Another year has past us all by in a blink of an eye now 2012 I haven’t been writing much lately due to being busy with a new venture that I have been setting up in ebay, with the IT industry being slow at the moment I’ve had to move with the times I guess and open a online ebay shop as My online shop isn’t doing anything so by moving it to ebay, I get more traffic through it.

I guess only time will tell if I get any where, the good news is that I may has more time to get this blog up and running again with more tips and tricks.

I have one request though please visit the following

Thank you very much also if you buy something from the site mention RUA-Simpleuser.com and you will receive a further 10% Off your purchase

Restoring Old Windows Operating System Post Windows Vista Installation
If certain conditions are met, you can remove the Windows Vista installation and manually restore your previous operating system. To do this, you basically need to open Command Prompt and then rename and replace Windows Vista folders with your old operating system folders.

Steps to Restore Previous Operating System After Windows Vista Installation

Step #1: Ensure that the Windows.Old folder exists and there is enough space on the hard disk.

Open Start menu and select Computer.
Open the View menu, select Details, and then in the Free Space column view the Hard Disk Drives area to note down the amount of storage space available on the disk.
Next, expand the C drive and ensure that the Windows.OLD folder exists on it-remember that if this folder is not there, you will not be able to restore your previous Windows operating system.
Right-click on the Windows.Old folder and determine its size.

To be able to restore the old operating system, the Windows.OLD folder must be smaller that the free space available on the disk. If the size of this folder is twice the size of available free space, it might not be possible to restore the old Windows operating system.

Step #2: Run the Windows Recovery Environment

Restart your PC with Windows Vista disc in the DVD drive.
Press a key when prompted to boot from the disc.
When the Install Windows window is displayed, select language, time, currency, and keyboard input/output method, and then select Next.
Select Repair your computer to open the System Recovery Options window, and then select Command Prompt to display the Command Prompt window.

Step #3: Rename folders belonging to the Windows Vista Operating System

To rename Windows Vista folders, type each of the commands given below and press Enter.

C:\> c:
C:\> ren Windows Windows.Vista.bak
C:\> ren “Program Files” “Program Files.Vista.bak”
C:\> ren “Users” “Users.Vista.bak ”
C:\> ren “Documents and Settings” “Documents and Settings.Vista.bak”

Note: If while renaming the folders, you receive the error displayed below, proceed with the next step.

The system cannot find the file specified.

Step #4: Copy or move the data contained in the Windows.OLD folder

Type the commands given below at command prompt and press Enter.

C:\> move /y c:\windows.old\windows c:\
C:\> move /y “c:\windows.old\program files” c:\

If your old Windows operating system was Windows Server 2003, Windows XP or Windows 2000, then at command prompt, type the command given below and press Enter.

C:\> move /y “c:\windows.old\documents and settings” c:\

If the previous operating system on your computer was another version of Windows Vista, then at command prompt, type the command given below and press Enter.

C:\> move /y c:\windows.old\users c:\

Step #5: Restore the boot sector for the previous Windows operating system

On Windows Server 2003, Windows XP or Windows 2000, type the following at command prompt and press Enter.

C:\> E:\boot\bootsect /nt52 c:

If the previous installation was some other version of Windows Vista, then at command prompt, type the following and press Enter.

C:\> E:\boot\bootsect /nt60 c:

Note: Here, E drive refers to your DVD drive. Replace the drive letter if the DVD drive of your computer is denoted by some other drive letter.

Step #6: Restore the Boot.ini file of the previous Windows on the PC was Windows XP or Windows 2000

At the command prompt, type the commands given below to restore the old Boot.ini file, and then exit Command Prompt and restart your system. After typing each command press Enter.

C:\> c:
C:\> attrib boot.ini.saved -s -h -r
C:\> ren”boot.ini.saved”"boot.ini”
C:\> attrib boot.ini +s +h +r
C:\> exit

Finally, select Restart. Your PC will now boot with your earlier Windows Installation.

