Showing posts with label windows 7. Show all posts
Showing posts with label windows 7. Show all posts

Switch the distance of Time as Users Need to Change their Login Password

Labels: Sunday, 10 July 2011 11:15

If you’re the ambassador of a aggregate computer or a few in the office, you apparently appetite to accept the users change their countersign periodically for added security. Here’s how to do it in Windows 7 & XP.
Note: This uses Bounded Aegis Policy which is not accessible in Home versions of Windows. These are bounded settings on machines not on a domain. Area settings will booty antecedence over bounded settings.
Changing Countersign Age in Windows 7
Log in as Ambassador and blazon Secpol.msc into the Search box of the Start Menu and hit Enter.
Local Security Policy opens. Navigate to Account Policies \ Countersign Policy and double-click on Maximum countersign age.
Here you can change the Maximum countersign age to what you want. By absence it is 42 days, but you can change it from 1-999 days. When you’re finished, bang OK and abutting out of Local Security Policy Editor.
Whenever you were adjust them to zero, the password would never expire.
Changing Password Age in XP Professional
While accessible in Windows 7, XP gets a bit added tricky. First go to Start \ Run and blazon mmc and Enter.
The soothe opens and you prefer to go to File then select Add/Remove Snap-in…
Now click on the Add button…
Roll down and highlight Group Policy objective Editor…then click Add.
Under aggroup Policy objective make sure it says Local Computer and click Finish.
Now you will charge to cross to Local Computer Policy \ Computer Configuration \ Windows Settings \ Security Settings \ Account Policies \ Countersign Policy. Then as afore double-click Maximum countersign age.
Then change it to whatever you want it to be.
Conclusion
If you appetite to accomplish users on your bounded machine(s) to change their passwords periodically, alteration the countersign age is how to get it done. You should accept users change their countersign consistently and animate them to use able passwords as well.

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Exchange Display below the System Tray Clock in Windows 7

Labels: 10:59

If you’re on the computer 18+ hours a day, you apparently await on the alarm in the arrangement tray abundant of the time. Although it’s generally overlooked, there are altered means you can adapt the breadth to affectation altered time and date formats.
Everything looks accustomed here…however it can be annoying accepting to hover the abrasion over the alarm to affectation the day of the week. Yeah…yeah…how can you not apperceive what day it is? Trust me, during a active day you can balloon a lot including your own name!
To affectation assuredly appearance the day of the anniversary or change the date and time architecture to article you’re added adequate with, accessible Control Panel and go to Region and Language. Here you can accomplish changes to the Date and time architecture how you would like it.
Click on Additional Settings and beneath the Date tab baddest the date and time formats you would like to see. Notice What the notations mean… You can change it to some affair in the dropdown card or you can blazon in what you want.
There are a lot of altered combinations and formats you can create. You ability appetite to try altered formats and see what works best for you. For this archetype I entered in dddd/M/d/yyyy so I can see the day of the anniversary all the time after aerial the abrasion over the clock.
Or perhaps you just now want the day of the week and the time only…
This may assume like a accessory abuse to your computer, but it can be absolutely able in allowance you get things done easier. Sometimes it aloof comes bottomward to “the little things”.

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Convert Your Windows 7 program library Icons the easily Way

Labels: Saturday, 9 July 2011 11:45

Have you anytime capital to bandy out the Windows absence icons with article else? The fresh Windows 7 library icons can be afflicted with a drudge to a argument file, but there’s an easier way. We’ll explain both.
Not abiding what we’re talking about? Open up Windows Explorer, and analysis out the Libraries.
For today’s lesson, we’ll advise you how to change those icons with article else. (It’ll additionally assignment for your own custom Libraries).
Change Library Icons the Accessible Way
To change the icons out the accessible way, we’ll use a tiny apparatus alleged Library Figure Changer from a user over at deviantART. Thanks to Pratik for pointing us appear this tool!
Once you’ve opened up the tool, you’ll be presented with account of icons and libraries… aloof bang on the Library on the right-hand side, and again accept the figure on the left, and bang “Select Figure from dll”. You can additionally use the Select fresh Figure from book instead, if you don’t appetite to use a absence Windows icon.
Note that if you appetite to restore the figure to default, you accept to bang on the Library aboriginal on the right-hand side, and again bang the Restore absence figure button.
Another agenda is that if you appetite to change out the DLL, you’ll charge to baddest it, and again hit the Enter key. 
Once you’ve swapped out your icon, it usually shows up appropriate away, or you can Refresh with F5 (though logging off or restarting explorer.exe ability be required).
Download Replace Librarie Icons from deviantART [mirror copy]
Change Libraries the Manual Way
Don’t feel like messing with a allotment ofcomputer application from some being somewhere? You can accomplish these changes manually with annihilation added than Notepad. Just adhesive the afterward into the alpha card chase box, or Explorer area bar:
%appdata%\microsoft\windows\libraries
Then annoyance one of the icons from Explorer over to a Notepad window to accessible up the file.
Inside the file, you’ll see an iconReference line, or if you don’t see it, you’ll appetite to add one like so:
C:\Windows\System32\shell32.dll,301
The abstracts in the average is the path, either to the figure (.ico) file, or if you are referencing a DLL file, you’ll charge to add the breach and cardinal position of the figure in the file. 

