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Category: technical support

  • Windows 7-Multiple Home Pages for Pinned Sites

    How to Have Multiple Home Pages for Pinned Sites in IE9
    Information
    This tutorial will show you how to have multiple home pages for any pinned site in IE9

    Note
    This works for the Release Candidate build of IE9.
    OPTION ONE
    In Internet Explorer 9
    1. Open a pinned site of Internet Explorer 9.
    2. Open a new tab and navigate to the page that you would like to add as a second home page.
    3. Right-Click on the home button and select ‘Add as home page’ (note: in the screenshot I have pinned bing and want to add google as a second homepage)
    4. That’s it! Now when you click on the pinned site logo your pinned site will open, and the second homepage will open in a new tab.
    OPTION TWO
    Through Internet Options
    1. Open a pinned site of Internet Explorer 9.
    2. Press Alt + X, and then select ‘Internet Options’.
    3. Add the homepage(s) that you wish to open along with your pinned site in the box.
    4. Click ‘Apply’

  • Windows 7-Add/Remove Sites in IE Security Zones

    How to Add or Remove Sites in Internet Explorer Security Zones
    Information
    Zone security is a system that enables you to divide online content into categories, or zones. You can add or remove websites from the zones, depending on your level of trust in a website.

    This article will show you how to add or remove website URL addresses in the Internet, Local Intranet, Trusted sites, and Restricted sites Internet Explorer security zones.
    Note
    Internet zone
    You will not be able to add or remove sites in the “Internet” zone. The Internet zone includes all sites on the internet that are not in the Trusted sites or Restricted sites zones.
    Local intranet zone
    The Local intranet zone includes all sites inside an organization’s firewall (for computers connected to a local network). By default, the Local Intranet zone contains all network connections that were established by using a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path, and Web sites that bypass the proxy server or have names that do not include periods (for example, http://local), as long as they are not assigned to either the Restricted Sites or Trusted Sites zone. The default security level for the Local Intranet zone is set to Medium-low. Be aware that when you access a local area network (LAN) or an intranet share, or an intranet Web site by using an Internet Protocol (IP) address or by using a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), the share or Web site is identified as being in the Internet zone instead of in the Local intranet zone. For more information about this issue, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    303650 Intranet site is identified as an Internet site when you use an FQDN or an IP address
    Trusted sites zone
    The Trusted sites zone can include all Internet sites that you know are trusted. For example, the Trusted sites zone might contain websites that are on your organization’s intranet or that come from established companies in whom you have confidence. When you add a website to the Trusted Sites zone, you believe that files you download or that you run from the website will not damage your computer or data. By default, there are no websites that are assigned to the Trusted Sites zone, and the security level is set to Medium.
    Restricted sites zone
    The Restricted sites zone can include all sites that you do not trust. When you add a website to the Restricted Sites zone, you believe that files that you download or run from the website may damage your computer or your data. By default, there are no websites that are assigned to the Restricted Sites zone, and the security level is set to High.
    Here’s How:
    1. Open the Control Panel (Classic View (Vista) or Icons View (Windows 7)).
    A) Click on the Internet Options icon.
    B) Go to step 3.
    OR
    2. Open Internet Explorer.
    A) Click on Tools (Menu bar) or gear icon (in IE9), click on Internet Options, and click on the Security tab.
    3. For the Internet Zone
    A) You will not be able to add or remove sites in the Internet zone since it automatically includes all sites on the internet that are not in the Trusted sites or Restricted sites zones.
    B) Go to step 7.
    4. To Add or Remove Sites for the Local intranet Zone
    A) Select Local intranet, and click on the Sites button. (see screenshot below)
    B) Check what settings (automatically detect or specifics) to define which websites are included in the local intranet zone, then click on the Advanced button. (see screenshots below)
    NOTE:
    The default setting is Automatically detect intranet network.
    Include all local (intranet) sites not listed in other zones. Intranet sites, such as http://local, have names that do not include dots. In contrast, a site name that does contain dots, such as Microsoft Corporation, is not local. This site would be assigned to the Internet zone. The intranet site name rule applies to File URLs as well as HTTP URLs.
    Include all sites that bypass the proxy server. Typical intranet configurations use a proxy server to gain access to the Internet but have a direct connection to intranet servers. The setting uses this kind of configuration information to distinguish intranet from Internet content. If your proxy server is configured otherwise, you should clear this check box and then use other means to designate the Local intranet zone membership. For systems without a proxy server, this setting has no effect.
    Include all network paths (UNCs). Network paths (for example, \\servername\sharename\file.txt) are typically used for local network content that should be included in the Local intranet zone. If some of your network paths should not be in the Local intranet zone, clear this check box and then use other means to designate the Local intranet zone membership. In certain Common Internet File System (CIFS) configurations, for example, it is possible for a network path to reference Internet content.
    C) To Add a Website to Internet Zone
    Check (only add https: websites) or uncheck (add any website) the Require server verification (https for all sites in the zone option for what you want websites you want added.
    Type in the website address and click on Add. (see screenshot below)
    D) To Remove a Website from Internet Zone
    Under Websites, select a added website and click on Remove. Repeat to remove additional websites. (see screenshot below)
    E) When finished, click on Close. (see screenshots below steps 4C and 4D)
    F) Click on OK. (see screenshots under step 4B)
    G) Go to step 7.
    5. To Add or Remove Sites for the Trusted Sites Zone
    A) Select Trusted Sites, and click on the Sites button. (see screenshot below)
    B) To Add a Website to Trusted Sites Zone
    Check (only add https: websites) or uncheck (add any website) the Require server verification (https: ) for all sites in the zone option for what you want websites you want added.
    Type in the website address and click on Add. Repeat to add additional websites. (see screenshot below)
    C) To Remove a Website from Trusted Sites Zone
    Under Websites, select a added website and click on Remove. Repeat to remove additional websites. (see screenshot below)
    E) When finished, click on Close. (see screenshots below steps 5B and 5C)
    F) Go to step 7.
    6. To Add or Remove Sites for the Restricted Sites Zone
    A) Select Restricted Sites, and click on the Sites button. (see screenshot below)
    B) To Add a Website to Restricted Sites Zone
    Type in the website address and click on Add. Repeat to add additional websites. (see screenshot below)
    C) To Remove a Website from Restricted Sites Zone
    Under Websites, select a added website and click on Remove. Repeat to remove additional websites. (see screenshot below)
    D) When finished, click on Close. (see screenshots below steps 6B and 6C)
    7. Do steps 4, 5, or 6 above if there are any other security zone that you would like to add or remove sites from.
    8. When finished, click on OK. (see screenshot below steps 3A, 4A, 5A, or 6A)

