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Make Your PC Work Better September 03, 2001 URL: http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/hardware/desktops/soa/Make-Your-PC-Work-Better/0,139023402,120210739,00.htm
Learn how to print painlessly, improve Internet connections, avoid crashes and more in this complete guide. Programs that conflict with each other, lost Internet connections, and sometimes the whole thing comes crashing to a halt--this is a productivity tool? Well, we're here to help. At PC Magazine Labs, we deal with the various problems that arise on a regular basis, and through our experience, offer you some of our favorite tips to help you fix, work around, or maybe just cope with your computer. We'll help you speed up your system, make Windows look the way you want it, diagnose system crashes, improve your Internet connections, and more. Read on and learn about how to deal with some of Windows' greatest frustrations and how to make your Windows system run more smoothly than ever before. Top 10 Tips for Tinkering with Your PC 1. Back it up. Backing up your entire hard disk might be impactical, but make sure all your data files, customisation files, Registry, and application configuration files are backed up. Don't just do it once--make it a regular habit. 2. Make sure you have up-to-date Windows startup disks (Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs > Startup Disk). Be sure to have copies of all your device drivers handy as well. 3. Store your user names and passwords on paper and keep them somewhere safe. If you forget your Windows password, having it in a file on your PC won't help you. 4. The Windows Registry is not something to be fooled with unless you have some experience using it already. Even if you are familiar with the Registry, you should be extremely careful not to stray from the task at hand or you'll risk severely damaging your system. 5. Did we mention that you should back up your PC? 6. Partition your hard disk. Put your data files on a separate volume from your operating system and programs. Put a copy of your operating system on a separate hard disk as well: It will make backups and re-installation of software much easier. 7. Paste a copy of each program's serial number to its CD jewel case, or use a permanent marker to write the number on the CD itself (on the label side!). 8. If you're on a network, keep a copy of all your network settings (IP address, DNS, gateway, network card settings, and so on) handy. 9.If it ain't broke, don't fix it. If you have no compelling reason to open the case or upgrade your operating system or applications, don't. 10. No kidding, we really mean it: Backup is important. Speed Up Windows Tidy Up Your Temp Folder
del C:\Windows\Temp\*.tmp > nul to your Autoexec.bat file to clean up this file every time you start your computer. If you're running Windows 98, you can run the System Configuration Utility, click on the Autoexec.bat file and on New (if you don't already have an Autoexec) or Edit (if you have this file), add the line, and then enable it. In Windows 95, you can typically find the Autoexec.bat file in the root directory of your C: drive. Open it in Windows Notepad and make the changes there. Clean Up Your System Tray
Sometimes the program provides a friendly way to clean up the System Tray. Right-click on the program's tray icon to see whenter you have the option of turning it off. If all you want to do is clean the icons out of your System Tray (while still having the programs load). If you're running Windows 95:
If you're running Windows 98:
If your program wasn't in the StartUp folder, check the Registry. Go to Start > Run and type regedit. Go to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\ Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion section. Look for the Run key, which contains a number of strings-programs Windows loads. You can delete keys at your discretion. Restart Windows and Tweak UI When you need to restart Windows, here's how to cut short the sometimes lengthy reboot process. Launch Notepad and type the following line: @EXIT Save the file as C:\Windows\Desktop \Restart.bat. An icon for the file will show up on your desktop. Right-click on the icon; choose Properties, then the Program tab. Make sure the Close on Exit option is enabled. Click the Advanced button, and make sure that the MS-DOS mode option is selected and that the "Warn before entering MS-DOS mode"option is deselected. Click OK to close both dialog boxes. A second icon (Restart.pif) will be created. Double-click on this icon whenever you need to restart Windows. Tweak UI to Speed Up Windows
Under the Boot tab in Tweak UI, you can prevent ScanDisk from automatically running at start-up, further speeding the boot process. Another way to use TweakUI to speed up your system is to uncheck all the check-box items in the Paranoia tab that clean up parts of your system, such as the Documents folder and your Internet Explorer history, at log-on. Start Menu and Quick Launch Bar Add Control Panel to the Start Menu
Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D} You can create similar cascading menus for your printers and Dial-Up Networking connections by following the same procedure with these folder names: Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}
Quick Launch
Prevent System Crashes HINT: Always Shut Down Properly
Run IE in a Separate Process
To prevent this occurrence, you need to run IE in a separate process from Windows Explorer. Microsoft warns that this might decrease general performance, but your browser shouldn't crash your system as often, so we think this is a good trade-off. Go into Internet Options (on the View menu in IE4 and under the Tools menu in IE5) and click on the Advanced tab. Scroll down the Browsing section. Select Browse in a New Process by clicking on the checkbox. Then click OK, close IE4, and restart it. Find the Kernel of Truth in IE Crashes