And now you’ve abstruse how to bandy out the icons. Awesome, eh? Alright, able-bodied it’s not that awesome. But still fun aberrant advice to have.

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Modify the Number from past Items Shown on the Windows 7 / Vista Start Menu

Labels: 11:23

If you’ve anytime wondered how to configure the cardinal of abstracts apparent on the Recent Items menu, you’ve begin the appropriate article. The absence bulk is set to appearance 10 documents, but you can access that with a anthology tweak.
What we are alteration actuality is the bulk of abstracts apparent in this card (I afflicted abundance bottomward to 1 for illustration)
Manual Registry Tweak
Open up regedit.exe through the alpha card chase box, and again cross bottomward to the afterward key, creating it if it doesn’t exist.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
Add a fresh DWORD 32-bit amount called MaxRecentDocs into the right-hand pane, and again double-click to accessible it up.
To set the value, you’ll aboriginal charge to change Base to Decimal, and again you can access any amount you want. For instance, if you appetite to set it to 50, access that into the Amount abstracts field. 

Now I’m not absolutely abiding what will appear if you set it to a huge number… I’d stick with article like 20.
Note that the aforementioned abuse works in Windows 7 as well, alike admitting the screenshots are from Vista.

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Shift Start Menu to apply little Icons in Windows 7 or Vista

Labels: 11:17

Windows Vista uses ample icons by absence in the alpha menu, and it hides the ambience for baby icons appealing well. No matter, we’ve amid it. (Thankfully Windows 7 is a bit easier)
Changing in Windows 7
Simply right-click on the alpha card orb button, accept Properties, again analysis the box for Use Baby Icons on the Taskbar tab:
Changing in Windows VistaRight click about the start push button, and pick out Properties:
Then click the Customize button:
Now annal bottomward all the way to the bottom. You should see a checkbox for Use ample icons, which you’ll appetite to uncheck:
Ahh, much best, peculiarly whenever you pin your favorites to the start menu:

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Add lost Off-Screen Windows back up to Your background (Keyboard Trick)

Labels: 10:53

If you’ve anytime absorbed up your laptop to a accessory adviser and again broken after canonizing to move the windows aback to the primary desktop, you’ve apparently encounted this problem:
The appliance is running. You can see it in the taskbar, but you can’t see it on the screen, because it still thinks it’s active on the accessory monitor. You try and use right-click, Move, but that doesn’t do anything, and the window doesn’t move anywhere. You end up rebooting and cursing Microsoft.
There’s a simple ambush to get about this. First accomplish abiding you’ve alt-tabbed to the window, or clicked on it already to accompany it into focus. Again right-click on the taskbar and accept Move
At this point, you should apprehension that your cursor changes to the “Move” cursor, but you still can’t move anything.
Just hit any one of the arrow keys (Left, Right, Down, Up), move your mouse, and the window should magically “pop” aback assimilate the screen.
Note: For keyboard adeptness people, you can aloof alt-tab to the window, use Alt+Space, again M, again Arrow key, and again move your mouse.
This should assignment on any adaptation of Windows. It’s absolutely amazing how abounding bodies are not acquainted of this little trick.
Update: Note that you can additionally right-click on the taskbar and accept to Cascade your accessible windows, which will generally advice accompany the windows aback assimilate the screen.

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Boost Netbook velocity on a SD Card & ReadyBoost

