Below you will find helpful tidbits to make your computing more enjoyable! Check back often for newly added tips.

NOTICE: This information is provided AS-IS without warranty or guarantee. The user takes full responsibility for any damage or loss of data that may occur by using these tips.

 

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07/21/2010: How to format your hard drive with XP

Sometimes a computer just gets so "gunked up" after years of installing and uninstalling programs, getting viruses, etc. that the best solution is to start all over. If your XP computer has been running for years, it might be time. That doesn't mean you have to buy a new computer if the hardware still works. Instead, you can give a slowed-down or unstable computer new life by reformatting the hard drive (after backing up all of your important data, of course). This article will walk you through the steps:
http://www.wxpnews.com/L94EHM/100720-Format-Hard-Drive

07/18/2010: What are the differences between the 32 and 64 bit versions of IE 8?

If you've installed the 64 bit edition of Windows 7, you'll find that there are two different versions of Internet Explorer 8 included: a 32 bit and a 64 bit version. You might not be sure why they're both there and which one you should use in a given situation. KB article 896457 explains the differences and how they can affect interoperability with toolbar add-ins and ActiveX controls. Read it here:
http://www.win7news.net/Z21CPX/100715-32-bit-and-64-bit

07/13/2010: Stripping Formats from a Word Document
Microsoft Word lets you format your text with many choices of fonts and styles, as well as in the form of numbered lists, bullet points, indented text and other conventions of modern word-processing. But when a document becomes too cluttered and unwieldy with a lot of formats, there's a quick and easy way to strip the styles from the text so you can start over. Just select the text, press the Control key and Space bar to convert the selection to plain, unformatted text.

07/03/2010: Can I get the old style taskbar back?

QUESTION:
I recently upgraded to Windows 7 from XP. I like a lot of things about it but I don't like the big fat taskbar. Is there a way to make it thinner and more like the old style where you saw the name of the program and not just a big icon?

ANSWER:
That's a common question, and the answer is yes, sort of. Here's how: Right click the taskbar and select Properties. In the Taskbar Buttons section of the Taskbar tab, select "Combine when taskbar is full" in the dropdown box. This will make it work like XP, which grouped items when the taskbar got full. If you never want items grouped, you can select "Never combine." Now you'll see the text name of the program along with its icon

In the Taskbar Appearance section, select "Use small icons." This makes the taskbar thinner.

06/30/2010: Taskbar appears on the wrong monitor

If you are using multiple monitors on your XP computer and you change the primary monitor, then log off and log back on, you might find that the taskbar is now on the wrong monitor (the secondary monitor). This happens when you're using a single video card that has two ports. You can correct the problem by following the steps listed in KB article 905776 at http://www.wxpnews.com/L94EHM/100629-Taskbar

06/22/2010: How to map an XP drive to Windows 7

If you have both XP and Windows 7 computers on your home or small business (peer to peer) network, you may have run into problems when you try to map a drive on an XP machine. Specifically, when you browse for a shared folder from the Windows 7 computer, you might get a message that says "You do not have permission to access (path to XP computer). Contact your network administrator to request access." Or you might be prompted for a username and password, and you get a logon failure even when you put in the correct credentials.

The solution is to set up the Windows 7 local account as a user account on the XP computer and add it to the Administrators group there. To do that, follow these steps on the XP machine:

1. Right click My Computer and click Manage.
2. In the left pane, expand Local Users and Groups.
3. Click the Users folder.
4. In the right pane, click an empty space and select New User.
5. Create the account with the Windows 7 user name and password (uncheck "User must change password at next logon" and check "Password never expires").
6. Reboot the XP computer.

Now you should be able to browse to and map specific folders on the XP machine from the Windows 7 machine and entering the appropriate credentials.

06/10/2010: Ping: What does it mean?

QUESTION:
I have been told that if I can't ping, there is something wrong with my Internet connection. But why is it that sometimes I can connect to a company's web site in my web browser, but when I try to ping that same site at the command line, I get "request timed out" messages? Nobody has been able to explain this to me. Thanks - Will L.

