Tweakthology - An Anthology of Tweaks

Beginner's Guide to Install Windows XP

2010-04-22T11:48:00.017+05:30

I have seen lots of people asking about installing Windows XP, so I decided to make this tutorial.

Gather all necessary Drivers and Software
Next, you will need to gather the software needed to backup your files, format your hard disk and install Windows. Once your hard drive is formatted, you will not be able to access the internet (unless you have access to another computer, of course) because you computer will not have an OS installed.

Here's a List of software that you will need or find useful.

Windows XP CD:
This is available with the CDs that came with your computer if you purchased it new. They are also available in stores or you can always find them by doing a search...

Drivers:
You will need to find the drivers to all your hardware. These are available on the CD that came with your computer or motherboard when you bought it. They are also available on the manufacturer's support website. At the VERY MINIMUM, get the drivers for your network adapter. Then you can get online and download the rest of your drivers after Windows is installed.
Examples of support websites for popular brands:
http://support.asus.com/
http://support.intel.com/
http://www.gigabyte.us/Support/Default.aspx
http://www.evga.com/support/
http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=downloadindex
http://www.hp.com/#Support
http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/index.pl
http://support.dell.com/
http://support.gateway.com/support/default.aspx
http://toshiba.com/tai/support/support_cons.jsp
http://us.acer.com/acer/service.do
http://emachines.com/support/product_support.html

ImgBurn:
This is a nifty little program that is used to burn CDs. It is verry simple, easy to use, and is compatible with almost any CD/DVD/HD-DVD/BlueRay burner.
http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download

Hiren's Boot CD:
There are tons of diagnostic programs on this CD. It is very handy to have for recovery situations.
http://www.hiren.info/pages/bootcd

Mandriva Linux Live CD:
If you choose to use the Linux live CD to backup your files, then you can access the internet by booting with it, even though your hard drive has nothing on it or Windows is not working properly due to a virus.
http://www.mandriva.com/en/download/free

Burn those ISOs
Now it's time to burn the software you downloaded above. This tutorial covers how to do this with ImgBurn. If you already have the software you need on CDs or DVDs, or want to burn it with your favorite burning software, you may skip this step.

After Installing ImgBurn, open it up and you should get a dialog similar to this one:

Click on the "Write Image File to Disc" button to continue. That should bring you to a dialog like this:

Then, select the "Browse for a file" button and select your image file. Image files supported by ImgBurn include .iso, .nrg, .ape, .bin, .cdi, .cdr, .cue, .dvi, .dvd, .gcm, .gi, .ibq, .img, .lst, .mds, .pdi, & .udi. ISO is by far the most popular format. I'm using Hiren's boot CD as an example.

Make sure the CD/DVD writer device you want to write with is selected in the "destination" section. Keep the verify option checked as this will ensure that the DVD/CD is burned correctly.

Insert a DVD/CD with sufficient size to hold the image. Hiren's Boot CD is only 165MB, so it will fit on a CD with plenty of room to spare. (1) Information about the disc you entered is on the right. Make sure that the status is "empty" (2). Select the speed you want to burn at and how many copies to burn (3). Then click on the "burn" button (4).

The time it takes to burn a CD or DVD depends on the speed of your computer, the speed of your drive, the amount of data being burned, the type of discs being used and other factors.

When it has successfully completed burning, then this dialog will appear:

Now you can label the disk with a felt-tip marker so you know what it is. Repeat this process for any other discs that you need to burn.

Backup!
Before you start installing or messing around with your hard drive's partitions, you will need to back up all your important documents and settings that are stored on the partition that Windows is currently installed. If you are installing Windows to a brand new computer or a blank hard drive, you don't need to worry about this. If you are reinstalling due to a virus or other malicious program, it may be difficult or impossible to backup due to the virus. In this case, you can use a boot CD such as Hiren's Boot CD or a live or rescue CD from a linux distribution such as Mandriva to back up your files. If you have access to another computer that is working, you can put the hard drive into that computer and copy the important files off of it. Extreme caution has to be taken when doing this as it is possible that the virus infection will spread to the working computer when using this method.

Format and Partition
If you need to do advanced formatting or shrinking of partitions, use one of the man utilities included on Hiren's Boot CD.

Installing Windows
Part 1 - Text Phase
Finally, it's time to actually start the installation process.

You want to ensure that you have everything you need before you start, because you won't be able to get back online unless you have one of these things: A linux live CD that works with your computer; a spare computer; a HDD with another OS that works with your computer.

