Android Smartphone device won't connect/display in Windows Media Player 'x' [SOLUTION]

Today I was wanting to transfer my music from my Windows Media Player to my Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 (GT-18160) Android smartphone.

Yet after connecting my smartphone via USB Cable to my PC; it wasn't recognising it as a device. It was recognising it as a camera and I was able to view the files within Windows Explorer so it wasn't a connection problem. However the device would not show within Windows Media Player (version 11 in my case on a 32 bit Windows XP system).

After Googling around I discovered majority of people are having similar problems.

The fix for most cases is you have to install Samsung's software called "Kies". Also install the codec option - really important bit!

After a reboot and connecting my device this time around Windows Explorer recognised the device fully AND Windows Media Player also found the device.

I was then able to sync my music from within Windows Media Player library (see here for aid on syncing your music with Windows Media Player).

OTHER FIXES:

- You need to make sure you have Windows XP SP2 or above!

- You need to make sure you have Windows Media Player 10 or above! Get the latest version here.

How to get The Simpsons Hit and Run working on Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 (32 / 64 bit)

Post Updated 21st Aug 2017 for Windows 8/8.1 and 10 users :)

OK, for the past few days I've been troubleshooting this issue and I found the perfect fix for both Windows XP Professional/Home Edition, Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 (both 32 bit and 64 bit versions).

First Step: INSTALL THE GAME

Win XP: You can install to the default directory without any issues.

Win Vista / 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10 (32 and 64): Install to a folder on your main OS drive such as C:\GAMES\SimpsonsHnRun

*** IMPORTANT *** Have no spaces in the folder to install to!

During installation you will be asked if you want to install DirectX 8.1 ... SELECT NO!

Step 2: Make sure you have DirectX 9 installed!

For XP you should automatically have DirectX 9.0c installed. If not get it here:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=34429

For Windows Vista / 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10 install DirectX 9 from here:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=35


NOTE: Windows 10 users may need to enable DirectPlay in Legacy Components.

To enable Direct Play feature on Windows 10:

1) In your Start Menu, open Programs and Features (it's also in Control Panel)
2) In the left hand side menu, click on "Turn Windows features ON or OFF"
3) In the list that loads, make sure there is a tick in the box for "Legacy Components"
4) Click the plus symbol to expand the "Legacy Components"
5) Make sure the box is ticked for "Direct Play"
6) Click OK
-- If there are issues, temporarily disable your anti-virus program as this may stop the Legacy Components installing correctly.

Step 3: Set the executable properties

a) Right click on the desktop shortcut and select 'Properties'

-- If you don't have a desktop shortcut navigate to the main game folder and right click on the main game executable 'Simpsons.exe'

b) Click on the compatibility tab and set the following settings:

-- For Windows XP, set only "Windows 98/ Windows ME" and "Disable visual themes".
-- For Windows 7 and Vista users, please use the settings illustrated:

-- For Windows 8, 8.1 and 10 users, use the following settings:

Thanks to MrCorZa for the above screenshot.

Now try and run the game!

If it runs, great! You're done and you can now play the game.

If not then there is one other option you can do to gaurantee the game will work (I had to do this next step).

Step 4: Install a no-cd crack to get the game working

Don't worry if it doesn't work yet as you can do what I did and download a "no cd crack". This is not illegal in any way. A no cd crack is what it states. It is a main program executable file which has been edited so that the game CD is not required in order to play the game. It skips disk checking securities.

a) Go to http://gamecopyworld.com/

b) Click on the main site link "Main #1" if it is online, if not select another mirror site which is online

c) Read and click on the "Enter" button

d) Once the page loads, on the right hand side there is a heading "PC", click on "[T-Z]"

e) Scroll through the list for the game title "The Simpsons Hit & Run" and select the title link

f) Once the page has loaded click on "The Simpsons: Hit & Run [ENGLISH] No-CD/Fixed EXE #1"

g) Click on the File Archive [922KB] icon (a blue disk - far left of the header)

h) A Pop-up window will appear with an advert loaded ... in the top right select "Skip Ad" when it is shown after the countdown

i) Once loaded download the "flt-har.rar" file from any of the mirror links and save it to your downloads folder (or somewhere temporary like the desktop)

j) You will need 7-zip to be able to unzip the compressed rar file

k) Once uncompressed you will have a replacement "Simpsons.exe" ... Cut and paste this into the main game folder and replace (over-write) the file when asked

l) Double check that the properties are still set as mentioned in step 3 above

n) Play the game and it should now play without any issues

Cheapest Place to buy Pens and Pencils ...

