Wait… What are Ribbons?

I notice some of you might not know what I’m talking about, so here’s the run-down. A ribbon is a part of the window that allows you to access certain options without having to navigate through menus. It often appears as a wide toolbar at the top, much like the one in MSPaint. Allow me to show you what I mean:

The red arrow points to the ribbon in MSPaint. Just remember that this is a screenshot of MSPaint from Windows 7. Also note that Windows 8 wants to include a toolbar similar to this one on the top of every explorer window. The idea itself, though, originally came from one of Microsoft’s most popular products: Microsoft Office 2007.

What’s the Big Deal?

Microsoft right now is in a hurry to thwart Apple’s conquest over the general public and enhance its interface in a way that would level the playing field back the way it was. So, it decided to throw in a few gizmos that people might find handy. Most computer novices don’t know how to copy and paste something without right-clicking an element and clicking “Copy,” and so forth, meaning that they don’t know that you could simply press “Ctrl+C/V” to do the same thing in less time. Microsoft asked itself, “So, what if we include copy and paste buttons (big ones) on the top of Explorer?” Indeed, this would help the helpless novices save a little time while transferring data, and the entire ribbon itself has a data-driven interface that would ease the experience even for expert users. Let’s have a look at the ribbon, shall we?

The options included, I think, are phenomenal for those who are just beginning to learn to use Windows. Microsoft’s goal here was clear: Create a new interface that will allow people to find the functions they use the most in an easier fashion.

Some criticism exists, like the fact that certain buttons in that screen will have a near-zero-percent usage among end-users. Windows 8′s explorer window, in my own personal opinion, could still use a touch of improvement before it can call itself “competitive” against what Apple has to offer. Linux itself has many interesting features in its interfaces also, making it a worthy competitor. If Microsoft wants to pull this off, it has to better analyze where it is now and where it must go to achieve a higher level of customer satisfaction.

Leave your comments below and tell us what your opinion is regarding this matter!

The Q&A

NOTE: Some of the questions will be rephrased and will not appear exactly as they were written in MTE’s inbox, for the sake of simplifying the query and giving as much space as possible to the answer. If you believe your answer was not adequately answered, go ahead and leave a comment at the bottom. We’ll get to you ASAP.

Q: How can I run anti-malware and anti-virus tools when my PC’s infected with something that just won’t allow any of these tools to run?

A: That’s a very good question, especially since there’s been a ton of malware recently that disables your antivirus solutions and leaves you shooting bullets in the dark. Here’s the trick, though: Most viruses and malware that enter your computer assume you use a mainstream antivirus solution, like ESET NOD32 or BitDefender. Try something like Malwarebytes and you’ll notice a difference. The program is subtle enough and doesn’t tell viruses: “Hey, I’m coming after you!” Instead, it just silently goes through your computer and plucks out anything screwing it up. Download Malwarebytes here. Hopefully, this will help you combat your issue. Best of luck!

Q: What are the best free hard drive backup/imaging utilities?

A: It’s great that you asked! I personally think everyone who has sensitive data must back it up at least once a month. Windows 7 already contains integrated backup solutions and disaster recovery, but if you don’t have a taste for what MS has to offer, you can always use other third-party solutions like Paragon Backup & Recovery. EaseUS has a free backup program as well, and it’s coming up from under the woodwork lately. Give both a try and see which one accommodates your needs better.

Q: What screen resolution do I need to see everything on web pages? In a lot of the web pages I see everything, except for certain elements (like “Send Payment”).

A: The vast majority of websites on the web evolve along with the computers that visit them. As technology has evolved, so has the “standard minimum resolution” of computers. Newer websites take advantage of higher screen resolutions on computers. If you are using an older rig, you’re probably not going to see a complete page without zooming out or scrolling left and right. As of 2012, the minimum standard resolution a computer should use to see the web well is 1280×1024. You can probably still get away with 1024×768, but I highly recommend going higher in the spectrum. If your computer isn’t compatible with either of these resolutions, or you still have problems viewing the full page after you changed the resolution, try holding “Ctrl” on your keyboard and pressing “-” to zoom out. Alternatively, you can hold “Ctrl” and rotate your mouse wheel to zoom out or in.

Q: How do I sort my “All Programs” submenu in my “Start” menu alphabetically?

A: Windows 7 does this by default already, so I’m going to assume you’re using an older version of MS Windows. In XP, try right-clicking on any folder in your programs menu and click “Sort by Name.” That’s it! In Vista, you can configure this through your Control Panel. Just follow this path:

Control Panel -> Appearance and Personalization -> Taskbar and Start Menu -> Customize the Start Menu -> Sort “All Programs” Menu by Name.

You might notice you can’t do this in Windows XP, but there’s a simple registry hack to do this. Just go to this path in your registry: 

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder

Once there, delete the “MenuOrder” key. If you don’t know how to do this, I suggest you read the TTG registry tutorial. It will teach you everything you need to know. Don’t forget to back up the registry before you start!

Q: I just switched to Windows Live Mail and noticed that I can’t send a page in an email. How do I do this? I’m using Windows 7.

A: I’m assuming you are attempting to send the page through Internet Explorer. The lack of this option is due to the fact you haven’t selected a default mail provider through IE. Once you place WLM as the default email provider through IE, you’ll have the option back.

To do this, click your “Start” menu and click “Default Programs.” Once in that window, click “Set program access and computer defaults.” Select “Custom” and click “Choose a default email program.”  Choose “Windows Live Mail.” Once finished, make sure that you select “Internet Explorer” when clicking “Choose a default web browser.” Once you’re done, click “OK.”

Open up Internet Explorer, navigate to a page and try the “send page by mail” option again. This usually does the trick and fixes any issue. Remember to do this every time you switch to a new email program. The “send link by mail” option should also work after these fixes. If it doesn’t, let me know through the comments section and I’ll work with you to solve the problem.

Why Wasn’t My Question Answered?

If you asked a question and it wasn’t answered here, it could be one of three reasons:

• Relevance: Your question needs to be totally relevant to the Windows operating system.
• Detail: Try to include as much detail as you can, such as the Windows version + service pack you’re using.
• Other Reasons: For some unfortunate reason, we couldn’t include your question in this edition. We’ll try our best effort to include the question in the next edition.

Want to Ask a Question?

If you have questions you think might fit well with MTE’s next edition of “Ask a Windows Expert,” send us an email at windows-help [at] maketecheasier.com. Leave comments only to discuss the questions presented here. If you want to ask a question, use the aforementioned email address.

1: Open Folders in a New Process

If you understand processes, you might realize how this is a monumental feature for you. If you don’t understand how processes work, let’s just say that every single folder you open adds up to “explorer.exe” and doesn’t open a new instance of the application. That means that everything you’ve opened is governed by that same “explorer.exe” application. What if “explorer.exe” crashes? This would mean that everything you ever opened will have to be closed, including the taskbar, within the task manager application included in Windows. Believe me when I say that it’s an enormous hassle. So, what do you do?

