If you’re unhappy with the new taskbar and you want to have the good old Quick Launch Toolbar back, then you need to follow the steps below.. But before we continue you should “unlock” the taskbar by right clicking the taskbar, Properties and clear “Lock the taskbar” followed by  “Apply” and “Ok”.
Ok, now back to the program:

• Right-click the taskbar
• Choose Toolbars
• New Toolbar and type this into the folder box and click Select Folder:
  

  %UserProfile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

You’ll now see the Quick Launch toolbar which is probably located at the right side of the toolbar…  So all you need to do now is place it next to the “Pined items” and you’re good to go! In my case I deleted the pined items, choose to combine the buttons without labels and used big buttons instead of small ones. The end Result? See here below…. As you can see this looks pretty nice right!

Usually when you want to delete such file you get a pop up which says: “Cannot delete file: Access is denied” or something similar. In this cases you are left with 2 options:
1: Restart your computer and try to delete the file
2: Using LockHunter!

When using LockHunter you’re able to see the processes which has locked the file or folder. Beside that LockHunter (which is available in both 32 & 64 bits version!) allows you to unlock, delete, copy, rename a locked file or kill the locking process! All you have to do to unlock a file (or folder) is click with your right mouse click and there it is: LockHunter: What is locking my file and you’ll get a screen like here below:

Now you can choose to unlock the file or perhaps delete the file. If you’ve chosen for the last option; then the file will be deleted and put into your recycle bin.

Publisher: LockHunter
Version: 1.0 Beta
OS: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7 (both 32 & 64 bits)
Language: English
License: Freeware
Download size: 1.22 MB
Download LockHunter: Click here…

After backing up the important files and folders I formatted my HD and started to install Windows 7 x64 bits. I don’t know why but I had never installed a x64bits OS on my PC before so with Windows 7 I thought… Why not give x64bit a try? I mean I do have the hardware parts for it! So the installation started and I must say that the installation only took about 30 minutes which is really fast!

Once the setup was done and Windows 7 was loaded I noticed that all of the drivers of my CPU chipset, video drivers etc was already installed! I mean I was able to work with Windows 7 Ultimate almost immediately. Here below a screenshot of Windows 7 Ultimate x64.

With Windows 7 some small things have changes.. One of the good changes is that you can re-arrange every system try icons. Just drag and drop them into the order you like! This is definitely one of the things which I’ve missed in the past Windows versions…

My first impression of Windows 7 is that it’s a great improvement compared to Vista. So far everything is working just fine. It has also improved performance, speed and feels much more stable then Vista.  I also like the improved taskbar and some other features!

]]> http://www.bioteck.net/2009/10/30/my-first-impression-of-windows-7-ultimate-x64/feed/ 10 http://www.bioteck.net/2009/10/27/how-to-change-file-associations-in-vista/ http://www.bioteck.net/2009/10/27/how-to-change-file-associations-in-vista/#comments Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:22:46 +0000 BioTecK http://www.bioteck.net/?p=4071 As  you might know each file in Windows has an extension in its filename, for example .doc is for Microsoft Word. So in this case when you double click on a file which has the .doc extension Windows tries to identify the program in order to open the file. Now in most cases you don’t need to change and/or set these file type associations however in some cases that can be very handy!

While I had Windows XP installed on my pc, I was able to change/set the file type associations under Folder Options.. However ever since Vista, Microsoft has decided to move it to somewhere else! If you would like to set/change the file type associations in Vista and don’t know where to look then follow these steps below:

• Go to Start
• Open Control Panel
• Click on Default Programs followed with Set Associations
• Select a file type in the list and click Change Program.
• In the new screen you’ll see a list of Programs along with a description and the current default program.
• Now click on the Change program to set or change the current defaults.

Easy right?

So you can see that the often you use your computer, the more fuller the registry gets. I mean think about all the junk and temporary files stored on your computer, all those broken registry, which Windows forget to delete, etc. So that’s why your computer is getting slower and you notice a loss on your computer performance. However this doesn’t have to mean that you have to accept this, right? Luckily the registry can be cleaned up using a registry cleaner. One of them is: Auslogics Registry Cleaner.

Auslogics Registry Cleaner is  a free software which will clean Windows registry for you. It will analyze it by searching for broken entries, non-existent file associations, uninstallation leftovers, and other elements that can turn the Registry into a real mess.

