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Windows Tips & Tricks

THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2012

Unblock Hidden Chat Emotions in Gmail Chat

We all are familiar with the chat emotions provided in the gmail chat box that can be selected from the drop-down list. But here are some of the hidden char emotions that you can try out the next time you are chatting with your friends and amaze them!!!

• :3  (cat)
• :(:)  (pig)
• :(|) (monkey)
• V.v.V  (crab)
• -<@% (bumblebee)
• +/'\ (cowbell)
• [:|] (robot)
• }:-)  (devil)
• \m/  (rock out)
• <3  (heart)
• 
  

Tips: RUN commands

We all know that Windows logo key + R leads us to the RUN command box and we have been using quite a few commands like msconfig, cmd, notepad etc… as a shortcut to open the applications quickly without having to locate them in their respective directories. So, here is the list of all the commands you can execute in Run and access various applications:

A

Add/Remove Programs = appwiz.cpl

Administrative Tools = control admintools

Authorization Manager= azman.msc "New"

C

Calculator = calc

Certificate Manager = certmgr.msc

Character Map = charmap

Check Disk Utility = chkdsk

Control Panel = control "New"

Command Prompt = cmd.exe

Component Services = dcomcnfg

Computer Management = compmgmt.msc = CompMgmtLauncher "New"

D

Date and Time Properties = timedate.cpl

Downloads = Downloads "New"

Device Manager = devmgmt.msc

Direct X Troubleshooter = dxdiag

Disk Cleanup Utility = cleanmgr

Defragment User Interface = dfrgui "New"

Ditilizer Calibration Tool = tabcal "New"

Disk Management = diskmgmt.msc

Disk Parmelonion Manager = diskpart

Display Properties = control desktop or desk.cpl

DPI Scaling = dpiscaling "New"

Driver Package Installer = dpinst "New"

Driver Verifier Utility = verifier or /reset

DVD Player = dvdplay "New"

E

Encryption File System = rekeywiz "New"

Event Viewer = eventvwr.msc

F

Fax Cover Sheet Editor = fxscover "New"

File Signature Verification Tool = sigverif

Folders Properties = control folders

Fonts = control fonts

Free Cell Card Game = freecell

G

Group Policy Editor = gpedit.msc

I

Internet Explorer = iexplore

Iexpress Wizard = iexpress

Internet Properties = inetcpl.cpl

IP Configuration = ipconfig.exe

iSCSI Initiator = iscsicpl "New"

J

Keyboard Properties = control keyboard

L

Libraries = explorer or Windows key + E

Local Security Settings = secpol.msc

Local Users and Groups = lusrmgr.msc

Logs You Out Of Windows = logoff

M

Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool = msdt "New"

Microsoft Paint = mspaint.exe

Mouse Properties = control mouse

Mouse Properties = main.cpl

Mobility Center (only on mobile) = mblctr or Windows key + X

Network Connections = control netconnections

Network Connections = ncpa.cpl

Notepad = notepad

O

ODBC Data Source Administrator = odbcad32 "New"

Optional Features Manager = optionalfeatures "New"

On Screen Keyboard = osk or Windows key + U

P

Performance Monitor = perfmon.msc

Phone and Modem Options = telephon.cpl

Power Configuration = powercfg.cpl

Printers and Faxes = control printers

Printer Migration = PrintBrmUi "New"

Private Character Editor = eudcedit

R

Regional Settings = intl.cpl

Registry Editor = regedit.exe

Remote Assistance = msra "New"

Remote Desktop = mstsc

Resultant Set of Policy = rsop.msc

S

Scheduled Tasks = control schedtasks

Security Center = wscui.cpl

Services = services.msc

Shared Folders/MMC = fsmgmt.msc

Shuts Down Windows = shutdown

Snipping Tool = snippingtool "New"

Sounds and Audio = mmsys.cpl

Sound Recorder = soundrecorder "New"

Sound Volume = sndvol "New"

Spider Solitare Card Game = spider

SQL Client Configuration = cliconfg

Stored User Names and Passwords = credwiz "New"

