Top 10 Tips To Improve System Speed

1.Let your PC boot up completely before opening any applications.

2.Refresh the desktop after closing any application. This will remove any unused files from the RAM.

3.Do not set very large file size images as your wallpaper. Do not keep a wallpaper at all if your PC is low on RAM (less than 64 MB).

4.Do not clutter your Desktop with a lot of shortcuts. Each shortcut on the desktop uses up to 500 bytes of RAM

5.Empty the recycle bin regularly. The files are not really deleted from your hard drive until you empty the recycle bin.

6.Delete the temporary internet files regularly.

7.Defragment your hard drive once every two months. This will free up a lot of space on your hard drive and rearrange the files so that your applications run faster.

8.Always make two partitions in your hard drive. Install all large Softwares (like PSP, Photoshop, 3DS Max etc) in the second partition. Windows uses all the available empty space in C drive as virtual memory when your Computer RAM is full. Keep the C Drive as empty as possible.

9.When installing new Softwares disable the option of having a tray icon. The tray icons use up available RAM, and also slow down the booting of your PC. Also disable the option of starting the application automatically when the PC boots. You can disable these options later on also from the Tools or preferences menu in your application.

10. Protect your PC from dust. Dust causes the CPU cooling fan to jam and slow down thereby gradually heating your CPU and affecting the processing speed. Use compressed air to blow out any dust from the CPU. Never use vacuum.

RAM IS THE WORKING AREA (DESKTOP) OF THE CPU, KEEP IT AS EMPTY AND UNCLUTTERED AS POSSIBLE!

Advanced Google Search

Google is clearly the best general-purpose search engine on the Web.But most people don�t use it to its best advantage or in an advanced way. Do you just plug in a keyword or two and hope for the best? That may be the quickest way to search, but with more than 3 billion pages in Google�s index, it�s still a struggle to pare results to a manageable number. There are some ways in which advanced Google search can be used to get the desired results.

But Google is an remarkably powerful tool that can ease and enhance your Internet exploration. Advanced Google search options go beyond simple keywords, the Web, and even its own programmers. Let�s look at some of the advanced Google search options.

Syntax Search Tricks
Using a special syntax is a way to tell Google that you want to restrict your searches to certain elements or characteristics of Web pages.Here are some advanced Google search operators that can help narrow down your search results.
1.Intitle: at the beginning of a query word or phrase restricts your search results to just the titles of Web pages.

2.Intext: does the opposite of intitle:, searching only the body text, ignoring titles, links, and so forth. Intext: is perfect when what you�re searching for might commonly appear in URLs. If you�re looking for the term HTML, for example, and you don�t want to get results such as
www.tipsz.blogspot.com/
you can enter intext:html

3.Link: lets you see which pages are linking to your Web page or to another page you�re interested in. For example, try typing in link:http://www.tipsz.blogspot.com/

3.site: (which restricts results to top-level domains) with intitle: to find certain types of pages. For example, get scholarly pages about Mark Twain by searching for intitle:�Mark Twain�site:edu. Experiment with mixing various elements; you�ll develop several strategies for finding the stuff you want more effectively. The site: command is very helpful as an alternative to the mediocre search engines built into many sites.

Swiss Army Google

Google has a number of services that can help you accomplish tasks you may never have thought to use Google for. For example, the new calculator feature
(www.google.com/help/features.html#calculator) lets you do both math and a variety of conversions from the search box. For extra fun, try the query �Answer to life the universe and everything.�

Suppose you want to contact someone and don�t have his phone number handy. Google can help you with that, too. Just enter a name, city, and state. (The city is optional, but you must enter a state.) If a phone number matches the listing, you�ll see it at the top of the search results along with a map link to the address. If you�d rather restrict your results, use rphonebook: for residential listings or bphonebook: for business listings. If you�d rather use a search form for business phone listings, try Yellow Search
(www.buzztoolbox.com/google/yellowsearch.shtml).
Let Google help you figure out whether you�ve got the right spelling�and the right word�for your search. Enter a misspelled word or phrase into the query box (try �thre blund mise�) and Google may suggest a proper spelling. This doesn�t always succeed; it works best when the word you�re searching for can be found in a dictionary. Once you search for a properly spelled word, look at the results page, which repeats your query. (If you�re searching for �three blind mice,� underneath the search window will appear a statement such as Searched the web for �three blind mice.�) You�ll discover that you can click on each word in your search phrase and get a definition from a dictionary.

