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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02/09/2012: Easily change the case in Word or PowerPoint

Select some text in Word or PowerPoint, then press Shift+F3. It will toggle between three possibilities for text capitalization:
* Initial Letter Case
* ALL CAPS CASE
* lower case
So, if you have selected some text like "siX MILlion Dollar mAn" each time you press Shift+F3 you'll see it switch between "SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN" and "six million dollar man" and "Six Million Dollar Man". However, if you add punctuation (such as a period) at the end of the text selected, instead of using Initial Letter Case, it will only capitalize the first letter of the sentence. So "I wiN!" will toggle between "I WIN!" and "i win!" and "I win!" (and will never show "I Win!").

12/04/2011: Computer running Windows 7 or Server 2008 can't use shared network printer

If you have a Windows 7 (or Server 2008) computer that's set up to use a shared network printer, you might find that it only works intermittently but you don't get an error message when it happens. When you open the printer properties and look at the Ports tab, you find that the ports are grayed out or blank. What's up with that? Well, you can work around it by restarting the Print Spooler service, but it will happen again. KB article 2388142 tells you how to get the hotfix that addresses this problem.

11/30/2011: You get a STOP error (blue screen) when you start Vista or Windows 7

If you try to start your Windows Vista or Windows 7 computer and get a STOP error or the computer just hangs up and stops responding, this can be caused by one of several situations, including a corrupted registry, damaged or missing system files or a device driver issue. KB article 925810 shows you how to resolve the problem using the Startup Repair tool on the Windows installation disc.

11/18/2011: How to roll back from Window 7 to your old OS

So you tried it and you didn't like it and now you want your old XP (or Vista) back? Well, Windows 7 tries to accommodate you; the installation process creates a Windows.old folder where it saves important configuration information from your previous version of Windows, so you can roll back to that if you want. KB article 971760 walks you through the steps that are required to restore the computer back to a previous version using the Windows.old folder.
Read More

11/18/2011: You can't rename an application in a shared folder on Windows 7

You might find that if you try to rename an application that's in a shared folder, being run by one or more users, the operation fails and you get a message that says "The file is in use by another process." Note that you can rename a file in this situation on Windows XP, so you might be wondering what's changed. To find out, and to find out how to get the hotfix that corrects the issue, see KB article 2322136.
Read More

09/17/2011: Windows 7 Tip - Get To Know Robocopy

You might already be familiar with Robocopy, a command line tool that you could find in the Resource Kit and install in Windows NT 4.0, 2000 and XP. In Windows Vista and Windows 7, it was made a standard feature. The name stands for "Robust Copy" and it gives you more options than the old commands like Copy and Xcopy. For instance, it will resume copying after a network interruption and will automatically retry if a file can't be opened.

To use Robocopy, open a command prompt (type cmd in the Search box on the Windows 7 Start menu) and type robocopy

To find out about the command syntax, type robocopy /?

There are also graphical interfaces available for those who prefer not to spend time in the "dark place" of the command line.

09/17/2011: WordPad: it might be all you need

Chances are you haven't opened the WordPad application that's built into every version of Windows in years. In earlier versions of the OS, it was a pretty rudimentary word processing program that would work in a pinch, but most folks preferred a fuller experience such as Microsoft Office or Open Office Writer. But what if you find yourself using a new computer that doesn't have any productivity applications installed yet, or a public computer that's missing those programs? Especially if it's running Windows 7, you might want to give WordPad another look. It has gradually improved over the years to the point where it's capable of doing much of what Word does. In addition to the usual formatting (font choices and colors, bold, italics, underline, alignment, bulleted and numbered lists) it also lets you highlight text, find and replace, and insert photos and drawings.

A major drawback in the past was that it would only save the documents it created in .txt or .rtf (rich text) formats. But Windows 7 adds a surprise: You can save WordPad docs in the standard Word 2007/2010 format, .docx. Some people are likely to find that the new and improved WordPad is all they need for the type of word processing they do, saving them the cost of buying Office or the time involved in installing Open Office.

