I just got a Seagate FreeAgent Theater+ last week. It’s a great device that can play a lot of different media formats at 1080p. The latest firmware also lets you stream Netflix movies. One problem I have is that it does not have a wireless network card. The FreeAgent Theater+ is placed by the TV in the living room, and it’s far away from the router. Before I get a WIFI USB dongle for it, I want to test the network functionality first. I have used my Macbook to act as a wireless bridge for my PS2 to connect to my wireless network at home. This time, I want to use my Windows 7 based laptop and see if it’s possible to do so. To my surprise, Windows 7 has made it easy to bridge the Ethernet connection with a wireless network.

Before we begin, you need to have a Windows 7 laptop with a working wireless connection. Here are the steps:

1. On the Windows 7 laptop, click on the Windows icon. Type view network connections and press Enter.
2. Identify your Ethernet connection and your wireless connection. In this example, the Ethernet connection is called Local Area Connection and the wireless connection is called Wireless Network Connection.
3. Click on Local Area Connection to select it. Press and hold the Ctrl key and click on Wireless Network Connection to select it. Now you should have both connections selected.
4. Right click on the selection and select Bridge Connections.
   
5. Now use an Ethernet cable to connect the Ethernet port on the FreeAgent Theater+ and the Ethernet port on the Windows 7 laptop.

That’s it. The FreeAgent Theater+ is now connected to the network using the Ethernet connection. This technique applies to other appliances with just Ethernet connection like Xbox 360, Blu-Ray player and Network enabled TV.

Note that when your laptop is acting as a wireless bridge, you might not be able to use it to browse the Internet at the same time. When you are done, follow the step 1 and step 2 to network connections in control panel. Right click on the bridged connections and select Remove from Bridge.

One of my blog’s popular posts  is a tutorial about how to create an Ad Hoc network on Windows 7. A lot of readers are asking how you can share an internet connection with Ad Hoc network. I spent some time over the weekend and wrote up this tutorial.

Let me explain the scenario a bit. Suppose we have two computers (computer A and computer B) and one wired internet connection. Both computer have wireless cards, but you do not have a wireless router. You want both computers to access the internet through the single wired connection.  I connected the wired internet connection to computer A and created an Ad Hoc network on it. I then configured computer B to join the Ad Hoc network.

Here are the steps on computer A:

1. Connect the wired internet connection to computer A.
2. Click on the Windows icon and type View network connections and press enter.
3. Identify the wired internet connection and the wireless card. On computer A, the wired internet connection is called Local Area Connection 2 and the wireless card is called Wireless Network Connection 2. Note that these connections are different on your computer.
4. Locate the wired internet connection and right click on it. Select Properties.
5. Click on the Sharing tab and check the box. Select the correct wireless connection in the Home networking connection drop down.
   
6. Create an Ad Hoc networking following the instructions in this post. Here is a screenshot of the Ad Hoc network named kombitz I created for this tutorial. Note that if you check the box to save the network, you do not have to do this step again next time.
   
7. Click on the network icon in the lower right corner of the system tray and make sure it’s connected to the Ad Hoc network you just created. If not, click on the network and click on Connect. Here is a screenshot of the network icon in the system tray.
   

Now computer A is set up to allow connections from other computers. Here are the steps on computer B to join the Ad Hoc network.

1. Click on the network icon in the lower right corner. You should see the Ad Hoc network. In this example, it’s called kombitz.
   
2. Select the network kombitz and click on Connect. Enter the network key if you had one set up when creating the Ad Hoc network.
   

When you are done sharing, you will have to turn internet sharing off on computer A. Otherwise, the wireless connection will not work on computer A. To disable internet sharing, follow the steps 1 through 5 for computer A except you un-check the box Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s Internet connection.

Customization Tool

To use the customization tool, do the following:

1. Invoke an elevated command prompt if you are using Vista and above. For Windows XP, just use the command prompt.
2. In the command prompt, change directory to where the setup program is.
3. Type

   setup /admin
   

   to invoke the customization tool.

4. Change the settings as needed. When you are done, save the configuration as a MSP file.

To use the MSP file, create a batch file with this line:

setup.exe /adminfile FULLPATH\MyCustom.MSP

Note that you have to use full path in the command.

