Picture Guide to Computer Building and Hardware Installation.

I came across a very good site which explains  step by step guide to build a custom computer. Let me share the link of that site with my blog readers.

This site explains the following features.

(1) Picking out the parts(2) Basic Computer connections
(3) Computer Case Overview
(4) Drive installation
(5) CPU and RAM installation
(6) Motherboard installation
(7) Graphics Card installation
(8 Power-supply installation and power connections
(9) SATA or IDE connections
(10) Front panel wiring
(11) Operating system and driver installation

http://www.gamespot.com/pages/forums/show_msgs.php?topic_id=26986920

How to Download Youtube Videos without using any software or addons

With the website voobys you can download videos from YouTube without using software or addons

 To download videos using voobys here are step:

1. Open the page for your favorite video on YouTube.com

2. Click the videos you want to download on your computer.

3. Now the videos you click is open. Let’s example the music video of  Michael Jackson. The video link for this video let say is :  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsUXAEzaC3Q 

4. Click on the address bar, and carefully replace the term “youtube” in the url to “voobys”.
    New video link  now will be  http://www.voobys.com/watch?v=dsUXAEzaC3Q 

5. In the new page, there are 4 version button, click any of the buttons to download videos.

6. A small window will show to save the file.

7. Rename the file into a .flv format.

8. Convert the file into any format to watch in your media player or portable media player.

Please check that you have  Java  installed in your computer as Voobys website uses Java Applet to convert the video to downloadable format.

BlueStacks a freeware App Player for running Android app on Windows

BlueStacks is a software that allows you to use your favorite mobile apps on a Windows PC. BlueStacks App Player acts as a gadget on your desktop, and even comes with ten pre-installed applications for your enjoyment.You can download apps like Angry Birds Space, Temple Run, Evernote or Documents to Go directly into BlueStacks.

You can also download more applications by clicking the Get More Apps button right from the menu. There are currently over 26 to choose from, with developers working everyday to add more.

Synchronize Folders Between Your Computers and Drives with SyncToy 2.1

There are files from all kinds of sources that we want to store and manage. Files are created by our digital cameras, e-mail, cell phones, portable media players, camcorders, PDAs, and laptops.  To manage this hundreds or thousands of files is still largely a manual operation. In some cases it is necessary to regularly get copies of files from another location to add to primary location; in other cases there is a need to keep two storage locations exactly in sync (same).

 

This is a free tool from Microsoft that was once part of the XP Power Toys but has continued to grow and improve.

 

If you are using Windows then SyncToy from Microsoft is freely available.

 

You might have a external drive that you use to carry files and documents from the workplace to your home office and vice versa.  SyncToy will guide you through creating a pair of linked folders. Labeled as Left and Right, it will then ask you to choose from one of five synchronization methods.

• Echo works like a standard one-way sync, copying all files from Left to Right.
• Synchronize is bidirectional;
• Contribute works like Echo but it won't delete files removed from the Left folder;
• Subscribe only updates files in common that have been updated; and
• Combine merges Synchronize and Contribute so that files are updated in both directions, but none are deleted.

SyncToy does support encrypted files.

 

SyncToy also offers up a preview, preventing accidental loss of data.

Symptoms of Processor Failure

System Bootup Issues

• If you boot up your machine and nothing happens – not even any beeps that indicate a POST test is running -- processor failure is one of two possible causes

System Starts And Immediately Shuts Down

• This is a failure mode that's more definitively a case of the processor failing. Motherboards have temperature sensors on the processor, and when the processor exceeds a given temperature range, the motherboard will shut down to prevent damage to the processor. This is also the simplest diagnostic to confront without having to do systematic component replacement -- remove the heat sink from the processor, clean off the old layer of thermal compound with a razor blade, apply a new layer, re-seat the heat sink and try again. 

Computer Freezes During Work

• Another symptom set of a processor failure symptoms happens after you've reached the operating system: The mouse freezes on the screen and the system becomes completely unresponsive, usually with a series of short beeps when you attempt to enter anything with the keyboard. This can be a symptom of the central processor failing -- or it could be symptomatic of the graphics card processor failing.

