CD drive won’t read discs

Folks, here is a question I received that I think is of ‘general benefit’ to all to know.

Q: Hi Tech Paul.
The disc player in my Dell Optiplex has started to ignore cds and dvds that I burned myself but still can play those that I purchased or rent. What’s going on? Do I need a new codec?

A: Dear Reader,
No, you do not need a new “codec“. I suspect that your “reading” trouble is due simply to dust/dirt on the laser’s lens. Blowing on it with compressed air (such as from a can of the venerable Dust Off) should resolve your problem. (If you cannot see the little lens unit, open the tray, and blow around in there as best you can.)

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Today’s quote: “The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” ~ Isaac Asimov

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

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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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>> Folks, don’t miss an article! To get Tech – for Everyone articles delivered to your e-mail Inbox, click here, or to subscribe in your RSS reader, click here. <<

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

Windows 7 – Old Games Won’t Play.. Help! (Updated)

5 6 Methods For Getting Old Programs To Run On New Computers

This article is an updated and improved version of  Windows 7 – Old Games Won’t Play.. Help!, a “reader question” article that has proven quite popular. It seems quite a few people want their 12-year old, 16-bit, Gen 1 games to play on latest generation, 64-bit machines, (I don’t blame them) but it doesn’t always work. Here are some tips for solving the problem. They are in the appropriate order, IMHO. (These work in Vista as well.)

1) Turn off “hardware acceleration”. A common cause of errors and “playability issues” is the old games’ use (or lack of) of hardware “acceleration”, which is referring to the “video card”, or more accurately, the graphics driver. Most graphics drivers allow you to turn off the hardware acceleration (which may resolve your issue).
Click Start in the lower left corner of Windows.
Click Control Panel, click Appearance and Personalization, click Personalization, click Display Settings, and then click Advanced Settings.
Click the Troubleshoot tab, and then click Change Settings.Move the Hardware Acceleration slider until it is one notch to the right of None. This is the basic acceleration setting.
Click OK twice, and then close the window.
Restart the computer.

[you can also get there via the graphic adapter’s Properties in Device Manager]

[Note: Change Settings will be disabled if the graphics card drivers do not support disabling hardware acceleration. You may need to check the video card manufacturer’s website, and download the latest driver.]

2) You may need set the troublesome games to launch in “Compatibility Mode”, and tell them to run under Windows XP SP2. This article, https://techpaul.wordpress.com/2009/06/28/compatibility-tricks-for-old-programs-new-machines/ shows you how. The “Compat Mode” section is about half way down the page.

3) You might need to try repeating Step 2, but this time install directly to your C:\ drive (by default, Windows will install programs to C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files(x86) folder) using the “Custom install” option during set up. This will eliminate some of the Permissions issues that keep older programs from running correctly.

4) You may also – if the game is old enough – need to turn off all but one CPU core. This is called “setting the affinity”. Also see, Compatibility Tricks for Old Programs, New Machines. If this resolves your issue, the article includes a download for a tool to make this setting ‘stick’.

5) For really old, DOS-based games, install DOSBox. DOSBox is a great tool, especially for old games. I would suggest reading the tutorial, here: http://www.dosbox.com/wiki/DOSBoxShortcuts#Windows

6) Though I view this as a bit of a ‘last resort’, you can install a “virtual machine” and run the game in there.
* If you have the Professional, Enterprise or Ultimate edition of Windows 7, you can download XP Mode – which is really Virtual PC – for free. If you have other editions of Windows, grab Virtual PC 2007 from the same place.
* Perhaps a better alternative is using VMWare Server (free), from www.vmware.com/products/server. I have read that the VMWare handles the hardware acceleration better.

In both cases, you’ll have to supply the copy of (old) Windows yourself, and install it (into the “virtual machine”) from scratch.

… I hate to say, but it is possible that you may try all these things and get unsatisfactory results. I keep an old Pentium II machine (Windows 98) around just for playing those old games (which I wouldn’t dream of connecting to the Internet!). The games play best on the hardware/OS of their day. You might need to do the same. Or.. say goodbye to your old friends.

Progress!

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

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Troubleshooting iPods and iTunes

It may be kind of hard to believe, but it seems that a lot of people have iPods. And it seems to be true that a lot of people (even Windows people) use iTunes software to download and/or manage digital music. And, it also seems to be true that both these products are fairly simple and easy to use.

Tip of the day: Make sure you’re using the latest version of the product to resolve your iTroubles.
iTunes is pretty good at letting you know when there is a “newer version available”, and it (typically) prompts you to update. You should accept these prompts when you see them. If you haven’t.. and/or are having trouble making purchases at the iTunes Store, or connecting your iPod to your computer.. you can (and should) manually check for a newer version of the software.
To do so, open iTunes, and under the iTunes menu, click “Check for updates”.

iPods need to have their software updated as well, and you can solve most issues by following these steps:
Connect your iPod and then open iTunes and click on your player in the Source list (on the left), and click on the Summary tab, then click on the “Check for Updates” button. Then follow the instructions.

If you are fully updated with the latest software, and still are having troubles getting or playing music the next troubleshooting step is to reset your iPod.
1) Unplug your player from your computer.
2) For Click-Wheel iPods, slide the Hold switch to “Hold” and then to “Off”.
3) Press and hold both the Menu and Select buttons down for about 10 seconds, or until you see the Apple logo on the screen. (If you don’t see the logo after 15 seconds, stop, and repeat the steps above.)

This should do the trick. But if all this fails, and your player still won’t play, you can restore your iPod’s software. This should be done as a last resort, as it will “wipe” your stored songs/podcasts/etc. from your iPod’s memory, and you will have to copy your content back.
Connect your iPod and then open iTunes and click on your player in the Source list (on the left), and click on the Summary tab, then click on the “Restore” button. Then you may see up to four restore “options”– try using the “Use Newest Version” option first. If that doesn’t do the trick.. repeat the process and select the “Restore” version, and then update it when it is reinstalled.

These steps will resolve the majority of problems, and get your music playing again.

Today’s free link: I have recommended the top-rated encryption program TrueCrypt before, but I don’t believe I made it clear that versions are available for Mac users as well. To get it, click here, and scroll down a bit to see “Mac OS X” and use the drop-down arrow to select your version.. then click the “Download” button.

Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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