Reset Windows 7 without re-install Windows 7

Usually for home users, the best way to fix the problematic Windows is to format the hard disk and re-install everything, all over again. Good that you will get the brand new PC/laptop feel after all steps are down. Bad is too much time wasted.
As for corporate users, the IT usually tell you to re-build the system, which is a nicer term for format and re-install. Well, they might use same imaging software to duplicate the hard image since corporate PCs are always standard build. But it take times to recover all your emails and other stuffs.

How to avoid all these? Use RefreshPC to recover everything back to default setting, safely, claimed by the author of the software, not me. heheh.

Here is what it is written on the website:
RefreshPC is a very easy to use and safe utility for fixing misconfigurations in your services and in the registry itself.

RefreshPC will do the following:
Reduce errors in the Event Viewer
Fix service misconfigurations that may be causing problems including slow boots.
Clean your temporary folders.
Reset key registry entries back to their default values.
The best part is it is Freeware.

RefreshPC works on Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. 64bit and 32bit versions.

Yes, I read that, FREE. Anyway, I don't have a problem on my Windows 7, yet, so I have not try it. However, if you decided to for the format and re-install thing, why not give this a try before doing the format and re-install. If it still bad, just go ahead with format; but if it is fixed, you save a lot of time!


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source: originally saw at http://www.portablesoft.org/refreshpc-portable/
pix source: http://www.xp-smoker.com

Extend Windows desktop to 4 desktops

Why would someone extend a Windows desktop to 4 desktop? For those that used to Linux would know that that help to organize the Windows, you can put some jobs in one desktop and another jobs in another. By doing that you don't always have to look into every Windows just find the MS office or MathLab or Chrome.

I could put all personal web browsing in one desktop and work related Windows into another desktop. So when your boss drop by your cubicle, he/she would see your clean desktop with just work related stuffs. ;-)

There are a few similar software that have this kind of function. Today I would want to introduce Dexpot. It is free of charge for personal use.

It supports older version of Windows such as Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME and Windows NT4, but upto version 1.4 only.

It also have portable version, which I like it very much!

You can configure different wallpapers and screen saver for each desktop. However I didn't try the password. One Windows login password is enough, why want to have so many password? I would think this is very useful if you are sharing one computer with another person, there is no need to login and logout every time want to change user. Just use Dexpot to assign each Desktop to each user. By doing this it can be share with 4 persons!

There is a powerful component in Dexpot that automatically distribute the Windows into different Desktop. By configure it correctly, you can always make sure your facebook page is not same desktop with simulation windows.

There are many more features, but it would be super long post. So I leave it to you to explorer. :)

Dexpot download page

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pix source: http://dexpot.de
Source: I wrote this!

Windows 7 is the king now!

According to Stat Counter, Windows 7 take over the number 1 most people use OS recently. Only after 2 years it manage to take over Windows XP as the champion. Vista is just pathetic at 3rd place while Mac OS and Linux are steadily ramping up over the years. That is world wide data.

How about for Malaysia? Looks like Malaysia is ahead of the world wide that we use more Windows 7 at April of this year.

One interesting chart is for Antarctica, it is very inconsistent. The reason I can think of is that this is a no-man land, only some scientists go there. So depend on the system that those few scientists use during that time, the OS change from time to time. Example from mid of 2010 to mid of this year, it is dominant by Win7, but at July alone it is dominate by Mac OS. 

If you prefer, you can go to the interactive chart in the source link at end of this post and look for your country and region. You can even check for the market segment of web browsers and Mobile OS.

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source: Stat Counter

My kind of Windows Explorer - Explorer++

If you are Windows user, regardless Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8 (anyone already on Windows 8???), you should have use Windows Explorer before. Even you always use "My Computer" to find the files, but it is actually Windows Explorer, just without the Folder view.

I use Windows Explorer a lot, both at work or at home. Copy files, move files, delete files, open files. And I use a few of Windows Explorer windows at any time, because I am too lazy to browse through the folder again every time I need to open it, so I just leave it. But that become very cluster, and messy with so many windows opened. So I start thinking if there is any multi-tab Windows Explorer? We have some many multi-tab web browsers, Firefox, Safari, Opera and IE also before multi-tab after some many years lack of this function after FF or Safari or Opera already have multi-tab.

Forget about web browsers, and there is a multi-tab Windows Explorer, but as always, it is not from Microsoft. But luckily this multi-tab Windows Explorer is a free software! Yeah!

Explorer++ (yes, it is Explorer with 2 plus symbols behind) can be come with installation version or portable version. This is another plus point, no installation! I have tried many file explorers, like Total Commander (need to pay), or some other which I forgot the names, because I simply switch back to use Windows Explorer after a few days of trying these file explorers. So you can know these file explorers are as bad as original Windows Explorer. :P

Because I am too lazy to take snapshot of Explorer++, so I just take the screenshots from it's website, hehe. And I will do some intro to the features of Explorer++.

