Top 20 Tips To Keep Your System Faster
Follow these tips and you will definitely have a much faster and more reliable PC! Most of the below tips works for windows XP.
1. Wallpapers: They slow your whole system down, so if you're willing to compromise, have a basic plain one instead!
2. Drivers: Update your hardware drivers as frequently as possible. New drivers tend to increase system speed especially in the case of graphics cards, their drivers are updated by the manufacturer very frequently!
3. Minimizing: If you want to use several programs at the same time then minimize those you are not using. This helps reduce the overload on RAM.
4. Boot Faster: The 'starting Windows 95/98' message on startup can delay your booting for a couple of seconds. To get rid of this message go to c:\ and find the file Msdos.sys. Remove the Read-Only option. Next, open it in Notepad or any other text editor. Finally, go to the text 'Options' within the file and make the following changes: Add BootDelay=0. To make your booting even faster, set add Logo=0 to remove the Windows logo at startup.
5. Restart only Windows: When restarting your PC, hold down Shift to only restart Windows rather than the whole system which will only take a fraction of the time.
6. Turn Off Animations: Go to Display Settings from the Control Panel and switch to the Effects Tab. Now turn off Show Windows Content While Dragging and Smooth Edges on Screen Fonts. This tip is also helpful with Windows XP because of the various fade/scroll effects.
7. Faster Start-Menu Access: Go to the Start menu and select Run. Now type Regedit and hit Enter. The Registry Editor will appear on the screen. Now, open the folder HKEY_CURRENT_ USER\Control Panel\Desktop. You should see a MenuShowDelay value. If you don't then do the following: right click on a blank space in the right pane and select New\String. Change the name in the new value to MenuShowDelay. Now that we have the MenuShowDelay value, double click on it and enter 0 in the value data field. This sets the start menu delay to 0 milliseconds.
8. Resolutions: If you are willing to do anything for faster performance from your PC, then try lowering your display resolution. The lower it is, the faster your PC.
9. Turn off Active Desktop: Go to your Display Properties and switch to the Web tab. Uncheck View My Active Desktop As a Web Page. Since the Active Desktop option under Windows 98 uses a lot of system resources, this option can have a dramatic effect on the speed of the whole system.
10. Defragment Often: Windows 98's Defrag tool uses Application Acceleration from Intel which means that when you defragment your drive, data is physically arranged on the drive so that applications will load faster.
11. Take your PC to Bed: Using the Advanced Power Management feature under Windows 98 gives you the option to use the sleep command. That way, you can send your PC to sleep instead of shutting it down and then restarting it. It's as simple as pressing a button and then pressing the same button to wake it up. You can tell Windows after how many minutes/hours of inactivity to automatically sleep the machine in the Advanced Power Management section of the Control Panel.
12. Faster Internet Access: If you use the Internet for reference and the sites you visit are rarely updated then try the following. In IE (the same can be done in Netscape) go to Tools, Internet Options. Next, click on Settings... In the Temporary Internet Files section. Finally, select Never for the first option and double the amount of storage space to use, click OK!
13. Benchmarking: Benchmarking can be very useful when run frequently. It can tell you how your PC's components are performing and then compare them to other machines like yours. For example, when you overclock your PC, you want to know how much more speed you have and whether it is stable. All this and more can be discovered using benchmarking. An excellent piece of software for doing this job is SiSoft Sandra which can be found in the Downloads File Archive!
14. Refresh the Taskbar without restarting: If you in some way change the taskbar, either in Regedit or elsewhere, you can refresh the task bar without restarting. Hold down Ctrl Alt Del, and double click on Explorer. Say Yes to close Explorer, but no to closing Windows. This will refresh the Taskbar and system tray.
15. Quick CD Eject: Instead of pushing the button on your drive, right-click your CD drive letter in My Computer and click on Eject. This will also remove any icons that have become associated with the CD drive.
16. Start Up Programs: Windows can be slowed down when programs run on start up. To eliminate this, check your Start up folder. You can access it from the start menu: Start, Programs, Start Up. Another way to eliminate programs from loading even before Windows actually starts is by doing the following: Click on Start, then Run. Type msconfig. It will take quite a long time for this program to load, but when you finally see it on your screen, explore the different tabs. They all have to do with how quickly your PC boots, so select what you want, and uncheck what you don't want!
17. Fonts: When Windows starts, it loads every single font in the Fonts folder. Therefore, the more fonts you have, the slower the booting process. To get rid of unwanted fonts, simply go to the Fonts folder under c:\windows and remove whatever you don't want. Fonts that have a red letter 'A' as their icon are system fonts, so don't delete them.
