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Troubleshooting Overview
General Help General Tools System Tools Software Troubleshooting Hardware Troubleshooting Hardware Tools Backup Software Backup Hardware Useful Tips Registry Hack Computer Magazines
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TechEncyclopedia - Define a computer term.
It gives you basic ideas what Windows XP can do.
It gives you basic ideas what Windows 2000 can do.
Upgrade Windows XP Advice, Known Issues, and Answers
Read this Microsoft article before upgrade your Windows to XP.
Windows NT/2000/XP Desktop Environment FAQ
John Savill's FAQ for Windows provides you lot of tips to the NT/2000/XP desktop environment.
Windows XP Professional How-to Articles
It walks you through the fundamentals of the Windows XP Professional operating system.
Windows 2000 Step-by-Step Guides
It walks you through the fundamentals of the Windows 2000 operating system, Infrastructure, Active Directory, Clustering, Communications & Networking, File & Print Services, Management Services and Security Services
Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows Windows FAQs
An excellent super site for existing or upcoming Windows products including Longhorn. (review & preview).
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How to Exit Windows 98-Me Automatically Using a Batch File
Check this
"10 Things to Do With Old PCs" before tossing your old PCs.
To avoid getting virus from email, you could use mail checker software to check email and preview in text format before it hits you email client.
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Windows XP and Windows 2000 Start menus to display items in alphabetical order
Move to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\MenuOrder
Delete the MenuOrder key
Grouping of similar taskbar buttons in Windows XP
Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced.
Double-click TaskbarGlomming (or create this DWORD value if it doesn't already exist).
Set this value to 1 to enable or 0 to disable.
Remove the Favorites branch of the Start menu
Move to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
From the Edit menu select New - DWORD value
Enter a name of NoFavoritesMenu and press Enter
Double click the new value and set to 1.
Add a Copy to Folder option to the Windows Explorer's context menu
Move to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers
From the Edit menu select New - Key
Enter a name of 'Copy To' (don't type the quotes) and press Enter
Move to the 'Copy To' :-) key and double click on the (Default) value
Set to {C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}.
Remove an item from the Windows Explorer's New context menu
Move to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.<extension>, e.g.HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.obd
Delete or rename the ShellNew key. It may not always be at the root of the key, for example to disable .obd I had to goto HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.obd\Office.Binder.9\ShellNew.
Remove a program from the Open With when right clicking
Search for the name of the exe you want to remove from the "Open With" menu
If a match is found, and its root is HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/xxx_auto_file then delete the tree HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/xxx_auto_file
Add an item to the Windows Explorer's Right Click menu
Expand the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT by clicking the plus sign
Scroll down and expand the Unknown subkey
Click on the Shell key and right click on it.
Select New from the pop-up menu and choose Key.
Enter the name you want to be displayed, e.g. the name of the application. Click Enter
Right click on the new subkey and click New. Again select Key and enter the name "Command" and click Enter
Click on the newly created Command and double click on "(Default)"
Enter the path and name of the executable with %1, i.e. c:\program files\savedit\savedit.exe %1
Clear the Run history
Move to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\RunMRU
Select the entry you wish to remove,
Press the Del key (or select Edit - Delete) and click Yes to the confirmation
Double click the MRUList value and remove the letter you just deleted.
Clear the auto start program
Move to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
Select the entry you wish to remove,
Press the Del key (or select Edit - Delete) and click Yes to the confirmation
Get rid of the arrow over the shortcuts
Move to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\lnkfile
Select IsShortcut and select Delete from the Edit menu
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Windows & .NET Magazine
Website
Free Windows & .NET Magazine - No. 1 Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 Magazine.
PC World is the best source of information on how to select, buy, and use computer products and services for home and business. It's packed with award-winning articles, monthly Top 100 PC and product rankings, evaluations and ratings from the PC World Test Center, tips, how-tos, consumer advice, step-by-step guides, and more. (Amazon)
This magazine is designed for buyers of PC software, peripherals and
accessories. It is written to provide the information needed to identify brands
of PC related products and help make those products more useful in business. Its
features include extensive product reviews based on tests, productivity
enhancement departments and opinion/analysis columns. (Amazon)
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Let you select all the downloads for Microsoft products.
It provides a comprehensive catalog of Windows operating systems updates and device driver that can be distributed over a corporate network. For general user, please use Windows Update.
Not everyone want the newest software. Even the most up-to-dated software may not better than it's previous version.
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Startup problem
It could be caused by software installation or hardware upgraded. You should prevent this from not installing bundle of software/hardware at a time. Make clear of compatible list before you install. Always remember you press the Reset button on your PC, you are damaging file system on your hard drive, it may destroy all your files. It is only the very last method to reboot.
Resources for Troubleshooting Startup Problems in Windows XP
Troubleshoot Startup Problems in Windows 2000
Windows 2000 Registry Repair Utility repair registry corruption that prevent from booting up *NEW*
How to Recover from a Corrupted Registry That Prevents Windows XP from Starting
Damaged registry is one of the key reason causing Windows could not boot up.Windows XP Does Not Start on a Computer That Is Configured for Dual Booting
If you install an older Windows after newer Windows, you will make newer Windows unbootable.Creating a Boot Disk for an NTFS or FAT Partition
DLL Problems
DLL Help exists to assist developers, system administrators, and other IT professionals who face file version conflicts with Microsoft software. Use DLL Help to identify which software installed a specific version of a DLL.
