Operating Systems Features

How To: Turn your digital photos into Polaroids on a Microsoft Windows PC

Wish there were an easy way to give your digital photos the appearance of an old Polaroid picture? Well, there is. And it's easy! So easy, in fact, that this home-computing how-to from the folks at TekZilla can present a complete overview of the process in just under two minutes. For more information, including step-by-step instructions, and to get started applying a Polaroid effect to your own digital photos, take a look.

How To: Tell if your hard drive is failing in Ubuntu Linux

With this video, we learn how to tell if your hard drive is failing in Ubuntu Linux. If you have a failing hard drive, it will start making noises like clicking or grinding. If you hear these noises coming from your hard drive, you will need to get a new one before it fails completely and you lose all your data. You could have a failing hard drive but it doesn't make any noises. Hard drives come with a monitoring system so you can see what shape the hard drive is in. To see this, open up the ...

How To: Install the DHCP role on Windows Server 2008 R2

In this clip, you'll see how to install the DHCP role on Windows Server 2008 R2 and how to create a scope. It's easy! So easy, that this video tutorial can present a complete, step-by-step overview of the process in about five and a half minutes. For more information, including detailed, step-by-step instructions, watch this video guide.

How To: Create and join partitions in Windows 7, Vista or XP

In your Windows XP or Vista computer the hard drive contains only a single partition by default. Partitioning hard drive helps to easily manage you data by segregating them into different drives. You can partition a single drive into multiple logical drives. You can also delete the partitions. First go to the start menu and go to the Computer button. Right click on it and select the Computer Management option. In the Computer Management window, at the left hand side select storage and select ...

How To: Access Hotmail and Gmail through a local email client

In this tutorial, we learn how to access Hotmail and Gmail through a local email client. First, Google search "webmail Mozilla" and go to the official website. From here, you will click on the hotmail link and any other e-mail links you want for the add-on. Next, you will right click and save this to your computer. After this, go into your e-mail and go to the settings. From here, you will click on the "forwarding" tab at the top and then click "enable pop for all mail". Save these changes an...

How To: Change monitor resolution in Windows 7

You can customize and select your preferred monitor settings to improve the clarity of your monitor display. First open the start menu and go to the Control panel. In the Control Panel select the Display link. In the Display option window to the right hand side there are a few options available. Select the screen resolution option from them. Now there are many options present in there like Display, resolution, orientation etc., Using the display option you can select the monitor you want to m...

How To: Search through Safari history

Gary Rosenzweig of MacMost teaches us how to best utilize Mac's Safari web browser, and how to, when it's not necessarily immediately intuitive, search through your Safari internet browsing history. Selecting first the History option in your browser, and then Show All, you'll find that, oftentimes, there will be quite a large volume of information presented. Months and months of browsing history is unwieldy and too intricate. The solution, of course, is to use the search bar there will be ava...

How To: Format your PC external hard drive to work with a Mac

Thinking of switching to a Mac using an external hard disk, you'll need to format it so that the Mac can recognize it. In your Mac, go to finder, then applications. Scroll down to where it says disk utility and then select it. Here select your hard disk and press the partition button in the screen that comes up. Make two partitions and rename them to whatever you want. After that change the format of the partition to Mac OS extended. Now just press the apply button to apply the changes, be su...

How To: Delete all of your temp files at once on a Microsoft Windows PC

Free up space on your hard drive while protecting your privacy by deleting all of the temporary files on your MS Windows desktop computer or laptop. This clip will show you how it's done. It's easy! So easy, in fact, that this handy home-computing how-to from the folks at Tekzilla can present a complete overview of the process in about two minutes' time. For more information, including detailed, step-by-step instructions, take a look.

How To: Use the Microsoft Windows Vista Sync Center

PCs are quickly becoming the center of our digital universe. With PDAs, cell phones, portable media players and other electronic devices; keeping your content synchronized has been a challenge. With the new feature, Windows® Sync Center in Windows Vista™, you now have a single place to keep all of your devices and information up to date. For detailed instructions on using Sync Center for your own data syncing needs, watch this how-to.

How To: Backup files on a CD in Windows XP

Backing up your files is very smart and important. You'll want to make sure that you copy your files somewhere external just in case something happens to your PC. The easiest and most convenient way to do this is to use a blank CD and burn your programs and files to it. In this video, learn exactly how to do this and keep your documents safe and sound.

How To: Zoom in and out on a Mac

In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to zoom in and out on a Mac computer. To access the zooming tool, begin by clicking on the Apple menu and select System Preferences. Under System, select Universal Access and check On under Zoom. In Options, users are able to set specific settings such as the maximum and minimum range of zoom. The keyboard shortcut for zooming in is: Option, Command and =. The keyboard shortcut for zooming out is: Option, Command and -. This video will benefit those v...

