Which Version of Window are you using, Have you tried to know it??

Which Version of Window are you using, Have you tried to know it??


if not just go to


Run-->type winver & enter


Get the Detail of Your Version


Enjoy with this....

Computer Hardware Chart – A Pictorial Guide.

From every kind of memory to A/V input/outputs, processors, and hard drives, this guide shows in easy-to-recognize pictorial form the possible guts in your computer.

It’s either a really useful quick guide, or err … nerd porn at its best !?

Outlook Troubleshooting

Most of the time we face lot of complains that users are not able to access their emails on outlook or exchange is not responding, in most of the cases client's outlook has some problem and users don't realize it. Following are some of the steps which will be handy in troubleshooting these types of issues and also narrow downing the problem scope;

Test 1 : Testing OWA:

1. Get the troubled user user id and password and test from OWA or ask him to open his mailbox via OWA.

2 . or create a test Mail account and Access OWA from it to verify that Exchange is working fine and user is able to access their emails.

If OWA is working fine then we have to concentrate on Client side troubleshooting else we have to look at the server side and check CAS servers and ISA severs (If reverse proxy is in use) (i will discuss server side troubleshooting in my next blog).

Test 2: Deleting Addins Registry Keys:

1. Logon to a troubled user machine.

2. Navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\Outlook\Addins
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Exchange\Client\Extensions (If it exists)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Exchange\Client\Extensions (If it exists)

3. Export the keys (for backup purpose), right click each subkey and click Delete.

Test 3: Configure Selected Startup:

1. Go to Run and type msconfig.

2. Select Selective Startup in General Tab.

3. Click to clear Process SYSTEM.INI file, Process WIN.INI File and Load Startup Items.

4. Click tab Services and select option Hide All Microsoft Services, and click button Disable All and click OK

5. Restart computer.

Test 4: Check if issue is occurring in Cached Mode:

Create a Outlook profile with Exchange cached mode and then test.

Test 5 : Check if issue is occurring in Online Mode:

Change Outlook profile in online mode, and open Outlook again and then test.

Test 6: Configure outlook profile for using RPC over HTTP:

1. Open outlook profile configuration and select Connections Tab

2. In the outlook Anywhere selection check connect to Ms exchange using HTTP.

3. Enter OWA address in exchange URL text box.

4. Assuming that user is sitting in a LAN environment, select “On Slow networks, Connect using HTTP first, then connect using TCP/IP.

5. Select Proxy server authentication settings based on your exchange server configuration.

6. Click OK.

7. Close Outlook completely. verify that there is no outlook.exe process visible in task manager.

8. Launch outlook again.

9. Hold control and press right click on outlook icon in system tray.

10. Click on connection status and verify that all connections are established by using HTTPS protocol not TCP/IP protocol.

Test outlook by sending and receiving emails. If this works then it means there might be some TCP/IP (RPC) communication problem between your client and server. You have to involve your network team and verify that if there is any network device causing issue or playing with the TCP/IP settings or TCP/IP packets.

6 Best Sites to Download Free Fonts

If you are a graphic designer then you would constantly look out for new fonts to suit your work and needs. And, finding the right font for a work is really tricky. Here are some of the sites that offer free font downloads.

1) 1001freefonts: This site has a large database of various fonts. It enables you to search for the fonts and preview the selected font prior to downloading it. You can download fonts for Windows and Mac OS X.

2) Urbanfonts: This site also has got over 8,000 freeware fonts for you to choose from. You can search for the font type, preview the selected font in the same window and download the font file. The font file contains the rules for the entire font family such that you need not download any extra file. You can find both bit mapped and scalable fonts in this site.

3) Betterfonts: Offers thousands of fonts for free download. You can quickly preview and download different fonts of your choice. From the font list present in the left frame on the site you can select the font type and the quick preview of the selected font type is generated automatically. By clicking on the “download font now” button you can download the select font instantly.

4) Searchfreefonts: This site has over 13,000 free fonts to choose from. All the font files are arranged in categories such that you can find the font file of your choice easily. After you have selected the font file you can preview the selected font style and download it.

