So if you are one of the person still using Windows XP, here is a small application which solves Windows XP major and regular issues with just on click. XP Quick Fix Plus is a portable application which solves 40 small problems in Windows XP. Here is the list :

1. Enable Task Manager
2. Enable Registry Editor
3. Stop My Documents Open at Startup
4. Enable Folder Options
5. Restore Missing Run Dialog
6. Open With Choose Program
7. Duplicate context Menu Entries on a Shortcut
8. No Switch to Classic View in Control Panel
9. Enable CMD
10. Restore My Computer Properties
11. Restore Device Manager
12. Fix delay Opening My computer / explorer
13. Restore Grayed Explorer and taskbar Toolbars
14. Boot.ini tab is missing in MSCONFIG
15. Search Companion when Double Click a folder or drive
16. Lock the taskbar grayed out in taskbar properties
17. Restore my document properties
18. Remove OEM Splash and Wallpaper
19. Restore Network places to desktop.
20. Enable Recovery Console
21. Restore Grayed File associations.
22. Double click compressed folder opens search
23. Shortcuts does not run at Windows Startup
24. Tool/Ti[ds display incomplete information on network files.
25. Fix Right click error
26. Fix slow network file/ shared / remote.
27. Restore network icon to system tray.
28. Fix Slow hotkey.
29. CD/DVD drive is missing or not recognized.
30. Error 1606 when using Windows Installer.
31. Items are missing at right-click in the desktop.
32. Turn off computer missing  from start menu.
33. Fix CD Auto display.
34. Restore send to context menu.
35. Restore the native zip file integration.
36. Fix Error 1606 Could not access network location.
37. Error when tying to access Add / Remove program.
38. Duplicate icons in desktop.
39. Security center alert at Every Startup/
40. Security level in Internet Explorer Grayed.

You can read more and download the application from LeluSoft (Via Lifehacker)

Quick Fix issues in Windows XP in a button click by Ashish Mohta originally appeared on Technospot.Net on November 9, 2009, 12:18 pm. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

However some of the applications might just not work due to certain issues i.e. I would assume they use certain functions or API which are obsolete, this is common in commercial applications which are being used from a long time. If that is the case Windows 7 comes with support of Windows XP mode. Lets get to know how to set it up.

• According to the Windows XP Mode support you need to have Virtualization Enabled ( HAV Detection Tool ) i.e. Needs AMD-V or Intel VT CPU feature
• Download Windows XP mode for Windows 7
• and Windows Virtual PC from here
• Make sure you had selected the right Windows Version and language.

Once Installed all of them you will get Windows XP mode under Virtual PC Menu. Just invoke it to and follow simple instructions to start using it.

Here is the list of benefits you get :

• One Click launch.
• Access the USB devices you plug to Windows 7 in Windows XP.
• Run Obsolete Business applications in Windows 7
• Launch applications installed in Windows XP mode from Windows 7 PC.
• Printer, Folders and Clipboard sharing between two.

Don’t miss out watching the videos and download support documents from Windows XP Mode support section which would tell you exactly how to configure every step both at home and in Corporate environment. If you are still on Microsoft Virtual PC 2007, here is a comparison chart on Why you should move to Windows Virtual PC.

How to setup Windows XP mode in Windows 7 by Ashish Mohta originally appeared on Technospot.Net on October 29, 2009, 3:31 pm. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Web Single Sign-On (SSO) and Web forms-based authentication
• Access to personal virtual desktops by using RD Connection Broker
• Access to virtual desktop pools by using RD Connection Broker
• Status & disconnect system tray icon
• RD Gateway-based device redirection enforcement
• RD Gateway system and logon messages
• RD Gateway background authorization & authentication
• RD Gateway idle & session time-outs
• NAP remediation with RD Gateway
• Windows Media Player redirection
• Bidirectional audio
• Multiple monitor support
• Enhanced video playback

Download RDC 7.0 for Windows XP and Vista by Ashish Mohta originally appeared on Technospot.Net on October 29, 2009, 2:21 pm. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Since many of us make search only to find file names or folder name this can opted on top of any indexing service. Apart from this Everything goes one step ahead and can help you find data on your network drive also if you keep one instance of this application to run as ETP / FTP / HTTP server

You will need to connect to that ETP /FTP /  HTTP server and make searches pretty fast. This makes this application suitable for network environment where files are kept in a centralized environment i.e. Office or Collaboration.

