StartupQ. How do I boost my startup speed?The most effective way is to upgrade your PC or buy a newer, faster machine.
However not everyone can afford this option, therefore we suggest the following
alternatives:
1) Increase your
RAM. For Windows XP we recommend a minimum of 256MB of RAM, and 128MB for
Windows 98/ME users. It is suggested that your PC have a minimum of 256MB RAM to
support newer applications.
Upgrading to more memory than that will provide a minimum performance gain in
terms of startup, because each operating system when booting occupies a certain
size in the memory; when this requirement is met, an increase does not make a
difference.
2) Use faster RAM. Memory modules measure their speed in MHz. Using a
faster module will increase daily usage performance in opening applications or
performing
I/O operations. SDRAM comes in speeds of 100/133 MHz, while faster
DDR SDRAM comes in speeds of 200/266/333 and 400 MHz. They are also denoted
as PC1600, PC2100, PC2700 and PC3200 respectively. The PC number shows the
maximum bandwidth in MB/s of the memory module.
For example the latest Pentium 4 machines have a 800 MHz
Front Side Bus (the speed at which the processor communicates with all other
devices); it is a common practice with Pakistani vendors to pair such systems
with the slower 266 MHz DDR RAM to lower costs. You can therefore upgrade to DDR
400 and for the most lethal combination, use them as a pair (two modules of the
same size), which is known as
Dual-DDR support. Dual-DDR lets you read and write to both the memory
modules simultaneously in the same clock cycle. Only newer motherboards support
this feature.
For all possible RAM speed upgrades check your motherboard and processor
documentation or contact your PC vendor for more details.
3) Disable Startup Items. In most cases some startup items are useful but
others may just be eating up system resources. To check what loads on startup,
type “msconfig” in the Start->Run dialog box in any version of Windows. You will
see that in the General tab, the Startup selection will be set to normal by
default. Click on the Startup tab and it will display a list of checked startup
items and their paths. Uncheck the program you do not want to load and apply the
changes. The computer will ask to restart to effect the changes placed.
Caution: Only disable items you are sure of. You can always come back and
restore the changes. DO NOT try editing the items in the remaining tabs. (Use
StartupMechanic - Ed.)
4) Use tweaking tools. Microsoft developed a tool called
BootVis that arrange the files on your hard disk for faster startup. The
tool is no longer available on their site but can be hunted down on the Web.
When I used BootVis, it slashed a whooping 30 seconds of boot time on my laptop
running Windows XP. There are lots of other shareware tools on the net for such
purposes and Norton System Works has a set of optimizing tools.
5) Another way to boost your startup speed is to periodically defragment
your hard disk so that all your files are set as contiguous blocks for faster
access. Boot performance also depends on which file system you use; FAT32 gives
a faster boot time compared to NTFS but fragments easily over time while the
reverse holds true for NTFS.
Hard DiskQ. Which file system should I use, NTFS or FAT32? Which is better?
NTFS or New Technology File System was developed and used with Windows NT
4.0 and now in Windows 2000/XP/2003 and is way advanced. Compared to
FAT 32, it gives slower bootup times but applications start faster when
loaded. NTFS is less prone to crashes but if your Windows does get corrupted
[which is rare], you’ll get a difficult time repairing it. In this case you have
to run the Recovery Console from the Windows CD, as Windows startup disks are
not able to access NTFS partitions. NTFS has built-in fault tolerance
capabilities that record changes to your hard disk so it can repair your data
incase of power failure and therefore maintains a huge log file. NTFS repairs
hard disk errors automatically. If it can’t write to a particular section it
will routinely mark it as a bad sector. With NTFS, you can set permissions for
accessibility on individual files and folders for security reasons, you can’t
with FAT32. You can set disk quotas that let you define how much hard disk space
you want to allocate to the users. With Windows XP using FAT32 you are limited
to partition sizes up to 32GB. However gaming performance is better in systems
using FAT32 file system than NTFS.
If you are a home user running Windows XP, you can live with FAT32. You can
create users for your whole family and maintain privacy as long as each user
saves personal documents in their respective namesake “My Documents” folder. If
you a Network Administrator or use your computer in a work/study environment
then it must have NTFS partitions in order to take advantage of the great
security/access features supported with it.
