How to Remove Broken or Dead Tracks from iTunes

My iTunes XML database recently got corrupted and it seemed I had lost all my many hours worth of song ratings. Luckily I was able to re-construct the database through an few month old backup and my iPod. In doing so, my entire iTunes library was duplicated with broken links. Since iTunes does not currently allow you to sort by the broken (’!’ icon), it’s a laborious, manual process to remove all these track listings.

That was until I found this ingenious process somewhere on the Apple forums:

1. Make a smart playlist called “All Files” with this rule: “Artist” is not “123456789″ (or any nonsense name that won’t be in your library).

2. Make a static playlist called “All Live Files”.

3. Make a smart playlist called “Missing Files” with these rules: Match all of the following rules, Playlist is “All Files”, Playlist is not “All Live Files”

4. Select all the files from “All Files” and drag them into “All Live Files”. The dead files marked (!) will not copy over.

5. “Missing Files” will contain all of your dead files. Select all and delete. Voila, a nice clean iTunes library.

I have these three playlists in their own folder. Whenever I gather more than a couple dead tracks for whatever reason, I delete all the tracks in “All Live Files” and repeat steps 4 and 5.

How to Delete a file from a playlist:

Windows: SHIFT + DEL
Mac: OPTION + DEL

Smarter Free ways to Manage and Unplug USB devices

It is commonly understood that you should never turn off or unplug any device all of a sudden. The primary reason for this is that the particular piece of hardware might be in use by a software or the Operating system itself and might cause unwanted hardware failures.

Keeping this in mind we decided to come up with a hands on guide for USB devices and software recommendations.

Few facts you should know about your  USB device :

• Whenever you plug in any USB device, Windows do recognizes it and pops up an icon which shows all the USB devices connected.  Anytime you want to disconnect you can use this place to eject or unplug your usb connected device first and then physically unplug it.
• Its always a good practice to first copy the data which you would like to use from USB device to your hard drive. This way not only your work will get done faster but also you will be less bombarding your device.
• Most of the USB thumb drives come with an activity light. Make sure the light is not blinking and is turned off. This is an indication that there is no disk activity going on.
• And lastly dont get on a War with the USB connector when its time to unplug. Do it slowly else not only you will damage your connector you might damage the port on the computer.

My Recommended and tested softwares for managing USB Devices better :

USB Disk Ejector : An excellent freeware with Command line support, mobile mode and easy interface to remove USB devices safely.

 

Download It

USB Device view :  This application is little bit complex but very useful. It gives you a detailed view of all USB devices connected and allows you to even generate a report of it.

 Download USBDeview

Chk Flash : A disk checking software for flash drives which helps you to rectify Read / Write / Logical and Physical Errors. This increase your flash drive life and your data integral.

Check Flash 1.09

Flash Drive reminder : If you forget to take off your USB device when you get off the sit, this application  wont let you forget . Excellent software if you are loosing money because you loose your USB more often.

Download It  

Prevent write access to USB drives with USB write protector : Worried that your USB can be infected by a virus when you plug in to a computer which you are not sure of ? USB Write protector cna lock down your USB and doesnt allow anybody or any software to copy a file into.

 Download It

 These are the ways I recommend to manage your USB devices. How about you ? Which software you had been using ? What practices you follow ? Share with Me in comments.

How To Disable Internet Explorer!

Once you’ve picked your new browser, it’s time to call things off with IE. This poses a bit of a problem, as many Windows functions and programs depend on IE’s rendering engine. While it’s technically possible to remove IE completely, you may be better off leaving it in, if you value functionality. In Windows XP and Vista, you can do the next best thing: Removing access to IE for all users of your system.
So, how do you disable (block access) to Internet Explorer?
From the Start Menu, click on “Programs.” An icon labeled “Set Program Access and Defaults” should be near the top of the menu. If it is, you may skip the next paragraph. If it’s not, please continue below.

You’re going to want to open your Control Panel, also from the Start Menu. Next, open the Add or Remove Programs window. You’ll have four choices on your left. What you need is the lowest option: Set Program Access and Defaults. I’m sure you’re anxious to break this off. We’re almost done.

Select the “Custom” option, and then go ahead and designate what you want your default programs to be. You may disable access to Internet Explorer by clearing the checkbox next to it. All program shortcuts to Internet Explorer will be removed, and your default Internet browser on the Start Menu will be of your choice.

There may arise a situation during which you may need to open IE. Most often it will be to open a site which doesn’t play nicely with other browsers. With all the shortcuts gone, just open the Run box (hold the Windows Key and press R), type “iexplore” then hit OK. See? While you’re no longer exclusive, you and IE can still be friends. It’s alright, really. I won’t tell the other browsers.

Make your Own Wallpaper on your Folders On XP OS

Now you can put wallpapers in the folders by using WinXp Paper software (2.5MB)

Click here to download