Connecting to a Printer on Windows 8

Like all other fans, you might have got an upgrade to Windows 8 to explore the features and utilities. Other than the Metro-style features, Windows 8 offers the same set of regular yet improved features for daily computer needs. Printing is indeed one of them. To start printing, you will have to install your printer software on your Windows 8 computer. Check the below mentioned tips and learn how you can connect and use a printer in Windows 8: (Check our Tweets here https://twitter.com/MuskySuman or https://twitter.com/vtechsquad/followers)

Step1: Turn on your Windows 8 computer. Wait for it to load up fully. Hover your mouse around and click the Charm bar> click Search. Type ‘compatibility’ in the Search field and hit Enter. Click Settings in the right hand-side column> click Run programs made for previous versions of Windows.

Step2: Follow rest of the on-screen prompts and complete the driver installation for your printer. When prompted, connect the printer to your computer using the USB cable or using a wireless connection. This should generally work for an already installed printer on your computer. (See Also Windows 8 features here)

Step3: If you haven’t installed or added your printer, click Desktop in the extreme bottom left hand corner. It will load the familiar Desktop screen. Look for Computer, right-click it and select Manage. This will launch the Computer Management window.

Step4: Click Device Manager in the left hand panel. Click on the name of your PC in the right hand panel at the top and then click Add legacy hardware. On the Add Hardware dialog box, select the button next to Install the hardware that I manually select from a list (Advanced) and hit the Next button.

Step5: In the list of hardware devices, click Printers, and then hit the Next button. Select the Use an existing port button and hit Next. If you have the disk, click Have Disk and hit the Next button on the Install the printer driver window. You must enter the disk when prompted. If you don’t have a disk, select your printer from the list and hit the Next button. (See Also Differences between Windows 8 and Windows 7)

Step6: When prompted to share your printer, select Do not share this printer. Hit Next or OK button. Click the Print a test page button to print a test page. Click Finish to exit the Add Printer wizard. In case the testing fails, go back to the printer settings and correct them. When done, exit the window. Remove the disk if it was there in your computer’s drive and reboot your computer. Your printer is now ready for use.

Step7: You can set up a wireless printer as well following the same above mentioned procedure. If you ever face a printer setup or different problem, contact Windows 8 support.

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Fix Windows 7 Error 1935

The error 1935 in Windows 7 is generated by Windows Installer when it is unable to access a particular file or folder while installing Microsoft Office, Visual Studio, or other .Net programs. The inaccessibility of a file or folder can occur due to several reasons. Check the steps given below and fix the error in your Windows 7 computer:

1. Before beginning with the mission 1935, simply create a restore point or back up your data to avoid data loss or other problems during the event. (See Also how to use system restore in Windows 7)

2. Download and run a registry cleaner program from a trusted website. Save the file to your desktop and install it using the wizard’s instructions. When done, open the file and run it. If prompted, create a restore point. Wait until the program automatically scans for corrupt, empty registry keys and removes them. (See Also how to fix registry errors in Windows 7)

3. Wait until procedure finishes. Do not shutdown the computer unless finished. You can choose to download a free or paid version from the available registry cleaner programs. These include PC Health Advisor, ReglnOut, FrontlineReg Cleaner, Registry Mechanic, RegClean, Registry Easy, and Advanced System Optimizer among others.

4. Since the error can also be caused by corrupt Mccoree.dll files in registry, run a scan from your registry cleaner to fix their problem. You can also remove and reinstall the program that uses Mccoree.dll file from its official website. (See Also Windows repair here)

5. If it is the Microsoft .Net framework that is troubling you, then update it by installing latest updates from Microsoft's website. If you are running an older version of .Net framework, then replace it with the latest one from Microsoft. You can also choose to repair the application on your own. However, it is little cumbersome and may require good expertise.

