I had to change my Windows password frequently at my old job which sometimes lead to the situation that I could not remember the new password at the next login. This happened for instance when I changed the password on the last day just before holidays. I had to contact the IT department to reset my password. There is an easier solution for computers with direct access.

I know that a lot of users reinstall Windows if they have forgotten their password because they cannot figure out how to get into the system again. I’m using the Trinity Rescue Kit to reset the Windows password. You actually have the choice between setting it to a blank password or changing it to a new one.

It can be run from a bootable CD, USB device or network over PXE. The bootable CD is my choice and I always keep one around in case of emergency. Just boot from the CD if you cannot login into Windows anymore because it asks for a password that you cannot remember.

continue reading "Reset Windows Passwords if you cannot login anymore"

I’m an avid temporary file cleaner and I was delighted to find a link to the software Clear Temp at the Tip and Trick blog which was formerly known as My Digital Life. (Anyone knows what caused the domain change ?) Anyway, Clear Temp works on Pocket PCs running at least Windows Mobile 2003. It can be compared to Crap Cleaner and Disk Cleaner for desktop PCs which get rid of temporary files and privacy related data like history files.

Clear Temp does the same for Windows Mobile Pocket PCs. Temporary files and data that you want cleaned can be checked in the main program interface, these include cookies, temp files and cache in various locations, recent programs and a dozen others.

It is furthermore possible to define custom folders that you want cleaned and schedule cleaning during system boot. You should do a soft reset after each cleaning so that the changes can take effect.

continue reading "Clear Temp Files on Windows Mobile Pocket PCs"

It’s kinda funny. I was prepared to write about Regscanner all day long when I discovered that Kevin over at Lifehacker did post about the Nirsoft utility as well. If you have ever used the Windows Registry Editor before you might have asked yourself why Microsoft did not implement a better search in the tool, they surely should have had enough time to do so in the past years. If you perform a search in Regedit you jump from one entry to the next like the search in text applications. A far better solution for Regedit however would be to display all search results at once which would give the user more control.

Regscanner is the usual high quality Nirsoft application. You can run it from any location without installation it and it works right out of the box. The Regscanner search form might look a bit intimidating but it is actually providing some much needed functions. It offers all the search functionality of Regedit plus the following advanced options:

• Case Sensitive Search
• Searching for Unicode String in Binary Value
• Exact Matches plus five additional criterias for matching strings.
• Display keys that have been modified in a time range
• Display data of a certain size (in bytes)
• Display only values of a certain type (like DWORD)
• Scan one, several or all Registry base keys

continue reading "Regscanner advanced Registry search"

That’s probably the longest title that I’ve ever selected for an article here at Ghacks. A default Windows desktop contains several icons that have special “abilities” which stand in contrast to the shortcuts that users can create. If you take the Internet Explorer icon for example you notice that a right-click opens up a menu with lots of options like opening the Internet Options or starting Internet Explorer.

I’m going to show you how you can create such icons and shortcuts by yourself. I’m using an icon as an example that will have options to load all installed browsers on the system. You do need the software SCCU [via Neowin Forum] for that. Four default icons are shown when the tool is started for the first time, they are Computer, Control Panel, My Documents and Network Places. It is possible to edit the options of those items or create a new one.

Select File > New to create a new icon and click on the New button next to Class Name. Make sure you pick something unique, I did pick Browser for this example. Clicking on Accept should display Browser in the left pane, click Finished to finish this process. Now begins the fun part of the process.

continue reading "Create Textless Desktop Icons and Shortcuts with Enhanced Context Menu"

Alienware is probably best known for their high-end gaming computers and notebooks which always come in a futuristic great looking design. The AlienGUIse Theme Manager is custom version of My Colors from Stardock that can transform the appearance of Windows tremendously.

Five Alienware themes are available after installation which can transform the Windows graphical user interface into futuristic looking interfaces. By default every aspect of the interface is changed which includes the background image, the system icons, color schemes, fonts and menu layout.

A click on the advanced link during setup gives the user the option to prevent elements from being installed. He could for instance opt out of installing the wallpaper image or the icon set. Usage itself is pretty straightforward. All five themes are available after installation.

continue reading "AlienGUIse Theme Manager"