Sapphire HD 4850, Awesome Card! Won't Fit!

I purchased this video card with much fragging in mind.

However, when it arrived the card wouldn't fit in my motherboard. There's a capacitor in the way. If you've ever seen this card, the heat-sink and fan are huge.

Does anyone have any ideas on what to do? From what I can gather these cards run pretty hot, so I'm reluctant to run it without the fan.

I have a smaller fan lying around, no heat-sink on it though, that I could hack onto the board...maybe see if that would work.

Other than that...what could I possibly do? With all the brain power here, someone's got to be able to think of something!

Add 'Copy to' & Move To' Into Your Context Menu

Too many times to count I've had to move files from one directory to another. Either move them entirely or simply copy them.

I use a Windows Explorer replacement called Directory Opus (which I highly recommend, worth every cent) so it makes moving files a bit easier - because it has tabs and dual vertical or horizontal windows for dragging and dropping.

As I've stated, I'm very lazy when it comes to administration tasks, so if I can automate it or, at the very least, cut down on some mouse clicks I'm all for it.

So I discovered this neat little trick. You can add commands to copy or move files around your computer until you're drunk with power.

See for yourself, non-believers: experiencing



Of course you can click the image for a larger view, silly.

How do you do this?

Open your new favorite text editor: NoteTab Light, enter the following code:
Copy To --

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\{C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}]

Move To --

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers\{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}]

Save the first one as "copy-to.reg" and the second one as, yep you guessed it, "move-to.reg". Double click the files and you'll be all set to copy and move all day long!

VMWare Settings

I use VMWare because, well, it rocks. And virtualization is the unchallenged future of computing.

The one thing I disliked about VMWare was the little title-bar that was always at the top of the screen when I was running it in full-screen mode.

To take care of this, if you want to navigate to

C:\Documents and Settings\name\Application Data\VMware

and edit preferences.ini.

Add to the file the following entry:

pref.vmplayer.fullscreen.nobar = "TRUE"

And Wahlahh.

.exe Files Won't Run

A user was recently having an issue with her system.

Whenever she would click on a file, shortcut or icon of any type Windows came up with the infamous "Choose a program to open this type of file" window. Even using Start > Run and typing the command she was faced with a rundll32.exe error. Crazy, right?

This was happening with shortcuts and programs she used on a daily basis, so she was concerned. Once I got the ticket I remember having seen this before and doing the research. Being the type of lazy admin I am, even re-googling something is too much for me.

My lucky thumb drive held the answer, per usual.

Open NoteTab Light (you do have this for your default text editor, right? RIGHT?) If not, there is an empty seat on the failboat for you. Your captain will show you to your seat where you'll be given a complimentary serving of failjuice.

Anyway, open NoteTab Light and copy the following code into a new file. Close it, saving it as xp_exe_fix.reg. Double click that file, reboot and all will be set.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.exe]
@="exefile"
"Content Type"="application/x-msdownload"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.exe\PersistentHandler]
@="{098f2470-bae0-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile]
@="Application"
"EditFlags"=hex:38,07,00,00
"TileInfo"="prop:FileDescription;Company;FileVersion"
"InfoTip"="prop:FileDescription;Company;FileVersion;Create;Size"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\DefaultIcon]
@="%1"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\open]
"EditFlags"=hex:00,00,00,00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\open\command]
@="\"%1\" %*"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas\command]
@="\"%1\" %*"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex\DropHandler]
@="{86C86720-42A0-1069-A2E8-08002B30309D}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex\PropertySheetHandlers]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex\PropertySheetHandlers\PEAnalyser]
@="{09A63660-16F9-11d0-B1DF-004F56001CA7}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex\PropertySheetHandlers\PifProps]
@="{86F19A00-42A0-1069-A2E9-08002B30309D}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex\PropertySheetHandlers\ShimLayer Property Page]
@="{513D916F-2A8E-4F51-AEAB-0CBC76FB1AF8}"

Make That Reinstall Less Painful

After a number of years of either prepping computers for production use, or simply reformatting mine (though my latest computer had it's first complete Windows reinstall last night after 4 years), I've found, as I'm sure you have, that there are a certain amount of programs you constantly install.

To make this easier, compile a list of those programs and download all their installers onto a flash drive. In case you've got no connectivity you can at least start installing some apps.

I also save shortcuts to sysdm.cpl, devmgmt.msc, cmd.exe and a few shortcuts to my company's network shares so that I can can quickly navigate to those drives and install any proprietary software.

Another dandy tip I came up with was saving my theme.

Whenever I deploy a machine, the first thing I do is get rid of the XP theme with all the shiny buttons and change it to 'Windows Classic' and make any changes.

Usually I'll hit Windows Key +R to bring up the run dialog and type sysdm.cpl. Then navigate to "Advanced", then "Settings" and then tick the radio button in front of "Adjust for best performance". However, there's a few things in there I still like to have turned on, that I believe have little to no effect on the speed of the computer.

• Smooth Edges Of Screen Fonts
• Use Drop Shadows For Icon Labels On The Desktop

The first one is pretty obvious, but the second one isn't as much.


