Tips for the Android ‘Battery Drain’ problem

A few of you might find the following very helpful:

* How to fix the Android battery drain issue with these quick tricks

“If your Android device battery is draining faster than it should, Jack Wallen offers up advice that might save the day.” Read more..

* * *

Today’s quote: “Never complain and never explain.” ~ Benjamin Disraeli

Copyright 2007-2015 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Troubleshooting Steam

When something goes wrong, and you have trouble getting your Steam games to launch, and play properly, there are many potential causes. Sometimes these “causes” can be “cured” by simply “rebooting” (turn off, then on again (aka “restart”)) your computer.

Other times it will take a bit more effort and research.

And, sometimes, it may take a total re-Install of the Steam Client.. (and, I’ve heard, sometimes that just makes things worse.) Or it might take something in between.

As a good ‘first step’ in resolving your issue you can (should) look in the Steam FAQ’s for Troubleshoot and How-To’s for previously posted answers for your particular trouble (you should be seeing an error message..)

Next, rest assured you are not the first person to have your problem, so use the ‘search feature’ in the Steam User forums. Try to use your error message as your “search term”. You should find others who have experienced your glitch, and others will have posted ‘fixes’ and steps for how they solved the trouble. If you should be unable to find your particular error (highly unlikely) you can post your question (seeking help) there. Other users will/may reply with a cure.
(Here is a good example of a helpful ‘thread’ for “cannot connect” errors: http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=976072.)

Of course, you can “google it”, and get results such as: on Ask.com, someone answered: “To fix steam, you need to restart it every now and then or delete its configurations. This includes the favorite servers and games that you have downloaded in the past.” Which may (or may not) help you cure your glitch.

In those ‘worse case’ situations, you can contact Steam directly for tech support, (here: Steam Support) but be aware you will be waiting for their email reply (of dubious helpfulness..)

Further, you may need to disable, or remove, some “incompatible” programs (or settings in certain programs) which may be causing ‘conflicts’ with the Steam Client software. An alert reader sent me a copy of a list that Steam Support sent them. I am pasting it here.

Important:

The list below does not address every firewall application that could cause an issue, nor does it address viruses/spyware. Please see the Using a Firewall with Steam article and the Spyware, Adware, and Viruses Interfering with Steam article for further instructions if the issue persists after checking for the programs listed below.

Any applications running in the background may negatively affect your games or Steam itself. Certain applications can lead to more serious issues such as limited connectivity and game crashes. It is highly recommended that you close all background applications before launching Steam to ensure the best performance and stability. After you are done playing, feel free to re-enable these applications.

The applications listed below have been known to interfere with Steam and Steam games:

Hidden Processes

Certain applications may load when Windows starts and are not obviously indicated. For example, they may not appear in the Windows task bar but they may be among some of your active processes, using your system’s resources. These programs may cause crashes and other difficulties using Steam and playing games.

Please see the How to Disable Background Applications  article to see instructions for disabling non-essential background programs and preventing background applications from silently loading when Windows starts.

 Software to Look For

The following applications have been known to cause issues with Steam and playing games:

Anti-Virus Applications – Any Anti-Virus program could potentially block Steam and Steam game access, especially when not properly configured for use with Steam. Please make sure that Steam and all Steam games are listed as exceptions in these programs. If the issue persists, please try disabling or temporarily uninstalling the program to test the issue.

• Avast!
• AVG Anti-virus *
• BitDefender
• F-Secure
• Iobit Advanced System Care *
• Kaspersky Anti-virus
• McAfee Anti-virus
• Nod32 Anti-virus *
• Norton/Symantec Anti-virus
• Panda Anti-virus
• Threatfire
• Trend Micro
• VIGuard Anti-virus

Anti-Spyware Applications

• Ad Aware
• CA Pest Patrol
• PC Tools Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus (may need to disable Full-Screen detection in the Advanced settings)
• Spybot Search & Destroy
• Spycatcher Express
• Spyware Doctor
• Spyware Terminator
• Webroot Spy Sweeper *

Firewall/Security Applications

• CA Internet Security Suite
• Comodo (With Portal 2 running the firewall in Defense+ in training mode allows the game to run)
• CYBERsitter
• ESET Smart Security
• Netlimiter
• McAfee Personal Firewall
• Nvidia Network Access Manager/Firewall *
• Nvidia ForceWare Intelligent Application Manager
• Outpost Firewall (Disabling System Guard under Proactive Protection allows Portal 2 to run)
• Panda Internet Security
• Peer Guardian
• PeerBlock
• Tiny Personal Firewall
• Verizon Internet Security Suite
• Zone Alarm
• Constant Guard by Comcast
• Online Armor

