Internet Marketing and Wealth Creation Portal

Two days ago, my laptop refused to boot. It was showing a blank (blue) screen and then kept rebooting. It could not even boot using the Last Known Good Configuration or the Safe Mode…
I was worried. I didn’t want to lose my data. I didn’t want to run the recovery software which is installed on the laptop because I didn’t want to lose my data, and I had so many useful programs installed on the computer which I could not afford to lose either. I went to a computer fair and I spent more than $150 to buy a new hard drive, cables and cloning software. The technician was very nice and helpful. He could only try to repair Windows after backing up my data. I sat in a corner and started the full cloning of my 120 GB hard disk. It took ages. After 1 hour and half, somebody unplugged by error the extension lead on which the whole system was running and we lost everything we had done. I was nervous. I prayed God to help me remain calm and I started the same process again.
The cloning process took again ages, but it was progressing. But after 2 hours, the technician wanted to see how far it had gone. He moved the laptop a little, and one of the USB cables which was connecting to one of the hard drives went out. Again, everything lost. I was devastated. It was already too late and I decided to go back home. I had not eaten the whole day and I was very tired and hungry.
Anyway, my plans for Sunday were now changed: I had to sort that problem out and recover the data on my laptop.
On Sunday, after making a full backup of the hard disk, I used the Windows XP CD to boot and I was hoping to be able to repair the operating system. But I could not repair using the Recovery Console as I had forgotten the Administrator’s password. And the setup would not allow me to log in the recovery console with a user other than Administrator.
At the end, I said: why not try something else? I wrote down the failure message quickly displayed by Windows at the blue screen before dumping and ‘googled’ it in order to see if Microsoft suggests some solutions.
The message was:
STOP: C0000218 {Registry File Failure} The registry cannot load the hive (file):\System Root\System32\Config\SOFTWARE or its log or alternate. It is corrupt, absent, or not writable.

After some research and reading, I finally found a good and easy solution.
Remove the failing hard disk from your machine.
Connect it to another machine. I did it through USB port. If you don’t have the necessary USB cables to connect it, you can mount it as slave in the host machine.
Follow the instructions given by Microsoft at http://support.microsoft.com/Default.aspx?kbid=307545
Identify the section relevant to your situation (in my case, I followed the instructions relating to Windows XP Professional using the NTFS File System on a Workgroup or Standalone Computer).
Go to the folder c:\System Volume Information folder and identify the last restore point. N.B. Microsoft gives also instructions how to access the System Volume Information folder: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309531/.
From the snapshot folder of your chosen restore point, copy the file _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE and paste it into the C:\windows\system32\config\  folder.
In the C:\windows\system32\config\ folder, rename the file SOFTWARE to SOFTWARE.old
Rename _REGISTRY_MACHINE_SOFTWARE to SOFTWARE.
N.B. Depending on the type of failure message you had, you might need to do the same process with the files SECURITY, SYSTEM or SAM.
Close everything. Remove the hard drive from the host computer. Put it back into the computer it belongs to and boot.
Windows will now boot without problem. IT WORKS!
I am happy that the problem is solved. I now have all my programs and all my data. A happy man at the end! And although I spent some money and a lot of time in the process, I have learned something practical. And that is why I am so proud to share it with other computer users.

Anyone who wants to earn serious money can do so. Like anything else, to earn money online or offline is quite easy when you know how. When it comes to earning money online, many people feel stuck and make no progress. Is procrastinating the main reason, or is it because they don’t know how? This is a question everyone should ask himself in order to know how to go out of the vicious circle.

So many people are paying the price of procrastinating. They simply stall and waste their time on things which are not important to reach their goals. The sad reality is also that many people are paying the price of not setting goals for themselves. You certainly know people who could earn ten times or even more than they are earning, but are stuck because they unfortunately do not have the dreams or goals to do so in the first place. Perhaps are you one of them. In such a case, it is important to find someone who has enough credibility to guide you and help you unlock your potential. You need somebody who has gone through the process and is prepared to show you how things are done, somebody who can help you to see and understand the thought patterns that have guided ordinary people to the status of the rich and successful. You need that somebody who will help you to fight your procrastination and who will guide you and educate you all along. As said in previous articles, keep educating yourself.
Education is very important. But you need to know what you are going to do with it.

You, too, can certainly define and shape your prosperity. Are you ready for your own sake to stand up and claim the share of wealth on this planet that could easily be yours? Or will you be silly enough to let procrastination take you backward.

Now, take a few minutes to go through your goals again and to evaluate the way you are progressing. If you have no written goals, start by setting them up now. And identify and network with successful people who could inspire you and guide you through the process of wealth creation. Keep educating yourself. That way, you will notice how easy it can be to earn money through internet marketing or through other types of business.

