KDCAD Tech Blog

I have a 2001 SAAB 9-3 SE convertible. This is the model with the speakers in the doors. I recently replaced the factory stereo with a double DIN Pioneer model (see details in earlier post). The Pioneer only offered (4) amplified channels out of the head and these were easy to wire up directly using the harness supplied by Crutchfield. So I lived with 4 speakers for a while. In a convert, this blows so I started to look at getting the door speakers back. I looked at replacement amps, but then I figured I would have to get new speakers, etc. So I turned to just reusing the stock amp. I found the pinout diagram below and used the 8-pin din cable that came with the original stereo to create a wire harness. I thought I’d share the colors and such. I regret that I didn’t take photos of my process…

In the DIN cable, the wires are as follows:

• Front Left: Dark Green
• Front Right: Gray
• Back Left: Light Green (the greens are a little hard to distinguish – I used a continuity tester to be sure)
• Back Right: Blue
• Amp On: Red
• Signal Ground: Bare Copper from inside inner sleeve where the above wires come from
• DIN Plug Ground: Bare Cooper from outer sleeve
• The “Not Connected” wire is Orange.
• I did not have a Mute wire.

These directions only address the physical installation of the head unit and do not deal with the wiring, amp bypass, etc. (If anyone has links to good tutorials for this, drop me a note and I will add them in to this.) Although I’ve installed many stereos in other vehicles in the past, I decided life was too short and turned to a professional installer this time. Evidently I was wrong and life was not too short as I ended up doing the physical install myself. The installer did wire up the harness adapter and install the video bypass switch for which I am most grateful.

Summary

Installing a double din head unit involves completely removing the dashboard bezel for trimming and cutting a pretty big chunk of plastic from the internal structure of the dash. I chose a Clarion NX500 and while the perimeter dimensions of double din units seem to be standard across all models and brands, I did notice the depth can be different. The NX500 is 7” (179mm) deep. If you can find one that is not as deep that would be helpful.

Tools

Tools you’ll need:

• Din hooks for removing the factory stereo
• Torx (T-25) head screwdriver (the one that came with your car),
• Dremel tool with cutting bit (I used a post type bit as opposed to a cutting wheel) for trimming the bezel. You do not want to try this with a blade as the middle horizontal piece seems fragile.
• A flat saw blade like a hacksaw blade (I used the saw blade from a Leatherman Supertool) for cutting the piece out of the dash.
• Small flat head screw driver for bending metal tabs.

Dashboard Bezel Removal

1. Removing the dashboard bezel can be tricky, just remember to be gentle and use a steady hand. To start, remove the stereo with the din tools and unplug the speaker harness, antenna cable and cd changer control cable (if you have one). Next take out the stereo cage. There should be several small tabs that need to be bent in. I used the tiny flat head screw driver from my Leatherman. Once that’s gone, you can reach up and pop out the SID and disconnect the plug. Next remove the SID cage/cup holder. Again there are several metal tabs in the cage the need to be lifted in order to remove it – two the top, one on each side, and one on the bottom, you will need to open the cup holder to get to that one. Once the tabs are cleared, depress the top of the cage slightly as you work it out of the dash. There are a couple of metal stops up there that need to clear the bezel.
2. Now remove the plugs and switches. Be gentle. With the stereo out, you can pop hazard switch out from behind and unplug. Then pull the headlight switch. With it out, you can reach in and push out the fog light switches. Then pull the illumination dimmer switch. You also need to pop out the blank to the left of the dimmer switch. The fasten seatbelt sign doesn’t come out, but the light bulb slides out the back.
3. With the dash cleared, it’s time to remove the steering wheel cowl, blinker, and wiper arms. Extend the steering wheel all the way.
4. Remove the cowl by pull two screws on each side of the steering wheel and one underneath. There are two plastic tabs on the back of the cowl that join the top and bottom halves. Not easy to reach – I used a small flathead screw tip to depress these tabs and gently pop the top off. The bottom is removed by pulling it forward a bit and dropping it off from below. You may have to play with the position of the steering wheel lock level to get the cowl to clear. Be sure to lock the steering wheel in the extended position when you are done.
5. The blinker and wiper arms are removed by depressing the white tabs and sliding it out. Unplug them by popping up the red catches. The wiper switch has another small plug that is detached by inserting a tiny blade or paperclip into the top of the switch – look closely to see which side. Be gentle with the white tabs as they can be brittle.

