TricksTipsAll4u

A - Z Keyboard Shortcuts For Xp-Vista

2013-12-13T04:31:00.001-08:00

How to add subtitles to AVI video

2013-11-02T23:01:00.004-07:00

If you want to add subtitles to AVI video or convert any formats to AVI with adding your customized subtitles, this tutorial will show you the detailed steps to add subtitles to AVI video with WinAVI All In One Converter.

Step 1: Free download WinAVI All In One Converter. Prepare your edited subtitles or you can also directly download subtitles from Internet .The popular file extension of subtitle formats are .srt and .ssa. You can easily see the contents of the subtitle through any text editor such as notepad.

Step 2: Please put your .srt or .ssa subtitle file into the same folder with movies you want to convert together.

Setp 3: You must rename the .srt or .ssa file to match the original video name. Make sure the subtitle name set as"file name. language.srt/ssa". For example, If you want to add a subtittle into an English movie such as "Shrek", you should set your subtitle as "Shrek.en.srt" or "Shrek.en.ssa". In this process, please also distinguish the capital and small letter.

Step 4: If WinAVI program is running, please shut down and restart it. Then load your video and set AVI as output format. When video file has been loaded, click"Advanced" and enter the "Decoder" Menu, a "subtitle stream" option will be showed for you to select your edited subtitle.

Step 5: You can also set other advanced options and then just click the green "start" to convert when you finished all the settings. After conversion is complete, you can click "open the output file" to find your converted AVI File that has been adding your wanted subtitles.

How to merge subtitle to mp4

2013-11-02T22:57:00.003-07:00

MP4 is a multimedia container format standard specified as a part of MPEG-4. It is most commonly used to store digital video and digital audio streams, especially those defined by MPEG, but can also be used to store other data such as subtitles and still images.
SubRip caption files are named with the extension .SRT. SRT is perhaps the most basic of all subtitle formats. This format is supported by most software video players and subtitle creation programs. The time format used is hours:minutes:seconds,milliseconds, with the milliseconds field precise to three decimal places.
You can Merge .srt subtitle to mp4 ,become part of mp4 video.

Click http://www.watermarksubtitlecreator.com/down/VideoWatermarkSetup.exe to download and install
Video Watermark Subtitle Creator and install to your PC.

Step1.Launch Video Watermark Subtitle Creator, you will see the following main interface.
Click Add ,you can import one or more mp4 video clips into list.

Step 2:merge .srt file to mp4 movie.
Select "Subtitle" tab,and Click "Open" button. You can add .srt file in mp4 movie and configure output format to mp4.

Step 3:Sets the subtitle style
Click "Edit" button ,Ok, go on please. click

Step 4:preview at design time, so the video’s watermark and subtitle effects can be previewed at any time without conversion.
Click play(preview) ,and than click .

Step 5:Ok, Click Run

Can’t Change Date and Time in Windows 7

2012-12-18T08:12:00.002-08:00

I recently ran into a problem on one of my Windows 7 machines where I could not change the date and time. Every time I clicked on the Change Date and Time dialog box shown below, I kept getting an error message.

The message that kept popping up was:

Unable to continue. You do not have permission to perform this task.

I had previously had some problems with this machine and thought it might be related. In the end, I had to try a couple of different solutions before I stopped getting the error message about not having permission. Hopefully, one of the solutions will work for you.

Method 1 – Safe Mode

One thing you can try is to change the date and time in Safe Mode. If you are able to change it here, you then know it’s a problem with either a startup item or a Windows service. You can then perform a clean boot of Windows 7 to narrow down the issue.
You can check out this article from Microsoft that details how to perform a clean boot in Windows 7:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929135

Method 2 – System File Checker

The next thing you can try is to run the system file checker. If you’re having strange permission issues in Windows, it’s probably some type of corruption of system files and settings. You can run SFC by opening a command prompt and typing in the following command:

sfc /scannow

System file checker will verify all system files and will replace any file that is corrupt, modified or damaged.

Method 3 – Command Line

You can also change the date and time in Windows using the command line. Open a command prompt and type in the word date and press enter. You’ll be prompted to enter a new date.

What about the time? Pretty easy too. Just type in the word time and you can change the time too:

Note that the time is in 24-hour format and you can specify it down all the way to milliseconds. You should be able to change the time without having to open an elevated command prompt. If you get an error, however, then try running the command prompt as Administrator.

Method 4 – Local Security Policy

If you get an error message like “A required privilege is not held by the client” when trying to use the command prompt, go to Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Local Security Policy and then navigate to Local Policy\User Rights Assignment and ensure that Change the system time and Change the time zone privileges are given to Administrators.

Note that if you are in a domain, you may simply be restricted by the group policy set by your company. If you’re not on a domain and Administrators don’t have the two privileges shown above, then adding the group to the security setting should fix the problem.

Method 5 – Windows Time Service

If you’re still having problems changing the date and time in Windows, go to Control Panel, Administrative Tools and click on Services. Scroll down to Windows Time and right-click and choose Properties. Click on the Log On tab and make sure it’s set to This account – Local Service.

The password fields should automatically be filled in, so there is no need to type in any passwords. Go head and restart the computer and see what happens.

Method 6 – Uninstall Third-Party Clock Applications

If you have any third-party clock manager or time programs, go ahead and uninstall them and see if that resolves your issue with changing the Windows date and time. Sometimes a conflict can occur and a third party program might prevent you changing the time.

How to Hide a User Account in XP

2012-12-18T08:04:00.003-08:00

You can hide a user account from the Welcome screen in Windows XP, but it requires editing the Windows registry. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to do it unless you use a third party application. I’ll explain both ways in this article.
Note that when you hide a user account in Windows XP, it’s better if you are running Windows XP Professional rather than XP Home edition. Why? Well, once you hide an account, it will no longer show up on the main login screen, so how do you access it?

Well in XP Pro, you can press CTRL + ALT + DEL twice to get the old Windows 2000 login box and type in the user name and password to access the hidden user account. But if you have XP Home, this trick does not work and the only way to access your hidden account is to start the computer in Safe Mode, which is major pain if you want to use that account often.
So before doing this, make sure you are running XP Pro otherwise you will not have normal access to your account.

Hide User Account in XP

Step 1: Open the Windows Registry editor by clicking on Start, then Run, and typing in regedit.
Step 2: Navigate the the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\ SpecialAccounts\UserList

Step 3: Now right-click on UserList and create a new DWORD value and name it exactly what the user name you want to hide is. For value, give it a value of 0. 0 Means hide the user account and 1 means show the user account.
As you can see from below, I added “Aseem Kishore” to the UserList as a new DWORD key with a value of 0. Make sure that the name you enter matches exactly with the user name displayed on the Welcome screen. So if you want to hide the Administrator account, type in “Administrator”, etc.

Step 4: Close the registry editor and reboot your computer. Now press CTRL + ALT + DEL twice and you should be able to type in the user name and password to access the hidden account!
You can also download a free program from IntelliAdmin that will do the same thing for you, but make it much easier. Scroll all the way down to the bottom and you’ll see a link for the program.

It’s called XP User Hide and you can simply check off which user accounts you want to hide and it will modify the registry for you. You can learn more about User Acounts in Windows here

Device Manager empty or blank in Windows

2012-12-18T08:02:00.001-08:00

I recently had a problem where I opened my Device Manager and found that is was blank! Nothing there! Just plain empty! It was very strange and it took me a while to figure out what the problem was!
If your Device Manager is completely blank or empty, then there are two possibilities of why the problem is occurring: either you have a critical Windows service disabled or your permissions in the registry for the Device Manager key are corrupt.
Here’s how you can fix this issue by enabling the appropriate Windows service or changing the permissions in the registry.

Method 1 ““ Enable Plug and Play Windows Service

Apparently, the Windows Device Manager needs to have the Plug and Play service Enabled in order to work correctly. You can enable the service by going to Start, Control Panel, opening Administrative Tools and then clicking on Services.

