System Restore is helpful, but can be switched off to save hard disk space. That doesn’t seem like a good idea anymore when something goes wrong with the computer, which happened to me this morning.

The computer seemed to be working but none of the web browsers would start properly. Internet Explorer, Firefox (ordinary and portable) and Opera appeared in Task Manager but not on the Desktop.

System Restore seemed like the best solution but I then realised that I’d turned it off.

Thankfully there is an alternative that was not disabled along with System Restore. Restart the computer and press F5 or F8 to show the Windows Advanced Options Menu. Press the up key until ‘Last Known Good Configuration (your most recent settings that worked)’ is highlighted and press Enter.

In my case, Windows loaded without any further messages and all the browsers were working again.

Because I don’t know exactly what went wrong I can’t say when this would work or not, but it’s certainly worth a go if there are problems with Windows that System Restore can’t fix.

Posted by Tim Smith on March 29, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (6)

I don’t know how you organise your files, but I keep a folder called ‘Current Work’ for everything I’m working on. It’s been on the Desktop, in My Documents and even the Dropbox folder but it’s become an essential part of my work process.

One disadvantage is that it is always a folder I have to find when opening files from within a program. So I wondered if it is possible to add it to the folder shortcuts on the left of the the Open dialogue box.

The first few suggestions included editing the Registry, which isn’t really a satisfactory solution, and certainly not one I’m happy to suggest to readers. The potential for mistakes just isn’t worth the effort.

As is often the case, the friendly alternative to editing the Registry is to use TweakUI for XP. It provides an accessible interface for these helpful changes.

The change is very simple to make. Once TweakUI is installed and started click on the small plus next to Common Dialogs and then on Places Bar. Select the option ‘Custom places bar’. There are several places already set up that can be selected by clicking on the drop down menu arrows, or you can simply click in the and enter and address by hand. If you’re confident doing this, find the folder in Windows Explorer and copy and paste the contents of the address bar. Click on Apply to save the changes and then OK to close the window.

But Office?

The reason for including Office in the title of this post is that the open dialogues in Office 2003 and the beta of Office 2010, don’t use these settings. As most of my work is in Word, you can imagine my disappointment.

If anyone knows of a fix, I’d be very grateful to hear it.

Posted by Tim Smith on March 3, 2010 | Permalink | Comments (4)

Themes are another part of Windows to see an improvement with 7. I’ve appreciated being able to select several groups of wallpapers for my Desktop, especially as Windows 7 can now change wallpapers automatically.

More themes can be found at the Personalization Gallery. There aren’t any previews of the themes, clicking on the picture starts the download.

The themes only work with Windows 7 but the wallpapers in the Desktop Backgrounds tab are simple jpg images so they will work with earlier versions.

In fact, it is possible to extract the wallpapers from the theme files if you have 7-zip installed. Download the theme pack. The filename will be something like Face.themepack. Right-click on this file, click on 7-zip and then Open archive. A 7-zip window will appear showing the files in the pack. Double-click on DesktopBackground and then extract the photos. I dragged and dropped them to a folder in my Wallpapers folder. Yes I have a folder for wallpapers, mainly due to getting a new set every month from Smashing Magazine.

There is also a video and a step by step guide to making your own theme, both modifying an existing theme on your computer and then saving

You can also find more Desktop gadgets here, along with a link to the gallery.live.com website for the full collection.

Posted by Tim Smith on November 11, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Some of the most annoying error messages we come across are from programs that have not been uninstalled properly. Windows repeatedly asks for the CD or installer file and it takes several clicks on Cancel to make the message disappear.

The problem with this message is that there’s no way to get rid of it if you don’t have the installation file for the software in question.

The solution is the Windows Installer Clean Up utility. It can be downloaded from here. Install, run it and a list of installed programs will be displayed. Left-click on the entry for the offending item and then click on Remove. Be careful to only remove the correct item and remember that this won’t actually uninstall the software, just the records Windows has about it.

Posted by Tim Smith on October 16, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (0)

It’s easy to get caught up in whatever is big on the web (or maybe even some work) and not take proper breaks from the computer. This can lead to eye strain or worsening RSI problems (even with a graphics tablet). Workrave is a good way of making sure you don’t over do it by recommending regular breaks.

There are two kinds of breaks. Microbreaks are short frequent breaks and rest breaks are rather longer with animation showing exercises for easing joints. Both kinds of rest periods can be skipped or postponed if you happen to be in a rush.

Thankfully it is also possible to change the length and interval between breaks; I found taking 30 seconds off every 3 minutes just a little but too disruptive.

I’m using it on Windows but there is a Linux version available as well.

