How to increase the Browsing and Downloading speed in Windows Vista? Vista Tips and Tricks

With windows Vista you have noticed the slow internet speed. The web browsing and downloading speed is very slow as compare to previous versions of windows. You can open the same sites in windows XP and server 2003 with the normal speed.

Follow the given steps to increase the Vista browsing speed:

First go to Advance tab in Internet Explorer and turn off the TLS (Transport Layer Security) encryption option. Here to fix problem with some secure pages turn on the SSL 2.0 (Secure Sockets Layer) feature and click Ok button to close it.

Follow the major fix for this problem:

In windows Vista, the TCP autotuning feature is enabled by default. Some web servers do not respond properly to this feature, so it appears that some sites open with very slow speed.

To use this feature, you will need to be logged into your computer with administrative rights.

First click on Start button and type CMD in Run option then press Enter.

At Command Prompt, type the following command and press enter.

netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel= disabled

This command will disable the TCP autotuning feature. Now close the command Prompt and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

You can easily restore these setting by typing the following command at Command Prompt.

netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel= normal

Now close the command Prompt and again restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

How to enable the advance performance setting in windows vista? Vista Tips and Tricks

If you have noticed that the speed of your system is very slow with windows vista then today tip is very useful for you to increase the performance of windows vista. There is some default setting in vista which is used to manage the write caching on disk. By default windows enabled the write caching on disk but the advanced performance setting is disabled.

Follow the given steps to configure the advance performance setting in Windows Vista:

To enable this feature, you will need to be logged into your computer with administrative rights.

First right click on My Computer icon then select the option Manage.

Here small windows will appear with title Computer Management, now select the Device Manager option, then locate the SATA Disk under the Disk Drives.

Here select the enable advanced performance sittings on the SATA disk.

Now click on Ok button to apply the setting and restart your computer after any changes to go into effect.

How to delete files that are used by other programs in windows XP/Vista? Vista Tips and Tricks

This tip will help you to delete the files and folders that are being used by another programs and applications, for example a virus affected file. You have tried to delete such kind of files or folders and received the any following messages.

• Cannot delete file: the file is in use by the other program
• Cannot delete file: There has been a sharing violation
• Cannot delete file: The file is in use by another program or user
• Cannot delete file: Disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use.
• Cannot delete file: The source or destination file may be in use

Normally, a windows restart will allow you to delete such files or folders that are being used by other program, but if you want to manage it without restart your computer then simply you need to download a freeware tool called Unlocker.

You can download this tool for any windows version using Unlocker link. Download it and run the easy setup.

After installation, right click on file or folder that you want to delete and select the option Unlocker.

If your requested file or folder is used or locked by other application then a small window listing of lockers will appear.

Here simply click on “Unlock All” button and now you can easily delete this file.

How To Customise Your Start Button

First you need a tool called “Resource Hacker“. This free program allows you to change resources in any .exe file such as “Explorer.exe“, which includes the [Start] button’s Label. You can visit Download.com and search there for “Resource Hacker“. After you download it, follow the guide here:

Step 1:

A – Run “Resource Hacker” and open the file “%windir%\Explorer.exe“.

B – You see a Tree of all Resources in this file, expand the “String Table“

C – Find the “start” and replace it with your own text. then press the [Compile Script] button.

D – Save “Explorer.exe” as “MyStart.exe” DONT save it as Explorer.exe, do “save as..” and give it a new name.

E – Quit “Resource Hacker“.

Use Notepad As a Diary

Want to write your diary on your computer? You can do it without using any software.

1. Open Notepad

2. Type “.LOG”

3. Save it

4. Now every time you open this file notepad will automatically insert date and time to the last line of the file. You can type anything after that line and save it. In this way you can use it as a diary.

Password Protect Your Excel Files

Password to open the document:

If it is applied then you have to give the correct password to open the workbook. Otherwise you cannot open the workbook.
Password to modify the document:
If it is applied then you have to give the correct password to modify the workbook. Otherwise your workbook is opened but you cannot modify the workbook. It means that your workbook becomes read-only.

To apply a password to MS Excel document, follow the given steps:

1. Open the file
2. Click on Tools menu and select “Options” from the menu.
3. Select the “Security” tab.
4. Enter “Password to Open”
5. Enter “Password to Modify”
6. Click On OK
7. Verify the passwords by re-entering both of them.
8. Save the document and close it
9. Re-open the document and check the passwords.

[HOW TO]Turn Monitor off using keyboard

If you are using a Desktop computer then it’s easy to turn On or Off your monitor screen. But still if you are lazy enough to stretch your hand to the monitor screen we have one cool small application to make your life easier.

