Wednesday 14 December 2016

Windows 10: The User Profile Service service failed the sign-in. User profile cannot be loaded.

The message "The User Profile Service service failed the sign-in. User profile cannot be loaded." is displayed when logging in.

This issue can be caused by a corrupted Default profile in C:\Users\

To resolve:

Login with a domain / local administrative account
Open RegEdit and review HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList for any profiles with a .bak extension
Rename C:\Users\Default to Default.old
Copy C:\Users\Default from a working machine at the same OS level
Log out and log in as the first user to test
Remove Default.old

Monday 24 October 2016

Microsoft Outlook 2016: Rundll32 error when adding a new email account to a new profile

Outlook 2016 displays a Rundll32 error when adding a new email account to a new profile via the Mail applet in Control Panel.

To resolve:

Review this KB article first: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3119083

If the suggested resolution does not work or apply then repair the Office installation using an Online Repair.

If this does not work then

Delete the orphaned profile
Close the Mail applet
Open Outlook using a working profile or another Office application
Select File and then Options
Select Advanced
Scroll down to the Display section
Tick Disable hardware graphics acceleration
Close the Office application
Open the Mail applet, create a new profile and add the email account

Wednesday 12 October 2016

Avaya Scopia Conference Client: Error thrown calling method websiteforcecache()

The following error message is displayed when using Avaya Scopia Conference Client:

Message: Error thrown calling method websiteforcecache()
Number: -2147467259

To resolve:

Clear Internet Explorer temporary internet files
Reset Internet Explorer settings

Avaya IP Office Manager: Unable to see configuration backup (.cfg) files in Explorer

Unable to see configuration backup (.cfg) files saved in C:\Program Files (x86)\Avaya\IP Office\Manager when using Windows Explorer.

Configuration files are saved in the user's VirtualStore folder within AppData:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files (x86)\Avaya\IP Office\Manager

Sunday 2 October 2016

VMware Workstation 12.5: Windows Server 2016 Installation Error - Windows cannot find the Microsoft Software License Terms

The following error message is displayed when installing Windows Server 2016 Evaluation using VMware Workstation 12.5:

Windows cannot find the Microsoft Software License Terms. Make sure the installation sources are valid and restart the application.

This issue appears to be caused by VMware Workstation Easy Install.

To resolve:

Power off the virtual machine.
Edit the virtual machine and remove autoinst.flp from floppy drive (choose Use physical drive).
Power on and the installation should proceed as normal.
Install VMware Tools once the operating system installation has completed.

Alternatively, delete the virtual machine and create a new machine, choosing the option: I will install the operating system later.

Thursday 21 July 2016

VMware ESXi: Ubuntu guest freezes when increasing screen resolution

Ubuntu guest virtual machine running on VMware ESXi becomes unresponsive when increasing screen resolution. The virtual machine itself has not frozen and can be shutdown gracefully via ssh.

This issue can be caused by insufficient video memory assigned to the virtual machine.

To resolve:

Shutdown the virtual machine
Edit the virtual machine properties and select Video card
Choose Specify custom settings and increase the total video memory accordingly
Click OK, power on the virtual machine and set the required resolution

Friday 20 May 2016

HP Printer Driver Installation: This computer does not have the necessary USB software support to allow completion of a USB installation

The following error message is displayed when attempting to install a HP printer:

This computer does not have the necessary USB software support to allow completion of a USB installation. The installation cannot continue until this is resolved.

This issue occurred with a HP ProBook 600 G2 and a HP Colour LaserJet CM2320fxi.

To resolve:

Cancel the installation.
Extract the installation file to a folder using 7-Zip or similar.
Browse to the folder and then to the setup subfolder.
Rename usbready.exe to usbready.exe.bak.
Run setup.exe from the root folder and the installation should proceed as normal.

Tuesday 17 May 2016

HP ProDesk 600 G2: Enable Wake-On-LAN (WOL)

To enable Wake-On-LAN:

Press F10 at startup to enter BIOS Setup
Select Advanced and then Built-In Device Options
Set Wake On Lan to: Boot to Network or Boot to Hard Drive
Select Save
Select Yes to confirm changes and then Exit

Boot into Windows and open Device Manager
Expand Network adapters
Open the network card properties
Select the Power Management tab
Ensure Wake on Magic Packet is ticked
Close Device Manager

For Windows 8 and newer, it maybe necessary to disable the fast startup option.

