If you are using Windows XP, and you want to easily resize images from the right-click context menu, this guide is for you. Here’s how to do this in Vista.

(...)
Read the rest of XP Image Resizer Powertoy Edits Image Size from Right Click Context Menu

Windows 7 – The Pocket Guide v0.2.2 is now released and ready for download. Preview the book here.

Download Windows 7 – The Pocket Guide (v0.2.2) (Free Newsletter signup required.) Direct Link for newsletter subscribers

What’s New?

Here is a subset of what is new with the latest release:

Document Improvements

I’ve made the following improvements:

• Document inconsistencies fixed.
• Grammar check and update.
• Updated guide on improving external hard drive performance.
• Guides ready for translation.

Meet the Translators

Earlier this week, I asked for volunteers to help with translation. 28 35 people responded and are currently working on version 0.2.2 to translate it into 18 24 different languages. These translators will receive a byline in the credits section of both their translation and the English-language edition of the book. The translators are:

• Waldo A (Afrikaans)
• Nesrine R (Arabic)
• Omar Z (Arabic)
• Marce D (Czech)
• Mike F (Dutch)
• Mobidoy (French)
• Adrien (French)
• Uta R (German)
• Alon (Hebrew)
• Anindya S (Hindi)
• Sunil S (Hindi)
• Untung (Indonesian)
• FSoft (Italian)
• Shivam M (Kannada)
• Darko S (Macedonian)
• Xander (Norwegian)
• Armin I (Persian)
• Jolanta S (Polish)
• Angelo Moretto (Portuguese)
• Guilherme V (Portuguese)
• Gustavo B (Portuguese)
• Keith J (Portuguese)
• Radu M (Romanian)
• bojkohb (Slovenian)
• James K (Spanish)
• Dina V (Spanish)
• Juan C (Spanish)
• Jose P (Spanish)
• Felipe G (Spanish)
• Gerd von A (Spanish)
• Andreas R (Swedish)
• Elayathambi T (Tamil)
• KiT (Thai)
• cubes (Traditional Chinese)
• Triết Học Nguyễn (Vietnamese)

Thank you so much for all volunteering! It’s not too late to offer help in translating, email me for details.

Download Windows 7 – The Pocket Guide (v0.2.2) (Free Newsletter signup required.) Direct Link for newsletter subscribers

Further Reading

• Download Free Vista/XP Virtual Desktops PowerToy
• XP Image Resizer Powertoy Edits Image Size from Right Click Context Menu
• Windows 7 – The Pocket Guide v0.2.1 Released
• Free Extended Task Manager [Featured Download]
• ESET Smart Security 4.0 [Security Software]

In this guest post, James Ricketts explores how to deal with EXE issues on your PC. Learn more about James at the conclusion of this post.

Solving computer problems on your own means less downtime, less hassle and no or low cost. However, it is important that you know what problems you can handle on your own and which issues are best left to professionals.  For example, it is advised that most hardware-related problems are best left to computer experts. Similarly, it is advisable that you try and analyze most software-related issues yourself, as quite often, they can be easily resolved.

(...)
Read the rest of How To Deal With EXE Issues On Your PC

MSherwood is a Windows Forums moderator and runs a blog over at MyWindowsPC. In this interview, you’ll get to know him better and learn about some of the things he likes to do.

Who is MSherwood? What does he like to do outside the world of computers?
Well, computers only take up a small portion of my time. When I’m not on a computer, I’m at work in investment operations, plugging away at my information systems degree, or spending time on one of several hobbies, which include:

• Spending time with my wife
• Playing Golf
• Playing/watching baseball, or any other sport for that matter
• Taking care of living things, especially my freshwater aquarium and bonsai

What is your favorite quote and why?

“You can always become better”
-Tiger Woods

First of all, I love Tiger Woods. I love the way he plays the game, I love how competitive he is, and I love how he shows in this quote that even if you are the best in the world at something, you can become even better if you have the desire. I hope that someday I can be the Tiger Woods of something.