Now you are ready to pull the screws and remove the dashboard bezel!

There are 9 screws holding the bezel in place (I think – previous owner had been in my dash and there were only 4 screws holding mine in):

• 3 in the opening where the stereo and SID were
• 2 on either side of the steering column
• 2 above the gauge cluster
• one behind the headlight switch
• one behind the blank next to the dimmer.

With the screws removed, the dash will come out with a little firmness. You will need to flex it a bit to get the vents to come out. It comes out towards you, then lifts up to clear the steering column. Just be careful and don’t force anything!

Trimming the Bezel

Now that you have the bezel out it’s time to trim the area around the stereo opening. Using the dremel, take the bottom edge down to flat. I also trimmed down the raised edges to each side of the screw hole. (It’s a good idea to put masking tape on the areas around the opening to protect from nicking it with the dremel.) Take the top edge down to about 1/32" (the red line in the pic shows what I removed). I tried to leave as much as I could to prevent snapping that horizontal accidentally. The sides are fine and do not need to be trimmed. There should be about 1/8” of space side to side. Be very careful, and go slow. Trim down until the head unit will slip easily through the opening.

Back in the car, you need to remove the black polycarbonate horizontal piece that is below where the SID cage lives.

This is where the flat saw blade comes in. I took it out right at the edges where the horizontal meets the vertical, but I could have left 1/16" to 1/8". Slow and steady – you do not want to cut into the vertical supports. I cleaned up the shavings as I went and used a damp paper towel laid over the wiring and junk below to catch most of the shavings.

 

Wiring Tips

With that part out, it’s time to run your wires. Again, I’m not much help there but here are some tips for dressing your cables:

• The main harness needs to run above and to the right of the head unit in the back. The harness adapter is pretty big and can be shoved to the right between the air vent tube and the internal dash structure. As you can see in the pic, my original installer used wire-nut type crimps – Not recommended. I would solder the connections and use heat shrink to seal them.
• As you monkey with the main harness, note that there is an air tube that comes from the firewall and heads off to the right. This is just fitted in place and can come unattached.
• I ran my iPhone cable down behind the climate control unit and have it coming out in the bottom most tray in front of the stick. There’s a gap behind that tray that’s just big enough to slip the iPhone connector through. I did remove the climate control unit for easier access.

• With the AC control unit out, I noticed there was quite a bit of space below the control unit so I pulled a bunch of my wiring down there to give the head unit more room.
• To the right of the stereo opening, between the center area and the glove box there is a small oval insert piece (probably covering screw access). This is where my installer placed the video bypass switch (not that I will ever use it of course).

• Test your connection now BEFORE putting it all back together.

Putting It All Back

Reinstalling the Bezel

1. If it’s all working, you are ready to put it back together. Start with the dash bezel. You have unplugged everything so be careful not to jam up one of the switch plugs or get them stuck in a place you can’t get to them. You will need to manage them, feeding them through their openings, etc as the bezel moves closer to the installed position. Once the bezel is place, put your screws back in. Do not over-tighten or you will crack it.
2. Next, put all your switches back and make sure they are working.
3. Reinstall the blinker and wiper arm switches.
4. Reinstall the steering wheel cowl. The bottom can be a pain, and you will need to fiddle with the lock lever. Just don’t let the steering wheel slid inward or you risk cracking the top part.
5. **ADDITIONAL NOTE** I replaced my original bezel with a “simulated burlwood” version, and when I did so I realized that I had not properly seated the air vents back into their tubes. Here are some tips:
1. The right hand tube can be accessed through the stereo opening. Reach through and hold the tube as you press the vent assembly back into it.
2. The left side is tricky. I ended up dropping the lower dash panel so I could reach up from underneath. I don’t have picks of this but I’ll try to explain the process:
• There are two screws on the front face of the lower panel, plus two at the fuse panel, plus one into the side of the center console.
• There is also a hex bolt that goes into the A-pillar (?) just inside the door.
• To completely drop the panel, it is also necessary to pull the three screws from the fuse panel and let it hang free AND pull the two screws from the computer interface connector which is in the middle of the lower dash panel closer to the pedals.
• With the screws out and the fuse panel out of the way, you can drop the panel. Be careful to feed the computer connector through the panel. Once clear, the panel can be removed from the car.
• You can now reach up and wiggle the air tube back onto the left side vent assembly.

