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With our recently finished poll (Windows 7 – Love or Hate) we wanted to get our readers views on the Windows 7.  As you can see from the pie chart above (click to enlarge), 60% of our voters love windows 7, 8% hate it and 32% are yet to be swayed in either direction.  Here at PCToolbox we’re a big fan of Windows 7 and are recommending it to all our clients.  Whilst Vista was not a big hit with many users we believe that Microsoft have produced a class operating system in Windows 7 and have well and truly silenced the critics.

Check out more Windows 7 posts on Brandstar and PCToolbox

Windows Live Writer is a free desktop application for publishing to blogs and will work with almost any blog provider in the world including Windows Live Spaces, Blogger, WordPress, TypePad and more!

It’s a very simple piece of software which enables you to link your blogs to one central point for posting, rather than logging on to each website.

Live Writer has a variety of different tools available for use…from hyperlink, to pictures (single photos/albums), tables, videos, tags and more! Some of which may not normally be available from your software.

Interested in the software? Well download it from the Windows Live Writer site

Ever been infected with a virus but not known what to do?  Well have no fear…PCToolbox is here…with a tutorial to help you remove the virus!

1. Firstly download the free version of Malwarebytes
2. Now you need to turn off System Restore. Use the following tutorials to aid you:
   For Windows 7
   For Vista
   For XP
3. Boot your machine into ‘Safe Mode’. This is done by restarting your computer and immediately when it starts to come on keep tapping F8 until you get a menu on the screen to choose Safe Mode.
4. Now install and run Malwarebytes. Remove whatever the software finds.
5. You may have to repeat step 4 a few times!
6. Now reboot your machine normally and run Malwarebytes 1 more time assuming it finds nothing
7. Turn ‘System Restore’ back on. Use the following tutorials to help you:
   For Windows
   For Vista
   For XP

Please Note – This tutorial is designed for those who are competent computer users. All PCToolbox advice is produced in the best interest of the reader to help maintain a healthy working machine and therefore cannot be held responsible for any problems that may occur. If you’re unsure about any of the above advice please contact your local IT Technician.

On the odd but very rare occasion you may have to turn off System Restore. System Restore is a component on Microsoft Windows operating systems which allows for the rolling back of system files, registry keys, installed programs, etc., to a previous state in the event of malfunctioning or failure. This tutorial will show you how to switch it on and off if you’re using Windows 7.

Turn Off System Restore in Windows 7

• Firstly, click the windows start orb and right-click on Computer. Then select ‘Properties’
  
• Select ‘System Protection’
  
• Click ‘Configure’
  
• Then select to turn-off system protection
  
• Finally Click OK, read the message and then click ‘Yes’ to continue
  

Turn System Restore On – Windows 7

• Firstly, click the windows start orb and right-click on Computer. Then select ‘Properties’
  
• Select ‘System Protection’
  
• Select ‘Restore system setting and previous versions of files’ and click OK
  

On the odd but very rare occasion you may have to turn off System Restore. System Restore is a component on Microsoft Windows operating systems which allows for the rolling back of system files, registry keys, installed programs, etc., to a previous state in the event of malfunctioning or failure. This tutorial will show you how to switch it on and off if you’re using Windows Vista.

Turn Off System Restore in Vista

• Firstly, click the windows start orb and right-click on Computer. Then select ‘Properties’
  
• Select ‘System Protection’
  
• Uncheck the drives and then to confirm click the “Turn System Restore Off” button.
  
  
• To finish click OK
  

Turn System Restore On – Vista

• Firstly, click the windows start orb and right-click on Computer. Then select ‘Properties
  
• Select ‘System Protection’
  
• Click in the box next to the drives to ensure it has a tick
  
• Click OK to confirm
  

On the odd but very rare occasion you may have to turn off System Restore. System Restore is a component on Microsoft Windows operating systems which allows for the rolling back of system files, registry keys, installed programs, etc., to a previous state in the event of malfunctioning or failure. This tutorial will show you how to switch it on and off if you’re using XP.

Turn Off System Restore in XP

• Click ‘Start’, then right-click ‘My Computer’ and select ‘Properties’
  
• Click the ‘System Restore’ tab. Then click in the box next to ‘Turn off System Restore’ so it does have a tick in it and click ‘OK’
  
• Read the message and click ‘Yes’ to continue
  

Turn System Restore On – XP

• Click ‘Start’, then right-click ‘My Computer’ and select ‘Properties’
• Click the ‘System Restore’ tab. Then click in the box next to ‘Turn off System Restore’ so it doesn’t have a tick in it and click ‘OK’
  

We recently wrote a post about performing a ‘Disk Cleanup’ on XP and we thought it would be a good idea to do one for Vista too! Disk Cleanup is a computer maintenance application included in Microsoft Windows operating systems. It’s designed to free up disk space on your computers hard drive. Therefore, it’s worth performing a cleanup every so often. The feature searches and reviews your hard drive for files which are no longer necessary. It will then, after you’ve made some selections, remove any files that are not needed on your machine.

