Steps To Check If Someone Is Blocking You On Msn

As well all know, Windows Live Messenger is an instant messaging service developed by Microsoft, which allows the users to chat with others. Some of the features included in Windows Live Messenger are an album viewer, social networks integration, games, as well as the options to allow offline messaging. Earlier this service was termed as MSN messenger, and later on it was replaced as the current Windows Live Messenger. Windows live chat support provides ample assistance in fixing the issues related to this online messaging application.

In this application, the user can register for a free account, download the chat software, and then add others to the contact list. The best option about Windows Live Messenger is that here, you can block other users from contacting you through the chat service. Although you would not be able to check if someone else has blocked you in Windows Live Messenger, you can try the following instructions to view this information.

• One of the best ways is to check if the other person has blocked you is to ask that user to confirm if he/she is currently signed on. This is because if the person is online and still you cannot view him/her in your contact list, chances are more that the person would have blocked you.
• According to the technicians at the Windows Live chat support, another option is to add the person as a contact on another Windows Live account, without letting the person know about it. Now, you can check if the person is signed on, and if you are able to view him/her in your new contact list. Now, sign in using your old account, and if you are not able to view the person in your contacts list there, it simply means that you have been blocked by him/her.
• You can also rely on any Windows Live groups to which you both have been added. Here, you would be able to view the status of the person i.e. if he/she is online or not. Now, if you are not able to view the same person in your personal contact list, chances are high that you have been blocked by the person.

These are some of the tips that you can consider while checking if you have been blocked by someone in Windows Live Messenger service. For more assistance, feel free to contact our technical support team.

How To Remove The Ask Toolbar From Your PC

Ask toolbar is a browser extension program that is used mainly for providing the users with search results from the popular search engine Ask.com. However, the site does monitor your search traffic using the toolbar and will use the results for displaying ads from the site. Most of the users will find it rather intimidating and would like to remove the toolbar from their system. Follow the simple instructions given below for removing the Ask toolbar from your computer.

Instructions To Remove Ask Toolbar From IE

• Open the Internet Explorer web browser by double clicking on its desktop shortcut icon and then click on the Tools tab found in the top of the application window just below the address bar. 
• Click on the option named Manage Add-ons and the select the option named Toolbars and Extensions option for viewing all the toolbars and extensions added to the Internet Explorer web browser. 
• Look for the Ask toolbar in the list and uninstall everything related to the program for making the Ask toolbar removal process complete. 
• Now select the Search Providers option in the window and set the search engine of your choice as the default search engine of the browser. 

Instructions To Remove Ask Toolbar From Firefox

• Open the Firefox web browser by clicking on its tab found under the Programs tab in the Start menu. 
• Click on the Tools menu found in the menu bar and then select the Add-on option for viewing all the add-ons installed with the web browser. 
• Click on the option named Extensions and look for the Ask toolbar extension in the list populated, then click on it to select the toolbar. 
• Right click on the toolbar and then select the option Uninstall so that the users will be able to uninstall the toolbar from their computer. 
• Now move to the Tools menu and then select the Options tab for setting the homepage of the browser back to its default web page or you can set another page of your choice manually in the text box provided for entering it. 
• Restart the web browser for making the changes complete and for completing the Ask toolbar removal. 

If you follow the simple instructions given above, you will be able to easily remove all the contents related to the Ask toolbar.

Microsoft Includes Start Menu And Other Features In Windows 8

Microsoft has included many features in the Windows 8 operating system, making it one of the most modern and sophisticated versions. These novel features included Tiles replacing icons, a modern interface, more applications, etc. However, some users found it to be confusing, to the point of being more content with the earlier installments. Hence, now, Microsoft has decided to tweak some of the existing Windows 8 features. The newest version of Parallels Desktop brings a Windows 7-style Start menu and button to Windows 8. This simply means that if the user has a Windows 8 virtual machine running on Parallels Desktop 9, he can easily change to a Windows 7-style view by installing the Start8 and ModernMix add-ons. The Start8 add-on brings back the Start menu, and ModernMix runs the Metro-style applications in a window on the desktop. Parallels make these available as a single download in the virtual machine's settings.

