Show Run in Vista Start Menu

Although you don't need run command option in Windows Vista because the start menu search does all the work that your Run dialog box does, but still if you want to get that run command to show in the start menu as in Windows XP. Then there is just a simple option to show the Run command in Vista's start menu. Here is how

--- Right click on the Taskbar or anywhere in the blank space in start menu and click properties.

--- Then select the Start Menu tab at the top.

--- Click on the customize button. A window will popup with many options.

--- Scroll down till you see the Run Command. Check mark the box in front of it. Click OK.

--- Then click Apply and OK to exit the properties dialog box.

Alternately you can use the keyboard shortcut Windows+R to open the Run dialog box directly.

Reset Save/Open Option in Internet Explorer

When you are using Internet explorer to download something you get the option to open the file or save the file. You can select what you want to do. If you choose to save the file you will be asked to select a location for it and if you choose to open, the file will be in the temporary folder and it will be opened when its completely downloaded. But while doing this you will see a option on the File Download dialog box that says 'Always ask before opening this type of file'
like this

If you uncheck this box then internet explorer will use the option you select after that as a default action whenever you downloaded that type of file. Means if you are downloading a zip file and you uncheck the box and click the save action and save the file somewhere. Then after that when you want to download any zip file, internet explorer will save that file directly to the location you selected earlier without asking you, if you want to open the file or save it. If you want to get this option back then you need to edit the registry. Backup the registry before you do this.

--- Now go to registry by typing regedit in the run box.

--- Then look for the key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\AttachmentExecute\{0002DF01-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}

--- Now in the right hand pane look for the entry you want to delete the setting for in our case its the zip file.

--- Delete that entry and exit the registry.

--- If you want to get the option to save or open the file while downloading any files then you have to delete all the entries present there.

Or you can download the registry file given below and double click on it. Download this file Reset save/open option in IE double click on it and add it to your registry.

That's it you will have the option to save or to open the file you want while downloading.

Multiple Rows of Bookmarks in Firefox

Ever since I started using firefox I started to keep my most visited or some rare pages which were hard to search for in my bookmarks. But as time went, the number of bookmarks increased and it was not possible to hold them in a single row. But there was no option to get multiple rows or for that matter second row also. I used some codes to change the userChrome.css file but everytime a new problem was arising and only a single row of bookmarks was showing with the drop icon at the end for overflowing bookmarks. I got tired of it stopped looking to increase the bookmark rows.

But some days back I was looking for some addons and all of a sudden there I saw a addon which was saying something about bookmarks. It got my attention and as it turned out it was what I looking for, for a long time. It was a firefox addon which allowed me to have multiple rows of bookmarks.

So if you people are also inrested in getting this addon then

--- Go to this addon page

Multiple rows of bookmarks - addon

or you can search for Multirow Bookmarks Toolbar in the addons search field.

--- Just hit the add to firefox button when you reach the page. A window will popup asking you to install the addon. Click install now.

--- You need to restart firefox to use the installed addon.

--- To configure it go to Tools --> Addons and then select multirow bookmarks toolbar and click on preferences.

--- Here you can set the number of rows you want to use for the bookmarks. Set any number you want and close that dialog box.

--- The second row of bookmarks will appear as soon as the first one gets filled and consequently the other rows if you have selected more.

Comment Box below Blog Posts

When first started this blog I kept everything to default setting and just wrote the posts about tips and tricks. But after some days people started visiting my blog but nobody was leaving any comments. I thought the reason was I didn't have a comment box below my posts for people to leave comments easily instead of opening a popup or a new window just to leave comment. So i decided to edit my template to include a comment box. Now I can share this information as it worked for me.

So if you want to get a comment box below your posts just follow these steps.

--- First backup your blogger template so that you don't loose anything if something goes wrong.

--- Blogger has the feature to embed the comment box below your posts. To activate this you need to log in to your blooger account and select settings of the blog you want to edit.

