tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75775280095252889632011-08-02T10:27:36.463-07:00The <a href="http://www.pcwintools.com">PCWinTools.com</a> official blog. We'll cover articles, tips and software relating to the Windows platforms.Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18113493640832472644noreply@blogger.comBlogger91100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577528009525288963.post-79524945409434830342011-07-02T03:36:00.000-07:002011-07-02T03:36:48.350-07:00

IP Addresses are essential to the internet and computer networks.  Like a MAC address which is unique to hardware devices, IP addresses are in fact just that, an address to your location that you connect to the internet. There a a couple of ways to determine your IP Address however the easiest way is to use a website like IPReferrer.com where you will be presented with your WAN (wide area

Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18113493640832472644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577528009525288963.post-25274167987775530292010-03-14T04:45:00.000-07:002010-03-14T04:45:47.196-07:00

Sometimes you need to determine what all your devices and their drivers are quickly and easily.  One way is to open up the device manager like this (open device manager) or an alternative is to download something like DriverCure and run a scan of your system. Even though you need to pay for the application when you want to update drivers or applications, scanning is free and you will see in one

Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18113493640832472644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577528009525288963.post-17012529387190519442010-02-02T03:12:00.000-08:002010-02-02T03:12:06.896-08:00

Yes, some people are still using floppy drives and sometimes you want to format a bunch of disks without too much interaction.  Here is the command line to format a number of disks and only having to press the'Y' and Enter: format a: /q /v:label The /q switch tells Windows to do a quick format and the /v:label is the floppy disk label.  If you don't include this switch you will be prompted to

Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18113493640832472644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577528009525288963.post-44258936702856681012009-12-16T05:18:00.000-08:002009-12-16T05:19:03.928-08:00

When new driver updates or application updates are released sometimes they cause more problems than they fix. With Windows drivers it is relatively easy to roll back to the last driver. Bring up your device manager (Right Click on My Computer --> Manage --> Device manager). Find the device that you want to rollback and right click and select properties Click on the driver Tab and you should see

Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18113493640832472644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577528009525288963.post-60789661662260124942009-12-13T16:12:00.000-08:002009-12-13T16:12:51.960-08:00

When using USB removable devices like portable USB sticks or USB hard drives you need to ensure that the data you change on the drives is written to the drive completely.  Generally by default the properties for USB devices are set to write caching and when you want to remove the drive you need to use the 'Safely Remove Hardware' option to make sure all data is flushed to the drive. Write

Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18113493640832472644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577528009525288963.post-73804424447620190562009-12-02T06:33:00.000-08:002009-12-02T06:33:32.920-08:00

Here's a tip to save time when printing a file or group of files.  You can print documents or images in a multitude of ways but this is a real time saver.  Open up your printers folder and create a shortcut to your desktop for the printer(s) you use. Now to print a file you simply click and drag over the printer icon and release.  The application the file was created in will launch and

Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18113493640832472644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577528009525288963.post-86523760442083045102009-11-25T04:14:00.000-08:002009-11-25T04:14:00.781-08:00

Whether we like it or not, the keyboard is still an important component of modern computer systems.  Used in conjunction with the mouse you can really complete tasks efficiently and quickly.  Here are a list of Windows shortcuts we use all the time: F1: Help CTRL+ESC: Open Start menu ALT+TAB: Switch between open programs ALT+F4: Quit program SHIFT+DELETE: Delete item permanently Windows Logo+

Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18113493640832472644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577528009525288963.post-266169040733440362009-11-22T01:57:00.000-08:002009-11-22T01:57:50.327-08:00

I answered this question at Yahoo Answers and I think it's valuable enough to re-post here. "Software is a broad category and in it's most simplistic definition can be described as a set of instructions used to command hardware. The other definitions you require can be a subset of software. Application is generally described as software with which a human would interact such as a word processor

Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18113493640832472644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7577528009525288963.post-12902817127527618902009-11-20T17:48:00.000-08:002009-11-20T17:50:02.097-08:00

Windows, Linux and other operating systems contain a myriad of front end and behind the scenes options in order to maintain them in regards to reliability and performance.  Most end users will use a limited set of functions and may not know how to keep their Windows system in tip top shape. Windows operating systems are built on some key components such as device drivers, registry database,

Joeyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18113493640832472644noreply@blogger.com0