Scroll down and find the Plug and Play service. Double-click on it and make sure the Start up type is set to Automatic and click Start if the service is not running.

Check to see if your Device Manager is still blank or not. If it is, then you can also try to enable more Windows Services by going to Start, Run and typing in MSCONFIG. Click on the Services tab and choose Enable All.

Go ahead and restart your computer and you should now hopefully be able to see all the hardware devices in Device Manager. If not, try Method 2!

Method 2 ““ Edit the registry permissions

The other reason Device Manager may be empty is because there are security issues with the key in the registry. To fix it, click on Start, then Run, and type in REGEDT32. Click on the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE window or expand that hive and navigate to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum

Now right-click on Enum and choose Permissions. If the Group or user names list box is empty, then you know this is the problem! It should have two names in there, System and Everyone.
Click the Add button and type in Everyone and click OK. Check the Allow box next to Read for Everyone. Now click Add again and type in System. Check the Allow box next to Read and Full Control for System. It should look like this:

Both the check boxes under Allow should be selected when you highlight System. Also be sure to click on the Advanced button after adding both users and selecting Reset permission entries on all child objects with entries shown here that apply to child objects.

Click OK and if a warning message comes up, just click OK. Close the Registry Editor and restart your computer. You should now be able to see everything in the Device Manager.

Fix “You need permission to perform this action” error

2012-12-18T07:58:00.001-08:00

Microsoft should have just not released Windows Vista rather than making us bear the pain of trying to use a crappy operating system. Or at least very annoying. Problems I never had in Windows XP now show up all over Vista.
One of those annoying problems is the fact that security on Windows Vista is so tight that half the time you are allowed to do normal activities! For example, there are numerous times when I am trying to perform a simple task in Vista like install a program and I end up with the following message:

You need permission to perform this action.

Why do I need permission when I already agreed to it when the other annoying UAC dialog popped up and asked me about it! Strange thing is that even if you are an Administrator, there are certain tasks or actions that Windows locks down.

The best part is that you do not get this error on any kind of consistent basis, it can pop up when you are trying to delete a folder, trying to copy some files, trying to install a program, etc, etc. It all comes down to not having the right security permissions.
Note that UAC (User Account Control) does not usually affect this problem, so don’t go out and automatically disable UAC. If you disable UAC, you can’t do things like share printers, etc, so it’s best to live with it.
There are some things you can do, however, to help out with the “You do not have permission to perform this action” problem though. If it’s a particular file or folder you are trying to delete, you can simply give yourself full control permissions over the file.
But before we go into that, try one other method that might be a bit faster. Go to Start, Programs, Accessories, and right-click on the command prompt and choose Run as Administrator.

Now at the command prompt type the following command:

net user administrator /active:yes

Press Enter and restart your computer. Now try to perform the task again that gave you the “You do not have permission” error. If that does not work, then follow the steps below to change the file permissions.
To change the security permissions for a file, right-click on the file and go to Properties. Then click on the Security tab.

Now click on the Advanced button at the bottom and click on the Owner tab.

Click on the Edit button, click Other users and groups and type in your user account name and click Check Names.

Image Source: Vista4Beginners

Click OK and on the Owner tab make sure to check the “Replace owner on subcontainers and objects” box. Now select your user account from the list on the Security tab and click Edit. Click Allow next to Full Control and click OK.

Hopefully, this fixes one very annoying problem with Windows Vista. I did notice that upgrading to SP1 helped to reduce the occurrence of this error, so if you do not have SP1 installed yet, make sure to go to Windows Update

How to Fix Tooltips That Show Behind Taskbar in XP

2012-12-18T07:53:00.002-08:00

One really annoying problem that I have come across often, but never bother to fix, is the fact that sometimes the system tray tooltips (when you hover your mouse over an icon in the taskbar) do not show up in Windows XP!
Actually, they show up, but the tooltips show up behind the taskbar instead of in front. Here is a screenshot of the annoying issue:

Yes I have a crap load of icons in my taskbar, which makes the whole “tooltips behind the taskbar” issue a big problem for me. I’m always checking the status of something, whether it my a bittorrent download, number of remote connections, or the status of my online backups.
Anyway, there are a couple of strange solutions to the missing tooltips on the taskbar issue. Here is what I have tried that has worked. Unfortunately, it keeps coming back.
Method 1: The easiest thing to do is to switch users if you are not in a domain environment. Switching users somehow resets the taskbar to it’s normal state and the tooltips no longer show up behind the taskbar.
Method 2: Simple log off and log back on to your computer. I used to do this, but it’s a royal pain because you have to close all your programs and then reload everything. Also, it can sometimes takes a few minutes to do that.
Method 3: Right-click on the taskbar and choose Properties. Now uncheck the box for Keep the taskbar on top of other windows and click OK.

Now right-click on the taskbar again and re-check the box. Usually this makes the problem go away!
Method 4: Download a free program that does nothing else other than monitor your computer and fix the tooltip bug when it happens.
The program is called ToolTipFixer and it’s from Neosmart. I have not used this myself, but from the looks of it, it seems like it does the job of keeping those pesky tooltips in the front very well.
Method 5: Another way that I’ve had success with is by simply going to Start, All Programs, and right-clicking on any of the menu items. After you right-click and the context menu appears, just press ALT or ESC and click somewhere outside the Start Menu.

That’s about all the ways I could find to fix this problem! It’s way better than what I used to do, which was simply deal with it or restart the entire computer. Now you can get your tooltips showing again properly in the system tray with these solutions! Enjoy!

How to Remove the Background from Desktop Icons

2012-12-18T07:51:00.002-08:00

Every time I reinstall Windows XP on my home computer, I always forget how to change the icons so that they have a transparent background. The default dark blue background with white text is just not very nice looking.
It really sucks if you have a cool looking wallpaper as a background, but all your icons have large dark blue borders. Instead, if the text looks like it’s written right onto the wallpaper, the effect is much nicer.
So how can you make the background transparent for your desktop icons in Windows XP? Follow these steps.
Step 1: First open the Control Panel and click on System.

Step 2: Now click on the Advanced tab and click on the Settings button under the Performance section.

Step 3: Finally, scroll down and check the Use drop shadows for icons labels on the desktop box.

That’s it! Now all of your desktop icons will have the blue backgrounds removed and will appear transparent.

Now doesn’t that look much better! Sure does to me! By default in Windows Vista and Windows 7, all the icons already are set to have transparent backgrounds, so you don’t have that problem in those operating systems. Enjoy!

What is the Difference Between Primary and Logical Partition

2012-12-18T07:48:00.002-08:00

I am often asked the question about the difference between a primary and a logical partition. In this post I will do my best to explain the difference between the two.
If you open Disk Manager in Windows you will see your drive volumes and their corresponding partition type under the “Status” column:
Most partitions are primary partitions. If you have more than one partition, the first usable partition (one that can hold data) is almost always a primary. Primary partitions are marked with a dark-blue stripe by default.

The old-school approach is to have only one primary partition, followed by an extended partition. This is no longer needed for NTFS volumes; in fact, if you’re setting up a dual-boot system, each OS must have its own primary partition.

The extended partition is a holdover from earlier days, and was used when a drive had two or more partitions. It doesn’t actually hold data, it merely serves as a container for one or more logical drives.
Extended partitions and logical drives are more or less obsolete today (Vista’s Disk Management tool can’t even create them), but you may see them on older partitioned drives.
The extended partition is, by default, shown as a dark-green outline surrounding any logical drives. If you have a drive with an extended partition, each volume inside is called a logical drive. By default, logical drives are identified in light blue.

