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Today's Tips 07/25/2006
What Programs Are Installed On Your Windows XP
Computer?
Here's an easy way to get a list of all the Microsoft programs that are
installed on your computer:
1. Click Start | Help and Support.
2. In the left column of the Help and Support window, under Pick a Help
Topic, click Windows basics.
3. In the left pane, click to expand Core Windows tasks.
4. Click Searching for information.
5. In the right pane, under Pick a task, click Get information about
your computer.
In the right pane, under What do you want to do? , Click View a list of
Microsoft software installed on this computer.
The list can be copied and pasted into another document. It also
contains the Product ID numbers that you might find useful if you lose
them and have to reinstall a program.
Gary Chambers
Using The Recovery Console To Restore A System!
The XP recovery console can be a very useful utility when employed with
care. There are a variety of situations where having access to it can be
really handy. In fact, you need to get access to it before we go any
further.
1. Reboot from the Windows XP CD. Once you arrive at the welcome screen,
choose "R" for recovery.
2. You will be asked which Windows installation you wish to access.
Choose the appropriate number.
3. Now a prompt for your administrator password will appear. Enter it
and continue (if no password, press enter).
Now you are ready to roll up your sleeves and get to work. While at the
console, you can type help for a list of available commands that are at
your disposal. For example, you can repair a messed up boot sector by
typing FIXBOOT and then typing enter afterward. If you are having
difficulty booting up because of a messed up ntldr file, however, then
you might need to replace it by typing:
COPY E:\i386\NTLDR C:
(Keep in mind this is assuming that E: is the correct drive letter for
your CD ROM drive). Once you have repaired what you have needed to from
the recovery console, simply type EXIT at the prompt to leave and
restart Windows.
When all else fails, sometimes reinstalling is the best medicine.
Tomorrow, I will look at two very different methods to accomplish this
Gary Chambers
Disable The Log Off And Turn Off Computer
Buttons In XP!
Do you support users who, regardless of what you tell them, insist on
logging off or shutting down public computers in common areas? If so,
you'll be glad to know that you can disable the Log Off and Turn Off
Computer buttons on the Start menu.
Follow these steps:
I don't publish the actual hacks in my
newsletters! You can get this one at my
Customer Support Site!
This is a Free Site that I am combining several sites to. All that
you have to do is register if you haven't already!
At this point, both the Log Off and Turn Off Computer buttons are still
on the Start menu, so click the Log Off button and then log back on.
When you need to shut down the computer, launch the Registry Editor, and
change the values to 0.
Note: Editing the registry is risky, so be sure you have a verified
backup before making any changes.
Gary Chambers
Locate Duplicate Files With Dupfinder In
Windows 98!
It's sometimes necessary for an administrator to ensure that a system is
not retaining duplicate stores of data. Eliminating duplicates is good
housekeeping that is especially useful during a data migration or when
tracking down a system problem. One way to locate duplicate files is to
use the Windows 98 Resource Kit's DupFinder utility.
Like Explorer, DupFinder allows inline deletion and renaming of files.
You can print a duplicates report, or you can sort the results by
folder, name, size, and other criteria. If the duplicate files are
system files (for example, DLLs), DupFinder will also report the version
number of those files.
DupFinder will search only a single path at a time for duplicate files
(along with its subdirectories); however, one of the utility's most
useful features is its filter. For example, you can instruct DupFinder
to search only for .doc files, allowing the administrator to find, for
instance, every version of the company's handbook ever created or
revised.
Gary Chambers
Watch the newsletters this week for more on System Repair And
Restore Issues! |
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