Tutorials

How to Enable or Disable "Taskbar and Start Menu Properties" in Vista and Windows 7 This will allow (enable) or prevent (disabled) the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window from opening when users on the computer right clicks on a empty space on the Start Menu or Taskbar and clicks on Properties. EXAMPLE: Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window EXAMPLE: Error Message NOTE: If disabled, this will be the error message that all users will get when they try to right click on the Taskbar or Start Menu and click Properties. Using the Local Group Policy Editor NOTE: This method is only available for the Vista Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions. See Method Two or Method Three below for the Vista Home Basic and Home Premium...

How to Change Windows Explorer Default Open Location in Vista This will show you how to set Windows Explorer to open to another location other than the default C:\Users\(your username)\Documents folder location. For more information on this, see: Microsoft Help and Support: KB130510This doesn't change the location for Computer in the Start Menu. You could also just create a shortcut from the Windows Explorer EXE location (%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe or C:\Windows\explorer.exe) and use it. Just right click on the exe file and click on Send To and Desktop (create shortcut), then move the shortcut to where you like.Creating a shortcut to the desired location instead would be much easier to do if applicable. ;) EXAMPLE: Default Windows...

How to Change the Return to Sleep Timeout for a Unattended Wake Up in Vista This will show you how to change how long Vista will wait to go back to sleep mode automatically after waking up unattended and idle. The default time is 120 seconds (2 minutes). If the computer wakes up from sleep mode and is used by you and not idle, then Vista will not go back to sleep mode after this timeout period. Instead it will use the time period you set in Power Options. For more on Power Options, see STEP TWO here: How to Troubleshoot a Vista Sleep Mode Problem and Find a Solution This will also affect how long you have to enter your password if you have enabled the Password Protection on wakeup option. For more about this, see: How to Disable or...

Advanced Search There is a great deal of confusion among people as to whether or not Vista Search works or not, and an even greater number of people that just don't use it because they don't know how, or are not aware of it's advanced facilities. This intention of this tutorial is to show people just how much more advanced Vista Search is, and how easy it is to fully utilize this great feature to it's full potential by making use of the Advanced Query Language. Step One For best results, you may want to download an install Windows Search 4.0 - Windows Search 4.0. Setting up Vista Search In order to use Vista Search correctly, your first need to have it index your entire computer. To do this, you need to change some settings in...

How to Change the Automatic System Restore Point Settings in Vista Task Scheduler By default System Restore is scheduled to create a restore point at 12 AM every day (Daily trigger) and at every system startup (At startup trigger) in Task Scheduler if any system changes were made from the last time it checked. This will show you how to change these schedule settings, or disable one or both triggers.System Restore will need to be turned on for this scheduled task to be able to run. Here's How: 1. Open the Start Menu. A) In the white line (Start Search) area, type taskschd.msc and press Enter. B) Go to step 3. OR 2. Open the Control Panel (Classic view). A) Click on the Administrative Tools Icon. B) Click on Task Scheduler...

How to Change a Personal User Folder Location in Vista The personal user folders can be redirected to, and all files inside them, another partition, hard drive, or folder location to be stored in instead. The folder will still be in the (user name) location in the Start Menu as usual, but it will act like a shortcut to the new location instead. This can be handy if you would like to save space on the drive or partition with Vista on it, or you prefer to just store the files in the use folders at another location.If a personal user folder has been deleted, is missing, or does not work propely, then see: How to Restore a Missing Personal User Folder in Vista If you have a program that places a folder in one these user folders, like...

How to Change a Drive Icon in Vista This will show you how to change any drive icon that uses a drive letter to whatever icon you want in a user account. These will be the ones that show up in Computer with a drive letter. This is not to fix a missing or changed drive icon that just happened out of the blue, but to replace it with one you want instead of the default one. If the drive icon went missing or changed to some odd one, then try rebuilding the icon cache first. See: How to Rebuild the Icon Cache in Vista If you want to also rename the drive, then see: How to Rename a Drive in Vista The icons you decide to use must be a 256x256 bit .ico (icon) file, not .png, to be used in Vista without viewing problems. A png file must be...