6. Defragment the disks and registry to clean up the unnecessary mess from the computer. Click on the Start button and then type ‘defrag’ (without quotes and as is) in the Start Search menu. Hit the Enter key on the keyboard to proceed. Select the drives that have exceeded the threshold limit and defragment them. (Run Defragmenter in Windows 7)

7. Use your registry cleaner that you downloaded and installed in the above steps to defragment the registry. You can also download defragmenting tools or other utilities to clean up the system junk. (See Also how to defragment disk in Windows 8)

8. Run a complete system scan from your antivirus program. Since malware or viruses among other infections can cause internal errors in your computer, running a scan will help detect and remove them. It is recommended to have a scan run regularly and as frequently as you can on your system. If you don’t have a security program installed, then download one from a trusted website. (You can Buy McAfee Antivirus here)

9. If the problem persists, then uninstall and reinstall the troubling program or application like Visual Basic\Studio or .Net among others. Go to Microsoft’s website and download the particular program. Install it using the wizard’s commands and get going. (See Also how to uninstall a program completely from Windows 7)

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5 Microsoft Security Essential Features

With so many antivirus programs around, Windows users have so many choices to protect their data from malware infections, data/identity thefts, and various online attacks. Despite that Microsoft launched Microsoft Security Essentials exclusively for its customers. It’s a free antivirus program designed to offer easy installation, enhanced malware protection, and better usage of the system resources.

Despite being a free program, Microsoft Security Essentials has the capability of outdoing many commercial programs that offer somewhat moderate protection from viruses, malware infections etc. I've compiled 5 important points about using Microsoft Security Essentials that I am sure users don’t know about. Check them below: (See Also how to install Microsoft Security Essentials)

1: Microsoft Security Essentials is a free antivirus program designed by Microsoft for genuine Microsoft Windows operating systems. If your Windows OS is not genuine, the antivirus will not work no matter what you do. You will have to have a legitimate copy of Windows if you want the Microsoft Security Essentials protection on your computer.  

2: It is designed for both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows. Hence, if you are running 32-bit Windows, download the 32bit version of Microsoft Security Essentials. For 64-bit Windows, you can download the 64-bit version.

3: If Microsoft Security Essentials doesn’t update automatically due to some conflict, you can update it manually from the Microsoft website. You can download the Microsoft Security Essentials updates and then load them manually. (See Also how to update MSE manually)

4: You can install Microsoft Security Essentials on up to 10 computers. Yes, no home user will have so many computers at home. But a small business might have. So the antivirus program serves the purpose of a small business also whose data protection needs are critical.

5: You must be logged on as an administrator to your Windows computer to install or uninstall Microsoft Security Essentials, update it manually or modify its settings. without admin rights, you cannot change its settings. (See Also minimum system requirements for Microsoft Security Essentials)

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How to Enable USB Port in Windows XP

USB (Universal Serial Bus) is a popular plug-and-play hardware interface to use external USB devices like flash drive in your Windows XP computer. If you want to use an external USB device, you will have to enable the USB functionality in your computer. Check the steps given below and enable the USB port in a few quick steps: (See Also Windows XP support)

1: Before you begin, make sure that you are logged in as an administrator user to your Windows XP computer. Failing to which will not let you make any change to your computer.

2: Click the Start button> right-click My Computer> select Manage. In the Computer Management window, expand System Tools> click Device Manager> and then expand Universal Serial Bus Controllers. (See Also how to improve Windows XP performance)

3: Click the + sign to expand an item. Then right-click a USB Root Hub (you may see several of them) and click Enable. If prompted, confirm the action. If you do not see Enable option when you right-click the USB Root Hub, you may see Properties. Click Properties to get in the properties of the USB Root Hub.

4: Under the General tab, select Use this device (enable) from the Device Usage drop-down box at the extreme bottom. If you want to update drivers for your USB Root Hub, click the Driver tab and update them. When done, exit the Properties window and restart your computer. When the computer has booted, plug your USB device and start using it.

5: Alternatively, you can click the Start button> go to Control Panel to enable the USB Root Hub. Double-click Performance and Maintenance> open System to get into System Properties. Depending on your Windows XP version (SP2 or SP3), you may not see Performance and Maintenance but instead straightforward see System.