Fixing Corrupted User Profiles
User profiles are used to save user preferences and user-specific configuration information on your Windows XP computer. If your old profile becomes corrupt due to certain problems on your PC, then you can fix the problem by creating a new profile and copying all the user data in the old file to the new file.

Create a New User Profile

To create a new user profile on Windows XP Home Edition, perform the following steps:

Log on to the PC with a user that has administrative rights to the system.
Open Start menu and select Control Panel.
In the Control Panel window, select the User Accounts link.
In the Pick a task section, select the Create a new account link.
Type the name of the user and select the Next button.
Depending on the type of rights you want to assign to this new user, select an account type and then select the Create Account button.

To create a new user profile on Windows XP Professional Edition, perform the following steps:

Log on to the PC with a user that has administrative rights to the system.
Open Control Panel and select the User Accounts link.
Open the Advanced tab and then select Advanced.
In the left pane, expand the Users folder, open the Action menu and then select New User.
Enter the name of the new user and select Create.

Steps to Copy User Date from Old Profile to New Profile

To copy user data from the old profile to the new profile, you need to perform the following steps:

Log on the system with a user account that is different from the user accounts from and to which you are going to copy.
Open the Windows Explorer window.
Open Tools menu, select the Folder Options command, and open the View tab.
On the View tab, select the Show hidden files and folders checkbox and clear the Hide protected operating system files check box and then select the OK button.
In the Windows Explorer window locate the folder for the old profile.

Note: If you have installed Windows in the C drive, then this folder would be C:\Documents and Settings\Old_User_Name folder.

Open this folder, select the Ntuser.dat, Ntuser.dat.log, and Ntuser.ini files by pressing the Ctrl key, right-click, and select Copy.
Now, open the folder for the new profile, say C:\Documents and Settings\New_User_Name, right-click in the right pane and select Paste.
Finally Log off and log on as the new user.

Note: This procedure does not copy user data files, emails, and address book to the new profile and this had to be done manually. Therefore, before you delete the old profile remember to copy all important information included within it to the folder of the new profile.

In the 1990s Microsoft introduced the concept of Object Linking and Embedding, or OLE, to provide interaction among various programs that need to share data. OLE provides various functions, like the ability to drag and drop data between two applications. It also allows users to embed components from one file inside another, thus producing compound documents.

In this architecture, which is part of the Component Object Model or COM, OLE Control Extensions (OCX files) are used to provide control features such as handling scroll bar movement and window resizing. OCX is the second generation of this control architecture, with VBX (Visual Basic Extensions) being the first. This said, the OCX model has been superseded by ActiveX, though backward compatibility is maintained in order to support the previous architecture and applications developed under it.

OCX files frequently are nothing more than Dynamic Link Library files (DLLs) with the special .ocx extension. They contain the custom controls available to a given application. The advantage of this architecture is the same as that provided by the DLL model – it allows developers to create shareable code that can be imported into multiple applications

Users of Microsoft Windows may find many instances of files with the .ocx extension scattered around their PCs. In general, these files are benign and should not be deleted since doing so may render the application to which they’re linked inoperable. Obviously it’s possible for a malware application to make use of the .ocx extension, and scenarios may exist in which a legitimate OCX file has been hijacked by malware in order to infiltrate a user’s machine.

As always, you should obtain and run a reliable malware/virus scanner with a current set of definition files if you suspect your machine has been infected or compromised in any way.

Invalid Boot.ini Error
You may encounter invalid Boot.ini error if the Boot.ini file on your Windows XP system is missing, damaged, or contains invalid entries. This file contains the configuration options for the boot menu.

Boot.ini problems usually occur when you upgrade to Windows XP from an older operating system. When the error occurs, the following error message may be displayed on the screen.

Invalid Boot.ini
Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:

Windows\System32\Hal.dll

In order to resolve this error, you will have to rebuild the Boot.ini file from the Recovery Console.

Let’s now go through the steps to open the Recovery Console and rebuild the Boot.ini file.

