Check out the secret Windows tips and tricks. Here are Microsoft Windows secret tips and tricks that very few know:

Secret – Hidden Command Line Switch

Instructions – Go to “Start”, “Run” and Type defrag c: -b to defragment the Boot and Application Prefetch information.

Secret – Hidden Install Creator
Instructions – Go to Start, Run, type iexpress

Secret – Hidden Internet Conference Application
Instructions – Go to Start, Run, type conf

Secret – Create a Log File
Instructions – Launch Notepad, Type .LOG on the first line, and then press Enter to move to the next line. On the File menu, click Save As, type a descriptive name for your file in the File name box, and then click OK. When you next open the file, note that the date and time have been appended to the end of the log, immediately preceding the place where new text can be added. You can use this functionality to automatically add the current date and time to each log entry.

Secret – Image Trails
Instructions – Open an image and hold down Shift then drag the image around to create an image trail.

Secret – 10x Zoom
Instructions – Open an image and select the magnifying glass icon. Left-Click exactly on the line below the 8x.

Secret – Hidden Font Editor
Instructions – Go to Start, Run, type eudcedit

Secret – Hidden Windows Media Player
Instructions – Go to Start, Run, type mplayer2

Secret – Instant Win
Instructions – Hold down Ctrl + Shift + F10 during game play. Then you will be asked if you want to Abort, Retry or Ignore. Choose Abort, then move any card to instantly win.

Secret – Hidden Game Modes
Instructions – In the “Game” menu choose “Select Game”. Enter -1 or -2 to activate the hidden game modes.

Hearts

Secret – Show All Cards
Instructions – Edit this registry key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Hearts and create a new String value named ZB with a Data value of 42. Start Hearts and Press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + F12 to show all the cards.

Minesweeper

Secret – Reveal Mines
Instructions – Minimize or close all running applications. Launch Minesweeper, then type xyzzy. Next hold down either shift key for one second. Now when you move the mouse cursor over a Minesweeper square you will see a tiny white pixel in the top left corner of your desktop screen. This pixel will change to black when your mouse moves over a mine. You may need to change you desktop background to a solid color other then white or black to see the pixel.

Secret – Stop Timer
Instructions – Launch Minesweeper and start a game so the timer starts counting, then press the Windows Key + D to show the desktop. Now when you select minesweeper from the taskbar you can continue playing with the timer stopped.

Pinball

Secret – Extra Balls
Instructions – Type 1max at the start of a new ball to get extra balls.

Secret – Gravity Well
Instructions – Type gmax at the start of a new game to activate the Gravity Well.

Secret – Instant Promotion
Instructions – Type rmax at the start of a new game to go up in ranks.

Secret – Skill Shot
Instructions – Launch the ball partially up the chute past the third yellow light bar so it falls back down to get 75,000 points. There are six yellow light bars that are worth a varying amount of points:

First: 15,000 points
Second: 30,000 points
Third: 75,000 points
Fourth: 30,000 points
Fifth: 15,000 points
Sixth: 7,500 points

Secret – Test Mode
Instructions – Type hidden test at the start of a new ball to activate Test Mode. No notification will be given that this is activated but you can now left-click the mouse button and drag the ball around. While in test mode press the following keys for more secrets:

H – Get a 1,000,000,000 High Score
M – Shows the amount of system memory
R – Increases your rank in game
Y – Shows the Frames/sec rate

Secret – Unlimited Balls
Instructions – Type bmax at the start of a new ball. No notification will be given that this is activated but when a ball is lost a new ball will appear from the yellow wormhole indefinitely. Once this is activated you will be unable to activate other secrets without restarting the game.

Solitaire

Secret – Instant Win
Instructions – Press Alt + Shift + 2 during game play to instantly win.

Secret – Draw single cards in a Draw Three game
Instructions – Hold down CTRL + ALT + SHIFT while drawing a new card. Instead of drawing three cards you will only draw one.

