A List of Vista & Windows 7 Run Commands

Today I thought I would post a “cheat sheet” list for you guys.

“Run” is a “keyboard shortcut” way of quickly launching programs and utilities, and also accessing “Settings” menus and tools that otherwise are hidden.
To get to “Run“, press the Windows logo key + “R”, together.

This list is not a complete listing, but looking at it, and exploring a bit, may help you on the road to becoming a “power user”. Some of these I use a lot. Others, I never have.
(Though this is a Vista/Win7 list.. most of these work on the older XP as well.)

Open Run and type the (bold text) command, then press Enter. It fast, and simple (as keyboard shortcuts are meant to be).. Uber Geeks have many of these memorized.. but you may prefer to print it out, or bookmark this page.

• Action Center= wscui.cpl
• Administrative Tools = control admintools
• Backup and Restore = sdclt
• Cleartype Text Tuner = cttune
• Computer Management = compmgmt.msc or CompMgmtLauncher
• Control Panel = control
• Create a System Repair disc = recdisc
• Device Manager = devmgmt.msc
• Devices and Printers = control printers
• Direct X Troubleshooter = dxdiag
• Disk Management = diskmgmt.msc
• Event Viewer = eventvwr.msc
• File Signature Verification Tool = sigverif
• Folders Options = control folders
• Keyboard = control keyboard
• Microsoft Management Console = mmc
• Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool = msdt
• Mouse = control mouse or main.cpl
• Performance Monitor = perfmon.msc
• Personalization = control desktop
• Power Configuration = powercfg.cpl
• Print management = printmanagement.msc
• Printer User Interface = printui
• Problems Steps Recorder = psr
• Programs and Features = appwiz.cpl or control appwiz.cpl
• Recovery = control.exe /name Microsoft.Recovery
• Registry Editor = regedit or regedt32
• Resource Monitor = resmon
• Services = services.msc
• System Configuration Utility = msconfig
• System Information = msinfo32
• System Properties = sysdm.cpl or Windows logo key + Pause/Break
• System Restore = rstrui
• Task Manager = taskmgr
• Task Scheduler = control schedtasks
• Taskbar and Start Menu = control.exe /name Microsoft.TaskbarandStartMenu
• User Accounts Windows = netplwiz or control userpasswords2
• Volume Mixer = sndvol
• Windows Activation Phone Numbers = slui 4
• Windows Easy Transfer = migwiz
• Windows Memory Diagnostic = MdSched
• Windows Standalone Update Manager = wusa
• Windows System Security Tool = syskey
• Windows Version = winver

Accessories

• Calculator = calc
• Character Map = charmap
• Command Prompt = cmd
• Connect to a Network Projector = NetProj
• Connect to a Projector = displayswitch or Windows logo key + P
• Defragment User Interface = dfrgui
• Disk Cleanup Utility = cleanmgr
• Magnifier = magnify
• Microsoft Paint = mspaint.exe
• Narrator = Narrator
• Notepad = notepad
• On Screen Keyboard = osk
• Presentation Settings = PresentationSettings
• Remote Desktop Connection = mstsc
• Snipping Tool = snippingtool
• Sound Recorder = soundrecorder
• Sticky Note = StikyNot
• Sync Center = mobsync
• Windows Explorer = explorer or Windows logo key + E
• Windows Mobility Center (Only on Laptops) = Windows logo key + X
• Wordpad = write

Internet Explorer = iexplore
Internet Explorer (No Add-ons) = iexplore -extoff
Internet Explorer (No Home) = iexplore about:blank

• Windows Fax and Scan = wfs
• Windows Fax and Scan Cover Page Editor = fxscover
• Windows Media Player = wmplayer
• Windows Media Player DVD Player = dvdplay

Logs out of Windows = logoff
Shuts Down Windows = shutdown

Related articles:

• What Is The “Windows key” Good For?
• Tip: Keyboard Shortcuts – Manage Your Windows with Alt
• Using Your Keyboard Instead Of Your Mouse*

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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Quickly Open Programs With A Keyboard “Shortcut”

All of us have our favorite, and “most used” programs. And we probably have created Desktop (icon) shortcuts for them, and perhaps, added them to our QuickLaunch area, so we can get right to them. This tutorial shows how there’s an easier and faster way to start them. (Works in all versions of Windows.)