1. Insert your Windows XP installation CD-ROM in the CD or DVD drive and restart your PC.
2. On the “Welcome to Setup” screen, press the R key to open Recovery Console.
3. On a dual-boot or multiple-boot PC, select the installation you want to access from the Recovery Console.
4. When prompted, log on using a user account that has administrative rights to the system and press Enter.
5. To view the entries in your Boot.ini file, type bootcfg /list at command prompt and press Enter.
6. Next, type bootcfg /rebuild at command prompt at press Enter.

This command searches the hard disks for Windows NT, 2000 or XP installations, and displays the result on the screen. Now, follow the screen instructions to rebuild the Boot.ini file.

Given below is an example of screen instructions and messages that you may receive and how you need to respond to these instructions.

Note: The following steps are indicative and the messages that you may receive may be different depending on the configuration of your PC.

1. When a message similar to the one listed below is prompted, after the bootcfg /rebuild finishes scanning your hard disks, press Y to select the Yes option.

Total Identified Windows Installs: 1

[1] C:\Windows
Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All)

2. Next, you are prompted to enter the Load Identifier.

This is the name of your operating system, depending on the version of your Windows XP operating system, specify Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition and press Enter.

3. Next, you will be prompted to specify OS load options. Here, type /fastdetect and press Enter.

Your Boot.ini file is now rebuilt.

4. Type Exit and press Enter to quit Recovery Console and reboot your PC.
5. When the PC restarts with updated boot list, the “Please select the operating system to start” message is displayed, make your choice continue with the system startup.

Copyright © 2008 WindowsHelp.net All rights reser

Modifying Drive Letter Assignments
In Windows XP you can use the Disk Management administrative tool snap-in to manage drive letter assignments of volumes or partitions of hard disks, CD-ROM drives and other removable media, such as pen drives and Zip drives.

Some Important Facts

You can assign 26 drive letters from A to Z. Out of these, A and B are reserved for Floppy disk drives-however, if your PC does not have a floppy drive, you can assign these letters to other volumes.

It is not possible to change the drive letter of the system or the boot volume. This means that if your Windows operating system is installed in the C drive, you will not be able to change the drive letter of this drive.

Lastly, before changing a drive letter, you must know that there are a few MS-DOS-based and Microsoft Windows-based applications that use environment and other variables that refer to specific drive letter. When you change the drive letter, these programs may not function properly until you modify their variables manually to reflect the change.

Steps to Assign, Change, and Remove a Drive Letter

Follow the steps given below to make changes to your drive letter assignments:

1. Log on to the PC with a user that has administrative rights to the system.
2. Open Control Panel, select the Performance and Maintenance link, select Administrative Tools, double-click on Computer Management, and then in the left pane of the Computer Management window select Disk Management.
3. Right-click on the volume, logical drive, or partition that you want to modify, select Properties and then select the Change Drive Letter and Paths Command.

Change Drive Letter and Paths for Drive_Letter dialog box is displayed.

4. Here, to assign a new drive letter to the selected volume, select the Add button.
5. Select the Assign the following drive letter-usually selected by default, select a drive letter from the drop-down list or accept the default drive letter assignment and then select OK.

The new drive letter is now assigned to your selected volume, logical drive, or partition and the change is reflected in the Disk Management window.

6. Similarly, if your want to change the drive letter of a particular volume, logical drive, or partition, right-click on it in the Disk Management window, and select Change Drive Letter and Paths.
7. Now, select the Change button, select Assign the following drive letter-if it is not selected by default, select a new drive letter from the drop-down list and then select the OK button.

The drive letter of your selected volume, logical drive, or partition is changed and is reflected in the Disk Management window.

8. To remove the drive letter of your selected volume, logical drive, or partition, right-click on it in the Disk Management window and select the Change Drive Letter and Paths command.
9. Select the Remove button and then select Yes to confirm your decision.

The drive letter of your selected volume, logical drive, or partition is removed and the change is reflected in the Disk Management window.

Troubleshooting Drive Letter Assignment Errors

You may receive the following error message, when you try to change a drive letter.

