Right-Click Context Menu Turns Ugly Classic After Installing a Program in Windows 7 or Vista

Copyright © Ramesh Srinivasan | Windows 7, Windows Vista | 21st November 2009

Yet another context menu saga. After installing Notepad++ (a free Notepad alternative, version 5.5.1 as of this writing) in a Windows 7 computer, the context menu turned ugly with a classic look.

After removing "Edit with Notepad++" from the right-click menu, by deleting the following registry branch:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ * \ shellex \ ContextMenuHandlers \ Notepad++

It now renders correctly.

This is only a cosmetic issue, and has been already reported by an user in Notepad++ forums.

Adding Notepad++ as a Static Menu

After deleting the context menu handler from the registry, I added Notepad++ as a static menu in this key:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT \ * \ shell \ Notepad++

And added an icon to the context menu entry, as well.

Registry Fix

To automate the above, download npp-menu.zip. Unzip and run the attached REG file.

Additional Information

Earlier, it was noted that that a Norton Antivirus definition update caused this problem. You can read more about that in AskVG’s article Fix Old Classic Context Menu Problem, and to obtain the Hotfix from Symantec, visit Context menu options do not appear properly after you install updates for Norton 2009.

What if you experience this problem, but don’t have any of these applications?

If the problem occurred after installing or updating a particular product, notify the product support team so that they may fix the problem in next update. Until they fix the problem, you can remove or disable the corresponding context menu handler shell extension for the product, that is, only if you can’t really stand the ugly / classic look in context menu. Nirsoft’s ShellExView does this job neatly. If you need a detailed guide, check out Method 2 in article Right-click weirdness caused by context menu handlers.

“This Computer’s Video Card Can’t Play Themes” Message in WLPG Screensaver Settings Dialog

Copyright © Ramesh Srinivasan | Windows 7, Windows Vista | 17th November 2009

When you open the Windows Live Photo Gallery Screensaver settings dialog, theme controls may be missing and the message "This computer’s video card can’t play themes" is displayed. You might be knowing that the themes in Windows Photo Gallery slideshow as well as in Windows Live Photo Gallery screensaver won’t be enabled if the Graphics card score (Windows Experience Index) is less than 3.0. Read the rest of this entry »

Office 2007 File Types DOCX, PPTX, XLSX Downloading as ZIP

Copyright © Ramesh Srinivasan | General | 17th November 2009

When you try downloading one of the Office 2007 file types such as .DOCX, .PPTX, .XLSX, the file may download as a .Zip (Compressed Folder). This happens if the Office 2007 file format MIME types are not registered in the Web server you’re downloading the file from.

There is nothing much the user can do, apart from saving / renaming the file with the correct extension and then opening it using Office 2007.

If you had already downloaded the file (as .zip), simply rename (change) the extension accordingly. To do that, you’ll have to clear the Hide extensions for known file types check box in Folder Options. (REF Show or hide file name extensions)

Note to Webmasters

If you’re a Webmaster and want to register Office 2007 Open XML File Formats in your server, visit these links for detailed information:

Office Resource Kit Blog : Register Office 2007 file format MIME types on servers (Windows / IIS)

Serving Office 2007 documents from a Linux PLESK web site (non-Windows)

Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) Update Utility

Copyright © Ramesh Srinivasan | General | 17th November 2009

Just came across this interesting tool from the AddictiveTips Blog.

MSE Update Utility is a simple app that updates Microsoft Security Essentials when Windows Update is disabled. Windows Update service is responsible for frequently updating MSE. But once it is disabled via Group Policy Editor, MSE won’t update anymore.

You can download the MSE Update Utility from AddictiveTips.com.

[Related Tip] Updating Microsoft Security Essentials Using Command-Line

On Resume, Password Protect vs on Resume, Display Welcome Screen Setting in Windows XP

Copyright © Ramesh Srinivasan | Windows XP | 15th November 2009

When you open the Display Settings Control Panel applet and click the Screensaver tab, one of the following options are shown:

  • On resume, display Welcome screen
  • On resume, password protect

The second option is seen in systems which are connected to domain (which disables the Welcome screen.) If you enable this option, you’ll see the "Unlock Computer" classic logon prompt when resuming from screensaver mode. Whereas the former displays the Welcome screen when resuming from screensaver mode.

What if the "On resume, password protect" option is shown in a standalone system where the Welcome screen is enabled? What causes the "On resume, password protect" option to be shown in standalone systems and systems in a Workgroup?

This was asked by many Windows XP users over these years in various forums where I participate, but no entire explanation for this observation has been found anywhere. Hence this article was written.