5) Dafont: In this site selecting a font of your choice is easy. The font files are arranged category wise such that you can choose a category and select the required font style from it. You can also instant preview a font style and download it. This site offers widest range of font styles. You can even find fonts of different languages apart than English, check them out here.

6) Fonts500: This site features the top 500 fonts that are been downloaded by users from some of the web’s biggest free font archives. At a glance, you may find the desired font style easily. By clicking on the font icon you can directly download the font file.

10 Best Sites to Create Your Own Free Ringtones

Want to convert your mp3 to ringtones? There are several reasons people use different ringtones for. For instance, to distinguish between different callers, for the joy of music or just for fun. Different cell phones use different formats. So you need to research what file formats are supported on your phone, before you proceed to create the sound file. Following are some cool sites to create your own ringtone.

1. Zedge – This site enables you to upload your own mp3 music and create unique free ringtones on the fly. You can also download free ringtones of popular and latest songs.
2. Audiko – It allows you upload a song directly from your PC or a URL and then clip the part of the song you want to set as a ringtone. You can download the ringtone as an mp3, .amr or for iPhone. You can even put the ringtones on your blog and share with friends.
3. Mp3mer – Here you will find a marker tool to set range and ringtone duration. Mp3mer enables you to change the sound quality and filters if needed. Other effects which can be added to the ringtone include fade in/out, bass, treble, chorus, echo etc.
4. Mobicious – Choose any 20 seconds of your MP3 file to make it into a ringtone and send it to your mobile.
5. Mobiles24 – This site allows you to create and download latest and top ringtones. ‘Request your name ringtone’ feature is also available here.
6. MakeOwnRingtone – The unique feature of this web application is that it offers a wide range of uploadable formats like MMF, AAC, MP3, MP4, QCP, OGG. The created ringtone can be either sent to your mobile or as an mail.
7. Cellsea – This site enables you to upload a file that you want to create as ringtone and then you can choose the start/end time, sound quality, length etc. Supported file formats are mp3, mp4, m4A, flv, midi, aac, ogg, wav, aiff, wma etc.
8. Playscreen – You can create your own original ringtones here and sell ringtones o earn some bucks.
9. MyxerTones – The site provides with ringtones of various categories like alerts and alarms, rock, jazz, popular artists, comedy etc. It allows you easily customize the ringtone and send it to a phone. You can also download ringtones to your iPhone.
10. ToneBee – This site enables you to create a ringtone in just 3 simple steps. Upload your mp3 file, create a ringtone and download it to your phone.

How to Clean Laptop / Notebook LCD Screens

Keeping your laptop display clean is very essential. If you are working on graphics or watching photos or videos, dirt and fingerprints left on the screen can alter the appearance of the image making it difficult to judge the quality. Display of the laptop is sensitive therefore certain care should be taken while cleaning your laptop or any other LCD screen.

Photo by daveblog (under CC license)

Things you may require to clean your LCD

• A soft lint-free cotton cloth (100% cotton t-shirt, terry towel, etc.,)
• Distilled water
• Isopropyl alcohol (or white vinegar)
• Spray bottle

You may clean the screen depending on the smears and smudges present on the screen. If only little dust is present on the screen try dry dusting the screen by wiping the screen with a cotton cloth along one direction, top to bottom or left to right. If this does not give desired results, then you can try cleaning the screen with some of the cleaning solutions.

Dirt and other organic stains left on the screen can be effectively removed by using alcohol and water solution. Alcohol cleans any organic marks like fingerprints or oily marks left on the screen, while water removes any dirt or mineral strains present on the screen.

Process to clean your LCD / Laptop screen

1. Try dry dusting the screen first with a dry cotton cloth. In most of the cases, this gives better results if only little dust is present on the screen. If you can still find any smudges on the screen then try below step.
2. In a clean spray bottle mix distilled water and alcohol in 1:1 ratio and spray the solution on to the cotton cloth and wipe the screen with the cloth along one direction or in circular motion. Avoid putting pressure on the screen, which may damage the screen.

