12.12.12

Permanently Change Word 2010 Default Paragraph Spacing



  • Click the ‘Paragraph’ triangle to display Word’s Paragraph dialog box
  • In the ‘Paragraph’ dialog box, change the Line Spacing to Single
  • Click ‘Set as Default’
  • Click ‘All documents…normal.dotm’ in the box that pops open
  • Click ‘OK’ 


Close Word and reopen it.  Create a new blank document and see if the settings you just told Word to make permanent are now permanent. If they didn't stick then read on.
  • Click the ‘Style’ triangle to display Word’s Style dialog box (or press Ctrl Shift Alt S)
  • In the ‘Styles’ dialog box, right-click on ‘Normal’ (style)
  • Click ‘Modify 

  •  In Word’s ‘Modify Style’ dialog box 
  • Click ‘New Document based on this template’
  • Click the ‘Format’ button to drop down the choices
  • In each of the Font and Paragraph choices, change the settings as shown above to your preferences (When you click on each one, you’ll be taken to the same Font and Paragraph dialog boxes as shown above).
  • Click ‘OK’ in each of the Font and Paragraph boxes once your settings are complete (Note that ‘Set as Default’ in each of these boxes is greyed out, because that choice is made in the main Modify Style’ box. 

Close Word and reopen it.  Create a new blank document … fingers crossed… You should now have the font and paragraph spacing that you set.

1.10.12

Exchange mail subfolders on iPhone & iPad

Once you've setup your Exchange mail account on your iPhone or iPad. Do the following to ensure you can access mail stored in subfolders in your mailbox.

  1. Go to Settings, then select Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
  2. Select the account, then under "Mail Days to Sync", choose NO LIMIT.

21.9.12

Fotosizer - Batch Image resizing


Fotosizer is a free batch photo/image resizer tool. It lets you resize hundreds of photos in a matter of minutes in a quick and easy way.

JPEG files (photos)  from digital cameras, taken at high resolutions are large to send over the Internet, with some photos ending up at 5 mega bytes. Uploading one photo to a photo sharing website is fine, but 10, 20, or even more, this can take a long time.

With Fotosizer, you can shrink JPEG image files, along with other supported formats, and dramatically reduce internet transfer times.

Fotosizer lets you resize in 3 easy steps, allowing you to choose the photos you want to resize, the dimensions, and where you want to save the new photos.

Download Fotosizer

Outlook 2010 - Include a screenshot in your email


You can find the Screenshot option on the Insert tab. When clicking the button, you’ll get a gallery of screens of all running applications which aren’t in a minimized state. Clicking any of these screens will insert a full image of that application.

If you only want to insert a section of your screen, you can select the option Screen Clipping. The current message will automatically minimize so you’ll have a clear view of the underlying windows to make your clipping from.


If the inserted screenshot shows too much of the screen, you can crop it until it only shows the part that you want. To enable the Crop feature;

  • Select the image, 
  • Select the Format tab
  • Click on the top part of the Crop button.

Once cropping is enabled, you can drag the center edges and corners of the inserted screenshot to remove those parts of the screenshot.

How to fix “Invalid Disk” error in Windows 7


If you have ever plugged in an old drive and the disk management said it was an invalid disk. Then this may help.

  1. Download HxD its a free Hex editor. 
  2. Install and open the problem disk by clicking “Extras” then “Open Disk”
    - Make sure you open the right disk! your disk management will list your disks starting with 0, this tool will start with 1
    -  Also, the default option is to open the disk read only, your going to want to uncheck that when your ready to fix your “Invalid disk”.
  3. Scroll down to offset 1C0(the row) and look in the 02 column. that cell should read “42″ which means Dynamic disk, Change it to “07″ and save changes. 
  4. If your using an external drive unplug it and plug it back in otherwise reboot your computer.
  5. That should have re initialized the disk and it will now be readable. 
  6. If not go into disk management and take the disk offline then bring it back online. 


Doing this will result in No Data Loss!