Other Applications

• IOBit Advance System Care
• Airfoil
• Alcohol 120%
• AMD External Event Utility
• AOLacsd.exe (AOL connection driver)
• ATI Hotkey Poller
• ATI Tray Tools
• BitTorrent/uTorrent (all clients)
• Creative Software (Alchemy, MediaSource 5 on Asus G60VX models specifcally)
• Catalyst AI
• Daemon Tools
• Download Accelerators (all clients)
• EVGA Precision
• Garfield Daily Desktop Comic
• GhostSurf 2007
• Google Toolbar, Google Updater
• GSC
• Hamachi
• HotSpot Shield
• HydraVision
• iZ3D DirectX injection
• K-Lite Codec Pack
• LimeWire, BearShare or other Peer 2 Peer applications
• LogMeIn
• Microsoft Screen Magnifier in Windows 7 (magnify.exe – may cause in-game cursor issues)
• MSI Afterburner
• nProtect GameGuard *
• PC Time Limit
• Skype
• Slysoft AnyDVD
• StarDock KeepSafe
• SteamWatch
• iolo System Mechanic
• TeamSpeak (can lead to mic issues)
• Total Recorder
• Tuneup WinStyler Theme Service
• UPEK Protector Suite
• Ventrilo (can lead to mic issues)
• VirtuaGirl 2
• Western Digital Backup Anywhere
• Whitesmoke Translator (may cause the Source engine to crash)
• WindowBlinds
• Xfire

* We recommend that applications listed in bold with a ( * ) symbol are fully uninstalled from your system if disabling them does not resolve the issue

 Details

Issues related to any of the programs listed below may be resolved by exiting and/or disabling the program and then exiting and restarting Steam. For certain applications, a system reboot may be required after you have shut down or disabled them.

• Antivirus Software

  Incorrectly configured antivirus software may prevent proper operation of Steam and Steam games.

  • VIGuard anti-virus software has been found to conflict with Steam games – an error message stating “Failed to duplicate pipe handle” will be generated when attempting to load the game. Add the contents of your Steam installation folder to VIGuard’s authorized folder exceptions list to correct this issue. 
  • AVG 7.5, Norton/Symantec and Nod 32 software has been known to cause game crashes. AVG 7.5 must be fully removed from your system in order to prevent these crashes.
  • F-Secure’s “DeepGuard” feature is known to cause Error Code 51 when launching Steam games.

• Anti-Spyware Software

  Aggressive spyware detection software may block the normal operation of Steam. We have received reports that Spycatcher Express, Webroot Spy Sweeper and CA Pest Patrol (bundled with AOL’s Security Center) may prevent Steam client application updates and connecting to game servers.

  PC Tools ThreatFire software (which is also contained in PC Tools Spyware Doctor) can prevent the normal operation of loading of Steam games, including common errors such as Unable to load filesystem_steam.dll and Engine Error: Could not load library client. If you are encountering Steam errors and have ThreatFire or Spyware Doctor installed, please do the following:

  • Disable Behavior Guard via PC Tools My Account service. Disabling the service through Intelli-Guard will not resolve the issue.
  • If this fails to resolve the issue, fully disabling or uninstalling ThreatFire or Spyware Doctor may be necessary.

• Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Clients

  P2P programs such as Kazaa, LimeWire, BitTorrent, E-mule, and Exeem can consume a large portion of your bandwidth, which may prevent Steam from connecting. Do not run file sharing applications while you are using Steam.

• Firewalls

  Newer versions of COMODO Internet Security includes a sandbox feature that may disable services that Steam needs to run on. Make sure important services are not being run in the sandbox mode.

• FTP and Web Server Applications

  As with P2P programs, these programs are generally very bandwidth-intensive and may generate errors in Steam. Examples include IIS services for Windows, Apache web server and MySQL servers.

• IP Filtering Programs

  Peer Guardian, CYBERsitter, and Netlimiter have been found to cause Steam connection issues. These programs are not compatible with Steam and must be disabled or permanently removed from the computer in order to avoid conflicts.

