Restore Files from Backups in Windows Home Server
Mar/100
If you use Windows Home Server to backup the machines on your network, your in luck if you accidentally delete important files or they become corrupted. Today we take a look at getting your data back from backups on your home server.
Open Windows Home Server Console and click select the Computers and Backup tab. Right-click on the computer you need to restore files for and select View Backups.
This will open a list of your recent backups. Highlight the one you want to open, then click the Open button in the Restore or View Files section.
If this is the first time you’re restoring a file, you’ll be asked to verify installation of the device software. Check the box next to Always trust software from Microsoft Corporation and click Install.
Now wait while the backup data is retrieved.
After the backup data has been retrieved, an explorer windows opens up to drive (Z:) which is the backup data. It’s just like if you were opening a drive on your local machine. Now you can browse through the backup and find the files your missing. You can open the files directly, or drag them onto your machine to the location you want to restore them.
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Restoring your data is actually a very easy process with Windows Home Server. Of course you’ll want to make sure the computers on your network are being backed up to WHS. if you need help with that, check out our article on how to configure your computer to backup to WHS. If you want to backup your home server shares, check out our article on how to backup WHS folder to an external drive.
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Restore Files from Backups in Windows Home Server
Our Look at Opera 10.50 Web Browser
Mar/100
Everyone has been talking about the newest version of Opera recently but perhaps you have not looked at it too closely yet. Today we will take a look at 10.50 and let you see what this “new browser” is all about.
The New Engines
- Carakan JavaScript Engine: Runs web applications up to 7 times faster than its predecessor Futhark
- Vega Graphics Library: Enables super fast and smooth graphics on everything from tab switching to webpage animation
- Presto 2.5: Provides support for HTML5, CSS2.1 and the latest CSS3 standards
A Look at the Features Available
If you have installed or used older versions of Opera before then the default look after a clean install will probably seem rather different. The main differences in appearance are mainly located within the “glass border” areas of the browser.
The “Speed Dial” setup looks and works just as well as in previous versions. You can set a favorite wallpaper or image as your background and choose the number of “dials” using the “Configure Speed Dial Command”.
One of the “standout” differences is the “O Button”. All of the menus have been condensed into this single access point but it only takes a few moments to find what you are looking for. If you have used the style before in earlier versions of Opera some of the items have been moved around. For those who prefer the “Menu Bar” that can be easily restored using the “Show Menu Bar Command”.
If desired you can actually “extend” the “Tab Bar” downwards to display thumbnails of your open tabs. Just use your mouse to grab the bottom of the “Tab Bar” and adjust it to suit your personal needs. The only problem with this feature is that it will quickly use up a good sized portion of your available UI and browser window space.
The “Password Manager” is ready to access when needed…the background for the button will turn a shiny metallic blue when you open a webpage that you have “Login Information” saved for.
One of the new features is a small “Recycle Bin Button” in the upper right corner. Clicking on this will display a list of recently closed tabs letting you have easy access to any tabs that you may have accidentally closed. This is definitely a great feature to have as an easy access button.
For those who were used to how the “Zoom Feature” looked before it has a new “look” to it. Instead of the pop-up menu-type listing of “view sizes” present before you now have a slider button that you can use to adjust the zooming level.
For our default setup here the “Sidebar Panels” available were: “Bookmarks, Widgets, Unite, Notes, Downloads, History, & Panels”. Additional panels such as “Links, Windows, Search, Info, etc.” are available if you want and/or need them (accessible using the “Panels Plus Sign Button”).
The “Opera Link Button” makes it easy for you to synchronize your “Speed Dial, Bookmarks, Personal Bar, Custom Searches, History & Notes”.
Note: “Opera Link” requires an account and can be signed up for using the link provided below.
Want to share files with your family and friends? “Unite” allows you to do that and more. With “Unite” you can: “Stream Music, Show Photo Galleries, Share Files and/or Folders, & host webpages directly from your browser”. We have a more in-depth look at “Unite” in our article here.
Note: Use of “Unite” requires an Opera account.
Got a slow internet connection? “Opera Turbo” can help with that by running the web traffic through their “compression servers” to speed up your web browsing. Keep in mind that “Opera Turbo” will not engage if you are accessing a secure website (i.e. your bank’s website) thus preserving your security.
