What the Xbox Companion App for Windows 8 is and isn't!

Windows Phone 7 first introduced the Xbox Companion App. It’s also seen in the recent Consumer Preview of Windows 8. Even though it has been out since December on Windows Phone 7, people are still wondering what it is. Unfortunately for many, the grand rumors you may have heard are false: it does not allow you to play Xbox 360 games on your PC. It is what it’s name describes: a Companion App to be used along side the Xbox 360. It’s a series of shortcuts. Your phone has already been connected to Xbox Live via your Windows Live ID. As long as your Xbox 360 is turned on, your Gamertag is signed in, and you have the option for the Xbox Companion App enabled in your dashboard settings, when you launch the app, it will seek out your gamertag on the Xbox Live network and connect your phone to your Xbox 360. This allows you to see a description of what’s on your Xbox 360, and navigate the dashboard, from your phone. Not visually, however. You still need your TV for that.

Here is a look at the main screens in the Windows Phone 7 app (captured blurrycam style from an Android phone I had laying around):


Up first we have the Home Screen. Continue reading “What the Xbox Companion App for Windows 8 is and isn't!”

Solution to The Trust Relationship Between This Workstation and Primary Domain Failed

Happy Tech Tip Tuesday to you! In this week’s edition, I bring you a technical and ugly problem. When you try to log on to your computer, you receive the error message: “The Trust Relationship Between This Workstation and Primary Domain Failed.” Get your IT guy, because this one is going to require a little bit of tech savvy and a few passwords that not everybody in an organization is going to have. We won’t get in to the nitty gritty of why this happens, we’ll just get right down to how to fix it!

The first thing we need to when we get the error “The Trust Relationship Between This Workstation and Primary Domain Failed” is to get logged back in to the machine. Preferably with the domain administrator’s credentials. Typically, in a simple network setup, the user’s name is Administrator and it’s the password used to log on to the domain controller, or your primary server.

Don’t miss this step: What if that user still can’t get logged in? Simple! UNPLUG THE NETWORK CABLE from the computer. When it cannot detect a network connection, the computer will allow you to login with cached credentials, meaning it will accept the name and password that it remembers from the last time you logged on.

Once you’re logged on as Administrator, you need to place the computer in to a workgroup, then RE-Join it to the domain. Here’s the blow by blow:

  1. On the keyboard Hold down the Windows Key and Press the Pause Key
  2. (or RIGHT CLICK the “Computer” or “My Computer” in your Start Menu and click “Properties”).

  3. In Windows XP, click the Computer Name tab – in Windows Vista/7, click Advanced System Settings on the left, then click the Computer Name tab.
  4. Click the Change button
  5. At the BOTTOM of the Window, first NOTE WHAT IT SAYS IN THE DOMAIN FIELD. WRITE THIS DOWN.
  6. Select the WORKGROUP radio button & enter a name (example: call it WORKGROUP temporarily)
  7. Click OK. You MAY be prompted to restart the computer. Decline at this time.
  8. If necessary, plug your network cable back in at this time.
  9. Click the CHANGE button again.
  10. Click the Domain radio button and enter the information you wrote from step 4
  11. Click OK and restart the computer as asked.

Upon rebooting, you should be able to log back in to the computer as yourself! If you restarted during step 6, you will need to login using a username with Local Administrator Credentials. If you don’t know a password or username to use, you’ll have to reset them using a tool called NTPassword (looks fake, works great) (UPDATE: New Blog Post: how to use NTPassword), but I won’t get in to the specifics of that here. On some Windows XP machines, you may get lucky just trying the name Administrator with no password. Best of luck in the process, though. It generally isn’t too painful to get back online after “the trust relationship has been broken!”

2004 – SR-71 – Here We Go Again


Lately, I’ve been so centered with nerdcore and underground type music in the Music Monday posts that I haven’t had a chance to share with you what is, strange as it may seem, one of my all time favorite albums. Yes, most people in America vaguely remember SR-71 as “that one band who had that one song about cellophane…” but I remember them for much more. Continue reading “2004 – SR-71 – Here We Go Again”

How to Change the Theme on your Xbox 360 with Metro UI (VIDEO)

With all of the revisions to the Xbox 360, it’s sometimes hard to find instructions when you need them. And with so many people asking how to change the theme of their Xbox 360 with the latest Dashboard update, I figured it was time to not just tell you, but show you.

That’s right, it’s a first for NuAngel.net – my own video. Shot while holding my Windows Phone 7 (HTC Arrive) in my left hand and my controller in my right hand. It’s not great, but it gets the point across! The steps are below, or you can watch the video I’ve uploaded and embedded on YouTube.

  1. From the main screen, navigate to the “Social” header using the bumpers.
  2. Move to the right and Select your own Avatar with the “A” button
  3. Select Change Theme
  4. Choose a theme!

That’s it! And you’re done! Now you know how to change the theme of your Xbox 360 in 2012 with the latest, Metro UI dashboard update!