How do I Disable Some of My Windows Startup Programs?

When you start your computer, many applications might load at startup, out of which some may not be required at all. Windows comes with a startup managing utility called MSCONFIG, using which you can disable startup applications. This is also called System Configuration Utility. To access MSCONFIG, try these steps:

• Click Start, Run and type MSCONFIG
• Click Startup tab and view the listings there
• Uncheck the corresponding entry for the application which you want to disable from startup
• Click OK

The entries are reappearing again…..What now?
Some applications will repopulate the entry in the Startup. In that case, you need to check into that software’s options page and disable it’s “Run at startup” or similar feature.
Which startup items are mandatory?

Unlike previous versions of Windows, Windows XP does not require any program for mandatory startup. Everything is your choice. The very recommended ones which needs to run at startup are:

• Firewall programs
• Anti virus software and anti-spyware utilities
• Keyboard software or related for hotkey functionality (this one is optional as well)
• Software provided by your Internet Service Provider (for Internet Connectivity)

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Change Windows XP Product Key

You can change the XP Product Key if your key is pirated or illegal! How to change the key without reinstalling Windows?

To do that, you need to edit the registry! Type ‘regedit’ in the Run command.

In the registry editor program, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\Current Version\WPAEvents

Click WPAEvents folder and locate OOBETimer on the right pane.

Right click OOBETimer and choose Modify.

Change any one digit to deactivate Windows and click OK.

Once again click Start – Run. Type the following command in the Run box – %systemroot%\system32\oobe\msoobe.exe /a.

When the Windows Product Activation appears choose to activate by telephone. Click Next and choose Change Product Key. Type your new key and click Update.
If you’re taken back to the previous screen, you can call microsoft windows xp support.

Lastly restart your PC.

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Dell's endless tech support loop

The plan went well right up to the day his offspring moved into her dorm area. "I installed the drivers for the printer we picked up for her a pair of miles from the university," explains Pete. "I confirmed the system restart, so the driver settings could take effect. But the laptop would not power back on afterward. It was completely dead. Now I was in panic."

The technician shipped a substitute motherboard to an authorized repair agent in the city where Petei daughter was attending college and made an appointment for Monday morning to meet Pete and make the fix. "This was getting close to the beginning of my daughter's classes and my plans to depart to make the 801 mile drive home on Tuesday," says Petei.

Pete waited at the appointed location with his cell phone in his pocket. "No one showed," he says. "And no one called." After two hours, he called and fell right back into the technical support vs. customer service loop he'd endured on Saturday. He spent several frustrating hours on the phone looking for someone who could help.

"Finally, with no logical end in sight," he says. "I gave up. I went to a local retailer and purchased another laptop for my daughter to use at school and began the long drive back home with the broken Dell in my car."

Two days after he got home, the computer repair technician called Pete. Now he was ready to repair the laptop. "He didn't find it particularly funny that I was several states away," says Pete. "And he had no intention of shipping the motherboard to me or a repair technician near my home. He said he would return the motherboard to Dell and that I should start over again in that endless customer service vs. technical support loop again. No thanks! It will be a cold day in you know where before I subject myself to that experience again."

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How To Find Which Service Pack Level PC Is Running On Your Windows Vista

Some software applications may need that Windows Vista is a certain service pack and may not operate correctly if the service pack is not installed. Knowing the service pack level you’re currently running in Windows Vista can also come useful when troubleshooting certain troubles or when physically installing a service pack.

Here’s How:

1. Click on Start and then Control Panel.

Tip: In a hurry? Type system in the search box after clicking Start. Choose System from the list of results and then skip to Step 4.

2. Click on the System and Maintenance link.

Note: If you’re viewing the Classic View of Control Panel, you won’t see this link. Simply double-click on the System icon and proceed to Step 4.

3. Click on the System link.
4. In the Windows edition area of the View basic information about your computer window you’ll find your Windows Vista edition information and the service pack level. See the screen shot on this page for an idea of what you’re looking for.

Note: If you don’t have any service pack installed, you won’t see “Service Pack 0″ or “Service Pack None” – there will be no reference to a service pack at all.

See Also
pc support
windows vista help
Windows Live One Care Help You

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common error’s during XP SP3 update

I have installed a brand new window on my new purchase computer was Windows XP which was also updated with Service Pack 3. One thing that I noticed when trying to change to my favorite Thellas theme from the default Windows XP theme was that it was not possible because I forgot to patch the file uxtheme.dll which protects the system from third party themes. The uxtheme.dll petchar that I had installed on my previous system was not working anymore because Microsoft seemed to have replaced the uxtheme.dll file with a newer version which had the result that the patch failed.

Many reasons are also encounter to update the service pack3 like This error occurs if you try to install the service pack when the computer is using battery power. This check is performed to eliminate the possibility of update malfunction because of battery power exhaustion during the installation proceses.and you can resolve the issue by computer to an AC power such as an electrical outlet. For more information about the power requirements for the computer, contact the computer manufacturer.

