12:45 AM
Navaneeth Reddy
Detailed reviews of cheap web hosting companies which provider dedicated server hosting as well.
Hot Links
Posted in: Home PageThis is featured post 1 title
Replace these every slider sentences with your featured post descriptions.Go to Blogger edit html and find these sentences.Now replace these with your own descriptions.
This is featured post 2 title
Replace these every slider sentences with your featured post descriptions.Go to Blogger edit html and find these sentences.Now replace these with your own descriptions.
This is featured post 3 title
Replace these every slider sentences with your featured post descriptions.Go to Blogger edit html and find these sentences.Now replace these with your own descriptions.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Find out what your Windows Hotfixes do
Every now and then my Windows XP automatically updates. Usually these are to plug holes in the system (as you know, Windows XP is a work in progress). But what exactly do all those hotfixes do? Well, I discovered a way to find out.
First, you need to go to your Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs. Next, scroll down toward the bottom and you will see "Windows XP Hotfix..."
Click the hotfix and it will expand to show "Click here for support information".
Clicking there will bring up another screen with a URL that takes you to a description of what that hotfix does (make sure you're online when you do it).
Now you can satisfy your curiosity when those updates happen. This also helps let you know if you have a security patch needed to prevent a worm/virus.
Posted in: System Maintenance
Deleting Unwanted Programs
It seems like I get questions all the time asking how to remove / uninstall programs. So, here's the step by step procedure:
1. The first thing to do is click the Start menu, Programs. Then hunt for the program you want to delete. Oftentimes, you'll find an Uninstall program under it's program group.
2. Another way would be to click the Start button, Settings, Control Panel. Then open the Add/Remove programs icon. You'll see a list of programs that Windows can remove from your system. Just click the one you would like to remove and hit the OK button.
3. If neither of the above work, you can always go to the program's folder and delete it. However, there is no guarantee that the program was confined to that folder. It could have other files distributed throughout your computer.
4. Finally, you might consider a program like QuickClean. Once installed, it watches which program files go where and can remove unneeded files for you.
Keep in mind that some of the files that get placed on your hard drive when you install a program are basically updates to some of your existing files. So if you are uninstalling something and get a message saying not all the files from a program could be removed, it may be due to the fact that other programs also use these files.
Posted in: System Maintenance
Win XP Time Travel
Have you ever made a change to your computer that messed everything up? A great feature of Windows XP is System Restore. You can go back to a previous setup without losing your documents, jpegs, emails, or other files. It keeps track of changes in your system and automatically creates what are called "restore points". These points allow you to travel back in time to when your system was more stable.
To bring up System Restore, go to Start/Programs/Accesories/System Tools then click "System Restore". You must be logged in as Administrator and make sure that you close all programs and save all files. Select the radio button that says "Restore my computer to an earlier time" then click "Next". The days in bold type are days that have restore points.
Select a day and click "Next". Windows will shut down then restart with the settings from the date chosen. Pretty slick, huh.
Even though System restore automatically creates restore points, it is a good idea to manually create one when you are making any changes (like installing Service Pack 2). To do this, choose the radio button marked "Create a Restore Point" on the first screen then click "Next". Give the R.P. a name then click "Create". The new point will be stamped with the hcurrent date and time.
If you run into any problems, there's a safety net thanks to this little feature. I don't know how many times it saved my behind.
Posted in: System Maintenance
Check for Corrupt System Files
Did you ever have the suspicion that one of your Windows system files was corrupt? Normally, this problem causes lots of frustration while you try to hunt down the impaired file or do a complete re-install of Windows. Well, hold your Install Disks! There's another way.
Prior to Windows 2000 the operating system might overwrite shared system files (for example .dll and .exe files) when you install software. Overwritten system files cause unpredictable system performance, strange program behavior, and operating system failure.
If you're using Windows 98 you have a way to repair these files with the System File Checker. Here's how:
1. Click Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Information.
2. Once the System Info utility is running, click the Tools menu, System File Checker.
3. You will be presented with a screen that allows you to "scan all" to hunt for any altered files or to specify the problem file. Since you probably don't know which file is giving you the headaches, scan for altered files.
That's it. If there's something wrong, you'll be given instructions for repair.
One more thing, if the System Information program is not there, you'll need to insert your Win98 install disk, select Add/Remove, and select System Information from the System Tools section.
Windows 2000 & XP users: You will not find System File Checker in your system tools, but if you search for it you will find it as "sfc.exe". No need to run it though, because Windows File Protection prevents the replacement of protected system files such as .sys, .dll, and .exe files. If you do run SFC, you will probably see a DOS window flash on your screen for 1.5 seconds.
Windows File Protection runs in the background to protect all files installed by the Setup program. Any attempts by other programs to replace or move a protected system file are detected, then the file's digital signature gets checked to see if the new file is the correct Microsoft version.
