BeatificaBytes

The Joys of Computing

Author: vletroye

  • Connect to TFS from VS with multiple accounts

    Assuming that you are using Windows Integration Authentication to access TFS, any instances of Visual Studio run during a Windows session will always use the current user to access TFS… Fortunately, there is a simple trick to connect on TFS with multiple accounts without starting new Windows sessions with other users.

    Click to Read More

    If like me you are a TFS administrator, you could indeed need to switch quite often from one user account to another. e.g.: to work in TFS with another profile (Contributor or Builder) and validate various configuration settings (security, etc…).

    In such a case, the easiest is to right-click on the Visual Studio Shortcut (e.g.: in the Start Menu >  All Programs > etc…) and select “Run As…”. Then enter the windows account to be used to connect to TFS.

    Notice: Each time you will do that for the first time with a new account, Visual Studio could start much slower than usually as it has to create a new profile…

    Notice: The account used to “Run As…” Visual Studio won’t become the new default account. I.e.: it won’t be reused the next time you run Visual Studio!

    You can also edit the properties of the shortcut to Visual Studio (or create a copy of that shortcut). Then, click on the “Advanced” button in the “Shortcut” tab and tick the option box “Run with different credentials”. Doing that, you will always be prompted to enter an account when running Visual Studio.

    To permanently change the default account used by Visual Studio to connect on TFS, I read that we have to change the credentials used for the that TFS server in the “Credentials Manager” (Control Panel > User Accounts > Credential Manager). Unfortunately  I may not do that here at the office :/

    To check with which user you are connected to TFS, check-out any file and have a look on the “User” column in the “Source Control Explorer”.

    Notice: You may run two instances of Visual Studio with distinct accounts simultaneously. There won’t be any “conflict”.

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  • Drivers Update Monitor: My-Config

    My-Config
    My-Config

    My-Config is from far the best and less intrusive online tool I found to check if your drivers are all up-to-date. And it’s free.

    Click to Read More

    My-Config which is mainly a web based tool (online) can detect your hardware and software configuration. It find next the appropriate drivers and  search for WHQL-certified (or beta as an option) updates compatible with your computer on the web site “TousLesDrivers.com”. It comes however with an offline modules to, among other, run analysis when disconnected from Internet.

    Depending on your hardware (i.e.: if there are the adequate sensors) My-Config is also able to report on your components’ activity: voltage or temperature of the processor, of the graphics card, etc. .

    After a complete analysis of your PC, you should focus on the summary pane. This one displays the drivers for which an update has been found. Next to each one, you have a button to download the update from “touslesdrivers.com” web site.

    The other panes show information on your hardware, installed applications, running process, startup programs, …. But nothing out of the ordinary here.

    A great feature is however the “network mode“. The offline module of My-Config can indeed be installed on remote PC in your LAN and configure to run as a service protected with a password. This remote service can next be query from any PC to display its analysis report. The offline module can be configured as a service via the menu Start > All Programs > ma-config.com > Settings. In that window, select the Network mode, a password, and click “start”.

    On PC not connected to Internet, you can run an offline analysis using the offline module via the menu Start > All Programs > ma-config.com > Settings. In that window, click the “Detect” button. This is going to save an analysis report in a file. Copy this file on a USB ley and go to a PC connected to internet. Finally, upload the file on http://www.ma-config.com/en/detectoffline (see the bottom of that page)

    Notice: if you PC runs fine, there is no reason to update anything. Updates are usually more a source of issues than a real improvement for your PC (except “Security” updates)…

    To check for programs update, have a look on Sumo

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  • File Unlocker: Lock Hunter

    Lock Hunter
    Lock Hunter

    Lock Hunter is a must have for me. It helps to find which process is locking a file that you want to, e.g.: remove, replace or edit…

    Click to Read More

    I used to use Unlocker but moved to Lock Hunter when I first started with a x64 version of Windows, not supported at that time by Unlocker. Both are freewares.

    Once installed, Lock Hunter add a contextual menu “What is locking this file/folder” on the files and folders in the Windows Explorer. This menu open Lock Hunter to:

    • View the processes locking the file/folder and all its DLLs
    • Kill the locking processes or unload its DLLs
    • Unlock, delete, copy or rename the locked file/folder
    • Delete the locking processes from the PC

    The deleted items are move into the recycle bin’s, so it’s quite “safe”…

    Details: http://lockhunter.com/

    Download: http://lockhunter.com/download.htm

    If you like it, the same company has developed another piece of software (not free) to safely remove Usb devices which are “locked” (and throwing the error “device cannot be stopped” when you try to eject it via the native windows “Safely Remove Hardware” systray icon) : http://safelyremove.com/download.htm

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  • Software Update Monitor: Sumo

    Sumo
    Sumo

    Sumo is a small software to list all the programs installed on your PC and to automatically check online for patches and updates. Attention: it’s an adware!!!