While holding the “Shift” key, right-click “Computer” within your “Start” menu. Now, click “Open in new process” and you’re done! You should have the following result:

As in the image above, you should see two processes named “explorer.exe.” If you didn’t, re-read the instructions. Perhaps you missed something. Don’t forget to hold “Shift” while right-clicking “Computer.”

2: Reduce Volume of Other Applications When You Get a Call

This one comes handy when you’re an office user and you depend on Skype or other applications to complete calls in your daily life. Instead of lowering the sound volume manually for each other application you use, you can easily configure Windows to reduce the volume of everything else to give you better call quality. You can even mute everything else if you want complete silence – something handy when you’re conducting interviews. The whole shebang is in the “Communications” tab of your “Sounds” menu. For those of you who don’t know how to get there, just right-click the speaker icon in the bottom right corner of your screen and click “Sounds.” It takes you to a window like this:

In the above window, the “Communications” tab has already been selected. Notice how you have the option to either reduce the volume of other sounds by 80% or 50%, or even the option to mute everything else currently playing on your PC/Laptop/doohickey. Once you click “OK,” the settings will apply automatically.

3: Problem Steps Recorder

Have you ever had a problem that you would like to explain to someone with screenshots and concise steps? There are some things so complex that you can’t really explain them only in a couple of phrases, so you’re left with a really difficult choice: Either you bring your PC over to a technician, or you just sit there and try to put two and two together without any guidance. Fortunately, Windows 7 takes care of this issue with a little application known as the Problem Steps Recorder. The program automatically records everything you do on your computer, including keystrokes, after you press the record button, and saves a file to a place of your choosing containing all the information necessary for someone to see what’s wrong.

Just click your “Start” menu, type “PSR,” and press “Enter.” This will open this window:

It’s that simple! Be warned: Once you hit “Start Record,” everything you do will be recorded on your computer. And, by everything I mean everything. Make sure you don’t have anything private on your computer that you would not like someone else to see. There will be screenshots of every event. Make sure you take advantage of the “Add Comment” button to help make things easier for the person who’s helping you take care of the problem. Once you click “Stop Record,” the application will ask you where you want to save a ZIP file of your recording. If you open the ZIP  file and then open the recording within it, you’ll see something like this:

4: Switch Display Modes (And Calibrate Each Display)

Let’s face it: Tons of computer users nowadays need more than just one display to work efficiently. Microsoft implemented some juicy features for power users who have multiple displays that allows you to work with them quickly without moving your mouse all over the place and clicking through a labyrinth of menus. What’s wrong with indulging in the sweet, sweet taste of Windows shortcuts? That’s why you switched over from XP, right?

In order to quickly switch display modes, you only need to press the Windows key and the “P” key on your keyboard. That wasn’t so hard, was it? If you’re doing it right, this comes up:

As for screen calibration, Windows has a tool known as the “Display Color Calibration Wizard.” This can be found in the personalization menu when you right-click somewhere on your desktop, but who wants to waste time and click through a ton of stuff? There’s a simpler solution: Click your “Start” menu, type “dccw,” and press “Enter.” You’re in!

Mind you, but I think that guy looks creepy! Anyway, that’s part of the calibration process.

5: Minimize All Windows With a Wiggle

There’s nothing more frustrating when you have a bunch of windows open than, well, seeing a bunch of windows open. Sometimes, you just want to see your desktop and catch a breath of fresh air. There are three ways to do this without going through a lot of trouble minimizing each window manually. The first way is by pressing “Win + D.” That’s an easy, straightforward way, but perhaps you’re someone who’s more comfortable with the mouse.

Your second way of minimizing all windows, using the mouse, is by clicking a bar on the lower right corner of the screen. Still, you need precision and you might not be nimble enough to do this without wasting a bit of time. Here’s the bar, if you didn’t notice it:

Both of the options will get you where you want, but none of them let you explore your inner child and have a little fun. Restore a maximized window, right now, and wiggle it around a bit. Try a little more intensity. Did your computer just go nuts? Nope! It just minimized everything and led you straight to your desktop.

Let us know below in the comments section what you think about these top-secret Windows 7 features!

Where’d The Product Key Go?

Up until Windows XP, the product key was always stored in the registry, within the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key, under the “ProductID” key in “Windows” under “SOFTWARE”, making the path something like: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Windows\ProductID. Unfortunately, that’s not the case since Windows Vista. It seems that Microsoft wanted to make it difficult for you to find your product key, so that you end up buying another license when you lose one. You don’t have to do this if you use Magic JellyBean KeyFinder. Although it sounds like something fishy, it is a legitimate application that scans your Windows installation for your product key.

Oh, and here’s the other thing: The Windows “ProductID” doesn’t show the key anymore, but shows a special ID to help Microsoft identify and distinguish between one Windows installation and another. This is used to prevent two Windows installations from using Windows Update, since it’s against the company’s policy to use one Windows installation on more than one computer.

Using KeyFinder

First of all, download KeyFinder’s ZIP file from this link. Open the ZIP file and extract it to a folder named in a way that you’ll remember in your local drive or on your desktop. Within the folder, you’ll find a file called “KeyFinder.exe”. Double-click it and you’ll find a screen that looks like this:

As you can see, you can also recover other product keys for anything else you install on your computer, depending on whether they have a key or whether they store their keys in a central location. Some applications store their keys in a file within their respective directories. For this, you’d have to do a little more investigation.

Conclusion

If manual searching doesn’t work, you can always find your product key with handy little applications like the Magic JellyBean Keyfinder. The alternative, in case Keyfinder doesn’t do anything for you, is Belarc Advisor, an application that gives you a full audit of your computer but also includes the product key. If everything else fails, you could always try your luck with Microsoft and give them a phone call for a replacement product key. It’s probably going to take a long time, but with luck, you’ll resolve your problem as quickly as possible.

As a habit, it is always good to backup your license keys when you first got your hand on the CD/DVD. You can easily take a photo of the license key with your mobile phone and upload the pic to your Dropbox, or Google+ account, so that when you need it, you know where to look for it.

Let us know what experiences you’ve had with the application and don’t hesitate to ask questions below. We’ll be more than happy to answer them!

TinySpell Comes To The Rescue

I know it’s kind of an annoying trend that many applications are starting to apply “tiny” in front of their names, which is a lame excuse for laziness when coming up for a name, but “tinySpell” does its job. They even went through the trouble of introducing a lower-cased “t” to the front of the application’s name. So, if you want to include spell check, download the application here. After you finish downloading this little piece of software, extract the ZIP archive and double-click the executable in the directory. Now, write some stuff anywhere. Misspell something on purpose. Did you notice the beep? This will happen every time you write something erroneous.

