A: Holding down the Ctrl key and pressing the letter “s” is one of many Windows shortcut keys. Shortcut keys are time savers, letting you keep your fingers on the keyboard while working, rather than knocking over the coffee while reaching for the mouse.

Pressing Ctrl+S means to “save your current document,” but Ctrl+S does slightly different things depending on what you’re currently doing:

• If you open an existing file, change a few things, and press Ctrl+S, your program saves the new information inside your opened file, keeping the file stored in its original location.
• If you create something new with a program and press Ctrl+S, the program creates a new file, asking you to choose a name and location to store your masterpiece. Most programs even simplify things by suggesting a file name and a location: They usually offer to place your new file inside one of your existing folders, depending on whether you’re working on a document, a music file, a video, or a picture. To retrieve that file later, return to that chosen folder.
• If you press Ctrl+S and you’re not working in a program, Windows does nothing. After all, you haven’t created any work to save.

But, you may ask, how do you find the file’s location if you don’t remember where you originally saved it?

You can find a file’s name and location in any of several ways:

• Click the Start menu and click Recent Items to see a list of the past 15 files you’ve created. Right-click a file’s name and choose “Open File Location” from the pop-up menu; Windows immediately opens the folder containing your long-sought file. (Windows even highlights the errant file’s name for easy clicking retrieval.)
• On the taskbar, right-click the icon of the program that created the file; hover your mouse pointer over the file’s name, and Windows lists the file’s location in a pop-up menu.
• Can’t even remember the file’s name? Click the Start menu and type a few words you remember from inside the document. Windows begins listing files containing those words. When you spot the right file, right-click its name and choose Open File Location.

The “Open File Location” command comes in handy whenever you can spot a file’s name, but want to see the folder where it’s currently living.

How do I get rid of this message?

A: You’re seeing yet another annoying Windows Vista feature. When you try to run some programs, Vista’s User Account Control (UAC) normally steps in, asking if you’re sure you want to run the program. (UAC is a safety mechanism that I cover in Windows Vista For Dummies.)

The message you’re now seeing means that one of your recently installed programs needs your click of approval. However, that particular program is trying to run as soon as you log onto your account. Since UAC doesn’t have time to step in, Windows simply stops the program from running, and sends you the message.

To stop the message, follow these steps:

1. Click the “Blocked startup programs” icon on the taskbar, and point to the “Run blocked program menu” list. There, in the figure below, you’ll see the programs Vista has blocked from starting.

2. If you want to run the blocked program, click its name. Type your password, if prompted, or click Continue, and the program will begin running. (Unfortunately, you must repeat these steps every time you log onto your account.)

3. If you don’t want to run the blocked program, or you’re not sure what to do, choose “Show or remove blocked startup programs.” Windows Defender appears, listing every program that starts automatically.

4. Click the name of the program you don’t want to run, and click the Disable button. (If you change your mind, repeat these steps, and click the Enable button.)

This message often appears in Vista after you install antivirus or other security programs. Those types of programs both require your approval to run, and they want to run as soon as you log onto your account. If you’re tired of seeing the message, check with the program’s manufacturer to see if they have an updated version that doesn’t trigger the message.

Microsoft’s support site offers more technical information about the error message.

Q:

How do I do this? Do I need a professional?

A: Today’s huge hard disks can be sliced up in a zillion different ways by dividing them into partitions. In plain language, a partition is simply a portion of the drive’s space.

Some people divide their computer’s hard drive into a single huge partition — the C: partition — and work from there. Others like to divide their hard drive into two or more partitions, keeping Windows on the C: partition, and saving the D: partition for bulky files like digital photos, movies or music.

In your case, you want to delete your D partition, and expand the C partition to fit the entire drive. Windows XP can’t handle this task by itself, but Windows Vista and Windows 7 can both handle the job fairly easily when you follow these steps:

1. Copy everything you want to save from your D: drive to your C: drive. (Or back it up to CDs or DVDs, because deleting the a partition erases its files.)
2. Click the Start button, right-click Computer, and choose Manage.
3. When the Computer Management window appears, choose Disk Management from the Storage area.
4. Right-click your D: partition and choose Delete Volume from the pop-up menu as shown below. (Click Yes at the confirmation prompt.)



5. Right-click your C: partition and choose Extend Volume from the pop-up menu.
6. When the Extend Volume Wizard appears, click Next at the opening screen, then click Next again to expand the C: drive to fill the room left by the now-deleted D: drive.
7. Click Finish to tell the Extend Volume Wizard to finish the job of extending the C: drive to fill the available space.

When you’re through, your C: partition will consume your entire drive.

Q:

A: An “Orb,” eh? Well, the button is spherical. And many folks on the Internet call the button a Start Orb. Even Paul Thurrott began calling it an Orb in his review of Windows Vista from November 16, 2006. (He still refers to the mystery switch as the “Start Button” in both his books, Windows Vista Secrets and Windows 7 Secrets.)

