ieframe.dll missing for VB6 application

Push

For some strange reason one of my VB6 applications began giving me fits when I tried to open it in the Visual Studio Editor. It started complaining that ieframe.dll was missing. So, after a brief panic, I began to investigate. This application has a webbrowser control in it that is used to view HTML content. What on earth would cause this? What changes have I made to cause this? I had installed Visual Studio 2005 recently but I’d used both VB6 and VB2005 side by side for a couple of weeks with no problems.

Think, think, think…oh yeah, I did install IE7 beta. Could that have done it? It makes sense. So I uninstalled the beta version (I wasn’t caring that much for it anyways).

Sure enough my VB6 app came back to life after removing IE7 beta.

Reset Microsoft Netmeeting Desktop Password

NetmeetingBefore there was XP Remote Desktop/Terminal services there was Netmeeting Desktop Sharing. I know some of you are saying “yeah, but what about VNC?” I’ve used it and it works well also, but mostly I use the XP Desktop Connection and Netmeeting simply because they are already there. Call me lazy. Netmeeting is nifty for those few Windows 98 machines you might still have lurking around. Plus unlike Terminal Services on Windows Server 2000 and 2003 with Netmeeting Remote Desktop you can take control of a desktop and the machine who’s desktop you have control of is able to see what you see, which can make troubleshooting a user’s computer a bit easier. I know there’s remote assistance but that doesn’t exitst for Windows 98 and I don’t think it does for Windows 2000 either.

Anyways, I configured a Windows 98 computer to allow me to connect to it’s desktop anytime using netmeeting. When you set it up it makes you put in a password. I’ve used so many passwords, I couldn’t remember what I had set it to. If you try and change the password it wants the old password in order to do so. Never fear, just delete one key in the registry and you’ll be back up and running.

Find the following key in the registry:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Conferencing\Mcpt

Now, delete it. You can go back in and setup Netmeeting’s desktop sharing and configure a new password without putting in the old password, hopefully one you’ll remember next time.

Manually remove Microsoft Firewall Client 2000

firewallWe ran into a problem with a PC that had the Microsoft Firewall Client 2000 from ISA (Internet Security and Accelerator) on it. We recently upgraded our ISA server to the 2004 version. You can run the older client on the newer version but it doesn’t encrypt the traffic and it allows traffic that is normally blocked on a user level to work. So, we disabled the ability for the old client to work and began removing it from all of our computers and then installing the new version.

On one PC the old version wouldn’t un-install correctly and the new version won’t install if it’s not removed. You will get an error message that says something like “Microsoft Firewall Client 2004 cannot be installed over a previous version. Please remove the older version and try again.” Well, since the uninstall failed and it removed the old version from the Add/Remove programs we were stuck. After some poking around in the internet I found instructions on Microsoft’s site for removing the client from a Windows 98 computer. The computer I was working on is actually Windows XP, but the instructions worked on it as well. Here are the registry keys that need to be removed, so that the new version won’t think the old version is still installed:

Remove 8A95A7C8EBA9A954A939802C184A2A46
from HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Features\

Remove 8A95A7C8EBA9A954A939802C184A2A46
from HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Installer\Products\

Remove Firewall Client
from HKEY_Current_USER\Software\Microsoft\

Remove Firewall Client
from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\

Remove Firewall Client
from HKEY_USERS\Software\Microsoft\

Remove 8A95A7C8EBA9A954A939802C184A2A46
from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\CLASSES\Installer\Features\

Remove 8A95A7C8EBA9A954A939802C184A2A46
from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\CLASSES\Installer\Products\

Remove 945E895D0A5100149B4B8D6E01A3DA26
from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\Components\

Remove 8A95A7C8EBA9A954A939802C184A2A46
from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\Features\

Remove the C”\Program Files\Microsoft Firewall Client
from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\Folders\

Remove the {8C7A59A8-9ABE-459A-9A93-08C281A4A264}
from HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

The instructions also said to find the Wspcpl32.cpl file in %Windir%\System. Delete this file to remove the Firewall Client icon in Control Panel. I didn’t need to do this step, I guess the uninstall did this before failing. I did find the install directory C:\Program Files\Microsoft Firewall Client and deleted it. After these steps the Firewall Client 2004 installed without a problem.

