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Navaneeth Reddy
Detailed reviews of cheap web hosting companies which provider dedicated server hosting as well.
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Sunday, June 6, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Find out what your Windows Hotfixes do
Every now and then my Windows XP automatically updates. Usually these are to plug holes in the system (as you know, Windows XP is a work in progress). But what exactly do all those hotfixes do? Well, I discovered a way to find out.
First, you need to go to your Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs. Next, scroll down toward the bottom and you will see "Windows XP Hotfix..."
Click the hotfix and it will expand to show "Click here for support information".
Clicking there will bring up another screen with a URL that takes you to a description of what that hotfix does (make sure you're online when you do it).
Now you can satisfy your curiosity when those updates happen. This also helps let you know if you have a security patch needed to prevent a worm/virus.
Posted in: System Maintenance
Deleting Unwanted Programs
It seems like I get questions all the time asking how to remove / uninstall programs. So, here's the step by step procedure:
1. The first thing to do is click the Start menu, Programs. Then hunt for the program you want to delete. Oftentimes, you'll find an Uninstall program under it's program group.
2. Another way would be to click the Start button, Settings, Control Panel. Then open the Add/Remove programs icon. You'll see a list of programs that Windows can remove from your system. Just click the one you would like to remove and hit the OK button.
3. If neither of the above work, you can always go to the program's folder and delete it. However, there is no guarantee that the program was confined to that folder. It could have other files distributed throughout your computer.
4. Finally, you might consider a program like QuickClean. Once installed, it watches which program files go where and can remove unneeded files for you.
Keep in mind that some of the files that get placed on your hard drive when you install a program are basically updates to some of your existing files. So if you are uninstalling something and get a message saying not all the files from a program could be removed, it may be due to the fact that other programs also use these files.
Posted in: System Maintenance
Win XP Time Travel
Have you ever made a change to your computer that messed everything up? A great feature of Windows XP is System Restore. You can go back to a previous setup without losing your documents, jpegs, emails, or other files. It keeps track of changes in your system and automatically creates what are called "restore points". These points allow you to travel back in time to when your system was more stable.
To bring up System Restore, go to Start/Programs/Accesories/System Tools then click "System Restore". You must be logged in as Administrator and make sure that you close all programs and save all files. Select the radio button that says "Restore my computer to an earlier time" then click "Next". The days in bold type are days that have restore points.
Select a day and click "Next". Windows will shut down then restart with the settings from the date chosen. Pretty slick, huh.
Even though System restore automatically creates restore points, it is a good idea to manually create one when you are making any changes (like installing Service Pack 2). To do this, choose the radio button marked "Create a Restore Point" on the first screen then click "Next". Give the R.P. a name then click "Create". The new point will be stamped with the hcurrent date and time.
If you run into any problems, there's a safety net thanks to this little feature. I don't know how many times it saved my behind.
Posted in: System Maintenance
Check for Corrupt System Files
Did you ever have the suspicion that one of your Windows system files was corrupt? Normally, this problem causes lots of frustration while you try to hunt down the impaired file or do a complete re-install of Windows. Well, hold your Install Disks! There's another way.
Prior to Windows 2000 the operating system might overwrite shared system files (for example .dll and .exe files) when you install software. Overwritten system files cause unpredictable system performance, strange program behavior, and operating system failure.
If you're using Windows 98 you have a way to repair these files with the System File Checker. Here's how:
1. Click Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, System Information.
2. Once the System Info utility is running, click the Tools menu, System File Checker.
3. You will be presented with a screen that allows you to "scan all" to hunt for any altered files or to specify the problem file. Since you probably don't know which file is giving you the headaches, scan for altered files.
That's it. If there's something wrong, you'll be given instructions for repair.
One more thing, if the System Information program is not there, you'll need to insert your Win98 install disk, select Add/Remove, and select System Information from the System Tools section.
Windows 2000 & XP users: You will not find System File Checker in your system tools, but if you search for it you will find it as "sfc.exe". No need to run it though, because Windows File Protection prevents the replacement of protected system files such as .sys, .dll, and .exe files. If you do run SFC, you will probably see a DOS window flash on your screen for 1.5 seconds.
Windows File Protection runs in the background to protect all files installed by the Setup program. Any attempts by other programs to replace or move a protected system file are detected, then the file's digital signature gets checked to see if the new file is the correct Microsoft version.
If not, the file gets replaced from the backup stored in the Dllcache folder or from the Windows CD. If Windows File Protection cannot locate the correct file, it prompts you for the location.
By default, Windows File Protection is always enabled and allows Windows digitally signed files to replace existing files.
Posted in: System Maintenance
Monitor Your CPU Activity
I don't know about you, but I'm a hardcore multi-tasker. Sometimes I'll have four programs up, two web browser windows, and some music playing all at the same time. For a while I had a real problem with my computer freezing up since I didn't know how many running programs were too many. Then I learned to monitor my CPU usage.
