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Chrome Application Shortcuts Windows 7 Taskbar icon fix icon resolution / size (and prevent Chrome from changing it back) November 29, 2010

Posted by Aurelius in Google Chrome, Windows 7.
Tags: , , , , , , ,
5 comments

One of the great features of Google Chrome are “Application Shortcuts”. If you haven’t used these, they are a nice, convenient way to launch frequently used web apps from your desktop/taskbar in their own window. To create a new Application Shortcut, in Chrome click the wrench that expands options, then choose “Tools” and “Create Application Shortcuts…” from the tools sub-menu.

Here is a sample of 3 application shortcuts on my taskbar on Windows 7 (I outlined the shortcuts in red):

Although Application Shortcuts are a convenient feature, one of the annoyances of them is that they use low-resolution 32×32 icons. So, when you add them to your Windows 7 taskbar they appear pixelated and look bad. To further add frustration, if you change the icon, Google Chrome will often change it back automatically when you re-launch the program.

Here is how to change your Google Chrome application shortcut to use a high-resolution icon and preserve it so Chrome doesn’t automatically change it back.

  1. First, you need to find a higher-resolution icon of the application you are adding. You’ll want an icon at least 40px by 40px. I would recommend at least 64×64 or larger. The tricky part is you need an icon with the extension .ico. You can search on http://images.google.com to find a hi-rez image of what you want (just search for your program with ‘icon’ after it). However, most images online are .jpg or .png. You must convert the image to .ico. The fastest, easiest way to do this is to use an online converter such as (http://www.coolutils.com/online/image-converter/). NOTE: I do not endorse this particular site–use at your own risk. It’s just an example, but it worked well for me. You can also convert it using a standard Windows Editing program such as PhotoShop as long as you have the right plug-in.
  2. Once you have your .ico image, \save it to a folder in your computer you can keep…perhaps in My Documents somewhere, or possibly even in the Google Chrome folder (somewhere you can leave it and it won’t get deleted).
  3. Create an application shortcut on your desktop for the application you want to change the icon.
  4. Find the icon on your desktop, right-click and choose properties. Then, choose “Change Icon…” and change the icon to the .ico image you downloaded in step 2.
  5. Click OK twice to close out and save.
    KEY: This next step (step 6) is critical to prevent Google Chrome from changing the icon back. It is a workaround, but it works for me and is the only way I could find to keep the icons the same:
  6. Now, right-click on the icon and click “Properties” again (yes, you do have to close and re-open the properties window).  Click the “General” tab and then click the checkbox next to “Read-only” near the bottom. Click OK.
  7. Now, drag the icon down to your taskbar and you are done! You should now have a high-resolution image on your taskbar that will stay that way.

SOLUTION: Windows 7 itunes 10 (itunes 8/9) iPhone / iTouch / iPad “software is not installed” error (Apple Mobile Device service missing) 32bit/64bit December 8, 2009

Posted by Aurelius in 3rd party apps, iTunes, Windows 7.
Tags: , , , , , , ,
365 comments

Update 10/25/2011: Updated for iTunes 10.5, both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7. Updated location of “Drivers” folder in 64-bit Windows 7 and iTunes 10. If you don’t have the latest version of iTunes, you can download it here.

After searching the net and lots of forums and trying lots of things, I thought I’d post the solution that actually worked for me. I owe a great deal of thanks to Chris123nt for this post (link removed, blog post no longer exists) for pointing me in the right direction.

First off, you will know if the solution below will work for you if you have the following set-up and symptoms:

  • Windows 7 and iTunes 8, 9 or 10 (I tried all versions, and many commenters have indicated this issue still exists in iTunes 10)
  • An iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad
  • You receive the following error when you plug in your iPhone: “This iPhone cannot be used because the required software is not installed. Run the iTunes installer to remove iTunes, then re-install iTunes.”
  • The Apple Mobile Device Service was not installed (to check this, click Start, Run, then type “services.msc” Look for “Apple Mobile Device”. If it doesn’t exist, keep reading. If it does, you have a different problem.)
  • You have tried installing and re-installing iTunes already and it didn’t work
  • According to other forums / posts, you might have tried extracting the Apple Mobile Device Software install files separately from the iTunes installer and installing manually that way, and it still didn’t work

The problem is, for some reason, iTunes won’t install the Apple Mobile Device software or service. Even if you extract out the AMDS installation files, it still fails. The SOLUTION is to take the software and service from a working machine for AMDS and manually install it. Then, it will work!

Luckily for you, I have provided the files you will need and installation instructions. This is a bit technical, but obviously worth it to get your iPhone,  iTouch or iPad working on windows 7. These instructions are for both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows 7 and the latest version of iTunes 10. Depending on whether you have 32-bit or 64-bit Windows, make sure you select the appropriate files and follow the right instructions, otherwise it won’t work.

If you don’t know whether you have 32-bit or 64-bit Windows, right-click on “Computer”, click Properties, then look under “System type”.

