Free information about Microsoft OS family http://e-articles.info/e/s/s/Microsoft-OS-family/ en-us E-articles.info 2006 - 2009 Apple is set to release their new version of OSX, the operating system known as Snow Leopard, in September. They have said that the 10.6 version of the OS is not so much a replacement for 10... by Adrian Gates http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Snow-Leopard-Improves-Mac-Integration-with-Microsoft-Exchange/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Snow-Leopard-Improves-Mac-Integration-with-Microsoft-Exchange/ Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:33:17 GMT   Introduction:   Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) is light years ahead of its predecessors, but by no means does that proclamation mean that the browser is perfect. You are still going to encounter issues with IE from time to time. Here are some of the concise guides that deliver some troubleshooting steps that will clear up the majority of issues we encountered with IE7... by salem http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Troubleshooting-Internet-Explorer-7.0-Issues/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Troubleshooting-Internet-Explorer-7.0-Issues/ Mon, 14 Sep 2009 01:41:22 GMT 1. Choose Start➪All Programs➪Accessories➪Paint. 2... by Ol Chai http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Edit-a-Picture-in-Paint/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Edit-a-Picture-in-Paint/ Wed, 26 Mar 2008 02:49:27 GMT If you have one computer connected to the internet (from now on called the "server"), and another connected to that computer (from now on called the "client") via a wireless connection you may wish to have the client access the internet through the server. The normal way of doing this is to use Windows built in ICS, however if you dont wish to use this (eg it doesnt work or doesnt provide you with enough control over the connection) you may wish to manually set up a proxy server. This tutorial tells you how... by Chris Doman http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Setting-up-a-shared-internet-connection-in-Windows-XP/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Setting-up-a-shared-internet-connection-in-Windows-XP/ Wed, 30 May 2007 03:57:32 GMT Using the Regfind utility, you can easily search the Registry for a value, regardless of the key, and replace it. Regfind (from the Windows 2000 Server Resource Kit) can be an invaluable tool when you need change a Registry key that you know the value for but when do not necessarily know the full path. Recently tasked with changing the hardcoded DNS server IP on all the servers in our organization, I was pleasantly surprised when I located this gem... by Len Parov http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Find-and-Replace-Registry-Keys-from-a-Command-Line/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Find-and-Replace-Registry-Keys-from-a-Command-Line/ Thu, 17 May 2007 04:23:37 GMT This handy script lets you easily run any command on a specified subset of computers in your domain. Running the same command on multiple computers in your domain can be tedious indeed, but such a scenario is common in an administrator's life. I've written this hack to make this chore easier... by Len Parov http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Execute-a-Command-on-Each-Computer-in-a-Domain/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Execute-a-Command-on-Each-Computer-in-a-Domain/ Mon, 14 May 2007 05:31:42 GMT Here's one IT professional's take on five third-party tools for Windows 2000 every system administrator should have. There can be no doubt that with every release of Microsoft's operating system the need for third-party utilities becomes less and less. One major complaint about NT was its lack of disk quotas, something Unix has included since day one... by Len Parov http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Top-Five-Tools-in-Windows-2000/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Top-Five-Tools-in-Windows-2000/ Sun, 13 May 2007 06:39:47 GMT Active Directory (AD) is a necessary and fundamental component of any Exchange 2007 implementation. That said, organizations do not necessarily need to panic about setting up Active Directory in addition to Exchange, as long as a few straightforward design steps are followed. The following areas of Active Directory must be addressed to properly design and deploy Exchange 2007: ... by Ruper Meredith http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Designing-Active-Directory-for-Exchange-Server-2007/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Designing-Active-Directory-for-Exchange-Server-2007/ Wed, 09 May 2007 07:47:52 GMT Rather than use the Delegation of Control Wizard, use this script to delegate authority over an organizational unit (OU) to a particular user. By delegating administrative responsibilities, you can eliminate the need for multiple administrative accounts that have broad authority (such as over an entire domain). Although you likely will still use the predefined Domain Admins group for administration of the entire domain, you can limit the accounts that are members of the