  • Enable or Disable Write-Caching- Windows 7

    How to Enable or Disable Write-Caching for a Storage Device in Windows 7
    Information
    Write caching in a connected storage device refers to the use of high-speed volatile memory to collect write commands sent to data storage devices and cache them until the slower storage media (either physical hard disks or low cost flash memory) can accommodate them. Most devices that use write caching require that power be supplied continuously.

    This article will show you how to enable write caching to have better performance for a storage device, or disable write caching for quick removal of a storage device without having to use Safely Remove Hardware.
    Tip
    If high data transfer performance is your main concern, you should enable both of these settings in OPTION TWO below:
    In the Removal Policy section, select the Better Performance option.
    In the Write-caching policy section, select Enable write caching on the device (if the system hardware and storage device support these features).
    Warning
    You must be logged into a administrator account to be able to do this tutorial.
    OPTION ONE
    Disable Write Caching for Quick Removal
    Note
    This option is usually the best choice for storage devices that you are likely to remove from the system frequently, such as USB flash drives, SD, MMC, Compact Flash, or similar memory cards, and other similar externally attached storage devices.
    When you select the Quick Removal option, Windows 7 manages commands sent to the device using a method called write-through caching. In write-through caching, the device operates on write commands as if there were no cache. The cache may still provide a small performance benefit, but the emphasis is on treating the data as safely as possible by getting the commands to the storage device. The main benefit is that you can remove the storage device from the system quickly without risking data loss. For example, if a flash drive were to be accidentally pulled out of its port, the data being written to it is much less likely to be lost.
    1. Open the Control Panel (All Items view), and click on the Device Manager icon.
    2. In Device Manger, double click on Disk drives to expand it, then double click on the listed storage device that you want to disable write caching for. (See screenshot below)

