Set Defer Delivery in Outlook 2007 and 2010
Have you ever sent an e-mail that you wished you hadn’t sent? It happens quite often, and it recently happened to me. I intended to reply to just one person on a distribution list, but accidently replied to everyone on the list, which is everyone that works in my office. How embarrassing! Since we use Outlook 2010 on an Exchange server, I was at least able to try and recall the message. But that only works if the message hasn’t been opened or previewed. Once the message has been viewed, there is no turning back. In my case, I was able to recall my message from about half of the recipients that received it. Not counting the one that went to our CEO. Oh joy.
Unfortunately, while Outlook is the most used mail client on the planet, it does not have the capability to go back in time and prevent the message from going out. Nor does Outlook have a way of detecting when a user is about to do something stupid. Too bad, really.
There are steps however, that can at least buy a few minutes to realize a mistake and prevent a message from being sent. You simply create a rule to defer delivery of a message for a set number of minutes. Here’s how to set up the rule in Office 2010:
For Outlook 2010
- From the Home menu, select Rules.
- Select Manage Rules & Alerts.
- Select New Rule.
- Select Apply Rule on Messages I send from the list of rule templates.
- Click Next.
- Ignore the Select Conditions. Click Next.
- On Select Actions, Check the defer delivery by a number of minutes.
- In the lower box, click a number of minutes and enter the number of minutes of delay you desire.
- Click OK, Next.
- Ignore the Select Exceptions. Click Next.
- Give the rule a name, possibly Delay Send.
- Click Finish.
For Outlook 2007
In Outlook 2007, the process is slightly different, but the results are the same:
- On the Tools menu, select Rules and Alerts
- Click New Rule
- Select Check messages after sending and then click Next
- Click Next again.
- Click Yes to confirm that you want this rule to apply to every message
- Check the checkbox next to defer delivery by a number of minutes
- Click on “a number of” in the lower box and set your delay time
- Click Next, Next
- Give the rule a name, possibly Delay Sending
- Click Finish, OK, and OK
Use Password Savvy to make hard-to-hack passwords that are easy to remember
These days, in order to have strong password protection, you have to mix capital letters with lower-case letters, throw in a handful of random numbers, and sprinkle some punctuation around. I typically sit down with a piece of paper and write down a few random words, but words that I will remember, and then make some modifications and substitutions, until I have a strong password.
It’s easy enough, just write down some words, or even a phrase: “My name is James O’Brien”
Then string them together: mynameisjameso’brien
From here, I like to substitute some letters for numbers. A becomes 4, B becomes 8, S becomes 5, and so on. mynameisjameso’brien becomes something like myn4m3i5j4m3s08r13n
Throw in a few punctuation and capitalizations, and you get a very strong password: MyN4m3i$J4m3s08R13n!
Easy right? But what if your mind doesn’t work like my mind does? Well first, count yourself lucky! It’s not easy being me! And then second, check out Password Savvy.
Password Savvy is a web-based password generating tool where you enter a few simple words, and Password Savvy kicks in and makes a strong password from your words. You can tweak the settings until you are happy with the password and are sure you can remember it.
Check out Password Savvy for yourself. It’s free and easy to use, and safe! https://www.passwordsavvy.org
Get Adobe CS2 Free and Legal
Adobe, a leader in graphical and photographic design software, is retiring it’s Adobe Creative Suite 2 package, and taking activation for CS2 off their servers. As a result, Adobe is making the Adobe CS2 Suite available for a free download, no strings attached, except that you do have to create an account with Adobe, but that’s not so bad. You will need a high-speed Internet connection, and up to 4 CDR’s if you want to burn the installation media to CD, or you can download the executable files for Windows or Mac. The serial numbers for each version, the suite, and individual programs are also included.
So if you are looking for a graphics editor, this is a deal you will want to check out. Adobe CS2 comes with Adobe’s Photoshop, Illustrator, InCopy, InDesign, Adobe Premiere Pro, and a host of other programs, including Adobe Acrobat Pro 7.0!
There is no word on how long Adobe is going to provide Adobe CS2 as a free download, so grab your copy now!
Download a Windows 7 ISO
Most computer manufactures these days do not ship a Windows 7 DVD with their computers. Instead, they supply an ISO image of the Windows 7 operating system, and leave it to the customer to burn the Windows 7 ISO to a DVD. It makes sense from a manufacturing perspective because shipping DVD’s with each computer costs money, but not so much from the average end-user perspective because most end-users are unclear why it is important to burn the Windows 7 ISO to a DVD, or how to burn an image to DVD, or just don’t think about it until disaster strikes. Which, by then it is too late to burn the Windows 7 ISO.
“ISO image is a term commonly associated with CD and DVD burning. An ISO image (or .ISO file) is a computer file that is an exact copy of an existing file system. An ISO can contain the entire contents of a CD-ROM disc or CD medium. ISO files are typically created through a software application that will open, create, edit, and extract CD or DVD image files, then convert the extracted image to an ISO file, easily allowing users to burn an exact copy of the original onto CD or DVD.” (Source: webopedia.com)
What typically happens in this scenario is the customer will call the computer manufacture’s support department only to find out that they have to order a Windows 7 DVD for their computer, and it’s going to cost them money.
