Run 32-bit programs on a 64-bit version of Windows

When you run a 32-bit program on a 64-bit version of Windows 7, the program runs in a 32-bit emulation mode, using software to simulate a 32-bit version of Windows 7. This allows 32-bit programs to run smoothly on the 64-bit operating system. But note that programs designed for 64-bit computing might run faster on a 64-bit version of Windows 7.

Certain older programs that won't work on a 64-bit version of Windows 7 might run fine in Windows XP Mode in Windows 7. As the name suggests, this feature allows programs designed for Windows XP to run smoothly in Windows 7. (Some types of programs might not run in Windows XP Mode, such as security software and programs with intensive graphics.) 

For more information, see Install and use Windows XP Mode in Windows 7.

You can also try changing the compatibility settings for the program, either manually or by using the Program Compatibility troubleshooter. 

For more information, see Make older programs run in this version of Windows.

The bottom line: Unlike hardware drivers, even older programs designed for 32-bit versions of Windows should work well with the 64-bit version of Windows 7.

Read More

Disappearing menus

Windows 7's Explorer has a potentially confusing hidden rule that you need to understand. If you select more than 15 files or folders, and right-click one of them, you'll find that the 'Open' and 'Edit' context menu options, and maybe some third-party options have disappeared.

It turns out Microsoft removes these so you can't accidentally carry out time-consuming actions on a lot of files, but if you'd rather be able to make your own decisions about that, then there's an easy solution.

Launch Run write regedit  go to 

HEY_KEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ Explorer,

and look for the DWORD value Multiple Invoke Prompt Minimum. You can create it if it isn't there. Set this to a value higher than 15, and after a reboot Windows Explorer will no longer hide menu options unexpectedly.

Read More

Top 10 Unknown Google Tips & Tricks

Definitions

Pull up the definition of the word by typing define followed by the word you want the definition for. For example, typing: define bravura would display the definition of that word.

Local search

Visit Google Local enter the area you want to search and the keyword of the place you want to find. For example, typing: restaurant at the above link would display local restaurants.

Phone number lookup

Enter a full phone number with area code to display the name and address associated with that phone number.

Find weather and movies

Type "weather" or "movies" followed by a zip code or city and state to display current weather conditions or movie theaters in your area. For example, typing weather 84101 gives you the current weather conditions for Salt Lake City, UT and the next four days. Typing movies 84101 would give you a link for show times for movies in that area.

Track airline flight and packages

Enter the airline and flight number to display the status of an airline flight and it's arrival time. For example, type: delta 123 to display this flight information if available.

Google can also give a direct link to package tracking information if you enter a UPS, FedEx or USPS tracking number.

Translate

Translate text, a full web page, or search by using the Google Language Tools.

Pages linked to you

See what other web pages are linking to your website or blog by typing link: followed by your URL. For example, typing link:http://www.computerhope.com displays all pages linking to Computer Hope.

Find PDF results only

Add fileType: to your search to display results that only match a certain file type. For example, if you wanted to display PDF results only type: "dell xps" fileType:pdf -- this is a great way to find online manuals.

Calculator

Use the Google Search engine as a calculator by typing a math problem in the search. For example, typing:100 + 200 would display results as 300.

Stocks

Quickly get to a stock quote price, chart, and related links by typing the stock symbol in Google. For example, typing: msft will display the stock information for Microsoft.

Read More

10 Tips To Make Your Laptop Battery Last Longer

1. Turn off Wi-Fi and BlueTooth - Most laptops have shortcut keys to instantly disable wireless networking.

2. Don't play computer games, music or DVD movies - Multimedia activities drain laptop batteries.

3. Disconnect all external device like PC Card modems, Firewire, USB devices and optical drives. Use the notebook touchpad instead of an external mouse.

4. Adjust your screen brightness - Dimming your display saves battery power. 

5. Tweak Windows Power Options - Choose a Laptop power scheme that turns off the notebook monitor and hard disk after 10 minutes of inactivity.

6. Decrease or mute the Laptop Speaker Volume.

7. Turn off all scheduled tasks.

8. Turn off Auto-save features in Microsoft Office and other applications.

9. If your PC has a built-in wireless card, turn it off or disable it when not in use.

10. Programs that are run from a CD or DVD can be copied to and run from the hard drive, which typically consumes less power than an optical drive.

