Launchy: The Open Source Keystroke Launcher

Launchy: The Open Source Keystroke Launcher

Launchy is one of the neatest, quickest, fastest application launchers out there. It's very robust and not at all memory hungry.
Just press ALT-Space and the launcher pops up on your screen in microseconds. Finding the right programme is managed by typing any letter in the programme's name and then you press return to launch it.
Sounds a bit fiddly, but I promise you it isn't and it works like a dream.
It's easy to use, and very non-intrusive.
I love it!

OpenClipArt

OpenClipArt

The Open Clip Art Library has some potentially useful free, downloadable clipart, which could make you more productive.
They have a range of art on different subjects, such as "nature", "Christmas" and so on.
Worth a look.

Dual Booting between Windows XP and Vista

Step 1 Install XP
Step 2 Install VISTA

Never do it the other way around.

Windows installs a boot manager window which looks after the whole process.

Sometimes however things can go awry and you can lose access to one of the OSs.

This programme, BCD, helps resolve these problems brilliantly:

http://neosmart.net/dl.php?id=1

EasyBCD is NeoSmart Technologies' multiple award-winning answer to tweaking the new Windows Vista bootloader. With EasyBCD, almost anything is possible. Setting up and configuring Windows boot entries is simple, and there is no easier way to quickly boot right into Linux, Mac OS X, or BSD straight from the Windows Vista bootloader - on the fly, no expert knowledge needed!
EasyBCD is geared for users of all kinds. Whether you just want to add an entry to your old XP partition or want to create a duplicate for testing purposes; if you're interested in debugging the Windows Kernel or septuple-booting your seven test operating systems, EasyBCD is the key.
EasyBCD is used and recommended by Microsoft, PC-World, PC-Magazine, Softpedia, PC-Welt, and dozens more! In the words of Harry McCracken (VP & Editor-in-Chief of PC World): "[EasyBCD] impressed the editors with its functionality and usability. These are some of the most well-crafted services available - congratulations to EasyBCD!" Don't get left out – download it today, it's free!!

Fixing Autoplay in Windows XP

Autoplay of CDs and DVDs sometimes packs up in Windows XP. Here's a link to the Microsoft "Autoplay Repair Wizard" download page

How to manually clean off spyware

http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Spyware-Manually-%28Windows%29

EXTRACT FROM ARTICLE ON WIKI HOW-TO
You've run through all the traditional steps, tried Ad-Aware and Spybot and HijackThis, and you still have spyware. What now? Well, you can try following this manual removal guide. It's not for the faint of heart, and it may actually be less effort to simply back up your files, reformat your drive, and reinstall Windows. Using this method, you will need full access to a clean computer in order to repair your infected computer.

Freeware everything

Came across a very useful site today, giving reliable links to Freeware for a whole range of software needs:

http://www.econsultant.com/i-want-freeware-utilities/index.html

Lexmark Printer owners - take note

To all owners of Lexmark Inkjet printers out there...Worth noting that it is is possible to get cheaper cartridges of perfectly acceptable quality if you take the trouble to look around. A search on ebay.co.uk for "Lexmark remanufactured" gave me exactly what I wanted!
So you don't end up having to pay more than the cost of the original printer to replace your black and colour cartridges!

More on Booting! Booting in to Safe Mode

Just a little addendum to my posting on Booting Windows the other day: an excellent article on CNET about how to Boot Windows XP in to Safe Mode when it is reluctant to do so. Even makes a reference to how to get round the problem of booting in to safe mode with a wireless keyboard which is not initialised till Windows has fully booted...(it basically confirms you need to get hold of a PS2 keyoard fast! LOL).
Article is by "Gary P." based in Atlanta:

http://reviews.cnet.com/5208-10149-0.html?forumID=7&threadID=120306&messageID=1364848

Zone Labs - Zone Alarm - the Basic Firewall Free Version

Ever needed to download the Zonelabs ZoneAlarm basic firewall and found it hard to spot on their site?
This link to the ZoneLabs Home Office products downloads should help get you there quicker than usual

Then select the final column option ZoneAlarm Free Download for non-business use only.

Backup software - trying Acronis True Image

Just installed the trial of Acronis True Image 9, following its recommendation in a review of Backup Software in the March issue of PC Pro Magazine.
So far impressed with the 15 day trial. The programme seems to be able to do everything but the kitchen sink, including restoring images from a repair Boot CD.
One thing I found encouraging is that the Help File goes out of its way to let you know that when doing an image restore via a boot CD you can insert the source CDs from which the Restore will be taken and temporarily remove your Boot CD. It's courteous of them to let you know and increases one's confidence in the product, especially if you have only one CD/DVD media device on your machine, and single combo drives are becoming increasingly common these days. The old practice of giving users a two-drive system, one for playing DVDs/CDs etc, one for burning them, seems to be dying out.
Another neat feature, noted in the PC Pro review is the ability to set how processor-hungry the programme will be during its routine.
(Though I would add that when I was running my test creation of an C:\ drive image, with processor cycles set to Low the programme was still running at 100% in Task Manager. Could this be because I had also asked for Max compression I wonder?).