Sticky Note = StikyNot "New"

System Configuration Editor = sysedit

System Configuration Utility = msconfig

System File Checker Utility = sfc

System Information = msinfo32

System Properties = sysdm.cpl or Windows key + Pause/Break

T

Task Manager = taskmgr

Trusted Platform Module = TpmInit "New"

U

Utility Manager = utilman

User Accounts = netplwiz or control userpasswords2

W

Windows Activation = slui "New"

Windows Backup Utility = sdclt "New"

Windows Fax and Scan = wfs "New"

Windows Firewall = firewall.cpl

Windows Firewall with Advanced Security = wf.msc "New"

Windows Image Acquisition = wiaacmgr "New"

Windows Media Player = wmplayer

Windows Magnifier = magnify

Windows Management Infrastructure = wmimgmt.msc

Windows Update App Manager = wuapp "New"

Windows Standalong Update Manager = wusa "New'

Windows System Security Tool = syskey

Windows Share Creation Wizard = shrpubw "New"

Wordpad = write

THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2012

Understand (and Get Rid of) the Mysterious Small Partition

If you install Windows 7 on a clean disk with no existing partitions, it creates a System Reserved partition at the beginning of the disk and uses the remainder of the unallocated space to create your system drive.That small partition isn’t assigned a drive letter, so you won’t even know it exists unless you look in the Disk Management console or use a low-level utility, such as Diskpart, to inspect the disk structure.

This “stub” of a partition, which is new in Windows 7, serves two functions. First, it holds the Boot Manager code and the Boot Configuration Database. Sec¬ond, it reserves space for the startup files required by the BitLocker Drive Encryption feature. If you ever decide to encrypt your system drive using BitLocker, you won’t have to repartition your system drive to make it possible.

If you’re confident you’ll never use BitLocker and prefer to do without the additional complexity of this System Reserved partition, your best bet is to make sure it’s never created. For a truly clean installation starting from an unformatted hard drive, you must use a different disk-management utility, such as the setup disk available from many hard-disk manufacturers or a startup disk from Windows Vista. Create a single primary partition using all unallocated space, and then point the installer to the newly created partition as the setup location. (Note that you cannot use the graphical disk-management tools available from the Windows 7 DVD to perform this task.) After you use the alternative tool to create a partition on the drive, you can point the Win¬dows 7 installer to that location and it will proceed.

If you’re comfortable with command-line disk management tools, you can use the Diskpart utility from the setup program to create the necessary partition. At the begin¬ning of setup, before you select the location where you want to install Windows:

1. Press Shift+F10 to open a Command Prompt window
2. Type diskpart to enter the Diskpart environment
3. Assuming you have a single clean hard disk, use select disk 0 and create partition primary to manually create a new partition
4. Proceed with the Windows 7 setup, using this new partition as the setup location

REPARTITION YOUR HARD DRIVE WITHOUT FORMATING IT

If you are logged in as an administrator, you can repartition your hard disk by using the Shrink feature in Disk Management. You can shrink an existing partition or volume to create unallocated disk space, from which you can create a new partition or volume. (Note that the terms partition and volume are often used interchangeably.)

1. Open Computer Management by clicking the Start button , clickingControl Panel, clicking System and Security, clicking Administrative Tools, and then double-clicking Computer Management.‌  If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
2. In the left pane, under Storage, click Disk Management.
3. Right-click the volume you want to shrink, and then click Shrink Volume.
4. Follow the instructions.

THURSDAY, may 17, 2012

RAM Defragmenter Alternative

Hi friends,

As you all know, how costly the original RAM defragmenting softwares are. So, I've come up with a short and simple tweak tip to free up your RAM memory. All you have to do is follow some simple steps and succeed in freeing up your RAM memory.

1. Open a new notepad file.

2.Type FreeMem=Space(64000000)

3. Save this file with some name like RAM.vbs all you have to take care is to keep the extension as ".vbs"

4. Close this file and then run it by double clicking on it.

THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2012

Tricks To Tweak Firefox

Everybody’s favorite open-source browser, Firefox, is great right out of the box. And by adding some of the awesome extensions available out there, the browser just gets better and better.

