If you have been using Windows Vista for a while then you probably know how annoying the security confirmations can be. Any time you install a program, install drivers, run programs that need administrative rights, change certain configuration settings, etc., you are forced to confirm your actions before continuing. Fortunately, there are ways to disable these prompts.

First we need to understand what causes these prompts.  User Account Control or UAC is a new security feature in Windows Vista that gives applications only standard user privileges when they run. This helps to prevent applications and malware from destroying critical operating system components that they would otherwise be able to do with administrative rights. The annoying side effect of this, however, is that each time an application needs administrative rights, you are presented with a “Windows needs your permission to continue” prompt.

Windows Vista does have the option of disabling UAC completely. Disabling UAC will suppress the prompts but also disables all of the other positive effects associated with UAC such as running applications with standard user rights, running Internet Explorer in protected mode, etc. When you disable UAC, you are essentially running Windows Vista with the same type of security as Windows XP. You can disable UAC in Vista by performing the following steps.

Step 1: Click the Start menu and in the Start Search box, type msconfig and hit enter. If you receive a security warning, click “Continue.”

Step 2: Click the “Tools” tab.

Step 3: Select “Disable UAC” and click “Launch.”

Step 4: Close out of the command prompt window and the msconfig window. Now reboot the computer for settings to take effect.

A better option is to switch UAC into “Quiet Mode” using TweakUAC or WinCleaner UAC Switch. Quiet mode allows you to still experience the positive effects of UAC but disables the prompts when an application needs administrative rights. In this mode you are giving control back to the computer, and in a sense, the computer is hitting the continue button for you when an application needs administrative rights.

Both of these options get rid of the annoying prompts but do not offer the full protection that UAC was designed to give. You should only follow these steps if you are an experienced user and are not worried about malware.

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As Macs continue to gain market share, there is an increased likelihood that you will have to support them if you are a tech. And even if you aren’t a tech, it’s good to know which tools are the best to use when it comes time to repair your own. I have put together a list of what are, in my opinion, the ten best repair tools for troubleshooting, diagnosing, and repairing a Mac.

TechTool Protogo

TechTool Protogo is a Mac repair program suite which contains three of Micromat’s best Mac repair tools; TechTool Pro 4, TechTool Pro Classic, and DiskStudio. Protogo creates a bootable Mac repair toolbox with these tools as well as any of your own tools on a portable hard drive or flash drive. You can then boot from this drive, bypassing the OS, and run diagnostics on a computer to determine problems. Protogo also allows you to repair and recover data from problematic hard drives as well as defragment, optimize, and securely delete data. If you do not want to use your own portable drive, you can also purchase TechTool Protege which includes all of the same tools but comes on a FireWire based bootable flash drive.

Cost: $135.00

Memtest OS X

Memtest OS X is a memory testing program for Mac OS X. It is a command line utility so it can be ran in OS X or in Single-User Mode if your Mac will not boot. It is great for testing intermittent system problems when you are having trouble determining if it is a memory problem. If you prefer memtest with a GUI front-end, then be sure to check out Rember. Rember will run in OS X but will not work in Single-User Mode so Memtest OS X is the better option.

Cost: $1.39

DiskWarrior 4

DiskWarrior is arguably one of the best hard drive repair programs for the Mac. It works differently than other data repair programs. Instead of trying to rebuild the damaged data itself, DiskWarrior builds replacement data based off of the original data. It then verifies the new data structure based on the original to make sure it is error free. You can also use DiskWarrior as a preventative maintenance utility for hard disks. When ran, it rebuilds your directory eliminating any damage that you may not be aware of. It also optimizes the directory for better performance.

Cost: $99.95

OnyX

Onyx is a maintenance, optimization, and personalization utility for Mac OS X. It allows you to run hard drive diagnostics, run system maintenance tasks, delete caches, and configure tons of OS X hidden features. Even if you aren’t using it as a repair utility, it is a great application to help keep your Mac running in top shape.

Cost: Free!

Data Rescue II

Data Rescue II is a data recovery program that focuses purely on recovering data from corrupt drives instead of hard drive repair. It scans the corrupt drive analyzing all of its contents and allows you to choose which data you would like to recover. It even scans for deleted files. Data Rescue II restores the data to a separate drive leaving the original data intact. It comes with an emergency boot CD that you can use to recover data when the computer will not boot and it also works on drives that won’t mount.

Cost: $99.00

AppCleaner

AppCleaner may not be classified as a repair tool but it can be used as one. When you are having trouble with an application in OS X, you can simply remove it by dragging it to the Trash. However, this still leaves behind the applications preferences, caches, and other files that could still cause the same problem after you reinstall it. AppCleaner will remove all of these files making sure that the app is completely gone before you attempt a reinstall.

