Enable the Sort feature on the Now Playing list so that you can sort the items by newest, expiration date, or alphabetical.

These steps will not work on Series 1 versions.

1. Bring up the TiVo main screen with the TiVo button.

2. Enter the following in order.

S - Slow Play
0 - Zero
R - Record
T - Thumbs Up button

You’ll hear the three dings. Press Display for sort options and select Enter.

3. Choose one of the following:

1 - Newest (most recent items first)
2 - Display the list ordered by expiration date, oldest first
3 - Display the list alphabetically

Press Enter to make your selection permanent.

I experienced a “phantom” Tivo appear on my Now Playing screen. I have a network of 3 Tivo’s that were all showing up, but there was this 4th one showing just as DVR that didn’t have any data in it at all. I searched for a way to disable the thing to no avail. As it turns out, a Tivo can sometimes have problems if more than one of them are restarted at the same time. The problem happened to me after a power outage, so that makes sense.

To solve the problem, I had to shut off all of my boxes, then power them back on one at a time. The phantom DVR no longer showed up in my lists.

Thank you higrader on the Tivo Forums for the help on this one.

When you burn CD’s, do they skip no matter what kind of player you play them in? I had this problem recently, and I ended up having to swap out my drive entirely. Here are a few steps you can try before resorting to that though.

1. Check for flash updates from your CD burner manufacturer - This step is easily the most common fix for most CD burning issues. Flash ROM updates can usually be obtained on the manufacturer’s web site. Please also note, I am not talking about drivers.

2. Try different media - Did you get burnable CD’s for a penny each? There’s a reason. Try buying better media. Verbatim media seems to work the best for me.

3. Try burning at a lower speed - Sometimes manufacturers like to claim that the equipment can burn at a super fast speed. Sometimes it’s better to lower it a bit. My burner for example won’t burn well at 32x. I have to set my software on one of my computers to burn at 16x. It takes longer, but I will suffer waiting for my discs to burn rather than suffer when I try to listen to the disc in my car.

4. Use different burning software - The software is rarely the cause, but every now and then there may be a problem between certain hardware and software.

5. Replace the burner - If you’ve exhausted all of the above, it might be time to just get a new burner. I have regularly made the mistake of buying cheaper, “no name” burners and as a result I have had to replace my burner every 2 to 3 years or so.

Feel free to share your own Cd burning tips in the comments section below.

How to erase all data off of your Zune and start new. This can be a good option to try if you are experiencing problems with files on your Zune or it regularly becomes unresponsive.

1. Select Settings.

2. Select Device.

3. Select Sync Options.

4. Select Erase All Content.

5. Select Yes and confirm that you want to delete all content from the device.

All of your files will then be removed from the Zune.

This article was compiled based on information provided in the Microsoft article:
Error message on your Zune device: “The item is missing or can’t be played”

How to enable the wireless feature on your Zune device.

1. On the Home screen select Settings.

2. Select Wireless.

3. Change the Wireless setting to On.

4. Press and hold the Back button to return to the Home screen.

I downloaded TiVo Desktop because I wanted to be able to publish my videos from my desktop computer to my Tivo and watch them in my living room. After playing around with it a little bit, I was not able to get that feature to work. Also, I could transfer video from my TiVo to my PC, but it wouldn’t play at all.

I checked all my settings. I added my Media Access Key, and had the videos in the C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My TiVo Recordings folder. They were AVI and MPG format, so they were supposed to work. Why wasn’t it working?

I guess I didn’t see the fine print when I downloaded TiVo Desktop. I had to purchase and download TiVo Desktop Plus to enable these features. The software doesn’t tell you this when you try to use it. TiVo Desktop Plus costs $24.95 and I didn’t want to spend the money. I thought I could configure something else for free. After a month of thinking, I finally caved and bought it. As soon as I added the software key under Help > Upgrade to TiVo Desktop Plus, the features worked. I’m glad I decided to spend the money. It turned out to be well worth it.

How to find the MAC address for the network card on your Tivo.

The built in network card has the MAC address written on the outside of the unit somewhere. This information won’t help if you have attached another network card such as a wireless card to your Tivo. Here’s how to find the MAC address for your Tivo.

1. Open the Tivo menu.

2. Select Settings.

3. Select Phone/Network.

The MAC address should be listed on that screen along with the IP address.

