Improve Responsiveness By Disabling Min/Max Animations

The minimize and maximize window animations that first debuted in Windows Vista were an improvement over the effect in Windows XP. While this new effect had a high “cool factor” (especially with the slow motion key) it eventually wore off and created an unnecessary delay when switching between windows. 

Disabling the effect will instantly make your computer feel more responsive and faster. Give it a try and see for yourself:

    1. Click on the Start Button and type in SystemPropertiesPerformance and hit Enter.

    2. On the Visual Effects tab locate and remove the check from Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing.

    3. Click OK.

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Search The Office 2010 Ribbon With Search Commands

While the ribbon interface in Office 2010 is a refined version included in Office 2007 it is completely new for many users that upgraded from Office 2003 directly to 2010. For new users the most popular problem is finding where settings and features are located in the redesigned ribbon menu.

Microsoft Office Labs has released the perfect add-on utility for any new Office 2010 user.  Instead of manually searching through the ribbon for what you need, simply type it in.

After installing the add-on just click on the Search Commands tab and key in what you are looking for.  Relevant buttons will appear allowing you to directly select what you need.

Click Here to download Search Commands for Office 2010.

Office Labs Search Commands home page.

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Recover Deleted Photos, Pictures And Other Files

Have you ever accidentally deleted a photo or other file from your computer or digital camera?  Even if you clear the recycle bin, there is still a chance your pictures can be recovered.

Even though a file was deleted there is a good chance the contents of the file are still around.  When a file is deleted the contents of the file are not removed. Only a pointer to the file in the file system table is deleted. 

Time is your worst enemy when restoring files. When the pointer to the file has been deleted the operating system can use that storage space to write and store new data.  The longer it has been since you realized the file was deleted increases the chance any remaining file content has been overwritten.

It is very important to immediately stop writing to the storage device that previously contained your pictures so that the old file contents are not overwritten.  For example, don’t take any more pictures with your digital camera because new pictures will overwrite the deleted files.

Next, you will need to use a utility to reassemble the file remains back into the original files.

I like to use a free utility called Recuva by Piriform.  Head over to http://www.piriform.com/recuva/download/standard to download a copy.

After the utility is installed start it up and click cancel on the Recuva Wizard screen.  I’m not a big fan of wizards, instead I’m going to show you the power user method.

First, select the drive you want to scan for the deleted files.

There are two ways to scan for deleted files. First we are going to use the default scan method by just clicking Scan.

The results pane will be populated when the scan is completed. Files that are  green can be recovered by other files that are yellow or red have been overwritten. Previews are shown for some files when you click on them.

Check the boxes next to the files you want to restore and click Recover.

Select a location to restore the files to and click OK. Make sure you select a different storage device/drive than where the files are currently located so you don’t overwrite the file remains.

Your files will now be recovered.

Deep Scan

Earlier I mentioned there is another method to recover deleted files with Recuva that is helpful when the files you want do restore were not found with the normal scan. 

Running a deep scan will check the actual sectors on the storage device for file remains. You can enable this scan option by clicking Options on the main screen.

Click on the Actions tab, check Deep Scan and click OK.

Now just click Scan again and go for a walk because the deep scan can take a while depending on the size of the drive.

When the scan is completed restore the files the same way discussed above for the normal scan.

Good Luck!

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How To Burn CD And DVD Images (ISO Files) From The Command Line

Windows 7 and 8 includes a free image burning utility called the Windows Disc Image Burner that allows you to quickly write CD and DVD images. The utility has a graphical interface but can be run from the command prompt by passing the proper parameters.

To start burning a CD or DVD ISO file immediately from command prompt, simply type in:

isoburn /q drive:\file.iso

For example:

isoburn /q d:\en_windows_7_ultimate_x64_dvd_X15-65922.iso

Alternatively, you can pass only the ISO file location and click the Burn button within the utility.

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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

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Enable iOS AirPrint Support On Windows

In the latest version of iOS Apple included a new feature called AirPrint. Designed to bring native printing support to the iOS platform it can be found on version 4.2 or later devices such as the iPhone, iPod and iPad. At launch only a handful of HP wireless printers can be used but with the help of this article it is possible to AirPrint to any printer connected to a Windows computer, including Windows servers.

First, enable network printer sharing for the printer attached to your computer. In Windows 7, click on the Start button and select Devices and Printers. Locate your printer, right click on the icon and select  Printer properties.

Click on the Sharing tab, check the Share this printer box and then click OK.

If this machine does not have iTunes installed you will need to install the Bonjour Print Service. You can download the file from Apple directly.

After Bonjour is installed, make sure UDP port 5353 is open if you have a firewall.

Now it is time to install the AirPrint components.  There are a few installers available, but I recommend downloading the Elpamsoft AirPrint Installer. Airprint Installer Mirror.
After the file has been downloaded and extracted, run AirPrint Installer.exe with administrative rights (right click on the file and select Run as administrator). Click the Install AirPrint Service button.

Finally, make sure the Service Startup selection is set to Auto and click the Start button.

The setup is now complete. Test AirPrint by using Safari and the Bookmark button or in Mail with the Reply button. You will find a Print option in the pop-up menu. Select your Printer and touch Print. You may be asked to authenticate, use your windows account on the host computer.

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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!

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