If you don’t like the beep, right-click the task bar icon and click “disable beep.” It comes useful, though, when you have a ton of applications open and are likely to forget the icon. Sometimes, it has false positives, and you can correct that by right-clicking the icon and adding a word to its dictionary. Just look at the options it has:

Disabling TinySpell on Other Applications

It might get annoying for tinySpell to correct your spelling in games and other applications like Visual Studio, where most of what you type would be gibberish to any spell checker anyway. So, if you want to disable a particular application, click on “Applications” in tinySpell’s menu. You could even disable all applications with the exception of a few. Check out the “Applications” window and see how easy it is:

Test TinySpell

Open tinySpell and then just open Notepad. Start typing a bunch of gibberish and you’ll see how quick this application catches your mistakes:

Now try clicking on the small pop-up that tinySpell was generous enough to show you, and you come up with something like this:

The application quickly comes up with spelling suggestions that are most likely to match the word you spell, without occupying over a hundred megabytes of RAM like Microsoft Office 2010 does. When I asked people why they used Microsoft Office, they often said that they use it to take advantage of spell & grammar checking, as well as formatting. When I tell them about tinySpell, they’re ready to try some alternatives alongside the nifty little app. One person even said that he was ready to switch to Wordpad. Honestly, I’d keep using MS Office, because of the value it adds to my journalistic work, but I know a lot of people that could take advantage of tinySpell in their daily lives.

Enjoy the application, and let me know what you think of it in the comments!

tinySpell

Using Keep Focused

Since there isn’t a lot to Keep Focused, there really isn’t any setup other than downloading it. One you double click on the exe file, you should see a window something like this.

The anatomy of the window is pretty easy to figure out. First off, start by writing your task in the text box.

Once you have it all typed in, you click OK. That’s all there is to using this window. Pretty easy so far, huh? I thought so.

The other parts of the window are where you want the session log to store and to view the session log. If you haven’t used Keep Focused yet, there is no log and you should see an error. After you use Keep Focused, you will see a log like this when you click the View Session Data File button.

What Keep Focused looks like while running

When you have your task entered, the window will disappear. You will see a small little window thingy that pops up in the middle of your screen that stays on top of all other windows and applications.

Keep Focused will count down from 25:00 to zero. When this happens, you will get an alarm to let you know to take a break.

When you acknowledge the 25 minutes are up, the counter starts over with a 5 minute break. This is when you can check your Facebook or SMS messages.

Because the little window starts out in the middle of your screen, you will likely need to move it. If you hover over the small hand icon to the left of the window, you will see a cross appears. when you see this cross, you will be able to click and drag the window where you want it to be.

If you finish your task early, you can click on the white box next to the hand icon to stop the counter. This box is NOT a pause button. The point of the application is to keep focused on the task at hand, not pause it every 3 minutes to check your phone or comment on Facebook or Twitter.

Conclusion

Like I mentioned earlier, Keep Focused is very small and can be run from a USB stick. This makes it ideal for using while mobile or if you are working on a shared computer. If you try using the Pomodoro Technique for a couple weeks, heck, even a couple days, you will see that once your body quits fighting the urge to give in to distractions, you probably won’t go back to your old ways.

What is your biggest distraction while working?

Keep Focused

How to Find Out Your Windows License Type

First of all, many people don’t understand the differences associated with Windows license types, except for the fact that OEM versions are cheaper. An OEM version of Windows will allow you to install the operating system within one system’s specifications. The retail version allows you to move Windows to a different computer. We’ll talk more about this later, but let’s first learn how to find out your windows license type if you don’t know what installation you have already. Often times, if you bought your computer from a PC manufacturer, you will have an OEM version. Still, you can never be sure.

Click the “Start” menu, right-click “Computer” and click “Properties.” Once there, you’ll see a product ID at the bottom of the screen. If it contains the letters “OEM,” you have an OEM version of Windows. Otherwise, you have a retail version. Quite simple, isn’t it?

What Happens to OEM Windows Versions?

After you install a new motherboard on your computer, an OEM version of Windows will not work. Simply put, Microsoft interprets a new motherboard as a new system. If you want to transfer the OEM version of Windows to a new computer, you can try your luck and call Microsoft about the issue. Most likely, you’d have to re-install Windows 7 on the system, forcing you to give up all of the programs installed on the hard drive. In other words, you have to be ready to start from scratch.

What About Retail?

Lucky you! If you have a retail Windows installation, you can move it from one computer into another (without copying it on multiple computers at the same time) without issue. As soon as you are done mounting your motherboard, just start the system like you normally would. Windows will take a very long time to start, as it installs the necessary drivers to run with the chipset and motherboard. I’d recommend installing the new motherboard drivers before dismantling the old one. Once you’re done installing everything on the driver disc, you’ll notice that your new motherboard installation won’t affect your Windows startup as much because the computer won’t be overwhelmed with a barrage of driver installations to finish.

Besides the pretty box, there’s a reason why the retail version is almost 3 times more expensive than the OEM version. Still, you must reactivate Windows after you start your computer, to acknowledge that you have moved that Windows installation into a new computer. Remember not to make the mistake of installing Windows in multiple computers at once. Windows licenses only apply to one computer at a time. In this case, there’s a reason why many people prefer Linux.

Although there are many FTP servers available for Windows, either they are very costly or their free versions are very limited. So I have selected FileZilla FTP Server which seems to be the best in its class. Among so many other features, the ones I like the most are the user management interface and the permissions which can be assigned to any user. I can easily create groups and users and assign them certain read/write permissions in order for accessing and working on the FileZilla FTP Server. The permission sets are very similar to Linux permissions along with advanced options.

Configuring Dynamic IP

First of all, we need to address a problem with every home user – there is no static IP. The IP is the network address associated with your computer. Most Internet Service Providers do not provide a static IP address to the home users. If there is no static IP address, you will need to change the server address each time you restart the Internet router. For resolving this problem, we will be using a dynamic DNS service. No-IP is a very basic but free dynamic DNS service which can serve our purpose easily.

Go to No-IP.com and create a free account. After your account is fully active, you can download the No-IP dynamic update client for Windows. The installation of the update client is pretty straight forward and does not require any user input or manual configuration.

When you start No-IP dynamic update client from the Windows start menu, it will ask you for your registered email address and password. After signing in, you will need to create a host name for you computer. You can create the host name here. Just enter the host name with DNS Host (A) as host type and leave the rest of the options as default. Click on the Create Host button to create the host. Configuration will take some time (one minute or so) to propagate.

Now you can easily access your computer through the host name provided by no-ip. In my case, it is sanix.serveftp.com.

Setting up the FTP Server

Now that you have setup a dynamic DNS service on your computer, you can proceed forward and download FileZilla FTP server.

During the setup process, you will need to choose the components to be installed with the FTP server. I would recommend keeping the install type as Standard. Another important part of the installation process is choosing the port for administration interface of FileZilla server. The default port is 14147. Let’s keep it default for this tutorial but you can change it to any value between 1024 and 65535.

