Cloud Computing

Cloud computing is a general term for anything that involves delivering hosted services over the Internet. These services are broadly divided into three categories: Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS). The name cloud computing was inspired by the cloud symbol that's often used to represent the Internet in flowcharts and diagrams.

A cloud service has three distinct characteristics that differentiate it from traditional hosting. It is sold on demand, typically by the minute or the hour; it is elastic -- a user can have as much or as little of a service as they want at any given time; and the service is fully managed by the provider (the consumer needs nothing but a personal computer and Internet access). Significant innovations in virtualization and distributed computing, as well as improved access to high-speed Internet and a weak economy, have accelerated interest in cloud computing.

A cloud can be private or public. A public cloud sells services to anyone on the Internet. (Currently, Amazon Web Services is the largest public cloud provider.) A private cloud is a proprietary network or a data center that supplies hosted services to a limited number of people. When a service provider uses public cloud resources to create their private cloud, the result is called a virtual private cloud. Private or public, the goal of cloud computing is to provide easy, scalable access to computing resources and IT services.


Infrastructure-as-a-Service like Amazon Web Services provides virtual server instanceAPI) to start, stop, access and configure their virtual servers and storage. In the enterprise, cloud computing allows a company to pay for only as much capacity as is needed, and bring more online as soon as required. Because this pay-for-what-you-use model resembles the way electricity, fuel and water are consumed, it's sometimes referred to as utility computing.


Platform-as-a-service in the cloud is defined as a set of software and product development tools hosted on the provider's infrastructure. Developers create applications on the provider's platform over the Internet. PaaS providers may use APIs, website portals or gateway software installed on the customer's computer. Force.com, (an outgrowth of Salesforce.com) and GoogleApps are examples of PaaS. Developers need to know that currently, there are not standards for interoperability or data portability in the cloud. Some providers will not allow software created by their customers to be moved off the provider's platform.


In the software-as-a-service cloud model, the vendor supplies the hardware infrastructure, the software product and interacts with the user through a front-end portal. SaaS is a very broad market. Services can be anything from Web-based email to inventory control and database processing. Because the service provider hosts both the application and the data, the end user is free to use the service from anywhere.

What is public cloud?

A public cloud is one based on the standard cloud computing model, in which a service provider makes resources, such as applications and storage, available to the general public over the Internet. Public cloud services may be free or offered on a pay-per-usage model.

The main benefits of using a public cloud service are:

• Easy and inexpensive set-up because hardware, application and bandwidth costs are covered by the provider.
• Scalability to meet needs.
• No wasted resources because you pay for what you use.

The term "public cloud" arose to differentiate between the standard model and the private cloud, which is a proprietary network or data center that uses cloud computing technologies, such as virtualization. A private cloud is managed by the organization it serves. A third model, the hybrid cloud, is maintained by both internal and external providers.
Examples of public clouds include Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2), IBM's Blue Cloud, Sun Cloud, Google AppEngine and Windows Azure Services Platform.

What is a private cloud?

Private cloud (also called internal cloud or corporate cloud) is a marketing term for a proprietary computing architecture that provides hosted services to a limited number of people behind a firewall.

Advances in virtualization and distributed computing have allowed corporate network and datacenter administrators to effectively become service providers that meet the needs of their "customers" within the corporation.
Marketing media that uses the words "private cloud" is designed to appeal to an organization that needs or wants more control over their data than they can get by using a third-party hosted service such as Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) or Simple Storage Service (S3).

What is hybrid cloud?

 1. A hybrid cloud is a composition of at least one private cloud and at least one public cloud. A hybrid cloud is typically offered in one of two ways: a vendor has a private cloud and forms a partnership with a public cloud provider, or a public cloud provider forms a partnership with a vendor that provides private cloud platforms.

2. A hybrid cloud is a cloud computing environment in which an organization provides and manages some resources in-house and has others provided externally. For example, an organization might use a public cloud service, such as Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) for archived data but continue to maintain in-house storage for operational customer data. Ideally, the hybrid approach allows a business to take advantage of the scalability and cost-effectiveness that a public cloud computing environment offers without exposing mission-critical applications and data to third-party vulnerabilities.  This type of hybrid cloud is also referred to as hybrid IT.

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Posted in: Technology

New Features Expected from Windows 8

The next operating system of Windows 8 will be available by 2012 August as known from some sources. Here are Windows 8 new features that must be in Windows 8.

Windows 8 New Taskbar

This is a guess made by everyone. In Windows 8, there are full chances that Microsoft includes a new Windows 8 taskbar. Just like Windows 7 had a new taskbar, though not entirely different than Windows Vista but then the new features made the customers / users of Windows 7 delighted.

No Compatibility Issues in Windows 8

The biggest reason that Windows Vista could never make it up to the mark of the sale it could have that, it was not compatible with many applications of Windows XP. There won't be any such problem and this will rather prove to be a Windows 8 new feature for the users.

Windows 8 – 128 Bit Operating System

Some people say that after the labor of 2 years, the Microsoft engineers will able to design a 128 bit Operating System which they will call Windows 8. Though it sounds impossible in one sense but it is also a rumor that Microsoft has allied with Intel to make 128 bit processors as soon as possible.

If this is a fact that Windows 8 is going to be a 128 bit operating system, then it will surely be a revolution in the operating system industry because no other operating system other than Windows 8 will be a 128 bit Operating System.

Windows 8 RAM support – 512 GB

When practicality goes hand in hand then Windows 7 64 bit edition supports 192 GB of RAM. According to that, if Windows 8 will be a 128 bit Operating system, then Windows 8 is surely going to support something around 512 GB of RAM, which would be a very big advantage for the server runners.

Windows 8 new looks

There is a rumor that the upcoming looks of Windows 8 are going to be something at which the users will become a fan just by seeing itself. Some of the Windows 8 pictures were leaked on the net somehow. The Windows 8 new look can entirely be different than what it was in Windows 7 and Windows vista, with full change in the icon arrangement, program management, window flashback and Windows 8 taskbar.

Windows 8 Libraries

Windows 7 was full of new libraries in it. There may be many more such libraries in Windows 8 so as to enhance the Windows 8 new features functionality. The Windows 8 libraries might be able to include more functionality as well as security safeguards.

Windows 8 Security

Windows 7 became popular, far more popular than Windows Vista could ever become because of great security inclusions. Such security can also be called as Windows 8 security inclusions that mean that the Windows 8 people can also add new security inclusions and a better firewall to Windows 8.

Cloud Synchronization in Windows 8

This new feature came in to attention only recently after some one got access to an early leak of Windows 8. However, it seem to be an exciting feature. Now everyone is talking about cloud computing and Google is going after the clouds as well. So obviously Microsoft wanted their share as well in the clouds.

Even though there is no official information available, based on the news spreading in the internet, cloud synchronization feature will allow you to synchronize your data and files to a cloud system. It could be a Microsoft cloud server which you can subscribe through the Windows App Store (?) or it could be a third party cloud system. If Microsoft does not open the doors to third party cloud synchronization, this feature is not going to be an exciting one for most users.

If Windows 8 supports cloud synchronization feature, it will be a great new feature that most of us are going to love.

