Computer Tips & Tricks

Show Hidden Files and Folders Not Working?

noreply@blogger.com (Vignesh.B) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:34:00 +0000

Show Hidden Files and Folders not working?..... If we selecte the radio button “Show hidden files and folders” and then press Ok.. the changes would just disappear upon opening the dialog again. It was probably some virus attack after which the Windows registry was not being updated properly. So here is what methods to restore it back. There are so many methods to restore back the registry. If one method is not working, please try another one.

Go to registry editor by running regedit in the run box.

Go to this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\
Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

In the right hand area, double click hidden and change the value to 1.

Now you’re all set to go. Check it in your tools menu if the changes have taken effect.

Speedup Your Folder Browsing

noreply@blogger.com (Vignesh.B) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:31:00 +0000

You may have noticed that everytime you open my computer to browse folders that there is a slight delay. This is because Windows XP automatically searches for network files and printers everytime you open Windows Explorer. To fix this and to increase browsing significantly:

1. Open My Computer
2. Click on Tools menu
3. Click on Folder Options
4. Click on the View tab.
5. Uncheck the Automatically search for network folders and printers check box
6. Click Apply
7. Click Ok
8. Reboot your computer

Photoshop Shortcut Keys

noreply@blogger.com (Vignesh.B) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 17:24:00 +0000

File Menu shortcuts

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S Save the opened document for Web

Ctrl+Shift+P To change Page Setup for printing

Alt+Ctrl+P Print the opened document with preview

Alt+Shift+Ctrl+I To display the info of opened file

Ctrl+Q Used to exit from adobe Photoshop

Edit Menu shortcuts

Ctrl+Z To undo/redo the last changes

Alt+Ctrl+Z                     Go to one step backward

Shift+Ctrl+Z                  Go to one step forward

Ctrl+X or F2                  Used to cut the selected area

Ctrl+C or F3                  Used to copy the selected area

Ctrl+V or F4                  Used to Paste the copied value

Image Menu shortcuts

Ctrl+L                          To adjust the color levels

Alt+Shift+Ctrl+L             To adjust the auto Contrast

Ctrl+B                          Used to adjust the Color and Tone balance

Ctrl+U                          Used to adjust the Hue/Saturation

Ctrl+Alt+X                     Used to Extract the selected area

Ctrl+I                           Used to Invert

Layer Menu Shortcuts

Ctrl+N                           Used to insert new Layer

Ctrl+J                            Used to move Layer via copy

Ctrl+Shift+J                    Used to move Layer via cut

Ctrl+G                           To create the Group of layers

Shift+Ctrl+G                   To create the ungroup of layers

Ctrl+E                            Used to Merge the Layers

Ctrl+Shift+E                    Used to Merge Visible

Select Menu Shortcuts

Ctrl+A                           Used to select all

Ctrl+D                           Used to deselect all

Alt+Ctrl+A                      Used to select all layers

Shift+Ctrl+D                    Used to reselect

Filter Menu Shortcuts

Alt+Ctrl+X                     Used to extract the selected image

Shift+Ctrl+X                  Used to Liquify the selected image

Alt+Shift+Ctrl+X             To create the Pattern Preview

Ctrl+F                           Used to view the last Filter

Filter Menu Shortcuts

Ctrl++ or Ctrl+=           Used to apply Zoom in

Ctrl+-                        Used to apply Zoom out

Ctrl+0                        Used to view as Fit on screen

Ctrl+R                        Used to display the Rulers

F9                             Used to display the Actions panel

F5                             Used to display the Brushes panel

F6                             Used to display the Color panel

Hiding Icons

noreply@blogger.com (Vignesh.B) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:03:00 +0000

Some computer users like to see icons on the desktop of their computer, meanwhile some others don't. If you are a user who doesn't like to see the icons on the desktop of your computer, you can hide those icons.

To hide the icons, you can do the following things:

Click Start - Run.
Type "regedit".
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.
Right-click on the right side of Registry Editor window and choose DWORD value.
Type a new value name "NoDesktop".
Right-click this new value name and click Modify.
Type "1" on the value data to hide the icons.
Click OK.
Restart your computer.

Hide Taskbar

noreply@blogger.com (Vignesh.B) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:01:00 +0000

The taskbar can be hidden by doing the following steps:

Right-click the taskbar.
Click Properties.
Check Auto-hide the taskbar.
Click OK.

If you want to display the taskbar again, just put the mouse pointer on the hidden taskbar or press the Windows button on the keyboard.

Shortcut Icons without Name

noreply@blogger.com (Vignesh.B) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:00:00 +0000

If you see the desktop of your computer, there are several shortcut icons with texts below them. The texts are usually the names of the programs.

Now we are going to omit the texts. Follow these steps:

Click the shortcut icon.
Press F2 button.
Erase the texts.
Press Alt button and type 0160 on the numlock.

Ok... now you can check your icons. The text disappears, doesn't it?

