How2NotFail

I don’t know about you, but I love moving quickly between applications when I’m working. Now, I don’t have any statistics to back this up- but if I did they would indicate that 5-10% of the average computer user’s time is wasted looking for icons and programs. Most applications, especially popular ones (ex. Adobe Products) come with a handy run command that you can use to launch the application.

So, here’s how ya do it:

Hold down the windows key on your keyboard and hit R. This will bring up the RUN window. Next you can enter in the name / alias of the program you’d like to start. Keep in mind it doesn’t work with all programs, and sometimes the alias is not very intuitive.

Here’s a list of some of the more common ones that I use:

- photoshop
- illustrator
- firefox
- iexplore (Internet Explorer)
- cmd (Command Prompt)
- notepad
- calc (Windows Calculator)
- msmsgs (Some Older Version of MSN Messenger)
- msconfig (Windows System Configuration)
- outlook
- excel
- winword (Microsoft Office Word)
- groove
- mspaint (Microsoft Paint)

Even if you don’t know the alias, just try out the name of the program to see if that particular app will open for you. There are many others that you can use to impress your friends or coworkers, with a quick shortcut 1-2 maneuver of the keyboard. Once it’s in your blood, you’ll hate using the mouse to start programs the old and slow way.

So.. You just got your new computer loaded to the brim with raw, untamed, muscle and power. When you plug it in and turn it on, the lights glow neon blue hews across your bedroom walls and a jet engine works tirelessly inside to keep all the hardware cool and comfy. You decide that it’s time to install some programs, configure your monster, and personalize the ever living buhjebus out of it. What happens next is quite possibly the most annoying “feature” you’ve ever encountered! That’s right- User Access Control is a feature! Ugh!!

Here’s how you can disable that, before the stress and headaches continue to reinforce the internal hemmoraging that you get from having to sit through that pop up 30 times an hour.

Via Control Panel

1. Start->Settings->Control Panel
2. In the search box type: UAC

Make sure you are in “Control Panel Home” View, and not in “Classic View” (in the left column). Otherwise the Search won’t work.

3. Click on: Turn User Account (UAC) on or off
4. Un-Check: Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer
5. OK
6. Reboot

Via MSConfig / System Configuration

1. Start->Run
2. Type in: msconfig
3. Click on the Tools Tab
4. Scroll down a bit until you see “Disable UAC” and select it
5. Click Launch
6. Hit OK
7. Reboot

There it is! Easy as pie.