Google Chrome: Application not found/Missing from Default Programs

With Google Chrome as my default browser my Windows internet shortcuts weren't working, instead they would bring up an error message: "Application not found". Not helpful.

I went to check Chrome was set as the default in Control Panel\Programs\Default Programs\Set Default Programs and it wasn't even listed. I checked the registry settings and they were as they should be. Then I remembered that when I recently re-installed my system I had an issue with installing Chrome via the usual method, it appeared to run but there were no entries in the Start menu and nothing in Program Files. I had to download the Google Chrome offline installer which ran fine.

When I checked in Control Panel\Programs\Programs and Features There were two Chromes listed: one with a Chrome icon and the other with a Windows default "I don't know what the icon for this is so I'll just give it this square" icon. Sure enough when I uninstalled the one without the proper icon everything worked fine.

Windows Shortcut "name specified not valid" Fix

Occasionally when making a shortcut in Windows I want to set an additional value, like a URL that I want to open in a particular browser for example. Sometimes you get this error:

Which reads:
Problem with Shortcut
The name '"C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe http://www.google.com/' specified in the Target box is not valid. Make sure the path and file name are correct.

The key is NOT to have the whole program path in the Shortcut Properties/Shortcut Tab/Target like this:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" http://www.google.com/

Instead you just need the program file name and the argument like this:
firefox.exe http://www.google.com/

You then put the program's path in the "Start in" field:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox"

This has caught me out more than once so I thought I'd post it here.

NuGet GetExportedValue Error Fix

I love NuGet. I find package inter-dependency fights very frustrating: I just want to be developing not sorting out bickering versions. Imagine my horror then when I tried to access it and got the following error:

GetExportedValue cannot be called before prerequisite import 'NuGet.VisualStudio.VsPackageSourceProvider..ctor (Parameter="registrySettingsManager", ContractName="NuGet.VisualStudio.IPackageSourceSettingsManager")' has been set.

Then all subsequent clicks I get:
Internal error occurred. Additional information: ''."

The solution that fixed it for me was to delete the config file which in my case was empty:
C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\NuGet\NuGet.Config

Credit to ullmark for providing this answer: http://nuget.codeplex.com/discussions/263866

Post to Google+ From Blogger

[UPDATE] This is no longer necessary as there is now a 'Share' function in Blogger.com

Thanks to Dirk_SG for this answer:
http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/blogger/thread?tid=30bef3268481af9b&hl=en

1. Get the feed url from your source (e.g. in Blogger scroll to the bottom get the url from the link where it says Subscribe to: Posts)
2. Go to Google Reader http://www.google.com/reader/
3. Add the feed using the Subscribe button on the left.
4. At the top right click Share and select the circles you want to publish to or Public

Move Offline Files in Windows

Windows offline files work well for me but  I wanted to move the folder to a different disk which isn't an option through the GUI. I eventually found an answer that worked for me courtesy of Shaun62L and Brian.bsi so thanks to them:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/w7itpronetworking/thread/17783c3f-bce9-4fda-9544-818786884a91?prof=required

The process outlined wasn't exactly right for me so I have summarised what I did for my own notes and in case that source should move or disappear. Note this only seems to work on NTFS disks.

To move the location of offline file store (Windows 7):

• Go to Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Sync Center\Manage Offline Files and click Disable Offline Files
• Reboot
• Delete the old cache. You may struggle a bit here as for me it did the old trick of hanging on to the permissions even after I set them but I found if you persevere I was able to eventually.
  Open cmd.exe as administrator (Start, type "cmd" then press Ctrl, Shift, Enter) and take ownership of the files:
• On the command line:
  takeown /f c:\windows\csc /r /d y
  icacls c:\windows\csc /grant administrators:F /t
  You could make this a .bat file by substituting %1 for the path and calling it like so:
  takeown.bat c:\windows\csc
  This will go through all the files and set permissions, it may take a long time.
• Using Explorer. (NB you may need to drill down into the folders and repeat this for each folder depending on your file/folder structure and permissions):
• Right click the folder and select Properties, Security, Click Advanced and Choose Owner tab.
• Choose Edit and select yourself in the list (or click Other users or groups to add)
• Tick Replace owner on subcontainers and objects, Click OK to exit
• Run: del /S /Q c:\windows\csc to delete the folder and subfolders. 
• Make the new directory: mkdir D:\CSC
• Run the command: mklink /d "C:\Windows\CSC" "D:\CSC" to create a symbolic link to the new location
• Re enable Offline Files
• Reboot

Find the BIOS version in Windows

Rather than reboot and paying close attention you can find it in the registry.
Go to Start, Run, regedit then navigate to:
HKEY-LOCAL_MACHINE/HARDWARE/DESCRIPTION/System/SystemBiosVersion
The Data value should be something like: Phoenix ROM Bios Version A20