There is another solution; you can download the Windows 7 ISO for your computer. Hopefully, you have a high-speed Internet connection, or know someone who does, because the ISO is going to be 2 to 4 Gigabytes, depending on which version of Windows 7 you need. It’s going to take a little time to download the ISO.
Microsoft does not provide ISO’s of their Windows operating systems to the public, but you can download the Windows 7 ISO for your computer here:
Windows 7 Home Premium 32Bit:
http://msft.digitalrivercontent.net/win/X17-58996.iso
Windows 7 Home Premium 64Bit:
http://msft.digitalrivercontent.net/win/X17-58997.iso
http://msft.digitalrivercontent.net/win/X17-59183.iso
http://msft.digitalrivercontent.net/win/X17-59186.iso
http://msft.digitalrivercontent.net/win/X17-59463.iso
http://msft.digitalrivercontent.net/win/X17-59465.iso
Keep in mind, you will still need your Windows 7 license key, which will only work with the version of Windows 7 that was installed on your computer. You should be able to find this on a sticker somewhere on the computer case, or in your computer’s documentation. But at least you now have a working DVD of Windows 7 that you can use to repair or replace your installed version of Windows 7.
Burning a Windows 7 ISO to DVD
There are all kinds of programs that will burn an ISO image to DVD or CD. Two of my favorite freebie iso burners are InfraRecorder and BurnCDCC. Both are free, safe, easy to use, and work very well.
Creating a System Repair CD in Windows 7
If there is one thing that holds true for all operating systems, across all platforms, at some point in time, they crash. Sadly, Windows is prone to crashing. Well, that’s more true for older versions of Windows than for newer versions. I’m using Windows 7 and I am really liking it. So far, it has not crashed on me. But being who I am, and in my profession, it’s only a matter of time. Fortunately, Windows 7, like Windows XP, has built-in tools to recover from disasters like the famous Blue Screen of Death, (Does that exist in Windows 7? I’ve not seen it) or not being able to load Windows at all.
This video explains the process of creating a System Repair disk for Windows 7, which you can use to recover from said disaster, providing that you have a System Repair disk made before disaster strikes.
If you need something printable, just scroll down.
To create a System Repair disk:
Open the Backup and Restore utility by going into the Control Panel [Start/Control Panel] and click on “Backup and Restore”
In the left pane, click Create a system repair disk, and then follow the steps. If you’re prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
Note: If you’re prompted to insert a Windows installation disk, it means that the files needed to create the system repair disk can’t be found on your computer. Insert a Windows 7 installation disk and continue on:
To use the System Repair disk:
Insert your System Repair disk into your CD or DVD drive, and restart your computer using the computer’s power button. As your computer starts up, you may be prompted to boot from the CD by pressing and key. If your computer does not boot to the System Repair CD, you may need to change your boot order in the BIOS to look to the CD or DVD drive as the first boot device.
Choose your language settings, and then click Next.
Select a recovery option, and then click Next.
From there, simply follow the prompts until the repair is complete.
Recommended Programs: CCleaner
CCleaner is a great program for cleaning out junk files on Windows-based computers. If all CCleaner did was clean out junk files, I would still recommend it, but CCleaner does much more than just delete your temporary internet files and dump your system cache. CCleaner also has an excellent registry scanner, a great disk and free space wiper, and a host of other valuable utilities to help you keep your computer tuned and running well.
CCleaner works great on Windows XP and Windows 7, and I would suspect that it will work well on Windows 8, but I cannot confirm that at this time. For more information, or to download a copy of CCleaner, visit Periform.com. You can download a free version for personal use. If you have multiple computer, you can buy the Home or Business editions, which also offer technical support for CCleaner if you need it.
Options and Settings
CCleaner is easy to configure to your specific needs.
Settings – Allows you to select your language, gives you the option to automatically run CCleaner at startup, gives you options for the Recycle Bin context menu, and gives you options for securely deleting files in one pass or up to 35 passes.
Cookies – If you subscribe to websites where you log into an account, or have configured personal settings, then you probably have a cookie for for each of those sites that store your information so that when you log back into those sites, your settings are restored. CCleaner allows you ro select those cookies and add them to a “Keep” list, so that they are not deleted when you run CCleaner.
Include and Exclude – Here you can add specific files to be included or excluded from cleaning.
Advanced – A list of options that control how CCleaner behaves.
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Cleaner
The heart and soul of CCleaner is of course, the cleaner. When you run CCleaner from the clean menu, it scans your computer and deletes junk files like Temporary Internet Files, history, cookies, and a particular file that browser hijackers like to use, the index.dat files. This is especially useful because the index.dat file is a hidden and protected system file used by Internet Explorer and other browsers. It’s a complicated file to delete. CCleaner deletes the index.dat file with any modifications malware might have made to it, and then restores it with a fresh and proper index.dat file.
For most cases, the default options are all you really need CCleaner for, but CCleaner gives you the option to select or deselect in the cleaning process.
