Windows Tools, Help & Guides

It’s no secret — I really don’t like gadgets on my desktop; however, I frequently see people using them. So, I thought I’d give some  a try (I tried at least 100) and here are the 10 most useful gadgets I found.

Have any gadgets you can’t live without? Let us know about them in the comments.

Here’s a list I put together for Windows Vista

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Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is becoming a good alternative for those who prefer to have a free security solution.

How to get the Latest MSE Definitions

If your system cannot connect to the internet, due to a virus infection, this is your only way to be updated.  If you are experiencing problems updating your antivirus you can use this method.

The following links download the utilities, different for 32 and 64 bit operating systems,  that install the latest definitions:

Definition updates for Microsoft Security Essentials on computers running x64- based versions of Windows

Definition updates for Microsoft Security Essentials on computers running x32- based versions of Windows

Hint: Am I running Windows 32 or 64-bit?

When installing on Windows 7 and Vista you need to run as administrator. Right click mpam-fe.exe, click Run as administrator, and then click Run.

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Windows 7 comes with a lot of new features. But, even as the new ones always sound more interesting, we cannot forget that the operating system has more to offer.

This post is about an older utility. Windows has been shipped with this program since Windows 1.

Maybe, you haven’t use it a lot, and I am sure you have been looking for an electronic calculator sometimes even with your computer on, but, why not take a close look to the new Windows 7 Calculator?

Looking for more uses for Windows 7’s new calculator?

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Back in windows XP setting folder options was always easy to find no matter which folder you were viewing or using. From the menu bar on top of each window you could find it in the View tab.

In Windows 7 that menu-bar isn’t there anymore (at least not appearing as default). A search on google will mostly tell you that you have to access the folder options through the Control Panel.

There is in fact a faster and simpler way…

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You may have experienced that from time to time your Wireless Connection just stops working or you get disconnected. Usually this is fixed by right-Clicking the WLan icon in the Tray and choose Troubleshoot.

What this does amongst other things is to reset your wireless connection using the ipconfig release and renew feature. And usually it will do the trick.

But if this is a reoccurring problem that means something else is wrong.

Your TCP/IP protocol might be corrupted and needs resetting. This is for some reason something you need to do yourself and (as far as I know) not being done by the Troubleshooter. Read the rest of this entry »

New to using the command prompt? Check out the Windows Command Prompt Beginner’s Guide

The internet changes very quickly; for that reason, stepping back to the basics is very important. As you may know, the internet is no more than a collection of interconnected networks.

In this post I will show a list of basic network commands. Even if you haven’t used any of these before, it is useful to know they exist. As always, increasing your knowledge is the better way to achieve your goals.

To run these commands, open a command prompt:

1. Click Start and then click Run (or Winkey+R.)
2. Type cmd and press Enter.

arp -a

This tool handles the resolution of a IP to a physical address. The command gives a list of IPs and physical addresses on your local network.

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