Windows Tricks

Windows 7 keyboard Shortcuts : Part 4

2010-08-18T04:01:00.000-07:00

Miscellaneous

•Win+P: Display the project options, which you can then use the arrow keys (or keep hitting Win+P) to switch to the different options.

•Win+X: Open the Windows Mobility Center.

•Win+G: Bring gadgets to the top of the Z-order. (Sets the focus to a gadget.)

Windows 7 keyboard Shortcuts : Part 3

2010-08-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

Windows Explorer

•Ctrl+(mouse scroll wheel): Change the view/zoom in Windows Explorer. (This is the same as clicking the Views button or selecting one of the view options from the button’s dropdown list.)

•Shift+(right mouse click on any folder or file): Displays an expanded context menu:

(The additional Open options only appear for folders but the “Copy as path” option appears for both folders and files.)
•Alt+P: Show/hide the preview pane.

Windows 7 keyboard Shortcuts : Part 2

2010-08-18T03:58:00.000-07:00

Taskbar:

•Win+Space: Use “Aero Peek” to see any gadgets or icons you’ve got on your desktop.

•Win+R: Opens the Run dialog.

•Win+T: Move the focus to the first taskbar. (Pressing again will cycle through them.)

•Win+Shift+T: Move the focus to the last taskbar. (Pressing again will cycle through them.)

•Ctrl+(mouse click on a single application icon in the task bar): Toggle through each of the open windows in order. The best example of this is Internet Explorer. If you have five tabs open in a single IE instance, holding the Ctrl key while repeatedly clicking on the single IE icon in the task bar will toggle through each of the five tabs in order.

•Ctrl+Shift+(mouse click on an application icon in the task bar): Launch that application with full administrative rights. You can also use Ctrl+Shift+Enter for commands from the search bar for the same action.

•Shift+(mouse click on an application icon in the task bar): Launch a new instance of the application rather than switching to the existing application. (You can also middle-click with the third mouse button or scroll wheel.)

•Win+1 .. Win+5: Launch a new instance of the any of the first five icons on the task bar. (By the way, the icons can be reordered to suit your needs by simply dragging them around and can be pinned shortcuts or running applications.)

•Shift+(right mouse click on an application icon in the task bar): Show the Window menu. (You get different menus depending on whether the application is running or has multiple instances open.

Windows 7 keyboard Shortcuts : Part 1

2010-08-18T03:57:00.000-07:00

Window Management

•Win+Left Arrow and Win+Right Arrow: Dock a window to the left or right half of the screen.

•Win+Shift+Left Arrow and Win+Shift+Right Arrow: Move a window from one monitor to another, keeping them in the same relative location to the monitor’s top-left origin.

•Win+Up Arrow and Win+Down Arrow: Maximizes and restores/minimizes a window.

•Win+Shift+Up Arrow and Win+Shift+Down Arrow: Maximizes and restores the vertical size of a window.

•Win+Home: Minimize all the non-active background windows, keeping the window you’re using in its current position. (Press Win+Home again to restore the windows to their original locations.)

•Win+(plus key) and Win+(minus key): Zoom in or out using Windows Magnifer.

•Win+E: Opens Windows Explorer.

•Win+U: Opens the Ease of Access Center.

•Win+D: Show/hide the desktop.

•Win+F: Opens the Search Results window.

•Win+L: Locks the computer.

•Win+B: Sets focus to the “Show hidden icons” button on the task bar.

•Win+M: Minimizes all windows.

•Win+Ctrl+F: Opens the Active Directory Find Computers dialog.

Make default Icons in Taskbar as Smaller Icons like in Vista

2010-08-18T03:34:00.000-07:00

For those who really would prefer a look more reminiscent of Windows Vista, the good news is that it’s easy to customize the look of the taskbar to more closely mirror the old version:

Step 1: To achieve this look, right-click on the taskbar and choose the properties dialog.

Step 2 :Select the “small icons” checkbox and under the “taskbar buttons” setting, choose “combine when taskbar is full”. It’s not pixel-perfect in accuracy, but it’s close from a functionality point of view.

How to turn on Quick Launch Toolbar in Windows 7 ?

2010-08-18T03:30:00.000-07:00

I Want My Quick Launch Toolbar Back! You might have noticed that the old faithful Quick Launch toolbar is not only disabled by default in Windows 7, it’s actually missing from the list of toolbars. As is probably obvious, the concept of having a set of pinned shortcut icons is now integrated directly into the new taskbar. You can enable it by doing the below steps:

◦Right-click the taskbar, choose Toolbars / New Toolbar

◦In the folder selection dialog, enter the following string and hit OK:

%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

◦Turn off the “lock the taskbar” setting, and right-click on the divider. Make sure that “Show text” and “Show title” are disabled and the view is set to “small icons”.

◦Use the dividers to rearrange the toolbar ordering to choice, and then lock the taskbar again.

If it’s not obvious by the semi-tortuous steps above, it’s worth noting that this isn’t something we’re exactly desperate for folks to re-enable, but it’s there if you really need it for some reason. Incidentally, we’d love you to really try the new model first and give us feedback on why you felt the new taskbar didn’t suit your needs.

External Projector or Windows External Display

2010-08-18T01:53:00.000-07:00

Had enough of messing around with weird and wonderful OEM display driver utilities to get your notebook display onto an external projector? In that case, you’ll be pleased to know that projection is really quick and simple with Windows 7. Just hit Win+P, and you’ll be rewarded by the following pop-up window:

Use the arrow keys (or keep hitting Win+P) to switch to “clone”, “extend” or “external only” display settings. You can also access the application as displayswitch.exe.

If you want broader control over presentation settings, you can also press Win+X to open the Windows Mobility Center, which allows you to turn on a presentation “mode” that switches IM clients to do not disturb, disables screensavers, sets a neutral wallpaper etc. (Note that this feature is also available in Windows Vista.)

How to Dock a Window using Shortcut Keys in Windows 7 ?

2010-08-18T01:44:00.000-07:00

By now, you’ve probably seen that Windows 7 does a lot to make window management easier: you can “dock” a window to the left or right half of the screen by simply dragging it to the edge; similarly, you can drag the window to the top of the screen to maximize it, and double-click the window top / bottom border to maximize it vertically with the same horizontal width. What you might not know is that all these actions are also available with keyboard shortcuts:

◦Win+Left Arrow and Win+Right Arrow dock;

◦Win+Up Arrow and Win+Down Arrow maximizes and restores / minimizes;

◦Win+Shift+Up Arrow and Win+Shift+Down Arrow maximizes and restores the vertical size.

This side-by-side docking feature is particularly invaluable on widescreen monitors – it makes the old Windows way of shift-clicking on two items in the taskbar and then using the context menu to arrange them feel really painful.

Windows Movie Maker for Windows 7

2010-07-30T02:15:00.000-07:00

Windows 7 doesn’t include a movie editing tool – it’s been moved to the Windows Live Essentials package, along with Photo Gallery, Mail and Messenger.

You can download Windows Movie Maker..

Download Windows Movie Maker 2.6 from here:

Windows Movie Maker 2.6

Windows 7 Hidden Themes in 4 Simple Steps

2010-07-30T02:11:00.000-07:00

This is for most of you who have taken Windows 7 beta for a spin. It’s been awhile since I’ve been using new OS and naturally I’m quite impressed with its technicalities. What took me for a while was the Windows 7 theme packs. The default one offers a clear glass color, Windows default sound scheme and the Windows Logo screen-saver. The Landscape light aura and Nature are charming but I was still looking for more. I got hold of some more themes, but in the hidden & locked themes. Now the question is how do I unlock the pandora’s box.

At first sight it was like a Monty Hall puzzle that could take my head, but then with a bit things were simplified beyond expectation.

It was pretty simple. Here’s what you need to do

Step 1

Open the Explorer (Windows + E) and go to C:\Windows\winsxs

Step 2

Enter *.theme into the search field. Alternately you can use the * sign on the number block.

Step 3

You’ll get the Click me prompt

Step 4

Double-click the themes ZA, US, GB, CA, AU to install them.

Bingo! you have gotta 5 cool themes for your Windows 7. Let me know if you had any troubles doing this.