Note: “Opera Turbo” can be set up to automatically detect slow internet connections (i.e. crowded Wi-Fi in a cafe).
Opera has a built-in “Private Browsing Mode” now for those who prefer anonymous browsing and want to keep the “history records clean” on their computer. To access it go to “Tabs and windows” and select “New private tab” or “New private window” as desired.
When you open your new “Private Tab or Window” you will see the following message with details on how Opera will handle browsing information and a large “door hanger symbol”. Notice that the one tab is locked into “Private Browsing Mode” while the others are still working in “Regular Browsing Mode”. Very nice!
A miniature version of the “door hanger symbol” will be present on any tab that is locked into “Private Browsing Mode”.
If you are using Windows 7 then you will love how things look from your “Taskbar”. Here you can see four very nice looking thumbnails for the tabs that we had open. All that you have to do is click on the desired thumbnail…
The “Context Menu” looks just as lovely as the thumbnails and definitely has some terrific functionality built into it.
Add Enhanced Aero Capability
If you love “Aero” and want more for your new Opera install then we have the perfect theme for you. The theme’s name is Z1-AV69 and once you have downloaded it you will need to place it in the “Skins Subfolder” in Opera’s “Program Files Folder”.
Note: For our example we used version 1.10 but version 2.00 is now available (link provided below).
Once you have restarted Opera, go to the “O Menu” and select “Appearance”. When the “Appearance Window” opens click on “Z1-Glass Skin” and then click “OK”. All of a sudden you will have more “Aero Goodness” to enjoy. Compare this screenshot with the one at the top of this article…the only part that is not transparent now is the browser window area itself.
Want even more “Aero Goodness”? Right click on the “Tab Bar” and set “Tab Bar Placement” to “Left”.
Note: You can achieve the same effect by setting the “Tab Bar Placement” to “Right”.
With the “Speed Dial” visible you will be able to see your wallpaper with ease. While this is obviously not for everyone it does make for a great visual trick.
Portable Versions
Perhaps you need this wonderful new version of Opera to go with you wherever you do during the day. Not a problem…just visit the Opera USB website to choose a version that works best for you. You can select from “Zip or Exe” setup files and if needed update an older portable version using a “Zipped Update Files Package”.
If you are updating an older version keep in mind that you will need to delete the old “OperaUSB.exe. File” due to changes with the new setup files. During our tests updating older portable versions went well for the most part but we did experience a few “odd UI quirks” here and there…so we recommend setting up a clean install if possible.
Conclusion
The new 10.50 release is a pleasure to use and is a recommended install for your system. Whether you are considering trying Opera for the first time or have been using it for a bit we think that you will pleased with everything that the 10.50 release has to offer.
For those who would like to add User Scripts to Opera be certain to look at our how-to article here.
Links
Download Opera 10.50 for your location (Windows)
Get the latest Snapshot versions for Linux & Mac
Sign up for an Opera Link account
View In-Depth detail on Opera 10.50’s features
Download the Z1-AV69 Aero Theme
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Our Look at Opera 10.50 Web Browser
How To Replace Notepad in Windows 7
Mar/100
It used to be that Notepad was a necessary evil because it started up quickly and let us catch a quick glimpse of plain text files. Now, there are a bevy of capable Notepad replacements that are just as fast, but also have great feature sets.
Before following the rest of this how-to, ensure that you’re logged into an account with Administrator access.
Note: The following instructions involve modifying some Windows system folders. Don’t mess anything up while you’re in there! If you follow our instructions closely, you’ll be fine.
Choose your replacement
There are a ton of great Notepad replacements, including Notepad2, Metapad, and Notepad++. The best one for you will depend on what types of text files you open and what you do with them. We’re going to use Notepad++ in this how-to.
The first step is to find the executable file that you’ll replace Notepad with. Usually this will be the only file with the .exe file extension in the folder where you installed your text editor. Copy the executable file to your desktop and try to open it, to make sure that it works when opened from a different folder.
In the Notepad++ case, a special little .exe file is available for the explicit purpose of replacing Notepad.If we run it from the desktop, it opens up Notepad++ in all its glory.