Looking for the longest battery life laptop ? Actually, many factors affect the amount of time that a laptop battery can deliver power before it must be recharged. 

How to extend laptop battery life? Here are some more tips to improve your notebook's battery life:

1. If you do not use your laptop for extended periods of time (a week or more), remove the battery pack from the laptop. 

2. Do not expose the battery to high heat or freezing temperatures. Do not leave your battery in your car in the summer. Hot batteries discharge very quickly, and cold ones can't create as much power.

3. Make sure to plug your laptop charger adapter into a UPS and not directly into a power outlet or surge protector.

4. If you have a nickel-metal hydride battery, completely drain and recharge the battery once a month to maximize its capacity to hold a charge.

5. Fully charge new battery packs before use. New pack needs to be fully charged and discharged (cycled) a few times before it can condition to full capacity.

6. For laptops that work as Desktop Replacement, the battery should be re-installed every 3-4 weeks and allowed to fully discharge.

7. Leaving a battery in a laptop while using an electrical outlet for long periods of time will keep the battery in a constant state of charging up and that will reduce the life cycle of the battery.

Battery-saving sleep modes: Should I use Stand By or Hibernate

Standby mode

Use standby to save power when you will be away from the computer for a short time while working - your monitor and hard disks turn off, all applications and open files are stored in RAM. When you want to use the computer again, it comes out of standby quickly, and your desktop is restored exactly as you left it. 

Hibernation Mode

Use hibernation to save power when you will be away from the computer for an extended time while working - your computer shuts down to save power but first saves everything in memory on your hard disk. When you restart the computer, your desktop is restored exactly as you left it. 

When you choose Start, Turn Off Computer in Windows XP, your options are Stand By, Turn Off, and Restart. To Hibernate, place the cursor over Stand By, then hold down Shift and click.           

Read More

Change your screen resolution of PC/LAPTOP

To change your screen resolution

1. Open Screen Resolution by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, and then, under Appearance and Personalization, clicking Adjust screen resolution.
2. Click the drop-down list next to Resolution, move the slider to the resolution you want, and then click Apply.
3. Click Keep to use the new resolution, or click Revert to go back to the previous resolution.

Screen Resolution in Control Panel shows the recommended resolution for your monitor.

Native resolution

LCD monitors, including laptop screens, typically run best at their native resolution. You don't have to set your monitor to run at this resolution, but it's usually recommended in order to ensure you see the sharpest text and images possible. LCD monitors generally come in two shapes: a standard proportion of width to height of 4:3, or a widescreen ratio of 16:9 or 16:10. A widescreen monitor has both a wider shape and resolution than a standard ratio monitor.

If you're unsure of your monitor's native resolution, check the product manual or go to the manufacturer's website. Here are typical resolutions for some popular screen sizes:

• 19-inch screen (standard ratio): 1280 x 1024 pixels
• 20-inch screen (standard ratio): 1600 x 1200 pixels
• 22-inch screen (widescreen): 1680 x 1050 pixels
• 24-inch screen (widescreen): 1900 x 1200 pixels

For more information, see Getting the best display on your monitor.

Notes

• When you change the screen resolution, it affects all users who log on to the computer.
• When you set your monitor to a screen resolution that it won't support, the screen will go black for a few seconds while the monitor reverts back to the original resolution.

Read More

SHARE ANIMATED GIF PICTURES ON FACEBOOK

I already posted many post on Facebook tricks in my older posts. but today i found another 100% working trick, that is How to share animated gif images/pictures on Facebook. As you know that Facebook doesn’t allow us to upload or share animated pic on Facebook wall, but before few months i noticed that some of  Facebook masters was uploaded and shared animated pictures on their Facebook wall. but after it again Facebook patched them. and finally we haven’t any option or trick to upload animated pic. but hey, what about existing GIF pictures? that they already shared?  