    Click to Read More

    I like this one as it’s not running in the background to “monitor” the installations and is usually more precise than other similar software which erroneously announce updates. Once Sumo has listed all the programs, I can ignore some of those and it will not check them for updates anymore… It’s also displaying a small icon next to each program to specify if it’s up-to-date or if it has a minor or major update available. The list is sorted to display the major updates first, followed by the minor updates and next the up-to-date programs.

    If you select a program, you can right-click “Run now” to start it (if you don’t remember it) or “Open Containing folder” to access it.

    If you right-click “Get Update”, Sumo opens a page of it’s own web site (KcSoftwares.com) to:

    • show you a link to the program’s official web site
    • let you search the program on a download web site like Softonic, FileHippo, Softpedia, …

    I don’t like this approach which is not efficient compared to other similar softwares with a direct access to the update. But at least it’s not forcing you to use a specific download site. My favorite approach you be to get a direct access to the download page on the program’s official web site. But only an open software with a community updating the list of updates would do that IMO. So far, Sumo is the best software update monitor I did test.

    Details: http://www.kcsoftwares.com/index.php?sumo

    Download: http://www.kcsoftwares.com/index.php?download

    However, really pay attention during the setup of Sumo. It’s coming with many many “sponsored” pieces of software (e.g.: browser toolbar and Add-ons, survey tools, etc, etc …). You have to uncheck all those “options” or decline third parties. The most annoying one is “Relevant Knowledge” (sometimes considered as a spyware because it collects data on your consumer behaviour and it’s able to install itself on your PC without any action required from you. But actually, it’s using interactive surveys to collect those data). When you see this piece of soft prompting you to install, decline ! If you did install it by accident, it can easily be removed as described in Relevant Knowledge FAQ‘s.

    Sumo is a simple “exe”. You can therefore install it, e.g., in a Virtual Machine and copy the “exe” from that machine onto your PC to get rid of the “sponsored” stuff.

    To check for drivers update, have a look on My-Config.

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  • Startup Manager: CodeStuff Starter

    CodeStuff Starter
    CodeStuff Starter

    CodeStuff Starter is the simplest and most efficient piece of software I found to manage the programs that starts automatically whenever windows is loading, as well as all the running services and processes (although I usually use respectively the native “Services Administration Tool” of Windows and “Process Explorer” of SysInternals to manage those). It’s also a freeware

    Click to Read More

    It enumerates usually much more that the native System Configuration’s startup pane (press Start key-R and type msconfig to open this one) and from the following sources:

    • the hidden registry entries used to start a soft once or each time windows boot.
    • the startup folders’ items (accessible via the menu: Start > All Programs > Startup)
    • some of the initialization files inherited from the old windows versions (E.g.: Win.ini)
    The two first sources are grouped by Current User, All Users and Default User (the profile used to create new users). Notice that the native “System Configuration” only shows the sources for the current user…

    Using Starter, the user could choose to disable selected entries, edit them, create new, or delete them permanently (while they can only be disabled via the native “System Configuration” tool of Windows). You have also various interesting contextual menu available on each item, like “search on internet”, “Launch”, “File Properties”, “Explore file folder” and the whole “System context menu”…

    Details: http://codestuff.obninsk.ru/products_starter.html

    Download: http://codestuff.obninsk.ru/products_starter.html

    Found Issue: on Windows 7 x64, CodeStuff starter is not showing entries from “HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run” (local machine) but only from “HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run” (current user) and “HKLM\Wow6432Node\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run”. The native “System Configuration” is therefore still usefull as it’s showing those entries!

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  • Visual Similarity Duplicate Image Finder

    Visual Similarity Duplicate Image Finder
    Visual Similarity Duplicate Image Finder

    I didn’t test many duplicate image finders but Visual Similarity Duplicate Image Finder is  really a great one.

    It’s actually comparing images to find similar ones instead of only looking for “duplicates” issued from multiple copies of the same original picture. E.g.: it’s reporting as similar several photos of the same scene taken with e.g. someone who was moving. It’s also able to find “identical” images (e.g. abstract) with different colors.

    Click to Read More

    This can help you in removing the photos that you do not want, and keep only the best ones.

    Before starting to scan folders, you can specify the minimal percentage of similarity you want between “duplicates”, the minimal/maximal size of the pictures to be compared, as well as the minimal/maximal creation date of those pictures.

    Once found, duplicates are listed and displayed side-by-side in a preview pane.

    A demo version of Visual Similarity Duplicate Image Finder is available. It’s not trial, but has some limitations. E.g.: it’s only displaying the 10 first duplicates found…

    Details: http://www.mindgems.com/products/VS-Duplicate-Image-Finder/VSDIF-About.htm

    Download: http://www.mindgems.com/products/VS-Duplicate-Image-Finder/VSDIF-Download.htm

    I did test several Freewares without being satisfied by any (so far)… the best ones was VisiPics… But even this one didn’t identify the duplicates so well and didn’t display those side-by-side in the preview pane… It remains the very best freeware I found for that.

