Is your PC running slow?

Is your PC running slow? Here are step-by-step instructions for a few things you can do yourself.

·         Shutdown PC

·         Remove temporary Internet files

·         Cookies?

·         Defragment

1. Remove temporary Internet files

From Internet Explorer Select Tools (at the top of your screen) then Internet Options Click on the Delete Files button. (You can also delete cookies here but wait for the next step if you aren’t sure.)

 Note: You can do this right now while you are reading.

 2. Cookies

Cookies aren’t all bad. They store your use rids and passwords and help sites identify you. If you delete all of your cookies you may have to enter your use rid and password again when you go back to a Web Site. Cookies don’t generally store any secure information. You can view and delete cookies. From Internet Explorer Select Tools then Internet Options click on the Delete Cookies button. Or, copy and paste (or type) this location in the address bar at the top of your screen. You will see all of your cookies and can selectively delete the cookies you don’t want stored on your PC. c:\windows\cookies  Use the BACK ARROW in your Browser to get back to this page. More Cookies More cookies may be stored in your temporary files. Copy and paste (or type) this location in the address bar. c:\Windows\Temporary Internet Files Since we just cleaned out all of the temporary files the only files we see right now are dated today so we’re not deleting these cookies

3. Get rid of PC Junk
Delete the temporary files from your PC. Look for a directory named TEMP. It’s usually in c:\temp. You can go to “Run” and type in %temp% and it will bring up the temp files to erase. Click Start Run %temp%Hit “select all” and then delete. You can usually safely delete all of the files but don’t delete any system folders. If it says “this is a system folder” don’t delete it. Hit “select all” and then delete. You can usually safely delete all of the files but don’t delete any system folders. If it says “this is a system folder” don’t delete it. Note: You can do this right now while you are reading. Use the BACK ARROW in your Browser to get back to this page.

4. Get Rid of adware and Spyware

• Use a good adware/spyware tool to find and delete infection.For example; Spybot Search and destroy, Adware se.

• adware. Spyware gets downloaded without you knowing it and it tracks your keystrokes. Adware is attached to some programs that you download. It’s the thing that gives you all of the popups. The Yahoo Toolbar with Anti-Spy is available as a Yahoo free download.
• Download Google Toolbar Prefer Google? The Google toolbar eliminates annoying pop-up ads. Download Google Toolbar

5. Defragment

Reorganizing Your Hard Disk to Improve Speed System running slow? Time to do a defrag. Over time as you write to your hard disk the data gets fragmented, broken into separate pieces. You can optimize your hard drive by defragmenting. It may take an hour or more to run if you haven’t defragmented your drive in a while. If the defrag takes a long time (more than an hour) that’s a good thing. It means your PC needed to be defragmented. This is where you can really speed up your PC. A fragmented drive runs slow. We usually Defrag every few days. You might need it more often or less depending on how much you use your PC. Close or quit all other programs before running the defrag. Click Start->Programs->Accessories->System Tools->Disk Defragmenter Or… Double-click on your desktop MyComputer. Right-click on the C: Right-click on Properties Select the Tools tab Defragment Now… Now you can select Defragment Now…. We usually check both boxes Rearrange and Check drive for errors.

Defragment never finishes?
If the Disk Defragment just hangs with 0% finished then you need to run it in Safe Mode. Hold down the Ctrl key while restarting. Release the Ctrl key when it says it’s running in Safe Mode. Now try to run the Disk Defragmenter. It might work.

 Why is My Computer Slow?
Slowdown culprits can include screen savers and custom cursors. Both can interfere with your system performance. Don’t forget to shut your PC down every once in while. It will clean itself during the shutdown. Another step that will make your PC run faster is defragmenting your hard drive when it needs it.

Ashampoo Burning Studio-2007

Ashampoo Burning Studio allows hassle-free disc burning; Includes support for new-generation Standards such as Blu-Ray; and well designed; Well-suited to beginners and for basic home applications. Need to register to get a free key.

The latest version of Ashampoo Burning Studio 2007 is a free and significant improvement over its predecessor. Maintaining functionality without compromising on ease of use, Ashampoo Burning Studio2007 incorporates many new and exciting features. This application basically focuses on one aspect—to burn discs quickly and easily delivers maximum quality with minimum hassle. Some of the new features that have been incorporated in this version are support for Blu-ray burners, integrated audio CD ripper, and a feature-rich file backup utility for CDs, DVD and Blu-Ray discs including password protection, compression, spanning and restoration to original file locations. Other features let you burn disc images, erase media and make copies. The well designed interface is easy to navigate. You can drag and drop files into a play list-like window before proceeding to burn them. It also has a gauge at the bottom that indicates how much free space is available on the disc. Those who have used Nero earlier would be familiar with this type of interface. Audio CDs can be burned from file types such as WAV, MP3, OGG and WMA. If stuck at a particular stage, you can always use the interactive trouble shooting assistant for solving most of your hardware and media related queries. Ashampoo Burning Studio doesn’t have all the advanced features that you will find in other commercial packages such as Nero’s integrated WAV editor, but average users looking for quick and easy burning won’t miss them. The simplicity of this software and its broad range of tools make it a superb choice for most disc burning needs. The software includes everything you need to burn a recordable CD and DVD easily.

http://www.ashampoo.com

Altiris Software Virtualization Solution 2 SP1

 The software is for those who frequently install-uninstall softwares!

Where virtual machine utilities like VMware Workstation

manage entire virtual computers, Altiris Software Virtualization Solution 2.0 virtualizes individual software installations.

Altiris software virtualization solution (SVS) lets you place application and data into managed units known as virtual software packages (VSPs) Small modules known as VSPs are created for each software, which can contain the installations and which remain essentially disconnected from the OS. This means that no registry modification are made to windows and your system stay clean, while transparency means you wont be able to tell this is a layered module. In case an application malfunctions, the problem is limited and isolated to its particular module, and your OS remain unaffected.

 SVS monitors software installation, and grabs Registry changes-in addition to the addition and deletion of files-and transfers these to a layer. Any file and registry call is thereafter forwarded to this layer rather than to windows. The application is great if you are tryout certain application without the risk of problems for your OS. It also supports transferring installation to other computers with SVS installed. Best of all, it is completely free for personal use.

Download

www.altiris.com/Download.aspx

Tips and Tricks-1

How we can view thumbnails of .DAT files in Windows?

 

Type REGEDIT at the run prompt Expand HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT -> .DAT in the registry editor. right click on .DAT and create a NEW KEY and name it as ‘ShellEx’ right click on ‘ShellEx’ and create a NEW KEY expand .MPG and copy the KEY value under ‘ShellEx’ Paste it for the key (under ShellEx) just created for .DAT move to .MPG and click on the value under ‘ShellEx’

In the right pane double click on the DEFAULT under Name Copy the value next to VALUE DATA and paste for the .DAT one Close the Registry Editor