Showing posts with label Windows. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Windows. Show all posts

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Windows Media Player 11 download

Windows Media Player 11 is the latest release of Microsoft's video and audio player that can rip CDs and play videos/DVDs.

Windows Media Player 11
Requirement: Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2) installed.

Download Windows Media Player 11 (23Mb)

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Windows Live offline installer

Windows Live Writer
This is the complete standalone version of Windows Live. The complete standalone package of Windows Live includes options to install Live programs such as Messenger, Live Mail, Live Writer and Live Photo Gallery.

Click here to download the standalone version (offline installer) of Windows Live.

Note: Windows Live Movie Maker will not run on Windows XP.

Last updated on July 7, 2011.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Change file format (Dos/Unix) in Vim

Unix and dos (Windows) use different file format. Even though the latest Vim can detect the file format automatically, sometimes you also need to convert your file to the other format, especially if you are sharing the file with your friends.

Fortunately, in vim you can set the file format using a very simple command.

Change the file format to dos

:set ff=dos

Change the file format to unix

:set ff=unix

Note:

You can also add those commands in .vimrc file to make Vim starts with the desired format of file.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Missing Windows "Show Desktop" shortcut icon

If you by mistake deleted the Windows "Show Desktop" shortcut icon in the QuickLunch, you can get it back by creating a text file named "Show Desktop.scf", and drag it to the QuickLaunch.

This is the content of the "Show Desktop.scf" file, for Windows XP and Vista respectively.

Windows XP

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

Windows Vista

[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=shell32.dll,34
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Reduce image file size with GIMP

This is an easy way to reduce image file size. What you have to do is to convert the image mode from RGB to Indexed colours.

In GIMP, click on Image > Mode > Indexed.

Finally, change the "Maximum number of colors" property value from 256 to 16 or 32 as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Indexed Color Conversion

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Resize image using Imagemagick

Imagemagick is a powerful image manipulation program. This tutorial is about resizing image with Imagemagick.

Resize an image to 500px width.
mogrify -resize 500 image.png

Resize an image to 500x300, with aspect ratio preserved.
mogrify -resize 500x300 image.png

Force resize an image to 500x300.
mogrify -resize 500x300! image.png

Resize multiple images.
mogrify -resize 500x300 *.png

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Disable Vista Welcome Center and Sidebar

Disable Windows Vista Welcome Center

  1. Click Start, Control Panel.
  2. Select Welcome Center.
  3. Uncheck the "Run at startup"option, located at the bottom of the Welcome Center screen (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Disable Windows Vista Welcome Center

Disable Windows Vista Sidebar

  1. Right click on the Windows Sidebar icon in the system tray.
  2. Choose Properties.
  3. Uncheck the "Start Sidebar When Windows Starts" checkbox (Figure 2).
  4. Click OK.
Figure 2: Disable Windows Vista Sidebar

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

How to use multiple windows in Vim

This article provides some tips on how to use multiple windows in Vim.

Start Vim with n multiple windows

  1. n verticals windows.
    vim -On filenames
  2. n horizontal windows.
    vim -on filenames
Note: n is the number of windows.

Close a window

  1. Close the current window.
    Ctrl+W c
  2. Close the current window. If it is the only window left, quit Vim.
    Ctrl+W q

Split a window

  1. Split horizontally the current file.
    Ctrl+W s
  2. Split horizontally and open a file.
    :sp filename
  3. Split vertically the current file.
    Ctrl+W v
  4. Split vertically and open a file.
    :vsp filename

Move the cursor between windows

  1. Move to the right window from the current windows.
    Ctrl+W l
  2. Move to the left window from the current windows.
    Ctrl+W h
  3. Move to the top window from the current windows.
    Ctrl+W k
  4. Move to the bottom window from the current windows.
    Ctrl+W j
  5. Move to the next window below the current one. If no below window exist, move to the top window.
    Ctrl+W w

