Speed up your PC

POSTED: May 12, 2012 1:00 a.m.

	Computer Care: Some inside tips to speed up your PC By Arthur Glazerglazer.tech@gmail.com Posted: May 12, 2012 1 a..m
	In the past I’ve written about ways to keep your computer running smoothly, advised you of keyboard shortcuts and shared some little known utilities with you. The truth be known, most technicians won’t kiss and tell and have clandestinely withheld their best tricks from you. After all, this is what we do; we’re not supposed to give away trade secrets. It would be like a magician showing how he saws his lovely companion in half. So without giving away the tech’s secret handshake, I’ll disclose a bit of magic. Before doing any of these adjustments though, it’s always a good idea to create a System Restore Point first. Keep in mind these tweaks are for the more experienced user. Did you ever want to block a nuisance website from showing on your browser? This tweak will work with Firefox, Chrome and Safari. You will want to navigate to the “etc” folder by following this path: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc from “Computer/My Computer.” Open the “hosts” file in etc and choose Notepad or, depending on which version of Windows you have, the option to use a program already installed. Then choose Notepad. After the line with 127.0.0.1, hit Enter and type 127.0.0.1 followed by the name of the site you want to block. If the site is called blockthissite.com, then type 127.0.0.1, followed by the site’s name, then a space and #. Hit Enter to go down a line. It should read: 127.0.0.1 blockthissite.com #. Save it from the File menu and close the dialog box. Next click Start, and then from Run (XP) or your Search/Command box (Vista and 7) type cmd to get a command prompt box. Then type ipconfig /flushdns and hit Enter. Close that dialog box and your browser and then try to get to your site. If you did everything correctly, you will be denied access. If you use Chrome, it’s already quick. If you use Internet Explorer, well, give the others a shot. If your browser is Firefox, there are ways to make it faster. In the address bar, type about:config in and hit Enter. Scroll to network.http.pipelining and set it to true by right-clicking and choosing modify. Do the same for proxy.pipelining. For pipelining.maxrequests, change its value to 30 and close the browser. The next fix is not for the faint of heart. We will change a registry value. There is no undo in the windows Registry, so tread cautiously there. Go to Start, Run or the Search/Command Box and type regedit. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop. Double-tap on “desktop” and look on the right side for “WaitToKillAppTimeout.” If it has a value of 5,000, right-click on it and choose modify. Change it to 1,000 and hit OK. Do the same there for “HungAppTimeout.” Change its value to 1,000 as well and close the box. That will shave a few seconds off of an unresponsive program when you try to close it. Should your printer queue jam, clear it by opening the command prompt box again (cmd) and type: net stop spooler. Wait for a verification response, then type net start spooler and try to print your document again. If you want to simply unplug your USB flash drive and bypass the “Safely Remove Hardware” process, right-click on the removable USB drive in the Computer/My Computer group and choose “Eject.” Wait for the icon to change and then pull your device from the computer. Some basic, yet necessary tips follow: • Allow your computer to fully load after it boots up prior to clicking on any icons. Doing so will further delay any response. • Don’t clutter the desktop with icons. Everything Windows has to draw uses system resources. Consolidate all Word files for example, to a Word folder. Get rid of icons you don’t use. • Try to keep your wallpaper image under 100k if it is your own photo. A megapixel image will waste resources. • Regularly empty the Recycle Bin, as well as the Temporary Internet folder. • Defragment your hard drive every couple of months to keep it fast. • Create a System Restore Point when everything is running well. You may need to access it one day. • If there is a website you access regularly, drag the URL icon from the browser to the desktop, creating a shortcut. Without a doubt, the single most cost-effective enhancement you could do for your computer is to pull a rabbit from your hat by adding more RAM, system memory, to it. If you do anything more than Web-browse and check your email, you will need it. Even if you don’t work with audio files or photo or video edit, you will still appreciate the bump in speed an extra pair of gigabyte sticks will yield. It is inexpensive and relatively easy to install. The result is not smoke and mirrors. Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.

