Recapturing Speed

When you first purchased you computer everything ran fast. Now you've had your computer for a while and it seems like it just keeps getting slower and slower. You want fix your speed issue, here's how.

One sure-fire way is to do a reformat and re-install (NOT an exercise for beginners). If you've been running your system for awhile and have not done this, it may be something to look into. We ran a 3 part series on this topic awhile back. Here are the links to those pages:

Part 1 - Reformat and Reinstall

Part 2 -Reformat and Reinstall 2

Part 3 - Reformat and Reinstall 3

However, reformatting is probably a bit on the extreme side for most speed problems.

The most likely reason you are experiencing slowdowns (and possibly more lockups) is that there is too much "junk" running in your System Tray. It seems like just about every other program I install wants to put an icon there.

Each one of those little icons is actuality a program running in the background Some take up a lot of resources, some don't, but the overall effect is a hit in the performance dept. So, disabling all the nonessential programs in the system tray is usually a good place to start. See today's Tip of the Day for more details.

Another source for slowdowns is hard drive fragmentation. If it's been awhile since you've run a Defrag, now's the time. You can get to the Windows Disk Defragmentor program via the Start button, Programs, Accessories, System Tools. If you have problems running it, you may want to try running it under Safe Mode.

If you've shut down all the excess programs and done a defrag on your hard drive, you may want to consider getting some extra RAM. You can usually get 128 meg for under $30.00 - and adding more RAM is the best way I know of to boost your computer's performance.

Anyhow, there's a few suggestions for ya. Of course, the list above doesn't cover everything, but it's a good start.

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Posted in: System Maintenance

A Fast System Properties Box

Need to get to your system properties? Well, you *could* click the Start button, Settings, Control Panel, then open the System icon.

Want a faster way?

Hold down the ALT key and double click the My Computer icon on your desktop.

And you get this:

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Posted in: System Maintenance

Full Path

Have you ever gotten a little lost while using "My Computer"? Before you get buried in another deep directory, tell Windows to show the full path in the title bar. I know, it doesn't sound all that profound, but it really comes in helpful. Here' how:

Open My Computer (or any folder) and click the Tools menu, Folder options.

Click the View tab and check the "Display full path in title bar" checkbox.

That's it, you're only a glance away from knowing where you're at in any directory structure. Here's a sample of what your title bar (now new and improved) should look like when your hunting around in your computer:

My Computer -

My Computer is the basic file management interface of Windows. It's a single pane version of Windows Explorer. When you open it, you'll see all your drives and a few other system-type folders. The idea is to give you quick access to the main drives and settings on your computer.

You can use it for making new folders, locating and copying files, or whatever other kinds of file management your little heart desires. You can also open multiple instances of it to work in multiple directories / folders. However, at that point, you're probably better off in Windows Explorer.

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Posted in: System Maintenance

Shut Down Hang Ups

Do you have problems when the time comes to shut Windows down? Does it try to shut down and just kind of sit there, all confused and locked up? If this happens every time, or most of the time, here's some steps you can take to correct the problem:

1. Programs Not Closing -

This is probably the number one reason for Windows hanging at shutdown. When you shut down the computer, Windows tries to shut down all the programs that are currently running (both regular programs and those running in the background / system tray). If one of these programs stops responding, it can cause Windows to hang and not shutdown.

So, how do you fix it?

Well, the first step is to figure out which program is causing the problem. First, try to make sure everything is shut down before you shut Windows down. I'm not just talking about your regular programs, I'm talking about all that stuff in your system tray. Usually a right-click to a system tray icon will give you an option to shut it down.

System Tray:

After you end all the currently running programs, give it another shot. If things go smoothly, then one of the programs you closed is the likely culprit. You'll need to do a lot of re-starting to actually determine which program though. Start by shutting down one of these background / system tray programs and re-booting. Repeat the process with each program until the system no longer hangs. The last program you shut down was the cause of the problem.

If you can't get everything shut down (don't worry about the little yellow speaker), you may want to try using MSConfig to keep all these little programs from running in the first place. Just uncheck everything under the startup tab and restart your computer. Then try shutting down again. If that keeps it from hanging, it's likely one of the programs you just unchecked that's the troublemaker.

In order to figure out which one, you'll have to run MSConfig again, re-checking one unchecked program at a time and doing a restart. When it hangs, it's the program from two times ago, not the last time since you have to go through a re-boot in order to get it to run.

Here's an MSConfig how to:
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/msconfig.htm

2. - Windows Problem
Some versions of Win 98 actually had a bug (gasp) that caused them to hang on shutdown. If you're experiencing a lot of shut down hang ups, you may want to try the Windows Update feature under the Start button. Or head to:

http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

A re-install of Windows may also fix the problem, but only use that as a last resort.

3. Corrupted Sound File
If you have a sound that plays when you exit Windows, it may be corrupted. Try getting rid of the shut down sound and see if that fixes the problem. The reverse is sometimes true for startup errors.

4. New Hardware
Yes, we're back to those nasty hardware issues. If you've installed a new piece of hardware and are having shut down problems all the sudden, you may want to look into updating the driver.

Those are the usual culprits. Keep in mind that if these shut down hang-ups happen randomly they are going to be really tough to track down. You may have to use MSConfig to disable certain suspect programs for a week or so at a time in order to figure it out.

