When you try to disable a Local Area Connection in Windows XP, you get an error:

It is not possible to disable the connection at this time. This connection maybe using one or more protocols that do not support Plug and play, or it may have been initiated by another user or the system account.

1. Click Start > Run, type cmd and click OK.

2. Type netsh winsock reset catalog and press the Enter key.

3. Type netsh int ip reset reset.log and press the Enter key.

4. Restart the computer.

Check to see if you can disable the Local Area Connection now. If not, try the following steps:

1. Click Start > Run, type cmd and click OK.

2. Type net stop cryptsvc and press the Enter key.

3. Type ren %systemroot%\System32\Catroot2 oldcatroot2  and press the Enter key.

4. Restart the computer.

How to make your iPod Touch forget a network so that it doesn’t automatically connect to it.

1. Choose Wi-Fi and tap next on the network.

2. Tap Forget this Network.

How to change the workgroup name in Mac OS X: Leopard.

1. Open System Preferences from the Apple menu.

2. Open the Network icon in the Internet & Network area.

3. Select the network connection you use to connect to the Windows network.

4. Click Advanced.

5. Click WINS.

6. Type the name of the Windows workgroup in the Workgroup field.

7. Click OK and then click Apply.

I used the old registry tweaks for speeding up your Internet connection on my Windows 2000 and Windows 98 machines. By default, the registry wasn’t optimized for high speed Internet connections. These old tweaks worked very well in speeding up my connection back then. These days under Windows XP, I was getting decent speed with my cable modem, but nothing mind-blowing. I used to think that Windows XP didn’t need any tweaking at all and was already optimized for high speed connections. It turns out that I was wrong. I came across TCP Optimizer and thought I would give it a try. To my amazement, it tripled my Internet download speed.

Greedy for more speed, I began playing with the advanced settings in the program, trying to squeeze every last byte out of my connection. It eventually got to the point where my download speeds were 5 times faster, but my computer started losing connection randomly, forcing me to restart my computer often. Luckily there was an option in the software that backed up my previous settings, so I was able to revert back to them.

Give the software a try and see what it does for you. Click here for TCP Optimizer.
There is also a guide available on how to use it if you need help.

I recently experienced a problem with my iPod Shuffle where it would take over one of my mapped network drives. This became increasingly annoying. Sometimes my music files would get copied out to the network drive instead of the iPod. Luckily I was able to solve the problem by changing the drive letter to the iPod.

1. Right-click My Computer and select Manage.

2. Click Disk Management on the left side.

Read more… »

How to allow Windows computers to connect to your shared files in Mac OS X Leopard.

1. Open System Preferences.

2. Open Sharing under Internet & Networking.

3. Provide a name in the Computer Name field. This will be the name that other computers see on the network.

4. Check the box for File Sharing.

5. Click Options…

6. Check the box for Share Files and Folders using SMB.

7. Check the accounts that you wish to allow access to your computer over the network.

8. Click Done and close System Preferences.

Now Windows Computers will be able to access the files you are sharing on your Mac.

How to connect to a wireless network in Windows Vista.

1. Right-click the Network icon on the taskbar.

2. Click Connect to a Network.

3. Select the network you wish to connect to and click Connect.

How to set the IP address manualy in Mac OS X Leopard.

1. Open System Preferences.

2. Open Network under the Internet & Network section.

3. Select Ethernet on the left pane.

4. Select Manually in the Configure drop-down menu.

5. Enter the IP Address, Subnet Mask, Router, DNS, and Search Domains information.

6. Click Apply, and you’re done.

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 change the computer name of your Mac in OS X Leopard.

1. Open System Preferences.

2. Open Sharing under Internet & Network.

3. Enter a new name in the Computer Name field.

Where to find the MAC address for your Sony PSP.

1. Select Settings.

2. Select System Settings.

3. Select System Information and your MAC address will be displayed on the screen.

Sometimes you need the MAC address to your XBox 360 so you can setup security on your network router. Here’s how to locate it.

1. Navigate to the System area of the Xbox Dashboard.

2. Select Network Settings.

3. Select Edit Settings.

4. Select Additional Settings.

5. Select Advanced Settings.

The MAC address will be displayed toward the bottom of this page where it says Wired MAC Address.

Where you can locate the MAC address to the network card on your Playstation 3.

1. On the main menu, select Settings.

2. Select System Settings.

3. Select System Information.

Your MAC address will then be displayed on the screen.

Having trouble locating the MAC address for your iPhone? You can locate it by choosing Settings > General > About then scroll down to Wi-Fi Address.

If it shows up blank, you may have to connect to a Wi-Fi network first before the MAC Address will show.

Where can I locate the MAC address for my network card for my Mac under OS X Leopard?

1. Open System Preferences.

2. Click Network at the top portion of the window.

3. Click Ethernet on the left.

4. Click the Advanced button.

5. Click the Ethernet tab. Next to Ethernet ID is the MAC address.