This web site is one for the bookmark / favourites menu!

Cheapest place to buy/purchase pens and pencils.

http://www.tigerpens.co.uk

Razer Mice - Are they worth the price? Plus a cheaper alternate just as good!

Trying to find a good 5 button or even 7 button mouse these days is pretty easy. Razer mice are by far some of the best that you can get on the market.  They have great in depth dpi and the ability to customise each feature including but not limited to the flashing logo.

These mice can range from £30 - £60+ depending on where you shop for them.

However there are great cheaper alternates on Ebay which you can import from countries such as China, Hong Kong (these being the main two) etc.

For example if you search "5 button mouse" within the mice category of Ebay. You can browse through yourself on either the auction tab or the buy it now. you may also change the search criteria to 6 or 7 button mouse to a greater selection.

I would recommend looking at "Top-Tech-Ltd" (sorted lowest to highest including P&P) shop range as they have a very good selection starting from as low as £5.95; their most expensive (currently of posting this post) is £29.99. Therefore far cheaper than Razer.

However when it arrives you may find that the 'Back' and 'Forward' buttons are the wrong way around. In which case you can fix this by downloading and running X-Mouse Button Control. This program is fantastic and allows you to customise the buttons on your mouse.

I personally bought the '7D Cruiser Transformer 2 II USB'. It's smaller than I thought it was but the quality is fantastic.

Hope you found this helpful in making a choice and saving yourself a lot of cash!

Guide to installing Open Transport Tycoon (inc. TTD Patch and addons recommended for UK)

This guide has been updated recently.
Please visit the following blog post:
http://charityalbumman.blogspot.co.uk/2017/08/recommended-open-transport-tycoon.html

Windows XP Pro BSOD Event ID 7000 "Parallel Port Driver Service failed ..." [Solution]

Do you keep getting blue screen of death (BSOD) or sudden system power off with a restart? I had this recently when playing OMSI Bus Simulator but this can happen in other circumstances as well from the research I did on this. Either way this should help you fix this issue.

If you do check 'System' within your Event Viewer (Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Event Viewer). Look out for:

Event ID 7000, Source "Service control Manager", Description "The Parallel port driver service failed to start due to the following error: The service cannot be started, either because it is disabled or because it has no enabled devices associated with it.

Print Screen:

SOLUTION

Step 1) Boot into your motherboards BIOS and disable the parallel port (see your motherboards manual on how to do this).

If you don't know what make and model your motherboard is then use PC Wizard to find this out so you can download the manual from your motherboards manufactures web site (Google the manufacture if you don't know their web site address).

Step 2) Within Windows XP Professional open Device Manager (Start - Run, type in "devmgmt.msc" without the quotes and click ok).

Within Device Manager click on the 'View' menu and select 'Show hidden devices'. Scroll through device manager until you find 'Non-plug and Play Drivers - Parallel port driver', Right click and select 'Disable', click 'Yes' when presented with the stop functioning warning and restart when asked.

Can't play Command and Conquer Generals Zero Hour Online with 1.04 Patch [Solution]

If you're having problems with C & C Generals Zero Hour online whereby you can connect after applying the 1.04 patch but you cannot play against other players due to having a "different version"; it is more than likely you have applied a no cd crack.

The solution to this is to ...

1) Uninstall C & C Generals Zero Hour (not Generals, just Zero Hour).

2) Then visit the EA Games folder where you installed Zero Hour (default is C:\ Program Files \ EA Games \ Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour) and delete the entire directory "Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour". If you cannot delete it due to write permissions or access denied; simply reboot your computer and then you should be able to.

3) Re-install C & C Generals Zero Hour. After installation apply the 1.04 patch (either by downloading it yourself from here, or by going in-game, then online and applying it that way).

4) To apply the no cd crack correctly so you can play others online download the no cd crack from here (the one named "C&C Generals: Zero Hour v1.04 [ENGLISH] No-CD/Fixed EXE").

Once downloaded copy across the 'generals.exe' only to your Zero Hour directory and over-write once prompted.

Do not copy across the 'game.dat' (about 6.2mb); simply delete it as this is the file which caused the initial problem.

