vasilios freeware

How to start Vasilios Freeware apps with Windows 7 StartUp

2010-01-01T09:39:00.000-08:00

The following instructions required only for applications indicating as System Requirements : Win XP/Vista and NOT Win7 ( As an example I'm using my program: Instant Memory Cleaner ).

Windows 7 are using a StartUp folder different than WindowsXP or Vista, that's why Instant Memory Cleaner startup shortcut can not be created successfully through the program's options menu.

I'm working on an update using the Registry instead, but since that time do the following as an alternative:

- Go to Instant Memory Cleaner installation Folder ( Usually : C:\Program Files\Vasilios Applications\Instant Memory Cleaner )
- Right click Instant Memory Cleaner.exe --> Create Shortcut
( If for some reason Windows do not let you create a shortcut in the installation folder, do it on the Desktop instead )
- Right click the Created Shortcut --> Cut
- Go to: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup --> Paste
- Finished

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Note here that ProgramData is a Windows hidden folder and if you don't have the Windows Option to "Show hidden files, folders, and drives" enabled, it might be invisible, so in that case:

Way to do it Nr.1
• Type ( or paste ) the following path:
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
in Windows Explorer browsing bar --> Go
in order to move into that folder and put the the created program's shortcut there.

Way to do it Nr.2
• Go to Control Panel\Folder Options\View tab, and switch on the "Show hidden files, folders, and drives" option.
• Now that ProgramData folder is visible through Windows Explorer ( Usually : C:\ProgramData ), go to the following path:
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup
and put the the created program's shortcut there.

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Vasilios Freeware - New Web Site

2009-08-13T22:26:00.000-07:00

• My new Web Site now is addressed in:
http://www.vasilios-free.gr/freesoft/index.html

• It is completely refreshed, re-designed and with my latest software in it.

• A big thanks to all of you that supported me these years.

Vasilis Stamatopoulos
Vasilios Freeware

Extensible Performance Counter List for Win2000, works perfect on Vista

2007-12-02T07:07:00.000-08:00

• I had several Event Logs in my Vista, stating that some Performance Counters failed to start. This is something common if you stop some useless (according to your needs) services and some others that you left in Automatic or Manual mode, need the stopped services in order to begin.

• There is no problem at all to leave the things as they are, except of the fact that it's very annoyance (to me at least it is) looking all these error events in your Event Log file.

• Microsoft's Resource Kit Tool for Vista is not existing since I'm posting this, so I decided to experiment with the Extensible Performance Counter List tool of Win2000 Resource Kit Tool and you know what? IT'S WORKING LIKE A HARM!

• So if you feel like me, Download it from here, install it and get rid of any Performance Counter that is producing an Error Event in your Event Log file.

Altiris Software Virtualization Solution (SVS) refuses to install

2007-07-22T20:58:00.000-07:00

• Altiris Software Virtualization Solution (SVS) is a great program for people like me who used to try a big amount of software before take the decision to use it. It creates a virtual layer whithin you are installing the software you want to test (even an upgrade to an existing installation) and if you don't want to keep it, the only thing you have to do is to delete the created layer. No registry garbage, neither left-over files.

• But what happens if Altiris Software Virtualization Solution (SVS) refuses to install? To me it happened and after a research that I made, I discovered that it is something very common globaly.

• After many different approaches I finally did the installation in silent mode. So, follow the next steps if you want to do the same:

1. Create a folder in your root hard drive ( C:\altiris ) and copy there the Software_Virtualization_Agent.EXE installation Setup file.
2. Run the C:\altiris\Software_Virtualization_Agent.EXE Setup file to begin the installation normally.
3. Get your free Altiris-SVS Product License Key from Altiris Web Site when you'll prompt and type it in the appropriate text entry.
4. Mark all the Check boxes (four of them) at the selections panel and wait until the installation error appears.
5. Close the failed installation's window.
6. In the same with the C:\altiris\Software_Virtualization_Agent.EXE directory, a Window's installer .MSI file have been extracted = C:\altiris\Software_Virtualization_Agent.msi.
7. Go to: Start > Run and type CMD [enter].
8. Type: CD\ [enter]
9. Type: C: [enter]
10.Type: CD altiris [enter]
11.Type exactly as it is in a single line (better Copy/Paste): msiexec.exe /qn /i Software_Virtualization_Agent.msi PRODUCT_KEY=[Product License Key from step 3 without the brackets] INSTALL_ADMIN=1 REBOOT=ReallySuppress
12.Reboot your system.

• Altiris Software Virtualization Solution (SVS) is free for personal use, requires Windows 2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista and you can download it from: http://www.download.com/3000-2651_4-10714513.html

Vista's installed programs running in compatibility mode.

