General Computer Knowledge 5: How To Restore "Show Destop" Icon

Once upon a time, for some (stupid) reason I click 'shift-delete' to remove my 'Show Destop' icon when it was accidentally dragged onto the destop. Then, I realized that it was my real icon and not a shortcut!

Show Desktop icon is different from other icons, and usually you can’t restore it...

If you ever happen to delete your Show Desktop icon, here's how you can restore it:

Open notepad and copy and paste below code :

[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

Now, save your file as ShowDesktop.scf to following folder
C:\Document and Settings\Username\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch

Restart your Windows.

Voila!

General Computer Knowledge 4: Protect Your Computer From Viruses By Disabling Autorun Autoplay On All The Drives

A lot of virus problems infect computers through autorun.inf file as autoplay is enabled on the windows drive by default.


Problems caused due to enabled autoplay on windows drive include:

1. Problem-in-formatting-pen-drive
2. Hidden-files-and-folders-are-not-visible
3. Not-able-to-open-drives-on-hard-disk-by-double-click
4. How-to-remove-funny-ust-scandal-aviexe-virus
5. Drive-opens-in-new-window-on-double-click-in-windows-x

Fix:

To disable autorun for all the drives on your computer, you will need to configure it through windows registry.

1. Open Start >> Run or press Window + r

2. Open registry by typing regedit.exe and press enter

3. Navigate to the following path:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

4. Double-click the NoDriveAutorun registry key and type the value in Hexadecimal as FF (or 255 in Decimal).

Note: If their is no NoDriveAutorun registry key, just create it by right-clicking the right side area of the regedit window, then select New >> DWord Value >> type NoDriveAutorun and press enter.

5. Exit registry and restart your computer for changes to come into effect.

This is how you can disable autorun on all your drives and at least will prevent autorun activity of virus infected USB pendrives or CD’s and avoid infection through autorun.inf viruses.

General Computer Knowledge 3: Drive Opens In New Window On Double Click

Sometimes whenever we double click on any of the drive to open, it opens automatically in new window. As we all know the expected behaviour is that each drive opens in the same window until a user has explicitly set the option Open Each Folder In Its Own Window. Under File Menu >> Tools >> Folder Options in General.

Why It drive opens in new window? It happens when a program or virus tries to edit the File Folder or Drive shell entries to add more context menu items and set them as default for double click action.

Fix:

First Method:
1. Open Start >> Run and type regsvr32 /i shell32.dll
2. Press ok
3. You will see a message
DllRegisterServer and DllInstall in shell32.dll succeeded
4. That’s it

Second Method:
1. Open Start >> Run and type regedit
2. Navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/Directory/Shell.
3. Double click the default key type none and press ok.
4. Now navigate to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT/Drive/Shell.
5. Double click the default key type none and press ok.

Third Method:
If you don’t want to play with the registry ,you can run the following command instead at
Run Prompt: (Open Start >> Run)
“reg add hkcr\drive\shell /ve /d none /f” (without double quotes)

Hopefully one of the above methods work for you as it did me =)

General Computer Knowledge 2: Unable to View Hidden Files

Sometimes a virus or some malicious script makes the hidden files and folders not visible even when it is explicitly enabled. In this case, even if the user enables the "Show Hidden Files and Folders" in Tools > Folders Options > View Menu, hidden files and folders does not become visible.

Fix:

1. Go to Start --> Run, then type Regedit

2. Navigate to the registry folder HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\Hidden\SHOWALL

3. Find a key called CheckedValue.

4. Double Click CheckedValue key and modify it to 1.

5. Now, go enjoy your porn!

General Computer Knowledge 1: System Restore

I think these are the general knowledge regarding computers everyone should have an idea about in order to maintain your computer running efficiently and virus free. Here are just a few problems that I've personally encountered and manage to solve.

System Restore

Now, I'm pretty sure that we've all plugged some infected pendrives into our computers and contracted viruses. But never fear! Just run system restore to whenever you saved a restore point and the virus will be gone!

I've found that using system restore is a great way to return your computer to a previous state (before any virus or programs are installed). Which is why I 'save' a system restore point after installing all the normal programs i use e.g. microsoft, firefox, media classic player etc. This way I can always 'load' back to this particular state whenever I accidentally contracted a virus from pendrives, downloads, installations etc.

System Restore for xp users can be found at:
Start Menu -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Restore


However, there are certain viruses that hinder your ability to conduct system restore properly. If you encounter such a problem, just run system restore in safe mode or type the following in dos mode "%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe"

That's all, so go create your system restore points now and say no to viruses!

Working for Sime Darby Plantation Sdn Bhd

Woah, sure has been long since I last posted anything here! It's been approximately 7 months since I've joined Sime Darby. Well I joined on the 21st of July 2008, so technically it's been 7 months and 1 day since today is the 22nd!

Days sure passes by swiftly. Suddenly half a year has passed. Like I mentioned early, I officially joined Sime Darby during July 2008 as an Executive of Sustainability & Environment. Long title huh? I thought so too when I 1st saw it. Takes a while to fill it down on paper or any forms that requires one to fill in the spot 'occupation'. But I really think highly of the word 'Sustainability', feels like it has such deep meaning to it. Many have no idea what it means. Basically, it means that we conduct our business in a sustainable manner to ensure the survivality of both the environment and all living organisms within. This is so that future generations and generations to come can enjoy the same if not even prettier and well managed environments as we have. Well, I didn't need to tell you the last sentence. I'm sure you're all well aware of the current conditions of our environment.

Anyways, back to my job. My job is mainly to help prepare all the estates and mills of Sime Darby Plantation for the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Certifications. What I do normally is to travel to estates and mills around Peninsula Malaysia, Sabah, Sarawak and also Indonesia to assist them in preparation for the certification. As I write this, I'm actually in a hotel in Sabah using wireless connection over the weekend. Most of our time is spent outstation. Only 20% of my time is spent in the office to follow up on paperwork.

We have a great team here in Sime Darby. I believe we're the only major plantation company to actually start a RSPO unit. We divided our estates and mills into Strategic Operating Units (SOUs) which consists of 1 mill and supplying estates which can vary from 1 to 7 estates. Our goal is to finish certifying all 65 SOUs by Dec 2010. Only then, can we truely call ourselves sustainable oil palm producers.