Here is an article written by Sim Mus and published at GoArticles.com:

Many people interested in making money via internet marketing usually focus on technical aspects such as knowing the hardware, software, jargon and tools they need in order to run a successful internet business. But whether you have decided to make money via internet marketing or otherwise, there are relevant key ingredients which are always required in order to succeed. These relate to life principles which lead any individual, any organisation or any business to success.

In our series about wealth creation, we have recently talked about Some Keys to Success: Planning, Confidence and Persistence. Today, I would like to emphasise another key component of a successful journey to success.
Consider this. Many people know that it is cheaper and relatively easier to set up an online business than to run an offline business. Many would like to start an internet business, but they don’t. They hesitate too long. And when you analyse what is holding them back, you notice that they have fear. Fear of failure, which incapacitates so many unsuccessful people.

When Franklin Roosevelt said that “We have nothing to fear but fear itself”, he was most basically speaking about fear of failure. Fear of failure is closely related to fear of criticism and fear of rejection.

There are people who actively seek to avoid failure and by doing so, fail to focus on their essential goals. Stumbling on obstacles is not failure. Do not be afraid of obstacles. But understand that only by recognizing those obstacles, you can adjust your paths and finally succeed in your goals. If you are afraid to fail, you will simply become mired in the status quo and you won’t act. If you have fear of failure, you won’t have the courage and determination to start or go ahead. You will spend time worrying about ‘what if I fail’. You will question your plan and find it imperfect. You won’t be able to achieve a fraction of what you are capable of achieving if you are afraid to try or if you are afraid to fail. You will tend to justify your inaction or procrastination by the need of being perfect. In fact, fear of failure is closely related to fear of rejection and to fear of criticism. Spending your energy trying to avoid mistakes is already one of your biggest mistakes. Successful people overcome their fear of failure.

This is so important and needs to be repeated over and over again. You can not be driven by a single-minded determination to avoid failure. Making mistakes is human. So, expect to make them throughout your journey and don’t self-limit yourself.
For too long, people have been fed the ‘win at any cost’ mantra, which divides the world into winners and losers. It is time for us to change that credo. It is time to acknowledge that mistakes are not only human, but that they are also critical ingredients to success. Successful people look at mistakes as outcomes or results, not as failure. Capitalize on your mistakes and missteps and you will reach success.

If you have a vision and are committed to your goals, stumbling on obstacles will not deter you, it will strengthen your resolve. And hopefully, you will end up successfully creating the wealth you want and live the lifestyle you deserve. Hope you use these principles as a foundation for your success in life and, if you so wish, in internet marketing.

About the author: Sim Mus is an Internet Marketer who manages the Internet Marketing and Wealth Creation Portal. Contact him via this portal or via the Web Tips and Tools blog, and he will always be more than happy to share his experience with you.

In an earlier article, we talked about some elements which are needed to Get Ready To Make Money Online. By the end, we talked about the necessity of setting up a plan. Many newbies in internet marketing are lured to believe that it is easy to make money online. Yes, if you pay attention to some keys to success, it can be easy.

If you want to succeed in your business, you first need a plan. If you start a project without a plan, you are very likely to fail.

• Do you have a plan? If you don’t, stop what you are doing and make a plan. Write it down. A plan which is not written down is not a plan really. It is a wish which is likely to be forgotten.

• Be confident. The concept that, if you’ve had an idea, other people will have it too, can be push you into inaction. Too often, I’ve been delayed in planning and in taking action, because of the fear that my idea might not be original enough. So, I was always trying to have an original idea, an original project. And by the time I had gone through it, I always feared that someone somewhere had got that idea and had probably already done better than I would do. I didn’t want to look ridiculous by advancing a project which had already been better thought through or implemented by someone else. I was always assuming that other people could do it better than I could. And that paralysed me into inaction. I had to try something else… Until I decided to change that habit!

• As said above, do not jump into a project without any preparation. Make a plan. But don’t spend too much time in planning. You might waste the precious time you need to act on your project efficiently.

• Don’t complicate things. Just keep your plan simple.

• Remember that, when you are running a project, everything doesn’t have to be perfect. The reason some people delay action is fear that other people will find their work imperfect and judge them. Don’t aim at being perfect. Aim at doing your very best, every time. You can always improve. You can always tweak something to make it better. As long as you learn from every step or misstep in the process, success is guaranteed.

• Don’t worry much about what other people will say. Just do your best and look forward. You will fix the imperfections later.

• For your next project, don’t prepare for hours and days and weeks! Don’t test and test and test until you’re 100% sure everything is perfect. Don’t be tempted to analyse every bit of your project and anxiously wonder how you could improve. Do some preparation and then… Just jump in. And keep going. Persistence is a key element to success.

