Monday, December 12, 2011

Dell (Toshiba) Bluetooth 350 and Windows 7- FIXED

5/7/2023
Reports say that it seems to work on Windows 11! Another year, another OS!


1/24/2022

Folks, I am blown away. It been over 10 years since I posted this random bit of info I discovered on a long-gone piece of hardware for an end-of-life OS and I am still getting comments from people able to apply it to today's software. Blown! Away!

Yes, this fix reportedly works on Windows 10 according to the latest comment from a user. I love hearing the success stories!

I wonder about Windows 11? 

8/20/2017

Six years and still getting reports that the fix is still helping others get the most from their hardware! Please keep the comments coming as I love reading the success stories!

8/24/2016

By popular demand, here's a couple of how-to links on editing the registry.

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/registry/ht/open-registry-editor.htm
http://www.techsupportalert.com/content/learn-how-use-windows-registry-editor-regedit-one-easy-lesson.htm
Editing the registry My favorite guide! :-)

And George T. has a provided another link to the  drivers
https://extranet.toshiba-tro.de/en-us/supportquality/bluetoothinfopage/news/downloadtoshiba.aspx

Thanks for the kind works and be sire to read thru the feedback comments below for updated and improved information. I have long since retired the laptop so I can't offer new info or insight, but I love hearing the success stories!

3/1/2016

I am gobsmacked that this site is still getting traffic and still helping people get the most from their bluetooth.  Thank you so much for the updates and feedback on working configurations as you discover them. Please keep the comments coming- they make me happy knowing others are still benefiting!

Mike

Original post below:
For those running Toshiba's bluetooth stack and encountering the infamous 'License has expired' message, I have a workaround that seems to be working.
After downloading version 8.00.12(T) of Toshiba's BT stack (from Toshiba Bluetooth Portal), I began getting this message:

"Bluetooth Manager: Thank your for evaluating the Bluetooth Stack for Windows by Toshiba. The evaluation period has expired. Please obtain a license for this version of Bluetooth Stack for Windows by Toshiba."



I did a little digging and found that this was quite common. Now, my BT adapter from Dell in my Inspiron 9300 is made by Toshiba. I used the last version of the stack without problems. So...I want my BT back.

Simple fix- edit HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Toshiba\BluetoothStack\V1.0\Mng. Add a new DWORD key called TestVersion. Set it equal to 1. Message gone.


This key will probably have to be added to each user account on the computer that need BT functionality.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Alps Touchpad on Dell Inspiron 9300 under Windows 7

Dell doesn't support the I9300 under Windows 7. It runs W7 just fine. After install, go to the Windows Update site and let it download the drivers for the x300 video card from MS. The touchpad driver I found that works with the Alps touchpad is from Sony's website. Look for Alps_Touchpad_Driver_7.107.505.102. This is the file I used: Link

The only problem I had was the 'Tapping Off When Typing' option didn't work. I finally was able to get it working by adding an entry to the registry. The needed key is HKCU\Software\Alps\Apoint\Gesture. Add a new DWORD entry called "PalmCheck" (no quotes) and set the value equal to 1. That seemed to do the trick!

Thanks to this posting and user peteostro's postings for help. Link

Friday, October 7, 2011

Force roaming on Samsung Epic 4G

At my work, cell signals have some difficulty getting into the building. As a result, my battery life sucks. My old Sony phone had an option of forcing it to roam which solved this problem.

However, my new phone- the above-mentioned Samsung Epic 4G- does not offer this option. There is an app available in the market called Roam Control, that allows this feature if the phone is rooted. However, if you live in Florida, most of Texas, and a few other places that Verizon doesn't have coverage in the 850mHz band, Samsung won't roam. Damn....

Well, I like a challenge. And I have found a way around this (and it doesn't involve hacking PRLs)

There is an NV item in the phone. 00442- nv_roam_pref. Using QXDM (QPST or NVEditor might work but I didn't try. NVEditor doesn't list it- it'll have to be added, and I didn't check QPST), change the value to 0x0002. And to answer your next question- Google is your friend!

[EDIT on 11/8/2011: QPST doesn't list this NV item, either.]

Here's a screenshot:

My phone is showing 3-4 bars now (0 to maybe 2 before). The roaming indicator is on, I am able to make and receive phone calls, send and receive texts, and browse the web (1xRTT only- showing about 100k). And the change seems to be persistent after reboots. I was able to revert it by changing my Network Preference back to 'Sprint Only'.

Now- if someone can write an widget that does this, that can be repayment to me for the time and effort I wasted trying to figure this out. Here's a middle finger to you, Sprint and Samsung!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

First Post

Welcome. There isn't going to be anything 'amazing' or 'awesome'. This is simply a web area that I can permanently store info that I or others may need in the future.

This will be my first nugget of info.

I've been having problems with Google's calendar button for Google toolbar. It stopped refreshing several months ago and I finally got around to troubleshooting it. This was with IE8, several versions of toolbar, and WinXP SP3.

Clicking the button's arrow would result in the message 'Refresh (Incompatible Version)' and nothing else. I tried several refreshes, uninstalling/reinstalling (both toolbar and button) and other various ideas. The solution was more simple than this.

There is an error in the code that google used in writing the button. The code was located in
"C:\Documents and Settings\UserName\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Toolbar Sync\UJF7R5H77LFM1F2EROHI\Custom Buttons\"

There are several .xml files here. Open each with your favorite file editor until you find the one for the calendar button. It'll be pretty obvious which one it is. Now, scroll down almost to the bottom looking for the line that starts with 'feed'. Now look where it says "http://calendar.google.com/etc/yaddayaddayadda". Simple change http: to https:

That's all it took for me. You may need to restart your browser.

Hope this helps someone else!