CHKDSK Error: Cannot open the volume for direct access

When starting up your computer (Windows XP) if you get a message like:

Cannot open volume for direct access.
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Windows has finished checking the disk.

when trying to run CHKDSK on the local drive, then follow the steps below.

Microsoft's only solution is to install SP2 however, this will only fix the problem if there is another line "IFSUTIL: Can't open drive. Status returned = c0000043." is present. Most of the time, however, this line is not present and other steps are required.

Note: This solution has not been tested on Windows Vista, however if the above problem occurs, trying the following solution should not damage your system.
Note 2: You may want to print this solution because you will be required to restart in the middle.

-- Basic Solution --
1) Goto Start -> Run
2) Type "cmd" (no quotes)
3) Type and execute in the Command Prompt window: "chkdsk /F" (no quotes)
3a) If you were trying to perform chkdsk on another drive then type "chkdsk /F" then your drive (ex: "chkdsk /F D:")
4) When it asks if you want to check the volume on the next system restart, press "y" and return
5) Goto Start -> Run
6) Type "msconfig" no quotes
7) Goto the "BOOT.INI" tab and check the box labeled "/SAFEBOOT"



8) Press Apply, then Close
9) When it asks if you want to restart, choose "Restart"
10) The chkdsk Scan should now successfully run
11) When the scan is complete, login, and once again goto Start -> Run
(If a System Configuration dialog comes up, click "OK" [see below] )
12) Type "msconfig" (no quotes) again
13) Once again, goto the BOOT.INI tab and this time, uncheck the "/SAFEBOOT" option
14) Click Apply, then Close, and then Restart

If you get the following window, when you computer starts:


Check the box next to "Don't show this message..." and click OK

Afternote: You will have to do this everytime you want to run chkdsk on the local drive.

If the above solution did not work, please send me an email:

or comment below. If it did work, Congrats! More fixes will be added as time goes on....

The full potential of netsh.

I have not been around much to have been posting some new errors. I have received many emails over the past few weeks and I have been trying to reply (usually in under an hour) and get everyone's problems fixed. Remember you can email me at:


Now time to move on to: Netsh.

Netsh is a command-line based tool that can be used to locally or remotely administer a computer. I recently stumbled upon it when I was searching for a way to set DNS servers via the command-line. Various "things" you can do with Netsh will be shown below:

Set IP Address/Subnet/Gateway
netsh interface ip set address "<name of connection>" static <ip address> <subnet> <default gateway>

Set DNS Server(s)
netsh int ip set dns "<name of connection>" static <ip address> primary
To Set More DNS Servers:
netsh int ip add dns "<name of connection>" <ip address>

Set Connection To DHCP
netsh interface ip set address "<name of connection>" dhcp

Set WINS Server(s)
netsh interface ip set wins "<name of connection>" static <ip address>
To Set More WINS Servers:
netsh interface ip add wins "<name of connection>" <ip address>

Those are just some basic examples. I hope that you can benefit from this command as much as I recently have been able to!

-James Hartig

OOo-dev cannot be started: corrupt configuration data

Today, when I started up my computer, I was greeted with the following message:



Which stated that: "OOo-dev cannot be started due to an error in accessing the OOo-dev configuration data."
Also, it provided some useful information, such as: "The following internal error has occurred: /org.openoffice.Office.Recovery". This will be very handy later on.

Similar Errors:
"OpenOffice cannot be started due to an error in accessing the OpenOffice configuration data"
"OpenOffice cannot be started due to an error in accessing the OpenOffice.org configuration data"

"StarOffice cannot be started due to an error in accessing the StarOffice configuration data"
(if this is your error, after running the %APPDATA% (step 3) , open the folder "StarOffce7" [or something similar] then continue with the normal steps)

Solution 1 (if there was an 'Internal Error' message)
1) Goto Start -> Run
2) Type in "%APPDATA%" (no quotes)
3) In the new window that popped up, open up "OOo-dev3" or "OpenOffice2" (or something similar [with "OOo" in it or "openoffice" in it] )
4) Navigate through the following folders: user -> registry -> data
5) Now, the following depends on what was displayed as the error message.
6) Follow the folders as the error was shown (the last 'part' is the file)
example: if "/org.openoffice.Office.Recovery" then open the folders org -> openoffice -> Office