Have you ever had a wallpaper installed and the icon's title text has a block around it, exposing the background color you've chosen, you can see what I'm referring to on the left? Well, the second Visual Effects option takes care of that and displays the missing sections of the wallpaper. As seen to the right.

Once you've made these changes, you can then go to 'Display Properties' and click 'Save As'. That will save the theme, including all the changes you've made to a Windows .theme file. Save that file to your flash drive and double click it before you get to work. Saves a ton of time.

Add A New User To Root Access (sudo/visudo)

I'm installing Debian on my workstation and just wanted to pass this along.

Whenever I go through my usually routine of an OS install, I do a few certain things automatically, right off the bat.

In a windows environment I change all the shiney button to the Windows Classic theme, make all directory views to "details", uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types" and (depending upon the user to whom I'm deploying the machine I usally allow for hidden files to be show. I work in an engineering company and those guys, for the most part, know how to get around between a keyboard and their chair.

The one thing I tend to forget when installing a new Gnu/Linux machine (my flavor of choice is Debian).

I've always come across the problem that Debian doesn't add the first created user with the ability to sudo.

To solve this, we must go through the folowing procedure. It's easy, but for some reason it tends to slip my mind until I start apt-getting software.

Here's the process:
===All of these will have no quotations unless otherwise noted.

• Type 'visudo'
• Scroll to the bottom of the page and add the following line
• 'user ALL=(ALL) ALL' where [user] equals the user name.
• Close visudo and save it

All set.

See the above picture for exactly how it should appear.

List Of Run Handy Run Commands

I am always using shortcuts to get to places I need to be in Windows. I despise having to click 5-6 different things to get to where I need to be to make a single change.

Over the course of a day or week, all that clicking can really add up.

Any of you young go-getters out there that would give a shot at figuring out how much time is lost navigating Windows feel free.

Anyway...'Windows key+R' and entering the following codes is a time saver, and any admin worth his or her salt knows a few of these.

But here's a compiled list of them in a centralized location for future reference/access.

Accessibility Controls : access.cpl
Add Hardware Wizard : hdwwiz.cpl
Add/Remove Programs : appwiz.cpl
Administrative Tools : control admintools
Automatic Updates : wuaucpl.cpl
Bluetooth Transfer Wizard : fsquirt
Calculator : calc
Certificate Manager : certmgr.msc
Character Map : charmap
Check Disk Utility : chkdsk
Clipboard Viewer : clipbrd
Command Prompt : cmd
Component Services : dcomcnfg
Computer Management : compmgmt.msc
Date and Time Properties : timedate.cpl
DDE Shares : ddeshare
Device Manager : devmgmt.msc
Direct X Control Panel (If Installed)* : directx.cpl
Direct X Troubleshooter : dxdiag
Disk Cleanup Utility : cleanmgr
Disk Defragment : dfrg.msc
Disk Management : diskmgmt.msc
Disk Partition Manager : diskpart
Display Properties : control desktop
Display Properties : desk.cpl
Display Properties (w/Appearance Tab Preselected) : control color
Dr. Watson System Troubleshooting Utility : drwtsn32
Driver Verifier Utility : verifier
Event Viewer : eventvwr.msc
File Signature Verification Tool : sigverif
Findfast : findfast.cpl
Folders Properties : control folders
Fonts : control fonts
Fonts Folder : fonts
Free Cell Card Game : freecell
Game Controllers : joy.cpl
Group Policy Editor (XP Prof) : gpedit.msc
Hearts Card Game : mshearts
Iexpress Wizard : iexpress
Indexing Service : ciadv.msc
Internet Properties : inetcpl.cpl
IP Configuration (Display Connection Configuration) : ipconfig /all
IP Configuration (Display DNS Cache Contents) : ipconfig /displaydns
IP Configuration (Delete DNS Cache Contents) : ipconfig /flushdns
IP Configuration (Release All Connections) : ipconfig /release
IP Configuration (Renew All Connections) : ipconfig /renew
IP Configuration (Refreshes DHCP & Re-Registers DNS) : ipconfig /registerdns
IP Configuration (Display DHCP Class ID) : ipconfig /showclassid
IP Configuration (Modifies DHCP Class ID) : ipconfig /setclassid
Java Control Panel (If Installed) : jpicpl32.cpl
Java Control Panel (If Installed) : javaws
Keyboard Properties : control keyboard
Local Security Settings : secpol.msc
Local Users and Groups : lusrmgr.msc
Logs You Out Of Windows : logoff
Microsoft Chat : winchat
Minesweeper Game : winmine
Mouse Properties : control mouse
Mouse Properties : main.cpl
Network Connections : control netconnections
Network Connections : ncpa.cpl
Network Setup Wizard : netsetup.cpl
Notepad : notepad
Nview Desktop Manager (If Installed) : nvtuicpl.cpl
Object Packager : packager
ODBC Data Source Administrator : odbccp32.cpl
On Screen Keyboard : osk
Opens AC3 Filter (If Installed) : ac3filter.cpl
Password Properties : password.cpl
Performance Monitor : perfmon.msc
Performance Monitor : perfmon
Phone and Modem Options : telephon.cpl
Power Configuration : powercfg.cpl
Printers and Faxes : control printers
Printers Folder : printers
Private Character Editor : eudcedit
Quicktime (If Installed) : QuickTime.cpl
Regional Settings : intl.cpl
Registry Editor : regedit
Registry Editor : regedit32
Remote Desktop : mstsc
Removable Storage : ntmsmgr.msc
Removable Storage Operator Requests : ntmsoprq.msc
Resultant Set of Policy (XP Prof) : rsop.msc
Scanners and Cameras : sticpl.cpl
Scheduled Tasks : control schedtasks
Security Center : wscui.cpl
Services : services.msc
Shared Folders : fsmgmt.msc
Shuts Down Windows : shutdown
Sounds and Audio : mmsys.cpl
Spider Solitare Card Game : spider
SQL Client Configuration : cliconfg
System Configuration Editor : sysedit
System Configuration Utility : msconfig
System File Checker Utility (Scan Immediately) : sfc /scannow
System File Checker Utility (Scan Once At Next Boot) : sfc /scanonce
System File Checker Utility (Scan On Every Boot) : sfc /scanboot
System File Checker Utility (Return to Default Setting) : sfc /revert
System File Checker Utility (Purge File Cache) : sfc /purgecache
System File Checker Utility (Set Cache Size to size x) : sfc /cachesize=x
System Properties : sysdm.cpl
Task Manager : taskmgr
Telnet Client : telnet
User Account Management : nusrmgr.cpl
Utility Manager : utilman
Windows Firewall : firewall.cpl
Windows Magnifier : magnify
Windows Management Infrastructure : wmimgmt.msc
Windows System Security Tool : syskey
Windows Update Launches : wupdmgr
Windows XP Tour Wizard : tourstart
Wordpad : write

