Simkin.Org

Category: Tech stuff

  • Fix for Battlefield 3 Plugin

    If like me, you are trying to run Battlefield 3 under Windows8, you’ll need to patch your registry as follows. Copy this text into notepad and save as iebf3fix.reg. Then just double-click it. Restart IE and it is all done.
    REGEDIT4
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}]
    @=”SonarAx Control”
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\Control]
    @=””
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\InprocServer32]
    @=”C:\\PROGRA~2\\BATTLE~1\\Sonar\\070~1.4\\SonarAx.ocx”
    “ThreadingModel”=”Apartment”
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\MiscStatus]
    @=”0″
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\MiscStatus\1]
    @=”131473″
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\ProgID]
    @=”WHISPERAX.WhisperAxCtrl.0.70.4″
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\ToolboxBitmap32]
    @=”C:\\PROGRA~2\\BATTLE~1\\Sonar\\070~1.4\\SonarAx.ocx, 1″
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\TypeLib]
    @=”{B926A6E0-4034-4656-BFF5-EBE450004604}”
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\Version]
    @=”1.0″
    [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Wow6432Node]
    [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID]
    [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}]
    @=”SonarAx Control”
    “TreatAs”=””
    [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\Control]
    @=””
    [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\InprocServer32]
    @=”C:\\PROGRA~2\\BATTLE~1\\Sonar\\070~1.4\\SonarAx.ocx”
    “ThreadingModel”=”Apartment”
    [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\MiscStatus]
    @=”0″
    [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\MiscStatus\1]
    @=”131473″
    [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\ProgID]
    @=”WHISPERAX.WhisperAxCtrl.0.70.4″
    [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\ToolboxBitmap32]
    @=”C:\\PROGRA~2\\BATTLE~1\\Sonar\\070~1.4\\SonarAx.ocx, 1″
    [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\TreatAs]
    [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\TypeLib]
    @=”{B926A6E0-4034-4656-BFF5-EBE450004604}”
    [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\Version]
    @=”1.0″
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\NavigatorPluginsList]
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\NavigatorPluginsList\EA Digital Illusions CE AB]
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\NavigatorPluginsList\Electronic Sports Network i Sverige AB]
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\NavigatorPluginsList\ESNLaunchAx Control]
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\NavigatorPluginsList\SonarAx Control]
    “application/ie-plugin-esn-sonar-0.70.4″=””
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}]
    @=”SonarAx Control”
    “InProcServer32″=””
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\Control]
    @=””
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\InProcServer32]
    @=”C:\\PROGRA~2\\BATTLE~1\\Sonar\\070~1.4\\SonarAx.ocx”
    “ThreadingModel”=”Apartment”
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\MiscStatus]
    @=”0″
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\MiscStatus\1]
    @=”131473″
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\ProgID]
    @=”WHISPERAX.WhisperAxCtrl.0.70.4″
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\ToolboxBitmap32]
    @=”C:\\PROGRA~2\\BATTLE~1\\Sonar\\070~1.4\\SonarAx.ocx, 1″
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\TypeLib]
    @=”{B926A6E0-4034-4656-BFF5-EBE450004604}”
    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{EBA7A1E6-E69D-4BA5-B291-95782A004604}\Version]
    @=”1.0″

  • Magic DVD Ripper

    I’ve been using RipIt4ME and DVDecoder for years but they finally met their match with Iron Man 3.
    But after playing around with Magic DVD Ripper, I think I’ve found my new recommended way to get movies onto my NAS. It costs £35, which will put some people off but I recommend it to people who are not technical experts and want something that just works.
    I am going to struggle on with RIPIT4ME, DVDRipper and Handbrake because I like things to be over-complicated.

  • The Dark(ish) Web

    According to Andy Archibald, head of the UK cyber-crime-fighting unit, the Internet is rife with people building secret, closed spaces for nefarious means. And he is of course, correct.
    “Dark Web”, not to be confused with “Deep Net”, “Dark Internet”, “The Undernet”. I guess the “cloud” concept has now stretched to the fluffy language used to describe all this stuff. What I get cross about is this lack of clear definition of two principals of Internet use:
    So we’ve got a LOT of Internet that is hardly ever visited because Google etc. doesn’t give it high ranking (unintentional-censorship?) and on the other hand, networks like Tor, used by (depending on your political standpoint) villains, the oppressed or the paranoid.
    Chances are, you are curious about both for different reasons. Anything that Google/Yahoo/Bing decides not to rank could be either an awesome demonstration of what one of my university lecturers would have defined as the pertinence. So you really are finding exactly what you need/want to find. But as the search engines are not inside your head, they can at best create a list based on what they think is relevant. So some readers will now be wondering if they are in fact getting the best search result they can and what goldmine pages are there hidden in the depths that they have never seen.
    The other gloomy Internet concept is one where like-minded individuals, for whatever reason decide to build a protected network of resources to which only those “in the know” have access to. This is where the police and national governments are focussing attention. It is the battleground between encryption and cracking. It is full of egos, criminals, the politically oppressed, some truly awful individuals and voices that are prevented from speaking out in their own country. So pretty much a condensed variety of the human species.
    Am I missing some standard definitions for these two very different situations? They are both things that could do with more attention but for vastly different reasons and it would be a shame to keep confusing them with vague jargon.

