Enable the (Hidden) Administrator Account on Windows 7 or Vista

Many people familiar with prior versions of Windows are curious what happened to the built-in Administrator account that was always created by default. Does this account still exist, and how can you access it?


The account is created in Windows 7 or Vista, but since it’s not enabled you can’t use it. If you are troubleshooting something that needs to run as administrator, you can enable it with a simple command.




Note: You really shouldn’t use this account for anything other than troubleshooting. In fact, you probably shouldn’t use it at all.

Enable Built-in Administrator Account

First you’ll need to open a command prompt in administrator mode by right-clicking and choosing “Run as administrator” (or use the Ctrl+Shift+Enter shortcut from the search box)


Run Command Prompt as AdministratorNow type the following command:

net user administrator /active:yes

The Command Completed Successfully You should see a message that the command completed successfully. Log out, and you’ll now see the Administrator account as a choice. (Note that the screenshots are from Vista, but this works on Windows 7 too)

Administrator AccountYou’ll note that there’s no password for this account, so if you want to leave it enabled you should change the password.

Disable Built-in Administrator Account

Make sure you are logged on as your regular user account, and then open an administrator mode command prompt as above. Type the following command:


net user administrator /active:no

The Command Completed SuccessfullyThe administrator account will now be disabled, and shouldn’t show up on the login screen anymore

Top reasons Why PC’s Crash – Curing Blue Screen of Death

“Fatal error: the system has become unstable or is busy," it says. "Enter to return to Windows or press Control-Alt-Delete to restart your computer. If you do this you will lose any unsaved information in all open applications."


You have just been struck by the Blue Screen of Death.









Anyone who uses Microsoft Windows will be familiar with this. What can you do? More importantly, how can you prevent it happening?

Lets get down on it…





Hardware conflict

The number one reason why Windows crashes is hardware conflict. Each hardware device communicates to other devices through an interrupt request channel (IRQ). These are supposed to be unique for each device.

For example, a printer usually connects internally on IRQ 7. The keyboard usually uses IRQ 1 and the floppy disk drive IRQ 6. Each device will try to hog a single IRQ for itself.

If there are a lot of devices, or if they are not installed properly, two of them may end up sharing the same IRQ number. When the user tries to use both devices at the same time, a crash can happen. The way to check if your computer has a hardware conflict is through the following route:



* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager.

Often if a device has a problem a yellow '!' appears next to its description in the Device Manager. Highlight Computer (in the Device Manager) and press Properties to see the IRQ numbers used by your computer. If the IRQ number appears twice, two devices may be using it.

Sometimes a device might share an IRQ with something described as 'IRQ holder for PCI steering'. This can be ignored. The best way to fix this problem is to remove the problem device and reinstall it.

Sometimes you may have to find more recent drivers on the internet to make the device function properly. A good resource is www.driverguide.com. If the device is a soundcard, or a modem, it can often be fixed by moving it to a different slot on the motherboard (be careful about opening your computer, as you may void the warranty).

When working inside a computer you should switch it off, unplug the mains lead and touch an unpainted metal surface to discharge any static electricity.

To be fair to Microsoft, the problem with IRQ numbers is not of its making. It is a legacy problem going back to the first PC designs using the IBM 8086 chip. Initially there were only eight IRQs. Today there are 16 IRQs in a PC. It is easy to run out of them. There are plans to increase the number of IRQs in future designs.



Bad Ram

Ram (random-access memory) problems might bring on the blue screen of death with a message saying Fatal Exception Error. A fatal error indicates a serious hardware problem. Sometimes it may mean a part is damaged and will need replacing.

But a fatal error caused by Ram might be caused by a mismatch of chips. For example, mixing 70-nanosecond (70ns) Ram with 60ns Ram will usually force the computer to run all the Ram at the slower speed. This will often crash the machine if the Ram is overworked.

One way around this problem is to enter the BIOS settings and increase the wait state of the Ram. This can make it more stable. Another way to troubleshoot a suspected Ram problem is to rearrange the Ram chips on the motherboard, or take some of them out. Then try to repeat the circumstances that caused the crash. When handling Ram try not to touch the gold connections, as they can be easily damaged.