This can be found under Control Panel  > Power Options > Choose what the power buttons do > Turn on fast startup.

Sunday 17 April 2016

DameWare Mini Remote Control: Uninstallation

To uninstall DameWare Mini Remote Control with PowerShell:

Open an elevated PowerShell prompt and enter:

Get-Service DWMRCS
Stop-Service DWMRCS

Get-Service DWMRCS
 
Set-Location C:\
Get-ChildItem -Recurse -Include DWRCS.EXE
Set-Location C:\Windows\dwrcs

or Set-Location C:\Windows\SysWOW64
.\DWRCS.EXE -Remove

Get-Service DWMRCS

Remove remaining files from installation directory (eg: C:\Windows\dwrcs)

DameWare KB Article:
http://support.dameware.com/kb/article.aspx?ID=100000

Windows 7: HRESULT Error 0x8007ffff displayed when attempting to login

HRESULT Error 0x8007ffff displayed when attempting to login.

To resolve, uninstall the following and reboot:

Device Access Manager for HP ProtectTools
Drive Encryption for HP ProtectTools
HP ProtectTools Security Manager

Monday 11 April 2016

Sophos Anti-Virus: Installation Error 25010 - An error occurred while running the custom action 'UpdateSubscriptionInfo'

Error 25010. An error occurred while running the custom action 'UpdateSubscriptionInfo'. Contact your support personnel is displayed upon completion of the installation of a standalone Sophos Antivirus.

To resolve:

Ensure the process "AlUpdate.exe" is not running
Uninstall Sophos Anti-Virus
Uninstall Sophos AutoUpdate
Restart the computer
Delete "C:\Program Files\Sophos\" and/or "C:\Program Files (x86)\Sophos\"
Delete "C:\ProgramData\Sophos"
Delete HKLM\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Sophos or HKLM\Software\Sophos
Delete HKCU\Software\Sophos
Download the latest 10.3 installer from Sophos
Install

Alternatively, within an elevated PowerShell prompt:

Remove-Item "C:\Program Files\Sophos" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item "C:\Program Files (x86)\Sophos" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item "C:\ProgramData\Sophos" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item "HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Sophos" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Remove-Item "HKLM:\Software\Sophos" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Restart-Computer

Thursday 24 March 2016

HP Client Security Manager: Error 1325 Hewlett-Packard is not a valid short file name

When uninstalling HP Client Security Manager 8.3.14.2018 the following error message is displayed and prevents the uninstall process from completing:

Error 1325 Hewlett-Packard is not a valid short file name.

To resolve:

Open Device Manager (Start > Run > devmgmt)
Expand DVD/CD-ROM drives
Disable the DVD drive
Repeat the uninstall process
Reboot
Open Device Manager and enable the DVD drive

Friday 18 March 2016

Slack: Black screen at startup after 2.0.1 update

Slack 2.0.1 launches to a black screen and the tray icon states "Slack is starting up".

This is an issue known to Slack and thought to be caused by certain graphics cards/drivers.

To workaround:

Close any open instances of Slack
Open a command prompt (Start > Run or Windows key + R and enter cmd)
Type c: and press enter
Type cd %LocalAppData%\Slack\app-2.0.1
Press Enter
Type slack.exe --disable-gpu
Press Enter and Slack should now launch
Close the command prompt window

This process must be repeated each time Slack is launched or amend your shortcut accordingly.
Slack support advise the issue should be resolved in a future build.

Friday 4 March 2016

Windows Links Toolbar: Open File - Security Warning - Do you want to open this file?

Launching a shortcut from the Links folder displays a security warning:

"Do you want to open this file?"

Name: C:\Users\Username\Favorites\Links\Application.lnk
Publisher: Unknown Publisher
Type: Shortcut

From: C:\Users\Username\Favorites\Links\Application.lnk


To resolve:

Open a command prompt and enter:

icacls "C:\Users\Username\Favorites\Links" /setintegritylevel (OI)(CI)M

Replacing Username with the appropriate folder name.

