COMPLETE WINDOWS TIPS - David Woodsmall

3/07/2023 - Optimized for Firefox 100.0.2 (Quantum)

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WHAT DO DO IF YOUR SYSTEM IS INFECTEDCOMPUTER SECURITY TUTORIAL - Start Here If You Are A Novice Complete COMPUTER VIRUS Information Complete COMPUTER SECURITY Information Complete WINDOWS REGISTRY Information

INDEX - WINDOWS TIPS JUMP TABLE

CLEAN YOUR COMPUTER - DUST/DIRT

How to CLEAN your COMPUTER - remove Dust and Dirt
COMPETE WINDOWS TIPS
ACRONYMS / GLOSSARIES / DEFINITIONS Administrator Password Reset CD Revised disabling AutoRun in Windows XP After CERT warning, Microsoft delivers AutoRun fix Analog Sound no longer works AUDIO / SOUND - Click here Belarc Advisor - profile of your installed software/hardware, missing Microsoft hotfixes, anti-virus status,... BACKUPS - Restoring XP backups in Vista Backup Software (Ghost, True Image) BIOS - Print Your BIOS settings (Read Your Hardware Setup) Boot Proccess / Startup BOOT CDs / FLOPPIES BOOT LOGGING BOOTING SAFE MODE Boot.ini switch options in XP and w2k3 CALENDARS: Lightning - A Calendar and To-Do List that adds to Mozilla's Thunderbird I USE LIGHTNING SUNBIRD - a standalone free Mozilla Calendar similar to Mozilla's LIGHTNING Google Calendar CD's - Playing without inserting (Daemon Tools) Certification exam notes Character Map Utility in Windows Clusters, Windows SHERLOCK - The Codec Detective! (What Codecs are on your Windows system? - are they broken?) Commands, a few to know A-Z Index of Windows XP/NT Commands Computer Information Utilities Device Drivers - How to backup almost all of your Drivers Drivers - What is the version of the installed printer driver, even Networked printers Digital Rights Management (DRM) DISK DEFRAGMENTATION: Antivirus Software Run Time and Disk Defragmentation - white paper - Diskeeper DISK IMAGE SOFTWARE: Gilles Vollant software - WinImage is a disk-imaging suite Includes DMF, VHD, FAT, ISO, NTFS and Linux. Shareware. What is WinImage ImgBurn - Freeware ISO burning software for Windows - The Official ImgBurn Website AfterDawn.com: Guides: How to burn a DVD Folder with ImgBurn ImgBurn carries on from where DVD Decrypter left off! (Well, for the burning part anyway!) ImgBurn is a freeware program that allows the recording of many types of CD/DVD images DLL Information and Fixes DOC files - Converting DOC files to PDF .docx & .docm WORD Files - Free Plugin from MS Make a DOS App Work With a USB Printer (on Windows), Again - SCROLL DOWN DOS/Windows to LINUX/UNIX ASCII File Conversion - Converts end-of-line characters - "FLIP"

DISK RECOVERY

If your drive spins up (you'll hear it), but it does not Boot Up (you can not use the computer), You can try to: 1] Try booting up in SAFE MODE and then running your: A] Registry Fix program THEN B] Anti-Virus program C] Any File/Directory Fix Utilities you may have (I use Norton's 360 Version 27.7.0.11). D] Now try a normal re-boot to see if your problem(s) is resolved. or 2] Use a BOOT CDs, SLIPSTREAMED CDs, Bootable USB & FLOPPIES Note that A] USB CD Drives and B] USB Floppy Drives are available for purchase, if your system does not have a CD drive (very unlikely) or Floppy drive. Note also, that the USB Floppy drive MUST state that it can be used for Booting (takes some extra BIOS code in the actual device driver fro the CD drive). Then run Anti-Virus and File Directory fix programs. Then see if your problem was recolved. or 3] Use a Bootable USB Key (Finger drive, Geek drive, Flash drive) to allow you to attempt to Fix a bad directory. Requires an appropriate Bootable USB key and Fix Utilities on that USB key that are made to recover bad Files, Directory Structures, some may even attempt to recover a bad spot on a hard drive (disk). Then see if your problem was recolved. or 4] Use a Bootable USB key to to allow you to copy needed files off of the bad drive. Then FORMAT your Hard Drive (ALL data on that drive will be destroyed) Then insall your system Backup OR Re-install Windows and ALL Applications. (requires original installation meda and all needed software access Keys) or 5] Wipe the hard drive and restore your previously made System Backup (any data modified since this backup, will be lost [destroyed]). Then FORMAT your Hard Drive (ALL data on that drive will be destroyed) Then insall your system Backup OR Re-install Windows and ALL Applications. (requires original installation meda and all needed software access Keys) or 6] If you have NO backup, and you do not wish to pay money for a professional Data recovery, you can: A] Wipe the hard drive (ALL data, programs, and the operating system will be DESTROYED B] Re-install Windows and your applications - You MUST have 1} All needed Installation Media (usually a CD) 2} All neccessary Software KEYS (to allow the software to work) How to Resurrect a Crashed Hard Drive Hard Drive Data Recovery, Disk Recovery & Data Rescue Tools

DISK WIPING - Destroy Data on your Hard Drive (HDD)