One of the more likely reasons is that there is at least one dynamic link library (DLL), a type of program file, located on the desktop. If so, you probably can't see it, because by default, Windows won't show such files. To make them visible, open My Computer by double-clicking on it. Select the View menu, then either Options or Folder Options (depending on your version of Windows). On the View tab, you will find an option to "Show all files." Select it. After you click OK, you may see new files, some with a DLL extension. Give each file a different type of extension or move it. Dial-up Networking, Minimise Crashes Dial-Up Networking Hangs While Trying to Connect
You need either to disable View Details in DUN or to uninstall the Windows Desktop Update component. First, create a shortcut for your DUN connection and add it to your desktop. You can find your connection in your DUN folder, which is in My Computer. Connect to the Internet with your new shortcut. Go to Start | Programs | Accessories | Dial-Up Networking. In the View menu, deselect Details by choosing another view, such as Large Icons. If you need to uninstall the Windows Desktop Update, go into the Control Panel, open Add/Remove Programs, click on Internet Explorer 4.0, and then click on the Add/Remove button. In the IE4 Active Setup dialog box, click on "Remove the Windows Desktop Update component, but keep the Internet Explorer 4.0 Web browser." Minimise Crashes and Crash Damage
1. Always shut the PC down properly. Windows creates temporary files that need to be closed before you turn off your machine. If you just throw the switch, these files are left in limbo. Not only might you lose program data that has not been saved, but it's possible that badly written programs could be left in an unusable state. 2. When using Dial-Up Networking (DUN), don't physically disconnect your phone line from the PC before shutting down your connection. Depending on the application that's using DUN, Windows can hang waiting on the COM port. 3. Let ScanDisk run during boot-up if your machine requires it. 4. Store data files on a different partition from the operating system. If Windows does crash and needs to be reinstalled, you won't lose data. Solve Application Conflicts HINT: No Uninstall Program?
Uninstall Programs Properly 1. Many programs have their own uninstall option, typically accessible from the application's Start Menu group or the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel. This will usually get rid of the program. 2. When uninstalling, Windows does not usually delete user files, which include configuration files the program creates from your input. The main clue that these haven't been deleted is the message "Some elements could not be removed." 3. Once the uninstall is done, go into Explorer, look in the program's install directory for any files you would want to keep, and move or delete the directory. You may want to note where the program's directory is before you uninstall it by right-clicking on its shortcut and selecting Properties to see where the program is located. 4. One common problem is that once the program is removed, its entry remains in the Add/Remove Programs list. To remove the entry manually, you will need to edit your Registry. Go to Start | Run and type Regedit. Go to the key Hkey_local_machine\Software\Microsoft\ Windows\CurrentVersion\ Uninstall. There you will see a series of keys, with one for each entry in the Add/Remove dialog box. When you find the key with the values for the nonfunctioning entry, delete the entire key. Prevent Hardware Conflicts HINT: Boot in Safe Mode
If you're a Windows 95 user, start your machine and press the F8 key when you see the Starting Windows message. With Windows 98, you'll need to hold down the Ctrl key when the computer beeps after the Power-On Self Test until the menu comes up. See Boot Shortcuts for a complete list of boot modes. Diagnose Hardware Conflicts
You can view IRQ assignments under Windows in several ways. One method that Windows 95 and 98 have in common is under Control Panel's System option and the Device Manager tab. Double-click on Computer at the top of the tree. In Windows 98, you can view IRQs through the System Information Utility. 1. Several IRQs are already dedicated to system devices (such as system timer, disk drives, and the keyboard) and cannot be used. 2. Certain IRQs have been commonly used for the standard I/O ports--serial and parallel--usually IRQ 4, 3, and 7, representing COM1, COM2, and LPT1, respectively. The IRQs that are left can be used to add new hardware. 3. The PCI bus in most new systems permits interrupt allocation flexibility during boot-up. Replacing your non-plug-and-play ISA cards with PCI cards can be a great boon to the IRQ-challenged. 4. Installing plug-and-play hardware can reduce IRQ conflicts. At boot-up, Windows scans for available IRQs and will assign them to hardware drivers on the fly. Buy USB peripherals in the future. This should let you free up a COM or LPT port that's currently occupying an IRQ. When a Device in the Computer Isn't Working Sometimes a device, such as a scanner or network card, mysteriously stops working under Windows. If you can't find an easy solution (loose cord, power off, or the like), write down its properties such as the IP and DNS addresses on a network card and make sure you have the latest drivers handy either on disk or downloaded from the company's Web site. Then follow these instructions to delete the device from the Windows Device Manager and let Windows set the device up again. 1.Open the System applet in Control Panel and select the Device Manager tab. Here, you will see a list of the devices in your system. 2. Find the device in question, click on it, and then press the Remove button. You may also see the effect of a common Windows bug in the form of two or more entries for one device. In this case, remove all the entries. 3. After you have removed the device, shut Windows down and restart. If It Works: Windows will probably detect and reinstall the device. Because Windows analyses the system at times like this for available resources, it will often reassign your device to different resources than it had before, and any problems should go away. If It Doesn't: In some cases, Windows will prompt you to insert the device's installation disk. If it doesn't find your device, you may have to run the installation routine again. Improve Internet Connections HINT: Find Your IP Settings