Extended Googling
Google offers several advanced services that give you a head start in focusing your search. Google Groups (http://groups.google.com/)

indexes literally millions of messages from decades of discussion on Usenet. Google even helps you with your shopping via two tools: FroogleCODE(http://froogle.google.com/),

which indexes products from online stores, and Google CatalogsCODE(http://catalogs.google.com/),

which features products from more 6,000 paper catalogs in a searchable index. And this only scratches the surface. You can get a complete list of Google�s tools and services at
www.google.com/options/index.html

You�re probably used to using Google in your browser. But have you ever thought of using Google outside your browser?
Google Alert
(http://www.googlealert.com/)

monitors your search terms and e-mails you information about new additions to Google�s Web index. (Google Alert is not affiliated with Google; it uses Google�s Web services API to perform its searches.) If you�re more interested in news stories than general Web content, check out the beta version of Google News Alerts
(www.google.com/newsalerts).

This advanced Google service (which is affiliated with Google) will monitor up to 50 news queries per e-mail address and send you information about news stories that match your query. (Hint: Use the intitle: and source: syntax elements with Google News to limit the number of alerts you get.)
Google on the telephone? Yup. This service is brought to you by the folks at Google Labs
(http://labs.google.com/),

a place for experimental Google ideas and features (which may come and go, so what�s there at this writing might not be there when you decide to check it out).

With Google Voice Search
(http://labs1.google.com/gvs.html),

you dial the Voice Search phone number, speak your keywords, and then click on the indicated link. Every time you say a new search term, the results page will refresh with your new query (you must have JavaScript enabled for this to work). Remember, this service is still in an experimental phase, so don�t expect 100 percent success.
In 2002, Google released the Google API (application programming interface), a way for programmers to access Google�s search engine results without violating the Google Terms of Service. A lot of people have created useful (and occasionally not-so-useful but interesting) applications not available from Google itself, such as Google Alert. For many applications, you�ll need an API key, which is available free fromCODE www.google.com/apis

Maximize Dial-up Modem Settings

Did you know that by changing a few settings you can make your dial-up modem run better? That's right you might have a fast modem and a good connection, but you are not getting the best performance. With a few adjustments, you can get faster connection speeds.

NOTE: Since every PC configuration is different, these adjustments might not work for everyone.

With Windows 95, 98 & ME you'll need to open your Control Panel ( Start / Control Panel ). Click "System" then choose "Device Manager". Open up "Ports", highlight your modem port (should be COM2), and choose "Properties" near the bottom. When you click "Port Settings", you will see the modem speed listed under "Bits per second".

With Win XP , just hold down the Alt key and double-click "My Computer" to bring up System Properties. Click the "Hardware" tab, then choose the "Device Manager" button. Scroll down to "Modems" and click the little (�) to show your modem, then double click it.

Selecting the "Modem" tab will allow you to adjust the port speed.

Usually, the Maximum Port Speed is on the highest setting (115,000 bps), but sometimes you will find it on a slower default of 9600 bps. If you have a 56k modem, you can crank it up to the maximum setting without any trouble (in most cases). If you live in a cave and have a 28k modem, then the fastest you can do is 57,600 bps.

Win 9x users should also adjust the "Flow Control" near the bottom. The default for this is usually Xon/Xoff which is the software control�change this to "Hardware" if you want to get the most from your modem. Next, click the "Advanced" button to adjust the Receiver Buffer to its highest setting (all the way to the right). If you run into any problems, just turn this one back to the 2/3 setting.

To check/adjust the Receive-Transmit buffers in XP, click the "Advanced" tab of your modem properties then choose the "Advanced Port Settings" button. Make sure that both are set to their highest settings.

