Fixing boot error 0xc0000225

Today I was playing around with msconfig and activated "Normal startup". After rebooting I've encountered the cryptic boot error 0xc0000225. Very weird...
So I've tried to perform a Windows startup repair by booting up Windows from a USB flash disk. But it was unsuccessful.
So I've tried to manually fix the boot record by using various commands:

Bootrec /fixmbr 
Bootrec /fixboot  
Bootrec /rebuildbcd

None of them worked.

BCDBoot c:\Windows

This resulted in

Failure when attempting to copy boot files

Finally the one command that fixed the problem for me was the following:

BCDBoot c:\Windows /s c: 

Thanks goes out to this post from AIK IT Support!

Unable to associate file extension with default program [Fix]

Maybe you’ve already experienced this phenomenon.

You are trying to set a custom application as a default program for a specific file extension but somehow the “Open With” dialog doesn’t remember application you have selected.

Here’s probably a solution for you.

1. Check the filename of the application you want to use as your default program, e.g. PDFXCview.exe.
2. Open the Registry Editor (Win+R –> regedit –> Enter)
3. Go to following key:
   [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Applications\]
4. Search for an entry named after the filename of your application
5. Now simply delete that entry

Technorati-Tags: Windows,Windows 7,Troubleshooting,Open With,Default Program,File Extension

LG GH20NS10 + Windows 7 = Problems (Fix)

If you own a LG GH20NS10 Sata burner and have installed Windows 7 or are going to do you’ll most probably experience some issues with this drive.

Windows 7 somehow got a problem with this burner. Already the installation from DVD is problematic. The installation takes many hours. If you managed to install Windows 7 successfully you’ll encounter another annoying problem.
Every time you put a disc in your LG GH20NS10 the system freezes.
If you didn’t even manage to install Windows 7 try the steps below starting with 4. and start the installation again.

Here’s the complete solution that may work for you if you have already installed Windows 7 and experience the freezing Windows problem:

1. Create following registry entry:
   Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

   [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\msahci]
   "Start"=dword:00000000
   

    
2. Or simply copy the above code into notepad and save it somewhere with the extension .reg and double click the file.
3. Now restart your system.
4. Enter the BIOS
5. Select Integrated Peripherals
6. Go to On-Chip ATA Devices
7. Change the RAID mode to AHCI
8. Save the settings and restart

Another thing you could try is to install the latest Firmware from LG.
I would recommend to do this in another PC.

Technorati-Tags: Burner,DVD Drive,Freezing,GH20NS10,LG,SATA,Troubleshooting,Windows,Windows 7

Windows 7: Make Explorer start in My Computer instead of Libraries

If you find it annoying that the Windows Explorer Icon on the taskbar always opens with the Libraries then there’s an easy way to change the behaviour.

1. Right click on the Explorer icon
2. Right click on Windows Explorer
3. Select properties
   
4. Input at the end of the target field “/e,” without the quotes so that you get the following line:
   ”%windir%\explorer.exe /e,”
5. You’re done. Explorer will now always open in the My Computer view.
   

You can change the Explorer Command Line Switches to make Windows Explorer start in any folder you want.
For more explanation on the Switches you can check the following links:
Command Line Switches to Display Special Objects or Folders When Opening Windows Explorer
Command-Line Switches for Windows Explorer (Microsoft Support)

Technorati-Tags: Windows,Windows 7,Explorer,Windows Explorer

Realtek HD Audio Codec Drivers R2.35!

All new R2.35!  
• WinXP Driver Version: 5.10.0.5953
• Windows Vista Version: 6.0.1.5953
R2.35 | Vista, Windows7 (32/64 bits) Driver only (Executable file) | 34,98 MB | MD5: 3914f9d75ee313c68ae4abeb76243468
http://rapidshare.co...a_Win7_R235.exe
R2.35 | Vista, Windows7 (32/64 bits) Driver only (ZIP file) | 35,12 MB | MD5: 82101c3a7494cc1cfcb515f6143d4f2d
http://rapidshare.co...a_Win7_R235.zip
R2.35 | Windows 2000, Windows XP/2003(32/64 bits) Driver only (ZIP file) | 29,44 MB | MD5: 178e43c46bac24dfe4e2b91acc0c072f
http://rapidshare.co...59/WDM_R235.zip
R2.35 | Windows 2000, Windows XP/2003(32/64 bits) Driver only (Executable file) | 29,31 MB | MD5: 5923a47915c1ef8bce36c8cb8202a2f4
http://rapidshare.co...34/WDM_R235.exe
README R2.35
http://rapidshare.co...R235_Readme.pdf
Linux driver (2.6) | 5.13 | 4,91 MB | MD5: 0c0d8fba29a7082dd7640a697f4079cc 
http://rapidshare.co...kg_5.13.tar.bz2
R2.35 | ATI HDMI Audio Device | 16,96 MB | MD5: 05b516d49f869a3806fe21b34770aac1
http://rapidshare.co...3/HDMI_R235.exe

