How to Fix “Task Manager has been Disabled by Your Administrator”?

That's a very common problem for Windows users. Many times when you try to open Task Manager, you find that "Task Manager" option has been grayed out: Also when you try to run it by typing "taskmgr" in RUN dialog box, Windows shows following error message: Task Manager has been disabled by your administrator. There might be 2 possible reasons behind...

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[Fix] Links from Yahoo! Messenger, FDM and avast! Open in IE Even When Firefox is Default Browser

If you use Yahoo! Messenger or avast! or Free Download Manager (FDM), you might have noticed that whenever you click on any link in these software, it opens in Internet Explorer even when Mozilla Firefox is set as Default browser in your system. Most of the times this problem occurs in Windows Vista. If you are facing this problem, then follow...

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How to Remove An Item from RUN Dialog Box History / MRU List?

All of us use Start menu RUN dialog box to enter frequent commands in Windows. It stores the entered commands in its history and suggests them whenever we enter them next time. Although its a good feature but sometimes we might want to remove a particular item from the history list because of some obvious reasons. Here is a simple and safe method...

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[Fix] Start Menu Recent Items List and RUN MRU List is Always Empty When User Logs On

If you are a Windows user, you might have noticed the "Recent Items" list in Start menu which contains a list of recently opened documents. RUN dialog box also stores a list of recently entered commands list in its history. Sometimes a strange problem starts happening. Whenever you log off or restart your system, the "Recent Items" list in Start...

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Download Emergency Security Patch for Windows NOW

Microsoft has released an emergency security patch for almost all Windows versions from Windows 2000 to Windows Server 2008. This security update resolves a privately reported vulnerability in the Server service. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if an affected system received a specially crafted RPC request. On Microsoft Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 systems, an attacker could exploit this vulnerability without authentication to run arbitrary code. It is possible that this vulnerability could be used in...

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Download Windows 7 Login Screen for Windows XP

Windows 7 contains a new login screen which looks awesome. Now you can get the same login screen in Windows XP. Our friend "PeterRollar" @ DA has created a login screen for Windows XP which looks exact same as Windows 7 login screen. Download the login screen from following link: Download Windows 7 Login Screen for Windows XP More Info Now extract...

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Add “Open in New Window” Option in Folders and Drives Context Menu in Windows

Recently one of our readers "CytoxX" asked us how can he add an option "Open in New Window" in folders context menu, so that whenever he right-clicks on a folder, he can get the option in the list. In this tutorial, I'll tell you how to add "Open in New Window" option in folders as well as Drives context menu. Although you can open a folder or drive...

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Get Windows 7 Iconized (Icon Only) Taskbar Feature in Windows XP and Vista

Windows 7 taskbar doesn't show text in application buttons, it only show their icons. On the other hand previous Windows versions used to show icon as well as text in all application's taskbar buttons. Actually Windows 7 new iconized taskbar feature looks good and it also saves space in taskbar area. If you want to have the same feature in Windows...

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Get Windows 7 “Aero Snap” Feature in Windows XP and Vista

Windows 7 provides a new feature which is called "Aero Snap". You can minimize, maximize, resize window by just dragging-dropping it to the screen corners. Its a very useful and interesting feature in Windows 7. Now you can enjoy this feature in Windows XP and Vista as well. "AeroSnap" is a simple but powerful tool that provides the same functionality in XP and Vista. Simple drag a window to a side of your desktop to snap it or drag it to the top to maximize. When you drag it back to the last position, the last window size will be restored. It...

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Get Windows 7 “Aero Shake” Feature in Windows XP and Vista

NOTE: Check AquaSnap, AeroSnap, Aero Shake, Acer Gridvista, WinShake, TrueTransparency, WinSplit Revolution and WindowSpace. To continue our Windows 7 features coming to pre-7 computers tour, here we are sharing a very small and great utility which provides the "Aero Shake" feature of Windows 7 in Windows XP, Vista and other pre-7 versions. "Aero Shake" is a new feature in Windows 7 which is quite useful. Suppose you have more than one windows opened and you want to minimize all other windows except the window which you are working on, then...

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Windows Sysinternals Updated with ZoomIt v2.2 and AccessChk v4.22

Windows Sysinternals team has updated 2 of its components: ZoomIt v2.2: This ZoomIt update makes it easier to see the drawing cursor when it's small relative to the zoomed region by representing it as a cross hair, allows you to position the text cursor when you enter text mode, supports changing the text color for the break timer and while you're placing the text cursor, and includes a number of other minor improvements. Download ZoomIt v2.2 AccessChk v4.22: This update fixes a bug that sometimes caused AccessChk to not show the full list...

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ViSplore: Get Windows Vista Explorer with Glass in Windows XP

The most impressive thing in Windows Vista is the new revamped Windows Explorer. It has glassy interface, addressbar with breadcrumb, integrated search box and many other interesting features. Since when Vista is released, lots of its Explorer alternatives have been made to be used in XP. Following this tradition, "Lee-Soft" has developed a new...

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Download Windows 7 WindowBlinds (WB) Skin for XP

As you know that Windows 7 M3 build has been released. It got lots of new features and improved interface. You can take a look at all new features and GUI changes in following topic: Windows 7 Review Windows 7 theme is a bit different from Vista theme. It contains a redesigned start menu, taskbar and also totally revamped Shellstyle in Windows...

