ComputerDumb.com

Tips & Tricks Category

We believe that everyone who considers themselves a computer enthusiast should have at least some experience with a Linux environment, but it can be daunting to just jump into the deep end of a completely unfamiliar operating system. One way to get your feet wet is with Cygwin, a free program that provides you with a Unix-like command line, without having to leave Windows. Cygwin is not a Unix emulator (it cannot run native Unix programs, although it does contain the tools needed to compile and run a program from source code), but it does have a wide array of… [Read More...]

When I had Windows 7 installed, I noticed that the standard network icon in the task bar area doesn’t “light-up” when there is data throughput as I have been used to ever-since Windows 98. I suppose some people might argue that we have been spoiled a bit, but actually it gives you a sense of security when you’re busy working and you can see there is activity on the network when you expect it to be. Also, that is the quickest way you can see when something isn’t working correctly.

I did some searching on… [Read More...]

Windows Forums member, shoby, asked the following question in our suggestion box:

I would like to see a review about Ready Boost in Windows 7.
Does it really help you out when you need some extra performance or does it just look like it helps you out ?

It surely can’t be like you actually went out and bought some RAM, but how good is Ready Boost actually.
Is it gonna help me out with the my daily tasks/multitasking.
TIA.

This guide answers these questions and offer suggestions to help you get the most out or ReadyBoost or the most… [Read More...]

In an effort to help you find the kinds of wallpapers you like, I’ve put together 19 collections of wallpapers that cover 15 different genres. This week’s genre is abstract text wallpapers. If you know of any other wallpapers that fit in this genre, please let me know. Looking for a different genre? Head here to see desktop wallpaper collections organized by genre.

Random Posts

• Free Desktop Wallpaper Showcase: Set 37
• Typography: Free Stylish Fonts Collection [Set 40]
• Free Clipboard History Manager for Windows (ClipX)
• [Update] Essential Firefox Add-ons

… [Read More...]

How to Customize the Command Prompt

To customize the command prompt that comes bundled with Windows:

Open a command prompt, right click the title bar, and click Defaults.

On the Font tab, you can customize the font and size:

On the Colors tab, you can customize the text and background colors:

Click OK, close the command prompt, and open it again:

How to Run a Transparent Command Prompt

To get a customized command prompt, I recommend downloading Console by Marko Bozikovic (bozho.)

Extract the downloaded file to C:\Program Files\Console2 (C:\Program Files (x86)\Console2 for 64 bit… [Read More...]

On a brand new system (freshly installed) Burning CD’s and DVD’s in Windows 7 is a very fast and enjoyable experience. Then something happens, you suddenly experience that Windows 7 takes for ever to complete a burn session. Some have experienced it taking up to 2,5 hours to complete a DVD. Which would mean a transfer rate of about 370 kb pr. second. where about 4,500 kb pr. second  (15-17 minutes) is considered slow.

What happened ?

There can be a number of reasons, but what you experience might be that your computer (or the device controller) has… [Read More...]

You’ve installed a seemingly innocent application, restarted your computer, and suddenly you see the horror, your background has changed, it’s dark and has a message that says you’ve won the grand prize. You try restarting your computer again, same thing. Youve been hijacked; meaning your background has been hijacked. What will you do? Well, dont let it ruin your day. If you’re using Windows XP there is help.

One of my colleagues asked me recently if it is possible to prevent a certain group of people to use certain PC’s on our company network. If you have a domain set-up, it is quite easy, provided your set-up is done well.

My meaning of “if your set-up is done well” does not refer to how well your server software has been installed or anything of the sort. I refer to how well you have grouped your users in the active directory. We created groups for each level of user in our organisation, so it was quite easy… [Read More...]

Ninite, in spite of its “special needs” name is a great program that installs many of your favorite applications for you — automatically.

Ninite got a quick mention on our forum pages from “ha14? back in November, but after using it just now to load nearly 20 of my favorite free applications I think it deserves a lot more attention.

A bit of history:

In the latter years of the XP Dynasty, a lot… [Read More...]

Incognito Mode in Google Chrome, Private Browsing in Firefox, and InPrivate Browsing in Internet Explorer are, in essence, the same. This feature restricts the information that browser stores while using the internet. What information are we talking about?