How to Use Diskpart Utility in Windows

2012-12-18T07:46:00.001-08:00

DiskPart is essentially the command-line equivalent to the Disk Management tool, and can be useful in certain situations (such as when Windows won’t start). Be warned though, Diskpart is a powerful tool and unlike the Disk Management tool, it enables explicit control of partitions and volumes.
You’ll need to run DiskPart in administrator mode; one way to do this is to open your Start menu, type diskpart in the Search box, and then when diskpart.exe appears in the search results, right-click it and select Run as administrator.

Once it’s running, type help at any time to see a list of commands. To get started, here’s how to extend a volume using DiskPart.

1. At the DISKPART> prompt, type: list disk to display all the drives on your computer. Each drive will have a disk number, starting with 0 (zero).

The result above tells us that I have two physical disks installed.
2. Unless you have only one drive, you’ll have to tell DiskPart which drive to use, like this: select disk n where n represents the number of the disk to modify.

3. Next, at the DISKPART> prompt, type: list volume to display all the volumes on the selected disk. Likewise, each volume has a volume number, starting with 0 (zero).

4. Regardless of the number of volumes on the drive, you’ll have to tell DiskPart which one to use, like this: select volume 3

5. Now that you’ve selected the partition to expand, go ahead and issue this command: extend to extend the volume. The extend command takes no options and displays no warning message or confirmation. The process begins immediately after you press the Enter key, and should take only a few seconds. The extend command will cause the current in-focus volume to be extended into contiguous unallocated space.

6. When it’s done, type exit to quit the DiskPart utility.
DiskPart is a great command line utility for administrators and techies. You can format, resize, extend and manage your drives and volumes using this powerful tool.

Fix Missing or Corrupted Hidden Files and Folders Option in Windows

2012-12-18T07:42:00.000-08:00

By default, Windows Explorer does not display files with the Hidden attribute. However, there is an easy way of showing hidden files and folders in Windows. Hidden files and folders will appear dimmed to indicate they are not typical items and they are usually program or system files that should not be deleted or changed.
NOTE: In addition to the Hidden files and folders option discussed in this post, hidden files and folders can be viewed when using search, or using the “dir /a” (without the quotes) command in the command prompt window.
To access the Hidden files and folders options, open My Computer in Windows XP, or Computer in Windows 7, and select Folder Options from the Tools menu.

When you click the View tab on the Folder Options dialog box, you may encounter a situation where both radio buttons under Hidden files and folders are checked, as pictured below.

Both radio buttons can be checked at once if your system has been infected by malware, which modifies some keys in the registry. To view the registry keys affected, select Run from the Start menu.

On the Run dialog box, enter “regedit” (without the quotes) in the Open edit box, and click OK.

If your Hidden Files and Folders options are corrupt, the CheckedValue registry value of the following registry keys may have been modified.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ Advanced \ Folder \ Hidden \ NOHIDDEN

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer \ Advanced \ Folder \ Hidden \ SHOWALL

NOTE: Many viruses disable or corrupt the Hidden Files and Folders options so their hidden malicious executable or script will not be displayed in Explorer. Some viruses may even remove the Hidden Files and Folders options completely from the View tab of the Folder Options dialog box.

To close the Registry Editor, select Exit from the File menu.

To fix the corrupted Hidden files and folders options, right-click on the following link and select Save link as (in Firefox) or Save Target as (in Internet Explorer) to save the foldersettings.reg file.
http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/foldersettings.reg
NOTE: When you save the foldersettings.reg file, Windows may add a .txt extension to the file, because it is essentially a text file. Edit the filename and remove the .txt extension.
In Windows Explorer, navigate to where you saved the foldersettings.reg file, right-click on the file and select Merge from the popup menu. The fix in this registry entry file can be applied in Windows XP as well as in Windows 7/Vista.

NOTE: When you try to merge the foldersettings.reg file, you may encounter a problem opening the file, and see the following Security Warning dialog box. We have scanned this file for viruses and then used it to fix this problem, and the file does not seem to be infected or corrupted in any way. Click Run to close it.

Or, you may see an error dialog box like the following. If you encounter this dialog box instead, click OK to close it.

To be able to merge the foldersettings.reg file, right-click on the file and select Properties from the popup menu.

The Properties dialog box for the foldersettings.reg file displays. Make sure the General tab is active. Click the Unblock button.

Click OK to close the Properties dialog box.

A confirmation dialog box displays to make sure you really want to add the information in the .reg file to the registry. Click Yes.

A dialog box then displays saying the information has been successfully added to the registry. Click OK.

The options are fixed and the Show hidden files and folders option is selected. You can now change the selected option as desired.

NOTE: Even if you choose the Show hidden files and folders option, there are some protected operating system files you will still not be able to see. These protected files are not intended to be visible to you as they’re not intended to be modified by a normal user of Windows.
However, if needed, you can view these files by unchecking the Hide protected operating system files (Recommended) check box on the View tab of the Folder Options dialog box.

Make sure you keep your anti-virus software up-to-date and to run a full system scan on a regular schedule. It’s also a good idea to install an anti-malware program, such as Spybot, and periodically scan for malware.

Replace Alt + Tab in Windows XP with a Vista-Style Switcher

2012-12-18T07:37:00.001-08:00

Do you often have many programs open in Windows XP and use Alt + Tab to switch among them? With the default Alt + Tab window switcher in Windows XP, you have to cycle through, small icons, where the label for each icon only displays as you move over the icon.

There is a free utility, called VistaSwitcher, that displays a full-sized preview of each task window and an easy-to-read list of all the running tasks with titles next to the icons.
Download VistaSwitcher from
http://www.ntwind.com/software/vistaswitcher/download.html.
To install VistaSwitcher, double-click on the .exe file you downloaded. The Installer Language dialog box displays. Choose your desired language from the drop-down list and click OK.

Read through the License Agreement and click I Agree.

Choose which components of VistaSwitcher you want to install. We accepted the default of all components selected. Click Next.

Accept the default install location and click Install to begin the installation process.

When the installation is done, click Finish.

An icon for VistaSwitcher is added to the system tray. Right-click on the icon to access the menu.

There are two main shortcuts in VistaSwitcher:

Alt + Tab: The familiar key combination to switch among all open windows, and
Alt + ` (Backtick): The key combination to switch among open windows of a single application, for example, switching among open instances of Microsoft Word or Windows Explorer.

NOTE: The Backtick key is right above the Tab key on a US English keyboard layout.
For more keyboard shortcuts for VistaSwitcher, see
http://www.ntwind.com/software/vistaswitcher/shortcuts.html.
To access VistaSwitcher, press Alt + Tab or click once on the VistaSwitcher icon in the system tray.
NOTE: Using Alt + Tab initially, still requires you to hold Alt down while you select a window with the mouse or with the arrow keys. There is a setting to change this, but we will discuss this setting later in this post. Clicking on the VistaSwitcher icon in the system tray makes the VistaSwitcher “sticky” and it will stay up until you select a window.

To change the options for VistaSwitcher, right-click on the icon in the system tray and select Preferences from the popup menu.

The VistaSwitcher Preferences dialog box displays with the General tab active. The General tab allows you to change the language, and has some check boxes for you to specify whether want VistaSwitcher to start when you start Windows (Autostart VistaSwitcher on system startup) and whether you want to have access to the VistaSwitcher icon in the system tray (Show VistaSwitcher icon in notification area).
You can also have VistaSwitcher replace the standard Alt + Tab functionality (Replace standard ALT-TAB key combinations) and replace the right mouse button and wheel functionality (Replace the Right Mouse Button + Wheel) allowing you to use the right mouse button to activate VistaSwitcher and use the mouse wheel to scroll through the list of open windows. You can also change the hotkeys on the General tab.

The Theme box on the Appearance tab allows you to change the appearance of the VistaSwitcher window with themes (there are no additional themes available yet). Use the Preview box to specify whether the preview has a “Desktop” style or a “Window” style.
You can also turn off the preview so all you see is a list of windows. The Task List box allows you to change the width and height of the each item in the list of windows and to specify how many items to display.

