Speed up slow PC - Squeeze every last drop of performance out of your XP

With faster machines cropping up almost daily, the life span of a midrange PC is a little more than two years of service. Physically, the computer you bought a few years ago is just as sound as any new piece of hardware. Ideally, it could probably last you a decade or two--as long as you didn't add any new software or surf the Net. Realistically, that's not likely to be the case. Instead of buying a new computer, optimize your present one. The following are 11 things that Chip Manufacturers and PC Retailers don't want you to know or how to perform. Following these advices will drastically increase your PC performance and help you regain your sanity while saving loads of money. And, if your PC is years old and can't afford to upgrade yet, you will be able to squeeze out some more juice out of the old thing!

1. Disable file indexing. This is a tiny service that uses a great deal of RAM and induces much disk thrashing. Your system instantly becomes more responsive. Here's how: First, doubleclick the My Computer icon. Then, right-click on the C: Drive, then hit Properties. Uncheck "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching." Next, apply changes to "C: subfolders and files," and click OK.

2. Zap the Windows Prefetch folder every week. Windows XP can "prefetch" portions of data and applications that are frequently loaded. This allows processes appear to start faster when requested the user. Over time, the prefetch folder overwhelms with references to files and applications no longer in use. Guess what happens? Windows XP wastes time and grinds to a halt by pre-loading obsolete data. It helps you gain some performance on your XP Professional to periodically empty the prefetch folder.

The prefetch folder resides on your local hard disk, under the Windows folder.
%systemroot%\prefetch
-or-
X:\windows\prefetch

Where X is the drive letter where you have Windows installed. Either path will get you to your local system. The second path is for those who have the default installation on the most commonly used drive letter, C:\

3. Optimise Display Settings. Windows XP can look sexy but displaying all the visual items can waste system resources. Kill unnecessary animations, and nix active desktop. Here's how to do it:
1) Go to Start
2) Click Settings
3) Click Control Panel
4) Click System
5) Click Advanced tab
6) In the Performance tab click Settings
7) Leave only the following ticked:
(1) Show shadows under menus
(2) Show shadows under mouse pointer
(3) Show translucent selection rectangle
(4) Use drop shadows for icons labels on the desktop
(5) Use visual styles on windows and buttons
Feel free to play around with the options offered here, as nothing you can change will alter the stability of the computer - only its responsiveness.

4. Remove the Desktop Picture Your desktop background consumes a fair amount of memory and can slow the loading time of your system. Removing it will improve performance.
1) Right click on Desktop and select Properties
2) Select the Desktop tab
3) In the Background window select None
4) Click Ok

5. Remove Fonts for Speed Zap extra fonts fonts installed on their computer. Fonts, especially TrueType fonts, use quite a bit of system resources. The more fonts they have, the more lethargic the system will become. Anything over 300 fonts tax the system and slow down load times- especially graphic apps. For optimal performance, trim your fonts down to just those that you need to use on a daily basis and fonts that applications may require.
1) Open Control Panel
2) Open Fonts folder
3) Move fonts you don't need to a temporary directory (e.g. C:\FONTBKUP?) just in case you need or want to bring a few of them back. The more fonts you uninstall, the more system resources you will gain.

6. Speedup Folder Browsing You may have noticed that everytime you open my computer to browse folders that there is a slight delay. This is because Windows XP automatically searches for network files and printers everytime you open Windows Explorer. To fix this and to increase browsing significantly:
1) Open My Computer
2) Click on Tools menu
3) Click on Folder Options
4) Click on the View tab.
5) Uncheck the Automatically search for network folders and printers check box
6) Click Apply
7) Click Ok
8) Reboot your computer
To prevent a single Windows Explorer window tanking up takes the rest of your OS down, you can launch separate folder windows in multi processes. Open My Computer, hit on Tools, then Folder Options. Click on the View tab. Scroll down to "Launch folder windows in a separate process," and enable this option.

