Friday, July 19, 2013
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
After you install Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 7 you may experience problems accessing your AT&T Yahoo mail or other similar websites. You may see this same phenomena on Windows 8.
When you try to log into your AT&T Yahoo mail you may receive a message reading Oops. Your Yahoo AT&T can't load.
Never fear it is a simple solution to fix! All you need do is click on the "Compatibility Mode" box to the right of the address bar. You may also need to clear your Internet history but it should not be necessary.
Here is a link to a Microsoft page explaining about compatibility view issues. This information also applies to Internet Explorer 9, Internet Explorer 8 and Internet Explorer 7.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/internet-explorer/use-compatibility-view#ie=ie-10
If your compatibility setting works you can make it permanent by going to the website you are having issues with and then opening the Tools Menu in Internet Explorer (press the alt key if the menus do not display in your browser) and selecting "Compatibility view settings" from the drop down. A window will pop up like the image above and the URL of the page that you are on will be displayed in the line under the Add this website heading. Simply click on the Add button and click on close and your problem website will ALWAYS open in Internet Explorer Compatibility view.
Monday, November 12, 2012
There have been many articles written on how to get back your Windows 8 Start menu but they are riddled with ads and make things so confusing for you, so cutting through the BS here is what I think is the simplest way to get a start menu back on Windows 8. Beginners scroll to the bottom of the page to the beginner directions for an alternate method of installation.
An open source project on Sourceforge project called Classic Shell is the solution I suggest. Classic Shell was originally written to get the old familiar Classic Start menu back onto Windows 7. It has been adapted to work on Windows 8 now. What is really cool is the fact that if you do not like the Windows Live tiles the program can be set up to make it so you only see your old familiar Windows 7 desktop in Windows 8.
To download Classic Shell Start Menu for Windows 8 go to the desktop by pressing the Flying Windows Key on your keyboard (if you are on the tile screen)and then open Windows Internet Explorer. Then click below link to browse to the following page
http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/index.html
Click on the download now button at the top of the page. When you get the yellow alert at the bottom of the screen from Internet Explorer choose the run button.
You will see the Classic Shell Welcome Screen, click on Next button. On the next screen click to check the box to accept the license agreement and then click on the next button. The next screen will give you options of what components of the program to install. Anyone who has installed an Office product should be familiar with this screen. You only need the Classic Start Menu feature to be available and you can choose the drop downs to make the other items unavailable on each item. Click on next and then click on the Install button. Say yes to the yellow windows security alert. Then click on Finish and you are done!
Claassic Shell should come up running so you can configure how you want your start menu to work. The main tab in the Classic Shell Start Menu setup you are concerned with in Windows 8 is the one that says Windows 8 Settings.
If you NEVER want to see the Windows Live tiles all you need to do is click the check box on this screen that reads Skip Metro Screen. Uncheck that box if you want both. I highly suggest you try at least playing with the Live Tiles in Windows 8 first before entirely getting rid of them. Under disable active content I suggest that you set that setting to Start Screen. Click OK and you will be done and a start menu will be installed!
BEGINNERS:
For the novice user there is even an easier way to do this through a really neat PC setup page called Ninite.com. This site will make a package file of all the plugins you need like Flash, Java, and more. All you need to do is point Internet Explorer to http://ninite.com/ and once there check off the programs you would like to install on your computer. Classic Start is available under the Utilities section. Once you have checked all the programs you want, click on the big Green Get Installer button at the bottom of the page. You can either save the file or run it when prompted with the yellow security bar at the bottom of your Internet Explorer window. If you save the Ninite Installer file you can click on it at a later time after you have already installed the programs and Ninite will perform and install any needed updates for you. One other benefit of Ninite is that it removes all of the extra toolbars and nagware that a lot of the programs try to add when you install them.
Good Luck!!To permanently set the zoom level on Internet Explorer 9 some registry know how is required. Do not attempt this action if you are unsure about any steps! Bad things can happen when you mess with the registry if you do not know what you are doing. You have been warned.