Secret – Hidden Uninstall Options
Instructions – Warning: Proceed at your own risk! Browse to C:\Windows\inf\ and make a backup copy of sysoc.inf. Then open the original file C:\Windows\inf\sysoc.inf in notepad. Go to “Edit” and select “Replace”. In “Find what:” type ,hide and in “Replace with:” type , then select “Replace All”, save and close the file. Go to the “Control Panel”, “Add/Remove”, select “Add/Remove Windows Components”. You will now see many more Windows components to uninstall. Do not remove anything with no label or that you do not recognize or fully understand what it does. Doing so can break certain functionality in Windows.

Control Panel

Secret – Hidden Control Panel Extensions
Instructions – Download and install TweakUI, launch, go to “Control Panel” and check any item not selected, then “Apply” and “OK”. You will now see the hidden control panel extensions.

Device Manager

Secret – Hidden Devices
Instructions – Go to the “Control Panel”, “System” icon, “Hardware” tab and select “Device Manager”. Select “View” and Show hidden devices.

Secret – Phantom Devices
Instructions – Go to “Start”, “Programs”, “Accessories” and select “Command Prompt”. At the command prompt, type “set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1″ and press Enter. At the command prompt, type “start devmgmt.msc” and press Enter. Select “View” and Show hidden devices. You can see devices that are not connected to the computer.

When you close the command prompt window, Windows clears the “devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1″ variable that you set and prevents phantom devices from being displayed when you select “Show hidden devices”.

Music

Secret – Music from the Installer
Instructions – Browse to C:\Windows\system32\oobe\images\title.wma and play.

Shutdown

Secret – Display Hibernate Option on the Shut Down dialog
Instructions – Go to “Start”, “Turn Off Computer…” and press either Shift key to change the “Stand By” button to “Hibernate”.

Support Tools

Secret – Over 100 Windows XP Support Utilities are on the install CD
Instruction – Run the D:\Support\Tools\setup.exe file.

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It is also believed that the early version will be without hardware driver support; hence it is also believed that Chrome OS will only work on a few computers initially like the Asus Eee PC and partner computer systems like Acer, Toshiba, and HP.

As promised by Google, they may surely launch an open source code of Google Chrome OS only for developers. This also means that an average person may not be able to download the OS and use it. Developers will require a compiler to make this open source code version of Chrome OS to boot up their systems.

Google may also go ahead and release a version that can be downloaded by anyone. All we can do is wait and watch as to what unfolds at Google this week.

Everyone is waiting for the launch of the Google Chrome OS. The latest buzz on the internet is that the Chrome OS will be available for download by next week. Here goes the rumor, an early version of Google Chrome is expected to hit the internet in this coming week.

It is also believed that the early version will be without hardware driver support; hence it is also believed that Chrome OS will only work on a few computers initially like the Asus Eee PC and partner computer systems like Acer, Toshiba, and HP.

As promised by Google, they may surely launch an open source code of Google Chrome OS only for developers. This also means that an average person may not be able to download the OS and use it. Developers will require a compiler to make this open source code version of Chrome OS to boot up their systems.

Google may also go ahead and release a version that can be downloaded by anyone. All we can do is wait and watch as to what unfolds at Google this week.

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3. Know the Software You Download

Finalizing the Installation:- Installation process is almost completed. Few finalizing steps will be remaining.

1.  After the Display Settings step is done, you will see ‘Welcome to Microsoft Windows‘ and the next step will involve setting up your computer.  Click Next.

        2. The next Checking your Internet Connectivity screen checks if your Windows is able to connect to the Internet. If you would not like to do so at this moment, you click the Skip button or click the Next button. 

If you click Next, you will see the following screen

        3.   You will now be asked  ‘Will this computer connect to the Internet directly, or through a network?‘

• Select Yes, if you have a high speed internet connection like DSL or Cable Internet which makes use of a router or if you have a home or business network.
• Select No, if you are making use of a modem (dial-up or broadband like DSL or Cable) in order to connect to the Internet

You may skip this step by clicking on Skip, or move ahead by clicking on Next after making your selection.

