How to Fix Msvcp71.dll and Msvcr71.dll missing error

29 December, 2011

Do you get Msvcp71.dll and Msvcr71.dll missing error when running a program in Windows 7? Both are Microsoft C Runtime Library files and it seems as if Microsoft forgot to add them to Windows 7. Some programs require you to have both files for it to work successfully.


We have uploaded both dll files for you(grab them from the bottom of this page),
but the bigger question is how to install them?
Before we begin, have a look at the errors in the screenshot below.

Installation In Windows 7 32-bit OS

If you are using Windows 7 32-bit then you need to put both dll files inside Windows/System32 folder as shown in the screenshot below.

Installation In Windows 7 64-bit OS

If you are using Windows 7 64-bit then you need to put both dll files inside the Windows/SysWOW64 folder as shown in the screenshot below.



We have put both dll files inside one zip archive, simply extract them and follow the above guidelines to install them.

Download Link
OR

Mirror

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How to use parental Controls in Windows 7

23 December, 2011

 Parental constrols help you manage how you want others to use the computer. For example, you can set limits on the hours that your children can use the computer, the types of games they can play, and the programs they can run.

When Parental Controls blocks access to a game or program, a notification is displayed that the program has been blocked. Your child can click a link in the notification to request permission for access to that game or program. You can allow access by entering your account information.


Note: To Set up Parental Controls for any user, you'll need your own administrator user account. Before you get started, make sure each user/person that you want to set up Parental Controls for has a standard user account. Parental Controls can be applied only to standard user accounts.

Steps to Apply Parental Controls:

1. Click the Start button to view the Start Menu and then choose the Control Panel option.

2. The Control Panel window opens up. Click on the All Control Panel Items.

3. Window shows all control panel items. Click on Parental Controls.



If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation. Window opens up.

4. Click the standard user account that you want to set Parental Controls for. Eg. Click on Child account.

5. Under Parental Controls, click On, enforce current settings.

6. Once you've turned on Parental Controls for your child's standard user account, you can adjust the following individual settings that you want to control:

6.1 Time limits. Click Time Limits. You can set time limits to control when children are allowed to log on to the computer. Time limits prevent children from logging on during the specified hours. You can set different logon hours for every day of the week. If they're logged on when their allotted time ends, they'll be automatically logged off. Click Ok.

6.2 Games. Click on Games. You can control access to games, choose an age-rating level, choose the types of content you want to block, and decide whether you want to allow or block unrated or specific games.

Specify which games children can play. Click on Set game ratings, the window opens up.

6.3 Block or allow specific games.

7. Allow or block specific programs. You can prevent children from running programs that you don't want them to run.

Click on Allow or block specific programs in the User Control window.

Choose the option Child can only use the programs I allow and check the programs from the list you want to allow and click Ok.



Click Ok to apply Parental Controls to the account Child.

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How To Enable Or Disable Network Discovery In Windows 7

18 December, 2011

Network Discovery option allows you to configure your computer so that you can make your computer visible or invisible in network. When Network Discovery option is turned ON in your PC, other users in your network can find your computer. To configure this option, proceed with the following steps:




1. Click Start –> Control Panel
2. Make sure the “View by:” is set to “Large icons” or “Small icons”. Click on “Network and Sharing Center”. option.

3. In the left pane of the Network and Sharing Center”, “Change advanced sharing settings”. option.

4. Expand “Home or Work” section by clicking on the drop down arrow as shown in the screen shot below.

5. Check the radio button “ Turn on network discovery”.

6. Click “Save Changes” button.
That’s it. Your PC will now be visible in Network.
At any point of time, if you wish to hide your PC in network, check the option”Turn off network discovery” and click “Save changes” button.

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How to Shrink System partition in Windows 7

14 December, 2011

The system partition (meaning the partition on which the operating system is installed on) is a place that just begs for more space as time goes by. In most cases, proper design before the installation of the operating system will prevent you from having to extend that system partition (read more about it in article on how to extend the system partition in Windows 7)

Previous Microsoft operating systems had some internal mechanism to shrink partitions. But there were limitations on these operations. Some 3rd-party applications could (and still can) be used to extend partitions, but in this article, like the one mentioned above, we want to focus on internal tools.

Windows 7 allows for an easy, out-of-the-box, method of shrinking partitions (any partition, including the system partition) and making them smaller.

2 Ways to Complete this task

1. Shrink with GUI interface:

1. Log on as an Administrator.

2. Go to Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Administrative Tools > Computer Management. You can also open the Computer Management application by using the Computer context menu. Select Computer Management.

In fact, you can go directly to the Disk Management MMC snap-in by typing diskmgmt.msc in the Start's search box or on the Run command.

If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

3. Expand the Storage section, and in it go to the Disk Management console.

4. Select the disk you want to shrink, for example Drive C.

5. Right-click the disk and select Shrink Volume.

6. Process will take a few moments, while the system is looking at the partition structure. Note that it would be best to make sure that that partition was properly defragmented prior to trying to shrink it.

7. When calculation is done, the UI will display the largest amount of space that can be trimmed from the selected partition. Please note, again, that this size is related to the actual amount of free space on that partition (i.e. you cannot shrink more that there is free space), and the amount of file fragmentation on that partition.

Enter the amount in MB and click on the Shrink button.

8. The process will finish quite quickly, and a reboot is NOT required. You can notice the new partition size. Also note that you now have a remaining unused part on the hard drive.

 

Related:

Installation of Windows 7 

Windows Xp Mode in Windows 7 

Common problems in Windows  

USB Password Locker in winows 7

2. Shrink with Command line interface: 

Extending a partition or volume can be done via the CLI, or command line interface. In order to do that perform the following steps:
1. Click Start and type CMD, then press Enter. It is best to run the Command Prompt as an Administrator. To do so, right-click CMD and select "Run as Administrator".
BTW, you can also hover over the CMD line and press CTRL + SHIFT + ENTER to invoke the "Run as Administrator" shortcut.
2. In the command prompt type

Diskpart

3. Select the right disk drive and partition to work on. Typically, in Windows 7, this should be disk 0 and partition 2, but please make sure you do select the right disk and partition before continuing. You can do so by performing a LIST operation to view your existing disks and partitions BEFORE attempting to expand the wrong partition.

List disk
Select disk 0
List partition
Select partition 2

4. When the right disk and partitions were selected, run the SHRINK command which reduces the size of the volume with focus by the specified amount, and makes free disk space available from unused space at the end of the volume.
SHRINK has some parameters we need to talk about:
DESIRED=<N> - Specifies the desired amount of space in megabytes (MB) to reduce the size of the volume by. If a desired amount is not specified, the volume will be reduced by the maximum amount of free space available on the volume.
MINIMUM=<N> - Specifies the minimum amount of space in MB to reduce the size of the volume by.
QUERYMAX - Returns the maximum number of bytes that the volume can be reduced by (the free space available on the volume). This value may change if applications are currently accessing the volume.
If a MINIMUM amount is not specified, the volume will be reduced by either the DESIRED amount (if specified), or by the maximum amount of free space available on the volume. If a MINIMUM amount is specified but not enough free space is available, the command will fail. This command works on basic volumes, and on simple or spanned dynamic volumes. You can reduce the size of a volume only if it is formatted using the NTFS file system or if it does not have a file system.

For example:

Shrink QUERYMAX

The above command will return the maximum number of bytes that the volume can be reduced.

shrink DESIRED=500 MINIMUM=250

Will shrink the partition by 500 MB, if possible, and if it cannot shrink by 500 MB, it will at least attempt to shrink it by 250 MB.

shrink DESIRED=10000

Will shrink the partition by 10000 MB.



5. You may check the new partition size by running the list command, again.

List partition

6. You must now exit DISKPART by using the Exit command.

Exit

BTW, as a general tip and so that you know, you can use the above procedures also on Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

Related:

Drive Encryption in windows 7
Network topology
Common Installation Errors in Windows 7

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How to password lock USB with Bitlocker

13 December, 2011

How it works:
 
Basically, BitLocker To Go allows you to encrypt a USB drive and restrict access with a password. Without the password, the USB drive is worthless. When you connect the USB drive to a Windows 7 computer, you are prompted for the password and upon entering it you can read and write to the drive as you normally would.

During the encryption process, Windows 7 installs a special reader on the USB drive. When you connect the USB drive to a computer running XP or Vista, the BitLocker To Go Reader takes control, prompts for the password, and then basically makes the USB drive a read-only device.

BitLocker To Go can be used by both home and business users.

Settitng up a USB Drive:

Setting up BitLocker To Go on a USB drive is a simple procedure. Once you insert a USB drive, right-click on it and select the Turn on BitLocker command from the menu, as shown in below

When you right- click on na USB drive in windows 7, you can see tthe turn on Bitlocker command

As soon as you do, BitLocker To Go will begin initializing your USB drive, as shown in below. The process is nondestructive, so you don’t have to worry about any data that is already on the drive.

When Bitlocker TO GO initiallize your USB Drive , You dont have to worry about any data that is already on the drive

Once the initialization process is complete, BitLocker To Go will prompt you to set up a password that you will use to unlock the drive, as shown in below. If you have a smart card, you can use its PIN to unlock the drive.

You can use a password or a smart card to unlock a Bitlocker To GO protected drive
After you set up a password or use a smart card, BitLocker To Go will prompt you to store a recovery key, as shown in below. You can use the recovery key to unlock your drive in the event that you forget the password or lose your smart card.

Ensure that you don't lock yourself out of your drive, Bitlocker To GO will create a recovery key.

When you create the password and save your recovery key, you’ll be prompted to begin the encryption process, as shown in below

You will be prompted to begin the encryption process once you save the recovery key.
During the encryption process, you’ll see a standard progress monitor that will keep you apprised of the operation, as shown in below. The amount of time that it will take to complete the process will depend on how large the drive is. As you can see, there is a Pause button that will allow you to temporarily halt the process should you need to perform another task.

A Progress monitor will keep you apprised of the encryption process
Of course, once the encryption is complete, BitLocker To Go displays a confirmation dialog box and changes the icon associated with the encrypted drive, as shown in below

When the encryption is complete, you’ll notice that the drive icon shows a lock on the drive.

Using a BitLocker To Go encrypted drive in Windows 7

When you later insert the BitLocker To Go encrypted drive in the Windows 7 system, you will immediately be prompted to enter the password, as shown in below. If you wish, you can select the Show Password Characters as I Type Them check box, so that you can see the letters; otherwise, you’ll see asterisks. After you type the password, you can select the Automatically Unlock on This Computer from Now On check box to store the password in Windows 7’s password cache.

When you insert the BitLocker To Go encrypted drive in Windows 7 system, you will immediately be prompted for a password.

Once you click Unlock, you’ll see an AutoPlay dialog box that prompts you to view the files or use ReadyBoost, as shown in below. When you click the Open Folder to View Files button, you will be able to access the drive and its contents as you normally would.

When the AutoPlay dialog box appears, click the Open Folder to View Files button.

Using a BitLocker To Go encrypted drive in Windows XP/Vista

When you insert the BitLocker To Go encrypted drive in a Windows XP or Vista system, you will see an AutoPlay dialog box that prompts you to install the BitLocker To Go Reader, as shown in below . When you click this button, it will take just a moment to install and run the Reader.

When you insert the BitLocker To Go encrypted drive in a Windows XP or Vista system, you will be prompted to install the BitLocker To Go Reader.

You’ll then see the BitLocker To Go Reader dialog box, which will prompt you to enter your password, as shown in below. Notice that the Automatically Unlock on This Computer from Now On check box is missing from this dialog box. However, the Show Password Characters check box is still available.

BitLocker To Go Reader will prompt you to enter your password.

After you type the password and click the Unlock button, you’ll see the BitLocker To Go Reader window, which essentially looks like Windows Explorer, as shown in below. However, it doesn’t work like Windows Explorer.

The BitLocker To Go Reader window allows you to access files on an encrypted drive on a Windows XP or Vista system.

If you attempt to open any file by double-clicking it in the BitLocker To Go Reader window, you’ll immediately be prompted to copy the file to the desktop, as shown in below  — you won’t be able to open the file on the USB drive.

You cannot open files on an encrypted drive from the BitLocker To Go Reader.

If you attempt to copy a file from the computer to the BitLocker To Go Reader window, you’ll immediately see the error message shown in below.

You cannot copy files to an encrypted drive from the BitLocker To Go Reader.

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