Microsoft, however, still refers to the button at the base of the Start menu as the “Start button” in both its online documentation and within Windows 7 itself.  For example, follow these steps to see Windows 7’s own Help menu mention the “Start button:”

1. Click the Start button and choose “Help and Support.”
2. Choose “Learn about Computer Basics,” then choose “The Start Menu (overview)” to see the figure below.

A search of Microsoft’s Web site doesn’t show the word “Start Orb” used in any official documentation, although many people call it that in the community-based forum.

One more bit o’ proof: Hovering your mouse pointer over the button (or Orb) fetches the word “Start.”

Although many people adopted the term “Orb” or “Start Orb” as a slang term for the Start button, it’s not an official Microsoft term, so I didn’t use it in the book.

What do you think, readers? Is it a Start button or an Orb?

Q:

A: When linking several computers to create a home network, it’s important for them all to share the same workgroup name. A workgroup name lets computers know which computers they’re allowed to recognize for exchanging information.

Fortunately, the workgroup name of “WORKGROUP”  has been standard for Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP Professional. Unfortunately, Microsoft gave Windows XP Home computers the workgroup name of MSHOME, so you should change it to WORKGROUP. If you’re using Windows XP Home — or if you want to change any Windows computer’s workgroup name to WORKGROUP — follow these steps:

1. Click the Start button, right-click Computer, and choose Properties to see the System Properties window.
2. Click the Computer Name tab to see your computer’s name and workgroup name.
3. Click the Change button.
4. Delete the old workgroup name and type in WORKGROUP. (The name will automatically appear in capital letters.)
5. Click the OK button to save your changes.

You’ll have to restart your computer before your changes take place.

Windows 7. Follow the same steps, but in Step 2, click Change Settings before clicking the Change button.

Windows Vista. Follow the same steps, but in Step 2, click Change Settings before clicking the Change button. (You may also need to click Continue at Vista’s permission screen.)

When I’m connected to the Internet, I don’t want to download any mail. I prefer looking at my mail on my Internet Service Provider’s Web site, and then deciding which e-mail I’d like to download.

A: As soon as you connect to the Internet and open Windows Mail, the program normally grabs all your waiting mail automatically. Since you want more control over the process, change Windows Mail’s settings so the program only grabs your e-mail when you click the Send/Receive button. That way you can weed out all the spam before telling Windows Mail to grab what’s left.

To switch Windows Mail’s e-mail collection from automatic to manual, follow these steps:

1. Click the Start button and choose Windows Mail.
2. From the top menu, choose Tools and click Options from the drop-down menu.
3. On the Options tab, remove the checkmarks from these boxes:
   • Send and receive messages at startup
   • Check for new messages every XX minute(s)
4. Finally, click the OK button to close the Options window.

Then, after logging onto your ISP’s e-mail site and weeding out any e-mails you don’t want, tell Windows Mail to collect the rest by opening the program and clicking the Send/Receive button. That way Windows Mail only collects the mail you want — not the spam. ]]> http://www.andyrathbone.com/2009/12/16/switching-windows-mails-e-mail-collection-from-automatic-to-manual/feed/ 0 http://www.andyrathbone.com/2009/12/12/removing-the-you-have-files-waiting-to-be-burned-to-disc-message/ http://www.andyrathbone.com/2009/12/12/removing-the-you-have-files-waiting-to-be-burned-to-disc-message/#comments Sat, 12 Dec 2009 23:08:34 +0000 Andy Rathbone http://www.andyrathbone.com/?p=910 Q: When I turn on my PC, I see the message “You have files waiting to be burned to disc.” How do I get rid of that message?

A: Whenever you tell your PC to copy files to a disc, Windows copies those files and hides the copies in a temporary folder. And those files sit there forever, waiting for you to insert your disc and complete the burning process. And until you insert that disc, you’ll keep seeing that annoying message.

But if you don’t want to burn the files to the disc — perhaps you chose the Burn command accidentally, for example — that nagging message remains in both Windows 7 and Windows Vista. You can usually get rid of the message by following these steps:

1. Click the Start button, and click the Computer button.
2. Right click on your CD or DVD drive and click “Delete temporary files.”
3. Click Yes.

Advanced method: Windows stores copies of files waiting to be written to disc in this folder:

C:\Users\ANDY\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Burn

(Substitute your own User Account name for “ANDY” in the above example.)

Delete the files and folders waiting in the “Burn” folder, and the message will disappear.

Q:

A: Microsoft’s Narrator, a text-to-voice translation program, gives the vision-impaired a chance at using a PC. Narrator dutifully reads Windows’ menus and text, but in an irritating, robotic voice. Few people enjoy it, especially those who accidentally turn it on and can’t find the kill switch: Every time you turn on your PC, Windows Narrator begins reading menus, keystrokes, and other onscreen text.