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Once CCleaner has finished cleaning your computer, it produces a report of the files it deleted. As you can see in the image below, CCleaner cleaned out 1.7 Gigabytes of junk files from my computer. To put this in perspective, I run CCleaner on my computer about once a month. As you can see, I accumulate a lot of junk! Most people are really surprised by how much junk CCleaner finds on their computer the first time they run it.
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Registry Cleaner
As you install and uninstall programs, move or delete files, open and close files, or make changes to your computer, the Windows Registry gets modified. The registry is to Windows what the nervous system is to the human body. Every process and action that happens in your computer is controlled by the registry. Over time, the registry can “bloat up” with broken or orphaned entries, and this can cause problems and performance issues with your computer.
I want to stress a couple points about the registry, so please read carefully before running the registry scanner. First, you need to be careful about modifying the registry. One wrong move, and you could render your computer unusable or unstable. Definitely make a backup of your current registry before proceeding. You can do this easily by creating a restore point on your computer before running CCleaner. Second, you should only consider running a registry cleaner only if it’s needed. If your computer is hanging or crashing, then maybe run the registry cleaner, otherwise, it’s not really necessary. Finally, all that said, I’ve used CCleaner on hundreds of computers running Windows 98, ME, XP, Vista, 2000, and Windows 7, and I have never experienced an issue with the registry cleaner. Definitely make sure that you back up your registry before running the CCleaner registry cleaner, but chances are very good that you won’t run into any problems.
See Also: How to manually backup your registry (For Windows XP, but the process is the same for Windows 7)
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CCleaner’s registry scanner first givers you the option to back up your current registry, and then scan the registry looking for those broken or orphaned entries, and presents them in an easy to read list. You can then opt to remove specific entries, or have CCleaner remove them all.
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Program Uninstaller
Honestly, I typically do not use CCleaner’s Program Uninstaller, unless the program I want to uninstall does not have a stable uninstaller or when Windows built-in uninstaller doesn’t display the program or can’t uninstall it. When that happens, CCleaner’s program uninstaller utility generally does a good job removing programs. I think it is interesting that I see programs listed in CCleaner that I don’t see in the Windows program uninstaller. That doesn’t happen often, but when it does, CCleaner to the rescue!
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Startup Programs
You can use Windows System Configuration utility to prevent programs from automatically loading in the background when Windows starts up. But it is kind of nice to have the tool right in front of you when you are giving your computer a CCleaner tune-up.
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System Restore
The System Restore menu in CCleaner shows you a list of current restore points on your computer. The only option available here is to remove the restore point. You might want to use this if you have just cleaned your computer and found viruses or malware on your computer, as they will most likely be stored in a restore point. It would be sad to see you get your computer all tuned up, only to restore it to a previous data and put a virus back in the system.
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Drive and File Wiper
This is a great feature of CCleaner as it gives you a great utility to securely wipe an entire drive or just the free space. Most people don’t know that when you delete a file on your computer, it’s not really gone. The deleted file just gets a new file name and it is tagged as free space. A simple utility can restore deleted files. To get rid of a deleted file permanently, you have to overwrite the space where that file was stored. Even then, files can be recovered. So you have to overwrite them more than once. The Department of Defense states that a deleted file should be overwritten at least 7 times. CCleaner gives you the option to overwrite a drive or free space up to 35 times.
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Official Documentation
I hope you found this guide useful. If you need more detailed documentation, the official CCleaner documentation is available here on Periform’s website. www.piriform.com/docs/ccleaner
Update: CCleaner Enhancer Add-On
After posting this guide, I found a forum that talked about a CCleaner add-on that reportedly added about 250 programs to CCleaner’s database. The forum is PCHELPFORUM, and it is a great resource for PC users.
Before I could recommend the CCleaner Enhancer add-on, I obviously had to try it out for myself. I went to CNet and installed the update, and then launched CCleaner. I looked at the Application tab and noted that there were more options available. Then I ran CCleaner again, I had run it the previous day, and CCleaner found a whopping 838 MB more junk on my system, mostly in programs that I use frequently, such as Adobe Photoshop. After running CCleaner with the Enhancer Add-On, my Adobe products and my browsers are loading rocket fast. Very cool.
I can honestly say that I recommend this add-on for CCleaner!
The Web Atom’s CCleaner Enhancer adds support for more than 270 programs to CCleaner, the popular system and Registry-cleaning tool from Piriform. CCleaner Enhancer adds rules and definitions sourced from the Piriform Support Forum and other online resources to CCleaner’s built-in WinApp2.ini system. When you run CCleaner again, the new programs are automatically included and ready to be selected for scanning.
Control up to four computers with Mouse without Borders
Have you ever wished you could control multiple computers with one keyboard and one mouse? To do this, you could spend a lot of money and time installing a KVM switch, which also means that you have to run cables to each computer and connected them to the KVM switch. Or, you could use a free program from Microsoft Garage project called Mouse without Borders, and your existing wireless or wired network, and use your mouse and keyboard to seamlessly control and move files between up to four computers.
How Mouse without Borders Works:
First, you download Mouse without Borders from Microsoft’s website.
