Author Topic: XP/Vista Helps  (Read 2741 times)

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Offline Peggy

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XP/Vista Helps
« on: Dec 24, 2007, 02:08:08 PM »
A subtopic for helps that will work with XP and Vista Operating Systems.

Peg
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Offline Peggy

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Re: XP/Vista Helps
« Reply #1 on: Dec 24, 2007, 02:12:45 PM »
Windows (Live) Mail is a program that comes built into the Vista machine.  And if you stay up with your updates with XP, then it was installed during one of your last updates recently.

It was programmed with the idea of it replacing Outlook Express.   I too, just really hate to change, and when I saw it, I vowed to not even look at it!  BUT, it has some pretty impressive features, and it's just as helpful as Outlook Express ever was for handling mail. 

If you don't require a calender or are willing to use one separately from your email client, (I use Outlook 2000 because I want the integrated calender) then this program might be for you.   You can download your gmail with it using POP access or IMAP access, and your hotmail as well!!!

Here is how to  Import Outlook Express Messages Into Windows Mail
from: www.lockergnome.com
by Diana Huggins


Switching from an existing email client to Windows Mail is easier than it sounds. All your existing messages can be imported into Windows Mail, which means you will not lose any of your important information. For example, if you currently use Outlook Express, you can move all your messages into Windows Mail, making the switch painless. You can accomplish this using the Import option.

To import Outlook Express messages into Windows Mail:

Create a directory in the user’s Documents folder.
Copy all dbx files from one Outlook Express Identity into the directory you just created.
From the Edit menu, click Select All. Right click the files, choose Properties and verify that the Read Only attribute is deselected.
Open Windows Mail.
From the File menu, point to Import and click Messages.
Click Outlook Express 6.
Choose to import from a directory.
Click the Browse button and navigate to the directory you created in Step 1.
Select the files you want to import and click Import.
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Offline Peggy

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Re: XP/Vista Helps
« Reply #2 on: Jan 07, 2008, 09:16:31 PM »
Windows Key Keyboard Shortcuts
by Chris Pirillo
from: www.lockergnome.com


I find that my computing experience is greatly enhanced by knowing a few really good keyboard shortcuts. I think everyone should know a lot of these basic commands, as it speeds up your work, and makes life just that much easier when you don’t have to reach for the mouse, and can keep your hands on the keyboard. They may seem simple, almost basic computer knowledge, but I’m always surprised how overlooked some of these simple gems are.

Between these keyboard shortcuts and a program called Launchy (a command-line application launcher, much like Quicksilver for OS X), which I also suggest, I find I’m far quicker to get from point A to point B and rarely have to use the start menu or have icons on my desktop.

Windows Key Yes, everyone knows how much hitting the Windows key in the middle of your full-screen game can ruin your day, but outside of playing games, it can be very useful for more than just pulling up the Start menu. Commands such as:

Win + D minimizing all of your windows and displaying the desktop. This can be great if you have a lot of stuff up, and just want to get it all out of the way. Hitting Win + D again will bring up your windows just as they were before you hid them all.

Win + R Opens the “Run…” dialog box. Great to get to the command line or calculator quickly (typing in cmd or calc, respectively) without having to go through the Start menu. It’s also good for relaunching explorer if it bugs out for some reason. Other good ones to know are msconfig and services.smc, which are great for tweaking both system settings and running services.

Win + E Opens up the Explorer for “My Computer” Get to files nice and quick, especially with my next tip.

Use your keyboard to navigate folders What? Your keyboard works to navigate folders? Holy file browsing, Batman! Give it a try. Open up your C:\ drive and hit “P” it will immediately jump to the files starting with “P” and if you keep typing, it will keep refining. “Pro” will usually highlight “Program Files.” Hit enter to open the folder, and then off you go typing the next folder you want.

Tab and Shift + Tab Tab will move you automatically to the next field within the in-focus window. What does that mean? Well, say you’re composing an e-mail. Type in the To: line as “Chris@Pirillo.com” then instead of clicking on the subject line, you can just hit “Tab” until it highlights the subject line. Type in your subject, hit Tab again, and you’re in the body of the e-mail. This works great in conjunction with Win + E, as by default, Windows selects the file tree on the left, and to navigate with the keyboard, you want to have the main field selected which is on the right. Alternatively, Shift + Tab moves you to the previous field. Say you’re in that same e-mail, but you want change the subject. Hitting Shift + Tab while in the body of the e-mail will pull your cursor back up to the subject line, and select all the text in the field.

Alt + Tab While in a window, Alt+Tab will switch between windows on the taskbar. Holding down Alt, and repeatedly hitting Tab, lets you select which window you want (it gives you a little pop-up on screen). Letting go of alt pulls the window up.

Alt + F4 Closes a window. Plain and simple. It’s the keyboard’s way of hitting the X in the upper right.
 
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Offline Peggy

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Re: XP/Vista Helps
« Reply #3 on: Jan 07, 2008, 09:34:11 PM »
Tips & Tricks
by Peggy Rowe-Snyder

Moving or copying files to subfolders
You can use Windows Explorer to move or copy a file by dragging the file icon to a folder. When you have All Folders displayed on the left side of the window, it's easy to drag a file to a different folder. (Pretend the floppy (A:) drive is a folder, and move and copy files there the same way too!)

If the folder you want isn't visible because the folder it's in is not expanded, here's a trick that will save you time and frustration.

Drag the file icon to the collapsed (unexpanded) folder, and hold it there for a few seconds.
The folder automatically expands and you can drop the file into the folder you want.

