Q: I’m Having Difficulty With My MBR Since I’ve Switched My System to a New Drive. How Can I Fix The Amount of Time I Take at Boot?
A: In the question, you also mentioned that you kept the original hard drive that had the operating system on it. I’m not sure what you did to move the Windows installation, but it often still registers certain sets of hardware enumeration without changing their values. If you can’t find the boot folder or “boot.ini,” you don’t really need it. I’d recommend that you hold the “Start” key, press “R,” and type “msconfig” in the window that shows up. When you press “Enter,” you’ll see a complete configuration tool for your Windows installation. You mentioned that you use Windows 7, meaning that you must click the “Boot” tab on MSConfig and change the timeout. This is probably what’s causing your system to lag on boot. If that didn’t help, give me a bigger description in the comments section.
Q: How Can I Empty The Thumbnail Cache (For Folders) in Windows 7 Without Removing Current Thumbnails?
A: In your question, you also mentioned that you found out how to deactivate the thumbnail cache, but you want to keep thumbnails in folders. You mentioned that you need to run Windows 7’s disk cleaner. I ask: What’s stopping you? The disk cleaner is in the same location in Windows 7 where it was in other versions of Windows. The path is “Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Cleanup.” Once you get the disk cleanup window, check the box next to “Thumbnails”. That will tell Disk Cleanup to erase your thumbnails and clear the cache. Once you refresh the windows you have open with folder thumbnails, the thumbnails will reappear. Here’s where you have to go in the cleaner’s window:
And that’s all there is to it!
Q: A Few Weeks ago, I Got a Virus That Made a Total Mess of Most of My Files, Called “System Check.” System Restore Doesn’t Work, and it Keeps Telling Me “Cannot Restore to Previous Date.” How do I Get System Restore to Work Again?
A: This one’s tough, and I have really terrible news for you: the virus must have removed the restore points to keep itself alive. If I’m right, it means that you would have to make a clean install of Windows or continue fighting with the virus until its effects are gone. There’s no way to turn back the clock if you don’t have a backup of your system somewhere. My suggestion: Get a third-party system imaging software like Macrium Reflect and store your images in a USB drive. You can also do a full backup of your system onto a reserved drive, which is something I recommend for almost everyone. Norton Ghost works best for that.
Q: I Want to Watch Videos on My Computer, But I Want to Watch it Alone and Not Share It With Others
A: First of all, you can’t just hide everything from everyone, considering that some websites keep record of who visits them. The recent notion of ACTA and other trade agreements makes it possible for your ISP to whip up anything that can be used against you, but if you want to keep your privacy among people around you, you can open an incognito browser window and turn off history in your media player application. On Firefox, you can go incognito by pressing the orange Firefox button on the top left-hand corner of the window and clicking “Start Private Browsing”. Once you do that, you’re all set to stream video content without records stored locally on your computer. In Google Chrome, you can start an incognito window with “Ctrl + Shift + N.” With Windows Media Player, all you have to do is click “Tools” and then click “Options”. Go to the “Privacy” tab and de-select the checkbox next to “Video” under the “History” section near the bottom of the window, like this:
Once you do that, you’re all set!
Q: I Just Got Back on My Computer, And The Taskbar Disappeared, But The Start Button Remained. How Do I Fix This Problem?
A: I get the same issue when using some third-party screen savers. I’m not exactly sure if this happens in Windows 7 only, or if other versions of Windows also suffer from the same issue. This is most likely a bug in Windows’ handling of the GUI after successfully “closing” a screen saver and can be corrected with unbelievable ease. As long as your taskbar is missing, you can still use the place where it was as a piece of your desktop if you have windows open that you don’t want to minimize. To fix this problem, just right-click on the place your taskbar is supposed to be and click “Personalize.” On the bottom, you’ll see a link for “Screen Saver.” Click on it, and click “Preview” next to the drop down list showing the screen saver’s name, like so:
In the current example, I don’t have a screen saver selected. You will see the “Preview” button differently when you select a screen saver. Once your computer blacks out and the screen saver comes on, move your mouse to “close” the screen saver. Your taskbar will reappear after that.
Questions?
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