Domain Admins group to highly trusted administrative users... by Len Parov http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Delegate-Control-of-an-OU-to-a-User/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Delegate-Control-of-an-OU-to-a-User/ Wed, 02 May 2007 08:55:57 GMT It's sometimes convenient to configure machines to log on automatically when booted. Here are three ways to do this. In all versions of Windows that are based on Windows NT (including Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003), a user is required to log on before he can use the system interactively... by Len Parov http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Automatically-Windows-Log-On-After-Booting/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Automatically-Windows-Log-On-After-Booting/ Tue, 01 May 2007 09:23:15 GMT Here's a useful script to quickly display the configuration of a remote system for troubleshooting or inventory purposes. This handy script will attempt to gather various Windows NT/2000/XP/2003 operating-system attributes and display them in a coherent way to assist in troubleshooting. I highly suggest modifying the customization variables located within the script... by Len Parov http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Display-the-configuration-of-a-remote-system-for-troubleshooting/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Display-the-configuration-of-a-remote-system-for-troubleshooting/ Sun, 22 Apr 2007 10:31:20 GMT Here's a snappy method for creating a standard hierarchy of organizational units (OUs) for a domain. If you manage deployment of Active Directory in a medium-sized or large organization, you probably are spending a significant amount of time trying to maintain consistency in the Active Directory hierarchy. Even within a single domain, it typically makes sense to keep your organizational units (OUs) structured according to some agreed-upon rules... by Len Parov http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Automate-Creation-of-OU-Structure/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Automate-Creation-of-OU-Structure/ Fri, 20 Apr 2007 11:39:25 GMT Windows Media Player (WMP) is your computer's one-stop media shop, with support for playing digital music, audio CDs, digital videos, DVD movies, Internet radio, and recorded TV shows; ripping music from CDs; burning files to disc; synchronizing with external audio devices; and much more. Vista ships with a new version of this popular programWindows Media Player 11that offers a few nice improvements over WMP 10. The first thing you notice when you launch WMP 11 is that the overall interface is a bit simpler than previous versions... by Emm Schmitt http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Whats-New-in-Windows-Media-Player-11/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Whats-New-in-Windows-Media-Player-11/ Mon, 16 Apr 2007 12:47:30 GMT As more people, businesses, and organizations establish a presence online, the world becomes an increasingly connected place. And the more connected the world becomes, the more opportunities arise for communicating with others, doing research, sharing information, and collaborating on projects. The flip side to this new connectedness is the increased risk of connecting with a remote user whose intentions are less than honorable... by Emm Schmitt http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/New-Internet-Explorer-7-Security-Features/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/New-Internet-Explorer-7-Security-Features/ Sun, 15 Apr 2007 13:55:35 GMT Here's a nifty way to use a script to shut down remote machines. Sometimes, you need to be able to shut down a server remotely. This script pings the computer in question prior to sending the Win32Shutdown method... by Len Parov http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Shut-Down-a-Remote-Computer/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Shut-Down-a-Remote-Computer/ Sat, 14 Apr 2007 14:23:40 GMT Find out which group a user referenced within a logon script belongs to. Logon scripts are useful for mapping drives so that users can store their work files in standard locations on network file servers. It would be nice to be able to map drives based on a user's group membership, and that's what this hack is about... by Len Parov http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Check-Group-Membership-and-Map-Drives-in-a-Logon-Script/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Check-Group-Membership-and-Map-Drives-in-a-Logon-Script/ Thu, 12 Apr 2007 15:31:45 GMT A useful feature in Windows 2000 that enables users to browse Active Directory is missing in Windows XP; here's how to get it back. In Windows 2000, when Active Directory is deployed, a user can easily browse Active Directory by double-clicking on My Network Places and then double-clicking on Entire Network. This displays the Directory icon, which represents Active Directory for the network... by Len Parov http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Restore-the-Active-Directory-Icon-in-Windows-XP/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Restore-the-Active-Directory-Icon-in-Windows-XP/ Wed, 11 