Solution to an Unresponsive Zune Pad
The Zune Pad on my 80GB Zune was unresponsive for a day or so and a normal reset or restore didn’t work because they require the Zune pad to be working. This worked for me, give it a try: Plug Zune
Archive: 2009
Solution to the exception: "the data necessary to complete this operation is not yet available" when debugging Windows Mobile apps
The exception “the data necessary to complete this operation is not yet available” can mean that the app you are trying to debug is already running on the device. Go to the device, close the app and t
Solution to the Windows Task Scheduler "Start only if the following network connection is available" disabled issue
Not sure why, but the “Start only if the following network connection is available” option is disabled for scheduled tasks if the task is configured for: “Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, or Windows 2
How to Send a Text Message from ATT.com
I spent about 20 mins with ATT technical support today trying to figure out how to send a Text from their website. Apparently they did some website updates and the “Send Text Message” option is buried
Solution to the Exception: Connection failed. The device security configuration disallowed the connection. Ensure that you have the appropriate certificates on your device for development.
You will get this exception if you try to debug on a physical device from Visual Studio and haven’t install the debug certificates. “Connection failed. The device security configuration disallowed th
How to Configure Your Mouse So You Never Have To Double-Click Again
My beloved Microsoft Trackball Explorer mouse died recently and I was amazed to find that the price increased from about $70 to $600 (new) and $190 (used). I like the mouse, but not enough to shell ou
How to Create a Windows 7 Custom Key Command
Sometimes you want a key command (keycommand) that works across all of your Windows Desktop. For example, let’s say that you write a lot of email and you want to be able to pop open Gmail’s compose pa
Zoom H4n Review
I picked up the Zoom H4n not too long ago for my concert and rehearsal recordings. While I’m really happy with the quality of the recordings there are some significant design flaws that prevent it fr
How to Export RSS Feeds to an OPML File in Outlook 2010
For some reason this feature is hidden in Outlook 2010. Click the Office Button in the upper left hand corner. [ Click “Open” and then “Import” [ Import and Export Wizard Dialog Appears. Select “
How to Highlight Rows Based on a Cell Value in Excel
Here’s how to highlight rows based on a cell value in Excel 2007 and Excel 2010. Reference this page for previous versions of Excel Select the table you want to apply the custom formatting to [ Go
Microsoft will Donate 8 Meals to Feeding America for Every IE8 Download
Microsoft will donate 8 meals to Feeding America for every IE8 download. Very creative way to get people fed.
Dimecasts.net – A great Video Based Learning Resource for Developers
I love short and sweet learning. That is exactly what Dimecasts.net provides. Videos that are 10 minutes or less (hence the “dime” in the name) and cover many dev topics, such as design patterns, LINQ
How to Create a New Category in Outlook
Creating a new category in Outlook isn’t very intuitive. Right click on the item you want to categorize Select “Categorize” Select “All Categories” Click the “New…” button Enter the Name of
Solution to the "You tried to assign the Null value to a variable that is not a Variant data type." Exception
By default the DataSource wizard passes parameters for AutoNumber primary keys. If you are getting this error: You tried to assign the Null value to a variable that is not a Variant data type. Then yo
Solution to the "Format of the initialization string does not conform to specification starting at index 0." Exception
You are probably using the wrong DbConnection class. If you are using Access then make sure you use OleDbConnection, not SqlConnection…and vice versa. Alternatively you could be referencing your MDB f
Solution to "Operation must use an updateable query" Exception when writing to an Access Database from ASP.NET
Could be a couple of things: The file is marked as read-only. Right click on file, uncheck “read only”.2. The application pool identity doesn’t have write permissions to the folder that contains th
Mobile Browser Detection in ASP.NET
Before last week the only two viable Mobile Browser Detection options were: WURFL – Great for non-.NET solutions. .NET APIs lack support2. DeviceAtlas – Great for .NET solutions, but it’s starts at
Mobile Web Design Book References
I just finished Cameron Moll’s “Mobile Web Design” book. Not only is it a great book…short, sweet and comprehensive, but it has a lot of great references. I figured I’d help others find the references
Solution to "To install the software, you must log on as a member of the Administrators group." error when installing a Canon Printer
I had to install my Canon MP980 software on to my new Windows 7 laptop and even though my domain account is in the Administrators group I was getting this error: “To install the software, you must log
How to copy tables from one Access database to another
It’s simple. Use the import function. Open the destination database. Right click in the table pane. Select Import. Choose the origination database. Choose the tables you want to import. Select to co
Access Database Membership, Profile, Role and Personalization Providers for ASP.NET
ASP.NET doesn’t ship with Membership, Profile, Role or Personalization providers out of the box. Imar Spaanjaars has a great article on how to setup a site using the “Sample Access Providers” provided
Windows Live Sign-In Assistant Conflicts with Outlook IRM
If you are trying to read a protected mail using Outlook and are getting prompted to enter a Windows Live Id instead of your network credentials it is because there is a conflict between Outlook IRM a
Solution to the cmsscciabstractionlayer.cpp Line number: 5892 error
I often get this error when trying to bind a project or solution to a VSS provider in Visual Studio through File->Source Control->Change Source Control. Microsoft Visual Studio Unexpected error
Hidden Facebook Status Codes
I installed win7 today and had to post about it… Facebook converts <3 to a heart…how cute. What other hidden Facebook codes are out there?
Solution to Method has no implementation (no RVA) Error
If you get this exception _System.TypeLoadException: Could not load type ‘x’ from assembly ‘xx, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null’ because the method ‘SendMessage’ has no implemen
How to Reuse TreeNodeCollection in Windows Forms apps
I’m creating an app and need the same data set for two tree views. Nodes.AddRange only works with a TreeNode[] and the TreeNodeCollection is read-only and doesn’t have a ctor. I first tried something
Delete All Outlook RSS Feeds
My Outlook RSS Feeds were in a really funky state this morning. I had to create a new profile and I had RSS Sync enabled. When that is the case Outlook re-adds all Feeds that you have ever added to th