Rotate windows location

  1. Move the current window to the right.
    Ctrl+W L
  2. Move the current window to the left.
    Ctrl+W H
  3. Move the current window to the top.
    Ctrl+W K
  4. Move the current window to the bottom.
    Ctrl+W J

Window resizing

Resizing windows can be made by using the mouse as well as the following commands.
  1. Make all windows equal in height.
    Ctrl+W =
  2. Increase height.
    Ctrl+W +
  3. Decrease height.
    Ctrl+W -
Note: Thanks to Ferd T-H, resizing could also be done by using
Ctrl+W < or >

Conclusion

I hope that these commands are enough for you to start using windows in Vim. However, if you know some good command(s) to please don’t hesitate to leave a comment.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Friday, July 3, 2009

Archive and Compress Files Using zip

Zip and unzip are two free command line programs that comes with Linux. For Windows, they can be downloaded from the Info-ZIP Website. This article provides the basic of archiving and compressing files using the command line zip program.

Zip one file

zip filename.zip file_to_compress

Zip multiple files

zip filename.zip file_to_compress1 file_to_compress2 file_to_compress3

Compression options


The compression level ranges from 0 to 9. Level 0 means no compression, 1 compress faster, and 9 compress better. The default is 6.
zip -9 filename.zip file_to_compress

Password protect zip archive

zip -P the_password filename.zip file_to_compress

To be prompted for password instead of specifying the password in the command line, use -e instead of -P.
zip -e filename.zip file_to_compress
Enter password:
Verify password:

Unzip files

unzip filename.zip

Unzip files with informations (verbose mode)

unzip -v filename.zip

List files that will be unzipped

unzip -l filename.zip

Test Files That Will Be Unzipped

unzip -t filename.zip

Sunday, June 28, 2009

How to give name to a thumb drive

Each time we plug in a thumb drive, the PC will assign a letter to it. But, what if we plug more than one thumb drive? How are we going to know which one is the one we that want just by looking at the drive letter.

Fortunately, Windows enable us to give the thumb drive a name.

To give the thumb drive a name, right click on the drive letter, and choose Properties.

In the Properties windows, we can change the name, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Properties Windows

Saturday, June 27, 2009

How to reopen the last closed tab in Firefox or IE8

The last closed tab in Firefox or Internet Explorer 8 can be reopened using a keyboard shortcut.

If Ctrl+T will open a new tab, to reopen the last closed tab, use Ctrl+Shift+T.

To reopen the second last closed tab, hit Ctrl+Shift+T twice, and so on.

Digsby offline installer

Digsby is an easy to use application for managing all your existing IM, email, and social network accounts.

Supported Chat/IM accounts:  AIM, MSN, Yahoo, ICQ, Google Talk, Jabber, and Facebook.

Supported emails: Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo Mail, AOL/AIM Mail, IMAP, and POP.

Click here to download the latest Digsby offline installer.

Monday, June 22, 2009

How to create a secure, memorable PIN number

Usually people will use their existing numbers, such as telephone number, house number, birth date or social security number as their PIN number for banking. These numbers are easy to remember, nevertheless easy to be broken.

This article will give an idea on how to create a secure, but memorable PIN number.

How to create the PIN number


The technique is so simple. You need to create your own simple algorithm to generate the PIN number, based on the number that you already memorized. In case you forget the PIN number, it can always be generate easily using the algorithm.

An example of algorithm


Let say you want to generate a PIN that consists of six digits.

  1. First create the secret number. Think of a 3 digits number that you won’t forget. For example, if you are born in 1965, you can use 965 as the secret number.

  2. Use your algorithm to create the PIN number.
    Example: Add the secret number in step 1 with the number one, and multiply it back to itself.
    965 * (965 +  1) = 932190

  3. Therefore, your PIN number is 932190.

Different PIN number for different bank


Using this technique, you will have a PIN number that cannot easily be guessed by others. But, what if you want different PIN number for different bank?

