Solution: Windows Desktop Does Not Save User Customized Settings

Sometimes people face a problem in Windows when Windows doesnt remember their customization settings on Desktop and taskbar, like icons positions, toolbars positions, taskbar position, etc. Recently I got a similar mail from a visitor "Onie Ward": I downloaded something called Vista Customization Pack. I've tried to uninstall this program (I'm on Windows XP) and it seems to have worked, EXCEPT that every time I login, my icons all line up on the left hand side of the page. I move them back to where I want them, but every login...moved. It...

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How to Fix / Troubleshoot Various Taskbar Problems in Windows?

Here you can find solutions for a few frequently asked problems which are related to Windows Taskbar like: Taskbar context menu is disabled. No menu appears when you right-click on taskbar. "Lock the Taskbar" option is disabled. Can't add toolbars using "Toolbars" option in Taskbar context menu. Can't open Taskbar Properties. An error message appears. Can't...

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Download New “Certified for Windows Vista” Wallpaper Released by Windows Vista Blog

Recently "Brandon LeBlanc" blogged about this awesome wallpaper at "WindowsVistaBlog". Here is what he says: Last week I posted an update on Certified from Windows Vista products in which at the end of the post I mentioned I had something else planned in regards to Certified for Windows Vista. Here at Microsoft in Redmond, the Windows Vista Logo Team made a poster that was put up around campus showcasing the Certified for Windows Vista logo. I thought the poster was really neat so I asked Deryl if he wouldn't mind if we released it as desktop...

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How to Restore Missing “Desktop (create shortcut)” Item in Send To Menu in Windows XP, Vista and 7

A few people asked solution of this frequently occurring problem, so today I decided to post a simple and detailed solution of this problem. As we all know about "Send To" menu which appears when we right-click on a file or folder in Windows Explorer. It contains some useful items like "Desktop (create shortcut)" which can create a shortcut of the selected file/folder on Desktop within a few seconds. Its really a useful option. But sometimes this item gets deleted from "Send To" menu accidentally or intentionally. Following tutorial will...

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How to Restore Missing “Desktop (create shortcut)” Item in Send To Menu in Windows XP, Vista and 7

A few people asked solution of this frequently occurring problem, so today I decided to post a simple and detailed solution of this problem. As we all know about "Send To" menu which appears when we right-click on a file or folder in Windows Explorer. It contains some useful items like "Desktop (create shortcut)" which can create a shortcut of the selected file/folder on Desktop within a few seconds. Its really a useful option. But sometimes this item gets deleted from "Send To" menu accidentally or intentionally. Following tutorial will...

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How to Modify or Disable ScanDisk Timeout Value on Windows Startup?

When Windows is not shutdown properly, an automatic scandisk is performed on next system startup. Actually Windows runs "Autochk.exe" file to perform scandisk operation. Windows shows 10 seconds timeout so that we can bypass the automatic scandisk. This tutorial will help you in modifying this timeout value. 1. Open regedit and goto: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session...

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How to Modify or Disable ScanDisk Timeout Value on Windows Startup?

When Windows is not shutdown properly, an automatic scandisk is performed on next system startup. Actually Windows runs "Autochk.exe" file to perform scandisk operation. Windows shows 10 seconds timeout so that we can bypass the automatic scandisk. This tutorial will help you in modifying this timeout value. 1. Open regedit and goto: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session...

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Create a Virtual Drive for Your Desired Folder in My Computer Using Subst Command

Today we are going to tell you about a secret DOS command "subst" which can be used to create a virtual drive in Windows Explorer for any of your desired folder. For example, if you frequently use a folder "E:\Wallpapers", then you can create a virtual drive in Explorer which will directly go to this folder whenever you double click on it or access...

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How to Enable / Disable New -> Shortcut Menu in Windows XP, Vista and 7

Many system administrators or home users want to restrict a few things from other users for security purposes. Creation of "New Shortcut" is one of them. Many times we restrict drive access but sometimes it might be accessible using "New -> Shortcut" menu. So here I'll tell you a simple method to disable "New -> Shortcut" menu, so that no...

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Windows SteadyState 2.5: Easily Manage Your Shared Computers

Windows® SteadyState™ 2.5 is now available on Windows XP and Windows Vista. Whether you manage computers in a school computer lab or an Internet cafe, a library, or even in your home, Windows SteadyState helps make it easy for you to keep your computers running the way you want them to, no matter who uses them. SteadyState Helps Make it Easier to Manage Your Shared Computers: Shared computers are commonly found in schools, Internet and gaming cafes, libraries, and community centers. It is increasingly common for owners, teachers, or non-technical...

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How to Disable / Restrict Use of USB Storage Devices in Windows?

Many times we want to restrict users from using USB drives in our systems. Suppose you have some important data and a friend comes and takes the data in his USB drive. This tutorial will help you in completely disable the use of USB drives in system. After applying this tutorial, users will not be able to use USB drives. Windows will not detect...

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How to Fix Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) Stuck at Annoying First Run Welcome Page http://runonce.msn.com/runonce2.aspx

When you run Internet Explorer 7 for first time, it shows a first run welcome page "http://runonce.msn.com/runonce2.aspx" and you need to select your customization settings and then click on "Save your settings" button. This page will be displayed each time you open IE7 until you complete the customization wizard and save your settings. Sometimes...

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TeraCopy: Copy Your Files Faster and Easier

TeraCopy is a compact program designed to copy and move files at the maximum possible speed, providing the user a lot of features: Copy files faster: TeraCopy uses dynamically adjusted buffers to reduce seek times. Asynchronous copy speeds up file transfer between two physical hard drives. Pause and resume file transfers: Pause copy process at...