"System Abort" Blue Screen

• Windows has significantly improved in its reliability with the switch to the Windows NT code base beginning with the Windows XP operating system, and it's only gotten more reliable since. While "System Abort" blue screens were common with Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows ME from driver conflicts, since the switch to Windows XP, and especially Windows Vista and Windows 7, a "System Abort" blue screen is most likely hardware-related. Consistently getting a Windows blue screen isn't a sure-fire indicator of a processor failure, but it's something to consider.

Causes of Processor Failure

• There are two primary causes of processor failure: processor overheating and voltage surges. Overheating is the root cause of more than 95 percent of all processor failures. Voltage surges that destroy a processor are comparatively rare, but sometimes happen when a power supply unit gets old enough to send voltage surges. Most BIOS settings will let you take the temperature of your processor at system boot up. There are a number of utilities that will relay this information into Windows as well; in general, if your processor is running in excess of 60 C (140 F), it's in danger of damaging itself.

Systematically Eliminating Possibilities

• When trying to isolate which component is causing your computer system to lock up or throw abort messages, the most important part of the process is to be systematic -- if you have two computers with identical hardware and one of them consistently locks up or throws blue screens, start by swapping video cards, then by swapping RAM, then by swapping processors between them. The key here is to replicate the problem (and the solution) by swapping components between the systems and testing them one at a time, until you know for certain which component is causing the failure.

Source

Getting rid of add-ons and toolbars in Google Chrome

The best way to get rid of all addons and toolbars in Google Chrome is :

If you are the only chrome user,  

-- Click on the Wrench tool-settings

-- Under the User click -“DELETE THIS USER” .

You have reset Google Chrome to default settings.

All your addons, settings will restore to defaut.

Everything you want to know about your computer

At some time or another, you'll need to know about your computer, whether it's to put an upgrade in context, check program compatibility or to test system requirements. That's where SIW comes in, giving you an overview of everything from what operating system you have to your installed codecs and motherboard specs to network information.

SIW is an advanced System Information for Windows tool that analyzes your computer and gathers detailed information about system properties and settings and displays it in an extremely comprehensible manner.

The System Information is divided into few major categories:

• Software Information: Operating System, Software Licenses (Product Keys / Serial Numbers / CD Key), Installed Software and Hotfixes, Processes, Services, Users, Open Files, System Uptime, Installed Codecs, Passwords Recovery, Server Configuration.
• Hardware Information: Motherboard, CPU, Sensors, BIOS, chipset, PCI/AGP, USB and ISA/PnP Devices, Memory, Video Card, Monitor, Disk Drives, CD/DVD Devices, SCSI Devices, S.M.A.R.T., Ports, Printers.
• Network Information: Network Cards, Network Shares, currently active Network Connections, Open Ports.
• Network Tools: MAC Address Changer, Neighborhood Scan, Ping, Trace, Statistics, Broadband Speed Test
• Miscellaneous Tools: Eureka! (Reveal lost passwords hidden behind asterisks), Monitor Test, Shutdown / Restart.
• Real-time monitors: CPU, Memory, Page File usage and Network Traffic.

http://www.gtopala.com/siw-download.php

Using the Memory Advisor or Scanner for memory upgrade

Without a doubt, compatibility is the most important factor in buying a memory upgrade for your laptop or computer. Your RAM must be compatible with your system — or your system just won't work. With so many variations in memory, it's important to understand just exactly what will work — and what won't — in your system. Using the Memory Advisor or Scanner on Crucial.com is the best way to ensure compatability.
http://www.crucial.com/

How to enable & disable the USB port in windows via registry.

To disable the access to USB port, in windows XP 

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. Locate, and then click the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Services\UsbStor
4. In the right pane, double-click Start.
5. In the Value data box, type 4, click Hexadecimal
(if it is not already selected), and then click OK.
6. Quit Registry Editor.


To re-enable a disabled port:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
3. Locate, and then click the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\
Services\UsbStor
4. In the right pane, double-click Start.
5. In the Value data box, type 3, click Hexadecimal
(if it is not already selected), and then click OK.
6. Quit Registry Editor.