Windows 8 on a USB drive

Microsoft decided to respond to the challenges from Google Chrome by offering 'Take Windows 8 with you wherever you go. This feature is called "Windows 8 on USB drive" by the Windows 8 watchers. Since Microsoft has not officially named their features and the product itself, let us go by the name given by the Windows 8 lovers. Some others call this feature "Windows 8 portable workspace".

The good thing is, now you can take your Windows 8 profile and settings with you on your USB drive and get productive any where in the world and on any computer within minutes. However, the not so good news is, this feature will be available only for the enterprise license users.

According to the available information, you will be able to copy your Windows 8 installation to a USB drive which is 16GB or higher in size. You can simply plug in this USB drive in any computer and start the work in few seconds. This will be a really useful feature in Windows 8. There is no need to carry a big laptop with you when you travel. Instead, just copy your Windows 8 workspace in to a USB drive and keep it in your shirt pocket!

Some people have already started complaining this is an ideal copied from Linux. But who cares?

Windows 8 App Store feature

App store became a very popular name among the iPod, iPad and iPhone users. If you are an Apple product user, you would have used App store atleast once.

Better late than never. Microsoft is integrating the App store concept with Windows 8. The new Windows 8 will have an integrated App store where you can buy the tested, verified and reviewed products directly from your Windows. You can read reviews written by other buyers and also share your reviews on the items you buy.

There are lot of screenshots posted by various bloggers. However, we do not know if they are real or not. Wait couple of weeks to find more reliable information on the Windows 8 App store.

Ribbon UI in Windows 8

Have you noticed the ribbon UI in the Microsoft Office 2010? According to the available sources, Microsoft is expanding this kind of UI to the next version of Windows. When some websites started reporting the alleged screenshots of Windows 8 ribbon UI, a lot of people have expressed that they are complex, cumbersome and not very intuitive. Let us see how the ribbon UI is going to look like in the final release of Windows 8, if it makes it to there.

May be the Windows 8 Ribbon UI will come with some options to turn it off and allow us to use the classic navigation and menu.

Whether we all like it or not, Microsoft is going to try it in Windows 8.

In the Ribbon UI, all the menu options are spread on a ribbon like toolbar instead of an organized text menu. You can reach most of the options in the application with 1 or 2 clicks on the buttons in the ribbon.

Most users think ribbon UI is not attractive and adds lot of clutter to the UI. Many users are still comfortable with the old style menus with the familiar File, Edit, help menu items.

The Ribbon UI will probably make it to Windows 8 as a new feature, but I hope they will provide an option to disable it and use the classic menu by itself.

Modern Reader - The new built-in PDF reader for Windows 8

For most computer users, downloading Acrobat Reader is part of initial setup of the computer. Most software application vendors include Acrobat Reader in their product releases.

The scenario is going to change. Just like Internet Explorer became an essential piece of Windows, a PDF reader is also becoming part of Windows. According to the available but unreliable sources, Windows 8 will have a built-in PDF reader, which most people call it 'Modern Reader' currently. This will save you some time from installing Acrobat Reader on your computer. Modern Reader will feature Zomm in and out options, jump between sections, a back button to jump to previous spot etc. Also, Modern Reader supports side by side views. The name suggests it is just a reader, so you won't be able to edit PDF files using this tool. This is probably going to be a light weight document reader and you may need to install other third party software for advanced features.

The following features are spread by several bloggers, but there are no strong evidence to prove they are actually included in Windows 8

Hard reset button

Hard reset! Does it sound familiar? Remember that small reset button on your electronic devices that let you reset everything to the factory defaults? That is where Microsoft is heading to. It looks like they want to shut everyone up by providing a magic button that wipes out everything that was added to clutter up your Windows 8 and thus avoid complaining about a slow computer. There is no clear information about how this is going to be implemented, but may be it will be probably a new tiny hardware button on a hidden place on the back of your computer to avoid someone pressing it accidentally resulting in losing all your data.

Hard reset button on the Windows 8 computer could be a useful feature. By pressing this button, you could get everything reset and go back to the original Windows 8 installation in a matter of few minutes.

Best new feature in Windows 8: My PC Knows Me! Facial detection

Imagine you wake up in the morning, makes a cup of tea, walks to your computer and you computer identify your presence and wakes from sleep quickly to say "Good morning, John!"

Well, not exactly the same, but it is pretty close. That is what Microsoft offers with the feature "My PC Knows Me".

Microsoft is introducing facial recognition in Windows 8. Your computer will be equipped with hardware sensors supported by Windows 8. The hardware sensors can detect presence of people near the computer and also identify the person from the face using advanced facial detection algorithm. Your computer can automatically log you in if configured to use Facial detection and login.

Even the computer can switch the user user login when you walk out of your computer and your wife walks in. All you need to do is, configure multiple users to login using Face detection.

Face detection is a complex new feature in Windows 8. Microsoft has to address several issues including:

1. What happens when multiple people walk in to the computer at the same time
2. What if the second user walks in while you are actively working on
3. What if you wanted to keep your computer locked, but you accidentally walk in front of the computer to pick up a phone in front of your computer?

Some other features that are expected but not yet confirmed are:

3D support in Windows 8

Sterespoic 3D support is one of the earliest rumors on Windows 8. None of the leaked versions of Windows 8 or related documents confirm this. However, if Windows 8 really comes with the stereoscopic 3D support, it will be an interesting new feature.

Many electronic manufacturers including Televisions are switching to 3D versions. In fact, it is really hard to find a flat panel TV without 3D support.

But not sure what will be the case with Windows 8 computers. Are they going to come with simple 3D support, but no 3D display until you connect your laptop to a 3D display system? Are we going to need separate 3D glasses? Or, will it come with built-in 3D glasses?

3D laptops of computers are going to get any attention only if they come with built-in 3D glasses. Otherwise, no computer engineer is going to buy 3D glasses and wear it before he open his computer.

Immersive browser - new compact browser in Windows 8

Windows 8 comes with a cool browser called "Immersive browser". This is a very compact version of the browser which shows very limited number of controls on the screen and looks very close to Google Chrome browser. Google Chrome is my favorite browser because it has a very cool UI offering maximum space for the web pages. Google Chrome have only limited number of controls on the screen, but has everything that we need to browse any website efficiently. Looks like Microsoft is going after this.

The new Immersive browser have back and forward buttons, address bar, favicon, history links and a refresh button - just what we need! This looks like a very compact browser.

Also, the screenshots show the navigation bar and the controls are moved to the bottom of the browser. I find it very convenient and the new location seem to be naturally fit for easy browsing.

History Vault: Keep your files safe in Windows 8

Many recent blogs hint at a new feature in Windows 8 called "History Vault". According to various sources, this feature is inspired from the "Time Machine" feature in Mac OS X. This new feature will allow you to have your Windows 8 backup your files automatically and will allow you to select and restore various versions of the files based on date and time stamp.

It is not clear where the backup will be kept. Some blogs indicate you will have the option to choose the internal hard drive, external storage devices or the cloud based storage for your file backup. If the files could be stored in external locations, then it will be a blessing for Windows users to save their data in case of any system crash. You will be able to restore individual or group of files and folders based on a selected time frame.