Securely Wipe a Dead Hard Drive Remove Sensitive Data Before You Sell an Old PC

DOWNLOAD ERROR: Your current security settings do not allow this file (EXE) to be downloaded

Recently, I was suddenly unable to download EXE files to my Windows XP Pro system. Normally, I would expect this problem to be caused by NOT having Javascript or perhaps even Java, turned on. However my problem was more insideous. I had put the desired web site (URL) in my Trusted Zone, and I had both Javascript and Java turned on. I checked my security programs - none were blocking downloads of EXEs. I have seen Windows Firewall block downloads of EXEs, but I use a Hardware Firewall and ZoneAlarm Pro instead of the weaker Windows XP Firewall. COURTESY of riderx (SCROLL DOWN TO "riderx") and zeropaid.com - cured my problems with both Firefox 3 and Internet Explorer 7 - by modifying Internet Zone Setting via Internet Explorer, as listed here: do this via internet explorer this will resolve your problem. click on tools click on internet options click on security click on custom level scroll down till you get to downloads in the security section click and enable automatic prompting for downloads click and enable file download simple as that click ok and it will work "Your current security settings do not allow this file to be downloaded" when using Web Interface File Download Dialog Box Appears After You Turn Off File Downloads Drive Letters - How to Change in Windows XP Device Doctor - Windows Driver Updater - Freeware - over 13 million drivers Drivers - extensive information and downloads DRM
EMAIL - HELP WITH EMAIL
Can I get a virus by reading my email messages? Email (or File) ENCRYPTION Go here for free ZIP programs with Encryption Please CLICK HERE for more information about ENCRYPTION Save Email as a FILE How to get Windows to use your Email program to open saved Email messages as files
SCRAMBLING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
Script To SCAMBLE EMAIL ADDRESS
MISSING IMAGES WHEN FORWARDING EMAILS
There are a lot of possible causes for when you forward and email and the recipient does not receive the embedded images/pictures. The most fool-proof and most time consuming method of avoiding this problem is to manually save each image onto your computer, start a new email (rather than do a forward) and insert or attach the saved images into the new email. Then send it. Most email editors let you either attach OR insert images.
CID - Content ID
Do you receive emails with embedded pictures/graphics that do not get displayed? Since more and more Malware is being sent embedded as graphics/pictures in email, most email programs do NOT automatically download embedded images (this should be a changable option). There are two primary causes pf not being able to see pictures in email: 1] Security of some kind, blocks the automatic download/display of images. (this can be your "anti-virus protection, Firewall (including the one in your Windows operating system), or your email program. Some ISPs automatically strip off attachments that may be used to contain Malware. 2] Format conversion problem. There are three general types of email messages: A] Text (only) B] HTML (the most common, these days) C] Rich Format (a Microsoft format, based on Microsoft Word formats). Some email programs have problems converting email from one format to another, most noticebly, TO/FROM the Microsoft Rich Format Since images do not download automatically, some email programs, Microsoft's, sometimes avoid having to download a second message (containing the embedded images) by attaching the embedded images to the original email as an attachment. IF YOU FORWARD THE EMAIL BUT REMOVE THE ATTACHMENT, THE PICTURES WILL NOT BE FORWARDED. In other cases, the links to the pictures in the attachment are not correctly translated, and the pictures can not be displayed. A pointer (a CID) to the embedded image is then emebedded in the original email message - an example looks like this: cid:B0091F803BB14EB4BCD0690B5DCA6799@home241 Some email progams will not attach (nor forward) images to which you do not have "ownership" permissions - Thunderbird blocks these, IBM's Lotus Notes (9/2010) do not care and do not block these images. So you may have received and can view the images, but you can not forward them. Sometimes, the sender's email program sends a pointer to the picture on their hard drive, rather than the actual picture. When you get the email, your email program looks on YOUR hard drive for the image, and does not find it, probably displaying a small red "x" instead of the picture. Some images are sent as links to an image on a website. If the website is not available (down for maintenance, you are not connected to the internet, of the picture is moved or deleted), you will not be able to view the image / picture. CIDs can get tagged as spam and filtered out automatically when the message is sent. Translating cid: image src to real filename The cid refers to another part (attachment) in the email that has the given "Content-id:" header. This is specified in RFC2557: MIME Encapsulation of Aggregate Documents, such as HTML (MHTML). Can't figure out where a CID image source comes from : cid, html ... Email Marketing - Embeded Images? CID? What a Mess = PaperStreet Here is a great chart by campaignmonitor.com (at paperstreet.com): * Apple Mail Image displays inline and as attachment * Entourage 2008 Image displays inline and as attachment * Gmail Image will not display ?? * Hotmail Image will not display * Outlook 2003 Image displays inline and as attachment * Outlook 2007 Image displays inline and as attachment * Thunderbird 60.x.x Image displays inline and as attachment * Yahoo! Mail Image will not display Since over 30% of the market share is Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo, it's a good reason in of itself not to use CID. Image Blocking in Email Clients: Current Conditions and Best ... - 2007 Images do not display in Thunderbird emails Why do some computers not include my emailed pictures? How To Email Optimized Pictures From Windows XP How To Code HTML Emails - mailchimp.com How To Code HTML Email Newsletters (All New Version) Embedding images in email - campaignmonitor.com Embedding images revisited - campaignmonitor.com Images are blocked when you open an e-mail message in Outlook Express on a Windows XP Service Pack 2-based computer Outlook spam with embedded images? CID Emailing pictures from Internet Explorer Emailed Pictures Not Working Unable to email photos from PICASA - Fix a problem Trouble emailing pictures - Picasa Help Help - Picture Problem in E-Mail Tips, Solutions & How Tos | PCMag.com Problems forwarding email containing pictures email pictures - Vista Forums Apple - Support - Discussions - Problems with mailing pictures - Nov 4, 2010 See also MIME (for advanced users)