7) For my error message (shown above) I went (from within the data folder) through:
org -> openoffice -> Office

8) In the folder, now look at the last part of the string which is the filename.
example: if "/org.openoffice.Office.Recovery" then work with the file Recovery.xcu
example 2: if "/org.openoffice.Office.Common" then work with the file Common.xcu
9) Now take that file, and rename to something else (Recovery -> OLD.Recovery).
10) Start OpenOffice and it should fix the problem and load correctly!

11) If not, then continue through the next solutions.

Solution 2 (if there wasn't any 'Internal Error' message)
1) Goto Start -> Run
2) Type in "%APPDATA%" (no quotes)
3) In the new window that popped up, open up "OOo-dev3" or "OpenOffice2" (or something similar [with "OOo" in it or "openoffice" in it] )
4) Navigate through the following folders: user -> registry -> data -> org -> openoffice -> Office
5) Once in the 'Office' folder, delete everything except the "Common.xcu" file.
6) Try to start OpenOffice
7) If it loads correctly, congrats! If not, continue.


8) It seems like it still didn't work for you. Now go ahead and delete the "Common.xcu" file in the "Office" folder.
9) Try to start OpenOffice again
10) It should work now, but if not, continue to the next solution.


Solution 3 (if the above ones won't work)
1a) Restart your computer (or if you are too impaitent, continue)
1b) Goto Start -> Run
2) Type in "%APPDATA%" (no quotes)
3) In the new window that popped up, open up "OOo-dev3" or "OpenOffice2" (or something similar [with "OOo" in it or "openoffice" in it] )
4) Locate the folder: "user".
5) Rename the folder to "user2" (no quotes)
6a) Start OpenOffice, it should bring up a Configuration Wizard, follow the steps and your done!
6b) If you want, you can now go back and delete the created "user2" folder.
7) If it still doesn't work, I have no idea what has happened and you should continue your search somewhere else. (you can email me, but I cannot guarantee any fixes with OpenOffice)

Questions or Problems? Email me @


Hope That Helps!
-James Hartig

Myspace Music Player White Blank Not Loaded

If you have opendns and myspace music player's are not working, it is because opendns blocks lads.myspace.com!

I have flagged the site for review and I will post back if any problems still arise.

If you want to fix this problem and you have a opendns account pointing to your home ip, then you can login and goto settings. Then under filtering, choose whitelist and enter "myspace.com" (no quotes).

I will post back with any replies or fixes I can find.

Sorry he couldn't provide an all around fix,
James Hartig

Firefox Download Day Started Off Rough

This is similar to my other posts at http://jameshartig.blogspot.com.

Firefox download day started off rough, with servers failing and website failures. They are serving out 13gb/s of data at roughly 14,000 downloads a minute.
You can track all of the downloads at http://downloadcounter.sj.mozilla.com/

Updated Progress of the download failure and startup and be read and monitored on My Personal Blog Post

The following are notices about Firefox 3:

Sliverlight 1 doesn't work with Firefox 3
However, Silverlight 2 does (http://silverlight.net/GetStarted/)

Download Firefox 3 from http://getfirefox.com
Automatic updates will not work for a while yet, so get your new version today!


Hope the Mozilla server trouble is over and we can get a world record here!!

Keeping You Updated,
James Hartig

Firefox Download Day June 17, 2008

Firefox Download Day is June 17, 2008
Mark Your Calendars! The link to the site is above (the banner).

On this date you will be able to download Firefox 3, the newest and best browser on the planet. I will be looking forward to testing Firefox 4 soon!

June 17, 2008 is also the day I can get my temp. drivers license.

In unrelated news...
Firefox 3 RC3 was just released.
Download Here


Just keeping you updated.
James Hartig

Received Error: "Data Execution Prevention" on Application: Windows Explorer

Received something similar to the following?

Received it only once?
Your fine! If it keeps happening, return here.

Received it multiple times?
Continue.