  • Apple IOS 7

    To be honest IOS7 looks less appealing than IOS6 but I guess we’ll get used to it. It makes the iPad look fresher, which is probably the reason for the new look. The iPhone looks odd with it currently. The changes to how search works and the other little tweaks are not that major.
    As usual though, some people (me included) had the joy of a failed update, restore, reinstall cycle but whilst it burnt daylight, it didn’t actually lose any data or anything.
    So patience all you grumblers, let’s give it a few days before we throw the phones away to buy android ones. They all look alike now anyway.

  • 3G Dongle and Windows8

    If you have a ZTE dongle from 3 and your Windows 8 computer refuses to use it, uninstall the software and go here for the updated version: http://support.three.co.uk/srvs/cgi-bin/webisapi.dll?command=new,kb=mobile,ts=mobile,t=article,varset_cat=mobilebroadband,varset_subcat=3884,case=obj(6730),varset_username=Mobile:mobileUser&s_search=helpsearch

  • Cat5e Network and Telephone

    I’ve recently run some more cat6 cable around the house and realised I’d be running a telephone extension and a network cable side-by-side up the stairs. This seemed a bit daft to me so I dusted off my cabling knowledge and decided to break the IEEE standards (what do they know!) and save myself a bit of effort.
    The basic principle goes something like this:

    • The cable I was running has 4 pairs in it.
    • Internal telephones need 1 pair
    • Could I get 100Mbps on 3pairs?

    rj45-pinout-t568b
    source:http://blog.showmecables.com/rj45-pinout/

    Obviously yes I can.
    Network side:      Connect pins1,2,3,6 (according to T568B they are white/orange,orange,white/green,green)
    Telephone side:   Punch connections 2 and 5 on the master socket onto the blue and white/blue wires
    This gives you at least 100Mbps for your network and a working telephone extension.

  • Windows Snipping Tool gives Black screen – Fixed

    So you are trying to use the Snipping Tool and when you click New Snip, the screen goes black. Bummer.

    I bet you have a web-browser open. I bet you do on-line banking.

    Programs – Trusteer Rapport
    Rapport Console
    Green Arrow
    Edit Policy
    Type in the magic code
    Change the first setting in the list tot “Never” and click Save.

    Fixed!!

  • nvidia 306.23

    Installing this driver in place of the 301.x variants jumped my Windows index for graphics from 4.1 to 6.6 and so, if you are running nVidia, give yourself some extra horse power for free.

    If you don’t know what is in your computer, go here and choose “Auto-Detect your GPU”. Then do what it tells you!!

  • Reset Mac Mini BIOS

    There isn’t a BIOS in the classic sense but there is a PRAM that occasionally needs a gentle prod. If the hardware is acting odd or booting isn’t happening, do this: (Assumes a Windows Keyboard)
    1. Turn it off and unplug everything except power and keyboard.
    2. Hold down <Alt> <Windows Key> <P> and <R> together and turn on the Mac.
    3. You’ll hear the Wall-E startup sound as usual, then (keep those keys held down) the screen goes from white to black, and there will be a repeat of the jingle in  10-15 seconds.
    4. Let go of the keys.
    5. Let it boot up and then shut it down.
    6. Time to boot it up again.

  • APC Master Switch Webadmin not working

    Easy fix: 351YES

    Long-hand:

    ——- Control Console ——————————————————-

    1- Device Manager
    2- Network
    3- System
    4- Logout

    <ESC>- Main Menu, <ENTER>- Refresh
    > 3

    ——- System —————————————————————-

    1- User Manager
    2- Identification
    3- Date/Time
    4- File Transfer
    5- Tools
    6- About System

    <ESC>- Back, <ENTER>- Refresh
    > 5

    ——- Tools —————————————————————–

    1- Reboot
    2- Reset to Defaults
    3- Reset to Defaults Except TCP/IP

    <ESC>- Back, <ENTER>- Refresh
    > 1

    ———————————————————————–
    Reboot

    Enter ‘YES’ to continue or <ENTER> to cancel : YES

    Rebooting…