Problems sending, replying and deleting email from Outlook Web Access

OWA2Outlook Web Access is a great tool. I use it alot to check my email from home or when I’m on the road and it works well. That is until you replace your website and mess around in IIS too much. Which is what happened to ours. It quit working altogether at first and then I managed to get to the point that you could log in and read email, but you couldn’t send new messages, reply to existing email and you couldn’t delete email. It came down to some problem with permissions related to the virtual directories that Microsoft Exchange creates to handle the Outlook Web Access.

I poked around the internet looking for solutions and tried a few things only to make it worse. So I decided to just delete the virtual directories and figure out how to recreate them. I found an article on Microsoft’s support site (surprisingly enough) that told how to remove the virtual directories and get Exchange to recreate them for you.

One word of advice, when there are step by step instructions, it’s best to do each step. I had skipped a step and couldn’t figure out why the directories were not being re-created. The step I skipped requires downloading the IIS 6 Resource Kit Tools and running the metabase explorer to delete a some keys. Apparently they meant it when they put this step in the instructions.

OWA

So after following the directions and restarting the Microsoft Exchange System Attendant service the virtual directories were recreated and Outlook Web Access returned to it’s normal useful self.

Re-create Remote Desktop Connection Icon

RemoteHave you ever deleted an icon to a program, especially some Windows utiltity and couldn’t figure out how to get it back? That’s what I did to the Remote Desktop Connection icon, actually I’ve done it several times. I have a certain way I like my start menu and it’s totally different than it comes by default on a fresh install of XP. I’m a bit wierd like that.

To simply run the desktop connection from run on the start menu type “mstsc” and hit enter. To re-create the icon, right click where you want the icon and select new/shortcut. In the “type the location of the item” box type “mstsc”. Hit enter and type the name you want the icon to have and you’re done. You can now easily go about your desktop connected merry way.

Here’s another quick one for if you delete the Netmeeting icon. I don’t use netmeeting as much as I used to, but you can goto run and type “conf”. Use the above steps and replace the “mstsc” with “conf” and you’ll have your Netmeeting icon back and ready for action.

Photoshop tips and tricks

I’ve been using Photoshop for several years. I’m certainly no pro at it, but I can get around and do what I want. I am amazed at the power and number of things you can accomplish with it.

Every now and then I learn a little trick or tip about Photoshop and I wonder how I never found that before.

PSwithToolbars

The most recent Photoshop revelation is the fact that you can hit the tab key and make the toolbars all dissappear. Some of you might be saying…”duh, you noob!” But unless you take some sort of class there are thousands of things like this that you just don’t know are there. PSnoToolbarsWhen I found this one I thought “cool!” It helps to be able to get all the toolbars out of the way and view all of your image. Stepping back and getting rid of the extra stuff that can be distracting is usefull.

Here are some more Photoshop tips and tricks. Remember I don’t claim to be a pro, these are just things I’ve found useful. Another thing to keep in mind is…I’m a Windows guy. Not sure if these work for you Mac users. I’m sure they are there, but it might be different keystrokes.

  • Quickly resize your brush – the “[” key sizes your brush down and the “]” sizes your brush up.
  • Quickly change the softness of the edge of your brush – hit shift – “[” to increase edge softness and shift – “]” to decrease edge softness.
  • Quickly copy a layer – ctrl – “j”
  • Always use layers to adjust levels, curves and such. This way it’s easy to undo your changes. The undo history only goes so far and it goes in order. Using layers makes it much easier. Plus you can use the layer mask to paint out portions of these adjustment layers.

What are some tips and tricks you’ve learned? Unless you are a graphic artist and went to school we all have tons of things we could learn about Photoshop. Getting the picture into your camera takes one set of skills, making it look even better afterwards takes Photoshop skills. I don’t know about you but I certainly would like to learn alot more about this essential step in photoblogging.

Microsoft Office 2003 – Fix

logo_office_2003.jpgThe accounting department called me the other day and asked why the “recently used file list” was greyed out. The option has been in all previous versions of office and never had a problem. The list is used for easy access to workbooks that you frequently work on, so you can display up to nine on the File menu. You can also hide them or clear their history.