2007-07-15T07:16:00.000-07:00

• Recently I found out that a program I had installed and it was set by me to start with Windows Startup, caused me a lot of problems. This program was an Applications' Launcher and because of the fact that I'm using it for many years (very convenient for me but not compatible with Windows Vista), I set it to run in a compatibility XP - Sp2 layer under Windows Vista. The Launcher was working perfect although I had some minor delay because of the compatibility's layer creation (something that I knew and I was expected).

• So far so good.

• After a matter of time I discovered that some applications began to behave strangely. They were closing with no reason, they couldn't save documents, they were producing error messages and event logs that Microsoft knowledge base didn't have an answer. I was confused because I was unable to understand the reason for all these.

• Finally the problem solved by luck (as usually happens). I launched a program that I used to have these strange reactions, not through my beloved Launcher but through the command prompt. The program was running like a harm. The problems were not in the programs but they were starting from the Launcher.

• CONCLUSION: When a program runs in compatibility mode under Windows Vista, everything that is reaching (even a file that is opening with the Open File dialog) is also opening under the compatibility layer of the calling program (i.e. Free Commander under Windows 98 compatibility mode launches my application Transpapps witch makes the Open Windows transparent. Try to make it work and you will wait until infinity. You see, transparency works in OS's newer than Windows 2000 and Transpapps as I mentioned before is now working under the Windows 98 layer of Free Commander which called it). So if you will encounter some unexpected programs' crushes, take a look if somewhere a compatibility layer is responsible.

Disable Auto Tuning in Windows Vista

2007-05-07T01:33:00.000-07:00

To disable Auto Tuning and speed up the copy process by avoiding timeouts and disconnects, do the following:

• Open a command prompt ( Start > Run > cmd ) and type the following:
netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled

• To turn it on again ( Start > Run > cmd ):
netsh int tcp set global autotuninglevel=normal

QUICK TIPS - Faster DOS Printing with Win2000/XP

2007-02-06T02:32:00.000-08:00

If you are experiencing slow printing for DOS programs with Windows2000/XP

1. Go Start > Run > Regedit
2. Click Hkey_Local_Machine
3. Click on System
4. Click CurrentControlSet
5. Click Control
6. Go to the bottom of this part of the list and click WOW
7. Click LPT timeout and change it to a 3

QUICK TIPS - Increase Windows XP System Performance

2007-01-12T11:00:00.000-08:00

If you have 512 megs or more of memory, you can increase system performance
by having the core system kept in memory.

1. Start Regedit
2. Go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\DisablePagingExecutive
3. Set the value to be 1
4. Reboot the computer

Quick Tips - Restore the Desktop Icon to the WinXP's Quick Launch Bar

2006-12-29T12:22:00.001-08:00

• If by mistake you've deleted the icon for the Desktop on the Quick Launch Bar, go to C:\Documents and Settings\user_name\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch (where user_name is replaced by your login name).

• Create a Text file called ShowDesktop.TXT with the following contents:

[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

• Rename the created ShowDesktop.TXT to ShowDesktop.SCF.

Quick Tips - Edit MP3 ID tags

2006-12-05T22:11:00.001-08:00

• To edit MP3 ID tags:

1. Right click on a MP3 file (or select several at once and right click)
2. Select Properties > Summary > Advanced
3. Click the item you want to change (under the Value column) and type your changes.

Quick Tips - An effective cleaning of your system's cache

2006-11-18T09:53:00.000-08:00

• Start up in Safe Mode ( press F8 while booting and choose Safe Mode )
... then:
1. Go to Start > Run > type cleanmgr /sageset:50 ( ensure there is a space between cleanmgr and / ) > click OK
2. In the resulting screen, choose your options by checking the boxes ( choose all but the bottom two ) > click OK
3. Go to Start > Run > type cleanmgr /sagerun:50 ( don' t copy paste from [1] because they differ as the first is sageset and the other is sagerun - ensure there is a space between cleanmgr and / ) > click OK and let it do the rest things.

Quick Tips - Prefetch Cleaning hurts performance

2006-11-02T20:50:00.000-08:00

• Avoid cleaning the Prefetch Folder (C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch\) as it will increase applications' and Windows load times.
• Cleaning the Prefetch folder is a Myth and actually hurts performance. Windows already automatically cleans this folder at 128 entries.
• Anyone who claims this should be cleaned for ANY reason does not understand how Windows Prefetching works.

Quick Tips - Create a Boot Disk for an NTFS or FAT Partition in Windows XP

2006-10-20T23:04:00.000-07:00

• The user's nightmare is a non-booting PC and if you have a FAT 32 file system formatted one (like me), a Windows 98 boot disk from the past might solve many things.
• But what if you have a NTFS formatted HD (like the most) ?
• Microsoft's KB Article 305595 (URL = http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;en-us;305595&spid=1173&sid=global ) has a step-by-step guide to help you easily create the appropriate boot disk.