   4. Next window will prompt you to register your copy of Windows XP with Microsoft. You will see two options:

• Select Yes- I’d like to register with Microsoft now
• Select No- No, not at this time.

Click Next, after making your selection.

        5. This is the last step in which you have to enter the name of those users who will use this computer. You can create different individual accounts for different users.  Click Next.

      6. All the necessary settings have now been configured. Click on Finish.

       7. You will now see the Welcome screen.

         8. Your Windows XP clean installation has finished successfully. You willnow see the desktop.

 You will now look for your ‘Drivers’ disc that contains Chipset, Video, Audio, Network and other drivers and install it so that you can have video clarity, listen to music and access the Internet.  Install an anti-virus on your system and make sure it updates regularly automatically. You can now copy the data of which you had taken the back-up.

Windows XP Clean Installation (Part 1)

Windows XP Clean Installation (Part 2)

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Installing Windows XP:   Once the setup copies the file to hard drive then you will land up in the Installing Windows screen. This phase is divided into two sub parts. The firs part is automated and takes few minutes (35 or so) and indicates the element which is currently being installed. 

1. As soon as the first part is completed you will see a Regional and Language Option dialog box. In this window you can change Windows XP default language and location.  By clicking on Customize, you can change the settings. 

2. Nest window will be Personalize Your Software wind ow. This window will ask for your name and organization name. You need to fill up these spaces with the name that you desire to input and then click Next.

3. Then you will see the Product Key dialog box (screenshot not shown). On this page you need to enter the 25 characters product key that comes along with the Windows XP CD. If you are under a corporate license for Windows XP you can skip this step. However with Windows XP Service Pack 3 you will not be asked to enter the key at this stage.  Click on Next when done.

4. After you have entered the correct product key for the operating system you will come across the Computer Name and Administrative Password dialog box. On this page you need to enter a unique name for your computer with the help of which you will identify that particular system on the network. The name that you enter can be of 15 characters length. You may also get name suggestion from the setup wizard. Administrative account will be automatically created; you can either set a password for that account or can let it be accessible by all. 

5. If you have plug and play modem then you will see a Modem Dialing Information window (screenshot not shown). In this window you need to specify your region or country, your area code etc.  Click Next, when done.

6. The next dialog box that you see will be Date and Time Setting dialog box. Within this page you can set the date and time according to the time zone of your area. You can also set your computer to automatically adjust according to the daylight savings.  Click Next, when done.

7. Network Settings is the next step that you go through. On this page you will get a chance to select the type of network which is the most suitable for your network. There are two options Typical Settings which is used by home users and Custom Settings, mostly used by corporate firms and huge organization.  Click Next, when done.

8. The very subsequent dialog box is Workgroup or Computer Domain, helps you to specify whether your computer will be among the local group or a computer domain. Click Next, when done.

9. The next step is automated in which the system installs start menu elements, registry components, saving settings and deleting temporary files. 

10. The Windows XP will now automatically restart and load Windows XP for the first time.

11. Now you will be able to see a Display Setting window. This window will adjust the resolution of your screen automatically and ask you to verify it.

The concluding part will be shown in Windows XP Clean Installation (Part 3).

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Clean installation of Windows XP is mostly done when your current Windows XP that is present on your computer is infected with virus, spyware, malware, scareware, etc or is performing erratically giving you a very slow performance. You may have tried to fix this problem by scanning your system by means of anti-virus and anti-spyware programs but all your efforts seems to go in vain because still run slows or has virus even after a thorough scan. Clean installation also makes sure that no trace from the previous operating system is carried forward and it occupies less space.

Installing Windows XP is not as difficult as it sounds. There are two sources which can help you to clean install Windows XP. First source being a bootable Windows XP CD and the other source is installing through network. The only difference in both the methods is the resources; rest of the procedure is the same.