Apr 2007 16:39:50 GMT While the Encrypted File System of Windows 2000/XP can be useful for protecting data, your best approach might actually be to disable it. The Encrypted File System (EFS) feature was first introduced in Windows 2000 and is also available in Windows XP Professional. EFS provides a much higher level of security than the one offered by NTFS alone, which can be circumvented without much effort as long as physical access to the computer is allowed... by Len Parov http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Disable-EFS/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Disable-EFS/ Mon, 09 Apr 2007 17:47:55 GMT Renaming drive mappings can be done in several ways, but automating the process is most efficient using a script. Occasionally, an administrator might need to change drive-mapping names to hide share paths or to make the drive name user-friendly. This is an easy operation when done manually through a console, but when you try to automate this task, it becomes a little more difficult... by Len Parov http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Rename-Mapped-Drives/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Rename-Mapped-Drives/ Sun, 08 Apr 2007 18:55:15 GMT Need to check on the size and configuration settings of your event logs? Use this script instead of the GUI; it's faster! Monitoring event logs is an essential part of an administrator's job. Unfortunately, viewing event log settings and log file sizes from the GUI is cumbersome, and it would be useful to have an easier way to obtain this information. That's exactly what this hack is all about... by Len Parov http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Get-Windows-Event-Log-Information/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Get-Windows-Event-Log-Information/ Sun, 08 Apr 2007 19:23:20 GMT Programmatically search for a user in a mixed Windows NT/2000 environment. If you are in the process of migrating from Windows NT to Windows 2000, you can certainly appreciate the search capabilities provided in Active Directory administrative tools. At the same time, more than ever, you suffer from its absence in the User Manager... by Len Parov http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Search-for-Windows-Domain-Users/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Search-for-Windows-Domain-Users/ Fri, 30 Mar 2007 20:31:25 GMT When you use the Start menu to open a Command Prompt window, what's actually happening is that you're running a program named cmd.exe, the Windows command shell. Cmd is defined as a console application, as opposed to a GUI application, so as the program is started up, Windows opens a blank, black window... by Johnny Stenthal http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/What-the-Command-Prompt-Really-Does/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/What-the-Command-Prompt-Really-Does/ Wed, 21 Feb 2007 21:39:30 GMT As you know, Microsoft sells several versions of Windows Vista: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate. One key difference is that computers running the two Home editions can't join a domain. There are other versions of Windows, however: the specialized ones that run on those domain controller computers... by Mario Svaliega http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/The-Active-Directory/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/The-Active-Directory/ Fri, 16 Feb 2007 22:47:35 GMT It's important to understand the phrase that appears just under each person's name. On your own personal PC, the word Administrator probably appears underneath yours. Because you're the person who installed Vista, the PC assumes that you're one of its administratorsthe technical wizards who will be in charge of it... by Derek Coleman http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Windows-Administrator-Accounts-vs.-Standard-Accounts/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Windows-Administrator-Accounts-vs.-Standard-Accounts/ Thu, 15 Feb 2007 23:55:40 GMT New vulnerabilities are discovered in Windows all the time. Keeping your computer up to date and secure from newly discovered vulnerabilities is a big part of the game. Using free services such as Microsoft Windows Update allows you to easily make sure that your computer is always up to date... by Johnny Stenthal http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Update-Windows-XP/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Update-Windows-XP/ Sun, 04 Feb 2007 01:23:45 GMT Here are five sample scripts that can be used to display information about computers, domains, sites, and trusts in Active Directory. Scripts are a quick way to drill down into Active Directory to display information you'd otherwise have to hunt for using the GUI. These five sample scripts can be used by themselves or as starting points for developing more sophisticated scripts... by Len Parov http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Display-Active-Directory-Information/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Display-Active-Directory-Information/ Fri, 02 Feb 2007 02:31:50 GMT The two most common scenarios for using these remote access features are: (a) controlling your