Symptoms:
Opening Windows Search, clicking "Search now" and the explorer process hangs / freezes.

Fix: (queue eyebrow-raising solution)
If you download ProcMon and filter for explorer.exe, you'll see it is trying to open the same file again and again. For me, this was a zip file containing icons for a web project I'm working on.

To make the search feature work again, rename the file it is getting stuck on and restart explorer. You should find everything is operational.

If anything is unclear and you think this problem might be affecting you, leave a comment and I'll have a look.

With just a few minor adjustments the Windows Command Prompt (cmd.exe) can emulate the behaviour of your favourite *nix shell. Please note, this isn't a full emulation method - the existing Windows commands are being manipulated to appear as their *nix shell counterparts.

Note: This is for systems where unauthorized software is not permitted. If you administrate your own system, I highly recommend checking the GnuWin32, in particular the CoreUtils package.

Background

This method involves simple implementation of the doskey macro utility. For convenience, a Windows batch file (*.bat) will be used to wrap calls to doskey. Some small adjustments to the registry are necessary, so it is strongly advised that the registry is backed up before reading further.

Create a Command List Batch File

1. Open a text editor of your choice (e.g. notepad).
2. The following are some examples of how to add a *nix command, with the Windows Command Prompt equivalent:
   @ECHO OFF
doskey sudo=runas /user:administrator $*
doskey alias=doskey $*
doskey ls=dir $*
doskey rm=del $*
doskey cp=copy $*
doskey mv=move $*
doskey clear=cls
doskey reboot=echo The system is going down for reboot NOW!$T shutdown -r
doskey restart=reboot
doskey top=tasklist
doskey traceroute=tracert $*
doskey kill=taskkill /F /IM $*
echo [%USERNAME%@%COMPUTERNAME%]$ *nix commands added

3. Save as a batch file somewhere on your system, e.g. C:\nix-cmd.bat

Please note: Not all commands will behave exactly like their counterpart, however these are some examples from my batch file.

Enabling Batch File and Tab-key Auto-complete

1. Start->Run->regedit
2. To add auto-complete for...
   ... just your username:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor
   ... all system users:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor
3. Modify the key entries to reflect your system settings, although they should appear somewhat similar to the below:
   
   

   *nix cmd registry screen capture

If you want to use a different key for auto-complete (i.e. not tab), then change the CompletionChar and PathCompletionChar values to the desired hexadecimal character code.

Footnote

That is all there is to it! I mostly make do with the commands above - its just a nice little tweak to make the command prompt a bit more usable.

Unfortunately, this proved to be a BIG MISTAKE!

Moments after installing the software, all my new shell windows reported that mkdir, doskey, ipconfig and even HELP are 'unrecognized' - so began my hour-long search for a resolution to the amnesia that had suddenly afflicted the command-line.

The problem turned out to be two-fold:

1. It would seem the installation script (setup_xampp.bat) or shell script (xampp_shell.bat) had a misunderstanding with some of my custom command-line settings. In fact, it decided my PATH environment variable wasn't up to scratch... so it erased it! This meant that the command-line had no idea where to look for system apps. and as result shut-down a large portion of my system utilities.
2. In addition to the above, the script added to my default shell script (HKEY_USERS\...\Software\Microsoft\Command Processor\AutoRun) a small 'set PATH=' command that each time it was run added the XAMPP directory to PATH and then deformed it with an increasingly long string of semi-colons.

Needless to say, I'm somewhat annoyed that there is no visible warning during installation that it could potentially FUBAR your environment variables. I hope this provides some insight for people who might be experiencing a similar problem.

My guide will describe how to upgrade the current XAMPP PHP version to the second release candidate of version 5.3. It is expected that this method will also work for the third release candidate when it is released later this month.

Step 1: Make backups

Before starting, make sure to backup any settings, custom modules and most importantly the htdocs directory, which contains your scripts and page resources. This directory is normally located at C:\xampp\htdocs\

Step 2: Preparation

1. Download PHP 5.3.0rc2. I use the VC6 build in order to minimise any potential compatibility issues.
2. It is also recommended that you download the latest Windows version of XAMPP. While this is an upgrade guide that should work with previous versions of XAMPP, it is recommended that a fresh copy of the core files is used.
3. Stop any instances of the Apache service that might be running.

Step 3: The upgrade

This guide will assume your XAMPP directory is C:\xampp\

1. Extract the XAMPP archive to a directory of your choosing, I would recommend using the default C:\xampp\
2. Extract the contents of the PHP archive to C:\xampp\php\, overwriting the contents of this directory with the new files.
3. Open the file C:\xampp\apache\conf\extra\httpd-xampp.conf and ensure the following lines are present in this order:

   LoadFile "/xampp/php/php5ts.dll"
   LoadModule php5_module "/xampp/apache/bin/php5apache2_2.dll"

4. Replace C:\xampp\php\php.ini with C:\xampp\php\php.ini-dist
   Uncomment the lines:

   ;extension=php_mbstring.dll
   ;extension=php_pdo_sqlite.dll

   Replace the line

   magic_quotes_gpc = On

   with

   magic_quotes_gpc = Off

5. Copy all files in the C:\xampp\php\ to C:\xampp\apache\bin\ (do not copy the subdirectories or their contents).

After following the above steps, restart your Apache service (this can be done using C:\xampp\xampp-control.exe or manually through the control panel/command prompt). Your PHPinfo should indicate that the upgrade has been successful.

I will update this post if I discover any problems from using this method, or a cleaner (automated) means of performing the upgrade.

