iPhone 3GS is Now Dead. Black Screen.
July 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment
I recently purchased an iPhone 3GS to replace my original first generation iPhone. You see. A buddy of mine invited me on a kayaking trip on on Saturday, July 03, 2009. After about 30 minutes of being on the water, my friend began to splash water on me. Consequently, my beloved first generation iPhone suffered the consequences and began to fail. First, it displayed a message about no SIM card detected and then slide to power off phone. Then it displayed a white screen before the screen went completely dark. So, on that very same morning, July 03, 2009, I went to buy a brand new third generation iPhone.
Things were beginning to look bright for me; especially, since I managed to restore all of my contacts, pictures, music, and other data from my previous iPhone by simply syncing my new iPhone 3GS with iTunes on my iMac. Now, it is Thursday, July 09, 2009, and my new iPhone 3GS has stopped working. For the past 3 hours (07:30PM-10:30PM), I have not managed to wake it up from a deep internal sleep. I’ve tried various things but I have had no luck with waking it up. However, a few minutes ago it began to make a buzzing noise; it vibrated for 2 seconds. So I opened iTunes with the iPhone still connected to my iMac and received an error message with the following wording.
“iTunes could not connect to this iPhone because an unknown error occurred (0xE8000065).”
iTunes could connect to this iPhone because an unknown error occurred (0xE8000065)
Update:
OK. So I visited the Apple Retail Store in Costa Mesa, CA, and one of the people in orange shirts helped to revive my iPhone :) He performed a hard reset and the phone is now working as expected. He mentioned that the phone froze at the black screen and that performing a hard reset reboots the operating system. So everyone, please don’t panic as I did and simply refer to the references listed below or visit your local Apple Retail Store for assistance.
From Apple’s web site, How to verify iPhone hardware is working correctly:
Display has no backlight or dark screen
1. Toggle the ringer switch to see if the unit vibrates. If it does, it could be that iPhone is getting power, but is not displaying any image.
2. Turn iPhone off and turn it on again. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button on top of iPhone for a few seconds until a red slider appears, and then slide the slider. Then press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until the Apple logo appears.
3. While connected to the iPhone charger, try to reset the iPhone. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time for at least ten seconds, until either the Apple logo or battery symbol appears. If the battery symbol appears, continue to charge iPhone until it is fully charged.
References:
iPhone: Basic troubleshooting
How to verify iPhone hardware is working correctly
Mac OS X Tip: How to Capture a Screenshot of a DVD Movie
December 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Assumptions:
You have already inserted the DVD media into the DVD-RW drive.
Method 1:
1. Download and install VLC media player for Mac OS X (Universal Binary or Platform Specific Package) from <http://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html>
2. Open Finder then navigate to /Applications
3. Open VLC.app then click on File > Open Disc…
4. Select DVD then click on OK
5. Navigate to the screen (frame) of interest and resize the window as necessary then click on Video > Snapshot
Method 2:
1. Open Finder then navigate to /Applications
2. Open DVD Player.app then click on Play
3. Navigate to the screen (frame) of interest and resize the window as necessary
4. Open Finder then navigate to /Applications/Utilities
5. Open Terminal.app then type…
- “cd ~/Desktop” [without quotation marks]
- “screencapture movie_01.png” [without quotation marks]
Note:
In Method 2 step 5, if you need to take additional screenshots then simply increment the numeric value after movie_. For example,
- screencapture movie_02.png
- screencapture movie_03.png
Of course, there are several other methods out there.
Microsoft Office Word 2007 Tip: How to Avoid Printing a Document Properties Sheet
November 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Details:
In Microsoft Office Word 2007, if an additional sheet of paper is printed with document properties specific to the file that you are printing then do the following to remedy the issue.
Resolution:
1. Open Microsoft Office Word 2007 then click on the Microsoft Office button then “Word Options”
2. Select “Display” in the left pane then under the category “Printing options” clear the check box labeled “Print document properties”
3. Click on OK for the changes to take effect
For additional information, refer to:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/890897
Mac OS X Tip: Disable (Hide) User Accounts by Changing their Login Shell
November 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment
In Mac OS X Leopard (10.5.x), you can disable (hide) user accounts by doing the following…
Assumptions:
You have created 3 user accounts. For our testing purposes, we will create the following 3 user accounts.
- user00 with administrator privileges
- user01 with standard privileges
- user02 as a test account with either of the above privileges [account to be disabled]
Procedure to Disable an Account to Make it Unavailable:
Log in to your Leopard machine with either user00 or user01; preferably user01.
GUI:
1. Open System Preferences then click on Accounts
2. If necessary unlock the preference pane then right-click on the user account of interest (user02) and click on Advanced Options…
3. Change the value of the Login Shell to /usr/bin/false then click on OK
4. Restart the computer for the settings to take effect
Command Line:
1. Open Terminal.app from /Applications/Utilities then type su user00
- Enter the password for user00 when prompted
2. Type sudo dscl . -create /Users/user02 UserShell /usr/bin/false [the dot (".") specifies the local domain]
- Enter the password for user00 when prompted
3. Restart the computer for the settings to take effect
Procedure to Re-Enable an Account to Make it Available:
Log in to your Leopard machine with either user00 or user01; preferably user01.
