking. FYI.

www.broadbandexpert.com

About Broadband Expert

Broadband Expert is part of Richweb Media LLC, a privately owned company specializing in consumer advice and price comparison websites. Broadband Expert is independent of all Internet providers and mobile broadband providers and aims to give a no nonsense guide to choosing the right service for your Internet needs at the lowest price.
At Broadband Expert we:
* Research Internet providers and mobile broadband providers to help you see the true cost including any hidden extras
* Compare mobile broadband and high speed Internet services by download limits, speeds, set up fee, first year cost and minimum contract
* Advise the type of usage each package is suitable for
* Provide information on broadband and related subjects to help you chose the right service for your needs
* Are always looking to provide you with free tools such as our broadband speed test.

Anyways this is a good place to compare, verify and get the best deal for your Internet(ISP).

Enjoy :)

Dell Latitude D600 "A DISK READ ERROR OCURRED. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart"

On a Dell Latitude D600 I booted up the system and found out this morning that a "DISK READ ERROR OCURRED ... Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart" ... error came up. I read a bunch of blogs about his usse and after a couple of attempts , I found the answer.

"A disk read error occurred" can be cause by different things, like MBR has corrupted, or the MOBO (motherboard) doesn't recognize it and/ or HDD just failed.

Let's try some command to see if it works:

1) First boot to windows XP CD and go to the repair option.  In the repair menu select the windows were is installed. Then type "fixboot" and "fixmbr".

If unit still doesn't work, jumped to the next conclusion.

2) So I had installed a replacement 250GB Western Digital drive, while the BIOS has a 137GB limitation. The drive worked fine for a while, but then stopped. I would have liked to update the BIOS to a newer one without the limitation, but the floppy drive wasn't cooperating. Instead, I booted from a Linux live CD and used gparted to resize the boot partition on the hard drive to 130GB, below the 137GB limit. If gparted doesn't work, try Acronis 2009 Disk Director (you will need to buy it). At that point the computer booted normally from the hard disk again. It's a pretty simple and logical explanation for what was causing the problem, but it took a long time to find the right answer
.
Here's a link for Acronis Disk Director, if you want to buy it.  Acronis Disk Director V11 Home

Hope it helps. :)

Fix MBR in Win XP

How to fix MBR in Windows XP:

What is the MBR? MBR stands for Master Boot Record and it’s the first sector of your hard drive that basically tells the BIOS where to look for the operating system on your computer.

If, for any reason, the MBR becomes damaged or corrupt, then the operating system will be unable to load.

Corruption is definitely not fun, especially if you are not familiar with computers. Most people would automatically assume their computers are dead! However, that’s not true. Being in IT myself, these errors are actually preferably to other types of Windows errors. Why?

Well, it’s actually fairly easy to fix the Master Boot Record in XP and Vista. All you have to do is load up the Recovery Console and run a simple command. All of your data, applications, settings, etc are still intact on the drive and once the MBR is fixed, the computer will load normally.

So how can you repair your damaged MBR? Here are the steps to follow:

1. First, restart your computer with the Windows XP setup disk in the CD drive. If you don’t have your original disk, borrow one or download a ISO image from a torrent site.

2. When prompted, boot from the CD drive by pressing any key. If Windows loads automatically, you will first have to enter the BIOS setup and change the order of the boot devices to start with the CD drive.



3. Once the setup loads, you will see the option to press R to repair a Windows installation.



4. Once the Recovery Console loads up, you will have to type in a number that corresponds to your Windows installation. This is normally just 1. Press Enter and then type in the Administrator Password.



5. Now at the prompt, type in fixmbr. Your damaged MBR will now be replaced with a new master boot record and your computer should now be able to boot properly. Note that you may also want to run the fixboot command to repair the boot sector with a new one.

Also, make sure you only use these commands on a system with one operating system installed. If you have more than one operating system installed, fixmbr and fixboot could mess up everything.

Windows Boot up issue

Windows 7 is booting up and then it goes directly to the start up repair. After it goes to the startup repair process, Windows cannot fix the issue. Most of the time is cause by a boot file gone corrupt or gone missing.

