Make Tech Easier » windows

How to Create a Virtual Machine of Your Existing Windows Operating System

Soumen Halder — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:35:57 +0000

A virtual machine is a software, that lets you create and run a separate operating system in your existing computer system. You can boot the virtual machine from the parent operating system and run just like another software application.

For example: If you are using Windows xp, you can install popular virtualization software like Windows virtual PC, Vmware workstation to create a virtual machine within your current operating system. Now in that virtual machine, you can install any operating system e.g Windows xp, vista. You can run these operating systems in a new explorer window within Windows xp.

The problem with virtual machines is that you have to install an operating system from scratch. This includes loading the operating system from cd or dvd, installing all the drivers and system software etc. This can be very time consuming and is not a quick job.

How to Convert your Existing Operating System into a Virtual Machine

Microsoft has a free application named Disk2vhd, which can create a virtual machine of your existing operating system. The utility is a portable application and does not require any installation. You can run the virtual machine on any computer you want.

Following are the steps involved to create the virtual machine of your existing Windows operating system:

1. Download the Zip file (751 Kb) and extract it. After that, just run the Disktovhd. exe.

2. The application will show you the available drives in your computer.

3. Select the drive which you want to migrate as a virtual machine. In this case, i would want to create a virtual machine for my Vista installation, hence i have selected the D drive.

4. Specify the path where you want to save the virtual hard drive (vhd) file. The file would be of large size and almost equal to the size of the operating system drive.

5. Hit the Create button. It would take some time to create the vhd file (mine took 25 minutes).

The software will clone a virtual hard disk of the drive selected and save it in specified location. After the vhd file has been created, you can use any virtualization software to mount the virtual hard disk and run the operating system as a virtual machine.

For example: I mounted the virtual hard disk on Microsoft Virtual PC and ran Windows Vista as a virtual machine under Windows xp. The software can convert the chosen hard drive into a vhd file, even if it is under use.

How can the Virtual machine be useful

Using a virtual machine has many advantages, especially when you are tech savy. Consider you are working in Windows xp and need to test a small Windows application compatible with Windows vista only. In that case you have to boot your system and start Windows vista again. A virtual hard disk of vista will come in handy here as you can start testing the vista compatible application by starting a virtual machine in xp.

Another situation where virtual machine can be a real time saver is when you are using multiple computers. Suppose you want to work in your friends computer with all your installed software and applications. In that case, just create a virtual hard drive of your operating system and carry the vhd file in a usb stick. When you are using the friend’s computer, just mount the virtual hard disk and use all your installed software.

Disktovhd can be used to create virtual hard drives of Windows xp, Windows vista, Windows server 2003. If you are using Ubuntu, check out how to create an Ubuntu virtual machine.

How to Create a Virtual Machine of Your Existing Windows Operating System originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

Easily Create DVD Videos With WinX DVD Author (Free Download)

Damien — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:10:31 +0000

[Windows only] As part of the WinX DVD range of product, Winx DVD Author is a cool tool that allows you to author and create your own DVD easily. For those who are looking for a professional, yet easy to use DVD authoring software, WinX DVD Author could be the one for you.

At MakeTechEasier, we don’t usually review paid software as we are great believers of free and open source software. However, the WinX DVD team decided to give away a free 1 year license (scroll down for the download link), which makes it compelling for us to give this DVD authoring software a second look. And yes, we are not disappointed. Read on for the full review.

One good feature about WinX DVD Author is that it supports a wide variety of video formats such as AVI, ASF, MPEG, MKV, MP4, MOV, RM, RMVB, XIVD, DVIX, H264, OGG, QT (quick time), FLV, etc. Being an authoring tool, you are also able to add subtitle files, create DVD menu, clip video segment and many other useful features.

On the main screen, you can find the various options to manipulate your video files.

You can either:

Choose the DVD Author option and run through the wizard to create a DVD from your video file.
Convert the Video to Vob format and store it for later use
Convert existing Vob to DVD
and finally, burn the file to DVD.

Note that the first option DVD Author is just the combination of point 2, 3 and 4 in few clicks.

Authoring DVD

At the DVD Author page, you can see a variety of options to edit your video files.

Click on the +/- button to add/remove video files.

Change the start/end timeframe of the video.

Click on the subtitle button beside the track to add subtitle files.

Change the output resolution and check if you want to include DVD menu. There is also a one-click button for you to change between DVD-5 and DVD-9 format.

DVD title & chapter menu editing

Authoring the DVD Title & chapter menu is quite cool. Select background pictures, music and add texts that you may need to customize your DVD menu.

Burning DVD

Burning your edited video file to DVD is as simple as choosing the DVD-writer as the Device name and click on the Start button.

Suggestions for improvement:

Add text/tooltips to button

Most of the buttons found in the UI are graphical and does not come with any text description. The developers might feel that the graphic icons are self-explanatory, but I have completely no idea about the functionality of each button until I clicked on it.

Specifying supported video formats

It will be great if the developers can specify the individual supported file formats rather than just listing a Supported Formatted Files in the selection dropdown.

Add support for SWF

Not sure if this is too much to ask for, but it will be great if it can support SWF file.

Ability to create ISO images

ISO format? No?

Download link

As I mentioned above, this software costs $29.95, but is free to download until 31st Oct 2009. You can grab it at this link. This is the fully functional and licensed version, not the trial copy, so grab it while it is available.

The WinX DVD Author works in Windows XP, Vista and 7.

Thanks to Viola for sharing with us this promotion.

Download WinX DVD Author

Easily Create DVD Videos With WinX DVD Author (Free Download) originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

How To Organize Windows Folders and Applications in Multiple Tabs

Soumen Halder — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 12:00:55 +0000

Imagine a situation when you have a lot of applications and windows open and you have to constantly switch different windows. This takes away the focus from your work and kills your precious time. What if we could arrange all the windows folders and running applications in tabs just as we open multiple websites in Firefox?

Earlier we have used QTtabbar, which lets you import tabbed features to your windows explorer but WinTabber is even more useful. It is a free desktop tool for windows that lets you organize open windows and running applications in tabs. All the open folders can be grouped together which keeps your desktop clean and uncluttered. Another advantage of using tabbed applications is that you get a lot of space in the taskbar and the running applications do not get huddled together. (also see : useful Firefox extensions for better tab management)

Earlier my desktop used to contain a lot of open applications and took me quite a lot of time to figure out a particular program or window. Here is how my desktop looked

After using WinTabber the same desktop looks quite different.

As you can see, all the running programs and open folders are neatly organized in multiple tabs under one common explorer window. You can open almost any program in a new tab. This may include your browser,Microsoft word,command prompt or even a video playing in your favorite media player.