Command Line:
1. Open Terminal.app from /Applications/Utilities then type su user00
- Enter the password for user00 when prompted
2. Type sudo dscl . -create /Users/user02 UserShell /bin/bash [the dot (".") specifies the local domain]
- Enter the password for user00 when prompted
3. Restart the computer for the settings to take effect
Print User Account Properties to Verify your Work:
Log in to your Leopard machine with either user00 or user01; preferably user01.
Command Line:
1. Open Terminal.app from /Applications/Utilities then type su user00
- Enter the password for user00 when prompted
2. Type sudo dscl . -read /Users/user02 [the dot (".") specifies the local domain]
- Enter the password for user00 when prompted
Note:
dscl is the Directory Service command line utility
Lotus Notes E-mail On the iPhone
June 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment
IBM Lotus developers are busy at work preparing to release a Lotus Notes e-mail web client that is fully compatible with Apple’s web browser, Safari. Once released, IBM Lotus iNotes as the Lotus Notes web client is named will work on both the iPhone and the Mac platform. Currently, users can access their e-mail with Safari on both platforms but the user experience is really terrible.
The following are actual screenshots of the work in progress.
References:
1. IBM Lotus iNotes Information
2. IBM Lotus Mobile and Wireless Offereings
3. ComputerWorld Article
VMware Fusion 2 Beta Fails to Start
May 9, 2008 | 3 Comments
I have been using VMware Fusion 1.x for quite some time now but recently I decided to upgrade to version 2 Beta. I downloaded VMware-Fusion-2.0.0-89933.dmg and installed it over VMware Fusion 1.1.2. After successfully installing the software I was able to use it without indications of potential problems to come. However, today when I attempted to launch VMware Fusion the program simply bounced up and down a few times on the dock but failed to open. I tried to open the application multiple times but without luck. I wanted to post my experience on VMware Communities but it is currently down for maintenance.
Yesterday, I remember accessing my boot camp partition that has Windows Vista Business Edition installed. The application attempted to install VMware Tools soon after the first login however the process was painfully slow and it seemed liked the virtual machine had froze so I forced it to shutdown by using the “Shutdown Guest” feature. I turned on the guest once again but this time I selected to boot into safe mode and perform a clean shutdown of the guest OS.
Next I opened a virtual machine running Windows XP Professional (SP3) but again the installation of VMware Tools was painfully slow. This time I allowed the system to finish the installation.
Lastly I created a virtual machine to run Ubuntu Linux 8.x. The procedure went as expected but I opted not to install VMware Tools as it was getting a bit late.
I suspended the state of both the Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux virtual machines before I quit the application and shut down the computer. Today I cannot access any virtual machines. VMware Fusion 2 Beta fails to start. Sometimes I can briefly take a glimpse at some of the virtual machine configuration settings but then the application quits a few seconds thereafter.
Hardware Overview:
Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro3,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2.4 GHz
Number Of Processors: 1
Total Number Of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 4 MB
Memory: 3 GB
Bus Speed: 800 MHz
Boot ROM Version: MBP31.0070.B07
SMC Version: 1.16f10
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State: Enabled
System Software Overview:
System Version: Mac OS X 10.5.2 (9C7010)
Kernel Version: Darwin 9.2.2
Boot Volume: MacHD
Boot Mode: Normal
Computer Name: user00-mbk
User Name: user00 (user00)
Time since boot: 3:59
After attempting to launch VMware Fusion multiple times I noticed the following entries in the console utility.
5/9/08 9:02:37 PM [0x0-0x39039].com.vmware.fusion[828] *** Memory Leak *** DUIDocument: 3 instance(s) leaked
5/9/08 9:02:37 PM [0x0-0x39039].com.vmware.fusion[828] *** Memory Leak *** PLLibraryEntry: 1 instance(s) leaked
5/9/08 9:02:37 PM com.apple.launchd[498] ([0x0-0x39039].com.vmware.fusion[828]) Exited with exit code: 255
5/9/08 9:05:14 PM com.apple.launchd[498] (0x1087f0.Locum[827]) Exited: Terminated
5/9/08 9:05:50 PM com.apple.launchd[498] (0x108a90.Locum[841]) Exited: Terminated
So I attempted to launch VMware Fusion directly but instead I received a message in a terminal window (beach ball continuosly spins).
Last login: Fri May 9 17:52:20 on console
/Applications/VMware\ Fusion.app/Contents/MacOS/vmware ; exit;
user00-mbk:~ user00$ /Applications/VMware\ Fusion.app/Contents/MacOS/vmware ; exit;
Using log file /Users/user00/Library/Logs/VMware Fusion/vmware-vmfusion.log
Cannot load message dictionary “/Library/Application Support/VMware Fusion/messages/en/tip_list.vmsg”.