Windows 8 will support ARM Processors

Steve Ballmer indicated in a recent demonstration that Microsoft is planning to extend Windows to support ARM processors. In an official press release early this year, Microsoft announced the upcoming version of Windows will support System on a Chip (SoC) architectures on x86 and ARM architecture. Support for ARM processors will be a significant change in Windows 8. This will allow OEMs to install Windows 8 on small devices like netbook, smartphone and similar devices. Obviously, Windows running on small devices will have it's own limitation. The success of Windows 8 on ARM systems will depend on how well they can compete with the fast growing Android and iOS. The tech watchers are expecting that Microsoft will offer a good challenge to Android.

Many of the statements in the official press release indicates that the next version of Windows will be giving due importance for tablet based computer systems. Microsoft does want to turn a blind eye towards the threat from the iPads and Android tablets.

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Posted in: Technology

How to Set Multiple Web Pages as Your Home Page in Firefox

You can use more than one page as your Firefox home page.

Go to  Firefox's Tools menu, Options, General. Just enter the names of the websites separated by a pipe | sign.

Now hit the "Use Current Pages" button.

For example http://www.google.co.in/ | http://www.yahoo.com/

That's it! Every time you open Firefox or click on the Home button the given web pages will be opened in separate tabs.

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Posted in: Tricks

Get Windows 7 Iconized (Icon Only) Taskbar Feature in Windows XP and Vista

Windows 7 taskbar doesn’t show text in application buttons, it only show their icons. On the other hand previous Windows versions used to show icon as well as text in all application’s taskbar buttons.

Actually Windows 7 new iconized taskbar feature looks good and it also saves space in taskbar area. If you want to have the same feature in Windows XP, Vista, Server 2003, 2008, etc, then you can get it after following a few simple and easy steps.

Before applying this tutorial: 








 After applying this tutorial:

 So here are the steps to follow:

1. Type regedit in RUN dialog box and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor. Now go to following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics

2. In right-side pane, create a new String value MinWidth and set its value to -255.

3. That’s it. Log off or restart your system and get ready to have iconized taskbar in your system.

4. To restore default taskbar behavior, delete the MinWidth String value and log off or restart your system.

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Posted in: Tricks

Fundamental Differences between Linux and Windows

Anyone who has pondered the idea of migrating from Windows to Linux knows there are differences between the two operating systems. But just what are those differences? Many people considering this migration might be more apt to make the jump if they know just what the differences are. So it would be a good idea, in the spirit of helping users make the leap, to outline some of the fundamental differences between Linux and Windows. 

Cost 
In the current state of the economy, cost is a factor that will drive more and more people away from costly solutions to free solutions. That is one area that Linux can not be denied. It is free. Linux has been free since its inception. Why is it free? Because it is created by a vast community of developers who do not work for a single company. Linux is not a company. Red Hat is a company and they package a distribution of Linux that has a price tag, but they are not Linux. 
The vast majority of the software created for Linux is also free. But does this lack of price tag make Linux (and other open source software) of any less quality? No. In some cases open source software is better than its proprietary counterpart.

Freedom 
It is not talking about freedom as it is applied to the open source metaphor. It is about freedom from how a single company thinks your computer should work. With Windows you are locked in to how Microsoft feels the operating system should work. Microsoft thinks a taskbar, a start menu, icons, and a system tray create the best desktop. For some that may be. But for many users it is not the best choice. For Example someone may prefer a minimalist desktop without the standard desktop pieces. If you are using Microsoft then you would be out of luck (unless you employ a third party, proprietary solution). With Linux you can make your computer do and act exactly how you want.

File system Hierarchy 
First and foremost Linux uses a single hierarchical directory system. Everything in Linux begins in the root directory which is the “/” and drives will be labeled /dev/sda, /dev/sdb, etc. Windows, on the other hand, uses a multiple hierarchical directory system that depends upon the amount of drives in the system. When Windows boots, each drive will be assigned a letter which serves as a root. So in a Windows system that contains three drives there will be three roots (such as A:, E:, and F:). 
In a Linux system only one drive will hold the root directory. If other drives are 
mounted on that same system they will be mounted in /media/. But even if you have multiple drives on a Linux system, you will only have one root directory.

Hardware Support 
This is where things can get a little tricky. Because Microsoft is so embedded in the retail market, most hardware is created with Windows in mind. Because of this it is possible to get, with the right drivers, most hardware to work with Windows. With Linux hardware support is dependent upon the developers being able to either hack together a workable solution or get the hardware maker to work with them and hand over the specs. There are only a few instances where hardware simply won’t work with Linux. In these cases it is a matter of hardware vendors not releasing specs. But in general you will find out of the box Linux support to be pretty fantastic. 
But modern Linux distributions are better at detecting hardware than Windows. But if you are one of the unlucky few that has hardware created by a less-than-cooperative vendor, you might have trouble. Google your hardware for Linux support in case you are unsure. 

Security 
This is another area that will be hotly debated until the end of the operating system as we know it. Whether driven by market share, hatred, or vulnerability Windows simply has far more weaknesses than Linux. One of the primary differences is the root access metaphor. In order to do any serious damage to the Linux system one has to have access to the root user, which means the root password. Without that password, you’re not getting very far. This does not mean there are not exploits to, say, Sendmail or Apache or MySQL. Another major difference is when a vulnerability or a bug is found the development community of the affected software is typically very fast at plugging the hole. Microsoft has a proven track record of taking far too long to patch similar holes. 

Final Thoughts 
There are plenty of other differences between Microsoft and Linux. Can you think of any?

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Posted in: Technology

How to Enable View Tab in Folder Option

When you open Folder Options in Windows Explorer, it shows various tabs.
But sometimes a few or all tabs might missing in this dialog box as you can see in following screenshot “View” tab is missing:

To fix this problem you can follow these simple steps:
Open RUN dialog box and provide following commands one by one:

regsvr32 /i shell32.dll

regsvr32 /i browseui.dll

Restart your system and it should fix your problem.

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Posted in: Computer

Clear Recent Document List Upon Log Off or Shut Down

You can clear all the recent documents list that is created in My Recent Documents for security reasons upon Log Off or Shut Down. Here is the process:

1. Type regedit in RUN dialog box and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

2. Now goto any one of the following Keys:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

3. Now create a DWORD value “ClearRecentDocsOnExit” in any of the above mentioned registry locations and set its value to 1.

Thats it. Now every time you Log Off or Shut Down your computer, your Recent Documents List will be cleared.