Check who or what is using your wireless network

Wireless Network Watcher is a small utility that scans your wireless network and displays the list of all computers and devices that are currently connected to your network.

Download Wireless Network Watcher

or read more here

21.8.12

Organize your files visually on a calendar-style grid

Nemo Documents is a free file manager that can organise your files visually into a calendar style view similar to Outlook or Google Calendar.

www.nemo-docs.com

18.8.12

Internet Explorer 9 - Disable “Speed up Browsing by Disabling Add-ons”


1. Type gpedit.msc in RUN or start menu search box and press Enter. It'll open Group Policy Editor.

2. Now go to:

Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Windows Components -> Internet Explorer

3. In right-side pane, double-click on "Disable add-ons performance notifications" option and set it to Enabled.

4. That's it. It'll permanently disable that annoying popup notification message in IE.

17.8.12

Blackberry - Synchronizing folders other than inbox and sent items



  • Select the messages icon on your BlackBerry, and then click on the BlackBerry button and select options.
  •  Then select Email settings
  •  Then click on the BlackBerry button and select Folder Redirection
  •  Expand and select the folders you want to synchronize
  •  Click on the BlackBerry button again and click Save

10.8.12

Archive button for Apple Mail

This free plugin extends Apple Mail with a useful archive feature like the one found in Gmail.

Archive button for Apple Mail

2.8.12

Temporary email address

Many people use temporary email services to protect their real email addresses. When you need to fill out some registration forms you can simply create temporary email address and use it instead.


10 Minute Mail lets you create an email address that will work for 10 minutes. If you want to do something quick use 10 Minute Mail.


10minutemail

20.7.12

Windows 7 task bar tip - Open new instance of a program

Middle-clicking (usually clicking the scroll wheel button) on a taskbar item (program in the task bar) opens a new instance of that program.

12.7.12

letter.ly - publish subscription email newsletters

Readers sign up for monthly subscriptions, and your content is delivered via email.

letter.ly

9.7.12

iPad Tips


1. How to take a screenshot

If you want to capture an image of what’s on your screen, it’s as easy to do as it is on your PC. Simply press and hold down the Sleep/Wake button located on the right-hand side on the top of your iPad whilst simultaneously pressing the Home button and – hey presto! – your screenshot will be added to your camera roll.

2. Typing

Caps Lock: When you need to type all in upper case, you don’t want to hold down shift to capitalise every letter. But never fear – enabling the Caps Lock function is easy. Go to Settings – General – Keyboard to turn it on. From now on, whenever you wish to write in capitals, you need simply double-tap either of the shift buttons to switch Caps Lock on.

Punctuation: Trying to find certain punctuation marks such as speech marks and apostrophes may seem tricky on the iPad as they are located on a second virtual keyboard. However, there are shortcuts to them from your main keyboard. To get an apostrophe, just tap and then hold down the exclamation mark. For speech marks, apply the same action to the question mark.

Split the keyboard: Typing on the iPad can be a bit awkward when you have it in your hands. There is a slightly easier way, by opting to use a split keyboard. Place two fingers in the middle of your keyboard then move them apart and you get two smaller halves, one on either side of the screen.

Typing shortcuts: To save time and effort, you can set up shortcuts for words or phrases you use on a regular basis. Go to Settings – General – Keyboard. Here you can set up your own shortcuts, e.g. “yf” for “yours faithfully” and from now on the iPad will add the whole phrase when you type in the shortcut.

3. Find text

You may be familiar with the CTRL+F shortcut on your PC. Wouldn’t it be great if the iPad had a similar function to quickly search for words or phrases on a page. Well it has. Just type the text you are looking for into the search box at the top of your screen and you’ll see it says “On This Page” in the results. Tap on this and it will highlight all occurrences of that word or phrase.

