Windows Media Player (WMP) is updated from time to time with new features and performance enhancements. You can let the Player check for updates automatically or you can check for updates manually.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable Windows Media Player from automatically checking for updates periodically and the “Automatic updates” options for all users.
Windows Media Player (WMP) is updated from time to time with new features and performance enhancements. You can let the Player check for updates automatically or you can check for updates manually.
This tutorial will show you how to change how often Windows Media Player automatically checks for updates in only your user account in Windows.
Windows Media Player (WMP) is updated from time to time with new features and performance enhancements. You can let the Player check for updates automatically or you can check for updates manually.
This tutorial will show you how to manually check for updates in Windows Media Player.
A System Performance Report details the status of local hardware resources, system response times, and processes on the local computer. You can use this information to identify possible causes of performance issues.
This tutorial will show you how to view and generate a system performance report in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.
Whenever a critical error (ex: BSOD) is detected in Windows, Windows will restart itself by default to prevent any possible damage to your computer as a safety measure. The problem is that the error message on the screen only display on the screen very briefly (less than a second) before the PC restarts. If you turn off automatic restart on system failure, you will have time to read and write down the error message to help when troubleshooting.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable an automatic restart of your computer on system failure in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.
The notification area is a part of the taskbar that provides a temporary source for notifications and status. It can also be used to display icons for system and program features that are not on the desktop. The notification area was known historically as the system tray or status area.
By default, the only icons that will be visible in this area are some system icons. However, you can select which icons appear on the taskbar, and which icons hide in the overflow section.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable the automatic temporary promotion of newly added notification area icons to the taskbar for all or specific users in Windows 7 and Windows 8.
The Intel Rapid Storage Technology software package provides high-performance SATA and SATA RAID capabilities for supported operating systems and requirements.
The notification area (also called the system tray) is located on your desktop. The taskbar contains the notification area icon for Intel Rapid Storage Technology. The icon provides storage system status and notifications such as volume and disk events based on a change of state.
The notification area icon will automatically display in the notification area once Intel Rapid Storage Technology is installed. Both administrators and standard users can change the system notification settings using the application or directly from the notification area. Settings changes are applied on a per user basis, and do not affect other users’ settings.
If you have Intel Rapid Storage Technology installed, then this tutorial can show you how to hide or show it’s notification area icon in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.
The Recycle Bin provides a safety net when deleting files or folders. When you delete any of these items from your hard disk, Windows places it in the Recycle Bin and the Recycle Bin icon changes from empty to full.
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove the Recycle Bin as a link under Favorites in the navigation pane of Explorer for only your user account in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.
When you save or open a file in an application that uses Windows common dialog box, the Places bar on the left side of the dialog box can help you navigate quicker to a location.
This tutorial will show you how to hide or show the common dialog places bar for all or specific users in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.
The USB selective suspend feature allows the hub driver to suspend an individual USB port without affecting the operation of the other USB ports on the hub. Selective suspension of USB devices is especially useful in portable computers, since it helps conserve battery power. Many devices, such as fingerprint readers and other kinds of biometric scanners, only require power intermittently. Suspending such devices, when the device is not in use, reduces overall power consumption. More importantly, any device that is not selectively suspended may prevent the USB host controller from disabling its transfer schedule, which resides in system memory. DMA transfers by the host controller to the scheduler can prevent the system’s processors from entering deeper sleep states, such as hibernate.
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove the “USB selective suspend setting” setting under USB settings in Power Options for all users in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.
Windows includes a feature called Network Connectivity Status Indicator (NCSI), which is part of a broader feature called Network Awareness, that is used to automatically identify the network the PC is connecting to and whether or not it has access to the Internet.
•By default, the Internet access icon will be shown in the system tray when a user is connected to a network with internet access.
•By default, the “local access only” (No Internet access) icon will be used when a user is connected to a network with local access only.
•If disabled, the Internet access icon will be shown in the system tray even when a user is connected to a network with local access only and no internet access.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable showing the “local access only” network icon when users are not connected to the internet in Windows 7 and Windows 8.
The System cooling policy power option allows you to specify the cooling mode you want to use for your system.
•Active = Increase fan speed to cool first, and only slow the processor to cool as a last resort.
•Passive = Slow the processor to cool, and only increasing fan speed to cool as a last resort.
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove the “System cooling policy” setting under Processor power management in Power Options for all users in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.
The Minimum processor state is the minimum performance percentage your CPU will automatically decrease to save energy and battery life when there is little CPU demand by the system. You would want to keep this percentage the same or lower than the Maximum processor state setting.
The Maximum processor state is the maximum percentage performance your CPU will automatically increase to save energy and battery life when CPU demand increases. You would want to keep this percentage the same or higher than the Minimum processor state setting.
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove the “Minimum processor state” and “Maximum processor state” setting under Processor power management in Power Options for all users in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.
The Link State Power Management is a part of PCI Express Active State Power Management (ASPM). The link State of a PCIe Device is converted from L0 (on) to L1 (off) when the link is not transferring data. The hardware is automatically converted to L0 again when data is available to transfer across the link.
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove the “Link State Power Management” setting under PCI Express in Power Options for all users in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.
By default, when you click/tap on taskbar button for a program that has multiple tabs (ex: IE) or windows open in Windows 7 and 8, you will see thumbnail previews of them to then be able to select one to make active.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable taskbar last active click to be able to switch to the last active program window by clicking on the taskbar button in Windows 7, 8, and 8.1.
Shutdown Event Tracker is a tool that prompts users to record a reason why they restart or shut down the computer. This information is available for review in the event log. If a computer running Windows is connected to a domain that uses monitoring tools, you can collect this information as part of network reporting.
When Shutdown Event Tracker is enabled, users cannot shut down or restart the computer without providing a reason. If the computer is shut down or restarted unexpectedly, either as a result of power interruption or hardware failure, the user is prompted to enter a reason in Shutdown Event Tracker when the computer is started again.
This tutorial will show you how to enable or disable Shutdown Event Tracker for when users restart or shut down Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows Server 2003 and above.
System Configuration (msconfig) is a tool that can help identify problems that might prevent Windows from starting correctly.
This tutorial will show you how to download or create System Configuration (msconfig) shortcuts that open directly to the General, Boot, Services, Startup, or Tools tab in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.
This tutorial will show you how to quickly view detailed information about all user accounts on your Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 PC.
The “Turn off hard disk after” power option setting lets users set to have hard disks power down after a specified time of inactivity is detected.
When you set to turn off hard disks after idle, there will be a brief delay of a few seconds when you try to access a turned off hard disk as it spins back up and is turned back on automatically as needed. Having your hard disks to be turned off after being idle can help save energy and extend a PC’s battery life.
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove the “Turn off hard disk after” setting under Sleep in Power Options for all users in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.
The “Allow wake timers” power option setting enables or disables Windows to automatically wake your computer from sleep on a timer for scheduled tasks and other programs.
This tutorial will show you how to add or remove the “Allow wake timers” setting under Sleep in Power Options for all users in Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.