• IP Masking Programs

  Programs designed to mask your IP (GhostSurf 2007, Anonymizer, etc) will impact Steam’s ability to send and receive data.

• Download “Accelerator” and Download Manager Programs

  These programs may interfere with installing and/or downloading updates through Steam. Download accelerator programs should be disabled while using Steam.

  Additionally, Internet Download Manager has been found to cause crashes when the Steam Storefront is loaded.

• Windows Theme Editors

  Tuneup WinStyler Theme Service has been found to cause a crash with the Steam client application and WindowBlinds may cause crashes with Source games.

• Virtual Private Network (VPN) Software

  VPN software will prevent the Steam client application from accessing the Steam network.

• Other Applications

  • Look’n’Stop has been reported to cause issues with Steam when its “Unknown UDP Packet” filter is enabled.
  • PowerStrip custom display modes software may cause issues with load time and crashing in games – it is recommended that you select the “Restore to default” setting in PowerStrip before playing (you may resume using PowerStrip normally once you are done).
  • The nVidia Network Access Manager has been found to cause problems as described in the Nothing appears on the Storefront screen in Steam topic.
  • Airfoil will cause the error “Game name failed to start (error code 51).” if “Instant Hijack” is enabled. You will either need to disable “Instant Hijack” (you do not need to restart your computer when prompted) or add Steam and all Steam games to the excluded programs.

In-Game Overlay Application Incompatibility List

• X-Fire

  The in-game overlay may not function if X-Fire is running and also trying to draw its in-game chat interface on the game you have launched.

  Workaround:

  Close X-Fire, or set it to not attempt to run its in-game portion on games not launched via X-Fire.

• Windows Blinds

  Reported as possibly preventing the in-game overlay from functioning in some games.

  Workaround:

  We are currently investigating a solution to this issue. In the mean time, please do not use Window Blinds with Steam.

• Ventrilo

  Reported that the in-game hot-key bindings for Ventrilo may stop working with the overlay.

  Workaround: This has been reported to be a Vista issue and making the involved apps Run as Administrator solved the problem.

I do hope you get your issue resolved without having too much gnashing of teeth, hair-pulling, etc., as gaming is vital. But please note: I am not a Steam tech support guy, and if you write in with questions seeking help, I will simply refer you to the links and advice in this article. (I have stopped using Steam altogether.)

And thank you, Dear Reader, for sending me that list.

If you made it down this far, here’s a reward: a reading reco: Save our Internet before we go off the digital cliff

“The Internet is a public good — indeed, a public necessity — that is being abused by profiteers. Through their greed, they’re driving us off the Internet cliff.” Read more..

Today’s quote: “I told my psychiatrist that everyone hates me. He said I was being ridiculous – everyone hasn’t met me yet.” ~ Rodney Dangerfield

Copyright 2007-2013 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories.
Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Troubleshooting Internet Explorer (A Collection of How To’s)

It is a simple and well-known fact of life — sometimes things go wrong with computers.

When that something is your web browser, and you cannot surf the ‘net, or log in to your email, or Google Docs, well, that kind of defeats the whole purpose of having a computer these days.

Causes: There can be many reasons your browser can get ‘corrupted’ and stop functioning properly – from viruses, to Updates failing to install properly, and also “cookies” can ‘go bad’ – and so there is no 1-click-cures-all, (wouldn’t that be great?) but here are some things you can do to try to get Internet Explorer working like it should, and/or working like you want it to .
[note: most of the practical steps described in the article links below can be applied to other web browsers.. (Firefox, Chrome, etc.) ]

Restore Missing Favorites In IE*

Internet Explorer Runtime Error!!*

Quick Tip: Turn on ClearType in Internet Explorer

Can’t Download? Reset IE

How To Clear Your Cache

View Multiple Mail Identities in One Browser

Extracting text from Web pages*

Precautions for your Internet privacy*

Quick Tip: Customize new tabs behavior

IE’s Menu bar, Taskbar icons, and bad Updates*

Internet/E-mail Troubleshooting – JavaScript

What is a “homepage”?

How to use tabs in IE 7

Saving webpages as files

I hope you found this collection of How To articles helpful.

Today’s quote: “Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment.” ~ Thomas Carlyle

Bonus tip: If you are in a position where you need to get your Dear Sweet Aunt Martha (or other utterly tech unsavvy type) a computer so that they can have email, do yourself a favor, spring for an iMac.