If not, the file gets replaced from the backup stored in the Dllcache folder or from the Windows CD. If Windows File Protection cannot locate the correct file, it prompts you for the location.
By default, Windows File Protection is always enabled and allows Windows digitally signed files to replace existing files.
Posted in: System Maintenance
Monitor Your CPU Activity
I don't know about you, but I'm a hardcore multi-tasker. Sometimes I'll have four programs up, two web browser windows, and some music playing all at the same time. For a while I had a real problem with my computer freezing up since I didn't know how many running programs were too many. Then I learned to monitor my CPU usage.
Windows 98/Me has a Resource Meter that puts a little icon down in your System Tray so you can always see what's going on. To open it go to Programs / Accessories / System Tools / Resource Meter. (If it's not showing up, you must dig your Windows 98 disk out of mothballs and add it.)
See the little green graph down in your System Tray by the clock? 
Mouse over it and you will see the percentage of your CPU being used. Double click and you will get a more detailed representation
The more programs you open, the lower the numbers get. if you are down around 30% and try to save something or play a game, don't be surprised if you have a freeze up. With time you'll get in the habit of shutting processes down (like Anti-virus and firewall when you aren't even online) when you play games or burn CD-R's.
You can also add the resource meter to your toolbar by right-clicking the program in your Start / Programs / etc. then choosing "Send To: Desktop". Drag the Desktop icon to your Toolbar and there you go. Now, you can just click the toolbar icon to show available resources in your System Tray for easy monitoring.
To see how much RAM your programs are using in Windows XP just do CTRL+ALT+Delete and click the "Performance" tab. There you will find both a meter and a graph showing you how much RAM is being used by programs, among other things.
I noticed that spikes of up to 97% happen when I open a program (shows you why it's not a good idea to open programs when your burning a CD).
If you minimize the window, you'll still see a little box down in the system tray that displays CPU usage.
Double-click it and you'll see the full Task Manager.
If you find you are consistently over 80%, you might want to try turning off the firewall and anti-virus when you are not online and need to run a program that sucks up system Posted in: System Maintenance
Defrag Mysteries
Is your computer running slow? Is it locking up on you? Are programs suddenly terminating?
Perhaps it’s time to Defrag!
When you "defrag" your hard drive, you run a disk defragmentor program to optimize the placement of files on your hard drive. Here's what happens. As you use your computer, it writes to the first available spot on the hard drive. Over time, files tend to get rearranged on your hard disk, or fragmented.
If your disk is fragmented, when it tried to load a program, it may have to grab one file from the middle of the hard drive, one towards the outside, then back to the inside. The net result is that you computer runs slower.
When you run a defrag program, it puts the pieces back together, organizes them in similar groupings, so stuff loads faster. It's probably a good idea for the average user to defrag once every 2-3 months or so.
Warning - Be careful when running defrag. First off, it takes a long time (I usually run it at night) to defragment a large hard drive (3 meg or higher). Also, the defrag program takes files off your hard drive and sticks them into your system RAM while it's reorganizing your disk. If you lose power during a disk defragmentation, it can spell disaster for your computer. At best you'll mess up a program or two and at worst you may no longer be able to access your hard drive and Windows. Definitely not something to do during a thunderstorm!
History
Defrag began in the good ol’ DOS days as “Optimize.” This was a 3rd party utility that was shipped with the earlier versions of DOS. Defrag became a major utility with MS-DOS 5/6. It was faster than Optimize, had a Semi-GUI interface, and you would actually notice performance improvements after running it. Defrag has improved over time, but then it came to a standstill with Windows NT/2000. While Intel wrote the 95/98 Defrag, the Windows NT and 2000 versions were written from Executive Software's Diskeeper. Because Diskeeper was written for servers, it is a very “careful” product, which translates to “it is slow.” Unfortunately, its benefits are no greater than the Defrag written for earlier operating systems.
Enough already! Now, how do I defragment my hard drive?
First, you need to run Scandisk.
Windows 95/98/ME Users:
Click on the Start Menu then select Programs, Accessories, System Tools, then Scandisk. Select the drive you would like to check, then select the type of test you would like to run (standard or thorough). Finally, click Start.
WindowsNT/2000/XP Users:
Double click your My Computer icon. Right click on the C: drive. Select Properties then choose the Tools tab. Under Error Checking, click the Check Now button. A dialog box will pop up, check both check boxes and click Start.
A dialog box will pop up telling you, "The disk check could not be performed because exclusive access to the drive could not be obtained. Do you want this disk check to be scheduled the next time you restart the computer?" (I don't know why you would go through all of this if you didn't want to click ‘yes’ and why Microsoft held this over with 2000 and XP, but in their infinite wisdom they did! There may be good reasons to back down now but I can't think of any, so…)
Boldly click the Yes button! I guarantee it won't hurt a bit.
