Originally Posted October 19 2008

If you turned on your computer and discovered your icons and perhaps your files are missing from your desktop, you may be the victim of an over-active Desktop Cleanup Wizard.  The Desktop Cleanup Wizard will move your old (untouched in a while) Desktop items and place them into a folder called 'Unused Desktop Icons' on your Desktop.

In Windows XP:

1. Right click on your Desktop
2. Select 'Properties'
   -The Display Properties window appears
3. Click the 'Desktop' tab
4. Click 'Customize Desktop...' button
   -The Desktop Items window appears
5. Uncheck 'Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days'
6. Click OK
7. Click Apply
8. Click OK

If you are using Vista, well this feature has been removed.  I guess we'll have to wait for Windows 7.

Originally Posted Aug 24 2008

So you have collected and downloaded all those photos into your computer.  Why just let them sit there.  Here's how to turn your digital photos in your My Photos or Photos folder into a screen saver:

In XP:
1. Start > Control Panel > Display
2. Click the 'Screen Saver' tab
-In the Screen Saver field
3. Select 'My Pictures Slideshow' from the drop-down list
Hint: Click the 'Settings...' button to adjust the transition settings, time, etc
4. Click 'Apply'
5. Click 'OK'

In Vista:
1. Start > Control Panel > Personalization
2. Click 'Screen Saver'
-In the 'Screen Saver' field
3. Select 'Photos' from the drop-down list
Hint: Click the 'Settings...' button to adjust the transition settings, time, etc
4. Click 'Apply'
5. Click 'OK'

That's it!

Originally Posted July 13 2008

The simplest is to try to purge all the print jobs (a print job is every document, spreadsheet, e-mail, or any file that you try to print).  Many times something went wrong on your first print job and it's backing up all the other print jobs.  But, there are a few other things you can also try.  Here's what you do:

Option 1:
In Windows XP:
1. Click Start > Control Panel > Printers and Faxes
2. Double Click the printer which you printed to
-A list of your Print Jobs appears
3. Printer > Cancel All Documents
4. Try printing again

In Vista:
1. Click the Start button > Control Panel > Printers
2. Double Click the printer which you printed to
-A list of your Print Jobs appears
3. File > Cancel All Print Jobs
4. Try printing again

Option 2: - Delete Temporary Files
-In Windows XP
1. Shut down all programs
2. Click Start > Run
3 Type 'temp' without the quotes in the Run field
4. Press the ENTER key
-A window with your Temporary files opens
-Select all files
5. Press and hold CTRL on your keyboard
6. Press A
7. Release CTRL and A
-All files are selected

-Now delete all files
7. Press and hold CTRL
8. Press D
Note: not all files will delete and you will likely get an error that a file is in use.  In this case, you have to:
9. Press and hold CTRL
10. Press A
11. Relese CTRL and A
11. Press and hold CTRL
12. Click once on the first file in the window
13. Press and hold CTRL
14. Press D
15. Repeat this process until all the files are deleted
17. Repeat the same process except enter '%temp%' in step 3.
18. Try printing again

In Vista:
1. Shut down all programs
2. Click the Start button
-In the Start field
3. Enter 'run'
4. Click on 'Run' at the top of the Start menu
5. Type 'temp' without the quotes in the Run field
6. Press the ENTER key
-A window with your Temporary files opens
-Select all files
7. Press and hold CTRL on your keyboard
8. Press A
9. Release CTRL and A
-All files are selected

-Now delete all files
10. Press and hold CTRL
11. Press D
12. Click 'Skip' when prompted
13. Repeat this process until all the files are deleted from the 'temp' folder
14. Repeat the same process except enter '%temp%' in step 5.
15. Try printing again

Option 3:
In Windows XP and Vista
-Restart your printer
1. Unplug the power cord from your printer
2. Wait about 30 seconds
3. Replug your printer
4. Try printing again

I hope these help!

Is your computer running slow?  Are you wondering how to get more performance from your computer?  Here are a few tips you can do:

Originally Posted January 6 2008

Happy New Year!

With the beginning of 2008, I would like to say thank you for your loyalty to my Time Saving Tips.