Firstly, the view, it can be just like the original Windows Explorer, nothing much. Of course you can customize to add in more column in detail view, again, same like original Windows Explorer.

Second, it can show folder size at detail view. Don't this feature available

Third, you can change the attribute of files, again, same like Windows Explorer, but you can change the modification/creation/accessed date of each file. To do that, select the file(s) and then click "File" and then "Set File Attributes".

Forth, it can bookmark the folder that you want to open regularly.

And best of all, it is multi-tab, if you click on any of the picture above, you can already see the multi-tab. So no more messy with more than 10 Windows Explorer, because all of them can be open in muti-tab of Explorer++.

Okay, to get it, you can either get it from portableaps.com which will install the portable version for you.
http://portableapps.com/apps/utilities/explorerplusplus_portable

Or just download the zip version and unzip the files on your own. 64bits version available here. :)
http://www.explorerplusplus.com/download

The website:
http://www.explorerplusplus.com/home

Have a nice Sunday and a nice week ahead. :)

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source: I wrote this, but pictures are from explorerplusplus website :P

p/s: submit your software/hardware/smartphone/tablet for review here, contact me at ahsiang888 at gmail.com. But be warned, I will write what ever is true if your stuffs really bad.

Print Large Image to Multiple pages in Windows

I never thought of Windows can do this, yes, just Windows, and its default programs. No third party software, no need freeware or paidware. Just Windows. Surprisingly!

Yesterday I wanted to print a map on more than one pages (so that I get a bigger picture), so I tried my favourite image viewer see if it works, but somehow it don't have that option, too bad. Of course I can fire up my freeware Photoshop equivalent software, which is GIMP, and start splitting up the image to a few pieces and then print one by one. But that would take more time right? So I go to Google and Google it as usual.

And I did find the solution and no new software need to be install, just like that I said in the beginning of this post. Here is how:

1. Open the image that you want to print with Paint (Start -> Accessories -> Paint). Or copy the image and paste it on Paint once you have open it.
2. Select "Print" -> "Page Setup" (Windows 7 and Vista), or "File" -> "Page Setup" (Windows XP).
3. At "Scaling", select "Fit to" and then change the setting to "2" by "2" page(s ).
4. Click OK.
5. Print the image from Paint, make sure you select to print "All Pages".

That's it, you then can collect the print out from printer and merge them (with scissors and glue, to trim down the white spaces and stick them) if you want to. Also you can play with the print margin to reduce the white spaces as much as possible.

Of course it might take a few times to get use to it on the setting on step 3 showed above, but there is way avoid wasting papers, what would be another day to write on that, if I ever remember to write it. :P

Should apply to Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.

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source: I wrote this!

How do I disable zip folders in Windows 7?

I have not being posting any tutorial for a long long time, in fact I forgot which one was it the last one. :P Anyway you still can find it here.

Okay back to today's topic, if you are using Windows 7 (any version), you do notice that the zip files (and cab files) are being listed as a folder in Windows Explorer. Although some find it useful, I find it very annoying, because it make the folders tree looks clustered, just simply annoying. So if you want to disable it, here is what you can do.



Note: back up your registry first.

Okay here we go (You can delete directly for Windows Vista and do a reboot without the steps below):
The following two (2) keys need to be deleted fromthe registry:
For zip files delete the regkey
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{E88DCCE0-B7B3-11d1-A9F0-00AA0060FA31}
For cab files delete
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{0CD7A5C0-9F37-11CE-AE65-08002B2E1262}

When you try to delete them, you will almost certainly get an "access denied" or "failed" type of message. Before you can delete them, you need to change the permissions/ownership of these two keys. Here is how to do it:

01 - open regedit from the RUN console

02 - navigate to the first key that needs to be deleted (HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{E88DCCE0- B7B3-11d1-A9F0-00AA0060FA31})

03 - right click on the key and select "Permissions"

04 - click on "Advanced"

05 - click on the "Ownership" tab

06 - in the "change owner to" section, highlight your username

07 - check the box for "replace owner on subcontainers and objects"

08 - click on "Apply"

09 - Click "OK"

10 - Under "Security" tab, highlight your username and check the box for "Allow Full Control" (located mid-menu in the "Permissions For Administrators" section)

11 - click "Apply" and "OK"

12 - you can now delete the registry key. MAKE SURE YOU ARE ON THE CORRECT KEY!

13 - repeat the process for the 2nd key.

14 - reboot (changes will NOT take effect until you reboot

15 - VOILA! NO MORE ZIP FOLDERS! woohoo!

16 - thanks to the original solvers of this problem, whomever they may be.



Have a nice week ahead!

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Source: social.technet.microsoft.com