Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Is here!

Click On Image Below For Download

We have finally figured out how to enable the Write Cache and Advanced Disk Performance in some o.e.m. versions of Vista software that does not allow enabling through the Device Manager Disk Properties Policies tab. Here's the fix:

(Advanced Users Only And Always Remember To Back Up Your Registry Every Time You Open It !!!)

regedit>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE>CurrentControlSet>Enum>IDE>Select disk example:
DiskWDC_WD5000AAJS-00YFA0___________________12.01C02>4&1820ec13&0&0.0.0>Device Parameters>Disk, now in the Tick-box (right panel) you will see 2 entries: CacheIsPowerProtected & UserWriteCacheSetting. Right click on each of these entries and then left click on "Modify", with Base set to Hexidecimal enter 1 in the Value data box>Select OK. Now you will need to place your cursor into the Tick-box and right click on an open space, you will see a tab labeled "New", hold your cursor over the tab and you will see a drop-down menu, scroll down to DWORD (32-bit) Value and left click on that selection. Rename the new entry from New Value #1 to EnableAdvancePerformance, now you will also need to set the value to 1 as you did with the previous 2 default entries. You may open the Intel Matrix Storage Console from your start menu and select on the view tab and you should now see a blue dot in front of the Advanced Mode option.

Note: This modification applies to both 64-bit & 32-bit versions of Vista, you will use the DWORD (32-bit) Value regardless of which version of Vista you are running.

1. The way size is calculated and displayed.
2. Any "Partitions" on the disk will change the total in a specific partition.
3. Hidden files and folders decrease available space.
4. Compression increases the apparent size, but not the physical size.
5. Drives larger than the OS or Drivers natively supports.

First, the definition of a megabytes (or gigabytes) is a unit of data storage capacity measured in 1,048,576 bytes (or 1024KB). The larger the numbers, the more apparent the size difference will be when listing the size as megabytes (or gigabytes) versus bytes. Actually, both numbers are correct. The noticeable difference is due to the 1024KB definition of a megabyte. This is why a 95.3GB hard drive can also be listed as having 102 billion bytes of total space.  Just think of it as "round off" 

In the screen shot at right: 

Second, some computers have a non-DOS hard drive partition that is used for features such as Save to Disk, Hibernation, or Recovery. This partition is not normally reported by the operating system, although it can be viewed using a disk partition utility.  This is very common on desktops and laptops. 

NOTE:

Third, by default, all system files are hidden and cannot be seen. This may adversely affect the reporting of available hard drive space. You can set your Folder Options so you view system and hidden files and folders, but do be careful as changes to system files can adversely affect your system.

Fourth, if you turn on Compression for a drive, it will increase reported free space and used space, but since compression is based upon the actual contents, this number is not fixed, but will change as files are added or changed.

Fifth, older operating systems did not support some of today's larger drives, so the total space reported may be much smaller than the drive specifications.

It is also worth noting that bad sectors are corrected by your operating system and can change the total drive space, free space, or used space as well.

So as long as a drive is reporting a value approximately close to the specification value, you can be comfortable that you received the right drive and that you are getting to correct data storage.  Of course, tuning of your drive's partitions and options can yield optimal values, but this is not something for the average user to explore.

As many of you may already know, and many of you are soon to find out, Windows Vista defragmenter will not completely defragment your hard drive. In some cases it actually fragments your drive rather than defragmenting it. Also the Vista defragmenter will create large VSS Shadow copy files due to the creation of your restore points. By default Vista is designed to ignore files of 64 MB or larger and therefore will not defragment them. It does not take long before these files build up. 

These files can become as big as 50 GB or larger in size. Take a 50 GB, a 21 GB and a couple 11 GB of fragmented VSS Shadow files and one can easily tell that eventually (more often sooner than later) your hard drive can become over 90 % fragmented. NO NEED TO WORRY!! Here at FreeStuff2Do.com we have the answer that you’re looking for. Our technicians have worked directly with Microsoft’s Technical Department Escalation Team and Microsoft’s Software Development Department to find a solution for this problem and we've got it right here for you for free!

