June 2011 – My Rantings, Ravings and Thoughts

a continuation of how to launch a task manager when something goes ary

Jun 292011

Ok, in this post I will give you some options to kill an application or process when things have gone terribly wrong with task manager in Windows and you cannot launch it the normal ways that I have shown you in the previous post http://blog.hometownnerd.co.cc/?p=249 . This post covers a few of the best task manager alternatives out there.

1. Process Hacker – is an open source task manager which allows you to see more detail when looking at applications and processes and also gives you some tools to interact with the application. It even allows you to set security levels, terminate it, suspend, resume, or even restart it. You can even right click a process and search for what it may be online.

2. Anvir Task Manager – While they offer a pay version of this app, there is also a free version which does enough of the things that task manager does to take it seriously, you may also want to watch giveawayoftheday.com because sometimes they give it away for free, the pro version that is, and besides that site is really good about giving software away for free legally (they only give users 24 hours to grab it for free before they move on to the next offering but they get these offerings from the software vendor themselves and they are reviewed by peers as well). This tool, the free version, gives you power over your start-up apps as well as delaying those start-up apps for a set amount of time in order to make your pc boot faster. You also have the ability to check a process against a virus database and also set the priority level of an app, which can come in handy for really bad apps (set it to very low priority and then it almost stops causing your pc to slow down), and also you can hide an app’s window to the system tray for later use.

3. Process Explorer – This is a free portable task manager offering from Microsoft, well really it comes from Microsoft’s acquisition of Systernals. This one acts very much like task manager but adds lots of neat features to the mix, like more information as well as what dll is being used by what app and where a certain dll or app actually resides and you will see exactly which service is performing what function, making it really easy to figure out what is causing your issues.

4. Extended Task Manager – This one is a nice one for the beginner, it is not as complex or cumbersome as some of these others while still offering a great mix of features like what files are locked by what app as well as pause and resume process. This app may not work on Windows 7 x64 so be aware.

5. System Explorer – This offering is like the first 3 in that it gives you lots of power over apps and processes. It also allows you to see which apps autorun on start-up as well as any system add-ns, drivers and services.

Hopefully this list will give you a better idea about what tools are available to you when task manager is having some difficulty or if you have something going wrong that you just cannot put your finger on.

Today is a "Just in case" posting

Computers, Software 1 Response »

Jun 292011

Many people know that ever since sometime around Windows XP you could press [CTRL][ALT][DEL] to bring up the task manager or at least a way to get to it fairly fast, but what if some piece of crap virus / spyware / malware infiltrates your PC and renders that little “all important” key stroke useless. Well I am going to help you with 6 ways to start Task Manager and maybe that will help you out. I will not even include that as one way since I already touched on it.
1. In many Windows versions you could simply Right Click on the taskbar and then click Start Task Manager and voila it will fire up.
2. The second way is simply to press the Start Button and click Run… or you could press [Windows Key] [r] or in Windows 7 / Vista in the search box (which acts like the Run command already) then type taskmgr and press enter or click OK and it should fire up.
3. Another keypress that works for calling up task manager is [CTRL][SHIFT][Esc] or [CTRL][SHIFT][Escape] and this could bring up the task manager.
4. A different way to get it to fire up is to just browse to the file that is task manager by opening up the drive you installed windows on, normally c:\ but could be just about any other drive letter. Then navigate to the windows\system32 directory which could even be winnt\system32 directory depending on the install and then find taskmgr.exe and double click it which should fire it up.
5. The fifth way to fire up task manager is to right click on your desktop and click New then Shortcut, and then navigate to the same location as we did above c:\windows\system32 or whatever your drive letter is for Windows. Then click Next and give the shortcut a name, which doesn’t matter as long as you can remember it and then click OK. Then when you want to launch task manager you double click that new shortcut on your desktop.
6. The final way to take care of errant processes is just in case the virus / spyware / malware just happens to kill the taskmgr process every time it launches, which I have seen, then what do you do then, well for that I will need to pass you off to my next post…. http://blog.hometownnerd.co.cc/?p=250

Hope this information helps some people out there having issues with a process or application!

Today is a “Just in case” posting

Computers, Software 1 Response »

Jun 292011

1. In many Windows versions you could simply Right Click on the taskbar and then click Start Task Manager and voila it will fire up.

2. The second way is simply to press the Start Button and click Run… or you could press [Windows Key] [r] or in Windows 7 / Vista in the search box (which acts like the Run command already) then type taskmgr and press enter or click OK and it should fire up.