How Not to Clean Screens

1. Never use tissue or paper towels to clean the laptop screen as they are made up of wood and contain fibers, which can scratch the screen surface.
2. Do not use any cleaning products available in the market to clean the display as they contain some harsh chemicals like ammonia, which can peal out the protective layer of the screen.
3. Never apply excess pressure to hold the cloth close to the screen as excess pressure can damage pixels in the screen.
4. Never spray the water and alcohol solution directly on to the screen as this can short circuit electronic components present in laptop.
5. Do not excessively wet the cloth with the solution use only required amount of solution to clean the screen.
6. Do not use tap water for making the cleaning solution as the tap water contains minerals that may leave strains on the screen.
7. Make sure that the screen is completely dry before you close the screen, if there is any excess liquid present on the screen wipe it with the dry area of the cloth.

All the above tips and measures can be taken for effective and safe cleaning of your LCD or laptop screen. It is always recommended to shield your laptop screen with protective scratch guards that are readily available in the market.

12 Easy Ways to Extend Mobile Phone Battery Life

How to increase your mobile phone battery life? Most of the modern mobile phones come with good batteries, which last for years if used according to the manufacturer instructions. Nowadays most of the mobile phones can support various applications and programs that are useful to us. However, we must note that these applications are energy hungry and use up the battery power faster, adding to this, most of the people ignore to turn off some of the functions in the mobile phone that use power.

Usually modern lithium-ion battery can power your phone for days in standby mode but all the unwanted applications and functions drain battery power quickly, decreasing the efficiency of the battery and its lifespan. To improve your battery’s performance and its lifespan, following are some simple and handy tips.

Photo by Larsz (under CC license)

Extend Mobile Phone Battery Life

1. Turn-off wireless connection like Wi-Fi if you are not using them. Most of the people leave Wi-Fi on even in the areas where there is no Wi-Fi network.
2. Nowadays third generation phones are making their presence in the market. Mobile devices like iPhone 3G, Blackberry and other models have a 3G feature that is useful for fast browsing experience. Turn off 3G feature if you do not use it or if there is no 3G service. You can still browse internet using the GPRS and EDGE services with your phone.
3. Vibrating alert is another big power hungry feature in the mobile phone. Using vibrating alert is good when you are in meetings or in a library, otherwise you can turn off vibrating alert. Moreover, there is no need of keypad tones and you can reduce ringing volume of the phone if you are not working in a sound polluted environment.
4. Your mobile phone display also uses lot of power to illuminate. Reduce screen brightness to the lowest level possible where you can see things on the screen clearly. Moreover, all the phones have this time out feature: set the display light out time to low values such that the display will turn off quickly after your use.
5. Keep your phone screen as simple as possible, using screensavers and animated wallpapers may look pretty but you must remember that they use up the battery power to stay running. If you want your battery to last longer, then you can turn off screensavers and stick to a simple wallpaper.
6. In most of the smart phones, you can load number of applications and utilize them. Terminate applications as soon as you finished working on them. Pressing end key does not terminate the application, they still remain running in the background using up the battery power. You can see all the background applications running on your phone by long pressing the menu key and terminate all the applications that you do not need.
7. Games are other power hungry applications, they use lot of power and most of the games do not allow the screen to dim or turn off. Play games less to save more on the battery. Even listening to songs and radio on the phone also uses lot of power. So think before you start playing games or listening to songs if you are on low battery.
8. If your phone supports automatic updates of emails or browser then change the update intervals let us say every 1 hour or so to save more on the battery power. Try using few email accounts and disable automatic update feature if you do not really need it.
9. Network coverage in another important factor that comes into picture when speaking about battery power. If your phone is in weak network coverage area or in no network area then switch off your phone or keep it in the flight mode to save on the battery. In the less or no network area phone uses lot of battery power to stay connected or to establish a connection with the network.
10. Turn off BlueTooth when you are not using it. Most of the people ignore to turn off BlueTooth even if they are not using any BlueTooth devices.
11. Recharge your battery every now and then to ensure that all the electrons in the battery move freely. Modern Lithium-ion batteries work well even if you recharge them before they discharge completely but it is good habit to recharge it after three fourth of the battery is discharged. This will not only improve battery’s performance but also improves its lifespan.
12. Avoid over heating of the battery to prevent damage to the mobile phone and to the battery. Keep your phone away from the direct Sun heat and any other radiations. Your phone battery works fine in the temperature range of 10 – 35 C.