Oh, and they have a very cute sheep as a logo – how can anyone resist?

Posted by Tim Smith on April 15, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (6)

The days of being able to show off a flashy image on your desktop and think that's enough to impress are sadly over.

If you want inspiration of just what is possible, you won’t go wrong by taking a look at Lifehacker.com. The most recent is a rather good picture of a Fender Stratocaster guitar with some clever custom menus.

The good thing about Lifehacker is there are explanations of how to work on the bits round the edges; it’s not just about the image any more.

One day I will get round to following the instructions for my Ubuntu laptop.

Posted by Tim Smith on March 23, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (10)

It’s finally here. Internet Explorer 8. I’ve got high hopes of better standards support and performance improvements. Both of which were promised by Microsoft when I saw them last week for a quick preview.

I see a vision of what my evening has in store. Well, it will keep me off Ubuntu if nothing else.

Don’t forget to check out our preview videos one and two for a taste of what is to come.

Posted by Tim Smith on March 19, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Yesterday we caught up with Asus, so today we went to see the latest products from one of its biggest rivals: MSI. MSI's Wind range of netbooks compete directly against the Asus Eee portables, but the focus at MSI's stand seems a little different: rather than the dozens of netbooks Asus is showing, MSI seems to be focusing on fewer models with more unusual features. Here, for example, is its forthcoming "hybrid" Wind U115:



It may look unremarkable, but there's some interesting technology inside. It uses both a solid state  disk (SSD) and a hard disk, but the hard disk can be disabled at the push of a button. This gives you loads of cheap storage space when you want it, but allows you to save battery power when on the move. MSI claims a battery life of nine hours, and we expect it to cost around £400.

More unusual still is the X-Slim series notebook, which looks a little like a white plastic Macbook Air. We got our hands on an engineering sample to take some photos:



And here it is from the side (note the two USB ports - one more than the Air):



This new "X-Slim" range will initially include two models. The X340 pictured here will use an Intel Core Solo ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) processor and include an HDMI output, and is expected to cost around £800. The X320, however, will use an Atom processor and should come in at between £500 to £600, making it a potentially interesting choice for those who want a really thin and light notebook on a budget. The notebooks will be on shelves in May.

Like Asus, MSI is also creating low cost desktop PCs. Here's the Wind Top AE1900, with a 19" touch screen display, DVD writer and an Atom processor:



It should cost around £600 and will be available by the end of March. Several other models are in the works, including one without the touch screen (the AP1900) as well as 20" and 22" models. A 24" version could appear later this year. Slightly more unusual is this model, the Wind Box DE200:



It has a Blu-Ray drive, HD video output and runs Windows Vista Home Premium - making it an interesting Media Center PC. Expect it in May, but prices are not yet confirmed.

And there are many other interesting products tucked away around the show. Icy Box, makers of hard disk enclosures, was showing a few new media player products that support H.264 video:



This model, the IB-MP309-HW, should appear in March, while one with a slot that accepts a 2.5" hard disk caddy will follow in May. Over in another hall, Zotac have what must be one of the smallest PCs at the whole show:

Posted by Tom Royal on March 4, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (4)

If there was ever an idea of mine that was considered ‘outside the box’ by my colleagues it was suggesting a feature on using the Dvorak keyboard layout.

It was offered with the best of intensions (take note please naysayers). I’ve not used it for a little while because I didn’t have time to learn it to level of Qwerty but I was definitely picking it up more quickly than I’d expected.

If you’ve never heard of Dvorak, I strongly recommend looking at this introduction. DVZine.org is also an excellent resource but the site seems to be down at the moment.

To summarise, the Dvorak layout was created with a lot more attention to how people type. This even included arranging the home keys (the ones your fingers start from) with the relative finger strength in mind, giving your little (pinkie) finger a break.

Anyway, the Colemak keyboard solves one of the biggest problems of the Dvorak keyboard by leaving the most commonly used shortcut keys – Z X C V B - in the same place as Qwerty.

Here’s a picture from Wikipedia, and there are lessons on the Colemak website.

Posted by Tim Smith on February 26, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)

An excellent programming language and editor for beginners, Small Basic has received some useful updates.

The most exciting for me is that ability to share code with other Small Basic users over the internet. Code can be uploaded to the Small Basic website where it is given a code that can be used to find it again. It’s a little like the short web addresses from sites such as tinyurl and snipurl. So the latest game posted on the blog has an address of http://smallbasic.com/program/?QRQ360. It’s a great idea and should make it even easier for beginners.

There are some bug fixes and performance improvements too. If you’ve never attempted programming before this is a good place to start from.

Posted by Tim Smith on February 17, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (4)