EMAIL - HOW TO RECOVER
EMAIL - SAVING YOUR EMAIL AS A TEXT FILE
How to save an Email message as a FILE
How to get Windows to use your Email program to open saved Email messages as FILES
How to get Windows to use your Email program to open saved Email messages as files
SCRAMBLING YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
SCRIPT TO SCAMBLE EMAIL ADDRESS
EMOTICONS - symbols made using things like "<3" for a HEART
Emoticons (symbols like "<3" for a heart) do NOT show on YOUR screen in Firefox (but others can see them): THE Missing Emoticon FIX In Firefox: 1) Tools->Options 2) UN-check the "Use hardware acceration when available") box 3) RESTART Firefox (it will probably ask if you wish to restart FF). NOTE: I have a slightly modified, Fast, 4th Gen Intel 7 CPU - it is so good that I do NOT use a video card. So I was seeing this problem only occasionally - seemed to depend on how busy Firefox was. FILES & FILE SYSTEMS
Restore a Complete Vista PC Backup when your computer won't start FILE Extensions (Suffixes) FILE Formats FILE Name - copying a file name Copy Path - allows you to copy path-info (full path, location, filename, UNC) for one or more files to the clipboard FILES and FILE SYSTEMS (Windows) ** FILE RECOVERY/UNDELETE
Firefox 72.0.2 (Quantum) was released, and I AM using it. Firefox 68.0 and later, use very few plug-ins (becuse of security), and NO LONGER USE JAVA (they have built JAVA functionality info Firefox). I no longer update Firefox: 1) unless all of my plug-ins can be updated (they are). 2) OR they fixed some security bug in the newer version. Firefox Login FAILURES Hiding and displaying the Firefox Menu Toolbar Firefox SECURITY ISSUES
FILES - HOW TO TRANSFER/SHARE LARGE FILES
I suggest that you ENCRYPT the file before sending it. There are other file sharing products that encrypt the data, have better privacy policies and larger amounts of free storage than DropBox: Google Drive, Dropbox, SkyDrive, SugarSync, and others. I've switched to SugarSync. Ensure that the product you choose can run on all OSes (linux, Windows, MAC,...) on which you want to use it. I don't know if this is still their policy, but in 2012(?) Dropbox got into trouble with their users when DropBox stated that DrobBox, and not it's customers, owned the data in a DropBox. When I last checked, DropBox files were NOT encrypted when being transfered.
DropBox - Share/Sync - free if less than 2GB
You can use DropBox to transfer large files
Dropbox Mobile: Less Secure Than Dropbox Desktop NOTE that DopBox is NOT as secure over a phone/PDA as a desktop computer Dropbox (service) - Wikipedia Dropbox - Online backup, file sync, and sharing made easy - DropBox.com Personal use on Windows for files less that 2GB is free. I would put my ENCRYPTED FILES in my SHARED FOLDER, not in a Public Folder. DropBox PRIVACY STATEMENT SECURITY OVERVIEW - DropBox DropBox HELP/FAQ DropBox - Review - toptenreviews DropBox for Windows - download from CNET Dropbox for MAC - Free software downloads and software reviews - CNET Dropbox Accused Of Misleading Customers On Security - Information Week
Firefox won't log into some sites, including BANKS
Unable to log in to websites that use signText on Firefox Some bank and government sites use the SignText certificate to communicate between your browser and their servers. Because this certificate uses non-standard security mechanisms, it is being dropped by many browsers, including newer versions of Firefox (versions 33, 72.0.02 and up). Other FIREFOX INFORMATION
FTP - File Transfer Protocol
I have been using the free (for personal use) WS_FTP95 for my XP file transfers. Unfortunately, the Microsoft Windows update of 4/8/2008 BROKE my WS_FTP95. I'n not sure what in particular broke WS_FTP95 - the MS updates contained both fixes to prevent some functions from running at a higher than they were supposed to, priority. The MS updates also apparently tried to kill older FTP functions built into most versions of Windows. MOST PROS prefer SugarSync over DropBox: 1) SugarSync does NOT claim to own your files. 2) SugarSyc has larger free file space, last I know 3) I believe, HAVE TO CHECK, that SugarSyc encrypts the files BEFORE they are transferred SugarSync - 5 GB Free Online Storage OH DRAT - Windows version apparently only works with Microsoft's OUTLOOK email programs. Download free mobile apps to sync iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian devices. Basic FTP Commands List of FTP commands for the Microsoft command-line FTP client Raw FTP Command List ftp - Linux Command - Unix Command List of FTP commands - wikipedia I had to convert to the free (for personal use) SmartFTP Client - IT WORKS. RATS: DO NOT UPDATE TO SmartFTP VERSION 3.0.1118.1 - IT EXPIRES IN FIVE DAYS. I am also using CuteFTP 8 PRO at work. Knowledge Base - CuteFTP PRO for Windows - Globalscape.com GLOBALSCAPE - Makers of CuteFTP Help Center Globalscape Support Forum - Globalscape A Lot of people I know are using FileZilla, FREE for personal use. FileZilla - The free Open Source FTP for Windows & GNU/Linux Installing/Configuring CuteFTP 8 (NOT the 8 PRO, but very similar) Tutorials - Flash Enabled (CUTEFTP Ver 5 - HOWTO) Q10278 - FAQ: Is CuteFTP Compatible with Windows Vista? Cygwin - Linux-like environment for Windows How to PRINT/Capture/SAVE an Image/Photo of ALL/PART of Your Windows PC Screen *** USE THIS METHOD TO SAVE/COPY PHOTOS, GRAPHICS, PICTURES from Emails, computer screens, web browsers IM - Trillian - accesses AIM, ICQ Windows Messenger, Yahoo and more, Instant Messengers Internet Explorer 7 - IE7 the IPCONFIG command Ipconfig May Not Show Complete IP Configuration for an Adapter ISO Images ISO Images - play in virtual CD/DVD Players - software Knoppix - Boot Linux to fix Windows Systems KVM - 10 things to look for in a KVM switch - techrepublic Lightning - A Calendar and To-Do List that adds to Mozilla's Thunderbird Load Balancing Media Player .MSI File PROBLEMS - Windows .MSI Windows files

