Sometimes when you use Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 or 2003 to open your POP3 mail account (POP3: A common protocol that is used to accept e-mail messages from an Internet e-mail server.) e-mail account, you might be prompted to enter a password even if you specified that your password and it should be saved in your password list. The window looks like this one:

Why is it happening?

There are at least two possible reasons:
Reason 1

You entered your password incorrectly or your Internet service provider (ISP) changed your password.

Reason 2

Your password is correct, but the registry contains incorrect information entered before for the Protected Storage System Provider subkey for your user account.

Solution:

Reason 1 Microsoft Office Outlook needs to be updated with your new correct password. Microsoft cannot retrieve your old password. Contact your ISP, and ask them to assign a new password to your account. After you get your new password, you must update your e-mail account settings. 
Note that if it is not specified by the ISP, all server and username entries are typed in lowercase letters. Some ISPs require a combination of lowercase and uppercase letters for passwords to get more secure dealing with user accounts. Check with your ISP to figure out if they require a case-sensitive password.

Reason 2 The Microsoft Knowledge Base article 290684 can help you correct this behavior by stepping you through the process of removing your user account information from the Protected Storage System Provider subkey in the Windows Registry and entering your password options again in Outlook.

Internet Explorer 8  can be less than stable sometimes. Many websites load terribly slow in IE 8 and sometimes the browser will simply crash for no reason at all. It doesn't have any built-in plugins like Java or Flash Player. Eventually, you may get fed up with this applicationand wish to remove it from your system. There are different ways to perform this decision depending on which operating system you use. Here is how to uninstall Internet Explorer 8 on Windows XP and Windows Vista

Click the "Start" button on the toolbar at the bottom of your desktop if you have Windows XP on your computer.

Choose "Control Panel" from the listed options.

Select "Add or Remove Programs."

Scroll down the list of programs in the "Add or Remove Programs" until you find "Windows Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1."

Click on the program. A "Remove" box will appear at the right of the listed program. Click on this box and the Removal Wizard will appear on your screen. Click "Next" to begin the removal of Internet Explorer 8 from your computer.

Go to the Control Panel in the same manner if you are using Windows Vista Select the Uninstall Programs link.

Choose "View installed updates" on the Tasks pane found on the left.

Scroll to "Windows Internet Explorer 8" in the list of updates and select it.

Click the "Uninstall" button and then choose "Yes" in the box that appears to remove Internet Explorer 8 from your computer.

If you need a way to save some hard drive space one trick is to decrease the size or completely disable the System Restore feature.  We like to share all options on how to take control of your operating system, so for readers living on the edge this tip is for you. 

Note:  Keep in mind Windows 7 is just being released and there could be bugs, crashes, etc…and you won’t be able to restore your system if disaster strikes!

Disable System Restore

Now with all that being said…Open Control Panel, switch to all items view and click on System.  In the next window click on the System Protection link.

The System Properties dialog box opens where you will want to select your system disc and click the Configure button.

Under Restore Settings select “Turn off system protection” and click Apply.

You will get a confirmation warning screen to verify you want to turn it off…so it is not too late to change your mind.  Click Yes to save all the space possible if you still like living on the edge.

Adjust System Restore Space

With the large capacity hard drives in today’s computers there is really no reason to completely disable System Restore, however you might consider limiting the amount of space it takes on the disk if you need it.  When you limit the amount of space it uses then older Restore Points will be deleted.  There will be fewer points to restore from as well. 

After decreasing the amount of space it uses you might want to Create A Restore Point right away.

If you’ve ever bought a new computer with the operating system already installed, you might be annoyed by the default name of the computer when you start trying to connect different computers together. I like to use more descriptive names than HP382811UX… for example, I called my new desktop SUPERFAST and my old computer Justin.

Changing this in XP was extremely simple, but in Windows 7 or Vista it’s buried behind a few more menus. Here are three routes you can take to open up System Properties:

• Type sysdm.cpl into the start menu search box (quickest)
• Right-click on the Computer option on the start menu.
• Open Control Panel, and go to System and Maintenance, and then System.