The "On resume, password protect" is displayed if at least one the following conditions is true:

  1. Fast User Switching is disabled. (REF Enable Fast User Switching in Windows XP)
  2. There is only one user account in the system (not taking the "Guest" account into consideration)
  3. There are more than one user account, but only one is shown in the Welcome Screen and all others hidden.
  4. Terminal Services is not running. This in turn disables Fast User Switching. (To start Terminal Services, launch Services.msc, double-click Terminal Services, set its start type to Manual. Restart Windows.)

Fix Services MMC Extended View Is Blank in Windows XP

Copyright © Ramesh Srinivasan | Windows XP | 14th November 2009

The Extended view of Services Management Console (services.msc) displays the service description and also has links to Start or Stop services. In some systems, the Extended view may appear blank, as in figure below:

This has to do with broken JScript.dll registration. To fix this problem, login as Administrator or equivalent, and then run the following command from Start, Run dialog:

regsvr32.exe  jscript.dll

Press {ENTER}

You should see the output message "DllRegisterServer in jscript.dll succeeded."

This fixes the Extended view. Close and re-open Services MMC.

WordPress Automatic Upgrade Error “Could Not Create Temporary File”

Copyright © Ramesh Srinivasan | General | 13th November 2009

This is probably the first time I’m trying to upgrade WordPress using the automatic upgrade option available in the WordPress Admin Dashboard. And doing so showed this error message:

Downloading update from http://wordpress.org/wordpress-2.8.6.zip.
Download failed.: Could not create Temporary file
Installation Failed

Searching the Web lead me to the following thread at WordPress Forums:

WordPress › Support » Download failed.: Could not create Temporary file

What did actually work was setting the permissions (CHMOD) for wp-content folder to 777, using the FTP client (FileZilla) I use. Once WordPress was upgraded successfully, I changed the permissions back to 755.

This issue seems to occur only in Apache servers where Safe_Mode is On. You can read about that at Download failed – Could not create Temporary file | shantopagla.

How to Restore .BKF Files Using NTBackup in Windows 7 and Windows Vista

Copyright © Ramesh Srinivasan | Windows 7, Windows Vista | 11th November 2009

There are so many users who back up their data using the NTBackup Tool in Windows XP, then clean install/upgrade to Windows 7 or Windows Vista and later realize that Windows 7/Vista do not include the NTBackup Tool to restore the image. Also, Microsoft haven’t released the NT Backup Restore Utility for Windows 7 yet (should be out soon), as they released for Windows Vista. If you have critical data contained in a NTBackup image (.BKF) and want to restore it in Windows 7, then this article is for you. Read the rest of this entry »

Fix: Cannot Change Wallpaper Picture Position to Tile or Center in HP/Compaq PCs Running Windows 7

Copyright © Ramesh Srinivasan | Windows 7 | 10th November 2009

Certain models of Compaq Presario and HP PCs preinstalled with Windows 7 exhibit a problem where users cannot change the desktop wallpaper picture position to Fill, Fit, Center or Tile. It may default to Stretch mode, and changes made by users do not take effect. To fix this problem, HP released a SoftPaq (SP45575 "Wallpaper Picture Position Enabler") which applies to specific models of Compaq Presario and HP PCs.

[Download SP45575.exe]

TITLE: Wallpaper Picture Position Enabler

VERSION: 1.00 REV: A

DESCRIPTION: This package provides the Wallpaper Picture Position Enabler for the supported notebook/laptop models and operating systems. The Wallpaper Picture Position Enabler enables the Wallpaper Background Picture Position function to be changed from Stretched to Fill, Fit, Tile, or Center.

For more information about this SoftPaq and the affected PC model numbers, see Wallpaper Picture Position Enabler Read Me file at HP’s Website.

How to Restore All Windows in a Grouped Taskbar Button in Windows 7?

Copyright © Ramesh Srinivasan | Windows 7 | 7th November 2009

If you haven’t gone through the Windows 7 Keyboard Shortcuts list yet, you may be wondering if it’s possible to open all the windows which are grouped under a single icon in the Taskbar. Luckily, there is a keyboard shortcut available for this so that you don’t have to open each window in the group one at a time.

Restore all windows in a group

To restore all windows in a group, press the SHIFT key down, right-click on the group icon in the Taskbar. You’ll see a menu with the following options.

  • Cascade
  • Show windows stacked
  • Show windows side by side
  • Restore all windows
  • Minimize all windows
  • Close all windows

Click Restore all windows.

Open windows one at a time

To open each window at a time, hold the CTRL key and click on the group icon. This cycles through the windows in that group.

Check out the Windows 7 Keyboard shortcuts list and make the most use of it. Additionally, you’d like to read about the Hidden context menu items in Windows 7.

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