If you were a superhero, what powers would you have?
Wow. The ability to give myself any other superpower? Does that qualify? Seriously though, I would probably want to fly. I’ve always had a fascination with airplanes and flight, and it would be pretty cool to fly sans the plane part.

What encourages you to help people on Windows Forums?
The sheer frustration we can at sometimes face with computers. For those of us who grew to adulthood without the internet for the most part, when you face a problem and have limited resources and contacts it becomes very difficult to find a solution. Now that everyone can be connected we have the best minds on the job and usually find a solution within a much shorter timespan. When I grew up there was no help and it was all trial-and-error. I think that is where all the gurus come from.

Do you have any plans to start a website?
You betcha. I have very limited experience with HTML and Javascript but after I get my blog going steadily on MyWindowsPC I will probably convert that over to my own website. I want to focus on new software and developments from the Microsoft community mixed with reviews and tutorials on how to get the most out of Windows and Windows Mobile (my new baby), among other things. Right now there are so many forums that cover these areas but not one place where you can go to get the information on all of them. I want to bring all of that together. I may even branch out to security and other things depending on where my knowledge takes me the next couple of years. It will be a lot like Mintywhite but focusing on things outside of Windows as well.

Where do you see your website in five years?
Well, hopefully I’ll be doing a preview on Windows 9, Windows Mobile 8, Office 16, and creating a community of techies that help each other get the most out of all these things. If I’m only a fraction as popular as Mintywhite I’ll count myself lucky.

You’ve tested Windows 7 extensively, do you think this OS will replace XP in the near future?
Definitely yes, for a couple reasons:

• Microsoft wants it to. It’s cutting support, stopping patches, and really pushing enterprises towards 7. XP will die the death this time.
• In my opinion, it blows XP away. I’ve been using 7 exclusively since the Beta launch and the performance and eye candy just can’t be matched. And that was a beta. Everyone gripes, “Oh, but XP is so stable and works on older machines” and that’s true. But 7 is stable, and one day your old hardware won’t cut it anymore. And even Vista is stable, to a certain extent. I’ve used them all, and 7 is the best by far. It optimizes new and old hardware to its fullest extent and offers the easiest OS to use from Microsoft… ever. So although XP may still be stable like an old trusty pickup, I’d rather drive the Ferrari.

What is your number one Windows tip?
Never give up. If you don’t like the way something works, chances are it can be changed. If something isn’t working, chances are there’s a fairly easy solution. Computers are excellent tools and they’ll do whatever we want them to if we know how to order it around. So keep at it, ask for a little help, and in no time you will be enjoying your PC to a fuller extent than you ever have before.

Thanks MSherwood! Good luck with your new blog and everything you love to do. Thanks for your help!

Further Reading

• How To Deal With EXE Issues On Your PC
• Free Mac/Windows/Linux Icon Packs [Set 16] PNG/ICO
• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 18 [September 2009]
• IObit Security 360: Complete PC Tool-Suite for 2009 [Reader Review]
• Changes to mintywhite.com (and my other sites)

If you’re making changes to your system and using programs such as CCleaner or Advanced SystemCare, you should always make a restore point before. There is the argument that by creating a restore point you take up almost all the space you are freeing up of these programs. This is true; however, cleaning your system can improve performance significantly and is good practice when using your PC.