7. Disable Performance Counters Windows XP has a performance monitor utility which monitors several areas of your PC's performance. These utilities take up system resources so disabling is a good idea. To disable:
1) download and install the Extensible Performance Counter List
2) Then select each counter in turn in the 'Extensible performance counters' window and clear the 'performance counters enabled' checkbox at the bottom button below

8. Optimise Your Pagefile Windows XP sizes the page file to about 1.5X the amount of actual physical memory by default. While this is good for systems with smaller amounts of memory (under 512MB) it is unlikely that a typical XP desktop system will ever need 1.5 X 512MB or more of virtual memory. If you have less than 512MB of memory, leave the page file at its default size. If you have 512MB or more, change the ratio to 1:1 page file size to physical memory size.
1) Right click on My Computer and select Properties
2) Select the Advanced tab
3) Under Performance choose the Settings button
4) Select the Advanced tab again and under Virtual Memory select Change
5) Highlight the drive containing your page file and make the initial Size of the file the same as the Maximum Size of the file.

9. Improve Memory Usage PC Washer improves the performance of your computer by optimizing the disk cache, memory and a number of other settings.

Once Installed:
1) Click the 'Tools' from the left menu
2) Select 'Memory Booster' in the tools list. A new window named 'PC Turbo Memory' will popup.
3) Click Defragment button in the new window.
4) Exit the program. That's all.

10. Disable unnecessary services Windows XP loads services you will never need. To determine which services you can disable for your client, visit the Black Viper site for ideal Windows XP configurations. Here are a few services I booted off to streamline my PC:
* Alerter
* Background Intelligent Transfer Service
* ClipBook
* Computer Browser
* Error Reporting Service
* Help and Support
* Indexing Service
* IPSEC Services
* Messenger
* NetMeeting Remote Desktop Sharing
* Network DDE
* Network DDE DSDM
* Performance Logs and Alerts
* Portable Media Serial Number
* QOS RSVP
* Help Session Manager
* Remote Registry
* Secondary Logon
* Server
* Smart Card
* Smart Card Helper
* SSDP Discovery Service
* System restore Service
* TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
* Uninterruptible Power Supply
* Universal Plug and Play Device Host
* WebClient
* Windows time
* Wireless Zero Configuration
* WMI Performance Adapter

11. Disconnect USB devices you aren't using. When Windows starts, it must load all the drivers for the devices connected to your computer. If you have many devices connected to the USB ports, such as printers, scanners, cameras and hard drives that you don't use on a regular basis, disconnect them. You can reconnect them when you use them. Disconnecting them when they are not in use will allow Windows to load the drivers only when needed.

The above steps should help increase the performance of Windows XP as well as keep it running with more stability.

Duncan Kredion (author) is a software engineer focusing on system optimization area since 1999. To read more system optimization tips, please visit Windows XP & Vista Optimization Tips Archive .

-MFA CORP @ Computer and technology - Speed up slow PC
Mega Focus Assemblage (MFA) contains collections of various articles for every aspect of life. Developed with purpose to be ultimate resource for your information.

Booting problem in PC (Computers & Technology)

One fine day you start your PC and get messages that say,’Book Disk failure’. The problem is that the hard disk is detected but the OS does not load. The system may get stuck in the second screen during the booting process or the OS might display an error message and refuse to load. Such situations can be troublesome as they leave you with very few troubleshooting options.

One of the common problems in dual boot systems is of the boot loader getting corrupted. For example, you have a system running Windows XP and Linux using Lila as boot loader. If Lila gets corrupted, you cannot boot into either OS.When this happens, you have to boot into the system using some other media, such as a boot floppy or the Windows Dafter booting go to the command prompt, type ‘fdisk/mbr’ and press [Enter]. Note that if you use Windows 2000 or XP, boot into the recovery console and give the command ‘fixmbr’ to clear the MBR. Unfortunately, after you restart, it will boot to Windows directly, without any option of booting into Linux. You will have to restore LiLo again from your Linux CD, or reinstall boot loaders such as XOSL from Windows.

If your problem persists, or if you never used a boot loader, than boot into the system from a boot floppy or the Windows CD.Windows 2000 and XP users should boot into the recovery console. Go to the command prompt and give the command fdisfk/mbr’and then give the command ‘sys C’. This clears the MBR, and makes the bootable partition C, Windows 2000 and XP users should give the command ‘fixmbr’ and’ fixboot’ C: to do the same. Then restart the system to boot into the OS.

