1.WINDOWS XP/VISTA/7/8
Back up any folder automatically
Regular backups of the entire system are
important but are also time-consuming
when you have a lot of data. That’s why
a weekly interval is usually the default for
backup software. If you want to take more
frequent backups of a specific folder, you
can automate the task with a few steps.
The command line tool Robocopy, which
is included with Windows Vista, 7 and
8, is perfectly suitable for this purpose.
Windows XP users can download the tool
for free at www.microsoft.com/en-us/
download/details.aspx?id=17657.
First, type ‘cmd’ in the search field of
the Start menu or anywhere on the Start
screen and then select ‘cmd.exe’. Robocopy
needs you to type the source folder and
the target folder with the full path and
the additional options you'll need. Use
the option ‘/E’ to include all subfolders.
It’s possible that some files will be open,
so disable the standard retry attempts to
prevent the process from stopping midway.
For this, the two options ‘W:0 and R:0’
will need to be specified. Lastly, you'll
also require the parameter ‘/MOT:n’ for
time-dependent monitoring of the source
folder; ‘n’ indicates the time between
repeated operations if changes to any files
are detected. The complete command for
backing up your folder every hour will look
like this: ‘Robocopy C:\source\folder D:\
backup\folder /E /R:0 /W:0 /MOT:60’.
Robocopy processes and monitors
your system only when the command
is executed. To make the computer
automatically run the command at startup,
create a new text file with Notepad and
type the command inside it. Now rename
the file so that the extension reads ‘.BAT’.
Add this file to the Startup folder of your
user account to make sure it runs every
time you reboot or log out.
NOTE: You will notice some system lag
while files are being copied, especially if the
files are very large. As with all backups, the
target folder must be on a different drive;
preferably an external drive or a network
location so that physical disk failures do not
result in the loss of both the original and
the backup.
2.WINDOWS XP/VISTA/7
Use Dropbox on the go
You can set Dropbox to automatically
synchronise its folder to exchange data
between different computers. This works
well, but requires you to set up Dropbox
on your PCs, so you can’t use it on other
computers. However, if you need to carry
your Dropbox folder along, you can take it
with you on a USB drive. The installer for
the portable version of Dropbox is available
for download at www.nionsoftware.com/
dbpahk.
First, extract the archive to any
folder on your hard drive and run
‘DropboxPortableAHK.exe’. The program
won't be installed but will run directly.
After checking your Internet connection,
specify the location of the Dropbox
folder on your PC. Confirm the process
by clicking ‘Next’. For the next step, you
must be careful. Select the option ‘Previous
Dropbox folder’ and then click the ‘Copy’
command to copy the folder that exists on
your hard drive. Doing this lets you avoid
downloading the folder’s contents again.
Click ‘Next’; now all you have to do is just
confirm the process. You might need to
download some program components using
the ‘Download Dropbox files’ button in
the last step. Now select the desired icon
for differentiating the normal Dropbox
application from DropboxPortableAHK and
click ‘Next’. Click ‘Start Dropbox setup’ in
the new window and sign-in with your
account name and password. To go ahead
with the installation, select the setup
type ‘Upgrade’ and the option ‘I want
to choose where to put my Dropbox’ in
the next step. Then add the path to the
existing Dropbox folder and proceed with
the other steps. All your Dropbox data will
now be saved under the program folder
or the given relative path. This process
can take some time. When the icon in the
notification area signals that the process
has been finished, end the program and
copy the entire folder to your USB drive.
If you use another computer that doesn't
have Dropbox installed, it will be enough to
just run DropboxPortableAHK from the USB
drive. The software will take some time
to verify your user name and password,
and sync the data. You can now use your
Dropbox folder like it was on your own PC.
Whenever you're done, exit Dropbox using
the notification area icon, and safely eject
the USB drive to avoid losing data due to
file system errors.
3.WINDOWS XP/VISTA/7/8
Set up Windows file sharing in a
few simple steps
The process of setting up Windows
file sharing can be simplifi ed with a
step-by-step wizard. To run the wizard, type
'shrpubw' in the Windows 'Run...' dialogue
box and press [Enter] to execute it. Click
'Next', navigate with 'Search' to the desired
path, 'Open' it, and again click 'Next'.
Now you can change the 'Share name'
and 'Description'. In the next step, quickly
define all intended permissions such as 'All
users have write-protected access'. On the
other hand, to make individual exceptions,
select 'Edit permissions' and then click 'User
defined'. Then make the desired detailed
settings and confirm these with 'OK'. After
clicking 'Complete', you will see a summary
of the shared folders' permissions for you
to double-check them.
In order to remove a share, use the
context menu of the folder. Use the
'Sharing' option and disable the options you
see in the dialogue box.
4.WINDOWS XP/VISTA/7/8
Restart router with new IP
address
If a website refuses to let you download
fi les, you can try changing your IP address.