Silent Installation

1. Follow the above instructions to invoke the customization tool.
2. Click on Licensing and user interface under the Setup section.
3. Check I accept the terms in the License Agreement and make sure Display level is set to None.
   
4. Save the MSP file.

Note that if you do not set the SETUP_REBOOT property, the setup program will reboot the machine automatically. Please see the following instructions to turn off rebooting after setup.

Turn off Rebooting after Setup

The default behavior after installation finishes is rebooting if needed. The setup program prompts you to ask if the system needs rebooting. If you have set up silent installation, the program will just reboot the system without asking you. To turn off rebooting after setup, you need to change the setting. However, the GUI interface doesn’t have this option. You have to mess around with properties to change the rebooting behavior. To change properties, do this:

1. Invoke the customization tool.
2. Click on Modify Setup properties under Setup section.
3. Click on Add to add a property.
4. Enter SETUP_REBOOT as Name and Never as Value. Note that you have to enter SETUP_REBOOT in all caps. Click on OK when you are done.
   
5. Save the MSP file.

For those who are interested about the available properties, please visit the following link.

Setup properties in Office 2010

Adobe has published the latest Flash player 10.1 which fixes a vulnerability that has plagued the player for a while. The download site for the player is here.

http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/otherversions/

If you want to download the version for IE, use Firefox. Otherwise, the player will be installed automatically. Similarly, if you want to download the version for Firefox, use IE.

After you have downloaded the installation files, you can use the following commands to install them silently.

IE:

install_flash_player_ax.exe /install

FireFox:

install_flash_player.exe /install

I tried to use the default backup utility in Windows 7 to move my data from one hard drive to another. After the files were restored, I found that my Firefox settings and Thunderbird emails were not saved by the backup utility. This behavior is the same as the Easy Transfer Wizard. The non-MS application settings are left out by default.

If you wish to save everything in your profile, you’ll need to configure the backup utility properly. Here are the steps:

1. Invoke Backup and follow the wizard.
2. When you are prompted for “What do you want to backup?“, click on “Let me choose”
   
3. In the next dialog, expand the C drive and Users. Click on your profile to select it.
   
4. Follow the rest of the on screen instructions to finish the wizard.

Everything in your profile will be included in the next backup.

Microsoft has a new tool for less experienced users to fix their Windows problems. It is available as a free download. You can supposedly fix your computer problems through simple clicks of the mouse.

Microsoft FixIt Center Online

When I tried to run it for the first time, I got this error message: “You must be an administrator to run fix it center for the first time. Please log in as an administrator to complete fix it configuration.”  However,  I had already been using an admin account.

I was not alone; a forum thread shows that there are a lot of users like me. The problem was a bug in the beta fix it center software. The program only checks the user accounts in the local Administrators group. My account was in the Domain Admins group, which was in the local Administrators group. This does not work. Your account has to be in the local Administrators group directly. The solution is to add the account manually to the local Administrators group.

I started to have a lot of problems with VirtualBox on my Windows 7 box about two weeks ago. Whenever I tried to shut down a virtual machine, it crashed, and the state of the VM could not be saved successfully. The new version of VirtualBox came out around the same time I had the problems, so I upgraded to the new version: 3.1.6.

After upgrading, the problem became worse. I could not start any virtual machines at all. I always got this message:

My first reaction was to reinstall the application. However, a forum post suggests that the repair option in the setup program might be able to fix the problem. Following the instructions, I re-ran the installation program and clicked on the Repair button and let the setup program to repair it.

The process ran quickly. I was able to run the virtual machines again after the repairing process ended.

One user reported a problem with a .NET application on a Windows XP computer. The .NET application ran fine when the user first tried it. However, it stopped working after a while. At first, I thought that it was directly related to the .NET framework installation. I then tried to reinstall the .NET framework. The installation did not run properly. There was no error message or event log indicating any potential programs. The installation process just got stuck.

The same problem occurred when I tried to update the machine with patches. None of the patches ran. The problem was not just the .NET framework; it seemed like I could not install any programs or patches.

