Command-line
Command line tip #12- shut down hung programs
It’s been quite a while since I gave a straight command line tip but here’s one for quickly closing a program that gets stuck or frozen. You can use the Task Manager (described here) but that can take a fairly long time. With the command “taskkill”, you can force a quick shutdown of a hung [...]
Stop Windows XP update reboot nagging
We just went through the monthly Windows update process and I was reminded of something that annoys many PC users who use automatic update. After the update patches are installed, Windows wants to reboot and in XP will keep nagging you every 10 minutes until you do. You can tell it to reboot later but [...]
Fixing a stuck print job
Just about a year ago, I gave a tip on what to do if you get a print job that hangs up. This problem seems to be fairly common since I have recently seen posts at several blogs about it. So I am revisiting the problem. The tip I gave involved the command line. For [...]
Fast way to open a recently used Word document
I have been using Microsoft Word in one version or the other since Word 95. However, Word is a far more powerful program than I need and I probably am unaware of 95% of its features. For that reason, I don’t give many Word tips but now and then I come across one that I [...]
Command line tip #11- Find local IP addresses with “ipconfig”
Command line tip #10 mentioned that your router or Internet gateway will have a local IP address. There will also be a local IP address for your computer. Entering “ipconfig” in the command line will display both addresses as well as something called the “subnet mask”. For home setups the subnet mask is almost [...]
Command line tip #10- Check your Internet connection with “ping”
I previously noted that there are a number of commands that can help with checking out a home network or a broadband connection. There are more details at commandwindows.com/tcpiputil.htm but here’s an example of using the command “ping”. Suppose you are having trouble with connecting to the Internet. Is it your connection to the Internet [...]
Command line tip #9- Clear your printer spooler
For one reason or the other, a print job may get hung up and stop responding. One way to possibly clear this problem up is to use the command line to stop and restart the printer spooler. The services command “sc” can be used. In the command prompt, enter “sc stop spooler” followed by “sc [...]
Command line tip #8- Check your network
Many PC owners now have home networks. Being able to connect several computers together is great but networks bring a new set of problems. The command line comes with a variety of tools for checking networks and it is worthwhile for even average PC users to know how to use some of them. Three [...]
Command line tip #7 – Make a hierarchy of folders
Many PC users are aware that the command “md’ can be used to create a new folder. However, it is less well known that a whole hierarchy of folders can be created in one line with a command like: md [path]new\new1\new2This will create a folder “new” with a sub-folder “new1″ that itself contains a [...]
Command line tip #6 – Easy backups with Xcopy
The command line repertoire contains a powerful method for copying or making backups of a folder and all its sub-folders. For many home PC users who want a simple but versatile backup method, the command “xcopy” is ideal. I discuss “xcopy” in all its glory at another site but here is an example of how [...]
Command line tip #5 – How to save the output of a command to the clipboard with clip.exe
Tip #4 showed how to save the output of a command to a text file. However, sometimes you may want to be able to insert the output into some other type of file. In that case, sending the output to the clipboard will do the trick. In Vista, there is a utility file called clip.exe [...]