Category Archives: Windows

Basic Windows command line prompts

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You can access the Command Prompt by clicking the Start menu and entering “cmd” into the search field. You can also access it by entering “cmd” into the Run field, or it can be found in the Accessories/System Tools folder of the Start menu.

  • cd <folder> – This command will move you to the folder that you specify. The folder must be in the directory you are currently in. For example: If you are currently at “C:\Users\<username>\” and you enter cd desktop you will be taken to “C:\Users\<username>\Desktop\”
  • cd <path> – This command will take you to a specific path on your computer. You do not need to be in the same directory as the path. You must enter the entire path for it to work. For example: cd C:\Windows\System32
  • cd .. – This command will move you up one directory from your current location. For example: If you are currently at “C:\Users\<username>\” and you enter cd .. you will be taken to “C:\Users\”
  • cd\ – This command will take you to the root directory, regardless of your location. For example: If you are currently at “C:\Users\<username>\” and you enter cd\ you will be taken to “C:\”
  • <driveletter>: – This command will take you to the drive letter that you specify. The drive you specify will need to be active, or have a disc in it if it a CD\DVD drive. For example, if you want to switch to your D drive, you would enter the command D:
  • exit – This command will exit the Command Prompt, no matter your current location.
  • ren *.* *.jpg – . will select all files, and rename to * (what ever name they have) plus extension to jpg

Printers not showing up in Windows 8

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Solution: Clear Printer Spooler Files and Enable the Spooler Service
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1. Run “Services.msc” (without the quotation marks).
2. Double-click “Printer Spooler” in the Services list.
3. Click Start if not running.  Check Printer list to see if devices appear.  If not, continue:

If running, Click Stop and click OK.
4. Navigate to “%WINDIR%\system32\spool\printers”, delete all files in this folder.
5. Run “Services.msc” (without the quotation marks).
6. Double-click “Printer Spooler” in the Services list.
7. Click on Start. In the Startup Type list, make sure that “Automatic” is selected and click OK.

Can’t send outgoing email when using a different ISP

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You’re not a newbie–you know you have all your email settings configured properly in your email client (Outlook, Thunderbird, etc). In fact, you can send and receive email just fine from one ISP. But when you connect your laptop at a different location which uses a different ISP, all of a sudden you can’t send outgoing email. You get an error message like this one:

Send Message Error in Thunderbird

Send Message Error in Thunderbird

The issue:
In an effort to stop spam, many ISPs (Comcast, Cox, many others) block all traffic to port 25 on anything except their own SMTP servers.

The fix:
Replace the default SMTP Port 25 with 587. RFC 2476 explains why this works for newer SMTP servers. (For sbcglobal.net, the fix is to change port to 26.)

Alternate fix:
You will have to use your ISP’s default SMTP servers. Here is a tentative list that has not been checked for accuracy:

  • Earthlink: smtpauth.earthlink.net (To verify, visit http://www.earthlink.net)
  • Comcast: smtp.comcast.net (To verify, visit http://www.comcast.com)
  • Sympatico: smtp1.sympatico.ca or smtp8.sympatico.ca (To verify, visit http://www.sympatico.ca)
  • AT&T: mailhost.att.net (To verify, visit http://www.att.net)
  • Netzero: smtp.netzero.com (To verify, visit http://www.netzero.net)
  • Charter Communications: smtp.charter.net (To verify, visit http://www.charter.com)
  • MSN: smtp.email.msn.com (To verify, please check with your MSN provider)
  • RCNL: smtp.rcn.com (To verify, visit http://www.rcn.com)
  • BellSouth.net: mail.bellsouth.net (To verify, visit http://www.bellsouth.net)
  • Cox.net: smtp.east.cox.net (CT, FL, GA, LA, NC, OH, RI, VA); smtp.central.cox.net (KS, NE, OK, UT, West TX); smtp.west.cox.net (AZ, CA, NV); smtp.cox-internet.com (for @cox-internet.com customers
    in AR, ID, LA, MI, East TX, Tyler). Port 587 may also be required for SMTP. To verify, visit http://www.cox.net
  • Rogers: May require port 587 for smtp. To verify, visit http://www.rogers.com
  • AOL: May require port 587 for smtp. To verify, visit http://www.aol.com.