NOTE: As of iTunes 10, for 64-bit Windows, Apple moved the location of the Drivers folder. In iTunes 9 it was in Program Files (x86)/Common Files/… now in iTunes 10 it is located in Program Files/Common Files/.

Good luck!

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  1. First of all, make sure you have the latest version of iTunes installed. You can download it from here. These instructions will NOT work for iTunes 8 or 9 anymore. If you’re unsure, just uninstall iTunes then re-install with the latest files.
  2. Next, you need to manually copy the Mobile Device Support directory from a working machine to your Windows 7 computer. Luckily, I have conveniently provided these files for you. You can download them here:
    64-Bit iTunes 10.5: Please click here to download this directory for 64-bit Windows.
    32-Bit     iTunes 10.5: Please click here to download this directory for 32-bit Windows.

  3. Once you download that file, you need to Unzip it to this directory. IMPORTANT: Make sure you unzip the CONTENTS of the zip file, don’t just copy over the zip file:
    32-Bit: Unzip to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple
    64-Bit: Unzip to C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Apple
    There are a large number of files in that directory, so it may take a little time, please be patient
  4. 64-bit only step (if you have 32-bit Windows skip to Step 5): First, check if you already have this folder. Navigate to: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\Drivers
    If this folder exists, you can skip to step 5. Otherwise complete these steps: You need to download an extra file to get these drivers. Click here to download the “Drivers” folder for 64-bit Windows 7 iTunes 10. Once downloaded, do this:
    Navigate to C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple and unzip the contents of the ZIP file you just downloaded.  You should end up with a new folder “Mobile Device Support” in the Apple folder.
  5. Next, we have to merge the registry entries that will install the Apple Mobile Device service.
    First, download the registry entries that I have provided for you here:
    64-bit iTunes 10.5: Click here to download the registry entries for 64-bit Windows.
    32-bit     iTunes 10.5: Click here to download the registry entries for 32-bit Windows.
     After you download the registry entries ZIP file, unzip it to your desktop and double-click each to install it. Say “Yes” to any prompts or confirmations about adding it to the registry. There are 2 entries, make sure you click BOTH and add BOTH to the registry.
  6. Now, we need to install the correct driver for your iPhone / iTouch. Windows 7 incorrectly identifies the device  as a digital camera. To fix this:
    - Plug in your iPhone / iTouch (don’t have iTunes loaded at this time)
    - Go to Device Manager (Click Start, right-click Computer,  then click Properties. In the window that appears choose “Device Manager” on the left)
    - Scroll down and find “Apple iPod” or “Apple iPhone” or “Apple iTouch”. It will likely be under the “Portable Devices” category.IMPORTANT NOTE: If your device is already listed under “Universal serial Bus Controllers” and not Portable Devices, you can skip these steps and go to Step 7.
    -  Right-click the Apple device and choose “Update Driver Software…”
    - Choose “Browse my computer for driver software” in the window that appears
    -  It will ask you for a location; you want to Browse to this folder (location is the same in 32 and 64 bit Windows):
    32-bit and 64-bit: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Apple\Mobile Device Support\Drivers
    – Click Next
    - It should find the driver for your device; let it install that driver
  7. Once you complete these steps, reboot your computer. Once you reboot everything should work exactly as expected!

Please write in the comments and let me know if this worked for you.

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Windows 7 Clean install with Upgrade license key Error Code 0xC004F061 December 5, 2009

Posted by Aurelius in Windows 7.
Tags: , , ,
41 comments

I purchased a Windows 7 upgrade recently (my computer came with a full version of Vista). I got a new hard drive and did a clean install of Windows 7. When I attempted to use the key in the installation process, it told me the product key I was using was not valid. From the MS site it looked like I might have to install Vista first. Turns out this is not the case, it’s actually fairly easy around this.

*NOTE: Only follow these steps if you have a VALID Upgrade (I.e.: You legitimately own the previous full version you’re upgrading from)

This is what I did to solve the problem:

1. Do a clean install of Windows and do a keyless installation (I.e.: When it asks you to put in the key, just uncheck the “Validate Windows when I’m online” box and don’t enter the key; click “Next”)

Once you’re in Windows, you’re going to have to do some tweaking to “trick” it into letting you active Windows with the Upgrade key. To do this:
2. Once you’re at your desktop, run Command Prompt as Administrator (click Start, then type ‘command‘ in the Search box. You should see Command prompt on the list. Right-click it and click “Run as Administrator”. Click “Yes” on the Security Prompt).
3. At the command prompt, type: regedit
4. Once in Registry Editor, navigate to this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Setup/OOBE
In that folder, look for the item MediaBootInstall
5. Double-click it and change the value to 0
6. Close out of Registry Editor. You should still have the Command Prompt open. Now, at the Command Prompt, type the following:
slmgr /rearm
7. It should show something that tells you the command was successful.
8. Restart the computer. Then, go to the Activation screen (Click Start, Right-click Computer then click Properties. Scroll to the bottom and choose “Activate my copy of Windows”)
9. Enter your Upgrade product key and it should activate successfully!

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