Scroll Down for 47 Valuable PC Tips and Tricks

One day your PC will crash and you'll be glad you backed everything up. But should you back up your operating system and programs as well as your data? And on what media?

A CD-RW is probably the best means as they are so cheap now that a back up even once a week to a new disk isn't expensive. Backing up the whole of your hard drive is probably not the best way, as though it will get you back to work the quickest it does risk backing up any virus that may have infected your PC. Personally I only back up my data files (many of which can comfortably fit onto a floppy disk). If I have a crash then I would have to reinstall my operating system from the CD-ROM, together with my programs from their CD-ROMs or back-up floppies (yes, many software programs and ebooks available online are less than 1.4MB). I would update Windows from the Microsoft site and collect updates similarly for my programs.

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Best to avoid viruses altogether by keeping your anti-virus software up to date and doing a virus check regularly. I use and recommend AVG Anti-Virus and Firewall combined, available on a free trial from here.

Preventing others from using your PC

Windows isn't a very secure operating system. But there are a few ways to keep other people - both at home and at work - off your PC.

First of all, if your PC has password protection built into its BIOS, you can block others from booting up at all. Go to your system's setup screen (you can probably get to it by pressing the key Delete or DEL on your keyboard before the PC starts to load Windows) and look for a Password option. After you create your password, make sure not to lose it.

If your BIOS doesn't provide any security, you can rename your win.com file. Shut down Windows, selecting the option Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode. At the DOS prompt (which will probably read 'C:\WINDOWS>'), type the command ren win.com bill.com. Then turn off your PC. When other people turn it on, they'll see only a DOS prompt and be told that an important file is missing. With luck, they'll be so scared they damaged your computer that they'll never touch it again. When you boot up you'll get the same thing, but of course you'll know that you can get to Windows just by using the DOS bill.com command.

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More on Backing Up

Unless you have the time and facilities to back up your whole hard drive on a regular basis, you have to be selective about which files you need to keep backed up regularly. The most essential are your data files, especially your documents, spreadsheets and accounts files. Ebooks and software programs downloaded from the Internet should also be backed up (to avoid having to pay for them all over again!).

Your music and photo files should also be backed up, plus anything else that cannot be readily replaced. What about your operating system? I'd never advise NOT to back it up, but remember that you can always re-install it from your Windows CD and download all updates from the Internet. The same goes for programs for which you have the installation CD, eg Microsoft Office.

What about your email messages and address list? Personally, I don't use the address book in Outlook Express, but keep all addresses on a floppy disk for security. However, you can easily back up this data - see the appropriate tip at internet tips.

Buying a new laptop PC or camcorder?

Don't skimp on the batteries. Most manufacturers tell downright lies when they estimate how long the batteries last before needing a recharge. Assume it's half the time quoted. And if you're travelling overseas make sure you have the most long-lasting batteries. Lithium-ion are the best, and make sure you buy them before you travel, as airport shops and the like see you coming.

Controlling Your Keyboard

You can adjust the speed at which your keyboard responds to your fingers by going to Control Panel > Keyboard icon > Speed tab. There are sliders for Repeat delay and Repeat rate and a test bar to experiment on. You can also adjust the cursor blink rate.

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Run Your Favourite CD-ROM’s From Your Hard Drive

If you're lucky enough to have one of the latest high capacity hard drives and you have loads of empty space on it, you can run your favourite CD's from it instead of your CD drive. Games and applications will run much faster. Just ceate a folder somewhere on your hard drive (preferably have this partitioned into two or more drives - see elsewhere in Tips'N'Tricks and place the folder on a separate drive to that which holds your operating system) and copy all the files on the CD into that folder. You will need to change the Target on desktop shortcuts, where the computer must look in order to find the programme. Right click the icon and select Properties, to do this.

Something New

Here's something for when you've just treated yourself to a new piece of software or maybe a peripheral of some sort (or, even better, someone's treated you to it!)

Before you actually load the software, see if you can check when it was made. Quite possibly the box has been lying around in a warehouse for a couple of months (a lifetime, in terms of software development).

All kinds of problems with compatibility and other issues could have arisen in that time. So before doing anything else, pay a visit to the manufacturer's website to check for bugs or updates, etc, that you should be aware of. It could save a lot of time.

Virus Protection

You not only have to have a good anti-virus programme on your PC, you have to keep it updated. This is normally free; just log onto the site of the producer of the software and click on update. If you do this frequently it shouldn't take long to download.