Parity error messages also refer to Ram. Modern Ram chips are either parity (ECC) or non parity (non-ECC). It is best not to mix the two types, as this can be a cause of trouble.

EMM386 error messages refer to memory problems but may not be connected to bad Ram. This may be due to free memory problems often linked to old Dos-based programs.





BIOS settings

Every motherboard is supplied with a range of chipset settings that are decided in the factory. A common way to access these settings is to press the F2 or delete button during the first few seconds of a boot-up.

Once inside the BIOS, great care should be taken. It is a good idea to write down on a piece of paper all the settings that appear on the screen. That way, if you change something and the computer becomes more unstable, you will know what settings to revert to.

A common BIOS error concerns the CAS latency. This refers to the Ram. Older EDO (extended data out) Ram has a CAS latency of 3. Newer SDRam has a CAS latency of 2. Setting the wrong figure can cause the Ram to lock up and freeze the computer's display.

Microsoft Windows is better at allocating IRQ numbers than any BIOS. If possible set the IRQ numbers to Auto in the BIOS. This will allow Windows to allocate the IRQ numbers (make sure the BIOS setting for Plug and Play OS is switched to 'yes' to allow Windows to do this.).





Hard disk drives

After a few weeks, the information on a hard disk drive starts to become piecemeal or fragmented. It is a good idea to defragment the hard disk every week or so, to prevent the disk from causing a screen freeze. Go to



* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk Defragmenter

This will start the procedure. You will be unable to write data to the hard drive (to save it) while the disk is defragmenting, so it is a good idea to schedule the procedure for a period of inactivity using the Task Scheduler.

The Task Scheduler should be one of the small icons on the bottom right of the Windows opening page (the desktop).

Some lockups and screen freezes caused by hard disk problems can be solved by reducing the read-ahead optimisation. This can be adjusted by going to



* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System Icon-Performance-File System-Hard Disk.

Hard disks will slow down and crash if they are too full. Do some housekeeping on your hard drive every few months and free some space on it. Open the Windows folder on the C drive and find the Temporary Internet Files folder. Deleting the contents (not the folder) can free a lot of space.

Empty the Recycle Bin every week to free more space. Hard disk drives should be scanned every week for errors or bad sectors. Go to



* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-ScanDisk

Otherwise assign the Task Scheduler to perform this operation at night when the computer is not in use.





Fatal OE exceptions and VXD errors

Fatal OE exception errors and VXD errors are often caused by video card problems.These can often be resolved easily by reducing the resolution of the video display. Go to



* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Display-Settings

Here you should slide the screen area bar to the left. Take a look at the color settings on the left of that window. For most desktops, high color 16-bit depth is adequate.

If the screen freezes or you experience system lockups it might be due to the video card. Make sure it does not have a hardware conflict. Go to



* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager

Here, select the + beside Display Adapter. A line of text describing your video card should appear. Select it (make it blue) and press properties. Then select Resources and select each line in the window. Look for a message that says No Conflicts.

If you have video card hardware conflict, you will see it here. Be careful at this point and make a note of everything you do in case you make things worse.

The way to resolve a hardware conflict is to uncheck the Use Automatic Settings box and hit the Change Settings button. You are searching for a setting that will display a No Conflicts message.

Another useful way to resolve video problems is to go to



* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Performance-Graphics

Here you should move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the left. As ever, the most common cause of problems relating to graphics cards is old or faulty drivers (a driver is a small piece of software used by a computer to communicate with a device).

Look up your video card's manufacturer on the internet and search for the most recent drivers for it.





Viruses

Often the first sign of a virus infection is instability. Some viruses erase the boot sector of a hard drive, making it impossible to start. This is why it is a good idea to create a Windows start-up disk. Go to



* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Add/Remove Programs

Here, look for the Start Up Disk tab. Virus protection requires constant vigilance.

A virus scanner requires a list of virus signatures in order to be able to identify viruses. These signatures are stored in a DAT file. DAT files should be updated weekly from the website of your antivirus software manufacturer.

An excellent antivirus program is McAfee Virus Scan by Network Associates ( www.nai.com). Another is Norton Antivirus 2000, made by Symantec ( www.symantec.com).



