Friday, December 26, 2008

How to Make System Tray Based Application in .NET

How to Make System Tray Based Application in .NET

Creating an application that lives in the system tray is easy, but it is not entirely obvious how to do so in Visual Studio. This recipe will show you the steps.

1) First, create a new Windows Application project in Visual Studio.NET. This can be either Visual Basic or C#

2) Drag a Notifyicon control and a ContextMenu control from the toolbox onto the form.

3) Click on the NotifyIcon control that you just added, and set the Icon property to whatever icon you want your application to have.

4) Set the ContextMenu property of the Notifyicon to the context menu that you added to your project.

5) Right click on the Context Menu control, and select Edit. Since this menu will be the right-click menu for your tray icon, you will want to add the items that the user will see. Make sure to add an Exit menu item.

6) Double click the Exit menu item, and add the following code:
this.Close();

7) Now for the important settings. Click on the form, and go to the Properties window. Set the following settings:

FormBorderSize: Fixed Tool Window
WindowState: Minimized
Opacity: 0%
ShowInTaskbar: False

The key thing to remember is that the default form is not to be used for application functionality, it is only used as the hidden background window. If you want to create a new window, you can just add another form to your application.

How to Keep Users from Clearing IE’s History of Their Browsing in Windows Vista

How to Keep Users from Clearing IE’s History of Their Browsing in Windows Vista

Internet Explorer keeps a history of cookies, sites that have been visited, and form data. This history can be quite useful in tracking the browsing practices of an employee or your child (or even spouse). Many people are aware of the fact that they can delete this history from the browser, but you can take away this ability in situations that call for such action.

1. Click the Windows Orb and input gpedit.msc into the Start Search text box. Select gpedit.msc when it appears in the listing. Click Continue when the UAC prompt appears.

2. When the Group Policy Object Editor appears, go to the left pane and expand either Computer Configuration or User Configuration (depending on whether you wish to apply this to any user on the computer or just a specific user).

3. Expand Administrative Templates.

4. Expand Windows Components.

5. Expand Internet Explorer.

6. Select Delete Browsing History.

7. In the right pane, you will see the following listed:

Prevent Deleting Cookies

Prevent Deleting Web sites that the User has Visited

Prevent Deleting Temporary Internet Files

Prevent Deleting Favorites Site Data

Turn off "Delete Browsing History" funtionality

Prevent Deleting Form Data

Prevent Deleting of Passwords

Disable "Configuring History"

Prevent the deletion of temporary Internet files and cookies

8. Double click the desired setting. When the Properties window appears, select the Enabled radio button.

9. Click OK.

10. Repeat steps 8 and 9 until you have enabled all of the desired settings.

11. Close the Group Policy Object Editor.

How To Restore a Database from a Backup in SQL Server 2005

How To Restore a Database from a Backup in SQL Server 2005

Your database is down, your users are in a panic, what do you do?. If you have been performing routine backups of your database, you can restore it to the point of the most recent backup. To restore your database, follow these steps:

1. Open SQL Server 2005 Management Studio.

2. Connect to the appropriate server.

3. Expand Databases.

4. Right-click the desired database, mouseover Tasks, mouseover Restore and select Database.

5. The Restore Database window will appear.

6. Ensure that the correct database name appears in the To database field. If not, select it from the dropdown.

7. Under Source for restore, select the From device radio button.

8. Click the button next to the textbox to select the device to restore from.

9. The Specify Backup window will appear.

10. Click Add and locate and select the backup file from the Locate Backup File Window. Click OK.

11. Under Select the backup sets to restore, select all three backups (full, transaction log, and differential).

12. In the left pane, select Options.

13. Under Recovery state, ensure that the Restore with Recovery radio button is selected.

14. Click OK to begin restoring the database.

15. Once the restore is complete, a notification box will appear. Click OK to close the box. You have now restored your database to the most recent state.

How To Disable a Trigger SQL Server 2005

How To Disable a Trigger SQL Server 2005

A trigger allows for the execution of SQL code anytime an UPDATE, INSERT, or DELETE command is performed on a certain table. If you are having to perform manual modifications to the table, you may not want the trigger to fire off. Here’s how to disable the trigger so that you can perform your administrative tasks:

To disable the trigger, open a query window and use the following command (inserting the proper Table Name and Trigger Name into the statement):
ALTER TABLE "Table Name" DISABLE TRIGGER "Trigger Name"

To enable the trigger, use the following command (inserting the proper Table Name and Trigger Name into the statement):
ALTER TABLE "Table Name" ENABLE TRIGGER "Trigger Name"

How To How to Reset a Forgotten Password for the sa Account in SQL Server 2005

How To How to Reset a Forgotten Password for the sa Account in SQL Server 2005

If you’ve forgotten the sa password for your SQL server, you are probably in a panic. Fear not, for you can reset the password and once again have access to the powers of the sa account by using the query window in the Management Studio.

