Monday, November 7, 2011

Office 2010 Starter Edition To-Go Device Available on USB Flash Drive

Summary

What is an Office Starter To-Go:

Ø      An Office Starter To-Go device allows customers to carry Office Starter programs on a USB Flash Drive and use it on other systems regardless of whether Microsoft Office is pre-installed or not.

Ø      This feature has been introduced with Office 2010 and is not available with any previous Office versions.

Advantages:

Ø      Office Starter To-Go can be used even after "n" number of OSRI (Operating System Reinstallation) has been performed on the system.

Ø      It can be used on all DELL systems with Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1), 32-bit version or Windows 7 OS.

Ø      Office Starter To-Go can be used on FIHD (Factory Installed Hard Drive) systems which do not have Office Starter pre-installed.

To create a Microsoft Office Starter To-Go device, Please Follow the below mentioned Steps:

  1. If Excel Starter or Word Starter is open, click File, click Help, and then click Take Office With You.                                                                                                                                                  If Excel Starter or Word Starter is not open, click the Windows Start button, click All Programs, click Microsoft Office Starter, then click Microsoft Office 2010 Tools, and then click Microsoft Office Starter To-Go Device Manager 2010.

  1. If this is the first time you have run the device manager, the device manager displays a message telling you that it must download files from the Internet. Click Start to continue.
  2. Plug your device into your computer's USB port.
  3. Click the device.


 NOTE    If there is not enough space on the device, remove some files. Go to the Windows Start menu, click Computer, double-click the device and delete files until you have enough free space. In the Windows Taskbar, click Microsoft Office Starter To-Go Device Manager. Remove the device and plug it back in to refresh information in the device manager.

  1. Click Install.
  2. Leave your device connected to your computer while the device manager copies the necessary files to it.

When you're ready to use your new device on another computer, do the following:

  1. Plug the Office Starter To-Go device into any computer where you have administrator rights.
  2. On the Windows Start menu, click Computer, and then click the device.
  3. Click Office.exe, and then click the program you want to run: Word Starter or Excel Starter.

WARNING   Do not remove the device while Office Starter is running. If the Office Starter To-Go device is removed while Office Starter is running, Office Starter programs will shut down, and any unsaved data will be lost.

  1. As you use your device to store files on it, be sure to leave at least five megabytes (5 MB) of free space for your Office Starter settings to be saved. Settings include personal preferences, such as your custom dictionary and color scheme. Also, leave as much free space as possible to receive background updates for Office Starter To-Go, which are downloaded from the Internet.
  2. When you are finished using Office Starter, close the programs, and close Microsoft Office Starter To-Go.

Office Starter To-Go remains available in the Windows Taskbar.

Note    You can re-open Office Starter while the device is plugged in by right-clicking Office Starter To-Go in the Taskbar, and then clicking Open.
  1. Right-click Office Starter To-Go in the Taskbar, click Close, and then clickSafely Remove Hardware in the Taskbar, and click the device.
Windows tells you whether it is safe to remove the device. You may need to close other applications—for example, if the device is displayed in Windows Explorer, close Windows Explorer, and then try the Safe to Remove Hardware program again.
  1. Remove the device when it is safe to do so.
When you remove the device, you take Office Starter with you. Office Starter is not installed on the computer.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

System Sleep States: S0, S1, S2, S3, S4 & S5


The overall power consumption of the system is referred to as System Power States. There are a total of six different power states ranging from S0 (the system is completely powered ON and fully operational) to S5 (the system is completely powered OFF) and the States (S1, S2, S3 and S4) are referred to as sleeping states, in which the system appears OFF because of low power consumption and retains enough of the hardware context to return to the working state without a system reboot.

Ø      System Power State S0 the ON state: The system is completely operation, fully powered and completely retains the context.

Ø      System Power State S1 the Sleep state: The system consumes less power than S0 state. All Hardware & Processor context is maintained.

Ø      System Power State S2 the Sleep state: The system consumes less power than S1 state. Processor loses power and processor context and contents of the cache are lost.

Ø      System Power State S3 the Sleep state: The system consumes less power than S2 state. Processor & Hardware context, cache contents, and chipset context are lost. The system memory is retained.

Ø      System Power State S4 the Hibernate state: The system consumes the least power compared to all other sleep states. The system is almost at an OFF state, expect for a trickle power. The context data is written to hard drive (disk)and there is no context retained.