5 Best Sites to Get Answers to Your Questions

The Internet is a rich resource of information on all things imaginable. But while you can just key in a query on the Google search box, you are not sure you would get the right information. This is especially true if you are looking for answers to specific questions. And because of search engine optimization, you’re not sure if the site at the top of the result page is there because it’s genuinely helpful, or if it’s simply there because it’s the best-optimized webpage.

Here are five resources that you can use to get answers to questions.

1. Mahalo Answers

Mahalo describes itself as a human-powered search engine with its content mostly user-submitted and edited by a handful of Mahalo’s editors. Similarly, Mahalo Answers are made up of user-submitted questions with answers provided by other members. Mahalo’s community members are encouraged to submit good quality answers to questions because of the “Mahalo dollars” system. When you ask a question, you can offer a tip to other users who can provide the best answer, which is then chosen either by you or from votes from the community.

To get an answer to your question, first try searching for existing answers to the same or similar questions. Type in your question on the searchbox, and check whether other people have asked—and answered—the question. If you can’t find existing content, click the “Ask a Question” link to submit your own question.

2. Yahoo! Answers

Yahoo! Answers works much like Mahalo Answers described above. You can ask questions, answer questions, and if you’re just in the mood for exploring what other people are asking about, you can browse by topic or search.

When you ask or answer a question, you are required to login to your Yahoo! account. An added option of Yahoo! Answers is that it can automatically notify you if one of your contacts (from your Yahoo! Address Book) asks a question. Yahoo! also uses a fan system, in which users can be fans of others, so they can follow the answers being posted. Yahoo! uses a point system—you “spend” points for asking questions, and you “earn” points for answering. Depending on how many points you have accumulated, you are assigned a user level, which dictates how many answers or questions you can post per day.

3. Answerbag

Answerbag is another service similar to Mahalo Answers and Yahoo! Answers. The interface is likewise similar—you can search for existing answers by typing in keywords or a question, and if you don’t find what you need, you can submit your own question. The nice thing about using the Answerbag’s search functionality is that when it lists possible matches, it also displays the best answer along with the question, which makes it easy to browse for the information you need.

Another difference with Answerbag is that it categorizes the question according to the type and difficulty. These can be “social,” which are casual or conversational questions that you would usually ask a friend or relative. These can be “expert,” which can be educational questions that are best answered by well-researched and well thought out responses. These can be “local,” which are, as the name implies, specific to certain countries, regions or cities. And these can be about “shopping,” which are questions about business, commerce or products and services.

4. Twitter

Twitter has been hailed as one of the most flexible platforms for exchanging information online—in 140 characters or less. Originally conceived as a microblogging or lifestreaming application, Twitter has expanded into being somewhat a messaging platform where users can exchange public and private messages both with the rest of the Twitter community or within their own networks.

Aside from messaging, Twitter is also considered a rich ocean of data and information that can be mined. Featuring its own search engine, users can look for discussions and “tweets” on just about any topic imaginable. While you don’t usually run searches in the form of questions, you can input keywords or hashtags (which are keywords that start with the hash like #football), which people use to attach keywords in their tweets.

If you can’t find what you’re looking for with a regular search, you can simply tweet your question, and your message will be read by people who follow you. Assuming you have a considerable following (anywhere from dozens to hundreds), a few friends will most likely respond to your questions with useful replies.

The power of Twitter is not only the number of people exchanging thoughts and ideas, but in its ability to deliver realtime results for your searches. The Web interface for search notifies you whenever there are new posts that match your query. Power users use client-side software like TweetDeck, which enables a user to run multiple columns, each with its own keyword or #hashtag query. These applications will pull feeds from twitter.com on a regular basis, so you are kept posted.