And never forget - sometimes Windows can act odd (I know, hard to believe), and cause a shut down hang-up every so often. If these system shut down problems are few and far between, I wouldn't worry about them too much. Just shut the power off when that happens and re-boot. You'll probably have to sit through Scan Disk, but that's life with Windows (well, I suppose you could cancel Scan Disk when it start to run...)

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Posted in: System Maintenance

System Password Protection

*This tip is for advanced users only. If you try it and mess your computer up, don't come crying to me.

Password protecting Windows will keep most people out of your computer, it won't stop 'em all. I can get into a password protected Windows computer in less than 2 minutes. For obvious liability reasons, I'm not going to tell you how, but rest assured I (and many others) can.

So, what can you do?

You can password protect the whole computer by putting a password into your computer's system settings. No, these aren't Windows settings, these are your computer's motherboard settings.

Now, for some systems, this may not work. Your system will need to have an option in it's settings for password protection. If it ain't there you can't do it.

To setup a system password, do the following:

1. When you boot your computer, look for instructions for running or entering setup. They are usually at the bottom of the screen. In most systems you press the delete key and it enters setup right after the memory test. Again, this is WAY before windows even starts running.

2. OK, now all these setup screens tend to be a little different. You'll probably scroll through items using your tab, pageup / pagedown, or arrow keys (sorry, no mouse support here). Look for something about system security or passwords and head there.

3. From here, there is probably some kind of password setup. Select it and you should be able to put in a password (probably with a confirmation password).

4. Finally, exit the system settings. There should either be some kind of menu item or you just hit the escape key. Either way, you'll probably be asked if you wish to save the new settings, say yes.

Your computer should re-boot and ask you for a password from now on. These are probably the most difficult types of passwords to get through. The only way I know of bypassing it is to clear the CMOS memory from the motherboard, and you would need the specs on the board to do it.

For Windows XP users: your security settings are harder to bypass. If you want to require that users log in, go to the Control Panel , select "User Accounts" then "Change the Way Users Log on and off". If the "Use Welcome Screen" box is checked, click to de-select. This will bring up a password protected logon screen for all users.

Keep in mind that even this is not 100% foolproof. After all, if I really wanted the info on your computer I could always take out your hard drive and put it into another computer. Oh well, at least it keeps most people away.

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Posted in: System Maintenance

Save My Bookmarks!

If you're like me, you've spent countless hours locating sites that you find useful. It would be more than a little upsetting to lose all those hard earned bookmarks, right? Well, it can happen, especially if your hard drive expires unexpectedly or you switch computers.

So, how do you save them? Easy!

Explorer:

If you use Internet Explorer, just head to your Favorites folder, located under your Windows Directory. (The fastest way to get there is to right-click your Start button and select Explore. You'll end up, by default, in your Windows Start Menu folder, just scroll up to the Favorites folder).

Slip in a floppy disk, right-click the Favorites Folder, and select Send to, 3 1/2" floppy.

Unless you have several thousand bookmarks, they should all fit on a single floppy, no problem.

Netscape Navigator 6:

For those who use Netscape Navigator, you can export your bookmarks to an HTML file. Here's how

1. Open Netscape and hit the Bookmarks menu, Manage Bookmarks.

2. From the resulting screen, hit File, Export Bookmarks.

3. Stick a 3.5 floppy in and navigate to it via the Export Bookmarks dialog box.

Final Notes:

You should now have a copy of your favorites / bookmarks on disk. If you need to restore them, either to your computer or to another one, just replace the current files / folders with the ones you just backed up. Or, in the case of Netscape, import them through the bookmark management screen.

Note that if you replace a file that has bookmarks already in it, you may overwrite them with your restored ones, so make sure you're careful!

With Explorer, one way around that problem would be to re-name the file on the floppy something like "Old Favorites" and copy it to the regular Favorites folder.

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Posted in: System Maintenance

But I Already Uninstalled It!

Have you ever uninstalled a program only to later discover it's still on your Add/ Remove programs list? The program is gone, but its entry is still there.

When that happens, most people click the program, hit the Add / Remove button and end up with an error. And the program is still stuck on the list. It may have been removed from your computer, but its ghost seems determined to stay on.

So, is the program listing there forever? Can you ever get rid of it?

YES - but you have to play around in your system registry.

Before we go any farther, I want to say that messing with your registry is not for everyone and should only be attempted by advanced users. If any of the information below doesn't make sense to you, it's probably NOT a good idea for you to be trying this tip. So, do this only at your own risk. If something gets messed up, I don't wanna hear about it :-)

Here's the procedure:

1. Run your registry editor by hitting the Start button, Run, Then type:

regedit

Hit Enter.

2. Your registry editor should now be up and running. Now would be a good time to back up your registry by hitting the File menu, Export Registry. Just in case.

3. OK, now navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall

4. Under this Uninstall folder, you'll see all the stuff that's listed on the Add / Remove programs list. Find the folder for the program that's stuck in your Add / Remove programs box, right-click, and select Delete from the resulting menu.

Now, go back to your Control Panel, Add / Remove programs area and you should find that extra program is now gone.

BONUS TIP -

You may have already figured this out, but there's another use for this tip. If you have a program listed in the Add / Remove programs section that you DON'T ever want uninstalled, you can delete its folder from the Uninstall folder list mentioned above. That way, you (or someone else) won't accidentally remove it.

Note that deleting the folder won't remove the program, just its entry in the Add/ Remove section of the Control Panel.

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Posted in: System Maintenance