6: When in System Properties, click the Hardware tab> click the Device Manager button. Here in the window, you can repeat the third step to enable a USB Root Hub.

7: Another way to enable a USB Root Hub is by editing the Windows Registry Editor. Click the Start button> go to Run. In the Run window, type ‘regedit’ in the Open box and click the OK button.

8: In Registry Editor, expand the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE and navigate to SYSTEM> CurrentControlSet> Services. In the Services category, click usbstor. Look in the right hand pane of usbstor and you wil see the list of keys and entries there.

9: Double-click Start and change its value to 3 in the Value Data box. While changing the value, make sure that the Hexadecimal button is selected. Click OK to save changes and exit the Edit DWORD Value.  Exit the Registry Editor window also and restart your computer. You can now start using your USB device. (See Also how to fix registry errors in Windows 7)

10: If you face problems while enabling or using your USB port, contact Windows XP technical support.

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How to Manually Register DLLs in Microsoft Windows Vista

Dynamic link library (DLL or .dll) is a set of small program files that are called upon simultaneously by various executable programs in Microsoft Windows to perform certain tasks like connecting to a device or saving a file etc. Sometimes, these files get corrupt and hence you need to register them again. You can register these files on your own. Check the steps given below and manually register DLL files in your Vista computer: (See Also Windows repair support)

Step1: Before you begin, make sure that you know the name and path of the DLL files to be registered. If you don’t know their names and paths, you won't be able to register them. Besides, you should take help of an expert if you don't know anything. It is because messing up with registry can lead to system crash or other severe problems in your Vista computer.

Step2: Click the Start menu> go to Run. If you don’t see Run anywhere, then press the Windows and the R keys together on the keyboard. This will open up the Run dialog box. (See Also Windows blue screen errors)

Step3: Type ‘regsvr32 C:\Windows\System32\Name.dll’ in the blank field (without quotes and as it is) and then click OK. This command is intended for the example. You must replace the path as well as name of the file (Name.dll, here it should be the name of the file with .dll as the extension and not just Name). For example, you have your files stored in H:\ drive and not in C:\ drive, then you would type regsvr32 H:\location of the file\name of the file followed by .dll.

Step4: Once you click OK, a dialog box will appear showing that the file has been successfully registered. Click OK to exit this window. If the program did not launch automatically, then open it manually. (See Also Windows Vista support here)

Step5: If you get an error message like the specified module or entry could not be found, then it indicates that you are either typing the location or file name wrong or the .dll file that you are trying to register is not compatible with your version of Windows.

Step6: If none of these is the case, try disabling the UAC (User Account Control) in Control Panel. You may need admin privileges to run such command or tweak the registry. You can also download and install a free or paid tool from the Internet to automatically install missing libraries or fix common problems. (See Also how to fix registry errors in Vista/7)

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How to Create a Zip File in Windows 7

A zip, a.k.a compressed file occupies less space and can be transferred quickly from one computer to another compared to an unzipped file. A good example of a zip file is the firmware or image file  etc. that you download from the Internet. In order to use it, you will have to extract its contents. You may want to create a zip file in your Windows 7 computer. Check the steps given and create a zip file quickly: (See Also Windows 7 support here)

Step 1

First look for the file or folder, which you want to create as a zip one. Afterwards, right click on the file> select Send To> Compressed (Zipped) Folder. You will now see a new zip folder in the same location where your original file is located. You can unzip this file whenever the need arises.

Step 2

If at any time you want to add more files to your zip folder, you can do it in two ways. The first way is to open the zip folder and copy and paste the files from other locations or folders into it. Or else, you can drag and drop files into your zipped file. The second way is to drag and drop the files right over the zipped folder that you previously created. Windows 7 will add all these files automatically to your zipped file or folder.

Step 3

Since you have created a zip file now, you will also extract its contents in the later course or whenever needed. Thus, you should know how to extract a zip file’s contents to view or change them as desired. If there is only one zip file that you want to extract, double click on it to open the original file. Thereafter, drag and drop this file to some other location. Or else, you can simply copy and paste this file to some other location.