If your router supports UPnP (Universal
plug and play), use the freeware “Router
reconnect” to switch your IP. This software
saves you from having to restart the
router every time you want to reset your IP
address. Get the utility from here: http://
goo.gl/JrrOG. Extract the package, type
“cmd” in the search field of the Start menu
and open the command prompt. Navigate
to where you extracted the utility and run
“Router reconnect.exe”. Check the output
messages. If the program is compatible
with your router, you’ll see an indication to
the identified router. Then you can set up
the connection and even program a file to
facilitate reconnections.
NOTE: Router Reconnect is not compatible
with all routers. Instead of the router
restarting, the tool may deactivate the
LAN, making connecting to the Internet
impossible. If this happens, click on
“Network and Internet” in the Control
Panel, and then go to “Network and release
center”. Follow the link “Change adapter
settings” and click the disconnected LAN
connection with right mouse button and
select the option “Activate”. You can now
connect to the Internet again, but you
won't be able to install the tool.
5.WINDOWS 8
Predetermine the number of tile
rows on the Start screen
Depending on the screen resolution,
Windows 8 determines how many
rows of tiles will be displayed on the
Start screen. In case of displays with low
resolutions, you get three rows, while
higher resolutions can accommodate five
or more rows. You can reduce these values
or increase them if you want to. For this
purpose, you will need to edit the Windows
registry through the Registry editor.
Change to the Desktop view and press
[Win]+[R]. Then enter ‘regedit’, press the
[Enter] key and confirm that you're an
Administrator check with ‘Yes’. Navigate
to the key ‘HKEY_CURRENT_USER\
Software\Microsoft\Windows\Current
version\ImmersiveShell\Grid’. Here,
search for the DWORD value ‘Layout_
MaximumRowCount’. If you can't find it,
create it with the command ‘Edit | New |
DWORD value’. Open the value by double
clicking it. Then enter the desired maximum
set number as the decimal value (for
example, 6) and confirm this with ‘OK’. In
order for the changes to reflect, close the
registry editor and restart the computer.
NOTE: For screens with high-resolutions,
you can set the value to a maximum of ‘6’
against the standard setting ‘5’. Windows
will not support values over 6, but you can
always reduce the number of rows down to
the minimum value of ‘1’.
6.Windows 8
Hard disk
Use Windows 8’s built-in
resources to replace the system
disk safely
Windows 8 may sometimes report
that your primary hard drive or
system disk is defective and it must be
replaced. But you may not notice anything
wrong with your computer, and probably
won't feel like reinstalling Windows as
well as all your applications just to get
rid of the error. But don't fret: Windows
8 can manage disk removal—as opposed
to Windows Vista and Windows 7—on
its own. Open the Control Panel, go to
“Maintenance” and select “Save complete
computer”. Windows will now ask you
which hard disk must be saved where. You
have the option to burn all your data onto
DVDs. However, a standard 50GB Windows
installation would occupy 12 DVD blanks.
However, you can use a second, internal
hard disk to back-up your system. Make
sure the target disk drive is a basic data
carrier. Dynamic disk drives are rejected by
Windows and must be converted in the
Disk Management section to basic. Before
the backup process, make sure that the
disk has enough free space and that it is
formatted in the NTFS file system. The
backup process doesn't take long: My 60GB
Windows 8 installation was copied onto an
external disk in less than half an hour via
USB 2.0. The PC must be shut down before
you replace the defective drive. Afterwards,
restart the computer and insert the
Windows 8 installation DVD. After booting,
the Windows 8 installation routine will
begin. Now select “Repair options” instead
of “Installation”. Click “Next” and the
wizard will lead you through the steps to
successfully repair your computer.
6.USB memory sticks
Troubleshoot memory sticks not
appearing as drives
It is often the case that your USB stick will
blink when inserted into a USB drive on
the PC and appear as a removable drive
in the My Computer folder, but Windows
reports that the drive is not inserted and
does not assign any character or drive
label to it. This is mostly due to the drive
having a corrupted file system. First verify
whether the file system can be read on
the stick. If you are sure that the drive
was not used earlier in a Linux or Apple
computer, then you can assume that a
partition has not been created on the
stick or the existing partition has been
damaged. Your computer may also consider
the USB stick as a removable hard disk. You
must therefore ensure that all partitions
on the stick are properly formatted and the
partition table is intact.
Open the Windows disk management
utility by right-clicking on “My computer”
and selecting “Manage”. Now click on ‘Disk
Management’ and check whether the USB
stick appears as a formatted partition or
whether it is accessible. You could have
accidentally deleted the partition tables
on the stick or the partition tables were
damaged.
Right-click on any unallocated space
on the flash drive and select the option
"New partition" to create a partition on the
stick. Any data available on the stick will
now be deleted and the wizard will begin
formatting the disk. If you have special
requirements such as a specific cluster size,
you can format the drive manually.
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