How does WinTabber work ?

Nothing that geeky. Following are the steps involved to use WinTabber :

1. Start the application and open a new tab or a new window.

2. WinTabber will ask you which applications and folders you want to dock. Select the desired applications which you want to group together.

3. The selected applications will open in a new tab inside the WinTabber window. You can drag and rearrange the tabs and change the position just as you do with Firefox tabs.

4. You can run multiple instances of WinTabber simultaneously. So if you are working on different browsers then open a new WinTabber window and dock all the browsers together. Similarly you can group all the open folders in another WinTabber window and so on.

5. Ctrl + tab moves to the next tab while Shift +tab takes you to the previous tab.

6. You can release a particular window or you can release all of them with a single click. If you want to close all the applications just hit “Remove and close all”.

7. If you have a large number of tabs open,you can compress the appearance of tabs just as it appears in Google chrome. Go to View–>Tab layout—>Compressed and it’s done.

8. There are quite a handful of themes to choose from so that you can give the tabbed environment your own feel. Personally, I like the Office 2007 theme.

There are two editions of WinTabber available for use. One is Free while the other one requires a one time registration fee of $5. The registered version allows you to open an unlimited number of tabs while the free edition limits you to a maximum of 4 tabs. Here is a quick rundown of all the features of WinTabber.

Other Tabbed applications for Windows

1. Window tabs: This app is quite similar to WinTabber. It lets you group similar windows and programs into a tabbed interface. Comes with a licensed version as well a free one.

2. Xplorer2 : Instead of organizing the open folders in tabs, Xplorer2 adds multiple panes in your windows explorer so that you can work on different folders at the same time.

Do you use any of the apps that we have discussed here? Do share your thoughts and ideas so that we get to know what makes you productive.

How To Organize Windows Folders and Applications in Multiple Tabs originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

Mac: Manage Your App Windows More Efficiently With Windowshade X

Trevor Dobrygoski — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 12:30:00 +0000

A few months ago, Damien wrote a post about the need to keep windows open on top of others for better productivity. While Afloat for Mac does exactly that, Windowshade X does a little bit more.

WindowShade X is a small software (3.3MB) with plenty of great and useful features that allow you to manage your application windows more efficiently and quickly.

Before WindowShade X

When working with multiple windows on a Mac, you have a couple of options.

* Expose is by far, in my opinion, the most useful native application on a Mac for accessing multiple windows fast.

* Spaces groups open windows into separate work areas.

* Command + M will minimize the open window to the Dock.

While all of these can help manage several open windows, problems still remain. Viewing, quick access, locking a window on top of all others are a few.

After WindowShade X

I”ll give you three guesses what kind of problems WindowShade X solves. If it takes you more than two, your just plain slow. Get a cup of coffee and come back, I’ll wait here.

Okay, now that everyone here is a little more awake, here we go again.

Windowshade

The first solution offered is the namesake of the application. When the title bar of the window is double clicked, the body of the window disappears like a shade. This is great for things that need to be easily accessed, yet out of the way. This feature coupled with Growl notifications are great when using an instant messenger. The message can be read from the pop up notification. If I need to respond, the window is tucked away and easier to get to than if it were in the Dock.

Transparent Windows

The next feature you didn’t know you needed but will fall in love with is making a window transparent. Double clicking the title bar while holding the Ctrl button allows you to see the window(s) behind the one you are working in. The opacity is adjustable in the settings menu. At first I wasn’t sure I would use this feature a lot. Then I started to make it transparent for no reason just to try it. What I noticed is, I can watch a video playing in the background while I am typing notes. I can look at the cool desktop picture of the day or have a Seesmic open so I can monitor my Twitter feed.

Minimize-In-Place

This is probably my favorite of the features. Simply put, it minimizes the open window to the bottom of the screen with a double tap of the Ctrl button. The placement can be changed in the settings menu. I have mine go across the bottom of the screen. What makes this different than using the Command + M shortcut, is you can reopen that same window with another double tap of the Ctrl button. Minimizing a window this way is great if you want to look at something on the page directly behind the open window.

Keep Windows On Top

This last feature can be used in combination with the Windowshade and transparent window options. By double tapping the Command button, the window is locked on top of the others. It can be unlocked in the same way. I was amazed at how much time this feature saved me. Some ways you may want to use this feature would be if you are copying and pasting sections of one form to another. Having both windows accessible by clicking back and forth is a huge time saver. Another great use is, when used in combination with the “Windowshade”, the shaded windows can float on top of the windows for easy access.

The standard commands for minimizing like Command + M still work. However, when the standard methods are used in conjunction with these new features, you will be amazed at how much time you wasted toggling between windows before.

Windowshade X is free to try, but costs $13.50 to own. The demo software is fully functional and is available for trial for up to 15 days. Download it here.

How do you manage multiple open windows on your Mac?

Mac: Manage Your App Windows More Efficiently With Windowshade X originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

How To Display Hidden Files and Folders In Windows

tehseen — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 12:37:06 +0000

There are a number of reasons why certain files or folders may be hidden in Windows. Firstly, some system files and folders are hidden by default so users don’t accidentally delete them or change them. This setting comes in from Microsoft. Secondly, you or other users of your computer might have hidden some files and folders to protect their confidentiality or to make them more secure.

Here is a refresher again on how to hide a file or a folder. For this example I created a folder called secrets in my test folder. I can hide this folder by simply doing a right-click, choosing Properties from the menu and selecting Hidden under the Attributes section. This will hide the folder from all the users.

Whatever the reason might be, if you have hidden files or folders, it is not hard at all to display them again. Here’s how to do it:

Display Hidden Files in Windows Vista or Windows 7:

Right now, the folder secret that I created still exists but is not visible to the users. Here’s how to make it visible.

Once inside your main folder (where the hidden files/folders exist), click on the Organize -> Folder and Search Options from the menu.

Click on the View tab. These settings control what gets displayed to the users. Towards the middle of the menu, there is an option to control hidden files and folders. By default, it is set to “Do not show hidden files and folders“. Change it to “Show hidden files and folders“.

Click Apply and then Ok. Windows will now display all the hidden files and folders contained in this folder. The exact same instructions apply for Windows 7.

Also note that these settings are global and would apply to all the folders in your hard drive.

How To Display Hidden Folders in Windows XP:

For windows XP, simply go to My Computer -> Tools Menu.

Selecting Folders Options will take to the same folder settings tab that we saw for Vista. Now under the Hidden files and folders option, choose “Show hidden files and folders“. Click Apply and then Ok.

Windows XP would now display all hidden files and folders.