Everything is high configurable which lets you :

• Configure which drives needs to be indexed.
• Exclude hidden files and folders.
• Configure ETP / FTP / HTTP server to run on any port number you choose to.
• HTTP / ETP / FTP server can be secured by using password.
• Disable file download if required from HTTP / ETP or FTP server
• You can configure it with your Firewall Host.

We would suggest you to Read more about it from the Official FAQ and Download it from here

Everything : Search faster with fastest indexing solution by Ashish Mohta originally appeared on Technospot.Net on October 5, 2009, 4:15 pm. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• First Showing you list of default windows services in your OS i.e. Windows XP or Vista or 7
• Then lets you change the status of all those services to Manual, Disable or Automatic
• Finally asks you to download a registry file in which all these settings are stored.
• The next thing you need is rename from .txt to .reg and double click to merge with your existing registry.

Windows service changer

Windows service changer registry

I am assuming it covers the most general services available in all the flavors of Windows else it might not just work in my opinion. I wasnt able to find any FAQ or Help page to find it exactly. Check out Windows Service Editor

Mass edit Windows services : Online Registry Hack by Ashish Mohta originally appeared on Technospot.Net on September 29, 2009, 1:02 pm. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The other option is to map them in My computer as network drive but then its like  opens invitation to go and see  to anybody who access my computer. So we manage in mails or notepad or even on scratch pad.

Syspad is small but pretty efficient solution if we face similar problems. Its lets you manage folders and files and even network path with a name which you can remember so instead of having \\xyzserver\\xyz123backuparea\u348976 you can just have xyzproject has tag name to remember.

Syspad comes along with a scratch pad which is like multiple notepads and folder pad which is the hero of this software. As soon as you launch the program, Syspad just sits on your notification area / system tray ( Its pretty silent, so just don’t wait for something happen),  just look for this icon and make a right click:

This launches the folder icon where you get quick access to sections like my computer, my network , control panel etc and also you can browse and any number of folder path which is launched when you click on it.

That is, keep on adding any number of path and you will never forget. The only thing I would suggest is you make it run with Admin privilege to make sure it doesn’t get any problem in I/O operations. Download Syspad. And yes there is notepad like program which I am leaving on you to explore. You gonna love that too.!!

Syspad : Network paths on your Fingertips by Ashish Mohta originally appeared on Technospot.Net on May 30, 2009, 12:28 pm. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Though windows provide us with time stamps, sorting etc but its a cumbersome job to find duplicate files like that. I remember doing when I was in college to hunt down all duplicate songs.

Clone Spy is a perfect answer for all of these cases. Its a powerful file comparer witch along with options of file size checking, name checking, creating check sum files makes it the ultimate duplicate file finder.

Features of Clone Spy

• Selecting folder is very impressive. If there are some set of directories which you need to check often, like your download folders, you can add them and save it as pool. Next time just load the pool and find duplicates.
• You can even compare two different directories or two set of pools. I like this one most.
• Create a check sum file.
• Dont want to delete ? Generate a report of files which are equal.
• Search by name size or just use default options
• While a duplicate file is found you can open it from there, select newer files etc and then choose to delete, skip or stop the scanning completely.

Here are some snapshots of Clone Spy :

Select folders to find duplicate files

Options to find duplicate files

Duplicate file comparison

Works with Windows 7, Vista and XP. Download Clone Spy ( Thanks Madhur )

Clone Spy : Powerful duplicate file finder by Ashish Mohta originally appeared on Technospot.Net on May 25, 2009, 12:31 pm. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Device Remover is pretty powerful, absolutely free but complex ( Yeah, A normal user will be blown seeing it ) software which Systems or computer administrators or computer geeks can use on  Windows 7 , Windows Vista and Windows XP in order to

• Manage Devices attached to computer
• Manage Services running in a computer
• Gather information from any computer on devices, services, extract various information of workstation like platform, service pack, memory size, page memory size etc.

