Great Tips and Tricks

Causes Of A Slow PC

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:55:00 +0000

There are many possible causes of a slow PC. Because your computer is constantly working with files - moving, copying and deleting from place to place - it will eventually get cluttered with leftover files, some of which are not needed and just take up valuable disk space. You only have a certain amount of disk space available on your hard disk, and as it fills up the computer can begin to struggle to find room to perform its tasks.

If your PC crashes or freezes up, it may be a symptom of a slow or cluttered PC.

The brain of your computer is the Processor, and it may be that your processor is too slow to run today's demanding software. The processor can also struggle if you have multiple programs running at once - for example, if you have Word open to compose a letter while downloading a file from the Internet and also playing a song through your media player.

RAM is the temporary memory the computer uses to do its calculations. If you do not have enough RAM, your programs will run slowly.

Other components of your PC can contribute to poor performance, particularly your Graphics Card when it comes to running media and games software. Some hardware needs special programs called Drivers and these need to be kept up to date.

You may also have programs running in the background using up memory that you are unaware of, and in some cases, the problem may be a malicious program such as a virus or spyware.

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How to Double Firefox Browser Speed?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:56:00 +0000

In this tutorial, it will tell you on how to double your firefox browser speed. As a little description of Firefox.

It includes:

-improved tabbed browsing
-pop up blocking
-integrated Goggle search
-enhanced privacy controls
-built-in phishing protection
-online spell checking
-lots of themes, interfaces, and extensions/addons

Mozilla Firefox officially supports:

-Microsoft Windows
-Linux
-Mac OS X

Unofficial Support:

-Free BSD
-OS/2
-Solaris
-SkyOS
-BeOS
-XP Professional x64 Edition

Now here are some Tips & Tricks that can help you double the speed of Firefox browser, but as what the author always said, he is not liable for any damages that may occur on your system if the below instruction will not work properly.

1. Type about:config in the address bar and then press Enter.

2. In the filter search bar type network.http.pipelining. Be sure the value field is set true, if not double-click to set true.

HTTP is the application-layer protocol that most web pages are transferred with. In HTTP 1.1, multiple requests can be sent before any responses are received. This is known as pipelining. Pipelining reduces page loading times, but not all servers support it.

3. Go back to the filter search bar and type network.http.pipelining.maxrequests. Double-click this option and set its value to 8.

4. In the filter search bar and type network.http.proxy.pipelining. Once opened double-click on it and set it to true.

5. In IPv6-capable DNS servers, an IPv4 address may be returned when an IPv6 address is requested. It is possible for Mozilla to recover from this misinformation, but a significant delay is introduced.

Type network.dns.disableIPv6 in the filter search bar and set this option to true by double clicking on it.

6. Content Interrupt Parsing

This preference controls if the application will interrupt parsing a page to respond to UI events. It does not exist by default. Right-click (Apple users ctrl-click) anywhere in the about:config window, select New and then Boolean from the pop-up menu. Then:

A. Enter content.interrupt.parsing in the New boolean value pop-up window and click OK.

B. When prompted to choose the value for the new boolean, select true and click OK.

7. Rather than wait until a page has completely downloaded to display it to the user, Mozilla applications will regularly render what has been received to that point. This option controls the maximum amount of time the application will be unresponsive while rendering pages.

Right-click (Apple users ctrl-click) anywhere in the about:config window, select New and then Integer from the pop-up menu.

A. Enter content.max.tokenizing.time in the New integer value pop-up window and click OK.

B. You will be prompted to enter a value. Enter 2250000 and click OK.

8. Content Notify Interval

This option sets the minimum amount of time to wait between reflows. Right-click (Apple users ctrl-click) anywhere in the about:config window, select New and then Integer from the pop-up menu.

A. Type content.notify.interval in the New integer value pop-up window and click OK.

B. You will be prompted to enter a value. Enter 750000 and click OK.

9. Content Notify Ontimer

A. This option sets if to reflow pages at an interval any higher than that specified by content.notify.interval. Right-click (Apple users ctrl-click) anywhere in the about:config window and select New and then Boolean from the pop-up menu.

