Hot Computers & Programming Posts

How To: Force eject a disk from a Mac

In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to force eject a CD/DVD from a Mac computer. There are two ways to force eject the CD/DVD. The first option is to begin by turning off the computer. Then turn it on again. Right click while you are turning on until the disc ejects and the login screen appears. You can also restart the computer. While restarting, hold down the option button until startup disk shows up on the screen. Then let go op option and hit eject. This video will benefit those vie...

How To: Search your computer and the internet in Windows 7

The new Windows 7 layout is streamlined for the occasional user to the head of human relations for Microsoft. Wall papers, system sounds, and resolution settings were covered in the instructional how to video. The evaluation specialist was knowledgeable and articulate. Transitions into new areas of the operating system were appropriately placed. To make a text more readable, you should change the screen resolution. Choose your picture library to start a slide show for your weekly conferences ...

How To: Boot Windows from a CD

First make sure that you have a boot able disc and insert it to your optical drive. Shut down your PC And start it up again making sure to press the special key to enter the setup dialog. Go to the boot sequence and select the CD ROM as the first bot device as shown. Save the settings and exit the setup console. Wait for the PC to boot up and during the loading hit any key to boot from the CD.

How To: Activate Windows 7 forever

In this video the instructor shows how to activate Windows 7 forever. There is a program called 7Loader that will activate your Windows forever without having to pay for anything. Download the program from the internet or from the link given in this video. After downloading it, scan it with your antivirus program to make sure that it is free of any virus. Now run the tool and on the screen pick your computer make. If you don't know your computer make, look for it in the control panel, as show...

How To: Set appearances and themes in Windows XP

This is another HelpVids video on technology. In this segment we will learn how to set appearances and themes in the Microsoft Windows XP operating system. The videos starts by right-clicking on a blank area of the desktop, then selecting ‘Properties’. The presenter then clicks on the ‘Appearance’ tab. Clicking on ‘Advance’ will open some very detailed options such as changing the font in a title bar window. You can also change the size of the fonts in this window. The options are truly endle...

How To: Clone computers across the LAN

In this video the instructor shows how to clone computers across the Local Area Network using BartPE and Selfimage. To do this first we will have an original computer. Now create the image of the hard drive of the computer and share it on the network drive. Now, using that image from the shared folder you can start the clones of other computers by overriding their hard drive using this image of the main hard drive. Using this technique you can clone multiple computers which are the exact dupl...

How To: Activate Windows XP

It might not be on the top of your to-do list but activating your Windows XP is simple and only takes a moment. No need to put it off any longer. You just need your product key and your computer and your ready to go.

How To: Switch the user ID and log off in Windows 7

Microsoft recommends a unique user ID and password for every user. In order to switch user ID or log off one need to click to the 'Start' menu as shown in the video. Press the move button at the shut down menu as shown. In the sub menu you can see the Change user and Log off. The window will typically shut down and restart on change of user ID or Log Off. In case you need to leave your PC unattended you can press 'Lock' from the same menu which will refrain anyone from changing your desktop s...

How To: Zoom in Firefox

No need to get up to get your glasses, or strain to see that tiny text because with a few clicks of the mouse you will be a master at zooming in and out when using Mozilla Firefox browser. Do something nice for yourself today.

How To: Set Windows to boot from a CD-Rom first

The video shows users how to change the boot sequence in a computer with an older AMI (American Megatrends, Inc.) BIOS to boot from the CD/DVD drive. This is required, for instance, if you need to reinstall an operating system, or fix a corrupted windows installation by running Windows Setup from the installation CD. Users should first enter the BIOS setup by pressing the delete key when prompted shortly after powering the computer on. Once the Bios Setup screen has loaded, users may navigate...

How To: Clean a laptop screen

A dirty laptop screen can be distracting and make it difficult to see what your are trying to work on. Don’t suffer though this for another moment. With products you have at home you can get that screen looking like new.

How To: Share files with a HomeGroup network in Windows 7

First click the explore button, this will open a fold in which you will click homegroup and the second computer in the network. By clicking on that you will see what is in the homegroup. For example clicking on the video icon shows you all the videos available. If you right click on the video you can choose to watch it, open it, send it to different places, drag it onto your computer or copy and paste it into another directory.

How To: Recover deleted files from recycle bin w/free software

Recuva is a freeware data recovery program. Recuva recovers files deleted from your Windows computer, Recycle Bin, digital camera card, or MP3 player. Begin by downloading and installing Recuva. Open up the program and select the type of file you wish to recover. Input the information that is asked and start the scan. It will the provide a list of the files. Simply select the file and click Recover. This video will benefit those viewers who lost or deleted old files and wish to recover them u...

