Sysadmin Blog Just another IT Blog

8Aug/100

GPSgate

I recently had a small issue with a Bluetooth GPS device and Mappoint 2010. It wasn’t able to communicate with it at all but if I used any other software it had no issue what so ever. So i researched a bit and found out that Mappoint has a few issues with Bluetooth GPS devices. Anyway long story short I found this great software called GPSgate. It is originally made for using the Bluetooth devices in more then one software at the same time. However it works great with Mappoint.

Once installed you can simply set the software to use the Bluetooth GPS and publish it one or more COM ports.

If you are not going to do anything crazy and really only want the software for Mappoint or Streets and Trips you can use the Express version which won’t cost you too much. So here is the link to the client:

http://gpsgate.com/products/gpsgate_client

And here is the link to the purchase page for the Express version:

http://gpsgate.com/purchase/gpsgate_express_license

 

I hope it works for you as it has for me

Andreas

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8Aug/100

HP LaserJet 1022 issues

Recently I was trying to fix an issue with an HP LaserJet 1022 on a Windows 7 x86 machine with an USB connection. The issue was that if certain files were being printed it would kill the print spooler until you clean it out (delete the print spooler files manually). I found that the biggest problem files were PDF files.

So I stated researching and found the following post:

http://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=327353

In this post they are describing a very similar issue. They are also talking about that the solution is using a PCL driver (which by the product description it natively supports). However HP is unique in this case. They don’t actually have a PCL driver for this printer they only have a Host Based printer driver.

They requested help from HP who actually told them to use a HP LaserJet 6L driver.

Dear HP Customer,
Thank you for contacting Hewlett-Packard's Commercial Solutions Center.
We understand that you are seeking PCL 5e print driver for the HP LaserJet 1022 product.
The software CD for the HP LaserJet 1022 product does not contain PCL print drivers and they are not currently available on our Web site. Only a host-based driver is available.
Click on the following URL for an explanation of host-based printing:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Docume...sp?objectID=bpl07860
Click on the following URL for Supported Windows Operating Systems and PC System Requirements:
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Docume...p?objectID=c00405416
We would suggest that you try using an alternate MS Windows print driver, such as an HP LaserJet 6L. Use the Windows Add Printer Wizard to install a MS Windows HP LaserJet print driver.
NOTE: Alternate print drivers may or may not work when printing to an HP LaserJet 1022 product.
Perform the following to select an alternate print driver using the Add Printer Wizard:
1. From the Windows desktop, click Start, and then Printers and Faxes.
2. Double-click on the Add Printer icon. The Add Printer Wizard screen should appear, click Next.
3. Follow the instructions.
4. Under Manufacturer, select HP, under Printers select HP LaserJet 6L (or 5L), and then click Next.
5. Continue with the installation.
NOTE: Select the same port you are using for the HP LaserJet 1022 host-based driver.
Once again, thank you for contacting Hewlett-Packard's Commercial Solutions Center.
NOTE: Our advice is strictly limited to the question(s) asked and is based on the information provided to us. Problems and solutions may depend on the nature of your system environment and various other parameters that are unknown to HP; therefore, HP cannot assume any responsibility or liability. Please be advised that technical information changes as new data becomes available, therefore, HP recommends that you check back at our technical support web site located at http://www.hp.com/country/us/en/support.html regularly for possible updates. Hewlett-Packard shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, special, incidental or consequential damages in connection with the use of this information.

 

So by this answer from HP we can see that they are obviously aware of the problem but decided not to fix it and give a work around instead.

It works perfectly fine to use the LaserJet 6L driver. If you can’t see the driver when installing the printer you can press Windows Update in Windows 7 and Vista in order for it download a lot of drivers from Windows Update.

 

I hope this helps somebody

Andreas

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16Jul/100

Silently deploy Adobe CS5 (or CS4)

Just the other day my company bought a few volume licenses for Adobe Illustrator CS5. So I thought hey lets do a silent deployment through SCCM.

After looking up some things on google I came across the Adobe Developer Connection site where I found a nice little toolkit that can create silent installs:

http://www.adobe.com/devnet/creativesuite/enterprisedeployment.html

By the way there is one for the CS4 version as well and if your company doesn't have a volume key you can still customize the install and have it ask for a serial.

Have fun,

Andreas