Cannot Add Network Printer - Part 2

After I had changed the workgroup and tried to add a network printer a second time, the printer list is displayed and I tried to click on the desired network printer. Yikes! It give me another problem. the error message says that my local print spooler is not running hence no permission to connect to the printer. I believe many people also faced the same problem. At least some of my colleagues faced the same problem before.

To reactivate your Local Printer Spooler:

1. Click on Control Panel, then select Administrative Tools. From here, you can access Computer Management.














2.Select Service and scroll down to select Print Spooler.














3. Select Automatic for the Startup type. Select Stop and Start again to restart the service.















4. The new Print Spooler status should be as shown.





5. Add the network printer again. Voila! now it works nicely.

Cannot Add Network Printer - Part 1

The other day I was facing a problem that I cannot add a new network printer. I am using Window Vista 32 bit. I have tried to add a printer by browsing for network printer. It just does not shows the printer list at all. Then I realise the problem. My network workgroup has been set to a wrong workgroup. After I change my workgroup to the right one then the printer list show up nicely.

To change the workgroup setting:

1. Access the System from Control Panel.

2. Scroll down to display the Computer name, domain and workgroup settings.

3. Click on the Change settings.

4. Click on the Computer name tab and change the Workgroup name.

5. Restart the computer for the new settings to take effect.

Cannot click on Window Vista Taskbar

I have been having some strange problems with Vista lately. For the past few weeks, my computers been having bouts of me being unable to click the taskbar or system tray. When I try to click on it, it just beeps. After some googling, there are many opinions as to what had happened. But I found a solution that really works as follows:

1. Create a new admin account in Control Panel>User Accounts. Log into the new account
at least once to activate it. In this case, I have named it "NewAdmin"

2. Reboot the computer.

3. Log into new admin account.

4. Browse to C:\Users\OldAccount and select everything except: ntuser.dat, ntuser.dat.LOG1, and ntuser.dat.LOG2. These are hidden files. To make them visible, go to
Control Panel>Folder Options>View tab,
and mark the radio button for "Show hidden files and folders."

5. Copy (or move) everything except those 3 files to
C:\Users\NewAdmin

6.Reboot and log into the new account. After verifying that all data
has been transfered, go back to User accounts in the Control Panel and delete the old account. It will prompt you to delete all the files. You may choose to backup them into a folder first to check later what are the missing data you have not copied or moved.

7. Since the registry has been rebuilt, you should have no more problem to click on the taskbar.

Desktop Graffitist

There will be things when you are bored out of your brain when you are sitting in front of the computer screen for long hours.

There is a program call Desktop Graffitist which is quite useful to do some graffiti and sketches on screen. You can switch between colors, using the mouse wheel and quickly erase your creation with the Esc key.

Aside from the added bonus of allowing you to vent on that stupid monthly report or the latest homework assignment, the program is also good for leaving messages on other people's computers that they can't miss (love notes, hate notes, grocery lists and art/graffiti/vandalism, ...).

You may download it from here. It's simple, relaxing, addictive, free, and totally fun!

Hidden Software in Window Vista - EudcEdit

There is another hidden software in Window XP and Vista that some people may find useful.

Eudcedit is a Private Character Editor that allows you to design new fonts, icons and logos. You simply select a hexadecimal code for the 1st character from the grid and click OK to start designing.

To access Eudcedit In Windows XP, go to start run > type in eudcedit and click OK.

When the Private Character Editor launches, you’ll see the Select Code dialog box Click OK.

A user interface that looks and works very much like Paint will appear. From this, you may use standard tools to create your characters.There is a toolbar on the left with some basic tools. Shown in the figure is the “pencil” used for freehand drawing.

Create your new character

When you finish your new character, select the Save Character command on the Edit menu.

Once you save your new character, you can access it using the Character Map tool.

Procedure to access your new character using the Character Map tool

start–>run type charmap click OK.

When the Character Map appears, select the Font drop-down list and select All Fonts (Private Characters). Select your character, click the Select button, and then click the Copy button.

You can now paste your font character in any document that you want like official documents,presentations,email signatures

Hidden Software in Window Vista - IExpress

There are a few hidden software within Window Vista which may be quite useful to some people.

Windows Vista and Windows XP both have a rarely used tool known as IExpress. This is an extremely useful tool for turning Visual Basic script files and other non-executable scripts into one-click executables.

Before you begin the installation process, you will need two files. The first file is the script you would like to bundle into the executable. The second script must be the batch file that you use to execute your script. For example: if your script is a visual basic script (.vbs) you need a batch file (.bat) that will run your script.

Launch IExpress in Windows Vista by clicking the Start button and typing iexpress. In Windows XP, launch IExpress by going to Start >> Run and typing iexpress.

Organize your world

It must be a sign of getting old. I can no longer remember the things as well as last time. As I am looking around for something to help remind me of all the things I have to do, I found a number of interesting tools. These software can appear as calendar organizer on your desktop and float above your normal desktop wallpaper.

One of my favorite is Rainlendar.
This is not the run of the mill calendar that sits pretty on your desktop and do nothing. Rainlendar looks quite similar to the Window Vista Calendar gadget but it can do far more. I find Rainlendar to be light and its appearance can be customized with skins and you can even mix different skins together.

You can also subscribe to online calendars including the Google Calendar and edit your Outlook appointments directly in Rainlendar.

One click on the calendar allows you to set the events for the day. You can see the week's events at one glance. You can also decide how many days in advance you want to see in the list. You can mark the important events with icon so to distinguish it from the others.

You may use the To Do list to keep yourself organized. You can also set a due date and alarm for the tasks to make sure you'll remember to do them on time.

Rainlendar Pro is a shareware and cost EURO 9.95. Rainlendar Lite is free. You may download it from http://www.rainlendar.net/cms/index.php?option=com_rny_download&Itemid=32.