Posts filed under 'Microsoft'
Do you have your eyes set on a game you want to try on your Windows PC, but are afraid of not having enough processing power? Fear not- because I recently stumbled onto a site that will check to see if your PC is up for the challenge, or not. SystemRequirementslab.com features a drop-down list of the hottest PC games, for compatibility-testing on your computer.
With the use of Java, it will check your hardware, and let you know if you meet the minimum, or recommended requirements, and break it down in detail. I can imagine this being a life-saver for some of you gamers out there, so give it a try.
August 18th, 2009
There will be a time where you will need to re-install a fresh copy of Windows. It’s not if, it’s when– it’s bound to happen. You may have some bad registry records, or a nasty piece of malware– maybe you just want faster performance. Whatever the reason, you will still need to activate it again after installation.
This guide is not a helping you pirate Windows– it is for owners of a legal license, who do not want to go through the hassle of activating again through Microsoft.
The first time you activated XP it created a file called “wpa.dbl” that is stored in the WINDOWS\system32 folder. By creating a backup of this file on disk, you can simply put it back into the folder after reinstalling XP and avoid the whole re-activation hassle.
Here’s how:
1- Go to My Computer then select your Hard Drive (usually drive C). Go to the WINDOWS\system32 folder and scroll way down until you find the wpa.dbl file.
2- Right-click and copy the file, and paste it to a flash drive, or another form of backup storage.
3- Now, when you reinstall Windows XP you’ll come to the activation screen—decline to activate and let the install finish.
4- Restart your computer in Safe Mode (keep hitting F8 at start-up then when the Advanced Boot Options menu appears arrow down to Safe Mode).
5- Find your way back to the WINDOWS\system32 folder. It’s a good idea to rename the wpa.dbl file you’re replacing just in case you run into problems, so call it something like “wpa.nothing”.
6- Get the backup disk and copy the old wpa.dbl file back to the WINDOWS\system32 folder and reboot.
There you go—XP is up and running again.
P.S. Your wpa.dbl file might NOT work on another computer.
August 13th, 2009
If you want to be extra productive, then learn these keyboard shortcuts– because point-&-click is not cool. Look through this list, find the commands you frequently use, and make it a habit to use the shortcut– you’ll be glad you did.
CTRL+C (Copy)
CTRL+X (Cut)
CTRL+V (Paste)
CTRL+Z (Undo)
DELETE (Delete)
SHIFT+DELETE (Delete the selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin)
CTRL while dragging an item (Copy the selected item)
CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item (Create a shortcut to the selected item)
F2 key (Rename the selected item)
CTRL+RIGHT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word)
CTRL+LEFT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word)
CTRL+DOWN ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph)
CTRL+UP ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph)
CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Highlight a block of text)
SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text in a document)
CTRL+A (Select all)
F3 key (Search for a file or a folder)
ALT+ENTER (View the properties for the selected item)
ALT+F4 (Close the active item, or quit the active program)
ALT+ENTER (Display the properties of the selected object)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Open the shortcut menu for the active window)
CTRL+F4 (Close the active document in programs that enable you to have multiple documents open simultaneously)
ALT+TAB (Switch between the open items)
ALT+ESC (Cycle through items in the order that they had been opened)
F6 key (Cycle through the screen elements in a window or on the desktop)
F4 key (Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer)
SHIFT+F10 (Display the shortcut menu for the selected item)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the System menu for the active window)
CTRL+ESC (Display the Start menu)
ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name (Display the corresponding menu)
Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu (Perform the corresponding command)
F10 key (Activate the menu bar in the active program)
RIGHT ARROW (Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu)
LEFT ARROW (Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu)
F5 key (Update the active window)
BACKSPACE (View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer)
ESC (Cancel the current task)
SHIFT when you insert a CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive (Prevent the CD-ROM from automatically playing)
Dialog Box Keyboard Shortcuts
CTRL+TAB (Move forward through the tabs)
CTRL+SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the tabs)
TAB (Move forward through the options)
SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the options)
ALT+Underlined letter (Perform the corresponding command or select the corresponding option)
ENTER (Perform the command for the active option or button)
SPACEBAR (Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box)
Arrow keys (Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons)
F1 key (Display Help)
F4 key (Display the items in the active list)
BACKSPACE (Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box)
