SPEED UP PUTER
There are MANY reasons for computer slow downs:
a] not enough memory
b] too many programs starting up with windows at boot up time
c] spyware
d] too many junk files
e] too many restore points
here are some ways to get that bad puppy back up to speed.
VERY 1st thing will be to open System Restore [ see Vista System Restore footnotes ]:
System Restore takes up 13% of your hard drive!
open System Restore from the accessories,system tools,system restore link in All Programs
settings
drive (c)
check OFF
while there,click--hold--drag slider to 3% and recover 10% hard drive space !
close this window and repeat the process but this time UN CHECK the OFF box
what you've just done is wiped the old restore points from your hard drive AND recovered 10% memory space on your hard drive WITHOUT adding memory!
right click Recycle bin
select properties
all drives
click--hold--drag slider to 3% and recover ANOTHER 10% of your hard drive space!
these 2 operations allow you to INCREASE YOUR MEMORY ALLOCATION BY 20% !
without paying a DIME !!
the following is for DIAL UP ONLY !
start,control panel,phone & modem options
modems,properties,advanced
initialization box
enter
at&fx
google for initialization strings to get more such initialization codes and try those
once a month do a disk defrag
weekly do a disk clean
install Ccleaner and run daily
every 6 months or so [ XP ]:
sfc/scannow:
start,my computer,drive (c),properties
tools,check both boxes
click start
repair bios:
press F1 at start up
wait 5 sec.'s
press f5 to restore default
wait 5 sec.'s to save & exit
Internet Options:
next,off to Internet Options:
start,control panel,general
history:
click clear history & set days to keep to 0
Temp files:
click clear temp files
cookies:
click clear cookies
close window
Vista Footnotes:
System Restore:
start--All Programs,Accessories,System Tools,System Restore:
How do I turn System Restore on or off?
System Protection, the feature that creates restore points, is on by default. We recommend that you keep System Protection turned on for all hard disks that contain important files so that you can use System Restore if you need to.
To turn System Restore on or off
Click to open System.
In the left pane, click System Protection. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
To turn on System Protection for a hard disk, select the check box next to the disk, and then click OK.
– or –
To turn off System Protection for a hard disk, clear the check box next to the disk, and then click OK.
Create Restore Point:
start,Accessories,System Tools,System Restore:
click open system protection
check (c) drive
click create
here are several programs I use for clean up and virus/trojan/worm removal
Avast anti virus
Spybot anti spyware
Spyware Blaster anti spyware
Registry Seeker registry cleaner
Ccleaner crap cleaner
the last 2 have an application [ program/software ] removal section to help with future problems
if you install Ccleaner,uncheck both Recycle bin & Cookies text boxes or you'll clean out both when you don't want to
open options,settings,cookies:
move cookies you want to keep from left box to [ keep ] right box
click brush,click run
the update button is right bottom
manage start up programs:
click tools,start up and there will be the programs that are starting up with windows at boot up time.
remove as many as you don't need to start up.
this DOES NOT remove a program from your computer,only stops it from starting up with windows making the boot time quicker
FASTER VISTA
FASTER MENU
1. These tweaks require that you venture into your registry, please backup your registry.
2. Go to Start > Run when the Run box opens type in regedit
3. Your registry should have opened [Just checking...have you backed up your registry?]
Navigate to the following keys; HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Control Panel >Desktop
4. On the pane to the right double-click on
MenuShowDelay
it should open up a dialog box with a set value (it should be 400), change that value to 50.
5. Click OK, you're done
Ditching Aero
Aero eats up a lot of system resources -- and takes a toll on performance as a result.
Microsoft makes turning off Aero pretty easy.
First, right-click on any blank area of your Vista desktop
select Personalize from the resulting pop-up menu.
The Windows Control Panel opens. From there
click the Window Color and Appearance link.
Then click the Enable Transparency check box to remove the check mark.
Before leaving the Window Color and Appearance dialog box,
click the link labeled "Open classic appearance properties for more color options."
That link takes you to the Appearance Settings dialog box.
