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First steps
1) Create homepage tabs
Both Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox allow you to have more than one homepage. Simply navigate to Tools | Internet Options (press Alt to bring up the old-style menu in Internet Explorer) and where the URL of your current homepage is entered, hit Enter and type as many URLs as you want. Each new line means a new tab, so you’ll have pages of material to read each time your browser starts. Why not try www.pcauthority.com.au!
2) Run Windows Update
You might think Windows Update only grabs a handful of essential security updates once in a blue moon, but it’s a really useful utility if your PC is misbehaving. Not only should Windows Update be turned on and set to automatically install, but there’s even more at www.windowsupdate.com, where essential software updates are available, including optional but invaluable downloads such as hardware drivers. In Vista, the process is fully integrated into the Windows Update control panel.
3) Defragment your hard disk
One Windows time-saving tip is as true under Vista as it was with XP, 98, 95
and beyond: defragment your hard disk. Although the icon that represents a file makes everything look tidy, the actual data may be spread in thousands of random sections of a disk. Defragging will move all files to contiguous segments of memory, speeding up access times and reducing the wait when you open or save files. You can schedule it to run at night, or in the background, so you don’t have to waste time during your work day. Both XP and Vista have a defragmenter built in. Type defrag in the Start Search box in Vista
and head to All Programs | Accessories | System Tools to find it in XP.
4) Tidy your desktop
Make it easier to find files on your desktop by setting your PC to auto- arrange files in name, size, type or modification date order. In XP, right-click on the desktop and ensure auto-arrange is checked under Arrange Icons By. In Vista, right-click and choose Sort By. You can also reduce desktop clutter by organising and storing files neatly in Documents (My Documents in XP) and placing shortcuts to your most-used folders on the desktop.
5) Uninstall unused programs
Over time, your hard disk’s free space will dwindle. This is partly down to the number of redundant or temporary files on it (see tip 44), but having lots of unused applications on your system is bad news as well. Not only will your old applications be passively occupying hard disk space, they’ll be actively slowing down your PC because many load up “optimisations” at startup.
Spend some time in the Add/Remove Programs console of the Control Panel to help free your hard disk and RAM.
6) Turn on System Restore
Windows’ System Restore feature is invaluable when installing programs or making significant changes to your PC. Found in Control Panel | System Properties (System | System Protection in Vista), System Restore is enabled by default, and you can choose the amount of hard disk space it consumes. It will then store images of your system at regular intervals – or before major changes – allowing you to restore your system should anything go awry.
7) Use the Quick Launch toolbar
The Quick Launch toolbar (right-click on the taskbar and make sure Quick Launch is ticked on the
Toolbars option) is great for launching frequently used applications. To remove an icon, right-click it;
to add one, drag an application shortcut onto it.
And there’s an accompanying crafty shortcut in
Vista – Windows + 1 opens the first application on
the menu, Windows + 2 the second, and so on.
Tailor Your PC
8) Try Google Desktop
Why not use Google’s obvious expertise to search your local files? Google Desktop is a free download that scours not only your personal documents, but also your email and the web. As well as saving time hunting for files and emails, the software can make tasks such as checking the weather or reading news sites easier, with a range of attractive widgets for your desktop. Two points of warning: if you don’t want your search queries being sent to Google, head to Preferences | Other and make sure Advanced Options is unticked. Second, Google Desktop is best used on systems with plenty of spare disk space.
9) Shut down redundant processes.
Even when you’re not using any programs, Windows will be running many processes in the background. Lots of these perform vital tasks, but some are unnecessary. Print spooler, for example, is pointless if there’s no printer connected. Turning these off will free up memory and processor cycles, and could give a small productivity boost. To see a list of running processes press . Under XP, this will bring up the Task Manager, but in Vista you’ll have to select it from the list that appears. Close down those you know you don’t need, but Google any you’re unsure of.
10) Turn off AutoPlay.
You’re unlikely to forget that you’ve just popped in a DVD or a USB flash drive, so why bother with AutoPlay? It’s fine having games auto-start, but when Vista attempts to scan a stuffed 250GB portable hard disk, things slow down considerably. In Vista, head to the Control Panel, then enter AutoPlay in the search box. You get a huge number of options, plus the ability to dictate what happens with devices you’ve already used on your PC. You can turn off AutoPlay in Windows XP by downloading the TweakUI application (tip 15).
This article appeared in the May, 2008 issue of PC Authority.
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Thoughts on this article? Add a comment below.
Comments: 5
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gdonatti
Jul 5, 2008 3:50 PM
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Thanks for the 100 expert windows tips. I found many of them very useful.
Comment made about the PC Authority article:
100 Expert Windows Tips?
Climb the steps all the way to Windows guru status with our invaluable selection of tips and shortcuts for XP and Vista.
What do you think? Join the discussion. |
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austhome
Jul 5, 2008 11:26 PM
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I read the tips and have learned a lot that I didn't know about and I've been using pcs and internet for 8 or more years now, I really enjoyed the tips and have started to use some of them on my pc. |
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strider
Jul 7, 2008 8:52 PM
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Nice tips guys, been using PCs for what seems like a 100 years and still found some goodies to play with. Keep up the great work !
Cheers |
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cklords
Aug 5, 2008 4:14 PM
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Thanks PCA! This is a great article, chock full of stuff the average user wouldn't even conceive of. I'm very saavy and still found several awesome nuggets that I implemented right away. What I don't understand is why Windows doesn't come with most of this stuff *already* going? They'll cram bloatware and advertisers icons down your throat but won't turn on System restore by default? LIES... ALL LIES!!! ;-) |
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askpeers
Oct 1, 2008 10:24 AM
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Very Nice Tips guys. I already started using these tips at work and this increase productivity.. keep up the good work |