Q. How do I permanently erase data?Did you know that deleting files from your recycle bin does not mean that they
are erased and they can be recovered? They are still on your hard disk but their
references have been removed from the file system and allocated as free space.
They are overwritten as new files get saved. Advanced recovery software scans
the physical surface of the hard disk and recovers all data, even the chat
message that you deleted a year back as recovered files.
Panic! So how can I totally destruct my unwanted data?
Eraser, which is freeware developed by Heidi Computers, uses pseudorandom
writing techniques to overwrite your free space and totally erase data. It also
lets you create a boot nuke disc to totally wipe out the hard disk and leave no
traces.
Q. How do I backup my files?Backups can be created manually or using software to automate the process. I
prefer doing manual bi-monthly backups by burning all my data to a data CD,
since I keep all of my stuff in one folder, with categorized sub-folders.
You can also use the backup utility built into Windows. For Windows 95/98 users,
click on Tools from a drive’s properties and click Backup Now. For Windows XP
Pro users Click Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Backup.
Unfortunately Windows XP Home users have to install this feature from the CD;
locate “CD-ROM Drive:\VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP” and click
NTbackup.msi to install it. Windows backup utility will also copy system
files and settings to the backup file.
You can also copy all your data, music files and other stuff to a partition
other than the root (C:\) so if Windows get corrupted you can simply format the
C: drive. Or better yet, copy your data to a partition on another hard disk (if
you have one) in case the whole hard disk seems to be failing. This is the best,
cheapest, and safest way to save all your important data.
Q. How do I change my drive letters?In Windows XP, right-click My Computer and then click Manage. In the left pane
under Computer Management click Disk Management and you will see a list of all
drives in the right pane. Right-click the drive or device whose letter you want
to change and click “Assign the following drive letter”. Assign the drive letter
and click OK.
To change removable drive letters in Windows 98/ME, right-click My Computer and
then click Properties. Click the Device Manager Tab click on CD-ROM to display
the manufacturer and type, and click on Properties. Under the Settings tab,
choose a new drive letter and assign the same to both to “Start drive letter”
and “End drive letter”.
To change physical drive letters in Windows 95/98 requires complex sniffing into
the registry, which I don’t recommend for newbies. Instead, use a neat little
piece of freeware called
Letter Assigner, which brings the features in XP—for changing drive
letters—to Windows 95/98/ME.
Q. How do I recover my deleted files?Files can be recovered from your hard disk as long as they have not been
overwritten. The professional version of
Norton AntiVirus has advanced tools, such as Norton Protected Recycled Bin,
which let you undo accidental file deletes, even after you have emptied the
Recycle Bin; simply right-click the bin and run the UnErase wizard. You can also
try
PC Inspector File Recovery, which is freeware, for restoring deleted files.
Q. How do I make partitions?There are two major ways to partition hard drives. Either running “
fdisk”
from a bootable floppy, or use third-party Windows software. One of the world’s
most popular partitioning programs is
Partition Magic Pro 8.0. It allows you to create, resize, merge, change file
systems and has other advanced partitioning features.
Q. How do I delete temporary redundant files, so that I can free up disk
space and system resources?Download
DustBuster 2.8. The program checks for over 1,500 useless temporary file and
folder types, and deletes uninstall files. Or, try
Space Odyssey 2.0; it is pretty simple to use and runs on all Microsoft OSs.
Graphics cardsQ. My graphics card is not working properly. How can I fix it?There could be various reasons for this, but the most likely is that your
drivers are not digitally signed by
Windows Hardware Quality Lab (WHQL). Download current drivers from the card
manufacturer’s site. For an unbranded card you can determine its GPU (Graphical
Processing Unit) type through Windows Device Manager (Control Panel à System à
Hardware).
Both NVIDIA and ATI use the
Unified Driver Architecture (UDA), which means that they develop a single
driver package for a particular operating system; this driver is the same for
all the graphic cards of that series. Hence, these drivers guarantee forward and
backward compatibility within cards of the same generation.
For the latest ATI Catalyst drivers go to
http://www.ati.com/support/driver.html.
For the latest NVIDIA Detonator drivers go to:
www.nvidia.com/content/drivers/drivers.asp For other vendors such as Matrox,
and 3D-Labs, check their respective sites.
