How to Boot Windows From GRUB Rescue Prompt

February 6, 2012 By 2 Comments

Hiren's Boot CD ScreenshotI recently had an experience with a corrupt dual boot setup of Kubuntu 11.10 which led to me finding a solution for reinstalling Kubuntu 11.10 in a dual boot environment. If you are curious, read about it here: How to Reinstall Kubuntu 11.10 Oneiric Ocelot on Dual Boot System.

This is a temporary solution for bypassing the GRUB Rescue prompt to an uncorrupted installation of Windows where the Windows MBR (Master Boot Record) is intact, but Grub is setup as your primary boot loader. To load windows, you need:

1. Working computer with a blank CD.
2. CD IMAGE burning software. You can’t use regular CD burning software for this task, you must be able to burn images so they will load on boot. Great software that runs on Windows and is FREE is ImgBurn: http://www.imgburn.com/
3. Image of Hiren’s Boot CD: http://www.hirensbootcd.org/download/

Hiren’s Boot CD will download in a zip file, which will need to be extracted. Burn the .iso image from the extracted folder for your live CD. In my case, the file was: “Hiren’s.BootCD.15.1.iso”.

Once you have completed burning your Boot CD image, restart your computer and boot to Hiren’s Boot CD

The first option on the list:
“Boot From Hard Drive (Windows Vista/7/2008 or Xp)”
or scroll down two pages and select:
“Boot Windows XP (NTLDR) from Hard Drive”
or if you are running Vista/Windows 7, select:
“Boot Windows Vista/7 (BOOTMGR) from Hard Drive”

If none of the three options above work for you, you can scroll up to page two and attempt to boot (I have not tested these options, but maybe worth a try):
“Boot HDD 1 MBR”
“Boot HDD 2 MBR”
“Boot HDD 3 MBR”

If you are unable to boot to Windows with any of these methods, your Windows MBR (Master Boot Record) could be corrupt or missing.

As always, if anyone has any suggestions, feedback or advice, please comment. If this post has helped you out, please spread the word by posting a backlink from your site or blog. You can also share on facebook, linkedin, or any other social networking/bookmarking site.

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Forgot Router Username and Password – How do I Reset My Router to Factory Settings?

March 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Question
I forgot my username and/or password, how do I reset my router to factory settings?

Answer
We do not assist users in bypassing any security measures. If you lost your password to the router you own, you can perform a factory reset or hard reset and then re run the router setup.

First Try the Default Login Information
Before performing a hard reset on your router, you should try the default login information.

Username: admin, administrator, or root
Password: <leave blank and press enter>, admin, password, or root

If none of these work, try viewing default settings for your router at http://www.routerpasswords.com/

Perform Hard Reset on your router

If all attempts to login have failed, you should consider performing a hard, factory reset. On the back of the router, locate the small “pinhole” reset button and press it with a pen for 10-15 seconds. After this has been done, you will be able to login to your router with the default login information and complete the router setup wizard.

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How Do I Crack My WEP Key For My WI-FI Connection?

March 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Question
How Do I Crack My WEP Key For My WI-FI Connection?

Answer
We do not assist users in black-hat, illegal, or methods used to hack or crack. But, if you forgot your WI-FI WEP password, you may access your router setup by following the instructions here. Once opened, access your wireless security settings and you should find your WEP key.

If you forgot your router password, you can reset your router by finding the reset button on the back and pushing it for 10 seconds with a pen or other small object. Once your router has been reset, you will be able to run through the new setup options.

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Why Has My IP Address Changed?

March 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Question
Why has my IP address changed?

Answer

Using Dialup Internet
If you are dialing in to your Internet Service Provider each time with a Telephone based modem each time you connect to the internet, you will be assigned an IP address that is available each time you connect to the internet. Because of the type of connection where you are only connected when you dial in, it would be almost impossible to connect with the same IP address every time. Therefore you are assigned a random IP on the network when you connect. If you are looking for a static (never changing) IP address, you must subscribe to an always-on internet connection (cable, dsl, t1, t3, etc…).

Using Broadband Internet
Generally, standard priced packages come with what is called a leased IP address. Not lease in the sense of the term that it costs you extra money, but where you are simply borrowing an IP address from the DHCP pool of your ISP for a defined period of time. Upon expiration of your lease, you are automatically assigned a new IP address and start a new lease.

If you are looking for a Static IP address, most ISP’s provide static IPs in premium or business grade packages. Call your ISP for more information.

If the reason you are looking for a static IP address is to self host your own website, e-mail, etc… you will be much better off instead leasing a VPS from a data center. Your bandwidth and reliability are much better and you will be able to retain your own high speed access to the internet. We used Wiredtree for our servers, they are amazing, check them out before self hosting your own website off your home broadband connection.

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How do I adjust the settings of my home linksys router?

March 22, 2011 By 1 Comment

Question
How do I adjust the settings of my home linksys router?

Answer
Once a router has been connected to your home network, you may adjust your settings by simply using firefox, internet explorer, or any other settings by using the following steps.

1. Make sure your computer is connected to one of the switch ports (group of 4) and not the WAN port (stand alone port next to the group of 4).
2. Determine your routers IP address. By default, your router’s IP Address is 192.168.1.1 you may try connecting to the default address by opening firefox, internet explorer or your web browser of choice. Click in the address area and type (without quotes): “http://192.168.1.1” If successful, you will be asked to enter your username and password. By default, the username and password on a linksys router is: Username: admin Password: admin. If successful move to number 4.
3. If logging into your router was unsuccessful, double check that you are connected to your router. You may need to determine your routers default gateway address. Click “Start” and click “Run” or hold the windows key and press “R”. In the run command type (without quotes) “cmd“. You will open the windows command shell. In the command shell area type (without quotes) “ipconfig“. Write down the “Default Gateway Address”. Go back to 2 and follow the steps with the default gateway address your wrote down instead of 192.168.1.1.
4. If you logged in successfully, you will see the linksys setup screen.

Cisco Linksys Router Setup Screen

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