How to Disable/Enable Writing Access to USB drives

To disable writing access to USB drives and make all USB drives only read-only access, follow these steps:

1. Run Registry Editor (regedit).
2. Navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control
3. Create a New Key named as StorageDevicePolicies.
4. Highlight StorageDevicePolicies, and then create a New DWORD (32-bit) Value named as WriteProtect.
5. Double click on WriteProtect, and set its value data to 1.

Once set, all users on the computer is now blocked and prevented from copying, transferring or writing any files, documents and data to the USB disk drives, without the need to restart or reboot computer. Any attempt to download or copy files to USB drive will return the following error message:

The disk is write protected.
The media is write-protected.
Remove the write protection or use another disk.

How to Enable Writing Access

1. Run Registry Editor (regedit).
2. Navigate to the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control
3. Create a New Key named as StorageDevicePolicies.
4. Highlight StorageDevicePolicies, and then create a New DWORD (32-bit) Value named as WriteProtect.
5. Double click on WriteProtect, and set its value data to 0

Things to be done before sending your Computer/Laptop For Repairs

Your computer has died and it’s still under warranty and you want to send it your vendor. If possible, there are some things you should consider doing before packing the computer/laptop into a box and shipping it off to Dell, HP, Acer or Sony.
There are two major concerns here. The first is privacy. The second is the concern for your data. There is a very real possibility the hard drive that returns to you will not be the same hard drive that came with it. Or if it is, the drive might have been reformatted to factory defaults and your data might
be gone forever.

Computer Shipping Security Checklist

Depending on the nature of your computer’s problem, you should consider doing the following before sending your computer away to total strangers.

• Check computer drives for removable media – Open the DVD drive to check for disks and make sure there is no disk in your floppy drive, as well.
• Backup and remove sensitive documents – Backup your files to another computer or an external hard drive. You have to assume that data might not be there when your computer is shipped back to you.
• Remove favorites from browser – Copy or export your favorites (bookmarks) from your browser and then delete them from your computer. This is less for privacy than for security.
• Remove browser history – Although you have removed your bookmarks, sites you have recently visited might be in your browser’s history.
• Remove stored passwords from browser – If they find your bookmarks, make sure you do not have any passwords stored in memory.
• Take notes – Write down the model and serial number of your computer. This is usually on the back, near the power supply.
• Take pictures – Take pictures of the computer. This will help you identify model / serial numbers, as well as document the physical condition the computer was in before you shipped it away.
• Pack it for shipping – Unless you receive a box from the manufacturer, try and pack the computer into its original box. If you still have the box, hopefully it contains the packing Styrofoam or foam inserts to keep it safe during the shipping process. Do not pack any input devices or cables unless they specifically ask for them.
• Documentation-  You should take steps to make sure all of your documentation are in order and that you have all the information you need to follow up on the repair.

Convert PDF to Excel Free Online

Free online  PDF to Excel conversion service at : http://www.pdftoexcel.org  .
This site has the following benefits over similar ones:
1. There is no major file size limitation (files of up to 40MB can be converted)
2. The conversion quality is better than most commercial products offer  .

Toolwiz Time Freeze

Time Freeze Your Computer In A Virtual Environment & Protect It From Malware

Toolwiz Time Freeze is an effective Instant System Restore software to keep your computer system safe and protect your computer from undesired changes. It can also protect your files and folders from changes with a secure password protection. It makes virtualization very easy to use. Basically, it clones your system, creating fully working copies that you can use normally (or abnormally) without risking your "real" system. It puts the actual system under secure protection and creates a virtual environment for system partition, on which you then run applications and surf the internet. It provides higher-level security to computer protection, and greatly improves the efficiency of virtual systems.
Toolwiz Time Freeze has a simple interface for starting and stopping its main features as well as adding files to the File Protection feature (Time Freeze warns not to include Windows system files). There's a small, optional "ToolBar" that merely displays the program's status on the desktop, but it's helpful if you switch between modes a lot. Most of the time, the program's system tray icon handles all the actions.

The internets largest and most updated default router password database

http://192.168.X.X  is the URL, which you have to enter in your web browser, in case you want to access and tweak the settings, admin and password of your network router. It is a way to access the network device attached to your computer connected at the private IP address 192.168.X.X.