I use Microsoft Word rather frequently (but not frequently enough to put in my crowded QuickLaunch) – so I am going to use it as my example. Normally, to get to Word, I have to:

• Click the Start button
• Click All Programs
• Scroll down to and click Microsoft Office
• And click on Word 2010

That’s too many steps! Let’s fix that.

1) Go to the start menu and right-click on the program for which the keyboard shortcut is to be created. In my case, Word.

2) Click on Properties.

3) Locate the Shortcut key pane, and click once inside it.

4) Press – once – the key you want to become your launcher-shortcut. (In my case, I chose “W”, for “Word”.)

Once the key is selected, ‘Ctrl + Alt’ is automatically added.

5) Click Apply, then OK.

That’s it. From now on, to open Word I simply have to press Ctrl and Alt and the selected key –> W (a modified “three-fingered salute”). You can do this as many times as you like, for as many programs as you like, such as setting Ctrl+Alt+E to open Excel.. but you cannot use the same letter/key (duplication) more than once.

I think you’ll agree, Ctrl+Alt+W is slightly faster and easier than

• Click the Start button
• Click All Programs
• Scroll down to and click Microsoft Office
• And click on Word 2010

Today’s quotable quote: “Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent.”  ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Copyright 2007-2011 © “Tech Paul” (Paul Eckstrom). All Rights Reserved.

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What To Do When Your Mouse Plays Dead

Or Your Keyboard.

A PC without a functional mouse or keyboard is next to useless. So, I have assembled the steps to help you troubleshoot and repair your computer when the keyboard or mouse will not respond, and acts dead.

Step 1: Check Your Connection
If your mouse or keyboard used to work, begin by ruling out the most likely problem first — disconnection (for new devices, scroll down to Step 2). Believe it or not (BION), it’s fairly common for wired USB or PS/2 plugs to work loose, or detach from their port on the back of the computer. (A kitten is a likely culprit.. though I have had cases where the perpetrator was an inquisitive canine.) [BTW, the Troubleshooter’s Step 1 is (almost) always “Is it plugged in?”]

With a USB device, you can simply unplug and reinsert the connector and see if your computer detects it. With an older peripheral that features a PS/2 plug (PS/2 mice have a round green plug, while PS/2 keyboards have a round purple plug), you need to shut down the computer before you reconnect the device.

[IMPORTANT: With a mouse or keyboard that uses a PS/2 connector, you need to turn the PC off before reinserting a plug into the port. Failure to do so could damage your computer.]

After the plug is firmly inserted into its port, turn on the machine again. Your “dead” mouse should work just fine.

Another connection problem is a malfunctioning USB port. To test your USB port, attach the mouse (or keyboard) into a nearby free USB port. If the device works, connect a “known good device”, such as a USB thumb drive, to the original port to see if it’s really broken.
[Note: it is advisable to plug “input devices” directly into a USB port on your machine, and not a hub.]

If the mouse or keyboard does not work in the second (or third) USB port, you may have a “driver issue” (which is fixable) or the device may be kaput. Keep reading, I’ll get to driver issues!

No wires? Wireless Mice get disconnected too!
Wireless input devices need three things to work properly:
1) a receiver/transmitter. Usually this is attached to the PC by USB, so refer to the advice above inre USB ports – make sure it’s plugged in to a working USB port.
2) power. A non-functioning wireless mouse or keyboard is 99% of the time caused by dead (or weak) batteries. Put fresh batteries in and…
3) a receiver/transmitter-to-device sync. Wireless keyboard/mouse units need to “connect” to the the transmitter, and there will be button you need to press (sometimes this “connect” button is well-hidden). Do so. Some devices require you to hold down a button on both the receiver unit and the device — consult the manufacturer’s FAQ page if you need to.

