Archive for the ‘Windows’ Category
How to allow webdav connections without https / SSL in Windows 7
By default it is not possible to connect to webdav resources without SSL encryption in Windows 7. To enable unencrypted connections (http and not just https), follow these steps:
Press the keys [Windows] + [R] to open the windows command line and enter
regedit
to start the registry editor. Then go to the registry branch:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\WebClient\Parameters
and change the value for “BasicAuthLevel” to “2” (decimal). Then restart Windows.
How to get a list of all open ports on Windows 7, Vista and XP?
There is a small freeware Utility called CurrPorts from Nirsoft that displays all open ports on windows.
Download CurrPorts to your computer:
32Bit version: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/cports.zip
64Bit version: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/cports-x64.zip
Unpack the .zip file and double click on the file cports.exe to start CurrPorts. The application will show you a list of all open ports and offers the ability to apply filters on the list.
How to improve text readability in Windows 7
Windows 7 comes with a handy utility to tune the readability of text. To start cttune, press the keys [Windows] + [R] to open the windows command line. Then enter
cttune
and click on “OK” to open the ClearType Text Tuner.
Then follow the steps of the tuning wizard by clicking on next and selecting the text samples that look best on your computer.
How to delete saved passwords for network drives in Windows
If you saved a password for a network drive in windows and want to remove it, press the keys [Windows] + [R] to open the windows command line. Then enter
control keymgr.dll
and click on “OK” to open the windows credential manager which allows you to manage and delete passwords saved in Windows.
This procedure works for Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.
How to install Windows 7 on a Netbook without DVD drive
To install Windows 7 on a Netbook without DVD drive, a bootable USB stick with Windows 7 is needed as installation media. The following FAQ describes the steps to create such a USB stick.
1) Create a ISO image of your Windows 7 DVD. If you have already a .iso file e.g. when you downlodaed Windows 7 from the Microsoft online store, then proceed with step 2. Otherwise we create the Iso file now. I will use the small freeware program called LC Iso Creator from Lucersoft.
Download the http://www.lucersoft.com/files/free/LCISOCreator.zip file that conatains the LC ISO Creator software and unpack it. Then double click on the LCISOCreator application, select your DVD drive that contains the Windows 7 DVD and select a place were the .iso file shall be stored.
2) Now download the “Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool” from the microsoft website and install it. This tool will copy the .iso imago on a USB stick and prepares the usb stick as installation media.
Click on “Start” and then on “Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool” which is listed in the Section “All Programs”.
Select the ISO image in the source file box and click on next.
Click on “USB Device”.
Select your USB stick in the dropdown list and click on “Begin Copying”.
How to extend the Windows 7 activation period to up to 120 days
Windows 7 has to be activated within a period of 30 days. You can use the following command up to 3 times to extend the activation period to up to 120 days. The Command has to be executed as Administrator user on the Windows shell:
Click on “Start” > “All Programs” > “Accessories” and then right click on “Command Prompt” and select “Run as Administrator”
In the command promt window enter the following command and hit return:
slmgr -rearm
This slmgr command works also on the Test versions of Windows 7 that Microsoft offers on their website. It has to be executed before the activation period ended.
Shutdown Windows XP immediately
If you shutdown windows XP with the button in the start menu, it often takes minutes until the computer is finally stopped as Windows runs several tasks before it shuts down the computer. If you need to shutdown the computer immediately, you can use this command:
C:\windows\system32\shutdown.exe -s -t 00
How to prevent the automatic restart after a Windows update?
One solution is to stop the windows update service to prevent that Windows XP restarts the computer after an update. The update service will be started again after the next boot.
Click on “Start” > “Run” and enter the command:
net stop wuauserv
Windows starts slower after defragmenting the harddisk
If your windows installation starts slower after you defragmeted the harddisk, it might be nescessary to run the defragmentation utility on the boot files too which were normally skipped when running the defrag utility. To defragment the boot files, click on “Start” > “Run…” and then enter the command “defrag -b :c”:
Clear the Windows XP system file cache in to get more free space on the harddisk
Windows XP makes backup copies of your system files which may use a lot of space on your harddisk. To empty the system file cache, click on Start > run… Now enter the command “sfc /purgecache” and click on “Ok”.
