Free trick and tips for Win7Vista

Disable IE 8 Thumbnail Previews on Windows 7 Taskbar

2012-08-14T00:04:00.000-07:00

The Aero thumbnail previews are a great new feature, but if you are not a fan of the flashy eye-candy, you can get rid of them with a simple tweak. Here is how to do it.BeforeHere we are…Internet Explorer 8 with a lot of How-To Geek Network goodness ready to go.The Taskbar Thumbnail Previews look very nice, but perhaps they take up too much room for those of

Make Your Mouse Pointers Left-hand Friendly

2012-08-13T00:04:00.002-07:00

It’s a right-centric world, with everything from pencils to computer mice expecting you to be right-handed. Here’s how you can train your mouse and cursors in Windows 7 and Vista to respect your left-handedness.Using your Left Hand the Right WayIt’s easy to switch your mouse to left-handed mode. Enter “mouse” in your Start menu search, and select

How To Figure Out Your PC's Host Name From the Command Prompt

2012-08-13T00:04:00.001-07:00

If you're doing any work with networking, you probably need to know the name of your computer. Rather than diving into Control Panel, there's a really simple way to do this from the command prompt.Note: If you haven't already, be sure to read our complete guide to networking Windows 7 with XP and Vista.To see the hostname… all you have to do is type

Wipe, Delete, and Securely Destroy Your Hard Drive's Data the Easy Way

2012-08-13T00:04:00.000-07:00

Giving a computer to somebody else? Maybe you're putting it out on Craigslist to sell to a stranger—either way, you'll want to make sure that your drive is completely wiped, scrubbed, and clean of any personal data. Here's the easy way to do it.If you only have access to an Ubuntu Live CD or thumb drive, you can actually use that instead if you prefer, and

How To Uninstall, Disable, and Remove Windows Defender. Also, How Turn it Off

2012-08-12T00:04:00.002-07:00

If you're already running a full anti-malware suite, you might not even realize that Windows Defender is already installed with Windows, and is probably wasting precious resources. Here's how to get rid of it.Now, just to be clear, we're not saying that we hate Windows Defender. Some spyware protection is better than none, and it's built in and free! But…

Open a File Browser From Your Current Command Prompt/Terminal Directory

2012-08-12T00:04:00.001-07:00

Ever been doing some work at the command line when you realized… it would be a lot easier if I could just use the mouse for this task? One command later, you'll have a window open to the same place that you're at.This same tip works in more than one operating system, so we'll detail how to do it in every way we know how.Open a File Browser in

Display a Text Message During Bootup of Windows 7

2012-08-12T00:04:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you might want to leave a text message for a user before they log into a Windows 7 computer. Today we show you a neat trick that allows you to leave a message they can read before logging in.Add a Text MessageTo add a message, click on Start and enter regedit into the Search box and hit Enter. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows

Create a Slide Show in Windows 7 Media Center

2012-08-11T00:04:00.002-07:00

Are you looking for a nice way to create and display a slide show from your photo collection? Today we’ll show you how to create a slide show, how to add music to it, and watch it from the comfort of your couch in Windows 7 Media Center.Create Slide ShowLaunch Windows 7 Media Center and click on the Picture Library tile found under Pictures and Videos. In

Update Metadata and Cover Art in Windows Media Player 12

2012-08-11T00:04:00.001-07:00

If you use Windows Media Player 12 in Windows 7, you may notice some of your media is missing information when displayed in the library. Today we look at how to edit and update metadata and cover art in WMP 12.By default, Windows Media Player will pull metadata, such as the title, artist, album, and cover art from the Internet. If you did not accept that

Uninstall, Disable, or Remove Windows 7 Media Center

2012-08-11T00:04:00.000-07:00

Although Windows 7 Media Center has improved a lot over previous versions of Windows, but you might want to disable it for different reasons. Here we take a look at a couple of methods to get rid of it.There are a variety of reasons you might want to disable Windows 7 Media Center. Maybe you own a business and don’t want it to run on the machines. Or perhaps

Change the User Interface Language in Vista or Windows 7

2012-08-10T00:04:00.002-07:00

Would you like to change the user interface language in any edition of Windows 7 or Vista on your computer? Here’s a free app that can help you do this quickly and easily.If your native language is not the one most spoken in your area, you’ve likely purchased a PC with Windows preinstalled with a language that is difficult or impossible for you to use.&

Boost Netbook Speed with an SD Card & ReadyBoost

2012-08-10T00:04:00.001-07:00

Looking for a way to increase the performance of your netbook? Here’s how you can use a standard SD memory card or a USB flash drive to boost performance with ReadyBoost.Most netbooks ship with 1Gb of Ram, and many older netbooks shipped with even less. Even if you want to add more ram, often they can only be upgraded to a max of 2GB. With

Complete Guide to Networking Windows 7 with XP and Vista

2012-08-10T00:04:00.000-07:00

Since there are three versions of Windows out in the field these days, chances are you need to share data between them. Today we show how to get each version to be share files and printers with one another.In a perfect world, getting your computers with different Microsoft operating systems to network would be as easy as clicking a button. With the Windows 7

Fix Windows Computer Problems with Microsoft Fix it Center

2012-08-09T00:04:00.002-07:00

Fixing computer problems can often be difficult, but Microsoft is aiming to make it as simple as a couple clicks with. Here’s how you can easily fix computer problems with Microsoft’s new Fix it Center Beta.Last year Microsoft began offering small Fix it scripts that you could download and run to help solve common computer problems automatically.