home PC remotely using a laptop, and (b) connecting to your office network from your PC at home. To help you keep the roles of these various computers straight, the computer industry has done you the favor of introducing specialized terminology: The host computer is the home-base computerthe unattended one that's waiting for you to connect. The remote computer is the one you'll be using: your laptop on the road, for example, or your home machine (or laptop) when you tap into the office network... by Mario Svaliega http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Windows-Remote-Access-Basics/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Windows-Remote-Access-Basics/ Mon, 29 Jan 2007 03:39:55 GMT Batch files are, in essence, command-line commands typed into a text file rather than typed directly at the command prompt. You can tell the command shell to read this text file and interpret its commands as if you were typing them. This serves several purposes: It can save you a lot of typing, as you only need to type the batch file commands once, but you can have Windows run the commands as many times as you want... by Johnny Stenthal http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/What-are-the-Batch-Files/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/What-are-the-Batch-Files/ Wed, 17 Jan 2007 04:47:15 GMT Windows' primary interface is graphical, meaning that you point and click to interact with it. The problem is that repeated clicking can become very cumbersome, especially for repetitive tasks. Luckily, Windows has an extensive array of keyboard accelerators (sometimes called keyboard shortcuts or hot keys), which provide a simple keyboard alternative to almost every feature normally accessible with the mouse... by Scott Nugati http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Windows-Keyboard-Accelerators/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Windows-Keyboard-Accelerators/ Sat, 13 Jan 2007 05:55:20 GMT Actually, Administrator and Standard aren't the only kinds of accounts you can set up on your PC. A third kind, called the Guest account, is ideal for situations where somebody is just visiting you for the day. Rather than create an entire account for this person, complete with password, hint, little picture, and so on, you can just switch on the Guest account... by Mario Svaliega http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/The-Windows-Guest-Account/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/The-Windows-Guest-Account/ Mon, 01 Jan 2007 06:23:25 GMT All versions of Windows 98, 2000, and XP support DMA/UDMA modes. The exact steps required to enable DMA mode differ according to your chipset and the exact version of Windows you are using, as follows Windows 98/98 SE/Me The original Windows 98 release and Windows 98 SE are both identified as 4.10... by Troy Margen http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-enable-bus-mastering-(DMA)-support-with-Windows/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-enable-bus-mastering-(DMA)-support-with-Windows/ Fri, 29 Dec 2006 07:31:30 GMT Microsoft has said that it's enhancing game performance and the games interface in Windows Vista not only because so many people play games on PCs, but also because it wants to change the perception that the PC is a poor gaming platform. Many people believe that if you're serious about gaming, you need to use a dedicated game platform such as an Xbox or a PlayStation. This has seemed even more true with the release of the Xbox 360 and the forthcoming release (as I write this) of PlayStation 3, which offer spectacular graphics and game features... by Pablo Martinez http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/DirectX-10/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/DirectX-10/ Tue, 19 Dec 2006 08:39:35 GMT Here's a handy script that makes it simple to find user accounts with nonexpiring passwords. User accounts set to never expire are sometimes used for permanent employees of a company, while temporary employees are assigned accounts that expire after a specified period of time. Ever wish you could quickly and simply find out which user accounts have their passwords set to never expire, along with the dates the flags were set? Here is a sample script that accomplishes this and more... by Len Parov http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Check-for-Passwords-that-Never-Expire/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Check-for-Passwords-that-Never-Expire/ Fri, 15 Dec 2006 09:47:40 GMT This article lists the standard services provided with Windows XP. Not all of these services may be installed on a given system, depending on the optional software and hardware installed. The first line in each table row contains the service name in boldface, followed by the service's display name... by Morar Dana http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/List-of-Windows-XP-Services-and-Descriptions/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/List-of-Windows-XP-Services-and-Descriptions/ Tue, 12 Dec 2006 10:55:45 GMT Developing a Windows service program requires a fair bit of effort and programming skill. In addition to writing code to do whatever