Recently in Windows XP Category

"Why does my browser say the security certificate presented by this website has expired or is not yet valid when I visit my bank's website?"

Websites use security certificates verified by third party services to prove the security of their sites. When the expiration date of the security certificate is in the past or if the expiration date of the certificate is too far in the future your browser will warn you the security certificate presented by the website has expired or is not yet valid. While websites do occasionally let their security certificates lapse, the problem is typically with your computer not the website.

"My computer came with Windows 7 and I want to put Windows XP on it instead. Is there any way I can downgrade Windows 7 to Windows XP easily?"

While there are a number of solutions claiming to offer easy ways to rollback Windows 7 to Windows XP, the easiest way I've found to accomplish this is to simply delete the Windows 7 partition and install Windows XP in it's place. There are a few steps required, but nothing that even the most novice of users shouldn't be able to handle. While I'm providing the steps here, I don't recommend downgrading Windows 7 to Windows XP because there are many things about Windows 7 that make computing easier and are more secure.

Microsoft is officially not supporting upgrades from Windows XP to Windows 7, which means they want you to do a clean install. If you're like the average computer user, you have files stored all over the place and might be worried about missing something if you wipe your hard drive and install Windows 7. Fortunately, Windows 7 has a reasonably non-destructive installation process that allows you to install the operating system without completely eliminating files and applications that are already on the drive. There is a solution for upgrading XP to Windows 7, but it will require one additional software application.

Every time I launch my browser the window is off-screen. I can't move it because I can't see it. How can I get my browser window back on my screen?"

Having a window open off of your screen can be infuriating if you don't know how to fix it. I once had my email program launching off-screen and thought it might drive me nuts. Fortunately, there's an easy solution to get your window back on screen with a couple of quick keyboard commands.

"I just got a DVD drive for my computer. I have Windows XP and I can't get Windows Media Player to play any of my DVDs. What do I need to do to enable DVD playing in Windows Media Player?"

Windows Media Player requires a specific codec pack to be installed on your computer in order for DVD playback to work. There are several companies that offer this type of codec pack for sale.

One of my favorite codec packs for DVD playback in Windows Media Player is the Sonic CinePlayer DVD codec pack. According to their own tests, the CinePlayer codec pack uses considerably less CPU than competing products, which helps reduce jittery playback of your movies. While their results are certainly biased, I have tended to see similar CPU usage results, although I do also find Cyberlink's products to be quite reliable. Sonic also makes many of the DVD authoring tools used in making Hollywood DVDs, which may have something to do with their claim about getting better performance compared to competing codec packs from Intervideo and Cyberlink.

If you're feeling brave, this video shows you a way to enable DVD playback by editing the Windows registry. Keep in mind you can break Windows if you improperly alter entries in the Windows registry, so proceed with extreme caution if you choose to attempt this alternative.

"I bought a 64-bit computer with Windows XP 32-bit installed. Now I want to upgrade from 32-bit Windows XP to 64-bit Vista. I have tons of applications on here and I'd rather not wipe my hard drive and start over. Is it possible to do the upgrade or do I need to do a clean install of Windows Vista 64?"

Under most circumstances, this is the type of upgrade I'd never do. Too many potential headaches are likely going from Windows XP to Windows Vista in general. Switching to 64-bit compounds the possible problems. xyHD.tv has a straightforward tutorial on upgrading XP 32-but to Vista-64, with the catch that you probably want to install Vista 32 before you go all the way. Most important part of the process - backup your files before you begin. A good rule of thumb in any operating system install, but especially important when you're attempting something like this. Follow the steps to upgrade from 32-bit Windows XP to Vista 64-bit at xyHD.tv.

"taskkill works great in XP Pro, but how do you accomplish the same thing on XP Home system?"

If you want to quickly kill off running processes from the command line in Windows XP Professional, taskkill.exe is a great way to get the job done. XP Home does not include this utility, only including the more limited tkill.exe instead. Microsoft does provide a free solution to this via their acquisition of the Sysinternals team.