Faster Toolbar in Windows 7

2010-07-29T23:20:00.000-07:00

Taskbar thumbnail previews are one of the more cool features in Windows 7.

To decrease the time taken to display thumbnails in Windows 7 make these tweaks.

Click on Start and type in regedit and hit Enter

Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionExplorerAdvanced

Right-click on Advanced, select ‘New DWORD‘ and enter the following value: “ThumbnailLivePreviewHoverTime”

Then right-click on ‘ThumbnailLivePreviewHoverTime’ and select ‘Modify’.

Choose Decimal Base and enter in your new number in milliseconds. Use 200 for 0.2 seconds or a speed that suits you.

Click Ok and restart PC

How to access cmd (if it is blocked)

2009-10-21T05:42:00.000-07:00

How to access cmd if it is blocked!

This is a guide that can give you access to cmd.exe if it is blocked at your work or school.

1-Open notepad

2-Type "command.com" in the text file

3- Save the file as command.bat( or whatever you want, as long as it ends in .bat.)

Additional Tips

Admin Control-

net user YOURUSER YOURPASS /add >> Add_admin.txt

net localgroup Administrator YOURUSER /add >> Add_admin.txt

net group "Domain Admins" YOURUSER /add >> Add_admin.txt

Hide Folder From Others... Even Admin

2009-10-21T05:33:00.000-07:00

Hide Folder From Others... Even Admin

This is a trick in your PC to Prohibit any user (Even Admin OR YOURSELF) to access your Folder....Because not everyone knows this trick.

Our Mission:

We'll will lock the folder from all the users...
Even your Self, Because we know that not every time though we are admin and we have our personal account....!!!

So, We will prohibit that folder from everone... Even Ourselves. Don't worry we will unlock them too

WARNING: It's better to try on non-usable OR NEW FOLDERS first for newbies

Trick Steps:

1) Go to "Folder Options" > "View" >

There is last option called "Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended)". Remove check from it.... then click "OK".

2) Go to the Properties from which you want to remove access.

3) Go to tab "Security". There are listed "User Names" who can access that folder as written under: "Group OR Usernames"

4) Now, Click on advanced > remove Check from.... "Inherit from Parent the permissions entries that apply..................."

> Click "Remove."

5) Click OK.

Now, try to access that folder, you will not be able to access it....

Back to Normal:

1) Just Go to Property > Security > Advanced > & check that option again of

"Inherit from Parent the permissions entries that apply..................."
2) Click OK. Now you should able to access your folder again..

OR you can also add your users only from Property > Security > Advanced > Add > Advanced > Find now > "Select User"

How To Copy a DVD with VLC 1.0

2009-10-21T05:27:00.000-07:00

VLC 1.0 has gotten several cool new features, one of which is the ability to record what is playing in the screen. Here we will take a look at how easy it is to record a DVD or other video formats using VLC.

Record Using VLC

You won’t see the record button in the default view so we need to make it available in the control panel by going to View and selecting Advanced Controls.

Now you can see the Record button along with a couple other handy controls like snapshot and looping.

Now when you start up a DVD or other video simply click on the record button and hit is a second time to end the recording.

While it is recording notice that the record button will be blue.

The recorded video is in MPEG format and stored them in the Documents folder labeled as VLC Record with the date and time.

stored

This is a great way to save entire movies or specific scenes you want to watch later on your hard drive.

Rapidshare/Megaupload Skip Screen - Download with no wait

2009-10-21T05:21:00.000-07:00

Rapidshare/Megaupload Skip Screen - Download with no wait

You have to just add an add-on to your mozilla firefox browser.

Skip Screen

It's add-on that lets you skip all the clicking and waiting on sites like RapidShare, Zshare, MegaUpload, and Sharebee.

Your downloads start instantly.

Supported sites:

* Rapidshare.com

* zShare.net

* MediaFire.com

* Megaupload.com (no captcha action... yet)

* Sharebee.com

* Depositfiles.com

* Sendspace.com

* Divshare.com

For more information visit official site

Download that addon from here: SkipScreen

Use Your Keyboard if Your Mouse Goes Dead

2009-10-18T07:54:00.000-07:00

If your mouse is not functioning, don't panic. You can use your keyboard to move around the Windows XP desktop.

The keys to get used to are the Windows key, the arrow keys, and the Enter key.

· Press the Windows key.

· Press the up arrow key one time to highlight Shut Down, and then press Enter.

· Press the up and down arrow key to select Shut Down from the menu, and then press Enter.

· Use your Esc key to cancel.

Compress Files and Folders in Windows XP

2009-10-18T07:50:00.000-07:00

Running out of room on your hard disk?

Need some extra space to install a new program? Don't worry, Windows XP comes to the rescue.

Both Windows XP Professional and Home Edition now include a zip compression utility that you can use to compress files and folders on your hard disk.

To compress a file or folder:

· Right-click the file or folder.

· Point to Send To.

· Then click Compressed (zipped) Folder.

This will make a compressed folder, identified by a zipper icon, which displays the same name as the file you compressed.

You can also make a compressed folder from scratch, by following these steps:

· Right-click the desktop.

· Point to New.

· Click Compressed (zipped) Folder.

· Open the new compressed folder and drag files inside that you would like compressed.

Speed up Menu Display

2009-10-18T07:49:00.001-07:00

You can use this tip to speed up the way menus display in Windows XP.

· Click Start, click Control Panel, click Performance and Maintenance, and the click System.

· Click the Advanced tab, and under Performance, click the Settings button.

· Clear the Fade or slide menus into view check box, and then click OK.

· Now when you bring up a collapsed menu, it will expand without delay.

If Windows XP will not start, you can run the Recovery Console from the Setup CD.

2009-10-18T07:47:00.000-07:00

Modify Boot.ini

Windows XP uses the Boot.ini file to determine the operating system options to display during the startup (boot) process.

Boot.ini is set with the hidden and system file attributes and flagged as read-only by default.

Have you been changing Boot.ini lately?
Are you tired of opening Folder Options, and clicking Show hidden files and folders on the View menu, so you can see Boot.ini in Windows Explorer?
Or worse, did you forget to remove the read-only attribute before editing the file?

You can use the command-line tool, Bootcfg.exe, to quickly edit your Boot.ini file.

You can modify the timeout (the amount of time Windows waits before choosing the default operating system), and add additional entries.

· Click Start, click Run, and then type cmd.

· Type bootcfg.exe

· Check out bootcfg.exe /? for more options.

Stop Getting Tricked into Running Viruses

2009-10-18T07:45:00.001-07:00

Stop getting tricked into running viruses because you don't see the file extension of an attachment.

· Click Start, click My Computer, and on the Tools menu, click Folder Options.

· Clear the Hide file extensions for known file types check box, and then click OK.

Now when you receive a file called something.jpg.vbs, you'll see the .vbs extension and know that it is not an ordinary .jpg file.

Activate NetMeeting

2009-10-18T07:43:00.001-07:00

Using NetMeeting, you can participate in virtual meetings, work in shared applications, and share data over the Internet or your company intranet.

NetMeeting is actually already installed after you perform a full install of Windows XP, but it won't appear on the Start menu until it's activated.

· Click Start, then Run, and enter Conf.

· Click OK.

· In the NetMeeting Wizard, supply the necessary information, and then select the Put a shortcut to NetMeeting on my desktop (or on my Quick Launch bar) check box.

NetMeeting should start and is now listed in the most frequently used programs list on the Start menu.

Turn Off File Names in Thumbnail View

2009-10-18T07:41:00.001-07:00

Find that you need more space for thumbnails and would like to turn the file names off?

· Hold down shift when you open a folder or when you switch into thumbnail view. This will turn of the file names, giving more space for the thumbnails.

Doing it again turns them back on.

Removing Fonts

2009-10-18T07:39:00.001-07:00

To completely remove fonts from the hard disk:

· Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

· Double-click the Fonts folder.

· Click the font you want to remove. To select more than one font at a time, press and hold down the Ctrl key while you click each font.

· On the File menu, click Delete.

· When you receive the "Are you sure you want to delete these fonts?" prompt, click Yes.

To prevent a font from loading without removing it from the hard disk, move the font from the Fonts folder into another folder. Use this method for troubleshooting purposes.

