Windows God Mode

Just the other day I was helping a friend set up their computer after doing a full reinstall of the OS.

Now configuring a system can get to be a bit tedious with all of the clicking necessary to get to all of the settings and tools.  So to make things a little easier, I clued him into Windows' God Mode.

God mode puts all of the the things you can customize together in one place on your Windows machine, and it is available from Windows Vista through Windows 10.

Getting to God Mode is easy; just create a folder anywhere you like and name it God Mode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}

Actually, you can name it anything you like before the dot.  the important part is what comes after the dot.  Don't change that part.

Once you rename the folder, open it up and you'll find a wealth of tweaks and tools.

Give it a look if you're of the mind.  If you find it convenient, enjoy.  If it's not for you, just delete the folder and it's gone.

Continue reading →

Deleting a Printer that Just Won't Go Away

Have you ever had a problem deleting a printer?

I'd physically gotten rid of an old printer, but I couldn't delete it from my Windows 7 computer; no matter how many times I tried, it just wouldn't go away.

If you're having a similar problem, here's how I cleared it up.

There was a document in the queue that I'd cancelled, but it wouldn't drop.  That was holding the printer.  I needed to force the print spool to release the document, so the system would drop the printer.  A command file would do the trick.  Here's what to do:

Open notepad and paste in these 4 lines

net stop spooler
del %systemroot%\system32\spool\printers\*.shd
del %systemroot%\system32\spool\printers\*.spl
net start spooler

Save the document as deletePrinter.cmd
Right-click the file you just created and select 'Run as administrator'

You may need to restart your computer afterwards, but that will delete any print jobs and the printer should be gone.

Continue reading →

Price Increase on Windows 8

If you're interested in picking up a license for Windows 8 now's the time to do it. Microsoft has announced an increase of $160 that will take effect on February 1st. The retail price will jump from $40 to $200. Here's the breakdown:

• The Windows 8 Pro upgrade edition will be available online and at retail for $199.99 
• The Windows 8 upgrade edition will be available online and at retail for $119.99 MSRP 
• The Windows 8 Pro Pack will cost $99.99
• The Windows 8 Media Center Pack will cost $9.99

Continue reading →