WebAttack shows you the DLL files you could be missing when install a software and a list of common DLL files.
Here you will find the most common files that may be missing or corrupted on your computer.
A more complete list of dll, drv, ocx files and explanations.
Similar with DLL Help Database above but it is for Windows 98 only.
Windows Protection Error
How to Troubleshoot Windows Protection Error Messages
General Protection Faults
Causes of General Protection Faults and Troubleshooting Tips
Microsoft Online Crash Analysis (Windows XP)
When you upload your error report, you can check the status of the analysis' result.
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Vendor Support Website
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Windows Hardware Compatibility List (For Windows 2000)
Well-organized Windows driver by type and company.
Find device drivers by type with search & message board feature.
WinShareware.com- Hardware Drivers
Provide you the company, phone and email support of the manufacturers.
My Drivers enables easy and fast detection, backup and restore of all hardware device drivers currently on your system. Also, you can even find the latest drivers for your hardware and install them onto your computer. With just one or two mouse button clicks, you will have all your hardware devices extracted and backed-up to any folder you want. When you reinstall or upgrade your system, you can restore all drivers by clicking a button. Once after a reboot, all the drivers will be re-installed. Screenshot
Explanation of Error Codes Generated by Device Manager
If you failed to install any devices, check the error code generated by Device Manager.
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Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP
Free Windows 2000 Resource Kit software tools
Downloads for Microsoft data access technologies, including ADO.NET, Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) and the Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE 2000)
PC Power Scan offers a FREE computer health check tool available for unlimited use and a paid premium error fixing service. It checks hidden files potential long-term damage to your PC from corrupt and redundant files, exposes harmful files lurking on your PC, instantly fixes these "time bomb" files and keeps your PC error free.
- As seen on EarthLink, Yahoo, Google, Lycos, Canada.com .....
Keep your PC running faster, cleaner, and error-free, and now even speed-up your internet connection with System Mechanic's full suite of 15 powerful tools! This set of easy to use, but non-intrusive tools will allow you to find and fix problems with your system, ensure reliability and speed, as well as properly maintain your PC so that problems don't occur. The tools included are as follows:
- Speed up your Internet and network connection by up to 300%
- Clean and optimize your system registry
- NEW! Tweak and customize almost 100 undocumented settings in Windows
- NEW! Consolidate critical system maintenance into one easy step with new
Maintenance Wizard
- Hunt down and remove junk and obsolete files and drivers
- Maintain privacy and security by eliminating tracks left behind while using
your computer or surfing the web. Properly and securely remove such items as
browser cache, cookies, and other history files.
- Find, fix, or remove broken Windows shortcuts
- Find and remove invalid uninstaller information
- Find and remove duplicate files and drivers
- Securely delete files and folders
- Manage the programs that start when Windows does
- Track and report on changes made to your system when installing programs
- Schedule system maintenance to take place unattended
- Log statistical information and quantify benefits of all above tools
- NEW! Automatically keep System Mechanic up-to-date with its self-healing
WebUpdate feature
- CNet Editor's Choice Award
- ZDNet Editor's Pick
- WebAttack Editor's Choice Award
- WUGNET Shareware of the Hall
PCs need maintenance and repair. Running PC utilities on your computer is the equivalent of taking your car in for a tune-up. Fix-It Utilities 5 optimizes system performance, finds and prevents problems before they occur, and provides easy, schedulable maintenance to keep your PC in top shape. With Fix-It Utilities, it's a smooth ride down the information super highway.
- "Fix-It
Utilities™ blows away the competition." - PC Magazine Online
- "All I can say is that I've never been so impressed with a product…absolutely
never." - WUGNET
- "[VCOM] has done things that make its tools easier to use and faster than
those of Norton...". -- MSN Computing Central
- "...Fix-It's low-impact approach to system maintenance pays off in spades...a
maintenance package that won't slow you down." -- PC Computing.
- "If you were to choose only one product, I recommend Fix-It. You get more
functionality for less money...[Fix-It is] the better value." -- MSN Computing
Central.
Super Utilities is a collection of tools to fix, speed up, maintain and
protect your PC! Super Utilities is integrated suite of programs can get your
system running at peak performance levels in few minutes.
Feature highlights:
+ Link: Support
System LifeGuard is designed to protect your data and ensure your computer or LAN - runs like the day it was new. Every time you use the internet or run programs on your computer - unwanted files and procedures are stored on your hard-disc. Regular computer use accumulates old material that begins to slow down the operation of your hardware and software. So just like your car needs a regular service to keep it running smoothly - your computer needs System LifeGuard to wash away technical clutter - maintain peak operating efficiency - and protect your vital data from loss. With its extensive help files and wizard driven interface - System LifeGuard - will speed up your computer with a few clicks of the mouse. Its many easy-to-use features will help you: find and delete junk and duplicate files; organize your data; clean your registry; fully uninstall unwanted programs; empty temporary folders; find and remove invalid links and protect your internet privacy. You will be able to split large files into manageable sections - and then reassemble them. By compressing vital data and backing it up onto a remote server, using the FTP Manager, you can protect your intellectual property from loss. System LifeGuard can be scheduled to completely organize the layout of your personal and business files. It can be set to regularly tune the performance of your computer and will create reports of all activity for your records.