winipcfg This undocumented program will give you all the info you need if you're having a network problem or not connecting correctly to your ISP. Click on the More Info button to get a complete IP profile. Connect to the Internet as Needed
The easiest way is to run the Internet Connection Wizard. If you have IE3, go to the Start Menu and select Programs | Accessories | Internet Tools | Get on the Internet. If you have Windows 98, go to Start | Programs | Accessories | Internet Tools | Connection Wizard. This tip gives you the added benefit of a prompt to disconnect when you close your browser or other Internet application. Connect to the Web at Start-Up Is Web surfing your primary computing activity? If you want to have your computer dial the Internet each time you start up, here's how: 1.You'll need a fairly new version of Dial-Up Networking. To get the latest DUN for Windows 95, go to Microsoft's Web site. If you're using Windows 98, you're fine. 2. Once you're up and running, right-click on the Start button and choose Explore. Click on the + to the left of the Programs folder to expose its subfolders, including StartUp. 3. Now scroll the left pane down below your drives until you find the Dial-Up Networking entry on the left. Click on it and you should see your Dial-Up Networking entries to the right. 4. Select the connection you want to use each time you start up and then click on the Connection menu and choose Settings. Uncheck the box that says "Prompt for information before dialing." 5. Scroll the left pane back up to the point where you can again see the StartUp folder, then drag a copy of the Dial-Up Networking connection to it. 6. Reboot your system; you'll be on the Web in no time. 7. If you're going online every time, you're probably going to the Web and checking email. Put shortcuts to your favorite browser and mail client in C:\Windows\StartUp as well. Get Dial-up Networking to Remember Your Password Sometimes, no matter how many times you check the Save Password box, Dial-Up Networking (DUN) just won't do it. This is a fairly common problem. Two quick tips will fix most instances of this problem. First, you must be logged on for Windows to remember passwords. That means don't hit Esc when Windows asks you to log on. If you don't want to type a Windows log-on password each time, leave your password blank under the Passwords Control Panel applet. Second, DUN will not remember a password unless you've made a successful connection to the server. If these approaches don't work, the next step is to remove and reinstall DUN. First, download the most recent version of DUN before you disable the present one. You'll find it here if you're a Windows 95 user and here if you're a Windows 98 user. Open the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel. Select the Windows Setup tab. Click Communications, then Details. Click on the Dial-Up Networking checkbox once to clear it, click OK, and then restart your computer when you are prompted to do so. After the reboot, install the new DUN and try again. Print Without Pain HINT: Keep Your Printer Close
Getting Started
You can also try the Print Troubleshooter to help you out. In Windows 95, go to Start > Help. On the Contents tab, double-click on the Troubleshooting topic. Double-click on the If You Have Trouble Printing topic. You will also find the Windows 95 Resource Kit includes a more detailed Print Troubleshooter tool. It's also available on the Windows 95 Upgrade CD-ROM in Other\Misc\Epts\Epts.exe. Windows 98 users will see the Print Troubleshooter under Troubleshooting in the Help menu. Click on Windows 98 Troubleshooters, and then click on Print. Improve Your Printing Speed Windows defaults to spooling print jobs. The Print Spooler is a background program that writes data to temporary files in your C:\Windows\Temp directory. Although this lets you perform other tasks while you print, it does slow printing. 1. On most printers, you can turn off the spooler by going to Start > Settings > Printers. Right-click on the icon of the printer you're using. 2. Click Properties and select the Details tab. Click on the Spool Settings button at the bottom of the dialog box. 3. Select the Print Directly to Printer option. This will tie up your application until the printer has all the data, but your print job should finish more quickly. Printing directly to the printer will also come in handy if your print spooler crashes and you need to print before you reboot your PC. When Printing Problems Occur in Only One Application Try printing from Notepad or WordPad to make sure that the problem is limited to just one application and isn't indicative of a problem with Windows. If the problem occurs in one document only, try to print a blank page inside the application. If this prints, the application may have problems with memory or fonts. If you're using a 16-bit application, the problem could be an INI file that needs to be modified to accommodate the application. You should reinstall the application and contact the manufacturer of the application for specific settings that might affect printing. Boot Shortcuts For some kinds of troubleshooting, you need to boot your PC into a mode other than the normal Start-up. If you're a Windows 95 user, start your machine and press the F8 key when you see the Starting Windows message. With Windows 98, you'll need to hold down the Ctrl key when the computer beeps after the Power-On Self Test until the menu comes up. The menu gives you selections for: 1. Normal.
If you're a Windows 98 user, you have 30 seconds to select a boot mode once the menu pops up. Windows 95 doesn't time you out, so users have to select something. The default will be highlighted (usually it's Safe Mode) and will boot if you don't select another option.
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