                               

Facebook just stopped them to upload any new animated pictures but NOT removed their existing shared pictures.  So, i founded that we can replace their Facebook page URLs with our any Facebook page URLs. and also i collected some good working animated pics from the different pages and created a generator that you can easily share animated pics with your Facebook fan page URL on your Facebook wall or Facebook fan page or Facebook Groups etc.

There is main advantage is that you can increase your Facebook page likes. How???  you have to just share animated pics with your Facebook page URL on your Facebook fan page or timeline then your fans or friends will share your animated pic with their friends and i am sure it will be shared with friends of friends & more n more..  that mean there is 100% chances to increasing likes of your Facebook page. 

So, here is Facebook Animated Picture Sharing tool it can be also use a non techy person as well, follow the introductions below:
Replace http://www.facebook.com/tipsandtricksocean with your Facebook fan page URL in below Generator
Now, Select a GIF which you want to share on your Facebook page or timeline.
Click on “Share On Facebook” button. Then new page will opens into new tab there you have to select where you want to share it. and finally click on “Share Page” button.
That’s all friends have fun sharing gif images on Facebook 

Facebook Animated Picture Sharing Tool by Tips and Tricks Ocean

Fan Page URL

Facebook Fan Page URL :

Select a GIF

Read More

Re-enable underline keyboard shortcuts

By default, Windows 7 has the underlines for keyboard shortcuts like those shown in the picture to the right disabled. To re-enable these underlines in all Windows programs follow the below steps.

1. Open the Control Panel.
2. In the Control Panel click Ease of Access.
3. In Ease of Access click Change how your keyboard works.
4. Finally, check the Underline keyboard shortcuts and access keys and then click Ok.

Read More

Mozilla Firefox - Useful shortcuts

Below is a listing of all the major shortcut keys in Mozilla Firefox. See the computer shortcut page if you are looking for other shortcut keys used in other programs.

Shortcut Keys	Description
Alt + Home	Open your home page.
Alt + Left Arrow	Back a page.
Alt + Right Arrow	Forward a page.
F5	Refresh current page, frame, or tab.
F11	Display the current website in full screen mode. Pressing F11 again will exit this mode.
Esc	Stop page or download from loading.
Ctrl + (- or +)	Increase or decrease the font size, pressing '-' will decrease and '+' will increase. Ctrl + 0 will reset back to default.
Ctrl + Enter	Quickly complete an address. For example, type computerhope in the address bar and press CTRL + ENTER
Ctrl + Shift + Del	Open the Clear Data window to quickly clear private data.
Ctrl + D	Add a bookmark for the page currently opened.
Ctrl + I	Display available bookmarks.
Ctrl + J	Display the download window.
Ctrl + K or Ctrl + E	Move the cursor to the search box.
Ctrl + N	Open New browser window.
Ctrl + P	Print current page or frame.
Ctrl + T	Opens a new tab.
Ctrl + F4 or Ctrl + W	Closes the currently selected tab.
Ctrl + Shift + T	Undo the close of a window.
Ctrl + Tab	Moves through each of the open tabs.
Spacebar	Moves down a page at a time.
Shift + Spacebar	Moves up a page at a time.
Alt + Down arrow	Display all previous text entered in a text box and available options on drop down menu.

Read More

Take full advantage of the Taskbar

Pin programs to the Taskbar

All programs can be pinned to the Taskbar and allow easy access to your favorite programs without having to use the Start Menu. To Pin a program to the Taskbar right-click on the program or shortcut to the program and in the menu choose the Pin to Taskbar option. Alternatively you can also drag the icon to the Taskbar.

If you want to remove a pinned program, right-click on the Taskbar icon and click Unpin this program from the Taskbar. Alternatively you can also drag the icon off of the task bar and then click Unpin this program from the Taskbar.

Move the icons and pinned programs

Any pinned or opened program on the Taskbar can be moved and arranged. Left-click on any icon on the Taskbar and drag it to the location you want it to remain.

Windows key and a number

Pressing the Windows key and a number on the top row of your keyboard will open the Window corresponding to the open program on your Taskbar. For example, in the below picture of the Windows 7 Taskbar, Firefox i the first icon, Control panel is the second icon, and Adobe Photoshop is the third icon. If the Windows key + 3 was pressed, Adobe Photoshop would become the active window. To make it even easier arrange your icons (as mentioned above) from left to right by most frequently opened.