B. Type content.notify.ontimer in the New boolean value pop-up window and click OK.

C. You will be prompted to choose the value for the new boolean. Select true and click OK.

10. Notify Backoffcount

This option controls the maximum number of times the content will do timer-based reflows. After this number has been reached, the page will only reflow once it is finished downloading. Right-click (Apple users ctrl-click) anywhere in the about:config window and select New and then Integer from the pop-up menu.

A. Enter content.notify.backoffcount in the New integer value pop-up window and click OK.

B. You will be prompted to enter a value. Enter 5 and click OK.

11. Content Switch Threshold

You can interact with a loading page when content.interrupt.parsing is set to true. When a page is loading, the application has two modes: a high frequency interrupt mode and a low frequency interrupt mode. The first one interrupts the parser more frequently to allow for greater UI responsiveness during page load.

The low frequency interrupt mode interrupts the parser less frequently to allow for quicker page load. The application enters high frequency interrupt mode when you move the mouse or type on the keyboard and switch back to low frequency mode when you had no activity for a certain amount of time. This preference controls that amount of time. Right-click (Apple users ctrl-click) anywhere in the about:config window and select New and then Integer from the pop-up menu.

A. Enter content.switch.threshold in the New integer value pop-up window and click OK.

B. You will be prompted to enter a value. Enter 750000 and click OK.

12. NGLAYOUT Initialpaint Delay

Mozilla applications render web pages incrementally, they display what's been received of a page before the entire page has been downloaded. Since the start of a web page normally doesn't have much useful information to display, Mozilla applications will wait a short interval before first rendering a page. This preference controls that interval. Right-click (Apple users ctrl-click) anywhere in the about:config window and select New and then Integer from the pop-up menu.

A. Enter nglayout.initialpaint.delay in the New integer value pop-up window and click OK.

B. You will be prompted to enter a value. Enter 0 and click OK.

Now, if you are convinced with this Firefox tweak, you can download the latest version of Firefox browser.

Thanks to izenhower.

How To Set XP Desktop Icon Label To Be Transparent

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 04:25:00 +0000

Take a look at your desktop. Do the labels on your icons have a colored box around them, or are they "transparent?" I've been asked this particular question by more customers than I can count. Fortunately, it's an easy issue to fix, just not very intuitive. There are two settings to check but as what I always said, I am not liable to any damages on your system if the below instructions will not work properly on your computer.

So here is the first technique to set your XP desktop icon label become transparent. Make sure Web Items on the desktop are unlocked.

1. Right-click on the Desktop, point to Arrange Icons By, then make sure Lock Web Items on Desktop is unchecked.

That instruction alone might solve the problem. If it doesn't, there is one other setting to change.

1. On the Desktop, right-click on My Computer, then click Properties.

2. In the System Properties dialog, click the Advanced tab.
3. Under Performance, click Settings.
4. On the Visual Effects tab, make sure Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop is selected.
5. Click Ok, then click Ok again.

Now your icon labels will show a small drop shadow and no colored box.

How to Rename Recycle Bin in Windows XP?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:05:00 +0000

I have told you already about How to Hide - Unhide Recycle Bin Icon on Desktop in XP. Other people don't want that little icon on their desktop while other still want it but in different name. I mean not the traditional name Recycle Bin.

In this topic, I will teach you how to rename the Recycle Bin icon to whatever you want like Trash, Garbage, Dust Bin etc.

To rename this, all you have to do is to make some changes in the registry (regedit.exe) file. It is highly recommended that you should backup your registry. And if the the following instruction will not work properly on your computer, the author is not liable for any damages that may occur on your operating system. Do it in your own risk.

So here are the instructions on how to rename recycle bin.

