Windows Tips & Tricks

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Windows Tips & Tricks

Browser Settings (Internet Explorer 6)

You can access the browser settings of Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 via the Tools menu and selecting Internet Options.

General Settings

The General tab and the Home page area allows you to set the home/start page of the browser, just type the address in the Address: field and press Apply. Alternatively you can press Use Current to use the page you currently have open in your browser as the home/start page, or press Use Default to use the default Microsoft MSN Bing search page as the home/start page or select Blank to use a blank/empty page as the home/start page of your browser.

The Temporary Internet files area allows you to delete all the cookies stored on your computer by selecting Delete Cookies. Cookies are files stored locally on your computer that stores information about your internet activity and computer/account properties, they allow web sites to provide you customization and advertisements, the web sites should have configured that they are deleted after the browser closes or after 24 hours, but nowadays most cookies stay on the computer forever, so it’s a good idea to delete them once in a while.

Another type of files that are also stored locally on your computer while you browse the internet are all the files that make up the web sites you view, that is the web pages (HTML files), the images, flash animations, audio, video and other files. These files can use up large amounts of disk space over time and cause your disk to be fragmented and result in a slower system, so you are especially encouraged to delete the temporary internet files once in a while by selecting Delete Files and checking off the Delete all offline content option.

A third kind of files stored on your computer while browsing the internet are history files, these files provide a history over which web sites you have visited and at what time. The default time the files are stored are 20 days, which means that all history is saved for 20 days, and after that new files overwrite the oldest files, these files are usually not large, but to avoid a fragmented disk, you are encouraged to either limit the number of days to keep history files, or to once in a while the delete the files by selecting Clear History.

Privacy Settings

The Privacy tab allows you to manage how strict the browser should handle cookies and pop-ups. By default Internet Explorer 6 will have a Medium security level regarding cookies, but this can easily be changed by sliding the bar, be aware that nowadays almost all web sites rely on cookies for customization and advertisements, so they will not work if you block all cookies or set the security level too high.

The default security level for blocking of pop-ups is Medium: Block most automatic pop-ups. Sometimes when you open a web site it automatically opens a new welcome page, or other web sites make new pages open that have advertisements, these new pages that open outside of the existing page are called pop-ups. Normally web designers should design their web sites to not have pop-ups, but some still use them, this is what happens when you get that yellow bar at the bottom of the browser sometimes telling you that a pop-up was blocked, and allows you to manually accept to open the pop-up if you trust the web site you are visting. The default setting should work fine for most people, but like everything else, this can be changed to fit your needs.

Restore Default Browser Settings

Sometimes, or if you are like me, most of the times you have changed and played around with the settings so much that you cannot remember which settings you want to use or which settings were just for testing. To solve this you need to restore the default browser settings, and to fully restore the default browser settings, you first select Default Level in the Security tab, then Reset Web Settings in the Programs tab and finally select Restore Defaults in the Advanced Tab.

Restore Toolbars

If you are so unlucky that you loose one or more of your browser toolbars, you can easily restore them. Just select the View menu and check off any missing toolbars to get them back.

Browser Settings (Internet Explorer 7)

You can access the browser settings of Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 via the Tools menu and selecting Internet Options.

General Settings

The General tab and the Home page area allows you to set the home/start page of the browser, just type the address in the Address: field and press Apply. Alternatively you can press Use Current to use the page you currently have open in your browser as the home/start page, or press Use Default to use the default Microsoft MSN Bing search page as the home/start page or select Blank to use a blank/empty page as the home/start page of your browser.

The Browsing history area allows you to delete all the cookies, history and temporary internet files stored on your computer by selecting Delete. This brings up a new settings window that allows you delete temporary internet files by selecting Delete files..., cookies by selecting Delete cookies... and history files by selecting Delete history.... New as of Internet Explorer 7 is that you can delete all the saved information you have typed in to forms, like your personal details such as your bank account number, home address, telephone number, e-mail address and much more by selecting Delete forms.... You can also delete all the username and passwords you have entered when logging into web sites. Allthough it’s handy to save this, and it makes it much easier to login to different sites, is a huge security threat and you should avoid saving passwords. Anyways, you always have the option of once in a while deleting the saved passwords manually by selecting Delete passwords.... Instead of having to click on each button above, you can delete all locally stored browsing files by selecting Delete all....