Please realize you must sacrifice some restore points when using this patch, as you will have less VSS Shadow file copies to restore from. Below you will find the patch along with the Installation Instructions. At the end of the patch, you will find the Maxsize set at 2GB. Here at FreeStuff2Do.com our HP m9360f Pavilion Elite 64-bit Vista test machine patch Maxsize value has been set at 4 GB and we have still retained 5 restore points as well as having excellent defragmentation results. We recommend that you set this value to specifically suit your computer configuration. If you start losing restore points then start increasing the Maxsize value in the patch (A value of less than 2GB or more than 50GB is not recommended). By default the maxsize value is set at 15% of the drive capacity. We also highly recommend downloading the Piriform Defraggler for free as this will allow the privilege of viewing the defragmentation files and allow you to analyze and monitor the defragmentation process.

We also want to offer a special thanks to Prasad with Microsoft’s Escalation Team for providing us with a temporary fix while we continue wait for the much needed SP2.

Installation Instructions:

Most defragmentation tools only let you defrag the whole drive. Defraggler gives you the power to select individual files and folders to defrag. So you can get the job done in seconds, rather than waiting for the whole drive to complete. Of course if you want to defrag the whole drive Defraggler will let you do that too.

Compact and Portable:

Defraggler was written in the same compact architecture as other Piriform products (CCleaner and Recuva). This results in a compact single EXE application, which can be copied to a thumbdrive and then used whenever you need it, without a complex installation process. The EXE itself is less than 1MB!

Vista Support:

Defraggler supports all OSs released since Windows 2000, this includes Windows 2000, 2003, XP and Vista. 64-bit support has also just been added! Additionally Defraggler supports both NTFS and FAT32 file systems.

Locate Files on the Drive:

After analysis Defraggler lists all the fragmented files on the drive. Selecting one or many will highlight their location on the disk. Allowing you to visually see the location of files on the disk.

Freeware:

Why pay hundreds of dollars for a commercial defragmentation tool, when you can use Defraggler for free! This includes corporate use as well!

• File Backup and Restore
• Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore
• System Restore
• Shadow Copy

Figure 1 Backup and Restore Center in Windows Vista (Click the image for a larger view)

Figure 2 Backup and Restore Center provides details about previous backups (Click the image for a larger view)

Figure 3 How data moves in a Complete PC Backup and Restore (Click the image for a larger view)

Copy Code

VSSAdmin list ShadowStorage

Copy Code

VSSAdmin Resize ShadowStorage /For=C: /On=C: /MaxSize=15GB 

Figure 4 Restoring a file that was deleted (Click the image for a larger view)

Figure 5 Searching for the previous version of a document by typing a partial file name (Click the image for a larger view)

Copy Code

vhdmount /m [path of the .vhd file] [drive letter to assign to the virtual hard drive]

Slow File and Folder Copy, Move, Transfer or Delete Operation Speed Problem in Vista Fix

How To Overclock A Processor

Q : What is over clocking?

Overclocking is when you make your system processor run faster that its normal speed. This has many advantages and dis-advantages.

Advantages : This is obvious, your system will run faster

Dis-Advantages : Your hardware is likely to have a less life span. Your components will run at higher temperatures and there is an increased chance your system will overheat and crash. You need to be very careful or you could blow up your processor and / or motherboard.

Q: What components do I need?

You need to buy a special motherboard. Most motherboards will automatically detect your processor make and speed and you can not make any configuration changes. When buying a motherboard you need to make sure that you can change the processors bus speed. You will also need to buy some extra fans for your computer as it will be working harder and as a result everything will run at a higher temperature. It might also be worth looking for a case that can hold lots of case fans.

Q: How do I overclock a processor?

What you need to do is over clock the processors bus speed. You will need to check the manual that came with your motherboard on how to do this. I would recommend that you start by only overclocking a little bit before you try to get the most out of your processor.

Q: Tips for Over clocking?

Start by overclocking only by a small amount. If you overclock your processor to much your system will not come on and there is a chance that you could damage the processor and motherboard. If you do overclock your processor to much and the computer does not come on you can reset your motherboards configuration by removing the power at the back of your PC and also removing the battery on the motherboard for a few minutes.

Monitor the temperature of your processor. You can sometimes check this by going into your computer BIOS as it will be displayed in there. If it is not in there, there are freeware programs that you can download, Try searching www.download.com

Make sure you have a descent processor fan. Always buy a fan that supports much faster processors as this will cool your processor much better. Buy and fit as many case fans as you can.

Before overclocking your processor do some research by searching the internet for stories of what other people have done. This way you will know how much you can realistically overclock.

