| Detecting Windows Safe Mode Microsoft Windows can start in a special mode known as "Safe Mode". In this mode, certain drivers are disabled and networking may not be available. If your software requires this missing functionality, problems may occur. |
| Creating a Battery Power Status Monitor Sometimes programs need to know the power status of a computer. An example is Windows Update, which often requires a computer to be running on mains power before updates are installed. This article explains how to read the power status and battery life. |
| Reading Environment Variable Values All Microsoft Windows operating systems include configuration options that are held in environment variables. These contain settings such as default folder paths, user information and computer and operating system details. They can be accessed using C#. |
| Identifying System Folders The Microsoft Windows environment includes many special folders, such as the folders for the desktop, music and pictures as well as the program files and system directories. These folders do not have fixed paths so they must be accessed correctly. |
| Getting the Current Operating System Version Each new version of Microsoft Windows includes an updated set of application programming interfaces (APIs). To ensure that a program only accesses API functions that are available, it is important to be able to detect the operating system version in use. |
| Programmatically Checking and Setting File Types When developing a Windows Forms application that loads documents, setting custom file types adds greatly to the professional feel of the software. This article explains how to programmatically check your file type is registered and register it if not. |