Attachment Error With SAP

A user at work here was receiving the following error when she was creating an attachment in SAP:

Read error during PC upload
Include File in PC application
Try Again?

The file she was trying to use as an attachment was sent to her in an email from a co-worker.

She would then double-click the file in Lotus Notes to see it, then in SAP she would attempt to create an attachment with that file.

Right clicking the file in Lotus Notes and saving it to her desktop and then creating the SAP attachment solved the problem.

Word Having Problems With .doc File

A user was getting the following error message when she tried to open a .doc file:

Word cannot start the converter mswrd632.wpc

A bit of simple google-fu came up with the following solution:

Navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Text Converters\Import\MSWord6.wpc and delete it.

Of course, backup the registry before making this change.

Make GMail A Little Better

Better Gmail 2 is an addon for Gmail that does some pretty useful things. Combined with Greasemonkey Better Gmail 2 can make your Gmailing a little better.

What's This

I work in IT.

When I come across something that needs remembering, or I think might be helpful. I'll post is here.

Don't expect much, I'm only a few years into IS Ops. I'm not out to take on the world, so a sysadmin position is not in my future. I just want to sit in a data repair room, run some cable,

I'm perfectly happy providing support and figuring out solutions in that area.

So, stay tuned for the off chance that something pops up you could use.

.exe Files Won't Run

A user was recently having an issue with her system.

Whenever she would click on a file, shortcut or icon of any type Windows came up with the infamous "Choose a program to open this type of file" window. Even using Start > Run and typing the command she was faced with a rundll32.exe error. Crazy, right?

This was happening with shortcuts and programs she used on a daily basis, so she was concerned. Once I got the ticket I remember having seen this before and doing the research. Being the type of lazy admin I am, even re-googling something is too much for me.

My lucky thumb drive held the answer, per usual.

Open NoteTab Light (you do have this for your default text editor, right? RIGHT?) If not, there is an empty seat on the failboat for you. Your captain will show you to your seat where you'll be given a complimentary serving of failjuice.

Anyway, open NoteTab Light and copy the following code into a new file. Close it, saving it as xp_exe_fix.reg. Double click that file, reboot and all will be set.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.exe]
@="exefile"
"Content Type"="application/x-msdownload"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.exe\PersistentHandler]
@="{098f2470-bae0-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile]
@="Application"
"EditFlags"=hex:38,07,00,00
"TileInfo"="prop:FileDescription;Company;FileVersion"
"InfoTip"="prop:FileDescription;Company;FileVersion;Create;Size"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\DefaultIcon]
@="%1"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\open]
"EditFlags"=hex:00,00,00,00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\open\command]
@="\"%1\" %*"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shell\runas\command]
@="\"%1\" %*"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex\DropHandler]
@="{86C86720-42A0-1069-A2E8-08002B30309D}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex\PropertySheetHandlers]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex\PropertySheetHandlers\PEAnalyser]
@="{09A63660-16F9-11d0-B1DF-004F56001CA7}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex\PropertySheetHandlers\PifProps]
@="{86F19A00-42A0-1069-A2E9-08002B30309D}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\exefile\shellex\PropertySheetHandlers\ShimLayer Property Page]
@="{513D916F-2A8E-4F51-AEAB-0CBC76FB1AF8}"