If you want to start the FTP Server with Windows startup, you should select install as a service, automatically started with Windows. Otherwise select the manual option but you will need to start the server yourself upon Windows restart.

Once installed, you will find the FileZilla server icon in the system tray. Double click on the icon to access the configuration option.

A Connect to Server dialog box will appear. If you want to have an administration password, you can input the password here and then click OK without changing other settings.

Configuring your FTP Server

Now the real fun begins when we start to configure the actual FTP server. First we will be creating some groups. Groups enable us to manage the users easily. We can apply certain permissions and restrictions on the group which will be applied to all the users in the group. For creating a new group, go to “Edit menu –> Groups” and then click on the add button under groups.

Now that we have created the first group, we will be adding some users to this group. Go to “Edit menu –> Users –> Add” for adding the users.

Once you click OK, you will be able to create passwords for each user under the account settings.

For each group or individual user, you can assign different folders which will be shared to those users and groups. To add a new folder to a group, go to “Edit menu –> Groups –> Shared folders“. You can click on the Add button to create a share folder for that particular group. Once created, you can easily set permissions for that particular direct under a specific group. The file permissions include the following:

For Files

• Read
• Write
• Delete
• Append

For Folders

• Create
• Delete
• List
• List + Sub-folders

That’s all what you need to setup a very basic FTP Server on your home computer. You can go through the advanced settings under the Edit menu. Please note that if you want the FTP server to be available to the network users, it needs to be in Active mode. If you want to restrict the access to the FTP server, lock the server by selecting the lock option in the server menu.

Connecting to your FTP Server

Once everything is configured and the FTP server is active, you can go to another computer on the network and access the FTP server by using your Local IP address. If you want to access it from the Internet, you can use the dynamic DNS address which we have already setup at the start of this tutorial. The address will look something like this: username.no-ip.com:21. Please note that the administration port no. is different from the server listening port. The server listening port is the one on which the clients will connect to the server. The default listening port is 21. You can change it through options but make sure that whichever port you select should be open in the firewall and computers can communicate through this port. The administration port is only for administering the FTP server and can be used only internally without giving access to the outside world.

Hopefully this guide will enable you to create your own FTP server on your home computer.

Image credit: Multiple Wired To Ftp by Big Stock Photo.

Calculate Difference Between Dates

Go ahead and click the “View” menu in Windows 7′s calculator and click “Date calculation.” The calculator’s window will extend to show you an interface where you can enter two dates. Once you enter them, your computer will calculate how much time has passed between the dates, in two forms. The first form shows you how many years, months, weeks, and days have passed since then. The second form will show you how many days altogether have passed. You’d be surprised how useful this tool is, especially if you want to know how long you were together with someone.

Unit Conversion

Under the “View” menu, you can also find “Unit conversion” – a feature which lets you convert between all sorts of different units. I honestly don’t use this very much, because I usually type “130 mph in kph” in a Google search and get a straight answer. You might find it useful, though, considering that everything is there on your computer, even when you’re offline. The Windows 7 calculator’s unit conversion dialog has almost every unit you can think of, save for the highly scientific ones. It includes things like Joules, Watts, BTUs/minute, Fahrenheit, Celsius, you name it! Give it a shot and come back after a few hours to read the rest of the goodies you get.

Calculate Mortgage & Vehicle Lease

What better way to learn about how much a bank wants to screw you over than to have a mortgage calculator handy on your desktop! Thanks to Microsoft (and, perhaps, this article), it might get a bit more difficult for banks to lure people into unreasonably high payments. You can find the mortgage calculator and all the features below this one under the “Worksheets” submenu of the “View” menu.

Now, here’s a trick I’m sure you know, but I’d like to show you anyway. Select “Monthly Payment” in the drop-down list on the top. Enter the value of the house you want to buy under “Purchase Price,” and fill in the rest of the requested information.

That result is your monthly payment for x amount of years. OK, so now I want you to put the value of the monthly payment into the other side of the window (the “classic calculator” side). Multiply the value by 12 and then multiply it again by the amount of years the mortgage will be for.

Yep! That’s the amount you’re going to end up paying for the house in the end. It’s never a pretty number. After that, take a deep breath and add the amount you put for down payment to that.

There’s also a “worksheet” for vehicle lease, similar to this one.

Fuel Economy (In MPG & L/100KM)

If you are on the road frequently, Windows 7 also added some nifty calculations for fuel economy, allowing you to input how many miles/kilometers you traveled and how many gallons or liters of gas you spent. You can find out how much gas you spent on a trip, the fuel economy of your vehicle, or the distance you traveled. My advice: If you really want to economize, walk to a small business nearby.

Before We Say Adieu…

I really hope that you discovered something new today (I certainly did), and find these features useful. Leave a comment below and tell us all about your experience playing with/using the features!

What’s The Problem?

It seems like a good time for Linux users to speak out against this if they use both operating systems on the same computer. While there’s no problem with UEFI itself, the “secure boot” feature in the architecture might make it impossible for Windows 8 computers to let another operating system piggyback on them. “Secure boot” was a feature implemented to prevent the computer from using a malicious boot loader that would corrupt key components. Unfortunately, the method of OS loading isn’t compatible with that of Linux, and we still don’t have word about whether Apple plans to make a new OS that goes around this or at least uses the the technology.

Windows 8 Certification Requirements

As part of the certification requirements, all PCs that want to run Windows 8 will soon have to conform to the UEFI architecture and make it possible to boot Windows 8 through secure boot. The standardization involved worries me, because Linux will be pushed out of the picture unless one distribution comes out that also conforms to the new demands of Microsoft. That shouldn’t be difficult, but there probably could have been other ways to implement UEFI without requiring modifications to the operating system attempting to run on the computer. How much boot loader malware is there, anyway? I thought some motherboard manufacturers protect against that already.

Concerns by FSF

The Free Software Foundation found that this new requirement for Windows 8 certification might hinder free operating systems from being installed on newer computers. The foundation currently holds a petition, which you can sign here. The petition demands Microsoft to make UEFI’s “Secure Boot” feature in a way that will allow free software and operating systems to run on computers. It also says that computer manufacturers should include an option to disable this feature, so that free software like Linux will run on any computer.

Microsoft’s Response

Surely enough, Microsoft was watching the dilemma and responded to the issue, saying that there’s already an option within their hardware prototypes to disable secure boot attempts from the motherboard. We’re still not sure, though, whether you’ll be able to run Windows 8 with secure boot disabled. Microsoft has admitted indirectly, however, that the option could turn up missing on certain platforms that weren’t released by the company. In other words, any OEM can choose to omit the option to disable secure boot, making this the first step towards a world without a free OS.