You can also create different PIN number for different bank, using the same algorithm and secret number.

Just associate bank1 with 1, bank2 with 2, and bank3 with 3. Then, you can replace the number one in your algorithm with two for bank2 and three for bank3.

Conclusion


This article shows on how to create PIN numbers from one secret number and an algorithm. Using this technique you will only need to remember the secret number, the algorithm and the bank association number.

Saturday, June 20, 2009

Windows Defender definition update download

Windows Defender is a free software from Microsoft that helps protect against pop-ups, slow performance, and security threats caused by spyware and other unwanted software by detecting and removing known spyware from your computer.

This is a link for downloading Windows Defender definition update.

It is useful for manual update, or if the automatic update fails.

Click here to download.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

How to displays a list of applications currently running in Windows XP

In Windows XP, tasklist command line tool displays a list of applications and associated tasks/processes currently running on either a local or remote system.

Examples of usage:

  1. Lists all tasks that have DLL modules loaded in them that match the given pattern name. If the module name is not specified, displays all modules loaded by each task.
    TASKLIST /M
    Tasks under module that match wbem* such as wbemcomn.dll.
    TASKLIST /M wbem*

  2. Specifies that the verbose information is to be displayed.
    TASKLIST /V

  3. Displays services in each process.
    TASKLIST /SVC

Thursday, May 28, 2009

112 useful Windows XP commands

Here is a list of 112 useful Windows XP commands. You can run it from the command prompt, or using the Run command located in the Start menu.
  1. Accessibility Controls: access.cpl
  2. Add Hardware Wizard: hdwwiz.cpl
  3. Add/Remove Programs: appwiz.cpl
  4. Administrative Tools: control admintools
  5. Automatic Updates: wuaucpl.cpl
  6. Bluetooth Transfer Wizard: fsquirt
  7. Calculator: calc
  8. Certificate Manager: certmgr.msc
  9. Character Map: charmap
  10. Check Disk Utility: chkdsk
  11. Clipboard Viewer: clipbrd
  12. Command Prompt: cmd
  13. Component Services: dcomcnfg
  14. Computer Management: compmgmt.msc
  15. Date and Time Properties: timedate.cpl
  16. DDE Shares: ddeshare
  17. Device Manager: devmgmt.msc
  18. Direct X Control Panel: directx.cpl
  19. Direct X Troubleshooter: dxdiag
  20. Disk Cleanup Utility: cleanmgr
  21. Disk Defragment: dfrg.msc
  22. Disk Management: diskmgmt.msc
  23. Disk Partition Manager: diskpart
  24. Display Properties: control desktop
  25. Display Properties: desk.cpl
  26. Display Properties (Appearence tab): control color
  27. Dr. Watson System Troubleshooting Utility: drwtsn32
  28. Driver Verifier Utility: verifier
  29. Event Viewer: eventvwr.msc
  30. File Signature Verification Tool: igverif
  31. Findfast: findfast.cpl
  32. Folders Properties: control folders
  33. Fonts: control fonts
  34. Fonts Folder: fonts
  35. Free Cell Card Game: freecell
  36. Game Controllers: joy.cpl
  37. Group Policy Editor: gpedit.msc
  38. Hearts Card Game: mshearts
  39. Hyper Terminal: hypertrm
  40. Iexpress Wizard: iexpress
  41. Indexing Service: ciadv.msc
  42. Internet Properties: inetcpl.cpl
  43. IP Configuration (Display Connection Configuration): ipconfig /all
  44. IP Configuration (Display DNS Cache Contents): ipconfig /displaydns