Windows 98/Me has a Resource Meter that puts a little icon down in your System Tray so you can always see what's going on. To open it go to Programs / Accessories / System Tools / Resource Meter. (If it's not showing up, you must dig your Windows 98 disk out of mothballs and add it.)
See the little green graph down in your System Tray by the clock? 
Mouse over it and you will see the percentage of your CPU being used. Double click and you will get a more detailed representation
The more programs you open, the lower the numbers get. if you are down around 30% and try to save something or play a game, don't be surprised if you have a freeze up. With time you'll get in the habit of shutting processes down (like Anti-virus and firewall when you aren't even online) when you play games or burn CD-R's.
You can also add the resource meter to your toolbar by right-clicking the program in your Start / Programs / etc. then choosing "Send To: Desktop". Drag the Desktop icon to your Toolbar and there you go. Now, you can just click the toolbar icon to show available resources in your System Tray for easy monitoring.
To see how much RAM your programs are using in Windows XP just do CTRL+ALT+Delete and click the "Performance" tab. There you will find both a meter and a graph showing you how much RAM is being used by programs, among other things.
I noticed that spikes of up to 97% happen when I open a program (shows you why it's not a good idea to open programs when your burning a CD).
If you minimize the window, you'll still see a little box down in the system tray that displays CPU usage.
Double-click it and you'll see the full Task Manager.
If you find you are consistently over 80%, you might want to try turning off the firewall and anti-virus when you are not online and need to run a program that sucks up system Posted in: System Maintenance
Defrag Mysteries
Is your computer running slow? Is it locking up on you? Are programs suddenly terminating?
Perhaps it’s time to Defrag!
When you "defrag" your hard drive, you run a disk defragmentor program to optimize the placement of files on your hard drive. Here's what happens. As you use your computer, it writes to the first available spot on the hard drive. Over time, files tend to get rearranged on your hard disk, or fragmented.
If your disk is fragmented, when it tried to load a program, it may have to grab one file from the middle of the hard drive, one towards the outside, then back to the inside. The net result is that you computer runs slower.
When you run a defrag program, it puts the pieces back together, organizes them in similar groupings, so stuff loads faster. It's probably a good idea for the average user to defrag once every 2-3 months or so.
Warning - Be careful when running defrag. First off, it takes a long time (I usually run it at night) to defragment a large hard drive (3 meg or higher). Also, the defrag program takes files off your hard drive and sticks them into your system RAM while it's reorganizing your disk. If you lose power during a disk defragmentation, it can spell disaster for your computer. At best you'll mess up a program or two and at worst you may no longer be able to access your hard drive and Windows. Definitely not something to do during a thunderstorm!
History
Defrag began in the good ol’ DOS days as “Optimize.” This was a 3rd party utility that was shipped with the earlier versions of DOS. Defrag became a major utility with MS-DOS 5/6. It was faster than Optimize, had a Semi-GUI interface, and you would actually notice performance improvements after running it. Defrag has improved over time, but then it came to a standstill with Windows NT/2000. While Intel wrote the 95/98 Defrag, the Windows NT and 2000 versions were written from Executive Software's Diskeeper. Because Diskeeper was written for servers, it is a very “careful” product, which translates to “it is slow.” Unfortunately, its benefits are no greater than the Defrag written for earlier operating systems.
Enough already! Now, how do I defragment my hard drive?
First, you need to run Scandisk.
Windows 95/98/ME Users:
Click on the Start Menu then select Programs, Accessories, System Tools, then Scandisk. Select the drive you would like to check, then select the type of test you would like to run (standard or thorough). Finally, click Start.
WindowsNT/2000/XP Users:
Double click your My Computer icon. Right click on the C: drive. Select Properties then choose the Tools tab. Under Error Checking, click the Check Now button. A dialog box will pop up, check both check boxes and click Start.
A dialog box will pop up telling you, "The disk check could not be performed because exclusive access to the drive could not be obtained. Do you want this disk check to be scheduled the next time you restart the computer?" (I don't know why you would go through all of this if you didn't want to click ‘yes’ and why Microsoft held this over with 2000 and XP, but in their infinite wisdom they did! There may be good reasons to back down now but I can't think of any, so…)
Boldly click the Yes button! I guarantee it won't hurt a bit.
Now, on to the Disk Defragmenter
Make sure all AntiVirus software is disabled along with any background applications that may write to the hard drive which you are defragmenting.
Click on the Start Menu, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and select the Disk Defragmenter. Select/highlight the drive you want to defrag and click Defragment.
Easy as that! Now just step back and let her organize your hard drive. If only you could Defrag your house…
Posted in: System Maintenance