(...)
Read the rest of Create a System Restore Point in Vista [How To]

© Rich for Windows Tools, Help & Guides, 2009. Rich Robinson | Permalink | Add to del.icio.us

]]> http://js-kit.com/rss/mintywhite.com/p=2530 9 http://mintywhite.com/customize/icons/111-free-icon-packs-for-your-dockwebsite/ http://mintywhite.com/customize/icons/111-free-icon-packs-for-your-dockwebsite/#comments Mon, 06 Apr 2009 19:18:45 +0000 Rich http://mintywhite.com/tech/?p=2313

Windows 7 Media Center Customization Handbook | Get FREE books (Password: ilikefree)

Windows 7 Media Center Customization Handbook | Get FREE books (Password: ilikefree)Here at mintywhite.com, we love Icon Packs. In this collection, I’ve picked 57 new packs and included 54 of my favorite packs already featured here on the site. Enjoy these packs and please feel free to suggest some more. If you want more icons, head [...]]]>

Windows 7 Media Center Customization Handbook | Get FREE books (Password: ilikefree)

Here at mintywhite.com, we love Icon Packs. In this collection, I’ve picked 57 new packs and included 54 of my favorite packs already featured here on the site. Enjoy these packs and please feel free to suggest some more.

If you want more icons, head to the icon pack collections.

As with all packs listed on this site, please refer to the linked site to view copyright information or get in contact with the artist who created the icons. If you created one of these packs and want to change anything on here, please contact me.

iPhone style sidebar icon

80 Mini iPhone Application Style Icons in .PNG format (16×16)

Mod’em

1 PNG Icon (256×256 and 512×512)

Splashy Icons

464 Icons in PNG format (16×16)

MNM’s

“7 Icons in .ICO and .PNG Format (16×16, 32×32, 128×128, 256×256 & 512×512)”

Desktop Icons

5 Icons in .ICO and .PNG Format (256×256)

Letter icons

4 Icons in .ICO format (256×256)

Driver

18 Icons in .PNG format (512×512)

XIII

“21 Icons in .ICO and .PNG Format (16×16, 32×32, 128×128, 256×256 & 512×512)”

I like buttons 3a

26 PNG Icons (512×512)

Baggy Icon Set

“5 Icons in .ICO and .PNG Format (16×16, 32×32, 48×48, 128×128, 256×256 & 512×512)”

Round Theme Icons

106 iPhone Application style icons. PNG Format 59×60

Playground

9 Icons in PNG format (256×256)

OldSchool Icon Set

“6 Icons in .ICO and .PNG Format (16×16, 32×32, 128×128, 256×256 & 512×512)”

Container Icon Pack

“Container Icon Pack contains 40 high quality (256×256 pixels) icons; PNG and ICO formats. This package includes: Box Icons, Cargo Icons, Trash Icon and more…”

Fugue Icons

“1,600 icons in PNG format (16×16 )”

web 2.0 RSS icons

“28 icons (orange, green, blue, gray) in .ico, .icns, .tif, .png, .psd formats (32×32, 16×16)”

Vaga

60 semi-transparent .png icons (16 x 16)

Icons: Systematrix Full

“28 PNG icons (16×16, 32×32, 64×64, 128×128, 256×256)”

Developpers Icons

105 icons (32×32)

Monitor HP

“1 PNG Icon (128×128, 256×256 and 512×512)”

Cats4 HDD (Beta)

7 Icons in .ICO format (256×256)

Red Moleskine

“One Icon in (16×16, 32×32, 128×128 & 256×256)”

Enjoyment v.1

“4 Icons in .png, .ico, .icns, .tif, .gif, .bmp, and .psd formats (256×256, 128×128, 48×48, 32×32)”

Ive Drives

These hard drive icons are inspired by beautiful Apple hardware designed and crafted by Jony Ive and the Apple Industrial Design Group. Available in four styles of familiar Apple hardware:

Simply Safari Icon

“1 Icon in .ICO and .PNG formats (16×16, 32×32, 48×48, 128×128, 256×256 & 512×512)”

Nurture Social Icon Set

“Includes 10 icons featuring the logos of popular social bookmarking sites. The set was designed with a fresh, lively, green look in mind. The pack includes 512×512, 256×256, 128×128, and 64×64 icons in .png format.”

