COMPUTER TRICKS : COMPUTER TRICKS

Quickly Lock Windows

2008-12-21T13:04:35Z

For security purposes, a computer can be quickly locked by pressing the Windows key and L (for Lock) simultaneously.
... The same shorcut also works in Windows Vista.

In XP there's an even easier way.

Right-click on the desktop, hover the mouse over New and select Shortcut.
... In the dialogue box that opens, type in rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation
...... Give the shortcut an appropriate name, such as Lock Windows, then drag it to the Quick Launch bar.

The desktop can now be locked simply by clicking this button.

:)

Online Game - Motocross FMX

2008-12-21T10:58:38Z

Click to Play Motocross FMX !

Play Online Media

2008-12-17T14:59:06Z

Several popular online audio and video formats won't play back in Windows Media Player, so you'll need separate software.

To cover all the important online media formats, download the following:

Flash player from www.adobe.com

Quick Player from www.apple.com

Realplayer from http://real.com/player

In each case, follow the links to download the relevant applications.

With these players installed, you'll be able to stream video from sites such as Youtube (www.youtube.com)

... listen to online radio broadcasts from the BBC (www.bbc.co.uk/radio)

...... and download movie trailers from Apple Trailers (www.apple.com/trailers).

... and it won't cost you a single penny.

Advanced Disk Clean

2008-12-17T14:55:29Z

Windows Vista includes the same tool as Windows XP for clearing unused and old files from your hard disk if you are running short of space.

However, the one in Vista includes some advanced tools that can be accessed using a special command.

To get to them, click the Start button, type cleanmgr /sageset:50 and press Enter

This will open the Disk Cleanup tool which, along with the usual selections, will have extra options for old installation and upgrade files among others.

Go through the list and tick the boxes if you want to clear that set set of files from the disk - as with the standards options.

... Click any of them to see an explanation of what each one means.

Finally, click OK to start the clean-up process.

Check your system speed

2008-12-17T14:52:28Z

If your computer feels slow you might have considered upgraditing it, but it's often hard to known which parts to replace.

If you have Vista, it can run tests and show you.

Click Start

... right-click Computer

...... choose Properties.

Click the Windows Experience Index link, and Windows will show a series of scores, one for each part of your PC.

... If your PC has not been tested you will be asked to do so. This will take about three minutes.

Look for the parts with the lowest score: if they are far lower than the rest, upgrading these parts should give you a speed boost.

Run XP and Vista at Once - Vista

2008-12-17T14:51:25Z

If you've moved to Vista but still need to use XP from time to time, why wait to switch between the two?

If you have a Windows XP installation disc, it's possible to run a complete version of XP inside a Vista window.

To do so, download and install the free Virtualbox software from www.computeractive.co.uk/2210273

Once installed select New Machine from the Machine menu and follow the wizard to install a virtual copy of Windows XP.

Quickly Resize Images - XP

2008-12-17T14:49:13Z

Need to quickly resize images or photos?

Microsoft has made a tool for this that's free to download and simple to use.

Go to www.snipurl.com/3m0tj and download the Image Resizer Powertoy.

With this installed, simply right-click an image file and choose Resize Pictures from the menu - the tool will offer you a selection of sizes.

Turn your PC into a PVR - Vista

2008-12-17T14:47:48Z

Freeview PVR's, or Personal Video Recorders, have become increasingly popular.

If you have a copy of Vista Home Premium, though, why spend more money on another device with an electronic TV guide?

Add a Freeview TV tuner to your PC,

... click Start

...... All Programs

......... Windows Media Centre.

Follow the setup wizard and you'll be able to turn your PC into a way to watch, pause and record TV.

However, before spending your pennies on the Freeview Tuner card, make sure that Freeview is available in your part of the country.

... You should be OK in the city conurbations, but not necessarily so out in the sticks - ie, rural Wales.

It isn't available in the States either - damn it!!

Add Parental Controls - Vista

2008-12-17T14:46:28Z

Many companies sell parental control software, but Windows Vista has a powerful set of tools built in at no extra cost.

To use them click Start

... Control Panel

...... then Set up parental controls for any user.

Slect a user from the list and you'll be presented with options to limit web access and games, restrict access to the internet or to the entire PC, and to log computer activity.

It's occasionally handy to see how long a PC has been running for - particularly if you're concerned that a young family member has been overusing it.