Step 4

If the zipped file or folder contains several files, folders etc., you can unzip them all with this simple method. Right click the zip folder> select Extract All. In the Extraction Wizard window, click Next. Check the location where all the contents of the zipped folder will be extracted. You can also change the location by clicking Browse. When done, click Next. Hit Next again and then the Finish button to close the window and show the extracted files.

Step 5

Here is a word of caution for you for encrypted files. If you added encrypted files to your zip folder, they will be decrypted when unzipped. So, if you want to keep their privacy intact and undisclosed, do not zip them. (See Also how to snap documents in Windows 7)

Step 6

Another thing that must be remembered while zipping the contents is that try not to zip the JPEG images. It is because JPEG images are already zipped and thus need no further zipping. If you zip them, they will occupy about the same space as the original ones. Thus zipping would be of no use in that case. You can also use a tool like WinZip or WinRAR etc. to zip and unzip files, folders etc.

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Create a New User Account on Dell Windows 7 Computer

A user account is the profile usually protected with a password using which you log in to your Dell Windows 7 computer. It’s not just Dell but every computer that you might have at your home or office needs a user account with a password to log in. Since you want to create a user account for your Dell Windows 7 computer, here are some tips for you. You can also password-protect your newly-created user account. (See Also Windows 7 support here)

1. Before you begin, make sure that you have administrator privileges to log in to your Dell Windows 7 computer. Without admin access, you won’t be able to make such changes. If you have lost admin access to your computer, contact Dell technical support.

2. Log in to your computer as an administrator. If you are already logged in (but not as an admin), log off your computer and log back in as an administrator. When done, click the Start button> Control Panel> User Accounts> Manage another account> Create a new account.

3. In the Create New Account screen, type the name for your new account in the New account name box. When done, you will see two options namely Standard User and Administrator. If you want to make this new user account a standard one, click the Standard User option and then click the Create Account button.

4. If you want to make this an admin account, click Administrator and then click Create Account. You will now see your newly-created user account listed in the next screen (Manage Accounts). Since this user account does not have a password, it can be taken advantage of by anyone and I am sure you would never be willing to let it happen. So, let’s set a password for this account. Double-click the icon of your newly created account. You will now see Manage changes to your (name) account> Create a password.

5. In the Create a password for account screen, type the desired password in the respective box. Retype the password and click Create password and that’s it. Your new account is password protected now. You will now return to your user account settings. If you want to further customize settings for this user account, click each option and follow the prompts. When done, exit Control Panel. (See Also how to customize Windows 7 computer)

6. Despite putting your best efforts in creating and password-protecting your new user account, problems may arise. So, if you encounter a problem, contact Dell technical support. If the problem is Windows related, contact Microsoft Windows 7 support.

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How to Change Start Menu to Classic View in Windows Vista

It you have been using Windows for a long time, you might have developed familiarity with the Start menu. It is your way to the Windows Control Panel, settings, search, mail and various handy features that you can access immediately.

However, in Windows Vista, the Start menu has been overhauled to give you more control and power to your Windows features with a single click. Despite that if you don’t like the Windows Vista’s Start menu just because you have become accustomed to the old one, you have an option. You can change your Windows 7’s Start menu to Classic View. Check the steps given below and do so: (Consider Windows Vista support)

1. Click the Start button> Control Panel> Appearance and Personalization> Taskbar and Start Menu.

2. In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window, click the Start Menu tab. Select the Classic Start Menu button and click the OK button.

3. If you want to switch back to the Windows 7’s Start menu, de-select the Classic Start Menu radio button. Click OK to save changes.

***You can also change the Control Panel’s view to Classic. Find here Windows 7 support. If you are planning to upgrade to Windows 8, consider Windows 8 upgrade essentials.

***Windows Vista and 7 have more or less the same options though the later is a very advanced version. Find here how to customize Windows 7 PC.

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What’s New in Windows 8?