If you’ve accidentally turned on Microsoft’s Narrator, follow these steps to put a sock in its mouth.

1. Click the Start menu, and choose Control Panel.
2. Click the Ease of Access category, and choose Ease of Access center.
3. In the Explore All Settings area, click Use the Computer without a Display.
4. Uncheck the checkbox called “Turn On Narrator.”
5. Click the Save button.

The Narrator’s voice will stop loading itself the next time you restart your PC.

Q:

A: When you click Hibernate from Vista’s Shut Down menu, Vista grabs information from your PC’s memory — your currently open programs and documents, for example — and stuffs it into a large file on your PC’s hard drive.

When you turn on your PC again, Vista dumps that information back into memory — leaving your desktop just the way you left it. It’s faster than closing your programs manually, turning off your PC, then reopening all your programs.

The biggest culprit for removing Hibernate from the Start menu is Vista’s Disk Cleanup tool, which purges your PC of unnecessary files. And one file Vista considers to be unnecessary is “Hibernation File Cleaner” — that chunky file containing your PC’s information as it drifts off into Hibernation. Once that file disappears, Vista forgets about Hibernate, and it trims that option from your Shut Down menu. (The next time you use Disk Cleanup, uncheck “Hibernation File Cleaner” to avoid this problem.)

To put Hibernate back onto your PC’s menu, follow these steps:

1. Click the Start button, and type cmd in the Start Search box, but don’t press Enter.

The word cmd or cmd.exe should appear under Programs in the list above the Search box.

2. Right-click the word cmd or cmd.exe, and choose “Run as Administrator,” shown below.

3. When the User Account Control window appears, click Continue.

A command prompt window will appear onscreen, with a blinking cursor.

4. At the command prompt’s blinking cursor, type the words below, and then press the Enter key.

powercfg.exe /hibernate on

5. Type the word exit, and then press the Enter key to close the Command Prompt window.

The Hibernate option should reappear in your Start menu’s Shut Down menu.

And when the programs do work, they often slow down your PC by overloading it with an overblown security “suite,” which duplicates Windows’ built-in firewall and Microsoft’s free anti-spyware program (Windows Defender).

To help out those who dislike or can’t afford an antivirus program, Microsoft’s shaking up the big players with Microsoft Security Essentials, a slim ‘n’ trim program that checks for incoming viruses, removes spyware, and scans your PC for viruses every week.

It’s fast, unobtrusive, and it works. Plus, it’s free to owners of legitimate copies of Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7. (The program doesn’t work on Windows Me, 98, or other Windows versions.) I’ve been using it for the past few months without problem.

To download and install Microsoft’s Security Essentials program, follow these steps:

Warning: Don’t run more than one antivirus program at a time, as they cause conflicts. Be sure to turn off any other antivirus program before running Microsoft Security Essentials.

1. Download the program by visiting the Microsoft Security Essentials Web site and clicking the Download Now button.

Choose your Windows version, if asked: Windows XP, Windows Vista (32-bit or 64-bit) or Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit).

(To find out your version of Windows, click the Start button, right-click Computer or My Computer, and choose Properties.)

2. Click Save to save the program’s installation file to your PC.

Download it to a place where you can find it easily, like on your Desktop, or in either your My Documents or your Downloads folder.

3. Start the Installation program by double-clicking the downloaded file, then click Next when the installation program appears onscreen.

4. Read the licensing terms, agree to their conditions, and click Validate to make sure your Windows copy is legitimate.

Here’s the only catch: Microsoft Security Essentials only installs on PCs running authentic, activated copies of Windows. PCs bought with Windows pre-installed will pass this test, as well people who’ve installed Windows themselves and gone through the activation process. But if you’re running a bootleg copy of Windows, the install won’t work.

5. When the PC passes the validation test, click Install.

The program takes a few minutes to install itself and download the latest virus definitions from the Internet.

6. Click Finish to complete the installation and scan your PC for any existing viruses.

The program will scan your PC for viruses during the next few minutes, but you can minimize the program while it works in the background.

That’s it.

The program scans your entire PC on Sundays at 2 am. To change the scanning time, click the Settings tab, click Scheduled Scan from the left pane, and choose a different day or time from the drop-down menus on the right. Click the Save Changes button to save your updated scanning schedule.

When you’re through, click the minimize button and let the program live in your Taskbar’s notifications area, in the lower right. The program will start automatically when you log onto your user account, and notify you if it detects any incoming viruses.

With Windows Security Essentials and Windows built-in Firewall, your computer will be much more secure than most computers on the Internet.

Update: Windows Security Essentials duplicates the services of Microsoft’s anti-spyware program, Windows Defender, rendering the program unnecessary. In fact, running both programs simultaneously can slow down your computer. Microsoft Security Essentials disables Windows Defender when installed on Windows 7 or Windows Vista; when installed on Windows XP, Microsoft Security Essentials uninstalls the program. (Thanks, Greg!)