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Category: pc support

  • Turn Off Hard Disk when Idle or Never

    How to Turn Off Hard Disk when Idle or Never
    Information
    This article will show you how to get your hard disks to either turn off after certain minutes you set of being idle, or to never be turned off in Windows 7 and Vista.

    This setting will only affect internal HDD’s and not SSD’s (solid state drives).
    When set to turn off hard disks after idle, you will notice a brief delay of a few seconds when you try to access a turned off hard disk as it spins back up and is turned back on automatically as needed. Having your hard disks to be turned off after being idle can help save energy and extend a laptop’s battery life.
    Note
    If you have the hard disks set to be turned off after X amount of minutes of being inactive, then this behavior can be caused if any disk activity occurs, whether it is caused by user input or system tasks. Disk activity of any type resets the hard disk idle timer, and this can increase the amount of time it takes for your hard disk to turn off.
    Windows is designed to automatically perform maintenance tasks to improve performance and reliability. When your computer is on AC power and is idle, system maintenance tasks may be able to run for a few minutes. These system maintenance tasks include disk-layout optimization to improve performance and preparing automatic system restoration points to increase reliability. Typically, these tasks occur the first time you leave your computer idle after you start it. These tasks ensure that the system maintains its performance and reliability even after long use. Because these tasks involve reading and writing to the hard disk, the hard disk idle time is reset regularly during this maintenance period.
    There are other items that can reset the hard disk idle timer. These items can include:
    ·         Paging operations.
    ·         Windows Update checking the system state.
    ·         Event logging.
    ·         Network detection such as DHCP or Autonet.
    ·         Third-party services such as quota software or an antivirus program.
    ·         Scheduled tasks.
    ·         The loading of services or drivers.
    When these items either read from or write to the hard disk, the hard disk idle timer is reset.
    Here’s How:
    1. Open the advanced power settings for you selected power plan. (see screenshot below)
    2. To Turn Off Hard Disks After Idle
    A) Expand Hard disk and Turn off hard disk after, set how many minutes you want the hard disks to be idle for before being turned off, and click on OK. (see screenshot below)
    NOTE:
    The default setting is with 20 minutes.
    B) Go to step 4.
    3. To Never Turn Off Hard Disks
    A) Expand Hard disk and Turn off hard disk after, set it to Never, and click on OK. (see screenshot below)
    4. Close the Edit Plan Settings window. (see screenshot below step 1)

  • Add or Remove Ease of Access Center

    How to Add or Remove Ease of Access Center from Windows 7 Log On Screen
    Information
    On the log in screen at the bottom left there is a button called the Ease of Access button, if you do not want this button just follow this tutorial.

    Warning
    If you do not follow this tutorial exactly you will most likely have to do a system restore!!!
    OPTION ONE
    Remove Ease of Access button
    1. Take ownership of the file c:/windows/system32/authui.dll
    2. Open the file c:/windows/system32/authui.dll in Resource Hacker.
    3. In Resource Hacker go to the location: UIFILE/12400/1033:
    4. Copy all of the code from UIFILE/12400/1033 into a blank text file:
    5. Find the following line in your code:
    6. Delete it and everything after it until:
    NOTE: Make sure not to leave a blank line where you deleted the code.
    7. Copy the code from the text document back to Resource Hacker and make sure there is a blank line of code at the very bottom of the code. Then select Compile Script.
    8. Repea the steps 5-8 for location UIFILE/12401/1033 and UIFILE/12402/1033.
    Warning
    DO NOT JUST COPY AND PASTE THE SAME CODE INTO ALL THREE!!
    9. Save the file as authui – new.dll onto your desktop.
    10. Copy the file authui – new.dll to c:/windows/system32
    11. Start the program Task Manager, and Notepad
    12. Using Task Manager end the process explorer.exe:
    13. Using notepad go to file/open:
    14. Browse to c:/windows/system32/ make sure to have All Files selected:
    15. Rename the file authui.dll to authui – backup.dll
    16. Rename the file authui – new.dll to authui.dll
    17. Push the keys: Ctrl+Alt+Del
    18. Select Log off
    19. Select Log on
    20. Done
    OPTION TWO
    Restore Ease of Access button
    1. Start the program Task Manager, and Notepad
    2. Using Task Manager end the process explorer.exe:
    3. Using notepad go to file/open:
    4. Browse to c:/windows/system32/ make sure to have All Files selected:
    5. Rename the file authui.dll to authui – new.dll
    6. Rename the file authui – backup.dll to authui.dll
    7. Push the keys: Ctrl+Alt+Del
    8. Select Log off
    9. Select Log on
    10. Done

  • Enable or Disable Desktop Composition

    Enable or Disable Desktop Composition in Windows 7
    Information
    The desktop composition feature was introduced in Vista, it fundamentally changed the way applications display pixels on the screen. When desktop composition is enabled, individual windows no longer draw directly to the screen or primary display device as they did in previous versions of Windows. Instead, their drawing is redirected to off-screen surfaces in video memory, which are then rendered into a desktop image and presented on the display.