Computing Tips

[Although this is my 100th column in the Times, this blog is missing a few of my earlier published pieces; the reason why the numbers don't jive.....FYI - ag]

Computer Care: Revisiting some key tips on column No. 100

By Arthur Glazer

glazer.tech@gmail.com

POSTED: November 12, 2011 1:00 a.m.

When I began writing this column back in 2007, it was sporadic at best. My intent was to assist the novice computer user and not have it sound like a manual. I strayed from that format a few times by expressing my opinions while maligning Vista or praising Windows 7, and I've discussed technology in general many times.

This being my 100th Computer Care column in the Times, I wanted to go back to where I began. So here are 10 useful tips that everyone should be able to appreciate, whether a novice or seasoned user, whether using Windows XP, Vista or 7.

It's always a good idea prior to making any changes to your system, to create a system restore point first. In XP, it's in Accessories under System Tools. In Vista and Win 7, just do a search for it.

Change a desktop icon. If you're tired of looking at the same manila folder icon all over your desktop, change some of them. Right-click on the icon to modify, click on "Properties," choose the "Customize" tab and then click the "Change Icon" button. Pick one from the library or browse to one of your own.

Change a desktop image. In XP, right-click on your desktop, go to "Properties," and then to the "Desktop" tab and choose an image from the list. In Vista/Win 7, right-click the desktop and choose "Personalize," then click on "Desktop Background."

Adjust a power scheme. In XP, again right-click the desktop and choose "Properties." This time go to the "Screen Saver" tab and click the "Power" button. From there you can adjust when the system sleeps or turns off.

In Vista, go to Control Panel, then to Power Options. In Win 7, type "Power" in the search box and from the options, create or edit a power plan.

Unlock the desktop icons. To be able to reorder the icons to your liking, right-click on the desktop in all versions of Windows. In XP, choose "Arrange Icons By," and uncheck the "Auto Arrange" option. In Vista/7 choose "View," and uncheck the same.

Choose which application opens what file. To change this, simply right-click the icon of the file in question and go to "Open With." If for example, Windows uses Picture Viewer or Paintshop to open an image and you want to use Photoshop, from "Open With," navigate to Photoshop. Click "Apply" and "OK." There is also a box to check that keeps this option should you want to keep using Photoshop.

How to save ink. Most printer software has options to change the paper size, paper type and quality of the print. Photo printing uses the most ink; the draft option uses the least amount.

Put web shortcuts on your desktop. From an open browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox or Chrome), reduce the size to half and drag the icon from in front of the address in the address bar to your desktop. Do this by holding the left mouse button down while dragging. If the name of the shortcut is too long, right-click the new icon and "Rename" it. If you created a shortcut from Firefox, but Chrome is your default browser, the icon will be that of Chrome.

Tidy up your desktop. If you have all types of icons all over your desktop, here's an easy way to organize it. Right-click the desktop and choose "New," then "Folder." Call it what you want. I have one for PDF files, one for Utilities and one I call "Closet," for miscellaneous junk without a home.

Right-click and "Rename" the new folders to call them what you want. The simply drag your scattered files to their respective new folders.

Pin items to your taskbar. XP has a Quick Launch bar near the Start Button on the Taskbar. If it isn't enabled, right-click on the taskbar, click "Toolbars," and then click Quick Launch. To add items just drag them from the desktop to that area of the taskbar, copying them. They are always seen (thus Quick Launch).

Vista and Win 7 uses the same concept, but uses full-size icons in the taskbar. Right-click and choose "pin" or "unpin" on the icons on the bar.

Refresh system memory. Even when computer programs are closed, not all of the memory used is released. There are utilities that refresh the memory at the click of a button, but they're not included in Windows. What you can do is simply reboot the system: Turn it off and then on again. The RAM will be refreshed and you'll be able to access all that there is, making your system run faster.

Use the last tip for trying to fix anything that ails your system. Often a simple reboot fixes many little things in a computer. It may even stop the dreaded blue screen error messages, although they usually demand more attention.

When in doubt, reboot. It certainly couldn't hurt.

Keep those emails coming, and thanks for reading.

Arthur Glazer is a freelance writer and computer technician in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly on the Business page and on gainesvilletimes.com.