However, this can be inconvenient for you to see your computer going in a sleep mode if you are still working on an open page or carrying out a download. You can avoid this by changing the setting if you do not want to see your laptop going to an automatic shutdown or sleep mode. Let’s discuss the ways of preventing these things in your laptops.

Prevent Your Laptop From Going Into Sleep Mode

Turn your laptop on by pressing the power button if your computer is not set to turn on when you open it. Once your laptop boots up, open the panel for adjusting the setting of sleep mode. Now this will vary from one version of windows operating system to other. The following are the ways of stopping your different window versions based laptop from going into the sleep mode.

The laptop running Windows XP: To change the sleep mode setting on the Windows XP based laptops, click the Start button and then click the Control Panel link. Select the option ‘Performance and maintenance’ from the control panel and move to ‘Power options’. Click on the tab of ‘power schemes’ and then click on the drop down arrow beside the ‘Turn off hard disk’, ‘Turn off monitor’, ‘System hibernates’ and ‘System standby’. Once you get to these options, select never for each of these in both the columns of ‘Running on battery power’ and ‘Plugged in’. Now click on the tab that says ‘Hibernate’ wherein you need to click to remove all the check mark in the box adjoining ‘Enable hibernation’.

The laptop running Windows Vista: To change the sleep mode option on the laptops based on Windows Vista, you will start with the same control panel and move on to ‘systems and maintenance’ and click on the power options. You will then click on the tab that says ‘Change plan settings’ from the current established plan. Next, click on the tab ‘Advance settings’ and choose the option ‘Never’ on all the four drop downs – ‘Sleep after’, ‘Sleep’, ‘Hibernate after’, ‘Display’ and finally on the ‘Turn off display after’. You then click on the OK button to save all these changes and confirm these new settings.

The laptop running Windows 7: To do the same on a Windows 7 based laptop you need to begin with the Start button and then select the option ‘All control panel items’ wherein you click the ‘Power options’ and then the ‘Edit plan settings’. Next, click the drop down buttons for ‘Turn off the display’ and ‘Put the computer to sleep’ and select the ‘Never’ option and confirm these new changes by clicking the save changes button.

Preventing Sleep Mode On Laptops

So to prevent your laptop from entering into sleep mode while you are downloading something or simply want it to remain on, try the methods discussed above. By doing so you can prevent your laptop computer from going to sleep mode and carry out your work without any irritation.

About the author: Brianne is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on gadgets and luxury. Beside this she is fond of books. She recently bought some portable printers. These days she is busy in writing an article on 3D Car Racing Games for her blog.

The above instructions suggests going to Internet Explorer and doing the following:

1. Click on Tools in the menu.
2. On the Security tab, click the Internet Zone icon, and then select Custom Level.
3. In the Settings box, scroll down to the Miscellaneous section.
4. Check to make sure Userdata persistence is enabled.
5. Click OK, then Yes if prompted.

Unfortunately, we often find Userdata persistence already enabled. Therefore, you can try these extra steps to fix the  Windows Error 0x800A0046.

Steps To Fix Windows Error 0x800A0046

The first option is to disable any unnecessary services programs that automatically load when your system boots. To do this, we will use the Microsoft Configuration Utility.

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. In the Open box, type ”msconfig” (without quotation marks), and then click OK.
3. On the Startup tab, click Disable All.
4. On the Services tab, tick the box before ”Hide All Microsoft Services” and then click Disable All.
5. Click OK. When you are prompted to restart the computer, do so.

A dialog box will appear indicating that some changes have been applied to Windows Configurations. Please mark the check box and then cancel this dialog box.

Try to launch Windows Update again and see if the problem getting your Windows Updates persists. You can return to a normal startup by entering msconfig again and selecting Normal Startup located on the General tab.

Clean The Windows Update Temp Folder

Another possible reason you’ll receive the Windows error 0x800A0046 is that the temporary folder for Windows Update contains corrupted files. The best way to proceed with this is to start with a fresh temp folder.