Search: Knowledge Base    IU using

Include archived documents

10 15 20 50 100 200 300 Search results per page

Computer hardware basics

The following is a small selection of introductory texts from Indiana University's Knowledge Base. You can also search for particular words or phrases throughout the entire Knowledge Base with the full-text search.

Contents

• Basic hardware
• Monitors and peripherals
• Networking and the Internet
• PC-specific hardware
• Macintosh-specific hardware
• Purchasing
• Hardware on campus
• Troubleshooting and repair

Basic hardware

• What is RAM?
• What is the difference between memory and disk storage?
• What is a computer's clock speed?
• What is the difference between a processor, a chip, a socket, and a core?
• Best practices for computer security
• How can I minimize my computer's impact on the environment?

For more information, search the Knowledge Base.

Monitors and peripherals

• What is refresh rate?
• In Mac OS X, how do I change the monitor resolution and color depth?
• How do I clean my mouse?
• What are the most common types of printers?
• What is USB?
• What is a flash drive?

For more information, search the Knowledge Base.

Networking and the Internet

• What is Ethernet?
• What is a wireless LAN?
• What are AirPort, AirPort Extreme, and AirPort Express?
• What is DSL Internet service?
• What is a router?
• What is a firewall?

For more information, search the Knowledge Base.

PC-specific hardware

• What is CMOS?
• What is BIOS?
• What's the difference between BIOS and CMOS?
• How do I enter the Setup program in my BIOS?
• In Windows, how do I install my printer?
• For Microsoft products, where can I find descriptions and system requirements?
• On a laptop, how do I type keys assigned to an extended keypad (number keypad) if my laptop doesn't have a keypad?

For more information, search the Knowledge Base.

Macintosh-specific hardware

• For Mac OS X 10.5, what are the system requirements?
• With my Mac, how do I use a PC printer?
• For Mac OS X, where can I get up-to-date drivers for my printer?
• For my PowerBook or iBook, how do I extend the battery life?
• Why won't my PowerBook or iBook battery charge?
• Why won't my PowerBook or iBook power up?

For more information, search the Knowledge Base.

Purchasing

• ComputerGuide: Recommendations and common questions
• Buying a computer to use at IU
• At IUB and IUPUI, where can I buy used computers and other equipment?
• In the Bloomington area, where can I rent computer equipment?
• At IU, where can I find information about buying computer hardware and software?
• At IU, how do I purchase BlackBerry handheld devices and wireless service?

For more information, search the Knowledge Base.

Hardware on campus

• In the IUB STCs and RTCs, where can I print in color, and what are the costs?
• At IUPUI, where can I print in color?
• In which IUB STCs can I find removable media devices?
• In which IUPUI STCs can I find removable media devices?
• At IUB, what multimedia devices are available?
• At IUB and IUPUI, where are high resolution printers available?
• In IUB campus housing, how can I print to my RTC's printer?
• At the Adaptive Technology Centers (ATC) at IU Bloomington and IUPUI, what hardware and software is available?
• At IUB, what special equipment is available from the Wells Library?

For more information, search the Knowledge Base.

Troubleshooting and repair

• Where can I get my computer hardware repaired?
• My PC won't start; what could be wrong with it?
• Why is my Windows computer running slowly?
• Is it safe to leave my computer on all the time?
• On my Mac, what do I do when a disk icon with a question mark is blinking on my screen?
• If my Mac OS or Mac OS X computer locks up, do I have to reboot?
• In Mac OS or Mac OS X, why can't I eject removable media such as a CD-ROM or Zip disk?
• Printer troubleshooting guide
• What should I do if my monitor display flickers or wavers?

For more information, search the Knowledge Base.

Process Monitor v2.03

Introduction

Process Monitor is an advanced monitoring tool for Windows that shows real-time file system, Registry and process/thread activity. It combines the features of two legacy Sysinternals utilities, Filemon and Regmon, and adds an extensive list of enhancements including rich and non-destructive filtering, comprehensive event properties such session IDs and user names, reliable process information, full thread stacks with integrated symbol support for each operation, simultaneous logging to a file, and much more. Its uniquely powerful features will make Process Monitor a core utility in your system troubleshooting and malware hunting toolkit.