18. Stretching Wallpapers: Don't "stretch" your wallpaper in Windows 98 since it actually slows Windows down when you drag icons around on the desktop.
19. RAM Matters: If you have less than 32MB then you should seriously think of upgrading it to at least 64MB. Windows runs much more smoothly with 64MB or higher and tends to use less hard disk space for virtual memory.
20. Partitioning: A very nice little thing you can do to boost system performance. By partitioning your hard drive, splitting one physical drive into several logical ones, you can gain several advantages. 1. If you get a virus or you accidentally format a drive, not all will be lost. 2. By placing the swap file (Win386.swp) on a separate drive, The swap file will be less fragmented and thus, faster. 3. Place Windows on a separate drive and whenever you need to reinstall it, you rest assured that your data is safe on a separate drive. Partitioning can be done using a few programs such as FDisk which comes with DOS. However, FDisk formats everything on the hard disk before partitioning. Alternatively, you can use Partition Magic from Power Quest to partition your hard disk without losing your data.
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How to disable Ctrl+C at Windows startup
The problem: Windows lets anyone press the Ctrl+C keys during its initial booting phase and stop the booting. If the user is knowledgeable enough about the MSDOS mode, s/he can then examine the contents of all your drives and folders, etc. To prevent this from happening, you can reconfigure your computer to disable the Ctrl+C keys in the MSDOS mode.
The following method may be used to fix this problem:
First, make a backup copy of the C:\CONFIG.SYS file (just in case something goes wrong) by copying this file onto your emergency startup disk. Also, make sure that you can actually use the startup disk to boot your computer into the MSDOS mode.
Open C:\CONFIG.SYS with Notepad and add the following line at the very beginning of the file:
BREAK=OFF
Now save the file and reboot the computer.
For more information about the CONFIG.SYS file and its contents, please refer to the file Config.txt, installed by Windows in your C:\Windows folder.
Note: Note that this setting also disables Ctrl+C for all programs running in the MSDOS mode.
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Turn Off Hibernation
Hibernation is a feature that allows your system to shut down quickly and save everything that is open in the RAM to be stored on the hard drive until the computer is powered on again.
XP and 2000 use a file called hiberfil.sys to save everything it needs when they go go into hibernation. If you never use the hibernate function, you can turn it off.
When this feature is disabled, the hiberfil.sys file is deleted. This can free up the as much disk space as the amount of ram that you computer has. For example, if you have 1GB of RAM, you could be freeing up to 1GB of hard drive space.
In XP, go to Control Panel > Power Options > Hibernation and uncheck / Enable hibernation.
In 2000, go to Control Panel > Power Options > Hibernate / tab and uncheck / Enable hibernate support.
If you should want to re-enable hibernation, go back in and check / Enable hibernation in XP or Enable hibernate support in 2000.
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About Linux
What is Linux?
Linux is a free Unix-type operating system originally created by Linus Torvalds with the assistance of developers around the world. Developed under the GNU General Public License, the source code for Linux is freely available to everyone which is causing a major evolution in the world of computers. It outperforms other operating systems on similar hardware and is available on architectures ranging from a PDA to supercomputers.
A modern operating system like Linux is even easier to install and use than Microsoft® Windows™, especially given the reboot nightmares, viruses, worms, driver-update hassles and Service Pack annoyances that come with Microsoft® Windows™.
Linux and Open Source technologies have become the standard platform of choice for IT system deployment. Over seventy percent of the Internet is running on Open Source technologies and international vendors such as Sun, Novell and IBM are deploying Linux and Open Source.
With proven reliability, security by design and a world class reputation throughout the IT industry there really is no reason why you cannot move to Linux and freedom right now. Why wait for your next systems failure? Now is the time to start your move to Linux and Open Source.
Moving to the Linux platform does not require abandoning existing investments in Microsoft Windows applications and infrastructure. Linux runs on the same hardware and can run many of the Microsoft Windows applications, like OpenOffice. What makes this even more amazing is that Linux and Open Source applications are freely available to anyone who wishes to download them.
Why Move?
The big question for many corporate IT professionals and developers is "Why would I move from Windows to Linux?" Windows is well established in the enterprise computing space and applications currently deployed on Windows may be running just fine in their organisation.
However, many organisations are migrating from Windows and UNIX to the OSS Linux platform. They are moving in order to gain better business value, a greater choice of solutions, and richer capabilities for addressing their enterprise computing needs and abilities. This is what no proprietary vendor can do...
