Operating Systems Features

How To: Take a screenshot on your laptop computer

This helpful tutorial will show you how to take a screenshot on your laptop computer. To take a screenshot on your laptop, follow these steps: 1. Locate the 'FN' key. (Bottom left of your keyboard.) 2. Find the 'sys rq' key. It is also known as the delete button. (Top right of keyboard.) 3. Hold both keys in at the same time. 4. The image has now been copied to your clipboard, and you can open it through a program such as Paint. ( Press 'ctrl + V'. )

How To: Format an external hard drive for Mac OS X

The World Wide Geek demonstrates how to format an external hard drive for Mac OS X. External hard drives are usually formatted for windows. To change the format, you will need to use the disk utility option. Access the disk utility by going to finder and clicking on applications. Next, click on the utilities folder. Then, click on the disk utility option to open it. You can also search for disk utility in spotlight. Select your external hard drive in the options to the left of the disk utilit...

How To: Connect to a network using Wi-Fi on a Mac computer

If you want to connect your Mac notebook or desktop to a wireless network, you'll need to set up the wifi connection on your computer first. Take a look at this walkthrough to find out how to find and connect to available wireless networks in OS X. This is a great skill to know if you own an Apple laptop and need to connect to the Wi-Fi networks at different locations.

How To: Add and remove dashboard widgets

This video demonstrates how to add and remove dashboard widgets. From the people who brought you the Dummies instructional book series, brings you the same non-intimidating guides in video form. Watch this video tutorial to learn how to add and remove dashboard widgets, For Dummies.

How To: Find the HomeGroup password in Windows 7

This video tutorial teaches how to find homegroup password in Windows 7. For this you should be using the computer which is part of the homegroup. The way to check this is by going to the control panel and clicking on network and internet link. In the ensuing window the network and sharing center link is clicked. This will show if the computer is connected to the home group. On confirming that the computer is connected to the homegroup, now navigate back to the network and internet link, and ...

How To: Disable remote control infrared receiver in Mac OS X

Every new Apple computer ships with an Apple remote, which can activate the Front Row program and let you play music, view photos or watch videos when you are away from your computer. However, Apple remotes will connect to all nearby devices, so people with multiple Macs or iPods close to each other, may have trouble controlling them with the remote. In that situation, it's wise to disable the Apple remote connection on the devices you do not want to connect to.

How To: Select speakers/mics & adjust sounds in Windows 7

In this video the instructor shows how to select speakers, microphones, and adjust system sounds in Windows 7. To do this, first go to the start menu and select the Control Panel. In the Control Panel select the Hardware and Sound link when the panel is in view by category mode. In the next page click on the Sound link. This opens up the Sound properties setting window. There are four tabs in that window like Playback, Recording, Sounds and Communications. In the Playback tab you will find th...

How To: Run a Windows app on a Mac OSX using Crossover

In this Computers & Programming video tutorial you will learn how to run a Windows app on a Mac OSX using Crossover. Search for the program, download and install it. Open the program, go to configure and then to manage bottles. Then click on the little ‘+’ button, name your bottle, select a version of windows and click ‘create’. This will take a few minutes to create the bottle. Now click on applications > install software. In the crossover software installer window, click on ‘insta...

How To: Fix time sync issue when dual booting Ubuntu & Windows

Ubuntu and Windows may have trouble syncing time because when they are dual booted, they both assume that your hardware clock is set to a different time setting. Ubuntu assumes that your clock is set to UTC and Windows assumes that your clock is set to local time. Answers Launchpad has solutions to fix the syncing issues. To correct the issue, configure Ubuntu to be set to local time. Launch your terminal window and click on the description box. In the code string change the UTC default value...

How To: Use a flash drive as memory in Microsoft Windows XP

Did you know that you can use a USB flash drive to speed up a sluggish Windows XP computer? It's easy! So easy, in fact, that this free home computing how-to can present a complete (and somewhat talky) overview of the process in just over a minute's time. For specifics, and to get started speeding up your own Windows Vista computer, watch this PC user's guide.

