Cannot change 3.5mm audio jack settings on Dell Latitude – (Realtek / Waves Audio / MaxxAudio)

Date : December 3, 2021
Cannot change 3.5mm audio jack settings on Dell Latitude – (Realtek / Waves Audio / MaxxAudio)

Issue

When plugging a device into the 3.5mm audio jack on certain Dell Latitude laptops, the user will be prompted to specify which type of device it is. As such they decide if the audio jack behaves as either an input, output, or both.

If the user checks the ‘Don’t show this dialog again’ box, the user is unable to change these settings again (even after a driver reinstall)

This is problematic if the user has selected the incorrect device, as they have no way to amend this.

Solution

Open regedit.exe and browse to

HKLM\SOFTWARE\Waves Audio\MaxxAudio\General

and change the value of DoNotShowJackSenseDialog (DWORD) to 0

This change takes effect immediately – no restart required; remove and re-insert the 3.5 mm audio device and the prompt will reappear.


VPN error – “The computer must be trusted for delegation and the current user account must be configured to allow delegation”

Date : September 1, 2021

Issue

Whilst attempting to connect to an RRAS server, Windows displays the following error message:

Cannot connect to [VPN profile]

The requested operation cannot be completed. The computer must be trusted for delegation and the current user account must be configured to allow delegation

Solution

On the VPN client, browse to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Cryptography\Protect\Providers\df9d8cd0-1501-11d1-8c7a-00c04fc297eb

then create/update the following DWORD entry:

ProtectionPolicy=1

Alternatively, download and run the following .reg file to create/update the registry entry:


Apple Configurator 2: “The operation couldn’t be completed. (AMRestoreErrorDomain error 4 – failed to handle message type StatusMsg) [AMRestoreErrorDomain – 0x4 (4)]”

Date : September 26, 2020
Apple Configurator 2: “The operation couldn’t be completed. (AMRestoreErrorDomain error 4 – failed to handle message type StatusMsg) [AMRestoreErrorDomain – 0x4 (4)]”

Problem

Whilst trying to restore iOS or iPadOS devices in Apple Configurator 2, you receive the following error message after the device reboots into restore mode:

"The operation couldn’t be completed. (AMRestoreErrorDomain error 4 - failed to handle message type StatusMsg) [AMRestoreErrorDomain – 0x4 (4)]"

iPad (7th Gen), Apple Configurator 2.13.1, running on macOS 10.15: Catalina, attempting to restore iPadOS 14

Solution

  1. Unplug all iOS devices and close Apple Configurator
  2. Open the Finder app and plug in one of the affected devices
  3. The device should appear in the left-hand column; click on it
  4. Follow the instructions to restore the device. As part of this process, you will be prompted to download and install a smaller update on the Mac itself, separate to the iOS. This is the golden ticket!

Once the update has fully completed, you can then re-open Apple Configurator and plug in all devices; all should now restore without issue.


Troubleshooting the “Force a Specific Default Lock Screen and Login Image” Policy in Windows 10

Date : December 22, 2019

Problem

You have enabled the “Force a specific default lock screen and login image” policy in the Administrative Templates under the Control Panel \ Personalization section, but it is not taking effect on your Windows 10 machine.

Cause

This policy is only applicable to Windows 10 Enterprise or Education SKUs. It is not supported or applicable to Windows 10 Pro (and lower) SKUs.

Resolution

To use the “Force a specific default lock screen and login image” policy, you must have a Windows 10 Enterprise or Education SKU. If you are using a different SKU, you will need to upgrade to one of these SKUs in order to use this policy.


How to fix: “NBP filesize is 0 bytes” when PXE booting. PXE-E23 error.

Date : September 6, 2018

Issue

When attempting to PXE boot a UEFI machine, the following error is displayed:

NBP filename is boot\x64\wdsmgfw.efi
NBP filesize is 0 Bytes
PXE-E23: Client received TFTP error from server

 

Solution

Copy "C:\Windows\System32\RemInst\boot\x64\wdsmgfw.efi" to “<WDS root>\Boot\x64\wdsmgfw.efi

This error is caused by wdsmgfw.efi missing from <WDS root>\boot\x64\ directory.


Hang on Startup with “Please Wait” or “Applying Microsoft Offline Files Policy”

Date : September 5, 2018
Hang on Startup with “Please Wait” or “Applying Microsoft Offline Files Policy”

Problem

On some computers, it is observed that the system hangs on startup with either “Please wait” or “Applying Microsoft Offline Files Policy” displayed. This issue may occur even if there are no Offline Files Group Policy Objects (GPOs) set.