When you download anything from the Net, that is when your system is at its most vulnerable as far as viruses are concerned. You have the option of Save to Disk or Run the Program from its current location. My advice is always to save to disk, and specify a folder (preferably on a separate drive to that which your operating system is on). If it has a virus it is at least quarantined. Then immediately run a virus check on it before opening it or unzipping.

Using Your PC As A Fax Machine Using Windows 98

Place your Windows 98 CD in the CD drive and open Brouse this CD. Go to Tools/Oldwin95/Message/Int and find AWFAX.EXE. Install it and then you can send a fax by pressing Ctrl + P and selecting Microsoft fax instead of your printer in the Print dialog box.

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Give Your Hard Drive a thorough check-up

Get the Hard Drive Mechanic to check your hard drive for errors, and fix it instantly. Just click here.

Installing A New Hard Drive

Soon there will be a new section on MagneticWeb covering this topic. Meanwhile, because most hard drives come with no instruction manual or any indication at all as to how to fit them to the motherboard, check out the appropriate website below according to the manufacturer of your hard drive:

Fujitsu http://www.fujitsu.com/support
IBM http://www.ibm.com/support
Maxtor http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/products/index.htm
Seagate http://www.seagate.com/support/index.htm
Western Digital http://support.wdc.com

Don't forget that with IDE hard drives you must fit the new drive as either a "master" or a "slave". Check the set of jumpers on the back panel and compare against the diagram that should be there. The data cable should be firmly attached, with the red edge nearest the power cable.

Adware and Spyware

We all know by now about these nasties. Big Brother, in all his guises, wants to know more about your online activities.
Adaware is a very effective program for getting rid of these, and you can download it from http://www.lavasoftusa.com. Another very useful program for combatting these unpleasant little things is Spybot Search and Destroy, which finds any such hiding in your registry and program files. Download it from http://beam.to/spybotsd .

Keep a Check on Your Hard Drive

Here's a brilliant freeware utility that is only 103kb but lets you see exactly what's on your hard drive via a simple, graphical display. You can delve deep inside your directories and find and delete files you no longer want. It's called Spacemonger, works on Windows 98/SE/ME/NT4/2K/XP and can be downloaded from http://www.werkema.com/software/spacemonger.html

Defragging With Ease

So many people have problems with defragmenting their hard drive that many tend not to carry out this important housekeeping measure.

Why is it important? Because when you save data or download software to your hard drive, it is stored in whatever locations are most convenient at the time.

So everything becomes fragmented - stored in "bits and pieces" all over your hard drive. This means they take longer to access, and your PC appears to slow down. (It's not really slower - it just takes longer to retrieve data.)

Defragmenting means that all files and folders are organised so that their data, including software and programs, is moved if necessary so that it's all in one place on your hard drive, thereby reducing "seek time" and speeding things up.

But often, when defrag hits around 10 per cent done it stops and starts again from zero. The whole process can take hours if something isn't done about it.

The problem is usually caused by anti-virus software running in the background, or a screen-saver cutting in.

You can temporarily disable both, but an easier way is to simply shut down and re-boot in Safe Mode. You should then be able to run defrag without any problems right the way through.

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Beware of Free Firewalls!

A lot of freeware comes at a price. I used to recommend a firewall from ZoneLabs called ZoneAlarm. Now I have learned that this is spyware, which sends details of your surfing habits to two data processing centres in Israel.

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Accessing Digital Cameras

How can you compare the performance of a digital camera with a 35mm camera just by looking at the specs? Digital cameras use image sensors that have a much smaller surface area than photographic film. However, this formula works: Multiply the digital camera's lens focal length by 9.6 if it has a 1/4 inch sensor, 7.25 if it has a 1/3 inch sensor, 4.8 if it has a 1/2 inch sensor or 4 if it has a 2/3 inch sensor.

Keeping Your CDs Clean

Sometimes a CD-R/RW disc can become unreadable because of scratching or scuff marks. A CD polishing kit can sometimes fix this, but if not then try Brasso (a brass cleaning treatment sold widely in the UK and most other countries). Use a clean duster and be prepared to work hard at getting offending marks off. You can also use this method on audio CDs and DVDs, but only if all else fails and make sure you wipe off the cleaning material and polish thoroughly before using the disc again.

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Scanning Photos

When scanning color photos, beware of making the resolution too high. If it's to be put in a document or on a web site you don't need high resolution. 300 dpi for a document and 72 dpi for a web image should be enough. Too much resolution makes for huge files and long download times on the web (which few visitors will tolerate).

Scanner Alternative

Some people find using a scanner to input data into their PC to be painfully slow. Why not try this instead? Get a spare fax machine and link it up to your PC so as to fool them into thinking that they are connected via a telephone line. Full instructions are contained in a file called faxscan2.zip. Download it from here.

