Seven Remix XP is an application that is specifically designed to transform the GUI of Windows XP to Windows 7. Basically the installer will replace some of files in your Windows XP like images, icons and animations so that your Windows XP will have the feel of Windows 7.

This installer is designed to work on the following operating systems and languages:

• Windows XP (Home, Pro, RTM, SP1, SP2, SP3, Corporate)
• Windows Media Center Edition (2003, 2004, 2005)
• Windows 2003 (Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, Web, RTM, SP1)
• Windows XP Tablet PC Edition
• Does NOT work with 64 bit versions of Windows
• All Language Versions

The installation will take care of the files substitution or any necessary changes, you just sit back and relax. If you later change your mind and want to remove it from your Windows XP, the uninstallation is only few clicks away.

Download Seven Remix XP

Technorati Tags: Windows 7 Transformation Pack, Windows XP, Windows 7, Transformation Pack

Fast Aero is a FREE brilliant utility for Windows XP that allows you to have Aero Glass by adding transparency effect onto windows in XP. Fast Aero is a standalone program (exe file), so it doesn't require you to install to enable the glass effects.

By default, this program is in Polish. In order to change the language you can simply replace the word "Polish" with "English" in the config.ini file.

Download Fast Aero

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Technorati Tags: aero glass effect, fast aero, aero on windows XP

Vista Transformation Pack is essentially a collection of mods that will transform your Windows XP to Windows Vista. The latest version (9.0.1) contains lot of fixes and it will solve incompatibilities with Windows XP Service Pack 3, stability issues in installation and some fixes in the system and some 3rd-party applications.

Anyway, here is a list of some key features

• Boot screen
• New msstyles files (visual styles)
• Welcome Screen / Logon Screen
• New desktop and file icons
• Progress Dialogs
• New toolbar icons
• Sounds scheme
• New Wallpapers
• System Tray icons
• Windows Media Player Skins

So what are you waiting for? Transform your Windows XP to Vista!
Download Vista Transformation Pack 9.0.1 or alternatively here.

Technorati Tags: VTP 9.0.1, Vista Transformation Pack, VTP download, WIndows Vista, Windows XP

There's a solution to get around the problem but it's not really the easy one. I break down the steps into 2 parts so that it would be easier to follow.

Part 1: Software installations

1. First you need to download and install Virtual PC 2007 (roughly 31 MB)
2. Download IE6 VPC Image. There are several packages so make sure you choose the right installer (IE6-XPSP3_VPC.EXE) which is roughly 421 MB.
3. Once you are done with step 2, unpack the installer to a folder of your choice.
4. Run Virtual PC 2007 and click new to setup new virtual machine.
5. There's a wizard that will walk you through the process and here are the details you need to fill in.

• Select "create a virtual machine" when you are asked for an option
• Name and location: Rename it if you plan to have several virtualization (i.e. running Linux at the same time)
• Select Windows XP as an operating system
• Simply go with 128 MB, you may upgrade it later on
• Select Windows XP as an operating system
• Virtual Hard Disk Options: choose "an existing virtual hard disk"
• Find IE6 image by browsing the directory where you unpack IE6 VPC Image in step 3

At this stage you should be able to boot into Windows XP with Internet Explorer 6 installed. As far as I'm concerned, I had already completed my wordpress theme and had uploaded it to my hosting server and now I need to see it online via IE6. The following part will show how to set our IE6 so that it can be connected to the internet.

Part 2: Getting IE6 Online

1. Go to Virtual PC console and click on settings > Networking and select "Adapter 1" dropdown menu on the right. As I'm on a wireless network, I just select network card that's associated to wireless connection. Otherwise, select "Shared Networking (NAT)" and click OK.
2. Go to Tools > Internet Options > Connections and click on "setup" in Internet Explorer 6. Make sure to do the following

• Network Connection Type: Connect to the Internet
• Choose Set up my connection manually
• Internet Connection: choose Connect using a broadband connection that is always on
• Click on "Finish".

2. Without exiting the "Internet Option", select "Local Are Network (LAN) Settings" and tick "Automatically Detect Settings" and click OK.
3. Restart Internet Explorer 6 and you should be able to online by now.

Now you are good to go online with IE6 on Windows Vista!

Technorati Tags: windows vista, internet explorer 6 on Vista, IE6 on vista, Virtual PC 2007, IE6 VPC Image, Windows XP, tips, tricks

This package include

- Windows Live Messenger v9 Beta
- Windows Live Movie Maker Beta
- Windows Live Mail Beta with Calendar synchronisation
- Windows Live Writer Beta
- Windows Live Photo Gallery Beta
- Windows Live Family Safety Beta
- Microsoft Outlook & Connector Beta
- Windows Live Toolbar Beta

These new applications bring some new features like the capability of uploading videos to Youtube from Live Writer and the user interface of the respective applications is given uplift, making them more vibrant and appealing.

To fully enjoy the applications, your system generally needs to have a processor of at least 1 GHz or higher, 256 RAM or higher (Windows XP), 512 RAM or higher (Windows Vista) and for certain applications such as Movie Maker, ATI Radeon 9500 (or higher) or nVidia GeForce FX 5900 (or higher) are required to run the programs smoothly. You may see the full system requirements here.