If you chose one of the last two options, then you’ll need to click on Advanced System Settings on the left menu:

Now you’ll finally be on the right screen, which should say System Properties.

Click on the “Change” button to rename the computer, which will pop up this dialog:

Now you can finally change the name of the computer. You could also change the name of the workgroup to something more descriptive as well. You’ll have to reboot after you make this change.

Remote Desktop is disabled by default in Windows 7 or Vista, but it’s easy enough to turn it back on. If you need to access your Vista PC from another box, it’s an essential thing to turn on.

Important note: Remote desktop is only included in the Professional, Business, or Ultimate versions of Windows. Home editions do not have remote desktop.

To get to the configuration page, you can either right-click the Computer icon and choose properties, or you can type in system into the start menu search box, and then find the entry for System.

Now you’ll want to click the Remote Settings link on the left hand side:

Now you can finally turn it on:

To connect from another Vista / Win7 PC on the same network, click the bottom radio button. If you need to connect from an XP/2k machine, click the “Allow connections from computers running any version of Remote Desktop” radio button.

Don’t worry about setting up firewall rules, Vista or Windows 7 does that for you automatically.

Note: This should work for both Windows 7 and Vista.

Overview

If you enable Remote Desktop in Windows XP Professional, it will give you the ability to access your desktop from a remote location. You can access your applications, files and network resources as if you where sitting behind your computer. Remote Desktop is an evolution of the Terminal Services functionality formerly available only in the Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Server family of operating systems. Remote Desktop is not available in Windows XP Home Edition.

How to enable Remote Desktop

When you install Windows XP Professional, Remote Desktop is disabled by default. You need to enable Remote Desktop before you can use it to connect to the computer remotely:

• Make sure you are logged in as an Administrator
• Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties
• In System Properties, select the Remote tab
• Select the Allow users to connect remotely to this computer check box

To enable remote access on your Windows XP computer, you need to be a member of the Administrators group or of the Remote Desktop Users group. To add users to the Remote Desktop Users group:

• Make sure you are logged in as an Administrator
• Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties

The names of the selected users appear in the Remote Desktop Users dialog box.

Establishing a Remote Desktop Session

After installing the appropriate client software on the client computer, you can connect to the remote computer:

• Click Start > All Programs > Accessories > Communications > Remote Desktop Connection
• In the Remote Desktop Connection dialog box, in the Computer box, type the name or IP address of a computer running Windows XP Professional for which you have Remote Desktop permissions
• Click Connect
• In the Log On to Windows dialog box, type your user name, password, and domain (if required), and then click OK

You can pre-configure your Remote Desktop sessions by pressing the Options button in the Remote Desktop Connection. Here you can:

• Pre-configure your settings and click the Save As button. Enter a filename and click Save. Each time you want to open that particular session, click Open, and then double-click the filename.
• Adjust the display size of the Remote Desktop session to fit your display configuration. On the Display tab, move the Remote desktop size slider. You can also select the color depth.
• Adjust other actions, such as sound from the remote computer, keyboard functions, and local devices.
• Adjust the performance from the Experience tab, where you can adjust some windows effects of the Remote Connection.

Note: Terminal Services clients use TCP port 3389 to communicate with the remote computer, so you must ensure that this port is not blocked by a firewall.

Security in Remote Desktop

To enhance the security of a Remote Desktop session over the Internet, you should prevent automatic password passing. To do this, you can enable the Always prompt client for password upon connection in the Terminal Services Group Policy setting. When this setting is enabled, you must supply your password in the Windows Logon dialog box whenever you start a Remote Desktop session.