Quick Tips - Stop hard disks spinning down

2006-10-04T23:49:00.000-07:00

• By default, Windows XP spins down all hard drives after 20 minutes of inactivity to save power. This can cause significant delays when it is necessary to access the drives after this time. To increase performance and reduce wear and tear on your drives, disable this feature in Windows XP power options.

- Go to: start > control panel > (performance and maintenance) > power options.
- Set the "turn off hard disks" drop down box to "never".
- Click > OK .

Quick Tips - Instant special characters

2006-09-23T00:52:00.000-07:00

• If you use special characters a lot in text documents such as the half or quarter symbols, it makes sense to memorise the keyboard shortcut rather than having to paste from the Character Map.

- Go to Character Map (it's in Accessories > System Tools), check the Advanced view (if it's unchecked) and click the desired character. You'll see the keyboard shortcut appear in the bottom right hand corner. Now when you need your symbol, make sure that [Num Lock] is turned on, hold [Alt] and type the combination into the numeric keypad.

Quick Tips - Rename Multiple files in Windows XP

2006-09-15T21:44:00.000-07:00

- Select several files in Windows Explorer (no matter their extension's type).
- Move your mouse to the file you want to be the first in your list.
- Right-click this file > Rename > type the desired new name > Enter.
- All the selected files will get renamed to the new file name (plus a number added to the end, starting clockwise the renamed file).

• RECOMENDATIONS BEFORE GET USED TO THIS METHOD (because it's un-reversable):
- Have only the files you want to rename in the directory you are working in.
- Create copies of the files you want to rename in a safe location, and then proceed to the renaming.

Quick Tips - Show file extensions

2006-09-01T23:19:00.000-07:00

• The icon of the assigned application to a file's name for sure doesn't help the same than to know the extension of it.
• So, in order to have the files' extensions visible, do the following:

- In any folder that contains files > Click on the tools menu and select folder options.
- Click on the View tab.
- Locate where it lists: Hide extensions of known file types > uncheck it.
- Click OK.

Quick Tips - Create a "Run" Shortcut on your Desktop

2006-08-24T20:38:00.000-07:00

• To create a shortcut to the "Run" prompt on your Desktop (or any other location):

- Open the Start Menu.
- Click and drag the "Run" command onto the Desktop.
- A shortcut named "&Run" will be created (then you can rename it to anything you like and to cut/paste it wherever you like).
- This tip doesn't work if you have the "Classic Start Menu" enabled.

Quick Tips - Windows Logo Key Keyboard Shortcuts

2006-08-16T22:53:00.000-07:00

Use the Windows Logo Key (WinLogoKey) which is located in the bottom row of the most computer keyboards, to have the following results:

WinLogoKey : Display the Start menu
WinLogoKey + D: Minimize or restore all opened windows
WinLogoKey + E: Display Windows Explorer
WinLogoKey + F: Display Search for files
WinLogoKey + Ctrl + F: Display Search for computer
WinLogoKey + F1: Display Help and Support Center
WinLogoKey + R: Display Run dialog box
WinLogoKey + pause/break: Display System Properties dialog box
WinLogoKey + shift + M: Undo minimize all windows
WinLogoKey + L: Lock the workstation
WinLogoKey + U: Open Utility Manager

Quick Tips - Create a "Local Group Policy Editor" Shortcut on your Desktop.

2006-08-07T23:05:00.000-07:00

• Instead of typing every time: "gpedit.msc" (without the quotes) in the Start > Run prompt, it's better to create a shortcut to the "Local Group Policy Editor" hidden configuration tool on your Desktop (then you can cut/paste it in any other location):

- Right-click on your Desktop > New > Shortcut.
- In the Create Shortcut dialog type (or copy/paste): "gpedit.msc" (without the quotes).
- Press Next and give a title for the shortcut (i.e. Local Group Policy Editor) > Press Finish to complete.

Quick Tips - Create a list of shortcut keys in Office Word.

2006-08-04T12:49:00.000-07:00

• In order to create a list of Office Word's shortcut keys, you can use... Office Word itself:

- On the Tools menu, point to Macro, and then click Macros.
- In the Macros in: box (the second ComboBox from the top), click Word commands.
- In the Macro name: box (the first ListBox from the top), click ListCommands.
- Click Run.
- In the ListCommands dialog box, click Current menu and keyboard settings.
- Click OK.
- On the File menu, click Save as... or Print (about 10 pages document).

Quick Tips - Convert Upper to Lower cases in Office Word.

2006-07-31T20:54:00.000-07:00

• The easiest way to convert a written text from Upper to Lower cases (and vice versa) in Office Word is:
- Mark the text you want to convert.
- Hold down the SHIFT button and press F3.