After you are sure you are ready, put your XP CD into your CD drive (if you have more than one, just pick one as the computer should boot to either one).

Then reboot your computer. Pay close attention to the screen. You should see a message saying "Press any key to boot from CD.." appear. At that point, press a key (I prefer the space bar). If you don't see that message, then you will need to refer to your computer's documentation on how to make your computer boot from the CD-ROM drive. The screen looks a lot like this:

If you pressed the key soon enough, you should see the windows setup program begin to load.

When it is done loading, the screen should look like this. Press enter to continue.

Then it will show Microsoft's EULA. Press F8 to continue.

It will show a list of the drives and available on your computer. Now select the partition that you want to install windows on and press the enter key. This example has a drive that is completely blank. To install onto a drive like this, you need to create a new partition by pressing the "C" key. This screen can also be used to delete current partitions. Just highlight the partition you want to delete, then press the "D" key. It will ask you to confirm by pressing another key. When all partitions are deleted, you will end up with a screen that looks like the one below and you can press the "C" key as well.

I recommend creating a single partition the same size as the drive. This will be the default size entered here, so just press enter.

Then you have a new raw partition created. Notice that there is 8MB unpartitionable space. This always happens when using this utility to partition disk drives. It doesn't matter much in the long run and you can just ignore the extra 8MB. Now, highlight the raw partition and press enter.

Now it is time to format the partition. If the filesystem has already been formatted, you will not see this dialog. If it has been formatted as FAT32, it will ask you if you want to keep the filesystem intact or format as NTFS. The FAT options are not available for drives larger than 32GB. Normally you can just select the "NTFS (quick)" option and it works fine. If you are unsure, just select the normal NTFS format option like the example below:

Formatting will take MUCH longer if you don't select the quick option. Luckily there is a progress bar that shows the format progress.

After formatting the partition, setup will start copying a bunch of files to it. Essentially it is setting up what it needs to boot a bare bones version of windows so it can finish configuring hardware and other items in a less restricted environment.

When it is done copying files, the computer will reboot. To reboot sooner, press the enter key.

When the computer reboots, ignore the "Press a key to boot from CD..." message. It will look like Windows is starting up. Setup is only half done at this point, however.

Installing Windows
Part 2 - Graphical Phase
Windows boots into what is called the Windows Preinstall Environment. There it has more control over the system and can more easily install drivers for devices and set up other settings. There is also support for windows objects and a mouse in this phase.

Most of this phase is non-interactive. There are a bunch of screens that will display on the right. I guess that is to hold your attention while windows is installing itself. The estimated time is fairly accurate, but it depends largely on your hardware and how long it waits for your response for the interactive parts.

At this screen, you can change your regional and language options. If you want another language than US English, then select it. This and all other settings set in the graphical portion of Windows Setup can be changed later after Windows is installed.

Put whatever you want for your name and Organization. These values will show up in the "registered to" section of the system control panel. After windows is installed, they can be changed by editing the registry.

If you have a normal edition (OEM or retail) of Windows XP, then it will ask for the CD key. If you have the corporate edition, it will not ask for one. You can get this from the sticker on the side of your computer if you purchased it pre-installed (OEM). It can be found in the packaging if you purchased it in a store (retail). A retail key will not work with an OEM CD and vice versa.

Now, select a name for you computer. Sometimes setup will select one for you, but it can be kind of cryptic. Choose an administrator password as well. You don't have to choose an admin password, but if you don't then anybody with physical access to you computer can do anything that they want with it.

Now, select the date and time settings.

If you want to manually configure your network settings, select the "custom" radio button, otherwise leave it at "typical" and click the "next' button.

If your computer is going to be part of a domain, you can choose that domain here. Most home users can just leave these settings how they are and select "next".

Now the setup program will finish installing Windows. A few more screens will cycle through to keep you "entertained" while it is working.

After setup completes, Windows will load and you will see the Welcome screen. Select "Admin" or "Administrator" and type in your password to get a look at the desktop.

The next thing to do is to install all your device drivers. The network drivers are most important, followed by the display drivers. If moving around windows is choppy, that means you need to install your display drivers.

After the drivers are installed, you can restore your important data that you backed up previously. Then you can proceed to install your programs and configure the system the way you like it. I recommend only reinstalling the programs that you had when you have a need for them, as the less programs you have installed, the faster Windows will boot. A virus scanning program and a secure browser such as Firefox or Opera are the first programs you should install.