Bonus reading:

* Infographic: Spam Olympiad

“Spammers and “slammers” took advantage of world-wide attention on the London 2012 Olympics to flood us with junk and fill the social media streams with abuse. Here’s a snapshot of their activity.” Read more

* Are You Forwarding Hate Email As A Political Propaganda Tool?

“Have you noticed that as the we ramp up for the U.S. Presidential election the hate email propaganda starts to roll in. I have been getting so much of it (mostly from personal acquaintances) that it actually makes me very uncomfortable and has me questioning the  stability and IQ of our population. I sometimes feel […]” Read more..

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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All we really have, in the end, are our stories. Make yours great ones. Ones to be proud of.

Repair Internet Explorer

Sometimes things go wrong with PC’s.

When that something is your web browser, and you cannot surf the ‘net, or log in to your email, or Google Docs, well, that kind of defeats the whole purpose of having a computer.

There can be many reasons your browser can get ‘corrupted’ – from viruses, to Updates failing to install properly, and also “cookies” can ‘go bad’ – and so there is no 1-click-cures-all, (wouldn’t that be great?) but here are some things you can do to try to get Internet Explorer working like it should, and/or working like you want it to .
[note: much of the practical steps described in the article links below can be applied to other web browsers.. ]

Restore Missing Favorites In IE*

Internet Explorer Runtime Error!!*

Quick Tip: Turn on ClearType in Internet Explorer

Can’t Download? Reset IE

How To Clear Your Cache

View Multiple Mail Identities in One Browser

Extracting text from Web pages*

Precautions for your Internet privacy*

Quick Tip: Customize new tabs behavior

IE’s Menu bar, Taskbar icons, and bad Updates*

Internet/E-mail Troubleshooting – JavaScript

What is a “homepage”?

How to use tabs in IE 7

Saving webpages as files

I hope you found this resource helpful.

Today’s quote: “Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment.” ~ Thomas Carlyle

Copyright 2007-2012 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Fix Windows Media Player

If you try playing a song or video clip with Windows Media Player, and encounter an “unknown error” or “file corrupted” error on a file you know should play (because you have played it before),  a file WMP needs to function may have been inadvertently damaged. These steps can cure the ‘glitch’, and get your music playing again.

1) Reboot (aka “restart”) your computer.
Folks, this is almost always your first troubleshooting step. Rebooting your machine “clears” it’s memory and refreshes its settings — which is why a ‘reboot’ cures 9 out of 10 computer “problems”.

Didn’t work? Let’s tell Windows to repair itself.

2) Use the System File Checker tool to repair missing or corrupted system files on Windows Vista or on Windows 7. Follow these steps:

1. Open an elevated command prompt. To do this, click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Allow.
2. Type the following command, and then press ENTER: sfc /scannow. (Yes, there is a space between the “c” and the “/”.)
3. You will (probably) see a message stating that you need to restart your computer for the tool to run. Save and Close any work, and then reboot.

When the file checker is running, you will see a black screen with white lettering telling you the progress. The sfc tool can take a while to complete, a half hour or more.

The sfc /scannow command scans all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct Microsoft versions. This should restore your ability to play your media files.
If not, you may next want to run a special “Fix It” script from Microsoft. (Click on the image below).

If those two do not get you going again, you probably have more serious issues going on, and may need to consult a pro, like me (shameless plug).

Today’s reco: The Simplest Way to Print A List of Filenames In A Folder

“Have a large listing of music files, movie files, picture files, etc…?  I bet there has been the occasion that you wished there was a simple way to get a printout of those listings. There is and..” Read more..

Today’s quote: “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” ~ Leo Buscaglia

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Fix Windows 7 Blackscreen (a How To)

Why is my screen black when I start Windows 7?

Video adapter problems are the most common cause of this issue. First, try to find out if there’s a problem with the cables you’re using or the way they’re connected. If you have an alternate way of connecting your monitor to your PC, try it. For example, if your monitor is connected using an HDMI connector, try disconnecting it and then connecting with a DVI or VGA connector instead.

Note:Always turn off the power to your computer and all external video devices before plugging them in or unplugging them.

If you’re using multiple monitors, try using just a single monitor. If this solves the problem but you’re not using the cabling options you ultimately want, attach the cables back to the way you want them, remove all floppy disks, CDs, and DVDs from your computer, and then try the following troubleshooting procedures, in order. If the steps in the first procedure don’t fix the problem, move on to the next procedure.

