by Tina Gasperson
What’s a command prompt? You may be asking yourself that, especially if you’re fairly new to computing. Those of us old enough to remember a time before Windows and mousepads know that entering commands using the keyboard can be an effective method when it comes to getting stuff done on the computer. Even though “point and click” is the name of the game now, your Windows XP system still has a command prompt and you can still use it.
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by Tina Gasperson
Q: How can I make XP start up (boot) faster? — P. Taylor
There are many things you can do to nudge your Windows XP system into wakefulness a bit faster. Most of them only shave off a fraction of a second or so, but combine them and you can really make a difference. There are too many tweaks to list in one Tiplet, so let’s concentrate on just a few ways to kick it up a notch when it comes to getting your system up and running quicker.
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by David Hakala
Microsoft releases “critical” updates to Windows every month. Those are fixes for bugs that should be fixed immediately, such as security holes in the operating system or things that can make your computer crash. Much less often Microsoft releases very large “service packs” that fix a whole lot of non-critical and critical bugs in one installation. Service packs also include new features and improvements to existing, unflawed features.
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by David Hakala
New computers with Windows XP installed instead of Vista are still readily available in retail and online stores. That is supposed to end July 31, 2009, when Microsoft promises to pull PC makers’ license to sell XP and make every manufacturer offer only Vista. But don’t carve XP’s tombstone just yet; its death date may change yet again.
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by David Hakala
Q: I use Windows XP Home Edition. Via Secretmaker I keep on getting the message, “A HOSTS file change attempt has been watched on your computer, we advise you to reject it as normally no changes are necessary.” I thus click on reject and the message is removed, only for it to return some 3-4 minutes later. This has been going on for several days. Apart from clicking on accept, which I gather is not wise, or uninstalling Secret Maker, is there anything else I can do to prevent the message reappearing? — Victor
Yes, Victor: you can find out what is trying to change your HOSTS file and put an end to it. I highly recommend that you do so ASAP, because it’s probably meaning to do you harm.
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by David Hakala
Q: My five-year-old computer running MS Windows XP turns off very slowly. It takes minutes to shut down completely. Any economical suggestions or recommendations? — Alan
Alan, you don’t have to spend a dime, just a little time.
When Windows shuts down, it must save many system settings to use when it starts up again. It saves these settings in a group of files collectively known as “the registry.” Over time, the registry becomes cluttered with invalid settings as you add, remove, and relocate files, shortcuts, programs, etc. Cleaning up such clutter will help Windows shut down and start up much faster.
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by David Hakala
It may be a pain to back up your data, but some day you will be glad you did. No one goes a lifetime without a fatal computer crash, and a recent backup copy can save precious financial records, irreplaceable photos, and all your other valuables.
Windows XP includes a program called NTBackup.exe that can make backing up your data easy. If you use Windows XP Professional, it’s already installed. If you use Windows XP Home Edition, you will have to install the backup utility from your Windows installation CD. Here’s how:
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by Tina Gasperson
Microsoft reports that most computers sold after 2002 are USB 2.0 enabled. USB 2.0 is the latest version of USB, also called high-speed USB because it supports devices that use the high-speed specification. Most new USB devices are made using this specification. If you plug one of these into a computer that is not equipped with a high-speed USB port, or one that does have a USB 2.0 port but is missing the proper drivers, you will either get an error message, or the device will work, but at less than its full capability. That would be a waste of your money – so it’s better to make sure your device capability matches your computer capability.
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by David Hakala
The Windows Logo key on your keyboard is an enigma. What’s it do? How did it get there? Well, it’s been around since 1995, when Windows 95 was introduced. It’s used in combination with other keys to perform a host of common functions quickly, without having to point and click one’s way through a series of menus.
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