Here is how to perform Disk Cleanup on Vista:

1. Firstly click on the start Orb and type ‘Disk Cleanup’ in the box.  Then click on the ‘Disk Cleanup’ option under programs (Click on image to enlarge)
   
2. Secondly, select whether you’d like to perform the task for just your account or every account on the system.
   
3. Next choose which drive you would like the cleanup to be performed on.  For this example we’ll use option (C:).  You can choose the drive from the drop down list.  Once you’ve chosen click ‘OK’
   
4. The computer will then scan your selected drive
   
5. Next you should make selections regarding which files you would like to be removed.  Simply click on the option, read the description and if you’d like this to be removed click in the box next to the option so it has a tick in it. (Click on image to enlarge)
   
6. To confirm your selections click ‘delete files’
   
7. Your computer will now perform a Disk Cleanup
   

We hope this has been helpful. Running Disk Cleanup can be a great way to increase the performance of your computer.  If you have any questions comment below!

Disk Cleanup is a computer maintenance application included in Microsoft Windows operating systems.  It’s designed to free up disk space on your computers hard drive.  Therefore, it’s worth performing a cleanup every so often.  The feature searches and reviews your hard drive for files which are no longer necessary.  It will then, after you’ve made some selections, remove any files that are not needed on your machine.

Here is how to run a Disk Cleanup on XP:

1. Firstly click ‘Start’ and select ‘All Programs’
   
2. Then Select ‘Accessories’, followed by ‘System Tools’ and finally ‘Disk Cleanup’ (Click on image to enlarge)
   
3. Your computer will now run a scan to locate files that could be removed or compressed.
   
4. Next you should make selections regarding which files you would like to be removed.  Simply click on the option, read the description and if you’d like this to be removed click in the box next to the option so it has a tick in it.   We recommend that you don’t select to compress files as it will slow down your computer considerably (Click on image to enlarge)
   
5. Your computer will now perform the Disk Cleanup.
   

Hopefully this tutorial has been helpful and will encourage you to run a Disk Cleanup.  It’s a free way to improve the speed of your computer!

We will post about Disk Cleanup on Vista next week!

See Also:
Defrag for XP
ScanDisk for XP

Last week we wrote a tutorial for the new Image Resizer for Windows 7 and Vista…and now it’s time to review it!  The software has been developed by CodePlex and is free to download!

As a whole we’re very impressed with the program and think it’s got a lot of potential.  The software itself is very easy to use and provides a very effective and efficient service.

If the product was to be developed further we’d like to see a couple of new features added.  Firstly, we think that there should the option to select the image compression.  By this we mean you can select the extent to which the image quality is compromised.  Secondly, there could be some basic image editing software within the application.

Overall we’re impressed and think it’s worth downloading!

See Also:
Downloading and Installing – Image Resizer for Windows 7 and Vista

Just over 1 1/2 years ago we wrote a post titled ‘Quick Tip – Resize Multiple Images Quickly‘.  One of the programs we mentioned in the blog only worked for machines running XP.  However, a company called CodePlex have adapted the software so it can be used for Windows 7 and Vista machines!  Here is a tutorial for the software:

Downloading and Installing

1. Before you do anything you need to download the program.  The software can be downloaded from phototoysclone.codeplex.com.
2. Click ‘Download Now’ on the right
   
3. Click ‘Agree’ if you are willing to agree to the license.
4. Next save the file to your computer by clicking ‘Save File’ (Firefox Users, wording may vary between Web Browsers)
   
5. Now you need to open the downloaded file.  Internet Explorer users should click ‘Open’.  Firefox users should go to the downloads window and double-click on then file then click ‘OK’.
   
6. Click ‘Run’
7. Now follow through the installation process until the end.
8. Once the installation process is complete you’re ready to get resizing!

How to Resize One Image

1. Firstly ensure that you’ve downloaded and installed the software.
2. Secondly locate the image you wish to resize.  For example, most images on computers are stored in ‘my pictures’.
3. Once you’ve found the image you wish to resize right click on it and select ‘Resize Pictures’ (click to enlarge image)
   
4. If there is size option you’re happy with select it but clicking on it and then click OK.
   
   Alternatively, if you wish to choose specific dimensions click ‘advanced >>’.  This gives you the opportunity to create custom dimensions, ask the tool to make images smaller but not larger and also ask the tool to resize originals and not make copies.  When happy click ‘OK’
   
5. Your images will then appear resized (see example below for users who chose for copies to be made)
   

How to resize a selection of images in one folder

1. Firstly follow step 1 and 2 from the ‘How to resize one image’
2. Once you’ve located the images you wish to resize click on them all whilst holding down ‘Ctrl’ (Control) on your keyboard. If you would like to resize all press ‘ctrl + A’ (Click image to enlarge)
   
3. Next you need to Right Click on one of the images you have selected and then select ‘Resize Pictures’ (click to make the image bigger)
   
4. If there is size option you’re happy with select it but clicking on it and then click OK.
   
   Alternatively, if you wish to choose specific dimensions click ‘advanced >>’.  This gives you the opportunity to create custom dimensions, ask the tool to make images smaller but not larger and also ask the tool to resize originals and not make copies.  When happy click ‘OK’
   
5. Your images will then appear in the folder resized (click to make image bigger)
   

We’re impressed with this program!  Watch out for our review on it next week!