The default setting of Internet Explorer 7 is to open a blank page when opening a new tab in the browser, I prefer that it automatically opens my home page, if you want to change this behavior, click on Settings in the Tabs area which opens a new Tabbed Browsing Settings window. Here you can change the default behavior by checking off the Open home page for new tabs instead of a blank page option.

Privacy Settings

The Privacy tab allows you to manage how strict the browser should handle cookies and pop-ups. By default Internet Explorer 7 will have a Medium security level regarding cookies, but this can easily be changed by sliding the bar.

The default security level for blocking of pop-ups is Medium: Block most automatic pop-ups.

Restore Default Browser Settings

To fully restore the default browser settings, you first select Default Level in the Security tab, and Default in the Privacy tab, then Restore advanced settings in the Advanced tab and finally select Reset also in the Advanced Tab.

Restore Toolbars

First you need to press one time on the ALT key on your keyboard, it’s located at the bottom left corner next to the CTRL and the WINDOWS keys. Pressing the ALT key is a trick in modern Windows (Vista and Windows 7) to get the old-fashioned File Menu back, this works in any Windows window, including the Windows Explorer. Now, when you have the File Menu you can easily select the View menu and check off any missing toolbars to get them back.

Browser Settings (Internet Explorer 8)

You can access the browser settings of Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 via the Tools menu and selecting Internet Options.

General Settings

The General tab and the Home page area allows you to set the home/start page of the browser, just type the address in the Address: field and press Apply. Alternatively you can press Use Current to use the page you currently have open in your browser as the home/start page, or press Use Default to use the default Microsoft MSN Bing search page as the home/start page or select Blank to use a blank/empty page as the home/start page of your browser.

The Browsing history area allows you to delete all the cookies, history and temporary internet files stored on your computer by selecting Delete. This brings up a new settings window that allows you delete temporary internet files by selecting Temporary Internet files, cookies by selecting Cookies and history files by selecting History. To delete all the saved information you have typed in to forms, you can select Form data. You can also delete all the username and passwords you have entered when logging into web sites by selecting Passwords. To start deleting the above selected options, select Delete.

The default setting of Internet Explorer 8 is to open a blank page when opening a new tab in the browser, I prefer that it automatically opens my home page, if you want to change this behavior, click on Settings in the Tabs area which opens a new Tabbed Browsing Settings window. Here you can change the default behavior by selecting one of the oprions in the When a new tab is opened, open: drop-down menu.

Privacy Settings

The Privacy tab allows you to manage how strict the browser should handle cookies and pop-ups. By default Internet Explorer 8 will have a Medium security level regarding cookies, but this can easily be changed by sliding the bar.

The default security level for blocking of pop-ups is Medium: Block most automatic pop-ups.

Restore Default Browser Settings

Restore Toolbars

First you need to press one time on the ALT key on your keyboard. Now, when you have the File Menu you can easily select the View menu and check off any missing toolbars to get them back.

Browser Settings (Internet Explorer 9)

You can access the browser settings of Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 via the Settings icon and selecting Internet Options.

General Settings

The General tab and the Home page area allows you to set the home/start page of the browser, just type the address in the Address: field and press Apply. Alternatively you can press Use Current to use the page you currently have open in your browser as the home/start page, or press Use Default to use the default Microsoft MSN Bing search page as the home/start page or select Blank to use a blank/empty page as the home/start page of your browser.

The Browsing history area allows you to delete all the cookies, history and temporary internet files stored on your computer by selecting Delete. This brings up a new settings window that allows you delete temporary internet files by selecting Temporary Internet files, cookies by selecting Cookies and history files by selecting History. To delete all the saved information you have typed in to forms, you can select Form data. You can also delete all the username and passwords you have entered when logging into web sites by selecting Passwords. To start deleting the above selected options, select Delete.