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Posted in: Tricks

Why 32 bit Operating System Does Not Support More Than 4 GB RAM

On any 32-bit Operating System (not only Windows), you only have access to 4GB of address space by default. A 32-bit Operating System can actually handle 4GB of memory. The issue is the way in which the hardware allocates memory for its own resources. The hardware needs to allocate memory space to use for things like the PCI bus, BIOS, the video card and others. It allocates this from the address space presented to it, which is not necessarily the same as the amount of physical RAM installed. Also of note, it allocates this memory from top to bottom. The problem is, when you have 4GB of RAM installed, the amount of physical memory installed is the same as the address space. If you have 4GB RAM, and the hardware needs to allocate a large chunk of memory for its own use, and it does this from top to bottom, the memory that is blocked off starts at 4GB and allocates downwards. So, the final amount of RAM the OS will be able to see is the difference. This is because when it actually allocates for the physical RAM in the system, it has to skip the chunk that was blocked off by the hardware. Since a 32-bit OS can only see 4GB, the rest of the RAM is invisible because it is above the 4GB barrier. By using the /PAE switch, you enable the OS to see above this barrier, and you can see all of your RAM, sometimes. The real problem comes back to hardware. The OS can only handle whatever resources are shown to it by the hardware BIOS. If the hardware does not support a large enough addressing range, then it simply won't report anything above that so the OS is in the dark. If the hardware supports 36-bit PAE Intel Extensions or the AMD equivalent, and you use an OS that supports PAE, you should be able to enable both and see all of the RAM.

Source: 1. http://blogs.msdn.com/oldnewthing/archive/2006/08/14/699521.aspx

Source: 2. http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000811.html

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Posted in: Computer

List of Puri Holiday Homes

Here is list of Holiday Homes at Puri.
Download Here.

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Posted in: Travel

Inserting Tables in MS Word in a Simple Way

Instead of table>insert>table etc in ms word just copy this

+-----------+-------+----------+--------+

this will create a new table.

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Posted in: Tricks

Create a Virtual Drive for Your Desired Folder in My Computer

If you frequently use a folder named “Wallpapers” which is situated in E:\Data\Gallery\Wallpapers”, then you can create a virtual drive say “H:” in My Computer which will goto this folder directly whenever you’ll double click on it or access it from RUN or Command Prompt. It’ll save a lot of time.

Here is how to do it:

1. Open Command Prompt and provide following command:

subst drive_letter:folder_path

for example, if you want to create a virtual drive letter H: for a folder “E:\Wallpapers”, then use following command:

subst H: E:\Wallpapers

2. It’ll immediately create a virtual drive H: which will represent the “Wallpapers” folder.

3. Now you can directly go to “E:\Wallpapers” folder upon double-click.

4. If you want to delete this virtual drive, then provide following command:

subst drive_letter: /D

for example, we created H: drive in Step1, so our command to delete this virtual drive would be:

subst H: /D

NOTE:

A. Remember! You can’t use existing drive letters for creating virtual drives, e.g. if you have 2 partitions C: and D:, then you can’t use them for subst command.

B. You should not use chkdsk, diskcomp, diskcopy, format, label and recover commands on virtual drives created using subst command as these virtual drives are not real and these commands either will not work or can cause problems for the actual drives where the folders reside.

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Posted in: Tricks

How to Rename your Recycle Bin

If you would like to be able to rename the Recycle Bin to something else (Trash, Waste, Shredder, etc) then this tweak will make it easy to do so.

Open notepad and copy the following code into a new file:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-
00AA002F954E}\ShellFolder]
"Attributes"=hex:50,01,00,20
"CallForAttributes"=dword:00000000

Now save this text file as a .reg file, such as "Rename Recycle Bin.reg" and put it wherever you like. Double click on the file, and when it asks you if you want to import it into the registry, choose Yes. You'll notice a new option in the right-click menu to Rename the Recycle Bin. You can also rename it by highlighing the Bin and hitting F2, or by highlighting it and clicking on the file name (just like renaming any other file).

If you want to turn off this new feature, make another .reg file with the same content as above, but change the first number in the "Attributes"=hex: line from 50 to 40 and import that file into the registry.

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Posted in: Tricks

Automatically Defrag Drives with a New Context Menu Item

Create a new Registry import file named context_defrag.inf in Notepad (be sure to save it with the Save as type set to All Files and not Text Documents) and place the following text inside: 

; context_defrag.INF 

; Adds Defrag to the right click context menu in Windows XP 

[version] 

signature="$CHICAGO$" 

[DefaultInstall] 

AddReg=AddMe 

[AddMe] 

HKCR,"Drive\Shell\Defrag\command",,,"DEFRAG.EXE %1" 

Then, right-click and choose Install. This will add a context menu to XP that allows you to automatically defrag drives, using the command line version of the built-in defragmentation utility. To use it, navigate to a drive in My Computer, right-click, and choose Defrag. A command line window will appear, and that drive will be defragged. When it's complete, the window just disappears. 

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Posted in: Tricks

Create your own Password Protected Locker to Store Files

Copy the following codes:

cls
@ECHO OFF
title Folder Locker
if EXIST "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" goto
UNLOCK
if NOT EXIST Locker goto MDLOCKER
:CONFIRM
echo Are you sure u want to Lock the folder(Y/N)
set/p "cho=>"
if %cho%==Y goto LOCK
if %cho%==y goto LOCK
if %cho%==n goto END
if %cho%==N goto END
echo Invalid choice.
goto CONFIRM
:LOCK
ren Locker "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
attrib +h +s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
echo Folder locked
goto End
:UNLOCK
echo Enter password to Unlock folder
set/p "pass=>"
if NOT %pass%==type your password here goto FAIL
attrib -h -s "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}"
ren "Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}" Locker
echo Folder Unlocked successfully
goto End
:FAIL
echo Invalid password
goto end
:MDLOCKER 

md Locker
echo Locker created successfully
goto End
:End 

* Now paste it in notepad.

* Save it as batch file (with extension .bat).Any name will do.

* Now you see a batch file. Double click it to create a folder locker.

* A new folder named Locker would be formed at the same location.

* Now brings all the files you want to hide in the locker folder.

* Now double click the batch file to lock the folder namely Locker.

* If you want to unlock your files, double click the batch file again and you would be prompted for password. Enter the password and enjoy access to the folder.

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Posted in: Tricks

Some Funny Tricks

For those of you using Windows, do the following:
1.) Open an empty notepad file.
2.) Type “Bush hid the facts” (without the quotes)
3.) Save it as whatever you want.
4.) Close it, and re-open it. See the Magic.

Its a Bug in Windows. It happens because when you save a file in Notepad, its get saved in 8-Bit ASCII format. But the next time you open it, Notepad thinks it is saved in UTF-16 Unicode Format. So it displays some garbage characters. It happens even for "hhhh hhh hhh hhhhh".

Another trick:
Open Microsoft Word and type
=rand (200, 99)
And then press ENTER and see what happens.

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Posted in: Tricks

Watch Movies in Ms Paint

1. Open your favorite movie player and play the move.

2. Hit "PrintScreen", keep playing the movie in the player, dont stop it.

3. Open MsPaint.

4. Select "Edit>Paste" Or Hit "CTRL+V".

5. Now you can watch movies in Paint!

6. But there are no Pause, Next, Previous, Stop etc. buttons

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Posted in: Tricks

Hide Files/Folders Without Any Software

Method 1: 

1. Right click on the file/folder that u want to hide then Send to ->New
Compressed (zipped) Folder
2.Change the file extension from *.zip to anything or nothing (like xyz.zip to
xyz/xyz.dll/xyz.pdf/xyz.doc/etc)

TIP: Change to *.dll for safest hiding.(backup)

Note: IF UR SYSTEM IS NOT SHOWING FILE EXTENSION THEN OPEN MY
COMPUTER GO TO ->TOOLS ->FOLDER OPTIONS->VIEW->UNCHECK HIDE
EXTENSIONS OF KNOWN FILE TYPES

4.Change the file name if u want to but make sure u remember it else it wont be easy to
search it out when unhiding .
5. Now paste the file in \WINDOWS\system32 folder (very important step).
jobs done!
u have hided file/folder without any external software .

