By Andrew Summits
Is your Windows XP system running slow? Windows systems often become very slow, sometimes just months new. The main causes are files becoming disorganized, unnecessary programs hogging system resources, an overload of programs on startup, and often, even more serious problems. In this guide, I am going to go over free, simple ways that you can get your computer running like new again!
Uninstall unused applications. Click on Start, then Control Panel, and find Add/Remove Programs. I want you to go through this list, and find all of the junk that you never use, or feel you could do without. You'd be amazed at how many programs that you have that you don't care a thing about.
Free up some wasted space. Click on Start, then My Computer, and right click on the icon for your hard disk. Click on Properties, and on the General tab, click disk cleanup. Check every box, unless there is something there you know that you don't want to clear, and click Ok. This should usually clear up quite a bit of space.
Defragment! Over time, your hard drive becomes a mess. Files get completely disorganized, and it takes it more and more time just to find a file. A single file could get spread out throughout the disk, and that has a very adverse reaction on your computer's speed. Fortunately, XP comes with a defragment tool, that will organize your hard drive and make it run much snappier. Click on Start, My Computer, right click on your hard disk, then Properties. Click on the Tools tab, and click Defragment Now. Click on your hard disk, and click Defragment. This process may take several hours to complete, so you may want to do it at night, or before you leave for work.
Disable startup items you don't use. This one is my favorite, because the effect on startup time is so profound. Click Start, Run, type msconfig into the box, and click Ok. Now click on the Startup tab, and review the programs that are listed. The only ones that you really need to keep are: ScanRegistry, TaskMonitor, SystemTray, LoadPowerProfile, and your anti-virus and firewall software. There may be others that you want to keep. My suggestion is Googling the name of any task that you aren't familiar with, as there are websites with databases of virtually every process, and they tell you what it does.
Do you use Outlook Express or another external (non web-based) email client? If so, go through and delete all of your old messages that you don't need. If you are the kind of person that likes keeping every email, it may be time for you to go through, and do some deleting. This should free up some virtual memory.
Zap your spyware and adware! There are a few free ad/spyware cleaners. I would recommend Adaware and Spybot. You can find them on Google or Download.com. You simply run the scan, and delete everything that it finds. This should cause significant improvement.
If you do all of this, then you should definitely notice a visible improvement, and your computer should run much smoother and faster.
Andrew Summits is a PC/tech enthusiast. He has just started a new blog, called The Speedy Computer, where he will be frequently posting PC performance tips. He also recommends this great resource for improving your computer speed.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
Laptop - Maintain Your New Laptop
By Raucescu Florin
Now you just got your great new laptop and you are ready to work with...or play. Congratulations! But getting it is just the beginning and because you spent money on it, doesn't matter how much, you must ensure that it's life is going to be as long as possible
For this I present you a few tips to extend your new laptop's life.
Battery life - we all know that a battery cannot be charged infinitely. So every time you can use a power supply, use it, and take out the battery if it's charged. And when you are on battery, dimmer your screen to the lowest setting, disable auto bluetooth and WiFi network detection. Best way to dimmer your screen brightness is by creating a power scheme(Control Panel/Power options) for maximum battery.
Save your keyboard and screen - the best way to protect your laptop from dust, sand, or crumbs is an iSkin, which keeps crumbs out from between the keys and also protects the screen from keyboard scratches. You can periodically clean your keyboard with compress air from dust and other not wanted things. Avoid spills on your keyboard...but if you happen to experience this(hope you don't) shutdown the laptop immediately, take the battery out and disconnect all the peripherals. Then lift the computer and turn it to the side and upside down to drain any liquid. Then use a hair dryer to dry the laptop.
Secure your data - always use a secure firewall, use strong passwords and turn off sharing when connected to internet. You may also consider encrypting your personal data in case your laptop is stolen.
Use a laptop bag - is recommended to use a laptop bag special built to protect your precious.
Back-up your data - the risk of hard drive failure is more increased in case of laptops, so backing up your data is essential. You can use an external drive for this...or burn important data on CDs or DVDs.
Read more at laptopguide.blogspot.com
Now you just got your great new laptop and you are ready to work with...or play. Congratulations! But getting it is just the beginning and because you spent money on it, doesn't matter how much, you must ensure that it's life is going to be as long as possible
For this I present you a few tips to extend your new laptop's life.