PushMoitorOff is a tiny app which allows you to control your monitor screen from your keyboard. This tool comes handy for laptop users too. As most of the laptops don’t have the different On/Off button for the screen. So those who believe in saving energy can use this tool when needed.

The app is very easy to use. Whenever you feel like turning on/off your monitor you just have to press Shift+f1. You can change this shortcut key also using the options provided in the software.

Download PushMonitorOff (211 KB)

This has been linked to other web site for your easy access.

 

Different ways to shutdown ur pc

There are so many different ways to turn off your Windows XP computer, let’s look at some of them:

1. The standard approach – click the Start Button with your mouse, then select the Turn Off menu and finally click the Turn Off icon on the Turn Off computer dialog. blink.gif

2. Press Ctrl+Esc key or the Win key and press u two times – the fastest approach.

3. Get the Shutdown utility from Download.com – it add the shut down shortcuts for you. Else create them yourself using approach 4.

4. Create a shutdown shortcut on your desktop. Right click on the desktop, choose New Shortcut and type shutdown -s -t 00 in the area where you are asked to specify the location of the program file. Now you can just double click this icon to turn off the computer. The best location would be your quick launch bar.

5. Press the Win key + R key to open the run window. Type shutdown -s -t 00. [s means shutdown while t means the duration after which you want to initiate the shutdown process].
If some open processes or application won’t let you turn off, append a -f switch to force a shut down by closing all active processes.

6. Win+M to minimize all windows and then Alt+F4 to bring the Turn Off computer dialog.

7. Open Windows Task manager (by right clicking the Windows Task bar or Alt+Ctrl+Del) and choose Shut down from the menu. Useful when the Windows are not responding.

8. open task manager—>click on shutdown—>hold the ctrl key and click on Turn off::::::: pc will be turned off in 3 secs.. fastest method other than hard shutdown

11 ways to make your computer faster

Your computer running Windows isn’t running in the same speed that it used to run when you first used it. It’s slower, crappy, takes a while to start and tests your patience like anything. There are many reasons for this, let’s try fixing up a few things on your slow Windows PC:

Slow Start Up.

There can be a variety of reasons to Windows loading slow during start up. Go to Run, type msconfig and hit enter. Under the ‘Start Up’ tab, uncheck the unwanted programs and press OK. Things should be a bit fine the next time Windows boots.
Another program worth mentioning here is StartUp Delayer which will help in setting after how much time programs should be loaded after Windows boots. For instance, you could set your instant messenger program to load 50 seconds after Windows starts up.

Slow Loading Start Menu.

If the Start Menu items are loading slowly, you can open the Registry Editor by typing in the Run menu ‘regedit.exe’ and pressing Enter. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop. Look for MenuShowDelay, and double click to edit the value. The lower the number specified, the faster the Start Menu will load.

Slow Right Click Context Menu

Probably the Windows Right Click menu on your computer is loading slow because too many programs added unwanted entries there. Just download this program called Mmm, install it and then modify your context menu to remove unwanted items to speed it up.

‘Send To’ Menu Slow Send To Menu

If the Send To menu loads slowly, you can type ’sendto’ in the Run Dialog, and remove unwanted items in the Explorer Window that appears. This should add some speed to it.

Slow Defragmentation

The Windows Defragmenter can’t get any slower. You need to have an alternative to the Windows Defragmenter, and Defraggler is just one of the best ones available in the market. It’s free, and works like a charm and can speed up defragmentation manifold.

Slow loading My Computer Window

my-computer.jpg If the My Computer Window loads slowly, in the Explorer Window, go to Tools >> Folder Options >> View and uncheck ‘Automatically search for network folders and printers”

Slow loading Add or Remove Programs Applet

This is one of the most annoying piece of programs present in Windows, it takes ages to load if you have a considerable number of programs installed on your computer. You can either use the all-in-one CCleaner for this purpose, or get MyUninstaller that comes as a speedy replacement for Add or Remove Programs.

Slow Ending of Unresponsive Programs

If you’ve clicked on ‘End Task’ if any program is running unresponsive, you might have noticed that the program is not terminated immediately. You can alter this by going to Run >> regedit.exe >> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\ and change this value to 1000.
Disable Animations and Appearance Overhauls to maximize performance
If you’re a serious performance junkie, you probably won’t bother about eyecandy. Go to System Properties in the Control Panel. Click ‘Advanced’, then ‘Performance’ and click ‘Adjust for best performance’. This might boost your PC’s performance up a bit.