How To: Use the Windows 7 Ease-of-Access Magnifier

Need help figuring out how to enable the Microsoft Windows 7 Ease-of-Access Magnifier tool? It's easy! So easy, in fact, that this Win 7 accessibility guide can present a complete walkthrough of the process in just over a minute and a half. For details, as well as to get started using the Windows 7 Magnifier yourself, watch this helpful how-to.

How To: Use Spotlight to find files in Mac OS X

In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to use Spotlight to find files in Mac OS X. To activate Spotlight, click on the blue magnifying glass icon in the top right corner. Then type in the term to search. Spotlight will display all the documents and files that match your search. If you click on Show All, you will have more options in Spotlight. In the Spotlight Preferences, users are able to select the categories for Spotlight to search in or not search in. This video will benefit those vie...

How To: Change a drive letter in Windows 7

This video demonstrates how to change a drive letter to a certain drive in your Windows 7 computer. On you Windows 7 computer, go to Start > Control Panel. In the Control Panel, select System and Security then open the Administrative Tools. Look for and open the Computer Management tool. On the left side pane of the Computer Management window, select Disk Management. Look for and right click on the drive you want the drive letter changed. Select 'Drive Letter and Paths...'. Click change and s...

How To: Create a fax through email using 2003 server & Outlook

The first step to create a fax using Outlook 2003 and 2003 server. Using add/remove windows component make sure your fax equipment is properly installed. Under the start menu select the printers and fax option and select the share option. Then under administrator tools/users/new/users/fax to enter your password to turn our fax information transfer on. You must now select fax user and select advanced settings and double check to make sure the fax is able to see the object it needs to send the ...

How To: Shrink a Windows Vista partition and install iATKOS

This video presents how to defragment and shrink a Windows Vista partition using Perfect Disk 2008 Professional program.First you need to download and install software application named Perfect Disk 2008.Type Perfect Disk 2008 into Google search engine, choose first link from the list.On the Raxco software home page choose Free Evaluation option from the list to the right.Download and install Perfect Disk 2008 Professional.Once it is installed, run the application. From Menu choose Analyze op...

How To: Use the Maps app on an Apple iPad

One of the advantages of an iPad over, say, an iPhone is that you've ample space with which to display and manipulate complex documents. As such, it's a natural fit for Google Maps. In this video guide from Apple, you'll learn how work use the Maps application on your own iPad. For detailed instructions, and to get started using Maps yourself, take a look.

How To: Install VMware and Windows XP in Ubuntu

Software expert David Steinlage guides the viewer through the step-by-step process of installing VMware and Windows XP on a computer driven by Ubuntu Linux. The first step is to get a serial number, which can be obtained free by visiting the site www.vmware.com and filling out the registration form. The VMware installer application Automatix is then opened and upon clicking the desired options, the installation of VMware starts automatically. At the end of installation, the user is prompted t...

How To: Use System Restore to recover your Windows XP or Vista system

System Restore is a great and valuable feature in Windows XP and Vista. If you haven't taken advantage of System Restore yet, what in the heck are you waiting for?!? Using System Restore will allow you to make a backup of all your system files at a specified point in time. You can create checkpoints in case your system gets corrupted or has problems because of a recent change you may have made to Windows. Watch and see how to backup your PC… now! And click here for more information.

How To: Use Spaces on a Mac OS X

Spaces is a very cool feature that is included with all newer versions of Mac's OS X. With Spaces, you can organize your programs and keep your desktop clutter free. This program is similar to Expose, but instead of having your windows open on the desktop, Spaces minimizes them but keeps them ready for a quick reload. You can choose a number of spaces and decide which shortcuts you want to use to access them.

How To: Change a "file association" on PC

This video tutorial from butterscotch presents how to change file associations on your computer.File association is a link between a certain type of file (.doc, .gif, .txt) with a particular program.For example text files are by default associated with Notepad application.So if you double-click text file it will be automatically opened in this program.In case you want to open this file in a different type of program, you need to change the file association.To do that, right click the file, th...

How To: Use the Slow Keys access tool in Mac OS X

In this video tutorial, viewers learn how to use the Slow Keys access tool in a Mac OS X computer. The Slow Keys feature is located under the Keyboard tab in the Universal Access window. Once Slow Keys is turned on, users also have the option of using key click sounds as additional feedback when a key is pressed . Users are able to set the Acceptance Delay to determine how this feature behaves. The delay of the sound can be set from long to short. This video will benefit those viewers who use...

How To: Change the text on your "start" button in Windows XP

Bored and feel like customizing your Windows XP? Check out this tutorial and learn how to hack Windows and change the text on your "Start" menu button. With this video, you will learn how to change this icon, step by step. You can then turn the menu button into anything you'd like. This is also a fun prank to do on someone's computer, or a great way to personalize all of the PCs in your office or workplace.