1. Click Start, Run, type: cmd and press Enter.
2. Net stop WuAuServ
3. Click Start, Run, type: %windir% and press Enter.
4. In the opened folder, rename the folder SoftwareDistribution to SoftwareDistributionold.
5. Click Start, Run, type: cmd and press Enter. Please run the following command in the opened window.
6. Net start WuAuServ

How To Tell When Your Last Windows Update Successfully Ran

Depending on how long this error has prevented you from successfully running a Windows Update, you could have been exposed to thousands of exploits. One easy way to check how long your system has been unprotected is to launch the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool.

Go to Start and in the Run search box, type mrt and hit OK. The utility will launch, and at the top of the Window you will see the last date the tool was updated. Since this tool is updated along with other Windows Updates, this represents the last time you have successfully received all of the Windows Updates.

For more information on the Windows Update error 0x800A0046, visit our forums or read our other Windows tutorials.

How To Install Windows 7 On Mac Mini Desktops

Here is a mind-blowing solution for all the mac users who are eagerly waiting to test the new generation Windows 7 operating system on their Mac. One should follow these steps using the boot camp assistant software. Before starting the installation process via boot camp, you must have the following things ready at your finger tips:

1. The Mac must be updated with the latest firmware.
2. Windows 7 installation DVD
3. Snow leopard OS or later installation DVD
4. At least 30 GB of free space in the hard disk drive to install the windows and using it completely.
5. Time Machine back up of the OS X.

Steps For Installing Windows On A Mac

The boot camp assistant software helps you to install the Windows OS on an Intel-based Mac by downloading the required software for creating a partition on the disc and start the Windows installer. Here are the following steps to install Windows 7 on a Mac Mini:

1. Launch the boot camp utility software by going to utilities and selecting boot camp assistant and opening it.
2. Once launched click on the continue button on the introduction screen. Decide yourself and allocate about 30 GB of space to windows 7. To do so, the small divider between mac OS X and windows must be clicked, and dragged to the left.
3. Click the partition button to allocate the space.
4. It should go smoothly. In case of any error, selecting the boot camp click the format link, the troubleshooting will be done.
5. On completion of this step, a ‘BOOTCAMP’ drive will appear on the desktop.
6. Now insert the windows 7 installation DVD and click start Installation button.
7. The windows booting will start when PC restarts. Before that, a window, seeking permission on which partition the windows will get installed, will display. Select the BOOTCAMP drive in the name column.
8. Selecting the boot camp click the format link and click OK.
9. The installation begins. Once the system reboots, remove the installation DVD.
10. With the windows 7 DVD removed, the mac will boot back into windows 7, and the installation is complete. The window will prompt the user to select the appropriate language, keyboard layout etc. The rest of the windows 7 installation process is easy.
11. On completion of the installation, the windows can be used in the Mac. Connect to the net and start windows update. Restart on completion.
12. After restating, the advanced graphic features can be activated. However the sound drivers will not get installed using this process alone.
13. For installing the sound drivers, insert the snow leopard/ OS X installation DVD. If you’re using snow leopard and a message pops up saying “Remote Install Mac OS X”, close that window and eject the CD. Put the CD in again and this time select “Open folder to view files”, navigate to the boot camp folder and run setup.exe.
14. The boot camp installer will launch. Simply click next to begin.
15. Select I accept the terms in the license agreement and then click next again.
16. Making sure that apple software update for windows is checked, click install.
17. The boot camp will install all the necessary drivers.
18. The mac will keep notifying you about each driver installation and once finished, click finish.
19. Finally, reboot the mac for one last time.

So these are some of the guidelines that can be useful to install Windows 7 on a Mac Mini. Therefore, one can refer to these guidelines in order to use the Mac Mini without any difficulty and reliably.

About the author: Brianne is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on technology and design. Beside this she is fond of gadgets. Recently an article on wireless routers attracted her attention. These days she is busy in writing an article on golf bags for her blog.

