The PC Informant » Windows XP

Windows Start-up & Shutdown Sounds from Windows 3.1 on up

Vic Laurie — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:41:49 +0000

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

Vic Laurie — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:59:22 +0000

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 subject again to note that, beginning with Vista, Windows no longer supports scrap files.

What were scrap files supposed to do? They were intended as a kind of handy way to copy a small part of a document onto the desktop where it could be kept and then used in another file. Only a few applications, mostly Microsoft Office, supported this function, however, and very few PC users even knew about it.

To see how a scrap file works in Windows XP, open a Word document. Then highlight some text and use the mouse to drag the highlighted material onto the desktop. A new file will appear. Double-click the file and a Word document containing the text will open. Or drag the scrap file and drop it into an open Word document and the text will appear in the Word document. With a slightly different procedure, images can also be manipulated. In that case, however, you need to use a right-click drag and make a selection from the context menu.

Because of backward compatibility considerations, Microsoft doesn’t often drop a Windows feature. But scrap files were little known or used and had some security issues so this feature was omitted from Vista and 7.

Fixing Windows update problems

Vic Laurie — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:11:23 +0000

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 them. Go to this Microsoft link to get instructions and to download the fix.

Microsoft patches patched

Vic Laurie — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 00:11:45 +0000

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

Vic Laurie — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:58:08 +0000

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 it works.

Truckload of Microsoft updates

Vic Laurie — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:39:18 +0000

Speaking of security updates, today is the monthly Microsoft patch Tuesday and it’s a big one, in fact, the biggest ever. It even includes Windows 7. Computerworld reports:

Today’s security updates from Microsoft were unprecedented, with 13 separate bulletins that quashed 34 vulnerabilities. Both were records for the company since it began delivering monthly updates six years ago.

Tweaking guides for Windows XP and Vista

Vic Laurie — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:04:51 +0000

Windows is eminently tweakable and there are a number of applications and guides for configuring Windows XP and Vista. Some applications will carry out tweaks for you while others simply give instructions. In this latter category is a nice collection of useful tweaks from Tweakguides. A free PDF document is available, one for Windows XP and one for Vista. The description reads:

The TweakGuides Tweaking Companion (TGTC) is the complete system optimization guide for Windows users. Designed for novice and advanced users alike, it is written in plain English to help you genuinely understand all aspects of Windows and your PC. The guide covers every major topic, from the correct installation of Windows and critical drivers and software, through to recommendations for every significant setting and feature, all the major performance and convenience tweaks and customizations, as well as detailed troubleshooting advice. There are also links to a range of reliable free applications for optimizing and maintaining your system, as well as to important resources for finding out even more about Windows and your PC.

Via TechSupportAlert

Information at Microsoft

Vic Laurie — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:00:33 +0000

The Microsoft Web site contains vast amounts of information about Windows and other Microsoft products. It is not always easy to find things on the site but one place I find very valuable is the TechNet Library. It contains documentation for all sorts of Microsoft products. It is intended for IT professionals but PC users can find useful information as well. I use it frequently.

For information about Windows 7 specifically, the link is here.

FAQ for upgrading to Windows 7 from XP

Vic Laurie — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:00:22 +0000

If you have an XP system that you think has enough horsepower to run Windows 7 and want to know what is involved in an upgrade, Gregg Keizer has an upgrade FAQ at Computerworld.

First, however, run the Microsoft software Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor. Download the advisor here. It will assess your system and tell you if it is able to run Windows 7.

Also, note that the minimum system requirements according to Microsoft are:

1GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
1GB RAM (32-bit) or 2GB RAM (64-bit)
16GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher

These are the bare requirements. As Keizer says:

Take those with a grain of salt. Vista runs slowly on a PC with just 1GB of memory; Windows 7 may do better, but you’re still likely to be disappointed.

Also note that a clean install is necessary:

Whatever the reasons, you’ll have to do what’s called a “clean” install of Windows 7, which means you’ll need to restore backed up data, recreate settings throughout Windows and reinstall all applications. (”Clean install” isn’t a choice on the Windows 7 install-type selection screen; you’ll pick “Custom” from the two-option list.)

More details can be found in the FAQ.

Temporary fix for latest IE security problem

Vic Laurie — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 13:35:00 +0000

As posted yesterday. Internet Explorer in Windows XP systems is being subjected to attacks from infected Web sites that exploit a security hole in an ActiveX component. You can disable ActiveX yourself or you can use a Microsoft site to do it for you. Go to this Microsoft “Fix-it” page.