nifty comp tips and tricks

Off Topic
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I thought we could start a discussion on nifty computer and laptop tips and tricks that could help people out.

one I use a lot when I am in a rush is an auto shutdown or auto restart icon.

under properties set up a new shortcut with the syntax

shutdown -r -f
For reboot

shutdown -s -f
for a complete shutdown

shutdown -a
for a quick abort of a shutdown.

any other useful tips and tricks ya’ll can think of?

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nifty comp tips and tricks

I got one. If you’re copying files from folder to folder, and you get the warning dialog about overwriting, the options are

Yes—Yes To All—No—Cancel

If you hold shift while clicking No, it works as a “No To All”.

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nifty comp tips and tricks

Having a desktop short cut to the CMD prompt window can be handy if you live in dos-esque enviroments(like i invariably do),
Typing CMD as the target for a new shortcut does this.

These are double edged swords,
The system restore (windows xp +) function on your computer is a place where alot of malware likes to hide and repopulate from, disableing this can help you remove this threat (but you should always keep regular backups and be confident with any changes as windows will lose its ability to self-repair(which to be honest never works anyway))

Disableing the indexing function on all your hard disks saves you about 5-18% of your cpu power, the only drawback is slightly longer search times.

Sounds obvious but some people dont know these ones;
Pressing the Windows key and M at the same time minimizes all your windows.

In windows Xp Pro if you use the Welcome screen holding Ctrl-alt del brings up the standard login box (so you can login as an admin)

I just want to point out that most of this thread probably isnt going to be a good idea to try on your own if your not entirely comfortable with more advanced computer functions, (just a feeling i have about where this thread might go, i dont want to see loads of “my computer doesnt work right after i pressed this button i created by inaccurately following some instructions i couldnt understand because of the jargon they used” threads(you know what i mean))

anyway ill post more as i get bored and remember what tricks i use.

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nifty comp tips and tricks

I’m looking forward to the responses in this thread. I like learning little tips and tricks that might help me out at a later date.

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nifty comp tips and tricks

It bugs me when people don’t know to always use the tab key. And keyboard in general. The mouse bugs me.

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nifty comp tips and tricks

Alt+F4 will make any program on your PC run much faster. :smiley:

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nifty comp tips and tricks

As will deleting System32…

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nifty comp tips and tricks

I agree with what you said aeonicshadow

I hope it can be a tips and tricks rather than a I screwed up my pc.

side note: some viruses from back in the day would clone system32 batch files to make one too many and totally hose your system.

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nifty comp tips and tricks

Gnarly.

I suppose; yeh: don’t delete System32.

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nifty comp tips and tricks

another tip I thought of

if you are running a program and have to close it by CTRL+ALT+DEL and then only your background is showing.

inside of task manager go to process and locate explorer.exe if it is not running, go to file newtask

type explorer.exe and your desktop will return to normal.

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nifty comp tips and tricks

Is there an equivalent to CMD+H on a PC?

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nifty comp tips and tricks

Might need to explain what CMD+H does for those who don’t use what it’s from (I’d take a guess Mac?…)

some small yet good ones (most are common but few may not know of all)

Ctrl +
Z: Undo
Y: Redo
C: Copy
P: Paste
X: Cut
B: Bold
I: Italic
U: Underline
D: Make bookmark of current page in some Browsers (IE + FF, maybe others)
[Print screem]: (found mostly in the upper right) copy the current screen to your clipart (Paste it in a graphic program like paint etc to get a Screenshot)

Windows Key + D minimize everything like M, but unlike M if pressed again will restore them.

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nifty comp tips and tricks

It is mac. It hides programs. Minimises all windows of current program.

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nifty comp tips and tricks

Is there an equivalent to CMD+H on a PC?

Well, there IS a button on the ‘quick launch’ section (right next to the windows button; you have to enable it) called ‘Show Desktop’. I don’t know the keyboard shortcut, but I guess you could program it…

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nifty comp tips and tricks

here is a good trick/OS vulnerability/hack (WARNING: IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT CMD IS DON’T USE THIS) (windows xp and lower only)

  1. open notepad
  2. type is the following code exactly (// is a comment don’t copy that):

at 16:49 /interactive “cmd.exe”
//replace 16:49 with 1-3 mins ahead of whatever your current computer time is, use 24 hour clocks

  1. go to file -> save as
  2. save it as filename.bat
    //.bat VERY IMPORTANT
  3. open filename.bat (it will appear where you saved it to)
  4. wait for the specified time
  5. a command prompt will pop up
  6. press ctrl + alt + del
  7. go to the processes tab and end explorer.exe
  8. in that cmd window type explorer.exe
  9. close all windows
  10. look on your start menu you should now see you are logged in as SYSTEM
  11. this means that you can do many things that you cant as administrator
    for example: you can end critical system tasks (although you really shouldn’t they are critical for a reason you know)
  12. Note: this will work on any computer (school, work, public place) as long as they are running xp and are allowing batch files to run (most places do)
    NOTE: if you have access to run you can you that to open an instance of command prompt and type the at command in there
  13. ANOTHER NOTE: this may have been fixed in windows xp sp3 I’m not sure.
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nifty comp tips and tricks

here’s a nifty one I learned today.

in google type what your searching for example:

IP Address

and if you know the resource such as microsoft:

inurl:microsoft

the whole context

IP adress inurl: microsoft

easy way to search webpages for specific content if you know the site.

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nifty comp tips and tricks

another tip,

if you are having problems getting your comp to start, it loops back upon itself at the XP start up screen.

place your XP cd/dvd into the rom.

set the startup option in the bios, should be del. at startup of PC.

under bootup options set the primary startup to cd/dvd drive name.

when it boots into the installation screen, press R for repair install.

the best way to check if it is a registry issue.

chkdsk /R

it does a repair of the registry from the cd/dvd rom in the drive, so you don’t have to worry about reformatting your HDD.

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nifty comp tips and tricks

Found it. A friend told me the shortcut is ‘Windows’ + M.

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nifty comp tips and tricks

It depends if it retries until it’s successful or just moves on. I imagine that it would just move on, or even more likely, do a whole load at once rather than sequentially.

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nifty comp tips and tricks

it really depends on the worm you have if you have one.

there are “sequential worms” which latch to an email list, and continue to email a specified address until they are successful.

and there are “Sporadic Worms” which just email massively depending on the carrier limit you are using.

If it is the first then it will not spread until it has successful sent to that first address, the latter of the two just sends a generic mass message.

There is no way to tell which is which in truth, just to keep up with regular maintenance and security on your pc.