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Sunday, May 06, 2018 – Permalink –

Alphabetize Your Keyboard

Eat your heart out Dvorak

The Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator

Ever wanted to quickly and easily define your own keyboard layout for a language Microsoft doesn't support? Or define your own keyboard layout so you can quickly and easily enter your favorite symbols with a simple keystroke? Well, want no more: the Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator is here!

The Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator (MSKLC) extends the international functionality of Windows 2000+, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 or Windows Vista (MSKLC will not run on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME or Windows NT4) by allowing users to:

Create new keyboard layouts from scratch

Base a new layout on an existing one

Modify an existing keyboard layout and build a new layout from it

Multilingual input locales within edit control fields.

Package the resulting keyboard layouts for subsequent delivery and installation.

Global Development and Computing Portal:
Windows Keyboard Layouts
(many different language keyboards)

Belarusian keyboard

Also see: Dvorak anyone?

See all Topics windows
Labels: Customize, Desktop, General, Hardware, Reference, Tips, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 8:13 AM

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Saturday, April 21, 2018 – Permalink –

100% is Not Enough

Slow machine

Here are a couple of areas to look at if your machine slows down for no obvious reason.

Do the three finger Vulcan salute (Ctrl+Alt+Delete) to bring up the Windows Task manager.

If you see a level 100% on the performance tab try these possible solutions.

If you see near 100% CPU activity on the Processes tab by an "Image name" of Cisvc.exe, you might want to turn that service off.

Description: Microsoft Index Service Helper, a service that monitors the memory usage of Microsoft Indexing Service (cidaemon.exe) and automatically re-starts cidaemon.exe if it uses more than 40 MB of memory.

It's needed if you've set up any of your drives or directories to be indexed. Without it running, you could potentially invite a memory "hole", as the indexing service would not clear its RAM usage, as it goes.

If you are not indexing anything, there's no need for it to run

1. Go to Control Panel Administrative Tools > Services
2. Click on the "Standard" tab at the bottom of the box
3. Click on the Name label to sort by Name. Locate "Indexing Service". Double click.
4. Change the "Startup type" to 'Disabled'
5. Click on "Apply"
6. click on "Stop"

Another suggestion:

100 Percent CPU Usage Occurs When You Print on an LPT Printer Port

SYMPTOMS

When you print on an LPT printer port, 100 percent CPU usage occurs until the print job is completed. This slows down other programs until the print job is completed. In some case, other programs may slow down enough that they seem completely unresponsive. This behavior affects all power users who have many programs running at one time.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs because Windows 2000/XP does not have interrupt support for LPT printers.

WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior, print to a Universal Serial Bus (USB) printer port. If the printer does not have this capability, use a parallel-USB cable.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

Also see What Slows Windows Down

See all Topics windows
Labels: General, Reference, Tips, Troubleshoot, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:33 AM

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Sunday, April 01, 2018 – Permalink –

Beep Codes

An IT low point

You know you're in computer doo-doo when you start looking for beep codes.

These are the sounds your machine starts to make when it cries for help.

Such as
1-2-2-3
BIOS ROM
checksum Repair or replace BIOS

Oh yea! Replace the BIOS. That'll start your week out on a high note.

Casey Tech has put together a list of beep codes for the three largest BIOS manufacturers, AMI, Award, and Phoenix that can be folded and set up as a tent card for your desk or used as a pocket guide

Beep Card

Also:
POST & Beep CodesWhat are those noises when a PC starts up?

And:
Bios Central, PC Guide.com, and PC Hell.com

See all Topics windows
Labels: General, Reference, Tips, Troubleshoot, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:29 AM

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Tuesday, March 27, 2018 – Permalink –

Search for File Nits

Refine the questions

You can use Windows search to locate metadata information. Such as the date on the file:

date:>2/7/05<2/10/05>

Searches for a date in the Date property between the values 2/7/05 and 2/10/05, excluding the end dates.

Or all of the photos on your machine taken with a Canon:

Camera make

cameramake (cameramake:canon)

Advanced Query Syntax

HowToGeek - Date Search

See all Topics windows
Labels: Files, General, Reference, Shortcuts, Tips, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:25 AM

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Thursday, March 08, 2018 – Permalink –

Tweak Windows

Tune-up suggestions

There are third party apps that you can use to improve Windows' performance. If you want to do it on your own, here are some Redmond suggestions:

Delete programs you never use

Limit how many programs load at startup

Defragment your hard drive

Clean up your hard disk

Run fewer programs at the same time

Turn off visual effects

Restart regularly

Add more memory

Check for viruses and spyware

Check your computer’s speed

Disable services you don’t need

Don’t settle for slow

Optimize Windows

Also:

TweakHound

See all Topics windows
Labels: Customize, General, Reference, Tips, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:39 AM

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Monday, February 26, 2018 – Permalink –

Task Manager

When your machine has the snivels

There's a lot of stuff going on in the background that you might want to know about.