Install the Head Unit

1. Plug everything in.
2. Start inserting the head unit into the hole. You will need to manage the wires behind and make sure the factory harness stays above and to the right.
3. Check to be sure the air tube is still in place as you go.
4. The head unit should just clear the harness and the air tube in the back.
5. I left the AC control unit out while I did this to give me access to the wiring from below.
6. Turn it on and test your functions again.
7. Reinstall the SID cage/Cup Holder
8. Bend the tabs back out so they will lock into position behind the bezel.
9. Gently slide the cage in place.
10. Gently flex the top to allow the two stops to clear the bezel.
11. Plug in the SID and slide it in to the opening.
12. Reinstall the climate control unit
13. Clear any wires from behind – just enough so it will fit back in the opening.
14. Slide it back in.

DONE!

I do have to insert a couple trim strips along the sides of the head unit to finish it off. I’m holding out until I find something that matches the charcoal of the dashboard. But otherwise it looks great and works just fine! ***UPDATE*** For the record, I returned the Clarion NX500 and exchanged it for the Pioneer X920BT. With the Pioneer products, you can change the color of the illumination to better suit the dash and the nav system is updateable. It also had a different bypass setup that did not require an external switch which was nice.

Here is the problem. It first started with hundreds of event errors caused by Windows Search Service (3083, The protocol handler Search.Mapi2Handler.1 cannot be loaded. Error description: Class not registered). We are running XP 64bit, so I uninstalled Windows Search 4.0, downloaded the version for XP 64bit, and installed it. After a reboot, when I try to start Outlook I get an error that the outlook.ost cannot be accessed because it was last accessed by a different user. (Sorry I don’t have the actual message there…) Since the OST is just a copy of what’s on the server, I say screw it and tell Outlook to use an OST file that doesn’t exist. Like a good do-bee Outlook offers to create it and off we go.    But then I get the error “Cannot start Microsoft Office Outlook. Cannot Open the Outlook window. The set of folders cannot be opened. The attempt to log on to Microsoft Exchange has failed.”. POS! I’ve tried the little registry hacks and bullshit fixes and nothing works.

Now, I can get Outlook to open using the ResetNavPane switch solution. However there is still no connection with Exchange. Keeping in mind that ALL other network activity is fine- Internet works, networks shares can be accessed, etc. I also found the little MS RPC registry repair and that sucked (although it was nice that the “Mr. Fixit” actually told me it fixed the problem. It usually craps out saying I don’t actually have a problem.). Needless to say it didn’t do anything.

This has happened on three machines so far and the only fix I have found is to log in as the local administrator in safe mode, rename the user folder (C:\Documents and Settings\User), log out, log back in as the user and let XP create a new user folder. Then I copy over necessary stuff like the desktop, favorites, My Documents, etc. This of course is a complete pain in the ass because all the custom settings for things like AutoCAD, MS Word, etc. need to be reset manually.

If anyone has a better fix or a simpler way to resolve this – please let me know and I’ll post it!

Hello everyone, I am sitting with Anne in the Tumaini computer lab displaying WordPress.

Since Autodesk seems to have pulled contact phone numbers from everywhere on their website and their activation process is akin to extortion, can be “problematic” I tracked down some handy phone numbers and have put them here.

Product Registration and Authorization
Web: www.autodesk.com/register (Web registration available 24/7)
Phone: 1-800-551-1490
Email: authcodes@autodesk.com
Fax: 1-800-225-6490

End User—General questions (not Subscription related)
Email:  customercare.abc@autodesk.com
Fax:  1-603-621-3387
Subscription related questions
Email: subscription-team@autodesk.com

I recently jumped ship from my ATT Fuze to the iPhone – in reality it was a jump from the Windows Mobile OS to the iPhone OS. All my reasons for the change are worthy of a few standalone blog posts, but in brief I was looking to simplify my life and the iPhone fit the bill. That being said, I do have needs. I need my cell phone to do a little more than just make calls – including handle Exchange email, POP and IMAP email, browse the web, provide remote access to the servers at work, and act as a modem on the road. The ATT version iPhone does all of this EXCEPT the last. ATT iPhones do not offer tethering and that’s a deal breaker for me, so I turned to the internet and jailbreaking.