How to enter Rescue/Recovery Mode on the Creative Labs ZEN Touch, Xtra, NX, USB 2.0 or Firewire MP3 player.

1. Ensure the unit is detached from the computer and powered off.

2. Remove the battery.

3. Hold down the Play/Pause button while inserting a paper clip into the Reset hole.

4. Hold the Play/Pause button until the Rescue Mode screen appears.

You will then have the option to Clean up, Format, Reload OS / Firmware or Reboot.

How to enter Recovery Mode on the Creative Labs Zen Vision W MP3 player.

1. Ensure the unit is detached from the computer and powered off.

2. Remove the battery.

3. Move and hold the Power button to the Power On position while re-inserting the battery.

4. Hold the Power button until the Recovery Mode screen appears.

You will then have the option to Clean up, Format, Reload OS / Firmware or Reboot.

Here are a few settings you can play with to conserve the battery power on your Zune.

Turn off wireless: Select Settings > wireless, and select wireless:off.

Lower the backlight time: Select Settings > display, and select backlight:1 or 5 seconds.

Lower the backlight brightness: Select Settings > display, and select brightness: low

Use the Hold setting: Set it to Locked when you are not using the device. This will prevent the device from playing accidentally.

Keep the device in a cool environment: Lithium-ion batteries like the one in the Zune like cooler environments. Keeping the device in a cooler environment will make the battery last a bit longer.

Use these tips and keep your Zune providing you with hours and hours of play time. Listed below are the average times a Zune device lasts per full battery charge.

Zune 4GB: 24 hours
Zune 8GB: 24 hours
Zune 30GB: 14 hours
Zune 80GB: 30 hours

When you try to sync your Zune, a problem may occur where you get the following error:

Can’t use your Zune Pass with this Zune because you have three other Zune devices already using it. To update the devices for this account, click your Zune tag and select Computers and devices.

You can only sync with a total of 3 devices. One of the devices must be removed. To do so, try the following steps:

1. In the Zune software, Click Sign In, and then enter your credentials.

2. Click Settings > Computers and Devices.

3. Click Remove for the device you want to remove. Click OK when you’re done.

You should now be able to associate a new device with your Zune Pass as well as sync it.

Alltel

Alltel claims to have America’s Largest wireless network. They have the most self owned towers of any other company, and if they don’t own a tower in your area, you can use competitor’s towers. The one nice thing I like about Alltel is that you can change your plan whenever you would like WITHOUT extending your contract. You also have several different options of local plans or national plans. If you do not travel, then go cheap and get a local plan, if you travel once a year, still go with a local plan. You can change it to a national plan for the month you’re traveling.

If you have a lot of friends on other networks, that’s ok! You can take advantage of “My Circle”. That consists of 10 numbers on any network you can make calls to and receive from without using your anytime minutes. This is HUGE to people that use a lot of minutes, to the same numbers not on Alltel. The only other carrier that can compare to this is T-Mobile’s Favorite 5.

Verizon

I know a lot of people who really like Verizon, but there are a few things that I don’t agree with. The biggest problem is the Verizon contract. If you want to change you plan… Guess what? You get your contract extended for another 2 years! And the best part is, they don’t tell you! They also do not give you the option of a local plan. What about the people who ever leave the 3 or 4 state area? Why should they have to pay more for a national plan if they do not travel? Nights start at 9pm? With NO option of getting them to start at 7pm. This doesn’t seem right. In my opinion I would think twice about signing a contract with them.

I have a cheap laptop with a cheap integrated wireless card. No matter what I try, I cannot get it to work with a secured wireless connection. The only way for it to connect is to leave my wireless connection open. This lets all of my neighbors in on my connection though. After I found my neighbor using my connection to share torrents day and night, I decided I had to figure out something. I first tried to use the Access Restrictions feature, but found that only blocked the Internet. People could still connect to my network. Then I discovered my Linksys WRT54G router has a Wireless MAC Filter feature. I was able to secure my wireless connection by only allowing certain MAC addresses to connect to my router.
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How to Force Quit a program on your iPhone.

Simply hold down the Home button at least six seconds, until the application you were using quits.

How to enable your Zune device to act as a hard drive and be visible in Explorer.

3. Click once on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
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