    3. Click on the Polices tab. Under the upper Removal policy section, select (dot) Quick removal, or check the Turn off Windows write-cache buffer flushing on the device box, and click on OK. (See screenshot below)

    4. Click on Yes to restart the computer to apply. (See screenshot below)
    WARNING:
    This will restart the computer immediately. You should save and close anything else that you are working on first.
     
    OPTION TWO
    Enable Write Caching for Better Performance
    Note
    This option is usually the best choice for storage devices that must provide the highest possible performance and that you intend to not remove from the system frequently, such as internal hard disk drives. If you choose this option and the device is disconnected from the system before all of the data is written to it (such as if you remove a USB flash drive), you could lose data. When using this option for a storage device (ex: USB flash drive), you must use Safely Remove Hardware to disconnect the device safely to prevent possible data loss.
    When you select the Better Performance option, Windows 7 uses a method known as write-back caching. In this method, the storage device itself is allowed to determine whether using the high-speed cache will save time completing the write commands. If it will, the device signals to the computer that the data has been stored successfully even though the data may not actually be present in the storage device yet (such as the hard disk or flash memory). This method markedly increases the throughput of storage operations, which are often a major bottleneck for system performance overall. However, if the power supplied to the device (ex: external hard drive) fails for any reason, any data still in the cache (that the computer system believes is safely stored) could be lost.
    By default, Windows 7 uses cache flushing. This means that the system will periodically instruct the storage device to write all data waiting in the cache to the storage device. When you select Enable write caching on this device, you turn can turn off these periodic commands to transfer the data. Not all devices support all of these features.
    1. Open the Control Panel (All Items view), and click on the Device Manager icon.
    2. In Device Manger, double click on Disk drives to expand it, then double click on the listed storage device that you want to enable write caching for. (See screenshot below)

    3. Click on the Polices tab. Under the upper Removal policy section, select (dot) Better performance. (See screenshots below)
    NOTE:  
    By default, Enable write caching on the device is also checked. If not, then check it as well.

    4. To Turn Off Windows Write-cache Buffer Flushing on the Device –
    WARNING:
    To Prevent data loss. Do not check this option unless the storage device has a separate power supply that allows the device to flush it’s buffer in case of a power failure.
    A) Select (check) the Turn off Windows write-cache buffer flushing on the device box. (See screenshots above)
    5. Click on OK. (See screenshot below step 3)
    6. Click on Yes to restart the computer to apply. (See screenshot below)
    WARNING:
    This will restart the computer immediately. You should save and close anything else that you are working on first.

  • Windows 7: Quick Network connections list

                         One of the annoyances in Windows 7 or Vista is that you can’t immediately open the Network Connections list to see the list of adapters like you could in Windows XP.

    In Windows XP, you could right-click any network connection and select “Open Network Connections”, but in Windows 7, the only option you have is to open the Network and Sharing Center via the same right-click menu.


    To immediately open the connection list, you can just type ncpa.cpl into the Start menu search box:


    And up pops the network connection list just like I’m used to:



    You can also create a shortcut somewhere to the full file path if you want even easier access.


    Just use C:\windows\system32\ncpa.cpl as the location of the shortcut.

  • Change Modes in Windows 7 Calculator

    How to Change Modes in Windows 7 Calculator
    Information:
    In Windows 7, the good old Calculator accessory gets a makeover. You can use Calculator to perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. The Calculator now even offers the advanced capabilities of scientific and statistical calculators.

    This tutorial will show you how to open the Calculator and change the Calculator mode to Standard, Scientific, Programmer, or Statistics mode.
    Here’s How:
    Open the Start Menu >> Click All Programs >> Click Accessories >> Calculator… Alternatively, you can type calculator into the search bar.
    Click on the Mode in the menu bar and select the mode you want to use in Calculator.
    Note:
    You can choose between the Standard, Scientific, Programmer, or Statistics mode.