That's it for this tutorial. If you have any questions about your specific situation or configuration, ask here or send me an email and I'll see what I can do to help you out.

Want to Block all Advertisements in a Web Page?

2010-04-22T09:01:00.003+05:30

Annoyed of 3/4th of a web page filled with advertisements?

Want to block them all? Well, use Adblock Plus - Addon for Mozilla Firefox.

Install Mozilla Firefox (http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/) if you have not installed so far to use Adblock Plus Addon.

Once you have installed Mozilla Firefox, setting up Adblock Plus is a very easy thing.

Steps Involved:-

1) Go to http://adblockplus.org/en/ and click Install Adblock Plus

2) Click Install Adblock Plus 1.1.3

3) Click "Allow" on the yellow bar that you see below the address bar of the Mozilla Firefox.

4) Then click "Install Now" and installation of Adblock Plus will commence.

5) Click "Restart Firefox" and now it's time to select the Subscription List (Don't worry - It is FREE) which is the most important step. You can also update the subscription list every now and then which contains the definitions and database of advertisements and their links.

6) Click "Easylist (USA)" if you have English Language set up in your Windows. Other users, choose corresponding Subscription List that are available.

Now, try browsing the same site which was full of ads. You will surely notice the difference.

You can also manually block an advertisement by right clicking the advertisement and choosing Adblock Plus: Block Image.

Solution to "This file is in use by another user / process"

2010-04-22T08:23:00.002+05:30

Ever wondered why you get this popup message "This file is in use by another user / process" when you are trying to delete a file / rename a file.

The reason is quite simple. Some processes are currently accessing your file. The "some processes" usually are explorer.exe or your antivirus / internet security solution which tries to scan the file for viruses resulting in the above error message.

So want to find which process is locking your file? Well, here is the solution - Lockhunter

LockHunter is a foolproof file unlocker - more importantly - a freeware tool.

It is a free tool to delete files blocked by something you do not know. LockHunter is useful for fighting against malware, and other programs that are blocking files without a reason. Unlike other similar tools it deletes files into the recycle bin so you may restore them if deleted by mistake.

Key Features:-

* Shows processes locking a file or folder
* Allows to unlock, delete, copy or rename a locked file
* Allows to kill locking process
* Allows to remove locking processes from hard drive
* Integrates in to Explorer menu
* It deletes files into the recycle bin, so you may restore them if deleted by mistake
* Supports both 32 and 64bit Windows

Courtesy : http://lockhunter.com/

You can download the tool from http://lockhunter.com/lockhuntersetup32.exe

Make your Computer Fresh & Clean with CCleaner (Freeware)

2009-08-01T23:55:00.005+05:30

Tired of seeing the URL history, Downloads history, Temporary Files?

Want to make your computer look like how it used to be after a fresh format?

If your answer is Yes for the above questions, your tool is CCleaner.
If Optimization and Privacy are your headaches, CCleaner is your medicine.

This tool can wipe off history of Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, Windows, and even third party applications. It can also be used to clean unused and old entries from Registry and invalid shortcuts. In a nutshell, it cleans traces of all your online activities. Above all, it can do all these things in seconds which makes it the best.

Since unused and invalid files are removed from your system, Windows run much faster and also saves your Hard disk space.

You can download CCleaner from http://www.ccleaner.com/

Adding Run Command Button to Start Menu of Windows Vista

2009-08-01T23:29:00.005+05:30

For Your Information:- Shortcut Key for Run Command Dialog box is (Windows Key + R)

Run command is not seen on the Start Menu of Windows Vista. Classic Start Menu system has been completely removed from Windows 7.

But there are users who love to see Run command in the Start Menu. Some of the users even complain for not including Run in Start Menu as Windows Search bar is slower compared to Run command.

This article will tell you how to enable the Run command button on the Start Menu using Local Policy Editor
Here are the steps to be followed:-

1) Click on Start and type in gpedit.msc on the search box and press Enter
2) Local Group Policy Editor window will be launched
3) Navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Task Bar
4) On the right pane of the window, double click on Add the Run command to the Start Menu setting.
5) In the Properties window, click on Enabled and click OK

For Windows 7 Users,

1) Right click on Start Menu and select Properties
2) Click on Customize under Start Menu tab
3) Scroll down and check Run command checkbox
4) Click Apply and click OK.