Low space disk warning

noreply@blogger.com (Vignesh.B) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:54:00 +0000

When the space of your hard disk is low, Windows will usually give "low disk space" warning on the system tray. This warning sometimes disturbs us. To stop this warning from appearing, do the following steps:

Click Start - Run.
Type "regedit".
Go to HKEY_CURRENT USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer.
On the right window of registry editor, right-click the empty space.
Choose New - DWORD Value.
Type the value name "NoLowDiskSpace" and press Enter.
Right-click the new key you've made and choose Modify.
On the Value Data type the number "1".
Press OK.
Restart your computer.

Top tips to keep your system faster

noreply@blogger.com (Vignesh.B) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 12:29:00 +0000

Wallpapers: It slows your system so don't use animation wallpapers.

Drivers: Update your drivers as frequently as possible

Minimizing: If your are using multiple programs at a time, then minimize those you are not using.

Boot Faster: Don't include more programs at startup

Restart Only Windows: When restarting your PC, hold down shift to restart only windows rather than whole system which will take a fraction of time.

Turn Off Animations: Turn off the animations from Display settings.

Resolutions: Decrease your system resolution as low as possible.

De fragment: Do this process often

Random Access Memory(RAM): Use minimum 1GB RAM.

Microsoft Surface Demo

noreply@blogger.com (Vignesh.B) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:39:00 +0000

Microsoft - The Possibilities

noreply@blogger.com (Vignesh.B) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:29:00 +0000

How to download youtube videos?

noreply@blogger.com (Vignesh.B) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:58:00 +0000

Go to www.keepvid.com
Place the URL of the video in text box.
Click Download Button.

How to speed up the system?

noreply@blogger.com (Vignesh.B) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:43:00 +0000

By following a few simple guidelines, you can maintain your computer and keep it running smoothly. This article discusses how to use the tools available in Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) and Windows Vista to more efficiently maintain your computer and safeguard your privacy when you're online.

1. Free up disk space

By freeing disk space, you can improve the performance of your computer. The Disk Cleanup tool helps you free up space on your hard disk. The utility identifies files that you can safely delete, and then enables you to choose whether you want to delete some or all of the identified files.
Use Disk Cleanup to:

Remove temporary Internet files.
Remove downloaded program files (such as Microsoft ActiveX controls and Java applets).
Empty the Recycle Bin.
Remove Windows temporary files.
Remove optional Windows components that you don't use.
Remove installed programs that you no longer use.

Tip: Typically, temporary Internet files take the most amount of space because the browser caches each page you visit for faster access later.

To use Disk Cleanup

Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup. If several drives are available, you might be prompted to specify which drive you want to clean.
In the Disk Cleanup for dialog box, scroll through the content of the Files to delete list.

Choose the files that you want to delete.
Clear the check boxes for files that you don't want to delete, and then clickOK.
When prompted to confirm that you want to delete the specified files, clickYes.

After a few minutes, the process completes and the Disk Cleanup dialog box closes, leaving your computer cleaner and performing better.

2. Speed up access to data

Disk fragmentation slows the overall performance of your system. When files are fragmented, the computer must search the hard disk when the file is opened to piece it back together. The response time can be significantly longer.

Disk Defragmenter is a Windows utility that consolidates fragmented files and folders on your computer's hard disk so that each occupies a single space on the disk. With your files stored neatly end-to-end, without fragmentation, reading and writing to the disk speeds up.

When to run Disk Defragmenter
In addition to running Disk Defragmenter at regular intervals—monthly is optimal—there are other times you should run it too, such as when:

You add a large number of files.
Your free disk space totals 15 percent or less.
You install new programs or a new version of Windows.

To use Disk Defragmenter:

Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Defragmenter.

Click Analyze to start the Disk Defragmenter.
In the Disk Defragmenter dialog box, click the drives that you want to defragment, and then click the Analyze button. After the disk is analyzed, a dialog box appears, letting you know whether you should defragment the analyzed drives.
Tip: You should analyze a volume before defragmenting it to get an estimate of how long the defragmentation process will take.
To defragment the selected drive or drives, click the Defragment button. Note: In Windows Vista, there is no graphical user interface to demonstrate the progress—but your hard drive is still being defragmented.
After the defragmentation is complete, Disk Defragmenter displays the results.
To display detailed information about the defragmented disk or partition, clickView Report.
To close the View Report dialog box, click Close.
To close the Disk Defragmenter utility, click the Close button on the title bar of the window.

3. Detect and repair disk errors

In addition to running Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter to optimize the performance of your computer, you can check the integrity of the files stored on your hard disk by running the Error Checking utility.

As you use your hard drive, it can develop bad sectors. Bad sectors slow down hard disk performance and sometimes make data writing (such as file saving) difficult, or even impossible. The Error Checking utility scans the hard drive for bad sectors, and scans for file system errors to see whether certain files or folders are misplaced.

If you use your computer daily, you should run this utility once a week to help prevent data loss.

To run the Error Checking utility:

Close all open files.
Click Start, and then click My Computer.
In the My Computer window, right-click the hard disk you want to search for bad sectors, and then click Properties.
In the Properties dialog box, click the Tools tab.
Click the Check Now button.
In the Check Disk dialog box, select the Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors check box, and then click Start.
If bad sectors are found, choose to fix them.

