The programmers at Microsoft must think that it’s really fun to torture their users.

If you even try to login to Windows Live service once (definitely including such original titles as Windows Live ID, Windows Live Messenger, but probably others too), they setup your computer to automatically prompt you to log back in the next time you reboot. Not only that but clicking on the Big Red X doesn’t make the program go away, it merely minimizes it (for your convenience they say) so that it’s at the ready for you the next time you want to use it. Not only that, but they don’t provide any obvious way to prevent it from prompting you for your password the next time it reboots. Not only that, but if you search for a way to uninstall said program, you won’t find anything called Windows Live Messenger or Windows Live ID. Their are other Windows Live components in the Installed Programs list, but nothing obviously related to these pieces of garbage.

Very nice Microsoft. Thanks. It’s no wonder people hate Microsoft so passionately!

If you really want to uninstall this garbage permanently, do the following:

1. Open the Start Menu and click on Control Panel
2. click on “Uninstall a Program”
3. Scroll all the way to the bottom and find “Windows Live Essentials”
4. Click Uninstall/Change
5. Select the radio button beside “Uninstall” and then click “Continue”
6. Tick the boxes beside for the Services you want to prevent from harrassing you. High on your list should be “Messenger”. Note that some of the Live services are actually useful and you may want to keep them.
7. Click “Continue” and the annoyances will go away.

It should be a lot easier for users to identify the programs that they want to remove and/or to prevent from harassing them. Microsoft, fix this.

I have several old laptop hard drives that I use in cheap USB drive enclosures for backing up or sharing data. These things are great and then generally just work, even though you can buy them for as little as $3.82 from Amazon!

I recently plugged one of these drives into a new computer and, although the drive initially worked, it randomly disconnected after only a few minutes of use. I was only able to get it working again by unplugging it and plugging it back in. Once again it disconnected a few minutes later. This cycle continued as I tried to troubleshoot the problem by changing power settings, switching USB cables, switching USB ports, and testing the connection of the drive in the enclosure. Nothing I changed made a difference and the random disconnections continued every few minutes.

It finally occurred to me to try reinstalling the device driver for the HDD. So I uninstalled the driver and rebooted Windows. After starting back up Windows found the drive, installed the driver, and the problem went away.

I don’t know what caused the issue in the first place, but uninstalling and reinstalling the drivers worked perfectly. This is a good reminder that many USB device issues are driver related and can be resolved by reinstalling the drivers. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open the Device Manager (click the Start Menu and type “Device Manager” in the search window)
2. Navigate the Device Manager menu to the device in question. For me this was a “Disk Drive”
3. Select your device, right click on it, and choose “Uninstall”
4. Reboot and see what happens.

Note that this issue and resolution is essentially the same for all recent versions of Windows, including XP, Vista, and Windows 7 (at least ).

If you’ve purchased a new computer in the past few months it likely came with Windows Vista installed AND an offer for a free upgrade to Windows 7 when the new operating system is released. It’s almost a certainty that if you purchased a new system sometime after June 26, 2009 then you qualify for an upgrade. Some refurbished systems will also be included. You will have to check with the manufacturer of your computer, or maybe with the retail store that you purchased it from, for the terms of the deal and for the specific details on how to get the upgrade package.

Windows 7 officially comes out today, so don’t forget to take advantage of the upgrade opportunity. By all accounts Windows 7 is a much improved operating system over Windows Vista so this is one upgrade that you don’t want to miss.

Just to make your life a little bit easier, I’ve compiled a list of websites that should help you to get your upgrade package faster and easier. You will need to have your Proof of Purchase dosucments as well as the make, model, and serial number of your computer ready before you apply for your upgrade. This list is by no means exhaustive, but it does include all of the major PC, Laptop, Notebook, and Netbook vendors, and even a few of the smaller ones as well:

• Acer – http://www.acer.com/windows7upgrade/
• ASUS – http://event.asus.com/2009/windows7/
• Averatec – http://www.trigem.com/us/event_win7.asp
• Compaq – http://www.hp.com/go/windows7upgrade/
• CyberPower PC – http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/LandingPages/win7/
• Dell – http://win7.dell.com/
• eMachines – http://www.emachines.com/windows7upgrade/
• Fujitsu – http://www.shopfujitsu.com/Windows7Upgrade/
• Gateway – http://www.gateway.com/windows7upgrade/
• HP / Hewlett Packard – http://www.hp.com/go/windows7upgrade/
• iBUYPOWER – http://www.ibuypower.com/Info/Windows7Upgrade.aspx
• Lenovo / Thinkpad – http://www.lenovo.com/us/en/windows7/
• LG Electronics – http://lg_upg.gmd.co.kr/
• MSI / Microstar – http://www.win7msi.com/
• Samsung – http://support-us.samsung.com/windows7/
• Sony – http://www.sony.com/ca/windows7/
• Toshiba – http://www.toshibawindows7upgrade.com/
• Trigem – http://www.trigem.com/us/event_win7.asp
• Velocity Micro – http://www.velocitymicro.com/windowsupgrade/

Note that in most cases these offers are totally free, but in some cases there may be an administrative or a shipping & handling charge.