  • Fix Gadgets not Displaying – Windows 7

    How to Fix Gadgets not Displaying Correctly in Windows 7
    Information
    If you have gadgets that are displaying on your Windows 7 desktop improperly as black, white, blank, or just messed up, then this will show you how to fix them.

    You must be logged in as an administrator to be able to do this tutorial.
    Note
    If you have a 3rd party firewall program installed, then also check to make sure that the gadgets are allowed in the firewall and are not being blocked in that program’s exception settings.
    EXAMPLE:
    Gadgets not displaying correctly

    HERE’S HOW:
    Manually in a Elevated Command Prompt
    NOTE:
    This does the same thing as in OPTION ONE above, but manually.
    1. Open a elevated command prompt (right click – Run as administrator)
    2. In the elevated command prompt, copy and paste each command below and press Enter one at a time. After each time your press Enter, you will need to click on OK before doing the next command.
    net stop sidebar.exe
    regsvr32 msxml3.dll
    regsvr32 scrrun.dll
    regsvr32 jscript.dll
    regsvr32 atl.dll
    Regsvr32 “%ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\sbdrop.dll”
    Regsvr32 “%ProgramFiles%\Windows Sidebar\wlsrvc.dll”
    Code:
    reg delete “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings\Zones” /f
    NOTE:
    This command will reset the security zones in Internet Explorer back to the default settings.
    net start sidebar.exe
    3. Restart the computer to apply.
    4. Check to see if the gadgets on your desktop are displaying correctly now. If not, then try uninstalling and reinstalling the still bad gadget, or do a System Restore using a restore point dated before the problem.

  • Enable Remote Desktop Connection- Windows 7

    Enabling Remote Desktop Connections in Windows 7
    Information
    Windows Remote Desktop Connection allows you to connect to a Windows-based computer via the Internet or a network. When you’re connected via the Remote Desktop Connection, you can see the host computer’s desktop and access its files and folders as if you were sitting in front of the computer. 
    This is useful for both systems administrators and technical support teams as well as end users, who may want to access their work computers from home or vice-versa.

    In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to enable Remote Desktop Connections on your Windows-based computer so that it can be controlled remotely.
    Here’s How
    Enabling Remote Desktop Connections on your Windows Computer
    1.       To enable Remote Desktop Connections, click the Start button, right-click on Computer and choose Properties.
    2.       In the System Properties window, click Remote settings in the left panel.
    3.       This will open the Remote tab of the System Properties window. Here, you have three options to choose from under Remote Desktop:
    4.       Don’t allow connections to this computer – This option will prevent users from connecting to your computer using Remote Desktop Connection or RemoteApp. (RemoteApp connections are connections where the client only connects to a single application.)
    5.       Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop – This will allow users running any version of RemoteApp or Remote Desktop Connection to connect to your computer. Use this if you’re not sure which version of Remote Desktop the client will be using, or if they are using a third-party Remote Desktop Connection application. (For example, Ubuntu clients will likely require the second option.)
    6.       Allow connections only from computers running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication – This restricts Remote Desktop Connections to those running versions of Remote Desktop that have Network Level Authentication. Network Level Authentication was introduced in Remote Desktop Client 6.0. If the client computer is running Windows 7 or they’ve recently downloaded the Remote Desktop Connection client, use this option, as it’s more secure.
    7.       At this point, you can click OK and clients will be able to log in to your computer via Remote Desktop Connection using the login credentials for administrator level users. However, you probably won’t want to give out your administrator credentials to tech support people, network admins and others. So, it’s a good idea to set up a separate standard level user account for Remote Desktop Connections.
    8.       First, create a user account following the instructions in our previous tutorial: How to Create or Delete User Accounts.
    9.       Next, return to the Remote tab in System Properties and click Select Users. This opens the Remote Desktop Users window.
    10.    Type the user account name in the box in the next window and click Check Names. Windows will make sure that a user account with that name exists and add the location in front of it. For example, in these screenshots, I’m going to allow users to connect to my computer via Remote Desktop Connection using credentials for a standard user account called 7Tutorials. After clicking Check Names, Windows automatically adds the location where the user account is.
    11.    When you’re done, click OK. Now, users will be able to connect via Remote Desktop Connection to your computer with the login credentials for the user you selected.