Windows keeps detailed logs, but there's a quick and easy way to find out how long it has been running:

... press Ctrl+Shift+Escape keys together,

...... click the Performance tab,

......... and look for the Up Time listed near the bottom of the window in hours, minutes and seconds.

Now you are equipped to say, "Do you realise how long you've been sitting down here? It's time to go to bed!"

Application failed to start

2008-12-17T14:44:37Z

What is XPRT6.DLL Error all about?

Xprt6.dll is a file developed by AOL and used in AOL, ICQ and AIM applications. It also comes in handy with some P2P software, such as BitTorrent. As it is simply external dll file created for optional networking applications such as chatting and files sharing, it is not essential to have it in your computer system.

Generally, spyware and malware removing applications recognize xprt6.dll as malicious and may at times remove it. As it is not part of the Microsoft-developed dll files, it is quite likely that it will be understood as an unknown file and be discarded. The technical team at spywaredata.com is currently reviewing the file and its linking relations for eliminating it�s categorization as malware or spyware.

Errors related to the xprt6.dll file are mentioned below.

�Download or repair xprt6.dll�

Easiest way to handle this error is to uninstall your AOL, ICQ or AIM application and restart the computer. It is most likely that the error would not come up again. Now you can reinstall the applications with no problems.

�Application failed to start because xprt6.dll was not found�

There are two ways to solve this error. First, check your system for the dll file by searching for it by using �search� and �all files and folders� option. If the file cannot be found, then visit www.dll-files.com and download the required dll file and install inside the relevant folder � this is usually the AOL program folder. If this does not work, check to see if you have opened multiple applications possible using the same dll file, such all of your programs provided by AOL. Simply close all the applications and delete the dll file. Upon restarting your computer, the older version of the file will be automatically installed to work with the existing applications.

As said before, xprt6.dll is only associated with software programs and applications developed by America Online Limited. It is not a mandatory system dll and can be safely ignored without effecting any other applications in your computer.

Tips to speed up your computer

2008-12-17T13:19:51Z

Since defragging the disk won't do much to improve Windows XP performance, here are 23 suggestions that will. Each can enhance the performance and reliability of your customers' PCs. Best of all, most of them will cost you nothing.

1.) To decrease a system's boot time and increase system performance, use the money you save by not buying defragmentation software -- the built-in Windows defragmenter works just fine -- and instead equip the computer with an Ultra-133 or Serial ATA hard drive with 8-MB cache buffer.

2.) If a PC has less than 512 MB of RAM, add more memory. This is a relatively inexpensive and easy upgrade that can dramatically improve system performance.

3.) Ensure that Windows XP is utilizing the NTFS file system. If you're not sure, here's how to check: First, double-click the My Computer icon, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Next, examine the File System type; if it says FAT32, then back-up any important data. Next, click Start, click Run, type CMD, and then click OK. At the prompt, type CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS and press the Enter key. This process may take a while; it's important that the computer be uninterrupted and virus-free. The file system used by the bootable drive will be either FAT32 or NTFS. I highly recommend NTFS for its superior security, reliability, and efficiency with larger disk drives.

4.) Disable file indexing. The indexing service extracts information from documents and other files on the hard drive and creates a "searchable keyword index." As you can imagine, this process can be quite taxing on any system.

The idea is that the user can search for a word, phrase, or property inside a document, should they have hundreds or thousands of documents and not know the file name of the document they want. Windows XP's built-in search functionality can still perform these kinds of searches without the Indexing service. It just takes longer. The OS has to open each file at the time of the request to help find what the user is looking for.

Most people never need this feature of search. Those who do are typically in a large corporate environment where thousands of documents are located on at least one server. But if you're a typical system builder, most of your clients are small and medium businesses. And if your clients have no need for this search feature, I recommend disabling it.

Here's how: First, double-click the My Computer icon. Next, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Uncheck "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching." Next, apply changes to "C: subfolders and files," and click OK. If a warning or error message appears (such as "Access is denied"), click the Ignore All button.

5.) Update the PC's video and motherboard chipset drivers. Also, update and configure the BIOS. For more information on how to configure your BIOS properly, see this article on my site.

6.) Empty the Windows Prefetch folder every three months or so. Windows XP can "prefetch" portions of data and applications that are used frequently. This makes processes appear to load faster when called upon by the user. That's fine. But over time, the prefetch folder may become overloaded with references to files and applications no longer in use. When that happens, Windows XP is wasting time, and slowing system performance, by pre-loading them. Nothing critical is in this folder, and the entire contents are safe to delete.

