Help Page
[Mission Satement] On this page I will try to post answers to common problems and some cool "How To" tips. If you have a question click the "contact" link on the bottom of the page to send me an e-mail with your question.
Most important thing to remember when using a computer:
The 3 laws of computers are 1) Save 2) Save and 3) Save. When working on
anything on your computer hit the 'SAVE' button (or 'ctrl'+'s' on your keyboard) ...a lot!
Find out what processes are running on your Windows machine using ProcessLibrary.com:
| Search for any PC process: |
By ProcessLibrary.com — Webmasters: Add this info to your site
|
Top 5 Processes 1. tpsmain.exe 2. hpsysdrv.exe 3. tvtsched.exe 4. sm56hlpr.exe 5. tpshocks.exe |
Top 5 Security Threats |
Top 5 New Processes 1. tmtap.dll 2. tfni.dll 3. ccl60u8.dll 4. zaznamki.exe 5. oem02mon.exe |
ANSWERS to common questions:
Q: How do I Change the location of My Documents Folder? A:See this article at Support.Microsoft.comQ: How do I repair a CD? A: Use a mild metal polish like Brasso to polish the data side of the CD. It may take about 10 minutes of polishing...
Q: How do I repair my boot sector on my hard drive?A: In the Recovery Console type FIXBOOT and answer Y to the 'are you sure' . you can also use FIXMBR if you don't have any fancy multi-boot software installed. If your error says something about ntldr or ntldetect.com use the COPY command. Type COPY X:\i386\<name> C: where X is your CD drive letter and 'name' is the missing file.
Q: How do i turn off file indexing? A:open My Computer, right click your hard drive, select Properties and under the General Tab you will see a checkbox to disable indexing.
Q: How do I save something as a PDF file?
A: Try PrimoPDF a free pdf creater. It creates a virtual printer that you can "print" to and the file will be saved as a .pdf file in a location of your chosing. If you want you can use OpenOffice.org's free Productivity Suite which is an alternative to Microsofts Office that lets you save files you created in the .pdf format.
Q: I don't have my drivers or they don't work in XP.
A: Go to Driversguide.com to look for alternative drivers or download lost ones. Username is drivers and Password is all. It will warn you that your password is set to expire but ignore it and go on to the Drivers Guide Members Start Page.
Q: My Outlook Express E-Mail program is acting funny.
A: Go to this website for a good "basic repair kit"
OE Repairs
A: Select Tools- Options- Mail Setup- Send/Receive- Edit- Download complete item including attachments.
For "Outlook Express 6" Select Tools- Options- Security and uncheck "Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus". [Please be careful when opening attachments! Even from someone you know.]
For more info on Outlook Express problems go to Article 318378 at Support.Microsoft.com
Q: What the hell are all these .dll files?
A: DLL stands for Dynamic Link Library and programs use these to operate. Go to Microsofts DLL Help Database to find out all you would ever want to know. Also check out DLL-Files.com Here you will find the most common files that may be missing or corrupted on your computer. Feel free to download at no cost!
Q: Outlook Express or Outlook takes forever to load.
A: In outlook under the tools drop down menu go to 'options' and hit the 'General' tab. Uncheck the box that says 'Log into Windows Messenger'.
Q: How do I change the drive letters in 'My Computer'?
A:
'Right Click' your 'My Computer' icon. Select 'Manage', select
'Storage' from the tree on the left then select 'Disk Management'.
'Right Click' the drive you want and choose 'Change drive letter'.
Q: How do I remove saved passwords and usernames?
A:
(for XP) Open 'Run' from the 'Start' menu and type rundll32.exe
keymgr.dll, KRShowKeyMgr - This will open a window "Stored Usernames
and Passwords" . If you want to edit your .NET Passport profile you
will have to login to passport. (cc Runlist)
Q: I get spam thru Windows Messenger Service, how do I shut it off?
A:
Open your Control Panel and open 'Administrative Tools'. Double click
'Services' then 'Messenger'. Under 'start up type' select 'Disabled'
(restart). [SP2]. Also check out Gibsons Shoot the Messenger for a program that does this for you.
Q:How do I
sort my programs list alphabetically?
A: Click "Start" and select "Programs", RIGHT click one and select "Sort by Name".
This works for Internet Explorer "Favorites" list too.
Q:What is an easier way to organize my "Favorites" in Internet
Explorer?
A:Hold "shift" while clicking on the
"Organize Favorites" from the drop down menu (favorites).
Q:I want to be warned when I hit my "CAPS LOCK" key by accident
A:Open your "accessibility" icon in your Control
Panel. Select the 'keyboard' tab. Put a check mark next to "Use Toggle
Keys" then click the settings button next to it.
Q:When does Microsoft stop support for Windows?
