You can find the Disk Cleanup utility in the following locations:

WinXP: Start > Program Files > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup

Vista/Win7: Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup

If you occasionally clean out your unwanted system files using Windows “Disk Cleanup”, you may have seen that the Disk Cleanup utility takes a long time scanning for “Compressed Folders”. I have seen this many times and it makes me impatient every time.

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine at work (Bill M), told me that there’s a registry hack to make Cleanup skip the long wait. He was right, I found it using a simple Google search.

Here’s the registry hack (works in XP, so far – have not seen this work in Vista and Win7):

WinXP: Open up the registry editor by clicking the Start Button, then choose Run, type in “regedit” and press the OK button.

Vista/Win7: Hit the Start button and type regeditin the quick search.

The post How to Speed up Windows Disk Cleanup? appeared first on Techie Buzz.

In addition to that, it now includes out of the box support for Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi was initially unavailable on Chrome OS and is still unavailable. It can be enabled by copying the Wi-Fi firmware from your default Ubuntu or Ubuntu based installation, to a folder in the Chrome OS USB-drive. All that trouble has been done away with in the Cherry build of the Chrome OS.

The OS can be tried on any netbook, laptop or desktop. It is available as an image file that can be written to a USB drive using an appropriate tool. Windows users can refer to this page for help on making a bootable Chrome OS image. The default username and password for Cherry OS is face punch.

There are three download links on this page. One is a torrent download, others are HTTP links. The download is absolutely free. As the homepage says, you can report any bugs to @Hexxeh on twitter.

Chrome OS being Ubuntu based, is highly customizable and is fast developing. This parallel build of Chrome OS is a big hit and Wi-Fi support appearing on it even before on the Chrome OS itself is a positive response from the open source community on Chrome OS.

The post Chrome OS: Cherry Modded for Wi-Fi Support appeared first on Techie Buzz.

You might also want to checkout some of the other Best Windows 7 Themes you can download and use for free.

Please note: Some download links will directly download the .themepack file to your PC.

The post Ultimate List of Christmas Themes For Windows 7 appeared first on Techie Buzz.

Something putty lacks though is a bridge between the windows and Linux boxes.

To overcome this I have been using Cygwin which brings in a Linux OS like functionality within my Windows machine, wherein I can copy files from my Windows machine to a Linux box without using a graphical interface like WinSCP or and FTP client, use Linux command from within my windows machine, and lots of other Linux based functionality like Vim etc.

Now for you to use Cygwin you will have to do a complete install, and mind you when I say complete install I will stress on it.

As when you install cygwin it just installs the default version without scp (Secure file copy), ssh (secure file transfer) and lots of other features. You can get a very indepth tutorial on using cygwin from Lifehacker.

Now if you just want to use cygwin to upload files then installing cygwin is not the only solution you have and you can simply use PSCP which is a software from the creator’s of Putty to use that functionality.

PSCP (Command line secure file copy) requires no installs and can directly run from your windows prompt, if you add it to your classpath then it makes it much more easier.

Here is how you can use PSCP to copy files from your windows machine to your Linux boxes.

Download a copy of PSCP and place it on any drive of your windows machine, assuming you copied the file to C:\downloads\pscp.exe, I will start this tutorial here.

1. Open a command prompt in your windows machine

2. If PSCP is not in your classpath you can run command to add it set PATH=%PATH;C:\downloads\

Note: adding %PATH; will ensure you do not lose the old path’s for the command prompt you are on, windows command prompt’s are session based and If you close this command window again all manual set path’s will disappear and you will have to set the same thing starting again from step 1.

3. It will open to your default specified location, just navigate to your folder where you have the file placed to upload, assuming you have placed it in C:\upload, type cd C:\upload.