Q. My card is working properly should I update my drivers?Yes definitely! Newer versions may fix unknown bugs, have support for more
features, support the latest (all) operating systems and most importantly,
squeeze out more performance from your current card.
Q. Hey I have integrated graphics? What can I do to upgrade my drivers?Even if you integrated graphics from SIS, Intel or VIA, you can download their
respective drivers from the companies’ websites. To check which display adapter
you have, open Device Manger from System properties; click to expand Display
adapters and see what it says.
For Intel, go to:
http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/For VIA, check for the Integrated Graphics/Display Drivers at:
www.viaarena.com/?PageID=2For SIS go to and choose Graphics under Categories in “What kind of driver you
need?”:
download.sis.com/Q. I run a game and it says “DirectX 9.0 Compatible Card not found”, what
should I do?The latest games take advantage of the new features found with DirectX 9.0 to
make for a visually stunning experience. Installing DirectX 9.0 software does
not mean that your older graphics card will be able to play the game. This is
because the new features that DirectX 9.0 provides have to be built into the
card, such as advanced
Pixel and
Vertex Shaders for 3D rendering functions. Only the combination of both
compatible card and software will ensure the running of such games. However you
can install DirectX 9.0 software available from Microsoft on older DirectX 8.1
compatible cards without glitches and in some cases have a performance gain with
older games.
To check which version of DirectX you have, run the command “dxdiag”. Visit
www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/default.aspx for more information and to
download the DX 9.0 software. Also check out the major graphic card vendors’
sites to see their DX 9.0 card offerings and read the minimum system
requirements before buying any new game.
Internet and SecurityQ. How do I block popups?Download the freeware
Smart Popup Blocker 1.0.1. It blocks all the annoying browser popups as well
as those software pop-ups when using ads in supported freeware and messenger
clients. It supports IE 5.0.1 and higher only and supports all versions of
Windows except Win 95.
Q. How do I remove spyware/adware?Use
Spybot Search & Destroy 1.2 that searches and removes spyware/adware along
with key loggers, Trojans and dialers. You can also try
Lavasoft Ad-aware v6.181 as mentioned in the Q&A section of our May issue.
Q. Whenever I browse the Internet, a window pops up warning that Remote
Procedure Call (RPC) has terminated unexpectedly and shuts down at the end of
the count down, what’s wrong?Your computer is most likely infected with MSBlast. Please refer to the Q&A
section in our May issue for a comprehensive walk through. You can remove
MSBlast (W32.Blaster) or all its variants of it by downloading this special tool
from
www.f-secure.com/v-descs/lovsane.shtmlRun the scanning tool to disinfect and apply the DCOM RPC patch by searching
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS03-026. This will ensure that you do not get
re-infected by this or such exploits again in the future. This vulnerability
only affects Win NT/2000/XP/2003 users.
If all else fails, try running a free online scan from:
www.trendmicro.com,
www.mcafee.com or
www.pandasoftware.com/activescanQ. How do I always safeguard myself from the Internet?The best way is to use commercial anti-virus software and download the latest
virus definitions to safe guard against new threats. You must certainly not live
without AV software on your system. Second use a good firewall (
Norton/
Zone
Labs/
Black
Ice) or enable the built-in firewall with Windows XP, which gives standard
protection. Last but not least keep your system up to date with
Microsoft patches such as the Cumulative IE patch released periodically.
RegistryQ. How do I clean up the registry?All the installing and uninstalling of software leaves irrelevant entries that
increase the registry size, unnecessarily compromising performance. You need to
use a good registry cleaner, which will and scan and remove those redundant
entries. I would recommend the no-longer-supported Macecraft Software’s
RegCleaner 4.3, which you’ll have to search for through Google to download.
It has been upgraded to a newer improved version called
RegSupreme that is no longer free. Apart from extensive cleaning it lets you
remove startup items professionally without resorting to “msconfig”.
Also recommended is
RegSeeker 1.35, which is freeware. It has a simple-to-use interface and
throws in lots of other handy options.
There are software packages that address most of the above issues. Programs such
as
Norton SystemWorks 2004 contain Norton AV, Utilities (backup, registry
cleaning, and tweaking tools), Web Tools and more features all in one package to
offer an optimized performance solution.