If you still have trouble, you might have a virus on your PC’s boot sector .It is difficult to confirm an infection without a virus scan. Thesymptoms of an infections-applications slowing down or many unrecognized files appearing in the system-should give you a clue. For example Windows 98 and Me users might see a message during boot up that says,” No valid FAT on boot drive” this is caused due to a boot sector virus called stoned Monk. Even reinstalling Windows might give you an error message that says, “Your computer already has an operating system installed”. Then best solution is to connect the hard disk to another system, and scan with an anti virus tool. You can also create a rescue disk for the anti virus tool and scan the system using it.

If nothing mentioned above seems to work. Then you have a serious problem at hand. Connect it to some other system and try to access the data if you can, then your boot record is damaged. Otherwise the service center beckons.
Prakash (author) is Computer Hardware Expert, for more computer related articles
please visit at Computers-and-Technology. Prakash Bengani is a computer hardware expert , for more computer related articles please visit at http://www.articles-hub.com

-MFA CORP@Computers & Technology

What is The Difference Between a Worm, Virus and Trojan Horse?

What is The Difference Between a Worm, Virus and Trojan Horse?
Tips and recommendations for protecting your PC...

Most of us don't make a real difference between worm, virus and Trajan Horse or refer to a worm or Trajan Horse as a virus.

All of us know all are malicious programs that can cause very serious damage to PC. Exist differences among the three, and knowing those differences can help you to better protect your computer from their often damaging effects.

A computer virus is a program or piece of code that is loaded onto your computer without your knowledge and runs against your wishes. Some viruses cause only mildly annoying effects while others can damage your hardware, software or files. Almost all viruses are attached to an executable file, which means the virus may exist on your computer but it cannot infect your computer unless you run or open the malicious program. A virus cannot be spread without a human action, (such as running an infected program) to keep it going. People continue the spread of a computer virus, mostly unknowingly, by sharing infecting files or sending e-mails with viruses as attachments in the e-mail.

A worm is a program or algorithm that replicates itself. A worm has the capability to travel without any help from a person from PC to PC and have ability to replicate itself on your system, so rather than your computer sending out a single worm, it could send out hundreds or thousands of copies of itself, creating a huge devastating effect.

A Trojan Horse is a destructive program that "working" as a benign application ( (like changing your desktop, adding silly active desktop icons) or can cause serious damage by deleting files and destroying information on your system. Trojans are also known to create a back door on your computer that gives malicious users access to your system, possibly allowing confidential or personal information to be compromised. Trojans do not reproduce by infecting other files nor do they self-replicate.

Added into the mix, we also have what is called a blended threat. Blended threats combine the characteristics of viruses, worms, Trojan Horses, and malicious code with server and Internet vulnerabilities. By using multiple methods and techniques, blended threats can rapidly spread and cause widespread damage. Characteristics of blended threats include: causes harm, propagates by multiple methods, attacks from multiple points, and exploits vulnerabilities. This combination of method and techniques means blended threats can spread quickly and cause widespread damage. Characteristics of blended threats include: causes harm, propagates by multiple methods, attacks from multiple points and exploits vulnerabilities. They are considered to be the worst risk to security since the inception of viruses, as most blended threats require no human intervention to propagate.

Therefore is very important to protect your PC with a good anti-virus software installed on your system with the latest fixes for new viruses, worms, and Trojan horses.

Additionally, you want to make sure your anti-virus program has the ability to scan e-mail and files as they are downloaded from the Internet. This will help prevent malicious programs from even reaching your computer. You should also install a a system that prevents unauthorized use and access to your computer (firewall as well). A good software firewall will protect your computer from outside attempts to control or gain access your computer, and usually provides additional protection against the most common Trojan programs or e-mail worms.

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Buying Printer Ink

Most homes these days have at least one printer hooked up to their personal computer. And a personal computer gets a fair amount of use through the day as an average family of four find a variety of uses to fill their time at the computer, including entertainment, information, to help with school work, to find recipes, to shop, to browse the Internet, etc.