1. Open the SQL Server Management Studio.

2. Open a New Query.

3. Copy, paste, and execute the following:

GO
ALTER LOGIN [sa] WITH DEFAULT_DATABASE=[master]
GO
USE [master]
GO
ALTER LOGIN [sa] WITH PASSWORD=N’NewPassword’ MUST_CHANGE
GO

where NewPassword is the password you wish to use for the sa account.

You can now breathe easier, and once again access the sa account. Whew!

How To Viewing Two Documents, Side by Side in Word 2007

How To Viewing Two Documents, Side by Side in Word 2007

When you are comparing two Word documents, having them next to each other is a necessity. You could take the time to carefully adjust the two documents so that they appear next to each other, but this takes up valuable time. Word 2007 makes it easy to place your two documents side by side on your screen without the fuss.

1. Open both of the documents in Word 2007.

2. Pick one of the open files to be the open document.

3. Go to the Ribbon and select the View tab.

4. In the Window section, select View Side by Side

Both documents will appear next to each other on your screen.

How To Print a Phone Directory of Your Contacts in Outlook 2007

How To Print a Phone Directory of Your Contacts in Outlook 2007

While it can be advantageous to have your contacts’ phone numbers in your email client, there are times when a hard copy is necessary. Outlook makes it easy to print out a phone directory of any or all of your contacts.

1. Open Outlook and go to your Contacts.

2. If you wish to only include certain contacts, hold down the ctrl key and left click the desired contacts. When finished, release the ctrl key. If you wish to print all of your contacts, don’t select anything.

3. Go to the menu, click File and select Print.

4. In the Print dialog box, go to the Print style section. Scroll down and select Phone Directory Style. In the Print range section, select All items to print out all of your contacts or Only selected items if you selected specific contacts in step 2.

5. Click OK to print the document or click Preview to see how it will look.

How To Use a Batch File for Quickly Restarting explorer.exe in Windows XP/Vista

How To Use a Batch File for Quickly Restarting explorer.exe in Windows XP/Vista

Explorer.exe is the user shell on your Windows system (taskbar, desktop, etc.) and periodically it requires a restart to resume proper functionality. Additionally, if you do a lot of tweaking to your system registry like I do, it’s much easier to restart explorer.exe to reload the registry instead of restarting the entire system. By creating a .bat file, you will have a quick 2 step solution that will restart explorer.exe and get you back to computing in just a few seconds.

1. Open Notepad.

2. Copy and paste the following into the new document:
@echo off
taskkill /f /IM explorer.exe
explorer.exe

3. Save your document with a descriptive name such as restart_explorer.bat. Make sure to save the file with the .bat extension and not .txt.

The next time you need to restart explorer.exe, simply run the newly created .bat file and close the command window that appears.

How To Use Descriptions in Complex Formulas Excel 2007

How To Use Descriptions in Complex Formulas Excel 2007

If you are troubleshooting a spreadsheet with complex formulas, it can sometimes be a very time consuming task to figure out what the formula is supposed to be calculating. A good practice to follow is to include a description in the formula itself so the user can more easily understand the purpose of the formula.

1. Go to the Excel worksheet containing the formula(s) to be described.

2. Select the cell containing the formula.

3. You will see the formula in the Formula Bar above the spreadsheet. Click at the end of the displayed formula and input the following:
+N("your description")

where your description is replaced with the desired comment you wish to use to describe the equation.

For example:
A1+A2+N("simple formula for getting the sum of two cells")

4. Press Enter.

The formula results will not be affected by the description. In fact, the description will go unnoticed unless you click in the cell that the formula is in and review it in the Formula Bar.

How To Keep Your Color Scheme from Being Changed in Windows Vista

How To Keep Your Color Scheme from Being Changed in Windows Vista

You finally get the color scheme looking just the way you want it, but the next time you use your computer, someone has changed the colors to something else. If your computer is used by other people (such as your children) besides yourself, you can keep them from changing your color scheme so that it stays the way you want it.

To keep the color scheme from being changed:

1. Open Notepad.

2. Copy and paste the following into the new text document:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
“NoColorChoice”=dword:00000001

3. Save the document as lock_color_scheme.reg.

4. Merge the new file into the registry by right-clicking it, selecting Open With, and finally clicking Registry Editor.

5. Continue through the UAC prompt and confirm that you wish to perform the action.

If you need to restore the functionality, follow these steps:

1. Open Notepad.

2. Copy and paste the following into the new text document:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
“NoColorChoice”=-

3. Save the document as unlock_color_scheme.reg.

4. Merge the new file into the registry by right-clicking it, selecting Open With, and finally clicking Registry Editor.

5. Continue through the UAC prompt and confirm that you wish to perform the action.

How To Hide All Desktop Icons in Windows XP

How To Hide All Desktop Icons in Windows XP

For whatever purpose you can hide all the icons on your desktop without having to delete them.