One of the good points of Auslogics Registry Cleaner is that it’s very easy to use for everyone, no matter your technical knowledge.  When you run the program you get to choose between a quick scan and an advance one, where you get to choose which registry categories you want Auslogics to scan.

The results are displayed in a basic or detailed format. It will also show you your computers performance before the clean up and the percentage gained after the clean up, which is always good to know! Auslogics Registry Cleaner offers you a backup function too, just in case!

As mentioned above, this is just a great and simple software which is good for everyone. Make sure to  use it once in a while in order to keep your registry nice & clean!

Publisher: Auslogics
Version: 1.3.9.145
OS: Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista and even Windows 7!
Language: English
License: Freeware
Download size: 1.81 MB
Download Auslogics Registry Cleaner: Click here…

In order for you to edit and overwrite the system files (or rename and delete any other system files/folder) you must “Take Ownership” of the files. When taking ownership of a files, you’ve full control of the files (and folders) and you replace the security permissions to have access.

There are a lot of ways to bypass this in order for you to do what ever you want with the system files and folders, but there is a much easier way: Taking Ownership of files and folder with just 2 simple mouse clicks!

All you have to do is download Take Ownership.zip file, which is a registry hack, extract it using 7Zip (or any similar software) and install it by double clicking on the “InstallTakeOwnership.reg” file. This registry hack will give you a menu item called “Take Ownership” that will handle all the steps for you. I don’t know who originally made this script, but who ever he/she is; A big thanks, cause this makes life much easier!

NOTE: If you ever want to uninstall this great registry hack (I wouldn’t know why you would do that.. But ok, It’s your computer! ), just double click the “RemoveTakeOwnership.reg” file which is also packed in the zip file.

In order to transfer files using FTP, you need:

• The FTP Server address;  This could look like “ftp.domainname.com” or it could look like “11.231.231.234″.
• Username and password. Some FTP servers let you connect to them anonymously so you don’t need a username and password.
• An FTP Client.

Now, there are a lot of FTP Clients, some of  them you have to pay for and some of them are freeware. One of the free FTP clients is FileZilla.
FileZilla is powerful Open Source, so it’s free, FTP/SFTP client with many features. FileZilla is a fast and reliable FTP client with a lot of useful features, such as:

• Resume support for downloads and uploads.
• Site manager to store all your connection details and logins.
• Available in many languages.
• Configurable transfer speed limits.
• Cross-platform. Runs on Windows, Linux, *BSD, Mac OS X and more.
• Supports FTP, FTP over SSL/TLS (FTPS) and SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP).
• Firewall support and many more.

Installing FileZilla is very easy and using is even more easier! FileZilla is a great FTP Client with a clean design and I suggest tring it. I use FileZilla at work and at home and I’m really happy with this free FTP Client.
So if you’re looking for a FTP Client with a lot of great features which comes in for free, then you really have to try FileZilla!

Publisher: FileZilla Project
Version: 3.2.3
OS: Windows 95, 98, Me, NT4, 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, Linux,  Mac OS X, BSD.
Language: English, Dutch, Chinese and much more!
License: Freeware
Download size: 3.89 MB
Download FileZila: Click here…

I mean think about ALL the junk and temporary files stored on your computer, all those broken registry keys / unused files when you un-installing an application etc. So it’s no wonder that your computer is getting slower and you notice a loss on your computer performance, right? So what can you do about this? The answer to the problem is very simple: Use Auslogics BootSpeed 4!

Auslogics BootSpeed 4 is an all in one utility which really can speed up your computer.  With this tool you have everything you need to speed up and improve performance of your computer. You even can tweak Windows if you like too!

When opening Auslogics BootSpeed4 you’ll see a very clean design and you’ll see that it’s very easy to navigate through the options, which brings me back to the all in one part I mentioned before. Here below is a list which Auslogics BootSpeed offers:

• Computer Clean Up: With this option you can clean up your computer by cleaning your disk, registry, getting rid of unnecessary software and optimize the boot time of your computer by controlling which programs are allowed to start automatically on your computer!
  • Disk Cleaner: Clean up disk drives and get rid of junk files. See below for a screenshot of junk files which Ausoligcs BootSpeed 4 found on my computer! 4416 junk files which had a total size of 2,11 GB!
  • Auslogics Registry Cleaner: Clean up the Windows Registry and fix registry errors.
  • Auslogics Uninstall Manager: Add and remove programs and Widnows Updates.
  • Auslogics Startup Manager: Control which programs are allowed to start automatically on your computer. If you want to make sure that your computer startups faster I really recommend to check this out.