Norton Internet Security 2004 bundles the popular Norton AV and a
comprehensive firewall together with anti-spam software, a spyware/adware
checker and a popup blocker.
General tipsAlways install the service packs for your operating system. Service packs
contain all the patches, fixes, and bug resolves found in an operating system
after its release and also add general improvements. The Service Pack 2 for
Windows XP has a pop-up blocker built into the IE browser, and enables Windows
Firewall by default along with other major improvements addressing vital
security concerns. Microsoft has now dropped support for all its previous
versions of Windows.
You can subscribe to the
Microsoft Security Bulletin to e-mail you regarding any new vulnerabilities
and patches. Not all patches are necessary but check for their severity such as
critical, important, moderate or low. I recommend installing most of them, as
not all concern security but fix other minor issues with your copy Windows. The
best way to get around all these individual patches is to install a Service
Pack.
Browsing
Do you wait forever for your pages to load up when surfing? Are you confused
about why you’re not getting a good browsing and downloading speed even though
you’re using one of the best ISPs around? Have you ever wondered why your V.90
dial up modem doesn’t operate at the 56k speed it boosts of? Ever even thought
of what V.90 or 56k means? Do you just wish you had a smooth and secure browsing
experience without all the annoying pop ups and spyware? If your answer to most
of these questions is in the affirmative then the following links could just
prove to be the remedy of your worries.
Cnet's Internet Speed Tweaks: At the Cnet website, you’ll find 14 steps to
faster surfing which I must say are extremely effective. It doesn’t matter what
type of connection you have as most of the steps mentioned apply to all types of
Internet connections - be it cable, DSL, dial-up, etc. There’s also a download
section from where you can download software to enhance the speed of your
Internet connection and monitor it. Plus, you’ll also find a speed tweaks
discussion board and a free newsletter to subscribe to.
Inboost.com: This website provides complete computer and Internet boost
solutions. Besides loads of information and tips on browsing you’ll also find
here computer tips for a better PC. The reviews on Net speed boosting software
are also given in detail here.
Cyberwizardpit-Xpert Tips: Here you’ll find some useful guides and tips to
help you optimize your system and internet connection. The details are pretty
technical so new bees won’t find this site very useful.
Learnthenet.com: This site is about Internet for beginners. Check out the
top ten browsing tips featured here.
How to Speed Up Excellent speed tips. A must for everyone who wants to
enhance his dial up speed.
Search
SearchEngineWatch.Com: An entire website dedicated to search engines.
There’s everything about search engines in here from web searching tips to
search engine listings. Get tips on search engine submissions and learn about
search engine maths. Also featured on the site are reviews, ratings and tests of
search engines. One really doesn’t need to visit any other site after visiting
this one if you’re on the look out for information on search engines.
Related Links:
Web builder
Websitetips.com: This website is an educational resource providing CSS,
HTML, and XHTML tutorials, graphics tutorials, besides articles, tips,
information and resources to build or improve websites. Needless to say, it’s
the best online resource if you’re looking for tips on website development
online. Also featured at the website are discussion lists and newsletters.
You’ll also find fonts in here besides excellent links to other resources on the
web.
Website
Marketing tips and tricks: Having trouble marketing and getting hits on your
site? Look no further because at this website you’ll find fabulous tips on how
to make your website pay and web traffic boosting tips.
The Internet Magazine’s Web Design Help: This fantastic UK based magazine
also has an online presence from where you can get information on the latest web
design techniques. Here you can find an archive search section where you can
find the tips you are looking for.
.Net Magazine’s web development tips and tricks page: Another UK-based
Internet magazine which has uploaded fantastic web site building resources
online.
Related Links:
Blogs at Blogspot Blocked in Pakistan,India and China by the Government
There are some audible noises in the blogosphere that point to a conspiracy theory: Blogspot.com has been blocked by the Government of Pakistan." If this is indeed true, it’s a good news and bad news. Bad news, because it’s a serious infringement of freedom to access information. Good news, because it shows increased IT awareness of the Government of Pakistan that the GoP is aware of the fact that Blogspot.com exists. :)
However you can access easily all the banned blogs hosted by blogspot at