Second, install mouse without Borders on the first computer you want to connect. The installation wizard will ask you if you have installed Mouse without Borders on any of your other computers, to which you’ll answer no. When the installation is complete, you will be provided with a Security code, write this down or keep it visible on your screen, and go to the next computer.
As you install Mouse without Borders on your other computers, you simply enter the Security code that you were provided. This will connect your computer to the first computer. Repeat this process for all of the computers that you want to control. And that’s all there is to it. You’ll now be able to control all of your computers from one keyboard and mouse.
This video will show you some of the advantages to Mouse without Borders, and also walk through the installation process.
Recommended Websites: Free Online Academic Classes and Lectures
One of the greatest benefits of the Internet is that it makes knowledge that at one time was restricted to academic institutions available to anyone with Internet access and a browser. This is a short list of academic websites I like to visit when ever I am in the mood to expand my knowledge and explore different academic disciplines. This list will grow and change over the next few weeks. If you would like to be notified when this page is updated, use the form below to subscribe to this post. I promise, no spam!
Professor Messer www.professormesser.com
44 Videos – Total Running Time: 10 hours, 53 minutes – Over 118,000 views!
CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, CompTIA Security+, Microsoft Training.
AcedemicEarth.org www.academicearth.org
Online courses from the world’s top scholars. Hundreds of videos on many academic topics.
Subjects: Online Degrees, Art & Architecture, Astronomy, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Computer Science, Economics, Education, Electrical Engineering, Engineering (Except Electrical), Entrepreneurship, Environmental Studies, History, International Relations, Law, Literature, Mathematics, Media Studies, Medicine & Healthcare, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, Test Preparation.
Schools: Berkeley, Brandman, Columbia, Dominican,, Drexel, Florida Tech, Georgetown, Hampshire, Harvard, Jacksonville, LeTourneau, Liberty, Marian, Maryland, Michigan, MIT, Northcentral University, NYU, Princeton, Rice, Scranton, Stanford, Tiffin, UCLA, UNC, UNSW, USC, USN, Yale.
Khan Academy www.khanacademy.org
The Khan Academy is an organization on a mission. We’re a not-for-profit with the goal of changing education for the better by providing a free world-class education to anyone anywhere.
Mathematics: Arithmetic and Pre-Algebra, Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Probability, Statistics, Pre Calculus, Differential Equations, Linear Algebra, Brain Teasers.
Science: Biology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Healthcare and Medicine, Physics, Cosmology and Astronomy, Computer Science.
Finance and Economy: Core Finance, Valuation and Investing, Venture Capital and Capital Marketing, Credit Crisis, Paulson Bailout, Geithner Plan, Current Economics, Banking and Money, Currency, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics.
History: American Civics, Art History.
Test Preparation: SAT Math, GMAT, CAHSEE, California Standards Test, Competition Math, IIT JEE, Singapore Math.
TED www.ted.com
TED is not an online academic classes or lectures site, but I defy you to view a few videos from a multitude of topics, and walk away without learning something or gaining a new perspective on a topic. TED is an excellent website dedicated to presenting ideas from brilliant people around the world.
MIT Open Courseware www.ocw.mit.edu
Full video lectures, an online textbook, and interactive quizzes help guide independent learners through an introductory survey of the scientific study of human nature.
TUFTS Open Courseware – www.ocw.tufts.edu
Tufts OpenCourseWare is part of a new educational movement initiated by MIT that provides free access to course content for everyone online. Tufts’ course offerings demonstrate the University’s strength in the life sciences in addition to its multidisciplinary approach, international perspective and underlying ethic of service to its local, national and international communities.
How Stuff Works Science – HowStuffWorks.com
Science explains and demystifies the world through the objective of gathering and analyzing data. Explore the natural world, engineering, space, military technology, physics and even supernatural phenomena.
Directories of Open Education
Google Scholar – Provides a simple way to broadly search for scholarly literature. From one place, you can search across many disciplines and sources: articles, theses, books, abstracts and court opinions, from academic publishers, professional societies, online repositories, universities and other web sites.
OpenCourseWare Consortium – This site provides a portal to search through hundreds of free courses or to add new courses you know about to the database.
iBerry – Check out this site for a huge directory of open courseware organized by school and subject matter that can point you in the right direction for any type of learning.
Self Made Scholar Directory – Free online directory of web-based classes and courses.
In The News:
- 150K participated in free online courses at UVa - The Daily Progress
- SUNY partners with free online course provider - Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
- After successful 1st year, U.Va. to expand free online course offerings - Daily Journal
- Carlucci sponsors Senate bill targeting motorized boats; video - The Journal News | LoHud.com
- UW joins key online platforms to offer free courses - The Seattle Times
- Top 10 Udemy Instructors Earned Combined Course Revenue of Over $5 Million ... - Business Wire (press release)
- For the new academic year - Saudi Gazette
- Dem Congressman Grills Martin Bashir For Criticizing His Opposition To NSA ... - RealClearPolitics
- A pioneer retraces the data trail - Sydney Morning Herald
- Unemployment Prompts Online Training Challenging Colleges: Jobs - Businessweek
Score Ten Free E-Books from Microsoft Press
Microsoft Press is giving away ten free e-books on SQL Server 2008 and 2012, MS Office 365 and 2010, Deploying Windows 7, Visual Studio 2010, Programming Windows Phone 7, and Virtualization Solutions. Get ‘em while they’re hot!