This is a very simple way to show you how to temporarily hide all desktop icons (including My Computer and Recycle Bin)

1. Right-click on your desktop.
2. Select Arrange Icons By.

3. You will see a Show Desktop Icons with a check on it; click that.

4. To return the appearance of your desktop items, repeat steps one through three.

How To Clear the Values while Keeping Formulas in Excel 2007

How To Clear the Values while Keeping Formulas in Excel 2007

If you are constantly using a spreadsheet that requires you clear the values but retain the formulas, it can be painful to go through and select each field individually for deletion. Excel makes it easy to do this in just a few steps.

1. Open the Excel worksheet containing the values and formulas.

2. Press Ctrl+G to bring up the Go To dialog box.

3. Click the Special button in the bottom-left corner of the box.

4. In the Go To Special dialog box, select the Constants radio button. Now check the Numbers checkbox underneath Formulas. Make sure that the Text, Logicals, and Errors checkboxes are unchecked.

5. Click the OK button.

6. All fields containing values and not formulas will be highlighted. Press the Delete key on your keyboard to clear out the values.

How To Increase the Number of Months Displayed in the To-Do Bar in Outlook 2007

How To Increase the Number of Months Displayed in the To-Do Bar in Outlook 2007

By default, Outlook’s To-Do Bar only displays the current month’s calendar. While this is helpful, it does little for providing a quick reference for looking at future months. You can configure the To-Do Bar to display multiple months and have a quick view of not only the current month, but the next few months as well.

1. Open Outlook.

2. Go to the Menu.

3. Click View, mouseover To-Do Bar and select Options.

4. Beneath the Show Date Navigator checkbox, use the designated textbox to input the number of month rows you wish to display in your To-Do Bar (1-9, maximum viewable number will depend on your screen size).

5. Click OK.

How To Open Office 2007 Documents in Earlier Versions of Office

How To Open Office 2007 Documents in Earlier Versions of Office

Every time a new version of Office is released, new updated file formats are released as well. Older versions of Office have a difficult time reading and editing these new files formats. Here is how to do it.

It’s a painful time around the ole office the first time somebody updates to the latest version of Word. Before long, nobody understands why they can’t open up these new types of documents. Gesh, what is the Open XML File Format anyway?

This new file format was included as the default file type in the latest versions of Office for windows and macs. This file format can contains all the default office documents including presentations, spreadsheets, charts, and documents.

So how can you open these new files in your older version of Office? Here are the updates needed on your apple or windows machine:

Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 1.0.1

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats

Installing these respective updates will allow your older versions of the Office suite to read these new file formats.

Monday, December 22, 2008

How To Remove Unwanted Components in Windows Vista with iLite

How To Remove Unwanted Components in Windows Vista with iLite

Windows Vista can be considered as the first Microsoft operating system that requires specific requirements to run. Unlike its predecessor, Vista users generally need a high spec computer to run Vista smoothly. While running Windows Vista, users should have noticed Vista actually takes up a lot of resources. Due to this, it is good to remove those unwanted or rubbish components in order to speed up the Operating System. vLite is a useful tool designed particularly for users to remove the unnecessary or unwanted Windows Vista components and thus help to speed up the operating system. Besides, it can also create the bootable ISO and apply the tweaks directly.

vLite is a free Vista compatible application which can customize the operating system before installing it. It will configure the installation directly before installation, meaning users have to remake the ISO and reinstall it. This method is much cleaner, not to mention easier and more logical than doing it after installation. Technically, vLite is not a hacking tool and it is not functioning on any kind of hacking. All files and registry entries are protected as they would be if users install the unedited version only with the changes they select.

The latest version recently released was vLite v1.2.0 Beta. vLite needs Framework 2.0 and above to run smoothly. Users can download vLite 1.2.0 Beta via the link here.

The summary of the key features are
• hotfix, language pack and driver integration
• component removal
• unattended setup
• tweaks
• split/merge Vista installation CDs
• create ISO and burn bootable CD/DVD

How To Hack to Enable Opening Command Prompt as Adminstrator in Vista

How To Hack to Enable Opening Command Prompt as Adminstrator in Vista


Lazy to type “CMD” or pressing any keyboard keys just to elevate the opened command prompt window with full administrator credentials and privileges mode? The following registry hack for Windows Vista will allow you to open an elevated command window by simply right click on Computer (formerly known as My Computer in Windows XP) icon at Start Menu or Desktop, and select Run Command Prompt as Administrator from the contextual menu.