From now on, you can see your favorite Run command button on your Vista and Windows 7 Start Menu.

Online Document Viewer (.pdf, .doc, docx, .xlsx, .pptx and many more)

2009-08-01T21:28:00.004+05:30

Have you come across a situation in which you had to view a PDF or PPT file but you don't have MS Office or PDF viewer installed on the PC?

This happens most of the time and sadly you cannot ask the PC owner to install MS Office or PDF Viewer for your job.

Luckily if you have Internet access from that PC! Voila! You can view those documents for free online.

This might be a good option for emergency situation where in you don't have time to install.

View Docs Online is a website that helps you in viewing the most common type of documents in a simple and fast way.

Supported formats:- .pdf, .doc, .docx, .xls, .xlsx, .ppt, .pptx, .pps, .ps, .odt, .odp, and more

After you enter the site http://www.viewdocsonline.com/ click on the Browse button and choose the file. Then click View Document.

If you have the file already uploaded into your server, you can paste that URL and point to that file so that you need not waste time downloading it.

So next time, when you don't have the software installed to view documents, Check out View Docs Online and Enjoy!

Installing Windows XP / Vista / 7 via USB Pen Drive

2009-08-01T16:12:00.004+05:30

Are you sick of burning CDs & DVDs and protecting them from scratches?

Are you tired of typing all those commands to install Windows from USB Pen Drive?

Here is the easiest method of burning ISO images to pen drive and making it bootable.

Things you need:-
1) UltraISO - 30 day trial version can be downloaded from http://www.ezbsystems.com/ultraiso/
2) Pen Drive - 1 GB (for XP) and 4 GB (for Vista/7)
3) Windows XP / Vista / 7 ISO Image

Here is the 6 step process:-

1) Install UltraISO and click File -> Open and load the ISO file of Windows that you need to install from the corresponding location.

2) After you have loaded the ISO file into UltraISO click Bootable -> Write Disk Image

3) Select the appropriate USB Device (Eg: SanDisk Cruzer) and ensure Write Method as USB-HDD+ and press the Write button

4) There will be a Prompt saying All Data on USB Drive would be lost and Are you sure you really want to continue? Click Yes. Make sure you use a fresh pen drive (formatted) before you copy the ISO to the pen drive.

5) Then the process will start and after the process is over, eject the USB Drive from Safely Remove Hardware

6) Go to BIOS and change 1st Boot Device as USB Drive. Save your BIOS settings and restart. Congrats! Now you can install Windows XP / Vista / 7 from USB Pen Drive.

Accessing MS Office 2007 files in MS Office 2000 / XP / 2003

2009-07-31T23:47:00.009+05:30

MS Office 2007 comes up with new file extensions for Word (*.docx), Excel (*.xlsx) and Powerpoint (*.pptx). By default these extensions are not backward compatible with earlier MS Office 2000 / XP / 2003. Hence files with these new extensions cannot be opened using MS Office 2000 / XP / 2003.

As time progresses, you could find that people are moving towards MS Office 2007 as hence it is high time that a fix should be made to open those new extension files in your old MS Office.

The solution to this problem is Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack. With this pack you can can view, edit and save files in these new Office formats in earlier MS Office 2000 / XP / 2003 versions.

This compatibility pack is a separate program and hence can be uninstalled at any point of time just in case you intend to move to MS Office 2007.

You can download Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack from this link
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=941B3470-3AE9-4AEE-8F43-C6BB74CD1466&displaylang=en

In case if this link goes dead, you can google for "Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack" and download it.

Running Multiple Instances of Google Talk and Yahoo Messenger

2009-07-31T23:41:00.006+05:30

Multiple Instances of Google Talk
You may want to run more than one instance of Google Talk at once. Here is the way to do it
1) Click Start -> All Programs -> Google Talk -> Google Talk
2) Right Click Google Talk and click Properties
3) You will find this in Target
"C:\Users\Chandrasekar\AppData\Roaming\Google\Google Talk\googletalk.exe" /startmenu"
4) Append /nomutex to the link in Target
In my case, "C:\Users\Chandrasekar\AppData\Roaming\Google\Google Talk\googletalk.exe" /startmenu" /nomutex
5) Now click Google Talk again and you would see that an another instance of Google Talk will open. You can open as many instances you want.