Process Monitor Enhancements over Filemon and Regmon

Process Monitor's user interface and options are similar to those of Filemon and Regmon, but it was written from the ground up and includes numerous significant enhancements, such as:

• Monitoring of process and thread startup and exit, including exit status codes
• Monitoring of image (DLL and kernel-mode device driver) loads
• More data captured for operation input and output parameters
• Non-destructive filters allow you to set filters without losing data
• Capture of thread stacks for each operation make it possible in many cases to identify the root cause of an operation
• Reliable capture of process details, including image path, command line, user and session ID
• Configurable and moveable columns for any event property
• Filters can be set for any data field, including fields not configured as columns
• Advanced logging architecture scales to tens of millions of captured events and gigabytes of log data
• Process tree tool shows relationship of all processes referenced in a trace
• Native log format preserves all data for loading in a different Process Monitor instance
• Process tooltip for easy viewing of process image information
• Detail tooltip allows convenient access to formatted data that doesn't fit in the column
• Cancellable search
• Boot time logging of all operations

The best way to become familiar with Process Monitor's features is to read through the help file and then visit each of its menu items and options on a live system.

Screenshots

Download Process Monitor (1.2 MB)

Run Process Monitor now from Live.Sysinternals.com

Managing Missing Icons In Windows Vista

Are you getting tired of your Desktop icons changing to the generic or Internet Explorer icon only to be seemingly lost forever? No need to worry, freestuff2do.com has the answer. Click on the link at the bottom of this page, Kimdara.com and scroll to the bottom of his page and you will see his link followed by a "Force Icon Button". Replace "kimdara" with the icon name you are missing, such as Google or Microsoft and change the extension from say .com to .org if needed and then click on the "Force Icon" button and your missing icon will appear in a window (sometimes it appears behind your open page). You may also use one of many icon libraries by doing a Web search. Next you must copy the icon to a convenient location.(I created a favicon folder on my desktop for easy access). Now go back to your desktop icon and click on "Properties" and then "Change Icon". You will then see the folder with all the windows icons, ignore it and click on "Browse", go to the folder where you saved the icon. Open, select and apply it.

http://www.kimdara.com/fixicon/index.html

As you may discover, at times you will be unable to paste the original icon back onto the shortcut. You will also often find that the favicon can completely disappear from your favicon folder. These will usually return after a given period of time. You can often speed up the process by just pasting on 2-3 different Windows icons temporarily and do a restart or two. It is usually only the icons from third party software and desktop shortcuts that disappear but in the event you need to access a Windows icon here's the scoop...Two of the main folders within your system that house these icons I have listed below.

%SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll

%SystemRoot%\system32\shell32.dll

From your desktop all you need to do is right click on the shortcut you wish to change and then left click on the Change Icon button ( If the window opens up on the shortcut tab if not you will need to select that tab or in some cases there will be a Customize tab you will need to select) and when the window opens simply copy & paste or type in one of the file paths listed above into the search box next to the Browse button and then click on the OK button, select and apply chosen icon.

Helpful Tips

If you have multiple storage devices then simply back up your desktop to a removable storage like a Micro SD, Flash Drive or a CD. It is not recommended to use another internal hard drive or logical partition as the icons will often disappear from there when they disappear from the desktop, therefore removable storage is recommended. Also when creating your back up to say a CD please remember to repair any icons on the CD while it is on your desktop before you remove it.

Useful Icon Software

IcoFX

Iconpedia

Kimdara

ZNsoft

 Irfanview

 Easy Icon Maker

 Online Icon Maker

 Icon Easel

 AM-Deadlink

 Gimp

Free Downloads Manager

sibcode

Favicon Generator & Gallery

Irfanview

Latest News Regarding Icon Issue Provided To FreeStuff2Do.Com From Microsoft Escalation Team  

SRX1078924202ID - Icons are reverting back to their generic form Wednesday, January 28, 2009 3:08 PM From: "Vista General Assist - Escalation SGL CHN"

To: webmaster@freestuff2do.com

Hi Samuel, This is Abdul Riaz with Microsoft Windows Technical Support. It was my pleasure to work with you on the Windows service request 1078924202. Unfortunately, we are still unable to resolve the icon issue. However, I hope that you were happy with the service provided to you. I will archive the service request as Not-Resolved. If you are not happy with the support we've provided please let us know as soon as possible. My goal is to ensure that your experience with Microsoft Windows Technical Support leaves you pleased with our products and services. Here is a summary of the key points of the service request for your records:

Action : Tried to change the folder options in the windows explorer. Result : Able to change the settings but randomly it reverts back to the generic settings.