Battery life - we all know that a battery cannot be charged infinitely. So every time you can use a power supply, use it, and take out the battery if it's charged. And when you are on battery, dimmer your screen to the lowest setting, disable auto bluetooth and WiFi network detection. Best way to dimmer your screen brightness is by creating a power scheme(Control Panel/Power options) for maximum battery.
Save your keyboard and screen - the best way to protect your laptop from dust, sand, or crumbs is an iSkin, which keeps crumbs out from between the keys and also protects the screen from keyboard scratches. You can periodically clean your keyboard with compress air from dust and other not wanted things. Avoid spills on your keyboard...but if you happen to experience this(hope you don't) shutdown the laptop immediately, take the battery out and disconnect all the peripherals. Then lift the computer and turn it to the side and upside down to drain any liquid. Then use a hair dryer to dry the laptop.
Secure your data - always use a secure firewall, use strong passwords and turn off sharing when connected to internet. You may also consider encrypting your personal data in case your laptop is stolen.
Use a laptop bag - is recommended to use a laptop bag special built to protect your precious.
Back-up your data - the risk of hard drive failure is more increased in case of laptops, so backing up your data is essential. You can use an external drive for this...or burn important data on CDs or DVDs.
Read more at laptopguide.blogspot.com
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Buying a Home Computer
By Ronan Piper
Buying a home computer can be a bit like buying a car-it's a major purchase decision. There are many makes and models, and many people willing to give advice about what to buy and where to buy it. To make the most of your shopping experience, and sense of the variety of choices facing you, you'll want to do your homework before heading out. And, whether buying new or used, know what you want the computer to do for you and how much you can afford to spend.
Computers can be categorized into two basic operating systems or types-those designed primarily for graphics work and those primarily intended for word processing. Although both are capable of either function. To help you decide between the two operating systems, determine whether you will use the computer more for graphics or mainly for producing text, the type of software you want to run and which type of computer it runs on (although most software has versions for both operating systems). If you're buying the computer for your child's use, see what kind of computer is used in his or her classroom. If you want to send files back and forth with your sister, check out her system. Both systems are great- one is not better than the other-but it helps to know what you want to do with your computer before you commit to either type.
How will you use the computer? Do you plan to write papers for a class using word processing software, keep track of your finances or business on a spreadsheet, send electronic mail (e-mail) to relatives across the country, surf the World Wide Web, or just play computer games? Knowing how you'll use your computer will help you determine what type of minimum requirements the computer needs to have.
A sales associate should be able to tell you how many megabytes of memory you'll need based on your planned computer use. Typically, you'll need a minimum of 64 megabytes of memory to adequately run most programs. Most computer systems come with preloaded software. Be sure to check the inventory of what's on the computer, so you'll know what you're getting.
Ron Piper - online marketer. I have done extensive research to make your computer buying experience easy and satisfying. Ater reading the initial article, scroll down to the bottom of the page and be sure to take the tour of the site map. It will connect you to over 300 pages of revelent content for all your computing needs.
Buying a home computer can be a bit like buying a car-it's a major purchase decision. There are many makes and models, and many people willing to give advice about what to buy and where to buy it. To make the most of your shopping experience, and sense of the variety of choices facing you, you'll want to do your homework before heading out. And, whether buying new or used, know what you want the computer to do for you and how much you can afford to spend.
Computers can be categorized into two basic operating systems or types-those designed primarily for graphics work and those primarily intended for word processing. Although both are capable of either function. To help you decide between the two operating systems, determine whether you will use the computer more for graphics or mainly for producing text, the type of software you want to run and which type of computer it runs on (although most software has versions for both operating systems). If you're buying the computer for your child's use, see what kind of computer is used in his or her classroom. If you want to send files back and forth with your sister, check out her system. Both systems are great- one is not better than the other-but it helps to know what you want to do with your computer before you commit to either type.
How will you use the computer? Do you plan to write papers for a class using word processing software, keep track of your finances or business on a spreadsheet, send electronic mail (e-mail) to relatives across the country, surf the World Wide Web, or just play computer games? Knowing how you'll use your computer will help you determine what type of minimum requirements the computer needs to have.