The volume volume_label drive_letter is currently in use. If you continue, the new drive letter will be assigned; but you can still use the old drive letter to access the volume until you restart your computer. The old drive letter will not be available for assignment until you restart.

Warning: Changing the drive letter of a volume could cause programs to no longer run.

Or, you may receive the following error message, when you are trying to remove a drive letter.

The volume is currently in use. If you continue, the drive letter will be freed; however, it will still be available for use until you restart your computer.

Warning: Changing the drive letter of a volume could cause programs to

These errors occur if the volume, logical drive, or partition whose drive letter you are trying to change or remove have some files being used by you or other users on the network. Therefore, to resolve the issue, select No on the error message dialog box, close all programs that are using the files on this volume, logical drive, or partition and then proceed with changing or removing the drive letter from the Disk Management window.

Windows XP has been out since 2001, but it’s still the most popular Microsoft operating system (OS) in use today. Windows 7 is gaining fast, but XP still has more than 60 percent of the market, and many folks aren’t ready to give up on it yet. If that’s you, here are five things you can do to keep XP going strong, putting off that new Windows 7 machine as long as possible.

1. Add More RAM. RAM is memory your computer uses to run programs, and the general rule of thumb is “More is Better.” Many XP computers, having been bought many years ago, will have 1GB (gigabytes) of RAM or even less (my father’s computer, for example, came with 512MB (megabytes), which is barely enough to run the OS). It’s very hard to get anything done these days with that amount of RAM. The practical limit on how much RAM a Windows XP computer can use is about 3GB. Thus, if you put 4GB or more in, you’re just wasting money. Adding any more than you have now (assuming you have less than 3GB) is good; getting to at least 2GB will make your computer much snappier. More information about adding RAM

2. Upgrade to Service Pack 3. Service Packs (SPs) are rollups of fixes, enhancements and additions to a Windows OS. Often, the most important things in them are the security updates. Windows XP is at SP 3. If you’re on SP 2 or (hopefully not!) SP 1 or no SP at all, go download it right now. This minute. You can download it by turning on Automatic Updates; download and install it manually; or order it on CD and install that way. I strongly recommend turning on Automatic Updates in XP.

3. Buy a New Graphics Card. If you have an XP computer, it’s likely you also have a very old graphics card. This will affect your performance in a number of ways, especially if you’re a gamer. Newer cards have more RAM on board, taking much of the load off your central processing unit (you’ve probably heard abbreviated as CPU). You can get a mid-grade card for little money nowadays, but the effect on your Internet experience, and in other ways, could be significant. A good place to start is About.com’s PC Hardware/Reviews site.

4. Upgrade Your Network. This isn’t directly XP-related, but it has a big indirect role. By upgrading your network from dial-up to cable broadband, for example, will result in a huge performance increase for your XP computer. If hardwired broadband isn’t available, try satellite broadband from a company like HughesNet, which is available in most remote areas. Your home network may be ready for an upgrade as well. For instance, most homes use the wireless technology known as 802.11b/g to connect computers through a router. The latest standard is 802.11n, and I’ve found it to be much faster than the older standards. That will speed up file-sharing and other tasks your XP network does. And, as you may have guessed, About.com has a website for that as well — the Wireless/Networking site.

5. Download Microsoft Security Essentials. XP computers are more susceptible than Windows Vista or Windows 7 to attack. In addition, spyware and adware — the computer equivalent of junk mail — can build up over the years and slow your computer to crawling-through-oatmeal speeds. Microsoft has an answer for that which wasn’t available when you bought your machine: Microsoft Security Essentials. Security Essentials is a free program that guards your computer against worms and viruses, spyware and other bad stuff. It works very well, is easy to use, and highly recommended. It’s been protecting my computer for months, and I wouldn’t leave home (or my computer on) without it. Eventually, you will need to get a new computer, since Microsoft will stop offering support for Windows XP, including security updates. But taking these steps will help you get the most out of the time you have left.

