How to know the last shut down Time in your Windows 7 ?

If you are feeling that somebody is physically accessing your computer & you don’t know at what time he/she is accessing your computer. Then friends here are the following steps to know the last shut down time of your computer:-

1. Go to start menu &search event viewer in search option & then hit enter.



If you are a Windows XP user, Go to Start & then Run. Type eventvwr.msc and click OK button.

2. Event viewer window will open.



3. First click on “Window Logs” on the left side of the window & then click “System” on the right side of the window.



4. Now all the system files will open on the right side. Now scroll down the Source column & try to find out the EventLogwith Event ID 6006 will show the correct time and date of last PC shutdown (In this case the time is 4/21/2010 12:26:57 PM).



So the last shut down time of my PC is 4/21/2010 12:26:57 PM.


That’s how you can easily find out when exactly was your computer last shut down.

How to use Kaspersky for Lifetime without Patch ?

Generally Kaspersky provide us 30 days trial period on its Anti-virus Product. So there are the few steps that you have to perform when your trial license going to expire after 30 days for getting a new trial license :

1. Delete old key and turn off self defense (Settings-Options in kaspersky and turn off Enable self-defense, and click OK).

2. Open Registry editor (click start in windows menu then goto run and write regedit and click Ok) and go through these :

For 32bit OS: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ KasperskyLab \ protected \ AVP9 \ environment

For 64bit OS: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Wow6432Node \ KasperskyLab \ protected \ AVP9 \ environment

3. Right look for PCID and right click and modify three or four last numbers or letters example : (8F10C22F-6EF6-4378-BAB1-34722F6D454)
and enter any other three-letter four-number and close the Registry Editor.

Contact4. Right click on Kaspersky icon in the task bar and choose exit.

5. Go to Start-Programs menu, open the Kaspersky and when you activate searching trial license and you have new license of a peaceful month.

6. Go to Kaspersky settings and turn on self-defense.

This is hardly a 2 minute job and you got again a trial period of 30 days, and there is no rush for more keys.

Note : Most of the patches that you will found on the net are basically work on that trick, they simply make the changes in the registry and change identification of your computer to the Kaspersky server, thus Kaspersky log server recognizes you as a new user and assigns you new trial license.

All the programs or applications are being opened by notepad.exe

After reading a lot on the net I finally did myself.,...
This is what I did..
1. Some how restrat the windows and while staring keep on pressing F2 & F8 (probably F8) is more appropriate.. to bring up the selection to start windows in Safe mode with Command prompt
2. Select Safe Mode with Command Promt.
3. Loging and the Command Prompt will be opened.
4. Type regedit.exe
5. Browse through...
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.exe\ node
6. If you find anything other than OpenWithList & OpenWithProgIDs (in my case UserProgAssoc) , needs to be deleted. The Thrird key might have notepad.exe defined in that..
7. You might find that the custom key cannot be deleted.. So Right-Click->Permission.
8. Then Click Advanced and openn and add FULL control to the current logged in user. To be safe set all with Full Control. And APPLY. (Make sure all inherited are selected or checked)
9. Now you should be able to delete the third or forth key which is causing this massive problem..
10. Once deleted then SHUTDOWN and restart normally...
Thats all ....enjoy

How to Make .Cue File In Notepad ?

open up notepad n type (or copy n paste) this:


FILE "NAME.BIN" BINARY
TRACK 01 MODE1/2352
INDEX 01 00:00:00

change the word NAME.BIN inside the quotation marks to whatever the name of your BIN file is.......

when you go to 'save as'

in the 'files of type' ..click on the arrow and change from text document (*.txt) to 'all files'

n name it the same as the bin file

for instance..if the bin file is anything.bin

save your cue file as anything.cue

after that save it, copy and paste the file too the folder with your bin file

Hide Computer Hard disk drive (C,D,E ,F-) Without Third Party Tools

We can hide any hard disk drives in Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 without using any third party software. We can do it from Disk Management page. Here you can select the drive letter and delete it. It will result the particular drive inaccessible in My Computer. So to hide any disk drive follow the steps below.

How to Hide Hard Disk Drive in Windows OS

1. Right Click on My Computer



2. Click on Manage

Now computer management Window will be opened.