Back up Notepad
You will probably never go back once you switch, but you never know. You can backup Notepad to a special location if you’d like, but we find it’s easiest to just keep a backed up copy of Notepad in the folders it was originally located.
In Windows 7, Notepad resides in:
- C:Windows
- C:WindowsSystem32
- C:WindowsSysWOW64 in 64-bit versions only
Navigate to each of those directories and copy Notepad.
Paste it into the same folder.
If prompted, choose to Copy, but keep both files.
You can keep your backup as “notepad (2).exe”, but we prefer to rename it to “notepad.exe.bak”.
Do this for all of the folders that have Notepad (2 total for 32-bit Windows 7, 3 total for 64-bit).
Take control of Notepad and delete it
Even if you’re on an administrator account, you can’t just delete Notepad – Microsoft has made some security gains in this respect. Fortunately for us, it’s still possible to take control of a file and delete it without resorting to nasty hacks like disabling UAC.
Navigate to one of the directories that contain Notepad. Right-click on it and select Properties.
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Switch to the Security tab, then click on the Advanced button.
Note that the owner of the file is a user called “TrustedInstaller”.
You can’t do much with files owned by TrustedInstaller, so let’s take control of it. Click the Edit… button. Select the desired owner (you could choose your own account, but we’re going to give any Administrator control) and click OK.
You’ll get a message that you need to close and reopen the Properties windows to edit permissions. Before doing that, confirm that the owner has changed to what you selected.
Click OK, then OK again to close the Properties window. Right-click on Notepad and click on Properties again.
Switch to the Security tab. Click on Edit….
Select the appropriate group or user name in the list at the top, then add a checkmark in the checkbox beside Full control in the Allow column.
Click OK, then Yes to the dialog box that pops up.
Click OK again to close the Properties window.
Now you can delete Notepad, by either selecting it and pressing Delete on the keyboard, or right-click on it and click Delete.
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You’re now free from Notepad’s foul clutches!
Repeat this procedure for the remaining folders (or folder, on 32-bit Windows 7).
Drop in your replacement
Copy your Notepad replacement’s executable, which should still be on your desktop.
Browse to the two or three folders listed above and copy your .exe to those locations. If prompted for Administrator permission, click Continue.
If your executable file was named something other than “notepad.exe”, rename it to “notepad.exe”. Don’t be alarmed if the thumbnail still shows the old Notepad icon.
Double click on Notepad and your replacement should open.
To make doubly sure that it works, press Win+R to bring up the Run dialog box and enter “notepad” into the text field. Press enter or click OK.
Now you can allow Windows to open files with Notepad by default with little to no shame! All without restarting or having to disable UAC!
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How To Replace Notepad in Windows 7
Add a Sleep Timer to Windows 7 Media Center
Mar/100
Do you make it a habit of falling asleep at night while watching Windows Media Center? Today we are going to take a look at the MC7 Sleep Timer for Windows 7 Media Center. This simple little plugin allows you to schedule an automatic shutdown time in Media Center.
Note: At this point MC7 Sleep Timer doesn’t work with extenders. If you’re using ClamAV or Panda it may detect this plugin as a virus, we’ve tested it and this is a false positive for these two antivirus apps.
Installation and Usage
Download and install MC7 Sleep Timer. (See download below)
After the installation is finished, you will find MC7 Sleep Timer located in the Media Center Extras Library. Click on the tile to open the timer and configure your settings.
The MC7 Sleep Timer will open in full screen mode. You can choose to shutdown the PC after 30 or 60 minutes, create a custom length shutdown timer at any 5 minute interval, or select the exact time you want the PC to shutdown.? After setting your PC to shutdown, you’ll get an audio confirmation.
To set a custom timer length, scroll to the “Custom timer” option and click right or left on your Media Center remote or, the right or left arrow keys, to choose how many minutes before shutdown.
To schedule a shutdown for a certain time, browse to the “Shutdown at time” button, and scroll right or left with the arrow keys on the keyboard or remote. When you’ve chosen your time, hit “Enter” on the keyboard or “OK” on the remote.
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Clicking the “Monitor Off” button will turn off only the monitor and “Cancel Timer” will cancel your shutdown request.