Introducing Microsoft Server 2012 (Download in PDF Format – 288 pages; 10.8 MB) The final and complete version of Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2012, by Ross Mistry and Stacia Misner. 10 Chapters covering Introduction, Disaster-Recovery Enhancements, SQL Server 2012 Editions and Engine Enhancements, Data Administration, Performance and Scalability, , Security Enhancements, Programmability and Beyond-Relational Enhancements, Integration Services, Data Quality Services, Master Data Services, Analysis Services and PowerPivot, and Reporting Services.
Introducing Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 (Download in PDF Format (216 pages; 7.74 MB) or XPS Format) Ten Chapters covering SQL Server 2008 R2 Editions and Enhancement, Multi-Server Administration, Data-Tier Applications, High Availability and Virtualization Enhancements, Consolidation and Monitoring, Business Intelligence Development, Scalable Data Warehousing, Master Data Services, Complex Event Processing with StreamInsight, Reporting Services Enhancements, and Self-Service Analysis with PowerPivot.
Introducing Windows Server 2008 R2 (Download in PDF Format (11 MB) or XPS Format (28 MB)) – Nine chapters covering What’s New in Windows Server R2, Installation and Configuration: Adding R2 to Your World, Hyper-V: Scaling and Migrating Virtual Machines, Remote Desktop Services and VDI: Centralizing Desktop and Application Management, Active Directory: Improving and Automating Identity and Access, The File Services Role, IIS 7.5: Improving the Web Application Platform, DirectAccess and Network Policy Server, and other Features and Enhancements.
Understanding Microsoft Virtualization Solutions – Second Edition (Download in PDF Format (10.5 MB) or XPS Format (27.2 MB)) Six chapters covering Why Virtualization, Server Virtualization, Local Desktop Virtualization, Remote Desktop Virtualization, Virtualization Management, and Cloud Computing.
Microsoft Office 365: Connect and Collaborate Virtually Anywhere, Anytime (Download in PDF Format (21 MB) .ePub Format (21.7 MB) or .mobi Format (8.1 MB)) 13 Chapters including Introduction to Cloud Computing, Introduction to Office 365, Collaborating in the Cloud, Versions of Office 365, and Working Across Multiple Devices.
First Look Microsoft Office 2010 (Download in PDF Format (10.5 MB) or XPS Format (28 MB)) 14 Chapters covering Introduction to Office 2010, Collaborating with other Office users, Creating and Sharing Documents, Using Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, OneNote, SharePoint Workspace, Publisher, and Access. Part Three includes Security and Training, and Putting it all Together.
Security and Privacy for Microsoft Office Users (Download in PDF Format (7.2 MB) or .mobi Format (3.6 MB) or ePub Format (8.9 MB)) Four Chapters covering end-user security considerations and responsibilities, working with protected documents, understanding document properties, encrypting documents and restricting editing.
Deploying Windows 7, Essential Guidance (Download in PDF Format (6.5 MB)) Twelve Chapters covering Deployment Platform, Planning Deployment, Testing Application Compatibility, Developing Disk Images, Migrating User State Data, Deploying Applications, Preparing Windows PE, Configuring Windows Deployment Services, Using Volume Activation, Deploying with Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, plus six articles from Technet Magazine: Migrate Already! Why You Should Migrate to Windows 7 If You’re Still Waffling, 8 Common Issues in Windows 7 Migrations, 9 Things You Should Know About Windows 7, Can’t We All Just Get Along? Running Windows 7 in Mixed Environments, Integrating Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2, and The Good Computing Seal of Approval: Windows 7 Certification.
Moving to Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 (Download in PDF Format (18.2 MB)) This book is divided into three sections covering migrating from Visual Studio 2003, 2005, and 2008, consecutively. Each section covers business logic and data, designing look and feel, debugging applications, and deployment.
Programming Windows Phone 7 (Download in PDF Format (38.6 MB) Twenty-four chapters covering the Windows Phone 7, an Introduction to Touch, Sensors and Services, Issues in Application Architecture, Silverlight, XAML Power and Limitations, Elements and Properties, The Intricacies of Layout, the Apps Bar and Controls, Dependency Properties and Data Binding, Graphics and animations, and many more topics. About a thousands pages!
Source: I have linked the free eBooks from Microsoft Press on this one page for your convenience. If you would like more detailed information on these books, and don’t mind clicking through a few pages for some of them, please check out the Microsoft Press entry page for these books at blogs.msdn.com.
Creating an e-mail signature in Outlook
An e-mail signature typically looks something like this:
Sincerely,
James O’Brien
OBrienPC.net
206.555.9999
That’s a very simple and basic signature that takes about 10 to 20 seconds to type into my outgoing e-mails. But if I am sending and answering e-mails all day long, it can get tedious to type my signature with every e-mail. Most e-mail clients, Outlook included, provide a method of automatically inserting a signature in your outgoing email.