Pin your favorite folder

If you frequently access the same folder (e.g. your favorites, my documents, Dropbox, etc.) pin the folder to the Windows Explorer icon on the Taskbar. To do this drag your favorite folder to the Taskbar until you see Pin to Windows Explorer. Once pinned, right-click the Explorer icon to access that folder under the Pinned section.

Open a second instance

If you want to open a second instance or window of a program that is already open, press and hold theShift key and then click the program icon on the Taskbar.

Get to the Desktop

Click the Desktop button on the far right edge of the Taskbar to get to the Desktop.

Read More

Optimize your computer for peak performance

Clean up disk errors

Run once a week

Whenever a program crashes or you experience a power outage, your computer may create errors on its hard disk (sometimes referred to as a hard drive). Over time, the errors can result in a slow PC. Fortunately, the Windows operating system includes several PC tools, including a Check Disk program, to identify and clean any errors on your computer and to help keep it running smoothly.
Note: You must be logged on as an administrator to perform these steps. If you aren't logged on as an administrator, you can only change settings that apply to your user account.

---

Remove temporary files

Run once a week

Your computer can pick up and store temporary files when you're looking at webpages and even when you're working on files in programs, such as Microsoft Word. Over time, these files slow your computer's performance. You can use the Windows Disk Cleanup tool to rid your computer of these unneeded files and to help your PC run faster.

---

Optimize your data

Run once a week

As you add programs and files to your computer, it often breaks files side by side to increase the speed of access and retrieval. However, as files are updated, your computer saves these updates on the largest space available on the hard drive, often found far away from the other adjacent sectors of the file.
The result is a fragmented file. Fragmented files cause slower performance because your computer must now search for all of the file's parts. In other words, your computer knows where all the pieces are, but putting them back together in the correct order—when you need them—can slow your computer down.
Windows includes a Disk Defragmenter program to piece all your files back together again and to make them available to open more quickly.
Note: Windows 7 and Windows Vista are preconfigured to run Disk Defragmenter on a weekly basis. If you would like to run the tool manually or to adjust the schedule, click the section for your specific operating system.

---

Make Internet Explorer run faster

The Internet is everywhere—from the home to office to the classroom. We use it to communicate, to work, to play—and even occasionally to waste time.
Yet there's nothing more frustrating than having this technical marvel at our fingertips 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, only to wait while our computers access it at a crawling pace. Thankfully, Windows Internet Explorer provides some useful options for quicker web surfing.

Reduce the size of your webpage history

Internet Explorer stores visited webpages to your computer, organizing them within a page history by day. Although it's useful to keep a couple days of web history within your computer, there's no need to store more than a week's worth. Any more than that and the collected webpages can slow down your computer's performance.
Note: Depending on which version of Internet Explorer you're using, the steps outlined and images shown may vary slightly.

Reduce your webpage history

Don't save encrypted webpages

Encrypted webpages ask for user names and passwords. These pages scramble information to prevent the reading of sensitive information. You can configure Internet Explorer to not save these types of pages. You'll free up space by saving fewer files to your computer, in addition to keeping secure information off of your computer.

Change setting to not save encrypted webpages

If Internet Explorer is not as quick as you'd like it to be, check out the article Is Internet Explorer slow? 5 things to try for a few more tips specific to your browser.

---

Automate Windows Update

Configure once

Microsoft works constantly to release updates to Windows and other Microsoft products, including Microsoft Office. With Windows Update, you can find and install all these updates—not just the critical ones. Often, the updates can improve your computer's performance.
You can make life easier by automating Windows Update so that your computer downloads and installs all the updates without you having to worry about them.

---

Remove spyware, and help protect your computer from viruses

Download once, and get automatic updates

While you're busy surfing the web, spyware and other types of malicious software (also known as malware) are collecting personal information about you, often without your knowledge. The result is that your personal information could possibly be compromised. At the same time, spyware and malware can slow down your computer. Download Microsoft Security Essentials for free to help guard your system in the future from viruses, spyware, adware, and other malware. Microsoft Security Essentials acts as a spyware removal tool and includes automatic updates to help keep your system running efficiently and to help protect it from emerging threats.
Note: For specific virus definitions and news, visit the Microsoft Malware Protection Center.

