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Install hardware

2010-08-12T06:45:00.000-07:00

Hardware connection types

Hardware can connect to your computer in several different ways. The most common types of hardware connections are Universal Serial Bus (USB), iLink/IEEE 1394/FireWire, Bluetooth, PC Card, PS/2, serial, and parallel. Here’s how they work:

USB

Most computers made in the last several years include multiple USB ports. USB has become the easiest and most common technique for connecting hardware to your computer. With this type of connection, you simply plug the hardware into your computer. If you need more ports, you can connect a USB hub to one of the existing ports on your computer.

iLink/IEEE 1394/FireWire

iLink (also known as IEEE 1394 or FireWire) is the highest-performance hardware connection. An iLink connection is typically used for digital video cameras and external hard disks. Most new computers include at least one iLink port. If your desktop computer does not have an iLink port, you can add an internal adapter with additional ports. To expand a portable computer, use a PC Card adapter.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth is a type of wireless connection. Many new portable computers support Bluetooth, but it is not as common in desktop computers. If your computer does not support Bluetooth, you can add a Bluetooth network adapter.

PC Card

Portable computers have PC Card slots (formerly known as PCMCIA) to support extremely small accessories, such as wireless adapters. Desktop computers do not include PC Card slots.

PS/2 is the standard connection for your keyboard and mouse. The mouse connection is green, and the keyboard connection is purple.

Serial or parallel ports

Serial (9 pins) and parallel (25 pins) ports, the oldest connection type for external hardware accessories, are easy to connect. Typically, your software configures these connections automatically.

Internal

Some hardware accessories must be connected inside your computer's case. There are three main connection types: PCI (used for most hardware); AGP (used for video adapters); and PCI Express (a new technology that replaces both PCI and AGP). If you are not comfortable opening your computer’s case, you should have a professional install internal hardware accessories.

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Install external hardware

It's easy to install external hardware—even if you are not experienced with computers. The hardware installation process varies for every accessory, and you should refer to the instructions included with it. Typically, however, installing external hardware is accomplished in five steps.

To install external hardware

1.	Open the hardware packaging and read the instructions
2.	If the hardware includes a CD, usually you should insert the CD into your computer and install the software before you connect the hardware. However, if the instructions state otherwise, you should follow the order described in the instructions.
3.	Shut down your computer by clicking Start, and then clicking Turn Off Computer. Then, click Turn Off.
4.	After your computer shuts down, connect the hardware to an available port on your computer.
5.	Start your computer, and log on to Windows. Windows will detect and install the new hardware, and then display a notification informing you that the hardware was successfully installed.

If a problem occurs, refer to the documentation included with your hardware. If necessary, contact the hardware manufacturer for troubleshooting support.

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Install internal hardware in a desktop computer

Internal hardware can be more complicated to install than external hardware. If you are not comfortable opening your computer's case, you should have internal hardware installed by a professional.

To install internal hardware

1.	Open the hardware packaging and read the instructions.
2.	If the hardware includes a CD, usually you should insert the CD into your computer and install the software before you connect the hardware. However, if the instructions state otherwise, you should follow the order described in the instructions.
3.	Shut down your computer by clicking Start, and then clicking Turn Off Computer. Then, click Turn Off.
4.	After your computer shuts down, make a note of where each cable is connected to the back of your computer. Then unplug all cables from your computer.
5.	Lay your computer on a desk, table, or other flat surface.
6.	Remove the side panel from your computer's case. Depending on the case, you may need to remove screws at the back of your computer.
7.	With the side panel removed, you will be able to see the inside of your computer. Identify an available slot that fits your card. If necessary, remove the small metal panel protecting the opening for the slot at the back of your computer. Save the screw.
8.	Touch an unpainted portion of your computer's case to discharge any static electricity. Then carefully insert the card into the open slot. Gently wiggle the card back and forth until it rests firmly in the slot.
9.	To hold the card in place, replace the metal panel and the screw you removed in step.
10.	Replace the side panel to your computer's case.
11.	Reconnect all cables to your computer, start your computer, and log on to Windows. Windows will detect and install the new hardware, and then display a notification informing you that the hardware was successfully installed.

If a problem occurs, refer to the documentation included with your hardware. If necessary, contact the hardware manufacturer for troubleshooting support.

Computer Software and Hardware Installation

2010-08-12T06:35:00.001-07:00

The advancing of computers and the related technologies, has brought vast changes in the software and hardware of the computer. The computer software constitutes the programs that run in the computer. The computer hardware constitutes the monitor, keyboard and all the peripheral devices that are connected to the computer. Updating the existing software and hardware is the need of the day.

