Missing Pictures

*-* Updated *-*

When i view the Pictures folder in Explorer the files aren’t there! If i view them in the attach files dialog they are there but it still wont let me attach them. 

When i right click while trying to attach files files it wont open in Photo Gallery either. However good old paint came to my rescue. It opened them fine and i resaved them and all is well. I’m still puzzled about what happened and why!!

Here is the pic that all the fuss was about…. 

I don’t think it looks anything like me!

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I just got an email from Vijay finalising some details for tomorrow nights meetup.

I tried to send a picture i got from Simpsonizeme.com. I previewed the pictures ok and attached them via google mail

In my sent items the picture wouldn’t open and claimed it was an empty file.

I browsed to the pictures folder and they aren’t even there! If i go back and try to reattach them the files are there but it wont let me copy them out as Vista claims the file doesn’t exist!!

Anyone seen anything like this before? I’m trying to track them down but it’s a little worrying

five different files can’t just disappear!

Media Player keeps playing

Susanne posted a while back about a problem with Windows Media Player on Vista where the music continues to play even after you have closed the program

I’d noticed the same thing on my computer at home so just got into the habit of stopping whatever i was listening to before i closed

I was reading through the latest technet flash when i found this KB article.

Here is the solution they offer

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem when it occurs, follow these steps to shut down Windows Media Player:

Well duh!

Not really all that helpful but at least they have acknowledged there is a problem. Hopefully we’ll see a fix sometime soon

Reset Offline File Cache

About a year ago we did a fileserver migration as the hardware is about to die on the existing server

Everything went well and we got the data across with shares and permissions as they were previously

However, we were told after the event that several users used the offline files feature in XP for when they worked away from the office.

Our move to the new server played havoc with it and even after i found some nice commands to “repoint” the offline files database to a new location (details here) it was still cranky so we thought it best to just started again

However just deleting the offline copies of the files isn’t always enough.

I had a similar issue occur today so thought i’d post about what i did

If offline files is doing weird things you can completely reset the cache

1. In Folder Options, on the Offline Files tab, press CTRL+SHIFT, and then click Delete Files. The following message appears:
The Offline Files cache on the local computer will be re-initialized. Any changes that have not been synchronized with computers on the network will be lost. Any files or folders made available offline will no longer be available offline. A computer restart is required.

Do you wish to re-initialize the cache?
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2. Click Yes two times to restart the computer.

After you have restarted the computer you’ll have a nice clean offline files database and you can start again. Supporting KB article here

Longhorn Product Name?

Have Microsoft given a product name to Longhorn Server yet?

I was looking to see what was new on the Microsoft download site when i saw the following

Windows Server 2008 Beta 3 Step-by-Step Guides

Or am i just really behind on my news since i got back?

Activate Remote Desktop Remotely

Just a small nugget as i have used this a couple of times but always forget which registry key it is!

If you have a pc your trying to Remote Desktop into but it isn’t enabled, use the remote editing features of regedit to change the following 

HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server\fDenyTSConnections

Change it from 1 to 0 and your in!

I’ve used this on XP but not Vista yet but the same key exists so i’m guessing it still applies

Create Overlay Failed Error in WinDVD

Just a small tip to pass on

I had a customer who couldn’t play DVD’s on his laptop using WinDVD 

The error was “Create Overlay Failed”

The program suggests lowering the screen resolution

I had a look on the Intervideo support pages and found this

Basically there is a list of three things to try but the first one is usually the cause

The remote desktop sharing feature was enabled on the laptop. I disabled it and DVD playback was enabled!

Rthdcpl.exe – Illegal System DLL Relocation

This has been all over the newsgroups but since this is something i came across today i’ll just post about (also in case I need to remember!)

Had a customer who called to say he’d done a windows update and after rebooted got the following message

Rthdcpl.exe – Illegal System DLL Relocation

The system DLL user32.dll was relocated in memory. The application will not run properly. The relocation occurred because the DLL C:\Windows\System32\Hhctrl.ocx occupied an address range reserved for Windows system DLLs. The vendor supplying the DLL should be contacted for a new DLL.

The problem is to do with an updated version of Hhctrl.ocx (from update 928843 )having the same base address as an updated version of user32.dll (from update 925902)

This problem occurs when you have Realtek HD Audio Control Panel installed. 

The knowledge base article is 935448 and you can download the hotfix directly from here

I installed the hotfix, rebooted the PC and problem solved

Multiple Monitors With Windows Vista – Revisited

I posted a while a back about support for multiple monitors in Windows Vista and how i felt lots of people were in a panic for no good reason

Turns out this was one of the most popular posts on this blog according to the stats

I never mentioned in my original post where i got my information from

Here you go, the official Microsoft stance

I’ve been running Vista for some time now (since the start of February) and i CANNOT live without two monitors (i’m looking to get some more once i can get the pursestrings loosened!)

My desktop is a HP dc5150. The graphics card that comes with this is a ATI Radeon Express 200 and has a VGA and a DVI output. I just plugged in a couple of screens and away i went.

I have Aero interface and no issues.

When i make the move to three (four?) screens i’ll be very picky about which card i buy as the article i quoted earlier outlines.

Express Upgrade? Whats express about it?

** Rant warning **

My Dad was looking to buy a new pc. He had a modest budget but was keen on getting Windows Vista

He decided to buy a Dell PC with Windows XP Media Centre Edition installed and take advantage of the Express Upgrade offer so that he could still get Vista

As soon as the pc arrived he placed his order for the upgrade and payed for the carriage.

He heard nothing from Dell for weeks. He sent an email to their customer services department and was told they would be shipping “towards the end of February”

It’s now the middle of March and he’s still waiting for his disk

Now i appreciate there are lots of logistics in getting the orders out.

My point is though if he’d waited a couple more weeks he could have bought the PC with Vista on it. It’s been out for a couple of months now!

Now all he has is a PC that he’s scared to do anything with in as he wants the upgrade process to go as smoothly as possible!

Dell have since apologised on their blog but it’s not really good enough 

Sort it out please!

Cool New Sidebar Gadgets

Over on the Live Search blog they have released a couple of new sidebar gadgets

While i like the look of the traffic information gadget i’m in the UK so it’s of no use to me

I do like the Live Search Gadget. Simply drop it on your sidebar and type in your search term.

The results appear in a pop out window. It is also configurable and lets you search specific sites and use search macros
I have one request though…

“Can we have regional settings please?”

When i use live search (or google) i frequently tick the “only show me sites from the UK” box.

Other than that keep up the good work!