08/25/2011: How to create a Windows 7 Backup Image

Sure, you back up all your important data files, but a nice feature of Windows 7's built-in backup program is that it can create a complete system backup image, which will restore all your programs and settings too. Here's how to do it:

1. Click Start and in the Search box, type Backup
2. Click Backup and Restore in the list of programs shown
3. In the left pane, click Create A System Image
4. Select a location where you want to save the system image. It should not be on the same partition where Windows is installed
5. Click Next
6. Choose which drive to back up. To back up your operating system and program files, select the drive where Windows is installed, usually C:
7. Click Start Backup
8. After the backup finishes (which could take a while if you have lots of programs and/or data), click Create a System Repair Disk in the left pane
9. Insert a blank DVD or CD and click Create Disk. Now you can use the System Repair Disk and your system image to restore your computer.

08/24/2011: Can't install some updates or programs

Have you ever had this experience? You try to install an update, service pack, application program (Microsoft or third party) or ActiveX control, and you get error messages about the digital signature or the cryptographic services. The reasons for this are many and complex, and there are several different methods for resolving the problem. You'll find the details about them in KB article 822798 at http://www.wxpnews.com/L94EHM/110823-Updates

08/14/2011: Restore missing Task Manager

Sometimes, a virus, trojan or malware will 'disable' the Task Manager in an effort to make it difficult to track down and kill its processes. But removing the offending program doesn't automatically restore Task Manager. So, how do you restore your Task Manager when this happens? If you're not able to find it by typing "taskmgr.exe" in the Search box, and the option isn't available in the Group Policy editor, you might have to edit the registry directly. As always, be sure to back up the registry before editing it. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Open the registry editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System
2. In the right pane, look for a value that says "Disable TaksMgr."
3. Delete it.

Check the following registry keys in the same location and do the same for them:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
HKEY_USERS\default

06/08/2011: Taskbar appears on the wrong monitor

If you have a multi-monitor setup on your XP system and you change the monitor that you want to be the primary monitor, when you log off and then log back on again, the taskbar might be on the wrong monitor. This happens when you have two monitors connected to the same video card. To find out the steps for fixing this problem, see KB article 905776 at
http://www.wxpnews.com/L94EHM/110524-Taskbar

05/10/2011: How to clear the contents of the clipboard

The clipboard is the area in memory on your XP computer where data that you cut or copy is stored so you can paste it somewhere else. But the information stored there can, in some cases, present a security risk, and if you do a large amount of cutting and pasting, the system may even slow down until you clear the contents of the clipboard. Here's how:

1. Click Start and then Run.
2. In the Run box, type Clipbrd.
3. Click OK.
4. The Clipbook Viewer will open. In the menu bar, click Edit.
5. Click Delete.
6. Click Yes when the dialog box asks "Do you want to clear the contents of the Clipboard?"

Close the Viewer.

04/30/2011: Windows 7 deletes System Restore points when you reboot

Here's a problem that you might have run into: Every time you reboot the computer, Windows 7 deletes all of your system restore points. Ouch! This happens sometimes because your paging file has gotten too fragmented. Who knew? The solution is to disable, delete and then recreate the paging file. You can find the step-by-step instructions for doing that in KB article 2533911 at
http://www.win7news.net/Z21CPX/110519-System-Restore-Points

04/15/2011: Hyperlinks don't work in Word or Outlook Express

If you try to click a hyperlink in Word or Outlook Express on your XP computer and you find that nothing happens, you can fix the problem by registering some DLLs using a command line tool, or you can take the easier route and use the Microsoft Fix It made for that purpose. You'll find the link to it in KB article 823301 at
http://www.wxpnews.com/110322-Word-Hyperlinks

03/11/2011: Error message when you try to add or remove a program

If you attempt to install or uninstall a program on your Windows XP computer and you get an error message that says "The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed," you might need to re-register the Windows Installer, or you may even need to reinstall it. To find out how to do both, see KB article 315346 at
http://www.wxpnews.com/110308-MS-Support-315346

02/26/2011: New Bing Bar works with IE 7 and above

Microsoft recently launched its new Bing toolbar, a free download that provides quick access to your email (Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail), social networks, and, of course, Bing search. And unlike some recent releases (IE 9, Windows Live Essentials wave 4 programs), you can use it on XP with SP3 installed. You can also set up alerts and get weather and traffic information for your location. Find out more about it here:
http://www.wxpnews.com/110222-Bing-Bar

02/02/2011: You can't add a printer and you get printer spooler error messages

If you get error messages related to the printer spooler service on your Windows XP computer, it's likely to be caused by a problem with a third party driver. Microsoft has provided a Fix It link that makes it easy for you to troubleshoot and fix these problems with just a click or two. You'll find it in KB article 324757 at http://www.wxpnews.com/110201-MS-Support-324757

01/23/2011: What can I do about a lockup?

