10 Great Tech Tools That Boot from a CD

CD Icon When working on a computer, certain tasks can be made much easier by using tools that boot from a CD. Some of these tasks include restoring files from a computer with a corrupt operating system, testing hardware, reseting a lost password, or partitioning a hard drive. I would like to share with you 10 great bootable tools that will do all of these things and much more.

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How to Manually Download and Install Windows Updates

Updates Icon Recently I was faced with a situation where I had an automatic update that wouldn’t install. To try and troubleshoot this issue, I needed a way to download the update so I could install it manually. Since Microsoft doesn’t offer such an option, I had to look elsewhere for help. Luckily, there is a program that was created to do just this.

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35 Portable Applications that Every Tech Needs

USB Icon Over a year ago I wrote an article called 18 Portable Apps Every Tech Needs. Since then a lot has changed. I have compiled a new, more exhaustive list of 35 portable applications specifically for techs. All of these apps run directly from your USB flash drive and require no installation.

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How to Create a Windows Offline Update CD

CD Icon Creating an offline update CD is a great way to update a Windows computer without having to connect it to the Internet and risk the chance of it being compromised. It is also a great way to update a computer that either has no Internet connection or is still connected to the Internet through dial-up. Since Microsoft offers no easy way of doing this other than ordering one of their update CD, I would like to show you how to create one yourself.

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How to Find and Change a Windows Vista, XP, and 2003 Product Key

Keys Icon I was recently faced with a situation where someone had used a "leaked" product key when setting up some Windows machines that I now manage. Not only did the computers start receiving very annoying error messages every time they started up, but they were also unable to receive Windows updates. To fix this, I was able to use a very simple utility to change all of the keys quickly without having to reload Windows or edit the registry. In the following tutorial I would like to show you how to do the same.

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How to Copy Windows Drivers from One Computer to Another

Hardware Icon In the following tutorial I would like to show you how to backup Windows drivers so you can copy them over to another computer or restore them back onto the existing computer. This can save you lots of time, especially after a reload. You can also use this same process to backup Windows drivers so you can add them to your Windows unattended installation CDs.

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Top 10 OS X Leopard Tweaks

OS X Leopard Icon I have compiled a list of my top 10 personal favorite OS X Leopard tweaks. These tweaks not only beautify Leopard but are also sure to give you a much better user experience.

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How to Create a Windows Vista Unattended Installation CD

CD Icon The other day I showed you how to create a Windows XP unattended installation CD using a program called nLite. Today I would like to show you how to create an unattended installation CD for Windows Vista using a program called vLite. This unattended installation CD works the same way as the one for Windows XP and allows you to automate the whole process of installing Windows, drivers, updates, as well as configuring Windows just the way you like it.

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