4. Issue this command

C:\uploads>C:\pscp.exe filename.extension username@domainname.com:directory/subdirectory -pw password

Simply issuing this command C:\whichever directory>C:\pscp.exe will output you with a help menu for usage of pscp as given below

C:\service>c:\pscp.exe
PuTTY Secure Copy client
Release 0.58
Usage: pscp [options] [user@]host:source target
pscp [options] source [source…] [user@]host:target
pscp [options] -ls [user@]host:filespec
Options:
-V        print version information and exit
-pgpfp    print PGP key fingerprints and exit
-p        preserve file attributes
-q        quiet, don’t show statistics
-r        copy directories recursively
-v        show verbose messages
-load sessname  Load settings from saved session
-P port   connect to specified port
-l user   connect with specified username
-pw passw login with specified password
-1 -2     force use of particular SSH protocol version
-4 -6     force use of IPv4 or IPv6
-C        enable compression
-i key    private key file for authentication
-batch    disable all interactive prompts
-unsafe   allow server-side wildcards (DANGEROUS)
-sftp     force use of SFTP protocol
-scp      force use of SCP protocol

You can download copies of PSCP for your usage free and start uploading now without need for any Graphical user interface.

Part 2 sneak peek: Downloading files from Linux to windows, downloading files on Linux box, Zipping, taring, unzipping files and emailing files using putty, cygwin on a Linux box.

The post Upload Files To Linux From Windows Using PSCP appeared first on Techie Buzz.

Back in the days Windows XP was a huge overhaul from Windows 98 and the failed Windows Millennium, however that look has stuck with me for quite sometime.

Also Read: Stunning Windows 7 Wallpapers

If you are using Windows 7 and are nostalgic like me about Windows XP, you can now download a Windows XP theme and use it on Windows 7.

XP Luna is a theme for Windows 7 that will bring the look and feel of Windows XP to Windows 7, definitely worth it if you want the simple looks of XP and the power of Windows 7.

The post Download Windows XP Theme for Windows 7 appeared first on Techie Buzz.

Today’s announcement has revealed that the exact opposite will be true on Windows Phone 8. Not only will you be able to place VoIP calls while sidelining the apps to the background, but you may even begin to mistake Skype calls for regular phone calls. They’re going to be blurring the lines between regular calls placed over cellular networks and calls placed over VoIP: Incoming VoIP calls will look and feel just like regular cellular calls, VoIP will be integrated with built-in phone features (such as the People Hub and the actual phone dialer), and people will even be able to use certain phone features like call waiting.

And, with that in mind, it’s important to remember that Skype will still be an app that you can download. This close relationship between VoIP and the OS isn’t just restricted to Skype, and developers will be able to build their own VoIP-related apps that take advantage of similar tight integration. In fact, while speaking to The Verge, Microsoft’s Greg Sullivan joked that if Apple made a FaceTime app for Windows Phone, it would actually be better integrated with Windows Phone than it is on iOS.

That being said, Microsoft didn’t share much about how the Skype/VoIP experience will improve on Windows Phone 7.8. Skype’s inability to run in the background during a call is a limitation imposed by the OS itself, as Rafael Rivera explained in this in-depth post. As you can see, they’d have to make some fairly major changes to the way Windows Phone handles multitasking to get it working. They’ve obviously solved the issue with Windows Phone 8, but can they do so with ease on Windows Phone 7.8?

The post Windows Phone 8 To Get Tight Skype/VoIP Integration appeared first on Techie Buzz.

Recently one of my readers asked me how to uninstall the Windows Media Player 11, which in itself is not a straight forward task as it is does not have an uninstall option present un like most of the other softwares.

Performing the steps listed below you can remove any Windows Software updates that have been installed on your computer, including Internet Explorer 7 and any other updates.

Its a quite simple process and do this you will have to open the Add / remove program option from Control Panel.

Once you are in the Add / Remove Program section you will see a list of programs that have been installed on your computer.

In the top section of the Add / Remove program section you will see a small check box saying Show updates click on that as shown in the screen shot below.

Once you have clicked on that scroll down till you see Windows XP – Software Updates.

Under that remove anything that is related to the Windows media player 11 and you will have successfully uninstalled Windows Media Player 11.

You will also find the Internet Explorer Beta 7 and various other updates installed by Windows Update and uninstall it using the same steps.