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Creating a new folder
You'll probably want to set up your own filing system to organize your files in a way that works for you. Use Windows Explorer to create new folders. Here's how:


Select the drive or folder where you want to create the new folder. (For example, in the My Documents folder or directly on the C drive.)
On the File menu, point to New, and then click Folder.
A new folder appears in the right-hand pane of Windows Explorer, with the name "New Folder" highlighted. Type the name you would like for the new folder, and then press ENTER.

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Ways to delete a file or folder
With Windows Explorer, you can use any of these methods:

Right-click the file or folder, and then click Delete.
Select the file or folder, and then press the DELETE key.
Select the file or folder, click the File menu, and then click Delete.
Drag the file or folder to the Recycle Bin on the desktop.
Select the file or folder, click the Edit menu, and then click Cut

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Using single-click everywhere (WIN 98)
It's so easy to navigate the Web . . . you just click a link to open the page. Wouldn't it be nice if you could just click an icon in Windows to open a program or document? You're in luck! 

Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Folder Options.
Click Web style.
If you want to have more control over the exact settings, click Custom, then click Settings, and then click Single click to open an item.
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Offline Peggy

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Re: XP/Vista Helps
« Reply #4 on: Jan 07, 2008, 09:43:07 PM »
Stopping the Messenger Service
Added 6/21/03

To remove the ability for anyone in the world to pop up messages on your computer,
you can disable the Messenger service.

Click Start->Settings ->Control Panel
Click Performance and Maintenance
Click Administrative Tools
Double click Services
Scroll down and highlight "Messenger"
Right-click the highlighted line and choose Properties
Click the STOP button
Select Disable or Manual in the Startup Type scroll bar Click OK


note: This IS NOT your chat program, which you might know as messenger, this is a service that allows other folks to send pop ups to your computer, and that is all it is for!

Have a good one, peggy
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Offline Peggy

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Re: XP/Vista Helps
« Reply #5 on: Jan 07, 2008, 09:57:28 PM »
Easily Manage Security Settings In Vista
by Diana Huggins
www.lockergnome.com

Service pack 2 for XP introduced the Security Center and it is now an important part of Vista. You can use this console to monitor different aspects your computer’s security settings. The three essential security settings you should implement to protect your computer are a firewall, Automatic Updates, and Malware Protection.

The Windows Security Center will give the status of these three security essentials. If one of these components is missing, it will give you recommendations that you can follow to increase security. You can also manage the security settings for Internet Options, Automatic Updates, and the Windows Firewall through the Security Center. You can find the Security Center console on your Start Menu and within the Control Panel.

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Offline Peggy

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Re: XP/Vista Helps
« Reply #6 on: Jan 08, 2008, 12:16:33 AM »
Turn Off The Annoying Security Warning Balloon In Windows XP

from:
http://technodigits.wordpress.com/2007/09/27/turn-off-the-annoying-security-warning-balloon-in-windows-xp/

Windows XP SP2 includes a security center which makes sure that your Windows system is up-to-date and a firewall and an antivirus is running all the time to ensure security. But the annoying things is that when we opt not a run an antivirus or a firewall for sometime or we don’t want Windows update to clog our Internet connection, we turn them off. The security warning comes into play and keeps on annoying us in the middle of our work. Here is how you can turn off those annoying warning balloons.

1 . Go to Start
2. Go to Control Panel
3. Go to Security Center

4. In the left side menu, click on “Change the way Security Center alerts me”. You have three options there. You can uncheck any of them to stop Windows alerting you about their status. For example, if you are not connected to a network and you want your firewall to be turned off, you can uncheck the Firewall check box to stop Windows alerting about the firewall not being run.

see the url above for corresponding pictures.

:) Peg
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Offline Peggy

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Re: XP/Vista Helps
« Reply #7 on: Jan 08, 2008, 12:42:23 AM »
Stop XP Automatic Update Nagging

by Jeff Atwood
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000294.html

Windows XP's automatic update facility is clearly a good thing. Except when an update is installed that requires a reboot and you're working on the computer at the time. Then you get this lovely dialog:

"Updating your computer is almost complete. You must restart your computer for updates to take effect.

Restart your computer now?  Restart Now  Restart Later"

You get two choices-- Restart Now, or Restart Later. If you click Restart Later, it pops up again ten minutes later, like clockwork. It belongs to wuauclt.exe, part of the Microsoft automatic update provider. I tried killing wuauclt.exe, and like a bad zombie movie, it keeps coming back.

I want automatic updates, but I also want to restart my computer when I feel like it. Is there any way to turn off this incredibly annoying nag dialog?

(Peggy's NOTE: THIS IS ADVANCED STUFF, FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS TO THE LETTER!)

1. Stop the "Automatic Updates" service.

A. Go to  Control Panel
B. Go to Administrative Tools
C. Go to Services
D. Right click the Automatic Updates service and stop it. You can also do the same thing at the command line by typing:
      net stop wuauserv

or you can type this, which does the same thing, and is a little easier to remember:

     net stop "automatic updates"
After the service is stopped, the nag message stops, too. Then you can reboot when you have time. The service will restart when you reboot.

(Peggy's note: IF YOU TURN THE SERVICE OFF, IT WILL NOT RESTART AFTER A REBOOT, this is done from the same place, just choose to turn it off! )

2. Modify Group Policy settings.

A. Click: Start
B. Click:  Run
C. Type: "gpedit.msc" to bring up the group policy editor.
D.  Navigate to the folder..

Local Computer Policy
  Computer Configuration
    Administrative Templates
      Windows Components
        Windows Update


E. There are two settings and both will work, so it's your choice. Either enable No auto-restart for schedule Automatic Updates installations or set Re-prompt for restart with scheduled installations to a long time interval, like 1440 minutes.

go the url posted above to see pictures to help with this process....
and be very, very careful!

:) Peg
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