UNHIDING STEPS :

1. Search for ur file in \WINDOWS\system32 .
2. change the file extension to *. zip ( like if ur file is xyz.dll after hiding then change to
xyz.zip ).
3. Extract to wherever u want.

Method 2:

1. Right click the folder.
2. Go to properties >> customize >> change icon.
3. Select those invisible ones.
4. Rename the folder to (alt +255 from number pad).
5. And for more protection change the attribute to hidden.

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Posted in: Tricks

Difference between 32 bit and 64 bit Processor

A 32 bit processor is faster than a 64 bit processor, 64 bit processors are very commonly used that you can find it easily in any home PC but the main difference is the hardware you are having on your machine. For 32 bits there isn’t any need of any wide main bus to carry 32 bits at a time but for 64 bits its must that you should have a wider bus to carry 64bits.

The main difference between a 32 bit and 64 bit is that 32 bit system has 4gb (gigabytes) of space for addressing means that the 32 bit system has a limit of 4 GB RAM to process data where as the 64 bit operating system has 2^64 bits of space to address and supports 16 hexabytes of RAM to process data.

A person who does not care about the category will find 64 bit more beneficial than 32 bit because he can use 64 bit OS with 32 bit Os and softwares. If we compare 64 bit with 32 bit OS, 64 bit is faster and performs more upgraded silicon processes and have more no of transistors which proves it to be more advantageous than 32 bit.

Now most of the software companies are developing their softwares in accordance to the 64 bit environment, it’s really hard for the consumers to run a 64 bit application in 32 bit environment, in this case they have to upgrade their hardware’s such as RAM which is also a big issue because most of the computer users have less than 1Gb in their systems.

So instead of changing your hardware day by day I would recommend the 32 bit OS which is more user friendly and enables its users to run applications of 64 bit in 32 bit environment.

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Posted in: Computer

Add Clear Temp Option in Recycle Bin Context Menu

Just copy this in notepad:
 
Code:

    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-
    00AA002F954E}\shell\Delete]
    @="&Clear Temp"

    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-
    00AA002F954E}\shell\Delete\Command]
    @=hex(2):43,00,6d,00,64,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,2f,00,63,00,20,00,25,\
     00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,00,6d,00,44,00,72,00,69,00,76,00,65,00,25,00,\
     20,00,26,00,26,00,20,00,63,00,64,00,20,00,25,00,53,00,79,00,73,00,74,00,65,\
     00,6d,00,52,00,6f,00,6f,00,74,00,25,00,5c,00,54,00,65,00,6d,00,70,00,5c,00,\
     20,00,26,00,26,00,20,00,64,00,65,00,6c,00,20,00,2a,00,2e,00,2a,00,20,00,2f,\
     00,66,00,20,00,2f,00,71,00,20,00,26,00,26,00,20,00,28,00,66,00,6f,00,72,00,\
     20,00,2f,00,64,00,20,00,25,00,25,00,61,00,20,00,69,00,6e,00,20,00,28,00,2a,\
     00,29,00,20,00,64,00,6f,00,20,00,72,00,64,00,20,00,22,00,25,00,25,00,61,00,\
     22,00,20,00,2f,00,71,00,20,00,2f,00,73,00,29,00,20,00,26,00,26,00,20,00,63,\
     00,64,00,20,00,25,00,54,00,45,00,4d,00,50,00,25,00,20,00,26,00,26,00,20,00,\
     64,00,65,00,6c,00,20,00,2a,00,2e,00,2a,00,20,00,2f,00,66,00,20,00,2f,00,71,\
     00,20,00,26,00,26,00,20,00,28,00,66,00,6f,00,72,00,20,00,2f,00,64,00,20,00,\
     25,00,25,00,61,00,20,00,69,00,6e,00,20,00,28,00,2a,00,29,00,20,00,64,00,6f,\
     00,20,00,72,00,64,00,20,00,22,00,25,00,25,00,61,00,22,00,20,00,2f,00,71,00,\
     20,00,2f,00,73,00,29,00,00,00

    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-
    00AA002F954E}\shell\Erase]
    @="&Disk Cleanup"

    [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-
    00AA002F954E}\shell\Erase\Command]
    @=hex(2):43,00,6d,00,64,00,2e,00,65,00,78,00,65,00,20,00,2f,00,63,00,20,00,43,\
     00,6c,00,65,00,61,00,6e,00,6d,00,67,00,72,00,20,00,2f,00,73,00,61,00,67,00,\
     65,00,73,00,65,00,74,00,3a,00,36,00,35,00,35,00,33,00,35,00,20,00,26,00,20,\
     00,43,00,6c,00,65,00,61,00,6e,00,6d,00,67,00,72,00,20,00,2f,00,73,00,61,00,\
     67,00,65,00,72,00,75,00,6e,00,3a,00,36,00,35,00,35,00,33,00,35,00,00,00

And save it as Enhanced Recycle Bin.reg or any name with .reg extension and merge it to Windows Registry. Then right click on Recycle Bin and you will get clear temp option.

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Posted in: Tricks

How to Set Your Desired Wallpaper as Folder Background Image in Windows

1. Open Command Prompt and set folder attribute to “system“. Suppose there is a folder “Setup” in “D:\” drive, in which you want to, set wallpaper as background image. So give following command in Command Prompt:

attrib +s D:\Setup

It’ll change the attribute to “system“.

2. Now open Notepad and paste following code:

[ExtShellFolderViews]
{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC} = {BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-
00C04FD706EC}

[{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}]
Attributes=1
IconArea_Image=path_of_the_wallpaper
IconArea_Text=0×00000000

Now change “path of the wallpaper” to the exact path of the wallpaper which you want to set as background. Suppose the wallpaper is stored in “D:\Wallpaper\Image1.jpg”, then the code will be as following:

[ExtShellFolderViews]
{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC} = {BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-
00C04FD706EC}

[{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}]
Attributes=1

IconArea_Image=D:\Wallpaper\Image1.jpg
IconArea_Text=0×00000000

NOTE: If you copy the wallpaper in the same folder which you are editing, then you can simply put the wallpaper name in the file, e.g. if you copy the “Image1.jpg” file in “Setup” folder, then the code will be as following:

[ExtShellFolderViews]
{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC} = {BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-
00C04FD706EC}

[{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}]
Attributes=1
IconArea_Image=Image1.jpg
IconArea_Text=0×00000000

“IconArea_Text” stands for the text color; you can change it to white, yellow, blue, black or any other color. You just need to know the hexa-decimal number of the color and then replace the code in “IconArea_Text” section. A few most used color codes are as follows:

Black - 0×00000000
White - 0×00FFFFFF
Green - 0×0000FF00
Blue - 0×00FF0000
Purple - 0×00C000C0
Red - 0×000000FF
Yellow - 0×0000FFFF
Indigo - 0×00FFFF00

3. Now save the file with name “Desktop.ini” (including quotes) and copy the file in the desired folder which is “Setup” in our example.