To add and place a new menu item to right click context menu for Computer so that whenever you right click on the icon, a contextual menu item of Run Command Prompt as Administrator will be shown, and then you can straight away click on the entry to immediately open the elevated command prompt, copy and paste the following code to a text editor such as Notepad, and save it to a file with filename with .reg extension. Double click on the file or right click on registry file and then choose “Merge”.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell\runas]
@=”Run Command Prompt as Administrator”

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\shell\runas\command]
@=”cmd.exe”

Shortcut Keys for Windows XP

Shortcut Keys for Windows XP



* CTRL+C Copy.
* CTRL+X Cut.
* CTRL+V Paste.
* CTRL+Z Undo.
* DELETE Delete.
* SHIFT+DELETE Delete selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin.
* CTRL while dragging an item Copy selected item.
* CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item Create shortcut to selected item.
* F2 Rename 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 keysSelect more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text within a document.
* CTRL+A Select all.
* F3 Search for a file or folder.
* ALT+ENTER View properties for the selected item.
* ALT+F4 Close the active item, or quit the active program.
* ALT+Enter Displays the properties of the selected object.
* ALT+SPACEBAR Opens the shortcut menu for the active window.
* CTRL+F4 Close the active document in programs that allow you to have multiple documents open simultaneously.
* ALT+TAB Switch between open items.
* ALT+ESC Cycle through items in the order they were opened.
* F6 Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop.
* F4 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 Carry out the corresponding command.
* F10 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 Refresh 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 into the CD-ROM drive Prevent the CD from automatically playing.

How To Restart or Shutdown Windows in one line Command

How To Restart or Shutdown Windows in one line Command

If you getting tired of everytime have to clicking Start menu, and then click on Turn Off Computer, and then still have to click on Turn Off or Restart or Log Off in order to log off, restart or shut down your computer, and feel that it’s time wasting, you can create a one-click shortcut that allows the user to shutdown or restart Windows, or go into standby or hibernate mode, with just a single click on the shortcut itself. Best of all, the shortcut can be put at any place - desktop, Quick Launch bar, or Start Menu, and can even launch the shutdown or restart process from command line or command prompt.

In order to shutdown or restart the Windows with just one click shortcut or from command prompt or command line, users can use shutdown command line utility/command that comes with Windows 2000 (with the Resource Kit installed) and Windows XP or Windows Vista (native). To access shutdown command, simply go to DOS command prompt by clicking on Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt or Start -> Run and then type in Cmd to launch a command prompt window.

To create a one-click shortcut to shutdown the Windows computer, right click on your desktop or any folder (or click at File at toolbar), and then select New, and then click on Shortcut. A New Shortcut wizard will ask for location of this item. In the textbox, type “shutdown -s -t 01″ (without quotation marks). Click on Next when done. When ask for a name for the shortcut, give any descriptive name you prefer, such as Shutdown. Then click on Finish, and you can now use the shortcut created to shut down PC immediately after click.

If you want to create a shortcut that quick restart the Windows instead of shutting down the computer, follow the above instruction, but “shutdown -s -t 01″, key in “shutdown -r -t 01″ for location of this item. Again, give a proper descriptive name to the shortcut, such as Restart, and the shortcut is ready to be used to restart the Windows right after click.

As in the shutdown command above, -s parameter will shutdown the computer, while -r will shutdown and restart the computer. -t 01 set the timeout or time to lapse in seconds for a shut down or restart to begin. By default, if no -t argument is specified, shutdown command will wait for 30 seconds countdown before shutdown or restart. The best part for shutdown command is that it can abort a system shutdown, by using -a as the option for shutdown, i.e. “shutdown -a”. There are other options or parameters that available, and users can view all of the flags with “shutdown /?” command at command prompt.

The options available for shutdown are:

No arguments : Display this message (same as -?)
-i : Display GUI interface, must be the first option
-l : Log off (cannot be used with -m option)
-s : Shutdown the computer
-r : Shutdown and restart the computer
-a : Abort a system shutdown
-m \\computername : Remote computer to shutdown/restart/abort
-t xx : Set timeout for shutdown to xx seconds
-c “comment” : Shutdown comment (maximum of 127 characters)
-f : Forces running applications to close without warning
-d [u][p]:xx:yy : The reason code for the shutdown

Windows XP reinstallation tips

Windows XP reinstallation tips


Here are Windows XP reinstallation tips that will save your bacon.

