How-To Guides Archives - Page 13 of 16

Removing Unnecessary Services in Windows 7

Alan McCloskeyJul 30, 2007June 21, 20142

There are lots of little programs used by the Windows operating system that take up memory, waste disk space and CPU clock cycles. These programs

Defeat ‘COM Surrogate Has Stopped Working’ Errors When Playing Videos

Alan McCloskeyJul 30, 2007June 21, 20143

If you have a bunch of video files, then you probably also have a bunch of video and audio codecs (Divx, Xvid, MPEG-4, AC3, etc.)

Hide Windows System Tray Icons

Alan McCloskeyJul 18, 2007August 1, 20140

The clock, the current volume, the network status, and the power plan all can be displayed or hidden in Vista’s system tray. Here are the

Speed Up Windows Searches

Alan McCloskeyJul 2, 2007August 1, 20140

Vista’s search capabilities have changed a little from previous Windows versions, and is supposed to index files Instant Search is one of the best aspects

Move Windows Mail Storage Folder

Alan McCloskeyJul 2, 2007August 1, 20142

Windows Mail stores your email, folders, accounts, newsgroup and other information in its own storage folder. Here's how to move Windows Mail storage folder.

Restoring Sleep Mode to Vista Media Center PCs

Alan McCloskeyJun 27, 2007June 21, 20141

If you have a Media Center PC, then you no doubt have lots of digital media stored on it. You probably also have this media

Where did Vista’s Task Manager Go?

Alan McCloskeyJun 20, 2007June 21, 20140

Some of us are old enough to remember when the old three-finger salute was used to reboot out computers: a specific key combination recognized at

Vista Solitaire Cheat (with Screencast)

Alan McCloskeyJun 8, 2007June 21, 20141

Ah, Solitaire. It has cost employers millions of dollars in wasted productivity, as it has come with every version of Windows since 3.0 (and possibly

View Nikon RAW Files (NEF) in Windows

Alan McCloskeyJun 8, 2007June 21, 20140

If you are using a professional Nikon digital camera, then you may have discovered how useful the RAW file format is in the digital darkroom.

How to turn off the UAC (annoying confirmation prompts) in Windows 7

Alan McCloskeyMay 30, 2007June 21, 20141

If you believe all those Mac commercials, then Windows has been “plagued” with security problems. Many of these problems arise from users inadvertantly installing spyware

Professionally Repair DVDs Cheaply

Alan McCloskeyMay 22, 2007August 1, 20140

If you are a technology junkie then you no doubt have thousands of commercial CDs or DVDs, not to mention thousands more of your own

Hide Start Menu Documents, Pictures, and Programs

Alan McCloskeyMay 21, 2007August 1, 20140

If you have a computer that’s shared by a few others in your home (wife, roommates, sentient demon monkeys), then you want to protect your

Associate a File Type with a Windows Program

Alan McCloskeyMay 21, 2007August 1, 20141

It always happens to us. You have your favorite media player, graphics editor, HTML editor or whatever, and you install the latest codec or optional

Force Icons Back to Small XP Size

Alan McCloskeyMay 18, 2007August 1, 20140

Vista icons are much more realistic in appearance in comparison to the looser, illustrative style of Windows XP icons. The largest size included in the

Hide your recent Documents, Pictures, and Programs on Start Menu

Alan McCloskeyMay 14, 2007June 21, 20140

If you have a computer that’s shared by a few others in your home (wife, roommates, sentient demon monkeys), then you want to protect your