Additional Tips:

- Always keep your computer clean. Remove Junk and Unnecessary registry entries. Use CCleaner for this purpose, one excellent tool that just does what it says.
- Don’t keep installing software. Install a program only if it really serves you a purpose.
- Keep as less programs as possible running on the System Tray. This essentially means reducing the number of programs that start during Windows start up.
Thanks to Makeuseof.com

10 Must-Have apps for your USB PenDrive

Having portable apps in Pen Drive is must for computer geeks.No need to install this softwares in your PC. Just double click on them and they are ready to use.Here is the list of 10 must have portable freewares.

1. Mozilla Firefox Portable Edition

Carry the “safest browser in the world” with you, also have your extensions, bookmarks and addons ready to use any time.
Download firefox portable

2. VLC Media Player Portable

Best media player supports almost all popular media file formats. Now take it with you anywhere you go.
Download VLC player portable

3. Pidgin Portable

All-in-one instant messaging (supports AIM, ICQ, MSN Messenger, Yahoo, Gtalk, etc)
Download Pidgin Portable

4. ClamWin Antivirus Portable

If you are a tech-geek you must be already having this on your thumb drive, free professional antivirus to keep your PC safe anytime, anywhere.
Download ClamWin AntiVirus

5. Notepad++ Portable

Must have tool for programmers and developers. It’s main syntax highlighting feature makes it look different from other common text editors.
Download Notepad++ Portable

6.7-Zip Portable

Now uncompress all types of compressed files with this cool free app. This is one of the most popular freeware now made portable.
Download 7-zip Portable

7.CCleaner Portable

Free, easy to use and very useful application. Cleans scrap files from your system in few minutes. Makes you PC run faster.
Download CCleaner portable

8.Utorrent

Download torrent files from anywhere you go.Tiny bittorrent client.
Download Utorrent

9.Restoration

Recover accidentally deleted files – even after they were deleted from the recycle bin.
Download Restoration

10.Foxit Reader

Foxit Reader is a small and fast PDF viewer that is compatible with PDF Standard 1.7. It includes Javascript support, interactive form filler, annotation tools and built-in text converter.
Download Foxit Reader

How to remove programs not listed in “Add/Remove Programs”

This problem can occur if the program you installed creates a registry key name that is longer than 60 characters in length. Add/Remove Programs only lists program names it locates up to the point it encounters this situation.Follow the steps given to solve the problem.

• Go to C:\Windows\Inf folder. In the right pane, scroll down to sysoc.inf. Open it with notepad. It will look like…

[Components]
NtComponents=ntoc.dll,NtOcSetupProc,,4
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7

• The word “HIDE” in an entry hides that application from your Add/Remove Programs dialog box. To add ms messenger to the Add/Remove menu, delete the word HIDE from its entry. Don’t delete the “,”(comma) after it.
• Save the file and restart your machine and now you can see that app listed in the add/remove programs list.

ENJOY

Password protect your PenDrive with USB Safeguard

We often have some personal documents/data in USB stick which we don’t want anybody else to read or access. In this case it is necessary to password protect your sensitive data. This can be done by using the portable USB Safeguard. USB Safeguard is a freeware which can help you to keep your personal data password protected.
USB Safeguard is a software to encrypt and protect data with a password on your removable pen drives using the AES 256 bits encryption.

It does not only encrypts your files, it also has ‘Safe Internet Browsing’ option to surf safe on web and removes all Internet traces like URL history, typed URLs, typed passwords in web forms and etc. Built in file shredder – i.e. wiping the contents of the original pre-encrypted file – and more.
Main features :

* Runs with any USB pen drive
* No installation required
* Easy drag & drop file adding * Built in file shredder
* Secure your data if drive is lost


Download USB Safeguard(740 kb)

How to make your Desktop Icons Transparent

To make your Desktop Icons Transparent, use the below method.

 

Go to control Panel >

System>

Advanced >

Performance area >

Settings button Visual Effects tab

"Use drop shadows for icon labels on the Desktop"

Now the icons will become transparent.

Lost your Windows password? Here’s what you can do to get around

Due to the security features built into Windows XP, it is virtually impossible to get back into the system without the password.
You have several options to try and get around this problem.
If you have access to another user account with administrator rights, you can use that account to change the password of the account that is locked out. You can also use the default Administrator account that is built into Windows XP.
First you need to boot the system into Safe Mode.

1. Restart your system.
2. When you see the blue screen, press the ( F8 ) key about 3 times a second.
3. You should get the Windows startup menu. Use the (Up or Down) arrow keys to highlight (SafeMode).
4. Press (Enter) on (Safe Mode), then press (Enter) on (Windows XP).
5. The system should boot to Safe Mode.

