How To Save Time In Excel By Using The Fill Handle at 9:51 PM

I want to help you get a handle on the handle. Excel has, for quite a few versions now, had a number of shortcuts for using the mouse rather than the keyboard.

I want to clarify how some of them work, so you can make the most of the tools at your disposal.

Cell handles

First off, let me tell you about the various cell handles that Excel makes use of. You use a cell handle by hovering the mouse on various parts of the screen. Fire up Excel and try this for yourself. Nothing beats a little practice.

I’m going to show you this in Excel 2007, but only the most advanced options are version-specific. You’ll be fine. One thing though. If you don’t use the default Windows mouse cursors you might see different sorts of shapes. Change it back to the defaults until you get the hang of this.

Select

You already use this one, if you use a mouse at all. Hold the mouse anywhere within the confines of a cell in a spreadsheet, and the mouse cursor becomes a small white cross. Hold the left button down and drag the mouse to select all the cells you slide over, in a rectangular shape. That’s it.

Move

If you hold the mouse over the edge of a cell, then it behaves differently. It’s quite common for people to do this by mistake, but it’s easy to avoid if you take a look at the cursor. It should be a thin black cross with arrow-heads on it.

The move handle does exactly what you would think. It moves the current cell, or the current block of cells if you have more than one selected. It’s smart though. If the cell you are moving is referenced by formulae in other cells, each formula is automatically adjusted so everything still works.

One safety tip. Make sure the cursor isn’t over the small black square in the bottom right corner of the cell. You’ll be doing something completely different. I’ll explain that soon.

Copy

To copy cells instead of moving them, put the mouse in the same place, and hold down the Control (Ctrl) key. The cursor changes back to a white arrow, with a small black cross beside it.

The behaviour is a little different now. If you drag the mouse to another location, the cell or cells you have selected will be copied and pasted there. If the cell contains a formula, it will change its references just the same as it would if you have used copy and paste. The contents of the cell you are copying from will not be changed.

Fill

Now this is the interesting one – the Excel fill handle.

If you hold the mouse over the bottom right corner of the cell or cells selected, the cursor will change to a simple black cross. That’s the Excel fill handle, and it does some cool stuff.

First off, if you have a formula in the cell, and you want to copy it to some adjacent cells, you can do that.

Hold the left button…

…and drag the mouse down (or to the right).

Release the mouse.

What happens in this case is the same thing as you would have achieved with the copy example further up. However, if the cells don’t contain formulae then the behaviour is different.

If the cells involved have a discernable pattern, then Excel will attempt to extend that pattern as best it can.

So imagine the above example again, but pretend, just for fun, that it contains 500 rows, instead of the four shown. You’re suddenly required to apply numeric codes to the items…

Create the first two, or however many are needed to establish a pattern. Hover over the fill handle…

… and drag the cursor down over the next two (or 500) cells.

Note the indicator to the right of what the final number will be. Release the mouse.

That’s it. The series of numbers is extended down over the other cells. Note that all the cells contain the actual values, not a formula.

You can use this for much more complex operations, none of which I have room for in this post, including complex lists, custom lists, and copying a formatting pattern along with the value pattern.

So tell me, do you use the handles? Did you already know what they do? Have you ever used the Excel fill handle by mistake? I certainly have. What else could I cover in Excel that might be useful?

Let me know in the comments.

Aug. 2009 By Jim Henderson

YoutubeDoubler: Compare Youtube Videos Side By Side at 9:41 PM

If you ever tried to compare two YouTube videos chances are you found it rather difficult becuase videos were located on different pages. It would be easy to do if both videos were on the same page, aligned next to each. That’s exactly what YouTubeDoubler does. It takes the URLs of the videos you want to compare and then puts them on the same page.

Features:

• Easily compare two YouTube videos side by side.
• Simple and easy to use.
• Share pages showing two videos with others.
• No registration needed.
• Also see 10 More Cool Things You Can Do With YouTube Videos.

Artvex: Free Clip Art Database at 8:56 PM

Artvex is a free clip art database that provides you with lots of free clip art images and graphics for use in office documents, blog, designs etc. It has over 10,000 original free to download and use clipart images. You may either search the database or choose from the respective categories.

Features:

• Free clipart directory.
• Search for clip art images.
• Browse clip art database by categories.
• Hosts over 10,000 original free clipart images.
• Download any image you like for free.
• Similar websites: Gif, ClipartETC and WPClipart.

How To Get Rid Of A Trojan Horse Virus That Won’t Go Away at 8:54 PM

Viruses are ubiquitous and dominant on the Windows platform. No matter how careful you are, there is always a chance that your computer gets infected with a virus that just won’t go away.

If you are facing a similar situation, here are a few steps you can take to make sure you get rid of the trojan horse/virus and most of its ill effects if not all.

