Vista
Windows Vista/7 power management bug
I personally ran into the following on a Vista laptop. I turned off the system in the usual way, putting the PC into the hybrid sleep mode. I then closed the lid. I could have just closed the lid and that would also have put the system to sleep. By both turning off the PC [...]
Restore missing or disappearing tray icons in Windows Vista
Here’s an annoying Vista problem. Periodically, I would find my network connection and some other tray icons disappearing. A little research revealed that it is a Vista bug caused by some Registry entries filling up. Sometimes rebooting brings the vanishing icons back but not always. You may have to resort to editing the Registry. (Back [...]
Quick keyboard launch of applications
The Quick Launch toolbar has provided a way to easily open favorite applications with a mouse click ever since Windows 98. In Windows Vista, a hotkey function using the Windows key was introduced and then continued in Windows 7. Each icon in the Quick Launch Bar is assigned a number 1-9 from left to right. [...]
Install, reinstall, or uninstall Windows
Sometimes you have to reinstall Windows to repair corrupted files or a malware infection. Or you may want a clean, new installation to improve performance. Maybe you just got a copy of Windows 7 and want to install it or even dual-boot with it. For all these scenarios and more Microsoft has a useful site [...]
Disk defragmenters
Defragmenting your hard drives is one of those computer maintenance chores that has to be done now and then. In Windows Vista and 7, defragging is pretty much automatic with a default setting that runs the built-in Windows utility once a week in the background. Thus, most home PC users with Vista/7 no longer need [...]
Windows Start-up & Shutdown Sounds from Windows 3.1 on up
It seems that people will collect almost anything. Vince Bognot has put together Windows Start-up and Shutdown Sounds from Windows 3.1 to Windows 7. I am not sure who cares but here is his collection:
Via the Windows Club
Scrap files scrapped
Windows is a complicated operating system and has many properties and features that most PC users are unaware of. One of the odder and lesser known features in Windows 98/XP was something called a scrap file. I wrote about scrap files some years ago in connection with their use by virus writers. I visit the [...]
Fixing Windows update problems
For one reason or the other, it sometimes happens that a file or a Registry entry gets corrupted in one of the never-ending Windows updates. In that case, it often becomes impossible to carry out updates without getting error messages. The problems are common enough that Microsoft has come up with a tool to fix [...]
Customize your icons
Many Windows users are unaware that they are not stuck with the default set of icons that comes with their setup. In fact, it is quite easy to edit or replace the existing icons. Some years ago I wrote an article on how to customize your icons. Why should all your folder icons be the [...]
Microsoft patches patched
Some of the Microsoft security patches from the October patch Tuesday were buggy. Microsoft issued some fixes yesterday. So you may need to check Microsoft Update. Details at InfoWorld.
How 32-bit software runs on 64-bit Windows
When I took a look at the many PC offerings being rolled out for the advent of Windows 7, I was struck by how many of them were 64-bit systems. It’s a little geeky but an explanation of how Windows Vista/7 64-bit systems manage 32-bit software may interest some. TechSupportAlert has an overview of how [...]
