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Hardware Upgrade - Windows 7 - Radeon 9250

I start this post to announce a new hardware upgrade for myself. I have a new computer, it's actually my Sister's but she allowed me to use it unless they needed it. They have a couple of laptops.

Still, if only temporary, it's a step up from a 600mhz, with 384MB RAM and a 64MB video card, WinXP PRO SP3. It's a P4 at 1.8GHz, 512MB RAM, with a 256MB video card and Windows 7.

First problem I noticed, video was set a 800x600. And the adaptor properties where listing only 16MB of video memory and I knew there was 256MB. It turns out that my Radeon 9250 was not supported by Windows 7. My experience tells me that there was a solution available somewhere.

Found the solution here http://preview.tinyurl.com/yaq68zl

Following the info posted by users named RBuschyX and ram4life (scrool down to almost the end of the page) , here is what I did:

  • First I downloaded the Windows 2000 version of the video drivers from here:
    http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/Pages/radeonx-2k.aspx Download the Display driver only not the Catalyst Software Suite.
  • Install using compatibility mode that is, right click on the file 6-2_xp-2k_dd_30152.exe, click on properties go to the compatibility tab and check the option to Run this program in compatibility mode for: and choose Windows Xp (Service Pack 2). While there check the option to run as administrator or right click and chose it from the menu.

  • DO NOT RESTART WHEN PROMTED

  • Instead I had to go to the C:\Windows\System32 folder and find and remove, but not delete, the file named ati2dvrag.dll. It's recommended to right-click on it and chose cut and then paste it on your desktop somewhere because you will have to move it back.
  • Now just Log off and then Log in again. Your screen is supposed to look crappy at this time but mine did not. I had serious doubts if it was going to work. It's also suggested that you might end up with a blank screen.
  • At this point you are instructed to copy or move the ati2dvrag.dll file back to C:\Windows\System32 but I rebooted my system first. It didn't seem to be working right anyway.
  • After my system rebooted I got the crappy screen I was looking for, so I copied the ati2dvrag.dll back to C:\Windows\System32 and rebooted the system again.

    It either was going to work or not. IT WORKED! I cannot explain why.

    Used ComboFix to remove a root-kit.

    I briefly mentioned this in a previous post. A woman bought her computer to me infected with the Fake Anti Virus program called ThinkPoint.

    Thy bought their computer to me twice. The first time it wasn't because of a virus but I noticed Malwarebytes and Spybot where disabled on a computer. The only way I could run it was to rename the executable files that started up the program. A sign of an infected computer.

    I decided to run ComboFix in Safemode with networking. My first attemp the file disapeared. Possibly because of a virus. I decided to rename it to copy of combo fix but combofix gave an error I could only use numbers/letters for the name. So I renamed it. It ran and suggested an update. I allowed it. It immediately suggested that there was a possible RootKit infection, one of the most serious infections. ComboFix wanted to reboot and run a scan. I allowed it. After it was finished I then ran Malwarebytes.

    Everything seemed fine. Then the same people came to me with another serious infection called ThinkPoint. This was a lot harder to fix because this rouge program had disabled SafeMode.

    Safemode would go so far as the isapnp.sys driver and stop. A search online indicated it was caused when a virus puts a 0Kb size file in the c:\windows\system32\drivers. I had to use a boot cd to check this folder for any files that where 0Kb in size.

    I found only one called exqrmdih.sys. It could be named differently, look at the size, not the name. I deleted it and then I rebooted the computer and this time I was able to go into SafeMode with Networking.

    First I ran Autoruns - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb963902.aspx. I noticed a dozen or more entries like HNUqOXRsa, MKaoc, MKaoc, and so on. I right clicked on each entry and deleted them. They all pointed to files like c:\windows\user.exe, c:\windows\smss.exe, and c:\windows\setup.exe.

    There was also some strange files in the C:\windows\system32\ folder like cPc+MVONaRR9Xms. I was very sure these should not be there.

    After deleting a few more suspicious files I then decided to run Malwarebytes after updating it first. When finished I started up the computer normally. Then Installed, updated and ran Superantispyware. Then finally updated the Antivirus, Avira, and ran another scan.

    It's hard to say for sure, but so far so good. It's usually recommended with such a serious infection to format and reset up Windows. If it was my computer, it already would be done.

    Webcam Doesn't Work With Windows Live Messenger

    My neighbour was having trouble getting her webcam to work on Windows Live Messenger. After trying a dozen solutions or more I found online, I found one that worked. I got them to sign out of Messenger and to unplug the webcam. Then to sign back in again and when signed in to plug the webcam back in. It worked. You could try just unplugging the camera first without signing out.

    MSVCP71.DLL MSVCR71.DLL Missing When Trying To Run XnView On Windows 7

    Of course after getting this computer my first priority was setting up all my programs and utilities. XnView is my picture viewer of choice. http://www.xnview.com/en/index.html

    But every time I started it up in Windows 7 I would get the error: that MSVCP71.DLL MSVCR71.DLL where missing. But the program still started up and worked without an itch. To get rid of the annoying error messages I downloaded the files from http://www.dll-files.com/ and copied them to the XnView program folder. No more error messages.

    Vista Sidebar Not working

    A guy called me he had problems with his sound on his Vista computer. He tried fixing it himself and downloaded some new drivers but it still didn't work. They then started fooing around with the wires. I don't know if it was before or after.

