Tutorials

How to Delete Typed Paths in Windows Explorer Auto Suggest Drop Down List This will show you how to delete items included in the auto suggest drop down list from when you had typed valid paths previously in the Windows Explorer (Vista and Windows 7) or File Explorer (Windows 8) address bar and pressed enter. Even if you delete a typed path, it may still show in the auto suggest drop down list if it's a common path. For example, Computer. You must have auto suggest turned on before you will see these typed items included in the suggestions of the drop down list. EXAMPLE: Windows Explorer Auto Suggest Drop Down List NOTE: For example, the items boxed in the screenshots below are paths that I had manually typed in the Windows Explorer...

How to Turn Auto Suggest On or Off in Run and Windows Explorer As you start to type something (ex: path) in the address bar of Windows Explorer or "Open" line in Run dialog box, the Auto Suggest feature will automatically show you a drop down list of items below the address bar or Open bar that it thinks you are trying to type for you to select from instead of you having to type it out completely. This will show you how to turn Auto Suggest on or off in the drop down list in the Run dialog and in the address bar drop down list of Windows Explorer (Vista and Windows 7) or File Explorer (Windows 8). You will notice that the address bar's drop down menu in Windows Explorer will show you a list of your recent location paths that you...

How to Turn AutoComplete On or Off in Windows Explorer and Run AutoComplete (automatic text completion) or inline AutoComplete is a feature that automatically appends the suggested text to the words as you are typing them in the address bar of Windows Explorer and in the Run dialog box. It tries to guess and finish what it thinks you are typing for you automatically. This will show you how to turn AutoComplete on or off in the address bar of Windows Explorer or Open drop down list in Run dialog in Windows 7 and Vista. This will not affect auto complete in Internet Explorer. EXAMPLE: Windows Explorer "AutoComplete" On and OFF EXAMPLE: Run "AutoComplete" On and OFF To Turn Windows Explorer AutoComplete On or Off in...

How to Lock or Unlock Taskbar in Windows 7 This will show you how to lock or unlock the taskbar to allow you to move the taskbar or toolbars on the taskbar in Windows 7. When the taskbar is unlocked, you will see a dotted separator line to the left of pinned programs, and any toolbars. FIX: Locked taskbar moves to the top of the screen in Windows 7 SP1 or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 EXAMPLE: Taskbar From the Taskbar 1. Right click on a empty space on the taskbar. 2. To Lock the Taskbar A) Click on Lock the taskbar to check it. (See screenshot below step 3) 3. To Unlock the Taskbar A) Click on Lock the taskbar to uncheck it. (See screenshot below) From Taskbar and Start Menu Properties 1. Right click on a empty space on...

How to Have Firefox with Glass Transparency in Windows 7 In this tutorial I will show you how to make your Firefox have the Aero Glass Transparency look.•I do not take credit for any of the scripts uploaded within this tutorial, apparently I don't even have any knowledge about CSS scripts before but learning it bit by bit was fun. I am not that good with CSS so I borrowed the scripts used in this tutorial. The scripts were made by YupYup and 12eason from this thread, you can view the thread for reference and questions. What I did in this tutorial is I merged their methods to achieve a much more flexible solution in glassing Mozilla Firefox. Slight modifications were made by me from their script for my own personal liking but you can...

How to Install Windows 7 to a Partition Ahead of Installed Vista This shows how to create a partition so that Windows 7 can be installed to the first position on the Hard Disk Drive / Solid State Drive ahead of an existing installation of Windows Vista so the older Operating System can be removed at a later time. There must be at least one (1) Primary partition available for creation / use as Windows will not boot independently from an Extended partition / Logical drive. Partition Wizard is a very reliable tool for your tool kit and it is a free download for home / personal use, it can be found at the link below, download the ISO file to your desktop then burn the image file to a CD, Windows 7 now has native support for ISO / IMG...