Before doing a clean installation of Windows XP,  if you have important data stored on your computer then it is advisable to take a backup of the data. You can do a data backup on an external storage hard-disk, USB flash drive, DVDs etc, depending upon the sizeof the data.

The installation process of Windows XP can be categories in four different steps.

• Collecting Data
• Preparing Installation
• Installing Windows
• Finalizing the Installation

Windows XP clean installation is a user-friendly process which does not require any hardcore programming knowledge. Let us know more about clean installation and learn in detail each of the four steps of the installation process. 

Collecting Data / Information:- The Windows XP setup program automatically begins when you boot from the Windows XP bootable CD. Collecting Data deals with starting the setup; select the partition and then copy the files from the CD to your computer. Here is a step by step installation information:-

     1. First of all, you need to insert the bootable Windows XP CD in your CD ROM or DVD Rom, then restart the computer and boot the system to the CD or DVD ROM.

     2. Set up will automatically be triggered. During this, and you will see a ‘Windows Setup’ screen, here you can press F6 if you wish to install a third party disk driver.

  3. A ‘Welcome to Setup’ screen will be seen. To do a clean installation you need to press ENTER to install Windows XP or if you desire to quit you need to press F3. You will also see another option ‘R’ for repairing the Windows XP operating System

4. On the next page you will be able to read the End UserLicense Agreement from Micrsoft. You will see the following options on this screen:

• Press F8 key- To choose ‘I agree’ and continue with the Windows XP installation.
• Press ESC key-  To choose ‘I do not agree’ and quit the installation.
• Press Page Down and Page Up key- To view the pages of End User License Agreement.

5. After you accept the agreement you will see ‘Windows XP Professional Setup‘  screen.

     You may now see different types of ’Windows XP Professional Setup’ screen if you are installing the fresh copy of Windows XP on a new hard-disk (unpartitioned disk) or on already formatted hard-disk (unpartitioned disk) or a used hard-disk that has been partitioned.  

    A user having an partitioned hard-disk will see the following screen.  A user having an unpartitioned hard-disk can click here to continue with Windows XP installation steps. This screen will give you option the following options:

    (Tip: You can navigate through the below given options by making use of the arrow keys on your keyword. When you move to any particular option using arrow keys, that option will be high-lighted.)

• Press F3 key- To quit installation
• Press R key- To repair the selected Windows XP present on your hard-disk
• Press ESC key- To install a fresh copy of Windows XP without repairing.

After pressing ESC key, you will see the following screen. Here you will see the following options:

• Press Enter key- To set up Windows XP on selected partition.
• Press C key- To create a partition in the unpartitioned space
• Press D key- To delete the selected partition. (When you delete a partition, all the data stored in it will be destroyed. Hence, it is advisable to take a data backup before installing a fresh copy of Windows XP)

We will now press D to continue to delete the selected partition named C: This drive contains your old Windows XP which you are planning to replace with a fresh copy of Windows XP. 

After pressing D, you will see the following screen. This screen contains a warning from Windows XP Setup, ‘ The partition you tried to delete is a system partition’.  Here system partition, the partition (drive) that already contains an Operating System (in this case, your old Windows XP which you are planning to remove). On this screen, you will see the following options:

• Press Enter key- To delete the selected partition
• Press ESC key - To cancel and go back to the previous screen which will show the list of partitions on your hard-disk

After you have pressed Enter, you will again get a warning screen that if you continue to delete the partition you will lose the data from your selected C: drive. You will see the following options on this screen:

• Press L key- To confirm and delete the partition
• Press ESC key- To cancel and go back to the previous screen which will show the list of partitions on your hard-disk.

After pressing the L key, the partition will be deleted. Since the previous partition that contained your old Windows XP is removed, all the space from your hard-disk will be shown as unpartitioned as shown in the screen below. On this screen you can do the following steps:

• Press Enter key- To setup Windows XP on the selected partition.
• Press C key – To create partition
• Press F3 key- To quit the Windows XP installation.