Another advantage of Twitter is that it can be used on different platforms. Apart from the Web interface, Twitter can also be used on mobile phones through phone-based applications (for the iPhone, Symbian or Windows mobile) or SMS. You can get answers to your questions even while on the move.

5. Forums

Lastly, another good resource we can recommend for finding answers to questions are forums. These types of websites have been popular even before blogs, Wikipedia, Twitter and other websites existed. Forums are mainly community-driven. Therefore, how useful a forum will be will depend on how active the community is.

Forums are also specific to a topic or niche. For instance, if you want to get information about mobile phones, you should join a forum that specializes in mobile phones. The same goes for other topics. Remember that when you need to ask a question on a forum, it’s always polite to use the search feature first, to see if other people have asked the same question, and if these have been adequately answered.

When you’re looking online for answers to questions, sometimes it’s best to skip the generic Google search and instead go for something more structured.

XP as Domain Controller

This is very funny XP machine as a domain controller

1) Create a share called SYSVOL on an XP machine

2) Try to unshare the directory you shared as SYSVOL.

3) You will get a nice warning stating:

"This share is required for the machine to act properly as a domain controller. Removing it will cause a loss of functionality on all clients that this domain controller serves. Are you sure you wish to stop sharing SYSVOL?"

Screenshot:

But do not worry - unsharing SYSVOL on XP will not break your AD. This is just an example of code reuse that Microsoft does.

PowerGUI, a graphical user interface and script editor for Windows PowerShell!

What is PowerGUI?

PowerGUI is an extensible graphical administrative console for managing systems based on Windows PowerShell. These include Windows OS (XP, 2003, Vista), Exchange 2007, Operations Manager 2007 and other new systems from Microsoft. The tool allows to use the rich capabilities of Windows PowerShell in a familiar and intuitive GUI console.

PowerShell is built-in feature under Windows Server 2008

Download PowerShell for Windows Vista, Windows 2003 and Windows XP
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/technologies/management/powershell/download.mspx

Download PowerGUI

Power Packs

Active Directory: http://powergui.org/kbcategory.jspa?categoryID=46

Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM): http://powergui.org/kbcategory.jspa?categoryID=49

Virtualization: http://powergui.org/kbcategory.jspa?categoryID=290

Microsoft Exchange: http://powergui.org/kbcategory.jspa?categoryID=47

Network: http://powergui.org/kbcategory.jspa?categoryID=48

SQL: http://powergui.org/kbcategory.jspa?categoryID=54

Others: http://powergui.org/kbcategory.jspa?categoryID=21

User manuals

For PowerGUI and QAD cmdlets user manuals and FAQ please visit PowerGUI wiki.

Blogs

Latest PowerGUI and QAD cmdlets news can be found at our team members' blogs:

• Dmitry's PowerBlog by Dmitry Sotnikov
• Poshoholic.com by Kirk Munro

Videos and Flash Demos

• Interactive Walkthrough - Take a guided tour of PowerGUI as we perform some basic tasks in both the user interface and the script editor.
• Introduction to PowerGUI demo - this is the most basic and introductory demo using Exchange 2007 environment to show how PowerGUI can be used to manage mailboxes, produce reports, how the console can be extended, and finally how these extensions are shared with other community members.
• How to Create a PowerPack - this demonstrates how to add nodes, links and actions to PowerGUI and how you can share your nodes, links and actions with the community as a PowerPack.
• Extending PowerGUI - this is an advanced demo on how PowerGUI works and how it can be extended with simple and script nodes/links/actions and how you can use .NET, WMI, and ADSI when PowerShell is not enough.
• Introduction to the Hyper-V PowerPack - Kirk Munro (the Poshoholic) provides an introduction to the Hyper-V PowerPack that he created.
• Managing Operations Manager 2007 with PowerGUI - Rob "Deuce" Doucette is demoing his PowerPack for OpsManager 2007 (also known as MOM).
• Advanced Exchange 2007 Management - mailbox provisioning, certificate management, public folder management - all through PowerGUI UI.
• Automated Software Testing - test your software projects with PowerShell and PowerGUI.