1. Click “Start”.
2. Click “Run”.
3. Type “regedit” and press “ENTER” key.
4. In the registry editor, find the piece of information listed below:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ShellNoRoam\MUICache
5. Find and double click on the following value:
@C:\WINDOWS\system32\SHELL32.dll,-8964

6. Change the value to whatever you wish.
7. Click OK and close out regedit
8. Click on a blank area of the desktop and select “Refresh” from the menu.
9. After the screen refreshes, you recycle bin will be renamed to whatever you decided.

No Text Icon

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:59:00 +0000

On my previous post, "How to hide your folder without hiding it physically?", I discussed some tips on how to avoid other user(s) easily browse your files. But this one, I will teach you some tricks on how to have an icon that has no text. Just like the one you seen on the picture. If you would like your desktop icons or other file on your folder to have no text underneath then try this tweak.

1. Right click the icon you want to change the text with, and select "Rename".
2. Now hold the "Alt" key and type "255" and hit “Enter”. That's it! You're done.

NOTE : It may only work with the keypad numbers and not the number keys on top of the keyboard.

How to Create a Shutdown Shortcut in Windows XP?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:47:00 +0000

How to Create a Shutdown Shortcut in Windows XP?

Did you know that in Windows XP you can shut down your computer from the (eventually DOS prompt) command line box? Moreover, you can do this by clicking your mouse only once.

Yes, it's true! As we all know that there is a built-in function in Windows XP to shut down our computer. Just like the picture on the left side. But, we accept or not, there are also some people that always wanted shortcut or a possible task that can make his job easier. So this time I will show you the instructions on how to do this. But, as what I always remind to you, I am not liable to any damages that may occur in your operating system if the below instructions will not work properly.

Before I will show you the steps, you must to know first the valid command line switches:

-a = Abort system shutdown in progress ONLY IF the -t xx timeout option was already set to ANY value other than 0. ALL switches except -l and -m are ignored during abort.

-c "Text" = Text comment (case insensitive) to be displayed in the Message area of the System Shutdown window. MUST be enclosed between quotes. Maximum allowed 127 ASCII characters.

-d [u][p]:xx:yy = Reason code for shutdown:

u = User code.

p = Planned shutdown code.

xx = Major reason code. Positive integer number less than 256.

yy = Minor reason code. Positive integer number less than 65536.

-f = Force running applications to close without warning.

-i = Display the shutdown interface (GUI). MUST be the first option!

-l = Log off the current user of the local computer (default action). Can NOT be used with the -m option unless the current user has Sysadmin rights, in which case the -m switch takes precedence.

-m \\computername = Remote/network computer name (most always case sensitive) to log off/restart/shut down. Current user MUST have Sysadmin rights to be allowed to use this switch!

-s = Shut down the local computer.

-r = Shut down and restart (reboot) the local computer.

-t xx = Set shutdown timer to timeout for xx seconds. IF NOT specified defaults to 20 seconds. Allowed values between 0 and 99 seconds. The -a switch is the ONLY one that CAN be used during the timeout period.

So here are the step-by-step instruction on how to make shortcut.

1. “Right Cclick” on an empty Desktop spot

2 Select “New” and on the pop-up menu, select “Shortcut”

3. On the create shortcut pop-up menu, type “Shutdown” followed by a space, and then enter one or more of the parameters listed above.

Example : shutdown [-i|-l|-s|-r|-a] [-f] [-m \\computername] [-t xx] [-c "Text"] [-d[u][p]:xx:yy]

4 Click “Next”

5. Type a suggestive name for your new shortcut then click “Finish”.

The Shutdown.exe is located in %systemroot%\System32, usually C:\Windows\System32 root directory.

NOTES:

The dash (-) in front of these switches can be replaced by a forward slash (/).

Spaces are NOT required to separate the shutdown command from ANY following switches, but ARE required to separate ANY switch from its following parameter(s), if any.

For example:

shutdown -s -c "Shutting down!" -t 3

It tells your computer to shutdown after waiting for 3 seconds while the System Shutdown window will display text above in the Message area.