One of the best tool collections from Sysinternals is the PsTools collection, which was originally designed to ad functionality to Windows NT and Windows 2000 administration found in newer servers. pskill.exe is bundled as part of that collection, offering a solution very similar to taskkill.exe for taking control of processes both on the local machine and for remote administration.

Here's a quick overview of how it works:

Usage: pskill [- ] [-t] [\\computer [-u username] [-p password]]
- Displays the supported options.

-t Kill the process and its descendants.

\\computer Specifies the computer on which the process you want to terminate is executing. The remote computer must be accessible via the network neighborhood.

-u username To kill a process on a remote system when the account you are using lacks administrative privileges on the remote system, login as administrator using this command-line option. If you leave out the -p option PsKill prompts you for the password.

-p password Specify the login password on the command line so that you can use PsList from batch files.

process id Specifies the process ID of the process you want to kill.

process name Specifies the process name of the process or processes you want to kill.

Download pskill as part of pstools

Keyboard shortcuts help you do things faster by keeping your hands on the keyboard and not reaching for the mouse. Windows offers a number of built-in shortcuts that rely on the Windows key (if you own a Think Pad you're out of luck). Here's a list of the Windows key shortcuts and their corresponding functions.

At its most basic, the Windows key launches the Start menu so you don't need to click it with your mouse.

+ E

Opens a new Windows Explorer window. This is one of the fastest ways to browse files in all versions of Windows.

+ D

Hides all windows and shows your desktop. Use this combo again to return to viewing the most recent Window.

+ F

Open a Find window using this keyboard shortcut.

+ L

Lock your screen on any version of Windows when you step away from your desk.

+ M

Minimize all open windows. This is different than the Win key + D shortcut because it actually minimizes everything instead of simply hiding it.

+ Shift + M

To undo a minimize, use this combo to restore your Windows.

+ R

Display the Run dialog instead of actually clicking Start and clicking Run.

+ F1

Launch the Windows Help files.

+ Pause

Show the system properties without needing to visit the control panel or right-click on My Computer.

+ Tab

Prior to Windows Vista, this cycled through items in the Taskbar. With Vista you get a 3D effect and live window preview.

Download Windows Live Photo Gallery

Windows XP may be long in the tooth, but it's certainly not dead yet. If you do only one thing to overhaul the current state of your Windows XP machine, download Windows Live Photo Gallery. This barely exposed update for the baked in Windows photo management tools is one of the most useful upgrades to your Windows user experience. An improved photo import makes this a worthwhile download all on its own. Photo management is upgraded to include views sorted by date and tags (a new tagging tool helps you ID your photos for grouping all pictures of a particular person, event, or location). Simple photo editing for red-eye removal, crops, and adjusting levels handles most common image fixes. If you happen to have a Windows Live Spaces account, there are additional features to publish direct from Windows to your Space or build slideshows for publishing to your Space. Download this free upgrade to the built-in Windows photo management experience and you'll be looking at your images in a whole new way. (The same features also improve Vista) [Windows XP/Vista $0.00]

Download AutoRuns

While the name AutoRuns sounds more like a laxative than a system utility, this is one app that everyone should have in their Windows tool kit. AutoRuns takes the on board Windows MSConig utility to the next level, going far beyond the basics in seeing exactly what's starting up each time you boot your system. Find out all the nitty gritty details about what launches during the boot process and in what order. You can tweak application launching to precisely control what applications, browser helper objects, Windows services, and 3rd party utilities are allowed to start as Windows boots. This comes in handy for helping optimize the Windows boot time, keeps unneeded services from launching when you don't want them, and is also a handy detective tool for discovering malware hidden on your system. If the interface looks overwhelming, consider switching to the mode that hides the official Microsoft signed entires, so you only see startup items that aren't part of Windows. [Windows 9x/2k/XP/Vista $0.00]