The Position box on the Behavior tab allows you to specify the position of the VistaSwitcher. There are also some options below the Position box. One option you might find useful, is the Don’t hide VistaSwitcher when ALT is release (Sticky Mode) option. If this option is on, you don’t have to hold down the Alt key to keep the VistaSwitcher window visible.

The Exclusions tab allows you to specify programs that you don’t want listed in VistaSwitcher. To add a program to the Exclusions list, click the New button on the Exclusions tab.

The VistaSwitcher Exclusion dialog box displays. A list of Active applications displays at the top of the dialog box. If you start another application while the VistaSwitcher Exclusion dialog box is open, click the Update button to add it to the list of Active applications. Select an application in the list and specify, in the Action box, whether the selected application should be excluded from the preview or from the task list. Click OK.

The application you selected to exclude displays on the Exclusions tab. You can easily choose to include the application again by unchecking the check box for the application.
Click OK to save your changes and close the VistaSwitcher Preferences dialog box.

The next time you bring up the VistaSwitcher, the application you excluded will not display in the list of tasks or display a preview, depending on how you chose to exclude it.

VistaSwitcher makes it much easier to switch among running tasks. You don’t have to press Alt + Tab repeatedly to scroll through windows and select your desired application. Now, with a simple setting, you can have VistaSwitcher stay up when you press Alt + Tab. VistaSwitcher will stay visible while you navigate using your mouse or the arrow keys and select the desired window from the easy-to-read list

Automatically Defragment Your Hard Drive in Windows XP

2012-12-18T07:31:00.001-08:00

Defragmenting your hard drive makes sure that the data on the hard disk is in contiguous order. This provides easier and quicker access to files and programs. Windows 7 and Windows Vista are both set to automatically defragment your hard drive on a weekly basis, by default, or on a schedule you can customize (see our post, Modify the Disk Defragmenter Schedule in Windows 7 and Windows Vista).
Windows XP does not automatically defrag your hard drive on a set schedule, but you can set it up to do so. First, we will show you how to access the Disk Defragmenter in Windows XP and some of its features. Then, we will show you how to run the Disk Defragmenter automatically on a schedule.

There are a couple of different ways of accessing the Disk Defragmenter in Windows XP. One way is to select Run from the Start menu.

On the Run dialog box, enter “dfrg.msc” (without the quotes) in the Open edit box and click OK.

You can also access the Disk Defragmenter by opening My Computer, right-clicking on the hard drive you want to defragment and selecting Properties from the popup menu.

On the Properties dialog box, click the Tools tab and then click the Defragment Now button.

What’s nice about the Disk Defragmenter in Windows XP as opposed to the ones in Windows 7 and Windows Vista is you get a graphical interface in Windows XP showing you details about the disk usage before and after the defragmentation. This graphical interface is not available in Windows 7 or Windows Vista.
You can manually defragment a hard drive by selecting the desired hard drive from the list at the top of the Disk Defragmenter dialog box and clicking Defragment.

You can also analyze the selected hard drive by clicking the Analyze button. When the analysis is complete, a dialog box displays telling you whether you should defragment the hard drive. Click the View Report button to view more details.

The Analysis Report dialog box displays, showing you information about the hard drive and the files on it that are the most fragmented. To defragment the hard drive, click Defragment. You can also click Save As to save the results of the analysis as a text file or click Print to print the results. Click Close to close the dialog box.

To close the Disk Defragmenter, select Exit from the File menu.

If you accessed the Disk Defragmenter from the Properties dialog box for a specific hard drive, click OK to close the Properties dialog box.

Now, we will show you how to set up the Disk Defragmenter to run automatically on a custom schedule. Select Control Panel from the Start menu.

On the Control Panel, click the Switch to Classic View link, if the Category View is active.

Double-click the Scheduled Tasks item.

On the Scheduled Tasks dialog box, double-click the Add Scheduled Task item.

The Scheduled Task Wizard displays. Click Next.

A list of applications you can automatically run displays. Click Browse.

The Select Program to Schedule dialog box displays. Enter the following line, including the percent signs, in the File name edit box and click Open.

%systemroot%\system32\defrag.exe

The next screen in the Scheduled Task Wizard displays. Enter a name for the task in the edit box. Select how often to perform the defragment task from the list of radio buttons under Perform this task. Click Next.

If you selected Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or One time only, the next screen allows you to specify the details about when to run the task. For example, if you selected Weekly, the options pictured below are available. Click Next when you have finished selecting your options.

On the next screen, the currently logged in user is automatically entered in the Enter the user name edit box. You can change that to a different user name, if desired. Enter the password for the specified user in the Enter the password edit box and again in the Confirm password edit box. Click Next.

The next screen displays a summary of the scheduled task. To set more options for the task, select the Open advanced properties for this task when I click Finish check box. This allows you to specify a hard drive to be defragmented. Click Finish.

A dialog box displays with the name of the new task in the title bar. On the Task tab, add a space and the drive letter, such as “C:” (without the quotes) to the end of the line of text in the Run edit box.
If you want to only run the task if the specified user is logged into the computer, select the Run only if logged on check box. If this check box is not selected, the computer only has to be on for the task to run.

Click the Settings tab to customize additional settings for the new task. For example, you can specify to Only start the task if the computer has been idle for at least a certain number of minutes. This is useful if you happen to still be working on the computer when the time comes to run the task. The task won’t start if you are using the computer.
Click OK once you have changed the desired settings.

When you change settings for a task, you are asked for the password for the user account specified for the task. Enter the password in the Password edit box and again in the Confirm password edit box and click OK.

An icon for the newly created task displays on the Scheduled Tasks dialog box.

When the task runs, a command window opens displaying information produced by the task.

You won’t see the Disk Defragmenter graphical interface, but the Disk Defragmenter is running in the background. If you open up Task Manager (right-click on the Taskbar and select Task Manager), you’ll see the process running on the Processes tab.

Now your Windows XP machine will automatically defragment the local hard drive on a specified schedule just like it does in Vista and Windows 7.
You can also use a tool called pycron to schedule task to defragment your hard drive. See our post, Replacing the Windows Task Scheduler, for more information. The Command to be entered would be “%systemroot%\system32\defrag.exe” (without the quotes), the same as earlier in this post. The Parameter would be “C:” (again, without the quotes).

Resize and Move the Sidebar in Firefox

2012-12-18T07:22:00.002-08:00

The sidebar in Firefox is an area on the left side of the screen that you can use to view items such as bookmarks or history. It is also useful for running web applications. However, there are some limitations of the sidebar. This post discusses two tweaks that allow you to resize and move the sidebar.
By default, you cannot change the width of the sidebar, widening it for items that do not fit in the default width. The sidebar also displays on the left side of the Firefox window, by default. You may want to move it to the right, making it more natural to view websites if you use a language that reads left to right.
Both of the tweaks to remove these limitations need to be applied to the userChrome.css file, which is located in the the chrome folder for each profile in the Profiles folder, as listed below. Open the userChrome.css file for the profile for which you want to remove the limitations of the sidebar in a text editor. As an example, we opened the userChrome.css file for the default profile.
Open Windows Explorer and navigate to one of the following folders, depending on which version of Windows you are using.
For Windows 7 and Vista:

C: \ Users \ [username] \ AppData \ Roaming \ Mozilla \ Firefox \ Profiles \ 9pjrzgo3.default \ chrome

For Windows XP:

C: \ Documents and Settings \ [username] \ Application Data \ Mozilla \ Firefox \ Profiles \ 5ufmvdw2.default \ chrome

NOTE: Replace “[username]” with your user name in the path name to access the userChrome.css file.
If you only have a userChrome-example.css, copy it and rename the copy to userChrome.css and continue with the steps in this post. We suggest you copy the example file so you can preserve the example.
Right-click on the userChrome.css file and select Open with | Notepad from the popup menu.