Cause : This particular instance is by design in Vista. Resolution: Report has already been sent to the development team with all of the information you have provided us and hopefully will get fixed with SP2. If you have any additional information regarding this issue, we would be glad to hear from you. Rishi, my manager, would be very happy to hear your comments and suggestions as well. You may reach my manager by sending an email to him. Thank you for contacting and supporting Microsoft Windows Technical Support with such valuable information. Sincerely, Abdul Riaz J. M.. Thank you.

Enabling Microsoft Update and keeping your computer up-to-date will give you the best possible experience with Windows. Microsoft Update offers you free updates for Windows and other Microsoft software. There are two simple steps you can take to get up-to-date: 1. Enable Microsoft Update and make sure that automatic updating is turned on, click here: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=135954 2. Check for updates and new software available to you through Microsoft Update, click here: http://update.microsoft.com

 ©2008 freestuff2do.com®

 Stereoscopic 3D, and lightning fast video and image processing.

Unrivaled Graphics Performance With the power of two GeForce GTX 200 GPUs on a single card, the GeForce GTX 295 graphics card delivers unrivaled graphics performance in the hottest games including Far Cry 2, Mirrors Edge, and Call of Duty 5: World at War. Combining two GeForce GTX 295 graphics cards in Quad NVIDIA® SLI® configuration takes gaming performance to extreme levels delivering breathtaking frame rates and total graphics bliss.

© 2008 EA Digital Illusions CE AB. Mirror’s Edge and the DICE logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of EA Digital Illusions CE AB. All Rights Reserved. EA and the EA logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Experience Graphics Plus The GeForce GTX 295 graphics card with CUDA technology not only provides a world-class gaming experience, it also delivers Graphics Plus. Experience jaw-dropping PhysX gaming effects, stereoscopic 3D, and lightning fast video and image processing all accelerated by the GPU. Whether it’s experiencing a new world of realistic physical motion and massively destructible environments, strapping on your NVIDIA® GeForce® 3D Vision™ glasses to game in true stereoscopic 3D, transcoding HD videos in minutes to your portable video player1, or rapidly editing digital images using Adobe CS4, the GeForce GTX 295 graphics card does it all with mind blowing performance.

Power Multiple Monitors with Multiple GPUs Put the power of the GeForce GTX 295 graphics card to work across multi-monitors and unleash an awesome dual screen 3D experience. Use one monitor for the up-close action while commanding your armies on the second monitor, or experience full-screen multi-GPU gaming performance on one monitor, while keeping tabs on your IM and email on the other. With the GeForce GTX 295, you won't miss a beat in the virtual world, or the real world.

 Requires application support for CUDA technology.

These 11 tricks will help make your Windows Vista system more useful than before and save time doing routine tasks on Vista machine.

This list also covers some of the annoyances of Windows Vista and how to remove them using simple tricks.

1. Disable Balloon Notifications



If you are annoyed by balloon notifications given by applications in system tray, then here’s how to disable them.



Open up Registry Editor and move to key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced and right click in right pane and create a new 32-bit DWORD value named EnableBalloonTips and set its value to 0. You’ll need to log in again into Windows for changes to take effect.

2. Quickly Launch Applications



This one is a big time saver. The applications whose icons are placed in Quick Launch Bar are automatically assigned keyboard shortcuts. The shortcut is Windows Key + number corresponding to icon position in shortcut bar. e.g. If I need to launch Firefox, I’ll press [Window Key] + [3]. The shortcuts are assigned to only first 10 application in that bar.

3. Display Additional Clocks



Windows Vista can display up to two additional clocks each using different time-zone. The additional clocks will show up whenever you left click on clock in system tray.

4. Disable Windows Sidebar



If your system is low on resources then you should consider disabling Vista Sidebar to improve performance as gadgets in sidebar need lot of system resources.

Just right click anywhere on empty region in sidebar and select Properties. Then in properties dialog uncheck then entry “Start Sidebar when Windows starts”. The sidebar won’t be there next time you start windows.

5. Disable Flip 3D



Vista-flip-3DOne of the features I seldom use while working in Windows Vista is Flip 3D as Alt+Tab is sufficient to switch between windows.