Scan thoroughly with the antivirus

Sounds trivial right? Why would you get infected in the first place if your antivirus could detect the virus? Well there can be a few reasons, make sure you get them out of the way. It will save you a lot of trouble:

• Update the antivirus to the latest version, and update the virus signature database.
• Harden the scan options, check on heuristics, potentially dangerous applications, early warning system or whatever fancy names your antivirus uses. Set the antivirus to scan within archives and choose wisely when you specify items to exclude from the scan or leave everything out for scan.

Now perform a system scan, this way you give your antivirus a better chance to detect newer viruses.

Scan the system in safe mode

Very important to do this once before you get into manually removing the virus and its effects. Sometimes the infected files might be locked by the operating system when working in the normal mode. So to increase your antivirus’ odds to detect and clean the virus, you should restart the computer, boot into safe mode and then perform a thorough scan of your system.

Keep in mind the above mentioned points as well. You can generally boot into safe mode by pressing the F8 key during bootup and choosing the safe mode option.

Use special virus removal tools

Various antivirus manufacturers offer special tools for removing viruses once your system has been infected. Try McAfee’s Stinger or Microsoft’s Malicious Software removal tool or Kaspersky’s Virus Removal Tools. These are special tools that do a great work of removing certain infections.

So once your antivirus has detected the infection, make sure to Google it, this way you can easily find specialized solutions, removal tools and advice on your situation.

Take things into your own hands

There are times when, due to various reasons, none of the above methods works. Even in such cases everything is not lost, you can still rid your computer of viruses and trojan horses by manually deleting the offending file and attempting to nullify the effects that it caused.

The effects vary from changing mouse/keyboard settings to infecting all files in RAM, to infecting all files using a particular library to corrupting the MBR and so on. Your ability to rollback these effects no doubt depends upon how much of a computer nerd you are, but with Google, various forums and Twitter there is a good chance you can make things work for you without having to make that call to your technician.

Here are some tips that may help you:

• Check what processes are currently running. Use task manager, make sure to show processes from all users. If you see any suspicious process name or description just Google the name and you will get all the information you need. Make sure to prevent it from running again if you think you found the problem. You can use msconfig and manage startup items to do so.
• Use HijackThis to diagnose a problem and create a log in case you want someone else to help you with your problem.
• Try to find the nomenclature various antivirus products use to refer to the type of infection you have on your computer. Once you know that, you will be able to find detailed step by step instructions provided by various antivirus vendors to get rid of it. It also makes it easier to search for specialized tools to get rid of the trojan horse/virus. Here is an example of one such page.

All of these methods will surely help your cause. However, your ability to completely rid your computer of a particular virus would depend on how early you are able to detect it, the type of the virus and the harm it was intended to cause (sounds a lot like cancer, isn’t it?). Always take regular backups in case something goes wrong while attempting a clean up.

Aug. 2009 By Varun Kashyap

How To Make A Calendar Template In Excel at 8:51 PM

As an avid Excel user, I often find myself trying to do things with Excel that most folks would never consider. There are several reasons for this, but the most important is that Microsoft Excel has certain features that make certain unique formatting tasks extremely simple and easy to automate.

Earlier, I introduced MUO readers to my love affair with Excel when I wrote about how you can use it to create an effective household budget. I was also pleased to read some love from other MUO authors, such as Karl’s article about how to split a monster sized Excel spreadsheet, or Eyal’s Excel printing tips.

Today I’m going to share a few additional cool features in Excel that you can use specifically to make a calendar template in Excel.

Make a Calendar Template in Excel – A Step-By-Step Tutorial

The following calendar sheet is an Excel calendar template that you can open up and print each month. You have the option to keep it blank and it’ll automatically update to the correct month – all you have to do is print and fill in the days. Or, you can use the last few techniques described at the end of this article to fill in the sheet with the days before printing. It requires a little extra work, but it looks very cool.

Step #1 – Create The Header And Title

The first thing you’ll need to do is create the weekday header as well as the month title. This step will demonstrate the merge-and-fit feature as well as how to set the width of multiple columns at once.

First, type in the weekdays in a row across the top, but leave one row blank for your title. Format the text around 12 point and bold. You’ll notice that some of the weekdays extend beyond the limit of the column.

To fix this, just highlight the weekdays that you’ve typed and then select Format -> Column -> Width – and set the width for around 15 to 20.

Now that you’ve got your weekday header nicely formatted, it’s time to add the current month at the top of your calendar sheet. While you could just manually type in the month at the top of the sheet, this wouldn’t be very efficient, as you’d have to change it every time you wanted to print a new calendar sheet. It makes more sense to create an Excel calendar template that knows what month it is and changes the month title for you.

You do this by choosing any cell above your weekdays, and typing in the formula, “=TODAY()” – which tells Excel that you want today’s date in that field. After you do this, you’ll notice that it looks nothing like the month and it’s formatted all wrong. First, format the title with a font of around 20 to 22 and bold. Then, go into the Format -> Cells -> Number tab, select date and choose the format that you’d like for the month title.