Solutions

Many people don’t realize this, but there are already solutions to boot loader attacks implemented by some OEMs. All of these solutions do not interrupt the hooking process involved in making the operating system load. Authentication can be achieved through chips on the motherboard, just like secure boot does, without making the operating system change its primary boot code. While I’m not the biggest expert in operating system development, I’m still aware that there are other ways of achieving the same thing. Why do you think Microsoft chose secure boot, which would force OEMs to implement a uniform standard architecture? Leave your opinion in a comment below!

Photo Credit: BIOS Configuration Screen – Microsoft

1. OpenOffice/LibreOffice Draw

OpenOffice Draw and LibreOffice Draw are two separate software but since their usage and functionality is very similar, I would mention them together. These are the closest and the biggest open source competitors of Microsoft Visio. Draw is an all purpose drawing, diagramming and charting tool. The feature that I love in Draw is the grouping feature. You can easily group different objects together and then do different actions on the group like moving the group, connecting with other groups etc. In addition to other formats (XML format is the default), you can also export your diagrams as SWF Flash files.

Download OpenOffice Draw

Download LibreOffice Draw

2. Dia

Dia is an open source software very similar to Microsoft Visio. When you start it for the first time, you will see that the user interface resembles with Visio a lot. The feature set of dia is also very similar to Visio. You can create UML diagrams, flowcharts, network processes and architectures, entity relationship diagrams etc. easily with Dia. The default file format for any file created with Dia is .dia but there are a lot of file formats that you can export your diagram including Microsoft Visio vdx format.

Download Dia

3. LucidChart

If you are looking for a web based alternative to Microsoft Visio, LucidChart is the perf5 Best Free Alternatives To Microsoft Visioect choice. It provides a drag and drop web interface to draw any kind of diagram. LucidChart gives you an option to build your diagrams in collaboration with your team. Multiple people will be able to work with the same diagram making it the perfect choice for small teams. One of the great features of LucidChart is that it can export or import Microsoft Visio vdx files very easily in your LucidChart account. One thing that is missing in LucidChart is the built in categorization of different shapes for different areas like networking, engineering etc. You don’t need to signup for an account on LucidChart. You just have to open the site and start drawing.5 Best Free Alternatives To Microsoft Visio

Visit LucidChart

4. Diagramly

Diagramly is another web based diagramming and mind mapping software. It has a very responsive and easy to use interface with the tools on the left hand column and the drawing on the right hand column. You don’t need to signup for an account to use Diagramly. You can just visit Diagramly and start working on your diagram or mind map. When finished, save the diagram in an XML file locally on your computer. If you need to edit the diagram again, just visit Diagramly again and open your locally saved file for further editing.

Visit Diagramly

5. Pencil Project

Pencil Project is an Open Source alternative to Mcirosoft Visio which is actively maintained by the development community. Their goal for Pencil Project is to make it a tool to make diagramming as easy as possible and usable for everyone from a newbie to an expert. It is very similar to other desktop based tool with a distinction that it can be installed as a Firefox extension so that you can easily create your diagrams while browsing the Internet.

Download Pencil Project

I hope you will find these free alternatives to Microsoft Visio very useful and I would like to have your thought on how much these free software have been able to replace Visio in your work?

Image credit: Big Stock Photo

1. Logon Screen Changer

Sure, you can change your logon screen manually, but what if you’re not a computer whiz and you’re afraid to edit your registry? There are tons of problems that could occur because of this, and the Tweaks.com team knows that you’re not always in the mood to look through your computer’s guts to change something on it. All you have to do is download the application here, run it, and click the “Change Logon Screen” button. You don’t even have to break a sweat!

2. CSMenu – Go “Retro” With Your Start Menu

Windows 7 includes a very versatile Start menu, but not everyone has a taste for the shiny and flashy Aero design on it. That’s why CSMenu’s developers came up with this nifty little application that reverts the W7 Start menu back to something you used to see in Windows 2000. The newer version of the application doesn’t need any dependencies and even allows you to make the Start menu translucent. You can download the application here.

3. GMail Notifications on Your Desktop

You can literally count the amount of Gmail notification applications for Windows on two hands, so why’s this one special? Well, it includes an interface that integrates taskbar features unique to Windows 7. When you right-click the application icon, it shows you the subject line of every unread message you have, a unique feature that helps you save time and wade through what’s not important when you’re busy. You can download Gmail Notifier Plus here.

4. NeoSmart Windows 7 Repair Disc Creator

Just bought a new computer and noticed it doesn’t have a recovery disc? Tons of PC retailers, aside from loading their PCs with really crappy cheap hardware (and software), are now making the Windows recovery disks a proprietary feature you have to buy. Instead of dishing out the cash, just create your own W7 recovery disk with NeoSmart. The company’s software lets you repair damaged files, use System Restore, and back up your system completely. Don’t let the fat cats in fancy suits take your money. Download the application here.

5. Winfox – Adding Taskbar Features to Firefox

When you right-click an icon on a task bar, you often get a list of things you can do with the application the icon belongs to. This is called a jump list. Mozilla seems to have forgotten to include such features in Firefox in recent versions, so Winfox comes to the rescue with a small program that modifies Firefox to do this. If you have Firefox 4 or above, you have nothing to worry about, but for those of you that chose to stick with older versions, you can download the application here.

6. Hulu Desktop Integration

For those of you that use Microsoft’s Windows Media Center and Hulu, someone had you in their mind. Hulu Desktop Integration allows you to switch between W7 Media Center and Hulu quickly, without having to go to your desktop. The application gives you a Hulu button in Media Center. Once you click it, Media Center closes, and Hulu comes up in full screen. Download the application here.

7. Stack Up Your Important Programs With StandaloneStack

Windows 7 has some very interesting features integrated in its taskbar, but it doesn’t integrate a stack of important applications like Windows XP did. StandaloneStack is your alternative to solve this issue. It integrates something like the quick start menu and lets you see all the icons in it with one single click. Download the application here.

8. Find Hidden Settings Easily With XdN Tweaker

Tired of looking through an overly complicated W7 control panel? XdN Tweaker solves this problem by including all those settings that are difficult to find in one simple package. Click here to download XdN Tweaker.

9. Make Alt+Tab Interesting

Are you tired of the oversimplified “Alt+Tab” window switching screen that has no new features? Developers at Ntwind Software came up with a free application that lets you get an elegant and complex interface for window switching, even showing you a preview of the widow you’re switching to. Once you install VistaSwitcher, you’ll feel like your OS has wings. And yes, as the name implies, it works both for Windows Vista and 7. Click here to download.

10. Get All Your Favorite Apps in One Interface

Are you planning on reinstalling Windows, or did you just get a new computer without any applications? Skip all the boring app installations you do whenever you’re breaking in a new OS and install all those applications using a custom installer by Ninite. The program works with almost every version of Windows up to W7. Click here to give it a shot!