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  • Samsung Kies licence agreement: “Accept” button not visible

    I am starting to hate Samsung’s softwares as much as those of HP (I experience too many issues with their softs on my PC, mainly due to my atypical hardware, I admit) !

    I have been stuck on the “licence agreement” dialog window of the latest Samsung Kies update for a while because this stupid window does not auto-resize on PC with small display (e.g.: Mini-Laptop). As a consequence, the “accept” button is not visible. And no, it’s not possible to move the window, it’s a fixed size not movable dialog box 🙁

    Fortunately, you can accept the licence agreement with the keyboard.

    Click to Read More

    1. Click on the licence agreement screen to give it the focus.
    2. Press on “Tab” and “Enter” successively until you get a message “do you really want to cancel” (“Tab” move the focus to the next control in the screen. You get the message when the focus reach the “accept” button).
    3. Click “No” (The focus goes back to the “accept” button).
    4. Press “Shift-Tab” to go back to the previous control. This one is the checkbox “I agree” (I guess :))
    5. Press the “Space Bar” to check the checkbox.
    6. Press “Tab” and “Enter” to accept the licence agreement

    That’s it.

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  • Galaxy S2: Hardware ID Missing

    Since a recent Kies update, my Galaxy S2 started to throw the exception “Hardware ID Missing” every time it was plugged into my PC.

    The reason is a “bug” in the version of the SAMSUNG USB Driver for Mobile Phones installed with the Kies update. Fortunately, there is a elementary solution.

    Click to Read More

    This solution consists in installing an older version of the Samsung Driver. E.g.:  v1.4.8.0 available here, or 1.4.103 available here. I did use the 1.4.103 with success. No need to uninstall first the version currently installed. You will simply have to confirm during the setup that you want to install that version although another one is already installed.

    This issue prevents Kies to connect with the phone via USB. Concretely you see the “connecting” message for a while as well as a spinning icon looping indefinitely.

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  • Samsung Kies error: PDLR has stopped working

    After a recent update, Kies started to throw the exception “PDLR has stopped working”.

    If you are looking how to solve that issue, I did google on that too and found a radical solution.

    Click to Read More

    A solution often mentioned on the web is to remove the following line from the config file (or to completely delete the file) :

    [xml][/xml]

    This config file is located in “%programfiles%\Samsung\Kies\External\FirmwareUpdate\KiesPDLR.exe.config” (on x64 platform: “%programfiles% (x86)”).

    This fix didn’t work for me. But another one did the trick: I did an “advanced” uninstall of Kies using the free “Revo Uninstaller” and did next a fresh re-install.

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  • Expand/Collapse content in WordPress

    I am using the plugin “JQuery Collapse-O-Matic” to let the reader expand or collapse parts of my posts…

    The documentation is available on the author’s website. As you can see, there are a lot of options to manage groups, scrolling, colors, pictures, etc, etc, etc…

    Click to Read More

    I mainly use the basic options to display a title to show the content and one to hide it:

    [expand title="Click to Read More" swaptitle="Click to Close"]

    some content

    [/expand]

    I found, so far, once issue with the “WordPress 2012” theme I am using:

    • When there is no content anymore after the closing tag, there is no space left between the collapsed block and the bottom line of the post.
    • If there is one blank line after the closing tag, there is a huge space (several lines) displayed between the collapsed block and the bottom line of the post.
    However, if you apply the “Align Full” style on the opening tag (only), one blank line will be kept between collapsed block and the bottom line of the post, which makes it more readable. Otherwise, the “link” to expand the block is barely visible.
    This issue does also not occur
    • if the opening tag to expand/collapse the block is not at the beginning of the line, i.e.: if there are some text in front of it.
    • if the previous line is not the last one of a paragraph. I.e.: if it ends with a simple line break (Shift-Enter) instead of a end-of-paragraph (Enter).

    Copy the code here above and paste it into your post with Ctrl-Shift-V, to paste-in-plain-text (without formatting!)

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Tags

Acer iDea 510 AirPlay Android Backup DD-WRT DNS DS209+ DS713+ DS1815+ FlexRaid Galaxy Galaxy S2 Galaxy S7 Google Assistant Google Home HTPC Kies MCE MySQL Nabi 2 Nvidia TV Shield One Plus One OnePlus One OpenHab Outlook Philips Hue Plex RAID Raspberry PI Remote Desktop Root Access Samsung Scripts Synology Team Build Visual Studio VMWare Wi-Fi Windows Windows 8 Windows 8.1 Windows 10 Windows Server 2012 XBMC Xpenology

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