A sales associate should be able to tell you how many megabytes of memory you'll need based on your planned computer use. Typically, you'll need a minimum of 64 megabytes of memory to adequately run most programs. Most computer systems come with preloaded software. Be sure to check the inventory of what's on the computer, so you'll know what you're getting.
Ron Piper - online marketer. I have done extensive research to make your computer buying experience easy and satisfying. Ater reading the initial article, scroll down to the bottom of the page and be sure to take the tour of the site map. It will connect you to over 300 pages of revelent content for all your computing needs.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
What You Need To Know About Cool Desktop Image
By Paul I. Etkin
It is a well-known fact that the ideal desktop picture can really make a difference, in fact a greater difference than most people realize. Have you ever thought about it? Just like a majority of the people, for sure you probably put a lot of effort into decorating your environs. Sure, you may keep your room neat and in order, check that all the furniture is properly arranged, and decorate the walls with posters or paintings. But though you spend several hours every day looking at your computer screen, you probably rarely, if ever, look for a nice desktop image to really cheer up your day, and make your computer monitor look spiffy.
For some, may not yet have realized how easy it is to find desktop wallpaper. There are thousands of websites that offer desktop images, but you are by no means restricted to these sites. In fact any picture that you have on your computer can be used as a desktop image. You simply have to load it onto your windows memory as wallpaper, and you can then either tile it, or put it up in the center of the screen. Or you can even stretch it to fill the whole screen if the image is not big enough by itself, and that will look very nice, you can be sure.
For me, I prefer to change my desktop image at least once every week and sometimes more often. The desktop image is simply a piece of decoration to change, that why not make sure that you always have a fresh and pretty one up.
If I have been smitten with the travel bug, I might put up a desktop image featuring some exotic destination. Perhaps it will feature the beaches of Fiji,or the ruins of Machu Picchu. It really does not matter, because as long as it is a desktop image of somewhere far away, it will be guaranteed to make me feel better about spending my day doing nothing but sitting in my little cubicle.
Whenever I look at that desktop image, even if my body might stay in the same place, my mind will be traveling to on a beautiful and magical vacation all of the way across the world. And imagine, all this takes place through the sheer power of a computer download! It is fascinating how easily that decor can change your mood, and I encourage you to take advantage of this fact.
Paul I. Etkin provides readers with up-to-date commentaries, articles, and reviews for computers, technology as well as other related information.
It is a well-known fact that the ideal desktop picture can really make a difference, in fact a greater difference than most people realize. Have you ever thought about it? Just like a majority of the people, for sure you probably put a lot of effort into decorating your environs. Sure, you may keep your room neat and in order, check that all the furniture is properly arranged, and decorate the walls with posters or paintings. But though you spend several hours every day looking at your computer screen, you probably rarely, if ever, look for a nice desktop image to really cheer up your day, and make your computer monitor look spiffy.
For some, may not yet have realized how easy it is to find desktop wallpaper. There are thousands of websites that offer desktop images, but you are by no means restricted to these sites. In fact any picture that you have on your computer can be used as a desktop image. You simply have to load it onto your windows memory as wallpaper, and you can then either tile it, or put it up in the center of the screen. Or you can even stretch it to fill the whole screen if the image is not big enough by itself, and that will look very nice, you can be sure.
For me, I prefer to change my desktop image at least once every week and sometimes more often. The desktop image is simply a piece of decoration to change, that why not make sure that you always have a fresh and pretty one up.
If I have been smitten with the travel bug, I might put up a desktop image featuring some exotic destination. Perhaps it will feature the beaches of Fiji,or the ruins of Machu Picchu. It really does not matter, because as long as it is a desktop image of somewhere far away, it will be guaranteed to make me feel better about spending my day doing nothing but sitting in my little cubicle.
Whenever I look at that desktop image, even if my body might stay in the same place, my mind will be traveling to on a beautiful and magical vacation all of the way across the world. And imagine, all this takes place through the sheer power of a computer download! It is fascinating how easily that decor can change your mood, and I encourage you to take advantage of this fact.
Paul I. Etkin provides readers with up-to-date commentaries, articles, and reviews for computers, technology as well as other related information.
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