Windows Tools, Help & Guides

Being a geek (Yes I admit), I like to have full control over my computer. I want to know what is running, when it does and why it behaves like that ? I also like to know what (if any) did that program i just installed want to run at startup. And especially since my kids  – without any concern – download and install games, movies and whatnot on my computer (even tho they have their own)  – I really like to know what is booting, and what is slowing me down at present.

If you’re a bit like me – then good news – here is the tool for us: AutoRuns.

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A small annoyance in Windows 7 is the fact that it doesn’t remove old notification icons from the taskbar. After a while a lot of old icons will still be present with no obvious way to remove them.  This is easily remedied and this guide will show you how to do it, manually.

[UPDATE]-For those wishing for an automated solution, see here.

This guide does involve editing the registry, please see here before proceeding.

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A system image can be used to restore your machine to a defined state.  If you find yourself reinstalling Windows quite often and have to reinstall the same old software each time, this can certainly take the sting out of it.  Respectively, if you have terrible troubles with Windows, a system image can be used to roll back to a good state when nothing else will work for you.

A system Image is a clone of your hard drive, meaning everything will be backed up for later restoration, during which, items cannot be individually specified.  You cannot backup the partition or drive that you are saving the backup image to, and you can only save the backup image on a hard drive or partition that Windows 7 is not installed on.

Unfortunately only Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions have this feature.  For any other flavour, it’s best to check out 3rd party alternatives.

This guide will walk you through creating a System Image in Windows 7.

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In this guest post, James Ricketts explores using computer error codes to solve PC problems. Learn more about James at the conclusion of this post.

One of the most common complaints of computer users across the world is that they find computer error messages to be complicated and hard to understand. This is partly true as most computer error messages do not clearly spell out cause of error and its possible solution. However, certain error messages do leave certain clues in the form of error codes, which not only computer experts, but any common user can use in order to solve PC problems.

These error codes may look like a random collection of numbers and letters, but they are your best bet in solving the error yourself. This article shows you how to effectively use computer error codes to solve your PC problems.

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I recently had an issue trying to install Office 2010. To get it fixed, a system restore seemed like the proper action to take. The purpose of System Restore is to return your computer to a previous state under which it was operating as it should. This guide will walk you through restoring your system to a previous ‘good state’.

Before we start though, make sure you save any work and close all programs.

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With Google launching their new DNS Server not long ago, aptly named; Google Public DNS, I’ve been playing around with my DNS server to see which is the quickest!

This guide will show you how to change your DNS server and verify the settings in Windows 7.

See here to test your DNS server.

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