Has your computer clock mysteriously disappeared from your system tray? Where did the time go?
Well, if you have ever ran into this problem, put this little tip to use and try to get it back!
Go down to your system tray (this is where your clock usually sits, along with your sound icon and you may even have other programs like your antivirus down there… Continue reading
Remote Desktop
First of all, what is a Remote Desktop?
With the Remote Desktop feature in Windows XP, you are able to control a computer from another office, from home or while traveling. For example, with this feature enabled, you can use the data, applications and network resources that are on your office computer, without even being in your office!
Remote Desktop is the new name for the older Windows… Continue reading
Widgets
Welcome to the wonderful world of widgets! What are widgets, you may ask? Well, they are basically small applications that are attached to your desktop that allow you to have the Internet at your fingertips! What am I talking about? Well, widgets allow you to access different forms of multimedia, view local sports scores, check the weather and lots more. The best part is, you can do all of… Continue reading
Create Your Own Toolbar
Do you access the same links daily and have a favorite search engine? If so, this tip will show you how to create a toolbar with all of your favorite links and more.
Chances are, you’ve probably have a toolbar in your Internet browser like one of these:
These are toolbars created by Google and Yahoo! to allow you quick access to their features. A… Continue reading
The computer mouse, in all possible ways, like the touchpad for laptops and the graphical pen, has been an inseparable part of every computer user throughout the world. In fact, thinking about starting up your computer and doing all your tasks with the pure keyboard is like a nightmare! Especially when it comes to working in some complex environments like the Internet or getting busy handling some heavy computer operations… Continue reading
Change the Start
We use the Windows Start menu quite often, don’t we? It has a critical affect on our daily computing activities. In fact, it would be basically impossible to operate our computer without the Start menu. Without it, it would much more difficult to access our favorite programs that we have installed on our computers. It would even be harder to run the essential Windows applications.
Imagine your… Continue reading
Screen Saver Password
Have you ever wanted to add a password to your screen saver, but weren’t sure how to do it? Well, you’re in luck today. The process is simple and in minutes, you will have a password protected screen saver.
Go to Start, Control Panel and find the Display icon. Windows XP users need to make sure they are in the classic view of the Control… Continue reading
Do you use the Run command quite often to help you find different programs quickly? For example, you may use it to find your computer’s calculator or maybe the on screen keyboard. (Those are just a couple examples of what you can use the Run command for).
So, how do you usually get to the Run box? Do you go to Start>Run and then type in your… Continue reading
We have done a longer, more advanced tip on Quick Launch before, but I’ve been getting some e-mails from people asking just how to get icons down in their bottom toolbar, so I thought I would cover that again real quick.
The space where the icons sit in the bottom left side of your desktop (right next to the Start button) is called the Quick Launch Toolbar. You… Continue reading
A lot of times I find myself looking for my calculator and forgetting that there’s a perfectly good one right on my PC already!
It’s practically impossible to lose this one!. Just go to Start, All Programs, Accessories and choose Calculator, or just type in “calc” into your search bar in Windows Vista and choose it above. A little calc will pop up and you just use… Continue reading
Q:
I’m tired of my screen saver. How do I turn it off?
A:
So, you have a really cool screen saver picked out and you really love it, but maybe you only love it for a little while. Or, maybe you just really love your wallpaper even more. So, what should you do to solve this little dilemma? Do you have to leave your screen… Continue reading
Move That Window
Picture this: you’re sitting at your computer and you have a browser window open while you search the Web and you also have some sort of a document laid out on your screen. I’m guessing that you probably have them both open to their full size, don’t you? It’s just too annoying to not have it that way, right?
Well, what if you wanted to move that… Continue reading
Welcome Screen
If you have Windows XP, you have two choices of how your computer logs you in each time you boot up your computer. You can either use the traditional method of using a username and password or you can use what is called the Welcome Screen to log on.
If you want to change the way your computer logs you in each time, you can either disable or… Continue reading
Did you know that you can customize your settings, so your computer will run and look just the way you want it to? Well, you can and here’s how.
