Windows Tips and Tricks »
How to bring back the classic drop-down menu in Office 2007, 2010, and 2013 on Windows [Tip]
![How to bring back the classic drop-down menu in Office 2007, 2010, and 2013 on Windows [Tip]](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2013/05/ubit-290x160.jpg)
Have you ever freaked out when using Microsoft Office 2007/2010/2013? I know I did because Microsoft has killed the classic Office menu and toolbars which we were accustomed to for years, and come up with ribbon style! The result of this change? The learning curve is so steep that people [...]
Read More »How to crack, open, or unlock password protected or encrypted ZIP, PDF, RAR, XLS, and XLSX files on Windows for free [Guide]
![How to crack, open, or unlock password protected or encrypted ZIP, PDF, RAR, XLS, and XLSX files on Windows for free [Guide]](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2013/05/2013-05-04_225743-290x160.png)
Ever come across a password protected or encrypted ZIP, PDF, RAR, XLS, or XLSX file that you wanted to extract or open but couldn’t because you didn’t know the password? Yeah, it happens to the best of us. For such situations, you need a way to crack/open/extract/unlock the password protected [...]
Read More »How to install and use Windows Live Messenger without Skype on Windows [Guide]
![How to install and use Windows Live Messenger without Skype on Windows [Guide]](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2013/05/2013-05-02_211628-290x160.png)
You may have heard, Windows Live Messenger (also known as Windows Messenger or MSN Messenger) has been depreciated by Microsoft and integrated into Skype. Anyone that wants to use Windows Live Messenger must move to Skype instead. If you are one of those people that hate Skype for instant messaging [...]
Read More »How to create or stitch panorama photos on Windows for free [Guide]
![How to create or stitch panorama photos on Windows for free [Guide]](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2013/04/2013-04-28_205738-290x160.png)
The rising popularity of smartphones has made snapping a panoramic photo a breeze; simply download a panorama-supported camera app for your smartphone and you can easily snap a panorama of whatever you want. However, sometimes it isn’t possible to take a panorama with a smartphone. So it is always good [...]
Read More »How to delete, erase, or clear all print jobs for printer on Windows [Guide]
![How to delete, erase, or clear all print jobs for printer on Windows [Guide]](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2013/04/2013-04-22_004927-290x133.png)
Ever want to print something and it doesn’t print, so you hit the print button multiple times? Or maybe you have a bunch of old print jobs sitting in your printer spooler due to a broken printer and don’t want to print all those jobs once you have a new [...]
Read More »How to backup or download emails from Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail (Outlook.com), Outlook, Thunderbird, and more [Guide]
![How to backup or download emails from Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail (Outlook.com), Outlook, Thunderbird, and more [Guide]](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2013/04/2013-04-18_210215_2-290x160.png)
Email is a mainstay in the lives of many people. I’d venture to say many people who feel naked if they ever lost access to their email accounts and/or their emails. So a question often asked is: how do I backup or download my emails? This guide answers that question. [...]
Read More »How to edit PDFs on Windows, Mac, and Linux for free [Guide]
![How to edit PDFs on Windows, Mac, and Linux for free [Guide]](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2013/04/2013-04-09_203637-290x160.png)
What do DOCs, RTFs, and ODTs all have in common? They are all some sort of word processing file format and it is very easy to create and modify them all. The purpose behind those file types is to serve word processing needs and word processing requires being able to [...]
Read More »How to make YouTube videos load faster on Windows (XP, 7, 8, Vista), Mac OS X, and Linux [Guide]
YouTube is owned by Google. Google is a web 2.0 company. They know how to manage server load. So then the question is why do so many people run into buffering issues when watching YouTube… even people on seemingly fast connections? This article provides more insights into this conundrum plus [...]
[Windows] How to create custom screensavers and photo or image slideshows with IrfanView
I’m sure, by now, most dotTechies have heard of IrfanView, a popular freeware image viewer and Windows Photo Viewer alternative we featured in our list of 12 free image viewers on Windows. However, some people may not know IrfanView is not just an image viewer — it can do things [...]
[Windows] How to uninstall, remove, or delete VirtualBox drivers (Bridged Networking driver, Host-Only Network Adapter driver, etc.)
VirtualBox is an awesome virtual machine you can use to virtually install different operating system. However, the drivers associated with VirtualBox can be a pain in the @$$. Sometimes they don’t work properly and need to be reinstalled; sometimes you want to remove them but they don’t uninstall properly; whatever. [...]
[Windows] XUS PC Lock is the same program as Eusing Maze Lock
![[Windows] XUS PC Lock is the same program as Eusing Maze Lock](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2013/03/2013-03-02_231920-290x160.png)
So today I sat down to review XUS PC Lock, a program that adds smartphone-like pattern lock to Windows. XUS PC Lock is a shareaware program that costs $29.95 and I wanted to give dotTechies the option to use a freeware instead if they didn’t want to pay for XUS [...]