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How to Access Linux Partitions (ext2, ext3) From Windows in Dual-Boot System?

If you have a dual-boot system with Windows and Linux, you probably know that Windows and Linux both use different file systems. Windows uses FAT32 and NTFS file systems where as Linux uses ext2 and ext3 file systems. You can access Windows partitions from Linux but on the other hand Windows doesnt allow access to Linux partitions. Many times we might need to access files stored in Linux partitions and we realize that we can't access them from Windows. In this situation we have to reboot our system in Linux to access those files. Would not...

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How to Remove Linux Boot Loader From Startup After Deleting Linux Partition on a Dual-Boot System?

If you have a dual-boot system with Linux and Windows, then you probably know that when you start your system first Linux boot loader appears showing Linux as well as Windows boot entries and if you select Windows from the list, it starts Windows. Suppose a situation when you want to remove Linux from your system and want to use only Windows, then how will you do it? Many times people delete the partitions having Linux installed from "Disk Manager" but it doesnt remove Linux completely. The Linux boot loader still appears at startup but since...

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Download Windows Server 2008 Workstation Converter Created by sawo

Lots of people think and find "Windows Server 2008" faster and more reliable than Windows Vista. They install Server 2008 and add/remove components to make it look-like exactly Vista. Adding components and removing unnecessary components from Server 2008 was a cumbersome process and requires lots of time and efforts but not any longer. "sawo" has...

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New File Renaming Bug Found in Windows Vista and Server 2008

Now that's an interesting bug which exists in Windows Vista and Server 2008. I found it today while renaming some files in Vista. Without wasting any time, I'll tell you the exact steps to re-create this bug: 1. Disable "Hide extensions for known file types" option in "Folder Options". 2. Now open My Computer and navigate to a folder which contains...

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SP1 Failed to Fix Several Windows Vista Bugs, Do We Need SP2?

As we all know Microsoft released first service pack for Windows Vista this March and tried to fix all broken things in Vista including bugs, performance issues, security issues, etc. When Windows Vista was under testing, I found several bugs and reported them to Microsoft but to my disappointment, almost all of them are still present in SP1....

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How to Create a Single DVD for Windows Vista x86 and x64 Editions?

It’s simple and straight way to merge Vista x86 and Vista x64 editions (DVDs) in a single DVD. Requirements: WAIK (Windows Automation Installation Kit) Windows Vista x86 and Windows Vista x64 DVDs. Dual Layer DVD and compatible DVD Burner and software (like Nero, ImgBurn) Lets come to the point and start now. We will merge Vista x64 editions into...

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A Guide to Windows Vista Performance and Tuning Released by Microsoft

Microsoft has released an excellent guide for Windows Vista which focuses on performance improvements on a single computer, but also takes a look at some of the tools used in enterprise environments to help make performance tuning manageable on a much larger scale. This guide looks at the following areas of performance improvement: Making configuration changes that help a computer feel more responsive when you use it. Using hardware to boost the actual physical speed of a computer. Making configuration changes that help a computer to start...

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Hidden Trick to Exit Windows Explorer Using Start Menu in Windows Vista and 7

Many times we install a software, shell extension which requires a restart. Sometimes logging off or end task of Explorer does the job and we don't need to restart the whole system. We usually End task of Explorer using Task Manager but Windows Vista and 7 provide a lot easier way to Exit Explorer which is better than using Task Manager to forcefully...

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UAC Tweak: A Small Cute Utility to Tweak UAC (User Account Control) in Windows Vista and 7

Microsoft has added a new feature “User Account Control (UAC)” in Windows Vista and Windows 7 which is a good addition. It prevents malicious programs to install in your system as well as it also prevents basic users to accidentally change system critical settings which can be harmful to the system. Although its a good feature but sometimes it...

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Create Shortcuts to Themes, Desktop Background, Screen Saver, Display Settings and More

In our daily computer tasks, we use Desktop Properties quite often. Sometimes to change Desktop wallpaper, sometimes to change Windows theme and sometimes to change Display settings like screen resolution, monitor settings, etc. For each change, we need to go through various steps: right-click on Desktop and select "Properties / Personalize" and...

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[BUG] New Windows Vista Bug Found in Creating New Shortcut

Here is another irritating Vista bug which I found yesterday while compiling the "Shortcuts to various Desktop Properties tabs" tutorial. Following are the steps with screenshots to re-create the bug: 1. Right-click on the Desktop or in the Explorer and select "New -> Shortcut". 2. It'll open "Create Shortcut Wizard". 3. Now either click on...

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Solution: Windows Vista Explorer Hangs while Copying Files from External Media

I'm getting numerous e-mails asking for solution of this problem. This problem exists in Vista SP1. The problem occurs when you copy a large file or lots of files from an external media like CD/DVD, flash drives and sometimes from network drives. In this problem, the explorer window which is being used by the copy process hangs, also the progress...

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[BUG] New Windows Vista Bug Found in Desktop Icon Settings Window

Here is another bug in Windows Vista which occurs in "Desktop Icon Settings" window while changing "Computer" icon. Following are the steps to re-create the bug: 1. Right-click on Desktop and select "Personalize". It'll open Personalization window. Now click on "Change desktop icons" link in left-side pane. It'll open "Desktop Icon Settings"...

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Solution: Recycle Bin Icon on Desktop Doesn’t Refresh Automatically in Windows Vista

In this topic I'm going to tell solution of another common problem in Windows Vista. Sometimes Recycle Bin icon on Desktop doesn't refresh automatically, i.e. if its showing "Full Recycle Bin" icon, it'll not change even if you empty the Recycle bin. It'll change to Empty icon, once you Refresh the Desktop. It happens when you try to change Recycle...

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