Here’s how you do it:
1) Select “Tools | Options…” from the menu in Outlook
2) Go to the “Mail Format” tab
3) Go to the “E-mail Signature” tab
4) Type the new signature’s desired name
5) Type the desired text of your signature under “Edit signature”
6) Click OK, and then OK again
Using the Clear Type Tuner in Windows
If you notice that the font on your monitor isn’t exactly smooth or clear and easy to read on your laptop or LCD monitor, you can adjust the clarity of the font by using the Windows Clear Type Tuner.
Run “cttune.exe” (without quote marks) from the Start Menu search box, or go to the Control Panel Display applet, and select Adjust ClearType Text from the left.
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Windows To Go – A Bootable Windows 8 on a USB Stick
Windows to Go is a feature of Windows 8 that allows users to run Windows 8 from a USB 2.0 or 3.0 thumb drive. Windows to Go is essentially targeted to enterprise customers or people who work from a shared computer, or a home or computers in remote locations.
IT professionals may find Windows To Go valuable as it will allow them to boot a copy of Windows 8 extremely fast and diagnostic any existing problems on the local PC installation.
Bootable Operating systems aren’t new and neither is a bootable Windows stick, but these will be legal and supported. It’s not yet clear if Windows To Go will be available with all versions of Windows 8, or what kind of licensing policy will be required for it.
In this video you will see Steve Silverberg, Principal Lead Program Manager of Microsoft Corporation, demonstrate Windows To Go, technology that was created by him, his team and in collaboration with many others.
[mediaplayer src='http://video.ch9.ms/build/2011/mp4/245.mp4' width=550 height=350 ]
In The News
- Understanding Windows 8 Gestures - PCWorld
- Skulls of the Shogun backs off Windows 8 exclusivity on PCs - Ars Technica
- Getting started with Photoshop Express for Windows 8 - CNET (blog)
- Microsoft's iAd-like Windows 8 ads could entice clicks within apps - The Verge
- 5 Awesome Windows 8 Apps That Will Make You Love Modern UI - MakeUseOf
- Microsoft Attacks iPad and Siri Again in Latest Windows 8 Ad - TechnoBuffalo
- Windows 8 Adoption: 10 Reasons Why Microsoft Must Get Serious About It - eWeek
- How to use a Windows 8 tablet for design work - PC Advisor
- Battlefield 4 Alpha Doesn't List Support for Windows 8 - Tom's Hardware Guide
- Windows 8/RT App Pick: Amazon Kindle 2.0 - Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows
Microsoft Outlook 2010 – Accidently Deleted Distribution List
It seems that accidentally deleting a distribution list in Microsoft Outlook 2010 is a fairly common issue. The problem is that the Delete Group button is right next to the Save & Close button in the Contact Group pane. Fortunately, recovering a deleted distribution list is fairly easy.
Depending on whether you are using Outlook as a stand-alone e-mail client or using Outlook in conjunction with Microsoft Exchange Server, the process to recover accidentally deleted distribution lists is as follows:
Recovering a distribution List
- In the Navigation pane, click Deleted Items
- Find the distribution list that was accidentally deleted, and drag it to the Contact button at the of the Navigation pane.
Recover a distribution list once the Deleted Items folder has been emptied
Note: Your Exchange administrator specifies the retention time for items that are deleted permanently on the server running Exchange. After this time elapses, you cannot recover the deleted items.
If you use a Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, Exchange Server 2003, or Exchange Server 2000 account, Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 provides a way to recover items after you delete them permanently, even after you empty the Deleted Items folder.
- In the Deleted Items folder, click Recover Deleted Items on the Tools menu.
- Locate the distribution list and then click Recover Selected Items.
- In the main message list, drag the distribution list to the Contacts button at the bottom of the Navigation Pane.
Note: You must use an Exchange account for this command to appear. If you use an Exchange account and do not see the command, contact your Exchange administrator.
- This procedure adds the distribution list to your main (default) Contacts folder.
- Your distribution list might be listed according to the date that it was created; in that case, scroll through the deleted items.
Source: Microsoft.com
Unfreeze programs in Windows 7
In previous versions of Microsoft Windows, when a program locked up, there was nothing you could do except the three-finger-salute (CTRL+ALT+DELETE), and hopefully terminate the offending program. That meant losing any unsaved data that you were working on. Worst case scenario was that you would have to restart Windows.
With Windows 7, a new utility has been that added that may help users unfreeze a program or restart it without losing data. The utility is called the Resource Monitor. You can launch the Resource Monitor by typing resmon.exe from the Windows Start/Search box.
Find your frozen process in the CPU pane (it should be highlighted in red), right-click it and select Analyze Wait Chain.
If you see at least two processes in the list, then the lowest, at the end of the tree, is the one holding up your program. If it’s not a vital Windows component, or anything else critical, then save any work in other open applications, check the box next to this process, click End Process, and your locked-up program will often spring back to life.
Add “Recover Deleted Files” option to Outlook Tools menu.
In Microsoft Outlook, when you delete an item from a folder in a mailbox, that item is first transferred to the Deleted Items folder of that mailbox. You can then remove the item from the Deleted Items folder. This provides a measure of protection in case you accidentally delete an item. After the items are removed from the Deleted Items folder, you can still recover them if Microsoft Exchange Server 5.5 or Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server has been configured to retain deleted items.