Download Windows Live Wave 3 Beta

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Technorati Tags: microsoft, windows live wave 3 beta, Windows Live Messenger 9 beta, Windows Live Movie Maker Beta, Windows Live Mail Beta with Calendar synchronisation, Windows Live Writer Beta, Windows Live Photo Gallery, Windows Live Family Safety, Microsoft Outlook Connector beta, live applications

There are 2 ways to remove the annoying popup from bugging you.

1st method: Stop the Automatic Updates Service

1. Go to Control Panel > Administrative Tools and double click on Services
2. Find "Automatic Updates" from the list of services, right-click on it and click stop

Alternatively, you can stop Automatic Updates Service by using command prompt.

sc stop wuauserv

This command will automatically stop the Automatic Updates Service like the above steps.

2nd method: Modifying Group Policies
There is problem, however, related to the first method. The problem with the aforementioned method for disabling Automatic Updates restart message is that it is a 1 time fix. A better solution is to modify some group policy settings so that your computer will always be updated but at the same time you will not asked to restart anymore.

Run gpedit.msc which should open the Group Policies window. Proceed to Local Computer Policy > Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update

You’ll now see a bunch of options on the right hand side related to Windows Automatic Update. Here is where we can configure your message to disappear! There are basically two settings that we can manipulate to get what we want.

No auto-restart for schedule Automatic Updates installations - It will disable automatic restart and disable the dialog box asking you to restart now or later

Re-prompt for restart with scheduled installations - It lets you edit the interval of the appearance of the dialog box in minutes.

So no more annoying popup from Windows :)

Technorati Tags: tips, tricks, windows update, windows xp, windows Vista

ClickFont is a small freeware that can help you to speed up the process by installing the font of your choice with only a single right click. By installing this little application, an Install Font entry will be available on the right-click menu whenever specific font related file extensions are selected.

ClickFont allows easy installation of TrueType, OpenType and PostScript fonts with just two mouse clicks, from anywhere in the system. So what makes it different to the SendTo folder? ClickFont copies the fonts, but also registers them properly with a system call.

Technorati Tags: install font, windows xp, freeware

Enough with the statistic, now let's get down to real deal. Since I anticipate many including myself will be using WIndows XP for another year or two, you definitely want to have these 15 Top Windows XP secrets up your sleeve.

1. Useful key shortcuts available

- Windows key + D - shows the desktop
- Windows key + M - minimizes all open windows
- Windows key + Shift + M - maximizes all open windows
- Windows key + E - Runs Windows Explorer
- Windows key + R - shows the RUN dialog
- Windows key + F - shows Search window
- Windows key + Break - shows System Properties box
- Windows key + TAB - Go through taskbar applications
- Windows key + PAUSE Display the System Properties dialog box
- Windows key + U Open Utility Manager
- ALT + TAB - Cycle through opened applications
- Hold down CTRL while dragging an item to Copy it
- CTRL + ESC Display the Start menu
- ALT + ENTER View the properties for the selected item
- F4 key Display the Address bar list in My Computer or
- NUM LOCK + Asterisk (*) Display all of the subfolders that are under the selected folder

2. Lock Windows to protect computer

You can lock Windows to protect the computer when leaving the station easily by creating a shortcut with the path rundll32.exeuser32.dll, LockWorkStation. The Windows key + L is also a shortcut to this feature.

3. Edit sysoc.inf to list all software

To show all software that can be removed from your computer (including protected Windows services), you can manually edit (using notepad for example) the sysoc.inf file located in Windows\inf\. Just remove the word hide next to the software pack.
*Note* - use this at your own risk. Removing critical components of the system will make Windows instable.

4. Windows XP comes with IPv4 and IPv6

Windows XP comes both IPv4 and IPv6 support. To enable IPv6, you can install the protocols needed with the command "ipv6 install" in the command-prompt. Then type ipv6 /? to see the options. The installation will not remove the IPv4 protocols so your current configuration will still work.

5. Access Task Manager with shortcut

To access the Task Manager easier, you can make a shortcut that points to %windir%\system32\taskmgr.exe

6. Stop treating ZIP files like Folders

If you don't want your Windows XP to treat ZIP files like folders, you can disable this component by running regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll at the command prompt or Run dialog. If you start missing it, you can enable it by typing regsvr32 zipfldr.dll.

7. Run program as diffrent user

You can run a program as a different user. Right click an application and select Run As command.

8. Switch users leaving applications opened

You can switch users leaving the applications opened too (*NOTE* use this only when needed since it could lead to system instability).
Go to Task Manager - processes and end the process explorer.exe. This will end only your session and not all applications. Then go to Applications tab, click New task and type runas /user:domainname\username explorer.exe. A password prompt will appear to login to the desired username. The user's session will start, with all your previously applications running.
I recommend to open first a command-line prompt and type runas /? to see all the options available.