1. They don't have the hugely productive environment of KDE to program in.
2. They can't run development crews of the Open Source Community size without considerable investment.
3. They can't gather the input of thousands of users.
4. They can't design in such an open fashion as to remove all their hooks.
5. They can't make a product so extensible that it takes away their upgrade leverage.
6. They can't give it away for free.
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Increasing The Life Of Hard Disk
Taking care of your hard disk is important because this is the place where all the data is stored and once the hard disk crashes, data in most cases is not recoverable. There are data recovery softwares and programs which recover data from crashed hard disks but that is not for normal computer users.
But why do hard disks crash and what can be done to prevent them from crashing?. At the same time how can a hard disk be made more efficient? Here are the answers.
Hard disks crash due to many reasons. Voltage fluctuations, physical impact, improper alignment and of course mechanical failure due to wear and tear of internal parts. Let us start one by one and get the answers to the above problems.
1. Voltage fluctuations or spikes as they are called can be prevented by using voltage stabilizers or spike guards. This will limit the damage to the hard disk to a great extent.
2. Physical impact can be prevented by handling the hard disk carefully when installing/ re-installing. When installing the hard disk care should be taken to see that it sits perfectly horizontal and that it does not vibrate or shake once the computer is started.
3. The natural wear and tear of parts can be limited by defragmenting your hard disk from time to time.But what is defragmentation? All newly created files are stored in various places on the hard disk in a single cluster ( contiguous file ). But, as the number of files and programs increase, these files are not stored as one contiguous file but broken down and scattered in various places on the hard disk. In short files get fragmented. When these files are accessed by the user, the head on the hard disk moves to and fro to locate these fragments. These fragmented files puts lot of mechanical pressure on the internal parts of the hard disk. This leads to crashes. To start disk defragmenter from the start menu, click the start button and follow this path (All Programs / Accessories / System Tools / Disk Defragmenter) . A minimum of 15 percent free space on your disk is needed for disk defragmenter to run. The disk can also be defragmented automatically by using schedule task. This program can can be accessed via system tools.
4. Power management tool can also be used to enhance the life of hard disk. To access this program go to start / control panel / power options and set the parameters for various hardware devices.
5. Disk cleanup increases the efficiency of the hard disk. So delete unwanted files and programs regularly.
Follow the above rules to increase the life of you hard disk.
Article Source: http://EzineArticle s.com/?expert= Lalit_Navani
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Disable popup warnings in Windows XP
Windows XP may be one of the more stable and developed operating systems (Vista is like a beta right now). But there are many irritating aspects in Windows XP.
Windows has a really stupid popup system, which pops up for every unnecessary thing imaginable. For example, there is a popup to warn that disk space is low on the system drive (usually C:\). Also, there is a popup for alerting you that a new program installed. As if you didn't know that you've installed a program!
There is an easy registry hack to get rid of all these popups. Do not be appalled by a registry edit - this is really simple.
Open up the registry editor - go to Run, type regedit and click OK. Backing up the registry before a hack is always a good idea, so click File > Export, choose a location and click save. Then, proceed to HKEY_CURRENT_ USER\Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentV ersion\Explorer\ Advanced
Right click on the right-hand pane, make New> DWORD Value and name it EnableBallonTips. Set the value to 0 to disable ballontips, and set it back to 1 to enable balloontips.
This hack disables most balloontips. In order to eliminate all popups, some more work is required. In each of the following locations, change the values to 0 to disable balloontips.
Location: HKEY_CURRENT_ USER\Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentV ersion\Explorer\ Advanced\
1. Change the value of FolderContentsInfoT ip to 0
Location: HKEY_CURRENT_ USER\Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentV ersion\Explorer\ Advanced\
1. Change the value of ShowInfoTip to 0.
Location: HKEY_CURRENT_ USER\Software\ Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentV ersion\Explorer\ tips\Show
1. Change the value of Show to 0
If anything goes wrong, restore the registry file that you had explored before and settings will be restored.
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How Processor Speed Is Reported to a Computer
The System tool in Control Panel uses currentspeed to do its reporting rather than maxspeed, but the System tool may display the wrong clock speed for the Central Processing Unit (CPU).
As of January 2002, Windows XP uses the currentspeed value rather than the maxspeed value because the maxspeed value was reporting inconsistent values.
After startup, the processor may not correctly reflect its correct speed until a program utilizes processor cycles.
The computer basic input/output system (BIOS) in some laptop computers may throttle the processor because of heat, load, power AC/DC.
To check the currentspeed setting:
1.Click Start, click Control Panel, and then click Performance and Maintenance.
2.Click See basic information about your computer. On the General tab, the processor speed (in MHz) appears under Computer.
To check the maxspeed setting:
1.Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click System Information.