Easier said than done of course. It seems I had the perfect storm of issues to prevent me from getting a clean break. But I pulled info from several different sites and finally got it working beautifully. Since it was such a pain to get through it all, I thought I’d pull it all together here. Note that I cannot guarantee this will work on the 3G or the iPod Touch. I should also note this is not a sanctioned activity by Apple and if you screw it up they will not help you. Additionally, if you screw it up, I will not help you either.

First my system specs:

• Windows 7 64-bit
• HP EliteBook 8530w
• iTunes 9.0.2.25
• iPhone 3GS

Now the steps…

Preparation (with iPhone NOT attached to computer):

1. Make sure you have a complete sync/backup of your phone (if you care about keeping any of it) using iTunes.
2. Download the latest clean Apple firmware from here: iphone3gs3. This is just in case it all goes wrong and you need to to recover your phone. To use it, hold the shift key while clicking the Restore button in iTunes. This will prompt you to pick a file.
3. Download the latest version of Blackra1n from here: blackra1n.com and place it in the root of your C: drive.
4. Change the properties of the blackra1n.exe to be compatible with Windows XP SP2 and check the box to run as administrator.
5. In iTunes, turn off automatic syncing:
6. Now close iTunes and go to the Task Manager and end the iPodService.exe and the iTunesHelper.exe processes.
7. Now attach the iPhone to the computer via USB. iTunes should NOT fire up.
8. Watch this YouTube Video several times:

Jailbreaking:

1. Following the instructions in the video above, run Blackra1n.exe, holding down the power and home buttons, releasing them as instructed. THIS IS THE KEY – IF YOU READ THIS and wonder what I’m talking about WATCH THE VIDEO AGAIN.
2. Trusting that you followed the steps correctly, Blackra1n should be installed on your iPhone. Find the app and run it.
3. Install SNOW to Unlock the phone.
4. You phone is now Jailbroken and to be modified for tethering.

Tethering:

1. In Safari on the iPhone, goto http://tr.im/oS1h and scroll down to the Mobileconfigs section:
2. Download Mobileconfigs, select your country, and then your carrier. The message reads: “IMPORTANT: The authenticity os “US AT&T” cannot be verified. Installing this profile will change settings on your iPhone.” Changing settings is exactly what we’re trying to do. Confirm with “Intall Now”.
3. NOW, on the iPhone go to Settings>>General>>Network and you will see a new option for Internet Tethering.
4. Turn that on and you are done!

Earlier I posted my steps for getting the Watchguard SSL VPN Client to work on Vista Business x64. Now we have a few test users upgraded to Windows 7 Professional 64-bit and once again SSL VPN is a problem child. Actually, that’s a little unfair – the problems with installation are result of Microsoft’s increased "security measures" in Win7. As you might guess, this article outlines and advocates disabling these some of these measures, so think about it before try it. And if you do try it, be sure to go all the way to the bottom of the article to see some of the other "fixes" you need to do. (**UPDATED 11/25/09 – check it out…)

For the most part, the steps are the same as those required for Vista. You need the lastest RC release of OpenVpn (currently 2.1 RC 20), and you need to NOT install the Tap driver that comes with the WG SSL VPN. The changes in the process are the changes to Windows 7 that you need to make because the OpenVPN Tap driver is not digitally signed. Windows 7 x64, by default, does not allow the installation of unsigned drivers. Now, there are a couple ways to disable this limitation – one is provided by MS at boot time, another is more "permanent" and the one I chose. Here we go:

1. Turn off User Access Control: From the Start Menu type "UAC Control" in the search bar and select "Change User Account Control settings". Take the slider to the bottom, click OK, and then restart your computer.
2. Disable Driver Signing: Once you are back in, from the Start Menu, select All Programs, then Accessories. Right click on the Command Prompt and select ‘Run as administrator’. At the command prompt, type the following and reboot your computer afterward:
   

   bcdedit.exe -set loadoptions DDISABLE_INTEGRITY_CHECKS
   bcdedit.exe -set TESTSIGNING ON

3. Install the OpenVPN Tap Driver: If you haven’t already, download the latest OpenVPN from here: http://www.openvpn.net/index.php/open-source/downloads.html (currently c2.1_RC20). Run the installer as Administrator (by right clicking the OpenVPN executable and selecting "Run as administrator"), but UNCHECK all items except the Tap Driver and complete the installation. Note: I rebooted here, but you may not need to.
4. Install the Watchguard SSL VPN Client: Download and run the SSL VPN installer (as administrator).