Multiple Instances of Yahoo Messenger
1) Open Notepad and paste the below content

REGEDIT4

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\yahoo\pager\Test]
"Plural"=dword:00000001

2) Save as ymultiple.reg
3) Now double click the ymultiple.reg file. Click Yes to proceed.
4) Now click Yahoo Messenger again and you would see that an another instance of Yahoo Messenger will open. You can open as many instances you want.

doPDF - Freeware - Convert your files to PDF

2009-07-31T23:33:00.006+05:30

* doPDF acts as a virtual PDF printer driver and hence after the installation it will appear in your Printers and Faxes list.

* To convert to PDF, you just have to print the document that you want to convert using virtual PDF printer.

* Open a document (with MS Word, Notepad or any other software), choose Print and in select printer select doPDF .

* It will ask you where to save the PDF file and when completed, the converted PDF file will be automatically opened in your default PDF viewer.

* You can use Foxit PDF Reader (Freeware) as your default PDF viewer or Adobe Acrobat Reader

* You can download doPDF plugin from http://www.dopdf.com

* You can download Foxit PDF Reader from http://www.foxitsoftware.com and Adobe Acrobat Reader from http://get.adobe.com/reader/

Changing Drive Letter in Windows

2009-07-31T23:11:00.006+05:30

Sometimes you may want to change the Drive Letter after Partitioning.

Here are the steps to accomplish this task:-

1) Click Start and type in compmgmt.msc in the dialog box
2) Click Disk Management which is under
3) Right click the Drive you want to change the letter and choose Change Drive Letter and Paths
4) Choose the drive and click Change button
5) From the drop down menu, choose the letter you want to assign and Click OK.

Manually removing Newfolder.exe / regsvr.exe / autorun.inf Virus

2009-07-31T21:43:00.006+05:30

1) Handling autorun.inf
(a) Search for autorun.inf file on each drives. It is a read only file. Right click on the file and select Properties and uncheck the read only option.
(b) Open the autorun.inf file in notepad and erase all the contents and save the file
(c) After you save the file, restore the permissions of the file to read only by checking the read only option
(d) Click Start and type in msconfig
(e) Go to startup tab. Look for regsvr and uncheck the option and click OK
(f) Click on "Exit without restart"
(g) Navigate to Control Panel and double click Scheduled Tasks and delete all irrelevant tasks listed there.

2) Gaining back access to registry
(a) Click on Start and type in gpedit.msc in the run dialog box
(b) Navigate to User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System
(c) Find "Prevent Access to Registry Editing Tools" and double click it and change the option to Disabled
(d) The above 3 steps can make you gain back access to the registry which was blocked previously

3) Eradicating the infected entries through registry editor
(a) Click on Start and type in regedit in the run dialog box
(b) Go to Edit and click Find (Ctrl + F)
(c) Search for regsvr.exe and edit / delete all the entries in the registry that contain regsvr.exe
(d) Remember that regsvr32 is a OS dependent file and hence regsvr32 should not be deleted
(e) regsvr.exe will be found after explorer.exe in most of the cases. In such cases, delete that regsvr.exe part alone from the entry. Eg: Shell = "Explorer.exe regsvr.exe"
Replace it with Shell = "Explorer.exe"

4) Eradicating the infected files through Search
(a) Click Start -> Search -> For files and folders
(b) Input "*.exe" in filename to search
(c) Click on "When it was modified" and select the specify date option and input today's date. Eg: From Date as 6/31/2009 and To Date as 6/31/2009
(d) Now hit the search button and permanently delete (shift+del) the exe files which looks suspicious to you. Eg: regsvr.exe, svchost .exe (There will be an extra space between svchost and .exe which is the infected file)
(e) Do not delete all the files of a sudden. Delete in small bunches.

5) Restart your computer

6) If the autorun.inf files still reside in your system even after following the above 5 steps try this last step. The last best thing to do is to boot into Safe Mode and then go to Command prompt. Then go to each drive (C:, D:, E:, F:, etc) and type in the following commands:-
c:\>attrib -a -s -h -r autorun.inf
c:\>del autorun.inf
d:\>attrib -a -s -h -r autorun.inf
d:\>del autorun.inf
do the same process on all drives by replacing drive letters.

Fixing Power Calibration Error while burning CD/DVDs

2009-07-31T21:16:00.005+05:30

The reason for "Power Calibration Error" is that burning software could not determine the exact calibration rate for burning the DVD. Hence, if you experience "Power Calibration Error" while burning CD/DVD's, here are the few possible solutions that you can try with.