job the service has to do, you must add extra code that lets the service program communicate with the Windows Service Manager, so that the service can be started, stopped, and can communicate its status and dependencies to the manager. Still, in some cases it's nice to be able to have a program run when Windows boots up and have it stay running 24x7, whether you're logged on or not, and no matter what else is going on... by Leon Gualee http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Run-your-Own-Program-as-a-Service-in-Windows/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Run-your-Own-Program-as-a-Service-in-Windows/ Mon, 11 Dec 2006 11:23:50 GMT Starting with Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows XP supports a feature called Data Execution Prevention (DEP) that prevents programs from replacing the original, intended machine instructions in memory with new instructions that could perform malicious acts. This feature became necessary when virus writers and hackers began exploiting bugs in software that can result in malicious program instructions sent from the attacker being written in memory that was supposed to hold just program data. These are often referred to as buffer overrun exploits or stack overflow exploits... by Greg Melton http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Data-Execution-Prevention-in-WindowsXP-Service-Pack-2/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Data-Execution-Prevention-in-WindowsXP-Service-Pack-2/ Thu, 30 Nov 2006 12:31:55 GMT After your network is working, each computer can share selected resourcesthat is to say, folders and printers. The purpose of sharing is to make these folders and printers available to other computers, where they look and act exactly like folders on your own hard drive and printers connected to your own computer. This tutorial briefly describes how to make resources available to other computers on the network... by Amanda Fitzperich http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Sharing-Resources-in-WindowsXP/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Sharing-Resources-in-WindowsXP/ Wed, 29 Nov 2006 13:39:15 GMT If you have a router or access point, you are setting up what is called an infrastructure network. Windows XP has a wizard to help you choose the correct settings. To set up a new wireless network, follow this procedure: 1... by Leon Gualee http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-set-up-a-wireless-network-in-Windows-XP/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-set-up-a-wireless-network-in-Windows-XP/ Thu, 23 Nov 2006 14:47:20 GMT It's a given that operating systems and large software suites have bugs, and Windows is definitely a member of both categories. The Microsoft method of dealing with bugs in Windows has varied depending on the product line in question. In the consumer Windows 9x product line, users were largely left on their own... by Denny Johnes http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Service-Packs-Hotfixes-and-Rollups/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Service-Packs-Hotfixes-and-Rollups/ Wed, 22 Nov 2006 15:55:25 GMT The taskbar has a place that can hold tiny icons for favorite applications or folders, called the QuickLaunch menu. The selected applications can be launched with a single click without even opening the Start menu, and the icons don't clutter up your desktop. I strongly suggest that you customize your QuickLaunch menu by following these steps: 1... by Greg Melton http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-create-QuickLaunch-Icons/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-create-QuickLaunch-Icons/ Tue, 21 Nov 2006 16:23:30 GMT Although its initial release was an iffy affair, technical progress and strong-armed marketing have made Windows the world's dominant operating system. Let's take a look how Windows has evolved since it was released in 1985. Windows 1 Development of a graphical user interface for the IBM PC began in 1981... by Aktaz Lineda http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/The-Evolution-of-Microsoft-Windows-~-The-16-Bit-Windows/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/The-Evolution-of-Microsoft-Windows-~-The-16-Bit-Windows/ Fri, 17 Nov 2006 17:31:35 GMT There are quite a few adjustments you can make with TweakUI. Here are a few that I find interesting, keeping in mind my earlier comments about the trade-off between making Windows easier to use versus the irritation of finding that everyone's computer behaves differently. Speed Up XP's Menus Although XP's fading menus are nice, and perhaps easier on the eyes than the older instant-pop-up kind, I don't like waiting for them, and on some computers, they're too slow and jerky... by Leon Gualee http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-use-TweakUI-to.../ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-use-TweakUI-to.../ Wed, 15 Nov 2006 18:39:40 GMT Automated System Recovery is a new feature in Windows XP that adds another way to perform a system recovery should things go bad during a Windows installation. ASR replaces an older tool from Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0: the Emergency