As you may recall, we have mentioned the term "system tray" in several of our tips, but we've never really explained exactly what it is. I guess I assumed most computer users know what where to buy cialis online it is, but I must be wrong, because several of you have e-mailed me about it within the last few weeks. So, I want to take this time to apologize for never writing a tip on it before. It should have been covered way back in the very beginning. But hopefully I'll make up for lost time today. Let's check it out!

Okay, so what is the system tray? Basically, the system tray is located at the very bottom of your desktop in the taskbar (the long bar that runs all the way across your desktop). If you look along the taskbar, you'll see some icons in the Quick Launch area, then you have some open space for any applications you have open and then on the very far right, you'll see where the system tray sits.

The system tray contains the clock icon, the volume icon and various other icons, depending on what all you have installed on your computer. Usually, your antivirus program icon will be there, it's where your printer icon shows up, your modem icon is there, the safely remove hardware icon sits there and so on. If you need to use any of the items in your system tray, all you have to do is double click on the icons and the programs will open. So, as you can see, the system tray is home to a lot of important applications on your PC. And now you know all about it. Yes!

Have you recently made the safe cialis switch over to Windows Vista? Or, have you been using it for awhile? Either way, are there some features on the 3D desktop that you'd just love to turn off? I mean, some of them are quite overwhelming and you might have a better Vista experience if you cut them off. Well, have no fear, because WorldStart is here to help!

I've heard so many varying views about the Vista operating system, it's not even funny anymore. Some people hate it, some people love it and others just ride along in the middle. Yes, Vista comes with a lot of brand new features and while it would be in Microsoft's best interest if everyone fell head over heels in love with them, that's just not very realistic.

So, if you want to change your Vista computer around a little, have at it! Now, as the person who asked today's question stated, one of the new features in Vista is the 3D desktop. And while it's cool to look at sometimes, it can also be a little too much. The 3D desktop has to do with Vista's appearance and performance and all the other Windows versions allowed you to make some changes within those realms, so why would Vista be any different? Come along with me as we make your Vista desktop all that you want it to be!

First, right click on the Computer icon on your desktop and choose Properties. From there, click on the Advanced System Settings link that is located off to the left side of the dialogue box. Once you click that, you will be asked if you're sure you want to continue on (since they're advanced settings and all). Just click Continue and go on. Next, choose the Advanced tab and then hit the Settings button. From there, you want to be under the Visual Effects tab.

Once you're there, you will see four options at the top of the window: "Let Windows choose," "Adjust for best appearance," "Adjust for best performance" and "Custom." Below those options, you will see a list of settings. The list is pretty long, so it may take you awhile to scroll through them all. As you look through them, you may want to start picking and choosing the ones you want to keep on your computer. Think about each one and picture in your mind what it would do to your PC. Here are some of the settings you have to choose from:

• Animate controls and elements inside windows
• Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing
• Enable desktop composition
• Fade or slide menus into view
• Fade out menu items after clicking
• Show shadows under menus
• Show shadows under mouse pointer
• Slide taskbar buttons
• Smooth scroll list boxes

Okay, I think you get the picture. There's so much to choose from! Now, let's go over a couple of the options I mentioned above again. If you click on the first one (Let Windows choose), the Windows operating system will choose what it thinks are the best choices for your computer. Now, this may be a good choice, but it still may leave you wanting more (or less) from your desktop experience.

On the other hand, if you click on the Custom choice, you can make your own decisions. You can just check or uncheck certain settings and everything will come out just the way you want it. I think this is the best option for anyone who likes to do things on their own. That's why I told you to really pay attention to the options in the list as you're reading through them. If you picture in your mind what a certain setting will do to your computer, you'll have a better reason for choosing what you choose.

When you're all done customizing your 3D desktop, just click the OK button and all will be saved. You can then go and test your new settings out. See how everything changed? Do you like it? Not so sure? Either way, you now know how easy it is to change those settings and you can go back time and time again until you have everything set perfectly for your Vista experience. Have fun!

Today, I'd like to share a little Microsoft utility with you that just might save your day! It's a free download and it's called the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility. It has a couple of small, yet helpful features if you ever happen to find yourself in a bind. Let's take a look!

Have you ever started up your computer and had the Windows Installer open automatically and try to install a program? If that's never happened to you, you're one of the lucky ones. When that type of problem happens, there are some very complicated steps to fix it. Luckily, Microsoft realized that and they created the Installer Cleanup Utility. In most cases, the utility will fix those issues.

The utility also fixes installer issues that are caused by incomplete installations. If you've ever had an install fail and you can't get it fixed on your own, the Cleanup Utility may be able to help you as well!