Since I couldn't give you a present in person, here is a list of free software that I think everyone will really enjoy even if you aren't technically inclined.

Microsoft has assembled a list of handy downloads that almost everyone can benefit from.  Here are just a few of the kinds of professions that can benefit:
• If you are in Real Estate, there is Image Resizer.  Just right click on the digital image and you can resize your image for upload to MLXchange or other websites.
• If you are a Windows Power User, you can have a thumbnail of the program you select when pressing ALT + Tab with the Alt-Tab replacement
• If you are a statistician, use the Power Calculator to graph your calculations
• The SyncToy is also available (remember the last Tip from 2007?).  You can sync two folders, hard drives, or even flash drives!

All these Microsoft free programs available here:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

Enjoy!

Well, I have been recently asked another fundamental question about Windows - What is the difference between Standby and Hibernate?  You probably already know that both are designed as an energy conservation activity in your computer, but what is the difference between the two?  Here's a simple explanation:

Standby (Think 'Nap'):
When your computer goes into Standby, it will turn-off the power to all devices directly connected to your computer (your hard drive, modem, monitor, etc), but keeps power to your computer's memory.  This allows it to conserve power but to quickly come back when you press the power button.

Hibernate (Think 'Deep Sleep'):
When your computer goes into Hibernate, it will 'take a picture' of all the programs and files you currently have open, save it to a special part of your hard drive, then shut down the power to all parts of the computer.  When you press the power button to wake it up, it will restore power to all parts of the computer then restore your screen according to the programs and files you had open.

You can adjust how and how long it takes for either of these energy saving activities to start in the Power Management section of the Control Panel.

In Windows XP:
1. Start (button) > Control Panel > Power Options
To Customize Standby:
-In the Power Schemes tab
-In the Power schemes field:
2. Select a power scheme profile from the drop-down list
Alternatively, you can:
2. Setup your own power scheme by adjusting the times in the Plugged in and Running on Batteries (if you are using a laptop) profiles.  This might be helpful if you want your laptop to stay on longer before going into Standby
To Customize Hibernate
3. Click on the Advanced tab
4. Select how you want Hibernate to turn-on from the drop-down lists
5. Click Apply
6. Click OK

In Vista - Standby and Hibernate have been combined
1. Start (button) > Control Panel > Power Options
2. Choose one of the three Power Plans (Balanced, Power Saver, or High Performance)
3. Exit the window
-Your power plan is saved

That's it!

If you have made the transition or maybe just have a computer with Vista, you are probably getting accustomed to the changes.  One of these changes is the missing 'up one level' that was available in Windows XP when navigating through your folders.

'up one level' button in Windows XP

Missing 'up one Level' button in Vista

If you are like me and still long for this simple feature there is hope.  There is a key combination that you can use in its place.

All you need to do to go up one level in Vista is press the ALT + Up Arrow keys at the same time.

That's it!

 Happy Thanksgiving!

June 25 2007

For those of you who remember DOS, you probably became accustomed to using keyboard shortcuts - Just press the ALT key, then the underlined letter on the Menu bar, then your the underlined letter in the drop-down menu and your done!

Well, those keyboard short-cuts still exist but Windows XP or Vista may be hiding the underline telling you which are the shortcut keys you need to to know. 

You can reveal these keyboard shortcuts by pressing the ALT key on your keyboard when you are working in any software program (The underlines appear both in the Menu Toolbar and in the drop-down menus).  If you want to have them displayed permanently, here's what you need to do:

In Windows XP:
1. Start > Control Panel
2. Double click on the 'Display' icon
-The Display Properties window opens
3. Click the 'Appearance' tab
4. Click the 'Effects' window
5. Uncheck 'Hide underlined letters for keyboard navitation until I press the Alt key
6. Click 'OK'
7. Click 'Apply'
8. Click 'OK'

In Windows Vista:
1. Start > Control Panel
2. Double Click the 'Ease of Access Center' icon
3. Double Click 'Make the keyboard easier to use'
4. Check 'Underline keyboard shorcuts and access keys'
5. Click 'Apply'
6. Click 'Save'

That's it!