Plants vs Zombies - Unlimited Sun Hack

Previously, my sister gave tips on how to build your lawn defenses.

They work if you're good at it. So far she made it to over 60 flags using that and is still trying to beat the record. I tried it myself and only made it to 40. I guess I just aren't that good at the game. But I want my Zen Garden plants and I do like the Survival Mode but it sucks when I can't maintain against Gargantuan hordes. So... I decided to cheat.

For those who aren't adverse to cheating, this post is a "here's how" for it. You also have to be not adverse to installing unnecessary stuff on your computer because you'll require a program called Cheat Engine.

I reached over 90 flags and was still going strong (stopped there cos I got tired). If you don't mind then continue reading. These instructions are for a unlimited Sun hack.

1. Install Cheat Engine, downloadable from here.
   This is how Cheat Engine looks like:
   
   


2. Open up Plants vs Zombies, and start a round - any round that you want to cheat in.


3. Alt-tab back to Desktop if you are in full screen. Here we start using Cheat Engine. We'd first need to choose which process to use it on, in this case, it's "Plants and Zombies".
   From the Menu, open up the process through: Processes -> PlantsvsZombies.exe
   
   


4. At any point in time that you want to start cheating, note the amount of Sun you have at that point in time. In the screenshot below: we have currently 50 sun.
   
   


5. Type the value you previously noted into the "Value:" textbox. Run a scan by clicking the "First Scan" button.
   
   


6. A bunch of possible matches will appear. From this set of matches, you need to isolate the one that actually holds the Sun value. Therefore, you need a second scan. To do this, you need a new value of sun. So spend your sun and note the new value. In this case, I bought a sunflower and now have 0 sun.
   
   


7. Type in the new value in the same textbox, and click "Next Scan". There will usually be only one match left at this point of time. If it isn't, do something in game to change sun value, type and rescan again. Once there's only one match left, select it (marked out in the screenshot as 1.), and click the button (indicated as 2.). It will appear in the table below.
   
   


8. Now it's time to get how much sun you want :D Right click on the row in the table, choose Change Record -> Value and type in whatever you want. Do note that the game has a maximum sun value of 9990.
   
   


Congratulations, you are now rich enough to pwn any zombie you want!

Muted or "too-soft" microphone solution

I use a microphone pretty frequently for online phone calls through Skype but after a recent reformat, it didn't work anymore.

I was pretty sure it wasn't nothing to do with the hardware. It was a fresh install after all and the microphone has been working all along. The problem was left alone for months until finally today I decided to poke around and fix the problem.

After trawling, it seems like quite a few have the same symptoms. No sound or waaaay too soft sound. Mic volume adjustment options are all greyed out and therefore unadjustable.

Some people ask me to pester manufacturer for drivers. In my case, Realtek. It's nothing to do with drivers or hardware.

The solution I use, though strange, was this:

Part 1: Make sure the volume control for the jacks are maxed out.
1. Use the usual Volume Control.
2. Under the menu, choose "Options" Then "Properties"
3. Under "Show the following volume controls", check the one you plug your mic into. (It's usually pink in. Whether rear or front, only you'd know where you plugged yours)
4. Click OK.
5. The option that you check now appears for volume adjustment. Max it out.

Part 2: Getting the mic to work
1. Go to Control Panel.
2. Double click "Sound and Audio Devices"
3. Go to the "Voice" tab.
4. Click the "Test Hardware" button and follow the rest of the instructions there. Adjust the recording volume in one of the steps if need be.