Conclusion
If you often find yourself falling asleep every night watching Media Center and then fumbling and stumbling in the middle of the night to shutdown your computer, MC7 Sleep timer might just be a perfect addition to your Media Center setup.
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Add a Sleep Timer to Windows 7 Media Center
Amazon and Gamefly agree: Singularity out June 29
Mar/100
The upcoming Singularity from Raven Software is supposed to give you the power to age objects just by gesturing at them, and it appears that ability is being tested on the game itself: Its release date has been slowly edging into the future, from early 2010 up into March and then on to June. But it seems like the timeshifting has finally come to an end, as both Amazon and Gamefly have listed the game as releasing on June 29th of this year.
Activision originally cited the delay as an attempt to keep the game away from a crowded slate of “competitive titles,” so perhaps the game will do better kicking off the dog days of summer. If Raven’s time-bending twist on the FPS captures your interest, it’ll be one more good reason to stay out of that hot, hot summer sun.
[Thanks, Shagittarius]
Amazon and Gamefly agree: Singularity out June 29 originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is new king of UK sales charts
Mar/100
It’s debatable whether or not the server crashing this past week was a symptom of Battlefield: Bad Company 2’s success. What isn’t debatable is the game’s explosive debut on the UK’s Chart-Track all-formats chart. The multiplayer-centric shooter, which we’ve been thoroughly enjoying, outsold the original Bad Company’s launch week numbers almost 3 to 1. According to Chart-Track, BC2 is the “best ever launch for any game released this early in the year.” Interestingly, 53 percent of BC2 sales went to the Xbox 360 version, followed by 31 percent and 16 percent of sales for the PS3 and PC, respectively. (The game also topped the three, individual platform charts.)
Of course, lurking in the corner was Just Dance. The game will not go away and continues to stay in the top three week after week after week. Last week’s top game, Heavy Rain, slipped down to fourth and the battle of Aliens vs. Predator held onto third. Check out the complete top ten after the break.
Source – Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is a born leader [GFK Chart-Track]
Source – Latest UK Software Charts [GFK Chart-Track]
Continue reading Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is new king of UK sales charts
Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is new king of UK sales charts originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 08 Mar 2010 09:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is new king of UK sales charts
Desktop Fun: Fast Cars Wallpapers
Mar/100
Have you been feeling a need for speed lately? Then get ready to jump into the driver’s seat with our Fast Cars Wallpapers collection.
Note: Click on the picture to see the full-size image—these wallpapers vary in size so you may need to crop, stretch, or place them on a colored background in order to best match them to your screen’s resolution.
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For more fun wallpapers be certain to visit our new Desktop Fun section.
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A closer look at Windows Phone 7 Series – CNET
Mar/100
 TheUnlockr.com (blog) |
A closer look at Windows Phone 7 Series
CNET Goo splat =Zune HD app. So the next question is, does Zune HD apps on Windows Phone 7 Series mean Windows Phone 7 Series apps on Zune HD? by clrgj2 March 5, … When Will Zune Phone Appear? A Good Look at the Windows Phone 7 Series |
Noreve Zune HD Case Review – Anything But iPod (blog)
Mar/100
 Anything But iPod (blog) |
Noreve Zune HD Case Review
Anything But iPod (blog) Looking for a high end case for your Zune HD? Noreve has you covered as always. If you read this site with frequency you see that I review a lot of Noreve … |
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Noreve Zune HD Case Review – Anything But iPod (blog)
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Ask the Readers: Share Your Tips for Defeating Viruses and Malware
Mar/100
We’ve shared some of our best tips for dealing with malware over the years, and now it’s your turn! Share your favorite tips for protecting against, or getting rid of viruses and other types of malicious software.
Unfortunately, if you’re a PC user it’s a given that you have to play defense against various forms of Malware. We’ve written several articles showing how to get rid of viruses and other forms of malware over the years using various strategies.
We have some excellent articles explaining how to get rid of Advanced Virus Remover, Antivirus Live, Internet Security 2010, and Security Tool – all of which disguise themselves as legit antivirus apps.
Now we turn it over to you to share your favorite tips and tricks for defending against malicious infections. If your computer has been infected, what steps did you take to get rid of it and clean up your machine?
Leave a comment below and join in the discussion!
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Ask the Readers: Share Your Tips for Defeating Viruses and Malware