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Windows

How to get into Safe Mode when F8 doesn’t work

Some computers will refuse to go into safe mode no matter how quickly you press F8.

If you are using Windows XP, here is how to force your computer to boot up with the safe mode prompt:

  1. Go to START->RUN
  2. Type 'msconfig' into the box (without the quote marks)
  3. Click on the BOOT.INI tab
  4. Check the little box that says /SAFEBOOT
  5. Click Apply and OK
  6. Restart your computer.

To get your computer to stop booting up with the options menu, just repeat this process and uncheck the /SAFEBOOT option

 

Change Windows Vista’s Theme

Windows Vista is here and we can't change that so let's learn how to work with it. Much of the new Windows is visual eye candy. The new visual layout will intimidate many users and certainly get in the way of using the computer as we once did. To get around the initial shock of this different looking Windows, I recommend changing the theme to make it look a little more familiar.

  1. RIGHT Click the Desktop
  2. Click Personalize
  3. Click Themes
  4. Click the theme choices pull down menu and choose "Classic"
  5. Click Apply and OK

To make the Start menu work in Classic mode:

  1. RIGHT Click the Start button
  2. Click Properties
  3. Choose Classic Start menu
  4. Click Apply and OK

To watch these steps, watch the video below. (if the video doesn't start right away, be sure to click "Read More")

Does anyone remember easy printer installs?

One trend happening in technology over the past three years or so is bloated printer software. By bloated, I mean printer installations that require nearly one gigabyte (yes almost 1000 megabytes) of hard drive space! Call me old or nostalgic, but I miss the days where printers could be installed from a floppy disk and took less than three minutes ton install. The worst offender today seems to be HP. Their popular all-in-one printers can take up to thirty minutes to install on a NEW computer and even longer on old computers. And after spending all that time, it may still not work correctly! 

Run, don’t walk, to buy a new computer

One of my favorite Sci-Fi movies of the past few years was iRobot. The film was so loosely based on the Isaac Asimov book that they had to put "inspired by" rather than "based on" in the credit.

The film took place in the near future in a time where every home had a robot.

One main corporation was responsible for supplying most of the robots. As a new line of robots was introduced, the corporation gladly exchanged everyone's existing robots for free for a brand new model.

What no one suspected was that the new robots were rigged to take over the world.

So, I cleaned my office today

Tomorrow I will start taking calls again and return back to work. I decided to use my last day off of the Holiday season to clean my office and get a fresh start on the new year.

I am a pack rat, but I am not the kind of person who never throws anything away. I am picky in what I keep. Most of my clutter is job related. Since I spend my days working on computers, I tend to keep computer parts and cables "just in case."

While I kept a lot of cables, I did decide to finally get rid of a lot of stuff I will probably never need again. I collected a total of 5 trash bags full of junk in the cleaning process.

Create a new toolbar in Windows – Video Tip

Desktop icons are great to access commonly used programs and files, but I have found an even faster way to access those commonly used programs and keep my desktop a little cleaner at the same time.

After following the outlined steps below, you will have an orderly toolbar that contains easy one-click access to your favorite programs or files:

  1. RIGHT Click on your Taskbar (next to the Start button)

  2. Click Toolbars

  3. Click Quick Launch (or make sure there is already a check mark there)

One month away from Windows Vista

Microsoft plans on rolling out Windows Vista en masse on January 30, 2007. After nearly three years of delays, the much anticipated new operating system will be available. Unfortunately, the only reason it is getting released now versus later is because Microsoft stripped away many of the features it was supposed to have in order to deliver the product at all. This doesn't bode well for Microsoft or we computer users. I showed my brother Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 while he was here for the holidays. His response: "It's sexier."

I will admit that it has a certain visual appeal, but nothing earth shattering. What it doesn't have is an intuitive look and feel that users will feel comfortable with out of the box because the visual aesthetics are so different. With one month to go, I am anxious to see the reception that it gets from consumers. So far, the volume business clients that have had access since November have been very unimpressed and sales are lackluster.

A Confession: I don’t understand computers

I know how to fix computers, but I will freely admit that I don't understand them.

Today I saw two clients with very strange problems. One person had a problem that prevented their CD burner from writing and their computer from recognizing the sound card. However, the sound card and CD writer had just been replaced because of the same problem.

What was really strange was that the system sounds worked and the CD would record files just fine as long as you didn't use Nero.

After they had the CD drive and sound card replaced, everything had worked fine for about two weeks.

Add more USB ports easily

PCI USB Expansion CardMany new computers over the past few years come with a minimum of six USB ports (four in the back and two up front). With cameras, scanners, printers, MP3 players, external hard drives, mice, keyboards and more, what seemed like a lot of ports quickly dwindles. You could add an external USB hub that plugs into one of your ports then gives you four more, for a net gain of three. Hubs can be found for about $20-30. More often, however, I'm recommending people spend less than $10 and get a PCI USB expansion card that gives you a net gain of four or more USB ports.

When do I right click?

Wow, I get that question so many times that I decided we should put up an explanation on the site. All computer mice have at least two buttons. The primary button is usually the left one and does the vast majority of the work. Follow these rules when thinking about your mouse buttons:

Left Mouse Button

  • It is your primary work horse AND the only button used for double-clicking.Left Mouse button
  • Double-clicking is NEVER required…it is always an option.
  • The only places you need to double-click (and I'll show you how to avoid it altogether at the end of this tip) are the Desktop and any Windows Explorer window where you want to open a file.
  • When clicking links and menu options on the Internet, Click just ONE TIME with the left mouse button
  • If you are moving Solitaire cards from one stack to another or files from one folder to another, you click ONE time with the Left mouse button and hold it down while moving the object. When you let go of the button, the item will stay where you put it.
  • This is the only button you will use to make selections from menus.

Right Mouse Button