This article is adapted from and then embellished by me from the Microsoft Page at: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2689447Internet Explorer Zoom lets you make the screen display larger or smaller so that a webpage is easier to read. Unlike changing the font size, zoom enlarges or reduces everything on the page, including text and images. You can zoom from 10% to 1,000%. This article describes how to set the default zoom in Internet Explorer 9 to a custom level.
Some people want the zoom level in Internet Explorer 9 to stay at a level they set. Unfortunately there is no way to do this without opening the registry and setting a value yourself.
Once you set the value all Internet Explorer Windows will open in that zoom size until you go back into the registry and change it back.
So here is a tutorial from Microsoft on how to do it.
You can permanently set the default zoom in Internet Explorer 9 to a custom level if you want to. To do this, follow these steps:
- Click Start, type regedit in the search box, and then click regedit in the Programs list.
- Locate and then click the following registry subkey: HKEY_CURRENT_USERS\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Zoom
- In the details pane, double-click ZoomFactor.
- Click Decimal.
5. If you want to set the default zoom level to 125%, type 125000, and then click OK.
(For 150% type 150000, for 200% type 200000, etc.) To reset back to 100% follow
the above directions again and change the value back to 100000
6. Close Registry Editor.
7. Log off of Windows and then log on again. (or shutdown and restart your computer)
8. Open Internet Explorer. The zoom level should now ALWAYS be set to 125%.
Monday, October 29, 2012
When you upgrade to Windows 8 the OS will back up your old system files to a folder called Windows.old. You may notice that this folder takes up a lot of disk space and can not simply be deleted using file manager. Taking control of the folder will not work either.
There is a correct way to remove this folder using Microsoft's built in Disk Cleanup tool.
To run the tool log on to your Windows 8 computer as an administrator. Move your mouse down to the bottom right hand corner and right click. Then left click on the All Apps Charm. Scroll to the right and you should be able to see Disk Cleanup under the Administrative tools menu. Click on that to start disk cleanup app. If you can not find the Disk Cleanup shortcut icon you can create one by moving your mouse down to the left corner in the Windows Menu and clicking on Desktop to go to the desktop. Right click on the desktop and choose New and then Shortcut. In the shortcut location dialog type in:
"%windir%\sytem32\cleanmgr.exe" (without the quotes)
Name the shortcut Disk Cleanup and click OK.
Now you can click on the shortcut to open the Disk Cleanup tool.
CAUTION: Before you use Disk Cleanup, make sure that all of your files and settings are in Windows 8 where you expect them to be. Deleting the Windows.old folder can not be undone!
After starting Disk Cleanup if you're prompted to choose a drive, click the drive you just installed Windows on, and then click OK.
In the Disk Cleanup dialog box, on the Disk Cleanup tab, click Clean up system files button in the bottom left of the window. As seen below.
Disk Cleanup will most likely restart and if you're again prompted to choose a drive, click the drive you just installed Windows on, and then click OK.
Now in the Files to delete section look for and Select to put a check mark in front of the "Previous Windows installation(s)" check box, and any other check boxes for the files you want to delete, and then click OK. You might want to delete the previous installation log files also.
You will now get a new message that appears, click Delete Files and disk cleanup will run and delete the Windows.Old installation for you. I suggest that you restart your computer after the Windows.Old installation is done being removed. This method also works if you upgraded your computer from Windows XP to Windows 7 and want to delete the Windows.old in your Windows 7 installation.
There is a correct way to remove this folder using Microsoft's built in Disk Cleanup tool.
To run the tool log on to your Windows 8 computer as an administrator. Move your mouse down to the bottom right hand corner and right click. Then left click on the All Apps Charm. Scroll to the right and you should be able to see Disk Cleanup under the Administrative tools menu. Click on that to start disk cleanup app. If you can not find the Disk Cleanup shortcut icon you can create one by moving your mouse down to the left corner in the Windows Menu and clicking on Desktop to go to the desktop. Right click on the desktop and choose New and then Shortcut. In the shortcut location dialog type in:
"%windir%\sytem32\cleanmgr.exe" (without the quotes)
Name the shortcut Disk Cleanup and click OK.