Repair Disk... by Popa Mhaela http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-use-Automated-System-Recovery-(ASR)-in-Windows-XP/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-use-Automated-System-Recovery-(ASR)-in-Windows-XP/ Tue, 14 Nov 2006 19:47:45 GMT In this tutorial you'll learn some specific settings you can make to tune Windows for peak performance. Of course there are always trade-offs to be made, and you'll have to make personal judgments as to whether a feature is worth its cost in computer time, or whether it should be disabled to gain speed, or whether you should spend more money to speed your computer with better hardware, or gain speed through software settings and feature sacrifices. Installing Sufficient Memory (RAM) The most important thing you can do to make sure your computer runs at top speed it to make sure that you have enough main memory (RAM) installed... by Leon Gualee http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Tuning-Windows-for-Maximum-Performance/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Tuning-Windows-for-Maximum-Performance/ Sat, 11 Nov 2006 20:55:50 GMT After you have ensured that your computer meets all hardware requirements for Windows XP Professional and that you have performed all required preliminary tasks, you are ready to perform the actual upgrade. Remember that you cannot upgrade a computer running Windows NT 4.0 or 2000 to Windows XP Home Edition; you must upgrade to Windows XP Professional... by Denny Johnes http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-upgrade-Windows-NT-4.0-or-Windows-2000-to-XP/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-upgrade-Windows-NT-4.0-or-Windows-2000-to-XP/ Tue, 07 Nov 2006 21:23:55 GMT A discussion of the different versions of Windows cannot be complete without also talking about DOS. This is because early Windows versions were an add-on or extension to DOS, and actually required DOS to be preinstalled on a system in order to run. Later Windows versions included DOS internally, which was gradually minimized until virtually all of the legacy 16-bit DOS and Windows code was replaced by entirely new 32-bit and 64-bit code in Windows NT, Windows 2000, and later... by Aktaz Lineda http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/A-Brief-History-of-DOS/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/A-Brief-History-of-DOS/ Sun, 05 Nov 2006 22:31:15 GMT After you are satisfied that an upgrade is worthwhile, you should perform several additional preliminary tasks. The following tasks are suggested, and depend on the current operating system on the computer: Back up your data before upgrading, in case something goes wrong during the upgrade. The easiest way to perform the backup is to simply copy the data folders to another disk or computer because the Windows 98/Me backup and restore utilities are not compatible with those in Windows XP... by Denny Johnes http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/What-should-you-know-before-upgrading-to-Windows-XP/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/What-should-you-know-before-upgrading-to-Windows-XP/ Sun, 05 Nov 2006 23:39:20 GMT In April 1987, Microsoft and IBM announced a new operating system initiative, called Microsoft Operating System 2, or OS/2. This was to be the platform to replace DOS, and would be fully 32-bit, memory-protected, preemptively multitasked operating system, written from the ground up. Microsoft and IBM worked on the project jointly, but shortly after the release of Windows 3... by Aktaz Lineda http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/The-Evolution-of-Microsoft-Windows-~-The-Windows-NT-Family/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/The-Evolution-of-Microsoft-Windows-~-The-Windows-NT-Family/ Tue, 31 Oct 2006 01:47:25 GMT When you upgrade a computer running Windows 98/Me to Windows XP Home Edition or Professional, the Setup routine automatically saves a copy of the Windows XP removal files to the Windows folder. These files enable you to later revert to the previous operating system if desired. The Add or Remove Programs applet in Control Panel contains a Windows XP Uninstall option that restores the previous operating system without changing any data you have created since upgrading to Windows XP... by Denny Johnes http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-uninstall-Windows-XP/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-uninstall-Windows-XP/ Tue, 31 Oct 2006 02:55:30 GMT As with a Windows NT 4.0 or 2000 computer, once you have performed all preliminary steps, you are ready to proceed with upgrading to Windows XP, either Home Edition or Professional. Upgrading a computer running Windows Me is similar... by Denny Johnes http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-upgrade-Windows-98-to-Windows-XP/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-upgrade-Windows-98-to-Windows-XP/ Tue, 31 Oct 2006 03:23:35 GMT TweakUI is available in two versions, one designed for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, and another version that's designed for Windows 2000, Me, 98, and 95. They're installed and opened somewhat differently, so I'll cover both procedures