28 Mar

Slow boot time, constant lockup, intel chipset – SOLUTION

Posted by XtraSimplicity in Seven (7), Vista, Windows | Tags :, , , , , |

So I bought an ASUS K42JR VX047X 14″ laptop from OnlineComputer a few weeks ago, and noticed that it came with a lot of pre-installed bloat-ware.. So naturally, I formatted and reinstalled windows completely.

This made it quicker, at first, but then introduced a new problem – the computer would take an exceptionally long time to boot, in excess of two to three minutes. It would also lock up randomly after logging in, and every few hours or so, even if the computer was idle. I also noticed that when watching videos, the video would freeze constantly, causing it to become unwatchable.

I reinstalled windows four times to no avail, before having a look under Event Viewer in Windows 7 (start > run > eventvwr.msc),  noticing that the computer had failed on an application called iaStor every few hours, around the time where the computer would lock up.

So I searched google, and found that sometimes the iaStor drivers (Intel Chipset AHCI storage device driver) install incorrectly, causing the computer to hang on boot and at random. I also managed to find a quick fix that works wonders.

This fix works on ANY computer that is experiencing slow boot or random lock ups caused by the iaStor driver, so long as the computer is running an Intel chipset.

The fix:

  1. Click Start
  2. Click Run
  3. Type regedit
  4. Click okay
  5. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\services\iaStor
    (See below for instructions regarding how to navigate through the registry)
  6. Rename Parameters to Parameters.old
  7. Restart the computer

How to navigate through the Registry

Warning: Make sure that you understand what you are doing when working within the registry, as deleting or modifying something could easily cause your computer to fail to start.

  1. Along the side of the registry editor window, you’ll see a folder tree.
  2. Double click on the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE folder to view the contents of that folder (referred to as a ‘key’)

  3. Repeat this until you get to the Parameters key (folder) under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\services\iaStor key (directory).

7 Dec

Install display languages in Windows Vista/7 Home Premium & Starter

Posted by XtraSimplicity in Vista, Windows |

So, I installed Windows 7 Home Premium to my BenQ Joybook Lite U101B netbook, in the hopes that I could then install the German language pack and everything would work well.. Seems plausible, right? Well, little did I know, Microsoft decided to only include such support in the Ultimate and Enterprise versions of 7 & Vista.

So, I did some googling and was able to find a small application that will allow you to easily install language packs to Home Premium, Starter, Basic and Business editions of 7 and Vista.

Vistalizator, downloadable from here or here (local mirror), allows you to download any Windows language pack, directly from Microsoft’s servers, and apply them to your computer, independent as to which Windows 7 or Vista operating system edition you are using.

Vistalizator Main Window
Vistalizator’s Main Application Window.

Vistalizator - Open Windows Language pack(s)
Selecting a Windows Language Pack file(s), using Vistalizator’s “Add languages” button.

Vistalizator - Final Result
After a restart, the computer automatically started in my desired Language (German).

So, needless to say, this application worked perfectly – however, there is only one problem.. You must use Vistalizator to change all settings regarding Display languages, as Windows’ control panel does not have anywhere to change display languages.

3 May

Darkening Page and set focus on popup window – Javascript

Posted by XtraSimplicity in Website Development | Tags :, , , , |

Ever wanted to make a page darken once you click on a popup? I always have… Until I found the answer today, with the help from a friend of mine, Kelwynsa8.

Here’s the code:

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" >
<head>
    <title>Untitled Page</title>

<script language="javascript" type="text/javascript">
// <!CDATA[

function SignUpForNewsletter()
{
    DarkenPage();
    ShowNewsletterPanel();
}

function ShowNewsletterPanel()
{
    var newsletter_panel = document.getElementById('newsletter_panel');

    // w is a width of the newsletter panel
    w = 300;
    // h is a height of the newsletter panel
    h = 300;

    // get the x and y coordinates to center the newsletter panel
    xc = Math.round((document.body.clientWidth/2)-(w/2))
    yc = Math.round((document.body.clientHeight/2)-(h/2))

    // show the newsletter panel
    newsletter_panel.style.left = xc + "px";
    newsletter_panel.style.top  = yc + "px";
    newsletter_panel.style.display = 'block';
}

function SignUp()
{
    // hide the newsletter panel
    var newsletter_panel = document.getElementById('newsletter_panel');
    newsletter_panel.style.display = 'none';
    // lighten the page again
    LightenPage();
}

// this function puts the dark screen over the entire page
function DarkenPage()
{
    var page_screen = document.getElementById('page_screen');
    page_screen.style.height = document.body.parentNode.scrollHeight + 'px';
    page_screen.style.display = 'block';
}

// this function removes the dark screen and the page is light again
function LightenPage()
{
    var page_screen = document.getElementById('page_screen');
    page_screen.style.display = 'none';
}

// ]]>
</script>

<style type="text/css">

body
{
 padding:0px;
 margin:0px;
}

#page_screen
{
   background-color:#000000;
   filter:alpha(opacity=80);
   opacity: 0.8;
   position:absolute;
   top:0px;
   left:0px;
   width:100%;
   display:none;
}

#newsletter_panel
{
   width:300px;
   height:300px;
   background-color:#FFFFFF;
   border:1px solid #000000;
   position:absolute;
   top:0px;
   left:0px;
}
</style>

</head>
<body>
    <h2>
        <span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS">Blur test&nbsp;
            <input id="Button1" type="button" value="Sign up for newsletter!" onclick="SignUpForNewsletter();" /></span></h2>
    <div id="lipsum">
        <p>
            <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Trebuchet MS"></span>
        </p>
        <p>
            <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Trebuchet MS">
                <img src="image_1.jpg" style="float: left; margin-right: 10px" width="400" />

            </span>
        </p>
        <p>
            <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Trebuchet MS">
                </span>
        </p>
        <p>
            <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Trebuchet MS"> </span>
        </p>
        <p>
            <span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Trebuchet MS"></span>
        </p>
    </div>

    <div id="page_screen">
        &nbsp;
    </div>
    <div id="newsletter_panel" style="display:none;">
        Sign up for our
        <h3 style="color:#FF6600;">NEWSLETTER</h3>

        your email address :
        <input type="text" />
        <br />

        <input type="button" value="Sign up!" onclick="SignUp();" />
    </div>

</body>
</html>
You can use the above as a template. :)

Enjoy!

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