3. Click on Disk Management


Now you should select the drive letter which you need to hide from the My Computer list. You should delete the drive from Disk Management to disable it and completely inaccessible for Windows. If you want to enable it again, you may create the drive letter once gain in Disk Management. So you can easily hide any hard drive drive in your Windows computer without the help of a third party tool.

How to prevent overheating pc?

Protect your Computer from overheating -keep PC cool

I am writing this post regarding the over heating of computer due to my today's experience. My computer suddenly stop working and shut down immediately. At first I wondered what is the reason behind this and I restated my computer. When my computer restarted it showed me the previous shutdown was due to processor over heat. Due to the over heating issue my computer shutdown immediately to avoid further damage.

Reasons for Computer Overheating issues

The major reasons for processor overheats are :

1. CPU fan failed to work

2. Heat sink issue

3. Dust inside the cabinet

4. Flow of hot air from cabinet blocked

5. PC Overclocking


If there is any heat related issues happen in your computer, at first place we should check your cabinet fan and processor fan. If the fans in your computer cabinet is not working properly, it can increase the temperature inside the CPU.

Another reason is heat sink may be not doing its job properly. Heat sink is the device which is designed to remove over heat from processor to surrounding air and keep the processor cool. The dust inside the cabinet can indirectly increase the temperature inside your computer cabinet. It can reduce the speed and functionality of your computer fan.

Another major reason for CPU overheating is the denial of free flow of hot air from your computer cabinet. This can increase the temperature inside your computer cabinet. PC overclocking too can increase the temperature produced by your CPU.

Solutions to avoid PC overheating issues

The first step we should do is to check whether the fans in your cabinet are working properly or not. If there is any issue with fans, change the fan immediately. Changing heat sink and revert back overclocking are other options to reduce computer overheating. Always make sure that hot air flow from your computer is not blocked by surrounding materials. If there is any dust inside your cabinet, clean that.

How to start WLAN AutoConfig (Wlansvc Service) in Windows 7 ?

WLAN AutoConfig is the display name of Wlansvc Service ,which is responsible for enabling your computer with supporting wireless adapter to be connected by other Windows network devices wirelessly. Sometimes this service will not be started in our Windows 7 computer by some reasons. So we may need to go to the service page and start this service manually.

Start WLAN AutoConfig

To start WLAN AutoConfig, follow the steps below.

1. Click on Start

2. On Search type services

3. Click on services


Now the services window will be opened. In the services window select the WLAN AutoConfig


Open this service and click on Start button. After starting the service click on Apply and OK.

Recover forgoten router password

Forgot my Router Password and cannot login: Recover Router Password

Most of the time in SOHO customer care service, they are getting calls regarding lost router password issues. The complaints are like I forgot my router password, I cannot log in to my wireless router or the password I set for the router is no longer working. Most of the time customer set a different password for their wireless router by changing the default password "admin" and later they fail to recall the password from memory. They need a way to recover their lost router password.


Recover Lost Router Password

Unfortunately for Routers belongs to standard Small Office Home Office devices category, there is no lost password recover procedure like high end routers. So practically we cannot recover the lost password and save the current router settings. Though we have a set of standard steps to troubleshoot this issue.


1. Check for the previous router password


In this step we should try to pick the previous router password from either memory or from any written documents. For an average user, there is a chance that he may write down the router password in his diary or other some papers.



2. Try default user name and password to login router

Some times the user may never change his default router user name and password. So it is worth to try the default user name and password to login his router. Default user name and password is the different combination of admin.

Try the following combination


1. Try both user name and password as admin

2. User name is admin and left password field blank

3. User Name is blank and password is admin


3. Reset Router Settings

If the above two options won't work, the last one is reset and reconfigure your router. To know the steps to reset your router click on the link below.

How to reset a router

After resetting the router you should reconfigure the router to get your Internet connection back. To do this check the link below.


Configuration Steps of SOHO Routers

1. Configure D link Wireless Router

2. How to configure BSNL Teracom Modem

3. Setup Belkin Wireless Router

4. Setup Linksys Wireless Router in PPPoE

5. Configure Linksys Wireless Range Expander
If you have a router from different manufacturer, follow the user manual to configure the router better. 

How to Reset a Router or Modem - Hard Reset and Soft Reset ?