  45. IP Configuration (Delete DNS Cache Contents): ipconfig /flushdns
  46. IP Configuration (Release All Connections): ipconfig /release
  47. IP Configuration (Renew All Connections): ipconfig /renew
  48. IP Configuration (Refreshes DHCP & Re-Registers DNS): ipconfig /registerdns
  49. IP Configuration: ipconfig /showclassid
  50. IP Configuration: ipconfig /setclassid
  51. ava Control Panel: jpicpl32.cpl
  52. Java Control Panel: javaws
  53. Keyboard Properties: control keyboard
  54. Local Security Settings: secpol.msc
  55. Local Users and Groups: lusrmgr.msc
  56. Logs You Out Of Windows: logoff
  57. Mcft Chat: winchat
  58. Minesweeper Game: winmine
  59. Mouse Properties: control mouse
  60. Mouse Properties: main.cpl
  61. Network Connections: control netconnections
  62. Network Connections: ncpa.cpl
  63. Network Setup Wizard: netsetup.cpl
  64. Notepad: notepad
  65. Nview Desktop Manager: nvtuicpl.cpl
  66. Object Packager: packager
  67. ODBC Data Source Administrator: odbccp32.cpl
  68. On Screen Keyboard: osk
  69. Opens AC3 Filter: ac3filter.cpl
  70. Password Properties: password.cpl
  71. Performance Monitor: perfmon.msc
  72. Performance Monitor: perfmon
  73. Phone and Modem Options: telephon.cpl
  74. Power Configuration: powercfg.cpl
  75. Printers and Faxes: control printers
  76. Private Character Editor: eudcedit
  77. Quicktime: QuickTime.cpl
  78. Regional Settings: intl.cpl
  79. Registry Editor: regedit
  80. Remote Desktop: mstsc
  81. Removable Storage: ntmsmgr.msc
  82. Removable Storage Operator Requests: ntmsoprq.msc
  83. Resultant Set of Policy (XP Prof): rsop.msc
  84. Scanners and Cameras: sticpl.cpl
  85. Scheduled Tasks: control schedtasks
  86. Security Center: wscui.cpl
  87. Services: services.msc
  88. Shared Folders: fsmgmt.msc
  89. Shuts Down Windows: shutdown
  90. Sounds and Audio: mmsys.cpl
  91. Spider Solitare Card Game: spider
  92. SQL Client Configuration: cliconfg
  93. System Configuration Editor: sysedit
  94. System Configuration Utility: msconfig
  95. System File Checker Utility (Scan Immediately): sfc /scannow
  96. System File Checker Utility (Scan Once At Next Boot): sfc /scanonce
  97. System File Checker Utility (Scan On Every Boot): sfc /scanboot
  98. System File Checker Utility (Return to Default Setting): sfc /revert
  99. System File Checker Utility (Purge File Cache): sfc /purgecache
  100. System File Checker Utility (Set Cache Size to size x): sfc /cachesize=x
  101. System Properties: sysdm.cpl
  102. Task Manager: taskmgr
  103. Telnet Client: telnet
  104. User Account Management: nusrmgr.cpl
  105. Utility Manager: utilman
  106. Windows Firewall: firewall.cpl
  107. Windows Magnifier: magnify
  108. Windows Management Infrastructure: wmimgmt.msc
  109. Windows System Security Tool: syskey
  110. Windows Update Launches: wupdmgr
  111. Windows XP Tour Wizard: tourstart
  112. Wordpad: write

Monday, May 18, 2009

Dr.Web CureIT! free and portable virus removal

Dr.Web CureIt! is a free and portable, anti-virus and anti-spyware utility for Microsoft Windows, which will help you quickly scan and cure, based on the Dr.Web Anti-virus.

Dr.Web CureIt! detects and removes Rootkits, Mass-mailing worms, E-mail viruses, Peer-to-peer viruses, Internet worms, File viruses, Trojans, Stealth viruses, Polymorphic viruses, Bodiless viruses, Macro viruses, MS Office viruses, Script viruses, Spyware, Spybots, Password stealers, Keyloggers, Paid Dialers, Adware, Riskware, Hacktools, Backdoors, Joke programs, Malicious scripts and Other malware.

Click here to download.