m*cro$oft Natural Keyboard Shortcuts
Windows Logo (Display or hide the Start menu)
Windows Logo+BREAK (Display the System Properties dialog box)
Windows Logo+D (Display the desktop)
Windows Logo+M (Minimize all of the windows)
Windows Logo+SHIFT+M (Restore the minimized windows)
Windows Logo+E (Open My Computer)
Windows Logo+F (Search for a file or a folder)
CTRL+Windows Logo+F (Search for computers)
Windows Logo+F1 (Display Windows Help)
Windows Logo+ L (Lock the keyboard)
Windows Logo+R (Open the Run dialog box)
Windows Logo+U (Open Utility Manager)
Accessibility Keyboard Shortcuts
Right SHIFT for eight seconds (Switch FilterKeys either on or off)
Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN (Switch High Contrast either on or off)
Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK (Switch the MouseKeys either on or off)
SHIFT five times (Switch the StickyKeys either on or off)
NUM LOCK for five seconds (Switch the ToggleKeys either on or off)
Windows Logo +U (Open Utility Manager)
Windows Explorer Keyboard Shortcuts
END (Display the bottom of the active window)
HOME (Display the top of the active window)
NUM LOCK+Asterisk sign (*) (Display all of the subfolders that are under the selected folder)
NUM LOCK+Plus sign (+) (Display the contents of the selected folder)
NUM LOCK+Minus sign (-) (Collapse the selected folder)
LEFT ARROW (Collapse the current selection if it is expanded, or select the parent folder)
RIGHT ARROW (Display the current selection if it is collapsed, or select the first subfolder)
Shortcut Keys for Character Map
After you double-click a character on the grid of characters, you can move through the grid by using the keyboard shortcuts:
RIGHT ARROW (Move to the right or to the beginning of the next line)
LEFT ARROW (Move to the left or to the end of the previous line)
UP ARROW (Move up one row)
DOWN ARROW (Move down one row)
PAGE UP (Move up one screen at a time)
PAGE DOWN (Move down one screen at a time)
HOME (Move to the beginning of the line)
END (Move to the end of the line)
CTRL+HOME (Move to the first character)
CTRL+END (Move to the last character)
SPACEBAR (Switch between Enlarged and Normal mode when a character is selected)
m*cro$oft Management Console (MMC) Main Window Keyboard Shortcuts
CTRL+O (Open a saved console)
CTRL+N (Open a new console)
CTRL+S (Save the open console)
CTRL+M (Add or remove a console item)
CTRL+W (Open a new window)
F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the MMC window menu)
ALT+F4 (Close the console)
ALT+A (Display the Action menu)
ALT+V (Display the View menu)
ALT+F (Display the File menu)
ALT+O (Display the Favorites menu)
MMC Console Window Keyboard Shortcuts
CTRL+P (Print the current page or active pane)
ALT+Minus sign (-) (Display the window menu for the active console window)
SHIFT+F10 (Display the Action shortcut menu for the selected item)
F1 key (Open the Help topic, if any, for the selected item)
F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)
CTRL+F10 (Maximize the active console window)
CTRL+F5 (Restore the active console window)
ALT+ENTER (Display the Properties dialog box, if any, for the selected item)
F2 key (Rename the selected item)
CTRL+F4 (Close the active console window. When a console has only one console window, this shortcut closes the console)
Remote Desktop Connection Navigation
CTRL+ALT+END (Open the m*cro$oft Windows NT Security dialog box)
ALT+PAGE UP (Switch between programs from left to right)
ALT+PAGE DOWN (Switch between programs from right to left)
ALT+INSERT (Cycle through the programs in most recently used order)
ALT+HOME (Display the Start menu)
CTRL+ALT+BREAK (Switch the client computer between a window and a full screen)
ALT+DELETE (Display the Windows menu)
CTRL+ALT+Minus sign (-) (Place a snapshot of the active window in the client on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)
CTRL+ALT+Plus sign (+) (Place a snapshot of the entire client window area on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing ALT+PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)
m*cro$oft Internet Explorer Navigation
CTRL+B (Open the Organize Favorites dialog box)
CTRL+E (Open the Search bar)
CTRL+F (Start the Find utility)
CTRL+H (Open the History bar)
CTRL+I (Open the Favorites bar)
CTRL+L (Open the Open dialog box)
CTRL+N (Start another instance of the browser with the same Web address)
CTRL+O (Open the Open dialog box, the same as CTRL+L)
CTRL+P (Open the Print dialog box)
CTRL+R (Update the current Web page)
CTRL+W (Close the current window)
August 13th, 2009
The average life span of a computer is 3 to 5 years. After that time, the computer is either obsolete (to the g33k crowd 
), or broken (bad ram, hard disk, CPU, motherboard, etc). Even though computers have gotten very inexpensive over the years- it is still a fairly large expense, especially if you go for the higher-end models.
“If a computer is badly infected with malware or has other severe security-related problems, fixing it may not be practical,” explains Ed Correia, CEO of managed service provider Sagacent Technologies. “Yes, you could clean it off, but if it’s going to take 20 hours of expert IT time to do it, it might more cost-effective to buy another one.”
This post highlights the 5 things you should try to do, in order to increase your computer’s life span and avoid buying another one. It includes useful tips from Ed Correia, CEO of Sagacent Technologies. Feel free to add your own tips in the comments section below.