Zero

21 folder replacement icons beaming holographic images at the speed of light. Your desktop will never be the same. The collection includes resources for both Vista and Leopard. ((512×512 256×256 128×128 48×48 32×32 16×16))

Snow

“102 royalty free website & GUI icons in TIFF, ICNS, ICO, ICON & PNG formats that can be used for both personal and commercial purposes (32×32)”

Smashing Retro Icon Set

10 Icons in .PNG and .ICO format (128×128 & 512×512)

“Handycons – a free, hand drawn social media icon set “

“Hand drawn social media icon set that contains 12 icons. Package contains icons for del.icio.us, Digg, Mixx, DesignBump, StumbleUpon, Reddit, Developer Zone, DesignFloat, Technorati, Twitter and RSS feed & Email icon, of course. All icons are available in four sizes: 16×16, 24×24, 32×32 and 48×48 pixels.”

Book icons

30 Icons in .ICO format (256×256)

Valentine’s Day

2 Icons in PNG format (256×256)

“VLC, glassy icon”

1 Icons in PNG format (512×512 & 1024×1024)

Handycons 2 – another free hand drawn icon set

“Icon set containing 20 more hand drawn icons. This time it is not limited just to socail media related icons. Package contains Facebook, Blinklist, Feedburner, Flickr, FriendFeed, Furl, Gmail, Google, Heart icon, Last FM, Linked IN, Magnolia, Newsvine, PayPal, Skype, Sphinn, Twitter, Vimeo, Yahoo and You Tube icons. All icons come in four sizes: 16×16, 32×32, 64×64 and 12×128px.”

Hydropro Icon Pack

50 high quality (256×256 pixels) icons; PNG and ICO formats.

Vistaico Aero Pack

135 high quality (256×256 pixels) icons; PNG and ICO formats.

Computer Hardware

9 Icons in all sizes in PNG and ICO formats

Must Have Icon Set

59 Icons in all sizes in PNG and ICO formats

Social 2 Duo

The world’s first social networking icons with integrated dual core technology guaranteed to enhance the performance of your applications or blog. Package contains 10 Royalty Free icons that can be used for personal and commercial purposes (128×128 48×48 32×32 16×16)

IconTexto WebDev

“30 icons in formats PNG (128×128, 48×48, 32×32, 16×16) and ICO (128×128, 48×48, 32×32, 16×16).”

Mug icons

9 Icons in .ICO format (256×256)

Crysigns

25 high quality (256×256 pixels) icons; PNG and ICO formats.

Galactica

9 high quality (256×256 pixels) icons; PNG and ICO formats

Travel

10 high quality (256×256 pixels) icons; PNG and ICO formats

Pool Icons

6 Icons (128×128)

Closed Note icons

11 Icons in .ICO format (256×256)

Pioneer Camp

“6 Icons (128×128, 64×64, 48×48, 32×32)”

Aurora Folders

“16 icons in formats PNG (256×256, 128×128, 48×48, 32×32, 16×16), ICO (256×256, 128×128, 48×48, 32×32, 16×16) and ICNS (256×256, 128×128, 48×48, 32×32, 16×16).”

Mountain Bike

“6 icons in formats PNG (512×512, 256×256, 128×128, 48×48, 32×32, 16×16) and ICO (256×256, 128×128, 48×48, 32×32, 16×16). Based on mountain bike sport theme.”

Musto Icon Pack

105 high quality (256×256 pixels) icons; PNG and ICO formats.

Coffee cup icons

8 Icons in .ICO format (256×256)

My Fav Buttons

5 replacement icons to to customize your favorite folders.

Leopard iPhone Icons

18 replacement icons of Mac OS X Leopard Folders in iPhone Icons Style

IconTexto Brasil

“2 icons in formats PNG (512×512, 256×256, 128×128, 48×48, 32×32, 16×16), ICO (256×256, 128×128, 48×48, 32×32, 16×16) and ICL (128×128, 48×48, 32×32, 16×16).”