My RECOMMENDED WINDOWS TOOLS & UTILITIES

Always Installed, Always Running

ProcessTamer - STOPS CPU HOGS - Mouser NOTE - Norton seems to have discontinued Norton Anti-Bot, incorportating Bot detection into Norton 360 and Norton Internet Security 2011. Norton Internet Security 2011 or Norton Antivirus 2011 with Antispyware I no longer (normally) run anything except Norton's 360 Version 27.7.0.11 on my Windows systems. Norton is also one of the fastest (vastly improved in 2008). BUY A NORTON 360 SUITE, NOT Just the Anti-Virus program. I now use the Norton built-in two-way (IN and OUT going) (Norton 360) Firewall. I feel that ZoneAlarm has a better product, but I'm tired of worrying about various products conflicting with each other. Window Washer - deletes unneeded data - Webroot's - $29.95 Consider the FREE CCLeaner Crap and Registry Cleaner instead - DOWNLOAD CCleaner - INFORMATION Firefox 72.0.2 (Quantum) Web Browser - Lots of us believe it's safer than Internet Explorer. NoScript Version 10.1.9.1 - Helps Prevent Cross-Scripting - FireFox PLUGIN More information about Cross-Scripting (XSS) McAfee SiteAdvisor - Warns about malicious or safe Sites - FireFox PLUGIN Microsoft has added SiteAdvisor info to their new "bing" search engine - Google, Yahoo and now bing (Livesearch) display McAfee SiteAdvisor info. Thunderbird 68.4.2 email program - most of us think it's safer than Outlook
Used when I detect Windows Problems
Registry Mechanic - NOW EXPIRES after a year Norton's 360 also has a Registry fixer (it's hard to locate). I've noted that both Norton and Registry Mechanic find problems that the other does not. Since you have Norton, use it. CCleaner (5.63.7540 (64-bit)) has some GOOD Registry Integrity fix options - I HAVE used these. REVISED - I have used CCleaner to clean my Registry - works very well for me. I have NEVER heard of FREE CCleaner's Registry cleaner causing problems. Autoruns - shows what programs are run during system bootup/login in the order Windows processes them Process Monitor 2.7 - combines Filemon and Regmon w/enhancments Process Explorer v11.33 - what files, registry keys and other objects processes have open, which DLLs they have loaded, and more (SysInternals/Microsoft), Unknown Device Identifier (UDI) - Freeware - zhangduo.com Device Doctor - Windows Driver Updater - Freeware - over 13 million drivers

Malware Detectors - Looking for Malware problems

CCleaner (Crap Cleaner) - Freeware Download - ccleaner.com CCleaner was updated (version 5.63.7540 (64-bit WIN8.1) ), and can optionally clean files, Registry, Cookies, etc.. Spybot S&D - FREE - anti-spyware AdAware - anti-Adware, spyware - FREE - by Lavasoft If all else fails, use online Virus Checkers and/or FREE Virus Checkers

NETWORKING PROBLEMS

You cannot access shared files and folders or browse computers in the workgroup with Windows XP - Microsoft Windows XP Professional File Sharing Networking XP Pro + Home Computers Together XP Home/Pro network can't file share (one way only) - Practically xp pro / xp home network XP Home to XP Pro Network issue XP Home won't allow Pro to access it on network Network Home Network XP to Vista Home Network w/ XP Home & W2K Pro How to troubleshoot home networking in Windows XP IP Routing Linux IP NAT - Network Address Translation Port Numbers (Computer TCP/UDP)) TCP / IP

NETWORK TOOLS / UTILITIES

Is-It-On - shows ALL your Intranet/Internet IP / DNS / DHCP / WINS / Adaptors description etc... Wireshark (formerly Ethereal) Netcat - Swiss army knife for network troubleshooting - Free Nmap + Zenmap - Network scanner with Windows GUI - Free NTop-XTRA - shows network usage - Free SolarWinds Real-Time NetFlow Analyzer - Free TCPView - displays active TCP and UDP connections - Free