This problem is very vague and I am working on a complete fix to the problem, however it is kind of hard!

Solution 1 (if you remember what you did!)

1) Write down what you did to receive the popup,
it is most likely a program launch, right-click (note where too! it is very important!), folder open, etc.

This is where we part solutions...

Solution 1a (application launch)
(The "Application" is probably modifying something in the Windows environment)

Options: (Sorry, however I am at a loss here)
1) Upgrade Program
2) Don't Launch
3) Contact Vendor (be sure to be specific!)
4) Uninstall Program

Solution 1b (right-click/folder open)
(It is probably a problem with a context handler [=the things you click on in a right-click menu])

1) Download ShellExView (I recommend the ZIP)
2) Run and locate, via the "My Computer, Desktop, Control Panel, File Extension, etc." columns where the DEP error occurred
example: if it happened when you right-clicked on the Desktop, sort by the Desktop column
example2: if it happened when you right-clicked on a file/folder, sort by the File Extension column and find the file ext. or * or Folder

3) Disable any suspicious, unknown and/or obsolete handlers (Be careful!, especially when disabling any "Microsoft" handler as I would recommend not to!)
4) If the error comes back, try again, this time with different ones
If not, then your done! (note: depending on how many you removed or how much time you have, you can go back and enable one-by-one and see which one it was)

Most likely it is the context handler problem (Solution 1b).

Solution 2 (if you don't personally care about DEP and its protection)
(My opinion would be to try the ones above and then resort to this Solution)

Option 2a (simple, for beginners)
(NOT FOR WINDOWS VISTA!!! and Windows Server 2008)
1) Goto System Properties
a) Press (Windows Key + Pause/Break)
b) Right-click on My Computer and select 'Properties'
c) Control Panel -> System (or if not classic, Control Panel -> Performance and Maintenance -> System)
2) Goto "Advanced" tab
3) Under the "Startup and Recovery" section, click Advanced

4) Click "Edit" next to 'To edit the startup options file manually, click Edit.'
5) In the notepad window that opened, change the /NoExecute option to...

Options:

"/noexecute=alwaysoff" = Disables DEP. Attempts to enable DEP selectively are ignored. ALSO DISABLES PAE!!
"/noexecute=optout" = Disables DEP. However, can be enabled for certain programs via administrator.
"/noexecute=alwayson" = Enables DEP for the operating system and all processes.
"/noexecute=optin"= Enables DEP for the operating system and all processes, but administrators can disable.

Example:

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Media Center Edition" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptIn

--would change to--

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Media Center Edition" /fastdetect /NoExecute=OptOut

6) Save and Restart Computer

(FOR VISTA!!! and Windows Server 2008)
1) Start -> Run
(if there is no Run command... do the following)
1a) Right-Click on the Start and select 'Properties'
1b) Next to the "Start Menu" selection click "Customize"
1c) Scroll Down and find "Run Command" and select the check box
1d) OK then Goto Start -> Run

2) Type and Execute "cmd"
3) In the CMD window,
"bcdedit /set nx" then one of the following options (Optout recommened)

Optin

Enables DEP only for operating system components. Administrators can enable DEP on selected executable files by using the Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT).

Optout

Enables DEP for the operating system and all processes. However, administrators can disable DEP on selected executable files by using System in Control Panel.

AlwaysOn

Enables DEP for the operating system and all processes. All attempts to disable DEP are ignored.

AlwaysOff

Disables DEP. Attempts to enable DEP selectively are ignored. ALSO DISABLES PAE!!

4) Restart

Remember: If you are unsure, comment or email me! If you do this incorrectly your computer may not boot correctly or at all!!


Hope This Helps!
-James Hartig

GoogleDesktop.exe Virus?? Trojan-Downloader.Win32.Bandlord.nrd

I just received the following from ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite.



I don't know if its a problem with ZoneAlarm or with Google Desktop. I have emailed Google about the problem and will post the response once it is received.
I received this right after updating Google Desktop to the latest version. It seems that they have vastly modified the executable process because GoogleDesktop.exe has shrunk from almost 2mb to around 29kb.

