-
How to tell if you are running a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows
When Windows is installed on your computer it can be installed as a 32-bit version or a 64-bit version. For most people, whether they use a 32-bit or a 64-bit version of Windows does not make a difference. It is, though, important to know whether you are running a 64-bit or 32-bit version of Windows when performing certain tasks on your computer. For example, if you install new hardware or update existing hardware drivers, then you need to know what version of Windows you are using so you can download the appropriate driver. This tutorial will explain how you can determine if you are running a 32-bit or a 64-bit version of Windows.
-
How to set your default programs in Windows
In Windows there are certain programs that are configured as the default one to use for certain tasks. Windows will then use these default programs when a person performs a particular action in Windows. For example, even if you have multiple web browsers installed in Windows, only one will be configured as the default. This default web browser will then be used whenever you perform a particular task in Windows that relates to web browsing such as clicking on links in emails or opening up HTML documents. This tutorial will walk you through configuring your default programs in Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8. Though this tutorial will not cover setting your default programs in Windows XP, the concepts are the same.
-
How to customize how the time is displayed in Windows
Windows allows you to customize how the time is displayed in Windows so that it includes leading zeros or changes it from 12 hour to 24 hour format. In order to do this, you need to change these settings within the Region control panel. The Region and Language control panel allows you to customize how the time is displayed on your computer, how currency is shown, and how numbers are formatted. Using this control panel we can control how the time is displayed and customize it exactly as we wish.
-
How to remove the Lock option from the Ctrl+Alt+Delete screen in Windows
If you do not want users on a computer to be able to have the Lock option when they enter the Ctrl+Alt+Delete keyboard combination, you can disable it via a policy in the Group Policy Editor or via a Registry key.
-
How to lock your screen in Windows
Windows allows you to lock your screen so that others cannot access your computer without entering your password. This is very useful when you need to be away from your computer and do not want other people to use it or access your documents. This tutorial will walk you through locking your screen in all versions of Windows as well as a method of automatically locking your screen when your computer has been idle for a certain amount of time.
-
How to log off Windows
To achieve the best performance on your computer, it is suggested that you log off an account instead of switching to another one using Fast User Switching. By logging off an account, all the previous user's programs and files will be closed. This will allow the new account to have access to all of the computer's resources, which will allow it to be faster.
-
How to disable Fast User Switching in Windows
Fast User Switching is a useful feature in Windows that allows you to quickly switch between different accounts on your machine. If it's not used properly, though, it can lead to problems as your computer becomes slow due to the amount of programs that are running at the same time. With this said, many people feel its better to disable Fast User Switching altogether and require people to log off of their accounts before another person can log in. This way only the programs currently being used by the logged in user are running and will have more resources available to them.
-
How to switch between accounts in Windows
Fast user switching is a feature in Windows that allows you to switch to another user account on the same computer without logging off. This allows multiple users to use the same computer while keeping each account's programs and files open and running in the background. As you can imagine, this can be useful when someone wants to use their computer but another account is logged in with open files and programs. Instead of taking the risk of closing the user's programs and possibly losing data, a user can instead just switch to their account without affecting the other one.
-
How to shut down or restart Windows
It is important to know how to properly shut down or restart your computer so that you do not lose data or corrupt important Windows files or Registry locations. Many people think that you shut down your computer simply by pressing the power button. On some configurations, this will work as Windows will recognize that you press the power button and shut it down gracefully. On the other hand, if your computer is not configured to do this, when you press the power button the computer will turn off and any unsaved data in Windows will be lost. Shutting down a computer this way could also cause data corruption on your hard drive or within Windows.
-
How to close a program in Windows
When using Windows there may come a time where you will need to close a program or process that is not responding or that you are concerned is a computer infection. This tutorial will walk you through using the Windows Task Manager to close a program when you cannot close it normally.