Labels: 10:47

Looking for a way to access the achievement of your netbook? Here’s how you can use a accepted SD anamnesis agenda or a USB beam drive to addition achievement with ReadyBoost.
Most netbooks address with 1Gb of Ram, and abounding earlier netbooks alien with alike less. Alike if you appetite to add added ram, generally they can alone be upgraded to a max of 2GB. With ReadyBoost in Windows 7, it’s accessible to addition your system’s achievement with beam memory. If your netbook has an SD agenda slot, you can admit a anamnesis agenda into it and aloof leave it there to consistently addition your netbook’s memory; otherwise, you can use a accepted USB beam drive the aforementioned way. Also, you can use ReadyBoost on any desktop or laptop; ones with bound anamnesis will see the best achievement access from application it.
Please Note: ReadyBoost requires at atomic 256Mb of chargeless amplitude on your beam drive, and additionally requires minimum read/write speeds. Best avant-garde anamnesis cards or beam drives accommodated these requirements, but be acquainted that an old agenda may not assignment with it.
Using ReadyBoost
Insert an SD agenda into your agenda reader, or affix a USB beam drive to a USB anchorage on your computer. Windows will automatically see if your beam anamnesis is ReadyBoost capable, and if so, you can anon accept to acceleration up your computer with ReadyBoost.
The ReadyBoost settings chat will accessible back you baddest this. Accept “Use this device” and accept how abundant amplitude you appetite ReadyBoost to use.
Click Ok, and Windows will bureaucracy ReadyBoost and alpha application it to acceleration up your computer. It will automatically use ReadyBoost whenever the agenda is affiliated to the computer.
When you appearance your SD agenda or beam drive in Explorer, you will apprehension a ReadyBoost book the admeasurement you chose before. This will be deleted back you banish your agenda or beam drive.
Whenever you want to remove your drive to use elsewhere, simply release for normal.
Windows will acquaint you that the drive is currently actuality used. Make abiding you accept bankrupt any programs or files you had accessible from the drive, and again columnist Continue to stop ReadyBoost and banish your drive.
If you abolish the drive after ejecting it, the ReadyBoost book may still abide on the drive. You can annul this to save amplitude on the drive, and the accumulation will be recreated back you use ReadyBoost abutting time.
Conclusion
Although ReadyBoost may not accomplish your netbook feel like a Core i7 laptop with 6GB of RAM, it will still advice achievement and accomplish multitasking alike easier. Also, if you have, say, a anamnesis stick and a beam drive, you can use both of them with ReadyBoost for the best benefit. We accept alike noticed more good array activity back multitasking with ReadyBoost, as it lets you use your adamantine drive less.
SD cards and deride drives are almost bargain today, and abounding of us accept several already, so this is a abundant way to advance netbook achievement cheaply.

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Add an fast Launch Feature to Windows 7 the easygoing Way

Labels: Wednesday, 6 July 2011 19:16

Do you absence accepting the Quick Launch Toolbar in Windows 7? Now you can get that functionality aback with the awful customizable chargeless account SE-TrayMenu.
Note: SE-Tray Menu comes in exe book and carriageable versions.
Initial Look & Setting SE-TrayMenu Up
Installing SE-TrayMenu is quick and easy…once you accept accomplished you will see a baby “Light Bulb Icon” in the “System Tray Area”. Simply authority your abrasion over it to see the absence layout, theme, and apps available.
To accumulate it arresting at all times you should accessible the “Notification Area Icons Window” and change the ambience to “Show figure and notifications”.

To accession of settings as SE-TrayMenu, right click with the “System Tray Icon”.
The first thing that you will probably want to do is decide if you would like for SE-TrayMenu to start with Windows each time, the type of layout that best suits your needs (you can personalize how SE-TrayMenu looks very nicely with this), and the color theme.
The abutting affair is to alpha abacus in the apps that you appetite quick admission to. Here you can see the absence accumulation forth with their “Target Paths”.
Click on the arrow allocation of the “Add Button” to admission the “Drop Down Menu”. The quickest and best acceptable advantage is to baddest “Add applications from Start Menu…”.
Once you accept called “Add applications from Start Menu…”, you will see the afterward window. Scroll through the account and baddest the apps that you would like to add to SE-TrayMenu. When you are accomplished bang “OK”.
Now you can see your fresh app list. From actuality you can abolish any apps that you do not need, add added apps, or adapt the ones on the list. Click “Close” back you are finished.
On afresh theme, set out, and another apps, our setup turned out very nicely.
Conclusion
If you’re attractive for a way to add the Quick Launch affection to Windows 7, again SE-TrayMenu provides a quick and accessible way to do it. It will additionally assignment with Windows 2000, XP and Vista. While this is an accessible way to add Quick Launch functionality, accomplish abiding and apprehend The Geek’s commodity on how to Add the Real Quick Launch Bar to Windows 7.
Download SE-TrayMenu

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Backup/Copy Files that are "busy" or "locked up Windows Command

