Windows Tools, Help & Guides

A computer that is conected to a LAN or Internet usually offers some services. If we talk about a normal network that uses TCP/IP protocol, each of the services is going to use a port. For a PC to use a service, it needs to specify the number of the port.

The first step to know if a remote machine is running a service is testing connectivity. There a lot of programs you can use for this but today I am going to use PortQryUI tool. This utility can be downloaded from Microsoft:

PortQryUI Tool. Microsoft Download Center.

I have selected the application because is very simple to use. If you want to use something more professional try NMAP; you can use Google to find it.

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Paper wastage in printing is an issue that always bugged many industries, whether they are aware or unaware about the wastage, which can have an impact in environment and economy. According to a study, a typical service industry worker uses about 10,000 sheets of paper for printing every year, or one sheet every 12 minutes. And you’d surprised to find out that 90% of those printed papers are only used for a short while; the majority of them will be discarded without being reuse. Thus, to avoid and reduce such unnecessary wastage, there are some software built to assist the computer user to print smart, which will be introduced later in part 2.

Before going into the software that can assist in smart printing, there are a few techniques/tips for everyone which can be applied prior to any printing in order to reduce paper wastage: Read the rest of this entry »

Windows Forums member, shoby, asked the following question in our suggestion box:

I would like to see a review about Ready Boost in Windows 7.
Does it really help you out when you need some extra performance or does it just look like it helps you out ?

It surely can’t be like you actually went out and bought some RAM, but how good is Ready Boost actually.
Is it gonna help me out with the my daily tasks/multitasking.
TIA.

This guide answers these questions and offer suggestions to help you get the most out or ReadyBoost or the most out of the money you’d spend on a flash drive with which to use ReadyBoost. Specifically, we’ll cover the following:

• What is ReadyBoost?
• Does ReadyBoost really work?
• What are the requirements for ReadyBoost?
• What security risks does ReadyBoost pose?
• What alternatives are there to ReadyBoost?

If you want to learn how to use ReadyBoost, see this guide: Speed up Windows with ReadyBoost.

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If you are on a budget, a student, or just a normal family with normal income. Buying the latest software (legally) can be quite expensive. Especially if you own more than one computer.

Luckily there is an alternative … Student Discount.

First off, this deal is better for those living in Europe than for you over there in the US. But no matter where you live, you may get a discount offer. What differs between the US and Europe are the Terms.
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If you read the Meet the Windows Guides Team post a while back, you may remember that we were asked about our predictions for Windows 8. Well I’ve changed my mind …

My NEW wish for Windows 8!

One of the things annoying me in Windows is that it is so set on using my C-Drive to store everything. I have a 256 GB C-Drive which is getting fuller and fuller, where as my D-Drive (which also has 256 GB) hardly stores anything. Asking Windows to use the D-Drive for applications is of course possible, but somehow I feel that it should suggest it by itself. Especially when the C-Drive is getting fuller and fuller.

Another thing that bugs me is that if I would like to move some of my installed applications over to the D-Drive I have to un-install it from the C-Drive and re-Install it on my D-Drive. Such a waste of time. Why can’t I just tell Windows to MOVE it for me ?

While We wait for Microsoft to come around –  I have a great piece of software here that allows me to move any installed application from one Drive to another, without all the hassle mentioned earlier. It’s called SteamMover …

Windows Guides’ Rating	Compatible with
3+ out of 5

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Windows Forums member, grr, asked the following question in our suggestion box:

There are 10 or more different types of keys for Microsoft products. example, VLM, KLM, abc, xyz, oem, etc. I have to admit that still till date I’m not having a proper and reasonable understanding of all these different keys. It would be great if a post could be made on the blog explaining the difference for these keys.

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