Failover Clustering Windows 2008 Videos by John Savill

One of the most useful videos I have found on the internet, for failover clustering. Thanks to John Savill for his efforts and time.

• Creating Windows Server 2008 Failover Clusters:
  http://www.savilltech.com/Videos/clustercreate/ClusterCreate.wmv
  
• Configuring a Windows Server 2008 Failover Cluster from the command line: http://www.savilltech.com/Videos/clustercmd/clustercmd.wmv
  
• Understanding Failover Cluster Quorum:
  http://www.savilltech.com/Videos/ClusterQuorum/ClusterQuorum.wmv
  
• Hyper-V Quick Migration:
  http://www.savilltech.com/Videos/QuickMigration/QuickMigration.wmv
  
• Configuring iSCSI connections from the command line:
  http://www.savilltech.com/Videos/iscsicli/iscsicli.wmv
  
• Failover Clustering with MELIO File System:
  http://www.savilltech.com/Videos/meliofs/meliofs.wmv

Performance Analysis of Logs (PAL) Tool

Tired of parsing the Perfmon (*.blg) manually. Let PAL make your job easier, give you html output and highlight high thresholds.

Website: http://www.codeplex.com/PAL

Project Description
Ever have a performance problem, but don't know what performance counters to collect or how to analyze them? The PAL (Performance Analysis of Logs) tool is a new and powerful tool that reads in a performance monitor counter log (any known format) and analyzes it using complex, but known thresholds (provided). The tool generates an HTML based report which graphically charts important performance counters and throws alerts when thresholds are exceeded. The thresholds are originally based on thresholds defined by the Microsoft product teams and members of Microsoft support, but continue to be expanded by this ongoing project. This tool is not a replacement of traditional performance analysis, but it automates the analysis of performance counter logs enough to save you time. This is a VBScript and requires Microsoft LogParser (free download).

Features

• Thresholds files for most of the major Microsoft products such as IIS, MOSS, SQL Server, BizTalk, Exchange, and Active Directory.
• An easy to use GUI interface which makes creating batch files for the PAL.vbs script.
• A GUI editor for creating or editing your own threshold files.
• Creates an HTML based report for ease of copy/pasting into other applications.
• Analyzes performance counter logs for thresholds using thresholds that change their critieria based on the computer's role or hardware specs.

Download Link: http://www.codeplex.com/PAL/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=16807

To use PAL

The PAL tool is primarily a VBScript that requires arguments/parameters passed to it in order to properly analyze performance monitor logs. In v1.1 and later of PAL, a GUI interface has been added to help with this process.

Requirements

Operating Systems
PAL runs successfully on all of the following operating systems: Windows XP SP2, Windows Vista, and Windows 2003 Server. 32-bit only due to OWC11 requirements.
Note: The optional GUI (windows form) portion of PAL requires the Microsoft .NET Framework v2.0.

Log Parser 2.2
Log parser is a powerful, versatile tool that provides universal query access to text-based data such as log files, XML files and CSV files, as well as key data sources on the Windows® operating system such as the Event Log, the Registry, the file system, and Active Directory®. PAL uses the Log Parser tool to query perform logs and to create charts and graphs for the PAL report.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=890cd06b-abf8-4c25-91b2-f8d975cf8c07&DisplayLang=en

Microsoft Office Web Components 2003
Log Parser requires the Office Web Components 2003 in order to create charts.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=7287252c-402e-4f72-97a5-e0fd290d4b76

Training
Watch online at: http://www.livemeeting.com/cc/microsoft/view?id=JKGT3N
or
Download it (20071005IntrotoPALwmv.zip) from:
https://www.codeplex.com/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ProjectName=PAL&ReleaseId=6759

Related Blogs and Reviews
Clint Huffman's Windows Performance Analysis Blog
http://blogs.technet.com/clint_huffman
Mike Lagase's Exchange Performance Analysis Blog
http://blogs.technet.com/mikelag/archive/2008/08/20/performance-troubleshooting-using-the-pal-tool.aspx
Two Exchange Server Tools You Should Know About
http://windowsitpro.com/article/articleid/100132/two-exchange-server-tools-you-should-know-about.html

Firewall settings tab grayed out. It says "For your security, some settings are controlled by group policy" How to turn group policy OFF or fix this

Check for any other firewall program that might be shutting off the
Windows XP Firewall.