4. Copy and paste

If you want to use text elsewhere, say, for instance, you wish to duplicate text in a document for use in an email, you can do this in a similar manner to what you would on a regular computer. Tap and hold on the text you want to copy. The iPad will highlight the word you have tapped on and you’ll see a bar appear with a blue circle at either end. To expand your selection, drag the bar from either side to highlight words for inclusion, then tap ‘Copy’. To paste the text into your intended destination, go to the app you wish to add it to, tap and hold and then hit ‘Paste’.

6.7.12

Small but powerful free Image Editor

PhotoFiltre is a complete image editor. It allows you to do simple or advanced adjustments to an image and apply a range of filters on it. It is simple and intuitive to use, and has an easy learning curve. PhotoFiltre is free for personal use.

Download PhotoFiltre

29.6.12

Getting older drivers to work in Windows 8

Should you have an old device that Windows 8 does not recognise or will not install, try using a Vista driver. A lot of Windows 7 drivers have code limiting their use to Windows 7 only, where as Vista drivers do not.

22.6.12

A quick screen recorder - Screencast-o-Matic


If you are looking for a quick screen recorder without the bells and whistles with a free15 min. recording limit, then head over to screencast-o-matic.com

Make sure your microphone is ready to go, then visit Screencast-o-Matic, and click “start recording.” No login needed. Say yes to any dialog boxes that might pop up. And then you will get this dotted box.

Anything that is inside the box screencast-o-matic will record. To resize the box, click and drag any of the little squares.

Check the volume on your microphone by looking at the meter on the toolbar. Click the down arrow next to the meter to choose a different microphone.

Click the WebCam icon to choose your WebCam and turn it on.

Your WebCam video will appear in the bottom right corner of the screen. Even though it is outside of the recording area as designated by the dotted box, the WebCam will still be recorded.

Click the record button (red circle). When you’re done recording, you can grab the red triangle at the bottom of the WebCam window to resize it. Click and grab the WebCam video to move it where you want it to appear in your screencast.

You can now choose publish it on YouTube or to Video File (saves to your computer).

14.6.12

iTunes Stuck on Accessing iTunes Store


If you've ever loaded up your iTunes and it gets stuck on "Accessing iTunes Store" then you can feel the frustration of just waiting for it to complete but it just stays on the message and only goes away when you click the little "X"

 If de-authorizing, repairing, re-installing the program does not solve the problem then try this:
 on a Windows machine go to the START button, the search box type, "CMD" which will find the cmd.exe but don't press enter.  Right-click and click "RUN AS ADMINISTRATOR."  At the command prompt, Type "NETSH WINSOCK RESET"

You will need to re-start your computer after that but should be okay.

8.6.12

Transfer Files Between Dropbox, Google Drive and SkyDrive

BackupBox is a clever web service which allows you to transfer your files between Dropbox, Google Drive, SugarSync, SkyDrive, Amazon S3 or any FTP drives.


You can schedule or do the transfer immediately. You can select to transfer the entire contents or select a particular folder alone.

BackupBox is definitely a time and bandwidth saver when you want to move files from one service to another without any manual intervention


Visit backupbox

18.5.12

Analyse suspicious files and URLs

VirusTotal is a free service that analyses suspicious files and URLs and facilitates the quick detection of viruses, worms, trojans, and all kinds of malware.

www.virustotal.com

8.5.12

BlackBerry fix messaging problems

Clear and refresh the service book database if a BlackBerry is unable to send or receive data.

Link to Guide

4.5.12

Watch US TV Online for Free

Here is an interesting method that I discovered which is easy to set up allowing you to watch US TV for free from your computer running Windows, Mac OS, Linux or devices such as AppleTV, iPad, iPhone, and Android by just changing your current DNS to Tunlr’s DNS without installing any software.

Changing your DNS will not change your IP address and that is the same case for Tunlr. However, after changing to Tunlr’s DNS, you are able to bypass the geo-restriction implemented on most US TV streaming websites such as Hulu, CBS, Netflix, ABC, NBC, FOX allowing you to stream the videos. Tunlr is able to do this by only routing data that is related to video or music content providers which Tunlr supports while the rest are left untouched.