There are many more tweaks that can be done in the registry, but the potential for disaster is too high for the average user. Some folks install dial-up accelerators, which basically tweak these registry settings for you and perform other routines to optimize performance.

Just by changing these few settings, though, you should see better performance.

Move Xp Hard Drive to New PC

Really easy. But this only works if the original motherboard and harddrive still work. so put it back together. for newbies.

go to control panel > double-click the system icon > hardware tab and click device manager button. find the IDE ATA/ATAPI CONTROLLERS and expand the tab. not the primary or secondary controller, but right-click the first controller. choose update driver. choose the option to install from a list or specific location. click next. now choose the (don't search. I will choose the driver to install) option. click next. now highlight the Standard Dual Channel Pci Ide Controller. click next. the Standard controller will install. now reboot. log in. the standard controller is completely installed. you can now shutdown the computer, remove your harddrive, and it will boot with the new motherboard. i've done this 24 times on 12 different computers. it works.

Add Url Address Bar To The Taskbar

You can add an Internet URL address bar to your Windows XP taskbar. Doing so will let you type in URLs and launch Web pages without first launching a browser. It will also let you launch some native Windows XP applications in much the same way as you would via the Run menu (so you could type in calc to launch the calculator or mspaint to launch Microsoft Paint. Here's how you add the address bar:

1. Right-click on the taskbar, select Toolbars, and then click Address.

2. The word Address will appear on your taskbar.

3. Double click it to access it.

4. If that doesn't work, your taskbar is locked. You can unlock it by right-clicking on the taskbar again and uncheck Lock the Taskbar.
NOTE: You may also need to grab the vertical dotted lines beside the word Address and drag it to the left to make the Address window appear.

General Keyboard Shortcuts

General Keyboard Shortcuts
CTRL+C (Copy)
CTRL+X (Cut)
CTRL+V (Paste)
CTRL+Z (Undo)
DELETE (Delete)
SHIFT+DELETE (Delete the selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin)
CTRL while dragging an item (Copy the selected item)
CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item (Create a shortcut to the selected item)
F2 key (Rename the selected item)
CTRL+RIGHT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word)
CTRL+LEFT ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word)
CTRL+DOWN ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph)
CTRL+UP ARROW (Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph)
CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Highlight a block of text)
SHIFT with any of the arrow keys (Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text in a document)
CTRL+A (Select all)
F3 key (Search for a file or a folder)
ALT+ENTER (View the properties for the selected item)
ALT+F4 (Close the active item, or quit the active program)
ALT+ENTER (Display the properties of the selected object)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Open the shortcut menu for the active window)
CTRL+F4 (Close the active document in programs that enable you to have multiple documents open simultaneously)
ALT+TAB (Switch between the open items)
ALT+ESC (Cycle through items in the order that they had been opened)
F6 key (Cycle through the screen elements in a window or on the desktop)
F4 key (Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer)
SHIFT+F10 (Display the shortcut menu for the selected item)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the System menu for the active window)
CTRL+ESC (Display the Start menu)
ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name (Display the corresponding menu)
Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu (Perform the corresponding command)
F10 key (Activate the menu bar in the active program)
RIGHT ARROW (Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu)
LEFT ARROW (Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu)
F5 key (Update the active window)
BACKSPACE (View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer)
ESC (Cancel the current task)
SHIFT when you insert a CD-ROM into the CD-ROM drive (Prevent the CD-ROM from automatically playing)

Dialog Box Keyboard Shortcuts
CTRL+TAB (Move forward through the tabs)
CTRL+SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the tabs)
TAB (Move forward through the options)
SHIFT+TAB (Move backward through the options)
ALT+Underlined letter (Perform the corresponding command or select the corresponding option)
ENTER (Perform the command for the active option or button)
SPACEBAR (Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box)
Arrow keys (Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons)
F1 key (Display Help)
F4 key (Display the items in the active list)
BACKSPACE (Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box)