But look under the hood, and there are a bunch of hidden (and some not-so-secret) tips and tricks available that will crank Firefox up and pimp your browser. Make it faster, cooler, more efficient. Get to be a Jedi master with the following cool Firefox tricks.
1) More screen space. Make your icons small. Go to View - Toolbars - Customize and check the “Use small icons” box
2) Smart keywords. If there’s a search you use a lot (let’s say IMDB.com’s people search), this is an awesome tool that not many people use. Right-click on the search box, select “Add a Keyword for this search”, give the keyword a name and an easy-to-type and easy-to-remember shortcut name (let’s say “actor”) and save it. Now, when you want to do an actor search, go to Firefox’s address bar, type “actor” and the name of the actor and press return. Instant search! You can do this with any search box.
3) Keyboard shortcuts
This is where you become a real Jedi. It just takes a little while to learn these, but once you do, your browsing will be super fast. Here are some of the most common (and my personal favs):
* Spacebar (page down)
* Shift-Spacebar (page up)
* Ctrl+F (find)
* Alt-N (find next)
* Ctrl+D (bookmark page)
* Ctrl+T (new tab)
* Ctrl+K (go to search box)
* Ctrl+L (go to address bar)
* Ctrl+= (increase text size)
* Ctrl+- (decrease text size)
* Ctrl-W (close tab)
* F5 (reload)
* Alt-Home (go to home page)
4) Auto-complete
This is another keyboard shortcut, but it’s not commonly known and very useful. Go to the address bar (Control-L) and type the name of the site without the “www” or the “.com”. Let’s say “google”. Then press Control-Enter, and it will automatically fill in the “www” and the “.com” and take you there - like magic! For .net addresses, press Shift-Enter, and for .org addresses, press Control-Shift-Enter.
5) Tab navigation.
Instead of using the mouse to select different tabs that you have open, use the keyboard. Here are the shortcuts:
* Ctrl+Tab (rotate forward among tabs)
* Ctrl+Shft+Tab (rotate to the previous tab)
* Ctrl+1-9 (choose a number to jump to a specific tab)
6) Mouse shortcuts.
Sometimes you’re already using your mouse and it’s easier to use a mouse shortcut than to go back to the keyboard. Master these cool ones:
* Middle click on link (opens in new tab)
* Shift-scroll down (previous page)
* Shift-scroll up (next page)
* Ctrl-scroll up (decrease text size)
* Ctrl-scroll down (increase text size)
* Middle click on a tab (closes tab)
7) Delete items from address bar history.
Firefox’s ability to automatically show previous URLs you’ve visited, as you type, in the address bar’s drop-down history menu is very cool. But sometimes you just don’t want those URLs to show up (I won’t ask why). Go to the address bar (Ctrl-L), start typing an address, and the drop-down menu will appear with the URLs of pages you’ve visited with those letters in them. Use the down-arrow to go down to an address you want to delete, and press the Delete key to make it disappear.
8) User chrome.
If you really want to trick out your Firefox, you’ll want to create a UserChrome.css file and customize your browser. It’s a bit complicated to get into here, but check out this tutorial.
9) Create a user.js file. Another way to customize Firefox, creating a user.js file can really speed up your browsing. You’ll need to create a text file named user.js in your profile folder (see this to find out where the profile folder is) and see this example user.js file that you can modify. Created bytechlifeweb.com, this example explains some of the things you can do in its comments.
10) about:config.
The true power user’s tool, about.config isn’t something to mess with if you don’t know what a setting does. You can get to the main configuration screen by putting about:config in the browser’s address bar. See Mozillazine’s about:config tips and screenshots.
11) Add a keyword for a bookmark.
Go to your bookmarks much faster by giving them keywords. Right-click the bookmark and then select Properties. Put a short keyword in the keyword field, save it, and now you can type that keyword in the address bar and it will go to that bookmark.
12) Speed up Firefox.
If you have a broadband connection (and most of us do), you can use pipelining to speed up your page loads. This allows Firefox to load multiple things on a page at once, instead of one at a time (by default, it’s optimized for dialup connections). Here’s how:
* Type “about:config” into the address bar and hit return. Type “network.http” in the filter field, and change the following settings (double-click on them to change them):
* Set “network.http.pipelining” to “true”
* Set “network.http.proxy.pipelining” to “true”
* Set “network.http.pipelining.maxrequests” to a number like 30. This will allow it to make 30 requests at once.
* Also, right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it “nglayout.initialpaint.delay” and set its value to “0?. This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives.
13) Limit RAM usage.
If Firefox takes up too much memory on your computer, you can limit the amount of RAM it is allowed to us. Again, go to about:config, filter “browser.cache” and select “browser.cache.disk.capacity”. It’s set to 50000, but you can lower it, depending on how much memory you have. Try 15000 if you have between 512MB and 1GB ram1
14) Reduce RAM usage further for when Firefox is minimized.
This setting will move Firefox to your hard drive when you minimize it, taking up much less memory. And there is no noticeable difference in speed when you restore Firefox, so it’s definitely worth a go. Again, go to about:config, right-click anywhere and select New-> Boolean. Name it “config.trim_on_minimize” and set it to TRUE. You have to restart Firefox for these settings to take effect.
15) Move or remove the close tab button.
Do you accidentally click on the close button of Firefox’s tabs? You can move them or remove them, again through about:config. Edit the preference for “browser.tabs.closeButtons”. Here are the meanings of each value:
* 0: Display a close button on the active tab only
* 1:(Default) Display close buttons on all tabs
* 2:Don’t display any close buttons
* 3:Display a single close button at the end of the tab bar (Firefox 1.x behavior)
This tricks will improve the speed & load time of firefox. And you will be able to surf faster..
Type about:config in the address bar, Then look for the following entries, and make the corresponding changes.
1.network.http.max-connections = 64
2.network.http.max-connections-per-server =32
3.network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-proxy =16
4.network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server = 10
5.network.http.pipelining = true
6.network.http.pipelining.maxrequests = 200
7.network.http.proxy.pipelining = true
8.network.http.proxy.version = 1.0
9.network.http.request.max-start-delay = 0
Lastly right-click anywhere and select New- Integer. Name it nglayout.initialpaint.delay and set its value to 0. This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it recieves. Enjoy!!

THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2012

How to Unlock the Windows 7 Hidden Themes

The Windows 7 beta has a pack of hidden and locked themes. To unlock hidden themes do the following:

• Step 1: Open the Explorer (Windows + E) and go to C:Windowswinsxs
• Step 2: Enter *.theme into the search field. Alternately you can use the * sign on the number block.
• Step 3: You’ll get the Click me prompt
• Step 4: Double-click the themes ZA, US, GB, CA, AU to install them.

THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2012

Open Icons In Vista With Single Click Instead Of Double Click

Well... many people have been used to the single click format in the previous versions of Windows. So here I am to show you people how to customize the same in Windows Vista. To do so, you need to follow the simple steps given below:

• Open My Computer.
• Click on the Organize drop down menu located at the top left corner of the windows just below the Back & Forward buttons.
• In the dropdown menu click on Folder & Search Options.
• A new dialog box will appear in which you need to select Single Click To Open An Item(Point To Select).
• Click on Apply & then on OK and you are done.
• Enjoy the Single Click experience..........

THURSDAY, MAY 17, 2012

Hidden Programs In Windows Xp

1- Private Character Editor
This program is for designing icons and Characters(Alphapet)
Click :start
Then :run
type :EUDCEDIT

2- iExpress
This Program is for conerting your files to EXCUTABLE files
Click : start
Then : run
type : iexpress

3-Disk Cleanup 
This program used for cleaning harddisk to offer space
Click : start
Then : run
type : cleanmgr

4-Dr Watson
This program Is for repairing problems in Windows
Click : start
Then : run
type : drwtsn32

5-Windows Media Player 5.1
Opens the old media player
Click : start
Then : run
type : mplay32