A  user having Unpartitioned hard-disk space can follow from here:

Press the C key to create partition.

6.  Once you press the C key, you will see the following screen. You will now type the partition size you would like to allot for C: drive which is the main drive where fresh copy of Windows XP will be installed.  This is the drive that will be the default location for folders like Documents and Settings, My Documents, My Pictures, My Videos, My Music, My Recent Documents, Program Files and Windows.

After you have put the parition size for C: drive, press Enter key.

(Tip: You can allot the full disk space to C: drive. However, this will not be a good decision because if your Windows becomes corrupt for some reason, then there is a huge risk of losing all the date in C:drive. You may allot 30 to 50%  disk space to the C: drive and leave the rest for other drives like D:, E:, F: and so on.)

7.  You will now see the following screen with the following options:

• Press Enter key- To setup Windows XP on the selected partition
• Press C key- To create a partition. (Tip: If you have alloted 30-50% of your hard-disk for C: drive, then you can now create other drives like D:, E:, F: and so on, on your unpartitioned space.
• Press F3 key- To quit the Windows XP installation.

Now, you need to press Enter to start the setup of Window XP on the selected partition.

8. You will now see the following screen with following options:

• Format the partition using NTFS file system (Quick)
• Format the partition using FAT system (Quick)
• Format the partition using NTFS file system 
• Format the partition using FAT system

Choose ‘Format the partition using NTFS file system‘ and hit the Enter key to begin formatting the drive. This will format the partition the C: drive.   It is advisable to chosen NTFS file system as it more secure compared to FAT file system

9. The formatting  speed depends on the parition size that you have alloted to it and also upon the speed of your computer. Less space you allot, less time it will take. You will see a progress bar as shown below:

Preparing to Install:- You don’t need to worry about this step cause it is an automated phase. This phase takes several minutes to copy the setup files to the hard drive.

 After the formatting is done, the Windows XP Setup will start copying the setup files from the Windows XP installation CD that you have put in the CD/DVD-ROM drive to the formatted partition.

After the process is done, the setup will automatically restart your computer. Now make sure that you do not start booting from the CD again. In order to that, eject the Windows XP CD the moment your system is restarted and put it back in when you see the Windows XP loading screen.

Windows XP Clean Installation (Part 2)

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Keeping this in mind, Microsoft developed an automated problem solver called Microsoft Fix it Solution Center. Now you do not need to follow the steps of the Microsoft’s Knowledge Base to do steps manually like ( download and install the patch- A, go to the Safe mode- B, uninstall the program- C, etc) to solve any particular PC problem.

There are 8 categories to choose from namely, Windows, Internet Explorer, Enterprise Products, Office, Outlook and Outlook Express, Windows Media Player, Xbox and Zune; and Games and Consumer Products. Make your choice among these categories according to the problem you are facing.

You will then see the information about the problem you are facing. Next thing you need to do is hit the ‘Fix It’ button. This will initiate a wizard that will take the responsibility to solve the problem by itself. If you would like to solve any PC problem manually, you will also see ‘Let me fix it myself’ somewhere below the ‘Fix It’ button.

Fix It Solution Center is surely a good development from Micrsoft that makes solving a problem on your computer completely hassle-free.

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Malware means malicious software. The sole purpose of these software is to damage your computer without your knowledge. Malware includes computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, most rootkits, spyware, dishonest adware, crimeware and other malicious and unwanted software. Malware linger in your computer even after a thorough anti-malware scan to hack your password, banking and personal details.

