Tag: remove

Recover Windows 7 from Driver Update

October 14, 2009 by Jason

Keeping Windows 7 and Windows Vista running under normal parameters takes much more work than is done in Redmond alone. Fact is that the ecosystems of software and hardware products designed to integrate with the Windows clients have to do this seamlessly, especially when dealing with solutions that hook into the core of the operating system. Driver update failures for example, can easily cripple Windows 7 and Windows Vista, causing the two platforms to no longer start.

“This problem may occur if any one of the following conditions is true: The new device or the driver causes conflicts with other drivers that are installed on the computer. A hardware-specific issue occurs. The driver that is installed is damaged,” Microsoft explained.

In case you performed a driver update for a device component of your computer and Windows 7 and Vista are acting up, then your best choice to resolve the matter is to roll back the changes. Reverting the driver update will cause the issues introduced by the refresh to go away. First you will need to boot into Windows.
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Hidden list in XP

December 21, 2008 by Jason

I have collected some Hidden list in Windows xp.

1. Application Secrets.

Defrag
Secret – Hidden Command Line Switch
Instructions – Go to “Start”, “Run” and Type defrag c: -b to defragment the Boot and Application Prefetch information. Similar to what BootVis invokes.

Paint
Secret – Image Trails
Instructions – Open an image and hold down Shift then drag the image around to create an image trail.

Secret – 10 X zoom
Instructions – Open an image and select the magnifying glass icon. Left-click exactly on the line below the 8 X.

2. OS Secrets.

Add/Remove
Secret – Hidden Uninstall Options
Instructions – Warning: Proceed at your own risk.
Browse to C:\Windows\inf\ and make a backup copy of sysoc.inf. Then open the original file C:\Windows\inf\sysoc.inf in notepad. Go to “Edit” and select “Replace”. In “Find what” type, hide and in “Replace with:” type, then select “Replace All”, save and close the file. Go to the control panel, “Add/Remove”, select “Add/Remove Windows Components”. You will now see many more Windows components to uninstall. Do not remove anything with no label or that you do not recognize or fully understand what it does. Doing so can break certain functionality in Windows. Read More»

Registry Tweaks to Enhance Your Windows XPerience – Part 6

November 30, 2008 by Jason

The moment has come once again to pimp your Windows XP with the skills of a power user and the tool that will always be at your disposal, Notepad. This article, along with the previous ones (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5), will allow you to enhance and customize your operating system with advanced IT knowledge. Are there advantages to it? Of course there are. For one, the procedure is very fast, easy to perform and, in most cases, the result cannot be obtained through the “standard procedure” – Control Panel, Folder Options, Performance Options etc.

However, before getting started, if what we’re talking here is not something that you’re familiar with, or if you have not read yet the first article in the tweaking series, please do so now, because, otherwise, what is about to follow may not make any sense at all. Without a single trace of a doubt, that’s not something that we would want, is it now? This is all the more true since, as long as we are here, you will probably notice that, as promised above, the tweaks I’m about to present cannot be made using the old-school methods. It would be a pity to pass up this chance just because you’re not familiar with a few basic rules. Read More»

Remove sensitive Metadata information from any file

September 07, 2008 by Jason

Metadata is actually data about data. It generally describes when, how and who created a piece of data. It also can include information such as when the file was last accessed or modified. A Metadata generating algorithm can be produced by the software maker to collect any specifics about the data.

In Windows Vista, metadata is used to describe files for faster keyword searching. However, using certain private metadata to describe employees or customers can result in embarrassing and harmful situations. For instance, let’s say you use a metadata keyword phrase to describe “Slow Paying” customers. When searching a particular company using this keyword phrase and you then print and send the document, this keyword search tag could still be (unknowingly) attached to the printed document and could result in a damaged business relationship.