Hi all I am back from the brink of dispair and looking forword to writting some more helpful tips

and my usual way of doing things I will be writting articals most every day from today onwords

regards Andrew

You’ve always been taught to cultivate good habits and avoid bad ones. The same applies to your computer use, where habits are good, bad or ugly. Good habits can maximise your IT investment and optimise your operational efficiency, while bad ones can cost you money and slow you down. The ugly ones can lead to disaster and an ugly mess. Here’s a list of computer habits you should kick start into your regular routine to keep you going – in the right direction!

1. Save frequently
   To avoid any data loss in case of software or system freezing, regularly save your changes to documents. Doing so only takes a second and won’t interrupt your productivity groove. Use the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl + S”, or click on the “Save” icon – the old floppy disk in the toolbar. Don’t rely on “AutoSave”, as it’s not a feature on every program.
2. Backup
   Don’t risk losing your files by not having them backed up. With damage, loss and theft all possible, no hard drive is guaranteed to be functional forever. Recovering data is often impossible and more costly and time consuming than people think. Tireless efforts on work-related documents can be preserved by simply copying files to a few DVDs, USB drive or portable hard drive, at regular intervals.
3. Think before you print
   A hard copy is required sometimes, but not every time. So before clicking “Print”, determine if you really need to hold a copy of the document in your hand. And if you do, do you really need the entire thing? Use “Print Preview” and the option of selecting a “Page range” to print only the pages you actually need. And use the double-sided printing feature where available – to print multiple pages onto only one sheet of paper. It would also be helpful to set your printer to print in black and white by default, manually choosing colour prints only when necessary. All of these printing habits will have a positive impact on your environmental initiatives and can save you money by using less ink and paper.
4. Structure folders
   Where do you save your files? Is everything scattered all over the desktop or stuffed into the “My Documents” folder? Maintain some order by creating folders and subfolders while giving your files appropriate names. It will only take a few extra seconds to do so, but will save you much more time in the future by being able to easily find and sort through files.
5. Store software keys
   Make a note of software licence keys and store them safely. In the event of your needing to re-install or activate a program, having its corresponding licence key handy can be the difference between completing a simple re-installation and having to go out and purchase a new one.
6. Invest in security software
   Protect your IT investment, your hard work and yourself! Viruses, spyware, adware and other malicious software are topics in the news for a reason. These threats can infect your computer without your even realising it. But do you know what kind of damage they can cause? They can delete or damage files, track your online activity, steal personal information and just outright annoy you by having a poorly performing computer. Take action before they do by investing in sufficient security software. When you do, keep the software up to date and scan your computer regularly to maintain optimum performance and productivity.
7. Blink. Yes, with your eyes
   Staring at a computer screen for extended periods of time can have a negative effect on your precious eyesight. Computer users tend to blink less frequently, so make it a habit to blink more often. Why? Blinking produces tears that coat the eyes, keeping them lubricated and moist. Other habits to preserve and protect your eyesight include focusing on distant objects every 15 minutes to relax your eye muscles, and to just take a break every hour or two to reduce eyestrain. Your eyes will thank you.

Where each of these habits ranks on a scale of importance is up for debate. However, it’s essential that you incorporate them into your daily routine, to prolong the life of your computer, save time, hassles and money, and free yourself to focus on the business that really matters.

CrossOver allows you to install many popular Windows applications on your Mac or Linux computer. You can think of it as an emulator, but it’s different, because there’s no Windows OS license required. Your applications integrate seamlessly in OS X or Linux; just click and run. No rebooting, no switching to a virtual machine, and no Windows Operating System license required!

Adding new Windows software is easy. Just place your install CD in your machine, and CrossOver will recognize it and offer to install it. Once installed, CrossOver will configure your application to run on your computer. That’s all there is to it.

CrossOver is capable of running a range of Windows software. To see if your favorite application is supported, please check our CrossOver Compatibility Center, or search for them using the search box at the top of this page.

Thanks to Codeweavers @ http://www.codeweavers.com/products/crossover/