Category: Software and Computers

Copy and paste this code into notepad or text editor, then re-copy into code. If you just copy off this page it won’t work. phpbb forum list include.

*Update 01/08 – only use second line between question marks and accompanying arrow markers. Then if needed designate as code in post interface. Turn off rich text editor in use profile. Retype code from scratch if necessary. Works. Instead of sticky, set post as announcement.*

<phpcode><code><br />
<?php include(“http://www.websiteurl.com/forum_list_include.php”); ?></code></phpcode>

<phpcode><code><br />
<?php include(“http://www.websitename.com/forum_list_include.php”); ?></code></phpcode>

If you get error notices on mysql using phpbb – view the database structure in PHPMYADMIN and see if all tables are listed. If you only get a partial listing with an error message for a particular table, here’s how to fix it.

In PHPMYADMIN with your specific database called up click “SQL” – this will open up an SQL query window where you can insert a repair command for the particular table malfunction. If the table error is “phpbb_search_wordmatch” then you can enter this in the MYSQL Query window:
REPAIR TABLE phpbb_search_wordmatch

Then click “go” – on larger databases the process may take a while. My experience has been that usually only one table will be corrupted in a database at a time – and usually occurs after a server reboot.

***************

Sample error message for above fix:

Error in deleting post

DEBUG MODE

SQL Error : 1034 Incorrect key file for table: ‘phpbb_search_wordmatch’. Try to repair it

DELETE FROM phpbb_search_wordmatch WHERE post_id IN (172970)

Line : 419
File : functions_search.php

HP All-in-One Products, HP Deskjet, and HP Photosmart Printers – ‘Printer Driver Unknown’ Error Message Displays During the Printer Software Installation.

Here’s how to fix it. I ran into this problem with Windows XP Professional and the HP PSC 1510 All-In-One printer driver installation.

This has been one of my top ten computer time wasters of all time. I’m embarrassed to say this took me about 10 hours to solve. I could not find any documentation on the web for it, and those who had fixed it said they forgot how they did it. I must have done 30 or so searches on related terms, about 10 downloads from the HP site with uninstall and reinstall, and at least 20 searches on the HP website for support documentation. I finally found this info on about page 8 of an obscure Google search. Go figure. I would bet that if you found my page here on Google you have probably already wasted at least an hour on this problem. Let me know if I’m wrong.

So here you go. If this fixes your problem please post a note that it worked and helped you out.

QUICK INSTRUCTIONS – FIX THIS IN 3 MINUTES
(Below see link to HP help page, and full detailed instructions)

Here’s the fix:
HP HELP PAGE

* First uninstall your current HP installation.*

Step one: Uninstall the printer driver and software

1.
Disconnect the universal serial bus (USB) cable from the computer.
2.
Insert the printer software CD into the computer.
3.
A prompt to uninstall the software displays. Follow the on-screen instructions to uninstall the software.
4.
Restart the computer.

Step two: Turn off the Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) programs and other background programs
When the computer is turned on, a software group called the Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) programs automatically loads. These programs activate some of the computer utilities such as the anti-virus software but are not required for the computer to function. Occasionally, TSRs prevent the printer software from loading so that it does not install properly.
In Microsoft Windows 98, Windows ME, and Windows XP, use the MSCONFIG utility to prevent TSR programs and services from starting up.

1. Click Start and then click Run. The Run window opens.
2. In the Open: box, type msconfig, and then click OK. The MSCONFIG utility window opens.
3. Click the General tab.
4. Select Selective Startup.
5. If there is a check mark next to Load Startup items, click the check mark to remove it.
6. For Windows XP systems only – Click the Services tab and place a check mark in the Hide All Microsoft Services box. Select Disable All.
7. Click Apply and then click Close.
8. Click Restart to restart the computer.

Unplug your USB printer cable and reinstall. That’s it!

Visit the HP Help Documentation Page for this error.

Here’s the text from their page in case the URL for this changes:

Issue
The printer software installation stops and the Printer Driver Unknown error message displays on the computer. This document applies only to products connected with a USB cable.
Figure 1: Printer Driver Unknown error message
Solution: Follow the steps below to resolve this issue.
NOTE: These instructions do not apply to Windows 2000 because the MSCONFIG utility used in Step two does not exist in Windows 2000.
Step one: Uninstall the printer driver and software

1.
Disconnect the universal serial bus (USB) cable from the computer.
2.
Insert the printer software CD into the computer.
3.
A prompt to uninstall the software displays. Follow the on-screen instructions to uninstall the software.
4.
Restart the computer.