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[Solution] “Play All” Option Opens “Copy Items” and “Move Items” Dialog Box in Windows XP

I have received many mails from several AskVG readers regarding this common problem. If you use Windows XP then you might also have faced this problem. Problem Description:The problem occurs when you select a media file (it might be an audio or video file) and click on "Play All" link given in common tasks section (the sidebar present on the left...

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Update Your Windows Using Mozilla Firefox, Opera or Any Other Web Browser

If you use Microsoft Windows, you might know about its "Automatic Updates" feature. It automatically downloads and installs (based upon its settings) Microsoft updates which fix many security and compatibility issues and sometimes add new functionality. You can also manually update Windows using Microsoft Updates website. But the website only works in Internet Explorer. If you try to open the website in any other web browser like Firefox, Opera, you get following message: Thank you for your interest in obtaining updates from our site. To...

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Customize “New Folder” and “New Shortcut” Text in Windows XP

Whenever you create a new folder or shortcut in Windows XP, the default name for the newly created item is set as "New Folder" or "New Shortcut". Did you ever wish to customize it? This tutorial will help you in customizing the "New Folder" and "New Shortcut" text, so that whenever you create any new folder or shortcut, you can see your desired...

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Download Official Microsoft Brilliant Black Skin for Windows Media Player

Here is an official Microsoft skin for Windows Media Player. Its called "Brilliant Black". Actually this skin is a part of Microsoft Touch Pack for UMPC OEM (Ultra Mobile Personal Computer, Codenamed Origami). Our friend, a regular AskVG reader and porting expert "Amirz" got a chance to extract this skin and now you can use it in almost all Windows...

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Minimize Windows as Thumbnails on Desktop Instead of Taskbar using miniMIZE

"miniMIZE" is a small utility which puts all minimized applications on Desktop as thumbnails. So whenever you minimize a window, it gets minimized on Desktop as a small thumbnail. You can double-click on the thumbnail to restore the window. Its a cool desktop enhancement utility. You can also change various options using its settings like: Start...

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Microsoft Released Security Update for Internet Explorer, Update NOW

Recently security experts found a security exploit in all Internet Explorer versions and suggested all people to stay away from IE until Microsoft releases an update to fix it. Now Microsoft has officially released a security update to fix the issue and we request you to download and install it as soon as possible. You can find the appropriate update using following links: Download Update for IE6 (Windows XP) Download Update for IE6 (Windows XP x64 bit) Download Update for IE6 (Windows Server 2003) Download Update for IE6 (Windows Server 2003...

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Get Windows 7 look-a-like Windows Media Player (WMP) in Windows XP and Vista

As you know Windows 7 contains Windows Media Player 12 which looks like as following: Now if you want to enjoy the same media player in Windows XP or Vista, then this article will help you. We are going to share 2 skins with you: one for WMP11 in XP and other for WMP 11 in Vista. These skins can make the WMP 11 under XP and Vista to look like WMP12...

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[Fix] Wmploc.dll Version Number Error While Opening Windows Media Player

Its a very common problem and occurs when you install a new Windows Media Player skin by replacing "wmploc.dll" file in "System32" folder. Actually almost all WMP interface resources are stored in "wmploc.dll" file and most of the designers modify this file and replace existing resources with their customized ones to change the UI. But "wmploc.dll"...

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XP SysPad: A Must Have System Tool for Power Users

"XP SysPad" is an ultimate system utility which provides access to hundreds of Windows utilities which are usually hidden and not accessible. Its a must have tool for all power users. With the help of this tool, you can access: All important system folders like Start menu, Desktop, Cookies, Favorites, Fonts, History, Documents, Cache, Send to, Startup,...

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Customize “New Folder” and “New Shortcut” Text in Windows XP

Whenever you create a new folder or shortcut in Windows XP, the default name for the newly created item is set as "New Folder" or "New Shortcut". Did you ever wish to customize it? This tutorial will help you in customizing the "New Folder" and "New Shortcut" text, so that whenever you create any new folder or shortcut, you can see your desired names...

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Transform Windows XP into Windows 7 without using Customization Pack

First 5000 comments deleted to reduce database overhead! NOTE 1: If you want to download all BITMAPs, AVIs and other files mentioned in this tutorial in a single pack, you can download it using this link.NOTE 2: Please create a Restore point using "System Restore" before applying anything mentioned in this tutorial so that you can restore your...

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Download New Official Embedded Theme for Windows XP and 2003, No File Patching Required

Here is a new theme for Windows XP and 2003 users. Its called "Embedded" theme. Its an official Microsoft theme so you'll not need to patch anything. You can apply it without any problem. This theme has been taken from "Windows Embedded Standard CTP Refresh" and works perfectly in Windows XP and 2003. Download following ZIP file, extract it and run...

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A Complete Tutorial to Customize Desktop Context Menu in Windows XP Using Resource Hacker

You might be using the Desktop context menu since a long time in Windows but did you know that you can customize it to your needs? You can add/remove items from the context menu, you can re-arrange items, you can group those items, you can add your name in the context menu, you can add an image in context menu, you can add your favorite application...

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How to Customize Default Places Bar in Windows Common File Dialog Box?

When you open, save or browse for a file, Windows opens a "common file dialog box" containing a few shortcuts in left side pane which is called "Places Bar" and the shortcuts are called "Places". As you can see in the above screenshot, My Recent Documents, Desktop, etc are the default places. Many times we want to customize those shortcuts so that...

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