In many instances we may need to reset the router or modem as the part of troubleshooting steps. Before starting explain how to reset your router, you should understand what is reset. By resetting your Router / Modem, your device will go back to the factory default settings and again you may need to configure it. So before resetting your router, you should better know how to re-configure your router.


Why should I reset my router ?

There are some situations like your router or modem stops responding or configured the device incorrectly, you may need to reset your device. Some times after upgrading to the latest router /modem firmware you may need to reset your router as instructed by the manufacturer.


Different methods to reset your router


There are three different types of router resetting.

1. Soft Reset

2. Reset

3. Hard Reset


Now let us examine each resetting methods.

1. Soft Reset

Soft reset is done by selecting the reset options through the router administration page(web interface). Depends on various firmwares and manufactures, this options comes in various forms like reset to factory default , reboot with factory settings etc. You should select the particular option and click on OK. Now the router start rebooting and after one minute it will be back with default factory settings. This kind of reset is known as soft reset.


2. Reset by holding reset button

If soft reset is not working for you, next option is holding the reset button of your router for 30 seconds and release your hands after it. You can find reset button usually near power button a small hole which can be pressed by pen tip or pin. So the procedure is:

1. Hold reset button using pen tip or pin for 30 seconds

2. Make sure power light is blinking while pressing reset button

3. Release your hands after 30 seconds and wait for one min

Now your router will be reset to factory default settings.

3. Hard Reset your Router


If the normal reset didn't work on your router, you can perform hard reset. It is the most powerful reset form for any kind of Small Office Home Office devices(SOHO) like routers and modems. Steps top perform hard reset on your router are:

1. Hold reset button for 30 seconds (make sure power light is blinking)

2. Unplug the power cable (never release your hands from holding reset button) for 30 seconds

3. Connect power cable and still hold reset button for 30 seconds


4. Release your hands now (you are continuously holding reset button for 90 seconds)

Now wait one minute and make sure power button is steady.



Configuration Steps of SOHO Routers


1. Configure D link Wireless Router

2. How to configure BSNL Teracom Modem

3. Setup Belkin Wireless Router

4. Setup Linksys Wireless Router in PPPoE

5. Configure Linksys Wireless Range Expander
If you have a router from different manufacturer, follow the user manual to configure the router better.

How to configure Linksys Range Expander (WRE54G)?

As our need increases people try to find a way to increase the range of the current wireless network. That end with the invention of Wireless Range Expander. To increase the range and accessibility of a wireless network from an access point or wireless router we need to add Wireless Range Expander or simply calling Wireless Repeater in our network.

Working of Wireless Repeater/Expander is like this device will receive signals from Wireless Access Point (Wireless Router) and repeat the same signal. So the available signal range doubles. In this tutorial I am going to write steps to configure or install one of the famous Range Expander - Linksys WRE54G on your network.


Range Expander

Steps to configure WRE54G to boost your wireless signals

The steps to configure wireless Range Expander on your computer network are:

1. Connect Range Expander to your computer using Ethernet cable.

2. On the Address bar of your browser type 192.168.1.240

The default IP address of Linksys Wireless Range expander is 192.168.1.240. After this press enter.

3. Log on to the setup page of WRE54G

The default user name:
Default Password : admin

There is no default user name for WRE54G and log on to the Range Expander setup page.

4. Enter the Wireless details present in the Wireless Access Point

We should enter the same details configured in the source wireless Access Point.



If the Wireless network is security enabled we need to set the same settings on our Range Expander. After entering the details click on save settings button.

How to Setup Linksys Wireless Router?

Many times its heard that configuring Linksys WRT54G Wireless G Router in PPPOE mode is difficult. So I have made a simple tutorial to configure WRT54G Wireless Router in PPPOE mode with simple steps and images. To learn how to configure other Linksys Router models click on the link below:

How to Setup Linksys Wireless Router

I started my computer networking career by supporting SOHO products mainly Linksys wireless products. I was assigned to a networking division which handle mainly Linksys wireless router where I assisted clients to implement linksys wireless router in their already existing networks or start a new small networks with Linksys wireless router. In this blog I wrote many articles to setup various models of Linksys wireless router and I think it will be useful if I join all the linksys router setup guides in a single post. Later in my career Cisco bought Linksys and it become Linksys Cisco. With the guidance of Cisco, Linksys introduced many high quality wireless router in market. Most of the Linksys wireless router's have similar kind of configuration steps but in some Linksys models it is different. Here I am planing to give a common setup guide for all kind of Linksys router models and give links to specific Linksys setup guides. So it will be easy for you to follow the common setup steps and then select the model number of your Linksys Wireless router and follow the respective link to configure specific linksys wireless router.

