Computer Tips Archives - Page 227 of 232

How to change the boot order on a dual-boot Microsoft Windows/Ubuntu Linux system

Posted on January 25, 2013

change-boot-order If you have a dual-boot system which lets you boot your PC into either Microsoft Windows or Ubuntu Linux, odds are the default O.S. is Ubuntu.

If you boot the computer into Ubuntu most of the time, this works out great. You can just press the PC’s power button and go grab a snack or something, then return to an Ubuntu Desktop ready and waiting for you.

But if you boot into Windows more than Ubuntu, you have to sit at the computer and wait for the Boot Menu to appear so you can instruct the computer to boot into Windows instead of Ubuntu. If you find yourself having to do this on a regular basis you can easily change the boot order of the operating systems on your PC and make Windows the default. [Read more…]

Bypass the Windows 7 Splash Screen for faster system startups

Posted on January 22, 2013

windows-7 One of the most annoying things about any version of Microsoft Windows is having to wait while Windows boots up before you can start doing anything, and that includes Windows 7.

You can speed up the boot process quite a bit by controlling which programs are allowed to start up automatically when Windows is loaded (see this post for details), but if you want to reduce the boot time by a couple more seconds you can also bypass the fancy (but useless) Windows Splash Screen. Here’s how: [Read more…]

Save time by using Google instead of the ‘Yellow Pages’

Posted on January 21, 2013

yellow-pages For decades we kept the ‘Yellow Pages’ next to the phone for those times when we needed to look up the phone number or address of a local business, but times have changed. Now, thanks to Google we can find that information with just a mouse click and a few keystrokes. Here’s how:

Start by typing the following information into Google’s search box, in this order and without the commas: Business Name, City or Town, State. If you live in a small town with just one business by that name, the Google Plus listing for that particular establishment will pop right up. [Read more…]

How to add Shutdown and Restart tiles to the Windows 8 Start Screen

Posted on January 18, 2013

As I explained in a previous post, when Microsoft designed Windows 8 they made drastic changes in the way we have always performed a number of common tasks. One of the most irritating of these changes is in how we initiate the Shutdown/Restart procedure.

With Windows 8, instead of needing just a couple of simple mouse clicks to shut down or restart our PCs, we now have to go through a frustrating process that’s about as intuitive as learning how to pilot a 747.

If you’d like to be able to shut down or restart your PC in a hurry again, here is a fast and easy way to add a pair of Shutdown and Restart tiles right to your Windows 8 Start Screen:

1 – Right-click on a open area of the desktop, then select New > Shortcut.

2 – In the “Location” box type shutdown /p and click Next.

3 – Name your new shortcut Shutdown and click Finish.

4 – Find your new Shutdown shortcut on the Desktop, right-click on it and click Pin to Start. You now have a Shutdown tile right on your Start Screen! Clicking on this tile will shut the system down right away.

5 – Repeat steps 1 – 4, replacing shutdown /p with shutdown /r /t 0 and naming the shortcut Restart. Finish up by repeating step 4. Now you now have a Restart tile on your Start Screen as well.

WiGig routers now on the horizon

Posted on January 15, 2013

wigig The IEEE Standards Association has recently approved a new wireless Internet technology known as WiGig (that’s 802.11ad to you technophiles out there).

What makes this such big news is the blazing fast speeds at which WiGig wireless routers and other networking equipment will be able to transfer data over a Wi-Fi connection. The newly approved WiGig standard is theoretically capable of wirelessly transferring data at the mind-boggling rate of 7 Gbps, a speed that will make the Wireless N speeds that we currently use seem like a snail’s pace. [Read more…]