Read More »[Windows] Use Freemake Video Converter to easily cut (aka trim), join, rotate, or flip videos [Tip]
Freemake Video Converter is an excellent program for converting audio and video files into other formats; it supports almost every input and output format you can imagine. Did you know it can also double as a program to cut, join, rotate, or flip your videos? Yep, it is true… and [...]
[Windows] Can’t boot into Windows? Recover and backup your data using bootable Windows system repair disk or USB drive [Tip]
![[Windows] Can’t boot into Windows? Recover and backup your data using bootable Windows system repair disk or USB drive [Tip]](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2013/01/recoverydisk_image_6-290x160.png)
A nightmare for Windows users is being unable to boot into Windows. In this situation, unless you know how to boot into Windows or some other trick, your data is likely lost forever. In this article I will show you a trick on how to use a Windows recovery bootable [...]
Read More »[Windows] Take a screenshot of only the active window or program with ALT + Print Screen [Tip]
dotTech has reviewed the best free screenshot programs for Windows. However, screenshot programs aren’t for everyone and some people like to stick with the ole fashion Print Screen -> paste in Microsoft Paint method. The issue with tapping Print Screen to take a screenshot is it takes a screenshot of [...]
Read More »Watch Youtube videos in VLC media player to skip ads, control playback speed, and multitask [Tip]
So you are a Youtube junkie yet you find it annoying to watch Youtube in your browser for multiple reasons, such as the inability to multitask while watching videos. Want to know a better way to watch Youtube videos? Through VLC media player.
WHAT IS VLC MEDIA PLAYER?
VLC Media [...]
Read More »How to recover data from corrupted Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents (DOCX, XLSX, PPTX)
With today’s built-in redundancy measures, it is much harder to corrupt a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document than it was in the past. However, corruption still happens. What to do when you have a corrupted Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document? If the document is DOCX, XLSX, or PPTX format, then [...]
How to uninstall Java on Windows (XP, Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8) [Guide]
![How to uninstall Java on Windows (XP, Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8) [Guide]](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/08/2012-08-31_173557-290x160.png)
If you are fed up with Java’s security vulnerabilities and want to finally get rid of it, this guide shows you how to uninstall/disable/remove Java on Windows. The following instructions should work for all versions of Windows but is specifically confirmed to work with Windows XP and higher machines.
Note: [...]
Read More »How to bypass Windows SmartScreen to install programs [Windows 8]
![How to bypass Windows SmartScreen to install programs [Windows 8]](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/08/2012-08-26_234934-290x160.png)
When you go to install a program on Windows 8, you may find that your installation is blocked by something called the SmartScreen Filter. Windows SmartScreen is a new feature Microsoft added in Windows 8 that, among other things, blocks installs of programs it feels are unsafe. If you know [...]
Read More »How to block websites in Windows 8 using the HOSTS file — be sure to disable Windows Defender first [Guide]
![How to block websites in Windows 8 using the HOSTS file — be sure to disable Windows Defender first [Guide]](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/08/2012-08-19_171423-290x160.png)
Using Windows’ HOSTS file is a quick and painless way to block websites (such as Facebook, ad networks, or malicious websites) on your machine. In the past blocking websites using the HOSTS file was (is) as easy as editing the HOSTS file and adding the websites/servers you want to block. [...]
Read More »How to quickly find files and launch programs/apps on Windows 8 [Guide]
![How to quickly find files and launch programs/apps on Windows 8 [Guide]](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/08/2012-08-19_150643-290x160.png)
As I’ve mentioned before, after using Windows 7 for years and have become dependent on the search box inside Win7′s Start Menu. Windows 8 doesn’t have a Start Menu. But Windows 8 does still have search functionality that allows users to quickly find files, documents, etc. and launch programs/apps (calling [...]
Read More »How to shut down or restart Windows 8 [Guide]
![How to shut down or restart Windows 8 [Guide]](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/08/2012-08-19_142601-290x160.png)
Okay this article may sound ridiculous. A Windows tip on how to shut down or restart Windows 8? You must be joking, Ashraf. Well I’m not. For better or for worse, Microsoft has made a lot of fundamental changes in Windows 8. One such change is getting rid of the [...]
Read More »How to automatically go to Windows 8 desktop (skip Start/Metro screen) on Windows boot [Guide]
![How to automatically go to Windows 8 desktop (skip Start/Metro screen) on Windows boot [Guide]](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/08/2012-08-19_134248-290x160.png)
Windows 8 has a new ‘Start’ screen (also referred to as Metro UI). If you ever want to access the traditional Windows desktop, you need to click on/tap a tile at this Start screen which takes you to the desktop. Whenever turning on or booting Windows 8, Windows 8 opens [...]
Read More »How to open/run regedit (Registry Editor) in Windows 8 [Guide]
![How to open/run regedit (Registry Editor) in Windows 8 [Guide]](http://cdn.dottech.org/media/2012/08/2012-08-19_133851-290x160.png)
After relying on the search box in Windows 7 to launch programs for so long, I was baffled with how to work Windows 8. More specifically, how the hell do I launch regedit without a proper start menu? I sat there thinking (for approximately five seconds) when it hit me: [...]
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