Optional:

Aafter you're done creating your customized shortcut for shutdown, right-click on it, select “Properties” and enter your desired key "combo" in the Shortcut Key box (e.g. Ctrl + Alt + End) then click OK/Apply. From now on just left-click on your shutdown shortcut or hit that key combination to turn off/restart/log off your computer.

How To Hide Your Folder Without Hiding It Physically?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 23:42:00 +0000

Sometimes, our important files are not safe from other user(s) especially if we store it in a folder. Other user(s) are sometimes curious and they want to open your folder to see what's inside. If you are storing like a scandal files, then bingo!, you're caught.

To prevent this happen to you, then, you can fool other user(s) by simply changing the folder icon into a different one from the common folder icon. As you can see the picture on the left side, the normal icon of a folder is just like a real folder that is slightly open (the “Before” icon). But, you can change the icon into a different one (the “After” icon), or any icons that you want to replace in the original. This sounds tricky, right? But, it's a very simple, you are just a few clicks away to do that. Just remember that the author is not liable for any damages of your files if the below procedures will not work.

To change the icon, just follow the steps below.

1. Right click the folder that you want to change the icon.
2. On the pop-up menu, select the “Properties” option.
3. Then click the “Customize” tab.
4. Click the “Change Icon” button on the lower left side of the pop-up menu, another pop-up menu will appear.
5. Select an icon you want to replace with on the second pop-up menu, then click “OK” button.
6. Click the “Apply” button, then click “OK” button. That's it, you're done.

On the current icon of your folder, you can now fool other user(s ) as they don't think that it's a folder.

How to Hide - Unhide Recycle Bin Icon on Desktop in XP

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:16:00 +0000

In this post you will learn how to hide or unhide the Recycle Bin icon in Windows XP, just like the picture on the left side. Many people hate this icon especially if they are using software to customize the look of their desktop. All of the icons in their desktop can be removed to other place or folder except for the recycle bin that is left alone.

This time, don't get mad because you can now remove that icon on your desktop. I am explaining two ways from which you can hide the Recycle Bin icon and whenever you need it, you can restore it.

1.) This is the simple way as compare to second one.

From Group Policy Editor we will hide the Recycle Bin icon.

* Click "Start", then click "Run". Type "GPEDIT.MSC" (without quotes) and press "Enter" key.
* On the left column expand "Administrative Templates", click on "Desktop".
* On the right column find "Remove Recycle Bin Icon from Desktop".
* Double click on it, a property window will appear.
* Select "Enable" option and click "OK".
* Refresh your desktop. That's it! Enjoy!

To show Recycle Bin icon on desktop, do same steps but instead of "Enable", select "Not Configured".

2.) This step is somewhat risky, if you done this incorrectly you may have to reinstall your operating system (OS). The blog's author will not be liable if any damage occurs. Do it on your own risk or choose the first way.

NOTE : - Backup your registry file before proceeding.

Copy the following code below in notepad and save it as recycle.reg.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
Advanced\Folder\RecycleBinOnDesktop]
"RegPath"="Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Explorer\\
HideDesktopIcons\\NewStartPanel"
"Text"="Show Recycle-Bin Icon on the Desktop"
"Type"="checkbox"
"ValueName"="{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}"
"CheckedValue"=dword:00000000
"UncheckedValue"=dword:00000001
"DefaultValue"=dword:00000000
"HKeyRoot"=dword:80000001

After copying the codes and saving it to safe place, follow the steps below.

* Double click on the file, click "YES", then click "OK".
* A new option will be added in the "Folder Option".
* Go to "My Computer", then "Tools Menu", then "Folder Option".
* Select "View" tab, find "Show Recycle-Bin Icon on the Desktop" option and select it.
* Press "OK", and you're done. Enjoy!

Contact Great Tips and Tricks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 06:52:00 +0000

Please email to ajcones@gmail.com if you want exchange link with us.

About Great Tips and Tricks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 06:51:00 +0000

Great Tips and Tricks is a site that offers free tips and tricks on latest technology.