Safely Remove Hardware

Safely Remove Hardware

Is the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in your notification area gone missing? If so then you will be unable to properly disconnet items such as memory keys and removable hard drives. It's very important to disconnect USB devices, because you could lose the stored data if you disconnect before Windows has a chance to write everything out.

The good news is that the if the icon has gone missing it is probably just obscured from view. We can get this back.

To do so, right click on the Start menu button and then click on Properties.

Now click on the Taskbar tab, and choose customize

Ensure that the line reading "Safely Remove Hardware" is set to "Always Show"

Was this post of help or interest to you? Post a comment below and let us know.

Microsoft Virtual Desktop Manager (MSVDM)

Microsoft Virtual Desktop Manager is one of a few Microsoft Powertoys for Windows XP. In a nutshell, It allows you to have 4 different desktops, each with it`s own applications and desktop wallpapers.

This is a great tool if you want to keep personal stuff and work stuff separate! The powertoy integrates nicely into the taskbar. The tool allows you to quickly switch between your virtual desktops. This can be achieved by using assigned keyboard hotkeys to switch between the desktops. You can also preview all 4 desktops at once.

For example, you can open your e-mail program on one desktop, an Internet chess game on the second, several Internet sessions on the third, and multiple database sessions on the fourth.

At just 550KB this small application is a great killer application. It can be found here.

Was this post of help or interest to you? Post a comment below and let us know.

How to convert a drive to NTFS

Why convert a drive to NTFS?

There are a number of advantages to having a NTFS file system on your hard drive rather than FAT32. The file system that you are running on a hard drive partition will dictate how much security you can place over the files and folders on your computer. The advantages of NTFS are that it's more secure and reliable than its alternatives. It's more able to track disk activity and recover from any errors that may occur. NTFS also allows you to set disk quotas so that you can limit how much hard disk space a user can take up. NTFS also allows you to encrypt files so that only you can view them.
Windows XP comes with its own tool called Convert, for converting FAT drives to NTFS. The conversion process is simple and wont cause any data loss

Converting a drive to NTFS
The convert tool must be run from the command prompt. To open the command prompt click on Start - Run, type "cmd" and click on OK to open the command window. You will need to know the drive letter of the drive you wish to convert. This can be found by looking at the drive in "My Computer". At the prompt you will need to type "convert C: /fs:ntfs" then press Enter (in this case "C:" is the letter of the drive that is to be converted).
If you try to convert the drive that you are currently using, a message will appear informing you that the process will take place the next time you start the computer. When you've restarted you'll be given the opportunity to cancel the conversion if you wish.


Was this post of help or interest to you? Post a comment below and let us know.

How to find do follow blogs

There are an increasing number of blogs and sites that are displaying the "U Comment, I Follow" logo. Basically this means that if you comment and include a link to your site / blog, the site you are posting on will pass some "link juice" and pagerank to your site.

The easiest way to currently identify a blog that has do-follow links in their comments is the presence of an image that says “U Comment, I Follow”, like the one pictured below.

Question is, want if you want to generate a list of sites that are do follow?

How to find do follow blogs.

A lot of the websites and blogs use a static “alt” text for their pictures. Most search engines do not search the alt text in their results. However image searches do!

By searching Google Image Search for “U Comment I Follow” with or without quotes you can generate a list of sites that show the the do follow logo.

To target blogs that are relevant to your site then you can append your a keyword(like “books”)

How accurate are the results?

The images that the search generates are usually not the "U Comment, I follow" logo but if you go to the linked site, you will find that the site are part of the "U Comment, I follow" programme!! A bit strange, but it works!

Give it a go - you will be pleasantly surprised!

Was this post of help or interest to you? Post a comment below and let us know.