Tuesday 9 February 2016

Windows Small Business Server 2008: There are currently no logon servers available to service the logon request

There are currently no logon servers available to service the logon request.

This message is displayed when attempting to log in to an SBS 2008 server and can be caused by booting into Active Directory repair mode.

To resolve:

Restart the server, press F8 and boot into Safe Mode.
Login with the domain administrator account.
Open System Configuration (Start > Run > msconfig).
Select the Boot tab and review the Boot options:


Untick Safe boot, click Apply, OK and restart the server.
After login, open System Configuration and select the Boot tab.
Tick Make all boot settings permanent and choose Yes when prompted.

---

The following entries may be logged in the System log:

Source: NETLOGON
EventID: 5719

This computer was not able to set up a secure session with a domain controller in domain due to the following:
There are currently no logon servers available to service the logon request.
This may lead to authentication problems. Make sure that this computer is connected to the network. If the problem persists, please contact your domain administrator.  



Source: Directory-Services-SAM
EventID: 16652
The domain controller is booting to directory services restore mode.

Monday 8 February 2016

Asterisk: Unable to re-open DSP device /dev/dsp: No such file or directory

Asterisk console repeatedly logs:

chan_oss.c:488 setformat: Unable to re-open DSP device /dev/dsp: No such file or directory

This can be caused by an active console call.

To resolve, enter:

console hangup

Wednesday 27 January 2016

Apple iCloud for Windows: Synchronise New Microsoft Outlook Mail Profile

To synchronise Apple iCloud contacts, calendars and tasks with a new Microsoft Outlook mail profile:

Close Outlook
Open iCloud from system tray icon
Click Sign out
Select Delete from computer

Open Mail applet in Control Panel (Start > Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > Mail)
Click Show Profiles and set new mail profile as default (Always use this profile)

Sign in and configure iCloud as required

Alternatively:

Open iCloud from system tray icon
Untick Contacts, Calendars and Tasks, click Apply and then Close

Open Mail applet in Control Panel (Start > Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > Mail)
Click Show Profiles and set new mail profile as default (Always use this profile)

Browse to C:\Users\username\AppData\Local
Append .old to A12BC345-12AB-1AB2-A12B-123456789012.aplzod

Open iCloud
Tick Contacts, Calendars and Tasks and click Apply
Upon setup completion, open Outlook and verify

Delete A12BC345-12AB-1AB2-A12B-123456789012.aplzod.old


The current version of iCloud for Windows is available here:
https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204283

Thursday 21 January 2016

DYMO Label v.8: Fatal Error - Cannot create instance of 'MainWindow' defined in assembly

Error on launch of DYMO Label v.8:

Cannot create instance of 'MainWindow' defined in assembly 'DYMO.DLS', Version=8.5.1.1816, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=5426002a38745af9'. Exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation. Error in markup file 'DYMO.DLS;component/MainWindow.xaml'.


This issue can be commonly be caused if the DYMO printer is shared from a print server (eg: \\server\printer) and is no longer available or the share name has been changed.

To resolve:

Review the printer object in Devices and Printers.
Delete the printer object and reinstall via the print server.

Alternatively:

Download and run Microsoft.NET Framework Repair Tool:

Uninstall DYMO Label v.8 from Programs and Features
Delete printer object from Devices and Printers
Remove driver (Devices and Printers > select a printer > Print server properties > Drivers)
Delete C:\ProgramData\DYMO
Delete C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\DYMO
Delete C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Sanford,_L.P
Delete C:\Users\username\Documents\DYMO Label (optional)

Open Registry Editor
Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ and delete DYMO key
Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ and delete DYMO key

Restart the computer
Download and install latest version of DYMO Label:
Install printer locally or from print server

Thursday 7 January 2016

VMware ESXi & Workstation: CentOS 7 Installation - Manual Partitioning Window

CentOS 7 installation and Manual Partitioning windows obscured due to low screen resolution.

At initial CentOS 7 boot menu press Tab.

"Press Tab for full configuration options on menu items."

Append vga=773

For example:

> vmlinuz initrd=initrd.img inst.stage2=hd:LABEL=CentOS\x207\x20x86_64 rd.live.check quiet vga=773


VMware KB Article:

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2003588