NEW DEVICE FOUND

This section is primarily about: Unexpected Windows "New Device Found" messages, or problems getting your system to find and use newly added devices. I have only tried UDI, which I found useful, but it did not help me in my case (Windows reported absolutely nothing except that a new device was detected). Unknown Device Identifier (UDI) - Supported OS: Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98SE, Windows Me, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Vista. Future OS are supported via the online update. You might even run the small freeware utility from a CD or floppy. # From: Practical PC Online - Review: Unknown Device Identifier Unknown Device Identifier may not be perfect but it is a useful supplement to Windows System Manager nevertheless with more detail concerning chip ... www.practicalpc.co.uk/reviews/soft/utilities/unknowndevid.htm 17Kb Unknown Device Identifier (UDI) - Freeware - zhangduo.com Device Doctor - Windows Driver Updater - Freeware - says finds drivers for UNKOWN DEVICEs Driver Magician - $ 29.95 Disable "found new device" (in XP) - MP3Car.com INSTALLED HD2600XT AGP NOW WINDOWS XP SEES NEW PCI DEVICE-NEEDS DRIVER Notepad++ can replace Windows Notepad with more features Privileges - Use RunAs to Adjust Your Privileges Privileges - Security Tip: Change The Privileges Of An Application Restoring XP backups in Vista Add Applications to your Windows "SendTo" option (mouse right-click)s SERVICE PACKS - How to obtain the latest service pack for Windows Server 2003 SUNBIRD - a standalone free Mozilla Calendar similar to Mozilla's LIGHTNING Symbols - how to create unusual sysmbols Sysinternals Freeware - advanced utilities, technical information,... related to Windows internals Ferret out Windows' system-info hiding places

UNDELETE PROGRAMS - Free (Windows) File Recovery

Panda Recovery - NTFS ONLY - do NOT recover to same meda as the delete file What Programs are Running LOCKED FILES - How to delete /UNlock a Locked Files: ShareWatch - See connected users and open files - Free Delete a locked file in Windows - Troubleshooting - Lifehacker

UN-INSTALL

Absolute UnInstaller - (free - 32-bit only)) removes stuff Windows uninstaller misses See also: Installation Problems

INSTALLATION PROBLEMS (Windows)

Sometimes your install fails because it finds an existing installation, but you can not find any trace of an existing installation. When this happened to me, I found Microsoft's Knowledgebase Article: KB290301, Windows Installer Clean Up Utility. It seems that the Windows Installer remembers what it has installed. A proper un-install deletes that knowledge, but if the uninstall fails, the Windows Installer still remembers that the product is installed. Click to download it My symptom was: Aborting Installation: Error (1603): Fatal error during installation See also: UN-INSTALL

HARDWARE - What is installed on your system?

PC Wizard (recommended by MaximumPC) Speccy (Piriform)

INTERNET EXPLORER

IE 8, 9 & 10 do NOT display web pages as expected IE Security Problems IE8 will feature privacy envelope, Microsoft confirms Internet Explorer 8 - Wikipedia Download tool to Remove Microsoft IE 7 beta 2 (only)

Master Boot Record (MBR)

Master Boot Record (MBR) - wikipedia Fix MBR (Windows XP and later?) XP - Repair or fix master boot record using recovery console FDISK /MBR rewrites the Master Boot Record - microsoft MBR - LQWiki The Master Boot Record (MBR) and What it Does Master Boot Record (MBR) VIRUSES, ROOTKITS & RANSOMWARE PROBLEMS

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL - Click here

MICROSOFT FREE DOWNLOADS

Microsoft FREE DOWNLOADS

MICROSOFT FREE FILE VIEWERS and CONVERTERS

Microsoft OFFICE File Converters and Viewers - FREE ACCESS, EXCEL, OUTLOOK, POWER-POINT, VISIO, WORD: Converters for Word, Excel and PowerPoint Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Access viewers Microsoft Access 2007 viewer Microsoft Access 2003 viewer Excel converters and viewers Excel 2007 viewer Excel 2003 viewer Excel 2000 converters Excel 97 converters Outlook converters and viewers Outlook 2000 converters Outlook 97/98 converters PowerPoint converters and viewers PowerPoint 2007 viewers PowerPoint 2000 converters PowerPoint 97 converters Microsoft Project converters Microsoft Project 2000 converters Visio converters and viewers Visio 2007 viewers Visio 2003 viewers Visio 2002 viewers Visio 2000 converters Word converters and viewers Word 2007 viewers Word 2003 viewers Word 2002 viewers Word 2000 converters Word 2000 viewers Word 97 converters Word 97 viewers Converters and viewers for Macintosh users

PowerShell - Windows scripting language

"Windows PowerShell includes its own extensive, console-based help, similar to man pages in Unix shells, via the Get-Help cmdlet." - Wikipedia "PowerShell v2.0 was completed and released to manufacturing in August 2009, as an integral part of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. PowerShell 3.0 is part of a larger package, Windows Management Framework 3.0 (WMF3), which also contains the WinRM service to support remoting. An updated version, 3.x has been shipped in the Windows 8 and Server 2012. Microsoft announced PowerShell version 4, June 3, 2013, expected with Windows Server 2012 R2." - Wikipedia Windows PowerShell - Wikipedia Scripting with Windows PowerShell - Resources and Tools PowerShell BOOKS - then search for: powershell

PRINTERS / PRINTING - Problems, Solutions, Tricks

Printing in the Right Order (not reversed) 10 Biggest Printer Problems - And How To Fix Them - PC World Top 10 Printer Tips and Tricks The Top Tech Tips of 2008, Part 2 How to Clean Your Inkjet Printer (try your owners manual, first)

RAM / MEMORY - HOW MUCH CAN WINDOWS USE?