Step two: Turn off the Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) programs and other background programs
When the computer is turned on, a software group called the Terminate and Stay Resident (TSR) programs automatically loads. These programs activate some of the computer utilities such as the anti-virus software but are not required for the computer to function. Occasionally, TSRs prevent the printer software from loading so that it does not install properly.
In Microsoft Windows 98, Windows ME, and Windows XP, use the MSCONFIG utility to prevent TSR programs and services from starting up.
NOTE: This step does not apply to Windows 2000 because the MSCONFIG utility does not exist in Windows 2000.

1.
Click Start and then click Run. The Run window opens.
2.
In the Open: box, type msconfig, and then click OK. The MSCONFIG utility window opens.
3.
Click the General tab.
4.
Select Selective Startup.
5.
If there is a check mark next to Load Startup items, click the check mark to remove it.
6.
For Windows XP systems only – Click the Services tab and place a check mark in the Hide All Microsoft Services box. Select Disable All.
7.
Click Apply and then click Close.
8.
Click Restart to restart the computer.

Step three: Install the product software
Listed below are several options for installing the product software. If the product software CD is not available, HP recommends downloading and installing the product software from the HP Website at www.hp.com.
Method one: Install the product software from the CD

1.
If the product software CD is still in the computer CD drive, remove it and re-insert it in the CD drive.
2.
If the software installation does not start automatically, follow the steps below.
1.
Click Start and then click Run. The Run window opens.
2.
In the Open: box, type D:\setup.exe, where D is the letter of the CD-ROM drive.
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the software installation.

Method two: Download the software from hp.com

1.
Go to www.hp.com and click Software and driver downloads.
2.
Type the model number of your product in the Search box.
3.
Select the operating system of the computer to which the device is connected.
4.
Click the downloaded software to start the software installer.
5.
Follow the on-screen instructions to install the software.

Step four: Use the MSCONFIG utility to enable the Startup software

1.
Click Start and then click Run. The Run window opens.
2.
In the Open: box, type MSCONFIG and then click OK to start the MSCONFIG utility.
3.
On the General tab, select Normal Startup to automatically enable all features the next time the computer is started. In Windows XP, click the Services tab and select Enable All.
4.
Click Apply and then click Close.
5.
Click Restart to apply the changes to the computer.

*********

*Note to HP Web Staff: Yes, this information is indeed on your website, but it is near-impossible to find while searching support documents, and it is not linked to from the “Troubleshooting” section for the 1510 printer. I am betting other customers are having this same problem. We all love the story of Hewlitt and Packard starting the business in a garage, but we enjoy to a lesser degree troubleshooting these problems. :)”

Current new installations of OSCommerce require that global variables be turned “on” for the server. That feature has been deprecated on most servers for security reasons. The OSC gzip file contains an .htaccess file with a rewrite fix that is commented out. If you need global variables turned “on” then you need to UN-comment those commands in the .htaccess file for your install to work properly. It is a short .htaccess file and the commands are at the end.

Using .htaccess to override a deprecated server setting? That’s a big red flag to me.
The problem is that global variables turned “on” were deprecated for a reason, and only older software platforms still use it. For detailed information visit this University of Washington article on php.ini and global variables.

The breakups and offshoots of development teams have left many source software users high and dry, constantly tempted to follow a branch that is the latest hot update.

OSC has not been active with software updates. The 3.0 release has been in Beta for quite a while, like a year and a half or more. If you do a Google you will see many discussions that consider it dead. I’ve used OsCommerce extensively in the past, and also made the mistake of following a branch called OSMAX. The problem with that branch is future support was limited to those that hosted with the branch creators. This goes against the whole concept of open source, and the same scenario is seen over and over again where open source developers break out on their own with a branch to monetize on the software platform.

There are many examples of software branches that attempt, sometimes succesfully, to take over the market of the original platform. Mambo to Joomla, PHPBB to CRELoaded, OsCommerce to ZenCart, etc. It makes the job of network admins sometimes seem like sitting at the craps table, just hoping you’re betting on the right line. Maybe that’s the reason to stick with paid software support instead of open source. But isn’t the root concept of open source exciting? That we all share as a community, taking and giving back as we can. A great testament to the web’s interactive sharing.

My site is a bit like that, as yours probably is too. We use so many features and software for free, then when something hits our area of expertise, we do what we can to give back. From what I’ve read, most of the software developers that break away on their own branch do so because of disagreements with the original software team. Google the word “draconian open source” to see some interesting discussions.

