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Solving PC Problems with Windows XP Systems

Archive for the 'Speed Tweaks' Category


Adding Memory to the HP Color LaserJet CP1518ni

One of the differences between inkjet printers and laser printers has to do with handling of the data to be printed. An inkjet printer gets its commands for each printed line, one at a time, from Windows. It prints the line and gets the data for the next line. Sometimes they buffer a little of [...]

Speeding Up Windows XP – Fine-Tuning Visual Effects

With all the news about the cute graphics (often termed “eye candy” to denote its real value) of Windows Vista, we need to remember that Windows XP has some of those features, too. Windows XP’s graphical interface defaults to a number of cute options that are worthless from a usability point of view — and [...]

Speeding Up Windows XP

Remember back when you got your latest computer? It seemed so fast, so much faster than your previous computer. Now, if it doesn’t seem to drag, it just doesn’t seem as peppy as it used to… Part of that effect is our memory — not the computer’s memory but the memories stored between our ears. [...]

WinPatrol – for System Control and Protection

I’ve written a number of times about one of the programs that I use on every one of my computers, including my family’s computers. Well, really on every computer that runs Windows — and I’ve been using it since well before 2004. This program is a great protection tool called WinPatrol. WinPatrol allows me to [...]

Quieting Windows’ Noises (and selecting other sounds)

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Compacting Email Folders

There is a little trick to the way POP3 email program like Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora and Thunderbird store the email messages you receive. A “deleted message” is not really deleted! Did you know that? All your email program does is to rewrite a few characters in the file in order to tell itself that [...]

Switching Users in Windows XP

I received a question from subscriber Joseph Baker who was having problems with his Windows computer. For some reason, his “Switch User” button wasn’t working. The Switch User function (Start Logoff) is a powerful feature of Windows XP that allows multiple different IDs to use the computer– which would allow his wife to switch the [...]

Adding a SATA Hard Drive to Your System

Recently, a Terry’s Computer Tips reader asked me about problems he was having in installing a Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive in his computer. We corresponded back and forth until the problem was solved. Read about the SATA problems and solutions in Adding a SATA Hard Drive to Your System

Speeding Up Your Windows Computer

Recently, I wrote about speeding up your computer. In that article, I recommended adding more memory as the cheapest and most effective way to speed up an older computer. That helps you no matter what program you are running. There are also some Windows XP settings that you can change to speed up your computer. [...]

WinXP Slow Shutdown Problem — Solved!

Several months ago, I solved a Windows XP slow shutdown problem that had been plagueing me for about three months on my notebook. Since I normally let the notebook run overnight or close it to let it hibernate, I wasn’t able to identify when the problem happened, so I wasn’t able to identify the change [...]