I'm moving into exam / dissertation territory now. My updates probably won't be too frequent until they're finished in May. Recently I've started using LaTeX (or to be more exact, MiKTeX, since I'm a Windows user) and have found it to be most useful as a complete replacement for writing scientific reports using Word.

To simplify the process of compiling a pdf using the MiKTeX package, I've written a small batch file that links together all the preparatory processes with ps2pdf. Just download it and then drag and drop the .tex file onto it to get started!

Download make.bat here.

(NOTE - I haven't tested it extensively, so it may not work as expected - make backups!)

//-plasm!d-//

• Fyrwerks is still in development. Roll on PHP 5.3!
  After a dozen iterations, I couldn't settle on a workflow model that met my expectations. In answer to this, I've decided to redesign the Fyrwerks concept to match up with the changes we can expect to see in PHP 5.3 - most notably with the addition of Namespace Support.
• Web 2.0 Projects
  I've had quite a few ideas brewing for some time - plan is to unleash them later this year and get some community development going.
• New Tools & Services
  Do what they say on the tin! Interested in managing your online resources and traffic? I might have a few toys to keep you ahead of the game ... stay tuned!

... and last but not least ...
Greetings to all my subscribers and best wishes for 2009 :-)

//-plasm!d-//

I'm experiencing an 'outside the box' moment. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Kojima intends this image to be shuffled around a bit.

Another possibility: interpret this equation literally ...

i + ! = (!)
i (as in 'I, Hideo Kojima') + NOT (! is a logic symbol) = In Power

Perhaps this is a sign that Hideo is handing over the reigns to someone else? (boo hiss!) In any case, I'm looking forward to seeing the outcome of this interesting teaser!

ADD: Try putting the 'power sign' on the top and use the cross as the body. Looks a tiny bit like the cyborg ninja, no?

Many Googl'd solutions involved rebooting with one repair/installation disk or another, however I've found a quicker way...

The Fix

1. Download MbrFix. [Working mirror at time of writing.]
2. Use mbrfix /drive <num> driveinfo to identify the USB flash drive. The <num> refers to the physical identifier. Start at zero and increment until one of them gives a size reading that matches; this is probably the correct drive.
3. Use mbrfix /drive <num> clean and enter "y" to confirm partition deletion. WARNING: IF YOU DO THIS, DATA RECOVERY FROM THE DRIVE IS DIFFICULT, BE SURE YOU HAVE CHOSEN THE CORRECT DRIVE!
4. Go to Control Panel->Administrative Tools->Disk Management and right-click on the unallocated space. Select create new partition and fill in the details.

This has reset the drive with a healthy partition, you should find it has regained functionality!

]]> http://plasmid.co.uk/2008/12/04/repairing-broken-usb-partition-tables/feed/ 0 http://plasmid.co.uk/2008/12/02/fyrwerks-update/ http://plasmid.co.uk/2008/12/02/fyrwerks-update/#comments Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:06:06 +0000 plasmid http://plasmid.co.uk/?p=96 This project is still very much in early development. Many alterations and additions have been integrated into the final plans; accommodating these will push back a release until early 2009.

More information will be provided once I've modified the framework core to adopt some of the most important changes. The Fyrwerks development site will be uploaded when I get around to finishing it (I am hoping to use the first developmental release to power it!).

//-plasm!d-//

]]> http://plasmid.co.uk/2008/12/02/fyrwerks-update/feed/ 0 http://plasmid.co.uk/2008/10/27/ubuntu-broke-my-mbr/ http://plasmid.co.uk/2008/10/27/ubuntu-broke-my-mbr/#comments Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:24:40 +0000 plasmid http://plasmid.co.uk/?p=82 When installing Ubuntu on to a USB stick it will overwrite your system disk MBR. This is a significant problem for those with multi-boot or a Windows installation (as the system disk can no longer boot without putting in the USB stick each time!). The following is the account of my little adventure in to repairing my laptop disk MBR...


EDIT: At step 7 of the installation, click on the advanced settings and select the drive on which the boot manager should be installed. This has been verified using Ubuntu 8.10rc1. I don't remember seeing this in the menu of 8.04, maybe they should put something so important in a more prominent place (or I should at least look harder)!

The problem

In a nutshell (please forgive the amateur dramatisation):

• You make the reasonable assumption that: because you're installing Ubuntu to a USB stick and not the system partition, it will put GRUB on to the USB stick so you can boot it as a USB-HDD.
• Upon rebooting the system, you find that Ubuntu has OVERWRITTEN your system disk boot partition - uh oh! Inexplicably, Ubuntu still installs GRUB to the USB stick, even though it has modified the system MBR. Booting is now impossible without the USB stick plugged in! (oh dear, oh dear!)
• After furious searching, you can't find a working XP installation disk so try to use this little guide on downloading the recovery console to rebuild your MBR.
• Rebooting once again, you find the recovery console BSODs before you can even touch the fixmbr command.
• Getting desperate now, you Google again for anyone else who might have the same problem but find they're using Vista and this is inapplicable to your situation.
• You spend the next hour facepalming until your hand starts to bleed ...

The solution (hurrah!)

Fortunately, Google did come up trumps in the end. A little tool know as MbrFix can be run from within Windows to fix the problem and dispose of the broken GRUB once and for all!

If you don't fancy reading through the entire manual, here is my 3-step fix:

1. Download a copy of MbrFix.exe
2. Extract it anywhere on your hard disk.
3. Run the program (as admin) with these parameters:

   MbrFix /drive 0 fixmbr /yes

After restarting, your system should boot Windows as normal!

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