This error occurs if you try to install the service pack on a computer where Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows XP is already installed. This version of the toolkit is incompatible with Windows XP SP3 and resolve with done these steps Uninstall the Microsoft Shared Computer toolkit click Start, click Control Panel, and then click Add or Remove Programs.Click Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit, and then click Remove.After the program is removed, install Windows XP SP3.

This error occurs if you have Update for Windows XP installed on the computer. This update includes the Multilingual User Interface Pack for the Remote Desktop Connection 6.0 Terminal Services Client 6.0. This MUI pack is incompatible with Windows XP SP3.Use the Add or Remove Programs item to uninstall “Update for Windows XP This update includes the multi User Interface Pack for the Remote Desktop Connection 6.0 Terminal Services Client 6.0 To do this, follow these steps Click Start, click Control Panel, and then clickAdd or Remove Programs.Click to select the Show updates check box at the top of the page.

Click Update for Windows XP and then click Remove. After update is removed,install Windows XP SP3 This error occurs if you try to install Windows XP SP3 over Windows XP Media Center Edition or over Windows XP Media Center Edition 2003.To install Windows XP SP3 on a computer that is running Windows XP Media Center Edition or Windows XP Media Center Edition 2003, you must first install Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2). To obtain Windows XP SP2, you can use Automatic Updates or Windows Update.

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What to do with Those Old Computer Parts

Recycling Computers, Monitors, Parts
Here in the Valley we have Allied Waste located in Albany, and they will take most of the computers and electronic stuff. They get a little unhappy if you bring in a truckload, but a few parts or a PC & monitor are fine. Just drive over to their site and you can drop it off in Albany, near the Train Yards. Allied Waste is located at - 1214 SE Montgomery St, Albany OR, 541-928-2551.

Staples has a program now that you drop off your electronics and they bag it up and send it to a recycler. There is no charge for mice, keyboards and smaller stuff, and they charge $10 for the larger stuff (you will have to check with them what they consider larger!)
Staples will also give you $3 Staples Rewards back towards ink purchase for recycling printer ink cartridges. Not bad, considering many people just throw them out. Every buck saved helps!
Laptops & Notebooks

Laptops have many special considerations, including the battery and the LCD monitor. Both of these things are very bad for the environment, and should be recycled. Sometimes people are willing to pay for a broken laptop, if there are some good parts on it. The problem is, usually when someone is getting rid of a laptop, it is usually really broken bad, or just an old dog that is not worth anything.

Here is a website with more information on good recycling practices for computers and electronics. They also list the manufacturers & retailers and their different programs.

How to deal with the Hard Drive and your Personal Info
With any computer that has a hard drive, the hard drive contains your personal information, even if you have deleted it. Many recovery programs can not only recover files that have been deleted, but even when the hard drive has been "erased" and reformatted! Special precautions have to be taken to remove data completely. Either the drive needs to be destroyed (think big Sledge hammer for you hulkamaniacs) or a special program is run to write 1s and 0s over the entire drive over and over erasing the data completely.

Batteries
You should not throw batteries of any kind in the trash. Watch, camera, computer and cell phone batteries are all bad for the environment and should be recycled. Radio Shack and staples both have great recycling program for batteries. That includes AA's to laptop batteries. Save up those AAs and turn them in next time you are out and about near one of these stores.

Software
There really is no good option for CDs and old floppies. Most old software is pretty useless, and so are the material they are on. They both contain plastic, and really are not recyclable. However, the CDs make for great bird deterrents in the garden or other weird stuff you can do with CDs!

See also
computer optimization
Printing to Public Computers
Windows Live One Care Help You
Will Your Device Work with Windows 7

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Internet Running out of Bandwidth

When the Internet first started up, it really was used as a government and Educational resource to store and gain access to research material. It was never originally designed to do what we do today. It is like creating a wagon for the kids to play in, then eventually it turns into an aircraft capable of flying across the State!

A few years ago it was becoming evident that the Internet was running out of Internet addresses. This is a lot like our phone numbers, how we run out of prefixes or even area codes, because we need more numbers for more people. The Internet experts planned ahead and now they have added the possibility of bazillions of new Internet addresses for websites.

The next issue with the growth of the Internet is bandwidth or lack of it. Bandwidth is the size of the "pipe" that the internet uses to send information back and forth. The Internet originally was touted as the information super highway, and that is really a good analogy. There are big pipelines, like telephone lines or cable lines that stretch across the country, and world. Those connections only have so much space for information to travel on, just like on the roads.
If you have even been on the I5 near Portland or any big city during rush hour, you know what I am talking about. One traffic reporter I used to listen to years ago would always say, "too many cars, not enough pavement," during big traffic jams.

