System Tune-Up

Deleting Setup Files

You've downloaded some software and ran its setup program. Now you want to delete the setup program, but should you?
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/739

Over-Clocking

Overclocking is a popular way to get a little more performance from a system
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/668

What of these things called"$NtUninstallQ...etc

My Windows folder is full of these things called"$NtUninstallQ...etc". There's a whole bunch of them! Are they OK to delete?
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/649

Automatic Processes

Find out what these "processes" are for and how to keep them from loading if you don't really need them
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/635

Installing a New Font

When you buy some new fonts or download them off the internet you may need to manually install them. Sounds difficult, but it really isn't.
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/622

Check Available Disk Space

To see how much space you have left, open the My Computer icon on your desktop (or under the Start menu for XP users) and right-click the drive you are curious about.
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/613

Disable Error Reporting in Windows XP

disable error reporting in Windows XP
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/598

Upgrading to XP? Proceed Carefully

So, you finally decided to give in and upgrade to Windows XP. There are some issues you should know before making the switch.
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/477

Power Management Setting

Windows has a Power Management setting that will shut your monitor off after a specified amount of time.
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/472

System Password Protection

You can password protect the whole computer by putting a password into your computer's system settings.
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/467

Keep It Clean

I can't tell you the number of computers I've opened that have been clogged with dust. In fact, I've seen computers fail and have intermediate problems due to excessive dust build up. In addition, a lot of dust in your computer can cause it to run hotter than it should, shortening its life.
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/430

Strange sounds when computer is turned on

Your computer probably has two internal fans - one that sits on top of the CPU and one inside your power supply. Most of the time the sound you're describing comes from the fan in the power supply. They can make that annoying noise for a long time before they finally belly up and die
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/429

Updating Windows

indows update is actually a really cool little feature. You know how Windows tends to have a few bugs? Well, these updates take care of bugs, security holes, and lots of other problematic stuff. Who knows, if you're having problems, this may actually cure them!
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/428

Where is my Control+Alt+Delete?

This could be caused by a virus, but before you panic, it could also be missing if, for some unknown reason, Task Manager did not install or was deleted. So, first you should find out if it's there:
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/425

Compress NTFS Files

f you are using Windows XP, chances are (as mentioned above) your hard drive uses the NTFS filing system. If you are in NTFS you can save space on your hard drive by using File Compression.
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/416

Screen Resolution and Older Games

I ran into this the other day with an old program that my kids love. It turns out that we had to change the screen resolution to 256 colors.
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/411

Backing Up the Registry

backing up your registry from time to time is a pretty good idea
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/401

Program Ghosts

I deleted a program but it still shows up on my Add/Remove Programs list. How can I get rid of it
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/400

Prefetch Clutter

"What's Prefetch?" you ask. It's a way for Windows to pre-load the data needed for running applications before you launch them. It's supposed to make them launch quicker.
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/399

Get Your Money's Worth

We often mention various Windows tools only get emails from readers who say those tools are missing. Many times this happens because the feature is not installed (for instance Task Manager in XP—see 8/4/04 ). Especially if your system came with the OS already on it, you might not have all the tools and toys available.
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/396