At this point, it should work. You can go back and turn UAC back on if you need to and while I think it’s a complete pain in the butt, I have to recommend that you do. Leaving it off can cause unexpected problems with other programs (such as GotoAssist Express which is service I used to use but will be ditching as soon as the contract is up).

If you are still having problems connecting, here are some other tips based on my experience. These are in no particular order:

• Turn off Windows Firewall completely and reboot. With version 10.2.9 of the SSL VPN client, you still need access to port 4100 and 443.
• If you already tried to install the Tap driver without first disabling the driver signing, Windows will permanently tag it as having an unsigned driver. SO you need to open the Device Manager, look under Network Adapters, and uninstall the Tap driver and reboot. If you have disabled the driver signing, go ahead and reinstall the OpenVPN Tap driver.
• If you don’t want to permanently disable driver signing, you can TRY temporarily disabling it by pressing F8 at boot time (like you are booting to Safe Mode) and selecting ‘Disable Driver Signing Enforcement’. **UPDATE 11/25/09**  I had few opportunities recently to try this one and it works like a charm. So if you just have to install the VPN client on someone else’s computer, this method is the quickest.

Once you have all that squared away, you may notice that you have a watermark in the lower left of your screen stating "Test Mode Windows 7 Build 7600". Since you have turned off Driver Signing, Windows has decided you are obviously in some temporary "test mode".  To rid yourself of the watermark, go HERE and to download the RemoveWatermark patch.

Since I wrote this article originally, I found this website which offers more information on bypassing Driver Signing and links to some cool free tools for managing it on the fly. Swing by and take a look.

Good luck and feel free to log into the Watchguard forums and request that they fix this!

Here’s the problem:
You have one, two, three, or more mapped drives that everyone in the office needs access to, you just got a new PC, and you are dreading having to map these drives everytime someone new logs in to the PC.

Here’s the solution: (special thanks to John Savill over at Windows IT Pro for the original outline) This solution assumes you are in a Windows Domain environment (not a home PC). It also assumes it’s a small office that doesn’t use logon scripts pushed down from a domain controller.

1. Log into the PC with a domain user account that has Local Administrator privileges (JDOE, for example).
2. Manually map the drives you need, selecting the “Reconnect at login” option.
3. Now log out and log back in as the actual Local Administrator.
4. From the Start Menu select Run, type in REGEDIT, and click OK to open the registry editor. (Do I need to mention that if you are not comfortable editing the registry – don’t? You can really do some damage if you screw it up…)
5. Select HKEY_USERS and from the File menu select Load Hive.
6. Browse to the profile you used to map the drives (like C:\Documents and Settings\JDOE) and select the NTUSER.DAT file. When prompted, give it the name “DefaultU”. (Note: You need to have “Show hidden files and folders” turned on to see the NTUSER.DAT file…)
7. Notice that now there is a new entry under the HKEY_USERS key called “DefaultU”.
8. Browse to HKEY_USERS\DefaultU\X (where X is one of the drive letters you mapped), right click on it and select Export to export the key to a REG file. Do remember where you save it. Repeat for all the drives you mapped.
9. Highlight the DefaultU key and from the file menu, select Unload Hive.
10. From the file menu, select Load Hive and browse to the profile of the Default User (see, different that the earlier steps). Select the NTUSER.DAT file. When prompted, give it the name “DefaultU”.
11. Now you need to import the REG files you exported earlier. Find them, and double click them one at a time to import them back into the registry.
12. The last steps are a little tricky so pay attention. Browse to the HKEY_USERS\DefaultU\Network\X key and highlight the X.
13. In the right pane, select the UserName value, right click and select Delete.
14. From the Edit menu, select New> Expandable String Value.
15. Give it the Value Name: UserName, and for the String (with the quotes): “%UserDomain%\%UserName%” (case sensitive).
16. Repeat for all the drives you mapped.
17. Highlight the HKEY_USERS\DefaultU key and unload it (File>Unload Hive).

That’s it – you’re done! Test your results by logging in as someone else or by renaming the profile you used to originally create the mapped drives (C:\Documents and Settings\JDOE to C:\Documents and Settings\JDOEX) and then log in as JDOE.

Let me know how it goes!