ANSWER:
The most likely explanation is that the sites you're trying to ping are on networks that have blocked ICMP traffic. This includes ping packets, and it's a common security best practice. Windows Firewall blocks ping requests (also known as ICMP echo requests) by default, so you might not even be able to ping computers on your own local area network.

HOW TO:

Open a command prompt (Start - Run - Type Cmd - Enter). In the prompt window, type: ping www.thedesiredwebsite.com and press Enter. If you know the IP address of the site, you can substitute that for the www.thedesiredwebsite.com. If you are on a local network, this is handy as a test to see if you are connected to the server (or other computers).

05/25/2010: Windows 7 or Vista won't start after you install or update a device driver

You know that when you connect a new hardware device to your computer, you usually need to install a device driver. Sometimes, though, installing a new driver (including updating an old one) can cause Windows not to be able to boot because of conflicts with other drivers or when the driver you installed is corrupted. If this happens to you, Microsoft KB article 927525 offers some troubleshooting tips to help you repair the OS and resolve the problem.
http://www.win7news.net/Z21CPX/100520-Installing-a-Device

05/18/2010: How can I turn off or disable the keyboard?

Have you ever wanted to 'lock' your keyboard to keep others (such as your toddler) from using your PC? There is a small application called Keyboard Locker, that does exactly that. You can lock the keyboard just by pressing CTRL+ALT+L. To re-enable the keyboard, you type the word "unlock." How sweet is that? The following article includes a link to download it, plus instructions showing you how to make it start automatically when you boot your computer.
http://www.wxpnews.com/L94EHM/100518-Keyboard-Shortcut

05/16/2010: Do I have to use Adobe Reader?

Although many people think you have to have Adobe's software to read the PDF format, there are actually a number of alternate PDF readers and some of them are far more functional than Adobe Reader. One such program is called PDF XChange Viewer and it not only allows you to view PDF files but also lets you do simple editing: add comments, text, notes, draw and highlight and it will also integrate with translation software. With this program, you no longer have to have Adobe Reader installed on your PC. You can download it at http://www.wxpnews.com/L94EHM/100504-PDF-XChange-Viewer

05/02/2010: Extremely small form buttons in IE8

Have you experienced the problem where some buttons and/or data fields in IE8 are displayed in an extremely small size? To correct this problem, click on Tools / Internet Options / Advanced. Uncheck the option "Enable visual styles on buttons and controls in webpages". Unchecking this option solves the problem.

04/28/2010: How to get rid of the built-in Search bar on IE7

Some users like the built-in Search bar that was introduced with IE 7 that allows you to choose your Search provider from a drop down box. But some folks have the Google or Yahoo toolbar installed, and they don't want the additional search bar taking up room. Well, if that's you, there is a way to remove it, but it involves editing the registry. So be sure to back up the registry key first and be careful. Here's what you do:

1. Open your favorite registry editor.
2. Navigate to the following key in the left pane: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Software \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Internet Explorer \ Infodelivery \ Restrictions
3. Right click in the right pane and select New | DWORD value
4. Name the new value NoSearchBox
5. Set the value data to 1
6. Close the registry editor

Now the address bar will extend all the way across the top of browser interface. If you want to get the Search box back, edit the value and set the data value to 0.

 

04/25/2010: Code 10 errors in Device Manager

Code 10 errors are generated when Device Manager has insufficient information or a device driver isn't recognized or doesn't start. The Code 10 error doesn't give you much information; about all it says is "The device cannot start. (Code 10)." So how do you determine what driver is causing the problem and what can you do about it? For several methods of resolution, see KB article 943104 at http://www.win7news.net/Z21CPX/100422-Code-10-Errors

04/15/2010: Worried about your childrens' use of the Internet? Here is a valuable resource for both parents and kids!

http://www.sunbeltsecuritynews.com/OZ9YZD/100414-CommonSenseMedia

04/12/2010: Tips to optimize IE 8 performance

Microsoft has recently released a whitepaper on Internet Explorer 8 Performance that includes tips for optimizing browser performance and fixing common configuration problems that can slow down your web experience. The paper is a free download in .doc format. You can get it here:
http://www.win7news.net/Z21CPX/100408-Whitepaper

