The Task Manager is an application included in Windows operating systems since Windows NT. Its job is to allow you to easily troubleshoot your PC and receive detailed information about the programs and services running in the background.
Opening the Task Manager in Windows is much like popping the hood of your car, it allows you access to the inner workings of your computer while its running… Continue reading
Windows 7′s defrag utility has a lot more going for it than previous versions, but you have to know where to look to find the good stuff. To access some of the more interesting options like parallel defragging (defrag two separate hard drives at once) and progress reports, you need to use the command line version.
Don’t be scared, just click Start, and in the… Continue reading
The Windows Experience Index has been around since Windows Vista came out and, naturally, most computer users are looking for methods to obtain as high a WEI score as possible. Further, ever since Windows 7 came out, there have been some changes in the WEI. Most users’ WEI scores changed from Windows Vista to Windows 7, which has led many users to question the veracity of the WEI… Continue reading
The main reason to switch to a 64-bit operating system is to use a greater amount of RAM in your PC. Because 32-bit operating systems can only address a maximum of 4GB of RAM, any amount of memory that exceeds the 4GB limit, will be rendered useless.
While 32-bit operating systems can theoretically address 4GB of RAM, Windows operating systems such as Vista and 7… Continue reading
You know how when you’re in the Windows Task Manager and you can check under the performance tab to see what kind of load your computer is under? You know, the screen that looks like this?
Well what about a few more details, huh? What if you want to monitor every available resource your computer is using right now and you won’t take “no” for… Continue reading
Disk defragmentation has been an important part of our computer maintenance from a long time. Just to refresh things a bit, without going into the technical details, disk defragmentation is an important process that we should run regularly to keep our computer in a healthy condition.
That being said, many of us know that disk defragmenter comes with every installation of Windows, but the time… Continue reading
Everyone seems to be in love with Windows 7, so this article’s intent is to share cool tips with people who are interested in getting the most out of the OS -especially those who are running Windows 7 on older, under-powered systems.
Go easy on the effects
Everybody loves glitter, but all those cool effects come at a price -particularly on very old Computers… Continue reading
Note: Video may contain content not found in written tip
Are you a graphic artist or do you work with print media or another color-sensitive documents? You want to make sure you have the exact color you need on the screen, and since every monitor is a little different it’s always a good idea to calibrate!
Do this:
I’ve received a bunch of e-mails concerning the impending end of support for Windows XP Service Pack 2. The main question I get, though, is just a matter of identification.
“How do I find out if I have Windows XP Service Pack 3?”
It’s easy, actually! Just follow these steps.
Just right-click on My Computer and select “Properties”. The the System… Continue reading
Does your PC take a long time to boot? Do you always have to wait and stare at the screen while all the start-up applications load? Does the long wait bother you and do u wish you could make it faster? MSConfig is a nifty Windows tool which allows you to do exactly this as described below.
MSConfig stands for Microsoft System… Continue reading
Today, while in the midst of my usual research into all thing MS Office I happened upon a part of the Microsoft Help and Support site that I had never seen before. (OK – so maybe it has been there since early this year – more research – but I didn’t notice it until today so now that I know, I thought I’d pass it on…)
Anyway… Continue reading
Have you ever got the feeling that you are losing space in your hard disk for no apparent reason? Have you tried finding out the sum total space occupied by all the files, and found that the available free space in the drive is lesser than expected (i.e. there is a certain amount of space which is occupied, but unaccounted for?) If you have, and… Continue reading
How to un-install a program, eh? Shouldn’t Worldstart have this in their tip archive already? Well, maybe, but updates are always nice, too, right? Without further hesitation, here are two methods to get rid of just about any program installed in Windows Vista.
Go to Start>All Programs and look under the program you’d like to uninstall. Chances are you’ll see something like… Continue reading
A few weeks ago an article I wrote covered how to recover from a BSOD by restoring your computer to an earlier recovery point. Last week I had a Blue Screen problem on my son’s computer that restoring to an earlier recovery point could not cure.