How To: Mount an ISO image file using Ubuntu Linux terminal

Blip TV user Mr. Root teaches you how to mount an ISO image file using the Unbent Linux terminal. To do this and have access to the files inside of an ISO, without unarchived it, start the terminal. Type in dirk CD. Make sure the ISO image is on your desktop. Then type in sud o mount -o loop -t iso9660 and then the name of your image file, followed by CD/. This will create a new disk drive, which can be seen on the desktop. You can explore that disc like a real one. To unmounted your image, s...

How To: Check for a HomeGroup setup on your PC in Windows 7

In this video the instructor shows how to check if your computer has a home group setup or setup one if required. Home group is Microsoft's new way of making networking easier with computers. They allow you to share documents, pictures, videos and all kinds of media between computers that are a part of a home group. Go to the start menu and go to Control Panel. In the Control Panel select the Network and Internet link. Now in the Network and Internet window select the Home group. In this page...

How To: Change your computer password through the cmd prompt

This video teaches you how to change your computer's account password using the DOS command prompt. The first step is to get to the command prompt, you can do this simply by clicking run in the start menu and typing "cmd." You next type "net user" which will show you all of the user accounts on the computer. Choose the one you would like to change the password for and type "net user (account name)." It will then ask you for a new password, you may type anything you like here keeping in mind t...

How To: Create a system repair disc in Windows 7

This video teaches you how to create a system repair disc in Windows 7. Go to Start-All Programs-Maintenance-Create a System Repair Disc. This will help you boot Windows to repair or recover your system after a serious error. Once you click that, Windows 7 will prompt a new window telling you to put a blank disc in your disc drive. Make sure that you do have a blank DVD to insert, for the Windows 7 to create that System Repair Disc. Wait for the process to finish and you have yourself a syste...

How To: Use Gadgets in Windows 7

Stuck with the gadgets in Windows 7? Need a little bit of help from an expert? Then this video is for you! In this video you will learn how to add, remove, and edit different gadgets. Did you know you can drag a gadget to your desktop for easier access? This short video will have you using gadgets like a pro in less than a minute and a half! There is also a gadget bar included in Windows 7 for an organized easy way to access your gadgets. If you feel the gadgets you have are not good enough f...

How To: Disable Aero in Windows 7

A video from HelpVids that shows how to disable Windows Aero visual style in Windows 7. Nero makes your windows look more beautiful by adding effects like transparency / translucency, live thumbnails, live icons etc. All these effects however use valuable system resources like memory (RAM) and processor time. This may lead to a noticeable decrease in performance in some PC configurations especially those in which the processor speed and the amount of RAM is low.

How To: Mount or unmount an ISO file using basic command lines

An elderly woman demonstrates how to create a rose made of icing with which to decorate a cake. Beginning with a bag of icing and a special tip that forms flat wisps of icing, she shows how to create the beginning of the rose with a small dollop of icing for the center and begins to add small, flat wisps of icing for the petals onto the middle, turning the flower as she goes. Most American Beauty cake roses consist of three rows of petals. She finished off the rose by using a separate bag of ...

How To: Join a HomeGroup on a Windows 7 network

The video shows how to join a home group on a Windows 7 network by helves shows you how to join a home group on a Windows 7 network of computers. It is approximately one minute thirty seconds long. To join a home group on a Windows 7 network you first go to control panel, then you click on Network and Internet, after that you click on network and sharing center, and finally click join a home group in the top right. You now select what file types you want to share with the other Windows 7 comp...

How To: Right click on a Mac using the Apple mouse

Jonathan demonstrates how to right click on a Mac using the Apple mouse. There is a short cut: holding down control while left clicking to make the right click menu come up. The Mighty Mouse has a right click function but you have to enable it. To enable this feature, go to system preferences and click on mouse and keyboard. The mouse and keyboard menu will now open up. Locate the right drop down menu. The default is set to "Primary Button" so you will need to change that to the "Secondary Bu...

How To: Fix a laptop fan

You can help keep your laptop cool by fixing a malfunctioning laptop fan. With a screwdriver and some compressed air you can clear away any obstructions. Think about where you are setting down your laptop as soft surfaces can block air intake.

How To: Restore your PC to factory settings by rebooting

Greg French talks to us about the different ways to reboot a computer to resolve issues in the computer. The first way is by pressing F8 key while startup after rebooting the system. When you insert a wrong driver for video card or something, sometimes when you boot the computer, it gives a black screen. Now he says you can resolve this problem by rebooting the computer and pressing the F8 key while startup. This will take you to a menu selection where you should select 'Safe Mode' and hit en...