Once you’ve got your title formatted correctly, you’ll still notice that it’s not centered properly and exists only within one cell at the top of the spreadsheet. In other words, it looks odd. To fix this, highlight all of the cells above your weekday header (including the one where your month is displayed) and click on the “merge and center” button.

Clicking “merge and center” turns all of the highlighted cells into one collective cell, and then centers your title in the middle of the highlighted region. Now you’ve got yourself a nicely formatted, automated calendar header.

Step #2 – Create The Calendar Days

The next step to make your calendar template in Excel is to once again use the “merge and center” feature, but this time you’ll merge a few empty cells in order to create one larger cell that represents a single day.

This step is where you’ll build the body of your calendar template, but it’s also the easiest step. First, highlight about 5 or 6 cells, and click on the “merge and center” button. This will form one cell the perfect size for one day on the calendar. Then, while this large cell is highlighted, copy it (control-c or Edit->Copy) and paste it into the other days (or just drag the lower right corner of the box over to the right). This will duplicate your box for every day of the week. Do this for five rows. Your calendar should now look like this:

Highlight your entire calendar click on the borders tool, and select the “grid” so that every grid line shows – essentially “drawing” out your calendar for you. Finally, you can either leave your template as it is (so you can write in the days yourself) and move ahead to step 3, or you can add in the days using Excel. Instead of going through and manually typing in “1″ to “30″, you can save a lot of time by using Excel’s auto-fill feature.

Using this technique, you simply enter in a formula for the first Monday and the second Sunday of the month. For example, if the 1st of the month is on Sunday, you’d enter “1″ into the first Sunday box (and of course nicely format it at 14-point and bold). Then, for Monday you’d type “=” then click on the day before it (A1) and type “+1″.

When you’re finished, highlight the box where you’ve entered this formula, and drag it across the entire week – this will correctly fill in all of the days of the week. Then, do the same thing for the following Sunday, but click on Saturday and add 1.

When you’re done, drag this box down each week so that every Sunday has the same formula (adding 1 to the previous Saturday). Drag the formula from the previous Monday down through the month as well – and then drag from Monday across each week. While it may sound confusing, as you give it a try you’ll find that filling in the days only requires a few clicks and less than 5 minutes.

Step #3 – Printing Your Calendar Template

Finally, you’re ready to print out your calendar to a nice clean paper so you can pin it up on your wall. By this point, your calendar should look like this.

While this looks absolutely fantastic within the Excel sheet, it won’t print properly because the edge of the calendar template goes beyond the printable page, so you’ll end up with parts of it on two pages. To fix this, go to File -> Page Setup, click the Page tab, and make sure it’s configured as shown here.

Set the format for landscape, and fit the entire calendar to 1 page wide by 1 page high. Click OK, and when you do a print preview you’ll find that your calendar template is formatted on one sheet and ready to print!

The next month, just open up the same Excel file (the month will already be correct), renumber the days and click Print – it’s as simple as that!

Do you have any tricks that might make creating a calendar in Excel a little simpler? Have you ever created any unique projects using Excel? Share your experiences in the comments section below.

HyperEngine – The Best Free Movie Editing Software for Mac at 12:33 AM

When you buy a Mac there will be tons of software on it. One of these is iMovie. This is a basic movie editing software that comes standard on all Macs just like Windows Movie Maker comes on all Windows PCs. A great starter program but it has its limitations.

In truth, it is really only intended for basic editing of family videos or short, homemade productions. It isn’t intended for the more complex tasks such as having several audio files overlapping at once, detailed transitions and perfect timing of video and audio insertion into a final draft.

For this I suggest getting HyperEngine – AV movie editing software. It’s 100% free and it’s the best movie editing software I have seen for a Mac at no cost to the user.

Basically, it succeeds where iMovie has failed. I think it is not focused on the home user who may only ever use iMovie once or twice. This is for someone who will use their video editing software on a regular basis, for example producing a regular video podcast or producing an online mini-series.

Once you have completed the download and it is installed, run the program. You will be greeted by the home screen where you can begin editing videos. Obviously this will be blank as you have not yet imported any video.

Firstly, I’d suggest you just look under all the different tabs along the top so you know where all the extensive tools are.

Open up your video folder with the videos you want to edit. Drag them into the HyperEngine window. This will import them into the program ready to be edited. Do the same for any audio files that you want in the video.

There is a capture mode in the program which allows you to use a camera connected to your computer (such as a webcam) to capture a video that can in turn be used in the final edit. Simply click the ‘Record or Playback’ function to open the video capture screen as shown in the screenshot. It will detect any cameras you have connected to the computer for your selection. Once you have selected a camera click record to begin recording the clip. When you have finished, click stop then click ‘OK’. The video will be imported along with the others.

When you have all the media you want in the video, begin to drag them onto the timeline. There are several different levels for video, audio, subtitles, effects and transitions. So if you are dragging in a video file, drag it into the allocated space for video. Edit the length of the video to select what section you want from it by dragging the sides inwards or outwards until it is of the desired length. Do the same for all the other different types of media.