You can install a TrueCrypt volume in a single directory of a hard drive, an entire partition of a hard drive, or on a USB stick. The TrueCrypt software performs on-the-fly encryption, which means it encrypts and decrypts files as you open and close them, without any additional interaction on your part. Files are decrypted and stored in RAM (memory), meaning no decrypted files are ever stored on the hard drive itself.

Encrypt Windows Files Using TrueCrypt

You can find the TrueCrypt software on their site. Download the correct version for your Operating System. You can select to Run the file or Save it. When the file downloads, launch the Setup Wizard.

If you’re ready to install, tick the Install radio button and click Next.

You will then have the opportunity to select some of the install features, such as the location and whether or not you want a TrueCrypt link in the Start menu or an icon on the desktop. When ready, click Install.

Select which of the three options you want to use.  Most will want to select Create an encrypted file container to encrypt files and folders on a drive. If you want the entire computer to be encrypted, choose the Encrypt the system partition or entire system drive and then click Next.

Select the type of volume you wish to create and then click Next.

Browse to the directory you want to create the container in, then type in a file name. In the instance above, we are creating a contain within the Documents folder. Click Save to create the container.

You can stick with the standard encryption settings or change them to whatever you prefer. Click Next to continue.

You will then have to select the volume size you want to use to encrypt Windows files. If you plan on encrypting pictures, movies and other large files, be sure to make the volume large enough. In the above example we only created about a 5 GB volume. Click Next when ready.

It is important to create a strong password, but make sure you can remember the password or write it down and put it in a safe place. If you lose the password the files are virtually gone forever. Click Next to proceed.

Now you are ready to format the volume. Read the Important message in the bottom of the Window, then click Format.

You will then have to map a drive letter to this volume so you can mount (open) the container. Select drive letter and then click Mount. You will be asked to input the password you chose in the previous steps.

You can now open My Computer and see that there is a new drive listed. Anything you put in this virtual drive will be encrypted and decrypted on the fly as you access these files. When you log out of the system, the files are encrypted again and a password will need to be put in to access them when you return. If you intend to staying logged in, you can open TrueCrype and dismount the volume if you plan on stepping away from your computer.

Encrypt Windows Files For Security

This type of software is a no-brainer for portable computers, and it’s an extra layer of privacy for those who have data they want to keep to themselves. It is critical to remember the password, because once you encrypt, it will be virtually impossible to get these files back if you don’t know the password. So you need to decide if you want to encrypt files and folders on your computer. If you want to encrypt Windows files, TrueCrypt is an excellent choice. If you’ve used TrueCrypt, let us know what you think. Or visit our other software recommendations.

We will review these responses and use the results to make our site more appealing and user-friendly going forward. The survey is confidential and should only take a couple of minutes.

Take the survey here

Why A Computer Turns On By Itself

First of all, there are two ways a computer turns on by itself; The first is when the computer is completely powered off, and the second is when the computer is asleep. A computer that is totally powered-down will not usually wake up to perform Windows commands, so it is easier to troubleshoot. However, a computer that randomly wakes up in the early morning hours while you are in dreamland can be puzzling and disconcerting.

Some reasons why a computer turns on by itself:

1. Wake On Mouse is enabled. If you walk in the room and the computer magically powers on, your mouse may have moved slightly and triggered the wake command. While you need Wake On Keyboard, you do not necessarily need Wake On Mouse to be enabled. To disable this, go to the control panel, then click on Device Manager (Some systems will be Control Panel>System>Hardware>Device Manager)

Once in the Device Manager, click on the Mouse icon, then right-click the mouse that is installed in your computer and select Properties. You should see a Power Management tab. Remove the check from the option to “Allow this device to wake the computer” and this will prevent unintentional mouse movement from turning on the computer in the future.

