Posts in Windows Tips

How to tell how long your Windows computer has been running

Have you experienced forgetting to turn off the computer that was left unused? Or using the computer for long hours that you worry if the hardware blows up with matching smoke and smelly fumes? Some computers, especially laptop computers can be used for long hours as they are not heating up so easily as compared to desktop computers. However, in case you need to inspect as to how long your Windows computer has been running, please do the following: If it has been too long already, you might decide to… Read More

How to Test Your Computer’s Memory (RAM) for Problems in a Windows computer

If you are using a Windows computer (Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8) and you are getting this BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) on occasions, then one of the possible causes is a failing hardware component, especially the Random Access Memory or the so-called RAM. One way to test if your RAM sticks are causing your computer problem is by swapping your currently installed RAM sticks with your spare if you have some. With the spare RAM sticks installed, please observe if the computer is still freezing with the annoying… Read More

How to Set a Default Site URL for Every New Tab in Google Chrome

Have you been using Google Chrome when you browser websites or emails? Indeed, Chrome is one of the widely used and the fastest web browser that is free from Google. Besides being free and fast, it has cool features and add-ons to make your web surfing a better experience. The default behavior of Chrome is that, when you open it, it will not show any home page. Instead, it will show you a blank new tab. Basically, the page is not blank since it is showing Google as your default… Read More

How to Summarize Data in Excel Using Consolidate Command

Suppose you have a bunch of Excel data that are totally similar but needs to be created individually for some valid reasons. A good example is a purchase order. These POs can be created in individual sheets within one workbook, or spread across various workbooks. And in the course of time, you might want to collate the summary information to see how many of which inventory are moving in your business. The easiest way to collate such data or information is to use the Consolidate feature of Excel. Here are… Read More

How to Uninstall Windows Live Mail 2012

If you are using the latest version of Windows Live Mail – WLM 2012, then that is a good choice. Besides being free, it has a lot of features nearly comparable to commercial email clients like Microsoft Outlook 2007/2010. However, as you use it and your email accumulates, and when you install Windows Updates or MS Office updates, Windows Live Mail can behave erratically as an effect. Since Windows Live Mail 2012 is a Windows application, it is affected mostly by the changes you make in your Windows Operating System…. Read More

How to retrieve stored email passwords in Mozilla Thunderbird

Mozilla Thunderbird is one of the widely used email client today. Besides being free, it is fast, stable and reliable. However, as an email client, there are still people who want to access their emails in two ways: 1) using Thunderbird and 2) using a web browser. Using a web browser to access your email is very important for portability. Suppose that your Thunderbird is installed in your home desktop. When you are away from home, you need to use the web browser to access your emails outside Thunderbird. What… Read More

How to use INDIRECT function to create references to other Excel files

MS Excel has a vast array of built-in functions that you can use in your formulas to manipulate your data. The main Excel function that I will demonstrate in this article is the INDIRECT function. This is a nice piece of tool to easily create references to external Excel files in your formulas. The INDIRECT worksheet function of MS Excel returns the contents of the specified reference and displays its contents. The INDIRECT worksheet function can be used to create “linked references” to other workbooks. Using the INDIRECT function, you… Read More

How to update email passwords in Mozilla Thunderbird

Like any other email “client” or email program, Mozilla Thunderbird, which is used by several millions of users on Windows, Mac or Linux, offers remembering the passwords for your email accounts. In the recent release of Thunderbird, it stores passwords for all email servers individually for every email account like POP3, SMTP and IMAP servers.  If you have been using Thunderbird just recently of for many years already, you will notice that accessing the saved passwords for each email account is definitely not as easy as you would do in… Read More

How to Stress Test your Graphics or Video Card

If you are consistently getting the annoying BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) on your Windows computer, especially when playing your favorite games, this can mean two (2) things. First, the game program itself could have crashed. Second, the graphics card could have crashed or failed with the load it has with the running game software. Since there are several other factors that could have caused the BSOD that you are experiencing, you can isolate the graphics card issue by doing a stress test of your graphics or video card. During… Read More

How to setup Google DNS on your Windows computer

This is a very common issue with internet connections: you are able to access certain websites and other sites are inaccessible; websites that you used to access before became inaccessible even though the said sites are up and running; you are getting frequest “Page cannot be displayed” error and something similar and reloading the page loads the site thereafter; and a lot more. Then you call your ISP (Internet Service Provider) and they will tell you that everything from their end is working very good so you are puzzled as… Read More