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Windows XP SP3 fixes many things. But it also removes the Internet Explorer icon form the desktop and the “address bar” toolbar from the taskbar. If you want to restore your Internet Explorer icon, check out this guide. If you want the address bar back, keep reading.
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MP3Gain is a graphical program for volume normalizing MP3 files. MP3Gain analyzes and adjusts mp3 files so that they have the same volume.

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In addition to the few additions included with SP3 for Windows XP, Microsoft also removed a few features. Apparently in connection with its European anti-trust settlement, Microsoft’s latest service pack tries to “deintegrate” Internet Explorer from the operating system. As such, many users will notice their Internet Explorer icon is missing from the desktop after installing SP3. [Read article →]

If you’re like me, your computer is a container for everything from your DVD and music collection, to family photos and financial documents. And, if you are one of the estimated 75% of users who don’t backup their data regularly, a computer crash can cost you time, sanity, and potentially lots of money. The good news is, there is a high likelihood that you will be able to recover most, if not all, of your important data. [Read article →]

If your computer is slower than the day you bought it, there is a problem. Unlike mechanical devices, a computer’s performance doesn’t degrade from wearing out. Any change in performance is due to software (the operating system, programs you have installed, etc.). The good news is, troubleshooting and fixing a slow computer is easy and won’t cost you a dime.
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Ever need to save a file (such as a Word document, Excel spreadsheet, or picture) as a PDF? Adobe Acrobat (NOT the free “Acrobat Reader”, but “Acrobat”) includes tools to create a PDF from any file. However, if you don’t own Acrobat, you can still create PDF files for free.
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1. It seems that there are some issues with the new image/media uploader in WordPress 2.5. The following are some of the issues users have experienced:

• Upload progress gets “stuck”
• Upload fails with an HTTP error
• Upload box does not appear at all
• If the upload window does appear, images can’t be managed or added

I personally was getting unable to add new images due to an “HTTP error” and was unable to add existing images from the “Media Library.” Here is the temporary fix that worked for me:
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Ubuntu 7 runs great inside of Virtual PC 2007, at least once you get it installed. The installation would turn away most new Linux users since, by default, neither the graphics or mouse work. Not being able to see or interact with the installer is obviously a major issue. With a few simple text commands however, the graphics and mouse issues can be fixed.
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When you install Windows Vista Service Pack 1 on your computer, the SP1 installer will not remove the older versions of Vista files from the hard drive. These older are required if you decide to uninstall SP1. If you are satisfied with the performance of Windows Vista SP1 and don’t plan on removing it, you can safely delete these files. This process is as easy:
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When you start your computer, you may receive one of the following error messages:

• STOP: 0x0000007B (parameter1, parameter2, parameter3, parameter4)
  INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE
• Setup has encountered a fatal error that prevents it from continuing.
  Contact your product support representative for assistance. The following status will assist them in diagnosing the problem.
  (0x4, 0x1, 0, 0)
  Setup cannot continue. Power down or reboot your computer now.

You may also receive a “Stop 0x0000007B” error message during Windows XP Setup when the Setup program restarts during the installation process. When you receive a Stop error while the Setup program is running, you receive the second error message.
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NVBackup is a backup utility for NVFS-based PDAs: Palm T5, LifeDrive, TX, TE2, Treo 650, Treo 700P. Unlike commercial backup utilities that access data via the database cache, this reads data direct out of the flash disk where it is store. This seems to be the best backup utility in terms of restoring the exact state of the system before the backup.
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If you use Outlook and you’ve noticed it being excessively slow or just having errors, you should probably scan and repair your Personal Folders file for any problems. It’s sorta like checkdisk for your email client.
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OpenWithView is a small utility that displays the list of all available applications in the ‘Open With’ dialog-box of Windows, and allows you to easily disable/enable the applications in the list. When application is disabled, it won’t be displayed in the ‘Other Programs’ section of the ‘Open With’ dialog-box.
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The Quick Launch toolbar (which can be enabled by right-clicking on the taskbar, clicking “Toolbars”, and then clicking “Quick Launch) by default contains a shortcut to instantly minimize all open windows and show the desktop. It is possible to accidentally move or delete this shortcut. If you have accidentally removed the shortcut and want it back, use either of the following methods: 
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To comply with current Internet standards, Internet Explorer (Internet Explorer 5.5, Internet Explorer 5.01, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0, Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0, Windows Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP, Windows Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Server 2003, Windows Internet Explorer 7 for Windows Server 2003 IA64) limits the number of simultaneous downloads (from the same server) to two downloads, plus one queued download. This configuration is a function of the browser. However, as connection speeds increase, and the number of total connections that are allowed to Internet servers increase, the two-connection limit may be restrictive.
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 PSPad is my favorite text editor. I use it for everything from PHP coding to opening unknown file types. MUCH better than Notepad or Wordpad.
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In Windows XP, for most of the events Event Viewer would add at the end the following sentence:

