How to Speed up the Start Menu in Windows XP?

The default speed of the Start Menu is pretty slow, but you can fix that by editing a Registry Key. Fire up the Registry Editor and navigate to the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Desktop \ MenuShowDelay

By default, the value is 400 (actually the number is timeout in milliseconds). Change this to a smaller value, such as 0, to speed it up. You may not have this registry parameter at all. In this case, you need to add it. On the Edit menu, click Add Value, and then add the following registry value: "MenuShowDelay"=0.

You may notice that setting the registry value to “0″ might be too quick for your mouse to respond. If that is the case, put the number higher, say 100, and check the effect on startup.

If this doesn't work for some reason, then you might try the following: Navigate to Display Properties then Appearance then Effects and turn off the option titled Show menu shadow. You will get much better overall performance.

Caution: Incorrectly editing the registry may severely damage your system. Before making changes to the registry, you should back up any valued data on your computer.

How To Transfer Large Files To Yourself

I bet, you have experienced multiple times the essential need to transfer big files from one computer to another. While there are many options to do so, when the simple email attachment size restrictions are applicable. I am constantly experiencing this need both in case of files exchange with customer computer and between my office and home computers. Definitely, the best solution would be FTP, but in many cases there are firewall/IT restrictions which make the approach unusable.

One of the simplest methods is using one of the free online storage hosts to load and download big files, however, lately, in our company all the sites providing these services, were intentionally blocked by IT. I guess, my company is not the only one, who considers this channel to be dangerous in terms of ability to easily transfer the confidential information.

Another method, I successfully use almost all the time is Gmail. Free utility allows me to use one of my addresses to store and transfer big files. I will present this opportunity in one of the further posts, while today I want to show you an interesting approach, offered by Jason Faulkner. It is simple, elegant, and does not require any software to be involved. The solution is in using my email account, but not sending actually the files, as you usually do when exchanging the small attachments (mostly, size is limited on most servers to 10 MB). Instead, you can use email drafts to transfer the files. Compose a message on one system and upload the files you need. Then save the draft. You can open your email in web interface from any computer and download the files from your saved draft. Since you never send the email, the server limitation does not apply. Jason claims that he has been able to successfully transfer over 200 MB of files.

Next time, you can try by yourselves…

22 Useful Google Chrome Shortcuts

Google Chrome is fast and minimalistic Browser, using the similar concept of the oversimplified interface and strong functionality. For many people, however, this browser is too basic, lacking useful features and convenience of operation of its rivals. The list of shortcuts below will help you to access browser features faster and more efficient.

Useful Google Chrome Shortcut Keys:


CTRL + SHIFT + N: Automatically opens up a Chrome ‘incognito’ window, which allows you to surf on a PC without leaving behind any digital footprints.
SHIFT + Escape: Allows for fast access to Chrome’s task Manager Utility to stop the browser processes that have gone bad.
CTRL + SHIFT + T: Will open recently closed browser tabs.


Window and Tab Shortcuts:

Ctrl+N - Open a new window
Ctrl+Shift+N - Open a new window in incognito mode
Press Ctrl, and click a link - Open link in a new tab
Press Shift, and click a link - Open link in a new window
Alt+F4 - Close current window
Ctrl+T - Open a new tab
Ctrl+Shift+T - Reopen the last tab you’ve closed. Google Chrome remembers the last 10 tabs you’ve closed.
Drag link to tab - Open link in specified tab
Drag link to space between tabs - Open link in a new tab in the specified position on the tab strip
Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+8 - Switch to the tab at the specified position number. The number you press represents a position on the tab strip.
Ctrl+9 - Switch to the last tab
Ctrl+Tab or Ctrl+PgDown - Switch to the next tab
Ctrl+Shift+Tab or Ctrl+PgUp - Switch to the previous tab
Ctrl+W or Ctrl+F4 - Close current tab or pop-up
Alt+Home - Open your homepage
Ctrl+O, then select file - Open a file from your computer in Google Chrome


Shortcuts to Open Google Chrome Features:

Ctrl+B - Toggle bookmarks bar on and off
Ctrl+H - View the History page
Ctrl+J - View the Downloads page

Amber Light of Death (ALOD) Troubleshooting on Dell Computers

Dealing with customer computer troubleshooting for significant period of time, somehow, I was lucky not to get the “Amber Light of Death” before. But, obviously, this problem is quite frequently discussed in the online computer-related forums and message boards, thus is quite common.

Problem Description

The computer power is pushed, and the power light is continuously blinking, you see power monitoring leds are ON, and fans are working. But computer does not proceed to the OS boot, and even does not go to the BIOS. The computer monitor is essentially blank.

Problem Source

Based on the Dell users manual description the following problem points out on the power distribution failure inside the computer, while the computer does receive the electrical power from the power outlet.

Troubleshooting

Unfortunately, the problem has multiple explanations, and there are many things that can go wrong in its relation. Therefore, I will propose the following troubleshooting plan, starting from easy-to-do items and continuing to more complicated. Following every step, verify the computer performance. This way, you will know exactly, what the problem source is.

1. Check the power selection switch at your computer and ensure that the voltage selection is set properly to match the AC power at your location. Switch it back and force to ensure that it is indeed at the right position.

2. If you use UPS, reset it.

3. Try different power outlet to ensure that the problem is coming not from your external power supply.

4. Perform the computer “cold reboot” - shut it down, wait 5 minutes, and turn it again.

5. Shut down your PC, open the case, and verify all the cables are connected properly. Ensure that the processor power cable is securely connected to the system board.

6. Examine all your USB ports (front & back) for pins that are bent or pushed in and fix any that are bent. This appears to be the most frequent reason of the problem appearance.

7. Reset 3V battery on the Motherboard.

8. Replace 3V batter on the Motherboard.

9. Remove one-by-one all the nonessential hardware elements in the computer by disconnecting them from the motherboard, like non-essential boards, Floppy, DVD, network cards, etc.

10. Blow carefully with air blower inside the computer case. That will ensure that no pieces of metal or debris could cause the short circuit.

11. Swap the power supply in from another PC. Dell claims the power supply replacement is the #1 solution to this problem.

12. If there is no improvement, there is a good chance that the Motherboard should be replaced. Several users reported that the Motherboard was a core source for the problem appearance. But, in most cases, it means that it might be easier and cheaper to shop for a new computer.

5 Steps to Reset Administrator Password

Occasionally, we have to deal with customer computers, when the original administrator account is modified, and nobody can enlighten us on the new administrator user name and password. There are multiple ways to regain control on the computer by resetting the master administrator password, including boot-up disks and Floppies.

There is one of the ways to do the job easy, with no additional software or deep computer knowledge. Password resetting procedure consists of 5 simple steps.

1. First reboot Windows XP in safe mode by re-starting the computer and pressing F8 repeatedly as the computer boots up. If you missed the right moment, you will need to repeat the attempt.

2. Then (in safe mode) click Start and then click Run. In the open box type the words exactly as following (without quotes) - control userpasswords2.

3. You will now get a pop-up window with full access to all the user accounts, including the administrators account. From here, you will be able to reset the lost or forgotten password.

4. Just click the administrators’ user account, and then click Reset Password.

5. At this moment, you will have to add a new password in the New password field, and the Confirm new password as well. Confirm the new chosen password by clicking OK.

All Done!