Creating a new MySQL ODBC DSN and importing it in Microsoft Excel

1. Download the MySQL ODBC Connector Driver and Install it. 
 http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/odbc
2. Go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Data Sources (ODBC)
3. Select User DSN. Click Add
4. Select the MySQL ODBC Driver. Click Finish
5. In the 'MySQL Connector/ODBC Data Source Configuration' dialog box, enter the following details.
•   Data Source Name
•   Description
•   TCP/IP Server
•   Port (Default 3306)
•   User 
•   Password
•   Database
6. Click Test. If connection is OK, "Connection Successful" Dialog Box Appears. Click OK

This creates a User MySQL ODBC DSN. 

Now we have to configure it in Microsoft Excel.

1. Open Microsoft Excel.
2. click Data Tab.
3. Click Connections
4. In the Workbook Connections Wizard, Click Add
5. Click 'Browse For More'.
6. In the dialog box, Click New Sources.
7. In the 'Data Connection Wizard',  Select ODBC DSN and Click Next
8. Select the DSN Created Earlier.
9. Click Next and then Finish.
10. Now in the 'Data' Tab of Excel,  Click Existing Connection.
11. Open the Database that we added.
12. In the import Wizard, Click OK.

The data from the DB will be imported in the Excel Sheet.

VM Not starting - "VM is in Use error" - VMWare

Not able to launch the VMware session after a PC crash.

The following error message was being displayed, “  Taking ownership of this virtual machine failed. The virtual machine is in use by an application on your host computer."


Solution:

Close the VMware Player. Open up the Explorer . Go to the location of the VMDK in your explorer. 
Delete all the*.LCK files. You might also need to delete directories that works as Locks (ends in LCK)



Now start the Virtual Machine.

Outlook Hyperlink problem - "This operation has been cancelled due to restrictions"

While opening a hyperlink present in an email in OUTLOOK, We might face the following error 

"This operation has been cancelled due to restrictions. Please contact your system administrator."
This happens because MS - OUTLOOK needs IE to be the default application to open the Hyperlinks.
The following can be done to solve this issue.

EDIT Registry
1. Start, click Run, type Regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.2. Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\.html3. Right click the value for the .html key and select Modify…4. Change the value from “ChromeHTML” to “htmlfile” (or from FireFoxHTML to htmlfile)5. Repeat for .htm, shtml, .xht, .xhtml, .xhtm keys6. Repeat these steps for htm and .shtml keys if they exist. You may also want to check the xhtml and xhtm keys. 


Reset Web Settings
1. Close Outlook2. Open Internet Explorer.3. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.4. Click the Advanced tab, and then click the Reset button.5. On the Programs tab, under Internet programs, click Set Programs, then “Set your Default Programs”, select your OUTLOOK program and click “Set this program as Default”. Repeat for Internet Explorer.6. Click OK and close the dialogs.