Router Manufacturers	Default IP Addresses
3Com	192.168.1.1
Apple	10.0.1.1
Asus	192.168.1.1, 192.168.1.220
Belkin	192.168.2.1, 10.1.1.1
Buffalo	192.168.11.1
Dell	192.168.1.1
D-Link	192.168.0.1, 0.30, 0.50, 1.1, 10.1.1.1
Linksys	192.168.0.1, 1.1
Microsoft	192.168.2.1
Motorola	192.168.10.1, 20.1, 30.1, 62.1, 100.1, 102.1, 1.254
MSI	192.168.1.254
Netgear	192.168.0.1, 0.227
Senao	192.168.0.1
SpeedTouch	10.0.0.138, 192.168.1.254
Trendnet	192.168.0.1, 1.1, 2.1, 10.1,
U.S. Robotics	192.168.1.1, 2.1, 123.254
Zyxel	192.168.1.1, 2.1, 4.1, 10.1, 1.254, 10.0.0.2, 0.138

The admin and password details are not used by most of the people on a regular basis. Once they are set, people usually forget about them, and this is the reason, we find many people struggling for the default router login details at a later date.

In case you have changed the default username and password of the http://192.168.1.1 router, then there is no solution other than trying a hardware reset. But in case, you have not changed the password, then you can try to access the router username and password from the following site:
http://www.routerpasswords.com/

Removing add-ons and toolbars in Internet Explorer by reset

To resolve issues that are caused by add-ons, or toolbars in Internet Explorer, you will need to reset your Internet browser back to its original settings. This can be helpful in addressing a variety of issues including miscellaneous error messages, browser display problems, and general difficulties using the Yahoo! site.

The workflow described in this help document will disable any toolbars or any add-on to the browser. This will not harm or delete any of your Favorites. You will, however, lose any stored passwords. The reason for this action is that toolbars and other add-ons, other website cookies, or a change to your browser's security settings may interfere with other functionality.

• To reset Internet Explorer Settings, click on Tools then Internet Options.
• The Internet Options screen opens…click on the Advanced tab, then under Reset Internet Explorer settings click on the Reset button. 
• You’ll need to verify that you want to reset all Internet Explorer Settings. If you choose to, you can delete all of your personal settings as well, but it shouldn’t be necessary to fix stability issues. 
• The settings will start to reset, and when it’s finished close out of the message box. 
• For the process to complete you’ll need to restart Internet Explorer

I tried this when I got stuck with babylon search and it worked .

Remove Unwanted Toolbars From Your System

Though we carefully uncheck installation of toolbars during apps install, somehow they still be installed in our computers and very hard to remove. These toolbars (Google Toolbar is an exception), bundled with free apps such as PDF Readers and cleaning tools changes user browser’s homepage and default search engines can’t forgive them,  Browser toolbars can become a real nuisance. Not only do they add clutter but also hijack your search engine, browser homepage, etc, and some are persistent enough not to let it get changed again. Then there are those who do not bring any useful functionality at all, except reducing the browser's own speed as well as consuming internet bandwidth. When these toolbars are removed, they often leave behind traces, not getting entirely uninstalled from your system.

Multi-Toolbar Remover is a portable tool that gets rid of multiple toolbars completely and instantly. It support removal of many popular toolbars, such as, Google Toolbar and BQuick Search box, Yahoo! Toolbar, AOL Toolbars, Comcast Toolbar, and Ask Toolbar.

It is as easy as selecting the toolbars present in your system and clicking remove. The tool will perform the removal and notify you once it's done.

This software is Windows only, and works fine on Windows 7 x86 system.