1. Download and save any hardware drivers you might need on a USB key or blank CD beforehand, so you can install them quickly when Windows XP has finished installing itself.

2. Make sure you've got any other driver discs and program CDs to hand before starting; there's nothing more frustrating than running around looking for that missing Microsoft Office CD.

3. Avoid using the quick NTFS formatting option as it doesn't thoroughly wipe the hard drive. The full length format results in a far cleaner drive and much improved performance.

4. Make sure you're got all the requisite logon details for your ISP before reinstalling Windows XP, so you can quickly get connected and use Windows Update later.

5. If you use Office 2003, you can back up your emails and contacts and save them on CD by clicking File And Backup. You can then import them into your new Windows XP installation once you're ready for them.

How To Hide all Desktop icons (9x/XP)

How To Hide all Desktop icons (9x/XP)


HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
NoDesktop (DWORD value):
Set to 1 to hide all icons.
Delete NoDesktop to undo.
Hit F5 to refresh the desktop.
Hide Network Neighborhood, My Network Places (9x)
Run Poledit.exe (You may have to install it: It is on your Windows CD in\tools\reskit\netadmin\poledit).
File > Open Registry > (double click) Local User > Shell > Restrictions
Check Hide Network Neighborhood or/and My Network Places
OK > File > Save
Reboot.

How to Show Volume Icon in Taskbar

How to Show Volume Icon in Taskbar


It's really handy to have access to the Volume Control panel in the event you quickly need to move the volume slider up or down. In its default state, XP ships with almost a clean slate for both the desktop and taskbar. So, if you'd like to place the volume control icon in the taskbar, you're going to need to make a little adjustment.


To place the volume control icon in the taskbar, follow these steps:


Single-click the Start menu.
Single-click Control Panel.
Single-click Sound, Speech, and Audio Devices.
Single-click Sounds and Audio Devices to launch the Sound and Audio Devices properties.
On the Volume tab, locate the text labeled "Device Volume" and place a check mark next to the text labeled "Place volume icon in the taskbar."
Single-click Apply.


You should now have the volume icon in the taskbar. Now all you need to do is double-click this icon to bring up your Volume Control panel.

How To Change thumbnail size

How To Change thumbnail size

By default, thumbnails are 96x96 pixels in size.
You can change this value for the current user or all users. Current user:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
All users: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

Go to either key, select Explorer, then create a DWORD value called ThumbnailSize. Double-click it, select Decimal in the Base section, and enter a value between 32 and 256. Restart Windows Explorer.

How To Display Hibernate Option on the Shut Down dialog

How To Display Hibernate Option on the Shut Down dialog

Firstly go to Settings --> Control Panel --> Power Options and click on Hibernate tab and check the Enable Hibernate Option

For some reason, Hibernate isn't available from the default Shut Down dialog. But you can enable it simply enough, by holding down the SHIFT key while the dialog is visible. Now you see it, now you don't!

How To Disable Drives in My Computer

How To Disable Drives in My Computer

To turn off the display of local or networked drives when you click on My Computer:

1.Open RegEdit
2.Go toHKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\ CurrentVersion\ Policies\ Explorer
3.Add a New DWORD item and name it NoDrives
4.Give it a value of 3FFFFFF
5.Now when you click on My Computer, none of your drives will show.

How To Enable and disable Windows support for ZIP files (XP)

How To Enable and disable Windows support for ZIP files (XP)

Click Start, then Run and type:
Enable: regsvr32 zipfldr.dll
Disable: regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll
You may have to reboot.

How to enjoy Windows Media Player using shortcuts keys?

How to enjoy Windows Media Player using shortcuts keys?

In Windows Media Player, you can use the combination of different keyboard keys to accomplish routine task. By using these keys, you can increase the working speed in media player, otherwise require a conventional mouse to select menus and buttons options. Basically keyboard shortcuts keys help you to save time and you can perform any tasks without leaving the keyboard keys.
Shortcut keys Action

ALT+1 Adjust zoom to 50 percent

ALT+2 Adjust zoom to 100 percent

ALT+3 Adjust zoom to 200 percent

ALT+ENTER Display the video in full mode

ALT+F Go to media player File Menu

ALT+T Go to media player Tools Menu

ALT+V Go to media player View Menu

ALT+P Go to media player Play Menu

ALT+F4 Use to close media player


CTRL+1 Display media player in full mode

CTRL+2 Display media player in skin mode

CTRL+B Use to play the previous item in media player

CTRL+F Use to play the next item in media player

CTRL+E Use to Eject CD or DVD from CD or DVD drive

CTRL+P Use to Play or Pause the item in media player

CTRL+T Use to Repeat the items in media player

CTRL+SHIFT+B Use to Rewind a file in media player

CTRL+SHIFT+F Use to Fast Forward a file in media player

CTRL+SHIFT+S Use to play items slower than a normal speed

CTRL+SHIFT+ G Use to play items faster than a normal speed

CTRL+SHIFT+ N Use to play items at normal speed in media player

F8 Use to mute the volume in media player

F9 Use to decrease the volume in media player

F10 Use to increase the volume in media player

ENTER or SPACEBAR Use to play an item

How To Set up and Use Internet Connection Sharing

How To Set up and Use Internet Connection Sharing

To enable Internet Connection Sharing on a network connection You must be logged on to your computer with an owner account in order to complete this procedure. Open Network Connections. (