Protected Operating System Files:

It is important to mention that following the above instructions would display most of the hidden files and folders but would still not display sensitive some protected operating system files. These files are hidden because of the risk they pose if anything is altered in them. However, if you want to display these files as well, uncheck the box titled Hide Protected Operating System Files (Recommended). This will display the operating system files within your PC.

How To Display Hidden Files and Folders In Windows originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

3 Free and Useful AntiVirus Software for Windows

Shevonne — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:25:00 +0000

Having a reliable antivirus software is something that every Windows user should have on his/her own computer. However, these antivirus tools are usually very expensive and use up way too much computer memory.

Here are three ~~open source~~ free antivirus software for Windows. They have functionality that will give you the ability to protect your system and information the same way as paid antivirus software.
Note: Remember that it is very important to keep it up-to-date because there are different viruses popping up every day.

1. ClamWin

ClamWin is a standalone, open source virus scanner with a scanning scheduler. It gets the job done by scanning and removing harmful malware that could affect your system. One of the great features is that it automatically downloads updates to fight and prevent new viruses that have appeared after you initially install the software. ClamWin is the most simplest of the three antivirus software.

Another useful functionality is that it integrates with Windows Explorer; in addition, there is an add-in to Microsoft Outlook to automatically remove virus-infected attachments. It doesn’t have an online scanner, which is not good because the Internet is usually accessed when the computer is on.

Another issue is that there is no automatic way to scan a file for viruses. In order to scan for viruses, you have to manually perform this process. For this antivirus scanner to be useful, you would have to also have an additional scanner that prevents malware from being placed on your system from your internet browser.

To download or find out more information about ClamWin: http://www.clamwin.com/

2. AVG Free

AVG is another antivirus and antispyware software that protects against viruses, spyware, adware, and trojans created for Windows. Like ClamWin, it does automatically scan for new virus definitions daily. It also has an added advantage that it is able to scan online items in a real-time capability. It has a Scheduler that can let you set and change time frames of when the virus scanner should run.

One of the major cons with AVG Free is that it does not protect against identity theft, hacker attacks, infected downloads, infected instant-messaging and spam. If you want to protect your system from these types of attacks, you will have to upgrade to the paid service. Furthermore, the free edition does not give you access to AVG technicians in case you run into a problem, which can be a major flaw because that is something that should be offered, even if you are not paying. AVG Free has useful functionality that can be sufficient in protecting your computer, but it does not fully protect the way it should.

To download or find out more information about AVG Free: http://free.avg.com/

3. AntiVir Personal 8

AntiVir Personal 8 scans both internal and external hard drives. The antivirus software has the increasingly popular “Advanced Heuristics Analysis and Detection” technology, which provides new levels of virus detection and cleaning by intelligently analyzing whether or not something is a virus. This is something that ClamWin and AVG Free do not have.

Additionally, AntiVir has the capability of allowing users to remove viruses by a one-button removal button. When it opens, AntiVir opens up to an overview of your last scan, last update, and what version you are running. The software has an internal event log that shows a detailed look of the your entire system. There are also reports that you can run to check your system and how well the software is protecting it.

Out of the three software, AntiVir seems to offer more functionality that is similar to paid antivirus software. It does not leave any needed feature out that could allow malware to infect your system.

To download or find out more information about AntiVir Personal 8: http://www.free-av.de/en/index.html

Others

Don’t forget too about the free Microsoft Security Essential that we have previously covered. While Microsoft has stop the free download, you can still find a copy at Softpedia.

3 Free and Useful AntiVirus Software for Windows originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

How to uninstall Internet Explorer 8 from Windows 7

Sharninder — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 12:00:47 +0000

If statistics are anything to go by, Internet Explorer is the biggest and the most popular browser on the Internet. Of course, all of us geeks here know that statistics are not always correct … or fun.

But, well, the truth is that IE owns anywhere between 60-70 percent of the browser market and despite it’s flaws, it’s still going strong. While most of the geeks have long moved to Firefox, there are millions of Windows users who still swear by IE, not because they like it but because of the simple fact that it is bundled along with their OS – Windows.

When Microsoft released the latest Incarnation of Internet Explorer, version 8, a couple of months back, it started pushing it as the answer to everyone’s miseries. Advertisements promoting IE 8 and urging users to upgrade were (and still are) on the Internet, in magazines and on TV. MS also did all it could to force users into installing the latest version of Internet Explorer on their computers by pushing it through windows update as a recommended update.

I agree that IE8 has some pretty nice features and is miles ahead of IE 7 or 6, but for people like me, who have almost completely moved over to firefox, IE just takes up precious space on the computer and is of absolutely no practical use.

And it looks like Microsoft has been thinking the same way as I do.

Windows 7, like all previous versions of Windows is also going to ship with Internet Explorer but Microsoft, faced with a number of legal threats for bundling IE along with Windows, has finally provided an option in Windows 7 to uninstall IE. The only problem is that the option to do so is hidden quite deep and with this post today, I’ll teach you how to get to it and remove Internet Explorer once and for all from your Windows 7 running PC.

First, of all, open the Control Panel and from there go to the Add-Remove programs utility. In Windows 7, this utility is present under the Programs heading and named simply, Uninstall a Program.

On the right hand side of the pane, you’ll see a list of all the programs that you’ve ever installed on your computer but Internet Explorer 8 will not be present in this list. To get to that, look at the left hand pane and you will see a link which says “Turn windows features on or off”. Clicking on this link will open a window with a list of all the windows features that you can turn off (or on).

Internet Explorer is listed in this window as a feature of Windows and it is turned on by default (denoted by the tick mark against it’s name).

To remove Internet Explorer all you have to do is uncheck the Internet Explorer 8 option.

To be fair, this feature only turns Internet Explorer off, which means that it’s still there, but you won’t see it in the programs menu and you won’t be able to run it using the windows Run command also. All links supposed to open in Internet Explorer will fail with a message saying that the application required was not found.

Missing IE ? Turning it back on is simple too, just follow the same procedure and check the tickbox saying Internet Explorer 8.

How to uninstall Internet Explorer 8 from Windows 7 originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

Managing Windows StartUp Items With Chameleon

Jeffry Thurana — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:39:53 +0000

Several of the most troublesome problems that Windows users face – viruses, trojans, bloated softwares – reside in the start up items. So it would be logical that we should watch all the citizen of StartUp Menu carefully.

Unfortunately, those annoying programs have an amazing initiative to add themselves to list of start up items. On the other side, selecting which items that can and can not load at Windows start up is not as easy as saying it.

We need a help from a start up manager to do that, and one of the best out there is Chameleon Start Up Manager.

The Lite Bouncer

I don’t know why, but this little app reminds me of a club bouncer who stand guard in front of the cool club and selecting which ones of the people standing in line who could get in and which ones should hit the road home.