For devices that are new, and have yet to work, or if the above did not fix the issue…
Step 2: Device drivers:
The place to look at your devices in Windows is Device Manager, which is fairly simply to get to .. if your mouse is working. But since you’ve read this far, I have to assume it’s not. If it’s possible, borrow a mouse from another computer, or a friend to proceed with a driver reinstall. If that’s not feasible at the moment, and your keyboard is working, read through steps (below) first, then…

1) Press the Windows key and “R” to open Run.
2) type in devmgmt.msc, and press Enter. [note: Vista/Windows 7: use the left arrow (<– ) key to select “Continue”, and press Enter (If necessary).]
3) Hold down the Tab key and hit the down arrow key until “Mice and other pointing devices” is highlighted (selected).
4) Press, once, the right arrow key ( –> ) to “expand” that list, which will show the installed mice (and other pointing devices, like a notebook’s touchpad). A yellow triangle with a black exclamation point symbol will indicate a problem with the device.
5) Use the down arrow to highlight the troublesome mouse. Now hold down Shift and press the F10 key — which will open the context menu. Use the down arrow to highlight Uninstall, and press Enter. Answer “Yes, I’m sure.”
6) Reboot (restart the machine).

What happens next will vary. During the startup process, Windows will “find” that there is a mouse (or keyboard) installed, and it will try to automatically find and install the appropriate driver in a process called Plug N Play. Sometimes this works flawlessly, and you will see a balloon window tell you your “new device” is ready to use. If so, you are doing well.

Other times, Windows will not find the right driver (or a suitable generic) and it will prompt you to provide one – usually prompting you to insert the disc that came with the device. Locate the discs that came with your PC (or that you made when you first got it) and look for the appropriate CD. Fancy wireless multi-function mice (or keyboard) may have their own Install CD. Or there may be a disc that says “drivers and utilities”. Put it in and follow the prompts. [note: the keyword is “drivers”. Do not use the CD labeled “recovery”.]
If you cannot find the right driver disc, you may need to go to another computer and download the driver from the manufacturer’s website and copy it to a flash drive, and then carry it back to your malfunctioning unit. My series of articles on device drivers starts here, Plug-and-Play Doesn’t Work, Pt 1*

Hopefully, by this stage you have seen the “your new device is ready to use”. But you (probably) aren’t done.

7) If you did not download the driver, return to Device Manager, and highlight your mouse again, and open the context menu again, but this time select “Update driver software“. Let the “Automatic” search do its thing. This will give you the latest driver, and all the capabilities of your device.

Congratulations!.. or not?
Either you have now brought your mouse (or keyboard) back to life, or it’s still acting dead as a doornail. If it is, repeat the entire list of steps above. Surprisingly frequently, things work the second time around.. though that may seem illogical (hey, your dealing with computers, and they’re just goofy).

If after the second run through your device still doesn’t work.. well then it’s time to bring in a replacement. Fortunately, you can buy new mice (or keyboards) for well-under $20 — even wireless ones. Laptop owners who need new touchpads or keyboards, well that gets pricey and you may want to have a tech do the work, so most people buy USB or wireless and plug it in instead.

Related: DriversPlanet
From site: “DriversPlanet.com provides an easy way of finding drivers in one spot.”

Copyright 2007-2010 © Tech Paul. All Rights Reserved. post to jaanix.

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Fix Problem Keyboards*

Originally titled, “My “e” key doesn’t “e”, and other keyboard tips”, this post appeared 08/06/07. I have added a tip in this republication.

There seems to be some weird alignment of the planets that is causing a spate of keyboard problems recently — accounting for about a third of my support calls this week. So today I’m going to tell you some basic keyboard maintenance and repair techniques, just in case your “e” key decides to start rebelling too.

Tip of the day: Cleanliness is the “key” to happy keyboards. Aside from your hard drive, your ‘input devices’ are the most (physically) hard-working things on your computer. And unlike the platters, motors, and read/write heads inside your HD, keyboards do all of their work by getting touched by oily, sweaty, dirty, jelly-covered human hands. And they get sneezed on too.
Yes, we humans (even the cleanest of us) manage to do rude things to our keyboards. Smokers drop ashes, and nibblers drop crumbs. We give them Diet Coke baths. And some of us take our laptops to the beach.