First: Bootrec.exe

To run the Bootrec.exe tool, you must start Windows RE. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Put the Windows Vista or Windows 7 installation disc in the disc drive, and then start the computer.
2. Press a key when you are prompted.
3. Select a language, a time, a currency, a keyboard or an input method, and then click Next.
4. Click Repair your computer.
5. Click the operating system that you want to repair, and then click Next.
6. In the System Recovery Options dialog box, click Command Prompt.
7. Type Bootrec.exe, and then press ENTER.

Note To start the computer from the Windows Vista or Windows 7 DVD, the computer must be configured to start from the DVD drive. For more information about how to configure the computer to start from the DVD drive, see the documentation that is included with the computer or contact the computer manufacturer.

Second:

Bootrec.exe options
The Bootrec.exe tool supports the following options. Use the option that is appropriate for your situation.

**Note If rebuilding the BCD does not resolve the startup issue, you can export and delete the BCD, and then run this option again. By doing this, you make sure that the BCD is completely rebuilt. To do this, type the following commands at the Windows RE command prompt:

• bcdedit /export C:\BCD_Backup
• c:
• cd boot
• attrib bcd -s -h -r
• ren c:\boot\bcd bcd.old
• bootrec /RebuildBcd

/FixMbr

The /FixMbr option writes a Windows 7 or Windows Vista-compatible MBR to the system partition. This option does not overwrite the existing partition table. Use this option when you must resolve MBR corruption issues, or when you have to remove non-standard code from the MBR.

/FixBoot

The /FixBoot option writes a new boot sector to the system partition by using a boot sector that is compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7. Use this option if one of the following conditions is true:

• The boot sector has been replaced with a non-standard Windows Vista or Windows 7 boot sector.
• The boot sector is damaged.
• An earlier Windows operating system has been installed after Windows Vista or Windows 7 was installed. In this scenario, the computer starts by using Windows NT Loader (NTLDR) instead of Windows Boot Manager (Bootmgr.exe).

/ScanOs

The /ScanOs option scans all disks for installations that are compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7. Additionally, this option displays the entries that are currently not in the BCD store. Use this option when there are Windows Vista or Windows 7 installations that the Boot Manager menu does not list.

/RebuildBcd

The /RebuildBcd option scans all disks for installations that are compatible with Windows Vista or Windows 7. Additionally, this option lets you select the installations that you want to add to the BCD store. Use this option when you must completely rebuild the BCD.

Please note, make sure to do the first option. If first option doesn't work, then try the second option.
Hope it helps. Enjoy.

External Hard Drive suddenly says to format your Hard Drive

External Hard Drive suddenly says to format your Hard Drive:

Most likely your Hard Drive filesystem changed to RAW

There's really not much to explain here.
I woke up this morning and couldn't open my D drive, which holds most if not all of my most important data, and could swear I lost all my files. I ran EasyRecovery and ALL my files were found, which is a relief, but here's the thing ... I don't have the space to recover these files onto another drive, but I can't access the D drive directly because it's ... well, inaccessible.

The filesystem also changed to RAW somehow, and I figured that might be a part of the problem. The drive's properties in device manager & explorer says the drive is working fine, I just can't access it.

Is it possible to make this drive operable again?

First try to do chkdsk /r .

If it doesn't let you because is RAW, You will need to get a Data recovery program. Like GetDataBack.

Get the program and download it. Then install it and run the application. After you have ran the application, Find the Hard Drive with the incorrect settings (RAW) and get all your information.

 

After you have extracted all of your info, you can then try to reformat that hard drive and it should work fine. The put all the info back again.

 

Hope it works. :) 

Steve Jobs Resigns

Steve Jobs Resigns:

Apple’s Board of Directors today announced that Steve Jobs has resigned as Chief Executive Officer, and the Board has named Tim Cook, previously Apple’s Chief Operating Officer, as the company’s new CEO. Jobs has been elected Chairman of the Board and Cook will join the Board, effective immediately.


“Steve’s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world’s most innovative and valuable technology company,” said Art Levinson, Chairman of Genentech, on behalf of Apple's Board. “Steve has made countless contributions to Apple’s success, and he has attracted and inspired Apple’s immensely creative employees and world class executive team. In his new role as Chairman of the Board, Steve will continue to serve Apple with his unique insights, creativity and inspiration.”

Jobs submitted his resignation to the Board today and strongly recommended that the Board implement its succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO.   

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced iPad 2 which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices.