Your Own Home Computer Network

Home or small office network overview

In your home or small office, you might have more than one computer. You might also have other hardware devices such as printers, scanners, or cameras. With all of these computers and devices, sharing files, folders, and your Internet connection is the ideal solution.
A home or small office network is a way for you to use other computers or equipment without actually being at those computers. You can work on photos and files with other family members or co-workers while surfing the Internet at the same time.
Using Windows, there are numerous ways to connect computers or create a network. For homes and small offices, the most common model is peer-to-peer networking.
A peer-to-peer network, also called a workgroup, is commonly used for home and small business networks. In this model, computers directly communicate with each other and do not require a server to manage network resources. In general, a peer-to-peer network is most appropriate for arrangements where there are less than ten computers located in the same general area. The computers in a workgroup are considered peers because they are all equal and share resources among each other without requiring a server. Each user determines which data on their computer will be shared with the network. Sharing common resources allows users to print from a single printer, access information in shared folders, and work on a single file without transferring it to a floppy disk.
A home or small office network is similar to a telephone system. On a network, each computer has a network adapter that acts like a phone handset; just as you use the handset for talking and listening, the computer uses the network device to send and receive information to and from other computers on the network. With home or small office networking, you can:

	Use one computer to secure your entire network and protect your Internet connection.
	Share one Internet connection with all of the computers on your network.
	Work on files stored on any computer on the network.
	Share printers with all of the computers.
	Play multi-player games.

Successfully setting up your home or small office network is a two-part process:

.	Install and configure the appropriate hardware on each computer. Some hardware might require additional configuration to get connected to the Internet. For more information, click Related Topics.
	Run the Network Setup Wizard on each computer in your home or small office network.

The Network Setup Wizard guides you through Internet Connection Sharing, enabling Internet Connection Firewall and network bridging, naming your computer, and providing a computer description.
You can set up one computer to communicate to the Internet using Internet Connection Sharing (ICS). ICS provides the relay for all computers in your home or small office network to communicate with the Internet through a single connection at the same time. Other members of your family can surf the Web, check their e-mail, and play Internet games through a single connection.

 Note

	To start the Network Setup Wizard, click Start, click Control Panel, click Network and Internet Connections, and then click Network Connections. Under Common Tasks, click Network Setup Wizard.
	The Network Setup Wizard is only supported on computers using Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows XP Home Edition, and Windows XP Professional.
	Before setting up your home or small office network, make sure the computer sharing its Internet connection can access the Internet.
	Your ISP might charge you for having multiple Internet connections. Check with your Internet service provider for details.

BLOCK USB TO ACCESS FROM YOUR COMPUTER FOR OTHERS

How to Disable USB ports in window xp

1. Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then click the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\UsbStor

In the details pane, double-click Start.
In the Value data box, type 4, click Hexadecimal (if it is not already selected), and then click OK.

1. Exit Registry Editor.

How to re-enable a disable ports in Windows

1. Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type regedit, and then click OK.
2. Locate and then click the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\UsbStor

In the details pane, double-click Start.
In the Value data box, type 3, click Hexadecimal (if it is not already selected), and then click OK.

1. Exit Registry Editor

How to Fix Display Errors in Computer

How to Fix a Blank Display Probl 

When your computer does not display anything on the monitor you have a No Display or Blank Display problem. This can be caused by any of the following reasons: 

· Monitor or System has no Power
· Monitor is defective
· Loose VGA/DVI Cable Connection
· Video Card Problem
· AGP/PCI-e Connector Problem / Motherboard
· System RAM Problem

Monitor or System has no Power
First thing is to check if the system powers up when pressing the power button, if not check cable connections and the power source. Next is to check if the monitor powers up when you press the power button. If not, check power cable and the power source for the monitor.
If this procedure solves the problem, there may be a loose connection in the power cables of the system or the monitor.

Monitor Is Defective/Loose VGA Cable Connection
After checking if the system and monitor have power and you still encounter the no display problem, try to swap monitors with another computer to check if the monitor is defective or not. You can also try to reinsert the VGA cable to the VGA port of your video card to see if the connection is loose or maybe the VGA cable of you monitor is defective.

Video Card Problem / AGP/PCI-e Connector Problem
After verifying that the monitor is working, the next step is to check the video card. Power down your computer and unplug power cables. Open your computer and try to reinsert the video card. After inserting the video card, power up the pc to check if this solves the problem.
If this does not solve the problem try replacing the video card. After replacing the video card, if you still experience the problem, your system board or agp/pci-e connector might be causing the problem. You correct this by replacing your motherboard.

System RAM Problem
No display problem can also be caused by the system RAM. When your system RAM is defective or is not properly inserted in the memory slot of the mainboard. the system may not boot. You can try to reinsert the RAM or replace it if it is defective.

Refer to the flowchart below for troubleshooting a blank display problem:

Top Windows Xp Secrets

15 Top Windows XP secrets :

1. Useful key shortcuts available:
• Windows key + D - shows the desktop.
• Windows key + M - minimizes all open windows.
• Windows key + Shift + M - maximizes all open windows.
• Windows key + E - Runs Windows Explorer.
• Windows key + R - shows the RUN dialog.
• Windows key + F - shows Search window.
• Windows key + Break - shows System Properties box.
• Windows key + TAB - Go through taskbar applications.
• Windows key + PAUSE Display the System Properties dialog box.
• Windows key + U Open Utility Manager.
• ALT + TAB - Cycle through opened applications.
• Hold down CTRL while dragging an item to Copy it.
• CTRL + ESC Display the Start menu.
• ALT + ENTER View the properties for the selected item.
• F4 key Display the Address bar list in My Computer or
• NUM LOCK + Asterisk (*) Display all of the subfolders that are under the selected folder. 
2. Lock Windows to protect computer :
   You can lock Windows to protect the computer when leaving the station easily by creating a shortcut with the path rundll32.exeuser32.dll, LockWorkStation. The Windows key + L is also a shortcut to this feature.
3. Edit sysoc.inf to list all software :
   To show all software that can be removed from your computer (including protected Windows services), you can manually edit (using notepad for example) the sysoc.inf file located in Windows\inf\. Just remove the word hide next to the software pack.
   Note - use this at your own risk. Removing critical components of the system will make Windows instable.
4. Windows XP comes with IPv4 and IPv6 :
   Windows XP comes both IPv4 and IPv6 support. To enable IPv6, you can install the protocols needed with the command "ipv6 install" in the command-prompt. Then type ipv6 /? to see the options. The installation will not remove the IPv4 protocols so your current configuration will still work.
5. Access Task Manager with shortcut :
   To access the Task Manager easier, you can make a shortcut that points to %windir%\system32\taskmgr.exe.
6. Stop treating ZIP files like Folders :
   If you don't want your Windows XP to treat ZIP files like folders, you can disable this component by running regsvr32 /u zipfldr.dll at the command prompt or Run dialog. If you start missing it, you can enable it by typing regsvr32 zipfldr.dll.
7. Run program as diffrent user :
   You can run a program as a different user. Right click an application and select Run As command.
8. Switch users leaving applications opened :
   You can switch users leaving the applications opened too (*NOTE* use this only when needed since it could lead to system instability).
   Go to Task Manager - processes and end the process explorer.exe. This will end only your session and not all applications. Then go to Applications tab, click New task and type runas /user:domainname\username explorer.exe. A password prompt will appear to login to the desired username. The user's session will start, with all your previously applications running.
   I recommend to open first a command-line prompt and type runas /? to see all the options available.
9. Rename multiple files in Windows at once :
   Rename multiple files in Windows at once. Select them all, right click and select Rename. Enter the desired name. They will be renamed using what you specified, with a number in brackets to distinguish them.
10. Task kill feature in Windows :
    Windows has a task kill feature similar to Linux. Go to a command prompt and run the command tasklist to see running processes with PID numbers. Then type tskill <PID> to end the specific task. This forces an instant closing of the task.
11. Edit features with GPEDIT.MSC :
    You can edit many features by running gpedit.msc. You can add log on/log off scripts here and many features.
12. Edit accounts in the command prompt :
    You can edit accounts by running "control userpasswords2" at the command prompt.
13. Use systeminfo.exe to see System Information :
    You can use the systeminfo.exe command in the command prompt to see System Information, including all Windows updates and hotfixes.
14. Disable system services for maximum performance :
    There are system services that you can disable to free up the system's load. To access the interface that permits you to make changes to system's services, type services.msc and the command prompt.
    This is a list of services that are *usually* useless and can be safely disabled.
• Alerter
• Application Layer Gateway Service,
• Application Management
• Automatic Updates
• Background Intelligent Transfer
• Clipbook
• Distributed Link Tracking Client
• Distributed Transaction Coordinater
• Error Reporting Service
• Fast User Switching Compatibility
• IMAPI CD-Burning
• Indexing Service
• IPSEC Services
• Messenger
• Net Logon
• Net Meeting
• Remote Desktop Sharing
• Network DDE
• Network DDE DSDM
• Portable Media Serial Number
• Remote Desktop Help Session Manager
• Remote Registry
• Secondary Logon
• Smartcard
• SSDP Discovery Service
• Uninterruptible Power Supply
• Universal Plug and Play Device Host
• Upload Manager
• Webclient
• Wireless Zero Configuration
• WMI Performance Adaptor