4. That’s it. Close the folder and re-open it. Now it should show the wallpaper as background.

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Posted in: Tricks

Making a folder name Con

This is quiet an old trick. I am still posting this trick for novices.

Windows has reserved some names that we cannot use to name the folders or files. These names are only used by windows. For example: con, prn, aux.etc.

But you can create it using this command in command prompt:
md \\.\c:\con

Check my computer and for removing
rd \\.\c:\con

That’s it.

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Posted in: Tricks

Hide Your Files in an Image

All you need is WinRAR installed on Windows XP. Gather all your files. Now add those files in a RAR Archive. For example Secret.rar, Now copy the RaR file to a folder. For Example: C:/hidden/
Now copy any image which is in JPEG format to the same folder above. For Example logo.jpg .
Now Open MS-DOS. Start > Run type "cmd" without quotes. In Dos window something like this should be written:
"Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.
C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator>"

To change it to C: /Hidden/
Type "cd\" without quotes.
Then type "cd hidden" without quotes.

Then type this
COPY /b logo.jpg + secret.rar output.jpg

Now you will see an output.jpg in that "C:\Hidden\" folder.
Now only winrar can open it.

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Posted in: Tricks

Browse the Web Using MS Calculator

Now access the internet via your standard Microsoft Calculator using this trick. You can do this for fun or when your browser is messed up for some unexplainable reason.
Steps:
1. Open your MS Calculator. This is normally found in Start => All Programs => Accessories =>Calculator.
2. Open the help-window by pressing the F1 key.
3. Click the top-left corner icon of the help window once (Standard is a Document with a Question mark).
4. Select 'Jump to URL'.
5. Type your address into the available field, but remember to type http://, and not just www. (Or equivalent).
Have fun!!!

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Posted in: Tricks

Basic Computing Part-I

This post is specially for my colleague Hiranmoy who wants to learn basic computing.
First look at the pictures bellow that explains the outer and inner parts of computer cabinet:

Now follow the link bellow and download the pdf file that explains everything.
Donload here.

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Posted in: Tutorial

Confusion about LED Tvs

There has been a lot of hype and confusion surrounding the introduction of "LED" Televisions. Even many marketing representatives and sales professionals that should know better are falsely explaining what an LED Television is to their prospective customers.

To set the record straight, it is important to note that the LED designation refers to the backlight system used in many newer LCD Televisions, not the chips that produce the image content. LCD chips and pixels do not produce their own light. In order for an LCD television to produce a visible image on a TV screen the LCD's pixels have to be "backlit".  LED TVs are still LCD TVs. It is just that these new sets use LED backlights rather than the fluorescent-type backlights used in most other LCD TVs. In other words, LED TVs should actually be labeled LCD/LED TVs.

How LED Technology is Used In LCD TVs
The are currently two main ways that LED backlighting is applied in LCD flat panel televisions.
One type of LED backlighting is referred to as Edge Lighting. In this method, a series LED backlights are placed along the outside edges of the screen. The light is then dispersed across the screen. The advantage of this method is that the LED/LCD TV can be made very thin. On the other hand, the disadvantage of Edge lighting is that black levels are not as deep and the edge area of the screen has a tendency to be brighter than the center area of the screen.
The other type of LED backlighting is referred to as Full-Array (also referred to sometimes as Full LED). In this method, several rows of LEDs are placed behind the entire surface of the screen. The advantage is that these sets can employ "local dimming". Local dimming means that each LED or a specific group of LEDs can be turned on and off independently within certain areas of the screen, thus providing more control of the brightness and darkness for each those areas, depending on the source material being displayed. On the other hand, LCD TVs that employ full array or full LED backlighting are thicker than LCD TVs that employ an Edge-lit LED light source.
If you are considering the purchase of an LED/LCD Television, find out which brands and models are currently using the Edge or Full Array method and take of a look at each type when you go shopping to see which type of LED backlighting looks best to you.

LED/LCD TVs vs Standard LCD TVs
Since LEDs are designed differently than standard fluorescent backlight systems, this means that the new LED backlit LCD sets offer the following differences with standard LCD sets:
1. Lower power consumption.
2. No Mercury used as in some other LCD backlight systems.
3. More balanced color saturation.
4. In LED/LCD TVs using the Full Array blacklight method, there is little or no light leakage in dark scenes. This contributes to even better black levels than traditional or LED Edge-lit LCD televisions.
5. LED/LCD TVs that use the Edge backlight method can be made much thinner than both standard LCD and Full Array LED/LCD televisions.
The only true LED-only TVs (not to be confused with OLED, which is a different technology) are the ones you see in stadiums, arenas, other large events and "high-res" billboards.
LED backlight does represent an advance in technology, mostly in bringing LCD TVs up to the performance levels of Plasma Televisions in terms of black level performance, and, at the same time, making even thinner LCD TV designs possible.
On the other hand, LCD TVs that utilize LED edge or full array backlighting are more expensive than non-LED backlit sets. However, as they become more common, prices will continue to come down.

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Posted in: Technology

3D Television

3D TV is an emerging technology that allows consumers to enjoy three-dimensional movies, television programs and video games in their homes. Several companies have developed viable 3D technology for the home theater environment, but the reality of seeing 3D TV in the average household is probably years away. That's primarily because the technology requires the purchase of new television equipment, including a 3D-ready TV and a 3D-capable Blu-ray player.
A number of TV manufacturers, including Panasonic, Sony and Samsung, are manufacturing 3D TVs, and their technology is not standardized. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess whose 3D TV technology will have the greatest long-term success, but the Blu-ray 3D standards are platform agnostic, meaning 3D Blu-ray discs should play on any manufacturer's 3D-enabled set.

One of the big questions about 3D TV is, “Will viewers have to wear glasses in order to enjoy 3D effects?” For the most part, the answer is, “Yes.” Although there are companies working on 3D television technology that does not require glasses, the systems that are coming out now use glasses.
Another thing slowing the adoption of 3D TV is the fact that content is scarce, but there are those who believe that will change in the next three to four years.

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Posted in: Technology

High Definition Television

High definition television (HDTV) is the highest form of digital television. It has a 16:9 aspect ratio, which is similar in appearance to a movie theater screen. HDTV has a couple of advantages over the old analog TV format -- the wide screen and the resolution.
The wide screen is good on our eyes -- we see the rectangular wide screen images better than the old square format. Basically, our eyes see better from left/right compared to up/down. The wide screen will also let us see more of the on-screen scene, which is great for sports and movies.

Resolution is undoubtedly HDTVs biggest selling point. HDTV's resolutions are 720p, 1080i and 1080p -- the number stands for the number of lines that create the image and the letter describes the type of scan used by the TV to display the picture.
Resolution matters because the more lines means a better picture. This is a similar concept to digital photos and how dpi determines print quality.