Computer Software Installation
The operating system of your computer is an important factor to be considered when you install any software. The operating system is the program that is contrived to run the computer software on your computer. The operating system is responsible for managing the computer software and hardware. Before you install a computer software, the first important step is to check the configuration of your computer. Also, check the hardware and software requirement of the software you are installing. The configuration of your computer must match the requirements of the software to be installed. Sometimes, the software to be installed is compressed in a .RAR or .ZIP file. In these cases, before you install the software you have to uncompress all the installation files and folders. To uncompress the files and folders, ensure that you have a decompression software application installed on your computer.

Every computer software comes with a 'Read me' file. This 'Read me' file contains all the instructions that are required to install the software on your computer. Sometimes, when you install a software, the software may ask you to install another program that is required for the proper execution of the software to be installed. The computer may even prompt you to install the supporting software after you complete the installation. When you install any software program on the computer, it is advisable to close all other programs and utilities. Some antivirus software applications may require you to turn off the firewall and disable the antivirus in order to install the software. When installing software applications related to computer networking or web browsing, it is recommended to disable the antivirus and the firewall. Finally, to complete the installation, restart your computer system.

Computer Hardware Installation
The computer technology is progressing daily and the computer peripherals are upgraded often. Unplug all the power cords of your computer that are connected to the mains, before connecting the hardware. The computer hardware may include a CD that contains the software that supports the new hardware. Install this software before you connect the hardware to the computer. The computer must be restarted after a CD installation is complete. There are two different types of the computer hardware to be installed on your desktop computer. They are as follows:

External Hardware
The external hardware of the computer involves all the peripherals that are connected to the desktop computer externally. The computer hardware is connected to the computer via various ports. These are USB, serial and parallel port, firewire, bluetooth, PS/2 and PC card. The external computer hardware installation can be done by a normal computer user, even without much knowledge of computers. The hardware is connected to the computer after switching it off.

Internal Hardware
The internal hardware is a bit complicated and requires some basic knowledge about the computer internals. If you do not have the knowledge of the computer internals, it is suggested to get the internal hardware installed from a professional. The CPU cabinet is opened by removing the side panels of the cabinet. Identify the slot in which you have to plug your hardware. Plug in the hardware that is to be installed and ensure that it has fit properly into its slot. The side panel and the screws are replaced into their original places and all the wires are connected to their respective slots. The power cord can then be plugged into the mains and the computer can be switched on.

The computer software and hardware installation is very easy with some basic knowledge about computers. If some installation is complicated you may ask a professional to install or help you with the software and hardware.

Speed Up Internet

2009-09-27T08:44:00.001-07:00

Windows 2k/XP

1. First, open the Windows Registry using Regedit, and (after backing up) navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\ServiceProvider
2. Note the following lines (all hex dwords):
Class = 008 ( biggrin.gif - indicates that TCP/IP is a name service provider, don't change
LocalPriority = 1f3 (499) - local names cache
HostsPriority = 1f4 (500) - the HOSTS file
DnsPriority = 7d0 (2000) - DNS
NetbtPriority = 7d1 (2001) - NetBT name-resolution, including WINS
3. What we're aiming to do is increase the priority of the last 4 settings, while keeping their order. The valid range is from -32768 to +32767 and lower numbers mean higher priority compared to other services. What we're aiming at is lower numbers without going to extremes, something like what's shown below should work well:
4. Change the "Priority" lines to:
LocalPriority = 005 (5) - local names cache
HostsPriority = 006 (6) - the HOSTS file
DnsPriority = 007 (7) - DNS
NetbtPriority = 008 ( biggrin.gif - NetBT name-resolution, including WINS
5. Reboot for changes to take effect

2. Windows 9x/ME

1. The tweak is essentialy the same as in Windows 2000/XP, just the location in the Registry is slightly different. For a more detailed description see the Windows 2000/XP section above
2. Open the Windows Registry using Regedit, and (after backing up) navigate to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\MSTCP\ServiceProvider
3. You should see the following settings:
Class=hex:08,00,00,00

LocalPriority=hex:f3,01,00,00
HostsPriority=hex:f4,01,00,00
DnsPriority=hex0,07,00,00
NetbtPriority=hex1,07,00,00
4. The "priority" lines should be changed to:
LocalPriority=hex:05,00,00,00
HostsPriority=hex:06,00,00,00
DnsPriority=hex:07,00,00,00
NetbtPriority=hex:08,00,00,00
5. Reboot for changes to take effect

3. System.ini IRQ Tweak - Windows 9x/ME ONLY

1. Find your Network Card's IRQ

1. In order to add the entry to your System.ini file, you'd first have to find your NIC's IRQ
2. Right-click on My Computer icon on your Desktop, then left-click on Properties (a shortcut for that would be to press the 'Windows' + 'Pause' keys). Navigate to Device Manager and double-click on Computer. Under "View Resources" you will find a list of IRQs, each with description of the device that's using it. Note the IRQ number used by your Network Adapter