Add the following line to the end of the userChrome.css file to move the sidebar to the right side of the Firefox window.

#browser {-moz-box-direction: reverse;}

Add the following line to the end of the userChrome.css file to remove the maximum width limitation from the sidebar so you can resize it.

#sidebar {max-width: none !important;}

If you want no minimum width for the sidebar, you can use the following line, rather than the #sidebar line mentioned above:

#sidebar { max-width: none !important; min-width: 0px !important; }

To save your changes, select Save from the File menu.

To close Notepad, select Exit from the File menu.

You must restart Firefox for these changes to take effect. Once Firefox is open again, and you open something in the sidebar, you will see a double arrow when you put your mouse over the border between the sidebar and the viewable web page space. Click and hold on that arrow and drag it either way to resize the sidebar.

Now, when you open web pages, links, or images in the sidebar, you can widen it to allow for wider content. There is an extension for Firefox, called Open in Sidebar, that allows you to easily open a web page, a link, or an image in the sidebar using the context (right-click) menu.

Make the Windows XP Taskbar Look Like the Windows 7 Taskbar

2012-12-18T07:09:00.001-08:00

You may still be using Windows XP and have not been able to move to Windows 7. You may have heard about or tried out the improved Taskbar (or “Superbar”) in Windows 7, and would like to have that functionality in Windows XP. Now you can use a free tool, called ViGlance, that imitates the Windows 7 Taskbar in Windows XP.
Download ViGlance from
http://lee-soft.com/viglance/.
ViGlance does not need to be installed. To use it, simply unzip the .zip file you downloaded and double-click on the .exe file.

When you run ViGlance for the first time, the Thank You web page displays in your default browser. You can close your browser.

ViGlance runs in the background (putting an icon in the system tray), converting your Windows XP Taskbar into a Windows 7 Taskbar.
NOTE: When you hold Shift key down and left-click on a program’s icon on the Taskbar, with ViGlance running, a new instance of the program will open, just like in Windows 7.

ViGlance even simulates the Jump List feature in Windows 7 by retrieving your most recently opened documents from several locations on the operating system. Now, you can easily access your recently opened files for your currently opened or pinned programs. Simply, right-click on a program’s icon on the Taskbar to access recently opened files for that program.

Speaking of pinned programs, ViGlance allows you to pin programs onto the Taskbar like you can in Windows 7. When a program is open or minimized to the Taskbar, right-click on the program’s icon and select Pin from the popup menu.

When the program is closed, the icon for the program remains on the Taskbar, allowing you to start the program by clicking on that icon.

There are some options you can set in ViGlance. To change options in ViGlance, right-click on the ViGlance icon in the system tray and select Options from the popup menu.

On the Options dialog box, select the check boxes for the desired options. We turned on the Enable Start button (ViOrb) check box to convert the Start button to the Windows 7 Start orb. Click OK.
NOTE: If you want to unpin all programs you have pinned to Taskbar, click the Clear Pinned Items button. The Options dialog box automatically closes when you press the Clear Pinned Items button.

If you select the Enable Start button (ViOrb) option on the Options dialog box, the Start button converts to the Start orb from Windows 7, as pictured below.

NOTE: If you are looking to obtain other Windows 7 Taskbar functionality in Windows XP, we have also written about how to organize the Taskbar buttons in Windows XP and Vista like you can in Windows 7

How to Use the Windows XP Fax Service

2012-12-18T05:18:00.001-08:00

If you don’t have a fax machine or want to scrap your fax machine, you can still send faxes from your computer if you have Windows XP. The Windows XP Fax service is a program that uses your modem instead of a fax machine to send faxes.

To use the Windows XP Fax service, you will also need a scanner to scan existing documents or a word processing program or text editor to create documents to fax. Ensure that your modem is connected to the phone line before continuing.

Installing and Configuring the Windows XP Fax Service

Windows XP Fax Services aren’t installed by default in Windows XP Home Edition. To install the fax software, click Start, then Control Panel and Add or Remove Programs. Select Add/Remove Windows Components, then select Fax Services and click Next.

Click Start and access the All Programs menu. Select Accessories, Communications, Fax and then Fax Console. From the Tools menu, select Configure Fax and click Next. Type your name and fax number in the Sender Information window. Select your modem in the Select Device for Sending and Receiving Faxes window. Select the check box beside Enable Send, then select Next.

In the Transmitting Subscriber Identification window, type your name and fax number again and click Next.

Then in the Tools menu, choose Fax Printer Configuration. Type a name such as Fax. Click the Devices tab. Make sure that your modem appears under Device Name then click OK.

Sending Faxes with Windows XP Fax Service

If you would like to send a text or word processing document as a fax, open your text editor or word processor to create a file. If you’d like to fax a printed document or a photograph, scan it and open the image in an image viewer or image processing program.
If you have to send multiple text or word processing documents as a fax in Windows XP, you can easily do so by creating a multi-page file in your word processor or text editor. However, if you want to send multiple scanned documents in Windows XP Fax Services, you will have to use the scans to create a PDF file.
You can do this using Create Adobe PDF Online. For a small monthly fee, this service allows you unlimited PDF file conversions, unlimited print to paperless PDF and combining multiple files into one PDF file.

When you’re ready to send your fax, select Print from the program’s File menu. In the Send Fax Wizard, type the name and fax number of the person to whom you’d like to fax your document or image. Type a cover page, if necessary. Click Next. Choose when to send your fax and choose the priority of the fax. Click Next and Finish to send the fax.

How to Use the Microsoft Scanner and Camera Wizard

2012-12-18T05:14:00.001-08:00

The Microsoft Scanner and Camera Wizard is a useful program that can copy pictures from your scanner or digital camera in Windows XP. This program allows you to create and choose folders for your pictures.
It also names all your pictures with a variation on a name you choose. This makes it very easy to access the picture files later on. You can use this software, which comes included with Windows XP Home Edition and Professional, to make your digital picture management faster and easier.

Download Pictures from a Digital Camera

Turn on your digital camera and connect it to your computer by USB. If a dialog box asks you what you want to do with your device, select Microsoft Scanner and Camera Wizard, then click OK.
If you prefer, you can take the memory card out of the camera and place it in your computer’s memory card reader. If you choose this option, select Copy pictures to a folder on my computer using Microsoft Scanner and Camera Wizard and click OK. When the Scanner and Camera Wizard opens, click Next.

In the Choose Pictures to Copy window, select the check box above each picture you’d like to copy, then click Next.

In the Picture Name and Destination window, type a name for the group of pictures. Then select a location on your computer where you’d like to save the pictures. If you want to remove the pictures after copying them, select the check box beside Delete pictures from my device after copying them. Click Next.
When the copying is complete, the Other options window will open. Select whether you’d like to publish the pictures to the Web, order prints or finish your copying session. Click Next, then Finish. Windows will automatically open your pictures in the picture viewer.

Download Pictures from a Scanner

To download pictures from your scanner, click Start, All Programs, Accessories and Scanner and Camera Wizard. Select your scanner from the list and click OK.

When the Scanner and Camera Wizard opens, click Next. Select whether you’d like to scan a color picture, a grayscale picture, a black and white picture or text or a custom picture. If you’d like to see the scan ahead of time, click Preview. When you’re satisfied with the preview, click Next.

In the Picture Name and Destination window, type the name for your scans, the file format and the location to save the files. Click Next again. When the scan is complete, you will see the same options in the Other Options window as when copying pictures from your digital camera. Select one of them and click Next, then Finish.