QUESTION:
Once in a while, one of my applications will lock up and I have to kill it, which loses any data I've created in the program that I haven't saved (yeah, yeah. I know I should save more often). Is there anything I can do other than shutting it down "ungracefully?"

ANSWER:
Windows 7 does include an option that may help in some situations. When the application locks up, click Start and type resmon in the search box. Click the RESMON.EXE link to launch the resource monitor. In the CPU pane, locate the process that's locked up (it should be indicated in red). Right click it and select "Analyze Wait Chain." If there are two or more processes shown, the one at the end of the list is the one that's locking up your application. If it's not a critical process (i.e., an essential component of Windows or another application that's critical), you can check its box and click "End Process." If you're lucky, this will release your locked up application and it will start responding again. It doesn't work every time, but it's worth a try

12/30/2010: Change Aero colors according to the weather

Here is a cool little app that changes the colors of your Windows 7 Aero theme depending on the temperature and current weather conditions in your locale. Sunny gets you blue like the sky, cloudy turns it gray and snow makes it white. Originally based on U.S. zip codes, it's recently been updated to support international locations, too. You can check it out and download it here:
http://www.win7news.net/Z21CPX/101230-Aero-Color

12/16/2010: How to back up and restore the registry in Windows XP

It's always a good idea to make a backup of the registry before making changes to it, and even if you aren't going to edit it, it doesn't hurt to back it up regularly. After all, the registry contains the configuration information for the OS and for most of your applications. But many computer users don't know how to back up their registries and - just as important - how to restore the registry from backup if you need to. KB article 322756 provides instructions on how to do it.
http://www.wxpnews.com/L94EHM/101214-MS-Support-322756

11/19/2010: How to fix problem with Windows 7 refusing to boot unless DVD is in the drive

Several people have reported a problem whereby they don't boot into Windows 7 unless the installation DVD is in the DVD drive. Try this:

1. Boot from the Windows 7 DVD.
2. Click Next and then click the "Repair your computer" link.
3. In the System Recovery Options menu, select "Command Prompt."
4. Type Bcdedit /export C:\BCD_Backup
5. Press Enter.
6. Type ren c:\boot\bcd bcd.old
7. Press Enter.
8. Type Bootrec /rebuildbcd
9. Press Enter.
10. Close the command window and reboot the computer.

Note: Check your BIOS settings and ensure that the boot device is set to be the hard drive.

10/31/2010: Enable search of all file contents in Windows 7

By default, the Windows 7 search function looks at the contents of certain types of files, including Word docs, text files and other files in locations that you've set to be indexed. But that still leaves out a lot of files. If you'd like to enable search of all file contents, here's how to do it:

1. In Windows Explorer, press the ALT key to display the menu toolbar if you haven't enabled it to be displayed permanently.
2. Click Tools.
3. Click Folder Options.
4. Click the Search tab.
5. Select "Always search file names and contents (this might take several minutes)."
6. Click OK.

Searches will take longer, but now Windows will look inside files (including .zip files) in locations that aren't indexed. Although it slows down the search process, it greatly expands your ability to find what you're looking for when it's hidden away in some odd locatio

 

10/30/2010: How to make Windows 7 gadgets visible only when you mouse over them

Wouldn't it be great if you could have a clean, uncluttered desktop, but still have your favorite gadgets on it... but visible only when you roll the mouse pointer over them? Jack Wallen at TechRepublic provides the instructions here: http://www.win7news.net/Z21CPX/101021-Gadgets-Visible

10/02/2010: How can I make my computer greet me when I log on?

We've all seen it on TV: John Doe logs onto his computer and the computer says "Welcome, John." How do you do that? Actually it's pretty easy and you don't have to buy or even download any software to do it. Just open Notepad and type the following text:

Dim speaks, speech
speaks="Welcome, John"
Set speech=CreateObject("sapi.spvoice")
speech.Speak speaks

Or if it's easier, copy and paste the code from this web site, changing the message to be spoken if you wish:
http://www.win7news.net/Z21CPX/100930-The-Windows-Club

Save the file with the .vbs extension and put it in the Startup folder.

