Temporarily Disable "Restart Now" Dialog from XP's Automatic Updates

Automatic Updates is a great feature. Dear Restart Dialog, I hate you. Do not shut down the automatic updates service, just stop it. The next time you start up your gear, it will restart.

May 9, 2007 · 1 min · 34 words · Amanda Kelly

How to Run a DirectX Diagnostic on XP

To start the diagnostic, select Start \ Run and jot down in “dxdiag” and click OK. Click Yes to this. You will then get the DirectX Diagnostic Tool. The DirectX Files tab will show you if any critical files are missing. Check the Notes section for a recommendation on fixing the problem. The Display tab is probably the most important. you’ve got the option to run some tests here to verify that DirectX is running correctly....

May 8, 2007 · 1 min · 106 words · Robert Haas

Use Multiple Firefox Profiles at the Same Time

Did you know that it’s possible for you to run more than one Firefox profile at once? The first thing you’ll need to do is create a new profile. You’ll also want to leave the “Don’t ask at startup” box checked. The next thing you’ll want to do is make another shortcut to Firefox. Add the following to the end of the Target box. As you could see, my profile was named Geek, so that’s what I used....

May 8, 2007 · 1 min · 118 words · Kelsey Martinez

Add the Trash Can Icon to Your Ubuntu Desktop

apps \ nautilus \ desktop On the right hand side, you’ll see an entry called trash_icon_visible. Just check the box. you could also change the trash_icon_name if you’d like. And there’s the icon.

May 7, 2007 · 1 min · 33 words · Jill Hodge

Quick Tip: Restart Windows From Task Manager

Pretty simple tip, but very useful

May 7, 2007 · 1 min · 6 words · Breanna Williams

Reduce System Restore's Disk Usage in Vista

TheSystem Restorefeature in Windows Vista is very important to keep enabled, what with all the problems Vista users are having with compatibility. Even so, the disk usage can get out of hand if you install a large amount of software.Update:We’ve also covered how tolimit system restore’s disk usage in Windows 7.The utility to change the tweaks is a command line utility called vssadmin. You’ll have to open a command prompt in administrator mode by entering cmd into the start menu and hitting Ctrl+Shift+Enter, or right-clicking the command prompt and selecting Run as Administrator....

May 7, 2007 · 2 min · 246 words · Jennifer Haney

Always Start an Application in Administrator Mode on Windows 7 or Vista

This works perfectly for creating a batch file to restart a service, for instance. You’ll see a dialog with a checkbox for “Run as administrator”. From now on, the app will always run as administrator if you use the shortcut to launch it. (You’ll be prompted by UAC if you have it enabled).

May 2, 2007 · 1 min · 53 words · Christopher Williams

Hide Removable Drive Icons from Your Ubuntu Desktop

Just jot down in gconf-editor into the Alt+F2 run dialog to pop pop the app. Remove the checkbox from it, and the icons will instantly disappear from the desktop. I’m much happier now with my beautiful desktop.

May 2, 2007 · 1 min · 37 words · Kimberly Davis

Assign Custom Shortcut Keys on Ubuntu Linux

To get around this limitation, we can use the built-in gconf-editor utility to assign them ourselves. First you’ll want to load up gconf-editor by typing it into the Alt+F2 Run dialog. Once in the software, navigate to the following key. If you are familiar with regedit on Windows, this is very similar. apps \ metacity \ keybinding_commands You’ll notice a bunch of values on the right. These are the available commands that you might create for assigning to shortcut keys in the next step....

May 1, 2007 · 1 min · 135 words · Debra Bradley

Why Do My Icons Have a Background Color in Windows XP?

Here’s the two versions side by side. In this dialog, hit the Advanced tab, and then the prefs button under the Performance section. see to it you check this box if you want transparent backgrounds on the icons.

May 1, 2007 · 1 min · 38 words · Colin Gilbert

Mount Multiple ISO Images Using Virtual CloneDrive

To add an extra virtual drive, go to your start menu, and launch Virtual CloneDrive from there. Change the dropdown for the number of drives to the number that you want. When you double-select an ISO image, it will always mount it in the first drive. Choose Virtual CloneDrive from the menu, and then Mount. You’ll be prompted to pick the path to the ISO image. If you want to unmount a drive, you could do the same thing but choose the Unmount option....

April 28, 2007 · 1 min · 95 words · Lindsey Mcdonald

Quick Tip: Save Windows and Tabs When Restarting Firefox

Then just look on the file menu, and you should see a shiny new menu item. This will restart Firefox and keep all your tabs exactly where you left off. When you close your surfing app, it will automatically pick right back up where you left off.

April 28, 2007 · 1 min · 47 words · Dr. William Petty

Remove QuickTime Icon From System Tray

It drives me crazy when applications install themselves into the system tray without giving me a choice during setup. tap on the Advanced tab. Just snag the “This control panel works correctly” button, and the icon should be gone forever.

April 28, 2007 · 1 min · 40 words · Brittany Bowers