Ø      System Power State S5 the OFF state:The system is in a shutdown state and the system retains no context. Note that in power state S4 the system can restart from the context data stored on the disk, but in S5 the system requires a reboot.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

File and Printer Sharing in Windows Vista


The differences in file and printer sharing in Windows Vista are the following:
  • The default workgroup name in Windows Vista has been changed to WORKGROUP. In Windows® XP Home Edition, the default workgroup name is MSHOME. If you upgrade a computer running Windows XP Home Edition to Windows Vista, it will keep its existing workgroup name. However, new computers with Windows Vista can have a different workgroup name than the other computers on your network. With different workgroups, it takes more time and effort to view all of the computers on the network.
  • Windows Vista uses the Public folder, rather than the Shared Documents folder in Windows XP, to simplify file sharing. With Public folder sharing enabled, the public folders and all of the folders within the Public folder are automatically shared with the name Public. You do not have to configure file sharing on separate folders. You only have to either move or copy the file or folder you want to share on the network to the Public folder.
  • Windows Vista by default does not allow simple file sharing. Access to shared folders, including the public folder (if shared), requires a user name and password. Simple file sharing is enabled by default in Windows XP Home Edition.
Configuring file and printer sharing behavior in Windows Vista consists of the following:
  • Setting the workgroup name to be the same as the other computers
  • Setting the network location type
  • Enabling file and printer sharing options
Setting the Workgroup Name
For easier and faster discovery of computers on your home network, it is highly recommended that all computers on a home network be configured for the same workgroup name. If computers are in multiple workgroups, it can take additional time and effort to discover all of the computers on the network.
To find out the existing workgroup name for a computer running Windows XP, do the following:
1.       Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
2.       In the System Properties dialog box, click the Computer Name tab and note the name of the workgroup.
Figure 1 shows an example.

Figure 1: The workgroup name in Windows XP
To find out the existing workgroup name for a computer running Windows Vista, click Start, right-click Computer, and then click Properties.
In the System window, the workgroup name is listed in the Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings section. Figure 2 shows an example of the System window with the workgroup name highlighted.

Figure 2: The workgroup name in Windows Vista
To configure the workgroup name for a computer running Windows Vista:
1.       In the Computer name, domain, and workgroup settings section of the System window, click Change settings.
2.       On the Computer Name tab of the System Properties dialog box, click Change.
3.       In the Computer Name/Domain Changes dialog box, type the name of the workgroup being used by the other computers on your network in Workgroup, and then click OK. Figure 3 shows an example.
4.       When you are prompted with a welcome message box, click OK. When prompted with a message box to restart your computer, clickOK.
5.       Click Close. When prompted to restart the computer, click Restart Now.
Figure 3 shows an example of the Computer Name/Domain Changes dialog box.

Figure 3: An example of the Computer Name/Domain Changes dialog box
Setting the Network Location Type
The network location type in Windows Vista is a setting that allows Windows Vista to automatically configure security and other settings based on the type of network to which the computer is connected. The Windows Vista network location types are the following:
  • Domain The computer is connected to a network that contains an Active Directory domain controller for the domain to which the computer is joined. An example a domain network type is an organization intranet.
  • Public The computer is connected to a network that has a direct connection to the Internet. Examples of public network types are public Internet access networks such as those found in airports, libraries, and coffee shops.
  • Private The computer is connected to a network that has some level of protection from the Internet and contains known or trusted computers. Examples of private network types are home networks or small office networks that are located behind an Internet gateway device that provides firewalling against incoming traffic from the Internet.
For small office or home office networks, you want to make sure that the network location type is set to private.
To view the current network location type, do the following, click Start, right-click Network, and then click Properties.
The Network and Sharing Center window displays the network location type in parentheses after the network name. Figure 4 shows an example of the Network and Sharing Center window with the network location type highlighted.

Figure 4: An example of the Network and Sharing Center window
If your network type is Public, do the following:
1.       To the right of the network name and location type, click Customize.
2.       In the Set Network Location dialog box, click Private, and then click Next.
3.       In the Successfully set network settings dialog box, click Close.
Enabling File and Printer Sharing Options
By changing your network location type to private, network discovery is automatically enabled in the Sharing and Discovery section of the Network and Sharing Center window. The following additional file and printer sharing options must be manually enabled:
  • File sharing
  • Public folder sharing
  • Printer sharing
  • Password protected sharing
When all of these sharing and discovery options are enabled, your computer can:
  • Locate other computers and devices on your home network and have other computers locate your computer
  • Share its folders
  • Share its Public folder
  • Share its printers
  • Require user names and passwords for other computers that connect to the shared folders and printers of this computer
To enable file sharing, do the following:
1.       In the Sharing and Discovery section of the Network and Sharing Center window, click the down arrow next to File sharing.
2.       Within the File sharing settings, click Turn on file sharing, and then click Apply.
To enable public folder sharing, do the following:
1.       In the Sharing and Discovery section of the Network and Sharing Center window, click the down arrow next to Public folder sharing.
2.       Within the Public folder sharing settings, click one of the following:
·         If you want to share the public folder so that other computers on the network can access the Public share to open files, but not create or change files, click Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can open files. This is the default setting.
·         If you want to share the public folder so that other computers on the network can access the Public share to open files and also create or change files, click Turn on sharing so anyone with network access can open, change, and create files.
3.       Click Apply.
To enable printer sharing and share all of your connected printers, do the following:
1.       In the Sharing and Discovery section of the Network and Sharing Center window, click the down arrow next to Printer sharing.
2.       Within the Printer sharing settings, click Turn on printer sharing, and then click Apply.
To enable password protected sharing, do the following:
1.       In the Sharing and Discovery section of the Network and Sharing Center window, click the down arrow next to Password protected sharing.
2.       Within the Password protected sharing settings, click Turn on password protected sharing, and then click Apply.
Password Protected Sharing
With password protected sharing enabled, other computers on your network will not be able to access your shared folders, including the Public folder, without a user name or password that corresponds to a user account on the computer with the shared folder. When a user on another computer tries to connect to the shared folder, they will send the user name and password of the account that they used to log on to their own computer. For example, if they logged on to their computer with the "Bob" account and a password, then the "Bob" name with its password is sent when connecting to a shared folder on another computer.
If there is a "Bob" account with its password on the computer that is sharing the folder, the shared folder connection will be successful (provided the "Bob" account is specified as one of the accounts that can access the share). However, if there is no "Bob" account on the computer that is sharing the folder, the shared folder connection will fail and the user on the other computer will be prompted with a dialog box to type in a user name and password. At this point, the user on the computer attempting to connect can type the name and password of an account on the computer sharing the folder that is specified as one of the accounts that can access the share.
To prevent shared folder connection failures, you can do one of the following:
  • Add the same accounts and passwords to all of the computers on your network
For example, if you have three computers in your home and four family members that use them, add all four accounts with their passwords corresponding to your family members to all three computers. When this is done, each family member can access the shared folders of the other computers, regardless of which computer they are using. This is the recommended method, which provides protection of shared folders and prevents shared folder connection failures.
  • Disable password protected sharing
When you disable password protected sharing, the computer sharing the folder does not require a user account or password. Anyone on your network can access the shared folders of the computer (provided the folder was shared for the Guest or Everyone account). This behavior is equivalent to simple file sharing in Windows XP.
To disable password protected sharing, do the following:
1.       In the Sharing and Discovery section of the Network and Sharing Center window, click the down arrow next to Password protected sharing.
2.       Within the Password protected sharing settings, click Turn off password protected sharing, and then click Apply.
Sharing a Folder or Printer in Windows Vista
To share a folder in Windows Vista, do the following:
1.       Ensure that file sharing is enabled as described in the "Enabling File and Printer Sharing Options" section of this article.
2.       Click Start, and then click Computer.
3.       In the Computer window, navigate to the folder containing the folder that you want to share.
4.       Right-click the folder that you want to share, and then click Share. The File Sharing window is displayed.
5.       If you have password protected sharing enabled, use the File Sharing window to select which users can access the shared folder and their permission level. To allow all users, select Everyone in the list of users. By default, the permission level for a selected user is Reader. Users cannot change files or create new files in the share. To allow a user to change files or folders or create new files or folders, select Co-owner as the permission level. Figure 5 shows an example of configuring users and permission levels in the File Sharing window.
If you have password protected sharing disabled, use the File Sharing window to select the Guest or Everyone account. This is equivalent to simple file sharing in Windows XP.
6.       When complete, click Share, and then click Done.

Figure 5: An example of the File Sharing window
You can also share a folder from the folder's properties by doing the following:
1.       In the Computer window, navigate to the folder containing the folder that you want to share.
2.       Right-click the folder that you want to share, and then click Properties. Windows Vista displays the folder properties window.
3.       Click the Sharing tab. Figure 6 shows an example. Click Share for the File Sharing dialog box previously described. To configure advanced sharing options, click Advanced Sharing.