Deli Pack 1.0 and 2.0

“Icons in .PNG formats (16×16, 32×32, 48×48, 63×63, 128×128 & 256×256)”

Animals

6 Icons in all sizes in PNG and ICO formats

Mailplane icons

4 Icons in .ICO format (256×256)

Older Icon Sets I Really Like

If you are a regular reader of Windows Guides, you may have seen these sets before, but I really like them, so here they are:

Open Phone Pack

iPhone Icon Pack

Animals

Dinosaurs

Vista Style

Air Icons

Radium Nue Pack

Poisson Pack

Aqua Value Pack

iVista icon pack

Black and Blue

More Black and Blue

SNOW.E 2 XP

Windows Icons V1

Q’s Vista Ready Icons

CEM Icon Pack

Misto Icon Pack

Affel Icon Pack

Old School Icons

Aeon Icon Pack

Pure Icon Pack

Flat Panel Icons

Green Icon Set

Simplistica

Niome Icon Pack

Radium Neue

Antares

Aire

The City

Vista Style

Airicons

Poisson

Autumn Breeze

Crystal B&W

Oxygen

Google and Facebook

iMac

Pixel Press

Aesthetica Icon Set

Coquette

Coquette Part 2

Classy Icon Set

Stickers Icon Set

Ruby Extended Icons

iTunes

TextEdit

Air Mail

Slick Drives

iFirefox

NES Icons Pack

Stacks Dock Icons

stock icons

DeskMundo Live Icons

Aquanox mini Icon Set

Well, that’s all for now. Subscribe to keep updated on new packs.

Further Reading

• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 14 [May 2009]
• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 18 [September 2009]
• Best Windows Freebies and Guides 17 [August 2009]
• 90 Free High Quality Icon Packs [Set 1]
• Free Mac/Windows/Linux Icon Packs [Set 16] PNG/ICO

© Rich for Windows Tools, Help & Guides, 2009. Rich Robinson | Permalink | Add to del.icio.us

]]> http://js-kit.com/rss/mintywhite.com/p=2313 31 http://mintywhite.com/vista/vmaintenance/load-menus-faster-in-windows-vista-howto/ http://mintywhite.com/vista/vmaintenance/load-menus-faster-in-windows-vista-howto/#comments Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:00:57 +0000 Rich http://mintywhite.com/tech/?p=1255

Windows 7 Media Center Customization Handbook | Get FREE books (Password: ilikefree)

Windows 7 Media Center Customization Handbook | Get FREE books (Password: ilikefree)By default, Windows Vista has a 400 ms delay when opening menus; you can shorten this time to 200 ms without degrading performance. Learn how in this guide. (...)Read the rest of Load Menus Faster in Windows Vista [HowTo]© Rich for Windows Tools, Help & [...]]]>

Windows 7 Media Center Customization Handbook | Get FREE books (Password: ilikefree)

By default, Windows Vista has a 400 ms delay when opening menus; you can shorten this time to 200 ms without degrading performance. Learn how in this guide.

(...)
Read the rest of Load Menus Faster in Windows Vista [HowTo]

© Rich for Windows Tools, Help & Guides, 2009. Rich Robinson | Permalink | Add to del.icio.us

]]> http://js-kit.com/rss/mintywhite.com/p=1255 4 http://mintywhite.com/software-reviews/maintenance-software/safely-disable-unnecessary-services-in-vista-howto/ http://mintywhite.com/software-reviews/maintenance-software/safely-disable-unnecessary-services-in-vista-howto/#comments Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:00:52 +0000 Rich http://mintywhite.com/tech/?p=1252

Windows 7 Media Center Customization Handbook | Get FREE books (Password: ilikefree)

Windows 7 Media Center Customization Handbook | Get FREE books (Password: ilikefree)You may have heard or read about disabling Windows services to improve performance, but may be unsure of which services to disable. You can try an understand the technical jargon from some websites and manually disable them yourself; however, you may find you make [...]]]>

Windows 7 Media Center Customization Handbook | Get FREE books (Password: ilikefree)

You may have heard or read about disabling Windows services to improve performance, but may be unsure of which services to disable. You can try an understand the technical jargon from some websites and manually disable them yourself; however, you may find you make a mistake and cause problems on your computer. In this guide, you’ll learn how to use Vista Services Optimizer, which safely disables unnecessary services on your computer.

