CHRISdotTODD

before I find that the My Computer view is much less helpful when interacting with files than the Explorer view. By default, when you click on My Computer or My Documents, and folder and drive shortcuts, the left pane contains links to Make a new folder, Publish this folder..., and other not-so-helpful links. I like the Explorer view which has a tree of all folder, open to the folder that I've selected.. Well, with an easy Registry change, the behavior of My Computer and the like can be changed to open in an Explorer view. Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell and set the default value ( Value data ) to "explorer" -- that's it. after

I recently started having a problem where my Excel 2003 and Word 2003 files would not open when clicked, unless Excel and/or Word was already open. If the application wasn't open, it would open the application, but not load the file. I did quite a bit of searching, but couldn't seem to find the right answer. Some sites recommended checking a setting to Ignore other applications -- a setting that wasn't even available in Word. Turns out for both applications, it was the Addins that were causing troubles. To remove the offending Addin, you need to edit the Registry. Here's the process I used. Go to Start > Run... , enter regedit, and click OK . Go to the following key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Word\ Addins . Right-click on Addins and select Export . This will let you re-import the keys. Delete the individual Addins one at a time, testing each time to find the offending Addin. Once you identify the offending Addin, re-import all Addin keys, and de

If you're like me, over the years I've started to forget some of those old DOS commands. One that we still need to use occasionally is the cd command to navigate to a file in a different folder, because whenever you go to the Command Prompt you begin in the C:\Documents and Settings\[your username] folder. With a minor entry into your Folder Options, you can actually open directly to the folder you want using Windows Explorer. Here's how you do it: 1. Open a Windows Explore window (Windows Key + E) 2. Click on Tools 3. Select Folder Options... 4. Click on the File Types tab 5. Click on [NONE] Folder 6. Click on Advanced 7. Click on New 8. Type " Command Prompt " in the Action box 9. Type " cmd.exe " in the Application used to perform action box 10 . Click OK on each of the dialog boxes until you are back to the Windows Explorer window Now see it in action: 1. Right-click on a folder in the left-pane 2. Click Command Prompt 3. You will see a (DOS)

I found a new tool from Microsoft that will evaluate the security of your PC, and give instructions on how to correct potential vulnerabilities. Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) is an easy-to-use tool designed for the IT professional that helps small- and medium-sized businesses determine their security state in accordance with Microsoft security recommendations and offers specific remediation guidance. You don't need to be an IT professional to use MBSA , as instructions for correcting potential vulnerabilities are easy to follow. MBSA examines the following areas on your Windows computer: Security Updates Windows Administrative Vulnerabilities and System Issues, e.g. is Windows Firewall enabled, is the Guest Account disabled, and if are unnecessary Services turned off Internet Information Services (IIS) Administrative Vulnerabilities and System Issues, e.g. are the sample applications removed and has the IIS Lockdown patch been applied Note, many folks do not realize t

With the last Microsoft patch this past Tuesday, if you were a user of ZoneAlarm , you were no longer able to access the Internet. I happen to be one of those users. I could get to my router, but not the Internet. Other devices on my network, of course, also were able to access the Internet. When I finally discovered that ZoneAlarm was the problem, I found a reference on the ZoneAlarm site . Apparently the patch was fixing quite a serious flaw in Internet addressing. "You'd have the Internet, but it wouldn't be the Internet you expect. (Hackers) would control everything." - Securosis analyst Rich Mogul I find it funny that fixing the flaw caused ZoneAlarm problems. Anyway, if you're finding this post, then you were not affected or you have solved the problem.

Industry pundit John C. Dvorak recently release an article on Vista's 11 Pillars of Failure . John makes some good points including the code bloat, missing drivers, and the confusion around the number of versions. On the other hand, Robert Strohmeyer of PC World in his article 18 Features Windows Should Have (but Doesn't) , covers items as if the shortcomings are because it's not a Mac. Where John points out valid issues, Mr. Strohmeyer uses the Mac as an example instead of identifying real issues. So if you you want a refresher on why you should stick with XP until Microsoft releases the next Windows version, read John C. Dvorak's article ; If you want to see what features you're missing by not having a Mac, read the article by Robert Strohmeyer .

Microsoft plans to finally stop selling Windows XP after June 2008 (with a few exceptions). For many of us, this means switching to Mac or Linux is better than going to Vista. The people at InfoWorld decided that they didn't like those options, so they have started a petition drive to encourage Microsoft to continue selling XP. With just 76 days plus change as of this post, you too can be part of this petition ( signed by more than 100,000 people ) by visiting SaveXP.com . Read more at MSNBC .

