To open the Command Prompt program in Windows 7 and Windows Vista, you can do one of the following:

• Click Start, type cmd in the search bar and press Enter.
• Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories then click Command Prompt.

Ever logged into Ubuntu and wished you could change that annoying sound that plays when you’re logging in? Well, you can, and the good news is that it’s easy to do, too. Just log in to your system (suffer through the sound one last time), open the System section, click on Preferences and open Startup Applications.

Click the Edit button next to the Gnome Login Sound section and enter in the name of the sound file you want to use (sans file extension), instead of the desktop-login sound that’s in there by default.

Click the Save button and then open Nautilus from the system menu. Copy the sound file you want to use into the /usr/share/sounds/ubuntu/stereo/ folder, restart the computer and your login sound is changed.

There, wasn’t that easy?

Windows Server is an operating system that not many regular users have to use on a daily basis. For us IT pros, though, it is the operating system that we live and breathe. To this end, it’s good to know how to install Server 2003 on your computer, in case you ever have to do it. (Hint: It’s pretty much the same as installing Windows XP, which almost all of us have done.)

What You’ll Need To Do:

1. Pop your Server 2003 installation disc into your server/computer, restart the machine and boot from the disc.
2. Press Enter, press F8.
3. Hit the C key to create a new partition to install Server 2003 on, hit L to confirm the creation and then hit Enter to select the partition you just created.
4. Hit Enter again to start the the installation process.
5. Click Next, type in your organization’s name, click Next again, type in your product key, click Next yet again, choose a password for your Administrator account and then hit Enter.

Wait a while for Server 2003 to install, around an hour or so, depending on the speed of the computer you’re installing it on. Once it’s finished, though, log in and start using it!

When you install XP on your computer, you have to activate it with a license key. This key is stored in the Windows Registry, but it’s encrypted so that you can’t access it through normal channels. Fortunately, a great little program called the Magical Jellybean Finder exists that will find your product key, display it and even change it for you if you wish. You can grab this program from their website, magicaljellybean.com.

This one’s for all of you new computer users out there who haven’t yet learned how to start or shut down your computer.

Start Your Computer

1. Make sure the computer is plugged in. If you are using a laptop computer, plug it in or make sure a battery is inserted.
2. Press the power button on the front of the computer. The power button looks like a circle with a vertical line piercing it on the top. You don’t need to hold this button down, just press it firmly one time.
3. Wait for your computer’s operating system login prompt to appear. Depending on what type of OS you use, this will look different for different users. Once you log in, though, your computer is fully booted.

Shut Down Your Computer

1. Close down any windows or programs that are open.
2. Click on the “Start” or “System” button (depending on the operating system).
3. Click on the “Shut Down” option and wait for your computer to shut down. Once all of the lights on the computer go off and you hear the fans and drives shut down, the computer is off and can be safely unplugged.

Image credit: flickrr/dan taylor.

Did you know that Windows Media Player automatically stores a history of the files you access inside of the program? It’s really easy to access this history, just open the program, click on the File button and look down at the bottom of the file menu. The history is listed directly on the file menu, and shows the last few files you’ve accessed. You can re-open a particular file in the history by clicking on it.

You use the Remote Desktop Connection Client on a regular basis to connect from your computer to your server, but suddenly, one day, it’s no longer working. You’ve checked your connection and everything is fine, so the problem must be in the terminal services client that’s installed on your computer. What do you do now?

Simple! Just download the latest version of the terminal services client from Microsoft and install it on your system. This automatically overwrites the files that Remote Desktop uses and repairs it!

The download link for the software is here, but be warned, you need to have a legitimate version of XP to download it. Just hit the Continue button on that page to scan your system with the system validation tool. Once it verifies that your system is clean, you’ll be taken back to the same page, only the Continue button will have turned into a Download button. Download the software, double-click on the file and it’ll take care of the rest! Be sure to restart your computer afterwards, though, to clear up any muck left by the installation.

We got two separate questions in the last week about Windows product keys, asking if the product keys for the different versions of Windows are interchangeable.

The answer is, of course, a big no! Within the exact same operating system line (such as XP Home SP2, Vista SP1, etc) the keys will work with any operating system CD, but between different versions (and even between different bit-numbers [x86 and x64]) the product keys most definitely will NOT work. Plus, even worse, you can’t change the product key once you’ve activated the software.

Sorry!

We double-checked with our Microsoft Rep on all of this info.

When you browse the web, your browsing speed is affected by things like  how many other web browsers you have open, what types of downloads are going on and the general congestion of your modem and computer. It’s not difficult to clear these things up, though, making it easier to surf the web at the speed you are used to.

What You’ll Need To Do

1. Close all active web browsers and web browser windows EXCEPT the one you are primarily using for your browsing. They may be downloading “stuff” in the background and slowing down your surfing experience.
2. Close any P2P or other downloading programs, including any file transfers to and from other computers on your network. If your computer’s network card is saturated with traffic from the local network, it can’t download as fast from the Internet.
3. Restart your cable or DSL modem by unplugging it and plugging it back in. You can also try hitting the reset switch on the modem.
4. Restart your computer, as it may have a stuck process somewhere that’s making your web browsing slow down.

Image courtesy of Flickrr User risiweb.

Even with high-speed internet connections, it can take ages to download a large file (like a movie or software program) from the Internet. Why is this? It can be due to a combination of factors, all of which you should look at if you want to make files download faster onto your computer. Here’s a brief list of things to check (in order of effect/importance):

1. Stop downloading other files from the Internet. This just makes everything go slower, especially large files that you are trying to download.
2. Stop transferring files to other computers on your local network or even to external devices, like a USB drive. As your computer downloads files, it has to write them to your hard drive as they are downloaded. If your hard drive is overwhelmed by write operations, your download speed will be throttled while your computer waits to be able to write data to your hard drive.
3. Restart your computer. Sometimes there are processes that are hung and prevent you from downloading files at the maximum speed available to you.

If none of these tips work for you, contact your ISP and see what’s up. There could be something wrong with your internet connection, although that is less likely, especially if your connection is working well for web browsing.