6. Use Vista ReadyBoost

ReadyBoost is one of the less commonly used feature in Windows Vista that lets you use a USB drive as a memory cache as USB drives are faster to access than a hard drive. This feature lets you speed up Windows Vista a bit

7. Easily Find your File in a Folder





The Windows Explorer in Vista makes it much easier to find the file you are looking for in a folder containing tons of files and folders. You can apply different types of filters to look for your file. For example, you could set a filter to show files only with names starting with A-H with a constraint on size of the file.

These filters let you find your file easily which otherwise would have been the job of Windows Search.

8. Disable UAC



User Account Control(UAC) is one of the security features that prevents your system from lot of security threats but it can be annoying as it pops out every time you need to make even a minor change to windows functionality.

Though, it is not recommended to disable it but if you are so annoyed by it, head over to Control Panel > User Accounts and there you can disable UAC easily.

9. Remove Shortcut Overlay from Desktop Icons



Windows Vista puts huge arrows on shortcut icons and in case you make size of icons a bit larger, these arrows doesn’t look good. Vista Shortcut Overlay Remover is a nifty utility that lets you remove arrows as shown above. Once you apply the changes in the utility, you’ll need to login again to see the changes.

10. Get more Info about Processes



The task manager in Windows Vista can provide much more information about each and every process running. Open Task Manager(Alt+Ctrl+Del) and click on Processes Tab. Now under View Menu, move to Select Columns.. and there you can select what information to show for each process.

11. Desktop Shortcut to Shut Down

The shut down option in Windows Vista is not so easily accessible. One needs 2-3 clicks to get to it. Creating a desktop shortcut to shut down will give you quick single click access to shut down PC.

Free PDF File Converter

Why pay up to $139.00 for pdf converting software like Adobe Writer & others when you can download the only %100 free pdf software you will ever need right here at freestuff2do.com? Convert any file to a pdf free & simple. (32 & 64-bit supported)

doPDF

When installing, be sure when prompted to "check" the box that allows you to install the software as a default printer.

After installation perform a restart. Then simply open the file you wish to convert in "Windows Photo Gallery", click on "Print" then select "Print" from the drop-down menu and choose the "doPDF v6" printer, next click on the "Print" button and a "Save pdf file" window will open. Under file name enter C:\Users\UserName\Documents\Full page photo.pdf and then click on "OK". Your document will now be saved as a pdf in "Adobe Reader". This operation does not actually print a paper copy of the document, It only saves it as a pdf. This software works best with Adobe Reader 9

Customizing The System Restore Options In Vista

TCP/IP and Networking Tools

There are dozens of networking tools available for Windows XP (For example, see this command-line reference.) Most of these are specialized and are mainly of interest to professionals who are maintaining a large network. Many, however, are relevant to the Internet and some of these can be helpful to the average PC user. The tools of interest to the discussion here are a few of of the TCP/IP utilities. (Go here for a complete list.) TCP/IP refers to the set of protocols that are used for Internet connections and on most networks. Discussing TCP/IP is beyond the scope of this page but more details are available on a separate page and in the references in the sidebar. Fortunately, it is not necessary to understand the gory details of TCP/IP in order to make practical use of the tools considered here.

All of the tools are run by opening a Command window and entering the appropriate command. Go to Start-Run and enter "cmd" to open a Command window.

Windows IP Configuration Tool (ipconfig)

The Windows IP Configuration tool (ipconfig) is the command-line equivalent of the accessory "Winipcfg" that was present in Windows 9X/Me. It is used to display the TCP/IP network configuration values. To open it, enter "ipconfig" in the command prompt. If you are connected directly to the Internet, you will obtain your IP address. (For a discussion of what an IP is, go here.) The figure below shows the result for a broadband connection where the IP is assigned automatically. Here the IP is your computer's temporary address on the Internet.

If you are on a local area network using a router, the information is different. You do not obtain the IP corresponding to the network's address on the Internet. (To obtain the IP that the Internet sees, go to a source such as DSL Reports Whois.) The IP given is the local address on the network. This information can be helpful in diagnosing network problems. Also listed is the "gateway" or router address on the local network. The figure below illustrates the result.

Switches for IPConfig

There are also a variety of switches for ipconfig that add functions. These are invoked by entering "ipconfig /{switch}". To obtain a list of switches, enter "ipconfig /?" or "ipconfig -?". These are shown in the figure below. The switches of most interest to everyday use are "release" and "renew". Note that IP addresses are typically assigned or "leased" for a period of time, often a day or more. It sometimes happens that IP addresses are no longer valid or are in conflict. Problems can often be solved by first releasing the IP address and then renewing it. Sometimes cable or DSL modems that seem to be disabled can be restored this way. If you travel and use broadband connections elsewhere, you will often find this procedure of releasing and renewing the IP address to be necessary.