Windows 8 has indeed become an eye candy after the launch of the Developer Preview. It certainly has been offered as bait by Microsoft to the users who would surely experience a cutting-edge difference when using Windows 8. (See Also how to upgrade to Windows 8)

Lock Screen – Microsoft has done away with the old-fashioned lock screen in Windows 8. The operating system now incorporates a more useful user-defined lock screen that has two main elements. One is the lock screen with notification badges like battery life icon, date & time, unread emails and messages, and network icon among other things, while the other is login screen that allows you to log in to Windows.

There is a catch about the login screen and that is there are two ways viz. picture- or gesture-based password and a classic alpha-numeric password to log in to Windows. This means that Windows has beefed up the security features in lock and login screen too. No one will be easily able to guess your password now. Besides, the lock and login screen and customizable to bring users more convenience, comfort, and flexibility with Windows 8.

SmartScreen Filter – Windows 8 features Windows SmartScreen, a smart filter that will alert you whether or not to open a program or application downloaded from the internet. This will prevent accidental interaction with viruses, Trojans, and other malware that usually users never come to know about.

It is because they never know in advance if a particular program would be harmful or useful for their computer. The SmartScreen filter comes handy in such a situation. It will scan the application in advance and warn users about its usefulness or maliciousness when they will try to open it. The filter will take care that malware programs never succeed in their dodgy intentions. You can even enable or disable Windows SmartScreen as desired.

Enhanced Control Panel – The ages old Control Panel has been overhauled to offer more convenience, customization, and control to users. New apps have been added to Control Panel to make it more useful. These apps include PC Sync, Notifications, Reset and Refresh, and Start Search among other things.

The classic Switch to Classic or Category View still forms a part of Control Panel. Besides, Control Panel can be launched either from the Metro-style Start screen or the Start Search. You can personalize privacy, user, wireless, lock screen, and search among other settings in a more enhanced and useful way. Now Control Panel offers tons of options to customize your settings. (See Also Windows 8 upgrade essentials)

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What’s New in Windows 8?

As you have seen that Microsoft has offered bait in terms of Windows 8 features to users, it is totally up to them how they take it. Windows 8 is undoubtedly the most versatile and advanced operating system from Microsoft. However, a thorough look into its features may change your decision of not upgrading to it (only if you were thinking so). However, you should upgrade to Windows 8 for a wholesome new experience, which is definitely absent from Windows 7 and previous versions.

WinRT – Windows Runtime (WinRT) is a developers’ toolset that will allow them to develop Metro-style apps for their customers. WinRT is a rich suite of Windows APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) that will enable developers to create both Desktop and Metro-style apps using a comprehensive set of XAML, HTML, C, C++, C#, JavaScript, VB, Win32, .Net, and CSS among other languages.

SoC and ARM – Windows 8 will now support Advanced RISC Machine (ARM) and System on Chip (SoC) designs in addition to the x86 architectures. The ARM and SoC architectures will be from Texas Instruments, NVIDIA, Intel, and AMD. The SoC design compatibility will fuel a major change in the world of operating systems. With SoC integration, the power consumption required to boot or run a computing device will be greatly reduced, leading to the enhanced battery life for a laptop, minimized power expenditure, and faster CPU performance for desktop computers.

Besides, the size of computing devices such as laptops, Netbooks, tablets, and Notebooks etc. could be reduced greatly, leading to the development of smarter, faster, thinner and smaller devices. Besides, the ARM-driven Windows 8 will now be able to support Metro-style and full desktop apps. The ARM support will now bring the cutting-edge hardware –accelerated media playback, web surfing using Microsoft Internet Explorer 10, graphics, and multi-display desktops among other things.

Inbuilt Antivirus Protection – Windows 8 incorporates a built-in antivirus protection to prevent online threats like viruses, spyware, or other malware from exploiting the vulnerabilities of your computer. Besides, it prevents a virus- or malware-loaded USB device from being intruded into your computer.

Therefore, if you insert a virus-infected USB drive into Windows 8, your computer will not boot up no matter what you do. You will have to take it out in order to make sure that Windows 8 boots. So, finally there is an operating system that takes care of your computer’s health and prevents any external intrusion via such devices or the Internet.

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