I was looking to upgrade the motherboard bios on my computer, but first I wanted to know what version was already on it.
There are two ways to check your bios version.
1) You can reboot your computer and look for the bios version on the bootup screen, or
2) You can view it in windows though the Microsoft System Information box.
The easest way to run the System Information is to click on the start menu, and then type msinfo32 in the RUN box.
From the default system summary view, look for the BIOS version on the right hand side.
The system information box provides you with a lot more information about your computer.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Can't open raw files in Photoshop
The Problem: My friend had a recent version of photoshop (CS3) but couldn't open up raw files from her new Nikon camera.
The Solution: There is no single raw file format. Different manufacturers (Nikon, Canon, Sony etc.) encrypt portions of the file in an attempt to prevent third-party tools from accessing them. Even the same manufacturer will switch their raw file format when they release a newer model of their cameras. So Adobe can't possibly support newer formats without creating raw plugins.
Therefore the solution here is download the latest raw plugins from Adobe's website, found here.
Make sure to download the correct file depending on what version of Photoshop you have. You will have to put the raw camera plugin in the following directory.
Default installation directory
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop CSxx\Plug-Ins\File Formats
The Solution: There is no single raw file format. Different manufacturers (Nikon, Canon, Sony etc.) encrypt portions of the file in an attempt to prevent third-party tools from accessing them. Even the same manufacturer will switch their raw file format when they release a newer model of their cameras. So Adobe can't possibly support newer formats without creating raw plugins.
Therefore the solution here is download the latest raw plugins from Adobe's website, found here.
Make sure to download the correct file depending on what version of Photoshop you have. You will have to put the raw camera plugin in the following directory.
Default installation directory
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Photoshop CSxx\Plug-Ins\File Formats
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Can't install Kaspersky Anti Virus because...
My friend was trying to install Kaspersky Anti Virus on a computer with a Windows Vista Operating system. But the installation would not proceed because it thought that McAfee anti virus was installed on the machine. My friend told me that McAfee was pre installed on the computer she bought, but she recently removed it from the Add and Remove Programs in the control panel.
The problem: This scenario is very similar to my previous "Photoshop CS3" installation problem. 9 out of 10 times, installation of software fails because previously installed software has left behind "junk" in the windows registry.
The solution in general: If you know enough about the windows registry, you will be able to go in there and delete install info left behind by uninstalled software. To be honest, I never felt comfortable deleting entries in the registry because it can cause windows to malfunction. Always remember to back up your registry before doing manual changes.
The easiest way to solve such a problem is to search the Internet for a cleanup utility. Preferably from the actual manufacturer of the unwanted software. For example, last time we found a cleanup utility from Adobe to remove unwanted CS3 values in the windows registry.
The actual solution: There is a McAfee cleanup tool called MCPR.exe. After uninstalling McAfee from the Add and Remove programs, download this tool and run it. After a restart of your computer, you should be able to install Kaspersky.
Additional information: Because two different anti-virus software can't coexist, you will most likely run into this problem if you even had a different kind anti virus software previously installed. Here are the other remove tools from the major anti virus vendors.
McAfee
Norton
AVG
Kaspersky: I could not find an official remove tool. I found some third party ones, but try them at your own risk (I will not post a link to them.)
The problem: This scenario is very similar to my previous "Photoshop CS3" installation problem. 9 out of 10 times, installation of software fails because previously installed software has left behind "junk" in the windows registry.
The solution in general: If you know enough about the windows registry, you will be able to go in there and delete install info left behind by uninstalled software. To be honest, I never felt comfortable deleting entries in the registry because it can cause windows to malfunction. Always remember to back up your registry before doing manual changes.
The easiest way to solve such a problem is to search the Internet for a cleanup utility. Preferably from the actual manufacturer of the unwanted software. For example, last time we found a cleanup utility from Adobe to remove unwanted CS3 values in the windows registry.
The actual solution: There is a McAfee cleanup tool called MCPR.exe. After uninstalling McAfee from the Add and Remove programs, download this tool and run it. After a restart of your computer, you should be able to install Kaspersky.
Additional information: Because two different anti-virus software can't coexist, you will most likely run into this problem if you even had a different kind anti virus software previously installed. Here are the other remove tools from the major anti virus vendors.
McAfee
Norton
AVG
Kaspersky: I could not find an official remove tool. I found some third party ones, but try them at your own risk (I will not post a link to them.)
Can't install Adobe Photoshop CS3
My friend was trying to install Adobe Photoshop CS3 on a Windows XP machine. Half way through installation there was an unreadable file on her CD, that caused the installation to abort. When we got a hold of a better CD, the installation would not run anymore.
The Problem: The previous attempt to install CS3 had failed, but never the less had gotten deep enough into the install to edit the registry and make windows think the program was installed.
Additional Problems: The installation problem can also occur if you had installed a pre-release version of CS3 on your computer, and now are attempting to install the full final version of CS3. Although this wasn't the case of us this time, a lot of Internet users have reported this installation issue with Adobe Photoshop CS3.
The solution: The first thing you should try is the Add and Remove programs from the control panel. This will most likely fail. The answer is to download Adobe's Clean Up Tool from this website.
You must also have Microsoft's Windows Installer Cleanup Utility installed before you can use Adobe's Clean Up tool. You can download the Microsoft Utility here.
When running the Adobe utility, try cleaning level 1 first. If your install does not work again, go back and try level 2. Remember to restart your computer after each clean prior to attempting installation of CS3.
The Problem: The previous attempt to install CS3 had failed, but never the less had gotten deep enough into the install to edit the registry and make windows think the program was installed.
Additional Problems: The installation problem can also occur if you had installed a pre-release version of CS3 on your computer, and now are attempting to install the full final version of CS3. Although this wasn't the case of us this time, a lot of Internet users have reported this installation issue with Adobe Photoshop CS3.
The solution: The first thing you should try is the Add and Remove programs from the control panel. This will most likely fail. The answer is to download Adobe's Clean Up Tool from this website.
You must also have Microsoft's Windows Installer Cleanup Utility installed before you can use Adobe's Clean Up tool. You can download the Microsoft Utility here.
When running the Adobe utility, try cleaning level 1 first. If your install does not work again, go back and try level 2. Remember to restart your computer after each clean prior to attempting installation of CS3.
Friday, February 20, 2009
This file came from another computer and might be blocked to help protect this computer
Wow! Three plus years since my last post...
Let's get back into it...
I ran into a minor problem while saving photos from an email attachment. I download this picture onto my desktop and could not view it.
So I checked the the properties of the file and noticed something strange. An unusual message was there warning me "this file was from another computer and might be blocked to help protect this computer". I had to press the unblock button to allow access to the file.
Nothing major I said to myself, but this started becoming an inconvenience with every photo I downloaded from an email attachment.
Permanently disabling this windows security feature
From the start menu, select run
Type in gpedit.msc
Goto: User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Attachment Manager
Enable: Do not preserve zone information in file attachments
Let's get back into it...
I ran into a minor problem while saving photos from an email attachment. I download this picture onto my desktop and could not view it.
So I checked the the properties of the file and noticed something strange. An unusual message was there warning me "this file was from another computer and might be blocked to help protect this computer". I had to press the unblock button to allow access to the file. Nothing major I said to myself, but this started becoming an inconvenience with every photo I downloaded from an email attachment.
Permanently disabling this windows security feature
From the start menu, select run
Type in gpedit.msc
Goto: User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Attachment Manager
Enable: Do not preserve zone information in file attachments
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