Tips: January 2008 Archives

2008 Jan 24

Remove the pre installed Windows Messenger

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tildemark
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This program is very annoying, and it wont be removed with a simple program uninstall. There are also programs that will automatically run the application. When you try to use the new version Live Messenger, Windows Messenger will not be overwritten and will display 2 tray applications, One for the new MSN Live Messenger and the preinstalled Windows Messenger. This day, I have decided to get rid of the preinstalled Windows Messenger.

To my surprise, its not listed with the Add/Remove Programs icons at the Control Panel. Microsoft has hidden the uninstall option for this application. Windows 98 has that option, i wonder why they removed it from Windows XP.

So, I searched the System folder for the configuration. Here's how we could remove Windows Messenger successfully.

Browse to your Windows INF folder. Usually its found at C:Windows\inf. its a hidden folder so you have to explicitly type it at the address bar or using Run like this

1. Start -> Run
2. Type in C:\windows\inf [Enter]
3. Look for the file named SYSOC.INF
4. Open it with an editor, notepad will do.
5. Look under Components for the line like this:
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,hide,7

6. Remove the word hide. Making it like it like this:
msmsgs=msgrocm.dll,OcEntry,msmsgs.inf,,7

7. Save and close notepad. The Windows Messenger application uninstall should now appear at the Add/Remove Programs Icon in the Control Panel. Remove it from there.

8. Start -> Control Panel
9. Double Click on Add/Remove Programs
10. Click on Add/Remove Windows Components
11. Uncheck Windows Messenger
12. Click Next
13. Click Finish

2008 Jan 11

Merging Adjacent Cells in Excel

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tildemark
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The merge and Center button in Excel only centers the top left text and deletes the rest. What if the two columns of First names and last names are to be merged into the format: Last name, First name it would then become a problem.

Using the Ampersand ( & ) operator, it allows us to merge cells in an excel worksheet. you can create a formula to merge cells in excel or just insert it right away on the cell formula bar.

Problem:
And you wish to merge the two cells at A1 and A2 to the cell at A3

Given:
Cell A1 has the text "Lastname"
Cell A2 has the text "Firstname"

Solution:
* First position your active cell on A3.
* On the formula bar input the following: =A1&A2 [ENTER]

It should display LastnameFirstname on cell A3

To add a space and a comma, use the following:
=A1&", "&A2
it will output: Lastname, Firstname

alternatively you can also use the concatenate function, like this:
=CONCATENATE(A1,", ",A2)

2008 Jan 8

Disable autorun on cdrom or usb drives

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tildemark
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By default autorun is enabled on windows xp, this puts your pc into potential malaware risk or even virus infection. Mostly, viruses and worms are spread using the windows autorun feature. We should disable autorun on your computers to prevent it from being infected with any virus, malaware or worms. Here are several ways to disable the autorun function:

Disable Autorun with TweakUI.
The most convenient way is to install TweakUI a PowerToy from Microsoft we can download for free . Download TwealUI and install it. This PowerToy gives you access to system settings that are not exposed in the Windows XP default user interface, including mouse settings, Explorer settings, taskbar settings, and more.

1. Run TweakUI
2. Navigate to My Computer -> AutoPlay -> Drives
3. Uncheck the drive you wish to disable the AutoPlay function.
4. Navigate to My Computer -> AutoPlay -> Types
5. Uncheck Enable Autoplay for CD and DVD drives
6. Uncheck Enable Autoplay for removable drives
7. Click Apply button
8. Click OK button

Disable Autorun with Group Policy Editor
If you are a geek type and want to do it the hard way we could use the GPEDIT.MSC tool to disable Autorun. GPEDIT.MSC does not work on Windows Home Edition, only on Windows XP.
1. Navigate to Start -> Run
2. type GPEDIT.MSC
3. Click OK
4. Navigate to Local Computer Policy -> Computer Configuration -> Administrative Template -> System
5. Double click Turn Off Autoplay
6. Select Enabled from the radio buttons
7. On the Turn off autoplay dropdown box select All drives
8. Click OK button, Close Group Policy Editor

Disable Autorun with the Registry Editor
If you are using Windows Home, you can disable autorun using the registry editor.

1. Navigate to Start -> Run
2. type REGEDIT, click OK button
3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE -> SYSTEM -> CurrentControlSet -> Services -> CDROM
4. Double Click on Autorun
5. Change from 1 to 0. The default value 1 means autorun is enabled on CDROM
6. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER -> Software -> Microsoft -> Windows -> CurrentVersion -> Policies -> Explorer
7. Double click on NoDriveTypeAutoRun
8. Change the current valut to B5 in Hex. This disables CDROMs and USB drives

To disable other devices refer to the table below.
Value Meaning
0x1 Disables Autoplay on drives of unknown type.
0x4 Disables Autoplay on removable drives.
0x8 Disables Autoplay on fixed drives.
0x10 Disables Autoplay on network drives.
0x20 Disables Autoplay on CD-ROM drives.
0x40 Disables Autoplay on RAM disks.
0x80 Disables Autoplay on drives of unknown type.
0xFF Disables Autoplay on all types of drives.

By default, Autoplay is disabled on removable drives, such as the floppy disk drive (but not the CD-ROM drive), and on network drives. The default value 0x95 (149) is the sum of 0x1, 0x80 (unknown types), 0x4 (floppy drives), and 0x10 (network drives). 0xB5 is the sum of 0x1, 0x4, 0x10, 0x20 and 0x80. B5 in Hex or 181 in Decimal.
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This page is a archive of entries in the Tips category from January 2008.

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