This process does not completely remove the font, because font registry information is not deleted. However, it prevents the font from loading.

To manually install or re-install a font:

2009-10-18T07:38:00.000-07:00

· Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

· Double-click the Fonts folder.

· On the File menu, click Install New Font.

· In the Drives box, click the drive that has the floppy or CD-ROM that contains the fonts you want to add.If you are installing fonts from a floppy disk, this is typically drive A or drive B.

If you are installing the fonts from a compact disc, your CD-ROM drive is typically drive D.

· Double-click the folder that contains the fonts.

· Click the font you want to add. To select more than one font at a time, press and hold down the Ctrl key while you click each font.

· Click to select the Copy Fonts To Fonts Folder check box. The Windows\Fonts folder is where the fonts that are included with Windows XP are stored.

· Click OK.

Create a Personal Screen Saver

2009-10-18T07:33:00.001-07:00

For a great way to put your digital photos to work, try creating a slide show presentation for use as a screen saver.

· Right-click an empty spot on your desktop, and then click Properties.

· Click the Screen Saver tab.

· In the Screen saver list, click My Pictures Slideshow.

· Click Settings to make any adjustments, such as how often the pictures should change, what size they should be, and whether you'll use transition effects between Pictures, and then click OK.

Now your screen saver is a random display of the pictures taken from your My Pictures folder.

Roll Back to the Previous Version of a Driver

2009-10-18T07:32:00.001-07:00

Have you ever installed a device driver that makes your system unstable? Well, in Windows XP you can roll back such a change if it causes you problems!

To go back to the previous driver for a device:

· Click Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > Administrative Tools.

· Double-click Computer Management, and then click Device Manager in the left pane.

· Right-click the device for which you'd like to roll back the drivers, and then click Properties.

· On Driver tab of the Properties dialog box, click Roll Back Driver, and follow the wizard's instructions.

It's that simple, although you need to be an administrator or a member of the Administrators group to complete this procedure.

Win XP Won't Completely Shutdown

2009-10-18T07:31:00.001-07:00

· Go to Control Panel, then go to Power Options.

· Click on the APM tab, then check the "Enable Advanced Power Management support."

· Shut down your PC.

It should now successfully complete the Shut Down process.

Internet Connection Sharing

2009-10-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

To enable Internet Connection Sharing on a network connection:

· Open Network Connections.

· Click the dial-up, local area network, PPPoE, or VPN connection you want to share.

· Then, under Network Tasks, click Change settings of this connection.

· On the Advanced tab, select the Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection check box.

· If you want this connection to dial automatically when another computer on your home or small office network attempts to access external resources, select the Establish a dial-up connection whenever a computer on my network attempts to access the Internet check box.

· If you want other network users to enable or disable the shared Internet connection, select the Allow other network users to control or disable the shared Internet connection check box.

Under Internet Connection Sharing, in Home networking connection, select any adapter that connects the

computer sharing its Internet connection to the other computers on your network.

Customize the Start menu

2009-10-18T07:29:00.000-07:00

The Start menu gets more real estate in XP than in previous versions, and it's more customizable.

To make the Start menu display only the applications you want, rather than the default determined by Microsoft:

· Right-click in an empty section of the Start menu's left column.

· Select Properties > Start Menu > Customize. Here you'll find a list of your most frequently used programs. (XP keeps track of what you use and what you don't, then updates this list dynamically).

Don't want your boss to know that Pinball, Solitaire, and Quake all make your list?

· Go to the General tab, click Clear List, and set the counter to zero.

How to Turn Off Automatic Updates

2009-10-18T07:27:00.003-07:00

· Click Start , click Control Panel , and then double-click System.

· Click the Automatic Updates tab, and then click Turn off automatic updating. I want to update my computer manually.

How to Turn On Automatic Updates

2009-10-18T07:27:00.001-07:00

· Click Start , click Control Panel , and then double-click System.

· Click the Automatic Updates tab, and then click one of the following options:

- Download the updates automatically and notify me when they are ready to be installed. (This is the default setting.)

- Notify me before downloading any updates and notify me again before installing them on my computer.

Use the Desktop Cleanup Wizard in Windows XP

2009-10-18T07:26:00.000-07:00

To start the Desktop Cleanup Wizard:

· Click Start , and then click Control Panel.

· In Control Panel, click Appearance and Themes under Pick a category.

· Under or pick a Control Panel icon , click Display. The Display Properties dialog box is displayed.

· In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Desktop tab, and then click Customize Desktop. The Desktop Items dialog box is displayed.

· Under Desktop cleanup , click to clear the Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days check box if you do not want the Desktop Cleanup Wizard to automatically start every 60 days.

· Click Clean Desktop Now. The Desktop Cleanup Wizard starts.

You Can Bypass the Recycle Bin On the Fly.

2009-10-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

To bypass the Recycle Bin on a one-time basis, when you are deleting a file (or a group of selected files):

· Press and hold down the shift-key while you press the del-key (or use the delete command).

You receive the following confirmation-request message:

Are you sure you want to send to the Recycle Bin?

Identify a 16-bit Program

· Use Windows Explorer to open the folder that contains the program's executable (.exe) file.

· Right-click the .exe file, and then click Properties.

· A 16-bit program does not have a Version tab in this dialog box.

Load Internet Explorer the Fastest Way Possible

2009-10-18T07:24:00.000-07:00

Edit your link to start Internet Explorer to have -nohome after it. For Example:

"C:\Program Files\Internet Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE" -nohome

This will load internet explorer very fast because it does not load a web page while

it is loading. If you want to go to your homepage after it is loaded, just click on the

home button.

Clean Your Prefetch to Improve Performance

2009-10-18T07:23:00.000-07:00

This is a unique technique for WinXP.

We know that it is necessary to scrub registry and TEMP files for Win9X/ME/2000 periodically.

Prefetch is a new and very useful technique in Windows XP. However, after using XP some time, the prefetch directory can get full of junk and obsolete links in the Prefetch catalog, which can slow down your computer noticeably.

· Open C(system drive):/windows/prefetch, delete those junk and obsolete files, reboot.

It is recommended that you do this every month.

Disable XP Boot Logo

2009-10-18T07:21:00.000-07:00

It is possible to disable the XP splash screen, which will slightly speed up the overall boot process.

Be aware that removing the splash screen will also cause you not to see any boot-up messages that might come up (chkdsk, convert ... ), but if your system runs without any problems then it should not matter.

· Edit boot.ini.

· Add " /noguiboot" right after "/fastdetect".

Upon restarting, the splash screen will be gone. It can be re-enabled by removing the new switch.

Correcting System Hang at Startup

2009-10-18T07:20:00.001-07:00

If your system hangs about 2 or 3 minutes at startup, where you can't access the Start button or the Taskbar, it may be due to one specific service (Background Intelligent Transfer) running in the background.

Microsoft put out a patch for this but it didn't work for me. Here's what you do:

· Click on Start/Run, type 'msconfig', then click 'OK'.

· Go to the 'Services' tab, find the 'Background Intelligent Transfer' service.

· Disable it, apply the changes & reboot.

Turn Off System Restore to Save Space

2009-10-18T07:19:00.000-07:00

By default, Windows XP keeps a backup of system files in the System Volume Information folder. This can eat up valuable space on your hard drive.

If you don't want Windows to back up your system files:

· Open the Control Panel.

· Double-click on System.

· Click the System Restore tab.

· Check "Turn off System Restore on all drives".

· Hit Apply.

· You may now delete the System Volume Information folder.

Warning! If you turn this off you will not be able to use Windows System Restore to restore your system in case of failure.

Shutdown XP Faster

2009-10-18T07:18:00.000-07:00

Like previous versions of windows, it takes long time to restart or shutdown windowsXP when the "Exit Windows" sound is enabled. To solve this problem you must disable this useless sound.

· Click Start button.

· Go to settings > Control Panel > Sound, Speech and Audio devices > Sounds and Audio Devices > Sounds.

· Then under program events and windows menu click on "Exit Windows" sub-menu and highlight it.

Now from sounds you can select, choose "none" and then click Apply and OK.

Now you should see some improvements when shutting down your system.

Stop Jerky Graphics

2009-10-18T07:16:00.001-07:00

If you are connected to a LAN and have problems with jerky graphics, this might be the

solution:

· Right-click "My Computer".

