An updated version of this post can be found at http://www.techerator.com/2009/04/tomato-firmware-increased-transmit-power-does-more-harm-than-good/

I originally came across the above error when I was removing a virus from an individual’s computer.  The virus I was removing was known as one of the Facebook viruses.  The way the virus is spread is when an individual clicks on a link in a message that they received from a Facebook friend.  When they click the link, it bring them to a YouTube lookalike and asks them to download and install the latest version of Adobe Flash Player.  Of course, the file that they are download is not Flash Player, but indeed a virus.

In this specific case, the user received an email from Facebook stating that they detected that their Facebook account was used to spread the virus, and gave the user information on removing the virus.  Their instruction were very successful overall.

When I received the users computer, I noticed that Windows Updates were not on, and the computer was very out-of-date.  I downloaded Windows XP Service Pack 3 and began the installation.  About half way through, I received the following error:

“Access is Denied” error when installing Windows XP Service Pack 3

I used my friendly search engine, Google to find the solution.

The above error occurs when there are incorrect Registry permissions on the computer.  In reading further, I found that although I was using Administrator access, the registry permissions were independent of that.  Microsoft provided a Knowledge Base article which game the necessary information to reset the Registry permissions.

1. Download this file (from Microsoft’s servers)

This will install the necessary back end for the next step.

2. Copy and paste the following into a new text file and name it reset.cmd

cd /d “%ProgramFiles%\Windows Resource Kits\Tools”
subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE /grant=administrators=f /grant=system=f
subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_CURRENT_USER /grant=administrators=f /grant=system=f
subinacl /subkeyreg HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT /grant=administrators=f /grant=system=f
subinacl /subdirectories %SystemDrive% /grant=administrators=f /grant=system=f
subinacl /subdirectories %windir%\*.* /grant=administrators=f /grant=system=f
secedit /configure /cfg %windir%\repair\secsetup.inf /db secsetup.sdb /verbose

3. Save the file, reset.cmd, to the Desktop.

4. Double-click the file.  This may take a while to run, so be patient.

5. When it is finished, restart your computer for good luck and you should be able to install Service Pack 3 without any problems.

Well UPS delivered my package around 1PM today.

I immediately installed my new 1 GB of RAM into my T42p.

After installing my new RAM, I began to unpackage the new Linksys WRT54GL that I also purchased.  Upon starting the router for the 1st time, I immediately downloaded the newest version of the Tomato Firmware.

I upgraded without and problems.  I then set the information for my connection, along with a couple of static IPs for the computers around the house, and am off!

I just ordered a couple of new “toys” for myself.  These “toys” include a 1GB stick of RAM for my ThinkPad T42p and a new router for my house.

Currently I have a WRT54G V6 which was given to me by a friend.  When I first received the router, I wanted to throw a 3rd party firmware onto it but was not able to due to the hardware restrictions of the V5 and V6 WRT54G.  The new router that was ordered is a WRT54GL.  The GL is a re-release of the WRT54G V4, which had more flash memory and RAM storage, and allowed for support of 3rd party firmware.  Currently, I have selected Tomato as the firware that I am going to use.  My package should arrive in 3 days… Can’t wait!

A Picture of the WRT54GL V1.1

Be sure to download Firefox 3 tomorrow as a part of Download Day 2008.  Help set a world record by pledging to download and download Firefox 3.