Now you can click on the shortcut to open the Disk Cleanup tool.
CAUTION: Before you use Disk Cleanup, make sure that all of your files and settings are in Windows 8 where you expect them to be. Deleting the Windows.old folder can not be undone!
After starting Disk Cleanup if you're prompted to choose a drive, click the drive you just installed Windows on, and then click OK.
In the Disk Cleanup dialog box, on the Disk Cleanup tab, click Clean up system files button in the bottom left of the window. As seen below.
Disk Cleanup will most likely restart and if you're again prompted to choose a drive, click the drive you just installed Windows on, and then click OK.
Now in the Files to delete section look for and Select to put a check mark in front of the "Previous Windows installation(s)" check box, and any other check boxes for the files you want to delete, and then click OK. You might want to delete the previous installation log files also.
You will now get a new message that appears, click Delete Files and disk cleanup will run and delete the Windows.Old installation for you. I suggest that you restart your computer after the Windows.Old installation is done being removed. This method also works if you upgraded your computer from Windows XP to Windows 7 and want to delete the Windows.old in your Windows 7 installation.
Friday, October 26, 2012
So I took the plunge and went ahead and upgraded my Windows 7 computer to Windows 8 Pro today, the first day it was available to download.
Yeah, I am a trailblazer. It isn't like I didn't play with Windows 8 previously though, because I downloaded and ran the preview edition months ago and installed it in a VM.
The upgrade process was pretty painless, albeit it took HOURS! It started by me getting a link from Microsoft with a coupon code that I signed up for when I purchased my daughters laptop last month.
I clicked on the link and was asked to install the Windows 8 Upgrade Assistant. The upgrade assistant told me that a few of my programs were not compatible with Windows 8. Would you believe Microsoft Security Essentials is one of them? This is because Windows 8 has Windows Defender that is the new er old name for their security product. Other programs along with Security Essentials I had to uninstall were a Roxio plug in and my Daemon Tools program. Otherwise I was good to go.
Well I continued on in the install process and was asked if I wanted to download and install Windows 8 or download the file and install at a later time. I chose to download and install Windows 8. It was a 2 GB download that took about 20 minutes to download on my 10gb cable connection. Your mileage will vary. Once downloaded the installation began. Thus ensued an over 3 hour most of the day process of installing Windows 8. Seriously, put aside an entire day if you are going to do this.
At one point my computer rebooted and nothing came up on the screen but my computers hard disk light was lit and the drive was flashing furiously. This went on for 10 minutes (maybe longer) I was very tempted to force turn off the computer and reboot it again so the screen would come up but my years of learning to be patient with computers paid off and after some time the computer rebooted again on its own and the screen came back up. So this is critical folks, just cause you do not see anything on the screen for a long time DON'T PANIC, JUST WAIT! My monitor light even was in saver mode (yellow) during this process.
So when Windows 8 came back up it proceeded to install and then after it installed it proceeded to migrate my settings. This took over an hour. Finally when Windows 8 booted I was presented with my login screen (I had multiple user accounts on my Windows 7 PC but it chose the one I had been using to upgrade by default) I entered my Windows password and was informed I could login with a Windows Live or Hotmail account so my desktop could be tailored to my preferences. I logged in with my Hotmail account and after a minute was presented with the familiar tile screen.
The first thing I did was select the Internet Explorer tile. All of my favorites and IE settings were intact and there! I went to my favorite download site for Windows Plugins called Ninite.com.
Ninite is a cool site that lets you select the Windows plug ins and programs you want by clicking a check box next to the ones you want and it will create an install file of all the programs you chose without all the google/yahoo/etc toolbar crap for you. All you need to do is click on the Install file Ninite creates for you and it will install it on your computer. But I went to Ninite for a particular reason. There is an open source program called "Classic Shell" you can choose on Ninite and voila you will now have back the Windows Start Menu that everyone is complaining is missing in Windows 8 when you go to the desktop by pressing Start + D.