1) Try using a different brand of blank media such as Sony, Moserbaer, Verbatim, etc. Sometimes cheap brand can be the cause of this error.

2) Try burning the CD / DVD at lower speeds say 24x for CD and 8x for DVD

3) Disabling IMAPI Service (Works only on Windows XP as Windows Vista / 7 does not have IMAPI Service running)

Click Start and type in services.msc in the run dialog box
Search for IMAPI CD-Burning COM Service, Right-click on the service & select Properties
Click Stop if the service is running and then change Startup type to Disabled
Click Apply and restart your system

4) Try changing your CD/DVD burning software. There are lot of CD / DVD burning softwares such as Ashampoo Burning Studio, Cyberlink Power2Go and Nero. My personal favorite is Cyberlink Power2Go because the interface is very user friendly and attractive.

5) Try upgrading your burner's firmware

If your problem persists, then it is a hardware issue and hence you are advised to clean burner laser lens by a professional.

Shutdown XP Faster in Seconds

2009-07-31T20:45:00.004+05:30

Click Start and type in regedit in the run dialog box

Navigate to the following registry keys and make the respective changes:-

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
Double Click WaitToKillServiceTimeout and change the value data to 1000
Double Click HungAppTimeout and change the value data to 1000
Double Click AutoEndTasks and change the value data to 1

HKEY_USERS\Control Panel\Desktop
Double Click WaitToKillServiceTimeout and change the value data to 1000
Double Click HungAppTimeout and change the value data to 1000
Double Click AutoEndTasks and change the value data to 1

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control
Double Click WaitToKillServiceTimeout and change the value data to 1000

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\ControlSet001\Control
Double Click WaitToKillServiceTimeout and change the value data to 1000

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\ControlSet002\Control
Double Click WaitToKillServiceTimeout and change the value data to 1000

The lowest data Windows will recognize is 1000 = 1 Second

Note: This tweak will close all the current running applications in 1 second after you press the shutdown key. So if an application is in the process of saving data, the associate service may be stopped prematurely which can cause data loss. Hence it is advisable to shutdown after you close all the applications and save the documents. This tweak will terminate application threads which could not be shut down by the user which causes prolonging of shutdown time. Hence, Shutdown time is tremendously reduced by applying this tweak.

ExtractNow - Freeware for Decompressing files

2009-07-31T19:15:00.005+05:30

ExtractNow can serve as a free alternative to commercial applications like Winzip and Winrar.
It is a simple utility that extracts multiple archives quickly and easily.

Features:-
* Supports ZIP, RAR, ISO, BIN, IMG, IMA, IMZ, 7Z, ACE, GZ, LHA, TAR, SIT archive formats
* Drag and drop files or folders from Windows Explorer to extract them
* Simple user interface and sleek design in a small package
* Recursively search through folders for archives (Just drag and drop them)
* Delete files or close program after extraction options

* Windows explorer file associations for all supported archive types
* Extract files into current directory, named folder, or favorite folder of choice
* System tray icon on Minimize and Always on top features
* Integrates with Windows Explorer via special context menu items

You can download ExtractNow from http://www.extractnow.com/

Enable Hibernation in Windows Vista / Windows 7

2009-07-31T18:25:00.003+05:30

Hibernation is turned off in Windows Vista / Windows 7 by default. Here are the steps to turn on Hibernation.

Just open up an administrative level command prompt.

This can be done by clicking Start and then type in cmd

Right click cmd that comes below Programs and click "Run as Administrator"

After you get into command prompt type in
powercfg -h ON and hit the Enter key

Then click Start and type in Power Options and press Enter

Click Change Plan Settings of Balanced (Recommended)

Then click Change Advanced Power Settings

Expand Sleep and further Expand Allow Hybrid Sleep and change that setting to Off

Press Apply and click OK

To make Hibernation as the default Power button action:-

Right Click on Start button and click Properties

Click Start Menu tab and change Power Button Action to Hibernate.

Click Apply

Enabling Telnet Client in Windows Vista / Windows 7

2009-07-31T18:10:00.005+05:30

By default, Telnet Client is not installed in Windows Vista / Windows 7.

The Telnet Client is required for remote access. It can be installed through the following steps:-

1) Click Start and click Computer

2) Click Uninstall or change a program tab on the top

3) Click Turn Windows features on or off on the left and wait for few seconds.