To access Terminal Services Group Policy

• Click Start > Run, type mmc in the Open: box, and click OK
• On the File menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in
• In the Add/Remove Snap-in dialog box, click Add
• In the Add Standalone Snap-in dialog box, click Group Policy, click Add, and then click Finish
• Click Close in the Add Standalone Snap-in dialog box, and click OK in the Add/Remove Snap-in dialog box
• In the Console Root pane, double-click Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Terminal Services
• The Always prompt client for password upon connection policy is under Encryption and Security

You can further enhance security by using the settings under Client/Server data redirection here you can disable:

• Clipboard redirection
• Smart card device redirection
• COM port redirection
• Client printer redirection
• LPT port redirection
• Drive redirection
• Audio redirection

If you decided to upgrade from XP or Vista to Windows 7, you need to realize how important is keeping the OS and other software updated. This article describes the methods to keep your software and hardware up to date. 

Windows Update

The Windows Update feature greatly changed since the days of XP and is much improved in Vista and Windows 7. To access Windows Updates type Windows Update into the search bar in the Start menu.

In the new Windows Update it’s easier to review, install, manage, and check updates. It also shows updates for MS Office products without having to check them separately.

It would be nice if it gave detailed info versus a generalized description to save time. But if you aren’t sure about an update or want to find out more information, click the link in the right column.

It brings you to the MS site where you can read up more on what you’re installing.

Some updates will require that you agree to a MS EULA.

Some updates will require a system reboot, but you’ll have the option to postpone the restart for a few hours or until you reboot manually.

It also allows changing the settings for how Windows installs updates from completely automatic to turning them off and settings in between. Important updates should be enabled by default on a pre-installed system but if you want to make sure you can select that option here.

It’s also easier to uninstall Windows Updates if one breaks another application or makes the system unstable. They’re listed in their own section and you can right click and select Uninstall.

To s top seeing unwanted updates, highlight them, right-click and select Hide updates. If you want to install them later you can always restore them.

Normally Windows 7 users can automatically activate their Win7 installation when their Windows7 computer is connected to internet.

But if you can not connect to internet and if you want to activate your Windows 7 setup during the activation period, you can use phone and call Microsoft Windows 7 Activation numbers as I will describe below and following the instructions in each activation step, you can easily activate your Windows7 install.

Why activate Windows 7 ? 

You should activate Windows 7 copy you have installed within the given period, since otherwise you can not continue using all the features of Windows 7 with your installation.

Go to Start Menu and right click on the Computer item. On the context menu click on Properties

.

This menu selection will display the System screen which is displaying basic information about the computer running Windows 7. You can also open this screen by opening the Control Panel and then selecting the System and Security and later System item.

You can see the Windows activation status at the bottom of this screen.

Since I have not activated the Windows 7 setup yet, in the Windows activation section you can see the message "n days to activate. Activate Windows now"

To activate Windows 7 by phone if you are not online or by automatic activation if you are online on the internet, click on the "Activate Windows now" message.

Another method of opening the Windows 7 activation screen is by executing the slui.exe application on the Search programs and files search list as follows.

Type slui.exe on the Search programs and files textbox. And click slui.exe application listed in the Programs group to open Windows 7 activation screen.

No matter which method you used to open the Windows 7 Activation dialog screens, the below activation wizard will start and guide you through all activation steps.

As mentioned in this screen, you must activate Windows 7 within the left perion to continue using all Windows features.

If your installed Windows 7 computer can connect to internet, you can continue activating Windows 7 by selecting the first item in the list. "Activate Windows online now"

But if your Windows 7 computer is not on the internet now, you can select "Show me other ways to activate" item in order to activate Windows 7 by phone.

As you can see the other activation methods are listed as :

Use my modem to connect directly to the activation service (recommended if you have a modem)

Use the automated phone system

I will chose to continue Windows 7 activation by using the automated phone system

.

The next screen will display the nearest location for available phone numbers for activation of Windows 7. After this activation screen is displayed you can change the location for your location in order to make a suitable phone call.

Each location automated phone numbers differs from other locations.

When you click Next button, the Windows 7 activation wizard will display the 3 steps you should do in order to complete your Windows 7 setup activation.

In the first step, you are listed with available phone numbers. If available a toll-free number, an other toll number again if available and an SMS yet available.

