First, right click on the desktop and select New then Shortcut:

Now, enter “rundll32.exe user32.dll, LockWorkStation” into the text box then click Next:

You can then enter a title for the icon and click Finish:

Your icon will now be placed on the desktop, and double clicking it will lock your PC:

Although Vista allows you to encrypt files and folders using the Windows file security system. However if you wish to protect your files, you will need to have a Business or Ultimate edition of Vista. You will not be prompted for a password each time you access the file, only when you log on to your user account. This user account has the decryption key associated with it, allowing you access to the data.

To begin, right click the folder you wish to encrypt and select Properties:

Then, click the Advanced button:

Now tick Encrypt Contents to Secure Data and then click OK:

If you encrypted a folder you will be asked if you wish to also secure the files/sub-folders within this. To do this, ensure Apply Changes to this folder, subfolders and files is selected and click OK:

You have now successfully encrypted your files. If this is the first time you have done this you may be prompted to backup the security key used to decrypt the files. If you do not back this up you will not be able to access your files if the key is lost or damaged on your PC.

Some users have been experiencing problems with a “No Audio Output Device Installed” error when trying to play music, or when hovering the mouse over the speaker icon in the system tray. You may get a white X in a red circle to indicate this error.

Go to the device manager by pressing WINDOWS KEY + R to go to the run menu, and then run “devmgmt.msc“.

From here, select your malfunctioning audio device(s) and make a note of the driver name. Then, right click on it and select Uninstall. This will remove the audio drivers from your system.

Once this is done, re-load the drivers for your sound card from the CD your manufacturer gave you with your PC or sound device. If you cannot find this, search for the driver on the manufacturers website using the driver name that has been written down.

Windows Vista automatically restarts if your PC encounters an error that causes it to crash. This doesn’t matter if it happens once in a blue moon, but if you have a serious problem that happens each time you boot - your PC will constantly reset itself.

The easiest way to solve this problem is to disable automatic restart within the Vista control panel. This won’t solve the problem causing the crash, but it will provide some on-screen information that will help you diagnose the error.

To disable automatic restart, press WINDOWS KEY + PAUSE/BREAK to load the System Properties Dialog (you can also access this via the Control Panel > System). Then click on “Advanced Settings“:

Then, select Settings in the “Startup and Recovery” area: Read the rest of this entry »

No doubt at some point you have tried to delete a file (or folder) and have received the following error:

This means that an application is currently using this file and you cannot delete it, this shouldn’t normally happen but may occur if a network is using a shared file or a program hasn’t closed a file properly.

Usually, a restart will allow you to delete the file/folder safely - but if you don’t want to restart or the problem persists then you need to download a 3rd party tool.

There is a great freeware tool called Unlocker that lets you delete any file/folder in use by right clicking on it and selecting the unlocker option. This stops applications from accessing the file and deletes the “in use” file:

If your hard drive encounters a serious error (perhaps a failed operating system install, corruption or a virus) then you may get an “Error Loading Operating System” message on boot.

This often means that you have a corrupt Master Boot Record (MBR) which can be fixed with the Vista repair tool. This should be one of the first things done to resolve the above error message, as performing a format and reinstall will cause a loss of data.

First, insert the Vista DVD into the computer and restart it (to start the boot process). You will be asked to press any key to boot from the DVD:

Then, fill in the language and location options and click Next:

Read the rest of this entry »

Some Windows Vista users have been getting an error stating “Windows host process (rundll32) has stopped working”. If you have the Nero burning software installed, it could be this that is causing the problem.

Browse to the following directory using Windows Explorer:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Ahead\DSFilter\

Then rename the following items (if they exist) from .ax to .old, as this will prevent them from being accessed:

• NeVideo.ax
• NeroVideoProc.ax
• lmpgspl.ax

This will prevent some of the Nero codecs from rendering video thumbnails, which is most likely the cause of the problem.

If you received an error saying There is no script engine for file extension “.vbs” then you may have an incorrectly registered VBScript dll.

This is easily fixed by re-registering the VBScript DLL file, by loading the Run box (Press WINDOWS KEY + R to access this) and running the following command:

regsvr32 %systemroot%\system32\vbscript.dll

If this is completed successfully, you’ll receive the following message:

“DllRegisterServer in C:\Windows\system32\vbscript.dll succeeded.”