There are three versions of the app, the free Lite one and the non-free Standard and Pro ones. If you want to know the differences between the three versions, you can find their list of features on the developer’s website,. For everyday computer users, the lite one should be sufficient.

For the first time users, the interface of Chameleon StartUp Manager might look a little bit too hectic. But you have everything you need there.

The main view in the middle is the list of things which load when the Windows starts. Users can quickly stop any items from starting up with Windows by checking/unchecking the boxes on the left side of the list.

The alternative way to stop any item is by hovering the mouse over the item. A pop-up toolbar with buttons will show. Choose the Stop button to stop the item, or Remove button to completely remove the item.

The Settings button will give users more possible actions. But most of the options are only available in the Standard/Pro version.

To get more Options, users could dig deeper to the Preferences menu (Options -> Preferences or combination of Ctrl + I keys).

For those who really pay attention to appearance, there are several themes available from the Options -> Themes menu.

Find Out More About any startup items

But the coolest thing about this app is the ability to find more info about the start up items. Windows users know too well that the naming process of most of these items doesn’t use human logic. Everybody can guess what iTunesHelper is and what it does. But what about Alcmtr or Ifgx?

Chameleon makes it easy for users to find out more about those items and what exactly they do. Just select one item and then click the “Find a detailed description on the internet” button.

Alternatively, user can click the More button from the pop-up toolbar and choose Find –> Find in SysInfo.org from the pop-up menu.

With complete information at hand, users then can decide whether to keep or ditch the items.

Have you used Chameleon Startup Manager? Do you know other alternatives? Share using the comment below.

Managing Windows StartUp Items With Chameleon originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

How to Password Protect Your USB Drive Without Administrator Privilege

Damien — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 12:00:59 +0000

Password protecting my USB drive is often the most important thing that I do when I went on travel. With all the confidential information in the USB drive, the last thing that I want to see is to lost it and have others to access all my precious data.

Although I have previously covered two useful software for encrypting USB drive: Windows 7 BitLocker and TrueCrypt, one thing that prevented me from using them on the move is that these two software require administrator privilege (or the ultimate version of Windows 7) to use, which in most Internet cafes, you don’t have access to.

There are also several others encryption software out there, but the one that worked well for me, and apparently free and does not require any administrator privileges is Rohos Mini Drive.

What Rohos Mini Drive does is to create hidden and encrypted partition on the USB flash drive memory. When you plug in your USB drive, you won’t get to see the hidden partition. Only when you run the Rohos application (within the USB drive) and enter your password, then will the hidden partition appear. Since the Rohos application does not require access (or modification) to the computer’s system, it doesn’t require any administrator privileges to run it. This is great for those who need to access their encrypted data on a public computer that they don’t have administrator access to.

Installing Rohos Mini Drive

The initial step to create an encrypted USB drive requires you to install and run the application in your own computer. This will require administrator privileges.

Download Rohos Mini Drive (Windows only).

Double click the application to install it in your computer.

Once the installation is done, insert in your USB drive. You don’t have to reformat the drive, but you have to make sure that there is enough space to create the new partition.

Open the Rohos Mini Drive application from the Start menu.

In the main window, click Setup USB Key

Rohos Mini Drive will proceed to detect your USB drive. Click Change to edit the partition configuration.

In the configuration window, you can configure the Disk letter that the hidden partition to be mounted to, the encrypted partition size (maximum 2GB), the file system type and the encryption algorithm. The last thing is to point the installation location to your USB drive. The encrypted file will come with a .rdi extension.

Click OK to proceed.

Back to the USB Key Creation window, enter your password and make sure that it is a safe one. Click Create Disk.

Encryption completed.

Now open your Windows Explorer and navigate to your USB drive. You should see only the Rohos Mini application (which was not there originally).

Double click the Rohos mini application. Enter the encryption password when prompted.

You should now see your hidden partition prompted in the drive letter that you have chosen earlier.

You can install all your portable apps or store your confidential data on the hidden partition now.

What other software do you use to encrypt your USB drive?

How to Password Protect Your USB Drive Without Administrator Privilege originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

How to Install Ubuntu in Windows

Joshua Price — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:25:09 +0000

Here at MakeTechEasier, we’ve touched on Wubi here and there but have never really gone into detail on exactly what it can do and how it works. According to the website,

Wubi is an officially supported Ubuntu installer for Windows users that can bring you to the Linux world with a single click. Wubi allows you to install and uninstall Ubuntu as any other Windows application, in a simple and safe way…

That sums it up pretty well. You can use your Windows (98, 2000, XP, Vista) Control Panel to add/remove it as easily as any other Windows app.

The key thing about Wubi (Windows based Ubuntu Installer) is that you do not have to do any partitioning. It simply creates a file in Windows that both systems treat as if it’s a separate partition. You can choose the size of that file when you install.

In Windows, download the Wubi installer here. The initial options can be set at the main screen.

When choosing the drive to host your new Ubuntu installation, try to pick your C drive if possible. I’ve had nothing but bad luck trying to run a Wubi installation from a drive partition other than the one running Windows. Also, when it comes the deciding how much space to allocate to Ubuntu, I wouldn’t suggest going much below 20Gb if you plan to get much done.

Note the Desktop Environment option in the lower left corner. With Wubi, you have the option of four versions of Ubuntu:

Ubuntu – With GNOME, the standard option
Kubuntu – With KDE, a more “Windowsy” desktop
Xubuntu – With XFCE, more lightweight than GNOME or KDE
Mythbuntu – A PVR system using MythTV and XFCE

Once you’re ready to install, you’ll have to wait for the full ISO to download.

How it works

While we’re waiting for the download, we might as well go over exactly what’s happening. Instead of creating a partition to hold Linux and all its files, Wubi creates a loop device inside a file (typically C:\Ubuntu\disks\root.disk), which Windows treats as if it was a separate partition or hard drive.

When you boot the computer, you’ll see the Windows bootloader asking which OS to boot. If you choose Ubuntu, the Windows bootloader opens the file Wubi created earlier, and the Linux inside thinks it’s running on a typical Linux partition.

Finishing Up

I found that doing the Ubuntu 9.04 install over Wubi was quite comfortable and clear. I’ve suggested Wubi to a few potential converts, and I think I’ll continue to do so. In particular, I like how easy Wubi makes it to choose which of the various Ubuntu flavors to install. I think that makes it a little easier for people to try out something they’d otherwise never think to download. I look forward to seeing what the developers come up with in the future.