Printers

The action of sending a document to print creates a bigger file, often called a postscript file.

Printers have only a small amount of memory, called a buffer. This can be easily overloaded. Printing a document also uses a considerable amount of CPU power. This will also slow down the computer's performance.

If the printer is trying to print unusual characters, these might not be recognized, and can crash the computer. Sometimes printers will not recover from a crash because of confusion in the buffer. A good way to clear the buffer is to unplug the printer for ten seconds. Booting up from a powerless state, also called a cold boot, will restore the printer's default settings and you may be able to carry on.



Software

A common cause of computer crash is faulty or badly-installed software. Often the problem can be cured by uninstalling the software and then reinstalling it. Use Norton Uninstall or Uninstall Shield to remove an application from your system properly. This will also remove references to the program in the System Registry and leaves the way clear for a completely fresh copy.

The System Registry can be corrupted by old references to obsolete software that you thought was uninstalled. Use Registry Cleaner to clean up the System Registry and remove obsolete entries.

Often a Windows problem can be resolved by entering Safe Mode. This can be done during start-up. When you see the message "Starting Windows" press F4. This should take you into Safe Mode.

Safe Mode loads a minimum of drivers. It allows you to find and fix problems that prevent Windows from loading properly.

Sometimes installing Windows is difficult because of unsuitable BIOS settings. If you keep getting SUWIN error messages (Windows setup) during the Windows installation, then try entering the BIOS and disabling the CPU internal cache. Try to disable the Level 2 (L2) cache if that doesn't work.

Remember to restore all the BIOS settings back to their former settings following installation.



Overheating

Central processing units (CPUs) are usually equipped with fans to keep them cool. If the fan fails or if the CPU gets old it may start to overheat and generate a particular kind of error called a kernel error. This is a common problem in chips that have been overclocked to operate at higher speeds than they are supposed to.

One remedy is to get a bigger better fan and install it on top of the CPU. Specialist cooling fans/heatsinks are available from www.computernerd.com or www.coolit.com

CPU problems can often be fixed by disabling the CPU internal cache in the BIOS. This will make the machine run more slowly, but it should also be more stable.



Power supply problems

With all the new construction going on around the country the steady supply of electricity has become disrupted. A power surge or spike can crash a computer as easily as a power cut.

If this has become a nuisance for you then consider buying a uninterrupted power supply (UPS). This will give you a clean power supply when there is electricity, and it will give you a few minutes to perform a controlled shutdown in case of a power cut.

It is a good investment if your data are critical, because a power cut will cause any unsaved data to be lost.





I hope now you will be able to rectify your problems. keep reading and learning.

How to Alter Windows Product ID

If you are running a Microsoft Windows operating system on your computer, then you are most likely aware of the fact that your PC will have a Product ID. This Product ID is a system specific alphanumeric code which is derived/calculated based on the Windows product key you use and the hardware configuration of your Computer. In simple words, Product ID is the alphanumeric code that you see when you Right-Click on the My Computer icon and select the Properties option.






Ever wondered how to alter the Windows Product ID?



It is possible to alter the Windows Product ID and change it to what ever you like. For example, you can change the Product ID and put your nickname in place of the formal Product ID displayed by the Operating System. This hack is too easy and can be done within minutes. The screenshot showing the altered Product ID is given below



Win 7 PC showing Original PID

Windows 7 PC showing Altered PID

As you can see from the above screenshot it is simple and easy to make your Windows display what ever you want in the place of the real Product ID. Here is a step-by-step procedure to alter your Windows Product ID.



1. Goto Start->Run and type the following in the Run dialog box


regedit


2. After you open the Registry Editor, navigate to the following key


HKey_Local_Machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version


3. On the right hand side, you can see an entry by name ProductID listed under the heading Name.



4. Double-Click on ProductID, a dialog box will pop-up showing your Windows PID. Now you can delete the original PID and enter anything of your choice.



5. Once you are done, just click on OK and close the Registry Editor. Now you can see the altered Product ID in the Windows Properties window.



NOTE: This trick works on Win 7, Vista and Win XPI hope you like this trick. Pass your comments. Cheers!