Could not open /proc/net/dev
SGMAC: XXX: SGHostEnumerate not yet implemented
ASSERT bora/lib/disklib/sparseChecker.c:1716 bugNr=167956
VMware Fusion Error:
VMware Fusion unrecoverable error: (vmfusion)
ASSERT bora/lib/disklib/sparseChecker.c:1716 bugNr=167956
A log file is available in “/Users/user00/Library/Logs/VMware Fusion/vmware-vmfusion.log”. Please request support and include the contents of the log file.
To collect data to submit to VMware support, run “/Library/Application Support/VMware Fusion/vm-support.tool”.
We will respond on the basis of your support entitlement.
Press “Enter” to continue…
A Procedure for Slipstreaming Windows XP SP3
April 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Purpose:
Slipstream (integrate) Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) onto a base (or previous service pack) version of Windows XP (Home or Professional).
Note:
In order to ensure success with the slipstream process please perform all steps within this post on a computer running Windows XP (Home or Professional). Otherwise, as of April 27, 2008, Microsoft Volume License customers performing a clean install of Windows XP Professional SP3 from “slipstreamed” media created on computers running Windows Vista will receive an error message, “The Product Id you entered is not valid.” The error message appears even if you enter a valid volume license product key or leave the fields blank during Setup.
Prerequisites:
1. Obtain a Windows XP installation CD (or ISO image)
2. Install Windows XP on a local computer
3. Create two folders named XP-CD and XP-SP3, respectively in C:\
4. Copy the contents from your original Windows XP installation media to C:\XP-CD
3. Download and save the Windows XP SP3 network installation package from Microsoft’s Download Center to C:\XP-SP3
Instructions:
Assuming Windows XP has already been installed on a computer, then
1. Login into the computer as a user with administrator privileges
2. Open a Command Prompt
- Click on Start > All Programs > Accessories then “Command Prompt”
At the command prompt, type the following:
1. cd C:\XP-SP3
2. WINDOWSXP-KB936929-SP3-X86-ENU.EXE /integrate:C:\XP-CD
3. exit
Done.
Note:
If you want to create bootable CDs or ISO images from XP-CD then follow the still relevant instructions found here or here.
References:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/900871/en-us
http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=2579480&SiteID=17
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/889719/en-us
http://www.helpwithwindows.com/WindowsXP/winxp-sp2-bootcd.html
http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sp2_slipstream.asp
Create a Bootable Windows Vista Installation USB Flash Drive (UFD)
February 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Prerequisites:
1. Obtain a Windows Vista product DVD (any edition)
2. Purchase a USB Flash Drive (UFD) with a storage capacity of 4.0GB or more
3. Install Windows Vista on a local computer. Alternatively, you may boot from the Windows Vista product DVD and utilize the command prompt from the recovery console to format the drive and copy files as described below.
Instructions:
If you already have Windows Vista installed on a computer, then
1. Login into the computer as a user with administrator privileges
2. Insert the UFD device into an appropriate USB port
3. Insert the Windows Vista product DVD into an available DVD-ROM drive
4. Click on Start > All Programs > Accessories then right-click on “Command Prompt”
5. Select “Run as administrator” then click on Continue
Note:
Be careful when formatting a selected disk as described below. View the first image below and use the output as reference. Proceed with caution. Otherwise, you may inadvertently re-format one of your data disk partitions and lose everything. In this example, the D:\ drive corresponds to my DVD-RW drive and disk 1 to my 8.0GB SanDisk Cruzer Micro USB Flash Drive.
At the command prompt, type the following:
1. diskpart
2. select disk 1
3. clean
4. create partition primary
5. select partition 1
6. active
5. format fs=fat32
6. assign letter=v
7. exit
8. xcopy d:\*.* /e/f v:\
9. exit
Reference:
Kurt Shintaku’s Blog: HOWTO: Install Windows Vista from a high speed USB 2.0 Flash Drive
Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 Administration Tools Pack
February 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 Administration Tools Pack is now available for download from Microsoft’s Download Center. It was released on January 14, 2008. The previous version, Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 Administration Tools Pack, was released nearly 3 years ago on April 28, 2005.
The Administration Tools Pack allows administrators to install the Windows Server 2003 SP2 management tools onto a computer running Windows XP Professional or a Windows Server 2003 family operating system to perform remote server management functions. This is the final version of the Administration Tools Pack; you must uninstall all previous versions before installing this version.
Sources:
Microsoft Download Center Home
Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 Administration Tools Pack
Automated Installation Kit (AIK) for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008
February 24, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Automated Installation Kit (AIK) for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008 is now available for download from Microsoft’s Download Center. It was released on February 21, 2008. The previous version Windows AIK was released over a year ago on February 13, 2007.
The Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) is designed to help corporate IT professionals customize and deploy the Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 family of operation systems. By using Windows AIK, you can perform unattended Windows installations, capture Windows images with ImageX, and create Windows PE images.
Sources:
Microsoft Download Center Home
AIK for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008