That's where the Task Manager comes in.

"There are a couple of ways to show the Windows Task Manager: hold down the Ctrl and Alt keys and press the Delete key - Task Manager will then open some versions of Windows, in others you will be presented with a small dialog box that has a button you can click to open the Task Manager; alternatively you can right-click on empty space on the Taskbar and select Task Manager from the menu."

Here's the Vista/Windows 7 version:

From the BloodyComputer:

Task Manager 1

Task Manager 2

See all Topics windows
Labels: Desktop, General, Reference, Shortcuts, Tips, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:24 AM

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Monday, February 12, 2018 – Permalink –

Rename Files

Add Info

When you download pictures from your digital camera, they end up with incomprehensible name such as IMG_0284.JPG, or _MG_2640.CR2.

To make them more useful:

Select all those files from Xmas. You can use Ctrl to group them, or use Ctrl+A to select all the files in that folder.

Right click the selection and choose Rename.

Pick a descriptive title, such as 2014 Xmas Party.

Hit Enter

All of the selected files will be renamed "2014 Xmas Party.JPG”, "2014 Xmas Party.CR2”, "2014 Xmas Party(2).JPG”, "2014 Xmas Party(2).CR2”, "2014 Xmas Party(3).JPG” "2014 Xmas Party(3).CR2”.

The extensions will remain the same.

See all Topics windows
Labels: Customize, Files, General, Reference, Shortcuts, Tips, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:12 AM

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Sunday, January 21, 2018 – Permalink –

Onscreen Keyboard

Tap or Click?

If you would like to have a keyboard on your screen that can be activated with your mouse you're in luck

Type osk in Start Run

See all Topics windows
Labels: Customize, Desktop, General, Reference, Shortcuts, Tips, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:00 AM

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Friday, January 12, 2018 – Permalink –

IE Temp Files

Storage area

Every once in awhile when the Berners-Lee pipeline clogs up, you are instructed to delete the temporary files that IE saves.

You can do it with the Click of an IE Options button.

Here's where those files are stored:

As you see, you could move that location if you wanted to.

Finding the Temporary Internet Files folder

See all Topics windows
Labels: General, IE, Reference, Tips, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:45 AM

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Thursday, January 04, 2018 – Permalink –

Product Key Finder

Search machine

You have a legal copy. You installed it and activated the application.

Now your machine blew up and you have to install it again. Where's the Product key? Probably gone sometime in the past 10 years.

"The Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder is a freeware utility that retrieves your Product Key (cd key) used to install windows from your registry.

It has the options to copy the key to clipboard, save it to a text file, or print it for safekeeping.

It works on Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Windows 7, Office XP, Office 2003, and Office 2007-10.

Keyfinder

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Labels: General, Reference, Tips

<Doug Klippert@ 3:38 AM

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Monday, January 01, 2018 – Permalink –

DOS Were the Days

Take CMD

Here's an introduction to the Command Prompt:
Command Line

Microsoft has provided product documentation on the use of the Command line in Windows.

Hopefully this won't be something you need in an emergency.
Use it in good health.

Details for Command line

Cmd

Command-line reference A-Z

Command shell overview

Change the command history settings

Change the size of the command prompt cursor

Change command prompt display option settings

Change the command prompt screen layout

Change command prompt window Edit Options settings

Copy and paste MS-DOS text using the mouse

Change MS-DOS command prompt window fonts

Change colors of command prompt elements

See all Topics windows
Labels: DOS, General, Reference, Tips, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:34 AM

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Saturday, December 30, 2017 – Permalink –

High Res Wallpaper

Details apparent

Choose from a broad selection of free pictures to use for wallpaper.

Download sizes from 1920x1200 to 320x240.

Free High-Resolution Widescreen Wallpaper

See all Topics windows
Labels: Desktop, General, Reference, Tips

<Doug Klippert@ 3:49 AM

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Saturday, December 23, 2017 – Permalink –

Custome Shortcuts

Hands on keys

Ed Bott reminds us how to set up custom keyboard shortcuts to start applications.