How to Setup a Shared Printer for XP, Vista, and Windows 7 This tutorial will step you through the process of sharing a printer on XP, Vista and Windows 7. This has been successful on an XP Home Edition Computer with a Canon MP150, 190 and a wireless Vista Home Premium x86/x64, multiple Windows 7 x64 and a XP notebook and desktop. All computers sharing need to be on the same workgroup and network.Printer sharing needs to be enabled on the Host computer. Only use this method if USB or other corded connections are not acceptable. This is a supplement to normal printer connections. Please ask for help by posting a reply at the bottom. I myself will reply or another member of the Vista x64 community. 1. On your network, look at the...

How to Use the Vista Shell Command This will show you how to use the Shell command to enable you to quickly open a hard to find folder or object. A complete list of all Shell commands is included with a description of each.You can also use these shell commands from the Run command window.When the item for the shell command opens the folder, you can then create a shortcut to it easily. Here's How: 1. Open the Start Menu. 2. In the white line (Start Search) area, type one of the Shell commands (See table below) and press Enter. (See screenshot below) Complete List of Shell Commands Shell Command Description shell:AddNewProgramsFolder Opens the Install a program from the network location. shell:Administrative Tools...

How to Enable or Disable Folder Options in Vista or Windows 7 This will show you how to Remove (Disable) or Show (Enable) the Folder Options item from all Windows Explorer menus and from the Control Panel for all or specific users on the computer. You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do this tutorial. If you did not disable Folder Options, then be sure to check to see if it may have been disabled by a virus or some other malware. Do a thorough scan with your antivirus and anti-spyware programs to be safe. EXAMPLE: Before (Enabled) and After (Disabled) Through the Local Group Policy Editor 1. Open the all users, specific users or groups, or all users except administrators Local Group Policy Editor for how...

How to Change the Target Path Location of a Shortcut in Vista This will show you how to change the Target path location of a shortcut file or folder. The Target is the full path of the original file or folder, usually an EXE file, the shortcut opens.When the original file that the shortcut was created for is moved, this can cause the shortcut to lose it's association and no longer open the original file. The shortcut no longer has the correct full path to the original file. You can correct this by changing the target for the shortcut to the new location of the original file.If this fails or you are unable to change the Target, then you can create a new shortcut by right clicking on the original file amd click Create Shortcut. You may...

How to Keep InPrivate Filtering On or Off in New Internet Explorer 8 Session By default InPrivate Filtering is turned off when you start a new Internet Explorer 8 browsing session until you turn it on. This will allow you to set InPrivate Filtering to be turned On to Auto, On to Choose content to block (manual), or Off at the start of every new Internet Explorer 8 browsing session automatically.While in Internet Explorer 8, InPrivate Filtering helps prevent websites from collecting information about sites you visit. Many webpages use content from websites other than the one you are visiting. These websites are called third-party websites. The content from these third party websites, such as images, maps, or videos, is often provided to...

How to Restore Missing "Pin to Start Menu" Context Menu Item in Vista Shortcuts If you have the Pin to Start Menu option missing from the context menu of shortcuts in Vista, then this will show you how to restore them.This is usually caused by trying to remove the shortcut overlay arrow icon using the improper XP method of deleting the IsShortcut string value from the HKEY_CLASSES\ROOT\inkfile key in the registry instead of using the proper Vista method. EXAMPLE: "Pin to Start Menu" Default and Missing NOTE: You may also notice some context menu items appearing twice when IsShortcut is deleted. Here's How: 1. Download and merge the lnk (LNK) option in the tutorial below, then restart the computer. General Tips - Default File Type...

How to See Windows Vista Current License Information This will allow you to check to see whether your computer has been activated properly by telling you the operating system and the edition, what type of license you have such as a Volume License or Multiple Activation key or a standard retail copy, gives part of the product key for your verification and the status of the activation. You can verify if you have a genuine copy of Vista here: Genuine Microsoft Software To see the license terms for Vista, see: Microsoft: License Terms for Software Licensed from Microsoft You will need to be logged on to an administrator account. Here's How: 1. Open the Start Menu. 2. In the white line (Start Search) area, Copy and Paste a command...