Encrypt USB Flash Drive with BitLocker

Since Windows Vista has been released, BitLocker was introduced to Windows User. But, in Windows Vista, BitLocker only support to encrypt internal hard drive. Now, BitLocker is also supported on Windows 7. It supports to encrypt removable disk, such USB Flash Drive. Using BitLocker on a removable USB flash drive provides a great way to protect your data in the event the drive was lost or stolen.


Do I can access the data if the drive is protected by BitLocker? Yes. You can access your data on Windows XP and Vista through a read-only interface that is installed during the initial encryption. So, you are able to get your data on other Windows Version, not just on your Windows 7 computer.



How to start encrypting a removable drive using BitLocker? Here’s the steps how to encrypt USB Flash drive with BitLocker:



1.Plug in your USB flash drive into computer. Then, right click on your drive through Windows Explorer and select Turn on BitLocker.

2.Next, check one of two options provides. You can set a password to protect the drive or use a smart card if your device has a smart card reader. Because my drive does not use smart card, so I choose the first options. Click Next to continue to the next step.

3.On the next Windows, you will asked to recover the key if you forget the password or lose the smart card. So I recomended you to save the recovery key to a file. Click Next to start Start the Encryption.

Now, the Encryption will be started. It can take a few minutes to complete it. Depending on the size of your USB flash drive. The drive will be protected whe the encryption completed and you can plug off the USB flash drive from your computer.



Now, I will show you how to use the encrypted USB flash drive on another computer with different operating system, for example in Windows XP computer.



1.First, plug the the encrypted USB falsh drive.

2.Open the Windows Explorer, the you will see the USB flash drive will have a different icon. Double klik the drive the execute BitLockerToGo.exe.


3.After you execute it, you will be asked for the password. Type in your password.

4.Once authenticated, a read-only Windows will appear where you can see the encrypted files.

In order to modify the files, you need to extract it first from the encrypted USB flash drive.

The Top 5 Tips and Tricks To Unlock Vista’s Potential

Windows Vista has a large amount of options when it comes to customization, as do nearly all Windows operating systems. Fortunately, Vista makes it even easier then you may believe to tweak your operating system.




Today, we will be looking at some of the top Vista tricks to increase productivity and unlock Vista’s potential. Here they are (in no particular order):



Access Vista’s Super User Mode

Vista is riddled with an extremely large amount of “security” measures that may, or may not, be helpful. Running Vista as an Administrator may help, but did you know there is an even higher Administrator? Well, there is! All you need to do to unlock it is the following:



Step One: Go to “Start” and type cmd.

Step Two: When the command prompt loads, type the following:


Net user Administrator /active:yes

Step Three: When you switch user, you should now be able to see an Administrator account.



(Note: If you would like to hide the Administrator account, you can, again, go to “Start” and type cmd, then type: Net user administrator /active:no)



Save Battery Life on Laptops

Vista is quite a resource hog. If you have a laptop, this could present a problem. To maximize battery life and still run Vista on a viable amount of memory, simply do the following:



Step One: Hit the Windows Key and X at the same time.



Step Two: When “Windows Mobility Center” loads, you should be able to adjust settings, such as Display Brightness, Power Consumption, etc.



Remove Personal Information from Files

Nearly every single file on your computer contains some type of personal information – either information about the user, information on setting e.g. time, date, etc. In any case, it may be good to remove some of this information before making it available to the public, such as uploading a video or image online.

To do this, all you need to do is:



Step One: Select one or multiple file(s)
Step Two: Right-Click and select “Properties”
Step Three: Click “Details” and then click “Remove Properties and Personal Information.”



You can now have Vista create copies of the selected file(s) before changing/removing any of the information.



Tweaking Windows Power Button

Unlike Windows XP, the Vista power off button simply puts your computer to sleep when you were actually intending to turn it off. Fortunately, this can be easily changed with a simple tweak.



Step One: Click “Start,” then click “Control Panel."
Step Two: Select “Hardware and Sound,” then click “Power Options.”