Well my friends, experts seem to think that is going to happen to the Internet. From the computer just working slower online, to actual brownouts that could last for periods of time where the computer "freezes."

The Sunday Times of London recently reported that the Internet may run out of bandwidth which could cause brownouts that will freeze user computers. They claim that the capacity for the amount of people and the amount of things they are doing, is taxing the Internet.
A report done by an American Think Tank Nemertes Research, says that "the web has reached a critical point.." They also say that more people are working from home and this is taking a toll on bandwidth.

Everything you do on the Internet takes bandwidth. Just like your electricity in your house. Some things in the house take much more electricity, and others take much less. If you are sending an email, it takes a small amount. If you send a huge attachment, that takes more. If you are just checking a website for plane tickets, that takes very little bandwidth. Watching your favorite network TV show online takes a lot of bandwidth.

Some of the things that take up large amounts of bandwidth are things such as YouTube and streaming movies or TV online. Those all take tremendous amounts of bandwidth, and it all adds up. Other things that many do not talk about are people who fileshare (or illegally download movies, music, software) and many Internet providers have taken action to minimize the filesharing by customers.

The current administration is putting huge amounts of money into infrastructure and the Internet and to give people access to the Internet, so it is hard to say how that will affect things.
The thing I do not like about this report is that if it got that bad, and the internet slowed down or just stopped working for periods of time, it makes it sound like your computer will stop working, your house will collapse on you, and your wife and dog will run away. I think it is a bit of fear mongering, because it would have nothing to do with your local computer, only things you are trying to do on the Internet.

We do a lot on the Internet today. Here I sit putting up a blog on the Internet, sending out email, and working on my website this afternoon. A lot of my business relies on the Internet, as many of your businesses and personal lives do too. So many of you are without jobs and looking now. Big business also relies heavily on the Internet. The Internet is critical to many people for a lot of reasons.

So maybe there could be some problems in the near future if something is not done. There is definitely need for the experts to work on solutions, but there is no need to panic as the article somewhat suggests.

See Also

fix browser problems

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Printer Troubleshooting Tips

If you have any type of printer problems then you can try below methods to solve your problems instead of directly calling tech support guys , just follow below methods to solve your printer problems

Clearing out Stuck Print Jobs - Method 1

If your printer is not printing, check the print job status, also known as the print spooler. Usually the little printer icon will be stuck down by your clock on the bottom right side of your desktop. Double Click the printer icon, and check the status of your print job. See if your job is printing or if there is an error.

You can highlight the stuck document, Right Click, and click on Cancel. This will usually stop the print job.

If you have several documents in the list that are stuck, you can click on PRINTER on the top Menu and then choose CANCEL ALL DOCUMENTS.

Clearing out Stuck Print Jobs - Method 2

If you do not have the printer icon by your clock on the desktop, Go to CONTROL PANEL>Printers and Double Click the printer you are having problems with. Follow the directions above to kill the print jobs.

Clearing out Stuck Print Jobs - Method 3

Click on START>RUN

Type in CMD and you will get a Windows Command window

Type in NET STOP SPOOLER

Go to My Computer and double Click on the C:\ drive

Then go to C:\WINDOWS\System32\spool\PRINTERS and delete the files inside that folder.

Restart the print spooler by typing NET START SPOOLER at the command prompt.

If your printer is still not printing properly, try powering off the printer, and rebooting the computer. This will usually reset things. If that does not work, deleting your printer and reinstalling may fix things.

If all of these things do not not help, then it's time to talk to Paul!

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Basics of Microsoft Word 2007

The Microsoft Office Button
The Microsoft Office button does many of the work that were located in the File menu of older Word. This button allows you to create a new document, open an existing file, save or save as, print, send publish or close.

Each of the tabs contains the following tools:
Home: Clipboard, Fonts, Paragraph, Styles, and Editing.
Insert: Pages, Tables, Illustrations, Links, Header & Footer, Text, and Symbols
Page Layout: Themes, Page Setup, Page Background, Paragraph, Arrange
References: Table of Contents, Footnote, Citation & Bibliography, Captions, Index, and Table of Authorities

Mailings: Create, Start Mail Merge, Write & Insert Fields, Preview Results, Finish
Review: Proofing, Comments, Tracking, Changes, Compare, Protect
View: Document Views, Show/Hide, Zoom, Window, Macros

Quick Access Toolbar
The quick access toolbar is a customizable toolbar that contains commands that you may want to use. You can place the quick access toolbar above or below the ribbon. To change the location of the quick access toolbar, click on the arrow at the end of the toolbar and click on Show Below the Ribbon.

You can also add items to the quick access toolbar. Right click on any item in the Office Button or the Ribbon and click on Add to Quick Access Toolbar and a shortcut will be added to the Quick Access Toolbar.

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