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Computing
There seems to be a lot of scuttlebutt these days about something Microsoft is calling Vista. Mixed in with the anticipation we also hear some apprehension "Is my pc able to handle this new robust OS?" "What bugs is it going to have and is my data safe?" "Do I really need to invest in another OS right now?" Questions abound regarding compatibility, operability, stability, cost, etc.
If you have concerns with the upcoming, and heavily touted Windows Vista, re-enter XP! This article is first in a series intended to help you revitalize your XP. In this series, we’ll show you a few tricks and tweaks to pep up your existing XP and point you toward some resources and utilities to help tune-up your current OS investment. You don’t have to rush right out for the latest and greatest and can wait out any issues that may rear their ugly heads upon the release of Vista.
Let’s get started! First, why upgrade at all? If you’re always installing the newest, hottest, memory munching, processor pumping versions of your favorite software toys and applications and don’t maintain a steady stream of cash flowing into hardware upgrades, sooner or later your pc will seem more like a toaster on a low carb diet rather than a device usually capable of processing 3.4 billion bits of information per second. Instead of committing a pile of your hard earned cash to massive “all-at-once” upgrades, stick with what works well on your machine and take your time to plan your upgrades, both hardware and software.
A quick and easy way to help the speed issue is to disable those dang burned auto-updates! Many applications utilize this feature, including firewalls, anti-virus, anti-spyware, Adobe Reader (which seems to contact the mothership faster than your monitor refreshes itself) and the great Microsoft Windows OS itself! Be sure to do your updates regularly as now you have to do them manually. Especially your anti-virus /spyware /firewalls (if you insist on using a firewall when you’re sitting behind a router with a private address.) Don’t be fooled into thinking it’s your Internet connection that’s slowing you down, although your provider will welcome your request for bandwidth increases with much glee. For a free tool to help you control your startup apps, visit http://arcprotech.com. Select “Utilities” from the menu then click on the “Startup Control Panel” link. This cool tool lists all of the programs that are set to start when Windows does and allows you to decide what gets to start up with Windows and what doesn't. It's available as both a Control Panel applet or as a standalone program and it's simple to use. Don't want a program to start up with Windows? Just right click on it in Startup Control Panel and select disable. If you later decide you want the program to run, just re-enable it or select Run Now and it will launch.
Next Time: We’ll dive headfirst into Swap files and hard drive management in an article aimed at over-cluttered drives and how they affect your pc’s performance as well as show you a utility or two to help you mange your drives and speed up it’s operation a bit.
Michael A Trosen, Network Engineer and owner of Advanced Resource Communications and the on-site services ARC ProTech, owns and operates http://arcommunications.bizhttp://arcommunications.biz and http://www.arcprotech.com The content in this article was developed from his 28 years of extensive experience in the technology field and his continual research into further technological and business improvements.
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