The default setting of Internet Explorer 9 is to open a blank page when opening a new tab in the browser, if you want to change this behavior, click on Settings in the Tabs area which opens a new Tabbed Browsing Settings window. Here you can change the default behavior by selecting one of the oprions in the When a new tab is opened, open: drop-down menu.

Privacy Settings

The Privacy tab allows you to manage how strict the browser should handle cookies and pop-ups. By default Internet Explorer 9 will have a Medium security level regarding cookies, but this can easily be changed by sliding the bar.

The default security level for blocking of pop-ups is Medium: Block most automatic pop-ups.

Restore Default Browser Settings

Restore Toolbars

First you need to press one time on the ALT key on your keyboard. Now, when you have the File Menu you can easily select the View menu and check off any missing toolbars to get them back.

Desktop Settings (Windows XP)

Have you every started your Windows machine, and found that you are missing som desktop icons that you know your friends or colleagues have on their desktops. Or maybe you want to enable or disable screen savers, manage when the monitor turns off after being idle, increase or decrease the resolution or even make the icons and text bigger so it’s easier to see and read. All these settings can be found in Windows Display Properties, you can access the Display Properties by right-clicking any blank/empty area on your desktop background and selecting Properties.

Themes

The Themes tab allows you to select one of the pre-defined Windows themes, or a custom team that you have created and saved. A Windows Theme is basically the combination of the desktop background, different text sizes and colors, window sizes and colors etc, basically all the settings that manage how your Windows operating system looks and feels.

Desktop

The Desktop tab allows you to select an image for your desktop background, or you can choose None for the background image and select a background color instead.

If you click on Customize Desktop you will have the option of selecting which default Windows desktop icons should be displayed, these icons include the My Computer, My Documents and My Network Places. If your desktop is full of shortcuts and icons that fill up the entire screen, you can activate the Desktop Cleanup Wizard to run every two months, or manually run it one time to move the shortcuts you rarely use to a folder called Unused Desktop Shortcuts.

Screen Saver

The Screen Saver tab lets you disable all screen savers or enable one of the installed Windows screen savers, you can also change the screen saver settings and preview how it will look once enabled and active.

You can click on Power to tell Windows to save electricity usage and power off the monitor after a certain time of being idle.

Appearance

The Appearance tab allows you to further customize the Windows Theme by selecting how the text, icons and windows will look and feel.

Settings

Finally the Settings tab lets you increase or decrease the screen resolution by dragging the slider, and you can also change the color quality which defines the maximum amount of unique color combinations the monitor can display.

If you click on Advanced you can increase the DPI (Dots Per Inch) which will make the icons and text appear much larger on the screen. This is quite useful not only for those with a limited eyesight, but also when you use your livingroom TV as a computer monitor, and you need to see the icons or read the text from a distance.

Desktop Settings (Windows Vista)

You can access the Display Properties in Windows Vista by right-clicking any blank/empty area on your desktop background and selecting Personalize.

Theme

The Theme option allows you to select one of the pre-defined Windows themes, or a custom team that you have created and saved.

Desktop Background

The Desktop Background option allows you to select an image for your desktop background, or you can choose Solid Colors for the background image and select a background color instead.

Change Desktop icons

The Change Desktop icons option provides the option of selecting which default Windows desktop icons should be displayed, these icons include the Computer, User’s Files, Network, Recycle Bin and Control Panel.

Screen Saver

The Screen Saver option lets you disable all screen savers or enable one of the installed Windows screen savers, you can also change the screen saver settings and preview how it will look once enabled and active.

You can click on Change power settings... to tell Windows to save electricity usage and power off the monitor after a certain time of being idle.

Window Color and Appearance

The Window Color and Appearance option allows you to further customize the Windows Theme by selecting how the text, icons and windows will look and feel.