Use the “Enable low-resolution video (640×480)” startup option, and then update your video adapter driver

Boot into Safe Mode

1. Click the Start button , click the arrow next to Shut Down, and then click Restart.
2. Do one of the following:
   • If your computer has a single operating system installed, press and hold the F8 key as your computer restarts. You must press F8 before the Windows logo appears. If the Windows logo appears, try again by waiting until the Windows logon prompt appears, and then shutting down and restarting your computer.
   • If your computer has more than one operating system, use the arrow keys to highlight the operating system you want to start in safe mode, and then press F8.

Next

1. On the Advanced Boot Options screen, use the arrow keys to highlight Enable low-resolution video (640×480), and then press Enter.
2. Log on to your computer with a user account that has administrator rights.

If you can see your desktop, there’s a problem with your video adapter. Try updating your video adapter driver. For more information, see Update a driver for hardware that isn’t working properly.

If these steps solve the problem, you’re done. If not, go to the next set of steps.

Start the computer in Safe Mode and disable your video adapter

1. On the Advanced Boot Options screen, use the arrow keys to highlight Safe Mode, and then press Enter.
2. Log on to your computer with a user account that has administrator rights. When your computer is in safe mode, you’ll see the words Safe Mode in the corners of your monitor.
3. Open Device Manager by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Security, and then, under System, clicking Device Manager.  If you’re prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
4. In the list of hardware categories, expand the Display adapters category. Make a note of your display adapter.
5. Right-click your display adapter, and then click Disable. When prompted for confirmation, click Yes.
6. Close all open windows and restart your computer normally.

When your computer restarts, if you can see your desktop, there’s a problem with your video adapter. Try updating your video adapter driver. For more information, see Update a driver for hardware that isn’t working properly.

If these steps solve the problem, you’re done. If not, go to the next set of steps.

Start the computer in Safe Mode and run System Restore

1. On the Advanced Boot Options screen, use the arrow keys to highlight Safe Mode, and then press Enter.
2. Log on to your computer with a user account that has administrator rights. When your computer is in safe mode, you’ll see the words Safe Mode in the corners of your monitor.
3. Click the Start button , type “system restore” in the search box, click System Restore, and then click Next.  If you’re prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
4. Choose a restore point when your PC worked as expected, click Next, and then click Finish.
5. Restart your computer normally.

If these steps solve the problem, you’re done. If not, try repeating the steps and selecting an older restore point (if one is available). If that still doesn’t solve the problem, contact your computer manufacturer or technical support for further assistance… such as myself (shameless plug).

Today’s free download: Fences Your tool for a clean desktop. (requires .NET Framework)

“It wasn’t five minutes after installing Fences that I realized I’d be using it for the rest of my computing life. It’s that good.” – PC World
To learn more, click here.

Today’s quote: “Oh, for the good old days when people would stop Christmas shopping when they ran out of money.” ~ Unknown

Bonus: Does anyone know why I am still getting these?

A: because, hard as it may be to believe, some of you out there are still responding to them. Ah, that P.T. Barnham was so, so right…
Sorry, “Vladimir”. I never open emails which have “!” (nor, “!!!”) in the Subject, so I guess you’ll have to try someone else.. maybe someone named “mark”?

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Windows Update Broken? Fix it!

Microsoft has made available an automatic repair which will reset, and repair, the components of Windows Update. This can resolve issues where updates will not install.

To reset the Windows Update components automatically, click the Fix it button or link. Click Run in the File Download dialog box, and then follow the steps in the Fix it wizard.

Note: this Fix it Solution has two modes Default and Aggressive. You should run the Fix it solution in Default mode and determine if it resolves your problem with Windows Update before running it in Aggressive mode.

Note: this wizard may be in English only; however, the automatic fix also works for other language versions of Windows.

Note: if you are not on the computer that has the problem, save the Fix it solution to a flash drive or a CD and then run it on the computer that has the problem.

Check whether the Windows Update components are reset. If the Windows Update components are reset, you are finished. If the Windows Update components are not reset, or do not solve your Update problem, you can contact Microsoft support — which is free for security-related issues such as this.

Today’s quote: “Promise only what you can deliver. Then deliver more than you promise.” ~ Unknown

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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