This is a solution for those folks who are not System Admins and/or are not connected to a network. It’s a great solution for a home PC that has multiple users or for a PC in an office that gets used by multiple users.
Most computers come with some preset home page that is covered with ads and links that do nothing but annoy you and put more money in the pockets of the PC manufacturers. So here’s a tip for presetting the home page in Internet Explorer for every user that ever logs in to a single PC:

1. From the Start Menu, pick Run, type in GPEDIT.MSC and click OK.
2. Under User Configuration (middle of left pane), click the + next to Windows Settings.
3. Then click the + next to Internet Explorer Maintenance.
4. Now click on URLs.
5. In the RIGHT pane, double click Important URLs. This will open a dialog box where you can edit the Home page URL.
6. Check the box next to Customize Home page URL. This will turn the text box below from gray to white.
7. Type in http://www.kdcad.com (or what ever you want your home page to be) and click OK.
8. Close the Group Policy Editor.

Now, when a new user logs in to the PC for the first time, their home page will be whatever you entered in the dialog box. They can still change it, but they won’t be bothered by the default home page set by the manufacturer.

Good luck!

After an excessively difficult time of upgrading a CD-ROM to a DVD RW, XP added insult to injury doing a number on me with drive letter assignments. A little background on the system – it is an older Dell Dimension that got a hard drive upgrade about 6 months ago. The original 30GB hard drive was imaged to a new drive – which included (ugh!) the Dell management partitions. The original 30GB drive was left in because the client wanted to be 100% sure all the data was imaged over to the new drive – which meant the original management partition was still there. So basically there are now four hard drive partitions, a and DVDRW, four mapped network drives (starting with G:) and they wanted to add a USB flash drive and external hard drive. Oh, and a floppy drive just for fun.

After the CD-ROM to DVDRW upgrade, XP decided to assign drive letters to the management partitions – F: and G:! SO now the first mapped network drive didn’t work and neither of the USB drives showed up in My Computer. Naturally, my first stop was the Disk Management console to change (or remove) the drive letters for the management partitions. Unfortunately, when I right clicked on either of the management partitions, my only option was “Help” – not helpful.  I knew there had to be another way to change drive letters without using the management console and found the solution in the registry with some help from the great folks at Petri IT Knowledgebase.

The steps below came from Daniel Petri and it should be made very clear that this procedure is not to be taken lightly and should be used as a last resort only.

To change or swap drive letters on volumes that cannot otherwise be changed using the Disk Management snap-in, use the following steps:

Note: In these steps, drive D refers to the (wrong) drive letter assigned to a volume, and drive C refers to the (new) drive letter you want to change to, or to assign to the volume.

1. Make a full system backup of the computer and system state.
2. Log on as an Administrator.
3. Start Regedt32.exe (or Regedit.exe in Windows XP).
4. Go to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices

1. Click MountedDevices.
2. On the Security menu, click Permissions.
3. Check to make sure Administrators have full control. Change this back when you are finished with these steps. (I logged is as a member of the local admin group and had full control already)
4. Quit Regedt32.exe, and then start Regedit.exe.
5. Go to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices

1. Find the drive letter you want to change to (new). Look for "\DosDevices\C:". (Typically at the bottom of a long list.)
2. Right-click \DosDevices\C:, and then click Rename. In Windows 2000 you must use Regedit instead of Regedt32 to rename this registry key.
3. Rename it to an unused drive letter "\DosDevices\Z:". (This will free up drive letter C: to be used later.)
4. Find the drive letter you want changed. Look for "\DosDevices\D:".
5. Right-click \DosDevices\D:, and then click Rename.
6. Rename it to the appropriate (new) drive letter "\DosDevices\C:".
7. Click the value for \DosDevices\Z:, click Rename, and then name it back to "\DosDevices\D:".
8. Quit Regedit, and then start Regedt32 (not required in Windows XP).
9. Change the permissions back to the previous setting for Administrators (this should probably be Read Only).
10. Restart the computer.

It worked perfectly for me, but again – back up the registry before you make any changes. That’s just “best practice” and should never be ignored. Here is the link to the original post as well as a few others:

• http://www.petri.co.il/change_system_drive_letter_in_windows_xp.htm
• http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/11/08/change-or-delete-system-drive-letter-via-registry-to-remove-conflict-usb-or-firewire-drive-letter/
• http://support.microsoft.com/kb/223188