How to Add or Remove a Default Desktop Icon in Windows 7 This will show you how to add or remove the default Computer, User's Files, Network, Recycle Bin, or Control Panel desktop icons in Windows 7. Through Desktop Icon Settings in Personalization NOTE: This will only add the desktop icon for the current user (you), and not all users. 1. Right click on a empty area of the desktop and click on Personalize. (See screenshot below) 2. Click on the Change desktop icons link at the upper left corner. (See screenshot below) 3. To Add a Default Desktop Icon A) In the top pane, check the desktop icons that you want to add. (See screenshot below step 5) B) Go to step 5. 4. To Remove a Default Desktop Icon A) In the top pane, uncheck the...

How to Install Windows 7 to a Partition Ahead of Installed XP This shows how to create a partition so that Windows 7 can be installed to the first position on the Hard Disk Drive / Solid State Drive ahead of an existing installation of Windows XP so the older Operating System can be removed at a later time. There must be at least one (1) Primary partition available for creation / use as Windows will not boot independently from an Extended partition / Logical drive. Partition Wizard is a very reliable tool for your tool kit and it is a free download for home / personal use, it can be found at the link below, download the ISO file to your desktop then burn the image file to a CD as it was designed for use from a CD it will be best to...

How to Allow or Prevent the Windows 7 Recycle Bin Icon to Display The Recycle Bin provides a safety net when deleting files or folders. When you delete any of these items from your hard disk, Windows places it in the Recycle Bin and the Recycle Bin icon changes from empty to full. This will show you how to allow or prevent the Windows 7 Recycle Bin icon to display from the desktop, Windows Explorer, programs that use Windows Explorer, and the File - Open menu bar window for all users on the computer. By default, the Recycle Bin icon is allowed to be displayed in all user accounts.Removable drives do not use or have a Recycyle Bin. Files deleted from removable drives are permanently deleted instead.If set to prevent, then this will...

How to Change Windows 7 Homegroup File and Folder Sharing Settings When you create or join a homegroup, you select the libraries and printers you want to share with other people in the homegroup. Selected Libraries are set to be shared with Read only access by default, which means that you can look at or listen to what's in the library, but you can't make changes to the files in it unless this is changed by the owner of the shared library to allow the homegroup to be able to do. When you join a homegroup, all user accounts, except the Guest account, on your computer become members of the homegroup. Each user controls access to his or her own libraries. This will show you how to change your user account's library files and folders...

How to Enable or Disable "Save Taskbar Thumbnail Previews" in Windows 7 and Windows 8 This will show you how to enable or disable having taskbar thumbnail previews saved to a cache in Windows 7 and Windows 8. This feature is not available in the Windows 7 Starter and Windows 7 Home Basic editions since they do not include the Aero feature. Through Visual Effects Settings By default Save taskbar thumbnail previews is turned off when Adjust for best performance and usually Let Windows choose what's best for my computer is selected in Visual Effects, meaning images aren't cached when seeking a better performing system. Save taskbar thumbnail previews is turned on and cached when you have Adjust for best appearance selected in Visual...

How to Change a Folder Template in Windows 7 This will show you how to change a folder template in Windows Explorer to have it optimized as either a General Items, Documents, Pictures, Music, or Videos folder in Windows 7. EXAMPLE: General Items, Documents, Pictures, Music, and Videos templates NOTE: These screenshots are with using the Details view. What you see in your window will also depend on what you have the View arrangement, Group by, Sort by, Stack by arrangement, or icon size set as. To Change Template of a Folder or Drive in Windows Explorer 1. Open Windows Explorer, and do step 2, 3, or 4 below for what you would like to do. 2. Right click on a folder or drive that you want to change the template of...

How to Enable or Disable Animations in the Taskbar and Start Menu of Windows 7 This will show you how to enable or disable Windows 7 from displaying animations in the taskbar and Start Menu, including the animation of taskbar thumbnail previews opening and closing. Through Visual Effects Settings 1. Open the Visual Effects settings window in Performance Options. 2. To Enable "Animations in the taskbar and Start Menu" NOTE: This is the default setting. A) Check the Animations in the taskbar and Start Menu box, and click on OK. (see screenshot below) 3. To Disable "Animations in the taskbar and Start Menu" A) Uncheck the Animations in the taskbar and Start Menu box, and click on OK. (see screenshot above) Using a REG File...