How To: Handle a Mac freeze

One of the most frustrating events in life is a computer freeze. When your Mac freezes don’t freak-out. Stay calm there are things you can do. And, hey, if you can’t do them, there is a professional out the happy to help you out...for a price.

How To: Handle a computer crash

You can learn to deal with the thing we all dread, a computer crash. Hopefully you diligently back up work but even if that's not case, stay calm. There is still hope and even if you're not a wiz at computers there are people out there who can help.

How To: Handle a PC freeze

If you work with a computer, at some point in time your computer is going to freeze. Hopefully, you've been saving any important data or writing you've been doing because there are a few easy steps to take to get that computer running smoothly.

How To: Speed up your Windows XP with control panel settings

If your game of Half Life is taking too long to load then maybe it's time to improve your computer performance. This video tutorial demonstrates how to speed up your personal computer running Microsoft Windows XP. You'll learn a variety of methods to boost performance and gain hard drive space. The steps are basic enough for any user to follow, so power up and maximize your PC performance.

How To: Open a zip file without using WinZip

Unzipping compressed files is a basic skill that every computer user should know. Compressing allows you to reduce the size of large files for easier information transfer. This video tutorial demonstrates the basic steps of unzipping a file without the use of Windows WinZip.

How To: Create a data disc in Windows Vista

This video shows us how to burn files to a disc using Windows Vista. Insert the blank disc in your computer's recordable disk drive. Autoplay will automatically appear. Choose "Burn Files to disc using Windows". Click next when "Burn a disc" dialog box appears. Empty folder window appears. Choose files that you want to copy and drag them to the window. For example, if you want to copy a photo, click Start menu and open the Pictures folder. Select photos and drag them to the window. Photos are...

How To: Flip your computer screen upside down in MS Vista

This video is a quick guide on how to turn your computer screen up side down. If you have Windows Vista, right click on mouse and go to graphics properties. Go to display settings. On the rotation box, choose the desired angle of rotation. Click apply and hit OK to confirm settings. For the keyboard shortcut, click control+alt+down arrow key to turn screen up side down. Click control+alt+right arrow key to turn screen to the left. Click control+alt+left arrow key to turn screen to the right. ...

How To: Use a "do while loop" for Java programming

Learn how to use a 'do while loop' in your Java programming. 1. Set up an 'int' variable named 'counter' and assign it a '0' value. 2. Set up a standard 'do' loop. Make sure to add a counter, so the loop will end 3. Then write the 'while' condition. Make sure that you set the condition to the same variable name that you used in the counter from step 2. Set the variable to '=' 10 (or any number desired)

How To: Partition & resize your hard drive with EASEUS

This is a step by step tutorial how to Partition & resize your hard drive with EASEUS. To resize hard drive Open EASEUS Partition Manager. Click on the drive you want to resize. Then click Resize/Move. Go to the end and left-click with your mouse dragging in the direction you want to go. In the display you can see the size that's being created. When you have the size drives you want, just stop and click OK. If you shrunk one drive you can now create a new drive using the unallocated space. Th...

How To: Use the Finder buttons in Mac OS X

This video instructs you how to use the "Finder" Button if you own a Mac on OS X. The "Finder" window shows the Mac user the contents of the hard drive. It describes functions of the Finder folder: i.e., adding an untitled new folder in the Finder file. It also discusses how you can view the "Finder" in a variety of layouts: grids, lists, etc. The video shows you how to use the buttons on the upper left hand corner of the "Finder" screen to maximize, minimize, or close the window. It also dis...

How To: Fix a computer that doesn't power up or has no power

This quick video tutorial will show you how to fix a computer that has no power. If your computer won't power up, follow these steps: Check the back of the computer to make sure the power cord is plugged in, and check the other end of the cable to make sure it's plugged into your power strip, and that the power strip is turned on. Try plugging your computer directly into the wall. Check the switch at the back of your computer to see if it is in the 'off' position. Unplug the power cord. Hold ...

How To: Disable Wi-Fi SSID broadcast on an Apple AirPort

How to disable Wi-Fi SSID broadcast on an Apple AirPort in seven simple steps. Open your AirPort Admin Utility application. Find your network's name and double-click it or press the Configure button on the bottom right of the screen. Enter your password and click OK. The Configure "Apple AirPort Express" Base Station should open. Click on AirPort tab. Select the "Create a closed network" check box. Click OK on the dialogue box. Click the Update button on the lower right part of your screen. D...