How to setup MyPhoneExplorer on Samsung Galaxy S4 – SOLVED!

Trying to connect your Samsung Galaxy S4 to your computer’s USB port so that you can use your computer’s keyboard can be an irritating experience.  (See here for my original article on how to Control your Android phone from your PC)

The error that I kept on getting was “Connection to phone could not be established: No device connected to USB”.  I had been successful previously connecting an older phone to MyPhoneExplorer (MPE), but it seemed that the new S4’s Jelly Bean 4.2.2 operating system wasn’t too kind when it came to connecting.

I Googled a bit (no, really a lot this time), and found some interesting articles which eventually got the problem solved. 

There are a few checks that I needed to do – as listed here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=2144709  The main check points are the following: 
1) Install the latest version (1.8.4) of MPE from here: http://www.downloadbestsoft.com/MyPhoneExplorer.html
2) Check what version of adb (=Android Debug Bridge) you have installed by opening a command window and typing the following:  cd C:\Program Files (x86)\MyPhoneExplorer\DLL\adb.exe   and then  adb.exe   version     If the version displayed is 1.0.31 or later then you should be fine.


2b) If an earlier version is present on your PC then download this file, unzip the files and copy them over the files in this folder:   c:\Program Files (x86)\MyPhoneExplorer\DLL

3) Now you need to put your phone into Developer mode, then also turn on “USB debugging” mode.  This is a pretty well hidden “feature” in the Android OS:
3a) Using the Settings menu, then "More" tab, and then Software information.
Then look for "About device" at the bottom. Tap it.
Then tap the build number seven times.  You'll get a little prompt saying you're about to unlock the developer settings. Hit that button one final time -- seven! -- and they're unlocked.
{Thanks to this article for helping me find it: http://www.androidcentral.com/how-get-developer-settings-galaxy-s4 }
That tapping also UnHid another menu option “Developer options”

3b) Now to turn on the USB debugging option: in Settings->More->”Developer options” tick “USB debugging”

4) Now plug in the USB cable and startup MPE. 
then File->Settings and “connect via USB”

then File->Connect to connect via USB… hopefully, the connection is successful and you can use your PC to control your Samsung S4 Android phone.

Let me know if it works for you!

If it doesn’t then here’s a more complex, but more complete set of checks for you: http://www.androidsim.net/2009/08/how-to-1-how-to-install-usb-driver-on.html

Uncapped ADSL (after hours+weekends) for only R59 per month

I discovered this deal from @lantic.net that offers “Bolt-on” uncapped ADSL (after hours) for only R59 per month (month 2 month). 
That means after 18h00 each weekday you will get free bandwidth until 6am the next morning, plus on weekends from Friday 18h00 until Monday 06h00. 
All of this for only R59 per month – there is a once-off setup fee of R50 for the bolt-on uncapped ADSL plus R50 once-off setup fee for the basic home ADSL package (called Gig4Gig) which includes 1GB free per month (and WiFi HotSpot access of 100MB/month and 25 free SMSs per month)  (R15 per GB topup thereafter).

   plus      with

So, to recap: pay your setup fees of R50 + R50 = R100, and subscribe for the monthly after-hours bolt-on uncapped ADSL for R59 per month and there you have it: uncapped after hours for R59 per month.

The freebies:
25 free SMSs per month

Login on the SMS portal here:  http://sms.lantic.net/Log-In.aspx

and WiFi HotSpot access of 100Mb/Month.

Speed test local (SA) on 1MB line using @Lantic capped Gig4Gig account:


Speed test (International) on 1MB line using @Lantic capped Gig4Gig account:

How to use CrashPlan but not suffer from using so much RAM memory

I use CrashPlan to backup my data as mentioned in a previous article – it’s free for local backups and for sharing HDD space using multiple friends’ HDD space.  I have noticed that the RAM usage goes up in proportion to the number of files that you have selected to backup – even during the time when the backups are disabled.  My CrashPlan settings are set to backup only during the hours that I’m not working on my PC and when I’m connected to my home network (where my external HDD is connected).  I’m also not working at those times so when CrashPlan is accessing the HDD it doesn’t slow down my PC.
The settings to limit the time that CrashPlan does the backups can be found in the CrashPlan Desktop interface under “Settings->Backup->Between Specified Times”.  I have selected From 18:00 to 08:00 and ticked each day – so that backups only happen at night daily.

I noticed that even when the backup was disabled, the CrashPlanService was using a lot of RAM memory (over 500MB) – and I found my PC swapping to disc all the time – which was slowing my PC down – a bit of a waste!  So, I found a way to create a schedule that stopped the CrashPlanService just after 08h00 and start it again just before 18h00.

Creating a scheduled task to kill the service:
Open the “Control Panel->Administrative Tools-> Task Scheduler” 
Click into “Microsoft->Windows”: 
Click on “Create Task”:
Enter name: “Turn OFF CrashPlan service”, under “Triggers” tab:
Under “Actions” tab: enter Program to run:  C:\Windows\System32\taskkill.exe
and under “Add arguments” enter:    /IM CrashPlanService.exe /F
Click OK to save the scheduled task.


Creating a scheduled task to start the service:
Click on “Create Task”:
Enter name: “Turn ON CrashPlan service”, under “Triggers” tab:
Under “Actions” tab: enter Program to run:    C:\Windows\System32\net.exe
and under “Add arguments” enter:    start CrashPlanService

Click OK to save the scheduled task.

Your tasks list should look like this:

You can test the tasks by right clicking the task and selecting “Run”:
 

With thanks to Scott Granneman for his blog that describes the steps to do this in Linux.