Using Tunlr DNS to stream video and audio is fast because you are connected directly to the streaming servers


Notes on Tunlr:
 1. After changing your primary and secondary DNS to Tunlr, make sure you restart your web browser to take effect or else it won’t work.
 2. Tunlr is not suitable as a permanent DNS for your computer as it is made to allow streaming of US/UK video and audio. Once you’ve finished streaming the audio/video, switch back to your original DNS settings to restore back the download and upload speed.
 3. If Tunlr doesn’t work, please check their status page to see if their tunneling server is running. At the bottom of the page also shows if Tunlr is activated on your computer which means if you’ve set it up correctly.

There are no guarantee on Tunlr’s services because it is developed and ran by a few enthusiasts. If their DNS service is down, just wait for it to get back up. There’s no registration required, no advertisements by them, and they don’t even accept donation.

Visit Tunlr

25.4.12

Free 7Gb Cloud Space with Microsoft SkyDrive

Microsoft has updated it's cloud offering SkyDrive, with 7Gb of free space and Apps for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad & Android, allowing you to sync files between all your computers

Other cloud provider offer the following free space; Applie iCloud 5Gb, Google Drive 5Gb, SugarSync 5Gb and Dropbox 2Gb


http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/skydrive/download-skydrive

23.4.12

Outlook 2011 for Mac -Auto Archive Feature



You can automatically move mail out of your Outlook mailbox, and place it on your computer’s
hard drive using the Auto Archive feature.

Outlook 2011 has a file structure that allows for incremental backups, meaning you only have to
back-up the most recently changed files and not the whole database.

To use Auto Archive to back-up your mail:
1.  In Outlook 2011 for Mac, from the Tools menu, select “Rules”.
2.  From the Rules window, select “Exchange” and click the "+" sign to add a new rule.
NOTE: Rules are processed in order from the top of the list to the bottom. Use the arrows to
adjust the rule order.
3.  Name the Rule. (For example, “180 Day Auto Archive” or whatever you prefer).  
 4.  In the "If" area, select "Date Received" from the first list box and "is greater than…"
from the second and enter "180" in the “days old” field.
5.  In the Then section, select "Move message" from the first list box and "inbox (On My
Computer)" from the second.
NOTE: The location "My Computer" is your local computer’s copy. You can specify another
location, if necessary.
6.  Make sure the “Enabled” button is selected and click “OK”.

If you would like to apply this rule to your current mailbox:
7.  From the Message menu, select “Rules” and the rule you would like to process. (For
example, “180 Day, Auto Archive”)

NOTE: This process may take time to run initially, depending on how much mail you have in
your inbox.

20.4.12

Parental Control Software


Net Nanny is a product you’ve quite possibly heard of. Costing £20 for a single user license. It boasts an impressively wide range of features.

Net Nanny offers highly configurable internet filtering, and expansive instant message monitoring, scanning message content for any “red flag” phrases. The program also boasts social network monitoring, and sends parents alerts if any suspicious activity is detected on Facebook or otherwise (even in Facebook chats).

Video games can be blocked to ensure adult content isn’t experienced by youngsters, and time controls along with remote monitoring are available. Net Nanny also comes with some clever technology such as dynamic content analysis, which can intelligently block sites, for example a news website with a gory picture on it. In other words, the application is judging by the page’s actual content, not just its web address and remit.

Some users do complain that the program can get a bit carried away and block sites which don’t need to be censored, but when it comes to the kids, most parents would probably rather be safe than sorry, anyway.

Overall, it’s a thorough and well-rounded system, and represents good value for the asking price.

There’s also a mobile version of Net Nanny for Android phones. It comes with web filtering, text message monitoring and app management, along with data security and device location features. It’s slightly cheaper than the desktop version at £18, but that’s a bit of an ask for a mobile product.
http://www.netnanny.co.uk

AVG Family Safety, AVG is another name in security which most people will be familiar with. AVG’s parental control effort isn’t a free solution, however, but is cheaper than Net Nanny, offering a license which covers 3 PCs for £13.

