Fix Zone Alarm in 5 minutes! 
1. The First thing you should know about Zone Alarm is the slider control, which can quickly fix most connection problems. It’s found under Firewall then select Main. Sometimes the HIGH setting stops internet access. Change it from HIGH to medium and see if that resolves your loss of internet activity.
♣ continue reading Fix Zone Alarm in 5 minutes!
Vista Shell command shortcuts
To use a Shell command, all you need to do is press [Windows]+R to access the Run dialog box or the start search box, not all the shell commands work with all editions of Vista.
* shell:ChangeRemoveProgramsFolder - opens the Programs and Features (Add/Remove Programs) window.
* shell:Sendto - opens the SendTo folder so that you can easily add more locations to the Send To list.
* shell:Common Administrative Tools - opens the Administrative Tools menu as a folder
* shell:Desktop - opens the Desktop as a folder.
* shell:Downloads - opens your Downloads folder.
* shell:Quick Launch - opens the Quick Launch folder.
* shell:Searches - opens the Search folder showing all your saved searches.
other useful Shell commands:
* shell:AppUpdatesFolder - opens the Installed Windows Updates location in Program and Files.
* shell:Cache - opens Internet Explorer’s temporary Internet files folder.
* shell:CD Burning - opens the folder where Windows Vista temporarily stores files to be burned to a CD.
* shell:Common Desktop - opens the Public User’s Desktop folder.
* shell:Common Documents - opens the Public User’s Documents folder.
* shell:Common Programs - opens the Start menu shortcuts folder.
* shell:Common Start Menu - opens the Start Menu as a folder.
* shell:Common Startup - opens the Startup folder.
* shell:Common Templates - opens the Templates folder.
* shell:CommonDownloads - opens the Public User’s Downloads folder.
* shell:CommonMusic - opens the Public User’s Music folder.
* shell:CommonPictures - opens the Public User’s Pictures folder.
* shell:CommonVideo - opens the Public User’s Video folder.
* shell:ConflictFolder - opens the Sync Center Conflicts folder.
* shell:ConnectionsFolder - opens the Network Connections folder.
* shell:Contacts - opens your Contacts folder.
* shell:ControlPanelFolder - opens the Control Panel.
* shell:Cookies - opens the cookies folder
* shell:Favorites - opens your Favorites folder.
* shell:Fonts - opens Vista’s Fonts folder.
* shell:Gadgets - opens your Windows Sidebar Gadgets folder.
* shell:History - opens the Internet Explorer history folder.
* shell:InternetFolder - opens Internet Explorer.
* shell:Links - opens your Links folder location.
* shell:MyMusic - opens your Music folder.
* shell:MyPictures - opens your Pictures folder.
* shell:MyVideo - opens your Video folder.
* shell:MyComputerFolder - opens Computer window.
* shell:NetHood - opens Network Shortcuts folder.
* shell:NetworkPlacesFolder - opens the Network Places location.
* shell:Original Images - opens Windows Photo Gallery Original Images folder.
* shell:Personal - opens your Documents folder.
* shell:PhotoAlbums - opens your Slide Show folder.
* shell:Playlists - opens your Playlists folder.
* shell:PrintersFolder - opens Printers in the Control Panel.
* shell:Profile - opens your main folder.
* shell:ProgramFiles - opens the Program Files folder.
* shell:Public - opens the Public User folder.
* shell:Recent - opens the Recent Items folder.
* shell:RecycleBinFolder - opens the Recycle Bin folder.
* shell:Start Menu - opens the Start Menu folder.
* shell:Startup - opens the Startup folder
* shell:System - opens the System32 folder location.
* shell:Templates - opens the Templates folder location.
* shell:UserProfiles - opens the Users folder.
* shell:UsersFilesFolder - opens your main folder.
* shell:Windows - opens the Windows folder.
Acronis True Image v10.0 FREE :)
If you have a Maxtor or Seagate hard drive, you can download their utility, which is actually Acronis True Image v10.0. It works with Windows XP, Vista and OSX. The only feature missing I believe is the incremental part which means you have to make a complete Image everytime.
Seagate Discwizard: Seagate HDD
Maxtor Maxblast 5: Maxtor HDD
UPDATE: I downloaded both and these are the version numbers:
Seagate DiscWizard: 10.0.0.5077
Maxtor MaxBlast: 10.0.0.5077
It is 104MB, so you will need Broadband or a lot of patience. J
Windows Server 2008 Trial Rocks!
If you have been on the fence about Windows Vista because of all the bad press, you may want to download and install Windows Server 2008 Trial. It is tweaked and tuned and had a lot more time to be developed.
- Download the Trial: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/trial-software.aspx
- Convert it to workstation guide: Download
- 240 day evaluation: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/948472
It is also great that you can use it for 8 months, plenty of time to test it throughly.
Windows Server CoreConfigurator
Windows Server CoreConfigurator
At first look, developing a GUI utility for configuration of Windows Server Core might sound quite absurd. Alas, the whole point of Server Core is a cut down version of Server OS without the overhead of GUI and having some GUI tool to help you configure it would be like walking backwards.
Yet, if you look back at various blogs and articles, you will see that there is a repeating pattern: there is more-or-less predefined set of tasks that you need to do in order to get the installation of Server Core up and running (activation, IP and firewall configuration, domain join, feature installation, configuration of Remote Desktop and etc…). All the tasks are performed at command line, but there is no single utility/interface and for each task you need to know what command to use and what are the parameters required in order to complete the task.
For the IT veterans this will not be an issue, but being Core enthusiast I was also thinking about those that the steep learning curve of Server Core might scare them away and prevent them from enjoying the benefits Server Core brings with it. At this point the idea of developing a small GUI utility for basic configuration of Server Core was born. Well… that and the fact that my good friend Daniel Petri was sitting on my neck and promising a LOT of beer for writing a tool to do the basic configuration stuff (see his article about the tool here).