04/08/2010: How to tell a phishing site from the real thing

A quick 10 question test to show you how to determine if a website is legit. check it out! Phishing Test

040/06/2010: How to clean out your Temp folder

Have you ever noticed when you run Disk Cleanup in XP/Vista/Win7 and select the option to delete temporary files, there are still hundreds of files left in the Temp folder? The reason is that the Disk Cleanup utility only removes files in the Temp folder if they're over a week old. If you need to get rid of them right away, you can delete them manually:

1. Click Start | Run
2. In the Run box, type %temp% to quickly open the Temp folder
3. In the Temp folder displayed in Windows Explorer, press CTRL+A to select all files.
4. Press the Delete key (or Shift + Delete if you want to bypass the Recycle Bin).
   You may have to reboot in order to delete some files.

04/03/2010: Free download makes Explorer remember window size and position

A common Windows 7 annoyance for some users is the way the OS "forgets" the window size and position of Windows Explorer. This little free application makes Win7 remember its previous size and position. You can also set it to remember a specified number of recently used folders. Check it out here:
http://www.win7news.net/100225-ShellFolderFix

03/31/2010: Speed up Windows 7 menu display time

Windows 7 generally runs fast as is, but if you don't mind venturing into the registry, you may be able to speed up performance even more by making a few tweaks. One thing you can do is make the menus display faster. Here's how:

1. Open your favorite registry editor.
2. Navigate to: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel|Desktop.
3. In the right pane, right click the item labeled MenuShowDelay.
4. Select Modify.
5. In the dialog box, type in a lower value (for example, 100).
6. Click OK.

Note that this change will apply only to the currently logged on user.

03/31/2010: How to include or remove folders in a Windows 7 library

The libraries feature in Windows 7 can make it much easier for you to find your files, regardless of where they are stored on your computer or on the network. Adding or removing folders is easy; you can watch this video to show you how it's done:
http://www.win7news.net/100211-Library-Folders

03/26/2010: How to upgrade from Windows 7 Home to Pro or Ultimate when you bought the boxed version

If you decide to upgrade your PC from Windows 7 Home Premium (which probably came pre installed) to Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate, you may have problems. It will install without a hitch, but instead of a box to enter the product key, you may get a message stating you will need to upgrade with Windows Anytime Upgrade. Well, the answer is "no, not exactly." Click to go to the Windows Anytime Upgrade page where there is an option that says to click if you already have a Windows Anytime Upgrade license. That won't be exactly what you have, but click anyway. You will then be presented a dialog box asking for the product key. Enter the key from your boxed copy and it should be accepted. This will come as good news to anyone out there who finds him/herself in this predicament.

03/26/2010: How to fix touch pad problem with Windows 7 upgrade

If you upgrade your laptop to Windows 7, you might get a message that your Synaptics touch pad has been disabled. This happens because an external USB device was detected. You can enable the touch pad when an external USB device is detected by performing these steps:

1. Click Start.
2. In the Search box, type main.cpl and press ENTER.
3. Click the Device Settings tab.
4. Clear the checkbox that says "Disable internal pointing device when external USB pointing device is attached."
5. Click OK.

03/21/2010: How to perform a clean boot in Windows 7

When you're troubleshooting problems, sometimes it's helpful to do a "clean boot," which means starting Windows with only the minimal drivers and startup programs needed for it to run. Here's how to do it:

1. Log on as an administrator.
2. Click Start.
3. In the Search box, type msconfig.exe and press ENTER.
4. At the UAC prompt, click Continue.
5. Click the General tab.
6. Click Selective Startup and clear the Load Startup Items check box.
7. Click the Services tab.
8. Check the box labeled Hide all Microsoft Services.
9. Click Disable All.
10. Click OK and Restart.

This keeps networking, plug and play and other Microsoft services running. Disabling Microsoft services can cause you to lose your system restore points.

 

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