2.The speed (Maxspeed) of the processor appears in MHz in the System Information window, in the right column of System Summary, under Processor..
NOTE: System Information from Administrative Tools always reports Maxspeed.
If you click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click System Information, the correct processor speed (for example, 797 MHz = 800 MHz) is shown. After you start the System Information tool, the System Properties tool in Control Panel displays the correct speed. However, when you first start your computer, the incorrect speed is shown in the System Properties tool in Control Panel.
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How to make Two clocks for two time zones
If you work in different time zones, you can add up to two additional clocks on the system task tray.
Left-click on the clock, select Change date and time settings, and go to the Additional Clocks tab.
You can then enter the display name for the clock(s) and choose its time zone.
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Computer maintenance tips
With the amount of information available for download on the Internet, it's easy to quickly fill up your valuable hard drive space and turn your computer into a sluggish, unresponsive monster. Keeping your hard drive clean is essential to the high performance that the latest computers can achieve. Fortunately, it's a simple process; one that can easily be performed on a regular basis and, with some organization, keep your computer running like a well-oiled machine.
You can discover how much hard drive space is available on your computer by accessing the DriveSpace program in your System Tools. A pie graph will show you the amount of used and unused space for each of your drives. Check this often to keep an idea of how much space you are using.
There are six simple steps to clearing up your hard drive:
1. Uninstall unused programs.
Many times a new program will come along that looks fun to have or play with, but after a week or two you simply stop using it. These programs clutter up your drive and take up valuable space. You might be tempted to delete these programs from your drive, but doing so will cause problems. You must use the uninstall function of Windows for the program to be removed safely and completely.
2. Clean out temporary files.
When your computer is not shut down properly, it will pass information from memory into fragmented files. Also, while you are running programs, your computer will write information that it does not immediately need into temporary files. Installation files will also expand themselves into the temporary folder and will not always clean up after themselves. You can delete these temporary files safely by using the Disk Cleanup option in your System Tools.
3. Empty your Internet cache.
As you surf the Internet your computer stores web pages and images into a temporary Internet cache so that it can quickly recall and access information when you move back and forth between pages. This backup information can quickly add up and eat hard drive space.
Whether you use Internet Explorer, Netscape, or one of the many other browsers available, emptying out your cache is quick and easy. Simply follow the instructions in the Help files located within those programs. You may also wish to set a specific maximum file size for your cache folder, so that it is not allowed to run rampant.
4. Empty your mail programs of clutter.
It's easy to browse through your email and leave old messages there, promising yourself you'll sort them out later. One or two messages don't take up much space, but hundreds certainly do. Take the time to sort through these old emails now and delete what is not important. Create folders and organize what is left. Make it a habit that when new emails come in, they are either filed immediately or thrown away. Set your email program to empty your deleted items folder each time you close your mail program.
5. Empty your recycle bin.
Once you've emptied your drive of cluttering, unnecessary programs; empty your recycle bin to remove what has been placed there in the process.
6. Scandisk and Defrag.
When Windows installs programs, it will put the files it needs anywhere that it finds free space, and not directly after the last program installed. As a result, your hard drive has patches of empty space on it that are not big enough to fit a full program, and will result in a drive space error if you attempt to install something new. Scandisk your drive to check for lost file fragments and to fix any errors it finds, then Defrag to pack all of the program files together at the beginning of your drive. This will clear out those empty patches and move all of the free space you've just created to the end of your drive.
Now that you've got it clean, keep it that way. Perform this quick maintenance routine every week. For your work computer, Friday afternoon before you leave for the weekend is the perfect time. When you return to work on Monday, you'll have a computer that is clutter-free and as responsive as it should be.
Organize your surfing habits. Direct all of your downloads to the same folder, so that you can easily find them and delete them when necessary, or move them to zip disks for storage. Keep track of the programs that you install. For trial versions, note the date that they will expire on a calendar. This will remind you to uninstall the programs that you can no longer use rather than allowing them to clutter up your drive. Also, if you run into problems, keeping track of new downloaded and installed programs and the date they were installed can help you track down the cause of problems.
Remember that the cleaner your hard drive is, the better your machine will respond! In order for your computer to be user friendly, it must have a friendly user. Be your computer's best friend and clean out the cobwebs regularly.
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(Know) Motherboard
The motherboard is the heart of the computer, every part of the computer relies on the motherboard to function correctly.
It maintains connection between every PC component and ensures that things are operating smoothly between them.
Many signs of motherboard failure is that the computer won't boot up, not reaching the POST test, erratic system behavior, different combinations of components not working. The motherboard is the heart of the computer, every part of the computer relies on the motherboard to function correctly.