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double–click Network Connections.)
2. Click the dial–up, local area network, PPPoE, or VPN connection you want to share, and then, under Network Tasks, click Change settings of this connection.
3. On the Advanced tab, select the Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection check box. If you want this connection to dial automatically when another computer on your home or small office network attempts to access external resources, select the Establish a dial–up connection whenever a computer on my network attempts to access the Internet check box.
If you want other network users to enable or disable the shared Internet connection, select the Allow other network users to control or disable the shared Internet connection check box.
Under Internet Connection Sharing, in Home networking connection, select any adapter that connects the computer sharing its Internet connection to the other computers on your network. The Home networking connection is only present when two or more network adapters are installed on the computer.
To configure Internet options on your client computers for Internet Connection Sharing Open Internet Explorer. Click Start, point to All Programs, and then click Internet Explorer.)

On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
On the Connections tab, click Never dial a connection, and then click LAN Settings. In Automatic configuration, clear the Automatically detect settings and Use automatic configuration script check boxes.

In Proxy Server, clear the Use a proxy server check box.

How to Lock a Folder Using Notepad

How to Lock a Folder Using Notepad

1) Consider you want to lock a folder named caclub in your f:\, whose path is f:\caclub
2) Now open the Notepad and type the followingren caclub caclub.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30 309D}
3) Where caclub is your folder name. Save the text file as loc.bat in the same drive.
4) Open another new notepad text file and type the followingren caclub.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30 309D} caclub
5) Save the text file as unloc.bat in the same drive.---------Usage:---------
6) To lock the caclub folder, simply click the loc.bat and it will transform into control panel icon which is inaccessible.
7) To unlock the folder click the unloc.bat file. Thus the folder will be unlocked and the contents are accessible.

How to make your Desktop Icons Transparent

How to make your Desktop Icons Transparent

Go to Control Panel > System, > Advanced > Performance area > Settings button Visual Effects tab "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the Desktop"

How to Make "Show/Hidden files and folders" option not working

How to Make "Show/Hidden files and folders" option not working

press windows+R >> type "regedit"(without quotes) & press enter >> then go to>>
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\Hidden\SHOWALL\

Now u can see two keys CheckedValue and DefaultValue

Double Click on CheckedValue and set the value 1 from 0

Double Click on DefaultValue and set the value 2 from 1

How to Disable USB Drives

How to Disable USB Drives

customer that needs to keep people from using the USB ports to copy data off of a system.It is easy to lock a machine down, disable the floppy, and cdrom in the bios. Many times when you try to disable USB - it disables it entirely.This can be a real pain on newer laptops or systems that don't even have a PS2 interface for the mouse or keyboard.There is a simple registry change that will keep the USB storage drivers from starting when the system boots. Keeps people from walking up to a PC and copying data off with a USB key, but allows you to keep your scanner, keyboard, and mouse working.As always - back your system up before messing around in the registry.

Just open regedit and browse to this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\UsbStorNotice the value 'Start'Switch this value to 4, and USB storage devices are disabled.Switch this value to 3, and USB storage devices are enabled.

How to Brand Windows With Your Name

How to Brand Windows With Your Name

open notepad dump the following lines into it and save it with the name OEMINFO.INI in the c:\windows\system32 directory:

[General]
Manufacturer=Your Name Here
Model=Your Model Here
[Support Information]
Line1=Your Name Here
Line2=Your Address Here
Line3=Your Email Address Here

How to Disable My Computer

How to Disable My Computer

In areas where you are trying to restrict what users can do on the computer, it might be beneficial to disable the ability to click on My Computer and have access to the drives, control panel etc.To disable this:

1.Open RegEdit
2.Search for 20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D
3.This should bring you to the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID section
4.Delete the entire section.Now when you click on My Computer, nothing will happen.

You might want to export this section to a Registry file before deleting it just in case you want to enable it again.
Or you can rename it to 20D0HideMyComputer4FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D. You can also hide all the Desktop Icons, see Change/Add restrictions.