· Select "Manage".

· Click on "Device Manager".

· Double-click on your NIC under "Network Adapters".

· In the new window, select the "Advanced" tab.

· Select "Connection Type" and manually set the value of your NIC. (Not "Auto Sense"

which is default.).

· You should reboot.

How to change admin's pass with any account

2009-10-15T06:10:00.001-07:00

How to change admin's pass with any account

Follow the given steps:

1 - open run

2 - type - control userpasswords2

3 - select the account of wich u wanna change the pass

4 - click reset password and type ur new pass and ur done

Protecting Office Document with Password

2009-10-15T05:58:00.000-07:00

You can protect your document by applying password so that unauthorized person can not display as well as modify your document.
To apply a password to document, follow these steps.

* Open Save As dialog box by selecting "Save As" command from File menu.

* Click "Tools" button of Save As dialog box and choose "General Options" from drop down menu, "Save" dialog box appears as shown in figure below.

* Enter first password in "Password to open" text box and second password in "Password to modify" text box (if required) and click "Ok" button of dialog box. Microsoft Word will open "Confirm Password" dialog box for the confirmation of passwords. The maximum length of password is 15 characters.

* Re-enter the password to open and password to modify and click "Ok" button of Confirm Password dialog boxes one by one.

* Click "Save" button of Save As dialog box.

Show Hidden Files and Folders not working?

2009-10-15T05:47:00.000-07:00

Show Hidden Files and Folders not working?.....
If we selecte the radio button “Show hidden files and folders” and then press Ok.. the changes would just disappear upon opening the dialog again.
It was probably some virus attack after which the Windows registry was not being updated properly.
So here is what methods to restore it back. There are so many methods to restore back the registry.
If one method is not working, please try other methods too.

(Note:You must be careful while editing the Registry)

Method 1:

Go to registry editor by running regedit in the run box.

Go to this key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\

Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

In the right hand area, double click hidden and change the value to 1.

Now you’re all set to go. Check it in your tools menu if the changes have taken effect.

Method 2:

1. Click “Start” -> “Run…” (or press Windows key + R)

2. Type “regedit” and click “Ok”.

3. Find the key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\

Advanced\Folder\Hidden\SHOWALL

4. Look at the “CheckedValue” key… This should be a DWORD key. If it isn’t, delete the key.

5. Create a new key called “CheckedValue” as a DWORD (hexadecimal) with a value of 1.

6. The “Show hidden files & folders” check box should now work normally. Enjoy!

Method 3:

1- Click Start –> Run –> regsvr32 /i browseui.dll –> enter

A confirmation message will appear like given below

2- Click Start –> Run –> regsvr32 /i shell32.dll

Wait for the confirmation and click OK

regsvr32-shell.dll.png

Method 4:

If none of the above methods work, please download our Smart Virus Remover from here:

Smart Virus Remover (652.8 KiB, 346,268 hits)

Using this Virus Remover please restore your Windows settings and your show hidden files and folders will be set to default.

Please spare a few moments from your precious time and tell us about your experiences.

Why graphic package is used on computer?

2009-10-11T06:49:00.001-07:00

If you are asking why to use computer for graphic work,
its because its extremely fast,
able to redo work without starting over,
inexpensive to store and duplicate work (even considering cost of software), and fast and easy to work with others even if they are a long way away.
And consider you could work an entire project, all aspects of creating it, from a single computer, and never leave your seat

How to Block A Website in All Web Browsers

2009-10-11T06:44:00.000-07:00

1. Click Start->All Programs->Accessories->Command Prompt.

2. Click Command Prompt This will open a DOS command window.

3. Type: notepad C:/Windows/System32/drivers/etc/hosts

4. Locate the line 127.0.0.1 localhost

5. To block the website google.com for example, just add this text under 127.0.0.1 localhost:

127.0.0.1 google.com

127.0.0.1 www.google.com

You can add as many sites any site, However you will need to prefix it with "127.0.0.1".

6. Save the file
Google will now be blocked in all web browser. This is an advanced but easy method on how to blow a website.

How to block a Website using Internet Explorer

2009-10-11T06:43:00.001-07:00

Internet Explorer version 5 and later offer the ability for heighten security and privacy. You can block a site by following the directions below:

1. Load your Internet explorer

2. Click Tools

3. Click Internet Options

4. Click the Privacy tab

5. Under the Privacy window, Click Sites

6. Type in the site address that you want to Block and Click OK. Remember this technique only blocks on one site at a time. Parental control software will allow you to block multiple sites and categories.

Mozilla Firefox(Internet Browser) Keyboard Shortcuts

2009-10-08T01:28:00.000-07:00

Mozilla Firefox Shortcuts

*Ctrl + Tab or Ctrl + PageDown: Cycle through tabs.

*Ctrl + Shift + Tab or Ctrl + PageUp: Cycle through tabs in reverse.

*Ctrl + (1-9): Switch to tab corresponding to number.

*Ctrl + N: New window.

*Ctrl + T: New tab.

*Ctrl + L or Alt + D or F6: Switch focus to location bar.

*Ctrl + Enter: Open location in new tab.

*Shift + Enter: Open location in new window.

*Ctrl + K or Ctrl + E: Switch focus to search bar.

*Ctrl + O: Open a local file.

*Ctrl + W: Close tab, or window if there's only one tab open.

*Ctrl + Shift + W: Close window.

*Ctrl + S: Save page as a local file.

*Ctrl + P: Print page.

*Ctrl + F or F3: Open find toolbar.

*Ctrl + G or F3: Find next...

*Ctrl + Shift + G or Shift + F3: Find previous...

*Ctrl + B or Ctrl + I: Open Bookmarks sidebar.

*Ctrl + H: Open History sidebar.

*Escape: Stop loading page.

*Ctrl + R or F5: Reload current page.

*Ctrl + Shift + R or Ctrl + F5: Reload current page; bypass cache.

*Ctrl + U: View page source.

*Ctrl + D: Bookmark current page.

*Ctrl + NumpadPlus or Ctrl + Equals (+/=): Increase text size.

*Ctrl + NumpadMinus or Ctrl + Minus: Decrease text size.

*Ctrl + Numpad0 or Ctrl + 0: Set text size to default.

*Alt + Left or Backspace: Back.

*Alt + Right or Shift + Backspace: Forward.

*Alt + Home: Open home page.

*Ctrl + M: Open new message in integrated mail client.

*Ctrl + J: Open Downloads dialog.

*F6: Switch to next frame. You must have selected something on the page already, e.g. by use of Tab.

*Shift + F6: Switch to previous frame.

*Apostrophe ('): Find link as you type.

*Slash (/): Find text as you type.

Windows XP Keyboard Shortcuts - Part6

2009-10-08T01:24:00.000-07:00

Remote Desktop Connection Navigation

*Ctrl + Alt + End: Open the NT Security dialog.

*Alt + PageUp: Switch between programs.

*Alt + PageDown: Switch between programs in reverse.

*Alt + Insert: Cycle through the programs in most recently used order.

*Alt + Home: Display start menu.

*Ctrl + Alt + Break: Switch the client computer between a window and a full screen.

*Alt + Delete: Display the Windows menu.

*Ctrl + Alt + NumpadMinus: Place a snapshot of the entire client window area on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing Alt + PrintScreen on a local computer.

*Ctrl + Alt + NumpadPlus: Place a snapshot of the active window in the client on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing PrintScreen on a local computer.

Windows XP Keyboard Shortcuts - Part5

2009-10-08T01:18:00.000-07:00

Accessibility

*Right Shift for eight seconds: Toggle FilterKeys on and off. FilterKeys must be enabled.

*Left Alt + Left Shift + PrintScreen: Toggle High Contrast on and off. High Contrast must be enabled.

*Left Alt + Left Shift + NumLock: Toggle MouseKeys on and off. MouseKeys must be enabled.

*NumLock for five seconds: Toggle ToggleKeys on and off. ToggleKeys must be enabled.

*Shift five times: Toggle StickyKeys on and off. StickyKeys must be enabled.

*Microsoft Natural Keyboard with IntelliType Software Installed

*Win + L: Log off Windows.

*Win + P: Open Print Manager.

