Tutorials, FAQ's, Hints & Tips for Newbies

[Elaine]

Because the users of this forum found this to be very useful(and me too, btw) i decided to start a thread which will contain links to various tutorials and FAQs about programs, operating systems etc.

Feel free to post links in this folder and i will check and organize them in the main post.

Try to put a brief description of the link too. Be careful not to post links to warez sites.

Please do NOT post questions here!
This folder is only for links.
Post questions to the forum.


Tutorials, FAQ's, Hints & Tips for Newbies


INTERNET


Internet Guide for Beginners (http://netforbeginners.about.com/cs/tutorials/)
Learn Basic Stuff About the Internet!


Tutorials about Internet (http://www.webnovice.com/tutorials.htm)
Learn how to use the Internet.


Internet Tutorials (http://library.albany.edu/internet/)
More Internet Tutorials On Basic Internet Things.


Internet Guides and Training Info. (http://www.loc.gov/global/internet/training.html)
Library of Congress Information Page


Finding Information On the Internet (http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Internet/FindInfo.html)
Learn to Find Information on the Internet Quickly!


CompletePlanet Tutorials (http://www.completeplanet.com/tutorials/index.asp)
Finding Information on the Internet!



WINDOWS


Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for windows (http://www.winsupersite.com/)


Windows 98 Tutorial (http://www.baycongroup.com/win98/win9800.htm) - Thanx Harry O


Windows 2000 Uninstall Guide (http://www.budja.com/w2k/uninstall_w2k.html)
One of the best out there.


MS Beginner Tips For Maintaing Your Computer (http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/usingwindows/maintaining/tips/beginner/1beginner_list.asp) - Thanx Harry O


Windows Support Center (http://66.39.115.252)
SUPPORTING MICROSOFT DESKTOP SYSTEMS. Windows Operating Systems & Leading Application Software.


Harry O's XP (http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/) - Loads of invaluable information


dougknox.com (http://www.dougknox.com) - XP hints, tips, and fixes - Thanks sickmanofasia


XP Tips and Tricks (http://www.tipsdr.com/)


Tweaking XP (http://www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=guide&dId=120)


MS Virtual Machine download (http://www.krm.com/techsupport/tech-downloads_mvm.html) - Thanks Lazza



HARDWARE


PC Mechanic (http://pcmech.com/) - Thanks Zombie Breath


Building your own PC at waterwheel.com (http://www.waterwheel.com/Build_A_PC/build_PC.htm)


How to Reformat Your Hard Drive (http://tech.jmwebdesigns.com/software/expert/reformat.html)


HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE HOW-TO ARTICLES (http://www.duxcw.com/digest/Howto/index.html) - Thanx elmarc76


How to Partition a Blank Hard Drive (http://fdisk.radified.com/) - Thanx Virgin San


fixyourownprinter.com (www.fixyourownprinter.com) - Thanks jeepers94


Device Manager Error Codes List (http://website.lineone.net/~phoenix_uprising/Sniper/Sniper.html) - Thanx Mr Bob
A list of all the error codes found in windows NT,2000,XP,95,98 and ME.




SOFTWARE


Radified.com (http://radified.com/index2.html) - Norton Ghost, PC stability, Fdisk tutorials - Thanks Trondos


How to setup ASPI layers in Win2k (http://www.cyrus.troy.btinternet.co.uk/yaa2.htm)
A very nice step-by-step guide by our good m8 Cyrus-Troy.


How To Start a FTP Server (http://g-lea.tamu.edu/warftpd.htm)
Just exactly what the title says, using War FTP Server Ver. 1.67


Adobe Photoshop Tutorials (http://www.axxessdenied.com) - Thanx Devil-Man


Learning Photoshop (http://www.lynda.com) - Thanx Devil-Man


Kenny C's mIRC tutorial (http://users.senet.com.au/~shenza/mIRC_TuTe/mIRC.htm)


find out what sort of file you have just by its extension and what applications will open it and links to the software required (http://www.filext.com/) - Thanks gooner


What loads up when you turn your PC on (http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_pages/startup_full.htm) - Thanks n2k and green_blade



LINUX


Linux Tutorials (http://www.justlinux.com/) - Thanks uk_trader


Google's Linux search engine (http://www.google.com/linux) - Thanks uk_trader


Newbie UNIX lessons (http://unixgeeks.org/security/newbie/unix/)



WEB DEVELOPMENT


How to make a Web Page (http://www.pagetutor.com/pagetutor/makapage) - Thanx jonno112


HTML Tutorials (http://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutors/)
Everything you wanted to know about HTML.- Thanks jasonmorgan2k2


HTML Tutorials - Learn How to Use HTML (http://pick.net/htmlTUT.htm)
Learn About HTML and Webpages.