How to Install Ubuntu in Windows originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

FileInspect: Learn the Truth About Windows Processes Running In Your Computer

Damien — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:01:22 +0000

Have you ever wondered what is that files/processes that are running in the background of your computer and causing all your applications to slow down, or even crashed? Well, I know you can easily fire up your task manager (Ctrl + Alt + Del) and see what processes are running, but what I wanted to say is, do you really know what are they, their functionalities and whether it is safe to delete/disable them so as to free up some system resources?

In the past, there has not been an easy way for noobs like us to understand what is behind the scene. With File Inspect, this suddenly become a breeze (and you can easily become an expert and boast to your friends).

File Inspect Library is an educational site that provides detailed information of all (if not, most) the processes/files running in your Windows machine. You simply type in the process/file name and it will bring you its description, functionality and whether it is safe to delete/disable them. Cool, isn’t it?

Let’s delve into it further.

When you go to the site – http://fileinspect.com, you will find a search bar, a list of the most popular files and a list of the most dangerous files on the home page.

Type in the process/file name in the search bar to start searching. As you type, it will fetch the results on the fly and displays them in a dropdown list.

The search result is categorize into different status: safe, unsafe and dangerous. A safe file is denoted by a green icon, unsafe with yellow icon and dangerous with a red icon. In some occasions, you will find that there are several entries of the same file name marked with different colors (see screenshot below). The reason being that some viruses/worms disguise themselves as the filename of some important processes and create havoc in your computer.

Click on the search result to get more information.

On the information page, you will find a great deal of information, including what is the process’s functionality, where it is located, is it safe to remove, (if yes) how to remove etc.

At this moment, File Inspect is still in beta version as the developer is testing out the algorithm and making sure the file description is up-to-date. In the final version, there will also be some extra widgets that you can use to show where have all the bad files spread to.

Is File Inspect everything I need to protect my computer?

In actual fact, NO! Unlike any other antivirus or firewall software, File Inspect Library does not safe guard the safety of your computer. It is only meant to be used as an informational hub for you to get educated on the various files/processes running behind the scene. You still have to play your part to install a good antivirus and Firewall software and perform regular system scan.

FileInspect: Learn the Truth About Windows Processes Running In Your Computer originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

How to Manage Your Email More Efficiently With Postbox

Jeffry Thurana — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 12:48:54 +0000

I’ve been a web-mail kinda guy since a long time ago. I ditched my email clients (Mail, Entourage, and Thunderbird) and prefer to keep my GMail handy on any computer (or sometimes cellphone) that I use, wherever I am. But Postbox might just change my mind.

This free open-source mail client (available for Mac and Windows) combines few great features that can help users manage their emails better.

The developer’s site have a comprehensive list of Postbox’s features and abilities, but here are few that I personally find useful.

1. Create new accounts

The first time Postbox is opened, it will offer you to create a new account. You can also create another account later by going to File -> New -> Account menu. Compared to other email client that I’ve used so far, Postbox’s new account creation is the easiest. It supports major web mail services like GMail, Hotmail, Yahoo and even MobileMe.

2. Browse mails with tabs

Each time you select a mail, it will be shown on one of the window’s pane. There are two pane’s layout that you can choose: Classic View and Vertical View. You can toggle between these two views from the View -> Layout menu.

If you double click on one of the messages, it will be opened in a new tab instead of window. I think the idea is nice and produces less cluttered workspace.

3. Organize messages with topics

In Postbox, you can organize messages by topics. You can set and add any topics that you can think of according to your preferences.

The easiest way to add topic is by right clicking on the favorite topic pane and choose “Create New Favorit Topic” on the popup window. Then you can to assign messages to the topic by clicking the Plus (+) sign next to the “Topic” option in each message.

But if you need to assign topic(s) to many messages automatically, use filtering option for the fastest result. Go to “Message -> Create Filter From Message” menu.

4. To Dos

Postbox comes with the ability to create to do list easily. Not as elaborate as Outlook, but most people – like me – do not need advance organizing capability.

You can create a to do entry manually by clicking “New To Do” icon, or you can ‘tag’ a to do entry to a message by selecting a message and clicking the ‘To Do” button in the message view.

After that, if you go to “View -> Pin To Dos” menu, all the message with the ‘To Do’ tag will be listed above other message.

5. Attachment (and other) List

This app also has a attachment list feature that will show all the attachments from all of the messages in one page. Just click on the Attachment button under the search field. There are 3 other list buttons that you can choose: Images, Links, and Contacts.

The list will open up in a new tab. From here on you can choose to Save (to your hard drive), Send (to others via email), Upload (to Google Docs, but I don’t think this service is compatible with every filetype), or just to have a Quick Look.

This list is based on my short encounter with Postbox for Mac, but the feel for Windows version should not be far off. As time goes by, I’m sure I’ll add more to the “what I like about Postbox” list.

Have you tried Postbox? Whether you will like it or not, this nice app deserves at least a try.

And as always, share your thoughts and experiences in the comment below.

How to Manage Your Email More Efficiently With Postbox originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

How To Access Windows Live Skydrive From Your Desktop

Damien — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:48:12 +0000

Dropbox, Sugarsync and Zumodrive are some of the great online storage services that you can use to store, sync and access your files right from your desktop. However, they only offer a meagre free storage space (less than 5GB) that may not even be enough to backup your MP3 files. On the other hand, Windows Live Skydrive provides a whopping 25GB of online storage space, much more than the storage space of some of the 1st generation netbook and it is even enough to install a whole operating system on it. As good as it seems, there is one limitation. Skydrive is purely web based and does not provide any desktop-based application for you to sync your computer data with the cloud.

If you are looking to access your Skydrive account from your desktop, Gladinet is the application for you.

Gladinet Cloud Desktop is an application that allows you to mount cloud storage services as local folders and integrates online applications with the local desktop. It supports services such as Amazon S3, Google docs, Picasa, Adrive, and of course Skydrive.

Download Gladinet Starter edition (FREE)

Start the installer. At the end of the installation, it will prompt you to do some initial configuration.

Select a drive letter for Gladinet to mount to. Make sure that the drive letter does not conflict with any existing drive. Click OK to continue.

In the next window, click on the Mount Disk Storage

Under the service provider, select Windows Live Skydrive from the dropdown bar. Of course, if you are using other storage services, you can also configure them the same way here.

Enter your login credential.

You can now access your Skydrive right from the desktop.

The advantage of using Gladinet is that it mount the online storage as a network drive in your system (and it does not do a sync), so even if you computer has less than 25GB of space, you can still mount it and access all your data (you will need an Internet connection though). In addition, the ability to mount several online storage services mean that you won’t ever face the problem of insufficient storage space again.