Response received,

Hi James,

Thank you for your note. Although we can't comment on the accuracy of
results in specific anti-virus programs, please rest assured that Google
Desktop doesn't install malicious or unknown software onto your computer.
When you download and install Google Desktop, you're getting just Google
Desktop. If you'd like further information regarding the results of your
anti-virus scan, we recommend directly contacting your anti-virus
program's online support center.

That said, if Google Desktop is being flagged by your anti-virus software,
we'd appreciate if you could tell us more about your system by running the
simple diagnostic program at [URL]. When you run this
program, it will automatically copy the output into your computer's
clipboard. To send us the diagnostic, paste the output into a word
processing document (right-click > "Paste") and attach the file to your response.


We appreciate your assistance.

Regards,
The Google Team

I have sent back the required file and have also contacted ZoneAlarm about this situation.

ZoneAlarm Response,

Hello James,
Thank you for contacting ZoneAlarm technical support.

I understand that you are receiving a scanning status message about Google Desktop.

Since this product indexes your hard drive, this is an appropriate warning from ZoneAlarm.

If you would like to stop receiving this warning, please click the option to have this always ignored, and then click the
apply button.

If my answer did not resolve your issue, or you would like further assistance on this issue, please reply to this email.
By replying, and leaving the subject line intact, your response will come directly to me. If you have a separate issue you
would like assistance with, please submit a new request using the website at:
[URL].

Thank you for choosing ZoneAlarm Security!

Jeremy
Technical Support
ZoneAlarm, A Division of Check Point Software

Sent response to Google. Awaiting Email...


-James Hartig

Something Gone Wrong? Something Not Working?

Have a Windows Problem that you cannot seem to fix?
Have a look in the Event Viewer!

To Access The Event Viewer

1) Goto Start -> Run
(if there is no Run command... do the following)
1a) Right-Click on the Start and select 'Properties'
1b) Next to the "Start Menu" selection click "Customize"
1c) Scroll Down and find "Run Command" and select the check box
1d) OK then Goto Start -> Run

2) Type in the Run Box, "eventvwr.msc" (no quotes)
2a) If Windows responds with a "Windows Needs Permission To Continue." and it is for "Microsoft Management Console", click 'Continue'
3) Typically you will find all of the major incidents in "System"
4) If you see a problem (indicated by a red X), Right-click and choose 'Properties'

Windows XP

Windows Vista

5) Take Note of the "Event ID:"
6) Copy some of the information in the description and then execute a Google search
note: be sure to include information like "windows xp event [event id goes here]" also, paste some of your information like the following example!

I will be showing a problem that I recently had and have produced a fix for...

With that information I would search on Google for
"windows xp event 4321 The name could not be registered on the Interface with IP address not allow the name to be claimed"
then looking through the results I would click on

Windows Fixes: Cannot connect to Windows network? Event 4321

Thats all!

Hope that helps
-James Hartig

If you couldn't find anything, email me the whole description, ID and maybe

Cannot connect to Windows network? Event 4321

Receiving Event 4321: NetBT
The name "<workgroup name>:1d" could not be registered on the Interface with IP address <client's IP address>. The machine with the IP address <another computer's IP> did not allow the name to be claimed by this machine.

Solution 1

1) Turn off all devices on network
2) Unplug router
3) optional: turn off modem (cable, DSL, etc.)
4) count to 60 then turn back on modem
5) plug back in router
6) Turn back on computers
7) Check for 4321 error and windows network connectivity

Solution 1a

1) Check firewall
2) Firewall of pc <another computer's IP> can be blocking requests from <client's IP address>
3) Add internal network range (ex: 192.168.1.1 -> 192.168.1.255) to Trusted (or similar zone)
4) Also, make sure NetBIOS is not disabled or blocked by your firewall
4a) If "NetBIOS" is not listed as an option, try allowing/enabling the following ports:
TCP 2869
UDP 1900

Solution 2

1) Change names of all computers and possibly the workgroup name too
2) Turn off all computers after name change
3) Turn back on, one at a time
4) Check for error and connectivity after each computer is on

Solution 3

Note: This could screw up your network shares. I will explain more at end (skip there first if you are unsure)
Note2: Designed For Windows XP

1) Goto Network Connections from Control Panel
2) Choose Properties From Your Network Connection

3) Select "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" then press Properties
4) In the "General" tab, press Advanced
5) Goto The "WINS" tab and choose "Disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP"

6) Press OK, and Again and again until you are out
7) Restart Computer
8) Repeat on other computers on network

Note: Instead of being able to access a computer by its name (ex. //home1) you now must access its IP (ex. //192.168.1.2), in which case I recommend using a static IP for your computers, see post below.