You will call given phone number to get a confirmation ID. When you call the toll or toll-free number by phone, you will ask for which Microsoft product group activation you are calling, for Windows Vista, for Windows 7, for Microsoft Office, etc.

After you select Windows 7 (it was number 2 when I made my activation call for the Virtual PC Win7 installation), you are requested to enter the Installation Id by typing on the phone.

This is the second step. Installation Id is given on Step 2 section and is about 54 digit long number grouped in 6 digit long 9 items.

After you enter yout system installation id, you will given a corresponding 54 digit long Confirmation ID by the activation phone system.

Please note this confirmation id on a peace of paper or on your computer use the Notepad application. Since you might type it wrong for the first time. On the phone you can listen the confirmation id again and again and I can suggest you to select the listen again option until your Windows 7 activation is completed.

Please note that the above Windows 7 activation wizard screen displays activation phone numbers for United States.

After you type the Confirmation Id into the approtiate input boxes, the Next button will enable for you to select.

After you click the Next button, Windows will match the installation id of the system and the confirmation id from your input and will complete the activation if the matching is successful.

Activation helps verify that your copy of Windows is genuine. With a genuine copy of Windows 7, you are eligible to receive all available updates and product support from Microsoft.

After the Windows 7 activation is successfully completed, the message on the System Control Panel screen will alter as "Windows is activated"

Windows 7 offers you location specific Aero themes based on the language and location you pick during installation.  Here we will take a look at accessing other hidden themes from different countries.

When you first start the Windows 7 installation the first thing you will do is select a language, time and currency format.  This is where Windows determines what themes you’re presented with by default.

Being from the US I’m presented with location specific themes from the United States with desktop backgrounds such as scenery from Maine, Idaho, Oregon etc.

To access the other international themes copy and paste the following path into the search box and hit Enter.

C:\Windows\Globalization\MCT

 

In the MCT folder you will find additional themes for Canada, Australia, South Africa, and Great Britain.

You can go in and grab just the Wallpapers…

Or go into the Theme folder double click on the the thumbnail to add it. 

Here you can see I added all of them and now they will be available under the My Themes section for when you want to change them around.

This is a neat little trick that will let you customize Windows 7 with hidden themes already available.  Also if you want to get more themes head over to the Microsoft site.

If you’ve got drives in My Computer that you never access, such as a USB Flash drive that you are using solely for ReadyBoost, a floppy drive, or a network drive only used for a particular piece of software, then you might want to simply hide the drive from your computer.

This tip will only hide the drive from being displayed, applications and the command prompt will still have access to it, and you can still manually browse to the folder if you type in the path.

Now what’s that floppy drive doing there?

Configure the Hidden Drives

Open up regedit.exe by using the start menu search box, and then browse down to the following key.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

If the Explorer key does not exist, you can right-click on Policies, select New Key and name it Explorer.

The NoDrives key most likely does not exist by default, so you’ll need to create it with right-click \ new 32-bit DWORD and name it NoDrives.

This value is a 32 bit number, and the bits are arranged in reverse order with a value of 1 hiding that drive. For example, if we wanted to hide drives A: and F: we would arrange it like this:

Converting 100001 to decimal we end up with a decimal value of 33 or a hex value of 0×21, so if you double-click on the key in the registry editor, choose Decimal and then enter 33 into the value field.

In order to see these changes, you’ll need to restart explorer.exe, which you can do easily from Task Manager or the longer way by just logging off and back on.

Uninstall Tweak

To disable this tweak, simply remove the NoDrives registry key entirely.

Reference Info

Here’s a list of the values you’ll want to enter for a few different drive letters.

If you want to hide multiple drives, you’ll need to use the table of all the drive letters to figure out the correct binary code, and then convert that to decimal or hex. (hint: you can use the calculator in scientific mode)

Look, now that worthless floppy drive is gone!

Naturally it would be better to disable the floppy drive in your BIOS, but this tip is still valid for other types of drives.

Note that this also works on Windows XP.