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How to rip Audio from a DVD

· One min read

In this guide I am using a media player called: VLC (VideoLAN) to do the conversion – it can be downloaded free “here”.

  1. Once installed – open VLC media player
  2. Put the DVD you want to rip the audio into your computer
  3. Click Media (up-the-top)
  4. Click Convert/Save
  5. Click Disc (up-the-top)
  6. Make sure the DVD is selected
  7. Press Convert/Save (down-the-bottom)
  8. Change the destination file field to the location where you would like the audio saved to.
  9. In the profile drop down box select Audio –MP3
  10. Click Start

Note: Make sure you have the right stream selected in step 6 – or you might just record the Menu sound – for example: VOB_1 compared to Vob_0.

Shutdown Batch Script

· One min read

Save the following into a notepad document and name it with .bat at the end – for example shutdown.BAT. You can then either set it to the desktop or add it to a scheduled task to turn your computer off at a certain time.

<br /> @echo off<br /> shutdown.exe -s -t 00<br /> exit<br />

Note: Changing “-s” to “-r” will restart the computer, instead of turning it off and adjusting the “-t” will change the time in seconds till it shuts down. Useful if you are wanting the computer to shutdown after an hour or so.

Windows Update Error 0x800f081f

· 2 min read

This problem is generally caused by corrupted/damaged DNS Cache. Follow the instructions below to repair.

  1. Click Start
  2. Click All Programs/Programs
  3. Click Accessories
  4. Right click Command Prompt select Run as Administrator
  5. Type in:_ ipconfig /flushdns_
  6. Press Enter
  7. Restart your computer and attempt Windows Update.

If the above doesn’t work then you can bypass the problem by assigning your own DNS server , such as Google DNS.

  1. Click Start
  2. Click Control Panel
  3. Click Network/Network & Sharing Center
  4. Click Change Adapter Settings (on the left hand side)
  5. Right click Local Area Connection (if you are using wired method of connecting – if not select Wireless Connection)
  6. Select Properties
  7. Click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)
  8. Click Properties
  9. Select Use the following DNS server addresses
  10. Type in: 8.8.8.8 and on the second line 8.8.4.4
  11. Click Ok
  12. You are now routing your computers DNS through google’s servers instead of the service offered by your Internet Service Provider. Depending on who and where you are – you might notice a slowdown in internet browsing or a speed up – this is normal.
  13. Restart your computer and attempt Windows Update.

Windows XP Startup Batch Script

· One min read

Save the following into a notepad document and name it with .bat at the end – for example WinXPStartup.BAT. You can then run the batch script directly from the recovery console on a Windows XP CD.

<br /> @echo off<br /> CD ..<br /> ATTRIB -H C:boot.ini<br /> ATTRIB -S C:boot.ini<br /> ATRIB -R C:boot.ini<br /> del boot.ini<br /> BOOTCFG /Rebuild<br /> CHKDSK /R /F<br /> FIXBOOT<br />

Repair Windows Explorer start-up

· One min read

This usually occurs if Viruses or Spyware has infected explorer.exe and changed the registry entry to stop it from starting.

  1. Click Start (orb)
  2. Type in: regedit
  3. Press Enter
  4. Navigate to:  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionwinlogon
  5. Double click the Shell entry
  6. Make sure it is set to: Explorer.exe
  7. Press Ok
  8. Restart your computer

 

If the above doesn’t work attempt a system restore by pressing F8 during Windows Vista boot to bring up the Boot Menu and select Startup Repair.

 

Note: Tested with Windows Vista – ok

Note: Also may work on Windows 7 – though I haven’t personally tested this.