1. Keep the computer free of unneeded applications. Unused or obsolete applications leave bits of code behind that can clog up your computer, eating up RAM and slowing everything down. Besides being a software problem, too much leftover code can also lead to hardware failure, by causing your hard drive to spin more than it needs to, thus wearing it down. “Your hard drive can wind up looking like Swiss cheese,” Correia says. One way to get rid of unneeded code is to use tune-up software, but Windows also has a disk cleanup feature. Make sure the system tray and registry are also free of unneeded applications.
2. Keep images of your computers. The operating system, configuration, and applications on a computer can be stored as a space-saving image, which makes it easy and quick for IT staff to restore them. Being able to re-image a computer solves the it’ll-take-so-long-to-restore-we-might-as-well-buy-a-new-one problem. And support staff can often re-image over the Internet, without even touching the computer.
3. Maximize memory. One inexpensive way to extend the life of desktop computers is to upgrade to the maximum amount of RAM possible, so the operating system does not have to use memory on the hard disk. Here again, the idea is to cut back on excess use of the hard drive, which fills in whenever RAM is overloaded. Adding memory will improve users’ experience, too, since RAM is much faster than disk.
4. Minimize dust. Heat is anathema to computer components, so when their insides fill with dust, it traps heat, causing fans to work overtime, and wear out more quickly. So don’t set a computer directly on the floor, where it will act as a stationary vacuum cleaner — even a few inches’ elevation will help. And don’t allow smoking or incense use around the computer either, since smoke will fill it with dust fast. I’ve heard of computer motherboards frying because there was a layer of dust on them keeping the heat in. You can’t keep dust from getting in, he adds. “Air has to circulate in a computer to keep it cool, and with air comes dust.” The only remedy, he says, is to open the computer case and blow out the dust periodically.
5. Hold off on Vista. Microsoft Windows Vista demands much more processing power than its predecessor XP. “It’s much, much more demanding, so we do not recommend installing Vista on existing computers,” Correia says. “Most computers currently in place don’t have the needed processing power.” Windows 7 is on the way! It’s more light, and way more powerful. Wait for it instead of taking the plunge to Vista.
August 11th, 2009
We all work with audio & video. We rip media, edit them, burn them, and so on. Browse through this list for great software that will make your life easier.
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AIMP – 4.74MB (Freeware)
AIMP is a free audio player with support for large number of formats and playlists. It works with multiple playlists immediately, allows creation of b…
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AVC – 14.71MB (Freeware)
Any Video Converter is an All-in-One video converting tool with easy-to-use graphical interface, fast converting speed and excellent video quality. It…
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Audacity Development Team – 7.61MB (Open Source)
Audacity is a free, easy-to-use audio editor and recorder for Windows, Mac OS X, GNU/Linux and other operating systems. You can use Audacity to:
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Audiograbber – 1.59MB (Freeware)
Audiograbber grabs digital audio from cd’s. It copies the audio digitally — not through the soundcard — which enables you to make perfect copies of …
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BSplayer – 12.13MB (Freeware)
BSplayer is an application that plays back all kinds of media files (avi,mpg,asf,wmv,wav,mp3…) and specialises in video and DIVX playback.
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9.59MB (Freeware)
Do you download movies and get confused by all the different formats and codecs? Now you don’t need to worry about downloading your movie codecs separ…
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Illustrate – 5.18MB (Freeware)
Audio conversion perfected, effortlessly convert between formats. dBpoweramp Music Converter™ has become ‘the standard’ tool for audio conversions, ov…
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DivX Team – 20.15MB (Freeware)
DivX® 7 for Windows is a free download that provides everything you need to enjoy high-quality digital videos on your computer, including HD H.264 (.m…
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foobar2000.org – 2.91MB (Freeware)
foobar2000 is an advanced freeware audio player for the Windows platform. Some of the basic features include full unicode support, ReplayGain support …
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Gretech – 5.77MB (Freeware)
GOM is a FREE media player with popular audio & video codecs built-in.
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Handbrake – 6.23MB (Open Source)
HandBrake is an open-source, GPL-licensed, multiplatform, multithreaded DVD to MPEG-4 converter, available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows.