Java Stuff (http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/)
Learn About Java.


PHP Builder (http://www.phpbuilder.com) - Thanks T_B2k


dynamicdrive.com (www.dynamicdrive.com) - dhtml and javascript codes - Thanks jasonmorgan2k2



PROGRAMMING


Programming Tutorials (http://www.programmingtutorials.com/main.asp)
You will find over 150 tutorials on many programming languages. You will also find over 20 message forums including one for each language you want to learn.


Programmers' Heaven (http://www.programmersheaven.com) - Thanx jonno112


Pascal Tutorial (http://www.mit.edu/~taoyue/tutorials/pascal) - Thanx fossa



NETWORKING


Home PC Networking (http://www.homepcnetwork.com) - How to network your home tutorials - Thanx jonno112


Practicallynetworked (http://www.practicallynetworked.com/) - Internet Connection Sharing and much more


Learn to Subnet.com (http://www.learntosubnet.com) - Thanx jonno112
A Free Lecture-based Educational Course on IP Addressing and Subnetting.



MISCELLANEOUS


Wim's Bios (http://www.wimsbios.com/) - Loads of Bios information - Thanks Trondos


FindTutorials.com: The Tutorials Search Engine (http://www.findtutorials.com/DirCatLook.asp?ID=3) -
The Largest Database of Tutorials on The Internet!


TechTutorials (http://www.techtutorials.com/)
The directory of free computer tutorials and whitepapers. The directory currently contains 1711 free computer related tutorials!


Free Online Internet Courses and Tutorials (http://www.worldwidelearn.com/internet-courses.htm)
A Free Place To Get Internet Help!


CharmNet Information (http://www.charm.net/learning.html)
Books, Tutorials, and Hint Sheets!


280 pages of computer related info (http://members.home.net/wl75081/index.html) - Thanx jtaylor


CD-RW central (http://www.cdrwcentral.com/modules.php?name=Sections) Burning info - Thanks Trondos


acronymfinder.com (http://www.acronymfinder.com/af-query.asp?String=exact&Acronym=rotflol&Find=Find) - search for acronyms and abbreviation meanings - Thanks CHR15

Thanks To etplanet.com
I've slipstreamed SP1 into my XP and works great.

With Easy CD Creator
http://www.etplanet.com/download/guides/easycdcreator.html

With Nero
http://www.etplanet.com/download/guides/nero.html Thanks Badidoh

The Definitive BIOS Optimization Guide (http://www.rojakpot.com/default.aspx?location=1) Thanks copyright

I thought Id post this as alot of people using windows xp keep wondering why there pc keeps restarting why m$ did this baffles me.

Go to control pannel > system > advanced > startup and recovery

and uncheck automatically restart

Whenever a fatal error happens in win xp the computer automatically restarts by default. Thanks uk_trader

And I though I'd Post on how to turn the Messenger Service (Pop-Ups) off, since it gets asked about 5 or more times a week

"Start"--->"Run"--->"Services.msc"---->"Messenger"

Right Click on it and select "Properties"

Change the "start up type:" to "Disabled"

Then under the "servies status" click "stop"

Then Click "apply" then "ok" and your set.

BTW, don't mess with anything in there unless you know what your doing, also make sure you have administravite privilages to change the settings.
Thanks copyright

I stumbled across this which has a really noddy guide to setting up a hard drive from new, it covers format, partitions, fdisk and NTFS in nice understandable sections ...

HOW TO PREPARE A HARD DRIVE (http://www.techrescue.net/guides/prepdrvi.asp)

Also applicable for rescuing a hard drive which you've messed up of course. Thanks Virgin San

Here's a Newsgroup How-to.

A few of my work colleagues wanted to know how to use News Groups, from the pro's and cons of different servers, to configuring Agent.....

So I wrote one for them and though it may be of use here as well :D

As a word of warning it is about 600k in size, as it contains full screenshots of Agent, WinRAR, and other apps.

News Group FAQ (http://homepage.ntlworld.com/alex/Using%20Newsgroups.doc)
Thanks TierraDelFuego

Top 25 freeware programs

1st Page (www.evrsoft.com/1stpage2.shtml) Web page editor.

602PC Suite (www.software602.com/products/pcs) M$ Office compatible suite.

Audacity (http://audacity.sourceforge.net) Sound editor.

Calc98 (www.calculator.org) Calculator and converter.

CityDesk Starter Edition (www.fogcreek.com/CityDesk) Web content creation.

CoffeeCup Thumbnail Factory (www.coffeecup.com/freestuff) Web thumbnail image gallery.