here. TweakUI PowerToy for Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 To obtain TweakUI for Windows XP Home Edition, Professional, Media Center Edition, and Tablet Edition, as well as Windows Server 2003, visit http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Obtain-and-Install-TweakUI/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Obtain-and-Install-TweakUI/ Tue, 31 Oct 2006 04:31:40 GMT Windows quite nicely supports the use of two or more monitors; Windows can stretch your desktop across up to 16 of them. Sixteen may be overkill, but even two 15" monitors, with about the same area as one 21" monitor, make it easier to stretch out several application windows. And you should see what three 21" monitors in a row look like! To get a multiple monitor setup, you'll need to install multiple display adapters, use a display adapter that supports more than one monitor (a "dual head" or "quad head" adapter), or both... by Greg Melton http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Configure-Multiple-Monitors-under-Windows/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Configure-Multiple-Monitors-under-Windows/ Tue, 24 Oct 2006 05:39:45 GMT Let's take a look at the actual nuts and bolts that constituted each version of DOS. DOS 1.x PC DOS 1... by Aktaz Lineda http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/DOS-Versions/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/DOS-Versions/ Mon, 23 Oct 2006 06:47:50 GMT Before diving into Registry modifications, I'll talk about backing them up. Every computer book I've seen stresses these facts: 1. There is no Undo key in the Registry Editor... by Leon Gualee http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Back-Up-and-Restore-the-Windows-Registry/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Back-Up-and-Restore-the-Windows-Registry/ Mon, 23 Oct 2006 07:55:55 GMT By the mid-1990s, processor power had increased and memory prices had decreased dramatically since Windows' original release. The Internet had also sprung onto the world stage, from an academic tool to an instrument of global communication and commerce. (You may recall that Windows 3... by Aktaz Lineda http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/The-Evolution-of-Microsoft-Windows-~-The-Windows-9x-Family/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/The-Evolution-of-Microsoft-Windows-~-The-Windows-9x-Family/ Sat, 21 Oct 2006 08:23:15 GMT Deciding on the type of installation to perform is dictated by many factors, such as the following: Is there an operating system currently installed? If so, do you want to preserve settings and configurations, or start from scratch? Will the installation be performed interactively or remotely? How many computers are to be installed at a single time? Is your network arranged in a domain model using Active Directory? These are many of the questions that lead to the answer for the larger question: What type of installation will you be performing? There are three distinct possibilities and each of them is explored in the following sections. Upgrade Installations Windows XP Professional supports direct upgrades from Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, Windows 2000 Professional, and Windows XP Home Edition... by Patrick Flerman http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-install-Windows-and-Installation-Types/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-install-Windows-and-Installation-Types/ Sat, 21 Oct 2006 09:31:20 GMT If you find the items on the screen difficult to read or see, you can either lower the screen resolution, which makes everything larger but blurrier, or ask Windows to make the elements themselves larger while keeping a crisper, high screen resolution. There are two ways you can do this. Here's the first procedure: 1... by Greg Melton http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-adjust-Text-Icons-and-Window-Element-Sizes/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-adjust-Text-Icons-and-Window-Element-Sizes/ Sat, 21 Oct 2006 10:39:25 GMT Although most home users are typically happy letting anyone at any computer read or modify any file, business users need to restrict access to files with payroll, personnel, and proprietary information. Windows XP and its predecessors, Windows NT and Windows 2000, were primarily designed for business use, so they require usernames and passwords for identification, and have a security system that lets computer owners restrict access to sensitive files on a user-by-user and file-by-file basis on each computer. Unfortunately, on a Windows workgroup network, there is no centralized list of authorized usernames... by Amanda Fitzperich http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Using-Simple-File-Sharing-in-Windows/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Using-Simple-File-Sharing-in-Windows/ Fri, 20 Oct 2006 11:47:30 GMT Although most Windows applications place fairly low demands on the display system, putting up fairly static displays and updating them relatively infrequently, interactive games and video displays are very graphics intensive. Game players pay big bucks for fps, or frames per second, which is a measure