Move the Recycle Bin to the System Tray in Windows

2012-12-18T05:08:00.001-08:00

If you are into minimalism and have very few icons on your desktop in Windows, we found a free utility, called SysTray Recycler, that allows you to move the recycle bin to the system tray so you can remove it from your desktop. Using SysTray Recycler, you can easily empty or open the Recycle Bin, and even view how many files are in the Recycle Bin and how much space the files use.
Download SysTray Recycler from
http://solo-dev.deviantart.com/art/SysTray-Recycler-1-3b1-194356687.
SysTray Recycler works with Windows XP, Windows 7, and Windows Vista. It does not need to be installed. Simply unzip the .zip file you downloaded and double-click on the SysTray Recycler.exe file.

A dialog box displays telling you that the Manifest file has been re-initialized. This is normal and only happens the first time you run SysTray Recycler (unless you delete the manifest file). The Manifest file is a file needed by the .exe file to run the program. Click OK and then double-click on the SysTray Recycler.exe file again to run the program.

The SysTray Recycler icon displays in the system tray. There is one icon that displays if the Recycle Bin contains items and a different one if the Recycle Bin is empty. Moving the mouse over the icon shows you how many items are in the Recycle Bin.

Before we show you the features of SysTray Recycler, we will show you how to make it more convenient to access the icon by putting it directly on the Taskbar. To do this, click the system tray up arrow and click the Customize link.

The Notification Area Icons screen on the Control Panel displays. Find SysTray Recycler in the list of system tray icons and select Show icon and notifications from the drop-down list to the right of the program name.

Click OK to close the Control Panel.

When you left- or right-click on the SysTray Recycler icon in the system tray, the number of files in the Recycle Bin displays at the top of the popup menu along with how much space the files are using. To empty the Recycle Bin, select Recycle Bin | Empty from the popup menu. You can also open the Recycle Bin to view the files in it using the Open option.

SysTray Recycler also allows you to clean out the temp files in your system. To do this, click on the SysTray Recycler icon and select Clean | Temp Files from the popup menu.
If you have a utility called CCleaner installed on your system, an option is also added to the Clean submenu that allows you to open CCleaner from the SysTray Recycler icon. CCleaner is a free utility that allows you to clean up your hard drive of temporary files, browsing history, cookies etc., from several web browsers and clean up the Recycle Bin, Recent Documents, temporary files and log files in Windows. It also has a registry cleaner. You can download CCleaner from
http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner.

There are a few options you can change in SysTray Recycler. To access the options, click on the SysTray Recycler icon and select Options from the popup menu.

The Options dialog box displays. You can specify the number of files after which SysTray Recycler will automatically empty the Recycle Bin. To do this, select the Empty Recycle Bin if there are more than check box and enter a number in the edit box. This option is selected by default.
NOTE: Using this option will empty the Recycle Bin of all files regardless of how long ago they were deleted. If you want to control how old the files are that automatically get deleted, see our post, Extend and Enhance the Functionality of the Recycle Bin in Windows, for a tool that allows you to automatically empty the Recycle Bin based on the age of the deleted files.
If you want SysTray Recycler to be added to the system tray automatically when you start Windows, select the Auto Start with Windows check box. This option is not selected by default.
SysTray Recycler also allows you to use your own custom icons to display in the system tray. To use your own icons, name them FULL.ICO and EMPTY.ICO and copy the files to the folder containing the SysTray Recycler.exe file. Restart SysTray Recycler to use the custom icons.

Now that you have a handy Recycle Bin in the system tray, you can remove the Recycle Bin icon from the desktop. If you are using Windows 7 or Vista, right-click on an empty area of the desktop and select Personalize from the popup menu.

The Personalization screen on the Control Panel displays. Click the Change desktop icons link in the left pane.

The Desktop Icon Settings dialog box displays. To hide the Recycle Bin on the desktop, select the Recycle Bin check box in the Desktop icons box so there is NO check mark in the box.

Click OK to accept your change and close the Desktop Icon Settings dialog box.
NOTE: If there are other changes you want to make on the Desktop Icon Settings dialog box, you can click Apply to apply the changes made so far, and then continue to make changes before closing the dialog box.

To close the Control Panel, click the X in the upper, right corner of the window.

If you are using Windows XP, there is no easy way to hide the Recycle Bin unless you use a special tool. Microsoft’s TweakUI PowerToy tool allows you to easily show and hide items on the desktop just like the Desktop Icon Settings dialog box in Windows 7. Download TweakUI from
Windows XP downloads – Microsoft Windows
You do not need to install TweakUI. Simply double-click on the .exe file you downloaded. To hide the Recycle Bin, click the Desktop item in the tree on the left and select the Recycle Bin check box in the Desktop Icons list so there is NO check mark in the box.

If you are finished making changes in TweakUI, click OK to accept your changes and close TweakUI. If you still want to make changes, click the Apply button to apply the changes made so far, and click OK when you are ready to close TweakUI.

SysTray Recycler is a very handy replacement for the Recycle Bin. It is lightweight, free, and portable and also allows you to easily see the state of the Recycle Bin without having to show the desktop, if you have may program windows open.

Use Windows 7 and Vista Gadgets in Windows XP – Part I

2012-12-18T05:01:00.003-08:00

For those of you who like Windows 7 gadgets but are still using Windows XP, we have previously written about a way to install some gadgets in Windows XP (see our post, Get Windows 7 Gadgets in Windows XP). However, that tool, Windows 7 Sidebar for XP, only allows you to use the gadgets that come with the tool. You may have found some gadgets you like that are meant for Windows 7 or Vista and want to add those specific gadgets to Windows XP. We found a method for doing this using Windows Sidebar for XP.
NOTE: This solution is not recognized by Microsoft and the procedure is rather involved. We will go through the process step-by-step in this two-part series of posts; however, we recommend you create a system restore point before proceeding with the steps in these posts. See our post, How to create a system restore point manually in XP, for instructions on how to do this.
Download Windows Sidebar for XP from
http://joshoon.deviantart.com/art/Windows-Sidebar-Real-one-Pack-75626472.
Make sure you install Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 or higher before installing the components for Windows Sidebar for XP.

Install Alky for Applications

The first component to install is Alky for Applications. This program is a plug-in for Window XP SP3 users allowing them to run Windows Vista applications on their computers, such as the Windows Sidebar to use Windows Vista and Windows 7 Gadgets.
You will find the Alky for Applications installer file in the Alky For Applications folder in the main folder that is created when you extract the downloaded file. Double-click on the Installer.msi file.

The Welcome screen displays. Click Next.

The End-User License Agreement screen displays. Read through the agreement and select the I agree, I will not sell or modify this software check box. Click Next.

The Destination Folder screen displays. If you want to install Alky for Applications to a different location other than the default location listed in the edit box, use the Change button to select another location. We recommend you accept the default location. Click Next to continue.

There are some Vista-specific features of Alky for Applications that require a Windows Vista Product Key to work. Windows Sidebar for XP will run without a product key, but if there are other Vista-specific features you want to use, such as Windows Inkball, you must provide your valid product key. Select the Bind to product key check box, indicate the location of the Windows Vista install partition or media drive letter, and enter the Windows Vista Product Key. See the PDF manual included with the Alky for Applications installation file for more information.
We did not enter a product key as we only plan to use the Windows Sidebar for XP application. Click Next to continue.

The Ready to Install screen displays. If you want to change any of the settings, use the Back button. Otherwise, click Install to continue with the installation.

The progress of the installation displays.

Alky for Applications then displays the progress of the updates being made to your system.

When the Complete screen displays, click Finish to close the Alky for Applications Setup.

We recommend you reboot your computer before continuing with the installation of the Windows Sidebar.

Install the Windows Sidebar

Once Alky for Applications is installed and you have rebooted your computer, you are ready to install Windows Sidebar. To do this, double-click the Windows_Sidebar_Installer.exe file in the main folder for Windows Sidebar for Windows XP.

The Welcome screen on the setup wizard displays. Click Next.

Read through the License Agreement and click I Agree.

Select the optional components you want to install with the Windows Sidebar. We selected all the optional components. Click Next.