You can configure Excel to display the recently used file list, as well as the maximum files to include in the list, by clicking Options from the Tools menu. From the General tab, place a check beside the Recently used file list option. You can then configure the number of files to display. However, in 2003, this option is “greyed out”.

If you discover that this option is unavailable (greyed out), there may be a problem with one of the entries in the registry. To resolve the problem, click Start and click Run. Type regedit.exe and click OK. Navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Policies \ Explorer.

Double click NoRecentDocsHistory and change the value to 0, and click ok. This also applies to all other Microsoft Office products.

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. I am not responsible if you use the Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk, and make sure you have a back up of all your data.

Wireless connectivity with WPA2

Earlier this week we checked out the Cisco “Now” Van. The Cisco Network on Wheels (NOW) is a 25-foot mobile showcase equipped with the latest Cisco networking technologies designed specifically for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). The showcase provides hands-on demonstrations of proven integrated networking solutions, which are customizable to your business size and needs. I tried to find some info on Cisco’s site about the Network on Wheels, but couldn’t easily find any. I really like Cisco products, but their website leaves alot to be desired. Do a search on Google and you’ll find lots of info on the seminars.

Now

My first thought was that it was going to be another come check out our stuff and we’ll pressure you to buy it. While there was some sales pitches going on for some of Cisco’s products, it was very informative and usefull. The guy who did the talking was very knowledgeable and we talked extensively about wireless communications and such. Of course he pushed the reasons why Cisco’s wireless access points were so much better than everyone else’s.

wifi

One of the topics we touched on was WPA2 and how you should be using it for wireless security. I hadn’t messed with it much, so when I got back to the office I decided to turn it on in a Linksys WRT54GC access point we had. Then I used a Sony Vaio with a built in Intel 2200gb wireless adapter and Windows XP Pro with SP2. Using the Windows Wireless configuration tool I couldn’t get it to connect to the access point. If I changed the security to WPA it would connect just fine, but not with WPA2. So I went and found the latest drivers on Intel’s site. Still didn’t work. Then for some reason I decided to use the Intel Wireless utility and found I was able to connect. Hmmm… If I switched back to the Windows configuration utility, still no connection. I generally turn off any extra utilties and such that I don’t need so I don’t normally use the Intel utility to configure the wireless.
So, I went and did Windows updates and got everything there was and tried the WPA2 connection again, still not working.
Out comes trusty Google and did a search for WPA2 and Windows and found this link to Microsoft’s site. Why this isn’t included in normal Windows updates I’m not sure. It’s dated April of 05 so it’s not brand new. After installing this update the Windows Wireless config utility connects and recognizes the WPA2 protected access point just fine.
I found the following very informative article that talks about WPA2 and the differences between it and WPA.

Serial bar code scanning in Windows

BarcodeScanner

We have several of these barcode scanners that are serial port based. The current software we are using them with has been written to accept data coming from the serial port. You can get a version of these scanners that connects inline with your keyboard. Using a keyboard type means the software doesn’t need anything special to scan into Windows applications.
We are converting over to new software that is not written to recognize serial based scanners. Someone mentioned a software solution and it’s turned out to work very well. It’s called BC-Wedge. It’s a small application that sits in the background and sends scans from the bar code scanner to any Windows application. There might be some other solutions out there, but this one is reasonably priced and easy to install.

Scroll Wheel in Visual Basic 6 IDE

Geekerz

This is exciting, it’s long been a pet peeve of mine that the scroll wheel never worked in the user interface for Visual Basic 6. I managed to get it working once awhile ago but it quit working soon after and I couldn’t ever get it back. I tried mouse drivers and a ton of other things. Well, while searching the web for tips on capturing extra mouse button events in Visual basic (which I still don’t have down yet) I ran across a blog called Unhandled Exceptions and a link to an article on Microsoft’s website for a fix. In his blog he mentioned the fact that the link on Microsoft’s site was broke, so I’m putting the fix on my site for future downloads in case Microsoft’s quits working. Of course now I can goto Microsoft’s support site and search for “scroll mouse visual basic 6” and the article with the fix is the first one in the list. For those of you who this is old news, I swear I tried searching Microsoft’s site, honestly I did. :)