10/02/2010: How to speed up Windows 7 shutdown time

Waiting for your computer to close all the programs and services that are running and shut down can seem to take forever. Microsoft recognized this and included the welcome "Force Shutdown" option in Windows 7, by which you can speed up the shutdown on a one-time basis. There's also a way to edit the registry to kill those programs more quickly. Here's how:

1. Open your registry editor.
2. Navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ System \ CurrentControlSet \ Control
3. In the right pane, right click the entry WaitToKillService
4. Select Modify.
5. Change the value data to a lower number, such as 6000 (the default is 12000, for 12 seconds).

Click OK and close the registry editor. As always, be sure to back up the registry before making changes to it.

09/23/2010: DU Meter – Your own Speed Test and Much More

DU Meter is a powerful and user-friendly tool that enables you to use your Internet connection more efficiently. DU Meter lets you see how much of your full bandwidth potential is actually utilized at any given point, either by displaying a real-time graph, numerical display, or both. It works with Dial-Up, DSL, Cable Modem, and Ethernet cards. DU Meter can be configured to fit neatly in the blank space on your browser toolbar, preserving valuable desktop real-estate. It also uses only a very small amount of Windows resources and memory. DU Meter is a useful tool for home users or small network managers. Download the trial version and see if you are getting all the speed your internet provider claims?
http://www.win7news.net/Z21CPX/100909-DU-Meter

09/01/2010: How to remotely shut down another XP computer on your network

So you're upstairs at your office computer, and you want to reboot the XP computer in the basement, but you'd prefer not to have to trek down all those stairs to get to it? You don't have to. Here's how to remotely shut down another XP computer on your home network:

1. On your upstairs computer that's connected to the same home network, click Start | Run and in the Run box type "cmd" to open the command prompt window.
2. At the command prompt, type the following line, replacing "computer" with the name of the XP system you want to reboot: shutdown -m\\computer -r
3. Press ENTER.
4. Enter the credentials if requested. The remote computer will restart, and you saved a few steps.

08/21/2010: Gadgets intermittently don't start

If you find that your desktop gadgets intermittently fail to start on your Windows 7 computer, you might need the hotfix that addresses this condition that occurs during the Windows Sidebar startup process. Find out how to get it in KB article 979164 at:
http://www.win7news.net/Z21CPX/100819-Gadgets-in-Win7

08/06/2010: Restore data backed up in XP to a Windows 7 system

You backed up your data on a Windows XP computer with the XP backup program (.BKF files), and now you have a new Windows 7 computer to which you want to restore that data. Oops - it seems the Win7 backup program uses a different format. What to do? The trick is to restore to an XP system and then use NT Backup to back them up. Then you'll be able to restore them to Windows 7. No longer have an XP computer? If you have Windows 7 Pro or Ultimate edition, you can use the XP Mode virtual version of XP to do it. Find out more here:
http://www.win7news.net/Z21CPX/100805-Restoring-Data

08/06/2010: Can't change UAC settings on Windows 7

One of the nice things about Windows 7 is that users have control over the UAC settings; you can use a slider control to determine its behavior. Sometimes, though, You might find that when you attempt to do this, you can slide the bar but when you click OK, the dialog box doesn't close and the changes aren't made. The cause may come as a surprise: the installation of an old version of Office is the culprit. But no, you don't have to upgrade Office to fix it. Instead, just apply the fix in KB article 978591:
http://www.win7news.net/Z21CPX/100805-UAC-Settings

07/30/2010: Access denied on properties dialog box of network interface (64 bit Windows)

If you try to open the properties dialog box for a network connection through the Network Connections window on the 64 bit version of Windows 7 (or Server 2008 R2), you might get an error message telling you that you don't have sufficient privileges - even if you are logged on with an account that belongs to the Network Configuration Operators group. There's a hotfix for the problem. Find out more about it in KB article 2157332 at
http://www.win7news.net/Z21CPX/100729-Properties-Dialog

07/29/2010: Windows 7 upgrade failure loop

If you attempt to upgrade Vista to Windows 7 and the upgrade fails, you may get a message that says "this version of Windows could not be installed. Your previous version of Windows has been restored, and you can continue to use it." But you can't - because when you reboot, you just get the same message. The problem is that Vista has not been reset to be the default operating system. You can easily fix that. Follow the instructions in KB article 974078 at
http://www.win7news.net/Z21CPX/100729-Upgrade-Fail

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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