The Windows Installer Cleanup Utility is simple to download and run. Simply go here and scroll down the page a little bit. Then click on the link that says "Download the Windows non prescription cialis Installer Cleanup Utility package now."

At that point, you can choose Save or Run, depending on whether or not you want to save it to your computer. Either way, this utility is a great resource. Enjoy!

Have you ever tried to install a program and it just wouldn't go? You know, you try it several times, but no matter what you do, it just doesn't install properly. I bet almost everyone out there has run into this at least once and today, I'm going to share a tip with you that I use daily when helping people install programs.

You know about safe mode, right? It's the way a computer can be started to try and fix problems when it won't boot up correctly. Safe mode is great for fixing major problems, but most of the time, it's too restrictive to try and fix less troublesome issues. If you're having trouble installing a program and safe mode doesn't help you, you may want to try a lesser known startup mode, called clean boot.

The clean boot mode is somewhat like safe mode. It makes the computer start up with fewer features running and no background programs. The main difference is while safe mode won't allow you to do many things with your programs, the clean boot mode will. That way, you can start your computer in the clean boot mode, try to install the troublesome program and finally succeed. So, without further ado, here's how you can start your computer in the clean boot mode!

For Windows XP:

1.) Go to Start, Run.

2.) Type in "msconfig" (without the quotes) and click OK.

3.) Under the General tab, you should see that your computer is on Normal Startup. Select Selective Startup and then uncheck the following boxes:

• "process system.ini file"

• "process win.ini file"

• "load startup items"

Q:
What is Windows SteadyState?

A:
You know, I was wondering the same thing! I came across Windows SteadyState last week when I was writing a tip for the Windows Vista parental controls, but at that time, I didn't have a chance to look into it more. So, when I received this question in my e-mail Inbox yesterday morning, I knew I had to write about it right away! I'm sure there are several of you out there wondering what it is too, so we'll just all learn together! After you're done reading this article, I think you'll have a better understanding of what Windows SteadyState really is. Let's check it out!

To begin, SteadyState is mostly used with shared access computing. So, what is shared access? Well, it's basically when one or more computers serve multiple users all from one location. For example, the computers in schools, Internet cafes, libraries and even in a few homes. SteadyState was created by Microsoft for the main purpose of keeping all those shared access computers running smoothly and without any trouble. Also, with it, the computers will stay the way they're supposed to, no matter who uses them from day to day.

With shared access computers, you never know what sort of condition they will be in by the time everyone is done using them. Each computer probably has several users on it throughout the day and more than likely, each one did something different, depending on the type of work they had to do. So, by the end of the day, those computers could be filled with downloaded files, newly installed programs, the normal settings could be changed, there could be some viruses or spyware on the system and so on. Basically, a shared access computer is always filled with different items and it could be bogged down for various reasons.

Because of that, you need something that will be able to clean up those computers and get them ready for the next day. And that's where SteadyState comes into play. With SteadyState, you're given an easy way to manage multiple users, you can set in place a locked down platform that will make each computer more stable for shared computing and there's even an easy way to keep all of your settings in place, meaning no one will be able to alter them.

Like I said earlier, SteadyState really comes in handy for certain locations, including schools, Internet cafes and libraries. In a typical day, the computers at those types of places will be used by hundreds of people. Luckily, SteadyState comes with a design that fits each of those locations the best. So, for example, if you're managing the computers at a school, you can use the specialized part of SteadyState that generic cialis professional works the best for computers in a classroom. Or, if you have shared access computers in your home (maybe you have one for yourself and a couple for your children), there's also a special design in SteadyState for that. Each one really fits each location to a tee and it makes managing your computer so much easier!

So, how can you get SteadyState? Well, I will give you that information in a second, but there are a few things you'll want to do before you install it on your main computer. First, you'll want to double check the system requirements. SteadyState only works with Windows XP with the SP2 and Vista. It works for XP Professional, Home and even the Tablet PC edition. Now, you may already be using a utility called the Shared Computer Toolkit, but you'll want to upgrade to SteadyState, as it is the newer version. You'll want to uninstall the Shared Computer Toolkit first as well. You will also need to defrag your computer before you install SteadyState. That's just to ensure that your computer is optimized and ready to go.

When you're ready, you can click here to install SteadyState. Just click on the blue Download Now button and follow the directions. It will bring up a wizard for you to follow and it's not that long of a process. For more information on everything we've discussed today, you can visit this Web site. It should answer any additional questions you may have. Once you have SteadyState installed, you'll be all set and ready to go with your new shared access computers. Check it out today!