• Optimization: With this option you can improve your computer performance by defragmenting your hard disks, your registry and even your RAM memory. Beside that you can speed up your internet browser.
  • Auslogics Disk Defrag: Boost performance by defragmenting disk drives. See below for a screenshot. I had defraged my disk a couple of days ago, but still Auslogics BootSpeed did a good job!
  • Auslogics Registry Defrag: Compact and defragment the registry to speed up your system.
  • Auslogics Internet Optimizer: Speed up your web browser and Internet downloads.
  • Auslogics Memory Optimizer: Free up and defrag computer memory (RAM). This might be handy when you need more RAM for editing a movie or working with a large Photoshop file.

• Privacy and Security: Protect your computer from Internet Attacks.
  • Auslogics Track Eraser: Protect your privacy by removing tracks from your computer.
  • Auslogics PC Security: Prevent Internet attacks on your computer.
  • Auslogics File Shredder: Remove files and folders beyond restoration. Note: By doing this you wouldn’t be able to recover any files/folder with a recovery software anymore!
  • Auslogics Disk Wiper: Wipe your disk completely and make sure files you have removed earlier cannot be undeleted.

• Information and Control: Get detailed information about your system and tweak them if you would like to. However, this is an option for advanced users.
  • Auslogics Tweak Manager: Use many undocumented Windows tweaks to tune up your system for maximum performance. For examle you can  tweak Animation and Effects in Windows, the user interface, startup and shut down and more!
  • Auslogics Service Manager: Here you can find Windows system services settings which you can tweak or shutdown if you would like to,
  • Auslogics System Information: Here you can get detailed information about your computer (hardware) and the operating system.
  • Auslogics Task Manager: Get detailed information about which programs and processes are running on your computer. This is a bit different then the build-in task manager. For example: If you see a process and don’t know what it is, you can click on “Google it” and Auslogics BootSpeed will connect you to Google so you can find out what the process is about.

• Windows Tools: Here you’ll find some hidden Windows Tools which can be very useful when you want to optimize your computer and you even can decide which services should be running on your system.
  • Microsoft DirectX Diagnostics: Troubleshoot and change DirectX settings on your computer.
  • Windows Performance Monitor: Advanced users can use this program to monitor system performance.
  • Windows Service Manager: Control which services should be running on your computer.
  • Computer Management: Change scheduled tasks, see system events, manage disks and devices.

So like I said, you can do a lot of things with this small peace of software! At first I didn’t knew what to expect but once I got this installed on my PC I was actually pretty surprised! I mean all of this options in one software? That’s great, right? Usually for every option which Auslogics offer you have a different software installed so this is much handier to use! Give it a try, I know you’ll like it!

Publisher: Auslogics
Version: 4.3.9.185
OS: Windows All including 32 & 64-bit versions.
Language: English
License: Shareware
Trail: 15 days
Costs: $29,95
Download size: 4,89 MB
Download Auslogics BootSpeed 4: Click here…

Do you like getting information at lightning speed? If yes, you’ll love the wealth of indormation at your fingertips with satellite tv. Visit Internetlion.com for satellite tv reviews, deals and more!

At first I though that there was something in the BIOS but I was wrong! It was Windows Vista’s fault! In Windows Vista there are three preset built-in default power plans;

1. High Performance: Which maximizes system performance and responsiveness
2. Power Saver: which saves power by reducing system performance
3. Balanced: which achieve a balance between the two by offering full performance during active use and saves power when computer is idle or inactivity state

Yep.. The cause of my problem! For some reason Microsoft seemed to think that I was using Vista on a laptop and accordingly, set the Power Options to match. So that’s why my HDD was shutdown and cut off from power in order to conserve and save power/electricity. So whenever I wanted to access my HDD it start making loud noises (generated from sudden start moving of HDD’s mechanical part) and it took some time before I could access the HDD.

So if you don’t want your HDD turned off to sleep by Windows Vista, you can disable the power saving feature on hard disks, by following the steps below:

• Press Windows key + R
• Type powercfg.cpl ,1
• In the window which will appear, scroll down and find: Harddisk
• Click on the + sign and you’ll see Turn off hard disk after
  
• Now my recommandation is to simply type Never in the box or type 0 (zero)
• Now click on Apply and OK to exit and you’re done

From now on your HDD isn’t going to be turned off by Windows Vista, so no loud noises and delay’s anymore!

