Another way to quickly access essential information about your PC

There are several ways to get information about your computer system. One of them is the "computer management" tool (right click on "My Computer" icon and choose "Manage") using an Administrator account. However, if all you need is to quickly access part of that information, like hardware components, open Devices and Printers (press the Windows Key and start typing "Devices and..." to get there) then localize your computer and right click to see the menu shown here. The menu choices are self-explanatory and from there you can control major PC settings but if you want to get a closer look at the hardware settings and drivers, select "Properties" and then the hardware tab. In general, the Devices and Printers utility can show you a bird's eye view of your entire computer ecosystem.

TurboTax 2011: Windows XP Mode to the rescue but problem persists under Windows 7

I had to resort to Windows XP Mode to be able to run TurboTax 2011 after one last attempt (one of many) to reinstall the program. Apparently, disabling the antivirus program, and modifying the Firewall inbound and outbound rules before installing did not help this time either. Same old story: I get a terse "TurboTax 2011 Is Installed" message with a "Done" button to click on. Then, the same frustration (see previous post) and the program does not start and does not even say whatever is wrong. Will I, or any of my readers, ever know what happened?On the other hand, Windows XP mode, which I like a lot, is not intended to run "new" software. "New" software should run well under Windows 7. No excuses. On the other hand, it is clear that Intuit, the company behind TurboTax, is aware of this problem, as indicated in their user forum here,  and also here, where other folks have complained too. It seems that this "old" problem apparently has not been taken care of. That is just unacceptable!

Waiting for TurboTax to get things ready... in time for tax season?

This year the TurboTax 2011 software has a serious problem which is basically that it does not start (!) All it does is showing the screen we see here and then, a few seconds later, it is gone with no message, no warning. Nothing. I have installed and reinstalled this software (I'm running Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit) to no avail. Trust me, I have followed all the suggestions found in http://turbotax.intuit.com/support/, which, by the way, are mostly related to Windows XP, no matter what they say. I have even tried the "Repair" option (in the uninstall program), waited patiently to finish and see some sort of "successfully repaired" message. But that is not true. Finally, I applied the manual update, to no avail, in spite of the message shown below, a false positive, and not true either. This is the first year I get to have such a frustrating experience with one of my favorite software applications... Is this related to the version of the .NET Framework you are running, or to Java? Go figure! Intuit, please get ready asap! [FYI, I tried this, and this]

I can't ever stress this enough: Install Windows XP Mode

Windows XP Mode running under Windows 7. Click and learn how.

I want to come back to the subject of Windows XP Mode. This is an application you can download and install, for free, if you are running Windows 7. It serves basically one main purpose: to run your Windows XP and legacy applications, within Windows 7 simply as another Windows application. Another key use is to keep old versions of software which, it just happens, when installed in Windows 7, may mess up your nice set up, for instance: Office 2003 and Acrobat 8, to name only a few. Last, but not least, you can continue using your company's old custom applications without a problem. The video, a 29'08" complete course on Windows XP Mode, provides an in depth look at the features and capabilities, as well as guidance for IT pros, of this must-have tool for Windows 7. Windows XP mode works seamlessly within Windows 7 where you can run all desired applications under one virtual machine (one window) or individually in its own window.

Windows 8's newest competition: Windows 7

With the release today of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview (read "beta version"), and a final release scheduled for late 2012, the stage is now set for Windows 7 to become a competitor of Windows 8. While, on the other hand, millions of users will continue to use Windows XP arguably till their old computers give out, it is most likely they will have two choices when buying a new PC: either Windows 7 or Windows 8. However, if the goal is to get a tablet PC, then Windows 8 is the operating system to choose, if neither an iPad or an Android system will do for them.

Year of the Dragon as your Windows 7 theme

According to the Chinese (and Mongolian) zodiac this is the Year of the Dragon, and to top it off a leap year. So what luckiest could it get? I, for one, declare my inclination to believe in signs, stars, "angels" and the Universe. If you want to wear this sort of amulet in your PC you can download the Year of the Dragon theme, in the Windows 7 themes page. Good Luck. Buona Fortuna. Bonne Chance. Buena Suerte.

Troubleshooting BitLocker: damaged volume

It may happen. You are using a BitLocker-encrypted USB memory stick to create quick backups of your regular work and one day when you try to open it in Windows Explorer, though you are able to see the drive icon with a superimposed padlock and key, it cannot be opened and instead it gives you the option to format it. What happened? Basically, data is corrupted and therefore not accessible. The solution lies in a command-line utility called repair-bde, which is the repair tool for BitLocker Drive Encryption. First of all you must have the BitLocker Encryption Recovery Key of the drive. If you don't, this solution and any other solution will not work for you, and you will have to resort to format the drive and lose all your data. Second, you need an extra USB memory stick with the same size (or may be bigger) than the one you are having trouble with. Now, lets assume your troubled USB corresponds to drive I: and H: is your blank new USB. You are going to transfer all the data from input I: to output H: and the end result, if successful, will be an identical original I: drive copied into H: but your I: will have to be formatted, at any rate, to use it again. The command you have to enter, as an Administrator, is as follows, depending obviously on your settings:

repair-bde I: H: -rp [your BitLocker Encryption Recovery Key]

The -rp switch stands for -RecoveryPassword and your recovery key consists of 48 digits (8 groups of 6 digits each, separated by dashes). The process, for a 8GB USB stick will take about an hour but you will recover your data. Warning: All information in the output drive (H:) will always be overwritten. Finally, after the tool has reached "Decrypting: 100% complete", it is very important that, before you view the decrypted data, you run this command:

chkdsk H: /f

At any rate the system will prompt you to do that under ACTION REQUIRED. I hope this post saved your day.