A Microsoft KB article indicates that the problem is probably caused by some of the conditions:

• Log file or database corruption exists in the %Systemroot%\System32\Catroot2 folder.
• Cryptographic Services is set to disabled.
• Other Windows files are corrupted or missing.
• The timestamp signature or certificate could not be verified or is malformed.
• The hidden attribute is set for the %Windir% folder or one of its subfolders.
• The Unsigned non-driver installation behavior Group Policy setting (Windows 2000 only) is set to Do not allow installation or Warn but allow installation, or the Policy binary value is not set to 0 in the following registry key:
  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Non-Driver Signing
• The Enable trusted publisher lockdown Group Policy setting is turned on, and you do not have the appropriate certificate in your Trusted Publishers certificate store. This Group Policy setting is located under User Configuration, under Windows Settings, under Internet Explorer Maintenance, under Security, under Authenticode Settings in the Group Policy MMC snap-in.
• You are installing Internet Explorer 6 SP1, and the 823559 (MS03-023) security update is installed. For more information about this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  828031 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/828031/ ) “The software you are installing has not passed Windows Logo testing…” error message when you try to install Internet Explorer 6 Service Pack 1
• The software distribution folder is corrupted.

The article also offers 11 methods to mitigate the problem. Fortunately, my problem was solved when I tried the method #1. Here is the link to the KB article.

Microsoft KB 822798: You cannot install some updates or programs

McAfee released a virus definition file DAT 5958 today. After the virus definition file has been installed, it will identify a legit system file (svchost.exe) and move it to quarantine. As the file is an important system file, the system will not function properly without it. Major symptoms includes no network access and missing task bar.

I helped a user restore an affected computer. It was an XP computer with SP3 installed. Here are the steps to uninstall McAfee temporarily.

1. Press F8 while the computer is booting and select safe mode.
2. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to bring up Windows Task Manager.
3. Under Windows Task Manager, click on File -> New Task(Run…)
4. Enter cmd and click on OK to bring up a command prompt.
5. Type the following to restore svchost.exe
   copy c:\windows\system32\dllcache\svchost.exe c:\windows\system32
6. Type the following to reboot the system. Remember to boot to safe mode.
   shutdown -r
7. Once the machine is booted to safe mode again. Bring up a command prompt.
8. Type the following to enable the installer under safe mode.

   REG ADD "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\SafeBoot\Minimal\MSIServer" /VE /T REG_SZ /F /D "Service"
   net start msiserver

9. Use Add/Remove Programs in control panel to uninstall McAfee VirusScan.
10. Reboot the machine.

When I worked on the user’s machine, I was not aware of the new DAT file. Therefore, I just uninstalled McAfee. If you still want to keep McAfee, do not follow step 8 and 9 to uninstall McAfee VirusScan. McAfee has published an official workaround. Here is the link.

False positive detection of w32/wecorl.a in 5958 DAT

You can follow the link to download the new virus definition file 5959 and update the file instead of uninstalling McAfee VirusScan.

I have a Creative Lab WebCam Instant that I bought several years ago. I didn’t try it in Windows 7 until last week. When it was connected to a Windows 7 laptop, the installation failed because there was no driver available. I had some good experience with using Vista driver in Windows 7, so I searched for a Vista driver for the WebCam Instant. The only driver I could find was for XP; there was no Vista driver.

My final resort was to install the XP driver, and it worked. Here is what I did.

1. Download the driver from this site. Both 32bit and 64bit are offered. I have only tested the 32bit driver. The name of the downloaded 32bit driver is WCIS_PCDrv_US_1_01_02_0729.EXE.
2. Right click on the driver file and select Properties.
3. Click on the Compatibility tab, and check Run this program in compatibility mode for: . Make sure Windows XP (Service Pack 2) is selected. Click on OK to close the dialog.
   
4. Right click on the driver file and select Run as administrator.
5. Follow the instructions to finish the installation.

I had a problem during installation, and the installation seemed hang toward the end. The WebCam Instant worked after I rebooted the machine. This was the first time I used a XP driver in Windows 7. Let us know your experience with installing a XP driver in Windows 7.