RAM, Virtual Memory, Pagefile and all that stuff - Bruce Sanderson MVP Here's a list of how much RAM the various Windows versions and editions support (as of Nov 2004): Windows NT 4.0: 4 GB Windows 2000 Professional: 4 GB Windows 2000 Standard Server: 4 GB Windows 2000 Advanced Server: 8GB Windows 2000 Datacenter Server: 32GB Windows XP Professional: 4 GB Windows Server 2003 Web Edition: 2 GB Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition: 4 GB Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition: 32 GB Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition: 64 GB NOTE - Your computer's motherboard may NOT support as much RAM as Windows can use - check your owner's manual. For more information about computer memory, please Click HERE

RAM / MEMORY TEST

Free / Recommended MEMTEST

ROUTERS, ROUTING, REVIEWS, etc - Click HERE

SCREEN CAPTURE

GREENSHOT - Free Screen Capture - Recommended

SECURITY

Revised disabling AutoRun in Windows XP HOSTS file - what it does, how to use it XP Security Windows Server 2003, Longhorn Server & Vista Security Articles

SYSTEMS TOOLS / UTILITIES

TERMINAL EMULATORS

Download PuTTY - a free SSH and telnet client for Windows PocketPutty - SSH client for Windows Mobile See also: Terminal Emulators

STOP CODES - Click here

VIDEO CONVERSION - Click here

VIDEO PLAYERS - Windows

I am primarily using these video players on my XP computer: 1] free Windows Media Player 2] Nero 7 Ultra (about $40 ?) - see DRM caveat, below 3] Apple QuickTime 7.7 - Free DRM CAVEAT: I also (bought) Nero 7 Ultra (but it now dis-allows copying your own audio CDs that contain DRM - Nero 6.5 Ultra does not do this, but could fail to copy protected audio CDs. I have been able to make a backup copy of my legally purchased Audio CD that contained DRM, but you might have trouble doing it???). Nero does CD and DVD burning, along with playing some video formats. Note that Roxio Easy Media Creator (EMC) 7.5 also allowed me to make legal copies of my own, purchased audio CDs that contained DRM. I do not know about laterversions of Roxio. I do not know if Roxio EMC 7.5 will handle all typs of DRM - I suspect that it can not. EMC does CD and DVD burning, along with playing some video formats. Last I knew, EMC version 8.0 was the newest version.

WINDOW EXPANSION - STOP IT

Windows expand to full screen - how to turn off? - Microsoft Both Windows 7 and Windows 8 (it's really the Aero Snap / Mouse feature).

WORD (Microsoft)

Microsoft OFFICE File Converters and Viewers - FREE ACCESS, EXCEL, OUTLOOK, POWER-POINT, VISIO, WORD Five Microsoft Word Nightmares - and How You Can Fix Them Close a Word 2007 Document without Closing Word

***** SYSTEM PROBLEMS and SOLUTIONS *****

BIOS (Bootup or Hard Drive) PASSWORD

How to Reset Lost & Forgotten BIOS Passords

IT IS A VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW TO HACK INTO A COMPUTER YOU DO NOT OWN. Modifying your BIOS may make your computer UNUSABLE - do so at your own risk. PASSWORD - wikipedia How do I reset a BIOS password? How to clear an unknown BIOS password Setting a BIOS Password BIOS Password and Locked Hard Disk Recovery YouTube - How-to Crack a BIOS Password - BIOS and CHIP... BIOS Password - LaptopTips Clearing the Bios or CMOS Password How to Break a BIOS Password - wikiHow Basic BIOS password crack bios and bios password Resources | TechRepublic YouTube - Bypass/Remove/Reset the BIOS Password HP biased against BIOS password security | Channel Register Bios password - TechSpot OpenBoards Forgoten bios password? - Yahoo! Answers WikiAnswers - How do you find the Bios password or remove it How to hack a computer by resetting the bios password | Wonder How To HP Buisines Notebook Lost BIOS Password : Microsoft & HP BIOS, HP ... IBM BIOS Password Security Chips Reset BIOS password protection - Computing.Net How to Reset AWARD BIOS Password? Bypass the BIOS password by hacking your CMOS settings, from O .. Reset BIOS Password? - Club CDFreaks - Knowledge is Power HOW TO BYPASS BIOS PASSWORDS Bios Password - ITtoolbox Groups How to get around the BIOS password protection? how can I reset the bios password/fingerprint?? - PCMech Forums Repair4Laptop: BIOS Password Reset and Recovery for Laptops ... Dell Inspiron 5100 BIOS password reset? Password request on boot up/ BIOS password? - CNET Windows XP Forums How to Bypass or Remove a BIOS Password - Technibble - A ... Lost BIOS Passworda - search for "lost bios password" Hacking IBM Thinkpad Bios Password : SoDoItYourself.com Multiple Vendor BIOS Keyboard Buffer Password Persistence Weakness BIOS setup can be password protected. You can get back your password with CmosPwd Beginners Guides: Forgotten Passwords & Recovery Methods How to Reset / Remove / Bypass a BIOS or CMOS Password? - Tweaking ... See also: PASSWORDS - Tips and Information See also: PASSWORDS - WINDOWS

BOOTING - THE BOOT PROCESS - WHAT PROGRAMS ARE STARTED AT BOOTUP?

