magicJack and magicJack Plus Support, Reviews, FAQs and Hacks

PTravel · Last edited by PTravel on Wed Aug 20, 2008 3:23 am; edited 8 times in total

Revised 8/20/08

The HP t5720 is a perfect environment for running MagicJack, as well as a number of other programs. They're ideal because they're small, they consumer very little power and they don't have a fan, so they're totally silent in operation. In addition to running MagicJack, mine is running an FTP server, a VNC server (for remote access to my LAN), HP Copy (a utility that works with my scanner and functions like a copy machine), various LAN support tools, and even standard applications like FireFox 3. You can find the t5720 on eBay very inexpensively (I paid $150 for mine). If you want to use the t5720 with more software than just the MagicJack, be sure to get one with at least 512 meg of non-volatile RAM for the OS and 512 meg of RAM for the RAM drive.

However, the t5720 may not work "out of the box" with MagicJack or for other purposes. This is an outline of how to get it working for everything. It assumes basic familiarity with the t5720. If you're new to the idea of thin clients or this particular unit, be sure to download and read the t5720 manuals here and here. These procedures may also work for other HP thin clients, e.g. the t5710 and t5730. However, I haven't tested them on other machines -- proceed at your own risk if you're using a different thin client.

This process assumes you're logged on as the Administrator. Read the manual for directions on how to do that. You can use the HP Logon Manager in the Control Panel so that the t5720 always logs on to the Administrator account. You may also find it helpful to disable the Sygate firewall software, either by exiting it or, in the Sygate options, keeping it from installing when Windows XPe loads at all. If you're running behind a hardware router a software firewall is more of a pair of suspenders to wear with your belt, anyway.

1. Download and install the latest BIOS, OS and DirectX 9.0b from HP here:

t5720 BIOS

t5720 XPe operating system

DirectX 9.0b

2. Remove unnecessary components. You want to make as much room as possible in the t5720's non-volatile memory by removing software you don't need. You can safely remove, at least, these (and you can remove other components that you won't need):

.NET messenger

HP Session Allocation Manager

HP TeemNT

The entire list of add-ons and removal modules can be found here.

3. Install DirectX 9.0c by downloading it here.

Run dxDiag.exe after installing DirectX 9.0c. This is just a diagnostic program but, for some reason, it is a necessary step for MagicJack to run on the thin client.

4. Make sure that the operating system uses the audio system on the t5720. Follow these steps:

a. From the start menu, click on Remote Desktop.
b. Click on the Options button.
c. Click on Local Resources tab.
d. Under "Sound" make sure the setting is "Leave on remote computer."

5. Prepare for the MagicJack. At one point, the Magicjack firmware did not work with some t720 clients. It was necessary to use an older version and edit the HOSTS file to prevent the Magicjack from automatically upgrading. As of the date of this edit, the latest firmware works just fine. If, for some reason, you find that it doesn't, here's what you do: If you search on this website, you can find links to download the correct upgrade.exe file that restores the MagicJack to earlier firmware. However, before you install it to the MagicJack, you must configure your t5720 so that the MagicJack doesn't automatically upgrade itself. You do this by editing the HOSTS file. Find the file by using the search function. Once search has found it, right click on it and select Edit. Add this line to the bottom of the file:

0.0.0.0 upgrade.talk4free.com

This is not a necessary step unless you have problems.

6. Make sure everything is written to the non-volatile RAM by right-clicking the green lock symbol in the system tray and then re-booting the t5720.

7. Now you are ready to install the MagicJack. Just plug it into one of the t5720's USB ports and it will install automatically. If it doesn't, and you get the "New Hardware Found" screen that asks you to identify drivers, then you have not performed all these steps -- your t5720 has the original XPe operating system, which makes installing the MagicJack very difficult and beyond the scope of this document (general process: you need a full XP Pro installation disk, the SP2 update file downloadable from Microsoft as well as a means of extracting CAB files from the update file-- it's much easier to simply update the t5720 to the latest OS, which is free and available at the link I posted above).

The MagicJack will install but, if it has the latest firmware, you'll get an error message indicating that "No audio devices" were found. Now run the older upgrade.exe file and it will install the earlier firmware. Unplug the MagicJack, commit everything and re-boot the t5720. When you plug in the MagicJack it should now be working.

Note: If you want to leave the MagicJack connected to the t5720 all the time, you may have to connect it to the thin client by using a powered USB hub. The boot up sequence on some of the t5720s is such that it will not recognize the MagicJack on a re-boot unless you unplug it and plug it back in. Using a powered USB avoids this problem. Again, I can't figure out why this is necessary on some t5720s, but not on others. Again, my batting average is .500 -- my t5720 at work reboots fine without a powered USB hub, whereas my t5720 at home will lock up unless the MagicJack (and USB external drives) are connected via a powered hub.