Solution

This issue is often not related to Offline Files, but rather caused by running PowerShell scripts at startup. To resolve this issue, follow these steps:

  1. Remove any startup scripts applied to the computer through Group Policy.
  2. Ensure that the startup time has returned to normal.
  3. If the issue persists, try adding the startup scripts back one at a time, rebooting after each to identify the problematic script.
Applying Microsoft Offline Files Policy

Windows Update not working (0% downloading) on Windows Server 2016 behind a proxy server

Date : February 19, 2017

Issue

I recently had a fresh Server 2016 installation that was stuck on “0% downloading” updates permanently. Note: We also have to go via a proxy server for our internet connection.

From the command line, if you run:

netsh winhttp show proxy

you will see the system proxy hasn’t been set.

 

Solution

If you have to go through a proxy server to get an internet connection, you will need to first set your (user) proxy server in Internet Explorer options menu, then run:

netsh winhttp set proxy source=ie

Now your Windows Update should work as expected again (you many need to restart the service first). Not quite sure why this has become “a thing” seeing as Server 2012 R2 never needed this, but hey-ho!

 

 

Alternative solution

Alternatively, just run this single command:

set proxy proxy.mycompany.com:8080

And to configure the proxy bypass:

set proxy proxy.mycompany.com:8080 "<local>;bar"

 


Cannot print to network printer: “Win32 error code returned by the print processor: 5. Access is denied.”.

Date : December 2, 2016

Issue

Cannot print to network printer. Print jobs appear and disappear as expected in the print queue, however no data is sent to the printer.

Event viewer shows the following:

The document Test Page, owned by USERNAME, failed to print on printer PRINTER. Try to print the document again, or restart the print spooler.
Data type: RAW. Size of the spool file in bytes: 145189. Number of bytes printed: 0. Total number of pages in the document: 1. Number of pages printed: 0. Client computer: \\SERVERNAME. Win32 error code returned by the print processor: 5. Access is denied.

If you run Process Monitor with “process name = printfilterpipelinesvc.exe” you’ll see the following:

CreateFile    C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS\*.tmp    ACCESS DENIED

Solution

Give modify permissions to Everyone on the following directory: C:\Windows\System32\spool\PRINTERS\


Microsoft SQL Server 2012 SP2 failed with error: -2068643838. Sophos Enterprise Console installation error

Date : October 26, 2016

I was trying to install Sophos Enterprise Console on a new server (a process I have done many, many times) and got hit with a very generic error message, prompting me to look at the installer log file.

I had a look, and all looked happy until it tried to execute the following command to install SQL Express:

 

INFO : Running command line: C:\sec_541\ServerInstaller\pre-reqs\sqlExpress2012SP2\SQLEXPR_x64_ENU.exe /Q /HIDECONSOLE /IACCEPTSQLSERVERLICENSETERMS /ACTION=INSTALL /FEATURES=SQL /INSTANCENAME=SOPHOS /SQLSVCACCOUNT="NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM" /SQLSYSADMINACCOUNTS="BUILTIN\Administrators" /NPENABLED=1 /TCPENABLED=0

 

Then this:

ERROR : Command: Microsoft SQL Server 2012 SP2 failed with error: -2068643838

Darn!

(more…)


“Applying computer settings” or “Please wait” taking a VERY long time. KB2775511 to the rescue!

Date : October 23, 2016

I had a friend reach out to me for some help: there was a single Windows 7 computer at his work that would intermittently get stuck at “Please wait…”for about 30 mins when booting.

“No problem”, I said. First thing to try is enabling verbose messaging through Group Policy. “Please wait…” hides the real startup messages that you tend to see on Windows Server OS’es

A few days goes by and I get a phone call from my friend again. The computer is stuck again, this time saying “Applying computer settings…”. Not very helpful.

This is where the magical KB2775511 comes in. This is a must have for any Windows domain environment and contains over 90 various domain-focused fixes, including Folder Redirection, SMB, Offline Files, Group Policy etc. This update has fixed many of my issues, both directly and indirectly.

(more…)


How to delete stuck print jobs in Windows

Date : October 18, 2016

Ever get those irritating print jobs stuck in the print queue on Windows? Often they are stuck saying “deleting” but live there forever. Here’s how to clear them out:

(If you’re printing via a print server, chances are you want to perfom these steps on the server itself)

(more…)


@