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Apple Inc – (Freeware)
iTunes is a free application for Mac and PC. It plays all your digital music and video. It syncs content to your iPod, iPhone, and Apple TV. And it’s …
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COWON America – 25.95MB (Freeware)
JetAudio is integrated multimedia software made up of a single compact rack. Not only does it play various music and video files, it also has features…
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13.60MB (Freeware)
The K-Lite Codec Pack is a collection of DirectShow filters, VFW/ACM codecs, and tools. Codecs and DirectShow filters are needed for encoding and deco…
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19.51MB (Freeware)
The K-Lite Codec Pack is a collection of DirectShow filters, VFW/ACM codecs, and tools. Codecs and DirectShow filters are needed for encoding and deco…
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KMPlayer – 11.93MB (Freeware)
The KMPlayer is a versatile media player which can cover various types of container format such as VCD, DVD, AVI, MKV, Ogg Theora, OGM, 3GP, MPEG-1/2/…
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1.93MB (Open Source)
Media Player Classic is a compact media player for Microsoft Windows that looks and feels like Windows Media Player 6.4 It’s small and lightweight, bu…
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Ventis Media – 7.22MB (Freeware)
MediaMonkey is a music manager and jukebox for serious music collectors and iPod users. It catalogs your CDs, OGG, WMA, MPC, FLAC, APE, WAV and MP3 au…
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Participatory Culture Foundation – 28.50MB (Open Source)
Miro is a free HD video player. It can play almost any video file and offers over 6,000 free internet TV shows and video podcasts.
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10.86MB (Freeware)
QuickTime Alternative is a trimmed-down version of QuickTime that contains only the essential components needed for playing QuickTime content that is …
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Apple Inc – 20.92MB (Freeware)
QuickTime Player from Apple allows the playback of quicktime movies (.mov) and many other formats.
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Quinnware – 4.29MB (Freeware)
Quintessential is a multi format audio player with lots of extra features. With its new extended freeform skinning engine and plethora of feature ext…
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6.26MB (Freeware)
Real Alternative allows your system to play Real Media files (.ra .ram) without having to install the full version of RealPlayer
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RealNetworks Inc – 11.69MB (Freeware)
RealPlayer has always enabled you to play RealAudio (*.ra) and RealMedia (*.ram) files.
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Pioneers of the Inevitable – 13.05MB (Open Source)
Songbird is an open-source customizable music player that’s under active development.
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eRightSoft – 27.42MB (Freeware)
SUPER is an easy-to-use Multimedia Encoder and Player, requiring only one simple click.
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Shark007 – 19.51MB (Freeware)
All the codecs you need for Vista to play AVIs, DVDs and more!
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VideoLAN.org – 17.18MB (Open Source)
VLC media player is a highly portable multimedia player for various audio and video formats as well as DVDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols wit…
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Nullsoft – 9.80MB (Freeware)
Winamp is a skinnable, multi-format media player.
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Microsoft Corporation – 24.56MB (Freeware)
Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP offers great new ways to store and enjoy all your music, video, pictures, and recorded TV. Play it, view it, an…
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XBMC – 44.38MB (Open Source)
XBMC is an award winning media center application for Linux, Mac OS X, Windows and XBox. The ultimate hub for all your media, XBMC is easy to use, loo…
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Inmatrix – 1.45MB (Shareware)
Zoom Player is a very fast media player. Prior to Zoom Player, playing media files on the PC was either overly simplistic for the Power User or overly…
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August 10th, 2009
I’ve had a lot of people run into this issue from time to time. You may think it’s an issue installing Skype, or AIM, or whatever else you are experiencing this error on. The problem actually lies within Windows Installer.
“The Windows Installer service could not be accessed. This can occur if you are running in safe mode or if the Windows Installer is not correctly installed.”
The following command should fix this issue in most cases:
- Go to Start > Run > type in CMD and press enter
- Now type in msiexec /unregister in the command prompt
- Then type in msiexec /regserver in the command prompt
- Restart the computer and try installing your software again- it should work now
August 4th, 2009
When you have to toss out an old hard drive to replace with a new one, simply deleting files off it won’t help. Experienced users can easily recover those sensitive files as soon as they get their hands on your old drive. To insure proper data removal, try the free and open-source Eraser.
Eraser is an advanced security tool for Windows which allows you to completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it several times with carefully selected patterns. Works with Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Server 2008.
Eraser Features
- It works with Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008.
- Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000 can still be used with version 5.7!
- It works with any drive that works with Windows
- Secure drive erasure methods are supported out of the box
- Erases files, folders and their previous deleted counterparts
- Works with an extremely customizable Scheduler
Download it here
July 28th, 2009
So you decided to download a pirated copy of Windows XP, and accidently downloaded the Windows Updates- only to witness the below image. You can either buy a valid Windows License, or use my method to remove this naggy Window. You rather use my method? Of course, here’s what you need to do:
- Lauch Windows Task Manager.
- End wgatray.exe process in Task Manager.
- Restart Windows XP in Safe Mode.
- Delete WgaTray.exe from c:\Windows\System32.
- Delete WgaTray.exe from c:\Windows\System32\dllcache.
- Lauch Regedit (Start > Run > “regedit”.
- Browse to the following location:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Notify
- Delete the folder ‘WgaLogon’ and all its contents
- Reboot Windows XP.
Moving forward, check what’s in the Windows Update before installing. If you see “WGA Notifications”, uncheck it. You can also buy a legit copy, cheap ass.
July 28th, 2009
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