--- Once there select comments and you will see some option. One that is important to us is Comment Form Placement. In there select Embedded below post option and Click Save Settings at the bottom of the page. --- If you are using the default blogger templates then you will immediately see the change below your post with a box for the comments. But many bloggers don't use the default templates of blogger and they have heavily customized templates. In this case you need to make some changes to get your comment box.

--- First go to blog layout --> Edit HTML

--- Then select the Expand Widget Templates check mark.

--- Then look for this code

<p class="'comment-footer'"> <b:if cond="'data:post.allowComments'"> <a href="'data:post.addCommentUrl'" onclick="'data:post.addCommentOnclick'"><data:postcommentmsg/></a> </b:if> </p>

Just search for the first few words using your browser search feature. Once you find the above code replace it with the following code.

<p class="'comment-footer'"> <b:if cond="'data:post.embedCommentForm'"> <b:include data="'post'" name="'comment-form'/"> <b:else/> <b:if cond="'data:post.allowComments'"> <a href="'data:post.addCommentUrl'" onclick="'data:post.addCommentOnclick'"><data:postcommentmsg/></a> </b:if> </b:if> </p>

Save your template and view your blog for the changes you made.

A little more research on the internet gave me another very easy way to get the comment box below your post in blogger. If you don't want use the above method then you can try this.

--- Go to Layout --> Edit HTML as before with the Expand Widget Templates Check mark ON.

--- Then look for the line

<b:include data="'post'" name="'comments'">

--- Just replace the comments in the above line to comment-form or just copy and paste the code below to make it look like this.

<b:include data="'post'" name="'comment-form'/">

Save your template and see the changes.

Backup Blogger Posts and Template

When you first start blogging you use the default settings and templates provided by the Blogger service. But once you explore it for a while you feel the urge to change the blog to your liking. But after making many posts you must be careful when you change anything in your blogger setting. Before you do any changes you must save you template that is backup your entire template.

To do this..

--- Log in to your blogger account then go to Layout --> Edit HTML

--- Then select the option of Download Full Template.

--- A dialog box will popup asking you to save the file. The template will be saved as a xml file. write a appropriate name for it save it in a safe place.

Now to restore the template if anything goes wrong.

--- Go to the same screen as earlier mentioned but this time select the option of Upload a template from a file on your hard drive by clicking the browse button provided. Select the file you kept as a backup. Then press the upload button.

--- Your blog will be returned to its normal state as you had saved it earlier.

Blogger now provides a option to backup or as the option says export your entire blog posts that's right the posts you made and even the comments made by your readers. This is an important feature if you want to change your blog but not loose all your earlier posts.

--- To export your posts got to your Settings --> Basic screen

--- The first option you see is Blog Tools.

--- This is where you can Export your entire blog or Import an earlier Exported blog. And the other option is Delete blog which I am sure will not be used by many.

--- Now to Export your blog just click on Export blog option and you will see a button to Download blog. Click on it and choose a path to save the resulting file. This again will be a xml file.

--- To restore the blog click on the Import blog. You will be taken to the Import a blog screen.

--- Here you need to select the xml file you exported earlier by using the browse button. You need to confirm the image verification check. And then press the Import blog button. Note that you have a option to Automatically publish all the imported posts.

That's it, this is how you can backup your blogger template as well as backup or Import/Export the posts you made and the comments made by your readers.

Disable Control Panel

You have a PC which is used by many people and your friends know a thing or two about windows and keep changing options using the control panel. And you get uncomfortable with those changes. You can fix this issue. What you need is a registry hack and you can disable the control panel altogether. So no more lost setting for you.

--- To disable control panel, type regedit in Run box and hit enter.

--- Now look for the key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

--- In the right pane create a new key by right clicking in the empty space and selecting 32 bit DWORD value.

--- Name this key as NoControlPanel. Now double click this key and enter a value of 1 in the value data field.

--- Click okay and exit the registry.

--- You can check the change in setting by going to Start menu and clicking on Control Panel. You will see this message


Now you know this was a success and your settings and programs are safe.

Menu Show Delay

In windows xp when you take your mouse pointer to any menu items the menu appears after some delay. This delay is called menu show delay. It gets irritating if you are used to work faster. But you have the choice to reduce this delay or also have the option to increase the delay if its getting too quick to handle. Okay to do this you have to edit the registry. Be sure to backup the registry before you do anything.

