I was going through the Book “Windows 7 UNLEASHED , SAMS publication” that sneaked my attraction on very interesting chapter which was all about the registry. So i thought it would be better to rip out some content for our blog readers.

The Registry is a central repository Windows uses to store anything and everything that applies to the configuration of your system.

This includes all the following:

• Information about all the hardware installed on your computer
• The resources those devices use
• A list of the device drivers that Windows 7 loads at startup
• Settings that Windows 7 uses internally
• File type data that associates a particular type of file with a specific application
• Backgrounds, color schemes, and other interface customization settings
• Other customization settings for things such as the Start menu and the task bar
• Internet and network connections and passwords
• Settings for Windows 7 applications such as Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer
• Settings and customization options for many third-party applications

To launch the Registry Editor, select Start, type regedit into the Search box, and then press Enter. When the User Account Control dialog box shows up, enter your credentialsto continue.

Understanding Registry settings

If the left side of the Registry Editor window is analogous to Explorer’s Folders pane, theright side is analogous to Explorer’s Contents pane. In this case, the right side of theRegistry Editor window displays the settings contained in each key (so I’ll call it theSettings pane). The Settings pane is divided into three columns:

• Name – This column tells you the name of each setting in the currently selected key(analogous to a filename in Explorer).
• Type – This column tells you the datatype of the setting. There are six possible datatypes :

REG_SZ – This is a string value.

REG_MULTI_SZ – This is a series of strings.

REG_EXPAND_SZ – This is a string value that contains an environment variable name that gets “expanded” into the value of that variable.
For example,the %SystemRoot% environment variable holds the folder in which Windows 7 was installed. So,if you see a Registry setting with the value %SystemRoot%\System32\, and Windows 7 is installed in C:\Windows, the setting’s expanded value is C:\Windows\System32\.

REG_DWORD - This is a double word value: a 32-bit hexadecimal value arranged as eight digits.
For example,11 hex is 17 decimal,so this number would be represented in DWORD form as 0×00000011 (17). (Why “double word”? A 32-bit value represents four bytes of data,and because a word in programming circles is defined as two bytes,a four-byte value is a double word.)

REG_QWORD – This is a quadruple word value: a 64-bit hexadecimal value arranged as 16 digits. Note that leading zeros are suppressed for the high 8 digits. Therefore,11 hex appears as 0×00000011 (17),and 100000000 hex appears as 0×1000000000(4294967296).

REG_BINARY – This value is a series of hexadecimal digits.

• Data—This column displays the value of each setting.

Getting know the Registry’s’ Root Keys :

• HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT – usually abbreviated as HKCR—contains data related to file extensions and their associated programs, the objects that exist in the Windows 7 system, as well as applications and their automation information. There are also keys related to shortcuts and other interface features.
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER – usually abbreviated as HKCU—contains data that applies to the user that’s currently logged on. It contains user-specific settings for Control Panel options, network connections, applications, and more. Note that if a user has group policies set on his account, his settings are stored in the HKEY_USERS\sid subkey (where sid is the user’s security ID). When that user logs on, these settings are copied to HKEY_CURRENT_USER. For all other users, HKEY_CURRENT_USER is built from the user’s profile file, ntuser.dat located in %UserProfile%).
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (HKLM) containsnon-user-specific configuration data for your system’s hardware and applications.
• HKEY_USERS (HKU) contains settings that are similar to those in HKEY_CURRENT_USER. HKEY_USERS is used to store the settings for users with group policies defined, as well as the default settings (in the .DEFAULT subkey) which get mapped to a new user’s profile.
• HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG (HKCC) contains settings for the current hardware profile. If your machine uses only one hardware profile, HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG is an alias for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001. If your machine uses multiple hardware profiles, HKEY_CURRENT_CONFIG is an alias for HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSetnnn, where nnn is the numeric identifier of the current hardware profile.