Microsoft Natural Keyboard Shortcuts
Windows Logo (Display or hide the Start menu)
Windows Logo+BREAK (Display the System Properties dialog box)
Windows Logo+D (Display the desktop)
Windows Logo+M (Minimize all of the windows)
Windows Logo+SHIFT+M (Restore the minimized windows)
Windows Logo+E (Open My Computer)
Windows Logo+F (Search for a file or a folder)
CTRL+Windows Logo+F (Search for computers)
Windows Logo+F1 (Display Windows Help)
Windows Logo+ L (Lock the keyboard)
Windows Logo+R (Open the Run dialog box)
Windows Logo+U (Open Utility Manager)

Accessibility Keyboard Shortcuts
Right SHIFT for eight seconds (Switch FilterKeys either on or off)
Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN (Switch High Contrast either on or off)
Left ALT+left SHIFT+NUM LOCK (Switch the MouseKeys either on or off)
SHIFT five times (Switch the StickyKeys either on or off)
NUM LOCK for five seconds (Switch the ToggleKeys either on or off)
Windows Logo +U (Open Utility Manager)

Windows Explorer Keyboard Shortcuts
END (Display the bottom of the active window)
HOME (Display the top of the active window)
NUM LOCK+Asterisk sign (*) (Display all of the subfolders that are under the selected folder)
NUM LOCK+Plus sign (+) (Display the contents of the selected folder)
NUM LOCK+Minus sign (-) (Collapse the selected folder)
LEFT ARROW (Collapse the current selection if it is expanded, or select the parent folder)
RIGHT ARROW (Display the current selection if it is collapsed, or select the first subfolder)
Shortcut Keys for Character Map

After you double-click a character on the grid of characters, you can move through the grid by
using the keyboard shortcuts:
RIGHT ARROW (Move to the right or to the beginning of the next line)
LEFT ARROW (Move to the left or to the end of the previous line)
UP ARROW (Move up one row)
DOWN ARROW (Move down one row)
PAGE UP (Move up one screen at a time)
PAGE DOWN (Move down one screen at a time)
HOME (Move to the beginning of the line)
END (Move to the end of the line)
CTRL+HOME (Move to the first character)
CTRL+END (Move to the last character)
SPACEBAR (Switch between Enlarged and Normal mode when a character is selected)

Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Main Window Keyboard Shortcuts
CTRL+O (Open a saved console)
CTRL+N (Open a new console)
CTRL+S (Save the open console)
CTRL+M (Add or remove a console item)
CTRL+W (Open a new window)
F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)
ALT+SPACEBAR (Display the MMC window menu)
ALT+F4 (Close the console)
ALT+A (Display the Action menu)
ALT+V (Display the View menu)
ALT+F (Display the File menu)
ALT+O (Display the Favorites menu)

MMC Console Window Keyboard Shortcuts
CTRL+P (Print the current page or active pane)
ALT+Minus sign (-) (Display the window menu for the active console window)
SHIFT+F10 (Display the Action shortcut menu for the selected item)
F1 key (Open the Help topic, if any, for the selected item)
F5 key (Update the content of all console windows)
CTRL+F10 (Maximize the active console window)
CTRL+F5 (Restore the active console window)
ALT+ENTER (Display the Properties dialog box, if any, for the selected item)
F2 key (Rename the selected item)
CTRL+F4 (Close the active console window. When a console has only one console window, this shortcut closes the console)

Remote Desktop Connection Navigation
CTRL+ALT+END (Open the Microsoft Windows NT Security dialog box)
ALT+PAGE UP (Switch between programs from left to right)
ALT+PAGE DOWN (Switch between programs from right to left)
ALT+INSERT (Cycle through the programs in most recently used order)
ALT+HOME (Display the Start menu)
CTRL+ALT+BREAK (Switch the client computer between a window and a full screen)
ALT+DELETE (Display the Windows menu)
CTRL+ALT+Minus sign (-) (Place a snapshot of the active window in the client on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)
CTRL+ALT+Plus sign (+) (Place a snapshot of the entire client window area on the Terminal server clipboard and provide the same functionality as pressing ALT+PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.)