On the Select some final options screen, select Start Windows Sidebar when Windows starts if you want the Windows Sidebar to start automatically when you log in to Windows. You can also Add Windows Sidebar Settings to the Control Panel, making it easy to access the options for the Windows Sidebar. Click Install.

The progress of the Windows Sidebar setup displays.

When it says Completing installation, click Next.

Once the installation is done, the Completing the Windows Sidebar 6.0 Setup Wizard screen displays. If you want Windows Sidebar to start as soon as you close the setup wizard, select the Run Windows Sidebar 6.0 check box so there is a check mark in it. Click Finish to close the setup wizard.

The Windows Sidebar opens and displays on the right side of the Windows XP desktop.

Close a Gadget

Some default gadgets are displays when the Windows Sidebar opens for the first time. If you want to close any of these gadgets, right click on the desired gadget and select Close Gadget from the popup menu.

A confirmation dialog box displays making sure you want to close the gadget. Click Close Gadget if you still want to close the selected gadget.
NOTE: If you made any changes to the settings for that gadget (as we will discuss later in second part of this series of posts), those changes will be lost.

Add a Gadget from the Gallery

To add a gadget from the gallery that comes with the Windows Sidebar, click the plus button at the top of the sidebar.

The Gadget Gallery displays. To add a gadget to the sidebar, select the desired gadget, right-click on it, and select Add from the popup menu.

To close the Gadget Gallery, click the X button in the upper, right corner of the dialog box.

Wrap Up

This was the first post in a two-part series about using Windows Sidebar for XP to use Windows 7 and Vista gadgets on your Windows XP desktop.
In this post, we covered installing Alky for Applications and the Windows Sidebar, closing gadgets, and adding pre-installed gadgets from the gallery.

Use Windows 7 and Vista Gadgets in Windows XP -Part II

2012-12-18T04:57:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the second part of this two-part series about using Windows Sidebar for XP to use Windows 7 and Vista gadgets on your Windows XP desktop.
In Part I, we covered installing Alky for Applications and the Windows Sidebar, closing gadgets, and adding pre-installed gadgets from the gallery.
In this post, we discuss moving gadgets, getting more gadgets and adding them to the Windows Sidebar, changing settings for gadgets and for the Windows Sidebar, deleting installed gadgets, and exiting the Windows Sidebar.
Make sure you have downloaded and installed Windows Sidebar for XP and followed the steps in Part I prior to following the steps in this post.
Download Windows Sidebar for XP from
http://joshoon.deviantart.com/art/Windows-Sidebar-Real-one-Pack-75626472.
Make sure you install Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 or higher before installing the components for Windows Sidebar for XP.

Move a Gadget

You can order your gadgets on the sidebar however you would like. To move a gadget, move your mouse over the gadget until some buttons become available on the right side of the gadget. There is an X button, which is another method of closing the gadget. Below the X button is a button with a grid of squares on it. Click and hold that button while moving the gadget to reposition the gadget to another location on the sidebar.

Get More Gadgets

The main benefit of Windows Sidebar for XP is that you can add most Windows 7 and Vista gadgets you can download to your sidebar. You do not have to only use the gadgets that come with the program. To get more gadgets, open the Gadget Gallery as described earlier in this post. Click the Get more gadgets online link in the lower, right corner of the Gadget Gallery dialog box.

The Microsoft Vista online Gadget Gallery web page opens in your default browser. Choose a gadget you want and download it. For this example, we chose to download the MultiSearchIt gadget, which provides multiple ways to easily search the web from your desktop.

You may see the following dialog box when you click Download for the chosen gadget. If you decide you can trust the gadget, click OK. We downloaded and installed the MultiSearchIt gadget with no problems.

Install Gadget Extractor

To be able to add a downloaded gadget to the Windows Sidebar, you must install the Gadget Extractor program included in the compressed file you downloaded and extracted. To do this, double-click on the Gadget Extractor.msi file in the Windows Sidebar for Windows XP main folder you extracted.

The Welcome screen on the setup wizard displays. Click Next.

The Select Installation Folder screen displays. If you want to install Gadget Extractor to a different location other than the default location listed in the edit box, use the Browse button to select another location. We accepted the default location. Click Next to continue.

The Ready to Install screen displays. If you want to change any of the settings, use the Back button. Otherwise, click Install to continue with the installation.

Once the installation is done, the Completing the Gadget Extractor Setup Wizard screen displays. Click Finish to close the setup wizard.

Use Gadget Extractor to Install a Gadget

To start Gadget Extractor to install a gadget you downloaded, double-click the Gadget Extractor icon on the desktop.

The Please Select A Gadget File To Extract dialog box displays. Navigate to the location where you saved the .gadget file you downloaded. Select the .gadget file and click Open.

A dialog box displays telling you that the gadget was successfully extracted. Click OK to close the dialog box.

The gadget you extracted is added to the Gadget Gallery. Open the Gadget Gallery as described in the first part of this series of posts. Right-click on the new gadget and select Add. The gadget is added to your sidebar.

Change the Settings for a Gadget

To change the settings for a gadget, move your mouse over the gadget. If there are settings that can be changed for that gadget, a wrench button displays right below the X button on the right side of the gadget. Click the wrench button.

As an example, you can change the Background and the Opacity for the MultiSearchIt gadget. Click OK when you are finished changing the options for the gadget or Cancel if you don’t want to save the changes you made to the settings.

Delete an Installed Gadget

There is no way to delete a gadget you added to the Gadget Gallery within the gallery itself. To delete an installed gadget, open Windows Explorer and navigate the following folder:

C:\Program Files\Windows Sidebar\Shared Gadgets

NOTE: If you installed the Windows Sidebar to a different folder, navigate to the Shared Gadgets folder within the folder you specified.
Select the folder that matches the name of the gadget you want to delete and delete that folder from within Windows Explorer. The next time you open the Gadget Gallery the gadget will no longer be available.

Set the Properties of the Sidebar

In addition to setting properties for gadgets on the sidebar, you can also set properties for the sidebar itself. To do this, right-click on the Windows Sidebar icon in the system tray and select Properties from the popup menu.

If you want the Windows Sidebar to start when you log in to Windows, select the Start Sidebar when Windows starts check box. Customize the location of the Windows Sidebar using the options in the Arrangement box. If you have multiple monitors, you can even specify on which monitor you want to display the Windows Sidebar. You can also view a list of the gadgets currently running by clicking the View list of running gadgets button in the Maintenance box. Click OK when you are finished making your changes.

Exit the Sidebar

To close the Windows Sidebar, right-click on the Windows Sidebar icon in the system tray and select Exit from the popup menu.

A confirmation dialog box displays to make sure you really want to exit the Windows Sidebar. This dialog box also provides another opportunity to have the Windows Sidebar start when Windows starts. If you want to turn on this setting, select the Start Sidebar when Windows starts check box. Click Exit Sidebar if you still want to exit the Windows Sidebar or Cancel if you don’t.

Wrap Up

In this post, we covered moving gadgets, getting more gadgets and adding them to the Windows Sidebar, changing settings for gadgets and for the Windows Sidebar, deleting installed gadgets, and exiting the Windows Sidebar.
In Part I of this series, we covered installing Alky for Applications and the Windows Sidebar, closing gadgets, and adding pre-installed gadgets from the gallery.
Now, those of you who can’t upgrade to Windows 7 and Vista, or don’t want to, can enjoy a lot of the convenient gadgets available for Windows 7 and Vista. There may be some gadgets that don’t work with Windows Sidebar for XP, but a good amount of them will.

Windows Folder into a Safe Using a Hidden Command

2012-12-18T04:49:00.001-08:00

There are many different programs out there that allow you to protect files and information. However, there is an easy way to “lock” the contents of a folder on the Windows desktop by double-clicking on a file and without using third-party software.
To accomplish this task, we will create a folder and two batch files, one to lock the folder and one to unlock the folder.
To create the folder to contain the private files, right-click on the Desktop and select New | Folder from the popup menu.
NOTE: You can create a folder to contain your protected files anywhere. We’re just using the Desktop as an example.