Create custom keyboard shortcuts

See all Topics windows
Labels: Customize, General, Reference, Shortcuts, Tips, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:17 AM

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Sunday, December 17, 2017 – Permalink –

Save the Warning

Easy record

It happens. Your machine balks and spits out an obscure warning message.

You grab a pen and scribble out the error code, which typically is 90 characters long.

Too much hassle!

When the warning box appears, just hit Ctrl+C. The contents of the box are now on the Clipboard and can be pasted into Notepad.

See all Topics windows
Labels: General, Reference, Shortcuts, Tips, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:02 AM

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Wednesday, November 22, 2017 – Permalink –

IE Shortcuts

Finger flicks

A selection of keyboard shortcuts for IE.

Here are a few:

F11 Toggle between full-screen and regular views of the browser window in Internet Explorer

ALT + HOME Go to your home page

ALT + RIGHT ARROW Go to the next page

ALT + LEFT ARROW or BACKSPACE Go to the previous page

CTRL+ F Find on this page

CTRL + TAB or CTRL + SHFT + TAB Switch between tabs

More:

Browser shortcuts

See all Topics windows
Labels: Explorer, General, IE, Reference, Shortcuts, Tips, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:11 AM

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Wednesday, November 01, 2017 – Permalink –

Task Manager - Big Boy Style

In depth system examination

Here's a free gadget from Microsoft:

"Ever wondered which program has a particular file or directory open? Now you can find out. Process Explorer shows you information about which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded.

The unique capabilities of Process Explorer make it useful for tracking down DLL-version problems or handle leaks, and provide insight into the way Windows and applications work. "

"Process Explorer works on Windows XP +, Server 2003, and 64-bit versions of Windows for x64 and IA64 processors"

Process Explorer

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Labels: Add-in, General, Reference, Tips, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:17 AM

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Monday, October 16, 2017 – Permalink –

Synch Time

Time Server

Things I've forgotten or never knew.

Double click on the date and time on the taskbar to open the time applet.

Click on the Internet Time tab.

Choose a time server, and click on the Update Now button.

As long as you are connected to the internet, Windows will attempt to synchronize the time once per week.
You can type the name of a time server if you want to use one that is not listed. Only time servers that use the Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP) will work. Inserting an Internet address that uses the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) will not work. The time server time.windows.com is operated by Microsoft. The time server time.nist.gov is operated by the U.S. government. Other time servers provided by your computer's manufacturer might also be listed.

Also:
Time Flies Like an Arrow

See all Topics windows
Labels: Customize, General, Reference, Time, Tips, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:13 AM

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Thursday, October 05, 2017 – Permalink –

Screen Capture Gear

Better than PrtScn

You can add graphics to instructions using the built in PrtScn button, but there's not much versatility.

WritersUA by WinWriters, Inc has a discussion on some available apps that can help.

"Almost all of us need to include screen captures in our user assistance from time to time.

Of course, it's possible to do almost all of this by pressing + to copy the active window to the clipboard, and then pasting it into your favorite image-editing application.
However, for each screen capture this requires you to go through the same set of actions in order to crop, set the color depth, add borders or edge effects, and finally save it.
If you only take the occasional screen capture, then this is fine. But it can become extremely tedious and time-consuming if you have a large number of screens to capture."

Capture Tools

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Labels: General, Reference, Tips, Tricks, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:47 AM

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Sunday, September 03, 2017 – Permalink –

Attention Grabber

For Print Screen or lost spectacles

Those Apple type people have a gadget called "Mouseposé". You might have seen it in videos demonstrating applications. It darkens the screen and puts a spotlight on the point of interest.

Those of us who use real machines have a similar add-in.

It's not from Boinx.
It's the magnifier or "Dragnifier" from Ed Halley.

See all Topics windows
Labels: Add-in, General, Reference, Tips

<Doug Klippert@ 3:38 AM

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Tuesday, August 29, 2017 – Permalink –

Folder Tree

DOS is back

"To find out how many folders there are on your hard disk, you can open a Command Prompt and use the Tree command. You'll get a very nice looking graphical tree structure showing all the folders on your hard disk.

The only problem is that the display will scroll by your screen so fast and exceed the buffer size, so you'll never be able to see it."

Import Tree command into Word

(Open Command Prompt as Administrator. Rather than "Insert>File", open the file with Word and choose the MS-DOS format))

Tree command

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Labels: Files, General, Reference, Shortcuts, Tips, Tutorials

<Doug Klippert@ 3:26 AM

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