So to enable this option you have to follow this step:

1. Open the Ease of Access center by pressing Windows Key + U
2. Now Under Explore all settings, select: Make the mouse easier to use
3. In  this screen you’ll see the option which you have to active by checking the box: Activate a window by hovering over it with the mouse
4. Now save your new settings and your done.

I don’t know if you’re going to like this option or not but give it a try! Anyway… it’ll take a while to get used to the new mode and if you don’t like this.. You can always turn it off by checking the checkbox off!
NOTE: The mouse has to be hovered over top of any window to switch focus to it.

You can make your Vista even cooler with a hidden bootscreen called Aurora. I don’t know why this bootscreen isn’t active by default, cause this one looks much better then the default one.

To enable the hidden bootscreen in Vista, follow the steps here below:

1. First disable UAC. For more info on disabling UAC read:  “Disable User Access Control In Windows Vista” and/or “Switch UAC To The Quiet Mode“. If you like UAC, then you can enable it again after enabling Vista’s hidden bootscreen.
2. Go to Start – Searchbar
3. Type msconfig and hit Enter
4. Now, go to Boot tab
   



5. In the Boot option Check No GUI Boot option
6. Click on Apply and OK to close the screen
7. Now reboot your computer and enjoy the Aurora bootscreen!

Like I mentioned in a post called “Disabling Indexing Service In Windows XP” which I posted some months ago, I don’t use the search function and I don’t want to loose any performance because of function which I don’t use. So what you need to do is disable the indexing service. By disabling the index service you can gain more CPU & RAM Resources and improve the performance of your computer, but it will slows you down when searching for files.

You can disable indexing service in Vista in three methods.

Method 1: Disabling the index service through the Turn Windows features on or off screen

1. Go to Start -> Control Panel
2. Choose Uninstall a Program
3. In the next window search for Turn Windows features on or off at the right side of the window and search for Indexing Service. See the screenshot here below.
4. Uncheck the box for Indexing Service and click ok.

Method 2: Disabling the index service on a particular hard disk drive

1. Open My Computer
2. Right click on the hard drive to disable indexing (i.e (C:) drive letter).
3. Select Properties on the contextual menu.
4. Click on General tab if it’s not already selected.
5. Uncheck the check box for Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching option.
6. Click OK, and wait for the index removal process to complete, which may take a few minutes.

Method 3: Disabling the index service for ALL hard disks at once

This is the fastest, and my favorite, way to disable the indexing service

1. Go to Start and run Service in the Start Search bar
2. Search for Windows Search Service and select Properties
3. In the screen choose Disabled for the start type.
4. Now you have to stop this service by clicking on Stop

Note: Searching is still possible after disabling of indexing service but it will be more slowly.

For more tech tips check out the Technology channels that come with your satellite dish tv subscription from directv. Check it out today at Internetlion.com!

• Right click on the Start button
• Select Properties
• Click the Customize button
• Scroll down till you see a check box “Use large Icons”
• Uncheck the checkbox
• Click OK and Apply and OK.
• You’re done! This looks much better, isn’t it?

Displaying multiple clocks in Vista is very easy:

1. Click on the clock which is located right of the taskbar.
2. The clock and a complete schedule will appear. Click Change settings of the date and time.
3. Go to Additional Clocks tab
4. Then check the Show this clock and select a new time zone. You can give a name to the clock in you would like  to.
5. You can then repeat the operation for a third clock. Click OK when you are finished.
6. Now when you hover the clock with your mouse or double click the clock in the taskbar you’ll see the clocks being displayed, isn’t that cool?

When you have portable applications installed on your USB key a small menu would be very handy, a menu with autorun to be exactly. A menu which could start when you insert the USB key in the computer. Well, that’s possible with Pstart!

PStart is a simple tray tool to start user defined applications. Designed to run portable applications, you can start anything runnable from USB key devices or removable disks. Unlike Windows shortcuts, PStart uses relative paths, when installed as a portable application. If your USB key drive gets another drive letter when you insert it into another computer, your portable applications still can be started properly. This means you can also use PStart to start applications you burn to a CD (and don’t know the drive letter either).

So if you have a usb drive and you have portable application installed on it then PStart is really a must! Off course You can use Pstart also on your pc too.

Publisher: Pegtop.de
Language: English
License: Freeware
Download size: 768 KB
Download Pstart: Click…
Screenshot:

I don’t know about you but I like this feature. However if you have a low end system, the performance of the system will be affected when using Flip 3D. Luckily there is a way how you still can use Flip 3D even with your low end system. The only thing you have to do is change the numbers of windows shown in Flip 3D.