9. Rename multiple files in Windows at once

Rename multiple files in Windows at once. Select them all, right click and select Rename. Enter the desired name. They will be renamed using what you specified, with a number in brackets to distinguish them.

10. Task kill feature in Windows

Windows has a task kill feature similar to Linux. Go to a command prompt and run the command tasklist to see running processes with PID numbers. Then type tskill
to end the specific task. This forces an instant closing of the task.

11. Edit features with GPEDIT.MSC

You can edit many features by running gpedit.msc. You can add log on/log off scripts here and many features.

12. Edit accounts in the command prompt

You can edit accounts by running "control userpasswords2" at the command prompt.

13. Use systeminfo.exe to see System Information

You can use the systeminfo.exe command in the command prompt to see System Information, including all Windows updates and hotfixes.

14. Disable system services for maximum performance

There are system services that you can disable to free up the system's load. To access the interface that permits you to make changes to system's services, type services.msc and the command prompt.
This is a list of services that are *usually* useless and can be safely disabled.
Alerter
Application Layer Gateway Service,
Application Management
Automatic Updates
Background Intelligent Transfer
Clipbook
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Distributed Transaction Coordinater
Error Reporting Service
Fast User Switching Compatibility
IMAPI CD-Burning
Indexing Service
IPSEC Services
Messenger
Net Logon
Net Meeting
Remote Desktop Sharing
Network DDE
Network DDE DSDM
Portable Media Serial Number
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
Remote Registry
Secondary Logon
Smartcard
SSDP Discovery Service
Uninterruptible Power Supply
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Upload Manager
Webclient
Wireless Zero Configuration
WMI Performance Adaptor

*NOTE*: Make sure you don't need them since some applications you're using could depend on them. If you make any application to fail by disabling any of the services, go back and enable it again.

15. Repair Windows XP by using the XP installation CD

If your system failes to start due to an error related to missing HAL.DLL, invalid Boot.ini or any other critical system boot files you can repair this by using the XP installation CD. Simply boot from your XP Setup CD and enter the Recovery Console. Then run "attrib -H -R -S" on the C:\Boot.ini file and delete it. Run "Bootcfg /Rebuild" and then Fixboot.

Conclusion:
Some of the tips might give you goosebumps, quite advance for average users to contemplate. If that's the case, leave them alone because there are many simple tips that don't need extra study. Stick with the ones you are comfortable with. I hope you find these tips useful.

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Technorati Tags: windows XP tips, tips a& tricks, top secret, shorcuts

Wouldn't it be great if we can somehow delay the loading process of these programs so that we don't reach the bottleneck when our computers start to kick off? So here is another useful program you might want to put under your sleeves.

Startup Delayer is an effective program in order to cure Windows boot bottleneck problem. I know the name of this software doesn't evoke thoughts of faster load but It will allow you to setup how many seconds after Windows has started, to load each application. It configures timed delays for each application that starts after Windows boots up. So in some ways it manages a better way of Windows load process by prioritizing the system processes and delaying the not-so-important programs.

So, by using Startup Delayer, you can space out the start time for each application. The tweaking of the timing might be tricky though and needs multiple boots to fine tune the things just right. However there's automatic mode so the feature should come handy.

Do you consider of using it? Use the link below to download Startup Delayer.

Download Startup Delayer

Technorati Tags: speed up your computer, windows xp, windows boot, startup delayer

With USB Safely Remove, it will make life easier and save time. The unplug is done with only 1 click. The USB connections are named according to their actual device names, thus make the unplug process almost instant without the need to scrutinize which USB connections belong to which devices.

Apart from that, it allows you to hide devices so that you don't accidentally stop them and provides you with keyboard shortcut to perform stopping action. When the USB connection cannot be unplugged it will tell you what application that keeps stopping the USB connection from being unplugged. The following points summarize why it does much better than the standard tool.

The ability to hide any device from the 'stop' menu.

Uses real device names and allows renaming.

Keyboard shortcuts for easy device stopping.

Unique menu for one-click stop.

Programs autorun on device plugging/unplugging.

It tells you why a device cannot be stopped immediately.

For $20 you can get the full version but suffice to say, the free version itself is more than enough. Visit USB Safely Remove for more information.

Technorati Tags: USB safely remove, Windows XP

Tubesucker comes with 2 versions; free and premium one which cost you roughly $40. I'm interested in giving review on the free version as I myself using that one. This versatile software has a batch converter, and a built-in media player. With the built in website integrated into TubeSucker, it lets you batch download videos of your favorite artist from YouTube. All you need to do is just key in topic or artist name, click and go. When you come back later on, you already have tons of videos on your hard drive ready for instant playback.

In addition to that it also has more converter formats including AVI, 3GP, MGP, MP4, MP3, WAV, WMV, WMA, MOV. I just realized it can do the conversion after couple of weeks of using it (I put the blame on its interface that grows in complexity as compared to Vdownloader which provides intuitive interface lol). So, for those who might overlook this feature (like me) look at Preferences tab and the conversion option is at the right bottom corner.

Technorati Tags: youtube, tubesucker, vdownloader, tips and tricks