*Win + C: Open control panel.

*Win + V: Open clipboard.

*Win + K: Open keyboard properties.

*Win + I: Open mouse properties.

*Win + A: Open Accessibility properties.

*Win + Space: Displays the list of Microsoft IntelliType shortcut keys.

*Win + S: Toggle CapsLock on and off.

Windows XP Keyboard Shortcuts - Part4

2009-10-08T01:16:00.000-07:00

File Browser

*Arrow Keys: Navigate.

*Shift + Arrow Keys: Select multiple items.

*Ctrl + Arrow Keys: Change focus without changing selection. "Focus" is the object that will run on Enter. Space toggles selection of the focused item.

*(Letter): Select first found item that begins with (Letter).

*BackSpace: Go up one level to the parent directory.

*Alt + Left: Go back one folder.

*Alt + Right: Go forward one folder.

*Enter: Activate (Double-click) selected item(s).

*Alt + Enter: View properties for selected item.

*F2: Rename selected item(s).

*Ctrl + NumpadPlus: In a Details view, resizes all columns to fit the longest item in each one.

*Delete: Delete selected item(s).

*Shift + Delete: Delete selected item(s); bypass Recycle Bin.

*Ctrl while dragging item(s): Copy.

*Ctrl + Shift while dragging item(s): Create shortcut(s).

*In tree pane, if any:

*Left: Collapse the current selection if expanded, or select the parent folder.

*Right: Expand the current selection if collapsed, or select the first subfolder.

*Numpad Asterisk: Expand currently selected directory and all subdirectories. No undo.

*Numpad Plus: Expand currently selected directory.

*Numpad Minus: Collapse currently selected directory.

Windows XP Keyboard Shortcuts - Part3

2009-10-08T01:14:00.000-07:00

General Navigation

*Tab: Forward one item.

*Shift + Tab: Backward one item.

*Ctrl + Tab: Cycle through tabs/child windows.

*Ctrl + Shift + Tab: Cycle backwards through tabs/child windows.

*Enter: If a button's selected, click it, otherwise, click default button.

*Space: Toggle items such as radio buttons or checkboxes.

*Alt + (Letter): Activate item corresponding to (Letter). (Letter) is the underlined letter on the item's name.

*Ctrl + Left: Move cursor to the beginning of previous word.

*Ctrl + Right: Move cursor to the beginning of next word.

*Ctrl + Up: Move cursor to beginning of previous paragraph. This and all subsequent Up/Down hotkeys in this section have only been known to work in Rich Edit controls.

*Ctrl + Down: Move cursor to beginning of next paragraph.

*Shift + Left: Highlight one character to the left.

*Shift + Right: Highlight one character to the right.

*Shift + Up: Highlight from current cursor position, to one line up.

*Shift + Down: Highlight from current cursor position, to one line down.

*Ctrl + Shift + Left: Highlight to beginning of previous word.

*Ctrl + Shift + Right: Highlight to beginning of next word.

*Ctrl + Shift + Up: Highlight to beginning of previous paragraph.

*Ctrl + Shift + Down: Highlight to beginning of next paragraph.

*Home: Move cursor to top of a scrollable control.

*End: Move cursor to bottom of a scrollable control.

Windows XP Keyboard Shortcuts - Part2

2009-10-08T01:12:00.000-07:00

General

*Ctrl + C or Ctrl + Insert: Copy.

*Ctrl + X or Shift + Delete: Cut.

*Ctrl + V or Shift + Insert: Paste/Move.

*Ctrl + N: New... File, Tab, Entry, etc.

*Ctrl + S: Save.

*Ctrl + O: Open...

*Ctrl + P: Print.

*Ctrl + Z: Undo.

*Ctrl + A: Select all.

*Ctrl + F: Find...

*Ctrl+W : to close the current window

*Ctrl + F4: Close tab or child window.

*F1: Open help.

*F11: Toggle full screen mode.

*Alt or F10: Activate menu bar.

*Alt + Space: Display system menu. Same as clicking the icon on the titlebar.

*Escape: Remove focus from current control/menu, or close dialog box.

Windows XP keyboard Shortcuts-Part1

2009-10-08T01:10:00.000-07:00

Windows Shortcuts

*Win + L (XP Only): Locks keyboard. Similar to Lock Workstation.

*Win + F or F3: Open Find dialog. (All Files) F3 may not work in some applications which use F3 for their own find dialogs.

*Win + Control + F: Open Find dialog. (Computers)

*Win + U: Open Utility Manager.

*Win + F1: Open Windows help.

*Win + Pause: Open System Properties dialog.

*Win + Tab: Cycle through taskbar buttons. Enter clicks, AppsKey or Shift + F10 right-clicks.

*Win + Shift + Tab: Cycle through taskbar buttons in reverse.

*Alt + Tab: Display Cool Switch. More commonly known as the AltTab dialog.

*Alt + Shift + Tab: Display Cool Switch; go in reverse.

*Alt + Escape: Send active window to the bottom of the z-order.

*Alt + Shift + Escape: Activate the window at the bottom of the z-order.

*Alt + F4: Close active window; or, if all windows are closed, open shutdown dialog.

*Shift while a CD is loading: Bypass AutoPlay.

*Shift while login: Bypass startup folder. Only those applications will be ignored which are in the startup folder, not those started from the registry (Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run\)

*Ctrl + Alt + Delete or Ctrl + Alt + NumpadDel (Both NumLock states): Invoke the Task Manager or NT Security dialog.

*Ctrl + Shift + Escape (2000/XP ) or (Ctrl + Alt + NumpadDot) : Invoke the task manager. On earlier OSes, acts like Ctrl + Escape.

*Print screen: Copy screenshot of current screen to clipboard.

*Alt + Print screen: Copy screenshot of current active window to clipboard.

*Ctrl + Alt + Down Arrow: Invert screen. Untested on OS's other than XP.

*Ctrl + Alt + Up Arrow: Undo inversion.

*Win + B : Move focus to systray icons.

Folder Options Missing

2009-10-08T01:05:00.000-07:00

Many of us sometimes find the folder options missing in windows explorer.

Here's the solution-->

Now goto User Configuration > Administrative templates > Windows Component > Windows Explorer.

Click on Windows Explorer you will find the 3rd option on the right side of screen "Removes the Folder Option menu item from the Tools menu"

Just check it, if it is not configured then change it to enable by double clicking on it and after applying again set it to not configured.

I hopes that you will find the option after restarting windows.

2009-10-08T01:03:00.000-07:00

1.Start any application, say Word. Open some large documents.

2.Press CTRL+SHIFT+ESC to open Windows Task Manager and click Processes tab and sort the list in descending order on Mem Usage.
You will notice that WINWORD.EXE will be somewhere at the top, using multiple MBs of memory.

3.Now switch to Word and simply minimize it. (Don't use the Minimize All Windows option of the task bar).

4.Now go back to the Windows Task Manager and see where WINWORD.EXE is listed

Most probably you will not find it at the top.
You will typically have to scroll to the bottom of the list to find Word.

Difference Between Intel core 2 duo vs Intel dual core vs Intel Pentium D and Athlon X2

2009-10-08T00:58:00.000-07:00

Dual core is simply a generic term referring to any processor package with two physical CPUs in one.

The Pentium D, Core Duo, Core 2 Duo and Athlon X2 are all current CPUs that have dual cores in one package.

The Pentium D is simply two Pentium 4 Prescott cpus inefficiently paired together and ran as dual core.

The Core Duo is Intel’s first generation dual core processor based upon the Pentium M (a Pentium III-4 hybrid) made mostly for laptops (though a few motherboard manufacturers have released desktop boards supporting the Core Duo CPU), and is much more efficiently than Pentium D.

The Core 2 Duo is Intel’s second generation (hence, Core 2) processor made for desktops and laptops designed from the ground up to be fast while not consuming nearly as much power as previous CPUs.

Note – Intel has dropped the Pentium name in favor of the Core architecture as Intel is restructuring and refocusing it’s efforts to become number one again (and are doing a fine job, might I add).

The AMD Athlon X2 CPUs have two revisions, the first one is essentially very similiar to the Pentium Ds in that they are simply two Athlon 64 chips fused together, making power requirements quite steep (around 89 watts).
The second revision is made more efficiently, like the Core Duos, with much less power consumption (around 65 watts).

