Remove nuisance in Windows

The 29 tips introduced in this article will help you quickly cope with Windows "whooping" diseases, ensuring that your computer is always running efficiently and saving you time.

Compared to the previous version, Windows XP is more stable, more secure (here we do not consider this aspect), but that is not all because there are still many improvements needed for Windows to work. faster and more efficient. If you use Windows XP every day, you will encounter many silly little errors during startup, or on-screen icons that "hide at show time" like playing hide-and-seek and countless other troubles. While waiting for the arrival of the new version of Windows, you need strong doses to sever the root of the disease on your computer. However, if you are too bored with your Windows friend, please refer to the "Replace Windows" article (A0509_78) for more information on Mac and Linux operating systems.

MAINTENANCE MAINTENANCE

Accelerate startup

Problem: You just installed some new applications into the system. However, these applications will automatically launch with the Windows boot process, so the operation of the system becomes slow. Worse, these applications do not provide any options to disable autostart.

Resolution: If there is no option to prevent the application's autostart (maybe they do not exist), then use the System Configuration Utility of Windows. First, select Start, Run, type "msconfig" command and click OK to open the System Configuration Utility window. In the System Configuration Utility interface, select the Startup tab, remove one (or several) options corresponding to the listed applications that you do not want them to be uploaded during the boot process, then click OK and select Restart to restart the machine. When Windows restarts, the System Configuration Utility window will appear. If there are no problems, check the option to select Show this message or launch the System Configuration Utility and click OK.

Backup Windows

Problem: Windows XP Professional provides a basic, simple and effective utility to perform a backup of a system called Backup (you can find this utility in Start.All Programs.Accessories.System Tools ). You have tried to find this gadget everywhere but still have no results. So where does Microsoft hide this utility?

Solution: Fortunately, the Backup utility is included in the Windows XP Home CD. Go to valueaddmsftntbackup folder on CD, right-click on ntbackup.msi and select Install to install this utility. However, if you only have the system recovery disk that comes with the purchase, not the regular Windows XP installation disc, it will be more difficult to find the right Backup file. You can find valueaddmsftntbackup folder in the Windows folder on your hard disk. The Backup utility can back up directly to a CD if your computer has a CD-R / RW drive and is equipped with a packet writing utility.

Clean up temporary files

Problem: Browsing, installing software, and running common Windows applications will create temporary temp files in the Temp (Documents and SettingsusernameLocal SettingsTemp) folder, affecting Windows performance. In addition, Windows ignores this directory when ordered to delete temporary files.

Resolution: Open Windows Explorer, right-click on the C drive partition (do the same for the remaining partitions). In the General tab, select Disk Cleanup. Although the Disk Cleanup tool can delete temporary files, free up disk space but does not "touch" the files of the Temp folder under the Local Settings folder (Figure 1), so you must delete those This file is manually. Close all applications before proceeding, move to this folder, then press -A to select all files and to delete.

Show full file attributes

Problem: Windows XP thinks users don't need to see the file extension and hide it. This is completely useful when you just need to browse your documents as JPEG or BMP image files. However, you can guess what will happen if some computer viruses take advantage of this default setting to trick users into activating dangerous programs. If the file extension is not displayed, you will activate the file SafePic.jpg.exe because all you see is the icon of the file SafePic.jpg.

Resolution: To display the file extension, open Windows Explorer, select Tools. Folder Options.View, uncheck the option to Hide extensions for known file types and check the option Show hidden files and folders below, then click OK.

CPU overloaded

Problem: Why is Windows slowing down even though you have turned off all applications and devoted all system resources to a single task?

Resolution: It seems that the culprit is that a program or service has problems and still tries to execute even if it does not show the program window or the taskbar icon so that you can close them manually. . To find programs that are consuming the CPU, first close all the currently running applications. Then press the key combination - to open the Task Manager utility, select the Processes tab. Browse the list of active programs until you determine where the culprit is "occupying" CPU resources (valuable in high CPU columns). Select this program and press End Process. Don't pay much attention to the System Idle Process, this is simply a notice of the percentage of unused CPU resources, keep the number as high as possible.

Set Hibernate mode

Problem: You want your laptop to boot faster. But with the default settings, the computer can only shut down the device (shutdown) or temporarily turn off the monitor and the drives but still maintain the power for the CPU and memory in standby mode. Still wasting battery time.

Solution: You have a new option, which is to set the Hibernate mode (also known as hibernation) for your computer. This mode records the current state of the system to the hard disk before performing a shutdown, avoiding wasting battery power. When rebooted, the system will read the information stored on the hard disk and so you can start working right away. The problem is that you must enable this feature before using it by selecting Start, Settings, Control Panel, double-clicking the Power Options icon. In the Hibernate tab, check the Enable hibernation option and click OK.

However, in order for Hibernate to work properly, keep in mind the following factors: Free space on the hard disk, Windows will create a file the size of RAM, so you need free space. The hard disk must be at least 1.5 times the amount of RAM. Log in to the system with an Administrator account or Power User. Update the latest Windows fixes, applications and hardware device drivers (Windows XP SP2 fixes hibernate errors with computers with 1GB of RAM and hopefully soon releases Fix errors for computers with 1.5GB or more RAM.