Read More

Slide show themes in Windows Live Photo Gallery

Add themes to your slide shows in Windows Live Photo Gallery to give them a unique look and feel.

Select the photos you'd like to use in your slide show from the gallery. On the Home tab, click Slide show and then select a theme. 

Add a theme to a slide show.

Read More

Windows Explorer tips

File management in Windows has never been quite as easy as it should be, but there are quite a few ways in which you can speed up proceedings once you've managed to uncover them. Many of these are simple keyboard shortcuts. Do you want to search for something, for example? 

There's no need to reach for the mouse - press [F3] and the cursor will jump to the search box. 

If you're working with lots of files and need all available screen real estate, you can press [F11] to switch to full screen view, [F11] again to toggle it off. 

The keyboard can also be useful when you're browsing deep in your hard drive. 

For example, pressing [+] will expand the currently selected folder, [*] will expand all subfolders (this may take a while if there are a lot); and [-] will collapse the current folder. 

Moving files to one of your main user folders ('Pictures', 'Music', 'Downloads', 'Desktop' and so on) is much easier once you've learned a simple trick. 

Select the relevant files, hold down [Shift] as you right-click one of them, and click 'Send to'. All the main user account folders will be listed on the resulting menu, so choose the one you need and you're done - no dragging and dropping required.

Read More

Automatically edit photos with Photo Gallery

Photo Gallery has editing tools to improve the appearance of your photos by changing their alignment, exposure, color settings, and more. With Photo Gallery, you can remove red eye, retouch photos, and even add creative color and tonal effects to photos.

To make automatic adjustments to a photo, double-click a photo, and then, in the Adjustments group, click Auto adjust.

Automatically edit photos with Photo Gallery.

You can also automatically edit a batch of photos. Select the photos you want to edit, and then, on the Edit tab, select the adjustments you want to make from the Quick adjustments group.

For precise editing control, double-click a photo, and then, in the Adjustments group, click Fine tune. Select an adjustment and move the corresponding slider. Click Close file to automatically save your changes and return to the gallery.  Use the fine-tune sliders for precise editing control.

Read More

Stop Grouping of Taskbar Buttons in Windows 8

Reminding of old days, in Windows XP we had the expanded taskbar icons for currently running programs. Since Windows 7, these taskbar buttons are grouped by default to the program icon in order to increase free space on taskbar. But, some of users may find it uninteresting and they may like to restore the ungrouped program buttons.

Let’s see the differences between past and present conditions:

From the above image, I guess you’ve figured out what I’m trying to do. The reason behind broking the combination and split them to separate tab is to enhance the efficiency. In the past condition, you can read what’s going on the tab since it is mentioned there but in the present scenario, you have to move the cursor to get the same thing.

Now, in this article, we’ll provide you with three ways to configure these settings and increase the productivity of your Windows 8.

Method 1: Manually Using Taskbar Properties

1. Right click on taskbar and select Properties.

2. In the Taskbar Properties window, for the Taskbar buttons section, click the drop down menu and select Never combine.

Click Apply then OK. Reboot the machine to get results. So this was the basic way, now lets see some advance ways:

Method 2: Using Registry Editor

1. Press Windows Key + R and put regedit in Run dialog box, click OK to open Registry Editor.

2. Navigate here:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced

3. In the right pane of this location, create a new DWORD using Right click -> New -> DWORD Value. Name it as TaskbarGlomLevel. Double click to modify it:

4. Put the Value data to 1 to have not combined tabs until taskbar is full, otherwise put 2 to have no grouping at all. Click OK. Restart the computer to see effects. If you want to group tabs again in the future, simply put 0 as Value data or delete the DWORD created in step 3.

Method 3: Using Command Prompt / Batch File

To simply the work, you can use the following .bat (command processing) file. Extract the RAR file and simply right click on the file after download and select Run as administrator:

Download: Batch File to Disable Grouping Taskbar on Windows 8

***************************************************************************************************

Hope you find the tip useful!

Read More