- The Software Corner Review 9.75/10
Free Personal PC Audit. One of the best tool to build a very detail profile software and hardware in your PC, including Microsoft Hotfixes, and displays the results in your Web browser.
HijackThis has been used in many PC Support Forum to examines key areas of the Registry and Hard Drive and lists their contents. It lists what applications are currently running and/or in the startup list.
+ Link: HiJackThis Log Tutorial
Remote Desktop Connection Software for Windows 9x, Me, NT & 2000
It is the client version of Remote Connection Software in XP for previous version of Windows to connect to Windows XP.
Karen, former author of Windows Magazine, writes a lot of free system utilities in her websites.
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The Hard Drive Mechanic is a crash recovery utility for PCs that will not boot up, with invalid drive specification error, virus damaged file system, invalid media error, and formatted hard drive. The Mechanic creates rescue disks that reverse any action performed without have to be installed. It is one of the easiest tools to recovery your hard drive by point and click and step by step instructions. The Mechanic works with Windows Versions: DOS,3.x, 95, 98, NT, Me, 2000, XP and 2000 NTFS.
- Accolades from PC World, Smart Computing, Entrepreneur.com
HDD Regenerator is unique software program for regeneration of hard disk drives. The program eliminates physical damages (bad sectors) of hard disk drive surface. It does not hide bad sectors, it really restores them! Almost 60 % of all damaged by bad sectors hard drives have incorrectly magnetized disk surface. Our researches have been fruitful and we have found algorithm which is special sequence of high and low level signals....
+ Link: Download
NTFS Reader for DOS is a freeware utility provides read access to NTFS drives from the MS DOS environment. in Windows 3.1/95/98. It supports long filenames, non-English filenames, compressed and fragmented files, and supports partitions created in MS-DOS, Windows XP/2000/NT/ME/98/95. NTFS Reader for DOS allows you to preview the files on NTFS and copy them from NTFS to FAT volumes or network drives.
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Don't wait until you lost you data. Always have a good backup plan to backup your important data. New backup software can run faster and automated backup.
LIUtilities WinBackup makes it easier than ever before to secure your data by making regular backups. Not only will WinBackup help you organize your backups and schedule automatic backups, it will also protect your data using the latest encryption techniques, compress data to save space, create detailed logs of all backup operations and more. WinBackup also features one of the most intuitive user interfaces you have ever seen, making even the most advanced features easily accessible to beginners and professionals alike. Screenshot
- CNet Editor's Choice Award
- As seen in PC World 2003
Handy Backup is an easy-to-use yet powerful backup program designed for Windows 9x/NT/2000/Me/XP. It makes an automatic backup of your critical data virtually to any type of storage media: hard or network drive, CD-R/W, FTP or LAN. Special plugins are provided to facilitate the backup of ICQ and MS Outlook data. Strong file encryption and multichoice zip compression on the fly as well as many other useful features will protect your valuable data.
- As featured in CNN Headline News, PC World Magazine, Smart Computing
Magazine
- Backup Software Reviews Highly Recommended
- VNUnet.com VNUnet Choice
+ Link: Support
Genie Backup Manager is a many-in-one powerful backup solution that backs up
your important data, emails, programs and settings to virtually any storage
device, with spanning, scheduling, compression and security options..
You can protect all your data including files and folders, e-mail data and
settings of some of the most commonly used clients (Outlook Express, Microsoft
Outlook, Eudora, MSN 8), Windows settings, Registry, Internet Explorer settings,
Fonts, Favorites, Windows Address Book.....
- Backup Software Reviews Outstanding Backup Software
- TUCOWS 5 Cows Rating
- WebAttack Editor's Choice Award
- SoftLandMark Editor's Choice Award
- SofoTex 5 Stars Rating
- FileHeaven 5 Stars Rating
.....
+ Link: Support
Xdrive let you access, backup, and archive files on the Internet through an easy-to-use interface using basic plan 500MB to platinum plan 5GB. Xdrive offers you two access options, the Xdrive Web Interface and the Xdrive Desktop Software. The sophisticated Web Interface allows you to access your Xdrive anytime, anywhere through your web browser. The Xdrive Desktop let you access Xdrive from your Windows PC just like one of your local drives.
+ Link: Xdrive FREE TRIAL
- As featured in CNN, Forbes.com, The New York Times, USA Today, Information
Week
- PC Magazine Editor's Choice Award
- PC Magazine Utilities Guide Editor's Choice Award
- CNet Editor's Choice Award
- ZDNet Smart Business
MS Backup Password Recovery recovers passwords to all versions of MS Backup .qic files. Screenshot
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Last modified: August 08, 2006
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