22 MAXIMUMPC | MAR 08 | http://www.maximumpc.com
IMPOSE YOUR WILLDelete an Undeletable File
Windows won’t let you delete a fi le
if it’s currently in use, which is usu-
ally a good thing, but that can spell
bad news when trying to rid your
system of a nasty malware strain.
Luckily, there’s a workaround. Click
the Start menu, select Run, and
type CMD to bring up the Command
Prompt. Now hit CTRL-ALT-DEL to
open the Task Manager. Under the Processes tab, highlight explorer.exe and click End
Process. ALT-Tab your way to the Command Prompt and then navigate to the direc-
tory of the fi le you’re trying to delete using the CD command (cd C:\Program
Files\3DSaver). Next, use the delete command to delete the offending fi le (del
3DSaver.exe). ALT-Tab back to the Task Manager, select New Task under File, and
type explorer.exe to bring back the Windows shell. Alternately, try Unlocker (free,
http://ccollomb.free.fr.unlocker/ ) and delete stubborn fi les through a svelte GUI.READY, SET, RESTORE!Create Restore Points on the Fly
Uh oh! Did experimenting with beta
software thrash your Windows install?
Don’t fret—fi re up System Restore
and revert to the last known good
confi guration. That is, if you have
one. Windows doesn’t always create
restore points when it should, and
who wants to go through the rigma-
role of sifting through menus to manu-
ally create one? Now you don’t have
to, thanks to a VB script (free, http://
tinyurl.com/3rw0 ) that does the job
with just a double-click of the mouse.PEEKABOO!Uninstall Hidden Components
Find sysoc.inf in
the C:\Windows\inf
folder and edit it with
Notepad. (If you don’t
see the inf folder, click
Tools, View, and select
“Show hidden fi les
and folders.”) Remove
the word HIDE from
any entries you wish
to unhide, such as
WordPad or Pinball,
and then save the
fi le. These will now
show up in the Add/
Remove Windows
Components list.SWEET RESTORATIONStay Prepared with a
Password Restore Disk
Open User Accounts in the Control Panel
and select your account. Click the “Prevent a
forgotten password” link in the left-hand pane
and follow the prompts.
If you’re on a domain, press CTRL-ALT-
DEL to bring up the Windows Security dialog
box and then click Change Password. In the
“Log on to” box, click the local computer,
select Backup, and then follow the prompts.
Both methods require a fl oppy disk.FIX ’ER UPScan System Files for
Corruption
Malware infections and bad install routines
are just two of the ways critical system fi les
can become corrupt, but there’s an easy fi x to
undo damage done by third-party software.
Click the Start menu, select Run, and type
sfc /scannow to run XP’s System File
Checker. Keep your Windows CD handy and
insert it when prompted.WINDOWS TIPS