2. Adding the entry to System.ini

1. Once you've found the IRQ of your Network Card, you need to reserve some RAM for its use, by adding an entry to the System.ini file. You can edit the file in any text editor, however the easiest way is to use Windows' built in "System Configuration Editor"
2. Navigate to Start > Run and type sysedit . Find the [386enh] Section in the System.ini file and add Irq[n]=4096 under it, where [n] is the IRQ number of your NIC and 4096 is the amount of RAM you want to reserve in Kbytes. We recommend using 4096, however you can experiment with different values if you want. Save changes in the file, exit and reboot for changes to take effect.
Note: If you choose to try different values, keep in mind that reserving too much RAM for your NIC will decrease the amount of RAM available for applications, while reserving too little might not give the desired effect

3. Additional Thoughts
1. The only negative effect of the System.ini IRQ tweak is that it will reduce the amount of RAM available for running applications a bit, by reserving some specifically for your Network Card's use. The gain in performance usually outweighs the negative effect by far, considering any Computer with 32Mb of RAM or more
2. This tweak may or may not work for you. It is not a documented tweak by Windows
3. Keep in mind that if you add hardware to your system the IRQ of the Network Adapter might change, in which case you will need to modify the setting in System.ini
4. In systems with multiple NICs, you might want to add the setting for both IRQs. Also, you could reserve RAM for other IRQs if you wish, just use common sense and don't forget it reduces the amount of RAM available for running applications
5. If you are using an USB device, it does not have a specific IRQ, however you can try adding the entry using the IRQ of the USB Controller
6. For internal Cable Modems, you'd have to add the entry using the IRQ of your modem, rather than the IRQ of a Network Card

Make Your Windows Fast As Never Before

2009-09-27T08:41:00.000-07:00

DISABLE INDEXING SERVICES

Indexing Services is a small little program that uses large amounts of RAM and can often make a computer endlessly loud and noisy. This system process indexes and updates lists of all the files that are on your computer. It does this so that when you do a search for something on your computer, it will search faster by scanning the index lists. If you don't search your computer often, or even if you do search often, this system service is completely unnecessary. To disable do the following:

1. Go to Start
2. Click Settings
3. Click Control Panel
4. Double-click Add/Remove Programs
5. Click the Add/Remove Window Components
6. Uncheck the Indexing services
7. Click Next

OPTIMISE DISPLAY SETTINGS

Windows XP can look sexy but displaying all the visual items can waste system resources. To optimise:

1.Go to Start
2. Click Settings
3. Click Control Panel
4. Click System
5. Click Advanced tab
6. In the Performance tab click Settings
7. Leave only the following ticked:
- Show shadows under menus
- Show shadows under mouse pointer
- Show translucent selection rectangle
- Use drop shadows for icons labels on the desktop
- Use visual styles on windows and buttons

DISABLE PERFORMANCE COUNTERS

Windows XP has a performance monitor utility which monitors several areas of your PC's performance. These utilities take up system resources so disabling is a good idea.

To disable:

1. download and install the Extensible Performance Counter List
2.Then select each counter in turn in the 'Extensible performance counters' window and clear the 'performance counters enabled' checkbox at the bottom.button below.

SPEEDUP FOLDER BROWSING

You may have noticed that everytime you open my computer to browse folders that there is a slight delay. This is because Windows XP automatically searches for network files and printers everytime you open Windows Explorer. To fix this and to increase browsing significantly:

1. Open My Computer
2. Click on Tools menu
3. Click on Folder Options
4. Click on the View tab.
5. Uncheck the Automatically search for network folders and printers check box
6. Click Apply
7. Click Ok
8. Reboot your computer

IMPROVE MEMORY USAGE

Cacheman Improves the performance of your computer by optimizing the disk cache, memory and a number of other settings.

Once Installed:

1.Go to Show Wizard and select All
2.Run all the wizards by selecting Next or Finished until you are back to the main menu. Use the defaults unless you know exactly what you are doing.
3.Exit and Save Cacheman
4.Restart Windows

OPTIMISE YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION

There are lots of ways to do this but by far the easiest is to run TCP/IP Optimizer.

1. Download and install
2. Click the General Settings tab and select your Connection Speed (Kbps)
3. Click Network Adapter and choose the interface you use to connect to the Internet
4. Check Optimal Settings then Apply
5. Reboot

OPTIMISE YOUR PAGEFILE

If you give your pagefile a fixed size it saves the operating system from needing to resize the page file.

1. Right click on My Computer and select Properties
2. Select the Advanced tab
3. Under Performance choose the Settings button
4. Select the Advanced tab again and under Virtual Memory select Change
5. Highlight the drive containing your page file and make the initial Size of the file the same as the Maximum Size of the file.