To make a very long story short, the problem turned out to be an old version of Adobe Flash player that… Continue reading
Sounds dangerous, doesn’t it? Modern versions of Windows prefer NTFS to manage files on your computer, but did you know that there is a feature you hardly use that you can turn off to make Windows open stuff a little faster?
What’s happening is that every time a file is accessed, you
Those of you out there that are planning on upgrading to Windows 7 may want to pay special attention to today’s tip. We learned about the system requirements for Microsoft’s upcoming upgrade awhile back, but what if you’re still unsure as to whether or not your PC can handle it?
That’s where this no-frills, free download from the folks at Microsoft comes in. It’s called… Continue reading
How do I set my file type associations in Windows Vista? It was so easy in XP!
This is a great question with a nice, easy answer! A lot of people lament the alternate routes they need to take to accomplish something that was once so easy in Windows XP. The biggest one I get has to do with file type associations. So, without any… Continue reading
Now, because I’ve been running a lot of info on Windows 7 a few questions are bound to spring up. How much does it cost? Will my old programs work with it, etc. However, the biggest query that fills my inbox is always “Why is it called Windows 7?”
With so many different versions of Windows throughout Microsoft’s course, where’s the sense? We had Windows 3.0, 3.1, 95… Continue reading
Did you know that there’s a built in diagnostic tool in Windows Vista and 7? You can generate your very own health report for your computer that will show you what’s going on inside and give you helpful resolutions to ensure your PC is running at it’s peak of performance!
Here’s the dish:
Have you ever been rolling along, playing a game, writing an email or just surfing the web when your PC suddenly freezes and you are confronted with the Blue Screen of Death? If this has never happened to you, immediately STOP READING THIS ARTICLE and give thanks to the computer Gods.
If, however, you are like the other PC users I know out there and would like to learn how… Continue reading
Microsoft has bestowed upon us the system requirements for Windows 7! Here they for both 32 and 64 bit flavors:
- 1GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
– 1 GB of RAM (32-bit)/2 GB of RAM (64-bit)
– 16 GB of available disk space (32-bit)/20 GB (64-bit)
– DirectX 9 graphics device with Windows Display Driver Model 1.0… Continue reading
In recent times, laptops have become an essential part of day-to-day life. Mobile technology has progressed so much that laptops outsell desktops. Though mobile technology has advanced, the average laptop battery life is still a bit on the low side, between two to four hours if the laptop is used continuously. It isn’t all that much, especially if you are regularly on the move.… Continue reading
Q: I recently upgraded the RAM in my Vista machine and I lost some drive space. What gives?
A:If you’ve upgraded your Windows Vista computer’s memory (RAM) after you installed the memory, you may be wondering why you suddenly lost some drive space. In Windows XP, when you added more memory to your computer, you had to manually go and increase the size of your paging file… Continue reading
I’ve gotten a couple of questions recently concerning the upkeep of LCD screens. Those flat-panel beauties are a joy to look at, for sure, but once the power is turned off all sorts of streaks, smudges and other detritus appear. How is one to keep their super-cool, modern monitor looking it’s best without permanently damaging it with harsh chemicals?
Well, let me tell you.
There are cleaning… Continue reading
How well do you know the insides of your PC? I mean, it’s all enclosed in a shiny case for the most part, and barring anyone out there who has a window cut into the side (and there are those out there that do), looking into the abyss of the home computer is just not something the average user is apt to do! So, say you want to upgrade the… Continue reading
Vista Service Pack 2 on the Horizon
A few tidbits surrounding Microsoft’s second service pack for Windows Vista have trickled out on the web. Nothing major has been announced just yet, but here’s what we know so far.
First off, SP2 will have the updated Windows Search 4.0, which makes finding files, e-mail and network items quicker and easier. There’s also the inclusion of Microsoft’s new exFAT… Continue reading
Hard drives are one of the most important components of the computer system. A general unmonitored hard drive has a life term of about three to five years. A hard drive may fail without any prior warning, leading to the loss of all the data on the disk. And that’s exactly why it’s so important to keep your hard drive in good condition. This tutorial will guide you through all… Continue reading