  • Windows 7: Assign a Static IP Address



                       When organizing your home network it’s easier to assign each computer it’s own IP address than using DHCP. We can assign static IP address in any operating systems like Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7.

    If you have a home network with several computes and devices, it’s a good idea to assign each of them a specific address. If you use DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), each computer will request and be assigned an address every time it’s booted up. When you have to do troubleshooting on your network, it’s annoying going to each machine to figure out what IP they have.
    Using Static IPs prevents address conflicts between devices and allows you to manage them more easily. Assigning IPs to Windows 7 is essentially the same process, but getting to where you need to be varies between each version.
    To change the computer’s IP address in Windows 7, type network and sharing into the Search box in the Start Menu and select Network and Sharing Center when it comes up.

    Then when the Network and Sharing Center opens, click on Change adapter settings.

    Right-click on your local adapter and select Properties.

    In the Local Area Connection Properties window highlight Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) then click the Properties button.

    Now select the radio button Use the following IP address and enter in the correct IP, Subnet mask, and Default gateway that corresponds with your network setup. Then enter your Preferred and Alternate DNS server addresses. Here we’re on a home network and using a simple Class C network configuration and Google DNS.
    Check Validate settings upon exit so Windows 7 can find any problems with the addresses you entered. When you’re finished click OK.

    Now close out of the Local Area Connections Properties window.

    Windows 7 will run network diagnostics and verify the connection is good. Here we had no problems with it, but if you did, you could run the network troubleshooting wizard.

    Now you can open the command prompt and do an ipconfig  to see the network adapter settings have been successfully changed.

  • Windows 7: Hide or Show Desktop Items


    How to Hide or Show Desktop Icons and Gadgets in Windows 7
    Information
    This article will show you how to easily hide or show all of the icons and Gadgets on your desktop in Windows 7. By default, all desktop icons and gadgets are set to show in Windows 7.

    OPTION ONE
    Hide or Show Desktop Icons
    Using the Desktop Context Menu
    1. Right click on a empty area of the desktop.
    2. To Show All Desktop Icons
    A) Click on Show Desktop Icons to check it. (See screenshot below step 3)
    3. To Hide All Desktop Icons
    A) Click on Show Desktop Icons to uncheck it. (See screenshot below)
    B) Save your current theme to help prevent these settings from being reset after you log off and on, or restart the computer.
    OPTION TWO
    Hide or Show Desktop Gadgets
    1. Right click on a empty area of the desktop.
    2. To Show All Desktop Gadgets
    A) Click on Show Desktop Gadgets to check it. (See screenshot below step 3)
    3. To Hide All Desktop Gadgets
    A) Click on Show Desktop Gadgets to uncheck it. (See screenshot below)
    B) Save your current theme to help prevent these settings from being reset after you log off and on, or restart the computer.

  • Managing power plans in Windows 7



                    In windows XP you probably know how to manage the power settings for your system on a laptop or desktop. Now we take you through how to manage power settings and create custom plans in Windows 7.

    There are new power management options that you can set up in Windows 7 compared to Windows XP. You might want to change plans to save battery power on your laptop, or reduce energy consumption on a desktop at home or the office. Here we will look at how to manage the power plans
    Power Settings
    To access power plan options, type power settings into the search bar in the Start Menu and hit Enter.


    The Power Options screen opens and from here you can select from three predefined plans–Balanced, Power saver, or High performance.


    Click on Choose what the power button does and you can tweak several options such as Requiring a password on wakeup and what the power button on the computer does. If you set When I press the power button to Do nothing, you won’t have a problem with the PC shutting down when you accidently hit the power button.

    To change any one of the predefined power plans click on Change plan settings.

    Then you can change the amount of inactive time before the monitor is turned off or the computer goes into Sleep mode.

    If you want to revert back to the default settings, simply click on Restore default settings for this plan.