    Desktop composition is performed by the Desktop Window Manager Session Manager (DWM) service. Through desktop composition, DWM enables visual effects on the desktop as well as various Aero features such as thumbnail previews, Aero themes, glass window frames, 3-D window transition animations, Windows Flip and Windows Flip3D, and high resolution support.
    This will show you how to enable or disable Desktop Composition using different options in Windows 7 and Vista.
    Note
    Windows 7 Starter and Home Basic editions do not have the Aero feature included.
    OPTION ONE
    Through Visual Effects Settings
    1. Open the Visual Effects settings window in Performance Options.
    2. To Enable Desktop Composition
    A) Check the Enable desktop composition box, and click on OK. (see screenshot below)
    NOTE:
    This is the default setting.
    3. To Disable Desktop Composition
    A) Uncheck the Enable desktop composition box, and click on OK. (see screenshot above)
    OPTION TWO
    Through Services
    NOTE:
    This option will affect all users on the computer.
    1. Open the Services window, and select the Desktop Window Manager Session Manager service. (see screenshot below)
    2. Right click on Desktop Window Manager Session Manager, and click on Properties. (see screenshot above)
    3. To Enable Desktop Composition
    A) Set the Desktop Window Manager Session Manager service to Automatic and Start it. (see screenshot below)
    NOTE:
    This is the default setting.
    B) Check to make sure that you also have desktop composition enabled using one of the other options in this tutorial as well. Both are required to be enabled.
    4. To Disable Desktop Composition
    A) Stop and set the Desktop Window Manager Session Manager service to Disabled. (see screenshot above)
    OPTION THREE
    Manually Through Registry Editor
    1. Open the Start Menu, then type regedit in the search boxand press Enter.
    2. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes (Windows 7) or Continue (Vista).
    3. In regedit, navigate to the location below. (see screenshot below)
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM
    4. In the right pane, double click on CompositionPolicy. (see screenshot above)
    5. To Enable Desktop Composition
    A) Type in 0, and click on OK. (see screenshot below)
    NOTE:
    This is the default setting.
    B) Go to step 7.
    6. To Disable Desktop Composition
    A) Type in 1, and click on OK. (see screenshot above)
    7. Close regedit.
    8. Log off and log on, or restart the computer to apply the changes.

  • Device Manager – Finding Unknown Devices

    Finding Unrecognized Devices through Device Manager
    Information
    This guide will show you how to locate the unidentified hardware in your device manager by using Hardware Identification. The goal of this tutorial is to help identify an unidentified device.