]]> http://winspark.net/2010/04/04/getting-to-know-all-about-windows-registry/feed/ 3 http://winspark.net/2010/03/31/how-e-mail-system-works-concept-of-smtp-and-pop3-server/ http://winspark.net/2010/03/31/how-e-mail-system-works-concept-of-smtp-and-pop3-server/#comments Wed, 31 Mar 2010 19:37:42 +0000 Mr. Spark (admin) http://winspark.net/?p=1607

For the vast majority of people right now, the real e-mail system consist of two different servers running on the main e-mail server machine. One is called the SMTP Server (Simple mail transfer protocol) which handles outgoing mail and the other is POP3 Server (Post Office Protocol) which takes the responsibility of incoming mail. The SMTP server listens on well-known port number 25, while POP3 listens on port 110.

Sending the mail (Role of SMTP server)

Whenever you send a piece of e-mail, your e-mail client interacts with the SMTP server to handle the sending.

Lets assume that i want to send a piece of e-mail. My e-mail ID is admin and having account on WinSpark.net. I want to send e-mail to manekari@live.com and i am using standalone e-mail client like Windows live mail or Outlook Express. lets see what happens when i compose a message and press the send button.

1. E-mail client connects to the SMTP server at mail.WinSpark.net using port 25.
2. E-mail client has a conversation with the SMTP server, telling the SMTP server the address of the sender and the address of the recipient, as well as the body of the message.
3. The SMTP server takes the “to” address (manekari@live.com) and breaks into two parts :
   • The recipient name (manekari)
   • The domain name (live.com)

(If the “to” had been another user at WinSpark.net, the SMTP server would simply hand the message to POP3 server for WinSpark.net ) Since the recipent is at another domain, SMTP needs to communicate with the domain.

4. The SMTP server has a conversation with a Domain Name Server, or DNS. It says, “Can you give me the IP address of the SMTp server for live.com?” The DNS replies with the one or more IP address for the SMTP server(s) that live.com operates.
5. The SMTP server at WinSpark.net connects with the SMTP server at live.com using port 25. It has the same simple text conversation that my e-mail client had with the SMTP server for WinSpark, and gives the message to the live.com server. The Live.com server recognizes that the domain name for manekari is at Live.com, so it hands the message to yahoo POP3 server, which puts the message in manekari’s mailbox.

If, for some reason, the SMTP server at winspark.net cannot connect with the SMTP server at Live.com, then the message goes into queue. The SMTP server on most of machines uses a programe called sendmail to do the actual sending, so this queue is called the sendmail queue.

Sendmail will periodically try to resend the message in its queue. for example, it might retry sending in every 5 to 15 mins.

Receiving the mail (The POP3 server)

When a messege arrives, the POP3 server simply appends it to the bottom of the recipient’s file directory. When you check your e-mail, your e-mail client connects to the POP3 server using port 110. The POP3 server requires an Username and password.

Once you have logged in, the POP3 server opens your text file and allows you to access it. Your e-mail client connects to the POP3 server and issues a series of commands to bring copies of your e-mail massage to your Local machine.

You can see the POP3 server simply acts as an interface between the e-mail client and the text file containing your massage.

Wave 4 is on the way beyond the expectation of users. Windows Live Movie Maker Beta Wave 4 contains the tremendous feature of sharing your videos on social networking sites or on SkyDrive. Indeed the new WL Movie Maker Wave 4 will gonna bundled with the awesome new AutoMovie Themes, Various Animation and Visual Effects.

The movie maker packed with Wave 3 was having the limited sharing feature rather you would have to upload your videos only into soapbox.

At the Home Tab the two new subTabs “AutoMovie themes” and “Sharing” is included. Sharing tab provides user to share their own created videos on youtube, SkyDrive or in facebook too or they will have the option of saving the video in high resolution on the local drive.

After creating your video click on the YouTube icon present in Sharing Tab. You will be asked your YouTube ID and password.