More Related Resources  That Might Interest You

• Looking for some tools to enhance your music & video experience, take a look at the  Ultimate List Of Tools To Organize Your Digital Life.
• Looking for more tools, don’t forget to visit our Audio Tools & Video Tools section.
• Add/remove Programs Alternatives- Many a times the default add/remove programs leaves a lot of information back, try one of these free alternatives to remove software completely.
• New on Techie Buzz? Visit the Home Page to view the latest content or browse our huge gallery of  Tips and Tricks posts. We also have a huge list of hand-picked popular posts, don’t forget to visit the  Top Posts section to read them.
• If you are visiting this blog for the first time, why don’t you subscriber to our RSS feeds to get regular updates, we also deliver free newsletter directly to your inbox,  signup for our free newsletter.

The post How to Uninstall Windows Media Player 11 appeared first on Techie Buzz.

Though the method is not straightforward and you will need to perform a hack uninstall of WMP 12. There are several steps you will need to follow to do this.

Step 1: Download Windows Media Player 11 Installer for Windows 7 (Update: January 31, 2012 – Link updated)

Step 2: Type services.msc in Windows 7 search bar and open the services application.

Step 3: Find the Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service and Stop it.

Step 4: You will need to take Ownership of several files which include:

1. 1. All files in Program Files\Windows Media Player\ folder
   2. All files starting with wmp in System32 folder
   3. wmploc.dll.mui in Sytem32\en-us\ folder

Step 5: Run the Windows Media Player 11 Installer you had downloaded earlier.

Step 6: Type Regedit in Windows 7 search bar and open the registry editor application.

Step 7: Delete following Registry key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\MediaPlayer\Setup\Installed Versions

Step 8: Reboot your Windows 7 for the changes to take effect.

That’s it, with these steps you will be able to downgrade WMP 12 and use WMP 11 instead. Want to share any Windows 7 tips? Feel free to contact us with your tips.

The post How To Uninstall Windows Media Player 12 on Windows 7? appeared first on Techie Buzz.

Usually most of the software you install has an uninstall option in the program menu from where you can easily uninstall the software, but with some softwares like Windows Media Player 11 and Internet Explorer 7 it is not the case.

Recently one of my readers asked me how to uninstall the Windows Media Player 11, which in itself is not a straight forward task as it is does not have an uninstall option present unlike most of the other softwares.

Performing the steps listed below you can remove any Windows Software updates that have been installed on your computer, including Internet Explorer 7 and any other updates.

Its a quite simple process and do this you will have to open the Add / remove program option from Control Panel.

Once you are in the Add / Remove Program section you will see a list of programs that have been installed on your computer.

In the top section of the Add / Remove program section you will see a small check box saying Show updates click on that as shown in the screen shot below.

Once you have clicked on that scroll down till you see Windows XP – Software Updates.

Under that remove anything that is related to the Windows media player 11 and you will have successfully uninstalled Windows Media Player 11.

You will also find the Internet Explorer Beta 7 and various other updates installed by Windows Update and uninstall it using the same steps.

More Related Resources  That Might Interest You

• Looking for some tools to enhance your music & video experience, take a look at the  Ultimate List Of Tools To Organize Your Digital Life.
• Looking for more tools, don’t forget to visit our Audio Tools & Video Tools section.
• Add/remove Programs Alternatives– Many a times the default add/remove programs leaves a lot of information back, try one of these free alternatives to remove software completely.
• New on Techie Buzz? Visit the Home Page to view the latest content or browse our huge gallery of  Tips and Tricks posts. We also have a huge list of hand-picked popular posts, don’t forget to visit the  Top Posts section to read them.
• If you are visiting this blog for the first time, why don’t you subscriber to our RSS feeds to get regular updates, we also deliver free newsletter directly to your inbox,  signup for our free newsletter.

The post How to Uninstall Windows Media Player 11 appeared first on Techie Buzz.

Here are the simple steps you need to perform in order to get your Product Key from the installation CD.

(Note: This may only work for certain OEM CDs, if it does not work for you, you can check out our earlier post on how you can Windows XP,XP CD Key,Find CD Key,Locate CD Key,Windows Product Key

The post Find Windows XP Product Key From Your Installation CD [How To] appeared first on Techie Buzz.