Steps:
1. Exit Microsoft Outlook.
2. Open the Windows registry editor.
3. Browse to My Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Exchange\Client\Options.
4. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
5. Type the name DumpsterAlwaysOn.
6. Set the DWORD value to 1.
7. Restart Outlook.
Source: support.microsoft.com/kb/178630
Creating a Windows 7 Password Recovery disk
It is nearly impossible to recover a lost Windows 7 password. If, for whatever reason, you have forgotten your windows 7 password, you are going to be in pretty big trouble. Without that password, you are not going to be able to log into your profile and access your files or data.
Fortunately, Windows 7 provides a simple tool to help you recover your password by way of a password reset disk. The catch is that you must create the password recovery disk BEFORE you need it.
Creating the Password Recovery disk
You can use a floppy disk, if your computer has a floppy drive, or if it does not, you can use a USB flash drive. To start, insert the floppy disk or USB flash drive into your computer, and then follow the steps below:
1) Click on the windows button on your task bar, and type “reset” (without quotes) into the Search box. Select “Create a password reset disk”
(Click on image for larger view)
2) When the Forgotten Password Wizard appears, click “Next.”
3) Select your USB flash drive or your floppy drive, and click “Next.”
4) When the wizard finishes creating the reset disk, click “Next” and then “Finish.”
Using the Reset Password Disk
1) Insert the password reset disk into your computer.
2) At the Windows 7 Welcome screen, click on the link labeled, “Reset password.” It will appear just below the password field after a failed log-on attempt.
3) Click “Next” when the Password Reset Wizard appears.
4) Select the drive where the password reset disk is located.
5) Type in your new password and password hint then click “Next.”
6) If successful, you’ll receive a confirmation window saying, “You’ve successfully reset the password for this user account.”
Note:
Store your password recovery disk or flash drive in a safe location, preferably with your Windows 7 Operating System DVD, and hardware drivers.
Windows 8 for tablets hands-on preview (engadget.com)
I just finished reading engadget’s new article “Windows 8 for tablets hands-on preview (video). If you are considering a tablet PC, or if you are interested in learning more about the up-coming windows 8, you should read this article.
(Click image for larger view)
Click here to read the whole article on Engadget.com
In The News
- Understanding Windows 8 Gestures - PCWorld
- Skulls of the Shogun backs off Windows 8 exclusivity on PCs - Ars Technica
- Getting started with Photoshop Express for Windows 8 - CNET (blog)
- Microsoft's iAd-like Windows 8 ads could entice clicks within apps - The Verge
- 5 Awesome Windows 8 Apps That Will Make You Love Modern UI - MakeUseOf
- Microsoft Attacks iPad and Siri Again in Latest Windows 8 Ad - TechnoBuffalo
- Windows 8 Adoption: 10 Reasons Why Microsoft Must Get Serious About It - eWeek
- How to use a Windows 8 tablet for design work - PC Advisor
- Battlefield 4 Alpha Doesn't List Support for Windows 8 - Tom's Hardware Guide
- Windows 8/RT App Pick: Amazon Kindle 2.0 - Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows
Back up Windows Registry in Windows XP
The Windows Registry is a hierarchical database that stores configuration settings and options on Microsoft Windows operating systems. It contains settings for low-level operating system components as well as the applications running on the platform: the kernel, device drivers, services, SAM, user interface and third-party applications all make use of the Registry. In other terms, you can think of the registry like the nerve system in a human body in all components of the human body are linked to the brain.
There are circumstances where modifications to the registry may be required, such as installing software or modifying system settings. If the registry is modified incorrectly, it can render the operating system inaccessible.
Prior to editing a registry, it is very important to ensure that you export a copy of the registry safely to a folder on your hard drive, or better yet, an external storage device like a USB flash drive or a CD. In the event you should make an editing mistake, you can safely return your operating system to normal with this backup copy.
How to back up the Registry:
Go to Start > Run. Type in: regedit [Enter] or click OK.
Go up to the “File” option and select “Export“.
In the “Save in” text box, choose an easy to find location to save your copied registry information. In the “File name” text box, name this whatever you would like.
Click Save.
Restoring the Registry from a backup:
From within Windows XP, locate the exported registry file you created, and double-click it. You’ll next be prompted with a message in a Registry Editor window: Are you sure you want to add the information in [REG file location] to the registry? Click the Yes button. It couldn’t be easier than that!
More information on the Windows registry
The Windows Registry (Wikipedia.org)
Registry Resources (Microsoft Technet)
Windows XP: Disabling the Indexing Service
The Indexing service can create an index of all the files and the content of many of those files in order to make finding things much faster. While Windows XP’s heart is in the right place, this sounds better than it is in practice. The Indexing service is more effective in its ability to slow down your computer than its ability to speed file searches.
Here’s how to disable the Indexing service:
Click Start and click the Run command.
In the Open text box, type services.msc and click OK.
In the right pane of the Services console, find the Indexing Service. A quick way to get there is to click on the first entry in the right pane and then press the “I” key on the keyboard.
Double click on the Indexing Service entry.