According to Parallels, version 9 of their virtualization software improves the disk performance by 40 percent, startup and shutdown speed by up to 25 percent, suspend time by up to 20 percent, and 3D graphics and Web browsing speed by up to 15 percent. These would be surely exciting for the users, and it seems that Microsoft would finally be successful in retaining their customers. According to sources, the Start menu is available both in Like a PC mode, where Windows 8 is displayed as a window on the Mac computer, and in Coherence mode, which displays Windows applications as if they were Mac. Once you click the virtual machine icon in the dock in Coherence mode, you would see the Windows Start menu on your Mac desktop.

The menu is present as the Windows 8 features built-in application, which has access to Shutdown and Restart, the Control Panel, File Explorer, Disk Management, Command Prompt, and other system tools. Users can purchase the Parallels Desktop 9 now in versions 7 and 8, for an upgrade price of $49.99. However, a student edition is available for only $39.99. Anyone who bought Parallels Desktop 8 on or after August 15, can upgrade to version 9 for free. Parallels also came out with a new iPad app called Parallels Access, which provides remote access to the applications on host computers and virtual machines.

Hence, the plans to modify the existing features of Windows 8 would prove beneficial for Microsoft. Although, how far this would be successful is yet to be seen.

Steps To Retrieve The Compacted Emails In Outlook Express

Microsoft Outlook Express can be termed as an email application that is included with Internet Explorer. It was earlier known as Windows Mail, and later came to be known as Windows Live Mail. Outlook Express is a different program from the Microsoft Office Outlook e-mail client, which ships with Microsoft Office for Windows. The similar names lead many people to conclude that Outlook Express is a stripped down version of Outlook. The two programs do not share common code, but do share a common architectural perspective.

The messages compacted by Outlook Express are moved into an Inbox.bak file. This file is stored in the same folder as the Inbox.dbx file, in which the users’ regular inbox emails are located. Hence, according to Outlook Express help, the user should replace the Inbox.dbx file with the Inbox.bak file to retrieve these messages.

You can follow these simple instructions to recover the compacted emails in Microsoft Outlook Express, before seeking assistance from tech support.

• In the first step, click the Tools option at the top of the window. Now, select Options. Click the Maintenance tab at the top of the window, followed by Store Folder.
• In the next step, highlight the store folder address by pressing the Tab key on your keyboard, and then press Ctrl and C to copy it.
• Now, close Outlook Express and select the Start button in the bottom left corner of the window. Now, click the Run option. You can also contact Outlook Express help to seek assistance with recovering the compacted emails.
• Once you click the option, press the Ctrl and V buttons to paste the store folder address into the empty field, and select the OK option to open the store folder.
• Now, right-click the Inbox.dbx file, then click Rename. Replace the .dbx portion of the file name with .old so that the file name reads Inbox.old. Now, click Enter to save the change.
• In the next step, rename the Inbox.bak file replacing the .bak portion of the file name with .dbx, so that the file name is Inbox.dbx. Press Enter to apply the change to the file name.
• Open the Outlook Express application, and then click Inbox at the left side of the window, to find the compacted message that you need to recover.

Hence, you can follow these steps to recover the compacted emails in Microsoft Outlook Express. For more information, check Microsoft’s official website.

How To Roll Back A Device Drive In Windows XP

Is one of the devices connected to your Windows XP computer not functioning properly? Let’s think of a situation where you suddenly start to have problems with your computer monitor. All was fine till yesterday and now you have annoying flickering on your computer display! What could have gone wrong? 

Often the problem could be with the device driver for that particular hardware component. If strange things happen, you can easily fix it by updating the device driver. Device drivers are small applications, which allow hardware devices such as sound cards, video cards and network devices to work on your computer. However, at times, an updated driver can cause problems and system instability. 

Here, in this section, you will learn how to restore a previous version of a device driver if a newly-installed driver causes system instability. This process is known as "rolling back" the driver to an earlier version. 