Once you are at the Account Log on Screen, click on the icon for the user account with administrator rights, or click on the icon for the administrators account.
Note: For Home the Administrator account isn’t normally shown & in Safe Mode you have to press Ctrl+Alt+Delete keys twice to show. For PRO you can do this in normal mode
When the system has booted to the desktop, use the following steps to change the accounts password.

1. Click Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools.
2. Click Computer Management.
3. Double click Local Users and Groups, double click the folder Users.
4. Right click on the account name that is locked out, and click on Set Password.
5. You may get a warning message about changing the password, simply click proceed.
6. Leave the New Password box blank, also leave the Confirm Password box blank.
7. Click OK, and OK again.
8. Then close all Windows, reboot the system and try to log in.

There are also applications that can recover the password for you.
If the above information does not help in recovering the password, the only option left is to format the hard drive then reinstall Windows and the system software

How to Speedup Browsing Folders

You may have noticed that everytime you open my computer to browse folders that there is a slight delay. This is because Windows XP automatically searches for network files and printers when you open Windows explorer. To stop XP from doing this follow the instructions below.

1. Open My Computer
2. Click on Tools menu
3. Click on Folder Options
4. Click on the View tab.
5. Uncheck the Automatically search for network folders and printers check box
6. Click Apply
7. Click Ok
8. Reboot your computer

Try it now, you will see a significant increase in speed.

How To Speed Up A Slow Computer

First of all in the bottom right hand corner of your computer if you see alot of icons start up there when you first start your computer then this is for you if you don't know already how to get rid of em.

Press your Start Button (bottom left) and go to "run"
now type in: msconfig
now you will get a box that pops up and will tell you bunch of stuff don't mess with anything else other than what I tell you otherwise you could do something really bad (possible) go to your "startup" tab on the top right of the screen where it usually is and click it.

Now you will have a closed in box with bunch of file names n addresses and more boxes with checks in them. Now if your like me you don't want anything starting up when you start you computer up or while your even doing anything cause it slows you down. Now unless your like me right now 1 have 1 thing starting up when my computer starts up and thats my setting for my overclocked vid card. But other than that uncheck every box and then hit apply and ok. Then window you were jus in will now close and ask you if you want to restart or wait till later to restart.

Either way when you shut it off and then turn it back on the settins will kick in

Recover a Corrupted System File.

If an essential Windows file gets whacked by a virus or otherwise corrupted, restore it from the Windows CD. Search the CD for the filename, replacing the last character with an underscore; for example, Notepad.ex_. If it's found, open a command prompt and enter the command EXPAND, followed by the full pathname of the file and of the desired destination: EXPAND D:\SETUP\NOTEPAD.EX_ C:\Windows\NOTEPAD.EXE. If either pathname contains any spaces, surround it with double quotes.

If the file isn't found, search on the unmodified filename. It will probably be inside a CAB file, which Win XP treats as a folder. Simply right-drag and copy the file to the desired location. In other Windows platforms, search for a file matching *.cab that contains the filename. When the search is done, open a command prompt and enter EXTRACT /L followed by the desired location, the full pathname of the CAB file, and the desired filename; for example: EXTRACT /L C:\Windows D:\I386\Driver.cab Notepad.exe. Again, if the destination or CAB file pathname contains spaces, surround it with double quotes.

Make mp3 files smaller without losing clarity.

If you don't already have a copy of MusicMatch Jukebox, download one from musicmatch.com. The "Plus" version has more features and burns CDs faster, but the free version works just fine for converting files

1. Install music match box and then restart your computer if it asks
2. open music matchbox and click file convert files
3. in the bottom right hand corner called 'destination type' change it to mp3 pro.
4.you can edit the bitrate but the higher the bitrate the bigger the size
5. choose the songs you want to convert and click start

If you want to try something different repeat step one and 2 and instead of making the destintion type mp3 pro make it 'mp3pro vbr'

again the lower the setting the smaller the size.

Hibernate Your XP The Great Trick

Hey your Windows XP has a very good but hidden feature !

Trick Advantage :
You can leave your work in between and shutdown the PC and resume it next time as it is !
Even I switched off my PC while writing this article and when I reopened it I resumed my article from where i left !

When you want to stop your work and shutdown(Keeping your programs open)
Do The Following :
1. Click start>Turn Off Computer
2. As the Turn Off menu comes up press 'Shift' and 'Stand By' changes to 'Hibernate'
3. Click Hibernate (Shift Kept Pressed)

Your xp will save the work and shutdown !

Now, when you switch it on again it will resume it again !

No loading of windows will take place and you will be resumed to your work as if you had just switched your monitor off and now on again !

Its Amazing !