1. Check the Group Policy settings. (Click Start - Run - gpedit.msc).

2. Expand Administrative Templates - Network - Network Connections - Windows Firewall - Standard Profile.

3. Look at "Windows Firewall:Protect all network connections", and ensure it's set to "Not Configured".

4. Double-click this settings, check Not Configured, and then click "Apply"

5. Click "Ok".

Error message: "Virtual memory minimum is too low. Windows is increasing the size of the virtual memory paging file."

The virtual memory is the space your computer uses when it runs short of RAM memory. The paging file is the place where Windows handles your virtual memory settings. If your computer wants to change it, you should go ahead and let it because XP will adjust the setting to meet the current memory needs. I do not recommend changing these settings manually as Windows can manage the size much more efficiently than the user can. Making your virtual memory setting larger will increase the number of addresses and will make Windows lazy.

Adding more RAM may also be of benefit as this will reduce the need for virtual memory to be used in the first place. For running Windows XP, I suggest at least 384MB. In general, adding more RAM is the most cost effective means of boosting a computer's performance.

I recommend buying quality RAM from a reputable company. Some cheap (unbranded) RAM can on occasion be defective resulting in 'unexplained' crashes or freezes. Brands to look for are Mushkin, Crucial and Kingston.

Difference between Windows XP Home and Professional Editions

Windows XP Home Edition:

Experience more than you thought possible with your home computer and the Internet. Windows XP Home Edition brings dependability and simplicity to your personal computer. It includes a cleaner, more intuitive visual design, advanced digital media features that make working with digital photographs or playing digital music simple and fun, and many new Windows experiences to explore.

* Contains basic support for security among multiple users.
* Built-in support for peer-to-peer networking, but only for up to five computers.
* The backup utility is not installed by default, but is included on the CD.

Windows XP Professional Edition:

Designed for businesses of all sizes and for home users who demand the most from their computing experience, Windows XP Professional delivers the new standard in reliability and performance. It includes all the great features and new visual design of Windows XP Home Edition, plus premier security and privacy features, advanced recovery options, improved ability to connect to large networks, and much more.

* Includes extended support for security between multiple users on the same machine.
* Better support for peer-to-peer networking, plus support for joining a "Windows NT domain."
* The backup utility is installed by default.

The Professional edition includes the following components not found in the Home edition:

* Administrative Tools (in the Start Menu and Control Panel)
* Automated System Recovery (ASR)
* Boot Configuration Manager
* DriverQuery
* Group Policy Refresh Utility
* Multi-lingual User Interface (MUI) add-on
* NTFS Encryption Utilitiy
* Offline Files and Folders
* OpenFiles
* Performance Log Manager
* Remote Desktop
* Scheduled Tasks Console
* Security Template Utility
* Taskkill
* Tasklist
* Telnet Administrator
* Provides support for multi-processor systems (2 or 4 CPUs),
Dynamic Disks, Fax.

What is diference between http and https?

HTTP(Hpertext Transfer Protocol) is a protocol used in application layer for transmitting and retrieving information across internet.Http request could be sent and you get a response for that..

HTTPS(hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) works by transmitting normal http interactions through an encrypted system and the information cannot be accessed by any party other than the client and end server. Two types of encryption layer available are Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), both of which encode the data records being exchanged.

Default Port number for HTTP is 80 and for HTTPS it is 443..

Intel Dual Core & Core 2 Duo Processors - are they different?

The Core 2 Duo is Intel's second generation (Hence, Core 2) processor made for desktops and laptops designed from the ground up to be fast while not consuming nearly as much power as previous CPUs, Dual core is simply a generic term referring to any processor package with two physical CPUs in one.