3. Another keypress that works for calling up task manager is [CTRL][SHIFT][Esc] or [CTRL][SHIFT][Escape] and this could bring up the task manager.

4. A different way to get it to fire up is to just browse to the file that is task manager by opening up the drive you installed windows on, normally c:\ but could be just about any other drive letter. Then navigate to the windows\system32 directory which could even be winnt\system32 directory depending on the install and then find taskmgr.exe and double click it which should fire it up.

5. The fifth way to fire up task manager is to right click on your desktop and click New then Shortcut, and then navigate to the same location as we did above c:\windows\system32 or whatever your drive letter is for Windows. Then click Next and give the shortcut a name, which doesn’t matter as long as you can remember it and then click OK. Then when you want to launch task manager you double click that new shortcut on your desktop.

6. The final way to take care of errant processes is just in case the virus / spyware / malware just happens to kill the taskmgr process every time it launches, which I have seen, then what do you do then, well for that I will need to pass you off to my next post…. http://blog.hometownnerd.co.cc/?p=250

Hope this information helps some people out there having issues with a process or application!

Today is a rave about a product I love, Tapatio

Food No Responses »

Jun 272011

I am posting this time to rave about a hot sauce I really like a lot, Tapatio. This hot sauce is just plain heat, it does not really modify the flavor of the dish, just adds a kick to it. This is a big plus since it can spice up just about anything, like chili and my personal favorite BBQ sauce. You see, I love spicy BBQ sauce, like Bulls Eye Texas BBQ sauce, so what I did was bought bulk kraft BBQ sauce and add this hot sauce to it and bidda bodda boom it gets perfectly hot and tastes really good and I can make boat loads of it for cheap. Yummy!! Now I do like Franks buffalo wing Hot sauce for wings and chicken, but that is a standalone sauce, Tapatio actually enhances everything. My sister showed me this hot sauce and I have yet to find it in my local stores here in Bel Air, MD, but she gets it at Shopper’s Food Warehouse in Annapolis, MD. They have a website too which is here… http://www.tapatiohotsauce.com/index.html and you can have even gallons shipped to you, but the shipping is ridiculous! So try to find it local, but do find it! They also have a facebook page which is here… http://www.facebook.com/tapatiohotsauce?sk=app_7146470109

Another tool I find very usefull, especially if you develop apps

Application Development, Software, Web Development No Responses »

Jun 202011

I have been using a tool for quite some time that has become almost a requirement on a new install of Windows and I will realize it is missing almost immediately. It is called Ditto and can be downloaded from http://ditto-cp.sourceforge.net/ for free. It is a clipboard manager from Windows and really gives your clipboard, or the copy and paste functionality in Windows, a real boost for productivity’s sake. The main function of it is to allow the copy and paste to remember, depending on your settings, quite a few items. Say you have a few web pages you want to go to from a single location, normally you would copy one url, open a new tab or window, paste it in and hit return, then go back to the old window and do it all over again. With Ditto, you would copy all of the links you wanted to go to one at a time, then create how many tabs or windows you want and then call up ditto and drag the entries to the address bar and away you go. Another instance that I use it for, development, first I set up some hotkeys in Ditto to make pasting easier by setting the Global Hotkeys for the last ten items copied which is on the Keyboard Shortcuts tab in the options (I set mine to [CTRL]+[ALT]+[1] through [0]) then I copy however many sections of code I need to keep inserting, and then using the shortcut I paste them where they need to be. Just remember the entries are stored backwards so the most recent entry is in slot 1. I use this tool ALL of the time and think it may help out some other people as well, enjoy. No I am not a developer of it and I also do not get anything for advertising it I just wanted to share.

Had a chance to ride the "new" Bianchi yesterday…

Biking No Responses »

Jun 202011

I must say the bike feels very good, although I do think it may be a bit too small for me. The components make it feel like a very nice bike, I just wonder how it will feel over long rides. I think it is an entry level Bianchi, but it has Shimano 105 hubs front and back and the tires are nice as well, and the 8 speed cassette is a Hyperglide and shifts very nice, just wish the frame was 2″ taller. Maybe I swap the components from the Fuji and make the Fuji have the 105s etc. So now I need a much longer ride to see how I feel, I only rode 3 miles Sunday since it was with my two sons and one of them is only 11 and rides a single speed, but my oldest (17) rode my Fuji and he seems like he can go longer distances, will have to see if I can get him to ride with me, I would just hate it if something happened to him though. Until later, have a good day, thanks for reading.