Almost two-thirds of the keyboard-related calls I took at Aplus Computer Aid were concerning laptops, and all but one was cured by cleaning (the sole exception required replacement, it was age related). Laptops, for various reasons, require more frequent cleaning than desktop models. The first thing to do when you have a quirky and misbehaving keyboard (laptop or desktop) is blow the collected dust and debris out from under the keys.

Tip your laptop or desk keyboard on its side, so that gravity can help you. Then use a can of compressed air (like DustOff), or blow through a straw, along all the gaps and depressions around the edges of the keys. Start at the highest side and work your way down, vary your angles a few times. Now turn your laptop/keyboard upside-down and give it a a couple of gentle taps. Then lay it flat in its normal position and repeat a quick gaps-blow. It may surprise you how much stuff has collected under your keys.

Next we go after the more stubborn dirt and oils with a brush. A canister vacuum with a brush attachment is the best tool here. If you don’t have a vacuum cleaner that has a hose with a brush, you can try a paint brush (or a basting brush), and brush out as much as you can that way. I have also used a bent piece of insulated wire to go ‘fishing’ under misbehaving keys. It was this method that recently cured a “stuck” key (it wouldn’t depress) on a laptop — fishing around under there produced a grain of uncooked rice. (The laptop’s owner was baffled by this discovery…)

In some cases, you may need to pop the keycaps (or keys) off. This is a somewhat tricky undertaking, usually accomplished with gentle prying pressure with a small screwdriver. Each manufacturer and type of keyboard has its own methodology for keycap removal, and I strongly advise you to look at the manufacturer’s documentation before you start removing caps. (If your laptop is still under warranty, removing keycaps may void your support — look before you leap.) With the keycap off, and the computer powered off (battery removed too, in laptops) use a Q-tip and isopropyl alcohol (or water with a smidgeon of liquid dishsoap) to clean the exposed area. Use gentle pressure to ’snap’ the keycaps back into place. As a final step, use a lint-free cloth slightly moistened with water and mild dishsoap to gently wipe the tops of the keys to remove finger oils and grime.

[addenda: If you have a keyboard you dearly love, and want to keep it functioning for many more weeks and months and years, you may want to consider applying the advice above to the whole board, and not just the problem keys, and give it a real thorough cleaning.
I suggest taking a Polaroid or digital picture (or pictures) to document exact key placement to assist you in replacing the keys in their proper places. Remove all the key caps, and if possible, lay them out on a tabletop in the same pattern as they are on the board itself. Start at the bottom and work your way up.
Once all the caps are removed, really do a good job of cleaning out the recesses as described in the prior paragraph. Clean the undersides of the caps before replacing them, as well.
Sometimes, this will “resurrect” dead keyboards.]

For really problematic desktop keyboards there is one more thing to try before going out and purchasing a replacement: soak the keyboard overnight in your bathtub, occasionally swirling the water a little to create current-motion (not much, just a little). Hard to reach oils and other grime will loosen and float away. Let the keyboard air-dry thoroughly (another 24 hours) before plugging it back in.
If all of these methods fail to produce results, good desktop keyboards can be found for as little as $10. Most, if not all, laptops can have the keyboard unit replaced as well: the manufacturer being the source for these parts.

Today’s free link: I don’t want you to think that I’m a boring and all-business geek, so today’s link is the place to get started building your digital music collection … for free. The music department at download.com is an entirely free collection of music of all genres. Check it out. Have fun, and relax … it’s completely legal, and doesn’t use any of that questionable and risky “file sharing” torrents.

Copyright 2007-2010 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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Inserting Special Characters

Today’s quick and easy computing tip works no matter what program I am in.

Occasionally I have to insert a special character into my documents – such as the Copyright symbol in my articles, or and upside down question mark when representing Spanish, or an umlaut or tilde in an ancestor’s name.
And I think we can all agree that ¼ certainly looks better than 1/4, and is easier to read.