How to Turn On or Off "Translucent Selection Rectangle" in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 The selection rectangle is what you see when you left click and hold, then drag the mouse pointer over items to select them when you release the left click. This will show you how to turn the translucent selection rectangle on or off for only on your desktop using different options in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. Windows Explorer is not affected by this setting. It will always have the translucent selection rectangle turned on in it. EXAMPLE: Translucent Selection Rectangle Turned On and Off Through Visual Effects Settings 1. Open the Visual Effects settings window in Performance Options. 2. To "Show Translucent Selection Rectangle"...

How to Enable or Disable "Smooth Edges of Screen Fonts" in Windows This will show you how to enable or disable Smooth Edges of screen fonts using different options in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. This determines whether the edges of large fonts are painted in different shades of gray to make the font look smoother. Through Visual Effects Settings 1. Open the Visual Effects settings window in Performance Options. 2. To Enable "Smooth Edges of screen fonts" A) Check the Smooth Edges of screen fonts box, and click on OK. (see screenshot below) 3. To Disable "Smooth Edges of screen fonts" A) Uncheck the Smooth Edges of screen fonts box, and click on OK. (see screenshot above) Using a REG File Download 1. To Enable "Smooth Edges...

How to Turn Drop Shadows On or Off for Desktop Icons in Windows This will show you how to turn Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop on or off using different options in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. EXAMPLE: Desktop Icon Label Drop Shadows Turned On and Off Through Visual Effects Settings 1. Open the Visual Effects settings in Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8. 2. To "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop" A) Check the Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop box, and click on OK. (see screenshot below) NOTE: This is the default setting. 3. To Not "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop" A) Uncheck the Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop box, and click on OK. (see screenshot...

How to Open Windows PowerShell in Windows 7 Windows PowerShell is a command-line shell and scripting environment program included in Windows 7 that brings the power of the .NET Framework to command-line users and script writers to help IT professionals and power users control and automate the administration of the Windows operating system and applications that run on Windows. It introduces a number of powerful new concepts that enables you to extend the knowledge you have gained and the scripts you have created within the Windows Command Prompt and Windows Script Host environments. Built-in Windows PowerShell commands, called cmdlets, let you manage the computers in your enterprise from the command line. You can use each cmdlet...

How to See Download Speed and Time in Download Manager of IE9 and IE10 This tutorial will show you how to see the download speed in KB/sec, MB/sec, and percentage completed, and estimated time left for a download in the download manager of IE9 and IE10. Here's How: 1. To See Download Speed and Status at the Bottom of IE9 and IE10 A) Once your download begins, you will a pop-up message bar at the bottom of IE9 or IE10 displaying your download rate and status. (see screenshot below) OR 2. To See Download Speed and Status in Download Manager of IE9 and IE10 A) While downloading a file in IE9 or IE10, click/tap on the gear icon and on View downloads. (see screenshots below) NOTE: You could also press CTRL + J to open the IE9 or...

How to Remove a Wireless Network in Windows 7 This tutorial can be used to show you how to remove a wireless network from within the Network and Sharing Center. This can prove handy if you are having internet connectivity issues whereby you can connect to the network but it has limited access. Here's How: 1, Right-click the network icon on the taskbar. You can also access it through Control panel 'Network and Internet' followed by 'Network and Sharing center' 2, Once open, click 'Manage Advanced Networks' in the left hand panel 3, Left-click the wireless network you wish to remove, then click 'Remove' from the panel above You can also right-click the network and select remove from the context menu 4, Confirm...

How to Configure UAC to Require a Password for Administrator While the UAC prompts seen when using a standard account may require a password, this is not the case while using an admin account. Once logged into the Admin account, a user can change anything only by clicking Yes on a user account control box. Some security measure. By requiring a password on each UAC prompt you can add security to your administrator account(s). First, be sure that UAC (User Account Control) is enabled. Open the control panel, navigate to the User Accounts & Family Safety section, click on User Accounts, then click on Change User Account Control Settings. Be sure that the sliding bar is not on the lowest setting. Now that you've confirmed that UAC is...