NOTE: Make sure you don't need them since some applications you're using could depend on them. If you make any application to fail by disabling any of the services, go back and enable it again.

15. Repair Windows XP by using the XP installation CD:
    If your system failes to start due to an error related to missing HAL.DLL, invalid Boot.ini or any other critical system boot files you can repair this by using the XP installation CD. Simply boot from your XP Setup CD and enter the Recovery Console. Then run "attrib -H -R -S" on the C:\Boot.ini file and delete it. Run "Bootcfg /Rebuild" and then Fixboot.

Remove Virus From PC Succesfully

 

Virus Scanning in Safe Mode

If you have a virus you can not delete or if your system will not boot up correctly and you suspect a virus is the problem, a recommended solution is to start your computer in safe mode and run a virus scan. By running your computer in safe mode, non-essential processes do not start and non-core components are disabled. In other words, only the minimum necessary programs will load. Tough to remove viruses, spyware and other malware usually have no chance to run and disrupt your system and can more easily be removed.
**To run a virus scan in safe mode, you must have active anti virus software installed on your computer.
To run a virus scan in safe mode, follow these steps:

1. If your computer is on, shut it down
2. Power on your computer
3. Immediately after you power on your computer, repeatedly press the [F8] key (about once per second)
4. In the Windows Advanced Options Menu screen, use the arrows to select Safe Mode and presss [Enter]
5. Select your current operating system and press [Enter]
6. Select the user you would like to login under (if applicable)
7. When your system finishes booting, click the Start button on your task bar
8. Move your cursor over All Programs and navigate to your anti virus program
9. Click on your antiv virus program to run it and follow the anti virus program’s normal steps to run a virus scan
10. After the virus scan is complete, Delete all detected viruses
11. Close out of your anti virus software
12. Restart your computer (it should start in normal mode)

Safe Mode In Windows XP

What is safe mode?
Safe Mode has been a component of the Windows operating system since the days of Windows 95. The basic idea is to allow the user (or technical support worker) access to the windows interface without loading any unnecessary drivers or software. 

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The thinking is that if device drivers or auto loading software (broswer hijackers for example) are causing problems with your Windows installation, the easiest way to fix things is to load a version of Windows that bypasses all but the most basic drivers and will not run any additional software. Windows XP safe mode provides you with a basic graphics driver (enough to display the user interface), access to your drives and windows configuration, and very little else.

How do I get into safe mode?

How do you get into Safe Mode? Very easily. When booting your system, as soon as the first (POST) screen appears showing your memory and hardware information, start pressing 'F8.'

