Device problems in Windows generally mean device driver problems. A driver can be outdated, missing, corrupt, or simply not installed properly. In the Windows device manager, the device will report an error code. Code 39 is one example of a device error code.
Continue Reading Add comment February 3rd, 2009
Unless you’ve been living under a cave for the past few years, Windows Vista is not exactly the hottest thing in the computer world right now. Ever since its release, it’s been plagued with compatibility issues, performance issues, a messy user interface, and unsupported drivers. It’s caused a lot of its users to switch back to XP, or adventure into some of Apple’s offerings, forcing Microsoft to force its hand with Windows 7 (which is rumored to be available this year). Most people would rather do without it.
So why has it taken The New York Times so long to finally get behind the vast majority of users?
Granted, it’s not like The New York Times is the world’s source for IT-based news and opinion. They have a lot of stories to report on, seven days a week, and griping about the unpopular OS is hardly front-page material. But this long? After numerous entries on the blogosphere–formal and informal alike–about its faults? What about the vast number of professional opinions from people with years of dedicated IT experience? Is the prestigious newspaper simply ignoring the encyclopedia of knowledge from the culture of the Internet, or are they simply not observant about things not effecting them?
I guess the moral of this quick and easy story is to just figure out where you get your tech news. Obviously a few good sites come to mind: PC World, Ars, Gizmodo, and dozens of other websites. (Including us? Throw us a bone here!) This is simply more proof that the truly tech-savvy are the ones that should be handling this sort of thing.
Add comment January 23rd, 2009
There’s a lot of talk about DICE’s Mirror’s Edge, but don’t take my word for it, as there are plenty of articles discussing its worth as a game. Whether you enjoyed it or not is up to you, but we can at least take the comfort of know that NVIDIA is still supporting the product with a new driver for its graphics cards.
Just released yesterday, the new driver is compatible with the 8-, 9-, and 200 series of graphics cards as long as they have at least 256 megs of memory attached to them. Since that will be about 99% of those of you reading this, maybe this could be the reason to finally grab Mirror’s Edge for PC. If not, then perhaps watching a side-by-side comparison of the new driver does for you may entice you to fork over the $49.99 for the game.
Personally, while the add-on is nice and definitely pushes the boundaries of what PC gaming can do, having it for the purpose of Mirror’s Edge seems like kind of a moot point. True, the engine will definitely be used in other games in the future, but the fact that it’s only going for this one right now kind of makes it not worth it. Things are definitely looking good in the near future, however.
Add comment January 21st, 2009
Unless you’ve got Windows Vista running and you’re using products whose companies are neck-deep in relations with Microsoft, chances are that finding updated drivers are going to be tough, leaving your hardware outdated and possibly slower or more vulnerable than they should be. Fortunately, with so many devices out there, some companies have taken the time to archive, organize, and create a simple scanning program to make sure that hardware is kept up to date.
There are already a few sites out there, but DriverAgent.com is probably the easiest and most user-friendly one out there. After a quick 416kb download and an almost as quick scan of your computer’s hardware, the software compares the drivers you currently have with the over 1.2 million updates available, making sure that you have the most recent update possible.
Just doing a search found six out of date drivers on my computer, which was five more than what Vista’s Windows Update caught when performing the same search. The caveat comes when you try to download said drivers; a yearly subscription fee of $29.95. While the service is great and reliable, it’s tough to justify the cost when there are slightly more inconvenient ways to get the updates to your drivers. The company also throws in a few extra programs into the package, but how often one would need to use any of them is beyond anyone’s guess.
Until then, stick with the old fashioned way and find each driver manually. We’ll be sure to keep you posted on any developments on driver update programs we find that’ll be worth your time.
Add comment January 16th, 2009
Problems with USB devices are frequently caused by power problems. Unplugging a USB device may result in another USB device not working, or Windows returning from hibernation causes USB devices to be ‘unknown’. Disabling power management on USB Root Hubs can help.
Continue Reading 11 comments January 10th, 2009
Most device manager errors are caused by driver problems, but in the case of CD-ROM and DVD drives, there is a possibility that a code 39 error is caused by a registry problem. Learn how to fix code 39 errors in these cases.
Continue Reading Add comment January 10th, 2009
USB devices are often causing problems with Windows PC users. Most of these problems can be solved by reinstalling the software or drivers for the USB device. But in some cases the cause of the problem is not that clear. If you do not know where to look, make sure you check the USB power usage, as this can also be a problem.
Continue Reading Add comment January 9th, 2009
The Bios is used to enable and disable onboard hardware devices, configure your system, and to tune your system’s performance. But if things go wrong, incorrect Bios settings can also be a cause for errors. Loading the default Bios settings or resetting the Bios can help in those cases.
Continue Reading 2 comments November 30th, 2008
If Windows encounters a STOP error and shows the blue screen of death, by default an automatic reboot will take place to recover from the error. If you want to analyze the STOP error, you need to stop Windows from rebooting.
Continue Reading 16 comments June 14th, 2008
It’s been almost half a year since Vista raided PCs all over the world. By now, many would already think or expect to see Microsoft’s new operating system’s interface to be flashed on desktops and laptops in most establishments, especially those which can afford a mass migration to XP’s successor.
Surprisingly though, it is the small consumers who embraced Vista with open and welcoming arms, while all the new OS got from big businesses were cold shoulders and suspicious eyes. So why are companies reluctant to give Microsoft a break?
Same Old Fears
It’s quite hard to imagine that with the advent of efficient device driver finders, many are still playing the incompatibility issue to the hilt in justifying the delay of their migration. Many consumers are happy with their Vista experience, with quite a sizeable number of them claiming that the incompatibility fear that sprouted during the first few weeks of Vista’s release as just an exaggeration.
But are corporations really just digging up autopsied and cleared corpses just to scare themselves from trying the new wave in PC operation?
Not Similarly Situated
Experts admit that the worries expressed by big businesses are not entirely unfounded. Though individual Vista customers are dispelling incompatibility fears, analysts believe that such satisfaction might not immediately be experienced by large customers. For one thing, companies have hundreds or thousands of computers. The applications that they use are definitely more complex and numerous. Hence, the chances of encountering incompatibility problems are equally huge. Such a problem might seem to be just a minor headache for individual consumers. However, such a dilemma is enough to scare the wits out of any IT manager and cripple the business to a standstill.
At Home
Every successful businessman would tell you that the secret to success is to stick to formulas or products that are already tried and tested. It is not surprising then to see that many businesses are still squeezing the mileage out of their existing operating systems. It took years for IT managers to perfect the utilization and harmonization of XP into their corporate network. Such an investment would definitely be put to waste if they’ll hastily migrate to the new OS. Indeed, such a move would seem to be ill-advised and risky.
Waiting for SP1
Another reason why large companies are temporarily shelving their migration plans is due to the delay in the release of Vista’s first service pack. SP1 is expected to contain corrections to dozens of Vista errors, as well as drivers which would ensure that the OS would work smoothly with existing hardware and software. The collection of patches and other helpful applications for Vista is slated to be released by early next year. Many are expecting that SP1 would provide the answer to many of Vista’s current woes.
Its Own Doing
The continued support of Microsoft to Vista’s predecessor also discourages businesses to embrace the new product and dispose of the old one which they spent millions of dollars in. Indeed, as every company would want to make the most out of their investments, it is not surprising to see why they are holding on to their old OS as if it’s still just a year old.
While big businesses posed many reasonable justifications to their refusal to migrate, time will come when installing Vista would already become a necessity. Once Microsoft cuts the lifeline out of XP, it could already breathe life to the new OS more effectively.
Add comment August 17th, 2007
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