CD-RW incompatibilty between Windows Vista and XP?

Here is a problem that I encountered this week which I have not resolved yet, but perhaps someone else can shed light on it.

A CD-RW that I created on a new Windows Vista computer is not writeable on a new Windows XP computer. The disc was created using the mastered setting. The Windows XP computer did not recognise the disc as writeable, so extra files could not be added.

This was not critical, if you put a blank CD-RW in the Windows XP computer it writes without a problem.

flash.ocx cannot be found

If you suddenly find that an error along the lines of "Flash.ocx cannot be found" pops up on your computer, it may be there when it comes out of hibernation, or just appears after a time of inactivity. It could be that you have a Screensaver that uses an old version of Adobe Flash Player.

Since version 8 of Adobe Flash Player there is no longer a file called flash.ocx as part of the installation, instead this file has a name related to its version. eg Adobe Flash Player 9.0.47.0 is Flash9d.ocx.

The way to workaround is to find the Flash9d.ocx file, which is usually at

C:\WINDOWS\system32\Macromed\Flash

make a copy and rename this copy to Flash.ocx

NB - if you cannot see the extension (ie the .ocx) bit then this is because you have file extensions hidden, you should still be able to rename the file, just change the first bit. You should know you have the right file if it is of type "ActiveX Control"

I can confirm that this did work for me.

http://www.adobe.com/go/kb402694

Giving Something Back...

After many years of searching the Internet to solve computer problems I think it is time to give something back.

This blog will be used to publicise some of the many computer fixes I pick up through my business - Easy Upgrades. Hopefully this will enable other people to benefit from some of my experience and give me a record of fixes and solutions I have found in the past.

I run the risk that people could look at my blog instead of paying me to go an fix there computers! However, it is a risk I am willing to take. I am always trying to fix slightly different problems, and the number of problems that Windows throws up must be infinite! So my work is a drop in the ocean. There will always be new problems that need solving.