How to Restore the Real Internet Explorer Desktop Icon in Windows 7

2012-08-09T00:04:00.001-07:00

Remember how previous versions of Windows had an Internet Explorer icon on the desktop, and you could right-click it to quickly access the Internet Options screen? It's completely gone in Windows 7, but a geeky hack can bring it back.Microsoft removed this feature to comply with all those murky legal battles they've had, and their alternate suggestion is to

Hey You! Stop Using the Apply Button and Just Click OK! [Geek Rants]

2012-08-09T00:04:00.000-07:00

As a computer geek, I often find myself helping people, and watching them change settings on their PC… and they almost always click the Apply button, and then the OK button. Why?Whenever you encounter a dialog box in Windows, there are the standard OK, Cancel, Apply buttons—but you don't actually have to click the Apply button first.The OK button does

What is hiberfil.sys and How Do I Delete It?

2012-08-08T00:04:00.002-07:00

You're no doubt reading this article because there's a gigantic hiberfil.sys file sitting in the root of your drive, and you want to get rid of it to free up some space… but you can't!Luckily, you actually can delete it, and today we'll show you how. The more memory you have in your PC, the bigger the file will be. So What is hiberfil.sys Anyway?Windows

Fix Icon Display Problems by Rebuilding the Windows 7 Thumbnail Cache

2012-08-08T00:04:00.001-07:00

Have you ever been browsing through photos or videos on your PC, and noticed that the thumbnails weren't showing up properly? Sometimes they get corrupted, and you can quickly rebuild them to fix the problem.Just for some background, let's walk through what we're talking about. Normally, when you're browsing around your files, you'll see thumbnails for

Stop Your Mouse from Waking Up Your Windows 7 Computer

2012-08-08T00:04:00.000-07:00

If you use Sleep Mode on your PC, have you ever noticed that moving your mouse will wake the computer from sleep mode? If you would prefer to only have the PC wake up when you hit a key instead, there's a simple tweak.Just type Mouse into the start menu search box, or the Control Panel search box, and then open up the Mouse Properties panel. Find the Hardware

How to Recover that Photo, Picture or File You Deleted Accidentally

2012-08-07T00:04:00.002-07:00

Have you ever accidentally deleted a photo on your camera, computer, USB drive, or anywhere else? What you might not know is that you can usually restore those pictures—even from your camera's memory stick.Windows tries to prevent you from making a big mistake by providing the Recycle Bin, where deleted files hang around for a while—but unfortunately it

Customize the Default Screensavers in Windows 7 and Vista

2012-08-07T00:04:00.001-07:00

Windows 7 and Vista include a nice set of backgrounds, but unfortunately most of them aren’t configurable by default. Thanks to a free app and some registry changes, however, you can make the default screensavers uniquely yours!Customize the default screensaversIf you’ve ever pressed the Customize button on most of the default screensavers in Windows 7

Sync Your Pidgin Profile Across Multiple PCs with Dropbox

2012-08-07T00:04:00.000-07:00

Pidgin is definitely our favorite universal chat client, but adding all of your chat accounts to multiple computers can be frustrating. Here’s how you can easily transfer your Pidgin settings to other computers and keep them in sync using Dropbox.Getting StartedMake sure you have both Pidgin and Dropbox installed on any computers you want to sync. To sync

How to Upgrade Your Netbook to Windows 7 Home Premium

2012-08-06T00:04:00.002-07:00

Would you like more features and flash in Windows on your netbook? Here’s how you can easily upgrade your netbook to Windows 7 Home Premium the easy way.Most new netbooks today ship with Windows 7 Starter, which is the cheapest edition of Windows 7. It is fine for many computing tasks, and will run all your favorite programs great, but it lacks

Make Windows Position Your Dual Monitors Correctly

2012-08-06T00:04:00.001-07:00

If you have a dual monitor setup and each monitor is a different size or height, it can be annoying trying to move the mouse pointer between them. Here is a quick tip that will help make the process easier.Align MonitorsIn our example, we’re using Windows 7, but the process is essentially the same in all versions, but getting to Display Settings is different.

Using ClearType Tuner in Windows 7

2012-08-06T00:04:00.000-07:00

Back in Windows XP there was an important Power toy created to enable ClearType for users of LCD screens. Now it’s standard in Windows 7, but you may not know about it. So let’s take a look.Access Clear Type in Windows 7Click on the Start Menu and type cleartype into the search box and hit Enter. It should be enabled by default, but if not just check the box