Click on Start>Control Panel and get to the Performance area. XP users need to click on Performance and Maintenance to get to this section. You’ll find this as it’s shown
Brightness and Contrast Controls
Have you ever wondered what those little buttons on the front of your monitor are for? You may have played around with them and found that they are mainly used for the brightness and contrast controls for your computer screen. Adjusting these controls allows you to make your screen look the way you want it to look, whether that be with a darker or a lighter… Continue reading
Ever lost your volume icon? You go to change your volume by using the little icon that sits in the bottom right hand corner of your desktop (right next to your clock) and the icon was somehow missing? What are you supposed to do now?
If you’re using Windows Vista, then right-click on a blank area of your task bar and select “Properties“. Under system icons, make… Continue reading
Q:
What’s an easy way to lock my desktop?
A:
If you want to lock your desktop (that is, take it back to its original start up mode, where you must enter your password or click to enter), there’s an easy way to create an icon just for that.
Do the following to avoid using any other key combinations in the future:
Begin by right-clicking an empty… Continue reading
Redecorating with Personalized Style
In a previous tip, we talked about how to choose your desktop theme from those available on your system. Those are pretty basic. You can also modify them or create your own!
Note: These directions are for XP users. Other versions of Windows will look slightly different and have the settings in slightly different places. Look in the Control Panel as a starting point.… Continue reading
Redecorating Windows
Themes are complete redecoration packages for your desktop. A typical theme will contain a coordinating screen saver, icons, fonts, colors, window borders, cursors, and sometimes even sounds. XP offers the Windows Classic and Windows XP themes automatically. You can find others online or install them from CDs.
Right-click your desktop and choose Properties.
The Display Properties window will appear. Click the Themes tab and choose one from… Continue reading
Q:
My screen saver collection is taking up too much space in my computer. How can I delete them?
A:
They do accumulate, don’t they? There are two separate methods to removing screen savers, depending on how they’re stored in your system.
If you have installed screen saver collections from a disk or the web, you’ll recover more space if you uninstall the screen saver programs rather than… Continue reading
Viewing the Windows and Office Clipboards
Last week we talked about the Windows clipboard and how to prevent information on it from being stolen. The Windows clipboard and the MS Office programs clipboards differ in a few important ways. The Windows Clipboard holds the most recent thing you’ve Copied or Cut. The Office Clipboard holds up to 24 items.
To view what’s on your Windows clipboard, you can… Continue reading
Q:
I’m installing a program, but it didn’t put a shortcut on my desktop. Where did the program go?
A:
Most programs’ default location is in a folder in the Program Files. Shortcuts don’t change the real location of a file or program. They only make it easier to access the file or program from the desktop.
To find your newly-installed program, go to the Start menu and… Continue reading
Q:
All of my desktop icons are way too big. Can I shrink them somehow?
A:
Yes. You can change the size of the icons and the size of the text beneath them, and not just by choosing Large Icon or Small Icon. Just right-click the desktop, click Properties, and go to the Appearance tab. Click Effects.
The Advanced Appearance window will open. Scroll down to “icon”… Continue reading
I was amazed at how much space I freed up using Disk Cleanup! I’m terrible at remembering to do this sort of thing. Is there a way to make this happen automatically?
A:
You can schedule maintenance tasks like Disk Cleanup. First, see our tip for settings on Disk Cleanup that will avoid “throwing out” stuff you might need. Go to the Start Menu, All Programs, Accessories
Q:
No matter how I try to change my wallpaper it just stays the same. What can I do?
A:
Normally, if you pick a different wallpaper the old one will go away…
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/722
But… I get email all the time from folks who can’t get the wallpaper to change. Why does this happen?
It’s an… Continue reading
I like bringing you programs that can spruce up your Windows XP, making it more personal. One area that could really use some shaping up is that boring Blue logon screen. I couldn’t just leave this out.
Let’s’ put it this way: if you have incorporated all the Windows alterations that I have showcased in the past couple of weeks, trying to totally change every aspect of your Windows environment… Continue reading
Q:
I keep several windows open at the same time and a little button appears for each one in my taskbar. Why do some disappear as I add more?
A:
They didn’t really go anywhere. When the task bar fills up it scrolls up to make room for more buttons.
You’ll notice that arrows will appear next to the open window area of the taskbar. Click up and… Continue reading
