Computer Tips and Guides

Archive for the ‘General’ Category

What is Windows Messenger?

Windows Messenger is the Microsoft instant messaging program built into Windows XP. There is also a Windows Messenger service built into Windows XP that helps produce pop up ads via IP addresses. The two programs are completely separate and do different things even though Microsoft has essentially named them the same.

For information on how to disable the Windows messenger service visit one of my other pages located here.

Windows Messenger (the chat program) is equally annoying if you ..read more

One of the more common questions I am asked on a daily basis is how to get Internet Explorer out of Full Screen Mode. Kiosk mode or Full Screen mode is enabled if the bottom task bar (including the Start button and clock) disappear along with almost everything at the top of the browser window as well.

You can see an example of full screen mode by viewing the screenshot below. You notice the top bar just contains standard buttons bar ..read more

When Does Support for Windows XP and Vista End?

Microsoft Support for Windows Vista (with no service packs installed) ends on April 13, 2010, while support for Windows XP (without Service Pack 3 installed) ends on July 13, 2010. Windows 2000 support will end on July 13, 2010 as well.

There is no Service Pack 3 for the 64-bit version of Windows XP. If you’re running the 64-bit version of Windows XP with SP2, you have the latest service pack and will ..read more

How to Delete Individual Entries from the Internet Explorer Address Bar

Whenever you type an address directly into the Internet Explorer’s address bar, the URL will be saved in IE’s history. If you pull downdown this list later, those URLs will show up.  Because of privacy and security concerns, you may want to delete these entries periodically. Although you can remove the website URLs from the address bar dropdown list by clearing the history from Internet Explorer, its tougher ..read more

Windows Media Player 12 Streams Your Media Library over the Internet

Here’s a new one to us: Linking your Windows Live ID to Windows Media Player 12 in Windows 7 allows you to stream your entire music library to any computer. Even better: no need to install third-party software with this method.

There are many, many ways to stream your music collection over the internet—but there’s something appealing about using the built-in software that Microsoft bundled with Windows 7. If you’re already ..read more

Stop Windows 7 from Deleting Your Desktop Shortcuts

f it seems like the desktop shortcuts on your Windows 7 keep disappearing, you’re not hallucinating. Windows 7 automatically deletes broken and network shortcuts if there are too many. Here’s how to stop Windows from throwing these (often still useful) shortcuts away.If you have four or more “broken” desktop shortcuts (which includes shortcuts to disconnected network locations and shell folders), System Maintenance in Windows 7 will delete the shortcuts in its weekly maintenance. ..read more

If you’ve started using the Start Menu search box as your primary application launcher, you may have come across a weird annoyance: By default, you can’t open the Recycle Bin from the search box.

Over at the How-To Geek site (my home away from Lifehacker), writer Matthew writes up the quick and easy trick to opening the Recycle Bin from the start menu, through the search box or even just using the mouse; all you need to do is create a ..read more

Current Crop of E-Readers Compared: iPad vs. the Rest

Developer and blogger Darren Beckett rounds up a crop of five e-readers and gives them a short price and feature comparison with the newly released iPad—and rolled the results into an eye-friendly infographic.

(Click the image above for a closer look.)

We may have our problems with the iPad, but that doesn’t mean people aren’t interested in buying it. This comparison pits the iPad against other similar devices, highlighting price, screen size and type, ..read more

Why Wont Flash Player Install?

Adobe Flash is a plugin for Internet Explorer and Firefox that allows active content to be displayed in your web browser. As with other third party programs, its updated on a regular basis. In many cases, the Flash Security Update KB923789 in Windows Update would not install properly. In other cases, you may have received an error “you must install a later version of the Macromedia Flash Player”.

In April 2008, Adobe is releasing another security update ..read more

Make New Tabs Open at Far Right in Firefox 3.6

Among the changes in the official Firefox 3.6 release is a change to where new tabs open from clicked links—to the right of the tab they launched from. Liked it better the old way? Here’s the quick fix.

The Mozilla Links blog points out a few about:config tweaks that Firefox 3.6 users might be intrigued in, especially if the new version handles things a bit differently than you’re used to, and you ..read more