--------
History:
--------
Driver Package R2.35
    Realtek HD Audio Driver support all of Realtek HD Audio Codec .
    1. Vista/Windows 7 WHQL Supporting: ALC882, ALC883, ALC885, ALC888, ALC889, ALC861VD, ALC660, ALC662,
ALC663, ALC665, ALC260, ALC262,ALC267, ALC268, ALC269, ALC270, ALC272, ALC273, ALC887,ALC670, ALC275
    2. Windows 2000/XP WHQL Supporting: ALC880, ALC882, ALC883, ALC885, ALC888, ALC889, ALC861VC,
ALC861VD, ALC660, ALC662, ALC663, ALC665, ALC260, ALC262, ALC267,ALC268, ALC269, ALC270, ALC272, ALC273,
ALC887,ALC670, ALC275
    3. HDMI Device WHQL Support: ATI HDMI Devices
    4. OS Supporting: Microsoft WindowsXP, Widnows2000, Windows Server 2003, Vista, Windows Server 2008,
Windows7 - x86/x64
    5. Pack with Microsoft High Definition Audio UAAV1.0a(5013)
    6. Add/Fix
        1.) Driver :
            1. Customizations.
        2.) Package :
            1. Fix some presentation of Spanish language .
            2. Add "Windows Server 2008 x64 R2" identification folder.

Technorati-Tags: Realtek,HD Audio,Driver

The Windows Experience Index for your system could not be computed

Go to C:\Windows\Performance\WinSAT or %windir%\Performance\WinSAT and check the winsat.log.

If you find the following line:
893651 (2900) - winsat\main.cpp:4736: ERROR:  Unable to save validated results.
then go to the DataStore folder and delete all files or create a new folder (e.g. TEMP) and move all files into it.

Now repeat the WEI computation and it should work.

This solved the problem for me.

Technorati-Tags: Windows Experience Index,Windows 7,WEI,Troubleshooting,Windows

PATH variables not resolving

Just recently I had the problem that I couldn't execute most of the commands in the Windows Command Prompt.

When I tried to ping, ipconfig or similar, the prompt just said something like ""ipconfig" is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable system program or batch file.".

 I checked the path variable under the "Environment Variables" ([WIN] + [Pause] ≫ Advanced ≫ Environment Variables): %SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\system32\WBEM

Okay, this looks good. So tried "echo %systemroot%" in the Command Prompt ([WIN] + [R] ≫ cmd) and the variable got correctly resolved: "C:\WINDOWS".

But when I tried "path" in the Command Prompt I got "PATH=%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\system32\WBEM;…". Correctly it should be "PATH=C:\WINDOWS\system32;C:\WINDOWS;C:\WINDOWS\system32\WBEM;…". Apparently the path variables didn't get resolved for some reason.

Not knowing what the problem was I played around a bit with the "path variable" and suddenly it worked again. But not for long, next time I restarted the same problem reappeared. So decided to do a little research through Google and found this helpful blog post.

Solution

The problem is that the path key in the registry should be of the type "Reg_Expand_SZ" and mysteriously it was of type "Reg_SZ".

Here the step-by-step solution:

1. Go to: Start > Run > Regedit (alt.: [WIN] +[R] > regedit)
   
2. Check: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Environment
   
3. Make sure that the registry key holding the path is of Reg_Expand_SZ type rather Reg_SZ type
   
4. If the holding key is Reg_SZ change it into Reg_Expand_SZ by:
   

• Double Click "Path" and copy it's Data Value "…%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%; …" to avoid to rewrite it again
  
• Delete the "Path"
  
• Create New > Expandable String Value
  
• Give "Path" as the name, double click it, and Paste the value copied in the previous step to the "Value Data" field
  

1. Close the Regedit window and restart your system or just log-off and on
   

Another step-by-step solution without using the registry and which should do the same:

1. Go to the "Environment Variables"
   

• [WIN] + [Pause] > Advanced > Environment Variables
  

1. Under "System variables" double click on "Path"
   
2. Copy the the whole path (%SystemRoot%\system32;%SystemRoot%;%SystemRoot%\system32\WBEM;…)
   
3. Click Cancel
   
4. Delete the "Path" variable
   
5. Click New and use the same name "Path" and paste now the old Path variable values
   
6. Click OK and OK
   
7. Now restart or just log-off and on