    Note
    Prerequisite knowledge includes opening windows device manager, surfing the internet, data entry and basic windows navigation skills
    Warning
    Installing the wrong driver can crash your system, this technique revolves around the use of a 3rd party online hardware ID database.
    Some devices (such as legacy devices) may not have hardware ID’s. See the “But what if there’s no Hardware ID in the drop down box?” for tips on finding out what these devices are.
    Here’s how
    1. Open Device Manager and find the device. It most likely has a yellow exclamation mark on it like the one in this screenshot below.
    Tip
    You can open Device Manager quickly by typing devmgmt.msc into RUN or SEARCH and pressing ENTER.
    2. Now that you’ve found your device, right click on it and select properties.
    3. Click on the Details Tab.
    4. Drop the ‘Property’ box until you find ‘Hardware Id’s”.
    This picture shows a webcam, but unknown devices have hardware ID’s too
    5. You’ll find some number-letter combinations, here’s what they mean:
    HID = Hardware ID
    PID = Product ID
    VID = Vendor ID
    6. In my screen print I’ve looked up my Webcam again. My PID=0804, My VID = 046D.
    7. We need to reference these, so open your browser of choice and navigate to the www.pcidatabase.com website.
    8. There are other websites, but I think that the PCIdatabase.com team has put together a great site with a lot of information should you need to know more about devices and drivers.
    9. Type your PID where it says Device Search and press SEARCH (e.g. for my example I type in 0804 and click on the Search button to the right of the Device Search box).
    10. All Devices with that PID show. This is usually enough; but sometimes multiple devices will show.
    11. If you have multiple Devices, then you need your VID, so look back to your details column under Hardware ID’s and reference it against the Vendor ID column with your VID. Mine was 046D and you can see 0x46d in the Vendor column. That’s a match.
    12. You’ve now identified your device and can now search for the correct drivers for it.
    But what if there’s no Hardware ID in the drop down box?
    With older legacy devices, some virtual devices, non-plug and play devices, and some viruses there may not be a hardware ID, however there there are other things you can do to find your unrecognized device.
    Have a look at these entries in the drop down, there are others, but these are the most common that you will find when the Hardware ID is missing.
    DevNode status – This will tell us the current status of the device and differentiate between a driver existing and a driver loading. If the driver exists you can look at it’s *.inf file (the inf file name is in the Inf Name drop down)
    Device Instance path – Often contains Vendor and hardware information, if not than it may contain an ACPI linking it to a processor group.
    Class Long Name – It’s group name (e.g. Processors)
    Class Short Name – It’s short (actual) name (e.g. Processor)
    Class icon path – The path to a dll that houses this devices icons. Although this is likely to be windows generic, it’s worthwhile taking a look at the icons in the *.dll, the easiest way to do this is to change an icon on any shortcut or folder and navigate to that *.dll to browse the icons.
    siblings – Any related siblings
    parent – any related parents
    If you are trying to find a Legacy item, it will likely be at this registry address
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Enum\Root\. It should begin with the LEGACY_ (e.g. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Enum\Root\LEGACY_CPUZ132)
    The Windows Registry Editor can be opened by typing REGEDIT into RUN or SEARCH.
    Some other locations that you may find this information (with thanks to WindowsStar)are:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\Root
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet002\Enum\Root\
    Warning
    Edit the registry can crash your machine, use this as a research tool only, unless you know what you are doing

  • Extract Windows 7 System Image Files

    How to Extract Windows 7 System Image Files Using Disk Management
    Information
    When you create a system image, Windows 7 creates a Virtual Hard Disk VHD file that contains all of your files. This will show you how to attach (mount) this VHD file using Disk Management to manually extract and restore specific files of your choice from the system image instead of doing the default full system image recovery.

    Note
    System images are saved in this format:
    (selected backup location’s drive letter)\WindowsImageBackup\(your computer name)\Backup (year-month-day) (time)
    For example, if your computer name is Windows7-PC, your backup image location is on hard disk or partition (network or local) D: , and you backed up on September 14th 2008 at 4:39:45 AM (it uses 24 hour time), then that system image VHD file will be located in the D:\WindowsImageBackup\Windows7-PC\Backup 2009-09-14 043945 folder.
    OPTION ONE
    To Attach the VHD to Extract Files from System Image
    1. Open the Control Panel (All Items View).
    A) Click on the Administrative Tools icon, and click on Computer Management.
    B) Go to step 3.
    OR
    2. Open the Start Menu.
    A) In the Search box, type compmgmt.msc and press Enter.
    3. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes.
    4. In the left pane, right click on Disk Management, and click on Attach VHD.  
    NOTE: You can also click on Disk Management, Action on the menu bar, and Attach VHD.
    5. Click on the Browse button.  
    6. Navigate to the drive or partition that you selected to save the created system image to, then select a listed VHD file for the disk that you want to extract files from.  
    NOTE: See the NOTE box at the top of the tutorial to see where to find your system image VHD file at.
    Note
    There will be a VHD file for each hard disk that was included in the system image backup when it was created.
    You will not be able to open the VHD for the 100 MB System Reserved partition if you had one created during the installation of your Windows 7.
    7. Click on OK.  
    NOTE:
    Be sure to leave the Read only box unchecked.
    8. You will now notice that the VHD file has been attached (mounted) as a separate virtual disk with it’s own drive letter (ex: F: ) in Disk Management. Close Disk Management.
    9. You may also get a AutoPlay pop-up window. Double click on the Open folder to view files option.  
    NOTE: If you did not get a AutoPlay pop-up, then you can open the new attached VHD virtual disk (ex: F) from the Computer window like any other hard drive or partition.
    10. You can now copy any files that you want from the attached system image VHD disk (ex: F: ) to restore back to your Windows 7 C: drive.  
    OPTION TWO
    To Detach the VHD in Disk Management
    NOTE: This will show you to detach the VHD file in Disk Management from OPTION ONE above without affecting the system image.
    1. Open the Control Panel (All Items View).
    A) Click on the Administrative Tools icon, and click on Computer Management.
    B) Go to step 3.
    OR
    2. Open the Start Menu.
    A) In the Search box, type compmgmt.msc and press Enter.
    3. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes.
    4. In the middle pane, right click on the Disk # of the attached VHD (ex: F: ), and click on Detach VHD.  
    5. Click on OK.  
    WARNING:
    DO NOT CHECK the Delete the virtual hard disk file after removing the disk box. If you do, you will destroy the created system image. Leaving this box unchecked will leave your created system image intact an unharmed so you can still be able to use it to do a full system image recovery.
    6. You will now notice that the VHD (ex: F: ) has been detached in Disk Management.  
    7. Close Disk Management.