Common Steps to setup all kind of Linksys Wireless Router

The steps I am providing here are common for all kind of Linksys Router. So you do not worry about the model you own.


1. Make sure you can go online before adding Linksys Router in your network


This is the very basic step in Linksys Router setup process. You should always make sure that you can access Internet before configuring and connecting Linksys Router to your Network. To do this make sure the computer connected to your modem and you can access Internet.


2. Check the Modem IP address and type of Internet Connection

Next important step in Linksys wireless router setup procedure is to check the modem IP address. We should check whether you are using DSL connection or Cable Internet connection. Configuration steps of Linksys router for DSL and Cable Internet are different. If you are not so techie to know how to find the Internet connection type, I recommend you to contact your ISP customer support and verify your Internet connection type. Now you should check the IP address of the modem. To do this please follow steps in one of my previous article.

How to Find Login IP address of a Modem

You should note the Modem IP address because we need this information while configuring Linksys router.


3. Connect your computer to Linksys Wireless Router

Disconnect modem from computer and follow the steps below.

i. Connect computer LAN port to Linksys Router LAN port

You can use an Ethernet cable (comes with Linksys router) to connect your computer to any one of the LAN ports on Linksys wireless router.

ii. Turn on your Linksys Wireless Router

Setup Linksys Wireless Router without setup CD

The steps I am presenting here do not need the setup disc comes with Linksys Router.

4. Login to Linksys Wireless Router


To login to Linksys Router, follow the steps below.

i. Type 192.168.1.1 on address bar of browser

ii. Enter user name and password

Usually there is no user name for Linksys router and password is admin.

So it would be like:

UserName:
Password : admin

Then press enter to login Linksys Wireless Router.


5. Change the Linksys Router IP address according to modem IP address


If the modem IP address is 192.168.1.1, we should change Linksys router IP address to 192.168.2.1. If the modem IP address is something else, you should not change the IP address of Links Router.

After this you should click on Save Settings button


6. How to Setup Links Linksys Router for Cable Internet connection


To know more about how to configure Linksys wireless router for cable Internet connection click on the link below.

Configure Linksys Router in PPPOE mode

Configure WRT54G Wireless Router in PPPOE mode

Step 1: Make sure that you can go online by connecting your computer to the modem (Without connecting WRT54G router in the network).

Step 2: Connect your computer to the one of the LAN port of WRT54G.

Step 3: Connect the modem to the WAN Port of WRT54G and all devices should be powered on.



Linksys Wireless G Router

Step 4: Open Internet Explorer and type the default IP Address of the Router. The default IP address of WRT54G is 192.168.1.1 and press enter.





Step 5: After Entering the default user name and Password you will log on to the Router Setup page.

Default user name : {mo user name}
Default Password : admin






Update: To configure in PPPOE there is no need to change the current Local IP Address.

Step 6: On setup page select PPPOE instead of "Automatic Configuration DHCP"





Step 7: Enter the user name and Password provided by your Internet Service Provider and click on save.





Step 8: Click on status bar and click on connect button.

Setup Belkin Wireless N router by accessing the setup page

In this tutorial I am explaining the steps to configure Belkin Wireless N router F5D8233-4 by accessing the web based setup page. Usually geeks are configuring there Wireless routers by accessing their router setup page ,not by running the setup CD from Belkin. If you want to configure without dirty your hand by running the setup CD ,click on the link provided below.



How to Configure Belkin wireless router by running setup CD

On this page you will get instructions to run the CD and configure the wireless router. To set advance settings on your router it is better configure router by accessing the web based setup page and set the settings manually.

Steps to configure Belkin Wireless N router

Before accessing the web based setup page connect your router to the computer as shown in the figure. Here Ethernet port of the computer is connected to the LAN port of Belkin router using an Ethernet cable.