Gladinet comes with a Starter edition (free), Professional edition ($29.99) and a Premium edition that is due to be released soon. Personally, I have found that the Starter edition contains features more than I ever need and is sufficient for me. However, if you require more features, you can always upgrade to the Professional edition easily.

What other ways do you use to access Windows Live Skydrive?

How To Access Windows Live Skydrive From Your Desktop originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

How to Mount ISO Images In Windows

Damien — Tue, 19 May 2009 12:06:50 +0000

Mounting ISO images in your OS is a great way for you to view and run the content of the disk image without having to burn it into a CD/DVD. While Mac and Linux come with native support to mount ISO images in the system, Windows, regardless which version you are using, doesn’t come with this feature. In this article, we will show you how to mount ISO files in your Windows at a price of free.

Virtual CloneDrive

Virtual CloneDrive is a third party software that works and behaves just like a physical CD/DVD drive, except that it exists virtually. Once you have installed VCD, it will mount itself as an empty CD ROM drive in your Windows Explorer. You can then use it to mount your ISO images (just like the action of putting CD into your CD-ROM).

1. Download and install Virtual Clone Drive. (If you are using Windows 2000 or XP, you must be an administrator to install it, else it won’t work). You will be prompted to restart your computer.

2. Open up your Windows Explorer. You should now see a new BD-ROM drive.

3. Right click on the BD-ROM and select Virtual CloneDrive->Mount

4. Navigate to the directory where you store your ISO file and select it.

5. Virtual CloneDrive will magically mount the ISO as a CD in the system. You will be able to run the application or view the content directly from the ISO file.

Virtual CloneDrive works across most version of Windows, including Windows 7 RC1.

Alternative method

If you are not the administrator of your Windows XP machine or you can’t get Virtual CloneDrive to work, the alternative software that you can use is Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel.

1. Download Microsoft Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel package.

2. Double click the .exe file to extract the package. When prompted, remember to select Desktop as the directory to unzip the folder to.

3. You should now have three files on your desktop: VcdControlTool.exe, VCdRom.sys and a readme.txt file.

4. Copy the VCdRom.sys to your C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers folder.

5. Double click the VCdControlTool.exe to run it.

6. Click “Driver Control”

7. Click on the Install Driver and point the directory to the VcdRom.sys file in C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers folder.

8. Click on Start follow by OK.

9. Back to the main window, click “Add Drive“. You should see a new drive mounted on your system.

10. Click on Mount and navigate to the directory where you save the ISO file. Select the ISO file. It will prompt you for special mount option. Ignore that and click OK.

11. You can now access your ISO file within your Windows Explorer. When you are done, unmount, stop, and remove the driver from the Virtual CD-Rom Control Panel.

What other ways do you use to mount ISO files in Windows?

How to Mount ISO Images In Windows originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

How To Install WordPress MU In Windows Localhost (With XAMPP)

Damien — Sat, 02 May 2009 09:13:24 +0000

We are all familiar with WordPress, the popular software that makes blogging an easy and enjoyable task. WordPress MU is an extension of WordPress that gives you the capability to create multiple blogs in one domain. One good example of WordPress MU in action is WordPress.com.

If you want to use WordPress MU on your site, but wanted to test it thoroughly before making it live on the server, the best way is to create a local server and test the installation in your computer first. In this tutorial, you will learn how to create local sever on Windows (using Xampp) and install WordPress MU.

Installing Local Server

1. Go to Xampp For Windows and download the Windows installer.

Run the installer. When it comes to the installation options page, select Install Apache and MySQL as a service.

2. Once the installation is completed, go to Start -> Program -> Apache Friends -> XAMPP -> XAMPP Control Panel. Press the Start button beside Apache and MySQL.

Your local server is now running. Open your browser and go the URL: http://localhost. It should show the following page:

Installing WordPress MU

3. Download the WordPress MU zip file.

4. Extract it to the folder: C:\xampp\htdocs\ (if you have installed Xampp in different location, you have to extract the WordPress-MU folder to the htdocs folder in the Xampp directory)

Setting up database for WordPress-MU

5. In your browser, go to the URL: http://localhost/phpmyadmin

In the “Create New Database” field, enter a name for your database. Press Create.

Configuring virtualhost

6. To install WordPress MU in localhost, we need to set up virtual hosting in Windows system.

Go to C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc and open the file “hosts” with notepad (you need to have administrator privilege to edit the file. Right click the Notepad application in the Start menu and select Run As Administrator).

Insert in the line

127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain

to the end of the file. Save and close the file.

7. Back to your browser, go to the URL: http://localhost.localdomain/wordpress-mu. You should see the WordPress MU installation page.

In the field where it asks you to choose between Sub-domains or Sub-directories, select Sub-directories. This will save you plenty of trouble later on.

If you insist on choosing Sub-domains, whenever you create a new test blog (with the sub-domain test1), you will need to update the hosts file with the sub-domain entry.

127.0.0.1 test1.localhost.localdomain

In the database section, enter the database name that you have created just now. Under the Username field, enter ‘root‘ and leave the password field blank.

When you are done filling in the rest of the details, click the Submit button to finish the installation. If everything goes smoothly, you should see the “Installation Finished” page.

That’s it.

How To Install WordPress MU In Windows Localhost (With XAMPP) originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

Control Your Windows Desktop With Mouse Gestures

Damien — Fri, 01 May 2009 09:00:07 +0000

In Opera browser, there is this inbuilt mouse gestures function that allows you to control and automate your browser with mouse action. In Firefox, you can also install FireGestures to enable the mouse action feature. Now, how about bringing this little useful features to your Windows so you can control your desktop with a stroke of the mouse?

Mazzick

Mazzick is a nifty little mouse gesture applications that requires no installation. It is truly portable in that you can carry it in your flash drive and use it on any Windows-based computer.

Mazzick comes preinstalled with a list of gestures that you can use instantly. To activate the mouse action, you can either press the SHIFT button together with the mouse movement or move the mouse with the middle button (or the scroll wheel) pressed down.

You can easily create a new gesture by drawing on the testing board and enter the actions to be performed. One thing that I like is that you can define a series of keyboard shortcuts with a specific mouse gesture. For example, you are playing music with Realplayer and you want to pause the music while picking up the call, you can define a mouse gesture and enter

“”

in the parameter. What this string of command does is to Open Realplayer -> Pause/Play -> Minimize Realplayer. Isn’t this cool?

StrokeIt

StrokeIt has been around for quite some time and is quite popular with many Windows users. Weighing at 105kb, it is also the smallest mouse gesture application around.

To run mouse gestures, you just need to press (and hold) the right button of the mouse and move it around. While there is a pre-defined list of gestures that you can use, it can cleverly detect any unknown gesture and prompt you if you want to save as a new gesture/action.

