I have Windows XP SP2 which is stuck in Safe Mode. I would like to get it out without doing a “Repair” from the CD. I have checked the boot.ini and it appears to be OK. It appears I may have some startup programs, missing but I am not sure.

sfc/scannow do not run in Dos or safe mode.

Once this problem had surfaced in my friends machine and it was a driver issue. Did you install/ update drivers lately? If yes, remove them or try reinstalling a fresh set of drivers for all your devices.

I have some audio issues on my Windows XP. It has an ASUS M2N32-SLI Deluxe board with the latest audio driver for Sound Max installed. The device manager sees the device without any conflicts or issues. However, I am not getting any sound. If I look at the audio device in the control panel, it is grayed out with no audio device available. I’ve tried removing and reinstalling the device driver several times, but same result. Thanks for any help.
- Mack

Click ‘Start‘, then on ‘Run‘, then type ‘services.msc‘ and click ‘OK‘
Check if service “Windows Audio” is in automatic mode and running. If not, then double click that service to set “Start up type” to automatic or click the ’start’ button to start the service.

I am looking for a free, fast, good tool to change ID3 tags in the least amount of clicks possible. I have a lot of files to be processed.
- Mike

I will recommend Tag Scanner for this kinda work. It can do batch processing of ID3 tags and renaming of files as well.

I use windows explorer a lot in Vista with select all or Ctrl+a to select multiple files, now the annoying thing is it works perfectly just like on XP, but here’s the catch, after a while using it suddenly I cannot select multiple files anymore or even use the Ctrl+a key (even tried on file and select all) because it’s either grayed out or just won’t let me, now by that time i have to select one by one which is very annoying!

- Jodi

This is due to a rogue setting which is created is perpetuated by the saved folder view settings.

• Run Regedit.
• In Regedit, navigate to the following key:
  HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\Local Settings\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags

In it try to identify the the BAG number which is causing the selection problem. Delete that single bag entry. If you are unable to identify it then delete the entire Bags folder. All that these Bags entries do is remember folder view settings so you would not be deleting anything vital. Moreover, they get re-created once you logoff, logon and start using Windows Explorer.

I currently have a problem you have posted a message about. I have a hard drive with xp pro w/ sp2 that i am trying to get some files off of so i set it as slave and put it in a computer with xp home w/ sp2 installed. Every time I try to access the admin folder it tells me access denied. I tried to do what you said about turning off simple file sharing but the advanced button is not there. I go to my computer,tools,folder options, and then the view tab. there is an advanced box but no where in there can you turn off simple file sharing. I went to Microsoft’s knowledge base they say nothing about it either. I’m not sure if you have seen this before but any help you could give me would be great.
- Jeff Thomas

You can turn off simple file sharing in Windows XP Professional, but not in Windows XP Home. Don’t worry though, there is a way around this. You won’t get to turn off simple file sharing but you still will be able to modify the settings you want to modify.

• Restart your computer in Safe Mode. To do this, follow these steps:
  • Restart your computer. Before you see the Windows XP logo, hold down the F8 key.
  • Select Safe Mode.
• Login in as Administrator. You’ll get a warning about running in Safe Mode. Click Yes.
• Find the folder whose permissions you wish to change. Right click on that folder, and select Properties.
• Change the properties of the desired folder(s). Voila. You can now change all the properties of the folder just like you would in Windows 2000.

The start page of my browser has changed to protectionband.com. Could you please tell me how this could have happened and how can I rectify it?
- Divya

Your computer has been infected with a trojan called Zlob. Zlob hijacks your homepage to protectionband.com and generates warning messages to try and get you to buy fake programs such as SpyDawn, SpyHeal, Antivermins and others. You just dont need to get rid of protectionband.com start page, but also the Zlob Trojan that implanted it there.

You can use SpyBot S&D or Ad-Aware SE Personal Edition to get rid of it.

I was sending some messages to a friend on MSN. He got angry and we had a fight. Now he never seems to be online/ replies to my messages. I wish to know if it is possible to know if he has blocked me, without asking him.
- Christelle

You can use a program called GAIM. It lets you log in to most chat facilities like MSN, YAHOO, AIM etc and also tells you exactly who all have blocked you.

My friend was talking something about Steganography. Could you brief me what is it about/ give me sources for more information about it?
- Kalu

Steganography is the art and science of writing hidden messages in such a way that no one apart from the intended recipient knows of the existence of the message; this is in contrast to cryptography, where the existence of the message itself is not disguised, but the content is obscured.

Source: Wikipedia

You can get a lot of information about the same at Wikipedia.

Have you figured out the workaround for adding Lexmark printers in Vista?
- Chuck

You can get the Windows Vista compatible drivers for Lexmark over here. Just click on the appropriate link and you will get a page where you will be able to download the appropriate driver for your printer.

I need to rename some files in one of my folders. The problem is that the folder contains more than 2000 pictures and videos. Is there a way to rename them all at once with a prefix/root name and then a number for each picture?
- Paco

Follow the following steps:-

1. Start Windows Explorer. To do so, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Windows Explorer.
2. Select multiple files in a folder. To do so, press and hold down the CTRL key while you are clicking files.
3. After you select the files, press F2.
4. Type the new name, and then press ENTER.

If you make a mistake when you try to rename multiple files, you can press CTRL+Z, or click Undo Rename on the Edit menu to undo file rename action you just completed, and you can repeat this process as needed.