--- Go to registry editor by typing regedit in the Run dialog box.

--- Now go to the key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop in the left pane.

--- In right pane look for the entry MenuShowDelay.

--- Its default value is 400 milliseconds you need to edit this. To do this double click on it to open key. Now enter a value which is lower than 400, like 4 to reduce the time it takes to show the menu. Or enter a value greater than 400, like 4000 to increase it.

--- Now click OK and exit the registry. Logoff or restart windows for the setting to take effect.

This trick works in Windows XP only and not in Windows Vista. Because in Vista the MenuShowDelay setting is bypassed by the Windows Aero and the changing the value doesn't have any effect.

This trick has the chance to work in vista only when Windows Aero is disabled and Windows classic theme is selected. But disabling Vista's aero interface just to get this setting is not worth. So if you still want to apply this setting you can follow the same procedure as above.

If you have any questions ask them in comments. I will be glad to answer them.

Restore Show Desktop Icon

Once i accidentally deleted the show desktop icon from the Quick launch bar but didn't know how to get it back. I searched every folder in Windows to look for the file but it was gone. So I had to restore it by creating it again. Here is how you do it.

--- Open Notepad .

--- Paste this text as it is.

[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

--- Now go to File menu in notepad then save as. Set the save as type to all files or a .txt extension will be added to the file created.

--- Now name the file as Show Desktop.scf and save it where you want it.

--- Once you have created this file, go where it is saved and then drag it to the quick launch bar.

That's it your Show Desktop icon is back in the quick launch bar.

Change "My Documents" Location

The most important folder on every computer is the My Documents folder. Your every important file or personal file is saved in this folder. But unfortunately its located in the your Windows drive and it will be overflowing with all those files. Your drive performance may be reduced due to the fragmented files. Also there might not be enough space left in your windows drive.

In any of these cases you may want to change the default location of My Documents folder. Fortunately its very is to do that nothing special is required.

--- Go to the folder where your My Documents folder is located. The default location is C:\Documents and Settings\UserName

Where C is the drive where windows is installed and Username is the login name of your account.

Or you can just use the Start menu where a link to the My documents folder is available.

--- Now once you reach the folder containing My Documents folder or use the Start menu, just right click on it and then click properties.

--- In the properties dialog box go to the Location tab in case of Windows Vista and In case of Windows XP go to the Target tab. Now click on move button.

--- Now a select destination box will appear select your desired location where you want Your Documents folder to be. You can create a new folder like My Docs if you don't have one already. Just use that folder and click select folder button.
Or
You can create a folder from Explorer and enter the location of that folder in the field given and press find target to make sure its the correct folder.

--- Now click apply and OK to use your new location for My Documents.

To restore the default location go to the same location as earlier but instaed of move button click on Restore Default button and Click Apply and OK to restore the My documents folder to its default location.

Defragmenting Drive with a Click

All the time we copy/cut & paste files and folders in from different locations to organize them as we like. The folder system looks organized but in the background all the parts of the files are scattered on the hard disk. This is called fragmentation. And this is where defragmentation comes in.

Fragmentation lowers your performance as the system needs to time to search through all the scattered files. Fortunately Windows has a defragmentation software inbuilt. You can access this by going to Start Menu --> Programs --> Accessories --> System Tools and then selecting Disk Defragmenter.

Another way is to right click on the drive you want to defragment and then select properties and select the tools tab. There you will find the option to defragment the drive.

Here I am going to show you how to add the degragment option to the right click menu or the context menu when you right click on any drive. You have to edit the registry to get this option, so be careful.

Now to do this

--- Go to registry editor by typing regedit in start menu --> run and hit enter.

--- Then in the left pane find this key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell

--- Now right click on the key Shell and create a new key and name it Defrag.

--- Now create a sub-key under defrag by right clicking on it ans selecting new key and name it Command.

--- Now select command and in the right pane double click on the default valued entry.