Windows XP sizes the page file to about 1.5X the amount of actual physical memory by default. While this is good for systems with smaller amounts of memory (under 512MB) it is unlikely that a typical XP desktop system will ever need 1.5 X 512MB or more of virtual memory. If you have less than 512MB of memory, leave the page file at its default size. If you have 512MB or more, change the ratio to 1:1 page file size to physical memory size.

RUN BOOTVIS - IMPROVE BOOT TIMES

BootVis will significantly improve boot times

1. Download and Run
2. Select Trace
3. Select Next Boot and Driver Trace
4. A Trace Repetitions screen will appear, select Ok and Reboot
5. Upon reboot, BootVis will automatically start, analyze and log your system's boot process. When it's done, in the menu go to Trace and select Optimize System
6. Reboot.
7. When your machine has rebooted wait until you see the Optimizing System box appear. Be patient and wait for the process to complete

REMOVE THE DESKTOP PICTURE

Your desktop background consumes a fair amount of memory and can slow the loading time of your system. Removing it will improve performance.

1. Right click on Desktop and select Properties
2. Select the Desktop tab
3. In the Background window select None
4. Click Ok

REMOVE FONTS FOR SPEED

Fonts, especially TrueType fonts, use quite a bit of system resources. For optimal performance, trim your fonts down to just those that you need to use on a daily basis and fonts that applications may require.

1. Open Control Panel
2. Open Fonts folder
3. Move fonts you don't need to a temporary directory (e.g. C:\FONTBKUP?) just in case you need or want to bring a few of them back. The more fonts you uninstall, the more system resources you will gain.

DISABLE UNNECESSARY SERVICES

Because Windows XP has to be all things to all people it has many services running that take up system resources that you will never need. Below is a list of services that can be disabled on most machines:

Alerter
Clipbook
Computer Browser
Distributed Link Tracking Client
Fast User Switching
Help and Support - (If you use Windows Help and Support leave this enabled)
Human Interface Access Devices
Indexing Service
IPSEC Services
Messenger
Netmeeting Remote Desktop Sharing (disabled for extra security)
Portable Media Serial Number
Remote Desktop Help Session Manager (disabled for extra security)
Remote Procedure Call Locator
Remote Registry (disabled for extra security)
Remote Registry Service
Secondary Logon
Routing & Remote Access (disabled for extra security)
Server
SSDP Discovery Service - (Unplug n' Pray will disable this)
Telnet
TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
Upload Manager
Universal Plug and Play Device Host
Windows Time
Wireless Zero Configuration (Do not disable if you use a wireless network)
Workstation
To disable these services:

Go to Start and then Run and type "services.msc"
Doubleclick on the service you want to change
Change the startup type to 'Disable"

TURN OFF SYSTEM RESTORE

System Restore can be a useful if your computer is having problems, however storing all the restore points can literally take up Gigabytes of space on your hard drive. To turn off System Restore:

Open Control Panel
Click on Performance and Maintenance
Click on System
Click on the System Restore tab
Tick 'Turn off System Restore on All Drives'
Click 'Ok'

DEFRAGMENT YOUR PAGEFILE

Keeping your pagefile defragmented can provide a major performance boost. One of the best ways of doing this is to creat a separate partition on your hard drive just for your page file, so that it doesn't get impacted by normal disk usage. Another way of keeping your pagefile defragmented is to run PageDefrag. This cool little app can be used to defrag your pagefile, and can also be set to defrag the pagefile everytime your PC starts. To install:

Download and Run PageDefrag
Tick "Defrag at next Reboot",
Click "Ok"
Reboot

SPEEDUP FOLDER ACCESS - DISABLE LAST ACCESS UPDATE

If you have a lot of folders and subdirectories on your computer, when you access a directory XP wastes a lot of time updating the time stamp showing the last access time for that directory and for ALL sub directories. To stop XP doing this you need to edit the registry. If you are uncomfortable doing this then please do not attempt.

Go to Start and then Run and type "regedit"
Click through the file system until you get to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Contr ol\FileSystem"
Right-click in a blank area of the window on the right and select 'DWORD Value'
Create a new DWORD Value called 'NtfsDisableLastAccessUpdate'
Then Right click on the new value and select 'Modify'
Change the Value Data to '1'
Click 'OK'

DISABLE SYSTEM SOUNDS

Surprisingly, the beeps that your computer makes for various system sounds can slow it down, particularly at startup and shut-down. To fix this turn off the system sounds:

Open Control Panel
Click Sounds and Audio Devices
Check Place volume icon in taskbar
Click Sounds Tab
Choose "No Sounds" for the Sound Scheme
Click "No"
Click "Apply"
Click "OK"

IMPROVE BOOT TIMES

A great new feature in m*cro$oft Windows XP is the ability to do a boot defragment. This places all boot files next to each other on the disk to allow for faster booting. By default this option in enables but on some builds it is not so below is how to turn it on.