So it is no surprise then that the printer gets a lot of use. With so many computers in North America running so many printers for so many people, it is no wonder that many printer manufacturers sell their printers at almost no profit because they make huge profits on ink refills.

Ink refill can be expensive, especially if you have a color printer, since you have to refill the black cartridge plus the three primary color cartridges as well. Filling a modern BubbleJet printer can cost well over $100!

It does not have to be that way. There are options available that are more affordable. Here is a review and evaluation of your cartridge refill options:

You can go out and buy the manufacturer's ink cartridges. It is quick, easy, clean but can cost $100 or more if you have to replace all four ink cartridges. However, by staying loyal to the brand, you maintain the warranty on your printer.
Affordability factor: low -- Cleanliness factor: high -- Convenience factor: high

You can buy off-brand ink cartridges. These may void your warranty, but you can be sure that they will likely work in your printer since many other people are purchasing them as well and the off-brand ink cartridge manufacturing company does not want to lose customers by producing a product that does not work..
Affordability factor: medium -- Cleanliness factor: high -- Convenience factor: high

You can go to a printer refill kiosk in the mall and have then refill your cartridges. This will void your warranty as well, but for people who find the high cost of ink cartridges prohibitive, this is an excellent option. It's also environmentally sound since there is little waste.
Affordability factor: medium -- Cleanliness factor: high -- Convenience factor: high

You can purchase a commercial ink refilling kit and do it yourself. This is the most affordable method but it can be messy, and take a long time if you have never done it before. And while it may only cost you a few dollars, you void your warranty by using any non-manufacturer-approved ink and equipment.
Affordability factor: high -- Cleanliness factor: low -- Convenience factor: low

For most people who are willing to risk the warranty and who don't want the hassle of doing it themselves, buying off-brand cartridges or getting used cartridges refilled at a kiosk is the best option.

Jeff Lakie is the founder of Printer Ink Resources a website providing information on Printer Ink

-MFA CORP@computer & tech

No Sound From Speakers?

You have a sound card and a set of speakers, but for the life of you, you cannot get them to work. Most of the time, this is caused by carelessness. Though it sounds idiotic, the first step is to check the connections. Most people accidentally plug the speaker jack into the Line-in Jack of the sound card. Check to see if this is not so in your case. If you have amplified speakers, make sure that the power is on and mute is not.

The next step is to see where the trouble lies. Many-a-times, people spend hours trying to fix a system that hasn’t broken. Check to see if the speakers work properly before trying to troubleshoot your system. Do this by connecting the speakers to a music system or radio. If they do, the problem is definitely system related.

The first thing to do now is to check the volume levels in the system. Check the volume controller in the system tray and also open the advanced audio controls to make sure that all is well-nothing is muted or at really love levels Now use several multimedia applications to play various media files to insure that the problem is truly system related, and not limited to a particular application or file. If you find that only a certain application has the problem, such as Windows Media Player or Winamp, reinstall it.

If all this is to no avail, go to the system properties [Windows] + [Pause/Break] or right-click on my computer and select Properties and in device manager make sure that sound card is installed properly. Look for a yellow exclamation mark, if it present, you will have to reinstall the drivers.

If you have an integrated sound card that is disabled in the BIOS, then Windows will not be able to detect it. Refer to your motherboard manual, and find out how to enable the same. Usually it is present under the advanced peripherals section in BIOS.

If you have access to another PC, plug the sound card into that system, and check if it is working. If the problem persists, off to a technician you go.

Prakash Bengani is a computer hardware expert , for more computer related articles please visit at http://www.articles-hub.com

-MFA CORP@computers & technology

Should I buy a cheap laptop or a cheap desktop?

You may find yourself asking that question many times while shopping for a computer. This guide offers you the pros and cons of owning a laptop versus a desktop pc.

Processing speed

Comparing processing speeds, laptops usually lag behind their desktop counterparts. With the rapid advance in microchip technology, the gap between them will become smaller.

Wireless

Most laptops especially those with Intel mobile chips come with wireless capability out of the box. This means you can get online from any location at home easily without ugly wires if you have a wireless network setup at home. Desktop pcs do not typically provide this capability out of the box although that may change in the near future.