Crazy Browser (www.crazybrowser.com/download.htm) Browser.

DXBall 1.09 (http://members.fortunecity.com/dxball/dxball.html) Game.

Ella Free (www.openfieldsoftware.com) AntiSpam filter for Outlook and Outlook Express.

ePayDay FreePay (www.logisoft.com.au) Payroll software. (Australian) :D

Irfanview (www.irfanview.com) Graphics editor and media player.

KeyNote (www.tranglos.com/free/keynote.html) Notebook and personal manager.

Kwik-Pay (www.kwikpay.com.au/au) Payroll software. (Australian)

Mozilla (www.mozilla.org) Browser and email client.

OpenOffice.org (www.openoffice.org) M$ Office compatible suite.

Ots CD Scratch (http://cdscratch.com) Virtual Turntable.

PostIt Notes (www.3m.com/market/office/postit/com_prod/psnotes) Sticky notes.

Microsoft PowerToys for XP (www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/downloads/powertoys.asp) System enhancements.

Simple Copier (www.neogie.com/simplecopier) Photocopying.

Stroke It (www.tcbmi.com/strokeit) Mouse navigator.

TClock Ex (www.rcis.co.za/dale/tclockex) Advanced taskbar clock.

Gimp (www2.arnes.si/~sopjsimo/gimp) Image editor.

Ultimate Zip (www.ultimatezip.com) Compression utility.

WHOS IN (www.hudsoft.com/products/whosin) LAN-based in/out board.

Zwei-Stein (www.thugsatbay.com/software) Video Editor.

Enjoy cheapskates. :) Thanks Insomniac

[M&M Blues]

Beginners Guide to Windows XP

http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1494

[Neo]

This questions always gets asked alot, so I'll just write some simple causes.


How to Troubleshoot Random PC Restarts


1)Heating Issues- Get a monitering Program and view your temperatures. Make sure they arn't too high. Monitering your temperatues through the bios will most likely yield more accurate results then doing so through windows.


2)Voltage Issues- Get a monitering Program and view your voltages. Make sure your rails are within +/- of the default current. Monitering your voltages through the bios will most likely yield more accurate results then doing so through windows.

3)Software Issues- Have you installed any recent software or drivers? Try to Uninstall them/Update them; check the device manager. Make sure they arn't conflicting.

4)Hardware Issues- Have you installed any recent hardware? Try replace the components if you have any spares. And run some diagnostic and stress tests on them.

By: ps2wiz

_______

I think these are the four basic foundimentals. Hopefully this should make some of the "Help my computer restarts" thread less visable.

[MattRix_Of_Smeg]

A very good site, you can go in an ask questions on just about any subject and earn points for answering questions for others.

www.experts-exchange.com (http://www.experts-exchange.com)

[Elaine]

Given some recent issues in threads of late I thought I'd offer this...

if you're stuck on how to search for information on the internet you might be interested in taking a look at this site (http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/Help/search.html) before posting a question here... you'd be amazed how easy it is to find most information on the internet these days... Thanks Desticado

Nice link. Thanks. Personally I use www.ixquick.com (http://www.ixquick.com/) and http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search? Thanks HarryO

HERE'S (http://www.refdesk.com/) one that i find very useful. Thanks jspr57

www.37.com (http://www.37.com/) my friend found this site on accident a few years ago, thought I'd share it. Thanks User-01

Dogpile (http://www.dogpile.com/). Thanks Virgin San

These two sites could save a lot of people the time waiting for replies to posts:

whatis.com (http://whatis.techtarget.com/) has not too technical definitions of just about any computing related term you can think of.

howstuffworks.com (http://www.howstuffworks.com/) is a great resource for the enquiring mind, its provides nicely written and easily accessible articles on, well, how stuff works - everyday items as well as pc. Thanks Virgin San

I'm sure the advice and links here will be put to good use!

To continue with the spirit of this thread, here are some overlooked and often obvious solutions.

Apart from Google, M$ SUPPORT (http://support.microsoft.com/) is underutilised and could answer the vast majority of questions.

Test your firewall (you do have one, don't you) at GIBSONS (http://www.grc.com/) for any breaches and effectiveness.

You can check a file extension and it's associated or parent application HERE (http://filext.com/).

Any suspect programs listed in Task Manager can be checked HERE (http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm).

Error messages and page fault details, mainly for 98 and Me, but also applies sometimes to others, can be found HERE (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=%2Fsupport%2Fwindows%2Ftopics%2F errormsg%2Femresctr.asp).

Common DOS COMMANDS (http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/default.asp?url=/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/proddocs/dos_diffs.asp) applicable to most operating systems.