Go to Start Menu and Click Run
Type in "Regedit" then click ok
Find "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\m*cro$oft\Dfrg\BootOp t imizeFunction"
Select "Enable" from the list on the right
Right on it and select "Modify"
Change the value to "Y to enable"
Reboot

IMPROVE SWAPFILE PERFORMANCE

If you have more than 256MB of RAM this tweak will considerably improve your performance. It basically makes sure that your PC uses every last drop of memory (faster than swap file) before it starts using the swap file.

Go to Start then Run
Type "msconfig.exe" then ok
Click on the System.ini tab
Expand the 386enh tab by clicking on the plus sign
Click on new then in the blank box type"ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1"
Click OK
Restart PC

MAKE YOUR MENUS LOAD FASTER

This is one of my favourite tweaks as it makes a huge difference to how fast your machine will 'feel'. What this tweak does is remove the slight delay between clicking on a menu and XP displaying the menu.

Go to Start then Run
Type 'Regedit' then click 'Ok'
Find "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\"
Select "MenuShowDelay"
Right click and select "Modify'
Reduce the number to around "100"
This is the delay time before a menu is opened. You can set it to "0" but it can make windows really hard to use as menus will open if you just look at them - well move your mouse over them anyway. I tend to go for anywhere between 50-150 depending on my mood

MAKE PROGRAMS LOAD FASTER

This little tweak tends to work for most programs. If your program doesn't load properly just undo the change. For any program:

Right-click on the icon/shortcut you use to launch the program
Select properties
In the 'target' box, add ' /prefetch:1' at the end of the line.
Click "Ok"
Voila - your programs will now load faster.

IMPROVE XP SHUTDOWN SPEED

This tweak reduces the time XP waits before automatically closing any running programs when you give it the command to shutdown.

Go to Start then select Run
Type 'Regedit' and click ok
Find 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\'
Select 'WaitToKillAppTimeout'
Right click and select 'Modify'
Change the value to '1000'
Click 'OK'
Now select 'HungAppTimeout'
Right click and select 'Modify'
Change the value to '1000'
Click 'OK'
Now find 'HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Control Panel\Desktop'
Select 'WaitToKillAppTimeout'
Right click and select 'Modify'
Change the value to '1000'
Click 'OK'
Now find 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Contr ol\'
Select 'WaitToKillServiceTimeout'
Right click and select 'Modify'
Change the value to '1000'
Click 'OK'

SPEED UP BOOT TIMES I

This tweak works by creating a batch file to clear the temp and history folders everytime you shutdown so that your PC doesn't waste time checking these folders the next time it boots. It's quite simple to implement:

1. Open Notepad and create a new file with the following entries:

RD /S /q "C:\Documents and Settings\"UserName without quotes"\Local Settings\History"
RD /S /q "C:\Documents and Settings\Default User\Local Settings\History"
RD /S /q "D:\Temp\" <--"Deletes temp folder, type in the location of your temp folder"

2. Save the new as anything you like but it has to be a '.bat' file e.g. fastboot.bat or deltemp.bat

3. Click 'Start' then 'Run'

4. Type in 'gpedit.msc' and hit 'ok'

5. Click on 'Computer Configuration' then 'Windows Settings'

6. Double-click on 'Scripts' and then on 'Shutdown'

7. Click 'Add' and find the batch file that you created and then press 'Ok'

SPEED UP BOOT TIMES II

When your PC starts it usually looks for any bootable media in any floppy or cd-rom drives you have installed before it gets around to loading the Operating System from the HDD. This can waste valuable time. To fix this we need to make some changes to the Bios.

1. To enter the bios you usually press 'F2' or 'delete' when your PC starts

2. Navigate to the 'Boot' menu

3. Select 'Boot Sequence'

4. Then either move your Hard drive to the top position or set it as the 'First Device'

5. Press the 'Escape' key to leave the bios. Don't forget to save your settings before exiting

Note: Once this change has been made, you won't be able to boot from a floppy disc or a CD-rom. If for some strange reason you need to do this in the future, just go back into your bios, repeat the steps above and put your floppy or CD-rom back as the 'First Device'

SPEED UP BOOT TIMES III

When your computer boots up it usually has to check with the network to see what IP addresses are free and then it grabs one of these. By configuring a manually assigned IP address your boot time will improve. To do this do the following:

1. Click on 'Start' and then ''Connect To/Show All Connections'

2. Right-click your network adapter card and click 'Properties'.

3. On the 'General' tab, select 'TCP/IP' in the list of services and click 'Properties'

4.I n the TCP/IP properties, click 'Use the following address' and enter an IP address for your PC. If you are using a router this is usually 192.168.0.xx or 192.168.1.xx. If you are not sure what address you could check with your ISP or go to 'Start/run' and type 'cmd' and then 'ipconfig/all'. This will show your current IP settings which you will need to copy.