4) Do not check or uncheck items which are not known to you. Unchecking the checked items can cause uninstallation of the service. Hence be careful during checking and unchecking in checkbox.
Enable check on "Telnet Client" and click OK. A dialog box will confirm the installation.

Fixing Slow Tab Issue in Internet Explorer 8

2009-07-31T18:02:00.005+05:30

For those users who are experiences slowness while opening new tabs, here is the way to fix it.

Just open up an administrative level command prompt.

This can be done by clicking Start and then type in cmd

Right click cmd that comes below Programs and click "Run as Administrator"

After you get into command prompt, type in regsvr32 actxprxy.dll and hit the Enter

This problem occurs because the above named dll file is not registered properly. Executing the above command can fix it. Reboot your computer and the tab issue will be solved.

Fireup Mozilla Firefox to increase Speed

2009-07-31T17:54:00.004+05:30

Type about:config in the address bar and press Enter

You will see a warning. Just ignore it and click "I will be careful, I promise"

Make the following changes to the values:-

network.prefetch-next = false
network.http.sendRefererHeader = 0
network.http.max-connections = 64
network.http.max-connections-per-server= 20
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server= 10
network.http.pipelining = true
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests = 20 or 30 (choose one)
network.http.request.max-start-delay = 0
Network.dns.disableIPv6 = true
config.trim_on_minimize = true
network.prefetch-next = false

New Integer Values to be created:
nglayout.initialpaint.delay = 0
content.max.tokenizing.time = 2250000
content.notify.interval = 750000
content.notify.backoffcount = 5
content.switch.threshold = 750000

Optional:
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy = 10
network.http.proxy.pipelining = true
network.http.proxy.version = 1.0

New Boolean Values to be created:
content.interrupt.parsing = true
content.notify.ontimer = true

Fix Memory Leak of Mozilla Firefox
Change the integer value of browser.cache.memory.capacity according to your memory requirements. If you don't want Firefox to exceed 16 MB then give the integer value as
16*1024KB = 16384
browser.cache.memory.capacity = 16384
If you have very good capacity of RAM on your system, you can give an increased value of say 32 MB or 64 MB

Disabling Animations during Maximize / Minimize to improve Speed

2009-07-31T17:48:00.004+05:30

Use this tweak to avoid the unnecessary delay which is created while you minimize and maximize windows in Windows Vista & Windows 7

It will make your computer faster and better.

Click on the Start Button and type SystemPropertiesPerformance and press Enter

On the Visual Effects tab locate and uncheck "Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing"

And then click OK

Tested on Windows Vista & Windows 7

Enable Write Caching to Improve SATA Disk Performance

2009-07-31T16:46:00.006+05:30

If you have a SATA disk drive on your computer, you can improve the performance out of your drive by applying the following tweak. This enhances the performance of your hard disk by improving write caching.

It is highly recommended that you apply this tweak only if your computer is connected to a backup power supply in case of a power failure or if your computer is a laptop. Else this tweak can cause you data loss or corruption.

Click Start and in Run type devmgmt.msc

This will take you to Device Manager.

Expand Disk Drives

Right Click on the SATA Hard Disk Drive (Eg: ST3160815AS) which is listed and click Properties.

Click the Policies tab and check "Enable Write Caching on this device" and uncheck "Turn off Windows write-cache buffer flushing on the device"

If you are using Windows XP, then check "Enable Write Caching on this device" as the second option will not be available.

Tested on Windows XP, Vista, 7

Recover / Get Back 20 Percent of your Available Bandwidth

2009-07-31T16:37:00.007+05:30

Microsoft uses 20% of your available bandwidth for their own purposes.

Here's the way to get it back:-

Click Start -> Run -> type "gpedit.msc" (Do not include double quotes)

Group Policy Editor gets opened once you execute the above command.

Click Administrative Templates on your left which is under Computer Configuration

Then double click Network on your right and then double click QoS Packet Scheduler

Double Click Limit Reservable Bandwidth

Click the radio button Enabled and change Bandwidth Limit(%) from 20 to 0

You can read the explanation which tells you that

"By default, the Packet Scheduler limits the system to 20 percent of the bandwidth of a connection, but you can use this setting to override the default."

In Short:-

Local Computer Policy-->Computer Configuration-->Administrative Templates-->Network-->QoS Packet Scheduler-->Limit Reservable Bandwidth

Tested on Windows XP Pro, Vista, 7