Display Settings

The Display Settings option lets you increase or decrease the screen resolution by dragging the slider, and you can also change the color quality which defines the maximum amount of unique color combinations the monitor can display.

Adjust font size (DPI)

If you click on Adjust font size (DPI) you can increase the DPI (Dots Per Inch) which will make the icons and text appear much larger on the screen. This is quite useful not only for those with a limited eyesight, but also when you use your livingroom TV as a computer monitor, and you need to see the icons or read the text from a distance.

Desktop Settings (Windows 7)

You can access the Display Properties in Windows 7 by right-clicking any blank/empty area on your desktop background and selecting Personalize.

Themes

The first menu screen allows you to select one of the pre-defined Windows themes, or a custom team that you have created and saved.

Desktop Background

The Desktop Background option allows you to select an image for your desktop background, or you can choose Solid Colors for the background image and select a background color instead.

Change Desktop icons

Screen Saver

Window Color

The Window Color option allows you to further customize the Windows Theme by selecting how the text, icons and windows will look and feel.

Screen Resolution

To increase or decrease the screen resolution you need to first right-click any blank/empty area on the desktop background and select Screen Resolution.

Here you can also change the color quality which defines the maximum amount of unique color combinations the monitor can display.

Adjust font size (DPI)

In the Screen Resolution menu screen you can click on Set custom text size (DPI) to increase the DPI (Dots Per Inch) which will make the icons and text appear much larger on the screen.

Microsoft System Configuration (msconfig.exe)

After using your computer for a while, and having installed numerous applications on it, you way notice that it's getting slower and slower. The reason is that many of these applications not only install and wait idly by for you to start them, but they automatically start various services when your system starts and these services use your system resources such as processor, memory and disk drive. The services run in the background and have various purposes:

1) Some work as "caching" and "indexing" services to make the application work faster when you use it by indexing and caching the files on your disk drives.

2) Others work as licensing managers and periodically communicate with the vendor of the application to make sure the software you are running is a legitimate copy and that the license has not expired.

3) And the rest work as ad- and spyware, and keeps track of what, when and how you use your computer.

For services in group 1) you must decide if you use the applications often enough that running "caching" and "indexing" services is worthwhile, popular applications that use these are Microsoft Office, Adobe and Google products.

Many and/or most of the services in group 2) are required to have your applications work, examples are Adobe products, if you have disabled the Adobe (Flexnet) license manager you will get an error when starting your Adobe products, so make sure to have these enabled. Another example is Anti-Virus software.

Services in group 3) are the ones you really should disable, but they are more difficult to identify. My advice when the computer is running really slowly is to disable everything, and then enable one and service until you find the service that causes the system to be perform slowly and disable that one.

The Microsoft System Configuration utility is also a very valuable tool for troubleshooting you computer, you can disable all non-Microsoft services and startup services and restart your computer. And if the initial problem disappears, and then re-appears when you enable everything back, then you can easily conclude that you have a software problem, but if the problem persists, it can be a hardware problem, a corrupted operating system or a driver problem.

To start the Microsoft System Configuration utility, also known as MS Config, you can run any of the below commands from a command line prompt, or from the RUN or SEARCH field of the Windows START menu.

            		msconfig

            		msconfig.exe

            		C:\Windows\System32\msconfig.exe

Services

The Services tab will initially display a list of all services on your computer, but we are not interested in Microsoft’s system services that are part of the Operating System and that we need. So start by checking off the Hide all Microsoft services which will do as the name implies, hide all the Microsoft services.

Now that you have a list of non-Microsoft services, you can disable all of them by clicking on Disable all, and then enable one and one service by checking the service off using the checkbox on the left side of each service.

Startup

The Startup lists all services and applications that automatically start when Windows starts, all services listed here are not required for Windows to work, this list will initially be empty after a clean Windows installation, and keep growing as you install new applications. As with the Services tab, can disable all the services listed, and enable one and one as you require them. Important services that are required are license managers (Flexnet for Adobe products) and Anti-Virus software like ClamWin, AVG, Avira, McAfee, Norton etc.