Hope that helps!
-James Hartig

Recommended: How to create a internal static IP address for your computer.

By default, Windows uses DHCP (See Wikipedia Entry) for its way of retrieving an IP for your computer.

Note: This will not work if you are connected directed to your modem! Also, this is only recommend for people with a network of various computers.

Steps To Make Your Computer Static (Windows XP)
1) Open Control Panel > Network Connections or
Control Panel > Network and Internet Connections > Network Connection
2) Right click on the "active" Connection and choose Status
Should be like "Local Area Connection"

(Note: For some reason, on some systems, the status screen will not open? Try double-clicking on the connection or follow the instructions below...)

3) Goto the Support tab and click on Details...
(Picture Below)

-- Alternate Way To Status Screen --
1) Goto Start > Run > cmd
2) Run ipconfig /All
3) Look at the correct information under the device you tried to open the "status screen" for
(Picture Below)
-- End Alternate Way --

4) Whether you are looking at the cmd window, or the status window, write down the boxed data (IP Address, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway, DNS Server(s))
(Note: The information in the following examples do not represent "your" data, they are plainly examples)

Status Window

CMD Window

5) Go back to the Network Connections screen
(Open Control Panel > Network Connections or
Control Panel > Network and Internet Connections > Network Connection)

6) Right-click on the network connection you just looked up and this time choose properties.

7) Select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)

8) Click Properties
9) Choose "Use The Following IP Address" and fill in the appropriate information
10) If there was more than 2 DNS servers listed, put in the first 2 in and then select ok
11) Go back into "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" Properties and then choose Advanced
12) Click Advanced in the bottom right corner of the "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties" window

13) Goto the DNS tab,

14) In the Add window, type the extra DNS servers that you were unable to enter in before
15) Select OK, and again until you are out of the windows
16) Restart Might Be Required

Steps To Make Your Computer Static (Windows Vista)
1) Open Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing Center
2) Under the "Network" Section, across from "Connection", press "View Status"

3) Click on Details...
(Picture Below)

4) Whether you are looking at the cmd window, or the status window, write down the boxed data (IP Address, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway, DNS Server(s))
(Note: The information in the following examples do not represent "your" data, they are plainly examples)

Status Window

5) Go back to the Connection Status Window and click "Properties"

6) Press "Continue" on the "Windows needs your permission to continue." window

7) Select 'Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)'

8) Click Properties
9) Choose "Use The Following IP Address" and fill in the appropriate information
10) If there was more than 2 DNS servers listed, put in the first 2 in and then select ok
11) Go back into "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)" Properties and then choose Advanced
12) Click Advanced in the bottom right corner of the "Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties" window

13) Goto the DNS tab,

(Windows Vista screen is identical)

14) In the Add window, type the extra DNS servers that you were unable to enter in before
15) Select OK, and again until you are out of the windows
16) Restart Might Be Required


Congrats! Your Done!

Hope That Helps
-James Hartig

Something unusual not listing? How to take a screenshot.

Can't seem to find an answer for your unusual problem with a Windows XP/Vista computer?

Send an email (including computer specs, all possible information, steps to produce problem, and if possible, screenshots) to



Don't Know How to Make A Screenshot??

Follow These Easy Steps...

1) Click on the window you want to take a screenshot of (make sure its focused on)
2) Press Alt+Print Screen (also can be Alt+SysRq)
3) Open up an image editor, like paint, and then paste
4) Save (jpg/png) and your done!

Thanks!
Hope that helps!
-James Hartig