You can edit the media further by clicking on it. So for example, with text (which could be subtitles) by clicking on it you can change the size, font, colour and whether or not the background is transparent. With transitions and video you can change the look and feel such as brightness, colour mode (sepia, black and white etc..) and size.

To add in dozens of different effects such as zoom, exploding shots and wipes and swipes, position where in the production you want to add the effect and then select ‘Effects’ from the menu bar. This will open the window seen here in the screenshot where each of these effects can be altered using the easy slider bars.

When you have finished your video, you can use the ‘text’ function to add a title and credits to the film. Like in most video software programs you literally have dozens of different styles you can choose from including the traditional scrolling credits to exploding pop-ups.

As with other creation software I have wrote about here on MUO such as BlueVoda Website Builder, there are hundreds of little adjustments you can make to your film which you will discover as you go along, all of which are easy to use with slider bars and simple options. I’m still finding new little tricks here and there, but for the majority of the time you’ll be using the methods outlined above.

A piece of advice that I’ll give about this software is to step into it nice and slowly. This can cut films accurately to the millisecond and its tools are astounding for free software. Once you edit a few small productions then you’ll be able to start producing that mini-series. Take your time and concentrate on the more directorial, artsy side of thinking and you’ll have a great film with video, music, a voiceover, good audio quality, great transitions and suitable colour saturation and mode. Enjoy!

Top 10 Free Online Tycoon Games You Should Try at 12:30 AM

There are many websites which will let you play a lot of free online games. As per your taste and mood, you can choose games of different genres like action, arcade, strategy, puzzles, sports and many more. Among them, the free online Tycoon games are quite popular.

There are many online tycoon games which will grab your attention and give you immense pleasure and satisfaction while playing them. All these games have business structures as their main theme. The storylines of these games are similar to the way real businesses are run. You need to buy things, make investments and sell your stuff.

If you are in a mood to play free online tycoon games, then you should consider these 10 best ones:

Youda Marina

In this game you play the role of the business owner which controls a bay. It all starts with choosing a terrain on which you wish to start your business. Then you are given all the powers of a harbor master. Your primary task is to develop a harbor which can do great business as well as make it an awesome tourist spot. You can build hotels, restaurants, take your tourists to fishing, and construct yachts.

To play this game, you need to be good with time management and should have the zeal to be a great harbor master. All you need to do is make a perfect and popular harbor.

Fish Tycoon Game

This game is very popular among the kids. You play a role of a fish breeder. Its whole layout is so colorful and this is the main reason why kids are highly attracted to it.

As a beginner, you start with a few adult and a few baby fishes. Then you breed them, feed them and sell them. You have an option to come up with new breeds. You can buy a few vitamin chemicals and interesting fish breeding supplies from the market.

Oiligarchy Game

This game takes you back to the time when World War II was over. You play the role of a CEO of an oil company of that time. The game is simply amazing when it comes to the tasks that the gamer needs to perform.

You start with some barren lands, where you need to search for oil wells. Once you find a few, you can drill to take out the oil which can be stored or sold. You are required to meet the yearly goals and if you fail to do so, then the shareholders will fire you. You also need to bribe politicians in the White House and clear some of the oil ordinances that would benefit your business.

Indecision 2008: Money

This is the ultimate free online tycoon game. You play the role of overlord in this game. You have to start with a piece of land with an oil well. You can build homes, oil refineries, hospitals, airports, shopping malls, apartments, movie theatres, parks, theme parks, and many more establishments.

The theme is simple, you need to earn money by building all the establishments. In between you will charged with some taxes, or your city might fall prey to natural disaster causing massive destruction to your properties.

Grand Prix Tycoon

Have you ever felt like placing yourself into the shoes of a F1 franchise owner? Then this is the best way to live your dream.

The best thing about this game is its detail. It starts with choosing a franchise and a driver for it. Then you can upgrade each and every part of your vehicle. Your choice exists even in the selection of grid girls. This doesn’t end here; you can also have a close watch on your engineers and pit crew. If you want to keep yourself busy with a tycoon game, then this is the stand out option especially if you are a racing freak.

Youda Camper

Youda has always been into the tycoon games. Youda Camper is one of their best products. Like most of the other Youda games, this one is also based on entertaining tourists and earning money.

In this game, you are in charge of a camp site. You start with a barren terrain and some cash. You have to set up different types of tents to accommodate people. Then you also have to build good restaurants and bars, where people could chill out. You also need to take good care of the road system.

Your job does not end with this, as you also need to advertise your camp site. You have to make an attractive camp site where tourists would come in their summer break, which would fetch you a lot of money. It is a comprehensive tycoon game and while playing, you can unlock a number of interesting items.

Coffee Tycoon

Coffee shops are undoubtedly the best place to hang around. But what does it take to run a coffee shop? This game gives you a chance to build your own coffee empire.