For a detailed output of network parameters, you can use the command "ipconfig /all". Unless you are experienced with networks, however, this may be more than you want to know.

The switches "flushdns" and "displaydns" are are also sometimes useful in everyday use and they are discussed on another page at a sister site.

Ping

Ping is an old Unix tool that has been around for a long time but many PC users are unfamiliar with the Windows version. Ping sends out a packet to a designated internet host or network computer and measures its response time. The target computer will return (hopefully) a signal. It is a way of determining the quality of your connection to another site. You will also receive an IP address that corresponds to the user-friendly type of URL (see this page for further discussion of IPs and URLs). To use ping, open a command window (or DOS in Windows 9X/Me) and type: ping <hostname>. For example, to ping Dell enter: ping dell.com Please note the use of a hostname, not a complete URL. The prefix "http://" is never used. Many sites also do not require "www" . By convention, 32 byte packets will be transmitted four times. You will receive a screen output that looks

like:

The screen tells me that the IP for dell.com is 143.166.83.230 (For the moment, at least. This can change.) It also tells me that the average round trip time for a packet was 69 milliseconds, which means I have a good connection to dell.com. Long reply times of several hundred milliseconds are indicative of a slow connection. Note that some major sites such as microsoft.com do not like being pinged and block pings. In that case you will get a "Request timed out" message.

In addition to being used on the Internet, Ping is often used to test connections on local networks. More details can be found in this Microsoft article.

Tracert

Tracert (traceroute) is another old tool borrowed from Unix. The actual path between two computers on the Internet is not a straight line but consists of numerous segments or "hops" from one intermediate computer to another. Tracert shows each step of the path taken. It can be interesting to see just how convoluted it is. The times for each hop and the IP addresses for each intermediate computer are displayed. Tracert shows up to 30 hops. It is convenient for finding if there is one particular segment that is causing a slow or bad connection. A typical command might be "tracert dell.com".

Pathping

This command combines functions of Ping and Tracert. Pathping will first list the number of hops required to reach the address you are testing and then send multiple pings to each router between you and the destination. After that, it computes results based on the packets returned from each router. Because pathping displays the degree of packet loss at any given router or link, you can determine which routers or subnets might be having network problems. Note that the whole process may consume 5-10 minutes because many pings are being sent. There are switches to modify the process and these can be seen by entering "pathping /?" in the command prompt.

Netstat

Netstat displays the active TCP connections and ports on which the computer is listening, Ethernet statistics, the IP routing table, statistics for the IP, ICMP, TCP, and UDP protocols. It comes with a number of switches for displaying a variety of properties of the network and TCP connections. (One tricky point: the switches must be prefixed with a minus, not a slash.) at this page. One possible use for Netstat is to determine if spyware or Trojans have established connections that you do not know about. The command "netstat -a" will display all your connections. The command "netstat -b" will show the executable files involved in creating a connection. A figure showing all the switches and syntax is given below. More detail is

Nslookup

This command helps diagnose the Domain Name System (DNS) infrastructure and comes with a number of sub-commands. These are mainly for systems administrators. The primary interest for average PC users is its use to find the computer name corresponding to a numeric IP. For example, if you want to know who is "216.109.112.135" , enter "nslookup 216.109.112.135" and you will find that it is (or was anyway) a Yahoo computer. My firewall keeps a log of the IPs involved in the attempts to probe my computer and I sometimes look a few up to see who they are. (There are also Whois search sites available on the Web as mentioned in the Ipconfig section.)

Note: It may be necessary to run each VBScript while logged into that User's Account or right chick Run as Administrator.  If your anti-virus software warns you of a "malicious" script, this is normal.  These scripts are not malicious, but they do make changes to the System Registry.

Some fixes will require you to turn OFF UAC and reboot before you can run any REG VBS files.

Some of the .reg files were exported from my registry, modified and tested on my system.
Some are from other users.  All credit due.

All files can be viewed with Notepad

Windows XP, Vista Help Forums   XP Downloads|  Vista Downloads

Microsoft Help and Support  XP Tweaks and Fixes

Microsoft Knowledge Base for Windows XP 

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding System Restore in Windows XP