What Speed Processor?

If you're in the market for a new or second-user PC, or are thinking of upgrading, take a moment to think about what you want a computer for. The slowest processors being sold in the shops are around 1.8 Ghz.

This was unbelieveably fast a few years ago. And as for the current fastest of 3 Ghz or more . . .

It's true that modern games software demands ever faster processors and if that's what you use your PC for then get the fastest processor you can afford.

Don't forget, though, that the processor isn't everything. If you don't have enough RAM (memory) then even the fastest processor isn't going to do the latest shoot-em-up justice.

But if you use your PC for business purposes then you don't need a fast processor. And a few gigs of hard drive space will be more than adequate. You only need a massive 80 GB or more hard drive if you load tons of games and MP3 files onto it.

Cursor Problems?

If ever your cursor locks up for a few seconds at a time it may be because of a faulty memory management setting. Right click on My Computer and select Properties. Under Performance, click the Virtual Memory button and ensure that "Let Windows Manage my Virtual Memory Settings" is checked. Talking of memory, you really need to have at least 128MB. Anything less, even for purely business purposes, is courting trouble.

Copying Your E-mails to a New PC

If you buy a new PC one thing you'll want to do is transfer all your e-mail messages in their respective folders to the new machine. If you use Outlook Express on both machines, here's how to do it:

Using Windows Explorer, locate your e-mail messages in your old PC by opening C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Identities\(long jumbled up numbers and letters)\Microsoft Outlook Express. Copy the contents of this folder to floppy disk and then from the floppy to the new PC by pasting in the same location in the Windows folder.

POSTSCRIPT: Les Dean has sent me the following observations on this tip:

"Hi there,

I just thought you may want to take this PC tip a couple of steps further.

Here is how I do it using Outlook Express. (I do the same with Outlook 2000 as well but the steps are a little different).

From your desktop open your "My Documents" folder. Then click on "File", then "New" and choose "New Folder". Name your new folder Email or My Email. Now open up Outlook Express. Click on "Tools" and then "Options".

Next, click on the "Maintenance" tab. Now click on the "Store Folder" button. Use the "Change" button and locate the folder you created earlier under the "My Documents" folder. Once you have chosen your folder you will be given the option to move the contents. Choose yes to this. Now all of your email messages are no longer buried deep within Windows. Every time you back up your "My Documents" folder (and I know you do this on regular basis) your email will also be getting backed up.

If you want to copy your email to a new PC, follow the above steps on the new PC and then copy the contents of your email folder to the one of the same name on your new PC.

Thanks,

Les Dean"

Thanks for that, Les. I'm sure many of us will benefit from it.

Getting the right driver

If you're installing a new or second user component in your PC and haven't the right driver for it, try this.

Transferring Files to a New PC

What happens when you upgrade to a new PC, and you want to transfer your existing files to it?

The easiest way to do this is to remove the hard drive from your old PC and install it as a "slave" into your new PC. Remember to take the usual anti-static precautions.

Adjust the jumper settings on the hard drive. It was almost certainly set to "master", so it is easy to change the setting. There may even be a diagram illustrating this, if you're lucky.

Connect it to the spare connector on the ribbon data cable (if there isn't one, use the data cable from your old PC and connect the other end to the IDE2 socket on the motherboard).

The data cable will have a red line down the side where Pin 1 is, so you can fit that the right way round to the cable. Connect up a spare power plug to the drive and push it in firmly.

When you boot up, the PC will recognise the new drive and assign it a letter, probably D:, unless you have formatted your new drive with more than one drive, as recommended on the MagneticWeb site.

Then it's a simple case of moving or copying files in Windows Explorer. You could then keep the old drive for backups or additional storeage space.

Viewing All The Fonts On Your PC

Do you want to view a sample of all the fonts on your PC? How do you go about it though? There's no facility in Windows or Microsoft Word to do this. Here are a couple of solutions. The first one is provided by Microsoft. Go to www.microsoft.com and download a programme called Wordware. This puts a number of extra buttons on your Word toolbar, one of which creates a Word page showing examples of all the fonts on your PC.

There is another program called FontLister at www.theill.com/fl/ which can display all the fonts not just on your hard drive but also on a CD-ROM, and is very versatile in a number of ways. It is shareware, but only costs $5.00.

Better Scanning

Are you stuck with a cheap scanner and low picture quality? Try putting a sheet of black paper or card behind the picture or image that you are scanning. This will increase the quality of your scan no end, with more accurate colours and better contrast.

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