Labels: Tuesday, 5 July 2011 10:34

If you’ve anytime approved to archetype a book that is bound by addition application, you’ve apparently apparent an absurdity bulletin agnate to “The action cannot admission the book because addition action has bound a allocation of the file”. So how do you archetype it anyway?
Since XP, Windows has accurate a technology alleged Volume Shadow Copy, which is acclimated to ability the antecedent versions affection in Vista as able-bodied as System Restore and backups. What it does is booty a acting snapshot of the book or drive, and again acquiesce an appliance to apprehend from the snapshot alike while added applications are accessing or modifying the file.
What we can do is use a command band account alleged HoboCopy that utilizes this account to archetype the file.
Understanding the Prerequisites
HoboCopy and best added advancement utilities accomplish use of two casework in Windows, and you’ll charge to verify that these casework are not disabled:
* Volume Shadow Copy
* Microsoft Software Shadow Archetype Provider
They can be larboard as Manual startup, so they don’t charge to be active all the time. Hobocopy will alpha the two casework automatically aback needed, and the Volume Shadow Archetype account will be angry aback off afterwards it’s done.
Using HoboCopy to Backup/Copy a Distinct File
The syntax is a little weird, because HoboCopy is absolutely meant to be acclimated for abetment up an absolute set of folders. We can use it to advancement a distinct book by casual in the filename altercation at the end.
Note: on Windows Vista you will charge to barrage an Administrator approach command alert by right-clicking on the Command alert in the alpha card and allotment Run as Administrator.
Syntax:
hobocopy c:\directoryname\ d:\backupdirectory\
For example, I appetite to advancement my c:\users\geek\mail\outlook.pst book to d:\backups\outlook.pst. Here’s the syntax that I’d use:
C:\> hobocopy c:\users\geek\mail\ d:\backups\ Outlook.pst
HoboCopy (c) 2006 Wangdera Corporation. hobocopy@wangdera.com
Starting a abounding archetype from c:\users\geek\mail to d:\backups\
Affected directory
Advancement auspiciously completed.
Advancement started at 2008-03-09 01:57:28, completed at 2008-03-09 01:58:39.
1 files (606.45 MB, 1 directories) copied, 7 files skipped
Using HoboCopy to Advancement an Absolute Directory
A abundant added advantageous assignment would be to advancement my absolute User folder, apparently to an alien adamantine drive for safekeeping. For this, we’ll appetite to add a brace of command-line arguments.
/full Copy all files
/skipdenied Ignore any admission denied letters because of permission errors.
/r Copy recursively
/y Don’t prompt, aloof archetype everything
Syntax:
hobocopy /full /skipdenied /y /r c:\directoryname\ d:\backupdirectory\
Let’s go with the aforementioned example, I appetite to advancement my absolute user agenda to d:\backups\, so I’d use this command:
hobocopy /full /skipdenied /y /r c:\users\geek\ d:\backups\
This command will acceptable booty a actual continued time to complete, so you ability appetite to booty a nap or something. At the end you should accept a about absolute archetype of the directory… if there are any permission errors you’ll be alerted to files that didn’t copy. Realistically any files in your user agenda shouldn’t accept this problem.
Using HoboCopy to Incrementally Advancement a Drive
Hobocopy additionally supports abetment up files incrementally, so it will alone archetype the files that accept afflicted back the aftermost backup. This works analogously to utilities like rsync, except hobocopy food the aftermost advancement date in a book that you charge to specify on the command line.
/statefile=filename This banderole specifies the book that contains the aftermost advancement information.
/incremental Only archetype files that accept afflicted back the aftermost abounding copy.
Syntax:
hobocopy /incremental /statefile=filename /y /r c:\directoryname\ d:\backupdirectory\
Example:
hobocopy /incremental /statefile=d:\lastbackup.dat /y /r c:\users\geek\ d:\backups\
The aboriginal time that you run this command you will charge to use /full instead of /incremental, or abroad you will get an absurdity because the accompaniment book hasn’t been created yet. After that you can run the incremental advancement with the /incremental switch.
This would be an accomplished way to automatically advancement a set of folders as allotment of a appointed task.
Download HoboCopy from sourceforge.net

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Add up "My Dropbox" in Your Windows 7 Start Menu

Labels: Friday, 1 July 2011 00:35

Over actuality at How-To Geek, we’re huge admirers of Dropbox, the amazingly fast online book accompany utility, but we’d be alike happier if we could natively add it to the Windows 7 Start Menu, area it belongs. And today, that’s what we’ll do.
Yep, that’s right. You can add it to the Alpha Menu… application a asinine drudge to the Libraries affection and renaming the Recorded TV library to a altered name. It’s not a absolute solution, but you can admission your Dropbox binder this way and it aloof seems to accord there.
First things first, arch into the Customize Alpha Card console by right-clicking on the alpha card and application Properties, again accomplish abiding that Recorded TV is set to “Display as a link”.
Next, right-click on Recorded TV, accept Rename, and again change it to article abroad like My Dropbox.
Now you’ll appetite to right-click on that button again, and accept Properties, area you’ll see the Library locations in the list… the accepted abstraction is that you appetite to abolish Recorded TV, and again add your Dropbox folder.
Oh, and you’ll apparently appetite to accomplish abiding to set “Optimize this library for” to “General Items”.
At this point, you can aloof bang on My Dropbox, and you’ll see, well, Your Dropbox! (no abruptness there).
Yeah, I know, it’s absolutely a hack. But it’s a actual advantageous one! Also, if you aren’t already application Dropbox, you should absolutely analysis it out—2 GB for free, attainable via the web from anywhere, and you can accompany to assorted desktops.

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