Tip: Only select the "Automatically fix file system errors" check box if you think that your disk contains bad sectors.

4. Protect your computer against spyware

Spyware collects personal information without letting you know and without asking for permission. From the Web sites you visit to usernames and passwords, spyware can put you and your confidential information at risk. In addition to privacy concerns, spyware can hamper your computer's performance. To combat spyware, you might want to consider using Microsoft Windows Defender, which is included in Windows Vista, and is available as a free download for Microsoft XP SP2. Alternatively, there are other free anti-spyware software programs available.

5. Learn all about ReadyBoost

If you're using Windows Vista, you can use ReadyBoost to speed up your system. A new concept in adding memory to a system, it allows you to use non-volatile flash memory—like a USB flash drive or a memory card—to improve performance without having to add additional memory.

noreply@blogger.com (Vignesh.B) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 12:27:00 +0000

This trick shows you how to share your internet connections on multiple computers within a workgroup with Windows XP. Windows XP has a built-in feature that called "Internet Connection Sharing" (ICS) that allows home users to share their internet connections on multiple computers.
If you are not familiar with the network configurations, the easiest way to share your internet connection is to purchase a router or hub. Use this trick only if you don't have a router, or don't want to use a router, or if you just want to try out the feature.
A simple way to understand this feature is, you are making your host computer (the computer directly connects to the internet) functioning as a router for other computers.

What do you need?

A "Host" computer that running Windows XP. This computer must have at least TWO (2) network adapters. One adapter - let's call it "Adapter #1" - connects to the internet and another, "Adapter #2", connects to a hub or directly to other computers.
Client computer(s), which run any version of Windows. A client computer can be connected to the host computer directly by a cross-over cable or indirectly through a hub.
This trick assumes that the host computer is connected to the internet and you are able to access the internet on this computer.

Configure the Host Computer

Logon the host computer as Administrator.
Click Start >> Control Panel.
Click Network and Internet Connections.
Click Network Connections.
Right-click the connection that you use to connect to the internet (the connection with Adapter #1). This connection can be either a high-speed internet connection or a dial-up connection.
Click Properties.
Click Advanced tab.
Under Internet Connection Sharing, select the Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection check box.
If you are sharing a dial-up Internet connection, select the Establish a dial-up connection whenever a computer on my network attempts to access the Internet check box if you want to permit your computer to automatically connect to the Internet.
Click OK. You'll reieve the following message:
When Internet Connection Sharing is enabled, your LAN adapter will be set to use IP address 192.168.0.1. Your computer may lose connectivity with other computers on your network. If these other computers have static IP addresses, it is a good idea to set them to obtain their IP addresses automatically. Are you sure you want to enable Internet Connection Sharing?
Click Yes.

Configure the Client Computer(s)
To use the shared connection from the Host computer, a client computer must be configured with "Automatic IP address". The main configurations are:

Configure TCP/IP Automatic IP
Configure Internet Connection

The steps for the above two configurations are vary on different versions of Windows.
The following procedures are for Windows XP client computers.

Log on to the client computer as Administrator or as Owner.
Click Start >> Control Panel.
Click Network and Internet Connections.
Click Network Connections.
Right-click Local Area Connection, and then click Properties.
Click the General tab, click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) in the This connection uses the following items list, and then click Properties.
In the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties dialog box, click Obtain an IP address automatically (if it is not already selected), and then click OK.
Click Start >> Control Panel
Click Network and Internet Connections.
Click Internet Options.
In the Internet Properties dialog box, click the Connections tab.
Click the Setup button. The New Connection Wizard starts.
On the Welcome to the New Connection Wizard page, click Next.
Click Connect to the Internet, and then click Next.
Click Set up my connection manually, and then click Next.
Click Connect using a broadband connection that is always on, and then click Next.
On the Completing the New Connection Wizard page, click Finish.
Exit Control Panel and test the internet. You might need to restart the computer.

How to create folder without file name?

noreply@blogger.com (Vignesh.B) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:59:00 +0000

Do you think creating a folder without name in Windows is possible??
If you say NO, then here is the procedure for proving that you can create a folder without name in windows.

Just create a new folder in Windows. If you don’t name it windows by default name it to be New Folder, even if you give space it will show New folder only as the name. So now just edit the folder name. Delete the New Folder, and type 255 (on the Num Lock pad)in keyboard by pressing the alt key. Then hit enter. It will create a folder without name in Windows. Hows that???? if you don't believe it try it your self

How to rename recycle bin?

noreply@blogger.com (Vignesh.B) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 17:18:00 +0000

Click Start / Run
Type regedit and press enter.
Open the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT folder
Open the CLSID folder
Open the {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} folder
Open the ShellFolder folder
Change the Attributes data value from 40 01 00 20 to 50 01 00 20. Once completed change the CallForAttributes dword value to 0x00000000 (double-click and change value data to 0). You must change both of these values to get the rename to appear.

After performing the above steps you will be able to rename the icon like any other icon. Right-click the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop and click Rename and rename it to whatever you wish.