There are many unsolicited websites that prompt you that your computer has been infected by virus. After this warning, it prompts you to install a software to get rid of the virus. Gulible victims fall prey to it and the computer is infected all kinds of virus. Such programs are called Scareware. Here are some of the scareware programs that are consistently infecting computers till date:

• Antivirus’09
• Personal Antivirus
• WinDefender 2008
• P Antispyware 09
• WinPC Antivirus
• RapidAntivirus
• WinAntivirus
• XP Antivirus
• DriveCleaner

The programmers who have made these malware have developed it in such a way that it can easily go undetected by anti-malware programs.

Here’s a guide to remove malware from your computer:

BACKUP YOUR DATA
You can create a disk image of your hard-disk to take a backup. You may also copy and paste the data into an external storage hard drive. If the data is less, you can simple make a backup of it on a DVD or a USB flash drive (pen drive).

RUN ANTI-MALWARE IN SAFE MODE
When you start Windows normally, there are many applications that are launched at the start-up automatically. If your computer is infected with malware, then there is 100% chance of viruses posing as start-up programs. Hence, it is not advisable to start windows normally to do a scan with your anti-malware program.

To do a anti-malware scan, restart your system and go into Safe-Mode. Here are steps to launch Safe-Mode. Once you are in Safe-mode, you can do anti-malware scan to remove malware from your system. Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware, Avira Antivirus and Microsoft’s Malicious Software Removal Tool are some of the good anti-malware programs you can make use of.

Download different anti-malware and run them. In case one anti-malware program fails to detect a malware, the others would detect it. Doing this will help you in removing all malware from your system.

MAKE YOUR HARD DISK NON-BOOTABLE
It would also be a good idea if you make your hard drive non-bootable one and connect it a different computer before doing a scan your computer for malware. After you have successfully removed the malware, you can put the hard disk to the original system. Next thing you can do is run a anti-rootkit software. Like anti-malware, running 3-4 anti-rootkit scanners will help in cleaning your system thoroughly from malware.

CLEAN INSTALLATION OF WINDOWS
Even after anti-malware scan, your computer may be still remain infected with malware. In such a case, you may go for clean installation of Windows. After this, you can copy back your data from data backup.

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Mozilla has taken this step after Microsoft stopped its support for Windows 2000 and Windows XP Service Pack (SP2) on the 13th of July, 2010. Microsoft intends to provide support to Windows XP’s Service Pack 3 (SP3). Michael Conner, Mozilla Firefox’s software engineer said the “users will continue to be supported by Mozilla as least as long as their OS is supported.”

Mozilla also wants to see how is the release the Microsoft new operating system Windows 7 is going to perform. After the success of Windows Vista, Mozilla developers feel that if Windows 7 is successful, then they would consider stopping its support to Windows XP entirely, that also includes Windows XP’s SP3.

The latest version of Mozilla Firefox is 3.0.9, it supports Windows 2000, Windows XP (all service packs), Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 and Windows 7.

In the past, Mozilla had stopped providing support to Microsoft’s older operating system’s like Windows 98 and Windows NT. The users of these version of Windows were not able to upgrade from Mozilla 2.0 to any higher version of Firefox.

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Download the freeware,  Single Click Restore Point and simply double click on the .exe file and create the System Restore point. You need to be logged in with an account that has administrative privileges to make it work for you. The System Restore point is created with the date and “Created With SCRP Tool”.

This can be checked by going into System Restore options. Start> All Programs> Accessories> System Tools> System Restore.

Download Single Click Restore Point to make System Restore points with ease.

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MoodAmp Player is a free music player like any other music player such as Winamp or Windows Media Player. Download it and install it and listen to the music that suits your state of mind. You can select from the following moods: Angry, Energetic, Happy, In Love, Neutral, Relaxed, Romantic, Sad and Working.

By rating the songs as Awesome, Good, Average, Bad and Exclude you can train the MoodAmp which songs you would like to listen when you are in a specific mood. The more you like a particular song, the more it will be played. The interface of MoodAmp is kept simple so that the user does not spend time in learning how to use this music player.

Download MoodAmp from Softpedia.com and play to the music according to your mood.

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