Monthly Archives: December 2014

How can I tell what version of Windows 8 I am running?

windows

Scenario:

You want to know what version of Windows 8 you are running.

Solution 1:

Open the “Control Panel”, then choose “System and Security” then choose “System”.  The edition of Windows you are running will be in the “Windows edition” section.

Solution 2:

Press “Windows Key+R” to open a run dialog and then type in “winver” to start the Windows version dialog program.  This should have the version at the top of the screen.

Solution 3:

Use the command prompt to access the system information.  Press “Windows Key+R” then type in “cmd” to start a command prompt.  From the command line enter this command:

systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"

Printer goes permanently offline fix

software, windows, ,

Scenario:

Whenever you print documents in Windows 8 or Windows 10 they do not print and the printer appears Offline.

Solution:

Often times the printer will go offline and not come back online until you reboot.  Microsoft points to the vendor drivers as the cause and the vendor usually point a Microsoft as the cause.

A temporary work around is to restart the print spooler service.  This will save you from having to reboot.  To restart the print spooler follow these steps:

  1. Open “Computer Management”
  2. In the “Computer Management” window click “Computer Management->->Services and Applications->Services”.
  3. Right click on “Print Spooler” and choose “Restart”.

How to see what is taking up the space on your iPhone or iPod touch

apple, , , ,

Scenario:

You want to identify where all of your storage space has gone on your iPhone or iPod touch in iOS7 or iOS8.

Solution:

Open the Settings, then go to General, then go to Usage, then go to Manage Storage in the middle “Manage Storage” section.  There is also a “Manage Storage” for the  iCloud section, you don’t want this one for your local device.

How to safely get the mold smell out of towels

living, , , , ,

Scenario:

You’re wanting to safely get the mold and mildew smell out of your towels or other clothing items.

Solution:

Luckly, there is a very effective safe solution to this.  Vinegar.  White Vinegar is both cheap and safe (you can use it in salad dressingings).  It’s also a very effective cleaner especially when you need to kill mold and mildew.  Put the affected towels or clothing items into the washer and use a quarter gallon of vinegar soaked onto the clothing items (that may seem like a lot but it’s always worked well for me).  Now, run the washer once on warm or hot.  When done with the first run your clothes will likely smell a little like vinegar.  You’re going to run then a second time with your regular laundry detergent.  When this is done, throw them in the drier and they should be as good as new (at least smell wise).

Safe way to clean your dishwasher

living, ,

Scenario:

You want to clean your dishwasher, how are you going to do it?

Solution:  Vinegar

Simply add one cup of vinegar to the dishwasher and run it on the heavy cycle.  This will help disinfect any bacteria that maybe laying in the dishwasher causing any smells.  Vinegar is one of the safest disinfects we can use when it comes to cleaning in places where our food/plates go. 

 

How to easily clean a humidifier

living

What you need:

  1. Humidifier
  2. White vinegar
  3. Water

Steps:

  1. Take the humidifier apart and pour out any water from the base and the holding tank. (Check the instructions/manual that came with your humidifier for specific instructions on taking your unit apart)
  2. Put vinegar in both the base and the tank. Most bases can be cleaned then with a toothbrush. If there is mildew buildup you may want to let the vinegar sit overnight and then rinse it and let it dry and air out the next day. A longer sit time with the vinegar will kill a vast majority more of the mold and mildew.

Additional Notes:

Some humdifiers have removeable pieces that can be put in the dishwasher. Check your manual and if yours is one those pieces can then be easily cleaned going that route (or have that as an added step after the vinegar is removed to more quickly let the smell of vinegar disapate). Don’t worry, the smell of vinegar will disapate just by sitting in the air.

Is Visual Basic 6 still supported on Windows 8?

programming, windows, , , ,

Question:

Is Visual Basic 6 still supported on Windows 8?

Answer:

Yes and no. Yes, the runtime and extended runtime files are supported on Windows 8 and will likely also be supported on Windows 10. The IDE however is not supported and does not run in Windows 8. Running a Virtual Machine with Windows 7 maybe one of the only options to run the IDE in modern OS’s.

How do I invert my colors on iOS

apple, , , ,

Scenario:

You want to invert or uinvert the colors on your iOS device, what are the steps to do it?>

Solution:

  1. Select “Settings” from the home screen
  2. Select “General”
  3. Select “Accessibility” from the General settings menu
  4. Slide off or on the radio button for “Invert Colors”

Notes:

On older devices colors may become inverted because iOS thinks the home button has been tripple clicked, perhaps the button is wearing out or you clicked it with single clicks and the OS was lagging and registered 3 single clicks as a triple click. You can also disable that functionality through the same “Accessibility” menu above instead choosing the action for “TRIPLE-CLICK THE HOME BUTTON FOR:”.

What is the best way to shutdown a Raspberry Pi?

hardware, raspberry pi

Scenario:

You want to shut down your Raspberry Pi but you’re not sure the best way to do it.

Solution:

The number one thing is you should not just unplug the power cable. Uplugging the power source before properly shutting down the OS can cause file system corruption. From the command prompt enter one of these commands to shut down (then power off).

Preferred Command:
   sudo shutdown -h now
Alternate Commands:
   sudo halt

   sudo poweroff

Windows 8: Display bluetooth file transfer

windows, , ,

Scenario:

You want to locate and find the bluetooth file transfer wizard in Windows 8.

Solution:

This maybe difficult to find if you are using a table with the desktop. There is a setting that will put it into the notification dock on the bottom right hand side of the desktop. To do this follow these steps:

  1. Press Windows Key+W then search for “bluetooth”
  2. Choose the “Change Bluetooth settings” option.
  3. On the “Options” tab check the “Show the Bluetooth icon in the notification area” option then press “OK” on the dialog to save.