Memory

Memory chip tends to be more expensive in Laptop than desktop pcs. If you buy a laptop with less than 512MB ram, be prepare to pay more for memory upgrades than you have to with a desktop pc.

Graphics Display

Because of the size of a laptop, most business or entry level laptop use integrated graphics with limited ram. This means most laptops even some expensive ones cannot run graphics intensive applications or 3d games as well as a desktop pc. With a desktop pc, you can buy a dedicated graphics card just to serve a graphics intensive application.

Portability

Portability is why everyone wants a laptop these days. Because of their size and weight, it is easier to carry a laptop around as opposed to a desktop pc.

Screen Display

Everyone buy laptop for their portability so laptops usually do not come with screens as big as their desktop counterparts. The screen technology used is usually not as good as those used by desktop pc. Furthermore with a desktop pc, you can always upgrade to a bigger and better screen whereas for laptop you are stuck with the same screen display for the whole lifespan of the laptop.

Upgradeability

Laptops do not offer many upgrade options. You can only upgrade memory and hard disk. With a desktop you can upgrade almost anything and only limited by the motherboard. This means a cheap desktop pc offers a longer lifespan than a laptop.

So whether you should buy a cheap laptop or a cheap desktop, ask yourself what are your needs? If you want to be able to use a computer wherever you go, then you are looking at a laptop to fulfill your needs. However if you do not require the portability of a laptop, play a lot of 3D games, graphic intensive applications, if you care about upgradeability to prolong the lifespan of your investment, then desktop pc is a smarter choice for you.

Charles Wee (author) runs a free hosting service at BloggerHaven. He also owns and runs a website at CheapLaptopGuide which provides free guidance for buying of cheap laptops and notebooks

-MFA CORP@computer & technology

Selecting a New Hard Drive For Your Computer

It is hard to imagine that anyone could fill up one of the huge hard drives that are included in most computers today, but considering that almost everything is in multimedia format these days, all that music, those photos and multiple videos can consume space pretty quickly. And if you work with graphics or any type of labor intensive software, then you may find yourself out of hard drive space sooner than you think.

When you are selecting a new hard drive for your computer, it is important to choose carefully to ensure that your hard drive works well and lasts longer. In this case, cheaper is definitely not better. When you are choosing a new hard drive, the most important factors are quality and reliability. In this way, you make certain that your hard drive does not experience any unnecessary mechanical failures or losses of data.

Of course, when you are running out of space on your current hard drive, one of the things that you will be comparing with different hard drives is the storage capacity. When you are considering how much space you need for your new hard drive, you need to think about how you actually use your computer and what types of files you actually store. Someone who just stores the minimum amount of information does not need a 1000 GB hard drive. However, if you are storing full length movies or doing some serious video editing, a hard drive with 500 GB or more of storage space is not out of the question. Keep in mind also that the newest hard drives with the latest technology are going to include more storage space than you will probably need. So weigh your options.

Hard drives transfer in one of two ways – either via an IDE or SATA connection. IDE hard drives are older and transfer data at the rates of 33, 66, 100, and 133 MB/s. If you have an older computer, then you may only be able to upgrade to the max in this range. The newer SATA hard drives transfer data at much higher speeds – 150 and 300 MB/s. Hard drive technology is always changing and evolving, so be sure to do your research beforehand.

What you pay for your new hard drive will depend on a number of factors – one of the biggest factors being storage capacity. Another factor that will affect how much your new hard drive costs is the rotation speed. Faster rotation speeds indicate how much more quickly your information will be found. You should look for a hard drive with at least 7200 RPM rotation speed.

With so much information to review, it can be pretty difficult to decide which hard drive upgrade is best for you. If you can afford it, a faster hard drive with a couple hundred gigabytes of space will probably be what you need and a bit more. Well known brands such as Seagate and Maxtor are definitely worth considering as these companies are known for producing top quality products that last.

Making a good choice when selecting your new hard drive will ensure that you have enough storage space and that you can access your information quickly. You can also take comfort in knowing that you have chosen a product that will hopefully last you for a while to come.

written by By Dave Page
- MFA Corp