Tiplet expert tips & tech support

March 16, 2009

How to Declutter Your Computer Desktop

Filed under: Windows — Tags: , , , , , — admin @ 5:00 pm

by Tina Gasperson

In Windows XP, the desktop is the first thing you see when you boot your computer. Chances are that over time, your desktop becomes less and less useful because it is all cluttered up with icons that represent installation files, shortcuts, and miscellaneous items that tend to get dumped on the desktop because it’s easy. Kind of like the actual made-out-of-wood or acrylic desktop that your computer is sitting on right now. When your desktop gets too cluttered, it’s hard to work with and you can’t find anything. Here are a few ways you can organize your virtual desktop to best suit your needs.
(more…)

March 13, 2009

How to Disable or Enable Firewall in Windows XP

Filed under: computer performance,privacy & security,Windows — Tags: , , , , — admin @ 5:00 pm

by Tina Gasperson

Windows XP comes with a built-in firewall, which is a great tool for protecting your system from unauthorized access by malicious programs that you may stumble upon while you’re online. Sometimes, however, you’ll want to turn the firewall off in order to install a desirable program or to allow a remote technician access to your computer for technical support. After that, of course, it’s important to re-enable the firewall so that your computer is less vulnerable to attack.
(more…)

March 10, 2009

How and Why to Keep Data and Applications on Separate Drives

Filed under: computer performance,data storage and recovery,Windows — Tags: , , , , , , — admin @ 2:00 pm

by David Hakala

When you create a user account under Windows, the operating system sets up a number of different folders to contain data specific to that user. These folders are placed on the same drive with the Windows operating systems files by default. There are some good reasons to change the location of these user files to a drive other than the one which Windows resides.

First, it makes backup operations faster and more efficient. User data changes very frequently, while the operating system changes seldom. If you make backups daily, as you should, then your backup program must a) work to sort changed files from unchanged files before backing up only the changed files, or b) back up unchanged files unnecessarily. Either way, backups take longer and consume more system resources while they are running, slowing down other things you may be doing.
(more…)

February 26, 2009

How to Install Recovery Console After Installing Service Pack

Filed under: computer performance,data storage and recovery,Windows — Tags: , , , — admin @ 9:05 am

by David Hakala

The article is a supplement to the Tiplet on how to Install and Use the Recovery Console in Windows XP. This one covers the case in which you receive an error message while installing Recovery Console similar to this one:

Setup cannot continue because the version of Windows on your computer is newer than the version on the CD.
(more…)

Install and Use the Recovery Console in Windows XP

Filed under: computer performance,data storage and recovery,Windows — Tags: , , — admin @ 9:00 am

by David Hakala

When something goes horribly wrong and you cannot get Windows to load at all, the Recovery Console can be your salvation. The unthinkable alternative is to re-install Windows, formatting the drive and wiping out all your data and added programs. Every Windows PC should have the Recovery Console installed.

But the Recovery Console is not installed by default. Here is how to add it and use it to recover from catastrophe:
(more…)

January 31, 2009

How to Protect Your Windows XP PC Against Accidental or Unauthorized Changes

Filed under: privacy & security,Windows — Tags: , , , — admin @ 6:00 pm

by Gabe Goldberg

Bill Gates must be a trusting soul, since Windows was designed to be an open and flexible computing environment, usually allowing any user full authority to do all sorts of complex and (potentially) dangerous things. In a perfect world — one in which nobody made mistakes and no malicious acts occurred — this would be useful and convenient.

But in reality, the PC’s openness means that a well-intentioned – and even knowledgeable — user can do damage, sometimes simply by visiting a Web site which has been corrupted to include malware (evil-intending software such as a virus, work, Trojan, etc.) which will download and install itself by stealth.
(more…)

January 30, 2009

Customize Taskbar and Start Menu

Filed under: applications,computer performance,Windows — Tags: , , , — admin @ 9:00 am

by David Hakala

The Start menu and the Taskbar are two of the most frequently used features of Windows XP. You can customize how they look and operate to suit your personal tastes.

The Taskbar runs along the bottom of the Windows desktop by default. But you can move it to either side or the top of the screen. Just click and hold on any part of the Taskbar and drag it to where you want it. You can also click and hold on the edge of the Taskbar to stretch and shrink it.
(more…)

January 23, 2009

Uninstall Outlook Express The Easy Way

Filed under: applications,e-mail,privacy & security — Tags: , , , , , , — admin @ 2:00 pm

by David Hakala

You may want to get rid of Outlook Express if you do not use it for email. It is a weakness in your system’s security perimeter, a favorite target of hackers. Much malware targets Outlook Express because Outlook Express has been around since 1998, is installed automatically on every machine running Windows 98 to Windows XP, and is so devilishly difficult to remove that very few people take the trouble. To remove Outlook Express manually you must:

Rename three folders, for every user account on the system
Find and delete seven registry keys
Rename 17 files twice, for they are in two folders

Most people would rather pull out their toenails one by one. Outlook Express consumes a trivial 190 KB of disk space so they leave it alone. The back door for hackers remains open and unnoticed. Here is how to close it easily:
(more…)

January 19, 2009

Access Denied Errors

Filed under: Windows — Tags: , , — admin @ 2:01 pm

by David Hakala

It’s your PC, right? So how dare it tell you when you click on a folder:

Folder is not accessible. Access is denied.

The feelings that message inspires are like the ones you get when you try your own home’s bathroom door and find it locked: surprise followed swiftly by resentment, irritation, and a certain sense of urgency.

Access to a folder may be denied because the folder was created on a NTFS file system using a previous installation of Windows, and you then installed Windows XP without reformatting the drive. The security ID of the user changes under this scenario, even though you may register the same username and password. The user’s security ID no longer matches that of the folder, and so access is denied.
(more…)

January 18, 2009

Windows Installer Service Could Not Be Accessed

Filed under: Windows — Tags: , — admin @ 6:00 pm

by David Hakala

When you go to add or remove a program in Windows XP or Server 2003 you get the error message:

The Windows Installer Service could not be accessed. This can occur if you are running Windows in safe mode, or if the Windows Installer is not correctly installed. Contact your support personnel for assistance.
(more…)

January 16, 2009

What is a Netbook PC and Why Would I Want One?

Filed under: computer hardware,Windows — Tags: , , — admin @ 9:00 am

by David Strom

Prices are coming down and small is once again beautiful in the world of laptops, with a new series of products that are called Netbooks. They have several advantages: they are small and lightweight (around two or three pounds), they boot up in seconds, they cost less than $500–in some cases a lot less–and run Windows XP Home, which is getter harder to find these days. Did I say that they are about the smallest form factor with big enough keyboards for touch typists? OK, now I did.

If you are on a real budget and don’t care about using your laptop for much more than Web surfing, email, and the occasional PowerPoint presentation or document, then these are the right tools for you. If you are tired of lugging your laptop through mile-long airport concourses, or don’t care if one gets lifted from the trunk of your car (that happened to me a few years ago), then the price point of these PCs will have a lot of appeal. And if you are impatient with long boot-up times and the kind of person who likes to have a laptop that can be up and running within a few seconds to answer a quick Web query or look up an email address, then the Netbooks are very appealing. But if you are looking for a desktop replacement, or if you can’t stand to compute with a screen smaller than 15 inches, then look elsewhere.
(more…)

« Newer Posts — Older Posts »

Powered by WordPress