It maintains connection between every PC component and ensures that things are operating smoothly between them.
Many signs of motherboard failure is that the computer won't boot up, not reaching the POST test, erratic system behavior, different combinations of components not working.
Because everything is connected to the motherboard certain parts may or may not work correctly if the motherboard is faulty so be sure to test those parts before thinking they're dead and getting new ones.
Be sure to do a visual inspection of the motherboard to make sure all cables are seated properly, the fans are spinning, and that the CMOS battery is in it's proper place.
Also check for any broken or leaking capacitors, those can immediately render a motherboard dead.
Make sure that all of the jumpers are set correctly as well, you should be able to find jumper information in your motherboard's manual, and if you don't have the manual you should be able to find the manual on the Internet at the motherboard manufacturer's website.
Many of the problems caused by a bad motherboard is also similar to problems caused by a faulty or dying power supply, so be sure to check if the power supply is faulty or swap it out for another to see if your problem is fixed.
If you have a spare motherboard you can try swapping out the motherboard to see if that solves your problem, if that's the case then the motherboard is most likely faulty.
If you think the motherboard is faulty and it is still in warranty you should be able to send it back to the manufacturer for a new one with no hassle, sometimes they might even pay for the shipping & handling if it is a big problem that is happening with a certain line of motherboards.
Make sure that when you open a motherboard you keep all of the packaging and the box, and if there are any stickers that will void the warranty if removed make sure you do NOT remove them, so that way it is easier to send back.
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Create a shortcut to lock a PC in Vista
Slice steps off your system log-off routine by putting a log-off shortcut on your desktop.
Start by right-clicking an empty space on the desktop and then selecting New shortcut. In the space below Type the location of the item, type in rundll32.exe user32.DLL, LockWorkStation (remember to watch your spacing and case).
Finally, create a clever name for the icon besides the default "rundll32"—how about "Lock PC"? Then click the shortcut to lock your computer with ease.
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How to start windows programs quickly with Run Command...?
The run option of Start menu is used to run a program or to open a document directly. If you
Do not know the exact location of the program or document then click on Start button to open
Run and type the programs shortcut name to open it directly.
Run Commands
Appwiz.cpl -- Used to run Add/Remove wizard
Calc --Calculator
Cfgwiz32 --ISDN Configuration Wizard
Charmap --Character Map
Chkdisk --Repair damaged files
Cleanmgr --Cleans up hard drives
Clipbrd --Windows Clipboard viewer
Control --Displays Control Panel
Cmd --Opens a new Command Window
Control mouse --Used to control mouse properties
Dcomcnfg --DCOM user security
Debug --Assembly language programming tool
Defrag --Defragmentation tool
Drwatson --Records programs crash & snapshots
Dxdiag --DirectX Diagnostic Utility
Explorer --Windows Explorer
Fontview --Graphical font viewer
Fsmgmt.msc -- Used to open shared folders
Firewall.cpl -- Used to configure windows firewall
Ftp -FTP.exe program
Hostname --Returns Computer's name
Hdwwiz.cpl -- Used to run Add Hardware wizard
Ipconfig --Displays IP configuration for all network adapters
Logoff -- Used to logoff the computer
MMC --Microsoft Management Console
Msconfig --Configuration to edit startup files
Mstsc -- Used to access remote desktop
Mrc -- Malicious Software Removal Tool
Msinfo32 --Microsoft System Information Utility
Nbtstat --Displays stats and current connections using NetBIOS over TCP/IP
Netstat --Displays all active network connections
Nslookup--Returns your local DNS server
Osk ---Used to access on screen keyboard
Perfmon.msc -- Used to configure the performance of Monitor.
Ping --Sends data to a specified host/IP
Powercfg.cpl -- Used to configure power option
Regedit --Registry Editor
Regwiz -- Registration wizard
Sfc /scannow -- System File Checker
Sndrec32 --Sound Recorder
Shutdown -- Used to shutdown the windows
Spider -- Used to open spider solitaire card game
Sfc / scannow -- Used to run system file checker utility.
Sndvol32 --Volume control for soundcard
Sysedit -- Edit system startup files
Taskmgr --Task manager
Telephon.cpl -- Used to configure modem options.
Telnet --Telnet program
Tracert --Traces and displays all paths required to reach an Internet host
Winchat -- Used to chat with Microsoft
Wmplayer -- Used to run Windows Media player
Wab -- Used to open Windows address Book.
WinWord -- Used to open Microsoft word
Winipcfg --Displays IP configuration
Winver -- Used to check Windows Version
Wupdmgr --Takes you to Microsoft Windows Update
Write -- Used to open WordPad
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