Cost: Free!

Drive Genius 2

Drive Genius 2 is a disk utility application for Macs. Its main features include defragmenting, running benchtests, directory repair, integrity checks, surface scans, repartitioning, cloning, shredding data, and more. This is actually the same program used to defrag Macs at the Genius Bar in Apple Stores. Drive Genius also comes on a bootable DVD so you can run it even when a Mac will not boot.

Cost: $99.00

Carbon Copy Cloner

Carbon Copy Cloner is a simple yet very effective backup utility for the Mac. Like most other backup utilities, it can be scheduled to backup your Mac on a regular basis. The best part, however, is its ability to completely clone a hard drive with it still being bootable. This tool comes in very handy when you are replacing hard drives, setting up multiple Macs, or recovering from a system crash. Carbon Copy Cloner is donation-ware so you can download it for free without any restrictions. You can also check out SuperDuper which has more features but costs $27.95. However, if you just need a simple backup and cloning utility, Carbon Copy Cloner does a great job.

Cost: Free! (donation-ware)

AppleJack

AppleJack is a troubleshooting utility for Mac OS X. It runs under Single-User Mode so it can be used even when OS X will not boot. AppleJack will repair disks, repair permissions, cleanup cache files, validate preference files, and remove swap files. You can select these tasks individually or have AppleJack run all of them and even reboot when finished. Unfortunately, at the time of writing this article, AppleJack is not yet compatible with Leopard but a new version is in the works. Be sure to check their page frequently for an update because this is an invaluable tool.

Cost: Free! (open-source)

Hardware Monitor

Hardware Monitor is a utility that allows you to view data from the hardware sensors in a Mac. It currently has support for temperature readings, battery data, voltage, current, fan speed, power and load, ambient light, as well as user-defined artificial sensors. It’s a great utility to use when simply trying to find out if your hardware is malfunctioning.

Cost: € 7.00 (can also be purchased with U.S. Dollars)

What Mac OS X repair tools do you like?

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Keeping track of Microsoft licenses can be a daunting task when you manage a network with multiple computers. This can be especially true when you are given the task of inventorying computers on a network that you personally did not set up. You could go to each computer and inventory it individually but this could take lots of time depending on the amount of computers. Or, you could use a free program that will scan each computer on a network and do this for you.

The Microsoft Software Inventory Analyzer will scan a network and give you a report of which Microsoft products are currently installed on each computer. You can then use this report to figure out how many licenses you will need to purchase or how many extra licenses you have. In the following tutorial, I would like to guide you through the step by step process of using this tool.

Before We Begin:

Download and run the Microsoft Software Inventory Analyzer. 

Step 1:

After you run the program, you will be presented with the welcome screen. Click “Next.”

Step 2:

You will now choose your scan settings. You have two options.  You can choose “Scan using Custom settings” if you plan on scanning the network frequently or “Scan using wizard” for just a one time scan. For now lets just choose “Scan using wizard.” Click “Next.”

Step 3:

Next you will choose the type of scan. Choose “Network” to scan a network.  If you are not logged into the network with administrator rights then click “Login As…” to put in your username and password. Click “Next.”

Step 4:

Now you will choose which machines on the network to scan. For this tutorial, I am going to select “Specify the range of IP addresses” because not all of the computers on this network log into the domain. Click “Next.”

Step 5:

Now enter the range of IP addresses that you want to scan. When finished, click “Next.”

Step 6:

Now you will choose which types of Microsoft products you want to scan for. You can choose individual products are all Microsoft products. When finished, click “Next.”

Step 7:

Choose the type of format that you want to generate your report in as well as where you would like the report to be saved. Click “Next.”

Step 8:

You now have the options of consolidating this report with other reports you have generated. Click “Next.”

Step 9:

You will now confirm your settings. You can even have the report emailed to someone including yourself if you like.  You can also save these settings as default settings so they come up next time you run MSIA. When finished, click “Next.”

Step 10:

MSIA will now scan the computers on your network for the Microsoft products you specified.  When the scan is finished, you will be presented with a list of machines that MSIA failed to scan and the reason why it couldn’t scan them. You can attempt to fix the problems with the machines and rescan them by selecting the check box next to them or skip them by just clicking “Next.”

Step 11:

Your scan is now complete. Click “Finish” to view your report.

You will now see a report of all the Microsoft Products you scanned for that are installed on the computers on the network. By default, MSIA will tell you that each product has a license deficiency until you tell MSIA how many licenses you own. MSIA will even tell you which Service Pack is installed so it can also aid you in discovering which machines need updating.

Feel free to share your experience with MSIA or any other similar programs.

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