    I right clicked on the volume control to bring up the list of playback devices. It claimed that the speakers where unplugged. Speakers usually always go into the GREEN plugin. I don't know why or how they lost the sound in the first place but they got their sound back.

    Another problem he had was the Sidebar was always crashing. Vista always suggested going online to find a solution but never could find any. If I could only make Microsoft pay me back for all the time online trying to fix their problems. :-)

    You could try this simple solution, which didn't work in my case, but read it first anyway: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/how-to-repair-your-crashed-or-hanging-vista-sidebar/

    I did find a solution that worked:

  • Go to the folder indicated: %localappdata%\microsoft\Windows Sidebar. open up the settings.ini file. Open using notepad if asked.
  • It should look something like:

    [Root]
    SettingsVersion=00.00.00.01
    SidebarShowState=Imploded
    SidebarDockedPartsOrder=0x1,0x2,0x3,
    Section0=1
    Section1=2
    Section2=3
    [Section 1]
    PrivateSetting_GadgetName=%PROGRAMFILES%\windows sidebar\gadgets\Clock.gadget
    PrivateSetting_Enabled=true
    [Section 2]
    PrivateSetting_GadgetName=%PROGRAMFILES%\windows sidebar\gadgets\SlideShow.Gadget
    PrivateSetting_Enabled=true
    [Section 3]
    PrivateSetting_GadgetName=%PROGRAMFILES%\windows sidebar\gadgets\RSSFeeds.Gadget
    PrivateSetting_Enabled=true
    loadFirstTime=defaultGadget

    Delete every thing I have in RED. You may have more or less depending on the gadgets installed on your system. Save it then restart Windows Sidebar. (c:\program files\windows sidebar)...or restart your system.

    This started windows Sidebar without any gadgets. Right click on Sidebar and choose Add. Add one at a time. This will help you determine which one is causing the crash. In this case it was the clock one. I tried downloading a new one of the internet but with the same results. Still don't know why the clock gadgets are crashing the Sidebar???

    If this don't work, try editing the settings.ini in the c:\program files\windows sidebar folder at the same time.

    Newsletter I currently subscribe to:

    AskLeo - ask-leo.com

    AskTheComputerLady - www.asktcl.com/

    HelpDeskGeek - helpdeskgeek.com/

    HowToGeek - www.howtogeek.com/

    Infopackets - www.infopackets.com

    InternetTourbus - internettourbus.com/

    Lockergnome - www.lockergnome.com/

    MakeUseOf - www.makeuseof.com/

    Online-Tech-Tips - www.online-tech-tips.com/

    TinyHacker - tinyhacker.com/

    TroubleFixers - www.troublefixers.com/

    Windows Networking - www.windowsnetworking.com/

    Windows Secrets - windowssecrets.com

    YahooAnswers(Canada) - ca.answers.yahoo.com/ - not really a newsletter but I sometimes answer questions there under the name of Alucardx

    www.google.ca - my main source of information, otherwise.

    How To Fix "Limited Or No Connectivity" - Wireless

    I don't have any wireless setups right now. I do have a wireless adaptor in my current Desktop but I don't use it. Wireless may be convenient at times but there are two main concerns from my perspective. One is security, the other is keeping a connection.

    This article deals with the latter.

    A lot of people have come to me with this problem. There are a lot of tips and suggestions online on how to fix and troubleshoot this problem. One solution I put on the top of the list that I can testify to is Setting The IPs Manually.

    Currently, on my Windows 7 system here's how I would go about setting it up, if I had to.

    Before going any further you need to find your IP Address.

  • Click on Start, type in cmd then hit enter.
  • Click on it when it appears at the top of the list. A black command window, with white letters, will open.
  • type in the following and hit enter after ipconfig /all
  • go through the listing that comes up and take note of the following:

    Default Gateway

    IP Address (on my system it's listed as "IPv4 Address")

    DNS Servers

    The Default Gateway is usually the IP Address of the router. On my Belkin router it's 192.168.2.1

    My IP Address is listed as 192.168.2.3

    There may be more than one DNS server listed. The first one listed is usually the same as the Gateway address, in my case 192.168.2.1

  • First I would right-click on the network icon down by the clock and open the Network and Sharing Center.
  • Down the left hand panel click on Change adaptor settings.
  • Right-click on your Wireless Network Connection and click on Properties
  • In the list of checked items double click on the item Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)
  • Check the option to Use the following IP adress:

  • Type in your IP address. In my case 192.168.2.3. Its got to be different than the gateway because you can not have two different devices with same IP address. So if you had two computers you would set the second one as 192.168.2.4, for example.
  • Subnet mask - usually fills in automatically by just clicking it it otherwise it's 255.255.255.0
  • And your Gateway of course is 192.168.2.1 Remember to use your own numbers and not mine. But you can use the same if you have a Belkin router.
  • Then check the option to Use the following DNS server addresses:
  • Same as Gateway 192.168.2.1. One is usually enough.

    I believe Vista settings are similar. For Xp users
    http://www.overclock.net/faqs/93129-how-manually-configure-ip-address-step.html
    or
    http://www.hotcomm.com/faq/faq_staticipxp.asp

    Again I repeat, Best Way To Fix Limited Or No Connectivity!