5) Load Zero Hour and you should be able to play online against other users now.

Cannot download Flight Plan in vroute? [Solution]

Hi all,

Not sure if any of you out there are flight sim enthusiasts; probably some of you are!

If like me you've recently had problems whereby you've chosen a flight; selected export, chosen your flight time and aircraft, date etc ... then clicked on the button which creates the FP ... only to have internet explorer open and suddenly close ... there is another way to download the flight plan :)

Simply right click on the link within vroute and select 'Save target as ...'; then save the flight plan to your flight plan folder and away you go as normal.

hope this helps someone because it irritated me for hours today.

Recommended PC Gaming Headsets [Plantronics Only] Comparison

Hi all,

Today I'm doing a post on PC Gaming Headsets by Plantronics; including a basic comparison.

I've listed these in order of lowest price to highest price.

Firstly though let's confirm the technical jargon and what the differences are:

1) Difference between Closed-ear and Open-ear

In general, closed ear designs cup closer to the ear and block out more noise (and arguably better bass), although some users find the open ear designs, which allow more air flow, to be more comfortable.

So, in summary:

Closed-Ear Headsets:

• Fit closer to the ear (reducing air flow)
• Block out more background noise
• Prevent others from hearing your headphones
• Provide better bass

Plantronics Closed-Ear Headsets: Gamecom 367

Open-Ear Headsets:

• Allow air-flow around the ears
• Many find the air-flow more comfortable (though it's matter of taste)
• Allow you to hear some background noises
• Allow others to partially here your headphones

Plantronics Open-Ear Headsets: Gamecom 380 and Gamecom 780

2) Difference between USB and Audio Jack connectivity

There are two types of connectivity to your PC / Mac. There is USB and Audio Jack.

USB you should be easily aware of by now because majority of peripherals such as printers, scanners, joysticks etc tend to connect to your PC / Mac this way.

Audio Jack is a connection which you use for microphones and speakers or headphones. As a headset includes both a microphone as well as headphones, you find that there are two audio jack connectors with a headset. I.e. one for the microphone which plugs into your microphone port on your soundcard (or PC case front panel); coloured pink. Then one for the headphones which plugs into the stereo output port on your sound card (or PC case front panel); coloured green. Note on some sound cards or PC front panels the ports may not be coloured (i.e. just plain). In such a case consult your manual as to which is the stereo output and which is the microphone port.

3) The comparison Table

Google Shopping Link	Open / Closed-ear	Wired / Wireless	Connection Type	Features	Controls	Price (£)
Gamecom 307	Open-ear	Wired	Audio Jack 3.5mm	Rich studio-quality audio, 40mm stereo speakers, soft swivel-mounted ear cushions for comfort and easy storage	volume and mute on wire	16+
Gamecom 367	Closed-ear	Wired	Audio Jack 3.5mm	Enhanced for Gaming, 40mm stereo speakers, soft swivel-mounted ear cushions for comfort and easy storage, padded headband for comfort, noise cancelling mic, strengthened cords for durability	volume and mute on wire	16+
Gamecom 380	Open-ear	Wired	Audio Jack 3.5mm	Enhanced for Gaming, 40mm stereo speakers, soft swivel-mounted ear cushions for comfort and easy storage, padded headband for comfort, noise cancelling mic, strengthened cords and joints for durability	volume and mute on left ear	18+
Audio 655 DSP	Open-ear	Wired	USB	Rich studio-quality audio, 40mm stereo speakers, soft ear cushions for comfort	volume and mute on left ear	23+
Audio 995	Open-ear	Wireless	USB	Rich studio-quality audio, 40mm stereo speakers, soft ear cushions for comfort, noise cancelling mic	volume and mute on left ear	25+
Gamecom 780	Open-ear	Wired	USB	Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound, Enhanced for Gaming, 40mm stereo speakers, soft swivel-mounted ear cushions for comfort and easy storage, padded headband for comfort, noise cancelling mic, strengthened cords and joints for durability	volume and mute on left ear	33+
Official Plantronics Product List - If the product isn't listed use the search bar to find the product page for specific details.

Cheapest place to buy printer ink?

This is one very good place to get printer ink cartridges:

http://www.cartridgesave.co.uk/

http://www.inkntoneruk.co.uk/

Turns out cheaper than Cartridge world as well.

Thanks to my friend Dan Seager for this great saver.

Updated Sept 2015.