The Windows XP advanced options menu will come up listing various boot options. As you can see, there are a few safe mode options available. 'Safe Mode' is the one we are interested in for now. 'Safe mode with networking' allows you to connect to other computers via a network, and also allows you Internet access if you are using an Internet sharing device connected to your network. Note that dial up connections like DSL will not work directly in safe mode. 'Safe mode with command prompt' does not attempt to load the Windows Explorer graphical interface, instead transporting you straight to XP's DOS-like command prompt 

NEXT POST WILL BE HOW TO REMOVE VIRUSES FROM PC SUCCESULLY
So Keep Visiting Computer4online.blogspot.com

 

How To Set Your Windows Xp Like Newly Installed Windows Xp On Your Computer

 

Backup Registry in Windows XP and Vista

To backup the registry, you can use the built-in feature of Windows called System Restore. It allows you to create restore points that you can go revert back to in case you run into problems after making a change.
Each restore point is actually just a copy of the OS “system state”, which is basically the entire registry and some other OS related data. To create a restore point, follow the instructions below:
1. Click on Start, then All Programs, then Accessories, then System Tools, and click on System Restore.

2. Click on the Create a restore point radio button and click Next.

3. Type in a name for the restore point and click Create. Make sure to give a name that makes sense like “Before installing driver” or “Before updating program”, etc.

Click Create and you’re done! You have now backed up your Windows Registry. So how do you restore the registry? Well there are basically two ways and it depends on whether you can get into Windows or not.

Restore Registry in Windows

If you can still get into Windows itself, then you can restore by following the same procedure as above to open System Restore and then clicking on “Restore my computer to an earlier time” and clicking Next.

All the dates in the calendar that are in bold have at least one restore point. Click on a bold date and then click on the restore point in the second box to the right. Note that if you have System Restore turned on and depending on how much space it is allowed to use, Windows will automatically create restore points every day. Those are the ones that show up as “System Checkpoint”.
Once you have found the one you want to restore too, click Next and then confirm the restore point selection. The computer will be restored and automatically restarted.

Installing Printer and Cancelling Printing Jobs

Installing Printer and Cancelling Printing Jobs

How do I install a new printer?

To install a new printer:

1. Make sure your printer is plugged in, connected to your computer, turned on, and has paper in it.
2. Click the Start button. The Start menu will appear.
3. Highlight Settings. A submenu will appear.
4. Click Printers and Faxes. The Printers and Faxes control panel will appear.
5. Double-click on Add Printer. The Add Printer Wizard will open.
6. Follow the onscreen instructions.

How do I cancel a print job?

To cancel a print job:

1. Click the Start button. The Start menu will appear.
2. Highlight Settings. A submenu will appear.
3. Click Printers and Faxes. The Printers and Faxes control panel will appear.
4. Double-click the printer to which you sent the print jobs. The Printer window will open.
5. Click the job you want to stop. If you want to stop more than one job, hold down the Control key while you click the additional jobs.
6. Click Document, which is located on the menu bar.
7. Click Cancel.

How do I cancel every print job?

To cancel every print job:

1. Click the Start button. The Start menu will appear.
2. Highlight Settings. A submenu will appear.
3. Click Printers and Faxes. The Printers and Faxes control panel will appear.
4. Double-click the printer to which you sent the print jobs. The Printer window will open.
5. Click Printer, which is located on the menu bar.
6. Click Cancel All Documents.

How do I temporarily stop selected jobs from printing?

To temporarily stop selected jobs from printing:

1. Click the Start button. The Start menu will appear.
2. Highlight Settings. A submenu will appear.
3. Click Printers and Faxes. The Printers and Faxes control panel will appear.
4. Double-click the printer to which you sent the print job. The Printer window will open.
5. Click the document you want to pause. If you want to pause more than one document, hold down the Control key as you select the additional documents.
6. Click Document, which is located on the menu bar.
7. Click Pause. A checkmark should appear next to Pause.

How do I restart print jobs I temporarily stopped?

To restart a print job you temporarily stopped:

1. Click the Start button. The Start menu will appear.
2. Highlight Settings. A submenu will appear.
3. Click Printers and Faxes. The Printers and Faxes control panel will appear.
4. Double-click the printer to which you sent the print job. The Printer window will open.
5. Click the documents you paused. If more than one document has been paused, hold down the Ctrl key as you click the additional documents.
6. Click Document, which is located on the menu bar.
7. Click Pause. The checkmark next to Pause should disappear.

How do I temporarily stop all jobs from printing?

To temporarily stop all jobs from printing:

1. Click the Start button. The Start menu will appear.
2. Highlight Settings. A submenu will appear.
3. Click Printers. The Printer control panel will appear.
4. Double-click the printer to which you sent the print jobs. The Printer window will open.
5. Click Printer, which is located on the menu bar. A drop-down menu will appear.
6. Click Pause Printing. A checkmark should appear next to Pause Printing.