AVG’s product, as you’d expect from a paid-for piece of software, has a host of features. As with Net Nanny, it allows parents to monitor a child’s activity on social media sites, and restrict access to chat rooms. It also has key logging capabilities, and can pick up on dodgy phrases being typed in chat rooms, notifying parents via email (or text).

The application also has a strong arm content filter with 58 categories of protection, covering all online bases, and search query monitoring on the main search engines.

Again as with Net Nanny, the usual time management facilities are available, as well as blocking of software or violent, age-inappropriate video games. And again like Net Nanny, it has stronger measures put in place against cleverer teens who might try to get around parental controls.

AVG’s effort isn’t quite as expansive a solution as Net Nanny – for example, its logging features aren’t quite as in-depth, and it lags very slightly in other areas. But then, there’s a price difference, with the AVG product being two-thirds of the asking price.

There’s also an iOS version of AVG Family Safety for the iPhone and iPad. It provides web filtering protection which works pretty well, and the best part is this app is a free download from the App store.
http://www.avg.com/gb-en/avg-family-safety

Kingsoft Office Suite Free 2012


Kingsoft’s productivity suite comprises of three modules – the word processor, spreadsheet and presentation program. It’s designed to be highly compatible with Microsoft Office applications and files.

As well as impressive compatibility, the program has a relatively small footprint and is fast in terms of performance. While most folks concentrate on OpenOffice and its variants when it comes to freebie suites, this is another alternative well worth considering.

It does lack some more advanced features, however – such as VBA, macros, online updates and presentation templates. There is an option to upgrade to the paid-for version of the suite to get access to those features. .

Download the freeware version of the suite here:
http://www.kingsoftstore.com/kingsoft-office-freeware.html

12.4.12

Excel Easily Convert a Row to a Column & vice versa



In Excel select all the cells you wish to convert, right-click, and select copy (or simply press Ctrl+C):

Now, right-click in the cell where you want to put the data in rows, and select “Paste Special…”

Check the box at the bottom that says “Transpose”, and then click OK.

Now your data that was in columns is in rows!

This works the exact same for converting rows into columns.

5.4.12

Free Web-filtering services provide extra protection from malware


Getting infected is especially annoying when you thought you’d fully protected yourself by regularly updating Windows, applications, Flash, Java, and browsers — along with your antivirus software.

If you’re wondering what else you could possibly do (short of pulling your connection to the Internet), I recommend adding Web-filtering services offered by DNS providers.

DNS providers offer free, personal Web filtering

Whenever your PC connects to an ISP, the company updates your gateway/router with the information it needs to connect with the ISP’s Domain Name Services (DNS) servers.

Setting up is relatively easy, as long as you can access your operating system’s network properties or your router’s setup utility.

Symantec’s Norton ConnectSafe, which uses DNS-based filtering to block suspect sites. Like most content-filtering services, ConnectSafe uses site categorization, such as pornography, crime, gambling, and so forth. The easy-to-set-up service has three levels of filtering:
  • Policy 1: This base-level filtering blocks malware, phishing sites, scam sites, and Web proxies. For this level, set your DNS entries to 192.153.192.40 and 198.153.194.40.
  • Policy 2: Medium filtering adds pornography blocking. Set your DNS to 198.153.192.50 and 198.153.194.50.
  • Policy 3: This stringent filtering blocks a host of sites that Norton ConnectSafe deems not family-friendly, filtering for mature content and other family-unfriendly content. To choose this filtering, use 198.153.192.60 and 198.153.194.60
Norton ConnectSafe does not provide custom white/black listings. And with just filtering by category, there’s no guarantee that all objectionable sites or content will be blocked. Also, using the strongest filtering setting might block sites you want to visit or that aren’t objectionable to you. Before committing to ConnectSafe, test that the filtering isn’t too restrictive.