Time is running out, but it's still not too late to get Windows XP. Computer World recently published Microsoft's current schedule, among other related information. I bought a new Dell laptop for my daughter in November with XP installed. I bought it from Dell because it was an easy choice on their website; other sites that I heard has XP available made it difficult to get XP. You should be able to get XP on new PC purchases until June 30, 2008 (from Microsoft , Sept 27, 2007). The Computer World article links to a recent blog post from Dell . Here's part of that post: The plan is to continue offering Windows XP on select Dimension and Inspiron systems until later this summer. InfoWorld is sponsoring a petition to encourage Microsoft to continue selling XP beyond the current deadline. Before you sign the petition, you may want to review InfoWorld's privacy statement. Postal addresses, and other personally identifying information and data will be used to promote InfoWo

Most Windows users know that we can hit Alt-Tab to switch from one active Window to another (or Alt-Shift-Tab to go backward). Windows XP displays icons for each of your open applications and puts the title of the document or page underneath. This can be quite difficult to find the application you are looking for with just an icon and text. There are three replacement programs for Alt-Tab that I found, which give you a preview of the application as you use Alt-Tab. First, there's the PowerToy from Microsoft , Alt-Tab Replacement . If there was no other choice, this would be better than the default functionality in Windows XP. A better option would be Alt-Tab Thingy from Nymithium Technologies. Not my favorite replacement, but Alt-Tab Thingy is definitely better than Microsoft's Alt-Tab Replacement. Here's just a few of the features available in Alt-Tab Thingy: Allows minimizing of windows to the system tray Monitors windows for change of caption/z-order/deadtray icons etc.

I recently replace a hard drive and wanted to reset my preferred behavior for how My Documents opens. The default behavior for double-clicking the My Documents Desktop icon on a new Windows XP install is a single-pane "My Computer" view, and I prefer the two-pane "Explorer" view. If you right-click on My Documents and select Properties, the Properties dialog box will open on the Shortcut tab. By updating the Target field, you can change the behavior of how the window opens. Default value: "C:\Documents and Settings\ctodd\My Documents" Two-pane value: %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /e, "C:\Documents and Settings\ctodd\My Documents" NOTE: ctodd is my Windows username You can use the same format for any folder path. Right-click on the Desktop and select New | Shortcut. A wizard will launch where you can select the folder path followed by a name for the shortcut. Once your new folder path shortcut is created, right-click as before, and use the same for

Windows has an annoying way of asking every five minutes whether I want to reboot after a Windows Update. Of course most cases, I don't because I'm working. Well I learned that there is a way to change the length of time between nags. Go to the Group Policy Editor (type gpedit.msc at the Run prompt) Expand the window to Local Computer Policy | Computer Configuration | Administrative Templates | Windows Components | Windows Update Double-click on Re-prompt for restart with scheduled installations In the dialog box that opens, click Enable and enter a high number such as 1000 minutes Click OK and close the Group Policy Editor

As most of us know, over time our PC just gets slower. This is due to temp files, old registry entries, a full hard drive, and a host of other "features" of a Microsoft OS. Fortunately, PC World just released an article on Cheap and Free Tools to Put Zip Back in Your PC . The PC World article covers four subject areas: Speed Freaks Optimize for Speed Internet Boosters Application Boosters For Speed Freaks, the one fully free tool is Cleanup Assistant . Cleanup Assistant will scour your hard drive and remove unnecessary files for you, e.g. duplicates and caches. In the Optimize for Speed category, there are four free tools mentioned. Three of them look to optimize your Registry: Eusing Free Registry Cleaner , CCleaner , and Auslogics Registry Defrag . In addition, CCleaner will also look at removing unnecessary files, similar to Cleanup Assistant. The final free tool in the Optimize for Speed category is Advanced Windows Care 2 Personal, which its primary utility is to clean u

This is likely dated for most folks, but if you are still having problems with the Microsoft XP Update for MSXML 4.0 Service Pack 2, there is a rather simple fix. If you are not sure, but have had Microsoft's yellow shield in your taskbar for some time, select Custom Install and you can see what is trying (and failing) to install. If it is MSXML 4.0 Service Pack 2, then this is the fix for you. Go to Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel Remove all instances of MSXML 4.0 Service Pack 2 (KBxxxxx) Retry the update -- that's it.