Which HDTV Format Is Better -- 720p, 1080i, or 1080p?
To put the 720 or 1080 lines into perspective, televisions of the past had 480 lines. Since more lines means a better picture then that alone shows why the HDTV has a nicer picture than an analog TV.
More lines is nice but don't forget about the 'p' and 'i' in the 720p, 1080i and 1080p. The letter is an abbreviation for the type of scan the TV uses -- 'p' stands for progressive and 'i' stands for interlaced.
Progressive scan is better than interlaced because it processes the images twice as fast. This faster scan rate produces better clarity and color in the on-screen picture.
The difference between 720p and 1080i is minimal but the TV industry is using 720p more than 1080i. So, buying a 720p HDTV is recommended over a 1080i HDTV.
As far as 1080p, there is no doubt that 1080p is the best resolution on the market. However, there is little to no difference in picture quality between a 1080p and 720p at the 32" and below screen size.

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Posted in: Technology

Education System in India

Hi Friends, this is Kripesh. Today, I am to chat with you about the present day’s educational system in India. In fact, I am very much puzzled about the child’s education. It is very much confusing to me what to do and what not to do in this respect. See, today a small kid goes to school with a huge bag on its back at an age when it does not know even to call its mom or dad clearly. I personally feel very much sorry for the kids. I am very sure that the parents also feel sorry for their kids. They all must feel that their children are losing the most valuable child life that the parents enjoyed in their life. But today everything is evaluated in terms of money. You are successful in your life if you have a huge amount of money in your bank-account, a big flat, a luxurious car etc. etc. It does not matter how these things came and from where. Parents are very much anxious about their kids. They all want to secure the future of their kids. They do not mind if it comes at the cost of their kids’ present. And that’s the real problem.
The problem, as you all are aware of that, is placed. I invite you all to make comment on. Is this system beneficiary for the kids? Does this type of education system increase the I.Q. level of a kid or develop the culture, social value, ethics etc. in a child?

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Posted in: Education

Two entries for windows XP in the boot loader

There are several way. You can follow any of following:
A. Type "sysdm.cpl" in RUN dialog box and press <Enter>. Now goto "Advanced" tab and click on "Settings" button in "Startup & Recovery" section. Now click on "Edit" button and then you can edit the boot loader time, labels, etc.
B. Type "msconfig" in RUN dialog box and goto "Boot.ini" tab and then you can change the desired thing. If you want to remove the corrupt/non-working entries, then click on "Check all boot paths" button.
C. Enable "Show hidden files/folders" and disable "Hide protected system files" options in "Tools -> Folder Options". Now open C:\ drive and remove the READ-ONLY attribute of "BOOT.INI" file from its Properties. Now open this file and then you can make your desired changes.

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Posted in: Computer

NTLDR is missing

Boot using Windows Setup CD and enter into "Recovery Console" by pressing "R". Now Log into windows installation and enter admin password. Now give following commands at prompt:
copy x:\i386\ntldr c:\
copy x:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\
Where "x" is your CD drive, change it according to your system.

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Posted in: Computer

My Documents/My Computer opens automatically at windows startup

Open regedit and goto:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon

In right-side pane, change value of "Userinit" to:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\userinit.exe,
NOTE: If you have windows installed in other drives, then change C:\ to that drive label.
Now goto:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer\Advanced

In right-side pane, change value of "PersistBrowsers" to 0
Now log off windows and it should solve the problem.

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Posted in: Computer

Double Clicking Any Drive in My Computer Opens "Open With" dialog box

Computer is surely infected by virus.
To solve this problem enable "Show hidden files" option in "Tools -> Folder Options" and then search for "Autorun.inf" file in all drives and if you get them in root of any drive (e.g. in C:\, D:\ and so on), delete them.

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Posted in: Computer

Task Manager is disabled

Task manager can be disabled manually, but more commonly it's disabled by a virus. It's easy to re-enable once you're virus-free.

   

 Click Start, then click Run, type in regedit, and click on OK.

Expand these registry keys in turn:

• HKEY_CURRENT_USER
  
• Software
  
• Microsoft
  
• Windows
  
• CurrentVersion
  
• Policies
  
• System

Right Click on the DisableTaskMgr item, Click on Delete, confirm that you want to delete, and Task Manager should be available once again.

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Posted in: Computer

How to Disable Autorun Functionality in Windows Using Registry Editor.

Whenever you insert a USB drive, CD/DVD, etc into your system, Windows automatically launches an Autorun dialog box which allows you to select an action from the given list. You can browse the content, play media files, etc using Autorun dialog box.
Sometimes you might find the Autorun functionality annoying and might want to disable it permanently. Today in this tutorial, we are going to share a small registry method to disable Autorun functionality in Windows.
This method works in almost all Windows versions including XP, Vista and 7.
1. Type regedit in RUN or Startmenu searchbox and press Enter. It'll open Registry Editor.
2. Go to following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

If the above key doesn't exist, create it.
3. In right-side pane, create a new DWORD value NoDriveTypeAutoRun and set its value to any of following according to your requirements:

FF - To disable AutoRun on all drives
20 - To disable AutoRun on CD-ROM drives
4 - To disable AutoRun on removable drives
8 - To disable AutoRun on fixed drives
10 - To disable AutoRun on network drives
40 - To disable AutoRun on RAM disks
1 - To disable AutoRun on unknown drives

4. If you want to disable Autorun on a combination of drives, you'll need to calculate sum of the values. For example, if you want to disable Autorun on CD-ROM drives and removable drives, you'll need to set the value to 20+4=24.
5. If you want to restore the Autorun functionality, simply delete the NoDriveTypeAutoRun DWORD value created in Step 3 Or you can set the default value which is given below:
Windows 2000: 95
Windows XP: 91
Windows Server 2003: 95
Windows Vista, Server 2008 and 7: 91
6. If you want to disable Autorun functionality for all users in your system, use the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE" instead of "HKEY_CURRENT_USER" mentioned in Step 2.

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Posted in: Computer

Folder Options Missing

Symptoms: Folder options is not available in the Windows Explorer Tools menu.

Cause: This problem is caused by a virus.

Solution: Do the following: 

Click Start, choose Run and execute regedit. Navigate to: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer] Look for a value called NoFolderOptions on the right panel . Right click on the NoFolderOptions value and choose delete. Navigate to: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer] Right click on NoFolderOptions on the right pane and choose Delete.

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Posted in: Computer

Things you should know before bying a Digital Camera

Purchasing a Digital Camera is not a simple task. With a large number of manufacturers battling it out against each other it gets more difficult. Not to mention the technology jargon involved in advertising often puts the non-geeky consumer with no option but to get a camera which the salesperson thrusts in his/her face. In this guide, I will tell you a few important things which are essential for you to know before you go out & get a digital camera. After reading this guide, you will be able to get just the right camera within your budget without succumbing to the salesperson choice.

Type – This is the most important decision you need to make before you even touch a camera in the store. Digital camera comes in a variety of types. Choose whether you need a point & shoot or a full-fledged Digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) camera. DSLR camera demands a premium & so do its accessories. Consider purchasing DSLR only if you want to engross into serious photography or else you can settle for a budget point & shoot or a moderate prosumer digital camera. The type of camera you select will depend on your budget & it will also determine the flexibility you get.