That's it! If all you want to do is run MagicJack on the t5720, you can stop here. If you want it to do other things, however, here is how you do it:

1. Get some disk space. Either plug in a USB external drive or a USB thumb drive, or map the t5720 to a network drive. This drive space will be used for program installation and operation.

2. Change environment variables.When Windows installs or runs a program, it makes use of temporary disk storage defined by the TEMP and TMP environmental variables. These should be changed to point to a directory on the extra drive space you created in 1, above. In Control Panel, double click on the System icon. Select the Advanced tab and then click the Environmental Variables button. You'll see in the top window variable definitions the look like this: TEMP c:\windows\system32\temp, etc. Edit both the TEMP and TMP variables so that they point a location on the additional disk space. On my system, which uses a network drive, they look like this:

TEMP w:\thin client\temp
TMP w:\thin client\temp

3. Define a place to install programs on the additional disk. I just created a folder called PROGRAMS for this purpose, i.e. w:\thin client\programs. When you install new software, always select the "custom" option, which usually allows you to define an installation directory. Just change the default (usually c:\Program Files) to the directory you've created.

4. Change group policies. There are a number of features of XP Pro that exist in XPe, but are hidden by the group policy settings. You can access many of these as follows:

In the Start Menu, select RUN. Type: GPEDIT.MSC and hit enter. The Group Policy editor will open. Expand User Configuration - Administrator Templates. You can start working your way through each of the settings and decide which ones you want to enable or disable -- Windows provides an explanation of what each one does.

5. Create a Recycle Bin. XPe doesn't have a Recycle Bin. However, you can easily create a functional equivalent. Use the Search (Advanced) feature to find the RECYCLER folder on the c: drive. When you find it, simply drag it to the Desktop and drop it there. It will look like a folder, rather than the customary Recycle Bin. Right click on the folder on your desktop, and select Properties. In the Properties window, select the Customize tab. At the bottom of the Customize screen is a button called "Change icon." Click on it and a window will open with lots of different icons. Pick the one you like by clicking on it and pressing the Apply button. This Recycle bin won't let you automatically delete as in full XP. However, you can open it as any folder and restore the files that are in it, or simply delete them to remove them permanently.

6. Delete unwanted programs. As you've noticed by now, Windows XPe lacks a number of features, including the Add/Remove software option. Download the free program Glary Utilities from here. It does a better job than the equivalent Windows utility (it deletes "leftover" files) and has some other nice tools as well.

That's it for now. If people are interested, as I get time, I'll post more t5720 discoveries.

Here's my t5720 screen running MagicJack, my ftp server and other programs:

lymon · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 8:24 pm Post subject:

Hi, and welcome.

Your instructions ae very well laid out and informative. There are a couple of other threads in the tips, tricks and hacks forum regarding this very subject. The bottom line is that your t5720 can used with MJ without editing the hosts file. After installing the latest version of DirectX and running dxdiag, your 5720 should be able to accept all MJ updates without worry.

Take a peek at the forum and give it a shot.

PTravel · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 8:42 pm Post subject:

lymon · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 9:14 pm Post subject:

Weird. Dxdiag fixed the update problem on my T5700. I have no clue why it worked, as I thought that it was just a test/diagnosis utility too. Sorry that it does not work on your T5720. You're probably not missing much in the way updates, I really don't notice any big difference with the updates that I've gotten.

HendersonMike · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 9:39 pm Post subject:

ummm .... PTravel, nice presentation tho been covered. Nice manipulation of your softphone except for one thing. At the bottom....... Now everyone knows where you live (911 address). Don't worry, I've screwed-up like that b4 too. Thought I had all my base covered to find out I didn't.

PTravel · Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 9:54 pm Post subject:

kulumbaa · MagicJack Contributor Joined: 26 Apr 2008 Posts: 57

nothing new.........

bneuman · Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:38 am Post subject:

free2talk · Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 1:41 am Post subject:

hi
I have a question regarding my HP T5700 256/256 thin client.
Can i stream movies from netflix using T5700.I am planning to upgrade it to 512 RAM and 2 GB Flash.
Netflix requires min 3 GB of free disk space and i was thinking if I can plug in a 4GB USB drive and point the D:\temp folder there.
Will that work and make it meet the min requirements for streaming netflix to my LCD TV ?

Of course my magic jack will also be running simultaneously.

Thanks.

HolmanGT · Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 4:31 am Post subject:

PTravel · Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 2:09 pm Post subject:

PTravel · Posted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 3:03 pm Post subject:

HolmanGT · Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:42 am Post subject:

PTravel,

The thought of a Thin Client Forum sounds pretty slick. Please let me know if you ever get one going.

"A little nuts, I have four" if you are concerned that that may be an indication of some obsessive-compulsive behavior then I am in big trouble and will probably require counseling. Rolling Eyes

PTravel · Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 11:11 am Post subject:

magicJack and magicJack Plus Support, Reviews, FAQs and Hacks

HP t5720, MagicJack and other tips and tricks