How to Roll Back to the Previous Version of a Device Driver

Device Driver Roll Back reinstalls the driver you were using previously and restores any driver settings that were changed when you added the new driver. Note that you cannot restore printer drivers with Device Driver Roll Back. The following Windows help guidelines will help you roll back a device driver to a previous version: 

• Log in as Administrator into your Windows XP machine.
• Go to the Start menu and click on Performance and Maintenance. Further, click on System to launch the System Properties window. 
• From the System Properties window, click on the Hardware tab. Locate the Device Manager button and click on it. This will display the list of devices connected to your computer. To expand the list, click on the “+” sign next to the device type branch you want to work with. If you want to view video display drivers, click on the “+” sign next to Display Adapters.
• Right-click the driver you want to adjust under the device type branch you selected and choose the option Properties. This will bring up the Properties window.
• Click the Driver tab and then click on Roll Back Driver. You will now get a dialog box asking for your confirmation. Click Yes to confirm and restore the driver to a previous state. Repeat the same process to restore additional drivers. Close the Device Manager when you are done. 

Now that you have successfully restored the previous version of the device driver, you should no longer have any problem with the particular device. If this doesn’t fix your problem or in case you need any Windows help, contact the Microsoft Support Center.

How To Close Applications On A Surface Tablet

The Microsoft Tablet is Microsoft’s way of showing the tablet market that it has what it takes to come over and stay. Even the die-hard devotees of the iPad and the other tablets would find themselves hard pressed to approve of the fact that the Surface stands apart in the group. 

Enough of how good the Surface is and how it’s managed to aid Microsoft in carving and securing their own niche in the Tablet Market; let’s get on with how the device is supposed to be used. Even though most of the UI is intuitive and can be understood by any person worth his salt, there are cases where new users face trouble while opening or closing apps on the Surface, configuring email on it, setting up Wi-Fi on it, and streaming media etc., not to mention other problems that stem from what can only be classified as miscellaneous reasons. 

One such problem that users have encountered while handling the Surface is not knowing how to close the apps they’re done using. Even though there is nothing against you keeping them running in the background while you go about whatever other business you have, you still might want to scratch that “unfinished business” itch. The below Surface tablet tech support instructions would help you accomplish the task easily.

How to close the applications on your Microsoft Surface tablet

• There are three ways to close an application running on your surface tablet; choose from among them. 
• Tap at the top edge of the application window and drag it down to any place at the bottom of the screen. This will close the application. 
• You can also use the keyboard shortcut on the Touch Cover if you want to close an application. Here’s how you do it: hit the key combination Alt + Fn on the touch cover and simultaneously hold down the play/pause button. This too will close the app for you. 
• Lastly, you can use the traditional keyboard shortcut that has been in place since the dawn of the Windows OS: hit Alt + F4 to close the active application. 

If the above methods do not work for you, or cause the tablet to lag or hang, then there’s probably something wrong with it, and you’d do well to contact the surface tablet tech support team at Microsoft. Go online and find out how; they would definitely have a hotline number, or you can contact them online.

Tackling The Update Error Scenario In Windows Vista

Windows Vista is the successor to the Windows XP operating system. Sometimes, when you are downloading an update, an error code 80070002 appears suddenly. If such an error code appears, your download will abruptly stop and you will not be able to download any more updates. You will require deleting temporary update files on your PC if problems crop up during the update process. By following the below provided steps, you can easily troubleshoot the update error messages in Vista.

Instructions

• You have to click on the Start button that is present on the extreme bottom left of the taskbar. When you click it, the Start menu will pop up. From the menu, you need to select the Control Panel option.
• When you open the Control Panel window, you have to select the System Maintenance option.
• Once you open it, you need to select Administrative Tools. The Services option has to be selected and if you have a password, you have to enter one.
• The Windows Update option will be present and you need to right click on it and select the Stop option.
• Now, from the Start menu, you need to select My Computer. When it opens, you need to open the C drive.
• The Windows folder present in the drive has to be opened and Software Distribution has to be accessed.
• The Datastore has to be accessed and you will need to right click on it in order to delete the files.
• Now you have to go back to Software Distribution pane and the files inside the Download folder have to be deleted.
• The Services option has to be accessed and the Windows Update option has to be right clicked. In order to resume the updates, you need to select the Start option. 
• If the process does not start, you need to access the Start menu and select All Programs and from it, choose the Windows Update option. In it, the option Check For Updates has to be selected.

By following these steps, Vista problems like update error problems can be tackled and the Windows update process can be done without any hiccups. If you require more help on troubleshooting Vista problems, you may visit the Microsoft help and support website to resolve all your Vista related problems.