Details of XP DOS commands and batch files etc can be found HERE (http://www.fsref.com/pr/dosxp.htm). Thanks Insomniac

I have used each one of your links and have throughly enjoyed learning alot of new things. Thumbs up to " Virgin San " for that link to howstuffworks.com, I have been wondering about board connections for awhile.

I wonder if anyone ever uses www.dvorak.org/home.htm (http://www.dvorak.org/home.htm) a rather good starting site, that offers alot of help. Thanks zone_killer

Heres another beauty (yikes, I'm starting to speak Australian :( ) - Answers that work (http://www.answersthatwork.com/home_page.htm), has boot disks, drivers and most usefully a list of all windows task list programs, summary of what they do and whether or not you should meddle with them (e.g. answers to oft asked forum questions!) Thanks Virgin San

For a lot of computer related questions www.webopedia.com (http://www.webopedia.com/) saved my b*tt last year.
Thanks MattRix_Of_Smeg

[Elaine]

You can search DriverGuide drivers from the following sites:
www.BIOS-Drivers.com
www.CDROM-Drivers.com
www.Input-Drivers.com
www.Modem-Drivers.com
www.Monitor-Drivers.com
www.Network-Drivers.com
www.Printer-Drivers.com
www.Scanner-Drivers.com
www.Soundcard-Drivers.com
www.StorageDrivers.com
www.USB-Drivers.com
www.Video-Drivers.com
www.WindowsXP-Drivers.com
www.DriverSearch.com


WinFiles (http://download.cnet.com/downloads/0-10010.html?tag=st.wn.4235214.dir.10010)
Another good choice. It seems that not long ago it was included in the Cnet network.

Driverforum (http://www.driverforum.com/)
Device driver discussion site. Useful for requesting hard to find drivers.

Hardware Drivers Links (http://www.cpunet.net/link/link.htm)
Just like its title says.

WinDrivers (http://www.windrivers.com/company.htm)
Great site. However, they now charge a fee for accessing their driver links!

Support Tech (http://webhome.idirect.com/~cati)
A site dedicated to helping you find links to drivers, patches, upgrades and service packs for your hardware and software. Good.

Driverzone (http://www.driverzone.com)
Good site. It also has a driver archive for older or obsolete hard-to-find drivers.

Wim's BIOS page (http://www.wimsbios.com)
Almost everything you wanted to know about a computer's BIOS. BIOS numbers, manufacturers web sites, utilities, explanation of settings and also a discussion board.

Drivers HeadQuarters (http://www.drivershq.com)
Good drivers site. Not fully reviewed though.

Driver Links (http://www.netspace.net.au/~dragont/driver.htm)
Updated weekly. Good amateur effort.

Driver World (http://www.driverworld.dk)
Helpful online resource links to hardware manufacturer sites for drivers.

Drivers On-Line (http://drivers.on-line.net.nz)
By using the free Driver Wizard software, your hardware can be identified, and correct drivers located in seconds.

Drivers Planet (http://www.driversplanet.com)
Drivers Planet offers direct links to driver files accessible in 3 mouse clicks for free.

Drivers Updates and Patches (http://quipudigital.com/drivers/)
Links to download device drivers and patches sorted by manufacturer.

Mister Driver (http://www.mrdriver.com)
Device driver search engine.

PCdrivers.Com (http://www.newdrivers.com)
Links to download device drivers and patches sorted by device type, alphabetical or by categories.

CD Drive Firmware Site (http://www.firmware.fr.st/)
Good firmware site for CD-Roms, DVDs, and CD-RWs.

http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/procexp.shtml

excellent freeware to show what processes are you using which dll files. Thanks TierraDelFuego

[Lazza]

Ever wanted to do a clean install of Windows XP but were to afraid to try? Just like $ex you never forget your first nervous atempts at installing windows. :D

Well fear not and make it easy and be able to aproach the task with confidence even though it's your first time with Windows XP Setup Simulator

Windows XP Setup Simulator is a program that teaches you how to install Windows XP, without having to worry you will mess up your hardware or software. It just simulates installing Windows XP as if it was the real setup. It reproduces every step exactly as it is in the real setup, and it does not restart your computer.

Read more about it here:- http://www.topdrawerdownloads.com/showdownload.php?company=EchoProject.net&title=Windows%20XP%20Setup%20Simulator

Download the file (1 mb) here:- http://www.padring.com/go.php?http://www.echoproject.net/en/software/catalog/winxp/winxp_simulator.exe


And if you do get stuck, which trust me you won't!, checkout the best install guides on the web at Harry O's site here:- http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/index.htm