In Appearance Settings, you'll find a list of color schemes from which you can choose.
Three of those color schemes -- Windows Vista Basic, Windows Standard, and Windows Classic
-- will remove the Aero interface. Specifically, Windows Vista Basic gives you the Vista look without the transparency effects of Aero. Windows Standard revives the Windows 2000 look, and Windows Classic is a throwback to the Windows 95/98 appearance. Switch to any one of these themes, and you should notice that Vista becomes a bit snappier overall.
Revamp Explorer and performance by changing some behaviors of the Vista version of Windows Explorer,
which is heavy on the glitz but has arguably taken a step backwards in usability.
The first sin of Vista's Windows Explorer is that the menus are no longer visible.
Get them back by opening Windows Explorer, pressing Alt-T to pull open the hidden Tools menu,
and then selecting Folder Options.
From the resulting Folder Options dialog box, click the View tab,
where you'll see a long list of check boxes.
Place a check mark in the second one, labeled "Always show menus,"
and you'll get your Explorer menus back in a flash.
While you're there, check the first option as well --
labeled "Always show icons, never thumbnails."
That option tells Vista not to bother with showing thumbnails of images in a directory listing.
If you can do without thumbnails,
you'll find that Explorer works faster and crashes much less often.
Back to Start
Vista's revamped Start menu has some nifty tricks up its sleeve.
The integrated Search field, for instance,
makes it easy to find programs that are nested deep within the Start menu,
and the integrated scroll bar offers a solution to the monitor-hogging fly out menus
that plagued the earlier Start menu.
However, if you find Vista's Start menu to be overkill --
or long for the simplicity of the earlier version -- you're in luck.
Right-click the Vista Start menu, and select Properties.
The Taskbar and Start Menu dialog box opens.
From there, select the Start Menu tab, and then click the Classic Start menu option button.
Click OK, and Vista will revamp your Start menu, giving you back the old-style XP Start menu.
These tricks won't make Vista work exactly like XP does, but they go some way toward giving you back that familiar look and feel -- as well as improving the performance of Vista.
Stabilize Vista
So, you've reluctantly decided to hang in there with Vista but still prefer the XP experience?
The good news is that there are things you can do to make Vista look
and work a little more like XP.
Faking It
First, right-click on an empty area of the desktop and select Personalize.
Click the Window Color and Appearance link,
and then click Open classic appearance properties for more color options.
From the list, choose Windows Vista Basic to get a quasi-XP look and feel,
or Windows Classic if you prefer the utilitarian interface from Windows 2000 and 98.
Either choice should also improve system performance,
since the flashy (and essentially useless) transparency effects are system resource hogs.
While you're at it, you can also revert Vista's Start menu to the simpler form
it took in earlier versions of Windows.
Right-click the Start button, select Properties, and then choose the Classic Start menu option.
Next, if you're frustrated by the absence of drop-down menus in Windows Explorer
and Internet Explorer, you can bring them back any time by pressing the Alt key.
To make this change permanent in Windows Explorer,
open the Organize drop-down, select Folder and Search Options,
choose the View tab, and then turn on the Always show menus check box.
One of Vista's biggest problems is the Green Ribbon of Death,
the harbinger of a crashed Explorer window.
XP certainly has Vista beat in this area,
but only because XP's Windows Explorer doesn't take on as much.
To make Explorer more stable in Vista, open Folder Options in Control Panel,
and choose the View tab.
Select the first option here, Always show icons, never thumbnails, and click OK.
Now, if you'd rather not do away with Vista's thumbnail previews of videos and pictures,
you're probably going to need to deal with the occasional crash.
If the Green Ribbon rears its ugly head, just press Ctrl-Shift-Esc,
then choose the Processes tab.
Click the Image Name column header to sort the list alphabetically,
then select an instance of Explorer.exe and click End Process to close it
(repeat for each open Explorer window).
If the desktop disappears in the process, don't sweat it:
From Task Manager's File menu, select New Task, type explorer in the box,
and click OK to bring the desktop back.
If this