I temporarily stopped all of the print jobs and now I want to restart them. How do I do that?

To restart a print queue that has been stopped:

1. Click the Start button. The Start menu will appear.
2. Highlight Settings. A submenu will appear.
3. Click Printers and Faxes. The Printer control panel will appear.
4. Double-click the printer to which you sent the print job. The Printer window will open.
5. Click Printer, which is located on the menu bar. A drop-down menu will appear.
6. Click Pause Printing. The checkmark next to Pause Printing should disappear.

How To Install Drivers in Windows Xp

 How To Install Drivers in Windows Xp

Turn your XP-based computer on and wait for Windows to load fully. Attach the device you wish to install, turn the device on and wait a few seconds. Windows XP automatically detects new hardware and searches its device libraries, stored on the computer, for a matching driver. A window appears in the bottom right-hand corner of Windows, beside the clock, that says “Found new hardware…” If Windows doesn’t have the driver for the device, it tells you so.

2

Check for missing drivers in Device Manager to see if any of your drivers are missing or malfunctioning, or if you need to install new ones. Hold down the "Windows" key on your keyboard and press “Pause” to launch System Properties, then click “Device Manager.” All of the hardware for your system is listed here. Devices with a yellow exclamation point beside them are not working correctly and need a new driver. Right-click on devices and choose “Properties” to see more details, then click “Driver” for all of your driver-related options. Click “Check for update” to have Windows search online for a new driver, or “Update driver” to point Windows at a new driver that you've already downloaded or that you have on a disc.

3

Use the driver disc that shipped with your device if Windows can’t automatically detect the driver. Insert the CD-ROM and follow the instructions that shipped with the device. The process for this is always different and depends on what kind of device you are installing. Cameras have specific software that you don’t necessarily need to use to transfer photos, for example, whereas printers have software that includes drivers that you absolutely need to be able to print.

How to Install Windows XP

This procedure demonstrates how to install Windows XP Professional. The procedure to install Windows XP home edition is very similar to the professional edition. Since Windows XP Pro is more advanced operating system, it will be used to demonstrate the installation procedure.
The best way install Windows XP is to do a clean install. It is not difficult to perform a clean installation. Before you perform the installation I recommend that you check Windows XP Compatibility List to ensure that your hardware is supported by XP. If your hardware is not on the compatibility list you can check your hardware manufactures website to download the drivers for Windows XP. Save all the necessary drivers onto floppy disks or CD before you start the installation.
All versions of Windows XP CD are bootable. In order to boot from CD/DVD-ROM you need to set the boot sequence. Look for the boot sequence under your BIOS setup and make sure that the first boot device is set to CD/DVD-ROM. You can then perform the following steps to install Windows XP:
Step 1 - Start your PC and place your Windows XP CD in your CD/DVD-ROM drive. Your PC should automatically detect the CD and you will get a message saying "Press any key to boot from CD". Soon as computer starts booting from the CD your will get the following screen:

Step 2 - At this stage it will ask you to press F6 if you want to install a third party Raid or SCSI driver. If you are using a an IDE Hard Drive then you do not need to press F6. If you are using a SCSI or SATA Hard drive then you must press F6 otherwise Windows will not detect your Hard Drive during the installation. Please make sure you have the Raid drivers on a floppy disk. Normally the drivers are supplied on a CD which you can copy to a floppy disk ready to be installed. If you are not sure how to do this then please read your motherboard manuals for more information.

Step 3 - Press S to Specify that you want to install additional device.

Step 4 - You will be asked to insert the floppy disk with the Raid or SCSI drivers. Press enter after you have inserted the disk.

Step 5 - You will see a list of Raid drivers for your HDD. Select the correct driver for your device and press enter.

Step 6 - You will then get a Windows XP Professional Setup screen. You have the option to do a new Windows install, Repair previous install or quit. Since we are doing a new install we just press Enter to continue.