How to Hide All Icons from the Desktop

How to Hide All Icons from the Desktop

Start Regedit
Go to HKey_Current_User \ Software\ Microsoft \Windows \ Current Version \ Policies \ Explorer
Right click on the right panel and add a New / DWORD
Name it NoDesktop
Give it a value of 1
Logoff or Reboot the computer
Now all icons are hidden on the desktop.

How to Hide Hard Drive Partitions In Windows

How to Hide Hard Drive Partitions In Windows

If you want to hide any partition of your hard disk just follow these simple steps.

1. Goto Start > Run and type diskpart

A DOS window will appear with following description

DISKPART>

2. Then type list volume

All partitions will be listed, there will be also a volume number for each partitions

3. Suppose you want to hide drive E:, type select volume 3 (Here 3 is the volume number of E:, in your pc it may vary). A message will now appear in the window saing "Volume 3 is the selected volume".

4. Now type remove letter E . You may have to reboot the computer. Diskpart will remove the letter. Since Windows XP doesn't have the capability to identify the unknown volume, it won't display or show results from it. To access the content of the hidden drive, repeat the process, but in the foruth step, replace remove to assign, ie., assign letter E.

How to enable or disable System Restore

How to enable or disable System Restore


ENABLE SYSTEM RESTORE (XP)

1. Click Start button, then go to Settings, Control Panel.
2. Click on System, then select the System Restore tab.
3. Uncheck the Turn off System Restore on all drives checkbox.
4. Click Apply and then OK.

DISABLE SYSTEM RESTORE (XP)

1. Click Start button, then go to Settings, Control Panel.
2. Click on System, then select the System Restore tab.
3. Click the Turn off System Restore on all drives checkbox.
4. Click Apply and then OK.

How to backup your registry

How to backup your registry

Before you try to edit your PC's registry, make sure that your first export the keys in the registry that you plan to edit, or back up the whole registry. It is a very good practice to always backup your registry because if a problem occurs, you can just restore your registry to its previous state.


These are the easy steps on how you can export your registry keys

► Click Start, and then click Run.

► In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.


► On the File menu, click Export.


► In the Save in box, select the box at the bottom the bottom according to weather you want to export all or only selected branches of the registry.


► Next select a location in which to save the backup .reg file. In the File name box, type a file name, and then click Save.


Follow these steps to restore your registry to it's previous state

► To restore registry keys that you exported, double-click the .reg file that you saved.

How to Set Permissions for Shared Files and Folders

How to Set Permissions for Shared Files and Folders

Sharing of files and folders can be managed in two ways. If you chose simplified file sharing, your folders can be shared with everyone on your network or workgroup, or you can make your folders private. (This is how folders are shared in Windows 2000.) However, in Windows XP Professional, you can also set folder permissions for specific users or groups. To do this, you must first change the default setting, which is simple file sharing. To change this setting, follow these steps:
•Open Control Panel, click Tools, and then click Folder Options.
•Click the View tab, and scroll to the bottom of the Advanced Settings list.
•Clear the Use simple file sharing (Recommended) check box.
•To manage folder permissions, browse to the folder in Windows Explorer, right–click the folder, and then click Properties. Click the Security tab, and assign permissions, such as Full Control, Modify, Read, and/or Write, to specific users.

You can set file and folder permissions only on drives formatted to use NTFS, and you must be the owner or have been granted permission to do so by the owner.

How to Convert a FAT Partition to NTFS

How to Convert a FAT Partition to NTFS


To convert a FAT partition to NTFS, perform the following steps.

Click Start, click Programs, and then click Command Prompt.

In Windows XP, click Start, and then click Run.


At the command prompt, type CONVERT [driveletter]: /FS:NTFS.

Convert.exe will attempt to convert the partition to NTFS.

How to Change title of windows media player

How to Change title of windows media player

You can change the title bar for the Windows Media Player

1.Start Regedit

2.Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft
\WindowsMediaPlayer (create a new key named WindowsMediaPlayer if its not there)

3.Create a string value of TitleBar

4.Give it a value of whatever you want to appear in the title bar

How to boot to Windows Vista Safe Mode

How to boot to Windows Vista Safe Mode

1. If the system is turned off, turn it on. If it is on, restart it.

2. Begin tapping the F8 key until the screen offering the Vista Advanced Boot Options menu appears. If you tap the F8 key too soon, some systems may display a "keyboard error". If you tap it too late and Windows launches, restart your computer and try again.

3. Make sure to select the Safe Mode option and press Enter.

4. The system will now boot into Safe Mode. After you are done, restart the computer and in Normal Mode.


DESCRIPTION
Safe mode is a diagnostic mode that Windows Vista can start in, with minimal configuration
and generic drivers so that system errors can possibly be corrected.