The Run-Down

When I first heard about some of these programs, I’ve been wondering where they’ve been all my life. Every one of these tools does something wonderful to your computer and turns it into something that interacts with you in a way you probably didn’t think possible. All of them are free, meaning that brave developers took the plunge and dedicated their time to something they’ll never profit from.

If a project has a “Donate” button, and you feel like you’ve got the pockets for it, go ahead and give the project the recognition it deserves. Our contributions inspire new ideas and innovation in open application development that allow people like these to begin projects which benefit more people.

I certainly hope you enjoy these applications and benefit from at least one of them. Make sure that you leave a comment below. We’d love to hear what you have to say about the programs and your experience trying them.

Windows 7 doesn’t come with a native application for you to track your Internet usage, but there are several useful and lightweight third-party apps that can easily get the job done.

1. NetStat Live

NetStat Live (NSL) is a small, easy to use TCP/IP protocol monitor which records all incoming and outgoing traffic (the bandwidth, not the data) and lets you see the exact throughput on both incoming and outgoing data. To put it simply, it measures your Internet usage and display them in a easy to read format.

If you noticed, NetStats Live is more than just a bandwidth monitor. It also tracks your CPU usage and show you how quickly your data goes from your computer to another computer on the Internet. So if your Internet connection is slow, you can find out which point of connection is slowing down the data transmission.

NetSats Live

2. tbbMeter

tbbMeter is a bandwidth meter to help you monitor your Internet usage. It comes with a graph to allow you to see how much data your computer is sending to and receiving from the Internet in real time.

The good thing about tbbMeter is that it is highly configurable. You can change the visual style to show animated icon, scrolling graph or bar meter and get it to display the traffic for all Internet connection or only for local connection.

There is also plenty of test tools that you can use to test your Internet connection. My personal favorite is the Speedtest that measure how fast my Internet connection is.

There are many more features in tbbMeter that are not mentioned above. You really have to try it out to see how useful it is.

tbbMeter

3. BitMeter OS

BitMeter OS is slightly different in that it is cross-platform compatible and it works from your browser rather than a standalone application.

Once installed and started up, it will fire up your browser and display the traffic graph in a new tab.

The main page shows the traffic graph, but you can also select to view the History, Summary, Query (for a specific date range) and even set a alert when your network usage goes above a certain amount.

For those who love a clean interface without clutter and need the ability to zoom into a specific date in the history, BitMeter OS is the one for you.

BitMeter OS

4. FreeMeter

FreeMeter is a small and portable application that acts like a widget on your desktop. It used to be open source, but the developer took down the Open Source tag because someone took the code, rebrand it and publish it as their own. The latest version is now closed source and is only available for download on the developer’s website.

This application is pretty simple. It tracks your traffic usage and show them on the graph, real-time. There is no history or summary feature, but you can run the ping utility to see if a site is up. For those who need a small tool to monitor a spike in Internet usage, this is the one to go for.

FreeMeter

5. Bandwidth Vista

If you need to know the geo-location and IP of the connection that you are making to and from, then Bandwidth Vista is the application for you. Once installed and activated, you will see a map of the world and the traffic graph at the bottom of the map. Points are placed on the map to show the countries/locations of the connection made.

Other features of Bandwidth Vista include a ping utility and an alert function to notify you of excessive data usage.

Bandwidth Vista

Which is your favorite application to track Internet usage?

Image credit: Big Stock Photo

What People Like About MS Tablets So Far

We have to give Microsoft at least some credit with the tablet version of W7, considering that it allows support for lots of hardware that other tablets aren’t yet exploring. Tablets running the OS are also pretty powerful and really have the potential to pack a punch. After all, it was Microsoft who introduced tablets in the first place. Its form factor and specifications were similar to the iPad even back in 2003, so why did the company fail to get market share in the very thing it invented?

Microsoft’s Mistake

Microsoft’s biggest mistake was perhaps how it made its first impression when introducing tablets. Its first tablets were very over-engineered and flimsy, offering nothing more than an overly priced and heavier version of a laptop, with less processing power. Why on Earth would anyone make such a stupid investment? The fact Microsoft even made a penny out of this franchise was attributed to the amount of effort they put into marketing the product and convincing consumers that they really needed a bulky, bloated, and downgraded version of a laptop that’s 20 percent more expensive. Here’s another one: Although tablets had touch screens, users didn’t have to adapt to them. The voluntary touchscreen, in consequence, was never used and people just stuck to the keyboard and touchpad included in the tablet.

You then had the precision issue. Microsoft’s first and second-generation tablets included operating systems that didn’t cater to the touch of a finger. Since the operating systems weren’t made for touch, they could only interpret dot coordinate signals, without properly triangulating what you wanted to “click” with your finger. That’s where the iPad overtook Microsoft’s clumsy interface. Windows 8 will supposedly improve over that and include a more touch-friendly GUI, as opposed to an improvised mouse-and-keyboard GUI.

Windows 8 Tablets Might Prove Inconvenient

Windows 8 Tablets cannot be ARM-based, like the iPad and Android tablets. Turning to ARM would mean that the tablet will not harness the power of a fully optimized x86/x64 hardware architecture that would otherwise put a fully-powered computer in the palm of your hand. Obviously, Microsoft wants to let you use the tablet more without recharging it. The average user prefers to have 8 hours of continuous use as opposed to 2-4 hours. You’re out of luck, though, if you want to run Microsoft Office suite on ARM, among other desktop applications. Windows fanboys, though, wouldn’t have it any other way, and would rather run a tablet that still supports PE executable format.

Microsoft is going to have an application marketplace, though, just like Apple’s App Store and Google’s Android Market, where you can download apps that might imitate some of your favorite desktop programs in a low-power environment. It seems possible at the moment that MS wants to make it possible for W8 to run on both ARM and non-ARM tablets, giving you more choices, although the company never mentioned this. Note that in ARM tablets, you also lose support for non-proprietary USB peripherals.

So, MS stands at a crossroads. It must decide whether the future tablets will continue to have short battery lives to preserve the ability to run desktop programs and attach to USB devices, or whether the tablets will have a higher battery life and lose the features people used their tablets for in the first place. Any way you look at it, MS has a lot to lose with either decision.

This is where Microsoft introduces the W8 Metro interface, an interface that supports applications that will run on ARM-based devices and still preserve most of the functionality that desktop applications would have. You will probably be seeing a version of Microsoft Office that runs on Metro, but you won’t be able to run heavy client applications that occupy larger amounts of memory and require stronger processing.

Here’s another problem: What makes MS W8 tablets different from iOS and Android OS tablets, then?

Here’s where the answer becomes unclear, because at the time of this article’s publication, we don’t have sufficient clear information regarding Microsoft’s tablet environment to go fully in-depth with specifics. It’s likely that Windows will preserve the application marketplace idea and keep Metro the way it is, providing a low power tablet. This will obviously disappoint those who want to migrate from W7 tablets to W8 versions.