Vista Services Optimizer

Vista Services Optimizer takes the guess work out of disabling services and does the hard work for you. The program has a fairly clean interface which guides you through the features of the program.

Vista Services Optimizer will ask you some questions and determine which services you need and then let you disable the ones you don’t need.

Download Vista Services Optimizer

Further Reading

• Windows 7 – The Pocket Guide v0.2.2 Released
• Create a System Restore Point in Vista [How To]
• Windows 7: Rate and Improve Your Computer’s Performance [How To]
• Easy Ways to Boost PC Performance
• Will Windows 7 be a Worthwhile Upgrade?

© Rich for Windows Tools, Help & Guides, 2009. Rich Robinson | Permalink | Add to del.icio.us

]]> http://js-kit.com/rss/mintywhite.com/p=1252 3 http://mintywhite.com/vista/vcustomization/use-task-manager-as-a-desktop-widget-howto/ http://mintywhite.com/vista/vcustomization/use-task-manager-as-a-desktop-widget-howto/#comments Tue, 03 Mar 2009 13:00:01 +0000 Rich http://mintywhite.com/tech/?p=1295

Windows 7 Media Center Customization Handbook | Get FREE books (Password: ilikefree)

Windows 7 Media Center Customization Handbook | Get FREE books (Password: ilikefree) I was playing with task manager, when I came across this simple trick, which lets you display any item from task manager as a ‘desktop widget’; learn how to make your task manager into a widget in this guide. (...)Read the rest of Use Task [...]]]>

Windows 7 Media Center Customization Handbook | Get FREE books (Password: ilikefree)

I was playing with task manager, when I came across this simple trick, which lets you display any item from task manager as a ‘desktop widget’; learn how to make your task manager into a widget in this guide.

(...)
Read the rest of Use Task Manager as a Desktop Widget [HowTo]

© Rich for Windows Tools, Help & Guides, 2009. Rich Robinson | Permalink | Add to del.icio.us

]]> http://js-kit.com/rss/mintywhite.com/p=1295 5 http://mintywhite.com/windows-7/windows-seven-7-rate-and-improve-your-computers-performance-how-to/ http://mintywhite.com/windows-7/windows-seven-7-rate-and-improve-your-computers-performance-how-to/#comments Sun, 18 Jan 2009 13:02:19 +0000 Rich http://mintywhite.com/tech/?p=1754

Windows 7 Media Center Customization Handbook | Get FREE books (Password: ilikefree)

Windows 7 Media Center Customization Handbook | Get FREE books (Password: ilikefree)Like Windows Vista, Windows Seven comes with a performance rating tool, which rates your system and then gives you tips on improving it. In this guide, you’ll learn how to use Windows 7’s Performance Information Tools to rate your system.More Windows Seven Guides(...)Read the [...]]]>

Windows 7 Media Center Customization Handbook | Get FREE books (Password: ilikefree)

Like Windows Vista, Windows Seven comes with a performance rating tool, which rates your system and then gives you tips on improving it. In this guide, you’ll learn how to use Windows 7’s Performance Information Tools to rate your system.

More Windows Seven Guides

(...)
Read the rest of Windows 7: Rate and Improve Your Computer’s Performance [How To]

© Rich for Windows Tools, Help & Guides, 2009. Rich Robinson | Permalink | Add to del.icio.us

]]> http://js-kit.com/rss/mintywhite.com/p=1754 22