Category Archives: Microsoft

Install a New Gadget on Vista Sidebar

While Windows Vista’s Windows Sidebar may come pre-configured with a few gadgets such as a clock, photo gallery, and news feeds, what if you want to add other gadgets?

SCHTASKS

Schtasks.exe is a command-line utility in Windows that enables administrators to manage scheduled tasks.

Robocopy, short for “Robust File Copy”, is a powerful command-line utility in Windows that allows you to copy or move files from one location to another. It offers a plethora of useful features and switches, making it a favorite among IT professionals.

Use NTimer to Display How Long a Program Takes to Execute

When developing applications or testing scripts in Windows XP, it may prove beneficial to benchmark how much time it takes for the particular code to execute. Perhaps you need to test different sorting or cache file management algorithms to learn which one is quickest. You may want to record how long it takes website analysis software to parse… Read More »

Batch File to Determine Operating System Version

Many DOS commands in the 32-bit versions of Windows are similar but support different parameters or a few different commands. Thus, if you wish to write a batch file that can run on different types of machines, it may prove beneficial to determine the version of Windows on which the batch file is running. This way the batch… Read More »

UNIX Style Less Command

The less command, on most UNIX-style operating systems, displays the contents of a text file, but in a different fashion than the more command. Instead of only allowing one-way scrolling through a file, less uses the entire terminal window to display a text file and allows for interactive bi-directional scrolling. The less command has other interactive features, allowing… Read More »

Hexadecimal to Decimal Conversion on the Command Line

Computer programmers and system engineers often need to convert hexadecimal numbers such as FF to decimal numbers (255) and vice-versa, but don”t want to open up the Windows XP calculator tool?

Unix Du (Disk Usage Command)

Most Unix operating systems come with a du command for users and system administrators to help determine which directories use the most file space. This is useful if file space is getting low and one needs to determine where to start looking for files to remove and/or archive.

Printer Driver Information

Diagnosing Windows XP printer errors on a printer accessible either locally or via the network? One place to start would be to determine whether or not the printer drivers are completely installed and what versions of the particular DLLs and other files are installed. This can be done via the printdriverinfo command.