Photoshop Toolbar Explained!

I was just organising my bookmark when I noticed this little link. Its to a page where all the tools from the Photoshop Toolbar are explained! It has a detailed explanation for each tool along with a light video demonstration to the tools capabilities. Its great for Photoshop newbies! Here it is: simplephotoshop.com

Top 10 web-design mistakes!!

Yes, UseIt has it out, the Top 10 Web-Design mistakes for Blogs & Top 10 Web-Design mistakes of 2005.

Looks like we’ve avoided quite a bit of blog design mistakes & will try to comply by them fully. Those are excellent usability references for web-designers, a must read I should say!!

spoolsv.exe at 99% CPU usage

My friend called me few days back and he told that his PC is acting very slowly. To me, first it looked like a case of my newbie friend not regularly cleaning his PC with spy or virus removal tools.I checked his PC with Spybot S&D with latest spy definitions , and also check for any virus’s with Norton Anti virus. But still the Pc was lagging. Then I ran the Windows Task Manager and checked which program was using up all the Cpu resource. Fascinatingly a executable named spoolsv.exe was using up 99% of all the resources and wasn’t eager to go down. I even tried to kill the spoolsv.exe process manually, but after a few seconds it again automatically ran in the background and started hogging the CPU.

First look at the exe name, says it has something to do with the printer spool. I looked up at the internet about spoolsv.exe and it’s not a virus anyways, spoolsv.exe is the spooler service responsible for managing spooled print/fax jobs. After a while, I manage to find a way to solve the spoolsv.exe from shooting up to 99% cpu usage problem.

It is advised to turn on the Print Spooler service first. You can do it from Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Services. Look for Print Spooler and stop it.

If it is already stopped, just follow the next step.
Delete ALL files in C:\WINDOWS\system32\spool\PRINTERS. It should have files something like 00020.SHD, 00020.SPL and etc...

Now spoolsv.exe should run but it's at 0% CPU usage. Nice fix discovered.

Installing XP from DOS the easy way!

Have you ever tried installing windows Xp from Dos, but couldn't figure out. Then the guide below will surely help.
1, download the win98SE boot floppy from here if you don't already have one
2, format a floppy with a normal format
3, run the program you just downloaded to create the floppy
4, start your computer with the win98 startup floppy without cd support.
5, type "fdisk /mbr" (without the inverted commas)
6, type "fdisk" (without the inverted commas) and use the screen that comes up to delete all partitions (unless you have a partition you want to keep).
7, reboot if and when requested. Next step is to create a partition
8, format the partition in FAT32
9, Use the 98 boot floppy to boot the computer with CD support.
10, Insert the win XP cd, and copy the I386 folder from it to your hard drive. Do this by typing each command in order (below) and pressing enter after each one...
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PLAIN TEXT
CODE:

md c:\i386 cd e:\i386 (or whatever your cd drive letter is to replace "e") copy *.* c:\i386
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11, Change directory to the I386 folder on your harddrive, and run winnt.exe. Do this by entering the following commands, as you just did above...
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PLAIN TEXT
CODE:

c: cd i386 winnt.exe
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WinXP should start installing.

 

Reset Or Change Administrator Password On Windows XP

Here's a quick and easy way to change your administrator password on Windows XP.

Place your Windows XP CD in your cd-rom and start your computer (it's assumed here that your XP CD is bootable - as it should be - and that you have your bios set to boot from CD).

Keep your eye on the screen messages for booting to your CD typically, it will be "Press any key to boot from CD".

Once you get in, the first screen will indicate that Setup is inspecting your system and loading files. When you get to the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to Setup Windows now.
The Licensing Agreement comes next - Press F8 to accept it.
The next screen is the Setup screen which gives you the option to do a Repair. It should read something like "If one of the following Windows XP installations is damaged, Setup can try to repair it". Use the up and down arrow keys to select your XP installation (if you only have one, it should already be selected) and press R to begin the Repair process.
Let the Repair run. Setup will now check your disks and then start copying files which can take several minutes.
Shortly after the Copying Files stage, you will be required to reboot (this will happen automatically - you will see a progress bar stating "Your computer will reboot in XX seconds").
During the reboot, do not make the mistake of "pressing any key" to boot from the CD again! Setup will resume automatically with the standard billboard screens and you will notice Installing Windows is highlighted.
Keep your eye on the lower left hand side of the screen and when you see the Installing Devices progress bar, press SHIFT + F10. A command console will now open up giving you the potential for wide access to your system.
At the prompt, type NUSRMGR.CPL and press Enter. Voila! You have just gained graphical access to your User Accounts in the Control Panel.
Now simply pick the account you need to change and remove or change your password as you prefer. If you want to log on without having to enter your new password, you can type control userpasswords2 at the prompt and choose to log on without being asked for password. After you've made your changes close the windows, exit the command box and continue on with the Repair (have your Product key handy).
Once the Repair is done, you will be able to log on with your new password (or without a password if you chose not to use one or if you chose not to be asked for a password). Your programs and personalized settings should remain intact.