Since there is no current way of incorporating some sort of metadata management for who can see this private information, it is at least possible to remove such information from any file. Here’s how: Read More»

How to Disable Smart Location Bar in Firefox 3

August 22, 2008 by Jason

After days of tweaking my new Firefox 3.0, I found out that one so-called top new features of Firefox is not so pleasing  Smart Location Bar or the Awesome Bar.

The Smart Location Bar is just too “smart” to an extent that it saves my viewed browsing history without my knowledge! The auto complete feature is fine with me but I would still prefer the old Firefox 2.0 way in handling my addresses. I tried to disable this “smart” option via the Option menu but there is no direct way to do it. So, I have to do it the indirect way via about:config or with a help of an extension.

OK, here is how:

Remove only bookmarks results from the list

To to this, you can just use Hide Unvisited extension to get the job done. What Hide Unvisited does is hide bookmarks that you haven’t visited from showing in the Awesome Bar. Read More»

Protect your privacy by removing Windows Vista metadata

August 13, 2008 by Jason

One of Vista’s more useful features is also one of its more dangerous ones the use of metadata. Metadata is information about files that you don’t normally see but that can help you search for them.

For example, music files typically contain the name of the composer, type of music and so on. And a photograph usually contains data on when the photo was taken, who took it, the camera model and other information, such as ISO speed. Documents and spreadsheets contain a wide variety of information about their creators, including who created the document, how much time was spent editing it, who reviewed the document and so on.

In many cases, programs automatically generate their own metadata when a file is created. Users can also easily create or edit metadata. Right-click a file, choose Properties, and select the Details tab. Then click any field and type in metadata. Keep in mind that some metadata, such as the last time a file was printed, can’t be altered. Read More»

How To Download Audio Books

July 20, 2008 by Jason

Are MP3-technology portable players only good for playing cool tunes downloaded from the net? Far from it. They offer an alternative and a convenient listening addition to audio books on tape or CD.

What used to take days or weeks of waiting for the mail carrier to deliver your audio books on tape or CD, now takes no more than a few minutes. You can be listening to your favorite MP3 books straight away. And it’s going to get even better, easier and quicker, judging from the advances in audio and web technologies in recent months.

The hard core audiobook listeners may take a while to “convert” from using tapes and CDs to an MP3 format. The sheer convenience, perfect control and the size choices MP3 players offer, the “changeo ver period” is likely going to be a short one. Read More»

A Better Uninstaller?

July 07, 2008 by Jason

At a rough guess I would say that around 50 percent of PC problems are concerned one way or another with installing and uninstalling software, the latter being far and away the most troublesome operation for many users. A lot of programs are just not very good at removing themselves from systems, bits and pieces are often left behind, cluttering the Registry or interfering with other programs.

Contrary to popular belief Add/Remove Programs in Windows doesn’t actually do any uninstalling, it’s simply groups together the uninstall utilities for the programs on your PC so maybe it’s time for something with a bit more teeth. How about Revo Uninstaller, it’s a powerful uninstaller utility that takes over where Add/Remove Programs leaves off. Firstly it analyses the program, checking files folders and Registry keys, then it sets a new Restore Point and then, only when it is satisfied that it knows everything there is to know about a program, does it remove all traces of it. Read More»

Windows SteadyState for Vista and XP

June 12, 2008 by Jason

Microsoft has made available for download the Windows SteadyState for the 32-bit editions of Windows XP and Windows Vista. SteadyState is a Windows management tool designed for scenarios in which access to machines is completely unrestricted. The evolution of the Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit for Windows XP, Windows SteadyState has been designed for the specific purpose of managing shared computers, safeguarding system resourced against changes made by untrusted users, and making irrelevant unwanted software installations. Read More»

Control Device Installation In Vista

June 08, 2008 by Jason

Another way that data theft can occur is through the installation of hardware such as removable storage devices. An attacker can install such a device on your computer with the intent of copying your data. Vista protects against this type of data theft through device installation restrictions.

You can control the installation of devices through the local computer policy (or a group policy if using Active Directory). Read More»