In the Indexing Service Properties dialog box, click the down arrow in the Start type drop down list box and select Manual.
If the service is started, you can stop it now by clicking the Stop button.
You don’t need to restart the computer. The next time the computer starts, the Indexing service will not run automatically.
Installing Windows Vista on a new or formatted hard drive
Introduction
This guide is intended to provide an accurate and well-established procedure for installing Windows Vista on a new or freshly formatted hard drive. By following this procedure, any data on the hard drive you are installing Windows Vista on will be permanently erased. This guide does not cover hard drives configured in a RAID setup. For information on installing Windows Vista on a RAIDed hard drive configuration, Click Here.
Disclaimer
This guide is intended for informational purposes only. By using this guide, you agree to accept full responsibility for any damage or loss of data or equipment.
Minimum System Requirements
Vista Home Premium, Business, and Ultimate
Processor: 1GHz (32 or 64 bit)
System Memory (RAM): 1GB
Hard Drive: 40GB with 15GB available for Vista
Video Card: 128MB Memory, DirectX 9 Support
DVD-ROM Drive
Installing Windows
Insert your Windows Vista DVD and restart your computer. Your computer must be configured to boot from the DVD drive first. You may need to configure your computer’s BIOS to boot priority to boot from the CD or DVD drive first. Please refer to your motherboard’s User Manual for instructions on how to do this.
You may see a “Press any key to boot from CD…” message on your screen. This message will only be present for a few seconds. Press a key. Once your computer boots to the DVD, the setup process will begin.
Select your language, Time and Currency format, and Keyboard or Input method, and click “Next”
Type your product key that came with your copy of Vista. (Note: Your Product key should be located on a label on the back or bottom of your computer. If you cannot locate your Vista Product Key, contact the vendor you purchased your computer from for assistance.
You must accept the terms of the End User License Agreement (EULA) before you can install Windows Vista.
Choose whether you are upgrading from a previous Windows installation to Windows Vista. If you are installing a fresh installation of Windows Vista, select the Custom option.
Setup will copy files to your hard drive. After the files are copied to your hard drive, setup will begin to install Windows Vista.
Select the drive on which you would like to install Vista. You can delete, format, create, and extend partitions or hard drives by clicking Drive options (advanced).
The Vista Installation wizard will copy the necessary files to your hard drive and begin the installation process. The Vista Installation wizard will automatically restart your computer at various stages of the installation process.
You may see a “Press any key to boot from CD…” message — do NOT press any key. The computer will automatically continue the installation process.
Setup has finished installing key components of the Vista operating system, and is now preparing to load Windows Vista for the first time to start the next phase of the installation process.
Setup is finished installing Windows Vista and the main components necessary to run your computer. Your computer will now restart and load into Windows Vista for the first time.
Setup will next guide you through creating user accounts and personalizing your installation of Windows Vista. Once this information is entered, the Vista Installation wizard will finish the installation process.
Type a name for your computer and select a desktop background.
You will be presented with some basic configuration options. Select how you’d like to handle Windows Updates.
Create the Administrator Account on this computer by assigning a user name and a password. Other accounts can be added later on from the Control Panel.
Set your Date and Time.
Installation Complete
Congratulations! Windows Vista is now installed on your computer. However, we are not done yet. You may still need to install drivers for your motherboard devices, your graphics and sound cards, and any other hardware installed in or connected to your computer.
Installing Hardware Drivers
Now that Vista is installed, the next step is to install your hardware drivers. Installing drivers for your hardware will insure that you have access to all of your computer’s resources and increase the stability of your computer.
Motherboard Resources - Your motherboard came with a CD containing drivers for components on your motherboard such as chip sets, USB, Ethernet, and on-board devices such as audio or video. These drivers should be installed first. Use the CD to install these drivers. Later if you wish, you can update these drivers from the vendor website.
Graphics and Sound (If not built into the motherboard) - Install the drivers and software for your graphics and sound cards either from the accompanying software or by downloading the latest drivers from the vendor websites.
Other Devices - Printers, scanners, multimedia keyboards and other such devices can now be installed. Please refer to the component’s user’s guide for installation assistance.
The Device Manager
The Device Manager provides the best and easiest method of verifying and updating drivers. To access the Device Manager, click on the Start button, then right-click on Computer and select Properties.
Select the Device Manager in the left-side column of the System Properties screen.
Look for anything in the Device list showing a question mark, an exclamation mark, or a red X. This indicates that a driver is missing or not properly installed, or that there is a hardware conflict.
Double-clicking on the device will bring up the properties for that device and provide an opportunity to install the required drivers.
The Device Properties windows provides many options for installing and configuring a device. In this instance, we need to install a driver. Click on the Driver tab, and select Update Driver. You can either have the Hardware Wizard install a driver automatically, which will search your CD drives and Microsoft’s servers for a driver, or you can install a driver from a specific location, such as a file on a CD or a downloaded driver.
Windows Updates
After your drivers are installed and you have access to the Internet, you will need to install any Windows Vista updates from Microsoft’s website at windowsupdate.microsoft.com.
If you experience technical difficulty during or after this process, please contact your computer’s technical support department for assistance.
Please Support
