May 3, 2010
Welcome
Welcome to James River Software’s blog for our site Product-Key.com. Here, you will find product FAQs and articles pertaining to our products. Help is just a search away.
For your reading pleasure, our Microsoft Certified Professionals also post articles under the category Tips and Tricks. As part of our mission, we research computing topics such as security, software trends, encryption, and Windows tweaks. We are happy to provide this information as a service to you.
April 14, 2011
Manual Product Key Retrieval
If you’ve been trying the demo version of Product Keyfinder, then you may wonder what the “CD Key Retrieval Request” menu option is for. Or, if you’re curious about how manual product key retrieval works, this article explains the process.
When you click “CD Key Retrieval Request” under the help menu, this opens a web page on our server where you can enter your email address and the name of the product you are trying to retrieve. After submitting the web form, your request gets routed to our technical support department.
The technical support department then requests additional information about your Windows system. For example, the technician may need you to export a setting from your program files directory or Windows registry. The technician then examines the application configuration to determine if the product key is present on the system, and if applicable, decrypts the product key manually with our specialized decryption software.
The CD Key retrieval request is helpful in the following situations:
- You are trying to retrieve a product key that is not yet on our list of supported products
- Key Retrieval for a supported product failed for some reason
Why does automatic key retrieval sometimes fail, you may ask? There are as many reasons as there are software applications. For one, some type of system corruption may have occurred that wiped out parts of your system registry. Another possible reason is that you have installed a trial version of Microsoft Office or Windows and thought that you had a full version. Or, sometimes, a software program will put the product key in a location that was not expected by the software.
At any rate, our technician are always eager to examine your system settings and will be able to tell you why the product key did not appear automatically and help you with any additional steps necessary to retrieve your lost product key. This is all a part of being a Product Keyfinder customer.
August 8, 2010
Disable the Search Assistant
If you find that the Windows XP Search assistant slows you down or distracts you, you can disable the puppy dog (or wizard, etc) that shows up when you click Start –> Search.
1. Open your Registry editor by clicking Start –> Run and typing “regedit” (without quotes) in the Run box.
2.Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER Software Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion Explorer CabinetState
3. In the right pane, find the string value “Use Search Asst.” Double click it and change the value to “no” (without quotes).
4. Click “OK” in the Edit String Dialog box. The Search Assistant will be disabled the next time you log in.
July 23, 2010
Internet Explorer Crashed
It happens to the best of us. You download a seemingly helpful toolbar or piece of software, and the next thing you know, your Internet Explorer crashes. The browser may pop up for a second and then quickly disappear. Or it may execute with the message “Internet Explorer has encountered a problem and needs to close.” Or, Internet Explorer may not open when you click the icon.
In some cases, you can delete temporary internet files to solve the problem. Or you may want to try resetting your Internet Explorer to factory settings. To do this, go to control panel>network and internet> internet options> advanced tab> reset.
If all else fails, try a reinstall. To do this,
1. Insert your Windows XP CD
2. Click Start > Run
3. In the Run box, enter the following command:
rundll32.exe setupapi,InstallHinfSection DefaultInstall 132 %windir%Infie.inf
July 22, 2010
Renaming Multiple Files in a Directory
If you want to batch rename multiple files in the same folder, follow these steps:
- Open Windows Explorer and browse to the directory
- Select all the of files you want to rename
- Press F2 or right click and select Rename
- Enter the prefix for the name you want, example: NewFileNameThis will automatically rename the rest of the files NewFileName (1).doc, Newname (2).doc etc.
For greater control of renaming a large number of files, consider purchasing software that automates this for you. For example, if you need a particular number scheme or want to name them alphabetically instead of numerically, you should consider a program like Autonamer.
Autonamer is ideal for digital camera photographers, avid music and image collectors, web masters, graphics professionals, and avid file organizers. Its features include:
- Digital camera mode allows you to toggle between “manual” and automatic functions. Type the name of the photo, hit ENTER, and Autonamer previews the next image file.
- Extremely fast, accurate, and safe multiple file renames
- Digital camera mode automatically detects picture files
- Previewing of name changes in REAL-TIME, see what names look like before the batch file rename takes place
- Built-in folder browser to browser drives/folders for files you wish to rename, recognises network drives as well
- Replace strings function
- Change case option
- Configure startup options to fully customize your batch file rename
July 19, 2010
Configuring Autlogin for Windows XP
Did you know that you can configure Windows XP to log you in automatically? If you are the only person using your computer and want to have it automatically log you on, perform the following steps:
1. Click Start > Run
2. In the Run box, enter “control userpasswords2″
3. Uncheck User must enter a user name and password to use this computer
The advantage of autologin is that you save time when booting your computer. However, you should be aware that there are security issue that arise as a result. For example, if you were to lose your laptop, then the person who found it would be able to access all of your files very easily. Do this at your own risk.
July 15, 2010
Showing the Control Panel in My Computer
In Windows XP, you can show the control panel icon when opening “My Computer.” To do so, follow these steps:
1. Double-click My Computer to open it.
2. Click Tools–>Folder Options.
3. Under the View tab, check the box which says Show Control Panel in My Computer
4. Click OK to save your changes.
July 10, 2010
Restricting Anonymous Access
Did you know that a hacker could list the user names on your computer, simply by connecting to what are known as null shares on your Windows computer? For example, open a command prompt and run this command:
net use \[computername]ipc$ “” /user:”"
Replace [computername] with your actual computer name. You’ve just logged into your computer anonymously and can use tools to list your user names. The IPC$ share is used with temporary connections between clients and servers by using named pipes for communication among network programs. It is primarily used for to remotely administer network servers.
To disable anonymous shares, follow these steps:
1. Open Registry Editor by clicking Start->Run and typing regedit in the Run box
2. Navigate to the registry key
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlLsa.
3. Double click the value restrictanonymous and change the value from 0 to 2.
If this registry value does not exists, create a new one.
July 1, 2010
Changing Internet Explorer Title Bar and Text
Sometimes, a program you install will change your Internet Explorer Bar and Text. Internet Service Providers, for example, will add their company name to your Internet Explorer title bar. You may wish to revert your Internet Explorer title bar to its previous settings Or, you may just want to brand your Internet Explorer with the name of your company or organization. To change the Internet Explorer title bar text, follow these steps:
1. Open your registry editor by clicking Start | Run and typing “regedit” in your run box.
2. The registry editor opens. Navigate to “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerMain”
3. Enter a new string value called “Window Title.” To add a new string value, right click the in the right pane of the registry editor and select New | String Value.
4. Double click the “Window Title” string value and in the “Value data” box, enter the text your want to appear in the Internet Explorer caption.
5. Restart Internet Explorer
June 29, 2010
Rename Your Recycle Bin
To change the name of the Recycle Bin desktop icon, follow these simple steps:
1. Open your Registry editor by clicking Start –> Run and typing “regedit” in the Run box.
2. Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/CLSID/{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
3. Change the name “Recycle Bin” to whatever you want.
June 23, 2010
Speeding Up Your Boot Sequence
You can speed up your computer’s boot up sequence by defragmenting all key boot files. To do this, follow these simple steps:
1. Open Registry Editor by going to START->RUN and typing REGEDIT.
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE SOFTWARE Microsoft Dfrg BootOptimizeFunction.
3. In right hand panel look for Enable. Double click it and set it ‘Y’ for enable. This is the way I have it set on my computer. This will help speedup boot time.