Another consideration: If you change DNS settings in Windows, it applies only to that machine. If you change settings in a router, it applies to all systems that connect to the Internet through that router.

Web/content filtering for small businesses

For now, Norton DNS for Business is still free. DynDNS also offers free filtering for small businesses.

Most likely, these companies use the filtering process to gather information they can apply to their core business offerings. Symantec, for example, sees what websites customers visit. As noted on its privacy policy page, any data it might collect from site visits is discarded after two days. (It cannot view content sent over SSL connections.)

It might be cause for concern that an entity providing security solutions could see the sites you surf to. However, most — if not all — sensitive information should travel over SSL connections.
I’m convinced that using filtering can help keep home and small-business computers free of rogue antivirus and other malware posted on malicious websites. With so many threats coming from browser use, I see this as a security win — and not a privacy issue.


26.3.12

Restore Previous Versions of Files in Windows 7

Untitled Document
How does this work?
The Previous Versions features is a part of the volume shadow copy service, which creates restore points to help roll back changes to your computer in the event of a problem.  It is also the backend for the surprisingly good image based backup in Windows 7.  By default, shadow copy will save a copy of your files once a day, or when activated explicitly such as when installing an update or new program.

How do I access Previous Versions?
It is simple to access previous versions of any file or folder on your Windows 7 computer.  Simply open any Explorer window, right-click on a file or folder you wish to restore, and select “Restore Previous Versions.”

For instance, if you accidently deleted a file from a folder in My Documents, browse to that folder and open previous versions from it.  Please note that this will only appear on files and folders, not drives or Libraries.
image
This dialog shows all the previous copies of this folder that are available.  Here we see that there is a copy of my folder e-books from yesterday, 3 days earlier this week, and some from the week before that.  Click on the time you wish to restore from.
 2
You can choose to either Open, Copy, or Restore the folder.  If you click Restore, you can restore the full contents of the folder as it appeared at some time in the past.
 3
Choose copy to copy the entire contents of the folder as it appeared at that time to another location.  For instance, you could copy it to a flash drive for safe keeping.
4

9.3.12

Printing from your iPad

Printer Pro Lite is a free app that allows you to test compatibility with your printer, if it works you can then purchase the Full version

If you have a Lexmark printer then this a free app by Lexmark

2.3.12

Turn your Laptop into Wireless Access Point


Follow the steps below to turn your computer into an access point or hotspot.

1. Open http://www.virtualaccesspoint.com/ page from your web browser and click on the Run button when asked if you want to run the application. Type in the SSID (Wireless network name) and the password key with a minimum length of 8 characters. Click the “Turn On Soft AP” button.

2. You will be prompted by UAC to run turnonvp.bat file. Click the Yes button. A command prompt window will appear automatically running a few commands. When it is done, you can press any key to close the cmd window.

An additional Wireless Network Connection 2 using the Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter will be automatically created in Network Connections. The access point which you’ve just created is now visible and can be connected with the correct key. However one more step is required in order for the connected device to use the Internet connection.

3. Go to Control Panel; Network and Sharing Centre; Change adapter settings. Right click on Local Area Connection and select Properties. Go to the Sharing tab and check “Allow other network users to connect through this computer’s Internet connection“. Then at the “Select a private network connection” drop down menu, select Wireless Network Connection 2 and click the OK button to close the Local Area Connection Properties window.

You can now connect to the SSID which you’ve just created..

To remove Wireless Network Connection 2 from Network Connections, go to Control Panel > System > Device Manager > Expand Network adapters > right click on Microsoft Virtual WiFi Miniport Adapter and select Uninstall. Creating a virtual access point can’t get any easier than this.

It’s free and don’t require to download or install any third party software.

www.virtualaccesspoint.com

21.2.12

Laptop and Mobile Phone Battery best charging practise


Here's how to actually extend your battery's health as much as possible.

Perform shallow discharges. Instead of discharging to 0% all the time, lithium-ion batteries do best when you discharge them for a little bit, then charge them for a little bit. .