When I am working in Word (which is never, anymore) or working in an HTML editor (for the Internet), there are shortcuts I can use to quickly insert those unique (aka “oddball”) symbols. But in other situations and applications – such as webmail – it is a little trickier.
[note: a nice listing of those ASCII/HTML codes can be found here.]

For those occasions when I need a symbol for which there is no key on my keyboard, I have created a shortcut in my Quick Launch area to the Windows Character Map tool.

Character Map is a font ‘data base’ which can display all the characters in the fonts on your PC. (shown left)

In each font there are multiple dozens ‘special characters’ and symbols, and weird letters from foreign languages like Latin. I simply select my font, and scroll through the assortment until I find what I need; then Copy > Paste it into my document.

In demo screenshot, I have selected Times as the font, and I found my symbol without any scrolling. I clicked on the “©” to “select” it (as you can see, it enlarged when selected), and then clicked the “Copy” button.
The copyright symbol is now on my “clipboard”, so I move to document and press Ctrl+V (or, “Edit” menu > “Paste”) to Paste it in. Simple!

The Character Map tool is located in the Programs >Accessories >System Tools folder.. which is kind of a pain to navigate to, so I right-clicked on the icon, and dragged it down to the QuickLaunch area and hovered my cursor between two existing shortcuts until I saw a black vertical bar appear, and let go. Then I choose “Create shortcut here”.. as shown above, there’s now handy launcher always ready for me.

Today’s free download: The Chrome web browser from Google is now out of Beta, which generally means that it is “ready for Prime Time”. You can read one of my reader’s RL reviews of Chrome here, and you can download this speed demon here.

Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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Using Your Keyboard Instead Of Your Mouse*

I do pretty well, but I am not a fast typist. This is due to the fact that I just never seemed to get the hang of touch typing (read: never made the proper effort in mastering it). I use a bizarre self-invented method of two-handed hunting/pecking and common key memorization that astounds observers.

The reason I am as fast on a computer as I am is my use of keyboard shortcuts to navigate, edit, and control the machine. (A brief aside: I have tried voice recognition, but just cannot get used to talking to my computer– it makes me feel foolish.)

In the Realm of the Geek, one measure of your skill is how much you can do without touching your mouse. You may not know this but there is almost nothing you cannot do using only the keys on your keyboard. Using keyboard shortcuts is much faster, and gives me more granular control over my selections.

Tip(s) of the day: Use some common shortcuts to maximize your efficiency (and Geek Quotient).
I will start by pointing out what a quite a few of us simply were never told (unless we’ve been using Windows for many generations). You may have noticed (in some programs) that there’s a single letter underlined in each menu choice (and that this is standardized across all programs), such as the “F” in the File menu, “E” in Edit, and the “o” in Format– and this carries to submenus as well.

These are “Alt shortcuts”– hold down the “Alt” key and hit F, and the File drop-down menu opens; press the down arrow one time, and the Open dialogue opens; use the up and down arrow keys to select your file and hit Enter, and your file opens. All without touching the mouse.
One more important Alt shortcut is Alt+Tab: this cycles through your open program windows.

You may have also noticed a weird key located on the lowest left, between the “Ctrl” and “Alt” keys, that has the Windows logo on it. Believe it or not this “Windows” key actually serves a purpose and does things.

A single tap opens your Start menu (again, the up/down arrows will allow you to select [highlight] your choice of the options). Combine it with other keys to: Winkey+R, opens the Run tool; Winkey+M, minimizes all open windows (sometimes handy for when the boss walks by); and Winkey+E opens Windows Explorer.

For navigating, the tools to use are the arrow keys. To move around in a document, a single click on an arrow key moves it one character; this is not a fun way to move whole sentences or paragraphs, so add the Ctrl key to move by whole words (or other blocks of characters) with the left/right arrow keys. And jump paragraphs with the up/down keys.
[Bonus tip: A Windows feature called Mousekeys allows you to mover your cursor with the arrow keys on your number pad. Turn it on by pressing Left SHIFT + ALT + NUM LOCK]

To highlight (select) the text, add the Shift key. Say I wanted to delete this whole paragraph, I would hit Ctrl+Shift+up arrow, and then either Delete or Backspace.. or just combine Ctrl+Backspace, and erase a sentence-a-press. Ctrl+A selects all.