  • Enable or Disable Screen Savers

    Enable or Disable Screen Savers in Windows 7
    Information
    This article will show you how to enable or disable desktop screen savers from being able to run for all users on the computer.

    You will need to be logged in as an administrator to be able to do this tutorial.
    EXAMPLE:
    Screen Savers Enabled and Disabled

    NOTE:
    When disabled, the Screen Saver Settings window is grayed out.
    Through the Local Group Policy Editor
    1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor.
    2. In the left pane, click on to expand User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Control Panel, and Personalization. (see screenshot below)
    3. In the right pane, right click on Enable screen saver and click on Edit. (see screenshot above)
    4. To Enable Screen Saver
    A) Select (dot) either Not Configured or Enabled. (see screenshot below step 6)
    NOTE:
    Not Configured is the default setting.
    B) Go to step 6.
    5. To Disable Changing Screen Saver
    A) Select (dot) Disabled. (see screenshot below step 6)
    6. Click on OK. (see screenshot below)
    7. Close the Local Group Policy Editor window.
    8. If open, close and reopen the Screen Saver Settings window to apply.

  • Restoring files from previous versions

    Restoring files from previous versions
    You can restore deleted files and folders or restore a file or folder to a previous state.

    To restore a deleted file or folder
    Open Computer by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, and then clicking Computer.
    Navigate to the folder that used to contain the file or folder, right-click it, and then click Restore previous versions. If the folder was at the top level of a drive, for example C:\, right-click the drive, and then click Restore previous versions.
    You’ll see a list of available previous versions of the file or folder. The list will include files saved on a backup (if you are using Windows Backup to back up your files) as well as restore points, if both types are available.
    Note
    To restore a previous version of a file or folder that’s included in a library, right-click the file or folder in the location where it’s saved, rather than in the library.
    For example, to restore a previous version of a picture that’s included in the Pictures library but is stored in the My Pictures folder, right-click the My Pictures folder, and then click Restore previous versions.
    Double-click a previous version of the folder that contains the file or folder you want to restore. (For example, if a file was deleted today, choose a version of the folder from yesterday, which should contain the file.)
    Drag the file or folder that you want to restore to another location, such as your desktop or another folder.
    The version of the file or folder is saved to the location that you selected.
    Tip
    If you don’t remember the exact file or folder name or its location, you can search for it by typing part of the name in the search box in the Documents library.
    To restore a file or folder to a previous state
    1.   Right-click the file or folder, and then click Restore previous versions.
    You’ll see a list of available previous versions of the file or folder. The list will include files saved on a backup (if you’re using Windows Backup to back up your files) as well as restore points, if both types are available.
    2.   Before restoring a previous version of a file or folder, select the previous version, and then click Open to view it to make sure it’s the version you want.
    Note
    You can’t open or copy previous versions of files that were created by Windows Backup, but you can restore them.
    3.   To restore a previous version, select the previous version, and then click Restore.
       
    Warning
    The file or folder replaces the current version on your computer, and the replacement can’t be undone.
       
    Note
    If the Restore button is unavailable, you can’t restore a previous version of the file or folder to its original location. You might be able to open it or save it to a different location.

  • Enable or Disable Problem Steps Recorder

    How to Enable or Disable Problem Steps Recorder in Windows 7
    Information
    You can use Problem Steps Recorder to automatically capture the steps you take in Windows 7, including a text description of where you clicked and a screen shot during each click. Once you capture these steps, you can save them to a .zip file containing a .mht (MHTML) file of them. This file can then be used by a support professional or someone else helping you with a computer problem. If you like you can use it as a sort of Slide Show type demo to.
    This article will show you how to enable or disable the ability of all users to use Problem Steps Recorder in Windows 7.

