Computer Enhancement Knowledge Base page

Situation: Just installed a new hard drive and now wish to partition and format it.
Solution: Run Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Computer Management/ under Storage/ Disk Management.
From there you should see the drives you wish to modify.

Problem: Computer is running slow and pop-up ads appear all the time.
Solution: Download and install the Anti-Spyware program off of Microsoft Download page.

Problem: After adding an icon from a website, all my icon text background turn to blue.
Solution: This happens because of a feature that Enabled the Active Desktop.
To disable the use of the Active Desktop feature, use RegEdit to add the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
Value Name: NoActiveDesktop
Data Type: REG_DWORD (DWORD Value)
Value Data: (0 = disable restriction, 1 = enable restriction)

Problem: When trying to start Paint (mspaint.exe) the program crashes.
Reason: Some how when Paint last closed, the screen coordinates were off the screen or the RecentFileList got corrupted.
Solution: Go into RegEdit and delete the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Paint\RecentFileList
or
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Applets\Paint

Problem: Where is the SendTo folder.
Solution: open up an Explorer window, and then paste in the following to the address bar
     %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\SendTo
which will take you to someplace like:
     C:\users\\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows

Location of the Start menu:
     C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs

Problem: Windows Messenger can not find host to allow Remote Access behind a Router.
Solution: See next article for more information.

Problem: Windows Messanger can not find host to allow Remote Access behind a Router.
Solution: We first need to get the IP address of your router which is the IP address your Internet provider gave you.
This is also your IP address to the outside world (not inside your home).

• Click on one of these links to get outside IP address: MS KB Article or What Is My IP and Port or What Is My IP or What Is My IP.com
• Write the IP address down somewhere to be placed in the email you send below.
• Run CMD, then IPCONFIG (pre-XP use WinIPCFG) to get router assigned IP address.
• Verify that your router is listening to ports, run "netstat -a" and check TCP ???:3389 LISTENING
• Verify that your port is open and can be seen by CanYouSeeMe

• Click Start / All Programs / Remote Assistance
• Click Invite someone to help you.
• At the bottom click Save invitation as a file (Advanced)
• Set the number of hours / days you want support for, then click Continue
• Set the password if you want one, then click Save Invitation
• Press the Save button and remember where you save this!
• Now create an email, attach the file you created above, and wrtie the IP address you got from the first step.

Question: I am unable to save my password in the password field of the connection screen. I check the "save password" box, but every time I go to reconnect, the check box and the password field have been cleared.
Solution: There are three possible causes of your problem. First, password caching may be disabled. Second, you may have missing or damaged files, especially the file containing the password list (with a PWL extension). Finally, the automatic logon feature may be enabled. To confirm that password caching is enabled, use the Registry Editor to view the DisablePwdCaching string value in the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Network.
Look for the DisablePwdCaching or HideSharePwds string. If there is a 1 after that string, change it to a 0. If a corrupt or missing file is your problem, the answer is to remove and then reinstall Windows Dial-Up Networking. If the problem is a damaged PWL file, the answer is to rename existing PWL files and restart the computer to create a new PWL file.

Question: Every time I start my machine, I get this sign-on dialog. I'm the only person that uses the machine, so I want to get rid of it - but how?
Solution: The reason you get this message is because you or someone may have selected to make a private e-mail box or something where different users can use the computer. To get rid of it follow these steps:

• Click the right mouse button on Network Neighborhood icon on desktop. (You should see a menu pop-up.)
  
• Click left or right mouse button on Properties menu. (You shoudl see a "Network" dialog come up.)
  
• In the middle, you should see a line that reads "Primary Network Logon:". Under that is a combo-box that may read "Client for Microsoft Networks". We want it to read "Windows Logon".
  
• Click the left mouse button on the white text and a list will come down. Select the "Windows Logon" text.
  
• Click the OK button.
  
• When you are prompted to restart your computer, click No.
• In Control Panel, double-click Passwords.
• Click the Change Passwords tab, click Change Windows Password, and then click the OK button.
• In the Change Windows Password dialog box, type your current Windows password in the Old Password box. Leave the New Password and Confirm New Password boxes blank, click OK, and then click OK.
  
• Click the User Profiles tab and verify that the "All users of this PC use the same preferences and desktop settings" option is selected. Click Close.
• Shut down and restart Windows.
  

InternetFrog is used to test download and upload speed.
FYI: Modems now-adays are usually 28.8, 33.6 or 56kbps. Note that the 56K is only during downloading of files.
Now, DSL, from the telephone company offers the following different speeds:
256Kbps (nine times faster than a 28.8 modem)
to 2Mbps (71 times faster than a 28.8 modem).
Cable modems, like from TCI are rated at 7Mbps, but it depends on the number of users currently on the line. However, it's still FAST!