In Windows, there is no simple and obvious way to move the entire user folder to another location so we’ll need to make some modifications in the registry. This method may not be optimal, but it works for me. I am using Windows 7 Professional and I’m not sure if it works for Vista or XP. This method will move the entire user profile, including the standard folders like Documents, Pictures, and Music in addition to the hidden AppData folder where applications store their settings.

Before starting, I recommend that this is done very early after installing Windows 7 since poorly written programs reference a static path instead of looking up a system variable. This means that the program will try to access the old user folder instead of the new location after the user folder has been moved. I’ll assume that the next steps are done immediately after a clean Windows 7 install and the Windows install partition is in C:\ and the partition to move the user folder is D:\. So, in the end I want to move C:\Users to D:\Users.

After install, Windows 7 creates the first user account. Because we haven’t messed with the registry just yet, it will create the account in C:\Users\. Nothing can be done about this right now, so just create the account with a throwaway name.

The Folder Options Dialog

First, change folder options to show hidden files and folders by opening an explorer window, press Alt, then from the menu bar choose Tools > Folder Options. Click the View tab and choose “Show hidden files, folders, and drives.”

Next, go to C:\Users\ and copy the Public and Default folders to D:\Users\.

Open up the registry editor by typing “regedit” in the Start Menu search box and press Enter. Navigate to the following path:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList

After changing the values.

Change the Default, ProfilesDirectory, and Public strings to the location that you want them to be. For example, I changed them from %SystemDrive%\Users\Default, %SystemDrive%\Users, and %SystemDrive%\Users\Public to D:\Users\Default, D:\Users, and D:\Users\Public, respectfully.

From now on, the Default and Public profiles are located in the new path and all new user profiles will be created in the ProfilesDirectory path.

Now, use the control panel to create a new account and it should be created in D:\Users\.

Log out and log in to the new account to make sure that it is, in fact, located in D:\Users\. If you have an existing user profile that you wish to use, just copy everything into the newly created user profile and overwrite everything and log back in to the new account. Once everything works, you may delete the throwaway account.

Get your PS3 controller to work on your PC with MotionInJoy drivers for 32 and 64-bit Windows. This guide will show you how to connect your PS3 controller via USB.

Get the MotionInJoy Drivers

Download and install the the MotionInJoy drivers. These drivers support connecting the PS3 controller via USB and Bluetooth. I’ve successfully managed to get the USB method working properly. Feel free to experiment with Bluetooth but it seems to be hit-and-miss.

Load Unsigned Drivers

The 64-bit version of Windows 7 requires that all drivers are signed but the MotionInJoy drivers are not. Therefore, to load the unsigned drivers you will either need to disable driver signature enforcement or enable test mode. Those who use 32-bit Windows should skip this section.

Option A (Disable Driver Signature Enforcement on every boot):

Get to the Advanced Boot Options screen by pressing F8 right after your BIOS screen and before the Windows loading screen. Choose “Disable Driver Signature Enforcement” and now you should be able to load the MotionInJoy drivers.

Remember that every time you boot you will need to do this if you want to use the controller (or another unsigned driver). If you use the controller often then consider enabling test mode (option B).

Option B (Enabling Test Mode):

Download the Driver Signature Enforcement Overrider (DSEO) and use this to turn on Test Mode.  Remember that when test mode is enabled you may install any unsigned driver, including malicious ones.

NOTE: Some antivirus software may be triggered by DSEO. Don’t worry; it’s legit.

You’ll know you’re in test mode the next time you start Windows because there will be a string at the bottom right indicating that test mode is enabled. If you want to keep test mode on you’ll probably want to remove the string. To do that, choose “Remove Watermark” in the DSEO or just go here.

Configuration

Once you have started Windows with driver signature enforcement off, plug in your PS3 controller and wait as Windows tries to install drivers which don’t work. Once that is done, open your start menu and right click “Installer USB Driver” (or something similar) under MotionInJoy. During the driver install process, Windows will complain that it can’t verify the publisher. Click “Install this driver software anyway.”

Once completed, restart your computer (with driver signature enforcement off) and launch DS3 Tool. It should recognize your controller. Pick a mode and click Enable. You can see it working and calibrate it by going to Control Panel > Devices and Printers, right click PLAYSTATION(R) 3 Controller, click Game Controller Settings, choose MotioninJoy USB Game Controller, and click Properties. If Windows recognizes your button presses then you’re done!

Conclusion

If everything went according to plan, your controller should now work just like any other. With many PC games, you can plug in an Xbox 360 controller and have it just work. MotionInJoy 0.4.00 beta  is supposed emulate the 360 controller but it installs both the USB and bluetooth driver at once. The problem for me is that the bluetooth driver doesn’t seem to like my dongle so I get a BSOD. Hopefully others won’t have this problem.

This guide will show beginner programmers how to set up and install JDK and the Eclipse IDE. I will be installing JDK 6 Update 7 and Eclipse 3.4.0 Ganymede.

Get JDK

Mac Users: Skip this as you already have JDK. Do a system update to check if you have latest one.

You will need to install JDK first by going to Java SE Downloads and choose “Java x Update y” where x is the latest version of Java and y is the latest non-beta update. (Do not get the version with NetBeans or Java EE unless you know what youre doing.) Installation is straightforward, but it may take some time. Go grab a coffee.

Get Eclipse

You can go to Eclipse.org’s Download Section and choose “Eclipse IDE for Java Developers.” Extract the contents of the zip file to wherever you wish.

Setting Up

Once you fire up Eclipse, it will ask you for a path to your workspace. This folder will contain all of the projects you create with Eclipse as subdirectories.

Once that’s done Eclipse will greet you with a Welcome window. Just click on “Go to Workbench” at the far right and you’ll never need to see this screen again.

Now we will make sure that Eclipse is using the Java SDK you just downloaded. Click Window > Preferences. Then, on the left panel expand Java, then click on Installed JREs. Make sure that the version of Java you installed is there and checked. If there are multiple items then, unless you plan to use them all, check only the version you downloaded.

If your version is not there, then click Add, choose Standard VM, and click next. Browse to X:\Program Files\Java\jreX.X.X_XX and everything should be filled out automatically. Click Finish.

Also make sure that the compliance level is set up properly. Click “Compiler” under “Java” and check the Compiler Compliance Level. If you are using JDK 6, then choose “1.6″ in the drop down menu. If you are using JDK 5 for some reason, then choose 1.5. Etc.

Testing Eclipse

Click File > New > Java Project and let’s make a simple HelloWorld project. Notice the workspace path and JRE that is being used. Then click Finish.

Create a class HelloWorld by clicking on the HelloWorld project folder on the left and clicking the “C+” icon in the toolbar. Name the new class HelloWorld and click Finish.

Paste the following code into HelloWorld.java.

public class HelloWorld
{
public static void main (String[] args)
{
System.out.println(“Hello Eclipse!”);
}
}

Then, click Run in the toolbar. The console at the bottom should say “Hello Eclipse!”

Additional Resources:

Dr. Java is a slimmer IDE that focuses on only the essentials. Try it if you need a more lightweight IDE. Also available for Mac OS X.

The Java SE 6 Documentation