SECURITY HOLE

Protect your computer when reinstalling Windows

Problem: Normally, a hard disk failure requires you to reinstall Windows even if you don't want to. The last step to complete the installation is to download the SP2 version of Windows XP and many other fixes. However, this new system has not been equipped with necessary self-defense weapons, so it easily becomes a prey for attacks by computer viruses and spyware.

Resolution: Before performing the reinstallation, you should unplug the network cable, the phone cord connected to the computer. Next, log into Windows, open the Control Panel window, select Network Connections, right-click on the connection you used to connect to Intermet and then select Properties, Advanced. In the new dialog box that appears, select the option Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet and clicking OK (Figure 2). From now on, the computer will be safer to resist external attacks while you update the fix from the Windows Update website (Start.All Programs.Windows Update). If you use multiple computers, you should consider copying the SP2 (about 178MB capacity) fix to CD to save download time.

Change user account

Problem: Essentially, Windows XP determines user permissions based on user account groups. Logging in and using a computer with a default account belonging to the Administrators group is an extremely risky action because unfortunately any malicious software (malware) infiltrates the system is "inherited" authority. of this account. Changing an administrator account to a Limited Users group is not a good solution as you will have some difficulties in installing the application and performing some other tasks.

Solution: Fortunately, in addition to the two opposite user account groups, Windows XP Pro also supports more groups of user accounts for users to choose (Windows XP Home Edition does not have this feature). The Power Users are groups of user accounts that have fewer permissions than the Administrators group and, of course, are more secure for the system and able to install applications against the limited account group. To add an account to the Power Users group, in the Control Panel window, open Administrative Tools and select Computer Management. In the left pane, double-click the "Local Users and Groups" section and select Users, then double-click the user account that you want to change in the right pane. Next, in the Member Of tab, click Add and type in Power Users under "Enter the object names to select" and click OK.

DESCRIPTION DESKTOP

Make icon appear

Problem: Some common utilities can only be accessed via system tray icons, but XP is "enthusiastic" to help them by hiding them when users are not used.

Resolution: The simplest solution for these icons to always appear is to right-click on the Start button or taskbar and select Properties. Uncheck the Hide inactive icons option under the "Notification area" section and click OK to finish the change. However, having all the icons appear will take up a lot of space in the taskbar. Then click Customize instead of unchecking the option, select Hide inactive icons to decide which icons are most needed.

Customizing Explorer

Problem: It's a headache to always reset how to display information every time you open a new folder in Windows Explorer.

Resolution: The Windows Explorer utility is able to record user changes instead of using the default display. First of all, customize the Explorer to your own discretion, details, properties to display, display format (thumbnails, categories, details, icons .). Let Explorer use these changes by default, select Tools, Folder Options, and in the View tab, click Apply to All Folders.

Quick access to Desktop

Problem: There are many important things you need to use regularly from the Windows screen such as program icons, downloaded files and even the Recycle Bin utility. But when you run an application, the icons on the Quick Launch toolbar disappear or are hidden.

Solve: Don't worry! You can easily add icons to the taskbar. First of all, you need to activate the Quick Launch toolbar by right-clicking on the taskbar and selecting Toolbars.Quick Launch. By default, the Show Desktop icon will appear on the Quick Launch bar. If you don't see this icon (it may have been obscured), click the two arrow icon to display it, drag / drop frequently used icons into the area that can be displayed on the Quick Launch bar. In addition, you can quickly access the icons on the screen without having to minimize the windows of the applications by inserting the Desktop toolbar into the taskbar: right-click the taskbar and select Toolbars. Desktop

Resetting My Documents folder

Problem: Like previous versions, Windows XP "encourages" users to save documents to the My Documents folder. However, you want to save your document somewhere else for ease of use, backup and access from other Windows versions.

Resolution: Windows XP is quite "comfortable" when allowing users to change the path of the My Documents folder. Right-click the My Documents icon and select Properties. Next in the Target tab, select Move to move all the folders and files in the My Documents folder to another place. To specify the available directory as the My Documents folder, click Find Target instead of Move.

Quick access to documents

Problem: Windows places a link to the My Documents folder on the Start menu so you can quickly access your files. However, if you want to open a specific file, it's annoying to have to click multiple times to access this file.

Resolution: If you want the extra menus in the Start menu to automatically open, including My Documents, right-click on the Start button and select Properties. Then, select the Start Menu tab and click Customize and then the Advanced tab. Next, browse the Start menu items list, in the My Documents section, check the Display as a menu option and click OK. Do the same for frequently accessed folders such as Control Panel, My Computer .

CONNECTING DIFFICULTIES

Turn off network connection notifications

Problem: The wireless network you are connecting to has a slightly weak signal but still works. However, sometimes the waves are flickering, even dropping. At that time, Windows appears a disconnected message and establishes a reconnection. Is there any way to turn off these notifications?