• History: If you enter a web page, information about the site, title and URL, as well as when that page was entered is saved.
• Cookies: Many sites need to track information about the user, for example a set of books on a library site. One way to achieve this is using this famous files, named cookies that store the

… [Read More...]

If you’re sharing or collaborating on a Word document, you might want an easy way to add comments to parts of text. Here we look at how to add comments to documents in Word 2010.

Insert Comment

To insert a comment in a document, highlight the area of text where you want to comment on. Click the Review tab on the Ribbon then click New Comment.

That opens up a balloon pointing to the highlighted text you can leave your comment in.

You can leave as many comments as needed in the document, in this example we created… [Read More...]

So here’s the scenario.  You already have a working Windows 7 x64 installation on your system and you need to install x86 for testing purposes.

You left your Windows 7 x86 DVD at a friends house and your PC doesn’t support booting from USB.  You’re out of luck right?

If you have an ISO of your Windows DVD then we can get the job done, and in half the time it takes using a DVD or USB drive!

Step 1.

Start by creating a partition you want to install Windows 7 x86 on.

Step 2.

Install Virtual… [Read More...]

Laptop Cooling 101

Modern day laptops are loaded with powerful, heat producing components that can often lead to overheating, especially if you’re asking your laptop to do some heavy lifting. If your laptop ever feels particularly hot in certain spots, or sometimes randomly shuts off, there’s a good chance that overheating is to blame. 

And if your laptop is no longer covered under warranty, fear not.  We’ve put together a step-by-step guide for both computer novices and hardware enthusiasts that’ll show you exactly how to deal with overheating problems on your own. 

Method One: Non-Invasive Cleaning

This method… [Read More...]

In this post, we’ll explain the difference between product keys for Microsoft products.

Microsoft Product Key Types

• CUS – This custom key requires special actions to activate or install.
• MAK – This volume license key (MAK) allows multiple activations.
• RTL – This retail key allows multiple activations.
• STA – This setup key bypasses activation.
• VL1 – This is a VA 1.0 key.
• OEM – This is an Original Equipment Manufacturer key that allows multiple activations.
• AAA – This retail key is for AA* programs and allows one activation. These keys are issued in batches.
• AAL – This

… [Read More...]

My advice is to ensure you have a major anti-virus program installed; preferably with a firewall built-in. It is quite easy to read-up on different antivirus software programs online by simply asking Google.

Just two sites where you can compare the top 10 antivirus software programs are: All Internet Security and Internet Security Suite Review.

I would read-up about different options and possibly test a few by running them in demo mode. Some antivirus software is very resource-hungry and therefore kills the machines’ performance. You need to find one that offers good protection and still leaves the… [Read More...]

Most people know that you can use the middle mouse button to click on links in any browser to open the page in a new tab, but sadly not all laptops come with a middle mouse button—but you can simulate it on most laptops by using both buttons at the same time.

Note: You can also hold down the Ctrl key while clicking on a link in your browser to open it up in a new tab. Go ahead, hold down Ctrl and click here. It works!

Simulate Middle-Click

On most modern laptops, simply move your mouse over a link… [Read More...]

When you’re a tech journalist, you learn some tricks for getting the news out of meatspace and onto the Internet as fast as humanly possible. Pictures in particular have always been a challenge, and although technological advances have made uploading them easier over the years, it’s still impossible to have pictures you take with your DSLR transmitted immediately and automatically to the internet. Or is it?

In this article, we’ll share out top secret industry secret method, which lets you use two cool gadgets together to automatically upload your photos as you take them, no matter where you are.

In order to… [Read More...]

After installing some software, an entry appears in your Send To Desktop context menu.

If you’ve a plethora of software installed on your system, this context menu can become cluttered and not as useful as intended my Microsoft.

This Quick Tip is going to show you how to tidy up your Send to menu.

Step 1.

Start by pressing the WinKey+E to open an Explorer window.

Step 2.

In the address bar type; shell:sendto and hit enter.

This is where all of your ‘Send To’ shortcuts are stored.

Step 3.

To remove any entry… [Read More...]