So in the midst of choosing software I am directly affected by the infighting of these different teams. The very nature of open source that is so full of creativity and generosity is also hampered by the weakness of being human. As an admin all I want is the teams to keep developing so I’m not totally screwed with my network development.

Maybe it’s just the nature of the beast: Software is eventually deprecated. When I think about all the hours spent developing websites, then years later having to scratch and overhaul the whole thing, it makes me a bit ill.

If you’ve been involved in software for a long time I’d be interested in your thoughts on the life cycle of it.

*Note – PhpBB 3.0 Olympus has been released since this post. Please leave comments below on your thoughts about the update. Thanks!*

We’re all waiting patiently for the PHPBB 3.0 “Olympus” release which is currently in Beta4 release since November 2006. I think I’m not alone in hoping it would be released by Christmas 2006 but understand it will be released when it’s released. PHPBB got a bad rep in the past for it’s numerous security flaws which in part is just the nature of open source software.

It has tied my hands a bit in preparing to integrate ecommerce, CMS and other features with my forums. I don’t want to get too heavy into mods that won’t work with PHPBB3. In the current PHPBB 2.0.22 update there are some issues with AOL browsers and sessions. I’ve kept mods to a minimum for an easy transition, but it’s been frustrating� not to be able to update and customize layouts, games, cash mods and all the fun stuff for phpbb. So like the rest of you, I’m waiting…

You’ve probably noticed most of the SERP’s show Invision and VBulletin results when you’re searching for info on Google. You’ve maybe also noticed how many websites have gone to subdomains for their forums, as in forum.website.com – I have VBulletin running on one of my forums and it is very confusing for me. I guess just because I’ve been running phpbb for so many years. If VBulletin and Invision were intuitive on the backend I would probably jump ship to those formats even with the cost involved. But I’m hoping PHPBB3 raises the bar with it’s software release and that the transition is smooth.

When are you going to update to PHPBB3? On the gold release? After a couple updates? Tough decisions. I know many admins are going to just stick with PHPBB2. For me, I’m going to update to PHPBB3 and focus on customizing each community to accent it’s individuality, and slowly add in elements that in time will further� accent the independece of each site.

So….we wait……

A security flaw has been discovered on Windows Vista operating system that gives hackers full control of computers. Read the CNN article.

Our networks are currently in the process of upgrading in preparation for the coined “Web 2.0”. I started working on the backend several months ago on this and have a steady game plan that will go for months. Read about Web 2.0 on Wikipedia.

We will be blurring the line between our forum and ecommerce networks. Our forum networks will have more interaction and trading available for members, and our ecommerce network will integrate some of the community features from our forum networks.

If you’re a user on any of our networks, you’ll just notice that there’s more to do and things will be a little more fun. Tonight was the first time I started installing what I’ve been sketching out for quite a while. For me that’s very exciting.

Ironically, much of my work has been to make things appear simple. A lesson I’ve learned from music that carries over to IT.

To me, this is Web 2.0 in a nutshell: If three years ago someone asked me how get more search engine traffic; I could have gone on for hours about specific SEO tricks to use and how to manipulate the search engines. A couple days ago someone asked me the same question: “How do I get more traffic to my website?”. My answer was: “Create useful content about what you know and make it readily available to users.”

Some people still refer to my networks as “the empire”. That’s how we used to refer to it in-house and out. It was about domination, controlling SERPS, driving traffic and keeping the behemoth money machine rolling. It’s very rare I used the word “empire” any more, and when I hear it; to me it is a reference to a period of time. Today I refer to it as networks. It is about sharing information and ideas. It is also a reflection of my personal shift in theology; it is about giving more than it is about taking.

My favorite question is: “So how do you make money on this?”. Who cares. This is not about money, it’s about interaction. It’s about leaving the world a little better than when you entered it. As Mel Gibson said recently, “I’m keeping my side of the street clean. That’s all I can do.”

Great article on Subdomains and Search Engines from Nov. 2005 by Vodabot from Vodahost. Also read an article from May 2005 talking about the downsides of using subdomains.

On another article I read the generally considered limit for pages in a subfolder is 65,000 – I have been burned before with security flaws in some software platforms and would like to seperate some of them with subdomains. Having also been burned in the past with SEO practices that were too aggressive; it leaves me in a quandry. Is it ok to seperate to subdomains simply to isolate different software platforms. Everytime I come to a conclusion, I seem to read a discussion that supports the opposite of where I am at the time.

If sticking to the golden rule of doing what’s best for users, then subdomains is the right answer for me. But the real answer is what do the search engines think is best for my users – that’s the slippery slope.

Jury is still out, but check out the article – Lots of good info in there.