I’ve been struggling with an issue with Windows 7 since the Beta was released. At first, I thought it was because of the Realtek drivers or the Beta status of Windows release. But that was not it. So what’s the issue:

My Mic shows fine in the Sound Device Manager and I can hear it fine but it wont record. In other words, the mic works, I can hear it, but it won’t record. What else was annoying that any application that I tried to use the mouse with told me that Mic wasn’t available or working. I know most of the issues related to Mics are because people do not have proper drivers installed or their Mic is not properly configured but this one’s a kind of its own.

The reason behind the problem:

I believe it is because of Applications taking exclusive control of a device. When windows starts up, the device goes into a state where the exclusive control of the device is not released and it becomes unavailable to other services or programs. This is the reason why you can see the Mic in the control panels and windows reports it as working but you won’t see any activity.

How to solve it:

Yeah, to the solution already. Let’s go through this step by step. I will always refer to the Windows’ own Sound Control Panel. So if you have Realtek or IDT or VIA or any other chipset, we’re not concerned and I won’t refer to it.

- Close any sound related applications that you may have running.
- Make sure that you have one Mic active in your Windows Sound Control Panel. Disable all others.
- Open your Mic’s Properties.

- Go to the “Levels” tab. Take the sliders all the way to the right. Don’t worry, this is to test and we’ll take them back afterward. For a note, I’m referring to the “Volume” and “Boost” Properties. Here’s a screen shot for reference.

- Go to the Enhancements tab and check “Disable All Sound Effects”. This should disable everything on that tab and especially the “Immediate Mode”. Another reference screencap:

- Lastly, go the the Advanced tab and uncheck everything under the “Exclusive Mode” Section.

Alright, we’re done. Now apply all the settings and click “OK”. Always click “OK” as “apply” doesn’t persist the changes. Close the Sound Control Panel completely by clicking “OK” on every screen. You can restart your windows if you want but that is not necessary. Re open the Sound Device control Panel. Try talking into your Mic, it should show activity.

There you have it. Let me know if this works for you. It worked for me. The catch is “exclusive” application control of the Mic and Sound Effects. So remember to disable them. Moreover, if your Mic works now, you can adjust the sensitivity, which we leveled up before.

I can post a video of this if there’s demand.

Sometimes (make that many), I find out hacks or little solutions on my own to help fellow colleagues and friends. I always thought that someone on the internet might also find them useful but never posted them because they are little hacks and wouldn’t look good for a whole post. So, today it struck me that I should create a single post that I could update with time and include all the little hacks in it.If you think that you have a better solution to something I post, then please feel free to post it. Let’s start off with some:

1- Magento Admin Logon fails on Localhost

Why it happens: Magento has a core security feature that checks if the domain it is installed on is indeed legit or correct. It can be avoided if you use the option to save session data in the database while installing Magento.

Solution: If you’re using Magento version 1.4+ then do this:

Open up Varien.php at app\code\core\Mage\Core\Model\Session\Abstract and search for the following line:

call_user_func_array('session_set_cookie_params', $cookieParams);

Comment that line and it will start working. Remember that it is not a good idea to use this hack on a live server.

If you’re using Magento version <=1.3, this solution is present on Magento forums as well. Open the same file (Varien.php) and do the following:

-Find the code,

session_set_cookie_params(
$this->getCookie()->getLifetime(),
$this->getCookie()->getPath(),
$this->getCookie()->getDomain(),
$this->getCookie()->isSecure(),
$this->getCookie()->getHttponly()
);

-Replace above code by,

session_set_cookie_params(
$this->getCookie()->getLifetime(),
$this->getCookie()->getPath()
//$this->getCookie()->getDomain(),
//$this->getCookie()->isSecure(),
//$this->getCookie()->getHttponly()
);

2- Changing Windows 7/Vista wallpaper through Commandline/Registry

Now I know that this hack isn’t the best way to do it. So, if you guys know of a better way, then do let me know.

copy TranscodedWallpaper.jpg %APPDATA%\Microsoft\windows\Themes\ > nul
reg add "HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop" /v Wallpaper /t REG_SZ /d "%APPDATA%\Microsoft\windows\Themes\TranscodedWallpaper.jpg" /f > nul
taskkill /f /IM explorer.exe > nul
start explorer.exe

Yes, the file needs to be named TranscodedWallpaper.jpg, because if you don’t then Windows will rename it and Transcode it to JPG automatically.

This post is going to be a rant. So, if you don’t like rants, you’re better off listening to a good song. To sum it up, I was previously using Windows as my primary operating system for work and home. I was doing design and Flash on Leopard but it was not my primary desktop OS. However my recent experiences have forced me to quit windows altogether and shift to Snow Leopard as my primary platform for work and home use.

It was some days ago that I was working on a little script and I had to leave my computer on for about an hour while connected to the Internet. I was using Windows 7 Ultimate with firewall on and ESET’s NOD32 in complete control. When I got back from a friend, to my surprise, Windows was unresponsive. I had no option but to shutdown manually. Upon the next boot, NOD32 started telling me that there were suspicious files in my temp folder and soon after that a virus signature started popping up in every exe file on my computer. It was not limited to the running processes but EVERY executable on my 3 hard disks. NOD32 was working but it was unable to catch up to the virus’ activity. Soon the virus had killed off windows’ services and important executable files. NOD32 was unable to clean the virus and so it deleted every file it scanned the virus with. And so the disaster struck. It was after so many years that I encountered a virus but it totally ruined my workplace.

The question does not lie where I ask that:

- I had a perfectly good Virus System running
- I wasn’t downloading any malware or something that could have executed the virus
- I left my browser open with a perfectly safe site, which probably could have executed an XSS script that led to virus downloading. Although, I had noscript enabled.
- Or that I am a n00b who does not understand how to avoid virus activity.

The question lies where I ask Microsoft that the last time THIS virus attacked me was on Windows 98. The exact same virus that ruined my computer 10 years ago was still able to execute itself on Windows 7 Ultimate. I mean WTF!!! This tells so much about Microsoft. They haven’t done the least bit to change their operating system’s core security. This also tells you that Windows hasn’t changed the slightest bit over 10 years. A recent report suggested that Windows 7 is prone to 80% of the viruses in the wild.

Windows 7 is being admired to have gotten a lot of stuff right but it is experiences like the one above that tell you how a company has only re-branded it’s product through overhauling the UI. The introduction of Microsoft Security Essentials is perhaps the step that Microsoft should have taken years ago. Anyway, this may be good news for the future versions of Windows.

Whatever the case, I have moved my entire workplace and home setup to Snow Leopard and I am liking it. Hey kitty, kitty…woh!! sharp teeth.