Now unplug the power cable from the modem. Let the Belking router and the computer powered on. Steps to setup Belking Router by accessing the steup page are:

1. Access Belkin setup page

To access Belkin's web based setup page type 192.168.2.1 on the address bar of the browser.

The default IP address of Belkin Wireless N router F5D8233-4 is 192.168.2.1



2. Enter the password while it prompts

By default there is no password set for the router and you just simply click submit button to log on to router setup page.




3. Setup the connection type ( Internet WAN)

Click on Internet WAN and select the connection type you want.




If you select the Dynamic IP option the window will be like this.



If you select PPPoE configuration from Belkin connection type the page will look like:


Here you should enter the user name and password provided by your Internet Service Provider. After entering the details you should click on save settings. Now your Belkin router is configured in PPPoE. In the same way your can setup your Belkin router for static IP and PPTP.

4. Change the LAN settings in Belkin Router

You can change the router IP address and you can enable or disable the DHCP function on the Belkin router using this window. By default belkin router IP address is 192.168.2.1 but you can change it to any other valid IP address.




5. Setup Wireless feature in Belkin Router

To edit the wireless settings click on Wireless tab in the setup page. You can edit the Wireless network name and wireless channel here.



Wireless name (SSID) is the name of your wireless network. The most recommended wireless channel is 6. You can use wireless channel 1 and 11 too.

6. Enable Wireless Security in Belkin

To enable wireless security on Belkin router click on security under wireless tab and follow the instructions in the link below.

enable wireless security in Belkin wireless router





You should update Belkin Router Firmware

It is very important that you should update Belkin router firmware after configuring the router. To know how to update the firmware read below.

Update Firmware of Belkin Wireless N Router

For getting the optimum performance from a device we need to update the firmware of that device. Belkin releases the new updated firmware for their products to improve the features and fix the known bugs in the earlier one. So it is our duty to update our wireless router with latest firmware release.

How to check if I am having latest firmware in Belkin Router

To check it follow the steps below.

1. Log on to Belkin router

To know how to log on to belkin wireless router click on the link below.

Access Belkin setup page

2. Click on Utilities and under Utilities you can see Firmware Update.



3. Click on Check Firmware version.


If you have an old version of firmware it will show you that and will give an option to download the latest version of firmware.

Download Latest version of Firmware

To download the latest version of firmware follow the instruction given by the router after click on the button check the firmware version.



1. Click on Download Firmware Now

2. Save the Firmware on your Desktop


Update Belkin Router's Firmware

To update routers firmware go to the update Firmware page again.

1. Click on Update

2. You will be asked if you are sure you want to continue.



Click “OK” to continue.

3. One more alert will come as in the image below.

Allow firmware updation on Belkin Router

Click OK to continue.

4. Now the router starts reboot. After rebooting the Belkin wireless router the firmware version will be updated to the latest version. You can verifie it by following the first steps provided in this post.

Setup Wireless and Security in Teracom BSNL Modem / Router

Majority of BSNL wireless broadband modems belongs to Teracom and here I am writing a small tutorial to setup wireless and wireless security in BSNL Teracom modem. This Wireless router has routing feature and can connect more than one computer to the network if DHCP server is enabled in the modem. Here I am writing wireless configuration steps and hope you found it helpful.

Configure BSNL Teracom Modem Wireless security

Steps to configure BSNL Teracom Wireless settings are:

1. Login to BSNL Teracom Wireless Modem

The default modem IP address is 192.168.1.1 and type this number on the address bar of your browser and press enter. Now you will be prompted to enter Teracom modem user name and password.




Default BSNL modem user name and password is :

User Name: admin
Password : admin


Now click OK to login Teracom modem. Now you will be in BSNL overview page.


If you are looking for help to configure Internet on your BSNL Modem, click on the link below.

Configure Internet connection in BSNL Teracom Modem


2. Go to BSNL Wireless Settings Page

Click on Wireless Network which located under Configuration tab.



First of all you should turn on wireless by checking enable button opposite to Wireless Network. Here you can change the Wireless network name(SSID) of your wireless network by typing any name which you like in wireless Network.