After Entering Username and password you will be having the window to add the Movie details like its Title, Description, Tags, Category and Permission whether you want to publish your video to the public or private.

After clicking on the publish button your video will be saved in your local drive (with default resolution settings) and then it will be uploaded to your YouTube account.

If you have an online account, such as an e?mail account, you can link that account with your Windows user account. Linking these accounts provides the following benefits:

• People can share files with you on a homegroup using your online ID instead of having to create a Windows user account for you on their computer.
• You can use your online ID to access your information on other computers on a network, such as accessing files on a home computer from your work computer.

Follow the Procedure to link Online IDs

1. Open User accounts from Control panel.
2. Click Link online IDs from Left Menu.
3. Next to the online ID provider that you want to link your user account with, click Link Online ID.




4. Type your user name and password for the online ID, click Sign in, and then click OK.

The Microsoft PowerPoint Broadcast Service makes it easy for PowerPoint 2010 users to share a presentation on the fly with anyone, anywhere, over the web.

Just send a link, and in one click everyone you invite will be watching a synchronized view of your slide show in their browser, even if they don’t have PowerPoint 2010 installed.

To broadcast your slides to an audience, follow the directions below.

Step 1 : If you don’t have PowerPoint 2010 installed, download the Office 2010 today.

Step 2 : To start a broadcast from PowerPoint 2010, on the Slide Show tab, click Broadcast Slide Show.

U will get the Broadcast window just like the example below.

Step 3 : Click on Start Broadcast (It will connect to the PowerPoint Broadcast service)

After that the Sign in box will appear. Sign in with your Windows Live ID. (If you use Hotmail, Live Messenger, or Xbox LIVE.

PowerPoint will provide a public link that you can send to remote attendees. Anyone who receives a link to the broadcast may watch it.  Keep in mind that if an attendee forwards the link to someone else, that person can also use the link to view your broadcast.

You can invite more attendees with send Invite button.

To view a broadcast, just open the Broadcast link (All you need is the latest version of Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Safari for Mac.)

Now a days we feel that for many languages like Hindi, entering text on PC is difficult. And there are many products and tools in market out there today through which we can enter text in hindi by any translation widget. But most products have some barrier – e.g. some require users to know a fixed transliteration scheme; some others allow free form transliteration, but work only on webpages etc.

But Microsoft peoples has made their efforts to create a tool that can bring translations to the desktop such that it can be used to enter text in any application on the PC, and that is a key focus of the Indic Language Input Tool.

Currently it support six languages – Bengali, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu.

By using this tool you can enter text in Indic language in any webpages, Take an example below.

You can download this tool in two different versions through Indic Language tool Homepage.

Some FAQ regarding Indic Language tool.

Q1 : How to Install Web version ?

Ans :

1. Select Language.
2. click on Install Web version Button .
3. Follow the instructions according to your browser.

• Internet Explorer.
  • Right-click on the language name above and select Add to Favorites…
  • Click Yes on the security alert dialog.
  • On IE8: Select Favorites Bar from the Create in drop down.
  • On IE7 or IE6: Select Links from the Create in drop down. Make sure the Links
  • toolbar is visible.
  • Click OK.
• Mozilla Firefox
  • Drag the language name above to the Bookmarks toolbar.
• Safari
  • Drag the language name above to the Bookmarks toolbar.
• Google Chrome
  • Make sure the Bookmarks toolbar is visible.
  • Drag the language name above to the Bookmarks toolbar.
• Opera
  • Right-click on the language name above and select Bookmark Link…
    Click OK on the Add Bookmark dialog.

Q2 : How to install Desktop version ?

Ans :

1. Select Language.
2. Click on Install desktop version.
3. Click on Install button and download the Setup.

Q3 : How to use it on desktop application.

Ans :

Do the following to use Microsoft ILIT in any application, such as Microsoft Wordpad or Windows Live messenger.

1. Open the application in which you would like to enter Indic text.
2. Change the language using the language bar, which typically appears in the taskbar as follows.
   