Step Three: Click “Change Plan Settings” under your current power plan.
Step Four: Click “Change Advanced Settings,” and then navigate to:



Power Buttons and Lid / Start Menu Power Button

Step Five: Select “Shut Down”


Disable UAC Notification Messages

One of the most ridiculous features of Vista are the continuous “confirmation” messages. Messages that pop up nearly every time you attempt to run any unknown application. Almost all of which are completely unnecessary, and waste time. Here is how you can disable these annoying uac notifications, quickly and easily:



Step One: Go to “Start” and click “Control Panel.”


Step Two: Click “User Accounts and Family Safety,” then click “Turn User Account Control On and Off.”

Step Three: Un-Select the box labeled User User Account Control (UAC) to help protect my computer.


Step Four: Click “OK,” and you’re done!



Alternatively, you can check out Norton’s UAC Tool (previously covered by MakeUseOf author Karl Gechlik) that can hlp you deal with those warning in a more manageable way.



Hope this helps some of you get that much closer to a nearly perfectly tweaked computer.



Stay tuned for more WinHack!

Speed-up Windows Vista's Aero

Windows Vista is a step-up in terms of eye candy but it can slow your system down a bit. There are 2 things you can do to speed-up the Aero interface in Windows Vista:




Method 1: Disable Transparent Glass Effect

1. Click on the Desktop and select Personalize.

2. Select Windows Color And Appearance.

3. Uncheck Enable Transparency.



Method 2: Disable Windows Minimize/Maximize Animation

1. Click on the Start Menu, enter SystemPropertiesPerformance and hit Enter.

2. On the Visual Effects tab, uncheck Animate Windows When Minimizing/Maximizing.

3. Click OK.

USB Storage & Windows Vista ReadyBoost

Windows Vista has a new performance feature called ReadyBoost. This feature enables the use of a USB storage device instead of the slow paging file on your hard disk when you're low on physical memory (RAM). The logic is simple - the USB storage device is faster than your hard disk drive.



In order for ReadyBoost to work in Windows Vista, your USB storage device must meet the following requirements:

- the device must have at least 64MB storage.

- the device must be USB 2.0 compliant.

- the device must have a minimum read speed of 3.5 MB/s.

- the device must have a minimum write speed of 2.5 MB/s.



Follow these steps to enable ReadyBoost:

1. Plug in USB storage device.

2. Go to Computer, right-click on the removable storage device and select Properties.

3. Click on the ReadyBoost tab.

4. Select Use This Device and set the amount of space to use for the system file.

5. Click OK.

How to Make Invisible Password Protected Folder

Do you want to password protect your folder? Do you want to make it invisible so that it remains unnoticed by the normal users? Well here is a way to do that. In this post I will show you how to make a password protected folder in Windows without using any additional software. Here is is step by step procedure to create a password protected folder.



How to create a Password Protected Folder



Step-1: Create a new folder (Right-click -> New -> Folder) and give it any name of your choice. For instance I name it as ABC.

Step-2: Now in this folder place all the important files, documents or any folders that you want to password protect.

Step-3: Now Right-click on this folder (ABC) and select the option Send To -> Compressed (zipped) Folder.

Step-4: Now a new compressed zipped folder gets created next this folder (ABC) with the same name.

Step-5: Double-click on this compressed zipped folder and you should see your original folder (ABC) here.

Step-6: Now goto the File menu and select the option Add a password.



ie: File -> Add a password



Now a small window will pop up and here you can set your desired password. Once the password is set, the folder will ask for the password every time it is opened. Thus you have now created the password protected folder.


How to make it Invisible

Step-1: Now Right-click on this password protected folder and select Properties.

Step-2: At the bottom select the option Hidden and press OK. Now your folder gets invisible (hidden).

Step-3: In order to unhide this folder go to My Computer – >Tools -> Folder options. Switch to View tab, scroll down and under Hidden files and folders you’ll see the following two options



■Do not show hidden files and folders

■Show hidden files and folders

Now select the second option and press OK. Now the invisible folder becomes visible in it’s location. To access it you need the password. To make it invisible again repeat step -1 through step-3 and select the first option and click OK. Now the folder becomes invisible once again.



I hope you like this post. Pass your comments!! Cheers