I do not have a touch screen on my desktop computer and would not use it if I did. The mouse works beautifully in Windows 8. Along with a few keyboard shortcuts and the scroll wheel you can get around Windows 8 in a snap. The thing that changes the most is that instead of using the Ctrl button you are using the Start button much more often to access shortcuts.
A few of the most common keyboard shortcuts besides Start + D for the desktop you will use the most is Start + C for the charms menu Start + I for settings charm and Start + Q for the search Charm.
The biggest frustration I have had is getting the Photos App to recognize my pictures I had already on my drive. They are in the proper folder I "think" but the app tells me that there are none there. I know they are there because I can bring up File Explorer from the desktop and see them when I click on the Pictures library. It is not a big deal because I never used Windows native picture viewer in the past opting for Google Picasa instead, which still works fine as does iTunes.
And finally when you run a "live" app off of one of Windows 8 tiles it opens in full screen . It isn't quickly apparent how to close the damn thing. Well there are 3 ways I found to do it. First you can use the classic windows shortcut key Alt + F4 key to close the app. Really? Second you can press the Start button and you will go back to the Windows Menu, however the APP WILL NOT BE CLOSED! If you move your mouse over to the upper left corner of the screen the App Task menu will appear and you can right click with the mouse and choose close to close the app.
Finally you can use task manager(which I haven't found a shortcut to yet) to close the app.
The corners of the screen are your friends when you are in the Windows Metro screen or in an App. Each corner will take you places, or open something. The Top left corner opens the apps switch menu, the upper right opens the charms menu, the bottom right gives you the Metro screen or desktop depending on which you are in and the bottom right will work like the old show desktop if you hover there.
So there you have it, that is what I figured out so far. From start of installation to writing this blog entry approximately 7 hours of my time spent today on and off the computer getting this upgrade done. (took me about an hour to write this blog) Good luck folks and remember the word of the day if you are upgrading to Windows 8 is PATIENCE!
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Maddening, you upgrade your iPhone right, and then you go to post a great picture of your cat to facebook and you get faced with a little popup that asks if you want to allow facebook to access your photos. You always say no to those things, right?
Well if you do you will get a prompt from your Device telling you that "This App does not have access to your Photos or Videos" You can enable access in Privacy settings. What now?
Well you must now do the iPhone menu shuffle and dig into the new IOS 6 settings. And they added privacy settings every darn place you can imagine.
To Fix you will need to click on settings icon on your iphone--->> Choose Privacy about half way down the screen ---> Click on Photos (not facebook as you would think on that screen) and tadaa lo and behold You will see Facebook and twitter and other apps there with an off and on slider. Click to turn the slider on and you can now post photos again!
Same goes for shared calendars or contacts you use from facebook or email apps you will have to select each item under privacy to get things working again.
And that other Facebook Privacy choice off of settings -->> Privacy? Well that is for allowing or denying other applications on your device access to Facebook.
Granularity can really suck sometimes. Be careful what you say no to.
Well if you do you will get a prompt from your Device telling you that "This App does not have access to your Photos or Videos" You can enable access in Privacy settings. What now?
Well you must now do the iPhone menu shuffle and dig into the new IOS 6 settings. And they added privacy settings every darn place you can imagine.
To Fix you will need to click on settings icon on your iphone--->> Choose Privacy about half way down the screen ---> Click on Photos (not facebook as you would think on that screen) and tadaa lo and behold You will see Facebook and twitter and other apps there with an off and on slider. Click to turn the slider on and you can now post photos again!
Same goes for shared calendars or contacts you use from facebook or email apps you will have to select each item under privacy to get things working again.
And that other Facebook Privacy choice off of settings -->> Privacy? Well that is for allowing or denying other applications on your device access to Facebook.
Granularity can really suck sometimes. Be careful what you say no to.
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