• Trigger HW Detection in order to detect new devices without rebooting i.e.  Initiating Hardware Bus and Nodes Enumeration for pending/new Devices
• Get In depth information on any device right from Device name, Guid, device node status, problem number etc.

• Remove devices in bulk, search for devices and services.
• Find services used by running processes
• Find all the DLLs which are being used by any running processes.
• Invertigate the modules and DLLS further in case you find it suspicious.

There are lot more features on top of this.  As a summary I would recommend normal users to stay away from this because there are many thing in this which you might not require but if you pretty geeky to understand this can be your best tool.

I see this to be used more by System Administrator in any company. Troubleshooting, managing devices etc will be pretty easy with this.

This software is developed by Kerem G and it can be downloaded here . The software works with Windows 7 , Windows Vista and Windows XP.

Device Remover : Perfect for Computer Administrators by Ashish Mohta originally appeared on Technospot.Net on May 17, 2009, 11:50 am. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The idea of preventing shutdown can be done by a registry hack where we talked on how to remove the shutdown button it self but with Shut Down Guard you get the easiest approach. 

This software prevents anything from shutting down your computer. It runs all the time and when you do try to shut down it notifies that  shutdown auto guard is running and you can do it directly. This saves lot of accidents and sometimes a huge work which we loose when the shutdown starts and you can do anything except worrying.

Prevent Accidental shutdowns

Another place it might be handy is blocking the update applications from shutting down though they are configurable not to prompt for next 4 hrs in Vista. Download Shutdown Guard ( Via  Madhur ) which works both in XP and Vista.

Prevent accidental or forced shutdown with Shutdown Guard by Ashish Mohta originally appeared on Technospot.Net on December 31, 2008, 8:12 am. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If this is your problem and you want to find where all your space is getting lost,  have a look at WinDirStats.This open source program creates a Tree like structure for all the drives in your computer with perecentage of space occupied. This gives you a clear idea which folder occupies more space and you can inspect quickly.

Win Dir Stats Tree Report of Disk usage

This tree report of disk usage gives you every minore details. How many files are available in each directory, When was it last changed, how many subdirectories are inside etc. You also can delete your files from here and open in command prompt and explorer. 

Now if you are worried to find which file type is occupying more space , WinDirStats also gives a graphical representation of the complete drive showing you which extensions are occupying how much space. This diagram is a must see, might look little alien but once you know it you gonna love it.

Win Dir Stats Extension Usage List

Each of the extensions are given specific colors which is ultimately mapped to the image below. They occupy space in the same ratio as they occupy the space in the hard disk.

Windows Disk usage Diagram

Now if you are thinking that alien diagram is just for show off then just try clicking on it and you will be surprised. Each block in that diagram points to a particular file and selecting the block means selecting the file.Same thing happens when you select a folder.

Select Files and Folders from Graph

You can do a Zoom in , Zoom out, Select the parent directory or open it in explorer. Doing everything from the Stats Diagram is fun for people like me who just try it doing in a different way.

WInDirStats is completely configurable. Take a look at t he options menu in it. You can configure how your tree stats should look like and same goes for Directory list. 

Concluding WinDirStats is an ultimate tool for finding and managing files which occupy much more space and you have no idea to find it. It free , just give it a try by downloading at WinDirStat

PS: If Linux users want to have this you can try KDirStat it runs fine on every X11 desktop, i.e., it runs on Linux, BSD, and lots of other Unix-type systems (Solaris, HP-UX, AIX, …).

Find and Manage Windows Directory Usage in Statistics style by Ashish Mohta originally appeared on Technospot.Net on December 28, 2008, 10:38 am. Please see our terms for use of feeds.