5. Enter the correct details for 'Subnet mask', 'Default gateway' and 'DNS Server'. Again if you are not sure what figures to enter use 'ipconfig/all' as in stage 4.

FREE UP MEMORY

I found this useful app via FixMyXP. ClearMem Is an Excellent Tool for speeding up your XP Computer (especially if your system has been on for awhile and you have a lot of applications open). What it does, is it Forces pages out of physical memory and reduces the size of running processes if working sets to a minimum. When you run this tool, the system pauses because of excessive high-priority activity associated with trimming the working sets. To run this tool, your paging file must be at least as large as physical memory. To Check your Paging File:

1. Go to your control panel, then click on 'System', then go to the 'Advanced' Tab, and Under 'Performance' click 'Settings' then the 'Advanced' Tab

2. On the Bottom you should see 'Virtual Memory' and a value. This is the value that must be at least as large as how much memory is in your system.

3. If the Virtual Memory Value is smaller than your system memory, click Change and change the Min Virtual Memory to a number that is greater than your total system memory, then click 'Set' and Reboot.

4. Once you have rebooted install ClearMem

ENSURE XP IS USING DMA MODE

XP enables DMA for Hard-Drives and CD-Roms by default on most ATA or ATAPI (IDE) devices. However, sometimes computers switch to PIO mode which is slower for data transfer - a typical reason is because of a virus. To ensure that your machine is using DMA:

1. Open 'Device Manager'

2. Double-click 'IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers'

3. Right-click 'Primary Channel' and select 'Properties' and then 'Advanced Settings'

4. In the 'Current Transfer Mode' drop-down box, select 'DMA if Available' if the current setting is 'PIO Only'

ADD CORRECT NETWORK CARD SETTINGS

Some machines suffer from jerky graphics or high CPU usage even when a machine is idle. A possible solution for this, which, can also can help network performance is to:

1. RightClick 'My Computer'

2. Select 'Manage'

3. Click on 'Device Manager'

4. DoubleClick your network adaptor under 'Network Adapters'

5. In the new window, select the 'Advanced' tab

6. Select 'Connection Type' and select the correct type for your card and then Reboot

REMOVE ANNOYING DELETE CONFIRMATION MESSAGES

Although not strictly a performance tweak I love this fix as it makes my machine 'feel' faster. I hate the annoying 'are you sure?' messages that XP displays, especially if I have to use a laptop touchpad to close them. To remove these messages:

1. Right-click on the 'Recycle Bin' on the desktop and then click 'Properties'

2. Clear the 'Display Delete Confirmation Dialog' check box and click 'Ok'

If you do accidently delete a file don't worry as all is not lost. Just go to your Recycle Bin and 'Restore' the file.

DISABLE PREFETCH ON LOW MEMORY SYSTEMS

Prefetch is designed to speed up program launching by preloading programs into memory - not a good idea is memory is in short supply, as it can make programs hang. To disable prefetch:

1. Click 'Start' then 'Run'

2. Type in 'Regedit' then click 'Ok'

3. Navigate to 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Contr ol\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters\'

4. Right-click on "EnablePrefetcher" and set the value to '0'

5. Reboot.

HOW TO MAKE YOUR IE FASTER
1. click start > run
2. type regedit > enter
3. browse folder HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\m*cro$oft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\InternetSettings
4. right click @ windows right > New > DWORD
5. type MaxConnectionsPerServer > u can set value (the more higher the no, the more good speed u get, eg : 99)
6. create another DWORD >type MaxConnectionsPer1_0Server
7. then put a high value as mentioned above
8. then, restart IE ... ur finished.

Increase your hard disk speed

To speed up your hard disk speed we need to configure a special buffer in the computer's memory in order to enable it to better deal with interrupts made from the disk.

This tip is only recommended if you have 256MB RAM or higher.

Follow these steps:

Run SYSEDIT.EXE from the Run command.

Expand the system.ini file window.

Scroll down almost to the end of the file till you find a line called [386enh].

Press Enter to make one blank line, and in that line type

Irq14=4096

Note: This line IS CASE SENSITIVE!!!

Click on the File menu, then choose Save.

Close SYSEDIT and reboot your computer.

Done. Speed improvement will be noticed after the computer reboots.

