Removing add-ons from Internet Explorer 7

Start Internet Explorer.
On the Tools menu, click Manage Add-ons.
Click the name of the add-on.
Use one of the following methods:
Click Update ActiveX to replace the add-on with the current version. This option is not available for all add-ons.
To enable an add-on, click Enable, and then click OK.
To disable an add-on, click Disable, and then click OK.
You may have to restart Internet Explorer

If that doesn't work, then try this;
Go to Start > Run, type iexplore –extoff and press Enter.
then internet explorer should load and you can remove the add-ons from the tools menu

New service from Roy Penfold Computer Service

I am pleased to announce that Roy Penfold Computer Services can now supply hardware. Please visit http://www.roypenfold.co.uk/page19.html and browse our on-line store.

Returning an alphabetical list consisting of the first letter in MySQL

In a recent project, one task involved returning the unique first letter of the data held in a MySQL field in order to provide hyperlink navigation through the web-site as opposed to a drop down menu.

This was accomplished using the MySQL statement below;

SELECT DISTINCT (left( [field], 1 ) )FROM `[table]` ORDER BY [field]

Revisions to websites

I'm spending the next few days making some changes to websites http://www.findapro.co.uk and http://www.hastingsmusicalfestival.co.uk

The Findapro one is a directory of professionals (accountants, builders etc) and I am employing a few SEO tactics to get its Google pagerank up a bit, not to mention permitting inclusion of banner adverts. The Findapro site is totally bespoke written using PHP and MySQL.

With the Musical Festival, it is a case of extracting the results from their bespoke Access database, re-formatting then uploading results pages to the website which is based upon Joomla. As time permits, I plan to write some custom Joomla modules to permit on-line entry and real-time updating of results.

Badly installed network

Had an emergency call out to a local supermarket today, their network had gone down making their tills inoperative.

When I arrived, there was a long patch cable strung across the shop floor to the point of sale terminals. The manager informed me that they had previously had an engineer in who said there was nothing wrong with the wiring.

Normally I attempt to repair before re-wiring (this is an 'open all hours' supermarket and removing ceiling tiles to re-lay the cable or pull new cable using the existing would have been extremely disruptive requiring dismantling of much of their counter displays). Hooking up the network tester to the two points revealed that one had two wires reversed on the cable and another was showing open circuits across two pairs. Opening up the Cat 5 outlet behind the till revealed two wires that had not been punched down correctly and examining the RJ45 connectors in the back office revealed the one which the owners had been informed was damaged during installation had in fact been wired incorrectly.

All in all the diagnosis and repair took about 20 minutes which was much less disruptive than re-cabling.

Google Streetview car spied in St Leonards

Saw the google streetview car in St Leonards today. At about 15:00 it was driving down Tower Road from Bohemia Road towards London Road, then a few minutes later driving down St Peters Road, obviously having been round the block.

A 'Rupert'

Had an unusual one with a laptop today. I don't normally do laptop repairs, but this one seemed straightforward if the cause wasn't so bizarre.

The CD mechanism had been pushed down so the tray wouldn't open. This was caused by the user burning a CD and setting the laptop down on the floor whilst it completed.

What the user hadn't bargained on was their dog, Rupert sitting on the tray as it ejected on completion of writing the disc.

Stripping the drive out of the laptop and removing the outer casing revealed a simple repair - one of the runners had been bent and was easily straightened.