Figure 6: An example of the Sharing tab for the properties of a folder
When you click Advanced Sharing, Windows Vista displays the Advanced Sharing dialog box. Figure 7 shows an example.

Figure 7: An example of the Advanced Sharing dialog box
From this dialog box, you can do the following:
  • Create more than one share for the same folder with different share names.
Click Add to specify the new share name, a description for the share, the number of users allowed to connect, and share permissions (by default, the Everyone group has Read permissions).
  • Specify the maximum number of users that can be connected to the shared folder.
In Limit the number of simultaneous users to, specify 1 to 10.
  • Add a comment to the shared folder that appears to users when they are browsing for shared folders.
Type a description for the share in Comments.
  • Specify folder share permissions.
Click Permissions to specify individual user or group names and their permissions to access the files in the shared folder. Figure 8 shows an example.
  • Specify whether the contents of the folders of the share can be made available offline.
Click Caching and specify offline settings.

Figure 8: An example of the Permissions dialog box
To verify that the folder is shared, do the following:
1.       Click Start, right-click Network, and then click Properties.
2.       Under the Sharing and Discovery section of the Network and Sharing Center window, click Show me all the shared network folders on this computer.
A window displays the shared folders and printers. Verify that the window contains the folder that you just shared. Figure 9 shows an example.

Figure 9: An example of the list of shared folders and printers
If you share any folder within your user folder (click Start, and then click your user name), such Documents or Pictures, then other computers will see a folder named Users in the list of shared folders on this computer. For example, if the user Bob shares his Desktop folder on his computer named BobPC, it means that Bob has shared his c:\users\bob folder, which includes the Desktop folder. Bob's Desktop folder is now available at \\bobpc\users\bob\desktop.
Sharing Your Printers
To share your printers in Windows Vista, ensure that printer sharing is enabled as described in the "Enabling File and Printer Sharing Options" section of this article.
To verify that your printers are shared, do the following:
1.       Click Start, right-click Network, and then click Properties.
2.       Under the Sharing and Discovery section of the Network and Sharing Center window, click Show me all the shared network folders on this computer.
3.       In the list of shared resources, verify that your printers are listed.
Accessing a Shared Folder or Printer with Windows Vista
To access a shared folder from a computer running Windows Vista, do the following:
1.       Click Start, and then click Network. The Network window displays a list of computers in the workgroup of the computer. Figure 10 shows an example.
2.       Double-click the name of the computer containing the shared folder that you want to access.
3.       Double-click the shared folder that you want to access.

Figure 10: An example of the Network window
If the shared folder is on a computer running Windows Vista that has network discovery enabled, it should appear in the Network window quickly. If the computer containing the shared folder is on a computer running Windows XP, it might take up to 15 minutes for the computer to appear in the Network window.
If the computer that you are trying to access has password protected sharing enabled, the possibilities are the following:
  • If you are logged in using a user account that has been added to the computer sharing the folder and that name has been added to the list of users who have access to the folder, the shared folder connection will be successful.
  • If you are logged in using a user account that has not been added to the computer sharing the folder, you will be prompted to provide a user name and password of an account on the computer sharing the folder that has been added to the list of users who have access to the folder.
  • If you are logged in using a user account that has been added to the computer sharing the folder but has not been added to the list of users who can access the share, the shared folder connection will be denied.
If the computer that you are trying to access has password protected sharing disabled, the possibilities are the following:
  • In most cases, the access to the shared folder will be successful without prompting for a user name and password.
  • In some cases, you will be prompted to provide a user name and password. You should type the name guest with no password to access the shared folder.
  • If the shared folder does not have the Guest or Everyone account in its list of allowed users, shared folder access can fail even after prompting you for the name of the Guest account. To correct this, add the Guest or Everyone account to the list of allowed users on the share.
Accessing a Shared Printer
To access a shared printer from a computer running Windows Vista, do the following:
1.       Click Start, and then click Network. The Network window displays a list of computers in the workgroup of the computer.
2.       Double-click the name of the computer containing the shared printer that you want to access.
3.       Right-click the shared printer that you want to access, and then click Connect. Alternately, you can double-click on Printers to see just the list of shared printers, and then right-click the shared printer that you want to access, and then click Connect.
After you have connected to the shared printer, you will be able to print to this shared printer as long as the printer and the computer sharing the printer are turned on.
Common Questions with Windows Vista File and Printer Sharing
The following sections describe common questions about file and printer sharing in Windows Vista.
Using a Third-Party Firewall
Windows Vista includes a built-in host-based firewall known as Windows Firewall. When network discovery or file and printer sharing are enabled, Windows Firewall automatically allows the corresponding incoming traffic. However, many users use a different firewall product such as Windows Live OneCare or PC-cillin. These firewalls by default might block incoming network discovery and file and printer sharing traffic. If a firewall product other than Windows Firewall is being used, Windows Vista displays an information message above the Sharing and Discovery section of the Network and Sharing Center window. Figure 11 shows an example.

Figure 11: The information message in the Network and Sharing Center window when Windows Firewall is not being used
If you are using a firewall other than Windows Firewall, you must configure the firewall to allow incoming network discovery and file and printer sharing traffic.
For network discovery of other computers running Windows Vista, you must allow the following incoming Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) traffic:
  • UDP 3702
  • TCP 5357
  • TCP 5358
For network discovery of computers running Windows XP and for file and printer sharing for both Windows Vista and Windows XP, you must allow the following incoming traffic:
  • UDP 137
  • UDP 138
  • TCP 139
  • TCP 445
For network discovery of network devices, you must allow the following incoming traffic:
  • UDP 1900
  • TCP 2869
For more information about how to configure your third-party firewall to allow incoming traffic, see the documentation for your third-party firewall.
Cannot Authenticate to a Shared Folder from a Windows Vista-based Computer
If you cannot authenticate when accessing a shared folder from a Windows Vista-based computer on a computer running a version of Windows prior to Windows XP (such as Windows 98 or Windows 95), a computer running an operating system other than Microsoft Windows, or to a network device, the cause might be a mismatch in the configured support for NTLM 2, an authentication protocol that is used for file and printer sharing connections. By default, Windows Vista is configured to use NTLM 2.
To resolve this issue, you can do one of the following:
  • Enable NTLM 2 support on the computer or device to which the Windows Vista-based computer is attempting to connect. For computers running versions of Windows prior to Windows XP, see How to enable NTLM 2 authentication. For computers running operating systems other than Windows, see the operating system's product documentation for information about how to enable NTLM 2 support. For network devices, see the device's product documentation or Web site for information about how to enable NTLM 2 support or download a firmware update that supports NTLM 2. This is the preferred solution.
  • If you cannot update the computers running operating systems other than Windows or your network devices to support NTLM 2, change the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Lsa\LMCompatibilityLevel registry value on the computer running Windows Vista to 1. This solution is not recommended.
Folder Security and Share Permissions
Folder security defines what users can do within folders. To configure folder security, right-click a folder in the Computer window, and then click the Security tab. Share permissions must match the folder security for access to a share to be successful. For example, if the share permissions allow access to both Bob and Sally, but the folder security only allows Bob, then Sally will not be able to access the share. You must add the Sally account to the folder security settings.
For another example, when a user disables password protected sharing, the default share permissions for new shares include the Everyone group. If the folder security specifies access for the Users group, another computer that is not using an account on the sharing computer will not be able to access the share. Another computer that is not using an account on the sharing computer will be using the Guest account, which is not a member of the Users group. To allow this other computer to access the share, you must add the Guest account to the folder security settings.
Administrative Shares and Sharing the Root of a Drive
Windows XP by default created administrative shares for the root folders of the fixed drives of the computer. For example, for the root of the C: drive on the computer named BobPC, Windows XP automatically shared \\bobpc\c$. The "$" at the end of the share name means that the share name will not appear in the list of shares. For computers running Windows Vista that are members of a workgroup, these administrative shares exist but are blocked for network access for security reasons. You can create your own shares to share your drives from the root of the drive, but Microsoft highly recommends that you share only the folders that you need to, rather than the entire drive.
To share the root of a drive, do the following:
1.       Right-click the drive in the Computer window, and then click Share. Windows Vista displays the properties for the drive with theSharing tab selected.
The Share button and the File Sharing dialog box are not available.
2.       Click Advanced Sharing.
3.       In the Advanced Sharing dialog box, click Share this folder and specify the share name, permissions, and other settings as needed.
4.       Click OK, and then click Close.
Because the "driveletter$" shares already exist, you cannot share the root of a drive with the name "driveletter$". However, you can share it with another name, such as "driveletter". For example, you cannot share the root of your C: drive as "C$", but you can share it as "C".
Viewing Shares Without the Network Window
If the computer that you are trying to access for a shared folder or printer does not appear in the Network window, you can try to view the shares of the computer by clicking Start, typing \\ ComputerName , and then pressing Enter.
For example, to view the shares of the computer named BobPC, click Start, type \\bobpc, and then press Enter.