Do you ever have the experience where your typing away, say in Word, and another program pops-up and takes focus, forcing you to click back on the program you were working in? This happens the most to me when a new IM conversation begins in Trillian . It's not a problem once the conversation is going, just for new ones. Where there are a couple of work-arounds to prevent this from happening. Perhaps the easiest is to get Microsoft's Tweak UI to disable it. Look for Focus in the General section of Tweak UI. You can also do this through a registry setting: Start the Registry Editor: Go to Start | Run and enter regedit [Enter] Find HKEY_CURRENT_USER | Control Panel | Desktop Go to the Edit menu and select New > DWORD value Name the DWORD value "ForegroundLockTimeout" Assign a value of 30d40 Close the Registry Editor While your in the Registry Editor, you can also set how many times the Window seeking your attention flashes in your taskbar. This is another setting

From my home, I can pickup several wireless signals, with about half unsecured. I have been using one of these connections, instead of paying Comcast's high prices. While connecting my desktop with my laptop (to transfer some files), I noticed from the laptop that I could see this neighbors computer. I decided, what the heck, I'll click on it and see if it is open. Well, I got challenged (which you would think is good), but I tried Windows XP default password for the Admin account and I got in. I suspect more people do not understand that they are not secure than being ignorant that they should be secure. Because people are assuming they are secure, their systems get left open to make easy access without any real hacker tools. If you're reading this, and are not sure about your computer security, I highly suggest you check your system out or have a technical friend help. Check the following: If you have wireless, at a minimum use WPA . You may also consider MAC ID filtering

Do you ever get frustrated by having to always press F8 when you want to boot into Safe Mode or the Command Prompt? With a simple modification to your boot.ini, you can add those options to the boot menu. Here's a typical boot.ini (located at c:\): [boot loader] timeout=3 default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS [operating systems] multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Media Center Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons This boot.ini will prompt with: Windows XP Media Center Edition Microsoft Windows Recovery Console Add the following three lines under [operating systems] to get Safe Mode , Safe Mode with Networking , and Safe Mode with the Command Prompt : multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Safe Mode" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect /safeboot:minimal multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Safe Mode with Network" /noexecute=optin /f

Have you ever thought it would be easier to find a particular drive if My Computer would display a menu of all drives? Well actually it can do that, with a little configuration change. Right-click on the Start menu, and select properties Make sure the Start menu radio button is selected, and click the Customize button next to it Click the Advance tab Scroll through the list of Start menu items until you find My Computer Select the radio button next to Display as a menu Click OK twice That's all there is to it.

It is extremely easy to have your computer compromised if it is not setup to protect you before going on the Internet. Here are the steps to validate against your own Windows XP computer to make sure it is secured. Install a router. Even if you only have one machine connected to your Internet Service Provider (ISP), the router provides incoming firewall protection. Install a software firewall. Use this to protect your machine from having applications access the Internet without your permission. It can be a bit of a pain at first, because you will be prompted to approve applications that you do want to access the Internet, but it is worth it in the long run. I recommend ZoneAlarm (get the pro version if you want more information on messages, otherwise the free version is fine). The firewall that came with Windows XP does not protect you for outgoing traffic, so it doesn't give you any more benefit than your router. The software firewall will also protect you from incoming request

It can be quite frustrating if you cannot get Windows XP to boot. Here are several things to try, which can solve boot problems: Look for clues where it hangs. First, if your computer is cycling through reboots, press F8 after the first beep of the reboot and select Disable the Automatic Restart on System Failure. Next time you boot, when the computer hangs, it may give you some clues to the problem . Use a Windows XP Boot Disk. This assumes you have made one prior to your problem. To create a boot disk , begin by formatting a floppy disk. Then copy the following files onto the disk: boot.ini, NTLDR, and ntdetect.com. Alternatively, you should be able to create this with a CD. Use System Restore. Assuming you can boot in Safe Mode (press F8 on reboot immediately after hearing a single beep, then select Safe Mode from the list of choices), from the Start menu, go to Accessories | System Tools and select System Restore . Follow the wizard interface to restore your machine to a previ

Windows XP has a tendency for the autorun feature to quit working. It is a great feature, and a big headache if you are not real familiar with computers. I found this easy utility that will change your settings and/or fix your corrupt Registry , so that autorun works again. You can download it from The Software Patch . Run it, follow the prompts, and reboot. That's all it takes. The Software Patch also has a handy tool to help you remove files that Windows XP wont let you delete . Once you tell the tool what file you want to delete, reboot your computer and your file will be deleted before Windows XP starts again.