Now, on to the Disk Defragmenter
Make sure all AntiVirus software is disabled along with any background applications that may write to the hard drive which you are defragmenting.
Click on the Start Menu, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and select the Disk Defragmenter. Select/highlight the drive you want to defrag and click Defragment.
Easy as that! Now just step back and let her organize your hard drive. If only you could Defrag your house…
Posted in: System Maintenance
Recapturing Speed
When you first purchased you computer everything ran fast. Now you've had your computer for a while and it seems like it just keeps getting slower and slower. You want fix your speed issue, here's how.
One sure-fire way is to do a reformat and re-install (NOT an exercise for beginners). If you've been running your system for awhile and have not done this, it may be something to look into. We ran a 3 part series on this topic awhile back. Here are the links to those pages:
Part 1 - Reformat and Reinstall
Part 2 -Reformat and Reinstall 2
Part 3 - Reformat and Reinstall 3
However, reformatting is probably a bit on the extreme side for most speed problems.
The most likely reason you are experiencing slowdowns (and possibly more lockups) is that there is too much "junk" running in your System Tray. It seems like just about every other program I install wants to put an icon there.
Each one of those little icons is actuality a program running in the background Some take up a lot of resources, some don't, but the overall effect is a hit in the performance dept. So, disabling all the nonessential programs in the system tray is usually a good place to start. See today's Tip of the Day for more details.
Another source for slowdowns is hard drive fragmentation. If it's been awhile since you've run a Defrag, now's the time. You can get to the Windows Disk Defragmentor program via the Start button, Programs, Accessories, System Tools. If you have problems running it, you may want to try running it under Safe Mode.
If you've shut down all the excess programs and done a defrag on your hard drive, you may want to consider getting some extra RAM. You can usually get 128 meg for under $30.00 - and adding more RAM is the best way I know of to boost your computer's performance.
Anyhow, there's a few suggestions for ya. Of course, the list above doesn't cover everything, but it's a good start.
Posted in: System Maintenance
A Fast System Properties Box
Need to get to your system properties? Well, you *could* click the Start button, Settings, Control Panel, then open the System icon.
Want a faster way?
Hold down the ALT key and double click the My Computer icon on your desktop.
And you get this:
Posted in: System Maintenance
Full Path
Have you ever gotten a little lost while using "My Computer"? Before you get buried in another deep directory, tell Windows to show the full path in the title bar. I know, it doesn't sound all that profound, but it really comes in helpful. Here' how:
Open My Computer (or any folder) and click the Tools menu, Folder options.
Click the View tab and check the "Display full path in title bar" checkbox.
That's it, you're only a glance away from knowing where you're at in any directory structure. Here's a sample of what your title bar (now new and improved) should look like when your hunting around in your computer:
My Computer -
My Computer is the basic file management interface of Windows. It's a single pane version of Windows Explorer. When you open it, you'll see all your drives and a few other system-type folders. The idea is to give you quick access to the main drives and settings on your computer.
You can use it for making new folders, locating and copying files, or whatever other kinds of file management your little heart desires. You can also open multiple instances of it to work in multiple directories / folders. However, at that point, you're probably better off in Windows Explorer.
Posted in: System Maintenance
Shut Down Hang Ups
Do you have problems when the time comes to shut Windows down? Does it try to shut down and just kind of sit there, all confused and locked up? If this happens every time, or most of the time, here's some steps you can take to correct the problem:
1. Programs Not Closing -
This is probably the number one reason for Windows hanging at shutdown. When you shut down the computer, Windows tries to shut down all the programs that are currently running (both regular programs and those running in the background / system tray). If one of these programs stops responding, it can cause Windows to hang and not shutdown.
So, how do you fix it?
Well, the first step is to figure out which program is causing the problem. First, try to make sure everything is shut down before you shut Windows down. I'm not just talking about your regular programs, I'm talking about all that stuff in your system tray. Usually a right-click to a system tray icon will give you an option to shut it down.
System Tray:
After you end all the currently running programs, give it another shot. If things go smoothly, then one of the programs you closed is the likely culprit. You'll need to do a lot of re-starting to actually determine which program though. Start by shutting down one of these background / system tray programs and re-booting. Repeat the process with each program until the system no longer hangs. The last program you shut down was the cause of the problem.
If you can't get everything shut down (don't worry about the little yellow speaker), you may want to try using MSConfig to keep all these little programs from running in the first place. Just uncheck everything under the startup tab and restart your computer. Then try shutting down again. If that keeps it from hanging, it's likely one of the programs you just unchecked that's the troublemaker.
In order to figure out which one, you'll have to run MSConfig again, re-checking one unchecked program at a time and doing a restart. When it hangs, it's the program from two times ago, not the last time since you have to go through a re-boot in order to get it to run.