Once entering Safe Mode, the user can execute commands and load devices one at a time. Safe Mode is also used to remove or delete files which are otherwise "locked" or "in use" during normal operation.

While an operating system is in safe mode, it will have reduced functionality,
but it is easier to isolate problems because many non-core components are disabled.

How to create Shortcut to Safely Remove Hardware

How to create Shortcut to Safely Remove Hardware

To create a new shortcut

1.Right click on your desktop and select New->Shortcut
2.In the location of the item paste RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll. and click next and then give a Name to your shortcut and click finish.You are done with a new shortcut in your desktop now

How To Repair Recycle Bin

How To Repair Recycle Bin

Description:

Sometimes, a virus infection or a badly performed removal procedure can affect the way Recycle Bin works, removing the Desktop icon associated to this feature and the options used for its management.

REPAIR PROCEDURE:

1. Download the archive containing the registry fix for this issue from here

2. Save the file on your harddisk and extract it to a new folder

3. Run the removal tool (fix.reg) and click Yes in the prompt that asks you: Are you sure you want to add the information in \\fix.reg to the registry?

4. Another dialog will appear, displaying the following message: Information in \\fix.reg has been successfully entered into the registry

5. Click OK. Go to your Desktop, right-click and select Refresh. Recycle Bin should now be back into place

How To Add "copy to" and "move to" options in right click(XP)

How To Add "copy to" and "move to" options in right click(XP)

It is hard to move or copy a file/s or folder/s to specific location. There is a option called "Send to" on context menu but it has some limitation. You can send content through it just few locations like.. My Documents, Floppy Disk etc. If You can add "Copy to" and "Move to" options on Right click(context menu) then it will increase your file/folder transfer facility. You can Copy and Move your content anywhere on your machine through Right click(context menu). I have described a registry trick following here.


Copy-paste following text in notepad and save it with .reg extension. Then just merge/run it. You will get 2 new options on your Right click(context menu).


Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex \ContextMenuHandlers]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex \ContextMenuHandlers\Copy To] @="{C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex \ContextMenuHandlers\Move To] @="{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}"
Download Enable 'Copy/Move To' Registry File:http://rapidshare.com/files/111539592/Enable_CopyTo_MoveTo.reg
Download Disable 'Copy/Move To' Registry File:http://rapidshare.com/files/111539517/Disable_CopyTo_MoveTo.reg

How to IMPROVE XP SHUTDOWN SPEED

How to IMPROVE XP SHUTDOWN SPEED


This tweak reduces the time XP waits before automatically closing any running programs when you give it the command to shutdown.

Go to Start then select Run
Type 'Regedit' and click ok
Find 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\'
Select 'WaitToKillAppTimeout'
Right click and select 'Modify'
Change the value to '1000'
Click 'OK'
Now select 'HungAppTimeout'
Right click and select 'Modify'
Change the value to '1000' Click 'OK'

How to get Folder Options Missing back

How to get Folder Options Missing back

Open Run and then type "gpedit.msc".
Now goto User Configuration > Administrative templates > Windows Component > Windows Explorer.Click on Windows Explorer
you will find the 3rd option on the right side of screen "Removes the Folder Option menu item from the Tools menu"
Just check it, if it is not configured then change it to enable by double clicking on it and after applying again set it to not configured.

You will find the option after restarting windows.

How to Create a desktop shortcut for locking your computer

How to Create a desktop shortcut for locking your computer

If you use your computer in an area where others may have access to it, and there are things on your system you would rather have kept confidential, locking your desktop when you leave the computer is an essential task. Here's a recipe for a desktop shortcut that will lock your computer in two easy clicks:

Right click on an empty area of the desktop and choose 'new' then 'shortcut.' The create shortcut wizard will open; in the first text box, type '%windir%\System32\rundll32.exe user32.dll,LockWorkStation' and then give your shortcut an appropriate name on the next page, and hit 'finish.'

You will notice that the shortcut you created has a blank icon. To select a more appropriate one, right click on the shortcut and hit 'properties.' In the 'shortcut' tab, click the 'change icon' button.

In the 'look for icons in this file' box, type '%SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll' then click 'ok' to see a range of icons for your new shortcut. Choose an appropriate icon. Your desktop locking shortcut is now ready for use. Test it out.

How To View Admin At welcome Screen

How To View Admin At welcome Screen


By default windows XP doesn't show the Administrator in the user list at the welcome screen. Here's a way to get around it.
Now head up to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\Userlist
create a new DWORD entry and name it as Administrator and change its value to 1.
exit and reboot for the changes to take effect.To change it back change its value to 0 or simply delete the key.