Dual Core is better because it has 2 processors. The more the better. (Dell has a Quad Core, 4, processor computer and Mac has a Dual Quad Core processor, yes 8 processors). The main difference is that core duo is 32-bit processor, where as Core 2 Duo is 64-it processor, also for Core 2 Duo, the cache memory is 4MB compared to 2MB of Core Duo.

What is the difference between DDR1 and DDR2 ram?

DDR2 will not fit in DDR1 notch in the first place (DDR2 will physically not insert into the socket of DDR1).

The difference between DDr1 and DDR2 is, On the physical side, DDR has a 184-pin interface and DDR2 has 240-pin and they also differ in the voltage they use, DDR1 uses 2.5 Volts DDR2 uses 1.8 Volts. As you have mentioned speed also differs DDR1 has 200 MHz, 266 MHz, 333 MHz, 400 MHz and DDR2 has 400 MHz, 533 MHz, 667 MHz, 800 MHz.

Difference between 32-bit and 64-bit Microsoft Vista OS

- Less numbers of softwares (including drivers) are available for 64-bit Vista. Also, other 64-bit systems runs 32-bit application very well, but thats not the case with 64-bit Vista. It does not support 32-bit drivers at all. And, unlike 32-bit Vista where it just gives a warning for unsigned drivers, 64-bit Vista does not load unsigned drivers. Also, 16-bit application are not supported by 64-bit Vista.

- Vista 64-bit include a new secret security feature called Address Space Layout Randmonizer (ASLR) that helps eliminate remote system attacks for the first time on the Windows platform and is not available for 32-bit Vista.

- Vista 64-bit provide support for hardware-backed Data Execution Protection (DEP), which helps to prevent the buffer overflows that are commonly used in electronic attacks, whereas 32-bit Vista utilize a less effective, software-based version of DEP.

- 64-bit Vista has a feature called Kernel Patch Protection (also known as PatchGuard) which prevents malicious software from patching Vista Kernel. It prevents kernel-mode drivers from extending or replacing other kernel services and prevents third-party software from patching any part of the kernel.

- 32-bit Vista support up to 4 GB of RAM where as different 64-bit version of Vista support different size RAM as
Vista Home Basic - 8 GB of RAM
Vista Home Premium - 16 GB
Vista Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate - 128 GB

- You can upgrade from XP 64-bit to Vista 64-bit, but not from Vista 32-bit to Vista 64-bit.

Backing Up The Registry

Sure we like to fiddle around with the XP operating system, but sooner or later it's going to happen; the system won't boot or it becomes corrupt.The sure fire way is to do a complete system backup. Alternately you can create a Restore point using system restore. Or as shown in the above article, do a System State backup, which we'll outline below.

Microsoft has a Knowledge Base Article - 322756 which outlines the proper way to back up these settings.

Start Backup:

Start==>All Programs==>Accessories==>System Tools==>Backup

Choose "Back up files and settings"

Select "Let me choose what to back up"

Check off "System State"

Choose a place to save your backup

The file size can be quite large, so choose a source with ample space. A CD-R would be a good choice. A Zip drive would not! I save mine on a spare hard drive exclusively for backup.

Completing the Backup!

If everything looks good, click "Finish".

The Backup Process

Depending on the media you chose to save your backup, it could take a few minutes to the better part of an half hour to complete, From the example above, a 338 MB file took a little over a minute writing to a 5000 rpm 8 GB drive. A drive that I had sitting around collecting dust.

Restoring Data

When restoring, we'll go back to the very first example here and instead of choosing "Back up files and settings", we're going to select the obvious, "Restore files and settings". There's not much we can screw up here since you'll have no choice but to overwrite existing files when restoring a System State. I may cover that at another time since you made it this far, but there's no need to explain in detail, the reversal of the backup procedure. But I will supply these images to ponder! ;)

Just choose the backup you wish to restore, click next:

Then we're met with this warning. Click OK:

So no matter what choice you make, we're always going to restore a saved state. After going through the motions as in backup, your system will be restored to it's previous glory! But, and a very big but, if your system refuses to start and allow you to use the Backup feature, then we're looking at repairing your installation. And that is for another day! :)