How to Restore the Start Menu Search Button after Installing the Vista SP1 When you install the Vista SP1 it will remove the Search button option from the Start menu. This will show you how to restore the Search button on the right dark side of the Start menu after you installed the Vista SP1.You will be adding Search button back to the right dark side of the Start menu by replacing either the Help and Support button or Run button with Search. If you prefer to not replace either one of these, then you can create a Search shortcut and Pin it to the left side of the Start menu instead. See: How to Create a Search Desktop Shortcut on Vista EXAMPLE: Search button in the Start Menu Before and After Installing the Vista SP1 EXAMPLE: Search...

How to Compress and Decompress a Folder or File with NTFS Compression in Vista and Windows 7 This will show you how to compress or decompress a folder or file with NTFS Compression to reduce their size. NTFS Compression allows you to save some hard drive space by compressing files and folders to reduce their size. You will not be able to encrypt an NTFS compressed file until decrypted first. You may notice a decrease in performance when working with NTFS-compressed files. When you open a compressed file, Vista automatically decompresses it for you, and when you close the file, Vista compresses it again. This process may decrease your computers performance since it takes a little longer to open and close a compressed folder or file...

How to Use "Internet Time" Synchronization in Windows You can synchronize your computer clock with a internet time server. This means that the clock on your computer is updated to match the clock on the time server, which can help ensure that the clock on your computer is accurate. Your clock is typically updated once a week and needs to be connected to the Internet for the synchronization to occur. This will show you how to synchronize your PC time with the internet time, and how to troubleshoot and solve problems while doing it in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do the steps in this tutorial. TO HELP PREVENT TIME SYNCHRONIZATION PROBLEMS Make sure that the time zone and...

How to Fix the Vista Windows Mail Spell Check Language Error This will show you how to fix the Vista Windows Mail Spell Check language error: This language is no longer available for Spell Checking. Please select another in the Spelling Options Dialogue. If there are no languages listed in the Spell Check menu, then this will also show you how to add them back to be able to fix the error.Windows Mail only has the English (US), French (France), German (Germany), Spanish (International Sort) languages available to it. If you want or need a email program for languages other than these, then you might consider using the free Mozilla Thunderbird instead. See: Mozilla Thunderbird Language Versions Here's How: 1. Click on Tools on the menu...

How to Fix Microsoft Office Outlook MAPI32.DLL Error Outlook Errors not opening coming up with MAPI32.DLL error Fix To resolve this issue, follow these steps: 1. Start Windows Explorer. 2. Locate and then open the following folder on your computer: C:\Program Files\Common Files\System\Msmapi\1033 3. Right-click the MSMapi32.dll file, and then click Rename. Note: The file (Msmapi32.dll) that you are renaming differs from the file (Mapi32.dll) that is mentioned in the error message. 4. Type Msmapi32.old, and then press ENTER to rename the file. 5. Start Outlook 2003. Another issue if: Word/ excel/ powerpoint 2003 coming up with error message : "Office Application version does not match" Fix Have to uninstall Buisness contact Manager...

How to Use Mouse Keys in Vista This will show you how to turn on or off Mouse Keys so instead of only using the mouse, you can also use the arrow keys on your keyboard or the numeric keypad to move the mouse pointer.This can be a handy feature if you lose the use of your mouse for some reason. Here's How: 1. Open the Control Panel. (Classic View) 2. Click on the Ease of Access Center icon. 3. Click on Make the keyboard easier to use. (See screenshot below) 4. Click on Set up Mouse Keys. (See screenshot below) NOTE: Check or Uncheck Turn on Mouse Keys to quickley turn this feature on or off, and click on Save. 5. Go through the settings for Mouse Keys and make adjustments to how to want them. (See screenshot below) NOTE: These...