Had a chance to ride the “new” Bianchi yesterday…

Biking No Responses »

Jun 202011

Bought a 1988 Bianchi at a yard sale today

Biking No Responses »

Jun 182011

Well went yard saling today and came upon a bike, a 16 speed road bike by Bianchi. Seems like maybe my Vintage Fuji is being replaced by a Vintage Bianchi, just need to give it a good cleaning and then check out all of the components and change out the pedals since they are SPD cleats and I have never ridden with anything but cages. I cannot wait to get this one on the road to see how much different it is than the fuji. …Ok, I have cleaned it up and made it road ready, but seems like it may be too small of a frame for me, will need to log some miles to see how it feels, but seems to ride pretty nice, but my legs feel too far under me right now.

I am now part of Empire Avenue….

Computers, Software, Web Development 2 Responses »

Jun 142011

{EAV_BLOG_VER:03ebb9a8ef57b8e1} Ok, I stumbled upon an interesting site called Empire Avenue, you can visit here, http://www.empireavenue.com/?t=rhvp8qx, to have a look around, and if you join using my link we will each get 2000 extra eaves, which is the currency on the site and is very important to have more of. The site is basically a Social Media stock market, if you are busy on facebook or any of the others then your stock price goes up, if you are active and then slow down a bit then your price could go down.

Straight from the Web site:

Connect with your friends and Valuable people

Buy shares in your friends and family, and meet new people in your town or who like the same things as you!

Use social media and become a Millionaire

Earn Achievements and use your virtual earnings to get upgrades or expand your virtual portfolio!

How much is your facebook account worth?

Find out your value within each of your social networks, and learn how to be more effective in social media!

This site could be a good way to break into investing and figuring out how stocks work considering this is very similar to the stock market and how values of stock can go up and down. I would also think it could be a way to get more people to visit with your web sites, and that cannot hurt either. If I were you I would consider the stock symbols PIRILLO, TECHPOD, HmTnNrd, and RZR as a start. You may also want to invest in some new people since their stock prices increase VERY fast in the beginning. If you leave a comment with your ticker then I will invest in you too.

And by the way, I stumbled on the site because of this blog site, just so you know, you may find him interesting too. http://sometechblog.weebly.com/blog.html as well as Chris Pirillo which I have watched and followed for MANY years, he resides at http://chris.pirillo.com/.

The web pages that I made and try to keep up to date

Web Development No Responses »

Jun 142011

Below I will include the webpages that I have under the following domain umbrellas: http://hometownnerd.co.cc , http://belairmdwx.co.cc , http://love-pets.co.cc

Hometownnerd.co.cc
http://hometownnerd.co.cc : My main page, houses my small computer repair endeavor, although it is still not very busy yet, I am hoping that people start to get that some big box stores are not that good for working on PCs and that I can bring a more personalized, honest, personal approach and save them gobs of money and do a much better job.
http://blog.hometownnerd.co.cc : Just a blog I have, normally the information is included in this forum somewhere but some posts on the blog are different and contain some important information. Right now it has some posts on my biking experiment, and my attempt at getting back into fitness.
http://forum.hometownnerd.co.cc : this web site, this will allow me to help some people online by giving users the ability to interact with me for help as well as post and read some information on miscellaneous topics. It also allows people to comment on my web pages.
http://photo.hometownnerd.co.cc : A photo album that documents whatever pictures I may take and also if I build a woodworking project I will place pictures there as well as google sketchups of the items, if I have drawn them with google sketchup.
http://wap.hometownnerd.co.cc : Cellphone friendly version of my weather page, includes a lot of information and is a narrower format for cell phones
http://ww.hometownnerd.co.cc : is an online Points Plus calculator that uses the latest equations from Weight Watchers to find the points plus value for food with labels.
http://hometownnerd.co.cc/lottery : This is a quick loading narrow format page that shows the latest Maryland Lottery winning numbers from http://mdlottery.com . Loads VERY fast on cell phones and computers.

BelAirMDWX.co.cc
http://belairmdwx.co.cc : This is my weather webpage, I have a small weather station that updates the weather for my local area in north eastern Maryland, USA.
http://wap.belairmdwx.co.cc : This is a cellphone friendly version of the weather page, it gives a lot of information as well as has it in a much narrower format.
http://rss.belairmdwx.co.cc/ : A RSS feed that includes hourly weather conditions and forecasts every 4 hours or so
http://forum.belairmdwx.co.cc/ : basically this forum, but the weather part of the forum happens to be here http://forum.hometownnerd.co.cc/viewforum.php?f=3

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