Don't leave it fully charged. Lithium-ion batteries don't need to be charged all the way to 100%. In fact, they'd prefer not to be—so the 40%-80% rule you may have heard is a good guideline. When possible, keep it in that range to prolong its life as long as you can. And, if you do charge it to 100%, don't leave it plugged in, as it will degrade your battery's health. If you need to charge it overnight, use something like the Belkin Conserve Socket to stop it from charging after it's full.

Fully discharge it once a month. While lithium-ion batteries shouldn't be discharged regularly, most modern batteries are what's known as "smart batteries", which means that they can tell you how long you have until your battery dies (e.g. "2 hours, 15 minutes remaining"). This feature can get miscalibrated after a lot of shallow discharges. So, manufacturers recommend fully discharging your battery once a month to make sure this stays accurate.

Keep it cool. a hot battery will degrade in health much quicker than a cool one

10.2.12

What’s the Difference Between Sleep and Hibernate in Windows?

Windows 7 provides several options for conserving power when you are not using your PC. These options include Sleep, Hibernate, and Hybrid Sleep and are very useful if you are using a laptop. Here’s the difference between them.

1

Sleep Mode

Sleep mode is a power-saving state that is similar to pausing a DVD movie. All actions on the computer are stopped and any open documents and applications are put in memory. You can quickly resume normal, full-power operation within a few seconds. Sleep mode is basically the same thing as “Standby” mode.
The Sleep mode is useful if you want to stop working for a short period of time. The computer doesn’t use much power in Sleep mode.

Hibernate

The Hibernate mode saves your open documents and running applications to your hard disk and shuts down the computer, which means once your computer is in Hibernate mode, it uses zero power. Once the computer is powered back on, it will resume everything where you left off.
Use this mode if you won’t be using the laptop for an extended period of time, and you don’t want to close your documents.

Hybrid Sleep

The Hybrid Sleep mode is a combination of the Sleep and Hibernate modes meant for desktop computers. It puts any open documents and applications both in memory and on your hard disk, and then puts your computer into a low-power state, allowing you to quickly wake the computer and resume your work. The Hybrid Sleep mode is enabled by default in Windows on desktop computers and disabled on laptops. When enabled, it automatically puts your computer into Hybrid Sleep mode when you put it into Sleep mode.
Hybrid Sleep mode is useful for desktop computers in case of a power outage. When power resumes, Windows can restore your work from the hard disk, if the memory is not accessible.

Where are the options?

The Sleep and Hibernate options are accessed using the arrow button next to the Shut down button on the Start menu.

1
If you don’t see the Sleep option or the Hibernate option, it may be for one of the following reasons:
  • Your video card may not support the Sleep mode. Refer to the documentation for your video card. You can also update the driver.
  • If you don’t have administrative access on the computer, you may have to refer to the administrator to change the option.
  • If you don’t see the Hibernate option, the Hybrid Sleep option is mostly likely enabled. We will explain how to enable and disable the Hybrid Sleep mode later in this article.

How Do I Wake Up the Computer?

Most computers can be woken up by pressing the power button. However, every computer is different. You might need to press a key on the keyboard, click a mouse button, or lift the laptop’s lid. Refer to your computer’s documentation or the manufacturer’s website for information about waking it from a power-saving state.

How to Enable and Disable the Hybrid Sleep Option

To enable or disable the Hybrid Sleep Option, click Control Panel on the Start menu.

1
Click Power Options in the Control Panel window.
NOTE: If Power Options is not available, select Large icons or Small icons from the View by drop-down list in the upper, right corner of the Control Panel window. In the Category view, you can also click System and Security and then click the Power Options heading.

1
On the Select a power plan screen, click the Change plan settings link next to the currently selected power plan.
NOTE: You can change the Hybrid Sleep option for either one or both of the power plans. The steps are the same for both.