There are, of course, other differences, but that is the gist of dual cores as it relates to Intel and AMD.

The Complete list ! Can u Do it!

2009-10-08T00:56:00.000-07:00

Try to create a folder in Windows with either of these names--

"con" or "nul" or "Aux" or "Lpt1".

Windows will not let u create ....

This s coz these refer 2 some well known ports....

-con corresponds to the console

-Lpt1 corresponds to printer and so on....

well dat was common but hw bt this ? Try these more

CON, PRN, AUX, CLOCK$, NUL, COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, COM5, COM6, COM7, COM8, COM9, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, LPT4, LPT5, LPT6, LPT7, LPT8, and LPT9.

Secret Codes

2009-10-08T00:55:00.000-07:00

Sony Erricson CMDX 1000 : Tips Tricks n unlock Secret Codes

Show Software date Following procedure will show on your phone the software date. Remove your SIM Card, then press:

* # 06 #

and finally press:
[left softkey]
To enter Monitor Mode on Network Option menu

1. Menu 9 (Phone Options)

2. 7 (Phone Status)

3. [Left Display Button] (left MENU key)

4. 7684666

5. [HangUp Button] (Red HandSet key)

The Service provider (SP) lock is used to lock the cell phone to the SP’s SIM card.
Once the cell phone is locked to a specific operator, if one inserts a SIM card from a different operator the phone will refuse to accept it!
The cell phone will however accept another SIM card from the same operator.

Open Multiple instances of Yahoo Messenger and Google talk - a Hack

2009-10-07T06:40:00.000-07:00

Yahoo Messenger and Google Talk. This Simple Hack allows you to Run multiple instances (more then one) of Yahoo Messenger and Google talk simultaneously on one PC.

FOR YAHOO MESSENGER

* Go to Start >> Run >>

* Type regedit >> press Enter

* Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER >> Software >> Yahoo >> pager >> Test

* Then Right click on test >> choose New >> Dword value .

* Rename it as ‘Plural’.

* Double click it >> assign a decimal value of 1.

* Close the registry and Restart yahoo messenger.

Hey Its All Done!! Now you can open ‘N’ instances of yahoo messenger and login into each from different yahoo ID.

talk_logo.gif

FOR GOOGLE TALK

* Create a shortcut of Google Talk messenger on your desktop or any other location.

* Right click on the Google Talk messenger icon and select properties option

* Modify target location text from this “c:\program files\google\google talk\googletalk.exe” /startmenu to “c:\program files\google\google talk\googletalk.exe” /nomutex

* Then Click OK!!

Now you can run multiple instances of Google talk .

Watch video in PAINT

2009-10-07T06:38:00.001-07:00

Watch video in PAINT

1. Open a video with whatever video format like .mpeg, .avi,...,

2. Press PrintScreen in taskbar but dont stop playing of the video

3. Then Start-Programs-Accessories->Paint

4. Go Edit-Paste or CTRL

Add/Remove Sound Events from Control Panel

2009-10-04T01:03:00.003-07:00

You can Add and delete sounds events in the Control Panel. In order to do that:

1. Open RegEdit

2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Eventlabels. If this key does not exist you can create it and add events.

3. You can add/delete any items you want to or delete the ones you no longer want.

Multiple Columns For the Start Menu

2009-10-04T01:03:00.001-07:00

To make Windows use multiple Start Menu Columns instead of a single scrolling column,
like Windows 9x had, Also if you are using Classic Mode in XP

1. Open RegEdit

2. Go to the key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Explorer\ Advanced

3. Create a string value "StartMenuScrollPrograms"

4. Right click the new string value and select modify

5. Set the value to "FALSE"

Customize the System Tray

2009-10-04T01:02:00.001-07:00

You can add your name or anything you like that consists of 8 characters or less.
This will replace the AM or PM next to the system time.
But you can corrupt some trial licenses of software that you may have downloaded.

1. Open RegEdit

2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\International

3. Add two new String values, "s1159" and "s2359"

4. Right click the new value name and modify. Enter anything you like up to 8 characters.

If you enter two different values when modifying, you can have the system tray display the two different values in the AM and PM.

Backup / Restore the Registry

2009-10-04T01:01:00.001-07:00

To Backup/Restore the Windows Registry:

1.If you are in MSDOS, at the C:\Windows prompt type

2.Attrib -s -r -h C:\Windows\System.dat (press Enter)

3.Attrib -s -r -h C:\Windows\User.dat (press Enter)

To make the backup copies type:

1.copy C:\Windows\System.dat C:\Windows\System.000 (press Enter)

2.copy C:\Windows\User.dat C:\Windows\user.000 (press Enter)

To Restore the Registry

1.copy C:\Windows\System.000 C:\Windows\System.dat (press Enter)

2.copy C:\Windows\User.000 C:\Windows\user.dat (press Enter)

Use Windows Update without being registered

2009-10-04T00:59:00.005-07:00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion]

Create the string value RegDone, value = 1

Turn off Window animation (maximize-minimize) to speed up your work

2009-10-04T00:59:00.001-07:00

Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\desktop\WindowMetric

Create the string value MinAnimate. Set it to 0 (off) or 1 (on)

Performance Increase through My Computer

2009-10-01T00:50:00.000-07:00

Start > Right Click on My Computer and select properties.
Click on the "Advanced" tab
See the "Performance" section? Click "Settings" Disable all or some of the following:
Fade or slide menus into view
Fade or slide ToolTips into view
Fade out menu items after clicking
Show Shadows under menus
Slide open combo boxes
Slide taskbar buttons
Use a background image for each folder type
Use common tasks in folders

Make the background of desktop icons transparent (XP)

2009-10-01T00:31:00.000-07:00

Control Panel > System > Advanced > {Performance} Settings.
On the Visual Effects tab, check Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop.

Turn Off System Recovery

2009-10-01T00:30:00.001-07:00

Right click on My Computer and choose Properties.
Click on the System Restore tab and check the box Turn off System Restore.
(This will increase Windows performance & save disk space)

Adjust various visual effects

2009-10-01T00:29:00.001-07:00

Open up the control panel
Go under system and click on the advanced tab
Click settings under Performance options
You can now change various graphical effects (mainly animations and shadows

Remove shortcut arrow from desktop icons

2009-10-01T00:28:00.000-07:00

Here's how you can remove those shortcut arrows from your desktop icons in Windows XP.

Start regedit.
Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOTlnkfile
Delete the IsShortcut registry value.

You may need to restart Windows XP.

Turn of CD Auto Play

2009-10-01T00:27:00.000-07:00

Open My Computer
Right click on your CD ROM and choose Properties
Click on the Auto Play tab
In the drop down box you can choose the Action for each choice shown in the drop down box

Go to Start->Run->gpedit.msc
Computer Config -> Administrative Template -> System
Double click Turn off Autoplay
Enable it.

Speed up the Start Menu

2009-10-01T00:26:00.001-07:00

You can customize the speed of the Start Menu by editing a Registry Key.

Click Start, and then click Run.
Type Regedit in the box, and then click OK.
Expand the menu in the left panel and select the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop folder.
Scroll down in the right panel and double click on the MenuShowDelay file.
In the Value Data box, change to default value for the menu speed from 400 to a lesser number, such as 1.
Click OK.

Caution: Incorrectly editing the registry may severely damage your system.
Before making changes to the registry, you should back up any valued data on your computer.

Use the Address Bar to Launch Programs or Web Pages

2009-10-01T00:25:00.000-07:00

Windows XP Professional enhanced the functionality of the Address bar to make it easier to launch your favorite programs.
You can add the Address bar to the taskbar on the bottom of your desktop. Then you can launch programs simply by entering their names in the Address bar.

For example, to launch Calculator, simply enter calc in the Address bar. Anything you would normally enter in the Run box on the Start menu can be entered in the Address bar.
The Address bar also lets you quickly go to any Web page you specify.
To add the Address bar to the taskbar:

Right-click an empty area on the taskbar.
Point to Toolbars, and then click Address.
Open the Address bar by double-clicking it.