Follow the steps below to change the numbers  of windows shown in Flip 3D.

1. Press WinKey+R
2. Type regedit.exe.
   NOTE: If asked for permission to launch the Registry Editor, click Allow.
3. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\DWM
4. Right click and select New -> DWORD (32-bit).
5. Name the new DWORD value Max3DWindows
6. Now, double click on the DWORD value which you just have create and set it to the maximum number of windows you want displayed in Flip3D.  For a low end system 3-5 windows would be good. A high end machine can handle up to 10 windows.
7. Click OK and exit the Registry Editor.

After rebooting you can test the changes by having multiple windows open and using Windows key+Tab.

While surfing on the net I found a great small application for those who don’t want to disable the UAC. This application called Tweak UAC offers three options:

1. Turn the UAC off
2. Switch UAC to the quite mode
3. Turn the UAC on

The first and third option speak for them selfs but what about switching UAC to the quite mode? This options does not turn off UAC. Instead, it only makes UAC to operate in the quiet mode. In the quiet mode, UAC does not display the elevation prompts for the administrators. So when you attempt to do an administrative task, you will be allowed to proceed automatically without prompting you to confirm the operation.

As for the other user who haven’t administrator rights, this means that they still will see the elevation prompts.

So if you don’t want to turn off the UAC, then this might be a great outcome for you!

Note: If you turn UAC off or switch it to operate in the “quiet” mode, Vista starts displaying a warning message in its taskbar. You can turn this message off by: double clicking on the shield icon in the taskbar to open Windows Security Center. Then click on the “Change the way Security Center alerts me” link, in the left panel. Finally, choose one of the “Don’t notify me” options.

Publisher: Tweak-UAC
Requires: Windows Vista Home Premium and up version
Language: English
License: Freeware
Download size: 84 KB
Download Tweak UAC: Click…

I’m using Gmail for a long time, from the time where you had to have an invitation to create an account. One thing which would make Gmail even better as it is now would be the ability to use themes. I mean you can customize your Google homepage with iGoogle and why shouldn’t you have the same options for your Gmail account?

Anyway yesterday when I logged on my Gmail account I saw that Google has added some themes for your Gmail account, see screenshot here below!

Cool isn’t it? You can choose from 31 themes to personalize the look and feel of your Gmail account. All you have to do is check out the Themes tab under Settings and chooce a theme!
Give it a try, I know you’ll like it..

If you aren’t logged as an administrator, Windows Vista will also ask for the administrator password. Like mentioned before this is to improve the security of your system, however if you are an experienced power user it is quite likely that you find UAC extremely annoying, just like me!

Before I go on; Disabling UAC is not recommended by Microsoft because it can make your system unstable, however in my case I haven’t experienced anything weird and my system is very stable!

There are many ways to disable UAC, but I prefer this method. Even after rebooting your system, there is no way that UAC will ever start again.

1. Press Windows Key + R in order to load the run box.
2. Type “msconfig” in the run box, or in the search box in Vista Start menu, to load MS config and click OK.
3. Once MSConfig is loaded, click on the Tools menu.
4. Select Disable UAC in the menu then click OK.
5. By doing this, you’ll disable UAC. If you wish to re-enable UAC, follow the steps above but click Enable UAC instead.

You can also enable or disable UAC from the Control Panel if you want to.

1. Type UAC in the search box, Click on the first result which will be: “User Accounts – Turn User Account Control (UAC) on or off.”
2. The UAC window will open. Deselect the option Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer and press the OK button, as shows as below, and your done!

Which method you prefer to use, Windows Vista needs to be restarted. After the restart, UAC will be disabled and you’ll be done with those annoying prompts!

Anyway, Charles left me a comment saying: “That’s cool but I can’t access dos at work.. any other idea’s?”. Well.. I have an idea!

In stead of using DOS to check if a website is down, you can also surf to: DownForEveryoneOrJustMe and find it out your self!

You simply enter in the desired url and DownForEveryoneOrJustMe will let you know if it’s a problem with your computer or a general problem with the website. The respond is quite clear, as you can see below, it will tell you whether or not the website is down for everyone or just for you!

Based on my tests I would say that the tool is pretty accurate, I have checked several websites and it did report the real situation every time.

This tool could help you not to freak out, so bookmark it and use it the next time you see a website down, just paste the URL there to see what is going on!