1
On the Change settings for the plan screen, click the Change advanced power settings link.

1
On the Power Options dialog box, click the Change settings that are currently unavailable link.

1
Click the plus sign next to Sleep to expand the options, if they are not already expanded. Click the plus sign next to Allow hybrid sleep. Select Off from one or both of the drop-down lists under the Allow hybrid sleep heading.
NOTE: You can also double-click on a heading to expand it.

1
By default, Windows requires a password to access the computer when you wake it up from a power-saving state. You can use the Power Options dialog box to turn this off. The first heading in the list box is the name of the power plan chosen in the drop-down list above the list box. Click the plus sign to expand the heading and select Off from one or both of the drop-down lists under the heading.
Click OK to save your changes and then click the X button in the upper, right corner of the Control Panel window to close it.

How to Prevent Your Computer from Automatically Sleeping or Hibernating

You can prevent Windows from asking for a password when it wakes up from a power-saving mode. However, if you are using a battery-powered laptop, be careful when turning off the sleep or hibernate mode. If the battery dies when you’re in the middle of working on the computer, you can lose data.
You can also change the amount of time before your computer goes into sleep or hibernate mode. Here’s how to do this.
Access Power Options in the Control Panel, and click the Change plan settings link next to the currently selected power plan on the Select a power plan screen, as we described earlier in this article.
On the Change settings for the plan screen, click the Change advanced power settings link.

1
Double-click on the Sleep heading, and then double-click on Sleep after. If you’re using a laptop, click On battery or Plugged in to activate the edit box. Click the down arrow until Never is selected.
NOTE: If you’re using a desktop computer, click Setting, and click the down arrow until Never is selected.
You can do the same for the Hibernate after heading.

1
If you want the display to stay on, double-click on the Display heading and then double-click Turn off display after and change the On battery and Plugged in values as desired.
Click OK to save your changes, and close the Control Panel window, as described earlier.

1
Now you can be smart in your choice of power-saving modes. If you’re using a laptop computer, the best option is most likely Hibernate, because it saves the most power compared to Sleep and Hybrid Sleep.

7.2.12

Monitor Outlook Folders for Accidently Moving or Deleting

While dealing with Outlook subfolders, there are chances that you accidently delete the complete folder instead of deleting contents inside the folder. You might even accidently move one folder inside another. But with CodeTwo Move & Delete Watchdog, you are safe from these situations. It is a new freeware add-in for Outlook 2010 which warns about unintentional moving or deleting folders.

The program simply warns you if you drag and drop a folder into a different folder, or if you accidently hit the Delete button on your keyboard or from the context menu.

Move-and-delete-watchdog

30.1.12

Speed Up Firefox, Thunderbird, Chrome and Skype

If you use any one of these programs then this free app will optimize the program and help speed up your system.

Speedyfox

18.1.12

Windows 7 and the Dreaded Temp Profile


When your PC for reasons unknown corrupts your user profile and you find when you login you are in a temp profile without your files, settings and programs then this is a simple fix:


  1. Download Windows Enabler from http://www.angelfire.com/falcon/speedload/Enabler.htm
  2. Right-Click “Windows Enabler.exe” and choose “Run As Administrator”
  3. Click the Notification Tray icon for Windows Enabler to turn Windows Enabler on.
  4. Open the System Properties applet and choose Advanced System Settings.
  5. Open the “User Profiles” dialog and click on the grayed out “Copy To…” button and it will become enabled.
  6. Copy the profile as you used to in XP and Vista.
  7. When completed. We need to update permissions on the registry key.
  8. Start –> Run –>regedt32 (Open the registry editor)
  9. Locate the profile key in: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\
  10. Right click on the Key and choose “Permissions”
  11. Locate the User account that will use this profile and give Full Control
  12. Reboot

3.1.12

ActiveX Filtering in Internet Explorer 9 Disables Java and Flash

If you use Internet Explorer 9 and have problems using some websites then you may have ActiveX Filtering enabled.

To disable; click on the Settings icon located at the top right of the browser, go to Safety, and click on ActiveX Filtering to uncheck it.