How To: Change screen resolution & refresh rate in Windows 7

This movie shows you how to easily change screen resolution and the refresh rate in Windows 7. The first thing you have to do is to right-click anywhere on the desktop and then click the 'Screen Resolution' item. If you have multiple displays, select the display which resolution you want to change from the pop-up menu in the 'Display' field. Next, select the preferred resolution from the pop-up menu in the 'Resolution' field. To change your display refresh rate, you have to click the 'Advance...

How To: Increase the dock size in Mac OS X

In your Mac computer the size of the dock by default is very small. It makes it difficult to recognize the icons. However you can change a couple of preferences to make it more usable. To do this click on Apple. Form the menu select the dock option and select 'Dock Preferences' from the sub menu. This brings up the Dock preferences window. Here you can change the size of the dock using the size slider bar. You can also set the magnification to the desired level. This changes the magnification...

News: Are You Noob-Positive or Noob-Negative?

noob - Short for "newbie." Someone with little to no experience or skill. In some gaming communities, there is fierce debate over the distinction between "noob" and "newb"—one being derogatory while the other simply indicates being a novice. While some may argue the semantic differences, "noob" is the most common spelling seen around the internet, for both purposes.

How To: Enable or disable the uac option on your computer

This is a Computers & Programming video tutorial where you will learn how to enable or disable the UAC option on your computer. UAC stands for User Account Control and this tutorial is for Windows Vista. With UAC enabled you are more secure. First, click ‘Start’, type in ‘msconfig’ and click on ‘Tools’. Here you scroll down and select ‘Enable UAC’ or ‘Disable UAC’ and click ‘Launch’. You will need to reboot your PC for the change to take effect. An alternate method is to go to Control Panel, ...

How To: Disable user account control

Basically there are three quick ways to run a program as administrator. You can do that by clicking on cmd. We usually use this cmd prompt for finding your I.P. address and you can modify user accounts also. Another way is to click on start and type cmd in Run. Make a right click on cmd and click Run as Administrator. Final way to run program as an administrator by having right click on the program and select properties next select Compatibility, then select Operating System and finally, sele...

How To: Install Puppy Linux on an innotek VirtualBox

The author shows how to install Puppu Linux 4.3.1 in Innotek VirtualBox 1.5.2. He shows steps to create a new virtual machine in Innotek VirtualBox, by showing the various configuration settings like the RAM size, hard disk space etc. He shows how to boot the virtual machine with the Puppy Linux installation ISO file. Next, during boot up, he shows how to set the language and regional settings, resolution settings etc. In the next screen he shows how to access the local drive and partition it...

How To: Create semi-transparent overlays in iMovie in Mac OS X

Learn how to use Seashore to create a 32-bit semi-transparent image and then use that image as an overlay to point out or highlight something in your iMovie video. It's easy! So easy, in fact, that this home-computing how-to from MacMost can present a full overview of the process in about 4 minutes. For more information, including detailed, step-by-step instructions, watch this Apple lover's guide.

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: Make Windows administrator account appear at login

In this video, we learn how to enable the Windows default administrator account to appear at the log in screen. First, go to your "start" menu and type in "cmd". Right click "cmd" and click "run as administrator". Now click continue and type in "net user administrator /active:yes", (making sure you put the appropriate spaces), and press enter. Now it will say your command was done successfully on the space underneath where you just typed your text. When you restart your computer you will now ...

How To: Change your Windows 7 login screen

In this tutorial, we learn how to change your Windows 7 login screen. First, click on browse, then you can choose the picture you want for the background on your login screen. If you decide you don't want this, you can go back and change the background when you don't want it any longer. After this, you can go onto the Windows website to download different backgrounds. After you do this, you will have access to a lot of different backgrounds for the computer! This is a great way to dress up yo...