Troubleshooting Windows 2000: Technical Articles and Tips Windows Program Automatic Startup Locations Microsoft: Windows 2000 Professional FAQ - Tek-Tips Advanced troubleshooting for general startup problems in Windows XP Removing programs that automatically run when you boot up - CNET NTLDR (abbreviation of NT Loader) is the boot loader for Windows NT "NTLDR is Missing" message when Windows Boot up - Windows XP Support PC Answers - Tutorials - The boot process Windows Startup Tasks boot.ini tutorial How to Disable Windows Startup Programs the Easy Way - doesn't find all startup programs Startup Programs Database How to configure Windows XP to start in a "clean boot" state Managing the Programs That Run When Windows Starts Up Startup Applications List - sysinfo.org Windows Startup Programs - Greatis Software Windows Startup Online Repository Startup Application Knowledge Base (free) Startup Control Panel Windows Startup Programs Start-Up Applications - Sysinfo.org Windows Program Automatic Startup Locations How to Remove Startup Programs - O'Reilly TaskList.org - List of Windows Proccesses and Descriptions Startup Program Loading Why windows takes so long to start up. and how to fix it Windows Bootup Process Taking care of 'trash apps' that bother you on start-up LINUX BOOTING PROCESS

DOS Booting Process

I had to remove the link, as site now considered UNsafe.

BOOT CDs / FLOPPIES

BOOT CDs, Floppies & Sector Info

BOOT LOGGING

4sysops -- New features Sysinternals Process Monitor 1.12: boot ... Smart Computing Article - Tracking Startup Problems With Bootlog.txt Enabling Boot Logging using the Recovery Console in Microsoft ... Using Bootlog Analyser Boot Log XP is the best Windows boot analyzer - so they say, they could be correct Windows-to-Linux roadmap: Part 5. Linux logging

BUG ME NOT

BugMeNot keeps user names and passwords submitted by anonymous people, to those sites that force you to log in before you can read an interesting online document. I found this in PC World, March 2009. The purpose of BugMeNot is to allow people to right-click on the login box on sites requiring logins, and have BugMeNot fill in a user ID and Password from it's online database, THUS You do NOT have to create your own User ID and Password for the site. There is a BugmeNot FireFox extension BugMeNot TUTORIAL BugMeNot FAQ

CPU HOGS - Combating

ProcessTamer - lowers priority of CPU Hogs

ProcessTamer says it runs on XP & 2000

ProcessTamer's creater just told me that it should run in Vista (32-bit only, I imagine)

ProcessTamer - Automatic Lower Process Priority When CPU Usage is High Process Tamer - Free software downloads and reviews - CNET ProcessTamer - Mouser - Software - DonationCoder.com Is ProcessTamer "Portable?" - DonationCoder.com Download of the Day: ProcessTamer (Windows) robertmaldon: Changing Windows Process Scheduling with ProcessTamer |MG| Process Tamer 2.09.01 Download Process Tamer 2.09.01 - System utility Process Accounting (to find and remove the cause of slowness) Finding Causes of Heavy Usage User resource reporting Bots spiders and crawlers Htaccess STARTUP DELAYER: I have not yet tried Startup Delayer, which I found on PC World. Has mixed reviews, be sure to read how to UNinstall it properly (one of the Reviews). One person claims it crashes Vista - but his review was prior to this release, so who knows? Systems: Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows XP, Windows Vista.

SAFE MODE BOOTING

A description of the Safe Mode Boot options in Windows XP Microsoft Windows XP - Startup options Custom Boot Menu in Windows XP Using Safe Mode to resolve Windows Server 2003 startup issues Description of Safe Boot Mode in Windows 2000 Windows 2000's boot menu helps you troubleshoot a system crash How to start Windows in Safe Mode

TROUBLESHOOTING WINDOWS PC BOOT PROBLEMS

There is a lot of information, above, that can help you troubleshoot boot problems. This section is specifically for any other Boot Troubleshooting tips. Troubleshooting the Startup Process - MS Windows - boot process & simple troubleshooting Windows Bootup Error and Trouble Shooting Faster Bootup and Windows Startup by Disabling DHCP Requests Windows Program Automatic Startup Locations Why windows takes so long to start up. and how to fix it

RECOVERY / RESCUE CDs

UBCD For Windows - a bootable recovery CD

WHAT IS RUNNING ON YOUR WINDOWS SYSTEM?