7.) Once a month, run a disk cleanup. Here's how: Double-click the My Computer icon. Then right-click on the C: drive and select Properties. Click the Disk Cleanup button -- it's just to the right of the Capacity pie graph -- and delete all temporary files.

8.) In your Device Manager, double-click on the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers device, and ensure that DMA is enabled for each drive you have connected to the Primary and Secondary controller. Do this by double-clicking on Primary IDE Channel. Then click the Advanced Settings tab. Ensure the Transfer Mode is set to "DMA if available" for both Device 0 and Device 1. Then repeat this process with the Secondary IDE Channel.

9.) Upgrade the cabling. As hard-drive technology improves, the cabling requirements to achieve these performance boosts have become more stringent. Be sure to use 80-wire Ultra-133 cables on all of your IDE devices with the connectors properly assigned to the matching Master/Slave/Motherboard sockets. A single device must be at the end of the cable; connecting a single drive to the middle connector on a ribbon cable will cause signaling problems. With Ultra DMA hard drives, these signaling problems will prevent the drive from performing at its maximum potential. Also, because these cables inherently support "cable select," the location of each drive on the cable is important. For these reasons, the cable is designed so drive positioning is explicitly clear.

10.) Remove all spyware from the computer. Use free programs such as AdAware by Lavasoft or SpyBot Search & Destroy. Once these programs are installed, be sure to check for and download any updates before starting your search. Anything either program finds can be safely removed. Any free software that requires spyware to run will no longer function once the spyware portion has been removed; if your customer really wants the program even though it contains spyware, simply reinstall it. For more information on removing Spyware visit this Web Pro News page.

11.) Remove any unnecessary programs and/or items from Windows Startup routine using the MSCONFIG utility. Here's how: First, click Start, click Run, type MSCONFIG, and click OK. Click the StartUp tab, then uncheck any items you don't want to start when Windows starts. Unsure what some items are? Visit the WinTasks Process Library. It contains known system processes, applications, as well as spyware references and explanations. Or quickly identify them by searching for the filenames using Google or another Web search engine.

12.) Remove any unnecessary or unused programs from the Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel.

13.) Turn off any and all unnecessary animations, and disable active desktop. In fact, for optimal performance, turn off all animations. Windows XP offers many different settings in this area. Here's how to do it: First click on the System icon in the Control Panel. Next, click on the Advanced tab. Select the Settings button located under Performance. Feel free to play around with the options offered here, as nothing you can change will alter the reliability of the computer -- only its responsiveness.

14.) If your customer is an advanced user who is comfortable editing their registry, try some of the performance registry tweaks offered at Tweak XP.

15.) Visit Microsoft's Windows update site regularly, and download all updates labeled Critical. Download any optional updates at your discretion.

16.) Update the customer's anti-virus software on a weekly, even daily, basis. Make sure they have only one anti-virus software package installed. Mixing anti-virus software is a sure way to spell disaster for performance and reliability.

17.) Make sure the customer has fewer than 500 type fonts installed on their computer. The more fonts they have, the slower the system will become. While Windows XP handles fonts much more efficiently than did the previous versions of Windows, too many fonts -- that is, anything over 500 -- will noticeably tax the system.

18.) Do not partition the hard drive. Windows XP's NTFS file system runs more efficiently on one large partition. The data is no safer on a separate partition, and a reformat is never necessary to reinstall an operating system. The same excuses people offer for using partitions apply to using a folder instead. For example, instead of putting all your data on the D: drive, put it in a folder called "D drive." You'll achieve the same organizational benefits that a separate partition offers, but without the degradation in system performance. Also, your free space won't be limited by the size of the partition; instead, it will be limited by the size of the entire hard drive. This means you won't need to resize any partitions, ever. That task can be time-consuming and also can result in lost data.

19.) Check the system's RAM to ensure it is operating properly. I recommend using a free program called MemTest86. The download will make a bootable CD or diskette (your choice), which will run 10 extensive tests on the PC's memory automatically after you boot to the disk you created. Allow all tests to run until at least three passes of the 10 tests are completed. If the program encounters any errors, turn off and unplug the computer, remove a stick of memory (assuming you have more than one), and run the test again. Remember, bad memory cannot be repaired, but only replaced.