Here's an MSConfig how to:
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/msconfig.htm
2. - Windows Problem
Some versions of Win 98 actually had a bug (gasp) that caused them to hang on shutdown. If you're experiencing a lot of shut down hang ups, you may want to try the Windows Update feature under the Start button. Or head to:
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
A re-install of Windows may also fix the problem, but only use that as a last resort.
3. Corrupted Sound File
If you have a sound that plays when you exit Windows, it may be corrupted. Try getting rid of the shut down sound and see if that fixes the problem. The reverse is sometimes true for startup errors.
4. New Hardware
Yes, we're back to those nasty hardware issues. If you've installed a new piece of hardware and are having shut down problems all the sudden, you may want to look into updating the driver.
Those are the usual culprits. Keep in mind that if these shut down hang-ups happen randomly they are going to be really tough to track down. You may have to use MSConfig to disable certain suspect programs for a week or so at a time in order to figure it out.
And never forget - sometimes Windows can act odd (I know, hard to believe), and cause a shut down hang-up every so often. If these system shut down problems are few and far between, I wouldn't worry about them too much. Just shut the power off when that happens and re-boot. You'll probably have to sit through Scan Disk, but that's life with Windows (well, I suppose you could cancel Scan Disk when it start to run...)
Posted in: System Maintenance
System Password Protection
*This tip is for advanced users only. If you try it and mess your computer up, don't come crying to me.
Password protecting Windows will keep most people out of your computer, it won't stop 'em all. I can get into a password protected Windows computer in less than 2 minutes. For obvious liability reasons, I'm not going to tell you how, but rest assured I (and many others) can.
So, what can you do?
You can password protect the whole computer by putting a password into your computer's system settings. No, these aren't Windows settings, these are your computer's motherboard settings.
Now, for some systems, this may not work. Your system will need to have an option in it's settings for password protection. If it ain't there you can't do it.
To setup a system password, do the following:
1. When you boot your computer, look for instructions for running or entering setup. They are usually at the bottom of the screen. In most systems you press the delete key and it enters setup right after the memory test. Again, this is WAY before windows even starts running.
2. OK, now all these setup screens tend to be a little different. You'll probably scroll through items using your tab, pageup / pagedown, or arrow keys (sorry, no mouse support here). Look for something about system security or passwords and head there.
3. From here, there is probably some kind of password setup. Select it and you should be able to put in a password (probably with a confirmation password).
4. Finally, exit the system settings. There should either be some kind of menu item or you just hit the escape key. Either way, you'll probably be asked if you wish to save the new settings, say yes.
Your computer should re-boot and ask you for a password from now on. These are probably the most difficult types of passwords to get through. The only way I know of bypassing it is to clear the CMOS memory from the motherboard, and you would need the specs on the board to do it.
For Windows XP users: your security settings are harder to bypass. If you want to require that users log in, go to the Control Panel , select "User Accounts" then "Change the Way Users Log on and off". If the "Use Welcome Screen" box is checked, click to de-select. This will bring up a password protected logon screen for all users.
Keep in mind that even this is not 100% foolproof. After all, if I really wanted the info on your computer I could always take out your hard drive and put it into another computer. Oh well, at least it keeps most people away.
Posted in: System Maintenance
Save My Bookmarks!
If you're like me, you've spent countless hours locating sites that you find useful. It would be more than a little upsetting to lose all those hard earned bookmarks, right? Well, it can happen, especially if your hard drive expires unexpectedly or you switch computers.
So, how do you save them? Easy!
Explorer:
If you use Internet Explorer, just head to your Favorites folder, located under your Windows Directory. (The fastest way to get there is to right-click your Start button and select Explore. You'll end up, by default, in your Windows Start Menu folder, just scroll up to the Favorites folder).
Slip in a floppy disk, right-click the Favorites Folder, and select Send to, 3 1/2" floppy.
Unless you have several thousand bookmarks, they should all fit on a single floppy, no problem.
Netscape Navigator 6:
For those who use Netscape Navigator, you can export your bookmarks to an HTML file. Here's how
1. Open Netscape and hit the Bookmarks menu, Manage Bookmarks.
2. From the resulting screen, hit File, Export Bookmarks.
3. Stick a 3.5 floppy in and navigate to it via the Export Bookmarks dialog box.
Final Notes:
You should now have a copy of your favorites / bookmarks on disk. If you need to restore them, either to your computer or to another one, just replace the current files / folders with the ones you just backed up. Or, in the case of Netscape, import them through the bookmark management screen.
Note that if you replace a file that has bookmarks already in it, you may overwrite them with your restored ones, so make sure you're careful!
With Explorer, one way around that problem would be to re-name the file on the floppy something like "Old Favorites" and copy it to the regular Favorites folder.
Posted in: System Maintenance