The Page Up and Page Down, Home and End keys can speed your scrolling.

“Command shortcuts” are typically done with the “Ctrl” key, and you probably already are familiar with some of them: Ctrl+C is the Copy command, Ctrl+V is Paste, and — my favorite — Ctrl+Z is the Undo command.
A few others are: Ctrl+P followed by Enter will print your current page/document, Ctrl+S will Save it.

These are “universal” commands and can be used no matter which program or application you happen to have open. Most programs have their own set of shortcuts built in as added features, and if you use them a lot learning these can be a real boon. As a for instance, Microsoft Word has a whole slew of shortcuts (and the ability to record “macros”) to reduce the number of steps you need to accomplish tasks. If you spend a lot of time in Word, I suggest a search for “Word shortcuts” will be a big benefit to you as there’s a lot of published guides out there. I have only presented a very short list of the shortcuts available!

Today’s free link: While not everyone is a Word user, most people are web browsers (how else did you find Tech–for Everyone?). The official Microsoft list of Internet Explorer shortcuts can be found here.
Today’s free download: 10 Finger BreakOut is a real arcade game, in which you are escaping from invaders, shooting and trying to hit balls, but don’t worry, by playing 10 Finger BreakOut you sure will be learning to type. Improve your typing skills with this free typing tutor – typing game.

Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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I want to party all the time…

There’s just something about Fridays that you gotta love.

We humans simply must have some light at the end of the tunnel, or we will flag, sag, and eventually quit trying. Friday (for most of us) is that light — the end of the work week is not only in sight, it’s mere hours away!
And Friday for a lot of us (me too… when I was younger) means that we will “go out”; we will “celebrate”; we will eat, drink, and (maybe) dance with friends, co-workers, and complete strangers. We will make merry. A joyous break in the routine.

Friday means the weekend is here. Isn’t that a magical word? “Weekend”. (I smile just thinking it.)
Sure, the weekend isn’t all fun-and-games.. there’s lawns to mow, and cars to wash-and-vacuum, and a “Honey-Do list” a mile long, and grocery shopping.. there’s church, weddings to attend, children’s birthday parties, friends-who-need-help-moving-to-a-new-apartment and,.. have you cleaned out your gutters yet?
Weekends are never long enough.

Tip of the day: Weekends means tackling some household chores and so I am going to remind you that your computer needs an occasional cleaning too. (Nice transition, eh?)

1) Get rid of the dust and lint: Dust and lint can reduce your computer’s performance, cooling efficiency, and even cause fatal short-circuits.
* For desktop PCs, unplug your computer’s powercord from the wall and open your computer’s case so you can see all the kewl circuitry inside. How, exactly your case opens will vary with make/model, but it is usually a side panel, and the side panel is held in place with two thumb-screws (the manufacturer’s Website will have instructions, also).
Once the case is open, use the techniques I described in my recent printer maintenance article to remove the built-up dust bunnies. Pay special attention to air venting areas (and screens), such as by the power supply. (And, be careful and be gentle.)

* For notebooks, your cleaning is going to be a little different: you will want to get all the debris from out from under your keyboard keys, as I describe in this article. And you’ll want to wipe down your screen with an anti-static cloth (which may may require the slightest [just a drop or two.. in one corner..] moistening with plain water.

2) Get rid of disk clutter: Empty the trash that accumulates on your hard drive for a leaner, meaner file system. Fortunately there’s a one-button tool for that in Windows, https://techpaul.wordpress.com/2007/11/07/more-than-you-wanted-to-know-about-the-disk-cleanup-tool/

So let’s not be “all party”, let’s also get busy and do some “Spring Cleaning” and give those machines the attention they deserve.

Today’s free link: Sandboxie is a tool that creates a “sandbox”, or virtual environment, in which you run other programs (namely, your web browser) and those programs and the data they access can’t write to your hard-drive. This is an excellent way to prevent poisoned websites from downloading malware.

Copyright 2007-8 © Tech Paul. All rights reserved. post to jaanix

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