Windows Tools, Help & Guides

When Microsoft introduced Office 2007 they also revealed that they would now store their documents in a XML-based file format. To show the difference between the “old” format and the new, files stored in XML get the ‘X’ added to the file extension.

Retrieving images from a Word document (or any other for that matter) has never been a simple walk in the park. In earlier Office versions it was if not easy, but everyone managed to use copy and paste. You could also save the document as a HTML-file and retrieve the images from the file folder it created.

With the “new” XML-based file formats it’s actually gotten way easier… Read the rest of this entry »

Operating systems have become more complex over time. For an every-day user, it’s really a hard task to find what programs are slowing down their machine and for what reasons.

The most common performance problems are related with physical memory.

As I wrote in a comment answering a reader, Ben, in another post:

5 Things You Should Know About Microsoft Security Essentials

Programs use more RAM (another name for physical memory) if there is more available. Thus, you cannot associate high memory usage with bad memory usage. If your machine has resources (one of these resources is RAM), there is no problem using them if they’re available for use. But what about when you hit the limits of your physical memory?

What can an every-day user do to find out if their machine is using all of it’s current physical memory and, therefore, needs more RAM?

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You may have seen one of these “slideshows” before but if it’s been a while since you’ve seen/used the earlier versions of Windows, this can be a trip down memory lane. The Hongikat blog has screenshots of all major Windows versions since version 1.01.

Windows 1.01 (1985)

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I’ve been meaning to read this article for a while now and finally got round to it. Thus, the Windows 8 category begins with Paul Thurrott’s overview of some of the stuff coming with Windows 8.

Here are some highlights from the article if you don’t want to read the whole thing:

When Will Windows 8 be Released?

According to the article, Microsoft currently plans to ship Windows 8 by mid-2012; thus, the first beta should be released by mid-2011 and public beta should follow by the end of 2011. Windows Server “8”/2012 is also being developed concurrently.

User Detection

Windows 8 will likely support detection of which user just walked in the room so that it can automatically turn on your PC, log you in, and play your favorite music. When you get up and leave, Windows will automatically log your PC off for you.

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Windows Forums member Obinna Osobalu shares the announcement of the release of Windows 7 Serivce Pack 1 Beta.

Today at Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2010, Microsoft announced the public availability of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 service packs. This early release of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta is not available for home users. In order to download and install the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta you must currently have a Release to Manufacturing (RTM) version of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 already installed.

According to Microsoft, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta helps keep your PCs and servers on the latest support level, provides ongoing improvements to the Windows Operating System (OS), by including previous updates delivered over Windows Update as well as continuing incremental updates to the Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 platforms based on customer and partner feedback, and is easy for organizations to deploy a single set of updates.

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Beta will help you:

• Keep your PCs supported and up-to-date
• Get ongoing updates to the Windows 7 platform
• Easily deploy cumulative updates at a single time
• Meet your users’ demands for greater business mobility
• Provide a comprehensive set of virtualization innovations
• Provide an easier Service Pack deployment model for better IT efficiency

Download the beta Service Pack of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 from TechNet Evaluation Center.

Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is becoming a good alternative for those who prefer to have a free security solution.

How to get the Latest MSE Definitions

If your system cannot connect to the internet, due to a virus infection, this is your only way to be updated.  If you are experiencing problems updating your antivirus you can use this method.

The following links download the utilities, different for 32 and 64 bit operating systems,  that install the latest definitions:

Definition updates for Microsoft Security Essentials on computers running x64- based versions of Windows

Definition updates for Microsoft Security Essentials on computers running x32- based versions of Windows

Hint: Am I running Windows 32 or 64-bit?

When installing on Windows 7 and Vista you need to run as administrator. Right click mpam-fe.exe, click Run as administrator, and then click Run.

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