Increase BROADBAND

2009-10-01T00:16:00.000-07:00

This is for broad band connections.

make sure your logged on as actually "Administrator". do not log on with any account that just has administrator privileges.
start - run - type gpedit.msc
expand the "local computer policy" branch
expand the "administrative templates" branch
expand the "network branch"
Highlight the "QoS Packet Scheduler" in left window
in right window double click the "limit reservable bandwidth" setting
on setting tab check the "enabled" item
where it says "Bandwidth limit %" change it to read 0

Effect is immediate on some systems, some need to re-boot. This is more of a "counter what XP does" thing.
In other words, programs can request up to 20% of the bandwidth be reserved for them, even with QoS disabled, this is no big deal and most programs do not request it.
So, although QOS has caused a big stink because people think it reserves 20% of their bandwidth, you can still disable it, just to be sure, hehe.

Make Use Of Your Windows Key

2009-09-28T04:30:00.000-07:00

The Windows logo key, located in the bottom row of most computer keyboards is a little-used treasure.
Don't' ignore it. It is the shortcut anchor for the following commands:

Windows: Display the Start menu
Windows + D: Minimize or restore all windows
Windows + E: Display Windows Explorer
Windows + F: Display Search for files
Windows + Ctrl + F: Display Search for computer
Windows + F1: Display Help and Support Center
Windows + R: Display Run dialog box
Windows + break: Display System Properties dialog box
Windows + shift + M: Undo minimize all windows
Windows + L: Lock the workstation
Windows + U: Open Utility Manager
Windows + Q: Quick switching of users (Powertoys only)
Windows + Q: Hold Windows Key, then tap Q to scroll thru the different users on your PC

Keyboard Shortcuts

2009-09-28T04:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the most useful keyboard shortcut:

Copy. CTRL+C
Cut. CTRL+X
Paste. CTRL+V
Undo. CTRL+Z
Delete. DELETE

Delete selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin. SHIFT+DELETE

CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item

Rename selected item. F2

Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word. CTRL+RIGHT ARROW
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word. CTRL+LEFT ARROW
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph. CTRL+DOWN ARROW
Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph. CTRL+UP ARROW

Highlight a block of text. CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys

Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text within a document. SHIFT with any of the arrow keys

Select all. CTRL+A
Search for a file or folder. F3

View properties for the selected item. ALT+ENTER

Close the active item, or quit the active program. ALT+F4

Opens the shortcut menu for the active window. ALT+SPACEBAR

Close the active document in programs that allow you to have multiple documents open simultaneously. CTRL+F4

Switch between open items. ALT+TAB

Cycle through items in the order they were opened. ALT+ESC
Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop. F6

Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer. F4
Display the shortcut menu for the selected item. SHIFT+F10
Display the System menu for the active window. ALT+SPACEBAR
Display the Start menu. CTRL+ESC

Display the corresponding menu. ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name

Carry out the corresponding command. Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu

Activate the menu bar in the active program. F10

Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu. RIGHT ARROW
Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu. LEFT ARROW

Refresh the active window. F5

View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer. BACKSPACE
Cancel the current task. ESC

SHIFT when you insert a CD into the CD-ROM drive Prevent the CD from automatically playing.

Enable / Disable Firewall

2009-09-28T04:19:00.000-07:00

1.Open Control Panel

2.Double click on Network Connections.

3.In the new box that appears right click on the Connection and click on the Advanced tab.

4.Check or uncheck the box according to your desire.

Change the text in Internet Explorers title bar to anything you want

2009-09-28T04:17:00.000-07:00

Go to run and then type "regedit"

In regedit navigate to this key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerMain

change the value of the string "Window Title" to whatever you want on the title bar of Internet Explorer - to have no title except the title of the web pages you are browsing do not enter anything for a value.

Get rid of Windows Messenger

2009-09-28T04:15:00.000-07:00

Start->Run->"gpedit.msc""
-Computer Configuration
-Administrative Templates
-Windows Components
-Windows Messenger

Here you can enable "Do not allow Windows Messenger to be run" and "Do not automatically start Windows Messenger initially

How To Enable Hibernation

2009-09-28T04:14:00.000-07:00

Click Start and Shut Down,
Point the standby button and maintain the shift key pushed,
A new hibernation button appears: click it while still holding the shift key: voila your PC will hibernate.

To change drive letters

2009-09-28T04:12:00.000-07:00

To change drive letters (useful if you have two drives and have partitioned the boot drive, but the secondary drive shows up as "D")

Go to Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer Management, Disk Management, then right-click the partition whose name you want to change (click in the white area just below the word "Volume") and select "change drive letter and paths."

From here you can add, remove or change drive letters and paths to the partition.

Rename a Series of Files

2009-09-28T04:10:00.000-07:00

When you download photos from your digital camera, they often have unrecognizable names.
You can rename several similar files at once with the following procedure.
This also works for renaming other types of files.

1.Open the My Pictures folder. (Click Start, and then click My Pictures.) Or open another folder containing files that you want to rename.
2.Select the files you want to rename. If the files you want are not adjacent in the file list, press and hold CTRL, and then click each item to select it.
3.On the File menu, click Rename.
4.Type the new name, and then press ENTER.

All of the files in the series will be named in sequence using the new name you type.
For example, if you type Birthday, the first will be named Birthday and subsequent files in the series will be named Birthday (1), Birthday (2), and so on.
To specify the starting number for the series, type the starting number in parentheses after the new file name.
The files in the series will be numbered in sequence starting with the number you type.
For example, if you type Birthday (10), the other files will be named Birthday (11), Birthday (12), and so on.

To create a new Remote Desktop Connection

2009-09-28T04:05:00.000-07:00

Open Remote Desktop Connection. (Click Start, point to Programs or All Programs, point to Accessories, point to Communications, and then click Remote Desktop Connection.)
In Computer, type the computer name for your computer running Windows XP Professional that has Remote Desktop enabled and for which you have Remote Desktop permissions
Click Connect.
The Log On to Windows dialog box appears.
In the Log On to Windows dialog box, type your user name, password, and domain (if required), and then click OK. The Remote Desktop window will open and you will see the desktop settings, files, and programs that are on your office computer. Your office computer will remain locked.
Nobody will be able to work at your office computer without a password, nor will anyone see the work you are doing on your office computer remotely. Note: To change your connection settings, (such as screen size, automatic logon information, and performance options), click Options before you connect.

For a Safer, faster XP Close Unwanted Services

2009-09-28T04:04:00.000-07:00

To disable unneeded startup services for a safer, faster XP, use the "Services" Admin Tool (Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services). If you are a single user of a non-networked machine, you can disable the following items, with no ill effect.

Alerter
Clipbook
Computer Browser
Fast User Switching
Human Interface Access Devices
Indexing Service (Slows the hard drive down)
Messenger
Net Logon (unnecessary unless networked on a Domain)
Netmeeting Remote Desktop Sharing (disabled for extra security)
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager (disabled for extra security)
Remote Procedure Call Locator
Remote Registry (disabled for extra security)
Routing & Remote Access (disabled for extra security)
Server
SSDP Discovery Service (this is for the utterly pointless "Universal P'n'P", & leaves TCP Port 5000 wide open)
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Telnet (disabled for extra security)
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Upload Manager
Windows Time
Wireless Zero Configuration (for wireless networks)
Workstation

Boot Defragment

2009-09-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

A very important new feature in Microsoft Windows XP is the ability to do a boot defragment. This basically means that all boot files are placed next to each other on the disk drive to allow for faster booting. By default this option is enabled but some upgrade users have reported that it isn't on their setup.

Go to run and type regedit,then do the following steps:

1. Start Regedit.
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Dfrg\BootOptimizeFunction
3. Select Enable from the list on the right.
4. Right on it and select Modify.
5. Change the value to Y to enable and N to disable.
6. Reboot your computer.

How to Convert a FAT Partition to NTFS

2009-09-28T03:56:00.000-07:00

To convert a FAT partition to NTFS, perform the following steps.

1.Click Start, click Programs, and then click Command Prompt.

2.In Windows XP, click Start, and then click Run.

3.At the command prompt, type CONVERT [driveletter]: /FS:NTFS.

4.Convert.exe will attempt to convert the partition to NTFS.