---Enter defrag.exe %1 in the value data field for Windows XP and enter dfrgui.exe %1 for Windows Vista.

--- Click OK and close the registry editor.

You can check by right clicking on any of your hard disk drives. You will see this option.


Now you can easily defragment your drives by just right clicking on them.

Add Copy To & Move To in Windows Vista & XP

I don't remember in which OS the feature of copy to and move to was present, I think it was Windows 2000 but I am not sure. But we didn't see this feature in the latest windows editions like Windows XP and Windows Vista. This feature was a boon to copy or move files. I used to open 2-3 windows to do this copy/pasting task. But with this feature integrated in the right click menu it was easy to carry out those operations from a single location.

This function can be easily used in Windows XP as well as Windows Vista and is just a registry trick away. So you want to get these features then read on.

--- Go to the registry editor bu typing regedit in the run menu or the start menu search box and hit enter.

--- Find the key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ContextMenuHandlers

--- Then right click on it to create a new key as shown here

--- Name it as Copy To.

--- In the right pane double click on the default value and enter this number {C2FBB630-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}

--- Click OK.

Now to get the move to option

--- Follow the same procedure of creating a key then name the key as Move To.

--- Double click the default value in the right pane and enter this value
{C2FBB631-2971-11D1-A18C-00C04FD75D13}

--- Again click OK and exit the registry.

--- Now when you right click on any file or folder you will get this option.

--- Click on those option to copy or move the selected file to a different location.

You have your own custom context menu.

If you have any trouble just ask.

Hide Drives in Vista and XP

Many a times we have some drives which we never access or some times we want to keep the drives hidden from the prying eyes. If you have a USB drive which you use just for ReadyBoost or a floppy drive which is rarely used these days then you might think of hiding these unused drives to keep down the clutter in your My Computer screen.

This trick will only hide the drives from My Computer and you can access these drives from software or command prompt or you can manually type the drive name in the address bar of explorer to access it.

Okay now to the actual procedure.

--- Go to registry editor by typing regedit in the start menu.

--- Then go to this key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

--- Then in the right pane look for the entry NoDrives. Most of the times it is not present and you have to create it.

--- Right click and create a 32 bit DWORD value and name it NoDrives.

Now you created the NoDrives entry but you need to know decimal or hexadecimal values of the drives to hide them.

As this is a 32 bit number, the values are arranged in binary as below in reverse order. If you want to hide the A drive and D drive then see the values below. A has 1 and D has 1 and all other values are 0. For hiding only a single drive give that drive a value of 1 and others 0.

Z	Y	X	W	V	U	T	S	R	Q	P	O	N	M	L	K	J	I	H	G	F	E	D	C	B	A
0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1

Now the would be 1001 in binary format. You need to convert it to Decimal or Hexadecimal. You can use the windows calculator in scientific mode. Select binary format and type the number 1001 and then select decimal or hexadecimal. This will convert that binary number in to decimal or hexadecimal as you selected. In our case the decimal for 1001 is 9.

--- Now you got the value you want to enter. Just go to the entry NoDrives you created in the registry and double click on it and enter the value which you got by converting the binary number and select the appropriate format; decimal or hexadecimal. Here I entered 9 with Decimal option selected.

--- Now close the registry and restart explorer or log off and log back in.

--- The drives will be hidden from My Computer. You can still access them by typing the drive letter in the explorer address bar.

This trick will hide the drives for all the users. For a particular user you are logged in as you need to follow the same procedure but you need to create the NoDrives entry in this key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Here are some other values for the drive letters.

Drive Letter	Decimal	Hex
A	1	1
B	2	2
C	4	4
D	8	8
E	16	10
F	32	20
G	64	40

Follow the same procedure to Hide Drives in Windows XP. No change is required. If you have any questions or suggestions then shoot them in comments and I will get back to you.

Change Frequency of System Restore Point

As Windows xp, Windows Vista also has the System Restore function. Vista creates a system restore point once a day. It also creates these points when you update your system or install some software or drivers. But most of us don't do many changes to our system on a daily basis. So once everyday frequency is not very useful. But you have the option to change it through registry. But be careful when using the registry as it may render your system unusable if you change the wrong setting.