“For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.”

If one clicks on this link, another window will open with information that will be submitted to the site. The main problem is that in 99% of the cases, there is no additional information listed on that web page. The following registry modification will redirect all the requests to http://www.eventid.net/eventviewer.asp. This page will take the event id and the source and redirect the request to the www.eventid.net search engine. The EventID.net website is much more likely to have useful information than the default Microsoft page.
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All versions of the Windows operating system support “hidden” files and folders. When a file or folder is marked as hidden, it will (by default) not be visible to the user. Files are often hidden to prevent accidental deletion or editing of important system files by the user. Sometimes it is necessary to view hidden files and folders when performing computer maintenance, and advanced users may wish to always be able to view hidden files. The procedure to display hidden files and folders varies by operation system. Follow the appropriate instructions below:
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IsUsedBy is a software tool which you can use to determine what process on your system has a particular file open. This is important, for example, if you want to copy or delete a file and you don’t know why it isn’t working.
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The paging file is very closely related to the physical RAM installed in the computer.
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If you are having trouble with the FairUse4WM/mirakagi programs read on.
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User Account Control (UAC) is a technology introduced in Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system. It aims to improve the security of Microsoft Windows by limiting application software to standard user privileges until an administrator authorizes an increase in privilege level. In this way, only applications that the user trusts receive higher privileges, and malware is kept from receiving the privileges necessary to compromise the operating system. In other words, a user account may have administrator privileges assigned to it, but applications that the user runs do not also have those privileges unless they are approved beforehand or the user explicitly authorizes it to have higher privileges. UAC is responsible for the message boxes that are forced to the foreground (background is blacked out) requesting user confirmation for an action.
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Inside of your Windows folder you will notice multiple folders named “$NtServicePackUninstall$” or similar. Because these folders are hidden by default, you may have to go into My Computer or Windows Explorer and select Tools, Folder Options. Select the View tab and change the Hidden Files and Folders setting to Show Hidden Files and Folders. These folders contain the uninstall information for any Windows updates you have applied.
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If you have the “Show hidden files and folders” option enabled, you may have noticed a folder named “$hf_mig$” inside of your Windows directory. This folder contains information about previously installed updates. According to Microsoft, “When a security update, critical update, update, update rollup, driver, or feature pack installs GDR version files, the hotfix files are also copied to the %windir%\$hf_mig$ folder. This supports migration to the appropriate files if you later install a hotfix or service pack that includes earlier versions of these files.”
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All versions of Windows allow for the sharing of folders and printers over a network. This feature is useful if you want to be able to access files stored on one computer while using a second computer. There are plenty of guides availible that explain how to set up secure file sharing (that is, assigning permissions so only preselected people can access the shares). However, sometimes a user’s computer will have a shared folder they aren’t even aware is being shared. If this folder happens to contain sensitive files, a major security risk is present. Also, it is important to realize that when a folder is shared, so are all sub-folders inside of it. That means if your “C:” drive is shared, a remote user can access EVERYTHING on your computer. So how do you know what files and folders your computer is sharing?
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