A: See the table below
| Operating System | Release Date | Main Support Ends | Extended Support End |
| Windows 98 | June 30th, 1998 | June 30th, 2002 | June 30th, 2006 |
| Windows 98 SE | June 30th, 1999 | June 30th, 2002 | June 30th, 2006 |
| MS Windows 2000 Pro | March 31st, 2000 | June 30th, 2005 | June 30th, 2010 |
| Windows ME | Dec 31, 2000 | Dec 31, 2003 | June 30th, 2006 |
| Windows XP Home | Dec 31, 2001 | Dec 31, 2006 | n/a |
| Windows XP Pro | Dec 31, 2001 | Dec 31, 2006 | Dec 31, 2011 |
To see a complete list of Microsoft® product support retire dates go to:
Product Lifecycle Dates -
Windows Product Family and for Windows 98, Windows 98 Second
Edition, and Windows Millennium Support Extended questions click these links.
Q: How do I use an FTP website?, What is FTP?
A: An "FTP" website is a web page set up for downloading using the File Transfer Protocal (FTP). Use Internet Explorer to access FTP
sites (download files). Just type the FTP site address in the address
bar (e.g. ftp://ftp.microsoft.com) and press enter. Some require a username and
password which you can enter like this:
<username>:<password>@ftp.microsoft.com. Username would be the
account name. You can also use the "Login As" command available from IE's 'File'
drop down menu (which is only available after trying to load a FTP
site). You an also find special programs for handling FTP file transfers TO and FROM a website. I like to use FileZilla [no relation ]
Q:How do I display a message when users log on?.
A: (in WinXp/2000/Server2003) Open Control
Panel- Open "Administration Tools"- Open "Local Security Policy"- Click
the 'plus' sign to expand Local Policies and select "Security Options". Double
click "Interactive Logon: Message Text for Users Attempting to Logon". Under
"Local Policy Settings" tab type in the message you want then click "OK". You
can also change the "Message Title" right under that entry.
Q: How do I get older programs to work with WindowsXP®
A: [List this one under "cool trick I didn't know
Windows® did"]. You can run Windows "Program Compatability
Wizard" to walk you through the process of making select programs think they
are running under earlier versions of Windows. Type into your IE Address Line
"hcp://system/compatctr/compatmode.htm" [cut and
paste it or click here (works in Internet Explorer and Opera8)]. This will
open the "Help and Support Center" "Program Compatability Wizard". If you are
experiencing problems with a program that worked correctly on an earlier version
of Windows, this wizard helps you select and test compatibility settings that
may fix those problems.
Q: How do I change the "Start
Button" text to say something else?
A: Use Resource
Hacker to edit your Windows® resource files. Before starting backup your
Explorer.exe file (say explorer.bak?) then open C:\WINDOWS\Explorer.exe and then
find and change the start text. Click the 'plus' sign to expand the 'String
Table' and then the '37' folder, then the '1033' folder. On the right side
select the word "Start" and put in whatever you want the "Start" menu button to
say [make sure to keep the quotes intact] . Click the "Compile Script" button to
save your changes and choose save from the 'File' menu.
Q: How do I turn off AutoPlay (in XP)?
A: Click 'Start' 'My Computer' Look under "devices With
Removable Storage". Right click the drive you want changed and select
'Properties', select the 'AutoPlay' tab and under 'Action' select 'Select An
Action To Perform' radio button and click 'Take No Action'. Then 'Apply' and
'OK'.
Q: How do I turn off 'Auto Eject'?
A: Click 'Start' 'My Computer' and right click the drive
you want, select 'Properties', 'Recording' adn uncheck 'Automatically Eject The
CD Afrer Writing'. Click OK and your done. Some CD writing programs may override
this setting just look thru 'Preferences' in the program to change it.
Q: How do I require users to change thier passwords every 30 days?
A:
Go to your control panel and double click 'Administrative Tools' then
'Local Security Policy', expand 'Account Policies' on the left side and
select 'Password Policy'. Under details on the right double click
'Maximum Password Age".
How To:
Add a back up utility to Windows XP Home Edition:Windows XP Pro comes with this utility but if you want to add it to Home Edition you can via the Windows CD. Navigate to VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP and double click NTBACKUP.MSI to install it.
Show Hidden Programs In "Add/Remove Program" List:
Some programs are hidden from the "Add/Remove Program" List in Windows
to prevent users from deleting the wrong thing. Alter this system file
to have all programs displayed [be careful when using this!].
Hide Your Hard Drives: Here is a "How To" guide on hiding your Hard Disk Drives (in My Computer or Windows Explorer).
I wrote it up on a separate page. Go to my HDD Hide Webpage
Keep favorite icons in Internet Explorer from disappearing:
[If you clean out your "cache" in IE (or a program does) you will lose all your Icons for
your Internet Explorer Favorites. Here is how to save them.]
- Locate the icons by searching for fav*.ico
- Copy and paste to another folder (e.g. c:\Junkdrawer\Icons)
- Right click a bookmark in IE - click 'properties' - then click 'change Icon'
- 'Browse' to where you saved the icon - select it - and click 'ok'
Tips and Tricks:
Performance 'tweaks':
ONLINE SHOPPING HINTS AND HELP
...More coming soon...
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