In this game, you start as the owner of a coffee shop. You have a number of milestones to achieve along your journey to expand your business. You have to expand your menu in order to attract more customers. You can increase your income by establishing more coffee shops, advertising your services and by standardizing your brand by installing the latest coffee shop equipments.

You can build your own corporate houses to coffee plants. It also allows you to enter the stock market, where you can keep an eye on your market growth. This is an amazing game to play while enjoying your coffee.

Cinema Tycoon

Movie theaters are one the best places to have a fun time. But running a movie theater is equally difficult. What would you do if were given a chance to run a theatre? Jot down your plans; if you are looking forward to play this game.

Your career starts with an objective to make $1 million in one year. You can run the season’s biggest hits on your screen to earn more. You have to invest some money to improve the standards of your theatre by buying the latest equipment, comfortable seats and setting a nominal ticket price. Try this game and see if you can become a cinema mogul.

Now Boarding

Maintaining an airline company and taking it to new heights is not an easy job. You have to keep your customers happy, as they form the fundamental part of your airline empire. You need to make sure that flights are on time. You have to add all the latest technologies to your airport. You also need to maintain the quality in terms of the facilities provided by your airlines. Buy more airplanes, send them to more places and earn more money.

Imperium

This game will make you feel like the king of a budding empire. You have to build an empire with workers and an army. You have to construct farms, carpenters and markets. You have to generate income by exporting the logs, food and iron. At the same time, you need to build a huge army in order to capture the nearby kingdoms. This is authentic tycoon cum strategy game, where your planning comes into play.

These are some of the best online tycoon games that I have come across and I am sure that you would love playing them. Playing these online tycoon games can be a great stress buster and the best part is that you do not even need any management degree to play them.

WORDWEB FREE VERSION at 12:23 AM

WordWeb is a one-click English thesaurus and dictionary for Windows that can look up words in almost any program. It works off-line, but can also look up words in web references such as the Wikipedia encyclopedia. Features of the free version include:

Definitions and synonyms Proper nouns Related words Pronunciations

150 000 root words 120 000 synonym sets Look up words in almost any program

Millions of people from all over the world use this top-rated software.

---

WordWeb 5.5 for Windows 98/2000/Me/XP/Vista
Free^*. No SpyWare. No AdWare. No viruses. Works off-line.

Get the FREE download now

---

The software has a full dictionary and thesaurus for American, British, Canadian, Australian, Indian, and global English.

PC Games at 12:15 AM

Remove Critical System Warning. at 11:28 PM

How to remove a Critical System Warning.

Download the free version of

Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware,

install and update.

Run in full mode.
Remove found threats.
Restart.

Enable-isable Windows XP for log on automatically? at 11:13 PM

You can configure Windows XP to automate the logon process

1. (click Start, then Run to get to the 'Run' box), then in the run box execute this command:
control userpasswords2
2. You will see a check box labeled 'Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer'.
Remove the check from this check box.
3. Click on OK.
4. You'll be prompted to enter the user name and password you wish to automatically log on with, and then click OK.

Enable "Tools" "Folder" Options in Windows. at 11:05 PM

Many times Windows users face a common problem. The "Folder Options" in "Tools" menu is not visible. Even It can't be accessed from Control Panel. Also "Registry Editor" is disabled.
If you are also facing this problem, then you have come to right place. Follow the simple steps mentioned in this tutorial and your problem will be solved:
1. If Folder Options is disabled but Registry Editor is still working in your system, then you can
enable Folder
Options by editing Windows Registry. Type regedit in RUN dialog box and press Enter. it'll
open Registry Editor,
now go to following keys:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\Explorer
In right-side pane, check whether a DWORD value named NoFolderOptions exists or not? If it exists, delete it.
2. If you are not familiar with editing the registry, then you can simply download following file, extract it and then run
the .REG file:
3. But sometimes Registry Editor is also disabled. Whenever you try to open regedit, Windows will show following
error message:
Registry Editor has been disabled by administrator.
Its a symptom of “RONTOKBRO” Trojan. To remove this trojan, follow the instructions given in following topic:
Is Your System Infected with a Virus / Spyware / Adware / Trojan?
4. If its not a trojan problem and someone intentionally has disabled it in your system, then you can enable it again by
following any of these methods:
a. Type gpedit.msc in RUN dialog box and goto:
User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> System
in right-side pane, set "Prevent access to Registry editing tools" to either Not Configured or Disabled.
b. Just type following in RUN dialog box and press :
REG add HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System /v DisableRegistryTools /
t REG_DWORD /d 0 /f
Now after enabling Registry Editor, you can re-enable Folder Options by following methods mentioned in 1st or 2nd
steps.

Folder.EXE Virus at 11:02 PM

It seems your computer is infected by "Brontok".

The steps I did are :
1. I boot my computer with the Bart PE. The XP
LiveCD made by Bart PEBuilder (http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder).