3. Enable Wireless Security in BSNL Teracom Modem

To enable wireless security in BSNL modem follow the steps below.

i. Select proper wireless encryption from the drop down menu opposite to security options.


If you are a home user and just need a security and not worried much about it, the easier one is WEP 64 Bit Encryption. If you select this as the security option , you can type any hexa decimal number ( 0-9 and A-F) as the wireless key. Don't forget to click on confirm button. Now onwards you need to enter this ten digit key to log in to your wireless network.

Configure Internet Connection in BSNL Teracom Modem

To configure Internet in BSNL Teracom modem we don't need to follow the steps in the setup CD. We can directly login to the Teracom modem and configure the Internet by typing the user name and Password from BSNL. Here I am presenting the steps to configure BSNL Teracom modem in PPPoE configuration.

Configure Internet Connection in BSNL Teracom Modem

To configure Internet connection in Teracom modem follow the steps below.


1. Login to BSNL Teracom Wireless Modem

Type 192.168.1.1 on the address bar of your browser to login Teracom modem.



Default BSNL modem user name and password is :

User Name: admin
Password : admin

Click OK. Now you will be on BSNL modem configuration page.


2. Click on Configuration Tab

Now click on Internet Connection to configure Internet in BSNL Teracom modem.



3. Remove old connections configured in BSNL mode
If you see any connections already made in the modem ,select the connection and remove them.



4. Add new connection in BSNL modem

Now click on the add button on the bottom of the page to create a new connection.


Now add following parameters in Internet Connection Configuration.
PVC Name: PVC0

VCI : 35

Service Category : UBR with PCR

Keep all other information the default and click Next.

5. Configure Connection Type

Now select PPP Over Ethernet (PPPoE) and LLC/ SNAP.



Now click Next.

6. Configure WAN IP Settings in BSNL Modem

Select Obtain IP Automatically. Make sure NAT and Default Route is checked.



Click on Next.

7. Set User Name and Password in BSNL Modem


Now type the user name and password provided by BSNL and click Next.

Now you will come to the summary page.


Click on Apply.

8. Reboot BSNL Modem

Click on Admin tab and then click on reboot.


From drop down menu select Last and click on Reboot. Now wait 1 minute to let the modem reboot. After this close the window and check your Internet connection.

How to configure D-link WBR-2310 Wireless Router?

WBR-2310 is a wireless router from D-link. To configure this wireless router follow the steps below.

Steps to setup D-Link WBR-2310 Wireless router

1. Connect D-link Router WBR-2310 to your computer

Your computer should be connected to the LAN port of WBR-2310 using an Ethernet cable.Power on the router after connecting the router to your computer.

2. Log on to D-link WBR-2310 Wireless Router

To logon to WBR-2310 wireless router type the default IP address of the router on the address bar. The default IP address of the D-Link router is 192.168.0.1

Before log on to the router it will ask you the user name and password. For a default D-link router

User Name : admin
Password :

There is no default password for D-link WBR-2310 Wireless Router.



3. Click on Setup Wizard

To configure the router in an easy way click on the button Setup Wizard.



4. Click on Launch Internet Connection Setup Wizard

To configure the Internet connection in this D-link router, click on the button Launch Internet Connection Setup Wizard.


Now the wizard will show you what steps it is going to complete while running the wizard. Click Next to continue.



5. Create new Password For your router



Setup wizard will prompt you to create a new password for your WBR-2310 Wireless Router. After entering the password click on next.

6. Select your Time Zone

Now the setup wizard will prompt you to select your time zone.



7. Configure Internet connection for WBR-2310 Wireless Router

Now you will get the option to setup the Internet connection for your Wireless router.


After selecting the Internet type which is provided by your ISP click on save settings.

How to connect two Computers using USB cable?

Can I connect two Computers using USB cable

There is one common misunderstanding present among newbies in computer networking. Many think like we can connect two computers directly by only using Ethernet cables and not by USB cables. They argue like USB cable is not designed to connect two computers directly. But it is old man's story and connecting two computers using USB cable is so easy as connecting two computers using Ethernet cable.