Okay now on to how to change the frequency of your system restore point in vista

--- open registry editor by typing regedit in the start menu search box and hit enter.

--- If you have UAC then you have to approve the window that appears and the registry editor will open.

--- Now in the left pane find this key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\SystemRestore

--- Once you click on the SystemRestore key in the left pane look for the entry RPGlobalInterval. Double click on it to edit it.

--- Now the value is in Hexadecimal but I don't know the hexadecimal equivalent of my value I want to enter. So change the value to Decimal. If you know the hexadecimal go ahead with it.

--- The default value is 15180 in Hexadecimal and 86400 in Decimal which is seconds equivalent to 24 hours i.e. a day.

--- Now you can enter the value you want, like if you want to create system restore point once a week then enter 604800.

--- Click OK after you have entered the value then close the registry editor and you are done.

Now Windows will create the restore point once a week or the amount you chose to do it.

Remove Shortcut Arrow

When using Windows you must have noticed that the shortcut icons of all the applications have a arrow on the icon. This arrow indicates that it is a shortcut to the original file and not the original application file. But it doesn't look good on the desktop especially if your desktop is full of shortcuts. And whenever you create a shortcut by sending a file to desktop it comes with a arrow.

You can remove this arrow from the icon with just a registry trick

--- Go to registry editor by typing regedit in the run dialog box.

--- Then in the left pane go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT and look for the key named lnkfile (don't confuse L with I its Lnkfile). Click on it.

--- Before making any changes, backup the registry. Now in the right pane look for IsShortcut entry and delete it.

--- This is how this will look

The arrow is removed and your icons look better.


If you are using windows xp you can use the Tweak UI power toy from Microsoft.

--- Download TweakUI from here. Install it.

--- Now start Tweak UI and on the left side click on Explorer and then on shortcut.

--- In the right side in shortcut overlay select none to remove the arrow. Click apply and OK.

That's it the arrow is gone.

Use Power Button to Shutdown Vista

While using Windows xp whenever I wanted to shutdown the PC, I used to press the power button once and the system would shutdown. But in case of Windows Vista when you press the power button the system goes to sleep mode. Its good if you want to get back to work quickly after some rest but if you want to keep the system down for longer periods then you would like to shut it down. Now to use the power button to shutdown Vista system we have to make some changes to the power settings.

So here is how you do it.

--- First go to Start menu then to click Control Panel.

--- In Control Panel click System and maintenance, and then on Power Options.

--- Select the poer management you want to use then click on change plan setting.

--- Then in the next window click Change advanced power setting. A dialog box will pop up.

--- Click on the + sign in front of the Power buttons and lid option and then expand the Power button action by clicking on the + sign in front of it.

--- Then click on setting. A drop down box will appear, select shutdown as the option.

--- Click Apply then OK and exit the power options.

Now whenever you want to shutdown the PC in a hurry just press the power button.

Enable Run Command

I have seen on many forums people ask about how to enable the Run dialog box in the start menu which was disabled after a virus attack. Also pressing Windows Key + R gives a error message saying it is disabled by Administrator or some other message saying its been disabled. When this kind of virus infects your system all the system settings like Folder options, Registry editor and task manager all get disable. And you cannot access them as Run command also doesn't work.

Now to get the system back to normal, first scan your PC with a good anti virus software like ESET NOD32 or Kaspersky. You can download the trial versions from the links to get the job done.

Now to get the run command back

--- Go to the drive where windows is installed then go to this folder Windows/System 32.

--- Then find the file gpedit.msc in that folder.

--- You can also search for the file in your windows drive using the search option.

--- After you find it double click on it. This is the Local group policy editor.

--- Then in the left pane go to User Configurations --> Administrative Templates --> Start Menu and Taskbar.

--- Now in the right pane look for "Remove Run menu from Start Menu", double click on it.

--- In the setting tab, select disabled and click Apply and OK and exit the Group policy editor.

--- Log off or restart the system.