Download Multi-Toolbar Remover

Remove Unwanted Web Page Elements Before Printing

• Print Friendly for Chrome Lets You Easily Remove Unwanted Web Page Elements Before Printing With any luck, you don't have to print web pages very often anymore, but for those times when you do, it's useful to have a way to strip out the images, advertisements, and other fluff on the page. Even if the site you're printing from offers a handy "Print This" button for a streamlined view, Print Friendly for Chrome gives you control over what makes it into the printout and what doesn't. For example, if you just want a recipe without the commentary around it, you can click the Print Friendly button in your toolbar to get an editable version of the page where you can strip out any photos you don't need to see, comments below the recipe, or banner ads that sneak into the so-called "printer friendly" version of the page. Ideally, you won't have to remove much yourself, because Print Friendly tries to remove a lot of that unnecessary information before showing you the version it wants to print, but just in case it misses something, you control the final product. Print Friendly is free (of course) and available now in the Chrome Web Store. It's been around for a while, but it works like a charm. Click the link above with this web page open in Google Chrome:

• Print Friendly for Firefox users looking for a similar extension can try Print Edit, which gives you a similar interface where you can highlight test, remove images and ads, and pass the final product on to your printer . Print Edit8.6 allows editing of the web page content while in Print Preview mode. Editing the web page prior to printing can compact the layout and remove unwanted content such as adverts, sidebars and blank pages. Any element can be formatted, hidden or deleted.

 

• Print Friendly for Internet Explorer  

7 Quick fix for Windows 7 users and professionals

When your operating system starts to pop up various errors due to unknown causes, we usually look for the quickest solution to fix them.

Some people resort to reinstalling Windows but this is a drastic measure that should only be taken into consideration is critical cases.

7 Quick Fix is a handy and reliable utility designed to fix 108 common Windows 7 errors, problems and tweaks.

There are a lot of excellent Windows comprehensive repairing and fixing tools around the internet. But there are times when you want just one quick fix for example when you are under a virus attack and you just want to enable the Task Manager or the Registry Editor so you can fight the virus back, or when some new installation changed your Windows 7 behavior and you want to restore it. This is the right time to draw 7 Quick Fix with 108 common Windows 7 fixes


Here are some key features of "7 Quick Fix":
· 108 fixes
· Portable, can run from a USB drive or stick
· Each fix is applied with a single mouse click
· Auto saving the changed settings for a quick rollback
· On screen information for every fix
· Fixes are divided into 6 categories (Enable / Disable, Restore missing stuff, Performance, Errors and Crashes, Tweaks, Files Association)
· No scanning or other resource consuming process, just execute and click

The ultimate Swiss army knife for Windows 7 users and professionals

Reasons for moving your My Documents folder

There are two serious reasons to do this with immediate effect.

1. Imagine that all your precious documents, photos and sundry other files are organized beautifully in this folder on the system partition (commonly the C Drive). Imagine a system crash. Imagine the loss of never able to recover that data. And now imagine a simple step which could have saved the day.
2. The usual good word is to partition your hard disk into multiples with a minimum size kept for the system drive. With time My Documents will fatten up as more data is stashed away in it. Moving the folder to a different drive saves space and more importantly safeguards it.

How To Move My Documents Folder in Windows XP

1. Right click on the My Documents icon on the desktop.

2.  Click on Move and choose your chosen location for the folder. Move it to a different partition. For instance, I have it on my D Drive.

3. Click Apply and then Ok. A prompt will ask whether you want to move all of the current documents to the new location or not. Choose Yes. All your documents are switched to the new location and it’s all like before except now they are safer from a system crash.

Windows 7 - Moving My Documents

source

Troubleshooting steps for issues when you try to use the System Restore tool in Windows XP

What is System Restore?

System Restore helps you restore your computer's system files to an earlier point in time. It's a way to undo system changes to your computer without affecting your personal files, such as e‑mail, documents, or photos.

Sometimes, the installation of a program or a driver can cause an unexpected change to your computer or cause Windows to behave unpredictably. Usually, uninstalling the program or driver corrects the problem. If uninstalling does not fix the problem, you can try restoring your computer's system to an earlier date when everything worked correctly.

System Restore uses a feature called System Protection to regularly create and save restore points on your computer. These restore points contain information about registry settings and other system information that Windows uses. You can also create restore points manually.

System Restore is not intended for backing up personal files, so it cannot help you recover a personal file that has been deleted or damaged. You should regularly back up your personal files and important data using a backup program.

Troubleshooting steps for issues when you try to use the System Restore tool in Windows XP