2. In "Folder Options" "Show hidden files and folders" & Uncheck "Hide protected operating systmes files" all of the hidden files can be shown. "View Details" to see the hidden i manually delete folder.exe, autorun.inf.(be careful deleting files)

3. I boot the computer by the HDD and turned off the System
Restore.

4. Delete all the task in Schedule Task.

5. I remove all the entries in the Registry. (to unlock the registry, I
install the UnHookExec(right click this file and choose install), it
can be downloaded in www.symantec.com
This virus entries names like :
"kesenjangansosial","rakyatkelaparan","b…
just find these items in the registry.
examples : HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Wi…
HKEY_USERS\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\…

6. I install the Antivirus with the newest Definition Files.
7. I scan it.
8. Done.

Frequently Asked Problems with Solutions. at 10:15 PM

Following are some frequently asked problems with solutions.
All problems covered in this topic:

1. Task Manager / Registry Editor / Tools -> Folder Options disabled.
2. Search window opens while double-clicking on drives.
3. "Open with" box or "Cannot find copy.exe" message appears while double-clicking on drives.
4. Folder opens in a new window?
5. A sub-folder with the same name is created under parent folder.
6. My Documents/My Computer opens automatically at windows startup.
7. "NTLDR missing" Error at system startup.
8. "Hal.dll is corrupt or missing" Error at system startup.
9. "Windows\System32\config\system file missing or corrupt" Error at system startup.
10. Not able to boot into Windows 2000/XP/2003 after installing Windows 98.
11. Windows XP Boot loader related problems, like adding/removing entries.
12. ScanDisk starts running at windows startup.
13. "CMOS checksum error. Defaults loaded." Error at system startup.
14. How to reset system BIOS password?
15. "Stand By" option is greyed out in shutdown dialog box and I can't use it.
16. Windows Login Screen has changed to "Classic Logon Box" automatically.
17. A strange process "ctfmon.exe" running in background.
18. How to recover lost Firefox bookmarks?
19. How to reset the corrupted windows icons?
20. How to make Desktop icons text background transparent?
21. How to get Windows XP Common tasks (Left-side pane in explorer) back?
22. "Copy To"/"Move To" dialog box opens automatically while right-clicking on Start -> Open.
23. Can't set "Show Hidden files/folders" option in "Tools -> Folder Options".
24. Accidentally deleted "mspaint.exe"/"notepad.exe"/etc. file, how to get it back?
25. Taskbar is showing only icons in opened application buttons not showing text.
26. Orkut.com, Youtube.com and Firefox is blocked in the system.
27. I have forgotten my Windows Administrator password. How can I reset / recover it?
28. I can't see any message in chat window of Yahoo! Messenger?
29. All User folders are showing default yellow icon instead of Glass icons in Windows Vista.
30. How can I change Power button in Windows Vista to Shutdown Windows instead of Sleep?
31. Hibernate option suddenly disappeared from Startmenu in Windows Vista.
32. Why menus appear on lest side of cursor in my Windows Vista?
33. EXE files are not opening in my Windows.
34. Thumbnails are not showing in Windows Explorer.