Name the folder “safe” (without the quotes). You can name it something else if you want. You will just have to use the different name in the batch files you will create.

Double-click on the new folder to open it and copy and paste any files you want to protect into the folder.

The folder icon on the Desktop indicates there is at least one file in the folder.

jfdksjaf
To create the locking batch file, open Notepad and copy one of the following lines into a blank text file, depending on which version of Windows you are using.
Windows 7 and Vista:

ren safe safe.{2559a1f2-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}

Windows XP:

ren safe safe.{FEF10DED-355E-4e06-9381-9B24D7F7CC88}

NOTE: If you used a name other than “safe” for the folder, replace “safe” in the batch file with the name of your folder.
Save the file as lock.bat.

To create the corresponding unlocking batch file, open Notepad and copy one of the following lines into a blank text file.
Windows 7 and Vista:

ren safe safe.{2559a1f2-21d7-11d4-bdaf-00c04f60b9f0}

Windows XP:

ren safe safe.{FEF10DED-355E-4e06-9381-9B24D7F7CC88}

Save the file as unlock.bat.
To lock and unlock the safe folder, the batch files must be located in the same place as the safe folder. Double-click on the lock.bat file to lock the folder. At first, the folder icon changes to an empty folder. If you press F5 to refresh your desktop (or in Windows Explorer), the icon for the folder changes to a lock. When you double-click on the locked folder, it will not open.

To unlock the folder and access the files inside it, double-click on the unlock.bat file. The folder’s icon changes back to a folder with paper in it and double-clicking on the folder opens it.
The important thing to remember is that this method of locking a folder is not secure if you leave the lock.bat and unlock.bat files in the same location as the safe folder. You should move the two batch files to a separate location from the safe folder. Only copy the batch file you need to the same place as the safe folder when you need to lock or unlock the folder. Then, move it (or delete it, if you only copied it). Otherwise, anyone can access your protected data.

Speed Up Windows XP Performance by Turning Off the Indexing Service

2012-12-18T04:46:00.001-08:00

We have previously written about setting options for file search indexing in Windows 7. The indexing service may slow down your system because it works in the background to automatically index files in certain locations on your hard drive. Tweaking the indexing service in Windows 7 allows you to increase your system’s performance by removing locations from being indexed.
This indexing service is also available in Windows XP; however, it is not as customizable. It affects your system’s performance just as in Windows 7, but you cannot remove specific locations from the service. The indexing service can either be on or off. This post shows you how to turn off the indexing service if it is noticeably slowing down your system.
To access the Indexing Service, select Run from the Start menu.

The Run dialog box displays. Enter “services.msc” (without the quotes) in the Open edit box and click OK or press Enter.

On the Services dialog box, scroll down until you locate the Indexing Service. If the service is running the Status column says Started. If it says Automatic in the Startup Type column that means the Indexing Service will start automatically when Windows starts, even if you stop the service while you are currently logged in. Double-click on Indexing Service to access the properties for the service.

The Indexing Service Properties dialog box displays. If the service is running, the Service status reads Started. To stop the service so Windows no longer indexes the contents of your hard drive, click Stop.

To prevent Windows from automatically starting the Indexing Service again the next time you start Windows, select Disabled from the Startup type drop-down list.

Click OK to close the Indexing Service Properties dialog box.

Notice that the Indexing Service contains no text in the Status column, which means it is no longer running. The Status type column reads Disabled now and the service will not run unless you manually start it, even when Windows starts.

To close the Services dialog box, select Exit from the File menu.

Now, you’ve cut down on the resources being used by your computer and Windows should operate slightly faster.

Easily Configure Windows Xp System Restore Settings

2012-12-18T04:43:00.000-08:00

In Windows, if something goes wrong with a driver update, or certain software installations run into conflicts with each other, it can be necessary to rely on the System Restore feature to get back to a working, functional desktop environment. Of course, System Restore is definitely not a complete back-up utility.
It doesn’t help against trojan horses, viruses, or other malware, for instance, and documents stored in your personal folders aren’t protected either. As well, if you’ve created or modified user accounts since the last time a System Restore point was created, and you need to use the function, all those changes will be lost.
Because of this, it can be nice to configure exactly how System Restore works, how much space it takes up, what types of files/information it protects, and whether or not it even gets used. Microsoft doesn’t make this feature very simple to find, but follow these steps for an easy way to configure your System Restore settings.
The first step is to open the Control Panel, so hit your Windows key (or click the Start orb), then choose Control Panel from the Start Menu’s sidebar.

Once the Control Panel opens, click the System and Security link.

When that loads, click System.

Finally, from the sidebar on the left, choose System Protection.

You’ll now want to select your drive from the list, then click the Configure button.

We now have several options. If you’re running a computer with a small hard drive, or just don’t want to use up a lot of hard drive space for System Restore, you can limit the percentage of your disk actually used to store the backup files.

You can also select which types of files are protected. You have the option to keep copies of both system settings and previous versions of files, only previous versions of files, or – if you like living on the cutting edge without any protection – turn off System Restore entirely.

Turning off System Restore will keep it from making any more Restore points, but will not get rid of already existing ones. To do that, simply hit the Delete key (as shown below), to save even more hard drive space, and yes, to take away any existing backups.

When you’re sure you’ve configured it to your liking, click the Apply button to save any changes you’ve made to System Restore.

You’ll need to confirm your changes, especially if you’ve turned off the System Restore function entirely.

And that’s it. System Restore is now configured (or turned off), according to your tastes. System Restore, as mentioned, is not a perfect solution. Microsoft Security Essentials is a big help, and a standard file backup solution or disk imaging program is even better. Still, System Restore has its uses, so turning it off should be seen as a drastic step. But if you need to know where the configuration options are and what you can do with them, now you know.

How to Add a Program to Startup in Windows XP

2012-12-18T04:38:00.000-08:00

Want a specific program to run every time Windows starts? Maybe you created your own program or downloaded something off the Internet. Either way, it’s relatively simple to add a program to the startup in Windows XP.
There are mainly two ways to go about doing this. One is to add a shortcut to the EXE file in the Startup folder in Windows and the other is to use Scheduled Tasks. In this article, I will explain how to use both methods.

Add Programs to Startup Folder

This is my preferred method because it’s just really easy. To do it, go to the following directory on your computer:

C:\Documents and Settings\User\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

User can be either All Users or a specific user. If you want the program to run for any user that logs into the computer, go to the All Users folder. If you want to run it for only a specific user, then pick that user and go to their startup folder.

Now go ahead and find the program that you want to have startup when Windows starts. Make sure you locate the EXE file. Now simply right-click on that EXE file and choose Create Shortcut.

Now just take that newly created shortcut and copy and paste it into the Startup folder. Should look like this:

That’s it! Now restart your computer and you’ll see that the program will automatically start up once you log into Windows! Pretty easy eh!

Creating a Scheduled Task

The second way you can add a program to startup in Windows XP is to create a scheduled task that runs the program.
Go to Start, then Control Panel and click on Scheduled Tasks.

Click on Add Scheduled Task to create a new task.

The wizard will start. Go ahead and click Next. The first thing you have to do is choose the program you want to run at startup. A list comes up automatically, but you can also click Browse and choose one specifically.

Click Next and then choose when you want it to run. In our case, we will choose When I log on. You can also choose When my computer starts, but that will mean it could load before you even log into Windows.

Click Next and then enter the password for your Administrator account. Make sure you enter a password, otherwise the task will not run.

Click Next and click Finish. That’s it. Now you task will show up in the list of scheduled tasks. Go ahead and restart your computer and the program should load just fine.