USB cable use to connect two computers

The type of USB cable which is used to connect two computers directly is called Bridged USB cable. It is available in two different USB standards. They are USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 ,

The difference of standard is based on the speed of data transfer. In USB 1.1 the data transfer speed is 12 Mbps and that in USB 2.0 is 480 Mbps. It is very important to note that no other USB cables are designed for the purpose of connecting two computers directly. Using wrong USB cables to connect two computers may harm the USB ports of your computers.



Modes of working of Bridge cable

The bridged USB cable works in two different modes. They are

1. Link mode

2. Network Mode

In link mode two computers are connected through the bridged USB cable and the file sharing is enabled. In network mode multiple computers are connected and in addition to the file sharing the Internet too shared.


So it is very important to note that using wrong USB cables may harm your computer. So you should use Bridge USB cables to connect two computers directly.

How to prevent copying files to USB drive without disable USB port ?

Today early morning my friend called me for an urgent help. He is working as a network administrator for a small company and he want to disable copying content from working computer to USB drives (pen drives). I told him simply disable the USB port and fix the issue. Then he said according to the company policy he cannot disable USB port and the computer should read files from the USB drive. So in a nutshell he want to read files from the USB drive on his company computers but don't want to copy files from his company computer to the USB drive. He is in a confusion that is it possible to block writing files to the USB drive without prevent reading from it.


I too at first confused with this strange company policy. Then I realize it is very simple to do. We can enable write protection on USB by GP edit or registry edit. I told him to enable write protection on USB in all the working computer and that will resolve the issue. It is very simple to enable write protection on USB ports in registry.

Prevent copy files to USB drive without disable USB

To perform this we need to edit some registry entries. To do this registry edition follow the steps below.


1. Click on start and go to Run

2. Type regedit on run window and click OK

Now the registry editor will be opened. Now follow


HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\StorageDevicePolicies

3. Create a DWORD value called ‘WriteProtect‘ and set it to 1.


To disable write protect on USB drives change the DWORD to 0.

How to Disable/Enable USB Ports?

In this tutorial I am discussing the steps to disable USB Ports from registry. I advice you to take a backup of current registry before starting any registry tweaks.

Steps to disable USB Ports from registry

The steps to disable USB Ports from registry are:

1. Click on start and go to Run

2. Type regedit on Run window and press enter

Now the registry editor will be opened.

3. Navigate to following registry path

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\UsbStor

4. Click on UsbStor and a list of attributes will be displayed on the right panel.



5. Double click on start and set the hexadecimal value to 4 and click OK.

Now the USB ports on your computer will be disabled.

How to enable USB Ports on your computer

To enable USB Port on your computer follow the steps 1 to 4 and set the hexadecimal value to 3 on start.


To know the tips to disable USB ports from BIOS click on the link below.

Disable USB Ports on your computer from BIOS for other admins

Some times we need to block access to USB ports for other users on your computer. If they too have the admin right it will be a Herculean task to disable USB ports to other users using third party tools. So the only option left is disable the USB ports from BIOS and set a password for BIOS. So other users with admin right cannot enable the USB feature on your computer. OK here I assume they cannot remove and replace the CMOS battery.

Steps to disable USB ports for other users with Admin Right

To disable USB ports for other users with administrative privilege follow the steps below.

1. Reboot your computer

2. Press [F2] or [Del] as told in the mother board manual

3. Enter BIOS by entering BIOS password

4. Select Advanced

5. Select USB Configuration and press enter

6. Select the option to disable USB ports


To enable USB ports on your computer you need to enter BIOS and enable the USB Ports. The steps are the same except the last step. We need to enable the USB ports instead of disable.

How to check if someone is invisible in gtalk ?

It will be interesting to check if one user is really signed out from the Google talk or he is in invisible mode. Please note that this trick works only if the user-id is online from gtalk and not from gmail. I will explain the reason why it is applicable to gtalk only.

Steps to check whether one user is offline or invisible in google talk

The steps to check whether the gtalk user is online or offline are:

1. Log on to gtalk or gmail

2.Go to chat settings (In gmail click on options under chat contacts)



3. Select the button Never save chat history




4. Save changes

Now you can send an Instant Message to a gtalk user and if the user is really signed off ,you will get an alert like "User did not receive your chat".




If the gtalk user is invisible we will never get this alert.

Note: This trick will not work if the user is chatting with you from gmail. Even though he is offline the offline chat will be saved as emails in the users account.