2. You have tasks scheduled. Your computer may be turning on because you previous setup scheduled tasks. For instance, you might have your computer set to perform a daily disk defragmenter utility to run every morning at 3:00 AM while you are asleep. To check this, go to Start and type Task Scheduler in the search box. Or if you’re running an older version of Windows, navigate to Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools and launch the Task Scheduler from there.

Click the Task Scheduler Library and see what options appear. You will likely see several programs listed and you can safely delete them if you want. Many programs will set themselves to automatically check for updates when you are logged in, but some may set themselves to update whether you are logged in or not. Remove or change the schedule to suit your needs.

3. Wake On LAN is Enabled. Network activity may be triggering your computer to power up by itself if the Wake On LAN option is enabled in the BIOS. In general, you should have this disabled unless you specifically need to have it turned on. Enter your computer’s BIOS when first powering on the computer and disable this feature.

Computer Turns On By Itself Conclusion

As you can see there could be numerous reasons why your computer turns on by itself. Most will be benign, but it doesn’t hurt to make sure your computer is current with its Microsoft Updates and that you routinely run virus scans. If you have other computer repair concerns, be sure to join our free forums or read our other troubleshooting articles.

If Windows 7 Is Slow Run The Performance Troubleshooter

To determine why Windows 7 is slow, you need to navigate to the Control Panel and type troubleshooter in the search box as shown below. This will bring up several options.

Select the top option, Troubleshooting.

Under System and Security, select Check for performance issues.

When the Windows 7 performance troubleshooter launches, click Next.

You will likely see several problems if Windows 7 is slow. You should read and act on any recommendations Windows recommends to correct the performance issues. In the example above, Windows detected that we had programs loading at start-up that do not need to be loaded automatically when Windows boots. By disabling these programs, we can decrease the amount of resources those programs consume.

Windows 7 Is Slow Conclusion

Overall, Windows 7 is a performance powerhouse, and uses resources quite efficiently. If your Windows 7 is slow despite using the performance troubleshooter, consider trying these additional options:

• Run Disk Cleanup to remove unnecessary files. A full hard drive can cause performance issues when Windows runs low on space.
• Run Disk Defragmenter. Once you free up space, run the Disk Defragmenter utility to organize your data. You can get to both of these utilities by navigating to Start>All Programs>Accessories>System Tools.
• Run a Registry Cleaner. Registries can, over time, become cluttered with old data and bits and pieces of programs you have uninstalled. A registry cleaner will safely get rid of those entries.
• Add more memory. Adding RAM can drastically improve the speed of your computer.

Visit our forums if Windows 7 is slow and you need additional help or get more computer repair tips with our Windows 7 articles.

Launch Programs With Hotkey Shortcuts

To launch a program using a hotkey shortcut, you first need to navigate to that program using the Start menu. Once you find the program in the menu, right-click it, then select Properties.

We have chosen to add a hotkey for Photoshop in the example above, and have decided to use the CTRL + Alt + P to launch it. To do this, we clicked in the Shortcut Key field and pressed the keys we wanted to use to launch Photoshop. We then clicked OK to save the hotkey. Now when we press those three keys together, the program launches automatically, without the need to click on anything. You can use this for any application, such as Word, Excel, or whatever you use a lot.

Launch Websites With Hotkey Shortcuts

If you’d like to launch a website using a hotkey shortcut, simply right-click an open area on a website and select Create Shortcut. You can temporarily place the shortcut on your Desktop. Next, right-click the shortcut on the Desktop and select Properties.

We have decided to launch pctechbytes.com using a series of shortcut keys, and have added those keys in the Shortcut Key field above. Now when we press those keys, our website is automatically launched without having to open our browser or having to navigate through our bookmarks menu.You can then proceed to delete the shortcut icon that was placed on your Desktop during this process.

If you use a lot of hotkey shortcuts, you may want to come up with a logical naming system so you do not get confused and open the wrong program using hotkeys, which would defeat the purpose of this time-saving tip.