Category Archives: Ask J.D.

[SOLVED] Can’t pin folders to Quick Access (The parameter is incorrect.)

Tuesday, 2015.11.10 J.D. H. 122 comments

IMPORTANT NOTE: some commenters reported that while the method described below DOES restore the ability to add new items to the quick access area, it also removed their existing (old) quick access folders/shortcuts. Therefore, they had to re-add those items. I recommend backing up or taking note of what folders/shortcuts you have BEFORE carrying out this tip. 👍👍 Question. I am trying to pin my Google Drive folder to the new “Quick access” list in Windows 10 but it fails

Can’t be opened because it is from an unidentified developer mac

Monday, 2015.11.09 J.D. H. Leave a comment

If you are using Mac OSX El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks or similar, you may encounter the following error: This is of course a very sad message if you know the app is from a reputable source 🙁 Thankfully, there is an easy fix! Step 1. Go to Finder Step 2. Locate the application you are trying to open In my instance it is Finder -> Applications -> VLC Step 3. Hold down the command button while you right click (option

Prevent iTunes from moving songs when adding to Music Library [SOLVED]

Monday, 2015.11.09 J.D. H. Leave a comment

iTunes exhibits a potentially problematic behavior when adding songs. Specifically, when you add songs to an iTunes music library. By default iTunes copies songs to the “iTunes Media folder. This can be rather wasteful as you can end up with a ton of space used by the duplicate media, potentially eating up a huge chunk of your SSD/HDD space. 🙁 Thankfully, this behavior can be adjusted easily. 🙂 Here is the spot to make the change: iTunes -> Preferences -> Advanced

Get Windows Movie Maker for Windows 10

Thursday, 2015.11.05 J.D. H. Leave a comment

Microsoft’s Windows Movie Maker is a surprisingly useful tool for simple video conversion and re-sizing. While it has not been updated for a number of years, it is still supported in Windows 10. Specifically, Microsoft recommends movie maker version “Windows Movie Maker 2012” for use on Win10. You can download that version directly from Microsoft: dl link NOTE: the online installer above seems to be fail periodically when the windows essentials catalog is down. If you get an error like this: Then you make

Upload your prescription to 1-800-CONTACTS

Saturday, 2015.10.31 J.D. H. Leave a comment

Recently I ordered a couple boxes of daily wear contact lenses from 1-800-CONTACTS. So far the process has not been very smooth: Problem 1 – all the “order codes” or “coupon codes” I tried, even the codes listed on their own site, failed to work on my order 🙁 Problem 2 – despite updating my doctor information and submitting a copy of my prescription online, they still had trouble processing my prescription 🙁 To help expedite the order I planned on re-uploading

Disable Skype Voicemail

Friday, 2015.10.30 J.D. H. Leave a comment

I do not care for Skype’s voicemail feature. I much prefer Google Voice or other similar services. Oddly, I have been unable to find a way to disable the voicemail via the Skype app for Android. However, if you login to the Skype.com site you can disable voicemail at the following page: https://secure.skype.com/account?page=voicemail Woot! 🙂 PS here are a couple screenshots showing voicemail enabled and then DISABLED: Top Search Terms:[keywprd] (1)

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Slow AutoCAD on Dell M6700 with AMD FirePro [SOLVED]

Sunday, 2015.10.25 J.D. H. Leave a comment

Step 1. Uninstall all Catalyst Drivers Step 2. Install Dell Catalyst Pro drivers from the AMD site: Drive download Step 3. Make sure hardware acceleration is enabled: AutoCAD knowledge base article Other links: http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Display-and-Video/Graphic-card-problems-AMD-Fire-Pro-M5100-in-AutoCAD-and/td-p/4867242 http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/autocad-2004-2005-2006/no-hardware-acceleration/td-p/2877122 Top Search Terms:autocad 2014 amd firepro m5100 (1)slow m6700 video (1)

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How long does it take to format a 5TB drive? [ANSWERED]

Friday, 2015.10.09 J.D. H. 9 comments

Question: How long does it take to fully format a 5TB external hard drive via USB 3.0? Answer: It takes about 9.5 hours to fully format! Details: This was an external “Seagate Expansion Unit” 5TB drive connected via USB 3.0 to a docked Dell E5450. I started the format (NTFS format, via Windows 10) at 9:30AM and it finished at 7PM. Top Search Terms:https://www.jdhodges.com/blog/how-long-to-format-5tb-drive-windows/ (12)how long to format 5tb (5)how long to format 5tb drive (4)how long to format a 5tb drive