Solution: It's easy for you to set up yourself to prevent the occurrence of these "boring" messages (this still applies to normal cable connections). Select Start, Settings, Control Panel, Network Connections. Right-click on the connection icon and select Properties. Uncheck the Show icon in notification area option when connected and Notify me when this connection has limited or no connectivity. Finally, click OK to finish.

Safe with ActiveX

Problem: Strange links suddenly appear when you're browsing the web using the Internet Explorer utility. Who is the culprit? Is the adware installed because of the "positive" help of the ActiveX driver.

Resolution: Tightening ActiveX security is one of the security policies for the system. Select Tools, Internet Options, select the Internet item in the Security tab, click Custom Level. Go to the ActiveX controls and plug-ins section, check the Promt or Disable options for the items "Download signed ActiveX controls" and "Script ActiveX controls marked for safe scripting" (Promt option will display a warning whenever required. Install ActiveX, the Disable option will prevent the website from using ActiveX. Next, select Disable in "Download unsigned ActiveX controls" and "Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe" (these changes are available in SP2).

Users browse the web with Firefox regardless of ActiveX. If it is impossible to perform the task if you do not have access to some websites using ActiveX, the temporary solution is to allow the ActiveX feature of the website to operate in a controlled manner. By the way, the SP2 version of Windows XP has enhanced security against malicious ActiveX and the next version of the web browser, Internet Explorer 7, promises a safer solution for ActiveX especially when used in Longhorn OS.

SOLID FACILITIES MULTI-MEDIUM

Fast storage

Problem: Windows Explorer provides an interface for dragging / dropping files to a CD-R / RW drive. But when you do, nothing happens. In fact, before copying files to a CD, Windows merely arranges them into a folder (using the hard disk space for this) until the user actually writes and closes the CD.

Resolution: First, make sure you have installed the device driver to write packet data with the reader or your computer (Roxio Easy CD Creator and Nero Burning ROM provide separate drivers) with How to check the path of the program in the Start menu (eg, Drag-to-Disc of Roxio). However, even if you have installed this driver, Windows only arranges the files and performs a write on CD at another time. To fix this problem, right-click the CD burner icon in Explorer, select Properties, in the Recording tab, uncheck the "Enable CD recording on this drive" option (Figure 6). From now on, when you perform dragging / dropping files or folders onto the drive's icon, the program will use the program to burn the package data to CD immediately.

Restore Autoplay capability

Problem: In the past, Windows could anticipate your activities, open a wizard window when you connected the camera to your computer, or open a music player when you put the music CD in the CD drive . However After installing a new application or accidentally clicking without carefully reading the contents of the dialog box, Windows "does not know" what to do with music files, images and some other files.

Resolution: In the Explorer window, right-click the drive icon or the storage device for the files to open and select Properties. Trong thẻ AutoPlay hoặc thẻ Events, lần lượt thiết lập lại ứng dụng nào sẽ khởi chạy tương ứng với thao tác của bạn. Tuy nhiên, tính năng Autoplay thỉnh thoảng vẫn bị lỗi và bạn cần sử dụng tiện ích Autoplay Repair Wizard của Microsoft (find.pcworld.com/48612) để khắc phục. Mặc dù Microsoft yêu cầu xác nhận người dùng hợp pháp (sử dụng hệ điều hành Windows có bản quyền) nhưng bạn có thể bỏ qua bước này và tiếp tục tải tiện ích này về.

XỬ LÝ TẬP TIN THÔNG MINH HƠN

Một yêu cầu nữa cho phiên bản Longhorn tương lai là phải có thêm khả năng tự động xác định và cách ly những tập tin bị lỗi trong quá trình sử dụng. Ví dụ, trong trường hợp bạn cố gắng thực hiện thao tác với 500 tập tin cùng lúc (chẳng hạn như kéo/thả chúng sang thư mục khác), một trong số chúng có thể bị lỗi và gây treo máy. Khi xảy ra lỗi, Windows XP chỉ thông báo chung chung rằng có một lỗi đã xảy ra và đóng tiện ích Explorer nhưng vẫn để một số tập tin đã di chuyển sang thư mục mới và một số vẫn còn nằm trong thư mục cũ. Thậm chí nếu bạn khắc phục được lỗi này, thì tìm kiếm và tiếp tục chuyển những tập tin còn lại là việc làm khá "dở hơi" và gần như không có gì đảm bảo rằng lỗi sẽ chấm dứt.

Thay vì đóng cửa sổ lại, tại sao tiện ích Explorer không cô lập những tập tin lỗi (như cách các chương trình phòng chống spyware và virus thường làm) và tiếp tục thực hiện công việc. Bằng cách đó, người dùng có thể dễ dàng xác định tập tin lỗi để khắc phục sau đó.

Thật không may, chỉ có một giải pháp duy nhất để hủy bỏ những thao tác vừa thực hiện là nhấn tổ hợp phím -Z. Bạn nên đóng tất cả những ứng dụng đang sử dụng trước khi thực hiện.