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1. In my windows Task Manager / Registry Editor / Tools -> Folder Options has been disabled. I'm getting
warning message that "It has been disabled by Administrator". How can I enable it again?
Sol: Please visit following articles:
How to Fix "Task Manager has been Disabled by Your Administrator"?
How to Enable Tools -> Folder Options and Registry Editor in Windows
If any other Windows component like RUN, Desktop Properties, System Properties, etc has been disabled, then you
can check following link:
All Kinds of Restrictions for Windows 2000, XP, 2003 and Vista
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2. Whenever I double-click on any drive/folder in My Computer, a Search window opens.
Sol: Open regedit and goto following keys one by one:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Drive\shell
In right-side pane, delete the "Default" key. If it doesnt work then delete the key "find" under both.
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3. Whenever I double-click on any drive in My Computer, "Open with" dialog box opens OR I get following
error message:
Cannot find copy.exe. Make sure you have typed the name correctly and then try again.
Sol: 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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4. Whenever I double-click on any folder in My Computer, it opens in a new window even I have selected the
option "Always open folders in same window" in "Tools -> Folder Options".
Sol: Download following zip file, extract it and then run .REG file and confirm the action:
Download Link
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5. Whenever I open a folder, another folder with the same name is created under it.
Sol: Your system is infected by a variant of Indonesian virus called Brontok/Rontokbro. It creates a sub-folder in a
folder with same name. Most of the times it comes from mobile memory cards. Scan with a good anti-virus and
remove the virus. Also download HijackThis and scan your system with it in Safe Mode, then fix following entries:
C:\WINDOWS\system32\SSVICHOSST.exe
F2 - REG:system.ini: Shell=Explorer.exe SSVICHOSST.exe
O4 - HKCU\..\Run: [Yahoo Messengger] C:\WINDOWS\system32\SSVICHOSST.exe
O7 - HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Policies\System, DisableRegedit=1
You can also post the log file content here and we'll tell you which entries should be fixed.
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6. Whenever I start my computer, My Documents/My Computer opens automatically at windows startup.
Sol: 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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7. When I start my computer, I get error message:
NTLDR is missing
or
Boot: Couldn't find NTLDR
Sol: 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 acc. to your system.
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8. When I start my computer, I get error message:
Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
\system32\hal.dll.
Please re-install a copy of the above file.
Sol: 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:
Attrib -H -R -S C:\Boot.ini
Del C:\Boot.ini
BootCfg /Rebuild
Fixboot
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9. When I start my computer, I get error message:
"Windows\System32\config\system" file missing or corrupt.
Sol: 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 %windir%\Repair\system %windir%\System32\Config
If it doesnt work, then again boot into "Recovery Console" and give following commands:
fixmbr
bootcfg /scan
bootcfg /rebuild
fixboot
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10. I have Windows 2000/XP/2003 installed in my system and yesterday I installed Windows 98 over it, after
that I'm not able to boot into Windows 2000/XP.2003. I'm not getting option to select the OS.
Sol: Windows 98 has overwritten the boot loader. 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:
fixmbr
bootcfg /scan
bootcfg /rebuild
fixboot
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11. When I start my system, I'm getting 2 entries for windows XP in the boot loader. How can I remove the
duplicate entry?
OR
How can I change the default OS in windows boot loader?
OR
How can I change the entry labels in windows boot loader?
OR
How can I change the boot loader time? Its set to 30 seconds and I want to change it.
Sol: There are several way. You can follow any of following:
A. Type "sysdm.cpl" in RUN dialog box and press . 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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12. Whenever I start my computer, Scandisk starts running even I proper shut down the PC last time.
Sol: Do as following:
A. Open regedit and goto:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager
In right-side pane, change the value of BootExecute to:
autocheck autochk *
B. If the above trick doesnt help then give following commands in Command Prompt:
chkntfs /x drive_name
for e.g., if ScanDisk runs automatically for C: and D: drives, then give following commands one by one:
chkntfs /x C:
chkntfs /x D:
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13. When I start my computer, I get following error message:
CMOS checksum error, defaults loaded.
Sol: Open your computer cabinet and look for a coin-sized battery attached in motherboard. Remove it and attach a
new one. The new battery will cost approx. 15-20 Rs.
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14. I forgot my system BIOS password. How can I reset it?
Sol: Please follow the steps mentioned in following tutorial:
How to Reset / Remove / Bypass a BIOS or CMOS Password?
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15. I re-installed my windows and now "Stand By" option is greyed out in shutdown dialog box and I can't use
it.
Sol: Install VGA drivers from your motherboard CD and the option will be enabled. If you don't have the
motherboard CD, then goto the manufacturer site and download the required drivers.
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16. My Windows Login Screen has changed to "Classic Logon Box". I want the new Welcome Screen back.
Sol: Type "control userpasswords" in RUN dialog box or Open "User Accounts" in Control Panel. Then click on
"Change the way Users log on and off". Now check the option "Use Welcome Screen". If you get following error:
Uninstall client services for netware.
Then Open "Network Connections" and open Properties of your Internet Connection. Now goto "Networking" tab
and select "Client services on Netware" option and click on the"Uninstall" button.
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17. A strange process "ctfmon.exe" always runs in background and if I click on "End Process" button, it
restarts automatically.
Sol: Open Control Panel and goto Add/Remove Programs list. Now click on the Microsoft Office entry and then
click on "Change" button. Now select "Add/Remove Features" and click on "Next". Now expand "Office Shared
Features" and click on "Alternative User Input" and then select "Not Available" and finally click on Update. It'll
permanently remove that ctfmon.exe and your problem will be solved.
