Beginners Guides: 101 Tech Tips and Tweaks for Windows
From performance to security and
privacy tips; from essential advice for beginners to registry tweaks, PCSTATS 101 Tech Tips will help you get the most out of your PC! - Version 1.3.5
PCSTATS has a little present for you this week - a massive Tech Tip guide for Windows; 101 useful and sometimes spicy Tweaks and Tips that you can use to improve your clunkly PC! Some you might know, some you might not, but guaranteeded there is a lot of interesting advice in this guide.
From Beginner's Tech Tips to registry tweaks, it's all
present and accounted for. This list is presented in two sections. The first is
composed of tweaks and tips you can implement using options already present in
the Windows XP interface.
The second is composed of Registry tips which
require the use of the REGEDIT program. Instructions are included, so read on,
and enjoy!.
Now before we get started,
click on this link to bookmark the guide. There are so many useful tips and
tweaks listed here that I'm sure at some time in the near future you'll need to
reference a tip here and may not be able to remember the exact URL.
Performance Tech
Tips (1-12) |
Essential
advice for Beginners (59-80) |
- Turn off or reduce system restore to save
hard drive space
- Altering page files
- Clean out prefetch folder
- Set priority for individual programs
- Cleaning up unwanted startup programs
- Defrag your hard drive
- Disable unnecessary services
- Disable the Disk performance counter(s)
- Turn Off Windows Indexing service
- Increasing desktop Graphics Performance
- Check and set the DMA mode on your drives
- Smooth out your mouse movement
Useful Tech Tips for Windows
(13-30)
- Resize screen fonts on the fly in Internet
Explorer
- Mouse Sonar
- Quick back and forward commands in
Internet explorer
- Mount a new hard drive as a folder in your
C: drive
- Enable clear type
- Create a keyboard shortcut to a folder or
program
- Use remote desktop to connect to your PC
from anywhere (XP Pro only)
- XP Powertoys
- Backing up or transferring your email
manually with outlook express
- Running legacy software in Windows XP
- Compressing files and folders to save
space
- Open explorer window from current command
prompt directory
- Using Quick Edit in the Command Prompt
- Select 'No to all' when copying files in
XP
- Bypass the recycle bin when deleting a
file
- Create a link to shutdown your PC
- Hosting online games through the Windows
XP firewall
- Rename multiple files
simultaneously
Security, privacy and recovery tips
(31-44)
- Use the Windows 2000-style secure logon
screen
- Hiding shared folders with $
- Using advanced file security settings in
Windows XP Home
- Create a password reset disk
- Applying a password to the 'administrator'
account in XP Home
- 'Rolling back' a faulty device driver
- Disable simple file sharing (XP
Professional only)
- Using the Windows XP firewall
- Turn autocomplete off in IE
- Using the Windows XP repair installation
process
- Add, Clear or remove the 'my recent
documents' menu
- Creating a desktop shortcut for locking
your computer
- Giving a password to the 'Guest' user
account
- Use system restore when you cannot boot
your system normally
Customizing Windows XP
(45-58)
- Stop Windows messenger from running
- Run command prompt utilities successfully
from shortcuts
- Remove the XP desktop theme
- Change start menu style
- Add my computer and other missing icons to
your desktop
- Change the picture in the welcome screen
- Add items to the 'Send To' right click
option
- Automatically run programs when starting
Windows XP
- Create a screensaver from your pictures
- Modify autoplay for different types of CD
- Different folder types with XP
- Using 'my computer' as a toolbar
- Enlarge and resize the quicklaunch bar
- Disable desktop cleanup wizard
|
- Stopping desktop ad popups
- Displaying hidden files and folders
- Convert Your drives to the NTFS file
system
- Formatting a hard drive partition larger
than 32 Gigs with FAT32
- Finding your IP address and other
information with IPCONFIG
- Update your machine automatically
- Logging in as the 'Administrator' account
- Update your drivers
- Check your PC for spyware and other
nasties
- Show the quicklaunch bar
- Locking the desktop
- Using the Windows Scientific calculator
feature
- Accessibility tools
- Set a new home page in explorer
- Remove the annoying dog from the search
screen
- Change the look of your mouse pointer.
- Email attachments are the most common
vector for viruses.
- Keyboard shortcuts
- Set monitor refresh rate
- Set power options
- Creating shortcuts
- Create passwords for all your user
accounts!
Registry tweaks For performance
(81-93)
- Backing up and restoring the windows
registry
- How to edit the windows registry (before
other reg tips)
- Keep Windows operating data in main memory
- Disable the DOS 8.3 naming convention to
save system resources
- Stop the 'last access update' from taking
up system resources
- Clear the Page File (virtual memory) when
shutting down XP
- Get Rid of XP's annoying balloon tips
- Adding additional Icons to 'my computer'
- Speed up the Start Menu
- Display message on startup
- Set the default download directory for
Internet Explorer
- Change the size of thumbnail pictures
- Opening a Command Prompt to a Particular
Directory from Explorer
Miscellaneous registry tweaks
(94-101)
- Disable error reporting on program crash
- Automatically close non-responsive
programs
- Permanently bypass the recycle bin when
deleting files
- Show administrator account on welcome
screen
- Enable/Disable Active Window Tracking to
Mouse Movements
- Launch Programs at Login Without Using the
Startup Folder
- Force windows XP to reboot upon crashing
- Disable admin shares
|