The unwillingness for software manufacturers to recompile all their software into an ARM-compatible environment might also make things worse, since they have no interest in involving themselves in a tablet that has high chances of totally failing to get any substantial customer base. Many people use Windows for desktop PCs and laptops, yet very few actually own a tablet that runs the operating system for reasons previously stated above. It might take at least a few months for the MS app marketplace to gain any sort of momentum and this might lead people away from MS tablets.

Put all this together, along with the fact that Apple and Google won’t let a new MS tablet go unpunished, and you can see why Gartner puts Microsoft’s market share on tablets in 2015 at 0 percent. What are your thoughts on this issue? What do you think Microsoft should do?

Installation

Begin by downloading the free AeroWeather gadget. It works for any computer running Windows Vista or Windows 7 (with Aero enabled) Home Premium and Ultimate. This gadget also requires you to have .NET Framework installed. If you don’t, it will prompt you to install it during the installation wizard.

Setup

Once the gadget is downloaded, run it and install to your desktop. To begin, enter the location zip code or city name you want to track weather in. The latest version now allows international use so you can use it when you travel or if you live outside the US.

Once the location is verified, choose to have your desktop change color based on weather conditions or temperature. You can easily change which option you have displayed by opening the application and adjusting any of your settings.

Customize the colors to be displayed by setting minimum and maximum temperatures in either °F or °C. Temperatures near or below your minimum temperature will display purple hues whereas, temperatures near or above your maximum temperature will display red hues.

If you set your display for conditions, the UI will be grey for cloudy, blue for sunny, white for snow, and dark grey for rainy weather.

Enabling night mode, will calculate the sunset time based on the weather server for your location and dim the Aero colors accordingly. When the sun rises in the morning, the colors will auto-brighten to the lively desktop you have come to enjoy!

Customization

If the standard default colors don’t suit your fancy, download AeroTuner to create your own Aero colors! It’s a freeware tool for Windows 7 which allows you to customize the color, stripes, glow and blur balances. In seconds you can create a unique color scheme unlike anyone else.

1. Download and install the application. Then open it and begin by adjusting the main color. Click on the main color box to open the menu of colors to chose from. Repeat for the glow color blending with the main color to create a custom Aero color.

2. Here is where you can really be creative by adjusting the color, after glow, and blur balances to your liking. Then adjust the Aero stripes to be more noticeable or fade away

3. Be sure to save your changes before closing the window. To restore the settings to the default settings, simply click on the “Restore” button.

It’s fast and easy so why not add a little color to your day?

1. It Still Runs 32-Bit Applications

Not so long ago, people were making a transition from 16-bit to 32-bit. Today, there are still many people running 32-bit versions of their operating systems when 64-bit editions are available for fear that their old applications might not run on the newer version. To those who know how processor registries work, this would be like worrying whether you can put the same amount of clothes in your new washing machine with a 9 kg capacity as you did with the older one that had a 7 kg capacity.

Processors work much like onions, with several layers of registers. Two 16-bit layers compose a 32-bit layer, and one 32-bit layer always sits within a 64-bit layer. That allows for total reverse compatibility. I still almost exclusively run Win32 applications, although I run a 64-bit version of Windows 7.

2: The OS Recognizes More RAM

Windows x86 users often complain that they don’t even see all 4 GB of memory when they have that much RAM installed. Guess what happens when you install 8 GB of RAM on your x86 system?

Windows x64 is able to detect as much RAM as you put into it without any hitch. There’s no magic trick you have to perform to add memory, and you don’t have to fight with the system to get it to recognize everything. In the end, you come out winning, especially if you’re a gamer. In fact, x64 supports up to 192 GB of RAM!

3: Less Driver Fuss & BSODs

I’m serious. You’ll have less problems with compatible drivers and less blue screen errors (crashes) when you use a 64-bit version, particularly because drivers on Windows x64 are digitally signed. Heck, I keep the computer on for months on end without stability issues. That’s something I cannot say about my experience with x86 versions. The only setback, though, is with older drivers that don’t run on 64-bit systems. 32-bit drivers cannot run on Win64. Make sure you think of this when making a hardware purchase.

4: Lower Response Time

Despite the fact that, at the time of this article’s publication, there are less 64-bit native applications out there, you can still enjoy the benefits of faster response time with bigger processor registers used for every single hardware signal in Windows. The operating system will handle just about any request you make at the bat of an eyelash because all your hardware will be using a bigger bit width. The Windows environment itself, to say the least, will run almost solely on the 64-bit channel and run faster.

The Other Side of The Coin

Wait a second… If you’re still using a computer with less than 4 GB of memory, you shouldn’t be in a hurry to upgrade. The addressing system on a 64-bit machine might have a lot of unnecessary zeros to work with, which ends up being a waste of time. If you still use legacy applications or old devices that didn’t express compatibility with Win7, you’re in for a headache if you try to run a 64-bit OS. There still are reasons an upgrade would be illogical, but on more modern systems, you’re good to go.

Let us know if you have good/bad experiences running the x64 version of Windows 7 below.

On the first run, it will prompt you to perform a system scan so it can find the problems that are slowing down your PC.

You can click the big “Scan” button to start the scan immediately, or you can click the “Show scan options” link for more configuration options.

Beside the Scan button, you can also select the Scan action, whether to perform a simple “Scan Only”, or a “Scan and Repair”.

If you select the “Scan Only” option, after the scan, it will show you the report of the potential problems that slow down your PC. You can go through the list and select the stuff you want to remove. Lastly, click “Repair Now” to repair the problems.

The System Advisor tab, as its name implies, comes with a series of advices to help you optimize your PC. For example, if you are running Windows on a low-end PC, it will advise you to disable the Aero Effects. Similarly, you can go through the list and select the options that you want to disable. Next, click the “Fix selected” link at the right sidebar. Done.

The Advanced Tools tab comes with many tools such as Disk Maintenance, System Tweaks, Internet Optimizer, Registry Maintenance etc. You can click on any of the tool and run the related optimization.

All in all, Auslogics Boost Speed 5 is a feature-rich optimization tool that covers a wide range of options for your Windows PC. If you are looking to automate the cleaning and optimization process of your PC, this is one software that you can consider using.

Free Giveaways

Thanks to the generosity of Auslogics, we have 10 free license keys to give away.

Update: Contest closed.

Here’s what you need to do to participate:

Tweet to Enter

All you have to do is click the link below and send out the resulting tweet (or just copy and paste), then leave a comment below with a link to your tweet. That’s it!

This giveaway begins now and ends Thursday, 12th January 2012 at 2359hrs Pacific Time. The winners will be selected at random and announced via email.

Share and enjoy!

Auslogics BoostSpeed 5

MakeTechEasier would like to thank Auslogics for their generosity while participating in this giveaway. Interested in sponsoring? We’d love to hear from you. Get in touch with us.