Megapixel – Quite often than not most of the people as well as the salesperson give a lot of weight to this 9 letter word. You often hear the statement, “The more the megapixel the better is the camera.” This is not true at all. The more the megapixel doesn’t necessarily mean the camera is better. The term ‘Megapixel’ just gives an indication about the number of pixels the cameras sensor can record. Generally you need more megapixels if you plan to enlarge your images to put in your living room or to print them out on a fairly large sheet of paper. If you need to use the images for web, then even a 3.2 MP camera phone is more than enough. A 5 megapixel camera is good enough to print for an A4 size paper & prints up to 5 by 7 in size. If your requirements exceed these then you should get a camera having 8MP or more. Choose wisely though since there are those cheap companies who advertise their camera’s having 8MP sensor but in reality they are 5MP while the extra pixels are added using software manipulations. If you ever happen to see the term ‘Interpolated’ or ‘Interpolation’ then stay away from the camera.

Zoom – Zoom is measured by manufacturers in two types – Digital & Optical. Every digital camera has both but the thing to watch here is the amount of Optical Zoom. Optical Zoom of the camera changes the focal length of the camera by moving the lens & thereby zooming into the subject. Since this is done by the lens, it does not produce pixelation caused by digital zoom. Digital zoom on the other hand uses software algorithms to crop the image & zoom it giving you a feel of getting closer. This leads to deterioration in the image quality which easily comes to the viewers notice. So my advise here is to get a camera having a good optical zoom (preferably more than 5x) & avoid purchasing camera by its Digital Zoom. Also I recommend you not to use Digital Zoom while shooting with your digital camera.

Image Stabilization (IS) or Vibration Reduction (VR) – Photography is all about producing sharp well exposed images. Lugging around a tripod is inconvenient & sometimes even unpractical. To remedy this situation the manufacturers have come up with a technology which shifts the lens upon sensing movement caused by unsteady hands or caused by slower shutter speeds. This helps you in getting sharp images without tripod. This technology is known as Image Stabilisation or Vibration reduction. As with Zoom, this too comes in two flavours – Digital & Optical. As you have guessed it, Digital Image Stabilization is practically useless since it achieves the stabilization by software manipulations whereas Optical Image Stabilization does it via shifting the lens to the opposite direction of the shake. This gives a perfect stabilization while keeping the image quality intact. Thus always choose a camera having Optical Image stabilization.

Power Source - Different cameras use different power source. It is always advisable to get a camera which uses a popular type of power source like AA batteries. The plus point here is being popular you can find it anywhere if you need one at the earliest. Also they come cheap than the non-popular ones. Stay away from camera’s having proprietary battery packs since they are hard to get & cost a bomb. I recommend you to always keep a spare of batteries with you so you need not miss that special moment. It will even save you time going hills & mountains. A digital camera providing an external power input through AC adapter is always a plus.

Storage : Most camera have very less or no amount of internal memory to store your digital images. So it becomes indispensable to get memory card to store your images. Memory cards come in myriad types but you will be stuck using only one which your camera supports. Get a camera which supports the most popular type of memory card so you can save money. Again proprietary memory cards cost a bomb & it’s best to stay away from camera which uses them. Also have a look at the memory card capacity your camera supports. You don’t want to buy a camera which holds just a few hundreds of images. Most of the newer digital camera support 8GB or 16GB memory cards which are huge enough to store thousands of digital images. I recommend you to get the biggest memory card your budget can accommodate.

Weight – The camera you purchase should have just the right amount of weight that it doesn’t feel too skinny nor too rock solid. Camera weight is essential to consider if you are the one who takes camera with you always so as not to miss any photograph opportunity. If the camera is heavy no sooner your hands will start aching & this can mean you not enjoying the photography session. A light camera on the other hand will mean not rock solid to stay still while you depress the shutter button. So you need to get a camera that is neither too heavy nor too light. Thus while purchasing a digital camera use the camera for a while so you can get an idea of its weight. The weight criteria is subjective so it’s best to check the camera on your own than to go by suggestions of your friends or colleagues.

Flash hotshoe : Almost all digital camera have a small integrated flash which fires when it senses low light conditions. The flash is almost useless since it cannot illuminate objects beyond its specific length. To remedy this get a digital camera which comes with an hotshoe to mount external flash unit. Though be warned since you will need to spend out for this feature since most of the entry or prosumer digital cameras don’t provide the hotshoe.

Record Videos : I bet that you will occasional feel the need to record those special moments that cannot be described in pictures. For this having a good recording ability in your digital camera is a must. Look for digital camera which offers you to record high definition videos & also have a look at the format in which it saves. Saving video in RAW format will take oodles of space on your memory cards & so it is advisable to look for a camera which uses some good compression format like MP4 to save videos. Again you will need to spend more to find a camera which shoots HD video.


Miscellaneous Tips:

1) Purchase a set or two of rechargeable batteries & charger. You can save a lot of money by this instead of using disposable ones.

2) Invest in a good camera pouch to protect your camera from dust & also to keep it safe during journey.

3) Instead of getting a single memory card of high capacity, purchase two memory cards of smaller capacity. If one card gets lost or goes corrupt you can at least continue shooting with the other.

4) Get a Lens hood to protect your camera lens from dust and sun glare. A polarising filter is another must have if you own a DSLR.

5) Make the above purchases at the time you get your digital camera so you can get good discount on the total invoice amount.

Now go out, get your dream camera & start snapping away.

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Posted in: Technology

Run dialog box is missing

If RUN dialog box is not working in Windows, perhaps your Computer is infected by a virus. First clean your computer with a good antivirus (my personal favorite is free antivirus Avast) and then Run regedit and navigate to the keys below:

User Key: [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\
Explorer]
System Key: [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\
Explorer]
Name: NoRun
Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value: (0 = disabled, 1 = enabled)


Just right click on and delete the "norun" values

Then reboot.

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Posted in: Computer

Command prompt here

To add this option open regedit and find the key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell. Create a new subkey called 'CommandPrompt'. Change the default value to something you would like to see on the rightclickmenu, for example "Command Prompt Here".
Create another new subkey under the key created above, name this subkey 'command'. Change the default value to say "command.com /k cd %1". For NT, 2k and XP, replace command.com with cmd.exe (though it would work anyway, but hey, just do it, ok ?).

If not showing up for drives, repeat at HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive.

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Posted in: Tricks

Hide and Lock your drives

Open Registry Editor (go to run command, type "regedit" and press enter)

then go to this key

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

now right click in right side pane and create a new DWORD Value

Rename it as "NoViewOnDrive" (for locking drive)
or
Rename it as "NoDrives" (for Hiding drive)
double click on it and put some numbers to lock your desired Drive and click OK.

DRIVE NOS. FOR A : 1 FOR C : 4 FOR D : 8 FOR E : 16 FOR F : 32 FOR G : 64 FOR H : 128

Finally restart or log-off the computer to take effect.


Keep in mind that "0" is Default Value to Disable or remove this setting..


After locking the drive when u try to open it, u will see a message box like this

"This operation has been canceled due to restrictions in effect on this computer. Please contact your system administrator"

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Posted in: Tricks

Starting of my new blog.

Hay this is my first blog post. Hope you all visit my blog regularly and inspire me to carry on.

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