The last active development for StrokeIt ends in 2005, so it is no surprise that most of the pre-defined gestures are for applications that no longer exist today. A good thing is, you are not restrict to these gestures and can change/remove the existing list to free up the space for new gestures.

Adding new gestures in StrokeIt doesn’t require you to draw on the drawing board. All the actions are available as a dropdown selection box. You will have to make several selections before the new gesture is ready for action. While there is nothing wrong with this way of adding new gestures, it is definitely not the most efficient way.

gMote

gMote is another great mouse gesture app that doesn’t require any installation. It is highly configurable and allows you to personalize the settings to your preferences. You can change the ways to activate the mouse actions, change the trail colors, enable timeout and set exclude programs (such as Firefox, Opera to avoid mouse gesture duplication).

Unlike other apps, gMote doesn’t come with a long list of pre-defined gestures. In fact, it has a big testing screen to encourages you to create your own gestures (by pressing the Create Gesture button) and choose from a list of actions that you want the gesture to perform. I like this feature very much as I prefer to create my own mouse gestures for my favorite applications rather than learning from the existing list of gestures.

Which mouse gestures application do you use?

Control Your Windows Desktop With Mouse Gestures originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

View .Docx Files With Word Viewer For Windows

Norm — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 12:34:57 +0000

Is this a familiar scene for you? Someone has sent you a file with the .docx extension and you can’t open it?

Fear not, help is on the way.

Since the early days of Office 2003, Microsoft has been offering a free download of an application called Word Viewer that allows users to open documents created with Microsoft Word on Windows-based computers that don’t have Office installed.

The caveat here is that you have to download to different installers. The first one installs Word Viewer 2003 and the second installs the Office Compatibility Pack. This second download is what allows Word Viewer to open documents created with Word 2007.

In this walkthrough, I’ve created a test.docx file and sent it to a bare bones Windows XP installation. Let’s have a look at how I was able to view it.

For starters, here is what happens when I try to open test.docx without having any viewer installed:

Doesn’t really give you a warm and friendly feeling, does it? No worries, open up a web browser and download the Word Viewer from the Microsoft Download Center.

After the download completes, click the Run button or double-click the downloaded file. In Windows XP you will see the following warning:

Click Run and then follow through the wizard. I used the default settings for this example.

Eventually you should see the “Installation Complete” prompt.

After clicking the Ok button, Word Viewer will launch and attempt to open a document.

If you want to save yourself some time and energy, you can grab the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack from the Microsoft Download Center and install it before launching the Word Viewer for the first time. If you don’t want to be proactive, Word Viewer will prompt you to download it when you try to open your first .docx file.

Clicking Ok will open up a browser and take you to the download page.

Just like the first install, this one is very straight forward. After skipping past the security warning, follow the on-screen prompts for a swift installation.

Once you complete this installation, open Word Viewer again. Notice anything different?

The icon is now displayed as the Microsoft Word document icon.

Here is a side by side comparison of the file open in Word 2007 (on the left) and Word Viewer (on the right).

Looks perfect to me!

Even though the icon updated when opening a file from Word Viewer, the icon on my desktop didn’t update until I rebooted the system. It’s also good to note that you can now just double-click a .docx (or .doc) file and Word Viewer will automatically open it.

What viewer do you use for .docx files?

View .Docx Files With Word Viewer For Windows originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

Manage Your Ebook Library with Calibre

Norm — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 05:10:36 +0000

How many times have you stared at the vast collection of ebooks that you have and wondered if there was a better way to keep track of them? I certainly have. Time and time again I sift through my ebooks as I attempt to locate one that I knew I had somewhere. I knew that there must be a better way and finally I found it!

Calibre is a “one stop solution to all your ebook needs”. The site wasn’t lying. This handy application is a free, open-source, cross-platform (Windows, Linux, OS X) ebook library that offers incredible value and useful features.

In this walkthrough, we’ll look at installing Calibre in Windows and check out some of the basic features.

As I mentioned, Calibre comes in many flavours including Windows, Linux, and OS X. With that kind of selection, it’s appealing to a broad range of users. Visit their download site to get your copy and get started.

As with many installations on Windows Vista, the UAC will prompt you to make sure you actually want to install the software that has started installing. Click Run and continue to the installation wizard.

The wizard for Calibre is very straight-forward and much like many of the other applications I’ve shown you, I chose to use mainly the default settings. The only thing that I changed is the install location. I have a second drive in my main system that I install all of the applications to. This makes it easier for recovery if I have to reinstall the operating system. Simply follow the prompts to navigate through the wizard.

Once you click Finish on the final screen, Calibre will prompt you for a location for your ebook library. This is not the location where the books are, but rather the location for the database of information that Calibre will store. Your Documents folder (or My Documents) will suffice.

Once the storage directory is selected, Calibre opens up to the main window. At this point there is nothing in the library, so you’ll need to go ahead and add some ebooks. Click the little arrow next to the Add books icon on the toolbar. In the dropdown, select the most appriate option. I chose to add books from directories, including sub-directories.

After selecting the way you want to add ebooks, you will br prompted so select the location where the ebooks that you wish to add are located. After selecting the folder, Calibre will begin sifting through the files in the directory (and sub-directories) searching for ebooks.

Just a small note, I did have one ebook that Calibre could not read. Every time it attempted to read it, the whole app would hang. Eventually I removed the offending publication, but I have no idea why it wouldn’t process. If this happens to you, simply open the task manager and terminate the application, then start it up again.

For this example, I only added a small handful of my ebooks. All of them were in .PDF format and all of them were missing some meta data. In the image below you can see that all of the authors are Unknown. That’s ok though, you can add the meta data to the ebook if you have that sort of ambition.

Clicking on an ebook and clicking the View toolbar icon will open the ebook in it’s native viewer. In my case it was Adobe Reader.

There are no shortage of features in this ebook library management application. For example, you can click on the arrow icon in the lower right corner of the window and your library will switch to a graphical selection window. Sadly, none of my ebooks had a cover graphic with them, however I did notice that you could attach one to it in the meta data editor.

There is an option to fetch the title image from the Internet, however the ISBN appears to be needed to make that work. I didn’t have much luck with it. Even though I had the ISBN, I was prompted for a username and password for a site called LibraryThing.com and I don’t happen to have an account. Registration is apparently free though, so go ahead and give it a try.

Maybe a future release will be improved so that it automatically pulls the image from a web service much like iTunes or Windows Media Player does for album art.

I mentioned the ability to edit the meta data for an ebook and it couldn’t be easier. Check out the screenshot below. Here you can see all of the fields that you can edit. Things like Title, Author, Publisher, and ISBN are all fields that you can update.