NOTE: Although the chance of corruption or data loss during the conversion from FAT to NTFS is minimal, it is best to perform a full backup of the data on the drive that it is to be converted prior to executing the convert command. It is also recommended to verify the integrity of the backup before proceeding, as well as to run RDISK and update the emergency repair disk (ERD).

Convert.exe will attempt to convert the partition to NTFS.

Hide 'User Accounts' from users

2009-09-28T03:54:00.000-07:00

1.Go to Start/Run, and type: GPEDIT.MSC

2.Open the path ,User Config > Admin Templates > Control Panel

3.Doubleclick "Hide specified Control Panel applets"

4.put a dot in 'enabled', then click 'Show"

5.click Add button, type "nusrmgt.cpl" into the add box

AVI File Fix in Windows XP

2009-09-28T03:51:00.000-07:00

If you have any AVI files that you saved in Windows 9x, which have interference when opened in Windows XP, there is an easy fix to get rid of the interference:

1.Open Windows Movie Maker.
2.Click View and then click Options.
3.Click in the box to remove the check mark beside Automatically create clips.
4.Now, import the movie file that has interference and drag it onto the time line.
5.Then save the movie, and during the re-rendering, the interference will be removed.

IP address of your connection

2009-09-28T03:49:00.001-07:00

1.Go to start/run type 'cmd'

2.then type 'ipconfig'

3.Add the '/all' switch for more info.

NTFS vs FAT

2009-09-28T03:46:00.000-07:00

To NTFS or not to NTFS—that is the question. But unlike the deeper questions of life, this one isn't really all that hard to answer. For most users running Windows XP, NTFS is the obvious choice. It's more powerful and offers security advantages not found in the other file systems. But let's go over the differences among the files systems so we're all clear about the choice. There are essentially three different file systems available in Windows XP: FAT16, short for File Allocation Table, FAT32, and NTFS, short for NT File System.

FAT16
The FAT16 file system was introduced way back with MS–DOS in 1981, and it's showing its age. It was designed originally to handle files on a floppy drive, and has had minor modifications over the years so it can handle hard disks, and even file names longer than the original limitation of 8.3 characters, but it's still the lowest common denominator. The biggest advantage of FAT16 is that it is compatible across a wide variety of operating systems, including Windows 95/98/Me, OS/2, Linux, and some versions of UNIX. The biggest problem of FAT16 is that it has a fixed maximum number of clusters per partition, so as hard disks get bigger and bigger, the size of each cluster has to get larger. In a 2–GB partition, each cluster is 32 kilobytes, meaning that even the smallest file on the partition will take up 32 KB of space. FAT16 also doesn't support compression, encryption, or advanced security using access control lists.

FAT32
The FAT32 file system, originally introduced in Windows 95 Service Pack 2, is really just an extension of the original FAT16 file system that provides for a much larger number of clusters per partition. As such, it greatly improves the overall disk utilization when compared to a FAT16 file system. However, FAT32 shares all of the other limitations of FAT16, and adds an important additional limitation—many operating systems that can recognize FAT16 will not work with FAT32—most notably Windows NT, but also Linux and UNIX as well. Now this isn't a problem if you're running FAT32 on a Windows XP computer and sharing your drive out to other computers on your network—they don't need to know (and generally don't really care) what your underlying file system is.

The Advantages of NTFS
The NTFS file system, introduced with first version of Windows NT, is a completely different file system from FAT. It provides for greatly increased security, file–by–file compression, quotas, and even encryption. It is the default file system for new installations of Windows XP, and if you're doing an upgrade from a previous version of Windows, you'll be asked if you want to convert your existing file systems to NTFS. Don't worry. If you've already upgraded to Windows XP and didn't do the conversion then, it's not a problem. You can convert FAT16 or FAT32 volumes to NTFS at any point. Just remember that you can't easily go back to FAT or FAT32 (without reformatting the drive or partition), not that I think you'll want to.

The NTFS file system is generally not compatible with other operating systems installed on the same computer, nor is it available when you've booted a computer from a floppy disk. For this reason, many system administrators, myself included, used to recommend that users format at least a small partition at the beginning of their main hard disk as FAT. This partition provided a place to store emergency recovery tools or special drivers needed for reinstallation, and was a mechanism for digging yourself out of the hole you'd just dug into. But with the enhanced recovery abilities built into Windows XP (more on that in a future column), I don't think it's necessary or desirable to create that initial FAT partition.

When to Use FAT or FAT32
If you're running more than one operating system on a single computer , you will definitely need to format some of your volumes as FAT. Any programs or data that need to be accessed by more than one operating system on that computer should be stored on a FAT16 or possibly FAT32 volume. But keep in mind that you have no security for data on a FAT16 or FAT32 volume—any one with access to the computer can read, change, or even delete any file that is stored on a FAT16 or FAT32 partition. In many cases, this is even possible over a network. So do not store sensitive files on drives or partitions formatted with FAT file systems.

Turning Off the Licensing Feature in Windows XP

2009-09-28T03:44:00.000-07:00

1. Choose Options from Media Player's Tools menu.

2. Click the Copy Music tab.

3. Remove any check mark from the box marked Protect Content.

If no check mark is there, Media Player doesn't embed any license or copy protection in your copied files. Disabling the licensing feature lets you copy your files to any of your computers and portable music devices.

Install Windows XP Professional - New Installation

2009-09-28T03:33:00.000-07:00

Install Windows XP Professional - New Installation

There are three reasons why you may need to install a new copy of Windows XP:

Your current operating system doesn’t support an upgrade to Windows XP Professional.
Your current operating system supports an upgrade to Windows XP Professional, but you don’t want to keep your existing files and personalized settings.
Your computer does not have an operating system.

The setup process is similar for new installations and upgrades with a few notable exceptions. For example, during a new installation, you are able to configure Special Options, convert your file system, and create a new partition for the Windows XP installation.

IMPORTANT
A new installation deletes all programs or system files from a previous installation.

Special Options

Under Special Options, you have the choice to change Language, Advanced, and Accessibility settings during the setup process.

Note: If you are in a country that has recently adopted the euro as its currency, you may have to modify the currency settings to display monetary amounts correctly.

For more information, go to Help and Support Center and type “euro” in the Search box.

Select	If you want to...
Language	Choose the primary language and regions for Windows XP, which affects the default settings for date, time, currency, numbers, character sets, and keyboard layout. Choose additional language groups and character sets to use with the programs you are running on Windows XP.
Advanced Options	Change the default location of the Setup files. Store system files in a folder other than the default (Windows) folder Copy the installation files from the CD to the hard disk.
Accessibility	Use Narrator or Magnifier during Setup.

IMPORTANT
Unless you're an advanced user, it's recommended that you use the default settings.

Choosing a File System

During a new installation of Windows XP, you may have to choose which file system your computer should use. Windows XP Professional supports:

FAT32: An enhanced version of the file allocation table (FAT) system that is standard on all Windows operating systems starting with later (32-bit) versions of Windows 95. The FAT32 system can be used on large hard disks, from 512 megabytes (MB) to 32 gigabytes (GB).
NTFS: The NT file system (NTFS) is used with the Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Windows XP operating systems. NTFS provides enhanced reliability, stability, and security, and supports large hard disks of up to 2 terabytes (TB).

IMPORTANT
You can convert your file system any time, even after you install Windows XP, without losing any of your data.

The conversion to NTFS is one–way only; if you convert your FAT or FAT32 file system to NTFS you can’t convert your hard disk back to FAT later.

If you’re not sure which file system to use, keep the one your computer defaults to during Setup. If you want to change your file system, here are a few recommendations:

Use FAT32 if your hard disk is smaller than 32 GB.
Use FAT32 if you want to install more than one operating system on your computer.
Use NTFS if your hard drive is larger than 32 GB and you are running only one operating system on your computer.
Use NTFS if you want enhanced file security.
Use NTFS if you need better disk compression.

Disk Partitions

You can create partitions to organize information—for example, to back up data—or to install more than one operating system on your computer. A hard disk can contain up to four partitions.

If you’re performing a new installation, the appropriate disk partition is selected automatically during Windows XP Setup unless you click Advanced Options and specify your own requirements

For more information about configuring, sizing, reformatting, or converting disk partitions, see your current online Help before you install or upgrade to Windows XP Professional.