Quick Tips - Select 'No to all' when copying files in XP.

2006-07-29T21:16:00.000-07:00

• Although Windows XP gives you the "yes to all" option in its file copy dialog box (to overwrite files in a directory with newer files of the same name), it uses no button for the existed "no to all" option (in order not to overwrite and to leave the old files as they are). Its very annoying especially if the files are too many.
• To use the "no to all" hidden option, when the file copy dialog box appears asking you whether you wish to overwrite the first file, hold down the SHIFT button and mouse click "no". This will automatically answer "no to all" for the following same named files. Have in mind that if there are also folders to be copied, it will ask you the same for the first folder it encounters, so follow the procedure again to answer "no" automatically for all folders.
• This way the copying process will finish in a flash.

Quick Tips - Create a Firefox shortcut to change its profile

2006-07-26T23:14:00.000-07:00

• Installing and uninstalling extensions in Firefox causes after a matter of time a general failure to it. Probably you've tried to re-install Firefox but the results of this movement was a big nothing. This is obvious because the problem is not Firefox itself, but the damaged current user's profile.
• The solution here is to create a new profile and the easiest way to do it is by composing a Desktop shortcut (this is practical because you can create several profiles in the future and you can jump from one to the other by using this shortcut):
- Right-click on your Desktop > New > Shortcut.
- In the Create Shortcut dialog type (or copy/paste): "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe" -p (as it is with the quotes and if you didn't install Firefox in its default path, replace the C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\ with your current one).
- Press Next and give a title for the shortcut (i.e. Open Firefox Profile Dialog) > Press Finish to complete.
• Double-click the shortcut, and the profile dialog will start (Firefox must be closed, otherwise double-clicking the shortcut will cause a new Firefox tab to your home page).

Google's Blogger Beta Search for Quick Tips

2006-07-24T22:46:00.000-07:00

• You see Blogger's Search Engine seems to be less reliable than I thought. Of course it's in beta version but I couldn't imagine that the Quick Tips results from my web page's link will vary so much from day to day.
• Anyway this section's posts since now are only a few (you can find them all in a single page), and under an optimistic point of view, I believe that the problem will be fixed soon.

Quick Tips - Easy "Save as..." in Notepad

2006-07-23T01:12:00.000-07:00

• After you finished writing something in your notepad and you want to save it in a different supported from the notepad format instead of .TXT (i.e. .LOG), the normal way is to go: File > Save as... and then in the Save as... dialog to type the name of the file with the extension (i.e. notes.log). Finally you must select Save as type: All Files and press the Save button.
• If you will put the desired name with the extension in quotes ( "notes.log" ) and press the Save button, you are going to have the same result instantly.

Quick Tips - Published only in Vasilios Freeware Blog

2006-07-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

• I decided to introduce this section only in my blog, because it's something that I don't want to have it in my mind as a "must update after a sensible time". I want to make it the way: "I'm in frond of my PC with nothing to do, so let's post a useful blog".
• A link in my web page will getting you here and a Quick Tips search in the blog will show you all the posts that I've created since your date searching.

Old Vasilios Freeware web address does not exist anymore

2006-07-20T00:55:00.000-07:00

• From today, my old web address ( http://users.spark.net.gr/~stamatb/freesoft ) does not exist anymore.
• This means than no re-direction is going to take place from there, and my visitors have to use the new one which is: http://www.vasileios.gr/freesoft .
• I'm very sorry for the inconvenience but it was something I couldn't manage.

Articles that added to Vasilios Freeware new sections

2006-07-19T13:01:00.000-07:00

• Superfetch (a renewed Prefetch) can be added in Windows XP , under the: Better Windows? Why not... section.
• PureText : remove rich formatting from copied/cut text , under the: Let's Freeware section.
• SideBySide error event logs , under the: Once, I had a problem section.
• SHELL EXTENSION CITY : Configure Your System Wickedly , under the: Internet Highlights section.

New sections in Vasilios Freeware

2006-07-18T21:59:00.000-07:00

From July 2006 I decided to create a new look for my Web Site and to add some new sections there (instead of presenting my applications).

These sections are :
- Better Windows? Why not... : Comments and advices on how to make Windows OS working better (first tested by me).
- Let's Freeware : Freeware applications from other developers that I do use in my own system.
- Once, I had a problem : Problems that I faced and how I solve them.
- Internet Highlights : Internet Addresses that I bookmark and I'm visiting daily when I'm powering-on my computer.

With all these I want to add and share things that can probably make computer users' life easier.

Vasilios Freeware

2005-03-06T22:19:00.000-08:00

Freeware to All is a way of living, that's why the software
I'm constructing is only of that kind.

Visit my freeware application's page named Vasilios Freeware,
and I will be glad to have your opinion and comments.