Windows Vista has a really annoying habit of changing the way that it displays files in folders in Windows Explorer (or My Computer) based on the content in those folders. For example if a folder contains pictures it tends to show small icons (or thumbnails) instead of a simple list of files. And the default view for other file types tends to be a list of file names that doesn’t display any of the other details about the file, such as that date that it was changed or the file size.

Even more annoying is that Vista doesn’t respect the file folder view that you have selected (in the Folder Options dialog) if the contents of a folder changes. For example, if I have a folder that contains only text files that is set to show “All Details”, and then I add some pictures to that folder, Vista will automatically change the view to the “Pictures” view.

I honestly don’t know anyone that prefers to see their files as icons, and I personally want to see all the other details (sometimes called metadata) about my files all the time.

I finally found a permanent fix for this problem. Instead of detailing it here, I’m just going to provide a link to the source of the solution. They even provide a downloadable REG file that you can execute to automatically fix it for you. So, click the following link if you want to see the “All Details” view for all of your folders on all of your drives, all of the time.

Note that this is another Vista tip that I assume will also apply to Windows 7, but I haven’t been able to test that yet. I’ll get back to you sometime on or near October 22nd!!

UPDATE Oct 27, 2009 – This trick is definitely still applicable to Windows 7, and it works perfectly!

I’ve noticed this issue for as long as I’ve been running Windows Vista… I’ll be happily typing along when all of a sudden my keyboard starts spewing out random characters instead of what I’m expecting. The most annoying switch is when I get an accented e (é, from French or Latin) instead of a question mark (?).

Well it finally annoyed me one time too many, so I figured out the solution. I’ve long known that it has something to do with the keyboard layout that you have selected. This selection is buried in the Control Panel under the “Regional and Language” settings. Of course it would be too much to ask for this to be included with the “Keyboard” settings… It will only occur if you have more than one installed keyboard layout AND if you have a shortcut enabled to switch the keyboard layout.

By default the keyboard shortcut to change the input language is enabled with the key combination “Left Alt + Shift”, and the keyboard shortcut to change the keyboard layout is enabled with the key combination “Ctrl + Shift”. That makes total sense because I’m sure nobody ever presses Alt and Shift or CTRL and Shift at the same time. (Editors Note – Sarcasm Applied)

Fortunately if you disable either one of these things then your random keyboard troubles will disappear. Let’s do both:

Remove Unused Keyboard Layouts

• Go to your Control Panel and open “Regional and Language Settings”
• Switch to the “Keyboards and Languages” tab and select “Change Keyboards”



• Before doing anything else, ensure that you have the desired keyboard selected. For most of my readers that is most likely to be “US“, but if you are in a different country or use a different primary language, your preference will be different.



• Select all other keyboards layouts other than the one you wish to use. The default installation of vista seems to include the “US” Keyboard as well as one or two other layouts specific to the country you told Vista that you live in when you first installed it. I’m Canadian so all of my computers have “Canadian French” and “Canadian Multilingual Standard” installed.
• Click “Remove” to delete these keyboard layouts.

Delete the Hotkey combination that changes Keyboard Layouts

• Click on the “Advanced Key Settings” tab
• Select the “Between input languages” setting in the Actions window, then hit the “Change Key Sequence…” button



• Choose “Not Assigned” for the “Switch Input Language” AND for the “Switch Keyboard Layout” settings, then click “OK”
• Click “OK” all the way out. You may need to reboot your machine to lock in this change

Well, that’s it. It may seem like a lot of steps (and it is for such a ridiculous setting), but it’s fast and easy to do and it will eliminate lots of headaches!

This is another one that I assume will be the same in Windows 7, but I haven’t been able to test it yet. I’ll get back to you sometime on or near October 22nd!!

UPDATE Oct 27, 2009 – This trick is definitely still applicable to Windows 7, and it works perfectly!