    You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do this tutorial.
    EXAMPLE:
    Problem Steps Recorder
    Through the Local Group Policy Editor
    1. Open the Local Group Policy Editor.
    2. In the left pane, click on to expand Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, and Application Compatibility. (see screenshot below)
    3. In the right pane, right click on Turn off Problem Steps Recorder and click on Edit. (see screenshot above)
    4. To Enable “Problem Steps Recorder” in Windows 7
    A) Select (dot) either Not Configured or Disabled. (see screenshot below step 6)
    NOTE:
    Not Configured is the default setting.
    B) Go to step 6.
    5. To Disable “Problem Steps Recorder” in Windows 7
    A) Select (dot) Enabled. (see screenshot below step 6)
    6. Click on OK. (see screenshot below)
    7. Close the Local Group Policy Editor window.
    8. If enabled, users will be able to use Problem Steps Recorder.

    http://www.linkedtube.com/static/flash/player.swf?sum=Disable%20or%20Enable%20Problem%20steps%20recorder&btn=TechSupp247&txt=TechSupp247&vis=always&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Ftechsupp247&vid=r3rPosy3u_Y

  • Change the Time to Change Password

    How to Change the Time to Warn a User to Change Password Before Expiration
    Information
    If you have password expiration enabled, then this will show you how to change how far in advance (in days) users are warned that their password is about to expire.

    Warning
    You can only do this while logged in as an administrator.
    OPTION ONE
    Through Local Security Policy Manager
    NOTE:
    This option is only available for the Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions.
    1. If you have not already, you must enable password expiration for each user account that you want to have their password expire for that user to be able to get a warning that their password will expire before the maximum password age has been reached.
    2. Open the Local Security Policy editor.
    3. In the left pane, expand Local Policies, and click on Security Options. (see screenshot below)
    4. In the right pane, double click on Interactive logon: Prompt user to change password before expiration. (see screenshot above)
    5. Type in how many days you want Windows 7 to begin prompting users to change their password before it expires, then click on OK. (see screenshot below)
    6. Close the Local Security Policy editor.
    OPTION TWO
    Through Registry Editor
    NOTE:
    This option is available for all Windows 7 editions.
    1. If you have not already, you must enable password expiration for each user account that you want to have their password expire for that user to be able to get a warning that their password will expire before the maximum password age has been reached.
    2. Open the Start Menu, then type regedit in the search box and press enter.
    3. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes.
    4. In regedit, navigate to the location below: (see screenshot below)
    Code:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
    5. In the right pane of Winlogon, double click on PasswordExpiryWarning. (see screenshot above)
    6. Select (dot) Decimal, then type in how many days you want Windows 7 to begin prompting users to change their password before it expires and click on OK. (see screenshot below)
    7. Close regedit.
    8. Restart the computer to fully apply.

  • Convert a Dynamic Disk to Basic Disk

    How to Convert a Dynamic Disk to a Basic Disk
    Information
    A disk is a separate physical hard drive. This will show you how to convert a dynamic, also known as “software RAID”, disk to a basic disk in Windows Disk Manager or in a command prompt. By default Windows uses Basic disks.
    Basic and dynamic disks both support using MBR and GPT partition (volume) styles.
    For more detailed information on basic and dynamic disks, see: Basic and Dynamic Disks (Windows)
    Warning
    VERY IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ THIS FIRST.
    You must be a administrator to do this in Windows.
    Before you convert a dynamic disk to a basic disk, be sure to backup anything that you do not want to lose on that dynamic disk. Converting the dynamic disk back to a basic disk requires that all dynamic volumes are deleted on the disk first.
    If you disable the Disk Defragmenter service, then you will get the error below when you try to do anything in Disk Management. If you get this error, then make sure that the Disk Defragmenter service is set to only Manual.
    Using Disk Management
    WARNING:  
    Be sure to read the red WARNING box above, and backup any data on the dynamic disk that you wish to keep first. See OPTION FOUR below if you wanted to be able to convert a dynamic disk back to a primary disk without losing the data on it.
    1. Open the Control Panel (All Items view), and click on the Administrative Tools icon, then close the Control Panel window.
    2. Click on Computer Management in Administrative Tools, then close the Administrative Tools window.
    3. If prompted by UAC, click on Yes.
    4. In the left pane under Storage, click on Disk Management.
    5. In the dynamic disk (ex: Disk 1) that you want to convert to a basic disk, right click on each volume on the disk and click on Delete Volume until the whole disk is unallocated space.
    NOTE:
    If prompted, click on Yes to continue deleting the volume(s).
    6. If the disk (ex: Disk 1) that you want to convert to a basic disk is still displayed has being Dynamic (left side under Disk #), then right click on the disk (ex: Disk 1) and click on Convert to Basic Disk if available.
    7. You can also confirm that the disk is a basic disk if it’s displayed has being Basic (left side under Disk #), or if you right click on the disk # and it has Convert to Dynamic Disk instead now. (See screenshot below)
    8. You can now create partitions on the now basic disk if you like.
    9. When done, close Disk Management.