That's it the run command is active again. Now if your other settings are disabled then to get them back follow these instruction given to enable registry, task manager and hidden files option.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

Improve Vista Startup Performance

Everyone wants to improve the performance of there system. With Vista you need to do everything you can to get it running faster.

One way of improving the startup performance of Vista is to disable superfetch. Disabling superfetch is a quick way to boost the performance of vista immediately.

To do this

--- Go to start menu --> Run then type services.msc

--- Then look for superfetch services and double click on it

--- Then choose the disable option in startup type and then stop the service.

--- Click Apply and OK.

Once superfetch is disabled all the tasks like boot and log on will go in a jiffy.

Disabling Superfetch also makes your system go in to sleep mode very quickly and resume from it as well.

Keyboard Shortcuts for folders

You use some folder more than others and want to get to them as quickly as possible. You create shortcut on desktop for quick access. But the fastest way to these folders would be a keyboard shortcut assigned to them.

So here is how you do it

--- Go to the folder you want to create the keyboard shortcut for, then right click on it and go to the send to menu and send it to desktop (Create shortcut).

--- Now go to the desktop and right click on the shortcut just created and click properties.

--- Now you will see a shortcut key field in the properties dialog box.

--- Now hold Ctrl and Alt keys and press any letter key of your choice or Press and hold Ctrl and Shift key and press any letter key you want as the shortcut. Like Ctrl+Alt+X or Ctrl+Shift+X.

--- Click apply and OK.

Your keyboard shortcut for your folder is created. Just press the keyboard combination you entered in shortcut key to open that folder.

Change Internet Explorer Title

If you want to give a personal touch to your Internet Explorer then adding a title of your choice will be the answer.

Internet Explorer shows the name of the site along with Windows Internet Explorer attached to it. To get rid of this attachment and add your own text you need to modify a registry key.

Here is how you do it.

--- Go to registry editor by typing regedit in run box.

--- Then go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main

--- Then in the right side look for a entry named Window Title. Double click on it and change the text to whatever you want to show up at the Internet explorer title bar.

--- If the key does not exist then create a String Value by right clicking in an empty area in the right side and selecting String Value. Name it as Window Title.

--- Then double click this key and enter whatever text you want to show up in the title bar of Internet Explorer.

--- Exit the registry editor and restart Internet Explorer if its already running.

That's it your own personal note will be displayed on the title bar of internet explorer.

Reset Windows Vista Password

Sometimes we change the password of our windows system and the next time we try to boot, we remember the earlier password but not the new one. But if you are using Windows vista then there is a chance to get back in your system. But for this you need to create a password reset disk while you still remember your password.

To create a password reset disk you need a floppy drive or a usb drive.

--- Now go to control panel in start menu then click on user accounts & family safety.

--- Then click on user accounts

--- Now on the left side click on Create a password reset disk. This will bring a dialog box to create the disk. You need to have the floppy disk in the drive or the usb drive connected.

--- A wizard for forgotten password will open. Click next on the first screen.

--- On the next screen select the media you want to create the disk in. Select floppy or usb drive as you want. Your internal hard disk as well as CD/DVD drive will not be listed.

--- In next screen you will be asked for the current password. Enter it and click next.

--- The disk will be created with a userkey.psw file in it and then click finish to exit the wizard.

--- You need to store this in a safe place as it will be easy if someone get there hands on this file. They can get in to your PC easily.

--- If you change your password before using this created disk then you need to repeat this procedure to create the disk again.

Now the procedure get back into your system because you forgot the password.

--- At the login screen you will be asked to enter password. Just take a guess and enter any thing as password.

--- If you get it right then all is well but if you don't then click OK after the wrong password you entered and you will be shown a Reset Password link below the password field. Click on it.

--- You will see the password reset wizard. Click next on the first screen.

--- You will be asked to choose the media where you created that file earlier. Select it and click next.

--- Then you will be asked to enter a new password and hint for it. Enter them and click next.

--- You will get the message that password reset succeeded and you can use the same disk again in the future if you don't change the password again.

--- Close the wizard and login using the new password.