Follow these principles, and you’ll be surprised how fast you will reach your goals.

Starting an online business requires preparation and planning just as it is for any other business. Sometimes, people are lured into believing that it is easy to make money online. Yes, you can earn money through internet marketing, but you need to follow the rules and avoid some mistakes.

• First of all, You must first be comfortable with the idea of earning money online. Believe in yourself and in your ability to make money. If you don’t believe it, don’t start yet. It would be a waste of time.

• Don’t assume that internet marketing will give you easy money. You might soon be disappointed, lose your enthusiasm and fail.

• Don’t give up. Keep trying. Keep going.

• Learn, learn, learn. Invest some time in learning how to become successful.

• Learn from your failures and your mistakes. And keep faith in your ability to earn money from the internet.

• Learn from successful internet entrepreneurs. Invest some money in your education. Buy professional ebooks and if possible, get a coach. Don’t jump on every ‘make quick money’ ebook or scheme you come across.

• Start small. Don’t start many projects at the same time. Small successes will lead you to bigger ambitions and with the know-how and confidence you gain from those small successes, you will be able to successfully start bigger projects.

• Start in a niche where you know something or where you can quickly learn. Don’t invest your time, energy and money in a niche where you know absolutely nothing, simply because you hear people claim that it is a profitable niche.

• Don’t spam the social networking sites, hoping to get clients.

• Respect the rules and set up a system which will allow you to be more and more efficient.

If you follow these principles, you can be sure you are heading towards success in your internet marketing business.

You might be wondering how to make Flash greeting E-Cards without paying for a special software. Here is how! Use OpenOffice.
OpenOffice is an open source software, totally free and includes an impressive set of applications which can be used in your daily and professional life.
One of its components is Impress, used to make presentations such as those you are used to make with Powerpoint.
Impress has a built-in ability to make Flash (SWF) files.
So, how to create a Flash (SWF) E-Card?
Start  Impress. If you don’t have it already installed on your computer, go to http://www.openoffice.org/ and download OpenOffice. Install it on your computer and you have a free and professional software to make word processing, databases, spreadsheets, presentations and much more.
After installing OpenOffice, start Impress and you are ready to make a slide show, with the messages, pictures, sounds and other contents you want to send to your target public.
When you finish designing your presentation slideshow, all you need to do is go to Export in the file menu, and export your presentation as a Macromedia Flash (SWF) file.
Then you can send it to whoever you want.
I made a Flash Christmas greeting E-card using OpenOffice version 3, with my favourite photos and music, and my friends loved it very much.
For anybody who is a bit creative and wants to send E-cards to friends, colleagues, clients and family members, this is a very good way of showing your talent to those you care about. An opportunity to send customised Flash e-cards to them at any special occasion. What about sending a special E-card today?
Happy New Year 2009.

While designing websites, I came across a marvelous product which allows to make very nice menus. It’s called FameID Flash XML Menu. It is practical, intuitive and easy to insert in any website.
What is also important: it is free.
Those of you who are interested in giving your webpages an extra professional look can get it here!

When you install new programs, Windows XP adds them to the end of your ‘All Programs’ menu, rather than inserting them in the correct alphabetical order. So, in your ‘All Programs’ Menu, you might find that, after installing and uninstalling many applications, items appear in a seemingly random order. After some time, it becomes difficult to find a program that may be hidden somewhere in a maze of program folders and files. There is thus a necessity to regularly re-sort the menu items in alphatical order.
So, How to Sort the Windows XP ‘All Programs’ menu by name?
It is very simple:
1. Click “Start” -> “All Programs”.
2. Right-click on any entry in the “All Programs” menu.
3. Choose “Sort by Name”.

The menu items are then displayed in alphabetical order - first the folders in alphabetical order, then individual programs in alphabetical order. This naturally makes it easier to find an application.

I’ve been struggling for days, trying to start Apache in the Xampp Control Panel on my laptop. I was always getting a message:

Busy…
Apache started [port 80]
At the end, I discovered that my Skype program was configured to use port 80 as an alternative for incoming calls. When I unchecked that option, everything was fine. I am now able to start Apache, without problem.
I felt it necessary to share this, in case somebody comes across the same problem.

Many people who want to develop web sites without hand-coding the HTML use specialised HTML Editors such as Dreamweaver, Frontpage etc… which are considered as expensive.

While searching for an affordable software which could real help real beginners who know nothing about HTML to design professional websites without writing a single line of HTML code, I was impressed by an HTML Generator called WYSIWYG Web Builder, developed by Pablo Software Solutions. You simply drag and drop objects to the where you want to position them on the web page, and in a fraction of time, you get a web site, ready to be published to your web server.

For a cost of $39.95, this product is obviously a winner. Interested? Buy WYSIWYG Web Builder 5.