You can Access these commands from run option in the start menu or just press +R
(Window key is Generally between Alt & ctrl key on the keyboard) & there you go to unleash these commands...
Knowing these commands is going to give you the Professional touch.
The Commands have been seperated by "~"
TO Open... Commands
Accessibility Controls "access.cpl"
Add Hardware Wizard "hdwwiz.cpl"
Add/Remove Programs "ppwiz.cpl "
Administrative Tools "control admintools"
Automatic Updates "wuaucpl.cp"
Bluetooth Transfer Wizard "fsquirt"
Calculator "calc"
Certificate Manager "certmgr.msc"
Character Map "charmap"
Check Disk Utility "chkdsk"
Clipboard Viewer "clipbrd"
Command Prompt "cmd"
Component Services "dcomcnfg"
Computer Management "compmgmt.msc"
Date and Time Properties "timedate.cpl"
DDE Shares "ddeshare"
Device Manager "devmgmt.msc"
Direct X Control Panel (If Installed)* "directx.cpl"
Direct X Troubleshooter "dxdiag"
Disk Cleanup Utility "cleanmgr"
Disk Defragment "dfrg.msc"
Disk Management "diskmgmt.msc"
Disk Partition Manager "diskpart"
Display Properties "control desktop"
Display Properties "desk.cpl"
Display Properties (w/Appearance Tab Preselected) "control color"
Dr. Watson System Troubleshooting Utility "drwtsn32"
Driver Verifier Utility "verifier"
Event Viewer "eventvwr.msc"
File Signature Verification Tool "sigverif"
Findfast "findfast.cpl"
Folders Properties "control folders"
Fonts "control fonts"
Fonts Folder "fonts"
Free Cell Card Game "freecell"
Game Controllers "joy.cpl"
Group Policy Editor (XP Prof) "gpedit.msc"
Hearts Card Game "mshearts"
Iexpress Wizard "iexpress"
Indexing Service "ciadv.msc"
Internet Properties "inetcpl.cpl"
IP Configuration (Display Connection Configuration) "ipconfig /all"
IP Configuration (Display DNS Cache Contents) "ipconfig /displaydns"
IP Configuration (Delete DNS Cache Contents) "ipconfig /flushdns"
IP Configuration (Release All Connections) "ipconfig /release"
IP Configuration (Renew All Connections) "ipconfig /renew"
IP Configuration (Refreshes DHCP & Re-Registers DNS) "ipconfig /registerdns"
IP Configuration (Display DHCP Class ID) "ipconfig /showclassid"
IP Configuration (Modifies DHCP Class ID) "ipconfig /setclassid"
Java Control Panel (If Installed) "jpicpl32.cpl"
Java Control Panel (If Installed) "javaws"
Keyboard Properties "control keyboard"
Local Security Settings "secpol.msc"
Local Users and Groups "lusrmgr.msc"
Logs You Out Of W*NDOW$ "logoff"
Mic*ft Chat "winchat"
Minesweeper Game "winmine"
Mouse Properties "control mouse"
Mouse Properties "main.cpl"
Network Connections "control netconnections"
Network Connections "ncpa.cpl"
Network Setup Wizard "netsetup.cpl"
Notepad "notepad"
Nview Desktop Manager (If Installed) "nvtuicpl.cpl"
Object Packager "packager"
ODBC Data Source Administrator "odbccp32.cpl"
On Screen Keyboard "osk"
Opens AC3 Filter (If Installed) "ac3filter.cpl"
Password Properties "password.cpl"
Performance Monitor "perfmon.msc"
Performance Monitor "perfmon"
Phone and Modem Options "telephon.cpl"
Power Configuration "powercfg.cpl"
Printers and Faxes "control printers"
Printers Folder "printers"
Private Character Editor "eudcedit"
Quicktime (If Installed) "QuickTime.cpl"
Regional Settings "intl.cpl"
Registry Editor "regedit"
Registry Editor "regedit32"
Remote Desktop "mstsc"
Removable Storage "ntmsmgr.msc"
Removable Storage Operator Requests "ntmsoprq.msc"
Resultant Set of Policy (XP Prof) "rsop.msc"
Scanners and Cameras "sticpl.cpl"
Scheduled Tasks "control schedtasks"
Security Center "wscui.cpl"
Services "services.msc"
Shared Folders "fsmgmt.msc"
Shuts Down W*NDOW$ "shutdown"
Sounds and Audio "mmsys.cpl"
Spider Solitare Card Game "spider"
SQL Client Configuration "cliconfg"
System Configuration Editor "sysedit"
System Configuration Utility "sconfig"
System File Checker Utility (Scan Immediately) "sfc /scannow"
System File Checker Utility (Scan Once At Next Boot) "sfc /scanonce"
System File Checker Utility (Scan On Every Boot) "sfc /scanboot"
System File Checker Utility (Return to Default Setting) "sfc /revert"
System File Checker Utility (Purge File Cache) "sfc /purgecache"
System File Checker Utility (Set Cache Size to size x) "sfc /cachesize=x"
System Properties "sysdm.cpl"
Task Manager "taskmgr"
Telnet Client "telnet"
User Account Management "nusrmgr.cpl"
Utility Manager "utilman"
W*NDOW$ Firewall "firewall.cpl"
W*NDOW$ Magnifier "magnify"
W*NDOW$ Management Infrastructure "wmimgmt.msc"
W*NDOW$ System Security Tool "syskey"
W*NDOW$ Update Launches "wupdmgr"
W*NDOW$ XP Tour Wizard "tourstart"
Wordpad "write"

To close a port, it's usually only necessary to shut down the program holding the port open. On some ports it's enough to tell the program or service that the port should not be opened. A good example is the Microsoft Internet Information Services in Windows 2000 and Windows XP. If installed, they open three ports automatically: 21, 25 and 80. Port 21 is the FTP server, port 25 the SMTP server (email server) and port 80 the webserver for http.

