Mike's Window : Utilities

Metadata scare..

Mike Hall — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 21:02:09 GMT

Have you heard about this utility? Document Metadata Cleaner.. http://www.pointstone.com/products/metadata-cleaner/ A quote.. Whenever you create, open, or save a document in Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint, that document may store information (known...(read more)

Windows 8 file options - Copy and Move..

Mike Hall — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 15:59:11 GMT

Now, I know that it is possible to drag and drop files across open folders, but it can be awkward and messy, especially on smaller screens like the type found on laptops and Netbooks. So, early versions of Windows had functions within the right click...(read more)

Windows 8 refresh..

Mike Hall — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 09:01:46 GMT

This is not my own work but I think that it is important enough to put out.. What Windows 8 refresh does.. When you refresh the computer here is what it does. a) Your files and personalization settings won't change. b) Your PC settings will be changed...(read more)

Windows 8 Compatibility - The Weather Network

Mike Hall — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 09:10:03 GMT

This weather service has worked well through three operating systems, and has been my preferred weather service here in Canada. When running Windows Vista and 7, I had it piped through into a gadget called WeatherCentre and the service worked well Windows...(read more)

Roaming desktop icons..

Mike Hall — Wed, 04 Jul 2012 18:52:52 GMT

We all have them. At every reboot, they appear to have shuffled around. Do you want to stop this bad behaviour? Windows 7 compatible, this small ‘freemium’ utility is just what you need. IconRestorer.. http://fsl.sytes.net/iconrestorer.html There is a...(read more)

Network messaging..

Mike Hall — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:29:19 GMT

I may have mentioned in the not so distant past that I use a program called ‘Stickies’ for sending network messages across the home network. Well, most of the time it works well, but sometimes one or more names become unreachable. As a consequence, I...(read more)

The quest for an 'M Class' operating system – Part One

Mike Hall — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 18:43:00 GMT

It is fast becoming common knowledge that Windows 8 lacks a Start Menu suitable for a desktop computer. I have seen suggestions which revolve around trying to emulate the classic menu style, but it saddens me to think that anybody considers them even...(read more)

An offer I had to refuse..

Mike Hall — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 14:49:30 GMT

I received an email yesterday from those nice people at PC Tools. I know that it was a good offer, maybe a reduced purchase price, because the email was headed thus: ‘Restore PC performance with Registry Mechanic 2012’ You can feel your pulse racing already...(read more)

See the network run..

Mike Hall — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 01:09:00 GMT

For the longest time, I had a network icon running in the notification area. Then when Vista arrived, I used variations on the Network Monitor gadget. As good as it was to be able to see any network traffic in action, a really annoying problem was the...(read more)

Speedfan – Why you should install it..

Mike Hall — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 17:32:11 GMT

When you have a fast system, processes can be running in the background which you don’t notice. A few days ago, I was looking through Programs and Features for junk to uninstall, and I came across Yahoo Toolbar. It had to go, especially as last time there...(read more)

Able2Extract - PDF extraction made easy

Mike Hall — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 00:06:00 GMT

Ever wanted to extract a PDF file to a word processor? I have a collection of PDFs, almost all computer or computer part related. I download them for info on replacing parts, cabling front panel headers etc. It is a little annoying to have to hold and...(read more)

PerfectDisk 12

Mike Hall — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 16:40:04 GMT

Raxco were nice enough to send me NFR’s for their latest incarnation, and I have been gracious enough to give it a try. So, out goes Diskeeper (my long time favourite) for now, and in comes PerfectDisk 12. Installation was a breeze, and I have left every...(read more)

Weather Center gadget..

Mike Hall — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 05:01:50 GMT

There is no shortage of weather gadgets, and I have tried most of them. Ultimately, the most accurate weather reports for Canada come from ‘The Weather Network, so I have had a tendency to use TWN’s own gadget. Now, this is all very good for me...(read more)

MS Picture-It users..

Mike Hall — Wed, 04 May 2011 23:53:54 GMT

If you have recently bought a new Windows PC or upgraded from an earlier Windows, you will know that Picture-It is not compatible with Windows 7. It gets worse. The format that Picture-It uses to save as a file is ‘.mix’, one of Microsoft’s own...(read more)

nVidia drivers – removal

Mike Hall — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 10:37:58 GMT

If you are replacing a motherboard which has an nVidia chipset and/or nVidia graphics for a motherboard which has an ATI or Intel chipset, you will quickly find out that nVidia drivers are not so easy to uninstall. The normal procedure through ...(read more)

In the interests of the non-technical..

Mike Hall — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 16:35:23 GMT

.. and maybe many others.. RE. OS upgrades.. Microsoft, please stop producing ‘Upgrade only’ disks for operating systems. Far too many have problems because what they are upgrading can be so flawed. Also, the practice of allowing users to download upgrades...(read more)

Diskeeper 2011–Restore point update..

Mike Hall — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 03:17:00 GMT

Just a quickie. It appears that Diskeeper 2011 doesn’t trash restore points on my computer as the 2010 version was doing. Also, it is even less noticeable in operation that 2010 was. Way to go, Diskeeper. Well done.. Diskeeper 2011 is now available...(read more)

Diskeeper 2011..

Mike Hall — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 03:16:04 GMT

.. will be released to the public on the 22nd of this month to the general public and business community. It has been released to the tech community first, and today I downloaded and installed the Pro Premier version. This is the panel you first see when...(read more)

Ultimate Windows Tweaker for Windows 7..

Mike Hall — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 19:25:48 GMT

.. is still free and now works with Windows 7 as well as Vista. This is what it looks like.. If you like tweaking, you have just got to go for this, but remember to tweak bits one at a time. Make too many changes and you may just forget what you...(read more)

Backups.. make it easy on yourself..

Mike Hall — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 22:29:44 GMT

Ever heard of Genie-Soft? They make backup software for home and business, and I am going to let you into a secret. Genie Timeline has been released as a free version. It lacks some of the functions of Timeline Home 2.1, but if you are looking to backup...(read more)