 

Step 7 - You will be presented with the End User Licensing Agreement. Press F8 to accept and continue

Step 8 - This step is very important. Here we will create the partition where Windows will be installed. If you have a brand new unformatted drive you will get a screen similar to below. In our case the drive size is 8190MB. We can choose to install Windows in this drive without creating a partition, hence use the entire size of the drive. If you wish to do this you can just press enter and Windows will automatically partition and format the drive as one large drive.

However for this demonstration I will create two partition. The first partition will be 6000MB (C: drive) and second partition would be 2180MB (E: drive). By creating two partition we can have one which stores Windows and Applications and the other which stores our data. So in the future if anything goes wrong with our Windows install such as virus or spyware we can re-install Windows on C: drive and our data on E: drive will not be touched. Please note you can choose whatever size partition your like. For example if you have 500GB hard drive you can have two partition of 250GB each.

Press C to create a partition.

Step 8 - Windows will show the total size of the hard drive and ask you how much you want to allocate for the partition you are about to create. I will choose 6000MB. You will then get the screen below. Notice it shows C: Partition 1 followed by the size 6000 MB. This indicates the partition has been created. We still have an unpartitioned space of 2189MB. Next highlight the unpartitioned space by pressing down the arrow key. Then press C to create another partition. You will see the total space available for the new partition. Just choose all the space left over, in our case 2180MB.

Step 9 - Now you will see both partition listed. Partition 1 (C: Drive) 6000MB and Partition 2 (E: Drive) 2180MB. You will also have 8MB of unpartitioned space. Don't worry about that. Just leave it how its is. Windows normally has some unpartitioned space. You might wonder what happened to D: drive. Windows has automatically allocated D: drive to CD/DVD-ROM.

Select Partition 1 (C: Drive) and press Enter.

Step 10 - Choose format the partition using NTFS file system.This is the recommended file system. If the hard drive has been formatted before then you can choose quick NTFS format. We chose NTFS because it offers many security features, supports larger drive size, and bigger size files.

Windows will now start formatting drive C: and start copying setup files as shown on the two images below :

Step 11 - After the setup has completed copying the files the computer will restart. Leave the XP CD in the drive but this time DO NOT press any key when the message "Press any key to boot from CD" is displayed. In few seconds setup will continue. Windows XP Setup wizard will guide you through the setup process of gathering information about your computer.

Step 12 - Choose your region and language.

Step 13 - Type in your name and organization.

Step 14. Enter your product key.

Step 15 - Name the computer, and enter an Administrator password. Don't forget to write down your Administrator password.

Step 16 - Enter the correct date, time and choose your time zone.

Step 17 - For the network setting choose typical and press next.

Step 18 - Choose workgroup or domain name. If you are not a member of a domain then leave the default settings and press next. Windows will restart again and adjust the display.

 

Step 19 - Finally Windows will start and present you with a Welcome screen. Click next to continue.

Step 20 - Choose 'help protect my PC by turning on automatic updates now' and press next.

Step 21 - Will this computer connect to the internet directly, or through a network? If you are connected to a router or LAN then choose: 'Yes, this computer will connect through a local area network or home network'. If you have dial up modem choose: 'No, this computer will connect directly to the internet'. Then click Next.

Step 22 - Ready to activate Windows? Choose yes if you wish to active Windows over the internet now. Choose no if you want to activate Windows at a later stage.

Step 23 - Add users that will sign on to this computer and click next.

Step 24 - You will get a Thank you screen to confirm setup is complete. Click finish.

Step 25. Log in, to your PC for the first time.

Step 26 - You now need to check the device manager to confirm that all the drivers has been loaded or if there are any conflicts. From the start menu select Start -> Settings -> Control Panel. Click on the System icon and then from the System Properties window select the Hardware tab, then click on Device Manager.

If there are any yellow exclamation mark "!" next to any of the listed device, it means that no drivers or incorrect drivers has been loaded for that device. In our case we have a Video Controller (VGA card) which has no drivers installed.

Your hardware should come with manufacturer supplied drivers. You need to install these drivers using the automatic setup program provided by the manufacturer or you need to manually install these drivers. If you do not have the drivers, check the manufacturers website to download them.

To install a driver manually use the following procedure:

(a) From the device manager double click on the device containing the exclamation mark.

(b) This would open a device properties window.

(c) Click on the Driver tab.

