@Geeksrus Computer Services

For the home user and small Business

Unlock toolbars to work with them

A toolbar is a collection of buttons or icons—usually displayed across the top of the screen—that represents the different tasks you can do within a program. For example, in Microsoft Internet Explorer, there is a toolbar for the standard Internet Explorer command buttons, one for entering an Internet address, and one for quick links you can set up.

When you open a toolbar, it will appear in a particular spot on the screen. If you want to change the location of the toolbar you can move it by dragging it to the new location. You can also resize the toolbar by dragging its edge. If you find a toolbar that cannot be moved or resized, the toolbar may be locked.

To unlock a toolbar

1.Make sure you have only one window open for the program. (You can look at the taskbar at the bottom of your screen to verify this.) Then, right-click the toolbar.

2. If Lock the Toolbars appears on the shortcut menu and is selected (a check mark appears to the left of it), click Lock the Toolbars to unlock the toolbar. If you see Lock the Toolbars, but no check mark appears to the left of it, the toolbar is already unlocked.

Note: If Lock the Toolbars does not appear on the shortcut menu, you may not be able to move or resize the toolbar.

If you are able move the toolbar, once you’ve moved the toolbar to the location where you want it, select Lock the Toolbars so that it isn’t inadvertently moved. To make sure the change is permanent, lock the toolbar, exit the program, and then reopen it. The toolbar should be locked.

Adding Programs To Stay On The Start Menu

Right click on any .exe file in Explorer, My Computer, Desktop and select 'Pin to Start Menu', the program is then displayed on the start menu, above the separator line. To remove it, click the file on the start menu and select 'Unpin from Start Menu'. Below you can check the before and after shots.

Add a shortcut to your desktop

You can create shortcuts on your desktop that enable you to open your favorite files and folders by simply double-clicking your mouse.

To add a shortcut from a file to your desktop

1. Browse through your My Documents folder, and find the file that you want to create a shortcut to.

2. Right-click the file that you want to be able to open from your desktop, click Send To, and then click Desktop.

You’ll see the shortcut on your desktop.

Note: The shortcut icon has an arrow in the lower-left corner to indicate that it’s a shortcut rather than the actual file. You can open a shortcut just like you would any other file by double-clicking it. However, if you delete the shortcut, you won’t remove the file itself.

Can't delete a file in Windows XP? Here's the simple way to delete the file and remove the access denied error.

How to delete a file when:

Windows says 'file access denied'.

'File in use' error.

Can't delete a file (insert cryptic reason).

Rebooting doesn't help delete the file.

Despite all its quirks, Windows does do some things for a good reason. Some files need to be locked down when they are in use, otherwise you risk damaging the file or harming the Operating System. Unfortunately Windows XP seems to be plagued by files that cannot be deleted. These are frequently simple files like videos (AVI), MP3s or other seemingly harmless files. You try to delete the file, Windows waits a few seconds before announcing that access is denied, the file is currently in use and cannot be deleted. However, you know it's not in use and you just want it deleted.

If you have encountered this problem, here is a step-by-step process for trying to purge the files you can't delete. It starts with the basics for Windows XP and moves on to more involved tricks. The process will work for all recent Windows releases, but Windows XP has been causing the most the problems, so we will focus on it. Please note: we are assuming that the file is not crucial to the operation of Windows - deleting important system files can cause havoc.

Is the file in use? It sounds obvious but it happens. If it is being used or open, close the file and the application that opened it. For example, if it is a Word document, close Microsoft Word.

If the file was opened in an application (and subsequently closed), but the program is still running, try quitting the program. Windows will lock a file because the application hasn't yet released it. This is not always Windows fault and can be the fault of the program.

If the file is an AVI, in particular a DivX AVI, try renaming it and then deleting it. DivX files don't get on very well with Windows XP and sometimes renaming the file can trick Windows into releasing it.

Reboot your PC and don't start any programs. Go directly to the file and delete it.

In Windows Explorer, switch to View-Details and then select View-Choose Details. Uncheck everything except the file name. This stops Windows XP trying to read the file - this problem affects many video, audio and graphics files.

Still no luck? OK, here is the best trick of all. Most sites give you cryptic Windows registry and DOS commands to remove a file, but the answer is so much simpler. Get a copy of MoveOnBoot. It's free and this simple tool allows you to Move, Copy or Delete files before Windows can lock or alter the files. The changes are made to your hard drive before Windows starts, hence it requires a restart of your system after you give MoveOnBoot its instructions. There are no messy boot or DOS commands, just a simple 3-step process.

Step 1: Locate the name of the file that is causing your problems.

Step 2: Decide if you want to copy, move or delete the file.

Step 3. Choose a destination for moving the file, or a new file name for the rename option (this option won't appear if you are deleting a file).

Click OK to confirm you want to process. The nice thing is that the program doesn't make you reboot straight away. It's a good idea to reboot ASAP, but if you are in the middle of something and want to wait, the program will simply run next time you start Windows.

If the file reappears again (check its creation date to ensure it is being recreated) and you can't make it budge, you may have trouble with spyware or a virus on your system (don't overlook the possibility it may also be an important system file). In this case you should get a good spyware removal program to scan your system.

Free file recovery software - recover lost files from a CD, DVD, hard drive or memory card.

How to:

'Undelete' and recover files from your hard drive

Recover files from memory cards and USB drives

Check CDs and DVDs for errors

Salvage damaged files from CDs and DVDs

File recovery for all needs

It's something that's happened to everyone. In a brief lapse we've responded to yet another Windows question and sent important files into oblivion. At other times, it's simply not our fault. Software crashes, hardware fails and some CDs/DVDs can have lives shorter than a housefly. It is possible to recover files from these diasters, but you have to act quickly. For hard drives and memory cards, don't write any more files to the media until you can run a recovery program.

If the problem is with a CD or DVD, keep it in a cool, dark place since heat and sunlight can accelerate data loss. Some times a CD can work in another drive without problem, or a gentle clean with a proper CD cleaning kit may dislodge dirty and grit. Also try the local video store - many have CD/DVD polishing systems that can bring back life to a scratched disc.

To get back your lost files, you'll need a recovery tool. These three programs are free and will work for most types of media:

CDCheck 3 (CDs and DVDs)

www.softwarepatch.com/software/cd-recovery.html

File Recovery 3 (Hard drives and some types of removable devices/drives)

www.softwarepatch.com/software/file-recovery.html

Smart Recovery 4.5 (most Memory cards, USB drives/keys and removeable media).

www.softwarepatch.com/software/smart-recovery.html

All three programs are free for personal use and the links above have more details about each. Keep them handy for when disaster strikes.

PC Make your Folders Private

•Open My Computer

•Double-click the drive where Windows is installed (usually drive (C:), unless you have more than one drive on your computer).

•If the contents of the drive are hidden, under System Tasks, click Show the contents of this drive.

•Double-click the Documents and Settings folder.

•Double-click your user folder.

•Right-click any folder in your user profile, and then click Properties.

•On the Sharing tab, select the Make this folder private so that only I have access to it check box.

Note

•To open My Computer, click Start, and then click My Computer.

•This option is only available for folders included in your user profile. Folders in your user profile include My Documents and its subfolders, Desktop, Start Menu, Cookies, and Favorites. If you do not make these folders private, they are available to everyone who uses your computer.

•When you make a folder private, all of its subfolders are private as well. For example, when you make My Documents private, you also make My Music and My Pictures private. When you share a folder, you also share all of its subfolders unless you make them private.

•You cannot make your folders private if your drive is not formatted as NTFS For information about converting your drive to NTFS

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