Here's how we find out what processes are keeping those ports open:

1. Hit windows key + r (or click start --> run)
2. Type 'cmd' (without the quotes)
3. Press enter (or click 'ok')
4. Type 'netstat -ano' (without the quotes)
5. Press enter

This lists all ports, the IP addresses using them, and more importantly, the Process IDentifier (PID) that has them open. Find any listings of the ports you specified, and make a note of the PID. Now, follow these steps:

1. Hit ctrl + shift + esc
2. From the 'View' menu, select 'Select Columns'
3. Check the box next to 'Process Identifier'
4. Press 'ok'

Now, Task manager will show you all the processes running on your machine, and the PID of each. Find the ones you noted earlier, and stop them. This is typically all you need to do!
__________________

3 ways to get IP of a person

2009-09-27T08:36:00.000-07:00

Obtaining an IP from MSN Messenger.
----------------------------------

Firstly we learn the method used by most people when they want to get
someone elses IP Address.

Step 1 - Start MSN Messenger and login as yourself.

Pg.17

Step 2 - Hit your "Start" button and click run. Type into the white box
"Command" (without the quotation marks)

Step 3 - Type in "Netstat -N" (without the quotation marks) into the
black box and hit enter.

Step 4 - Start a conversation with your 'victim' and send them a file.
Once they accept the file Hit your "Start" button and click run. Type
into the white box "Command" (without the quotation marks) and Type in "Netstat -N" (without the quotation marks) into the black box and hit
enter.

Step 5 - Look in the middle column of both your MS Dos boxes and look
in the newer wndow for the IP address that has magically appeared in
the middle column. This is your victim's IP Address.

Obtaiing an IP from an E-Mail.
-------------------------------

Ok, lets say the person does not use MSN Messenger (can't blame them)
we can get an IP address from most E-Mail address. In this example we
shall use Outlook Express to view the E-Mails in.

Step 1 - Load Outlok express and left click on an E-Mail that was sent
from your 'victim'

Step 2 - Right click this E-Mail and click the "Properties" button.

Step 3 - Now Click on the tab displaying as it's text "Details" and
look for the buttom saying "Message Source", once found (not hard) click it.

Step 4 - Look in all the jargon for something like "X-Originating-IP: "
with a number after the colon. This number is the sender's IP Address.

Step 5 - If you cannot find "X-Originating-IP: " then do not worry.
Look for instead "Received:", and go along this string untill you come
to a nuber in brackets, this however maybe an IP but it might not be
the IP address of the 'victim', infact if they sent the E-Mail from a
we E-Mail service (like hotmail.com) then chances are it is not their
IP address.

Obtaiing an IP from Physical Access.
------------------------------------

If you have physical access to a computer then getting the IP address
is simple.

Step 1 - Click the "Start" button and hit "Run". Type in "Command" and
hit enter.

Step 2 - Type in "ipconfig" OR "winipcfg" and hit enter now look for
where it says "IP Address:", next to this is the IP of the computer you
are using.

Muvee autoProducer - Vista notebook webcam software

2009-09-16T07:59:00.000-07:00

There's not too many third-party applications that will take the place of the built-in camera laptop software that comes preinstalled in HP Pavilion laptop's running Windows Vista. If your looking for a powerful web camera application that offers more features to help make great-looking videos then continue reading.

Have you heard of Muvee autoProducer 6? Muvee autoProducer 6 is an easy-to-use application that will take the place of your default HP Pavilion camera application known as QuickPlay.

The QuickPlay laptop webcam program is only made to record and save a video or an image and that's it. That's exactly the opposite for Muvee autoProducer 6. The Vista enabled webcam software has tons of extra features that make the process of unique video creation possible.

If you're not sure why it's important to give Muvee autoProducer 6 a try, here's a few:

1. Voice over
2. Captions
3. Auto-enhance pictures
4. Visual effects & transitions
5. Tweak audio/video settings

When your ready to check out this alternative program for the HP Pavilion laptop built-in webcam, follow this link to the Muvee autoProducer 6 website.

Please note that even though the information displayed on this page might not work with every situation, it should work for most.