(d) Click Update Driver button. The Wizard for updating device driver pops up as shown below:

You now get two options. The first option provides an automatic search for the required driver. The second option allows you to specify the location of the driver. If you don't know the location of the driver choose the automatic search which would find the required driver from the manufacturer supplied CD or Floppy disk. Windows would install the required driver and may ask you to restart the system for the changes to take affect. Use this procedure to install drivers for all the devices that contain an exclamation mark. Windows is completely setup when there are no more exclamation marks in the device manager.

How to Create a Flaming Photo Manipulation

Final Product What You'll Be Creating

In this tutorial, we’ll manipulate a picture so it looks like a woman burning in flames. The idea behind this manipulation was to create a nice looking illustration, only by using simple techniques and tools such as the Brush tool and Warp command. I hope you enjoy the tutorial and try it with your own stock imagery.

Editor’s note: This tutorial was originally published on Psdtuts in January 2009.

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Step 1

For this project, I used two nice images that suits for the manipulation; image1, image2. I would like to thank the author of this two great pictures, which is thiquinho and huibidos from sxc.hu. And before we continue with the steps, I need to inform you that this tutorial is written using Photoshop CS3.

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Step 2

Let’s start with image1, open and duplicate this image by using the Image > Duplicate command from the menu bar. In the Duplicate Image dialog box, you can name it anything you like, but to follow this tutorial reference, name it "PassionFire" and hit OK. By doing this, we kept the original image. Be sure to save.

woman burningin flame with adobe photoshop step 3, 4, 5

Step 3

With the "PassionFire" image active, duplicate the "background" layer. Set the foreground and background color to black and white by pressing D on the keyboard. Click the "background" layer again and fill it with the foreground color ~ which is set to black. See the images below.

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Step 4

Reactivate "Layer 1," then press Command + Shift + U to apply desaturate command. Now invert the color by pressing Command + I. Your image should look like a film’s negative now.

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Step 5

Duplicate "Layer 1," then apply the find edges filter from Filter > Stylized > Find Edges. Next, invert the color by pressing Command + I and change the Blending Mode to Hard light. There, your image now has contrast white line and a very dark background.

woman burning in flame with adobe photoshp step 6, 7, 8, 9

Step 6

To give the white line more contrast, duplicate the "Layer 1" copy then change the Blending Mode to Screen.

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Step 7

Now we move to the second image. Drag image2 into "PassionFire" document image window using the Move tool. If the Paste profile mismatch dialog appears, just click OK to fix it.

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Step 8

The fire image from "image2" should be in "Layer 2" now. Change its Blending Mode to screen, this will hide all the black colors in "Layer 2." If done right, your image should be similar to the one below.

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Step 9

Duplicate "Layer 2" by pressing Command + J. Make sure you use the Screen Blending mode, same as the original "Layer 2." Next, make "Layer 2" become invisible by hiding it from the layers panel.

woman burning in flame with adobe photoshop step 10, 11, 12

Step 10

Click the "Layer 2 copy" to make it active, then use the Free Transform command ( Edit > Free Transform) to rotate and resize the fire image like shown below. Don’t forget to press Enter when you’re done transforming.

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Step 11

Still in the same layer, now use the warp command (Edit > Transform > Warp) to bend the fire image – so it following the hair flow. Press Enter when done. See the example below as a reference.

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Step 12

If you feel the result is not quite good enough, simply use the Liquify filter to fix it. I assume you already know how to use the liquify filter; the Forward Warp tool and Twirl Clockwise tool is the only tool I used to get this result (see image below).

woman burning in flames with photoshop step 13, 14, 15

Step 13

Duplicate the "Layer 2" copy, then use the Free Transform command to resize and rotate the fire image in the current layer. Don’t forget to reposition the fire image too. Once you get this composition (see image below), hit Enter.

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Step 14

Repeat the previous process to get the hair covered with fire. Just duplicate and modify the layer until you get all the hair part covered. If needed, use the Liquify Filter again. The end result of this process should look like the image below, notice how many layers are used.

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Step 15

Okay, now activate "Layer 2" and make it visible again. Then Change the Blending Mode to Vivid Light. This step will colorize only the white line in the layer below it.