Item Computer Not Shown in 'My Network Places'

When I upgraded my computer to XP Professional, I ran into a problem which caused my computer not to show in the 'Workgroup Computers' category in 'My Network Place' I did some research, and even called Microsoft themself and they were stumped, they has no idea. The problem was (which i finally figured out myself) was that the Computer Discription Name that I configured when running the network setup wizard was to long, and was causing the computer not to be displayed. To fix this problem i did the following:

• Open Control Panel
• Double-Click the System Icon
• Click the 'Computer Name' Tab up top
• Change the computer discription to a shorter name

How to Install Windows 7 and 8 using a USB Flash Drive

Physical DVD drives are becoming a thing of the past as the size of our PCs continue shrink and new form factors are emerging. Microsoft distributes Windows 7 and Windows 8 on physical discs or images of DVDs called ISO files that are typically burned to physical media. This has become problem as a number of laptops and tablet PCs no longer ship with DVD drives. The best way to install Windows on these devices is to use a USB flash drive that contains the Windows installation files.  As an extra benefit, modern USB flash drives are typically much faster than DVDs resulting in a quick install.
Before we get started you will need:

• Windows 7 or Windows 8 ISO file and WinRAR or a burned DVD with the install source files
• 4 GB USB flash drive for Windows 7.  You may need a 8 GB USB flash drive for some Windows 8 images. 

Option 1 - The manual Method

Step 1 - Preparing the USB flash drive

Let’s get started. First we need to format the USB flash drive to erase any existing data on the drive.  Click on the Start Button and then Computer to bring up your drives.


Next, right click on the removable USB flash drive and select Format.

Click Start and the USB flash drive will be formatted.

Step 2 - Preparing the source files

Now it is time to extract the setup from a Windows 7/8 ISO image file.  If you have a physical Windows install DVD then skip to step 3.
To extract the files from the ISO file you will need WinRAR. If you do not already have WinRAR download and install that now.
Once you have WinRAR installed navigate to the ISO file in explorer and right click on the file and select the bottom Extract to <folder name> option.

The ISO file will now be extracted to a sub-folder with the same name as the ISO file. This can take a few minutes to complete.

Step 3 - Copying source files to USB flash drive

The final step is to copy the install source onto the USB flash drive in a way that will allow the Windows 7/8 install to boot up. The trick here is to use XCopy.  Depending on where your source files are located there are two different methods to copy the files onto the flash drive.

Using extracted source files

Open up command prompt and navigate to the directory you extracted the source files from the ISO file with the CD command. Then, run XCOPY *.* J: /e and hit Enter to start the copy. Be sure to replace J with the drive letter of your USB flash drive.

Using a physical Windows install DVD

The instructions are slightly different when using a physical DVD.  Open up command prompt and type XCOPY D:  J: /e and hit Enter. Replace D with the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive and replace J with the drive letter of your USB flash drive.

Step 5 - Installing Windows 7/8 from the USB flash drive

Once the file copy has completed you are ready to plug the USB flash drive into your computer. Turn it on and hit the keyboard shortcut to bring up the boot menu for your model. Typically it is F12 or F1. After you select your USB flash drive the Windows 7/8 installation should begin to load. At this point, installing Windows is the same as on a normal laptop or a desktop.

Option 2 - Automatic Method

Microsoft now has a free utility that will automatically make a bootable USB flash drive from a Windows 7/8 ISO image file. Simply download the tool, specify the location of your ISO file and the wizard will do everything for you.



Download the Microsoft Store Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool
Read more on the Microsoft Store Tool site

Credit to: Steve Sinchak

Clean And Optimize Your New Computer

When you buy a new computer it is often loaded with extra software that you just don’t need.  OEMs are paid by software companies to bundle trial versions in hopes that you will buy the full product. The preloaded junk is a waste of disk space, memory and can even hurt the performance of your new computer so it is a good idea to remove it all.
While it is possible to manually remove each extra piece of software on your computer there is a great free tool called PC Decrapifier that will automate the process.
To get started download the latest copy of PC Decrapifier.
After the software is downloaded on your computer just run the executable. There is no installer for this software. 
Click Next on the Welcome, license and Warning screens.  Select if you are running the utility on a new computer and then click Next.


You will have the option to create a Restore Point that will allow you to revert your changes using Windows System Restore.

All of the programs that load automatically on startup will be displayed. Check the programs you want to remove and click Next.

Before any items are removed you will have to confirm the changes.

Next you will be shown all of the applications installed on your computer. Check the items you want to have uninstalled and click Next.

Once again you will have to confirm the changes before they are made. 

Now PC Decrapifier will work through the list of applications and uninstall each software. Depending on the software you may see additional confirmation screens that you will need to click through to uninstall. Once completed your computer will be a lot cleaner and performing much better!

Item Download Adobe Reader and Flash without Adobe Download Manager

The Adobe download manager is part of the normal install of Adobe Reader and Flash that allows Adobe to bundle additional software with their products. After the download manager is installed, Reader/Flash along with other software (Adobe Air) can be downloaded and installed. When dial-up Internet connections where common download managers provided a valuable benefit. Now with more stable broadband Internet connections and modern content distribution technologies bundled download managers, such as the Adobe download manager, seem to be used more to spread the install of unwanted software.

Adobe download manager also does not have a good security track record. In 2010 an exploit allowed an attacker to download and install any software they want on your computer with the Adobe download manager.

Both Adobe Reader and Adobe Flash are available for download without the download manager but Adobe seems to make those links hard to find. Primarily intended for enterprises, the direct download links can  be used by end users.

Simply click on the direct link below and install:

http://fpdownload.adobe.com/get/flashplayer/current/install_flash_player_ax.exe

http://fpdownload.adobe.com/get/flashplayer/current/install_flash_player.exe

ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/win/

credit to: Steve Sinchak