Use Caution if you remove anything

What's all this stuff running after I boot Windows? - Ask Leo! Tiny Watcher allows you to "disable" or "remove" files and registry entries OTHER INFO HijackThis" - examines contents of your PC - by Merijn What is this File? X-RayPC - looks up programs and tells you if they are known to be benign Detect harmful processes running in your computer Microsoft Software Forum Network Taking care of trash apps that bother you on start-up DOS Info/Tips OTHER WINDOWS TIPS REGISTRY, Windows - Info W2k3 patch rollout Windows Media Player - DOWNLOAD Windows Media Player 9 Series for Windows 98 Second Edition, Me, and 2000 Ferret out Windows' system-info hiding places Windows Troubleshooting NOTEPAD WILL let you view a file held open by another windows program (being written to) (of course, anything still in the write buffer will not be visible to Notepad. WORDPAD will NOT allow you view a file held open by another windows program (but Windows NOTEPAD will allow this). Microsoft's WORDPAD can correctly display ASCII files written on DOS, Windows or Linux/Unix/MAC systems. see FLIP - converts EOL characters NOTEPAD, can not (Notepad must have DOS/Windows style CR/LFs [0x0A 0x0D] at end of each line). I have seen ONE instance where only NOTEPAD would correctly display the file, but WORDPAD could not. XP Information

SPEEDUP WINDOWS BOOT PROCESS

Windows XP Tweaking - Startup and General Performance Tweaks Why windows takes so long to start up Speed Up Everything

SYSADMIN TOOLS - Other Recommendations

NirSoft web site provides a unique collection of small and useful freeware utilities - Nir Sofer Tracert - traces route between your computer and specified Internet address Top free 73 Windows administration tools Security Tools - Microsoft 10 Favorite Windows Admin Tools - Utilities to help with Administration - majorgeeks XYNTService open source admin tool for Windows Top 6 TCP/IP Administration and Troubleshooting Tools in Windows XP How to install Windows Server 2008 Administrative tools on Vista SP1 I forgot the administrator's password Stupid Windows Tricks: Accessing System Administrative Tools in Windows XP Add Administrative Tools to Your Start Menu - Windows tips 'n' tweaks Import Administrative Tools To Start Menu Windows tutorial Ten Tools Every Admin Should Have [Net Admin] Tools - Techzonez Advanced Administrative Tools 5.92 free download TSRs: Always backup your Registry before editing it. How to remove TSRs / Startup programs UNinstallers: REVO - Freeware - Works well, so my friends say Click on 30 DAY FREE TRIAL (BLUE RECTANGLE on LEFT SIDE OF PAGE) UPGRADING: Upgrading Your PC - Tips

Drivers

DRIVERS

TOOLS

Top 30 free apps for Windows 10 Top 25 free tools for Windows 7 and 8.1 9 free Windows apps that can solve Wi-Fi woes 15 free Modern Windows apps for IT pros How to fix five Windows 10 headaches Your step-by-step guide to REPAIRING WINDOWS 10

TROUBLESHOOTING SHUTDOWN

Windows XP Shutdown & Restart Troubleshooting page

WiFi TROUBLESHOOTING - Internet Connection is Slow

Reset the modem and router - SLOW Internet Access - TRY THIS FIRST Test Wi-Fi (Scroll Down)

Windows Defender

How-to Remove Windows Defender (As Long As Windows is Defended)

WINDOWS PASSWORDS - Set / Change a Windows Password

Recover lost or forgotten Windows Passwords & Windows Administrator Passwords

IT IS A VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW TO HACK INTO A COMPUTER YOU DO NOT OWN. Modifying your BIOS may make your computer UNUSABLE - do so at your own risk. PASSWORD - wikipedia Why Should I Set a Windows Password? How do I change my username and/or password? Windows Vista Help: Change your Windows password Change Password - How To Change Your Windows XP Logon Password ... Microsoft Windows Password Q&A UNI - TSS | Change Windows Password In Windows 95, 98, or Me, how can I password protect my computer ... Passwords: Quickly change your Windows password (even if you've lost your old one) YouTube - Change Windows password, no programs (XP & Vista HLS: Information Technology Services: Setting a Password in Windows XP Change Your Forgotten Windows Password with the Linux System ... Forgot the Administrator's Password? - Windows Password Recovery ... Unable to change Windows password on Samba BDC - ReadList.com Set a Blank Password in Windows XP To Protect the Computer from ... Ubuntu Unleashed: Howto: Change Windows Administrator password in ... Disaster! How to Retrieve a Lost Windows Password CHANGE WINDOWS PASSWORD - Truveo Video Search Ophcrack is a Windows password cracker Ophcrack 3.0.1 and ophcrack LiveCD 3.0.1 released See also: BIOS PASSWORDS See also: Passwords - Tips & Encrypted

Windows Update Information

WINDOWS UPDATING - How to What is the history of Microsoft Windows? Windows Operating Systems Win2K Driver Info XP Tips and Information Web Page Beginners Guides: Installing Windows XP XP readiness test

ZIP COMPRESSION PROGRAMS - FREE w/Encryption

IZARC - extract almost all compressed files - has Encryption Zip 2 Secure EXE Completely free if run Interactively Can use 128 or 256-Bit AES encryption. Freebyte ZIP Free - Zip entries can be password protected and encrypted. Does NOT need to be installed WinZip - Windows Zip Utility - Zip Files, Unzip Files - NOT FREE WinZip - Wikipedia Not standalone, interfaces with Windows Explorer. Optional Encryption and stand-alone interface

OTHER RESOURCES - Caveat Emptor

FREE HELP ProProfs Web School - Computers windowsnetworking.com Kim Komando

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