Archive for July, 2006

What Is Our Policy On Older Or End Of Support Cycle Operating Systems?

25th July 2006

Here at Really Effective we take pride in trying to release our software for all Windows operating systems since Windows 95 and NT4 even after Microsoft no longer officially offers technical support anymore. At the time of writing Windows NT4, 95, 98, 98 Second Edition and Millennium Edition have reached their end of support cycle. This means it is no longer possible to get developer support from Microsoft and many developer tools are no longer supported by their respective manufacturers on these platforms. Although here at Really Effective we will try to continue to support these operating systems it will inevitably result in specific functionality being disabled in future releases for end of support cycle operating systems or at worse the operating system no longer being supported at all. This will unfortunately mean new releases, updates and bug fixes may not work unless you upgrade your operating system. If you have any queries on this policy please use the link or refer to the official Microsoft article.

A Privileged Instruction Error Is Displayed?

24th July 2006

The Privileged Instruction error is known to occur when using with Windows XP or above and the Internal Speaker options have been selected. This problem which is usually solved by adjusting your security level (more information in the Related Posts section below) seems to occur on some installations regardless of your Administrator level. The current workaround is to ensure you have no active dial up networking connections and change your sound options from Internal Speaker to None or Wave. Instructions for setting up Wave can be found in the help file. The Internal Speaker option directly accesses the internal speaker which is no longer possible due to restrictions that Microsoft have imposed with some Windows XP or above installations.

Related Posts

I Am Not Able To Select / Show Connect Speed?

24th July 2006

Due to various limitations is not able to support connect speed if you use Windows NT4, Windows 2000, Windows XP or above. It is hoped that this limitation will be addressed in a future release.

Installing / Uninstalling On A Restricted User Account (Windows 2000 And Above)

24th July 2006

If you are installing / uninstalling in a restricted user environment and the setup application is telling you to use an account with Administrator or Power User privileges follow the instructions below.

  1. Log In using your restricted user account credentials - the account where you want the application to be installed or uninstalled from.
  2. Click Start - Settings - Control Panel - Users and Passwords. You will need to enter the User Name and Password of an Administrator.
  3. View Properties on the restricted user you are installing the application for and click the Group Membership tab.
  4. Select Other - Administrators and click OK twice. You may be prompted to log out and back in again.
  5. Install the application by double clicking on the downloaded file. You should uncheck the Launch Application option to avoid it interfering with the following step.
  6. Once installation has completed use the Users and Passwords applet to return the user to their Restricted User access level. Like before you will be prompted to log off and back on again.
  7. Start - Programs - Application Name will contain shortcuts for starting the appplication, viewing the readme and displaying the help file.

You should avoid using the Run As command as this can confuse the installation process causing shortcuts to be created in the wrong user accounts.

Related Posts

Windows Has Automatically Hidden My Tray / Notification Icon?

24th July 2006

Windows XP and above automatically hides inactive tray / notification icons. Generally speaking this behaviour is not ideal and can be disabled using the following instructions. Right click on the Start button and select Properties. Click the Taskbar page and uncheck the Hide Inactive Icons option. Once OK is selected all hidden icons will be displayed. If you wish to have more flexibility choose the Customize button on the Taskbar page and select which icons you wish to hide.

Downloading Using Internet Explorer (Windows XP And Above)

24th July 2006

The version of Internet Explorer that comes preinstalled with Windows XP and above has additional security checks that ensure users do not accidently download files. When you click on a download link Internet Explorer may display an Information Bar at the top of the page. If you wish to continue and download the file you can click on the Information Bar message and select Download File from the menu that is displayed.

User Switching (Windows XP And Above)

24th July 2006

Neither or support the new user switching functionality of Windows XP or above. If you wish to switch users you must fully restart Windows. This will avoid issues including the incorrect sound device being selected and unable to access data files the applications need to run successfully. You may find you need to install or in each users environment. In most cases you should be able to select the same installation folder but as before installing any application it is recommended you backup your data files. For example, your Log folder which is normally found in c:\program files\. It is also important if you are experiencing issues to ensure all users have Administration level privileges.

Related Posts

What Is A MD5 Checksum?

24th July 2006

When a new software release is made a MD5 checksum is created. This checksum is then published together with the file to the web site. After you have downloaded the application you run the file through a MD5 checksum creator and compare this value against the value published to the web site.  If both checksums are the same it is unlikely the file has been corrupted, illegally patched or released by someone other than Really Effective. If the verification fails ensure you are downloading the file from the official site and that your download is not corrupted.

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