20.) If the PC has a CD or DVD recorder, check the drive manufacturer's Web site for updated firmware. In some cases you'll be able to upgrade the recorder to a faster speed. Best of all, it's free.

21.) Disable unnecessary services. Windows XP loads a lot of services that your customer most likely does not need. To determine which services you can disable for your client, visit the Black Viper site for Windows XP configurations.

22.) If you're sick of a single Windows Explorer window crashing and then taking the rest of your OS down with it, then follow this tip: open My Computer, click on Tools, then Folder Options. Now click on the View tab. Scroll down to "Launch folder windows in a separate process," and enable this option. You'll have to reboot your machine for this option to take effect.

23.) At least once a year, open the computer's cases and blow out all the dust and debris. While you're in there, check that all the fans are turning properly. Also inspect the motherboard capacitors for bulging or leaks. For more information on this leaking-capacitor phenomena, you can read numerous articles on my site.

Following any of these suggestions should result in noticeable improvements to the performance and reliability of your customers' computers. If you still want to defrag a disk, remember that the main benefit will be to make your data more retrievable in the event of a crashed drive.

Deletion an undeletable file

2008-12-17T13:15:25Z

Open a Command Prompt window and leave it open.

Close all open programs.

Click Start, Run and enter TASKMGR.EXE

Go to the Processes tab and End Process on Explorer.exe.

Leave Task Manager open.

Go back to the Command Prompt window and change to the directory the AVI (or other undeletable file) is located in.

At the command prompt type DEL where is the file you wish to delete.

Go back to Task Manager, click File, New Task and enter EXPLORER.EXE to restart the GUI shell.

Close Task Manager.

Or you can try this

Open Notepad.exe

Click File>Save As..>

locate the folder where ur undeletable file is

Choose 'All files' from the file type box

click once on the file u wanna delete so its name appears in the 'filename' box

put a " at the start and end of the filename

(the filename should have the extension of the undeletable file so it will overwrite it)

click save,

It should ask u to overwrite the existing file, choose yes and u can delete it as normal

Here's a manual way of doing it. I'll take this off once you put into your first post zain.

1. Start

2. Run

3. Type: command

4. To move into a directory type: cd c:*** (The stars stand for your folder)

5. If you cannot access the folder because it has spaces for example Program Files or Kazaa Lite folder you have to do the following. instead of typing in the full folder name only take the first 6 letters then put a ~ and then 1 without spaces. Example: cd c:progra~1kazaal~1

6. Once your in the folder the non-deletable file it in type in dir - a list will come up with everything inside.

7. Now to delete the file type in del ***.bmp, txt, jpg, avi, etc... And if the file name has spaces you would use the special 1st 6 letters followed by a ~ and a 1 rule. Example: if your file name was bad file.bmp you would type once in the specific folder thorugh command, del badfil~1.bmp and your file should be gone. Make sure to type in the correct extension.

How to restore all the IE7 settings

2008-12-17T13:12:08Z

Click Start, right click on explorer and select internet properties

Click the Tools button, and then click Internet Options.

Click the Advanced tab, and then click Reset.

In the Reset Internet Explorer Settings dialog box, click Reset.

Also try the restore option

When Internet Explorer finishes restoring the settings, click Close, and then click OK.

Remove Norton Products

2008-12-17T13:05:52Z

Use the Norton Removal Tool to remove a failed installation or a damaged Norton product.

The Norton Removal Tool uninstalls all Norton 2007/2006/2005/2004/2003 products from your computer. Before you continue, make sure that you have the installation CDs or downloaded installation files for any Norton products that you want to reinstall. Also, if you use ACT! or WinFAX, back up those databases and uninstall those products.

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgen...005033108162039

Mcafee Products

2008-12-17T13:02:23Z

To uninstall all McAfee 2005, 2006, or 2007 products with the removal tool

Try the mcafee product removal tool before you do anything, found here

http://download.mcafee.com/products/licens...atches/MCPR.exe

Further help can be found here

http://ts.mcafeehelp.com/faq3.asp?docid=71525

Affected Product:

McAfee Security Center
McAfee VirusScan
McAfee Personal Firewall Plus
McAfee Privacy Service
McAfee SpamKiller
McAfee Wireless Network Security
McAfee SiteAdvisor
McAfee Data Backup
McAfee Network Manager
McAfee Easy Network
McAfee AntiSpyware

Affected Operating Systems

Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Microsoft Windows XP Home