You cannot copy files due to “the specfied network name is no longer available”

December 6th, 2008

I was setting up a new laptop today.  The wireless network was set up and I started copying files from my desktop.  The copy failed due to the error “the specfied network name is no longer available.

I checked the network connections and was able to copy files to another laptop successfully.  I searched the internet for a solution but none were satisfactory until I came across JohnWill’s post at http://forums.techguy.org/networking/768807-cannot-copy-___-specfied-network.html.

Please ensure that the following services are Started on the laptop:

  • COM+ Event System (for WZC issues)
  • Computer Browser
  • DHCP Client
  • DNS Client
  • Network Connections
  • Network Location Awareness
  • Remote Procedure Call (RPC)
  • Server
  • TCP/IP Netbios helper
  • Windows Zero Configuration (wireless configurations)
  • Workstation

Because I was not managing the wireless network connections via the Wireless Zero Configuration service, the COM+ Event System was not started and that prevented me from copying the files from the desktop to the laptop.  I started the COM+ Event System service, rebooted the machine and I was able to copy the files with no problem.

Problems viewing Youtube content - Flash or JavaScript error

September 16th, 2008

A client was having a problem viewing videos on YouTube using Internet Explorer (IE).  He has Vista installed on his laptop.  I had spent some time trying to resolve the problem and when I could not figure it out, I suggested that he install Firefox.  He was able to view content using Firefox.

I continued to research the problem viewing videos with Internet Explorer (IE) on a Vista workstation.  I then finally came along a post at http://forums.techguy.org/ that explained the problem and provided the solution.  It seems that even though the Flash installer says that the new version is installed, it requires some manual intervention.

Go to: C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash\ and double click on the file FlashUtil9b.exe.  This will execute the software update that makes it available to the Internet Explorer (IE) browser.  Reboot your system, navigate to the Youtube video you wanted to play and all should run as expected.

Thanks to the techguy.org this very frustrating message “Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe’s Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.” is no longer a problem.

Do you want to import your 1shoppingcart.com or AutoPilot.com sales receipts into QuickBooks?

August 9th, 2008

We learned that users of 1ShoppingCart.com have a problem tracking inventory with the QuickBooks export from 1ShoppingCart.com. We wrote a utility that will enable you to import your 1ShoppingCart.com and AutoPilot.com sales receipts into QuickBooks.

Unfortunately, there is no coordination between the 1ShoppingCart and the QuickBooks item number. Moreover, the item numbers that 1ShoppingCart use cannot easily be determined ahead of time.

Excerpted from accountant.intuit.com

QuickBooks requires that the inventory, customers, sales methods and tax accounts be set up before a sales receipt can be processed. Our utility allows you to synchronize your QuickBooks file with the tables on our server. You will export all your inventory, customers, sales methods and tax accounts to our server. Once you upload the sales receipt file, you will be able to determine the inventory, customers, tax accounts, and sales methods missing from QuickBooks.

The missing inventory, customers, sales methods and tax accounts will be created in QuickBooks and then the sales receipts can be imported and processed in QuickBooks. Inventory on hand will be calculated to reflect the imported sales receipts.

It is our hope that this utility will make things easier for users of 1ShoppingCart.com/AutoPilot.com and Quickbooks.

1ShoppingCart.com QuickBooks Utility

Phpmailer Language string failed to load

April 23rd, 2008

I have seen many posts from people who have installed phpmailer in the hopes of improving their mail capabilities on their site only to be confounded by the language string error -

Phpmailer Language string failed to load

Having just resolved the problem myself, I thought I would just document my remedy in the hopes that it will save someone else some time.

One solution I found in my search was altering the include path using a statement like -

set_include_path(get_include_path() . PATH_SEPARATOR . "/path_to_class/class/phpmailer");

But this change did not correct the problem for me. I looked further into the phpmailer documentation and found the SetLanguage method. I added the following lines to my code and the problem was resolved.

$lang_path = "/path_to_class_directory/class/phpmailer/language/";
$lang_type = "en";
$mail->SetLanguage($lang_type, $lang_path);

Site5 :: the best inexpensive web hosting

April 10th, 2008

We have been putting together websites for years and we have finally found the best web package with Site5. You can search all day for the cheapest web hosting and come up with hundreds of listings. Sign up for any of these cheap web hosting packages and you will soon learn that you will be sorely disappointed. No so with a Site5 web hosting package. Site5 is offering a web hosting package for $6.95 a month when you agree to 24 months of service. You can’t beat the price of this high quality web hosting company. When picking a web hosting package, you must look at service, support, price and features. Site5 does not disappoint. I have been using Site5 for the last two years and I have been very satisfied with their service. Their technical support is very quick to respond and I have been quite pleased with their resolutions. Site5 even offers a 60-day “no hassles” guarantee. Site5’s web hosting package includes:

  • PHP 4 & 5 (w/Zend Optimizer™)
  • MySQL 4+
  • Perl 5.8+ (w/Free Module Installation)
  • GD Graphics Library
  • cURL Library
  • Python 2.2 Language Support
  • ImageMagick 5+ Support

Through Fantastico all the popular website applications can be easily installed onto your website. These popular website applications include:

  • Blogs:
    • b2evolution
    • WordPress
  • Portals/CMS:
    • Drupal
    • Joomla!
    • Mambo Open Source
  • E-Commerce:
    • CubeCart
    • OS Commerce
    • Zen Cart
  • Image Galleries:
    • 4images Gallery
    • Coppermine Photo Gallery
    • Gallery
  • Mailing List:
    • PHPlist

Site5 web hosting packages include unlimited email addresses and email forwarders. Secure shell account (SSH) can easily be enabled via the SiteAdmin interface. So far, I have been quite happy with Site5 web hosting and I’m sure you will be too! If you would like to order your web hosting at Site5, go to their order form.