First Things First

If you’re going to make a change to your computer, you should create a restore point prior to that. If you don’t know how to create a restore point, it’s rather easy:

1. Go to “Start -> Control Panel -> System and Security -> System > Advanced System Settings” (this link appears on the top left area). Got it? Good! Click the “System Protection” tab and then the “Create” button near the bottom of the window. You should be here:

2. Once you’re done typing something in that text box, click “Create” and wait for the magic to happen.

Now that you’ve created your own restore point, you have to know how to use it to restore your computer in case something happens. Simply navigate to “Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Restore”. Once in the restore application, everything else is pretty much self-explanatory so I’ll spare you the details. That’s all you need to know to make sure your system is ready for a creepy change.

The Fun Stuff

Before we get started, just download the Windows 7 Start Button Changer application here and extract it to a folder of your choosing. Now, you’re all set for whipping out the magic wand! Follow these instructions carefully:

1. Right-click the executable you extracted and click “Run as Administrator”. Accept the annoying pop-up asking you to authorize the application and let’s just keep going. You should see something like this:

2. Click the top right start button and browse to one of the sample files that came with the application. This is in the same folder as the EXE file, called “10 Sample Orbs”. Double-click your favorite orb and wait a second. Your computer will freeze and the taskbar will be unavailable momentarily while the application updates everything. Do not restart your computer or reset it while in this process.

If you do get issues, use the restore point you created to your advantage. If you can no longer boot to your desktop normally, don’t panic! Press “F8″ on your keyboard right before the Windows loading screen comes up. A menu will appear with a bunch of booting options. Choose “Safe Mode”. Make sure you don’t opt for safe mode that has networking, as you don’t need the Internet to restore your computer. Once in safe mode, you can restore the computer to a previous point and breathe a sigh of relief while you wipe that sweat from your forehead.

Using the samples, you can get creative and make your own start orb templates if you wish. If you ever make one, make sure you post it here in the comments section! We’d love to hear about it!

What Happens?

If your hard drive starts acting nasty, you’ll know it because the computer loads much more slowly than usual, perhaps executing this behavior on one or two programs in particular. BSOD (blue screen) errors will happen more frequently than previously when they were absent. Although these also may be signs that your physical memory and other components might not work properly, you shouldn’t discount the possibility of the hard drive being the cause of this mess. Other problems that narrow down to the hard drive are CRC errors when transferring files from one folder on the same drive to the other. Other times, the progress bar just stays stuck in the middle and doesn’t move for hours.

Why Does This Happen?

Hard drives aren’t eternal, and neither are solid state drives (SSDs), contrary to what some may say. SSDs, in fact, are more volatile than hard drives. The degradation of a storage drive’s interior is something perfectly natural and happens after years of use, depending on the quality it was manufactured with. This degradation manifests itself in the form of bad sectors, which are small areas of the drive that can no longer be used due to physical damage. To ensure that your drive doesn’t risk being further damaged, you must run the disk checking utility in Windows to mark the areas that aren’t functional anymore. 

Notice how close the R/W heads come to the platters. The precision necessary makes the hard drive a very delicate instrument.

Before You Run Disk Checker

Try restarting your computer. There are times when your drive might have a minor fluke. Don’t restart your computer like you usually do. Shut it down, wait 20 seconds, and turn it back on. This gives the drive time to reset its read/write heads and bring the internal platters to a complete stop. If your hard drive is having errors only working with one file, try putting a copy of it somewhere else on the drive. See if it works after that. If it’s still not working, the file might have a problem, not the drive.

Running Disk Checker

To run the disk checker utility, access your command prompt. If you don’t know how to do this, click your “Start” menu, go to “All Programs -> Accessories -> Command Prompt“. Once in the command prompt, type “chkdsk /r” and press “Enter” on your keyboard. If and when you get a prompt, type “Y” and press “Enter.” Once you restart your computer, the disk checker utility will run on its own. Let it do its job and it will take care of your drive.

If you’re curious, the “/r” flag tells the “chkdsk” utility to scan the drive for errors and recover readable information from bad sectors. If the utility finds errors, it will also correct them because of the implication of the “/f” flag. If someone tells you to type both “f” and “r” flags, just use the “r” one and let them know that they don’t know what they’re talking about.

Photo Credit: flickr

Begin by allowing access to the workstation. If your OS doesn’t have it already installed, the Standard Edition is free and can be downloaded quickly. It has all the main features most people would need to connect to a remote computer. If you need something more heavy-duty, there is a paid Enterprise version for connection needs such as VPN. Here is a walk through of how to setup the free Standard Edition of Remote Desktop.

Setup For Remote Desktop Connections

1. Go to the “Start -> Control Panel -> User Accounts (If they are enabled) -> System & Security“.

2. Under System, select the Allow Remote Access Tab.

3. When you enable the Remote Desktop, you have two options:

• Select “Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop” and click Apply. This option is for having more than one version of Remote Desktop enabled.
• If you have a single version of Remote Desktop running, simply select the last option.  “Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication“

4. Click the “Select Users” button, followed by the Add button.

5. Next, we will select the users who will have access to the Remote Manager. Choose ”Advanced -> Find Now”. A drop down list will be displayed where you can select the users, computer or domain name that can be granted access. Click on the name who will be given access and click OK to save your changes.

6.  Click OK 3 times to exit all of the open windows and begin the Connection steps below.

Note: To revoke a users permissions to access Remote Desktop, select the account in the steps above, then select Remove.

Setup For Accepting Remote Desktop Connections

For an administrator to connect to your PC, they must have permission to access your computer. This is particularly helpful in a training situation and is often used for troubleshooting by a technician.

1. Set up access by going to the “Start -> Control Panel -> System -> Advanced System Settings”.

2. Select the Remote tab, then select the Allow Remote Assistance connections to this computer. At the bottom of the screen, select “Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop“. Lastly, select Advanced which will open a new screen. Select ”Allow this computer to be controlled remotely” and press OK.

Note: Before you can connect to a Remote Desktop you will need to configure your Router and Firewall

• Connect behind a Router with a single computer – Configure your Router’s port forwarding to allow port connections on 3389 then type in your IP address supplied by your ISP.
• Connect behind a Router with multiple computers – For each computer you want to remotely connect to, you will need to configure each computer to listen to different ports to avoid port conflicts.
• If you have a Firewall running, you will also need to configure that to allow communication to the port you opened in your Router.

Connect To Your Remote Desktop

Now that you have done all the work to set up the Remote Desktop, you will only have to start at this step each time you want to access the computers in your network.

1. Go to the “Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Remote Desktop Connection”.

2. A box like the one below will open where you will enter the address of your remote computer. Click Connect to enter your credentials.

3. Entering your credentials at sign in, will connect you to the Remote Desktop where you can access the PC in your network.