of how fast the hardware and software can generate new images as the scene changes and objects move. Under about 30fps, the image flickers and motion is noticeably jerky... by Greg Melton http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Update-DirectX-~-Advantages/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Update-DirectX-~-Advantages/ Sun, 15 Oct 2006 12:55:35 GMT With modern PCs having a very high level of standardization and compatibility, today it is easy to see how Microsoft can market complete packaged operating systems that will install and work unmodified on practically any PC you can purchase or build. Without the standardization and compatibility we have come to depend on, different specific "flavors" of a given operating system would be required for specific different hardware. That is exactly how things were back in the early '80s when the IBM PC was introduced... by Aktaz Lineda http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/MS-DOS-Versus-PC-DOS/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/MS-DOS-Versus-PC-DOS/ Thu, 12 Oct 2006 13:23:40 GMT To use Remote Desktop to reach your computer from the Internet, both the computer and your Internet connection must always be up and running. In addition, you must be able to make connections from the outside world to your computer, so there are additional requirements: If you use dial-up Internet service, you'll need someone at home to establish the connection before you can connect to your computer. If you use cable or DSL Internet service, you must either have a static IP address assigned by your ISP, or, you must use a dynamic DNS client on your computer or router to notify a dynamic DNS name service provider every time your connection's IP address changes... by Amanda Fitzperich http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-make-your-PC-Available-for-Remote-Desktop-Connection/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-make-your-PC-Available-for-Remote-Desktop-Connection/ Thu, 12 Oct 2006 14:31:45 GMT Automatic Updates is a mechanism with an awkwardly plural-sounding name by which Microsoft or corporate network managers distribute critical security updates to Windows users. Fixes sent by this means are considered so important for adequate security in the hostile Internet environment that Microsoft prefers that you configure it to download and install the updates, and if necessary even restart your computer without your being aware of it. There are four levels of Automatic Updates protection to which you can subscribe: Automatic Windows will query Microsoft or your corporate network servers every day or on a specified day of the week, or whenever Internet access is available, will download the updates when they become available, and will install the updates at a designated time, if the computer is on at that time, or the next time you shut the computer down, or when you log on as a Computer Administrator and open the Update Notification icon in the taskbar, whichever occurs soonest... by Greg Melton http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Configure-Automatic-Updates-in-Windows-XP/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/How-to-Configure-Automatic-Updates-in-Windows-XP/ Tue, 10 Oct 2006 15:39:50 GMT Besides ensuring that your computer has adequate memory, one of the next best ways to improve your subjective experience of Windows' speed is to make the logon process faster. The logon process can be greatly slowed by large numbers of programs that are launched automatically upon logon; the desktop and Start menu don't respond until all of the login programs have been activated. Keeping the list of startup programs short is a constant struggle, however... by Greg Melton http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Managing-Startup-Programs-under-Windows-XP/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/Managing-Startup-Programs-under-Windows-XP/ Mon, 09 Oct 2006 16:47:55 GMT The CPU story is not over, however. The need for processors capable of handling far more than 4GB of memory has led to development of two competing 64-bit architectures. Intel developed and promoted a 64-bit architecture called IA-64 or Itanium, intended primarily for database and network server computers... by Aktaz Lineda http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/The-Evolution-of-Microsoft-Windows-~-Windows-XP-64-bit-Editions/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/The-Evolution-of-Microsoft-Windows-~-Windows-XP-64-bit-Editions/ Thu, 28 Sep 2006 17:55:15 GMT IBM and several other PC manufacturers all sold customized versions of Microsoft's MS-DOS, and that there was a competitor called DR-DOS. Gary Kildall, whom we left several pages ago spurning IBM's offer to create the operating system for the PC, went on to finish his 16-bit operating system, called CP/M-86. Kildall sued IBM and Microsoft for copying CP/M, and eventually reached a settlement whereby IBM agreed to offer CP/M-86 in addition to PC-DOS... by Aktaz Lineda http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/MS-DOS-Alternatives/ http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/MS-DOS-Alternatives/ Tue, 05 Sep 2006 18:23:20 GMT