Windows Tools, Help & Guides

A couple of weeks ago, we asked you if you used Windows XP Mode and many of you responded by saying you didn’t know about it. In the past, we showed you how to Windows XP Mode but didn’t really explain the purpose of it. This guide serves as an update to the previous guide; in this guide, we’ll cover the following:

• What is Windows Virtual PC?
• What operating systems can I install with Windows Virtual PC?
• What is Windows XP Mode?
• Why do I need Windows XP Mode?
• What are the system requirements of Windows Virtual PC?
• Where can I download Windows Virtual PC and XP Mode?
• How do I install Windows Virtual PC and XP Mode?
• How do I use Windows XP Mode?
• What else should I know about Windows XP Mode?

If you get to the end of this guide and still have questions about Windows Virtual PC or XP Mode, please ask them in the Windows 7 forum.

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I’ve done a major rework on the PC Security Handbook and the second edition is now available as a free download. Below is a changelog of some of the changes you’ll see in the new edition. As always, feedback–whether positive or constructive–is always welcome.

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My last post was about looking for basic signs of malware infections: 6 Signs Of Malware Infections

That post was a little introduction, about how to know if a virus and other sort of malware is on your computer.

Now, we are going to use utilities to look for that creepy software.

I am sure that many of you are thinking, why I need to know all of this stuff if I have an antivirus?

The answer is pretty simple: many times these applications cannot remove the virus, so it is very useful to know other ways to get rid of infections.

We are going to use free utilities that exists in the operating system that can reveal if any undesired program is in your computer.

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Have you ever run into a situation where you need to have an urgent modification on your word documents or excel sheets but found your Microsoft Office just doesn’t work for you at that particular moment? Or the Microsoft Office trial version just expired and you are looking for some similar services at zero cost?

Introduction

With the release of Microsoft Office 2010, Microsoft have started to offer a free Cloud-based Office Web Apps which consists of four main applications – Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. With Office Web Apps, you can now create, view, edit, share and collaborate on Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote documents in the cloud, and all these can be done from virtually anywhere with a supported browser (yes, even a smartphone browser.) You do not have to install any plugins of software to enjoy the service; Office Web Apps only requires you to have a Windows Live ID–that’s all. Not only that, with Office Web Apps, you can have your precious 25GB of free storage space provided by SkyDrive filled up with your documents or notes, edit and share them on the fly, isn’t that sweet? Read the rest of this entry »

One of the things Microsoft forgot to properly think about when making Windows 7, was the start-up sound.  With every new version of Windows should come a new start-up sound, however they chose to keep it the same as Vista.

If you’d like to change the start-up sound (the sound played when you get to your login screen) then this is the guide for you.  My favourite start-up sound comes from Windows 95 and I’ll be using its start-up sound for this guide.

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Update: Here’s the list of Best Free Antivirus Software [2012 Edition]

We’ve reviewed a number of Anti-malware programs on Windows Guides over the years but it seems some programs soon become bloated, include stolen definitions from other products, or just get outshined by new (or improved) competition. In this guide, I share the top five free anti-malware programs for 2010.