You can also give the book a rating out of 5 stars and add tags to it. The tags can be quite handy if you use the tag searcher to locate certain types of books. Best of all, you can fetch the information from the Internet based on the ISBN or the title/author.

There is also an option to bulk edit the data on multiple books. This saves valuable time when updating collections with similar attributes.

Another one of the features that I really liked about Calibre is the extensibility that the program offers. From the Preferences window, you can select Plugins and you’ll be given the option of viewing your current set of plugins, customizing them, or adding new ones.

As you can see, Calibre is an action-packed, open-source freeware application that is a must have for anyone with an ebook collection. It doesn’t matter if you have 5 books, or 500 books, Calibre can simplify the management of that library and free up some valuable time.

If you use a different free ebook manager, let us know in the comments. We’d love to compare!

Manage Your Ebook Library with Calibre originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

Easily Troubleshoot Your Graphics Card With GPU-Z

Norm — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 13:11:29 +0000

I recently wrote about a great software utility that opened up a world of information about your motherboard, CPU, and RAM. Well, I have another great utility to tell you about, only this time it’s all about your graphics card.

Though manufactured by different companies, GPU-Z from TechPowerUp does look a lot like the aforementioned CPU-Z. The interface is eerily similar and the name is a perfect match. On the positive side, these two Windows applications bring incredible value at a price that can’t be beat – free! The pair complement each other as incredible tools to have on your belt.

Let me take you on a tour of this powerful graphics card information utility.

Also in line with CPU-Z, this product doesn’t come with an installer. You simply download GPU-Z from the TechPowerUp website, save it to a folder and run it. At the time this article was published, the current version was 0.3.2

Vista users may experience a warning from the UAC security system, which asks if you are sure you want to run the file. No worries, click Run and wait for the application to load. You should see a splash screen while the information about your graphics card is collected.

Now the fun begins. The main window is divided into three tabs. There is the Graphics Card tab, the Sensors tab, and the Validation tab.

The Graphics Card tab is the default tab that loads when the application starts. It also contains the most information about your graphics card. Everything you ever wanted to know, and more, is displayed here.

As you can see in the image below, this tab tells you which graphics card you are using, the GPU, BIOS Version, Bus Interface, Memory Type and Size, Clock Frequencies, and much more. It has everything but the kitchen sink.

This information is great for anyone looking to upgrade their video card, or overclockers looking to get more performance out of their current setup. If you are running multiple video cards, the drop-down list at the bottom lets you select the card that you want to see the details for.

Moving right along in our tour, the next tab is the Sensors tab. There is no shocker here, this tab displays sensor data coming back from your video card. Another great tool for overclockers, you can monitor things like Clock Speeds, GPU Temperature, PCB Temperature, and Fan Speeds.

There is also an option to log the data to a file and another to continue monitoring while GPU-Z is in the background. I like the last feature because it lets me monitor the change in my graphics card temperatures when I am in full screen gaming mode.

The last tab is labelled Validation, and it allows you to submit your information to the GPU-Z website. I couldn’t find any information as to the purpose of this feature, however it does let you share the details on the web and track changes to your graphics setup.

GPU-Z is another one of those lightweight, must-have tools that just about any user can make use of. It really goes a long way to help you understand your graphics card. You don’t have to take my word for it though, try it out for yourself!

Easily Troubleshoot Your Graphics Card With GPU-Z originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)

Diagnose Your PC With CPU-Z

Norm — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:53:27 +0000

If knowledge is power, then CPU-Z from CPUID will make you feel like a superhero. This handy little tool was featured in the MakeTechEasier 101 best free computer software downloads list. CPU-Z is a Windows only tool that gathers information on some of the main hardware components of your computer.

The information that it collects is quite detailed and is focused around you CPU, mainboard, memory and general system info about Windows and DirectX.

Throughout the rest of the post, I’m going to walk you through getting CPU-Z and harnessing it’s awesome power on your own PC.

To get started, head on over to the CPU-Z home page and download the latest version of the software (at the time this article was written, the current version was 1.50). The package comes as a zip file, so you’ll need to unzip it. In situations like this, I tend to just create a folder on my desktop and extract the files from the zip archive into that folder.

This program doesn’t have a fancy installer because it doesn’t install itself into your system. You simply extract the zip contents to a folder and run it from there. When you don’t want CPU-Z any more, you just delete the folder.

Once you have the folder set up and you are ready to go, start CPU-Z by double-clicking on the cpuz.exe file.

You should see the following image on your screen while the program is loading.

Once loaded, the information is readily accessible in and easy to navigate format. The window is laid out as a series of tabs that sort information into logical categories. The tabs are labelled CPU, Cache, Mainboard, Memory, SPD, and About. This can be seen in the image below.

Selecting each tab will open up a world of information, including some things that you never even wanted to know. Try not to be overwhelmed by the data and focus in on what you want to see.

For example, on the CPU tab the average user will be interested in the Name of the CPU, Specification, Instructions, Core Speed, Bus Speed, and Level 2 Cache size. Power users will likely be interested in the rest of the information for various purposes.

The Cache tab elaborates on the cache information from the CPU tab. I’ve never had a lot of use for this data, but it’s here and you never know when it might come in handy.

On the Mainboard tab, you will find a lot of information that is useful when upgrading or replacing components. This covers things like the motherboard manufacturer, chipset, BIOS, and graphics interface. From the screenshot below, we can see that I am using an nForce4 based motherboard that supports x16 PCI-Express.

What that means is that my video card is PCI-E based and not AGP. This is important to know if I was upgrading the video card. Unfortunately for this example, CPU-Z was unable to detect my motherboard manufacturer. This a rare occurrence and I have only ever seen the problem with this particular board.

The Memory tab is also very useful because most people that upgrade their computers add more memory. In the image above, you can see that I have 2 GB of memory in this system (2048 MB). The memory is DDR (as opposed to DDR2 or DDR3), and that it is running in dual channel mode. Most of the other info on this tab is for advanced users. I find it particularly helpful when overclocking.

To complete a memory upgrade, you would probably need a little bit more information. The SPD tab has the rest of it. This tab shows information about the memory stick in each specific slot on the motherboard. You can see the size of the chip, they type of RAM, and the frequency that it’s operating at. There’s also a timing table to show details based on the configuration.

Last, but not least, is the About tab. This tab gives details about the software and also some details about your system. For example you can see the Windows version, Service Pack installed and DirectX version. From this tab you can also dump the data into an HTML file.

This application should be in everyone’s PC toolbox. The data it provides is invaluable and the ease of use makes CPU-Z simple for anyone to operate.

Diagnose Your PC With CPU-Z originally published on Make Tech Easier (RSS)