   Language Bar

3. You can now start typing in English and whatever you type automatically gets transliterated after a word-breaking character like a space, comma, etc. is entered.
4. Note that this language setting is per application. You may have to repeat the steps above for each application you want to use Microsoft ILIT in.
   

   Live Messenger Chat Box

Links :

• Microsoft Indic tool Homepage
• MSDN support blog

If Windows ever notifies you about a weak signal, it probably means your connection isn’t as fast or as reliable as it could be. Worse, you might lose your connection entirely in some parts of your home. If you’re looking to improve the signal for your wireless network, try some of these tips for extending your wireless range and improving your wireless network performance. Microsoft has provided 10 tips to improve your Wireless Network.

R u safe !!!! , Is your password secure or not, want to get new secure password??? Don’t worry here is the Password checker initiated by Microsoft Online Safety. Here you can check your password strength whether your password is able to protect your account or not. Or you can create your own secure password. Microsoft has provided the detailed 6 steps to build a strong password.

If someone steals your passwords, they can use your name to open new credit card accounts, apply for a mortgage, or pose as you in online transactions. To prevent this, you can do the following

• Follow 6 steps to build a strong password
• Learn what makes strong passwords
• Avoid common password strategies that fail.

Other links :

• Password Checker
• 5 tips to help keep your passwords secret
• Strong passwords: How to create and use them

]]> http://winspark.net/2009/10/15/password-checker-from-microsoft-online-safety/feed/ 0 http://winspark.net/2009/07/05/automatically-scan-your-received-file-in-windows-live-messenger/ http://winspark.net/2009/07/05/automatically-scan-your-received-file-in-windows-live-messenger/#comments Sat, 04 Jul 2009 20:03:05 +0000 Mr. Spark (admin) http://winspark.net/?p=1116

Windows Live messenger has inbuilt facility to set your virus scanner as a default file sharing virus scanner. Now receive files through live messenger safely.

To set Microsoft Security Essential as your default virus scanner follow the simple steps described below. First of all you need to Install Microsoft Security Essential or any other virus scanner.

• Go to Tools > Option as described in image below

• Select File Transfer from left sidemenu.
• Check “Scan files for virus using :“
• Click on browse and navigate “msseces.exe” (If you are going to use MSE as a default scanner) from “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Security Essentials” directory. (If you are using any other virus scanner than locate another scanner application.)

• Apply it and click on OK.

Note :

• Scanned files that are infected should be deleted
• Infected and potentially infected files that are found by the safety scanner can be accessed in a Hidden folder.
• If you’re using Windows XP, the hidden folder can be found at the following location: “C:\Documents and Settings\your username\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\QuarantinedFiles”.
• If you’re using Windows Vista, the hidden folder can be found at the following location: “C:\users\your username\AppData\local\Microsoft\QuarantinedFiles”

Be safe from Internet World Happy Computing

A power plan is a collection of hardware and system settings that manages how your computer uses and conserves power. Power plans can save energy, maximize system performance, or balance energy conservation with performance.

Windows 7 has two default plans:

• Balanced. Offers full performance and display brightness when you need it, but conserves power when the computer is idle.
• Power saver. The best choice for extending battery life. The cost? Slower performance and lower display brightness.

You can create your own power plan by just following the steps described below.

• Go to Control panel through Start menu icon.
• Select Hardware and Sound category.
• Chose the Power Option.
• In the left sidebar select Create a Power Plan.

• In the Plan name box, type a name for the plan.

• On the Change settings for the plan page, choose the display and sleep settings that you want to use when your computer is running on battery and when it’s plugged in.

• Click Create.

If you’re using a laptop, your plan appears under Plans shown on the battery meter. If you’re using a desktop computer, your plan appears under Preferred plans.

To change power settings on a computer that you’re connected to by using Remote Desktop Connection, you must be logged on as an administrator on the remote computer.