Windows XP Expert Zone Community WebLog

Forum Discussion: If you need a place to practice posting to forums, a place to ask for forum assistance, or somewhere just to practice your animated signature, you can do it here – Cloudeight Info Ave.

This blog entry was gleaned from Cloudeight Information Avenue, a Featured Community Web site.

Creating forum posts seem easy to the experienced poster, but may seem daunting to newbies. If you need help, want to practice posting and viewing responses, or if you have a new, animated signature you want to test out, you can do it at Cloudeight.

by Joli Ballew

Expert Zone Columnist

The items on this WebLog are provided as is with no warranties and confer no rights. See Microsoft Information on Terms of Use.

Troubleshooting Tip: Calibrate monitors and printers for the perfect print – Jake Ludington’s Digital Lifestyle.

This blog entry was gleaned from Jake Ludington’s Digital Lifestyle, a Featured Community Web site.

Matching the colors you see onscreen to colors on a printed page can be tricky. You first have to calibrate the monitor, and then you have to calibrate the printer. This can be pricey as well as time-consuming. However, Jake offers several options, and the article is well worth a look.

by Joli Ballew

Expert Zone Columnist

The items on this WebLog are provided as is with no warranties and confer no rights. See Microsoft Information on Terms of Use.

Forum Discussion: What services are necessary and which ones can be disabled? - Neowin.net Forums.

This blog entry was gleaned from NeoWin.Net Forums, a Featured Community Web site.

Many services are automatically enabled when Windows boots including Plug and Play, Print Spooler, Task Scheduler, and Windows Audio. Learn here what can and cannot be disabled.

by Joli Ballew

Expert Zone Columnist

Troubleshooting Tip: Learn who’s working on the Spam problem, new technologies taking hold, and steps you can take at home to gain control over the Spam you get – Jake Ludington’s Digital Lifestyle.

This blog entry was gleaned from Jake Ludington’s Digital Lifestyle, a Featured Community Web site.

While the best way to prevent Spam from getting into your inbox is still prevention, there are people working on it and things you can do to get rid of it.

by Joli Ballew

Expert Zone Columnist

Forum Discussion: How to recover from a blue screen of death – Tweak XP Forums.

This blog entry was gleaned from TweakXP.com Forums, a Featured Community Web site.

A user keeps getting a STOP error on boot up, and posts the information he receives in the error message. Responders solve his problem after several suggestions, and chkdsk /r was the answer. 

by Joli Ballew

Expert Zone Columnist

The items on this WebLog are provided as is with no warranties and confer no rights. See Microsoft Information on Terms of Use.

Personalization Tip: Make Windows Explorer work the way you want it to with these cool Windows Explorer switches – WUGNET.

This blog entry was gleaned from WUGNET.com, a Featured Community Web site.

The basic syntax for Windows Explorer switches is as follows: Explorer [/n][/e][,/root,(object)][[,/select],(sub object)] , where /n opens a new single-paned window (as we reported in a recent tip). /e opens Explorer in the standard view at the current folder. /root,(object) opens at the specified root level. /Select, Folder tells Explorer which folder gets the focus. /select,(filename) tells Explorer which file gets the focus.

Learn more about switches and how to use them from WUGNET’s tip of the day.

by Joli Ballew

Expert Zone Columnist

Troubleshooting Tip: Manage your family computer with new tools from Microsoft – The Kim Komando Show.

This blog entry was gleaned from The Kim Komando Show, a Featured Community Web site.

In this article, Kim Komando outlines the features in the new Microsoft Shared Computer Toolkit. With it, you can customize restrictions on individual Windows accounts including blocking access to programs, blocking access to your Web browser, keeping sensitive files private, and blocking access to Control Panel, Internet Options, and the Registry.

by Joli Ballew

Expert Zone Columnist

The items on this WebLog are provided as is with no warranties and confer no rights. See Microsoft Information on Terms of Use.

Forum Discussion: A poster wants to know more about defragging his hard drive, specifically, what it achieves – Tech Connect Magazine.

This blog entry was gleaned from Tech Connect Magazine a Featured Community Web site.

A user wants to know if defragging is necessary, and if so, how often it should be done. He'd also like some specifics on what happens during the process, and what defragging achieves.

by Joli Ballew

Expert Zone Columnist

The items on this WebLog are provided as is with no warranties and confer no rights. See Microsoft Information on Terms of Use.

Forum Discussion: Get one person’s impression of the QuakeCon, Shackmeet, and computer/gaming convention – ShackNews.

This blog entry was gleaned from ShackNews a Featured Community Web site.

A poster recalls memorable moments from his first gaming convention, including playing Quake 4, going to the 10^th anniversary events, and even having dinner at an expensive restaurant.

by Joli Ballew

Expert Zone Columnist

The items on this WebLog are provided as is with no warranties and confer no rights. See Microsoft Information on Terms of Use.

Troubleshooting Tip: If you can’t open a file because it doesn’t have an associated extension, try Notepad – WUGNET

This blog entry was gleaned from WUGNET.com, a Featured Community Web site.

Every now and again, you run across a file that doesn't have a registered extension. Reading the contents of these unknown files is often problematic. Many times, the file is an ASCII text file. The easiest way to read them is with Notepad. To have notepad read your current file, and every other file with the same extension, follow the steps in this helpful WUGNET tip of the day.

by Joli Ballew

Expert Zone Columnist

The items on this WebLog are provided as is with no warranties and confer no rights. See Microsoft Information on Terms of Use.