You can also use 3rd party utility "CTFMON-Remover" to get rid of ctfmon.exe easily and quickly:
CTFMON-Remover
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18. I just noticed that all my Firefox Bookmarks have gone. The bookmarks list is empty. How can I get them
back?
Sol: Type "%appdata%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles" in RUN dialog box and then open the "xxxx.default" folder
(where xxxx will be random numbers and characters). Now open "bookmarkbackups" folder and you'll get your
bookmarks there. Now you can import them in Firefox again.
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19. My Windows is showing some wrong icons of files. How can I reset the corrupted icons?
Sol: You can use any of following methods:
A. Download TweakUI from here and then click on "Repair Icons" in "Repair" section.
B. Open My Computer and goto:
C:\Documents and Settings\User_Name\Local Settings\Application Data
Replace C:\ with your system drive and "user_Name" with your username.
Now there'll be a HIDDEN file "iconcache.db", delete it and restart your system.
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20. I'm using Windows XP and the desktop icons suddenly started showing an ugly background rectangle
behind the text. How can I make the text transparent?
Sol: Type "sysdm.cpl" in RUN dialog box and press . Now goto "Advanced" tab, click on "Setting" button
in "Performance" section and enable the option "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop".
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21. I'm using Windows XP and suddenly the Common tasks stopped showing in left-side pane.
Sol: Open "Tools -> Folder Options" and enable the option "Show Common Tasks in folders".
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22. Whenever I right-click on Start button and select "Open", a "Copy To"/"Move To" dialog box opens
automatically.
Sol: Open regedit and goto:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\AllFilesystemObjects\shellex\ ContextMenuHandlers\
Now under this key, delete following 2 keys:
Copy To
Move To
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23. I can't see Hidden files/folders in my computer. Even I enable the option "Show hidden files/folders" in
"Tools -> Folder Options", its automatically disabled again.
Sol: Open regedit and goto:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current
Version\explorer\Advanced\Folder\Hidden
Under this key, you'll see 2 more keys "NOHIDDEN" and "SHOWALL". Make sure that the values of
"CheckedValue" and "DefaultValue" in right-side pane are "2" and "2" for "NOHIDDEN" and "1" and "2" for
"SHOWALL" respectively. If its not so, then change them and you'll be able to enable/disable these options in "Folder
Options".
You can also alter Hide/unhide settings using registry as following:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Explorer\Advanced
In right-side pane, change value of "Hidden" to:
1 - To show hidden files
2 - To not show hidden files
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24. I accidentally deleted my "mspaint.exe"/"notepad.exe"/etc. file, how can I get it back?
Sol: You can use any of following methods:
A. Goto "%windir%\System32\DLLCache" folder and look for the file, if its there then copy it to "%windir
%\System32\" folder.
B. Insert your Windows Setup CD and goto "I386" folder. Now look for the same file, it'll present there but the last
letter of extension will be "_". e.g., u'll get "mspaint.ex_"/"notepad.ex_"/etc. Now open Command Prompt and goto
"I386" folder and give following command:
expand mspaint.ex_ mspaint.exe
expand notepad.ex_ notepad.exe
etc.
Now u can copy the file to "%windir%\System32" folder.
C. Give following command in Command Prompt:
sfc /SCANNOW
It'll automatically restore the files.
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25. Suddenly my taskbar is showing only icons in all opened application buttons. I can't see any text. How can I
get back the full taskbar buttons?
Sol: Open regedit and goto:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics
In right-side pane, delete "MinWidth" value.
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26. Whenever I open "www.orkut.com" or any folder with the name "orkut", I get following error with a scary
laugh:
Orkut IS BANNED, orkut is banned you fool The administrators didnt write this program guess who
did?? r r MUHAHAHA!!
Sol: Please visit following link:
[Solution] Orkut.com, Youtube.com and Firefox is Banned in System
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27. I have forgotten my Windows Administrator password. How can I reset / recover it?
Sol: Please visit following link:
How to Reset / Recover Forgotten Windows NT / 2000 / XP / 2003 Administrator Password?
--------------------------------------------------
28. In Yahoo! Messenger, whenever I send a message or get a message I can't see the contents in chat window.
All I can see is a blank window.
Sol: Please download Windows Script using any of following links and install it:
Download Link
Alternate Link
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29. Why all User folders in my Windows Vista show default yellow icon instead of the new glass icons?
Sol: Please follow the steps mentioned in following tutorial:
How to Fix User Folders Showing Simple Folder Icon in Windows Vista?
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30. Whenever I click on power button in Vista startmenu, it put my system in Sleep state. How can I change it
to shut down the system?
Sol: In Windows Vista the default action of power button is set to Sleep. But you can change it to shut down like
previous Windows versions. Please follow the instructions given in this tutorial:
How to Change Power Button in Windows Vista to Shut Down the System instead of Sleep?
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31. Suddenly Hibernate option is missing in my Windows Vista. How can I enable it again?
Sol: You must have run "Disk Cleanup". Its a known issue in Vista. There is a solution to re-enable Hibernate option:
How to Re-enable Missing Hibernate Option in Windows Vista?
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32. Why in Windows Vista menus appear on left side of mouse cursor? In previous Windows versions, menus
used to show on right-side. How can I change it in Vista?
Sol: Its a problem which many Vista users are facing. Don't worry, follow the following link:
How to Change Menu Position from Left to Right in Windows Vista?
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33. Whenever I try to open any EXE file, it opens in Notepad or Windows asks for the application to open it.
Sol: Its a common problem. It occurs when EXE file settings are corrupted in Registry. Please download following
file and run it. It'll fix the issue:
Download EXE File Fixer
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34. Whenever I set "Thumbnail" view in Windows Explorer, the files are not shown as thumbnails.
Sol: Open RUN dialog box and provide following commands one by one:
regsvr32 shdocvw.dll
regsvr32 thumbvw.dll
regsvr32 shimgvw.dll
Restart your computer and your problem will be solved.
PS: Downloaded from net