Windows Tools, Help & Guides

Windows Forums member, Batupata, has released yet another great, free tool for Windows 7: AdSevenIconChanger. This tool changes the default icons in Windows 7. Here’s an example of how you’d change the shortcut arrow:

1. Download AdSevenIconChanger

2. Right click AdSevenIconChanger.exe and click Run as administrator.

Read the rest of this entry »

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

For the icon collectors out there I bring you the greatest tool to change and swap between system icons without the need of changing themes or swapping each and every icon manually.

7CONIFIER is a tool is capable of changing all your taskbar and start menu icons in a single click. All you need to do is select the package you would like to use and hit “Apply”. 7CONIFIER comes pre-loaded with three packages and you can easily add more packages of your own.

Windows Guides’ Rating	Compatible with	System
4 out of 5

Read the rest of this entry »

As with every complex device, computers are known to experience problems. When you are trying to connect two computers, you have to deal with the machines and what is in the middle. If something is not working properly on any of these systems, the communication could experience performance problems.

Every computer that is connected to Internet that runs a service (usually a web service) needs to be located so the service can be used. For telephones we use numbers to locate people. On Internet we use words, for example to enter on this site you have to use www.mintywhite.com. There are some reasons why on Internet we use words instead of numbers:

• IP addresses, belong to a location and  a country; if we only use numbers and for some reason you change your location, every link will connect to an invalid site.
• It makes it easier to have several machines use the same words. Google uses this technique with www.google.com, which has more than one Internet Protocol (IP) address. If for some reason one is down, the others can do the job.

Domain Name Servers (DNS) do that job. Their work is to translate a name to an IP address. This system is hierarchical so it is not just stored on one server. In this article, we take a look at some DNS problems that can slow your internet speed.

Read the rest of this entry »

One of the most popular registry cleaner tools is named ccleaner. Although ccleaner is very powerful and does do a very good job at removing old and redundant registry entries. It may still leave lots of “debris” left. The main reason is that not every developer think alike, and there is no set rules as to how and where in the registry to store installation information. Making it necessary to tell programs like ccleaner where to look.

This is where the add-ons like CCEnhancer comes to our rescue

Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re selling your computer, sending a faulty drive back to its manufacturer, donating your PC, or sending it to the curb, you should take precautions to ensure your data is properly erased. This guide explains:

• Why you should properly erase your data.
• What precautions you should take when erasing data.

Then I’ll show you three different techniques you can use to completely erase your hard drives:

1. Using Windows Explorer to format your drive.
2. Using Darik’s Boot and Nuke (DBAN.)
3. Using a drill.

Okay, I won’t show you how to do number three but it’s a perfectly feasible option.

Read the rest of this entry »