Microsoft Internet Explorer Navigation
CTRL+B (Open the Organize Favorites dialog box)
CTRL+E (Open the Search bar)
CTRL+F (Start the Find utility)
CTRL+H (Open the History bar)
CTRL+I (Open the Favorites bar)
CTRL+L (Open the Open dialog box)
CTRL+N (Start another instance of the browser with the same Web address)
CTRL+O (Open the Open dialog box, the same as CTRL+L)
CTRL+P (Open the Print dialog box)
CTRL+R (Update the current Web page)
CTRL+W (Close the current window)

short names long meaning

A ---
ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
AGP - Accelerated Graphics Port
ALI - Acer Labs, Incorporated
ALU - Arithmetic Logic Unit
AMD - Advanced Micro Devices
APC - American Power Conversion
ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange
ASIC - Application Specific Integrated Circuit
ASPI - Advanced SCSI Programming Interface
AT - Advanced Technology
ATI - ATI Technologies Inc.
ATX - Advanced Technology Extended

B ---
BFG - BFG Technologies
BIOS - Basic Input Output System
BNC - Barrel Nut Connector

C ---
CAS - Column Address Signal
CD - Compact Disk
CDR - Compact Disk Recorder
CDRW - Compact Disk Re-Writer
CD-ROM - Compact Disk - Read Only Memory
CFM - Cubic Feet per Minute (ft?/min)
CMOS - Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
CPU - Central Processing Unit
CTX - CTX Technology Corporation (Commited to Excellence)

D ---

DDR - Double Data Rate
DDR-SDRAM - Double Data Rate - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
DFI - DFI Inc. (Design for Innovation)
DIMM - Dual Inline Memory Module
DRAM - Dynamic Random Access Memory
DPI - Dots Per Inch
DSL - See ASDL
DVD - Digital Versatile Disc
DVD-RAM - Digital Versatile Disk - Random Access Memory

E ---
ECC - Error Correction Code
ECS - Elitegroup Computer Systems
EDO - Extended Data Out
EEPROM - Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EPROM - Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory
EVGA - EVGA Corporation

F ---
FC-PGA - Flip Chip Pin Grid Array
FDC - Floppy Disk Controller
FDD - Floppy Disk Drive
FPS - Frame Per Second
FPU - Floating Point Unit
FSAA - Full Screen Anti-Aliasing
FS - For Sale
FSB - Front Side Bus

G ---
GB - Gigabytes
GBps - Gigabytes per second or Gigabits per second
GDI - Graphical Device Interface
GHz - GigaHertz

H ---
HDD - Hard Disk Drive
HIS - Hightech Information System Limited
HP - Hewlett-Packard Development Company
HSF - Heatsink-Fan

I ---
IBM - International Business Machines Corporation
IC - Integrated Circuit
IDE - Integrated Drive Electronics
IFS- Item for Sale
IRQ - Interrupt Request
ISA - Industry Standard Architecture
ISO - International Standards Organization

J ---
JBL - JBL (Jame B. Lansing) Speakers
JVC - JVC Company of America

K ---
Kbps - Kilobits Per Second
KBps - KiloBytes per second

L ---
LG - LG Electronics
LAN - Local Area Network
LCD - Liquid Crystal Display
LDT - Lightning Data Transport
LED - Light Emitting Diode

M ---
MAC - Media Access Control
MB ? MotherBoard or Megabyte
MBps - Megabytes Per Second
Mbps - Megabits Per Second or Megabits Per Second
MHz - MegaHertz
MIPS - Million Instructions Per Second
MMX - Multi-Media Extensions
MSI - Micro Star International

N ---
NAS - Network Attached Storage
NAT - Network Address Translation
NEC - NEC Corporation
NIC - Network Interface Card

O ---
OC - Overclock (Over Clock)
OCZ - OCZ Technology
OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer

P ---
PC - Personal Computer
PCB - Printed Circuit Board
PCI - Peripheral Component Interconnect
PDA - Personal Digital Assistant
PCMCIA - Peripheral Component Microchannel Interconnect Architecture
PGA - Professional Graphics Array
PLD - Programmable Logic Device
PM - Private Message / Private Messaging
PnP - Plug 'n Play
PNY - PNY Technology
POST - Power On Self Test
PPPoA - Point-to-Point Protocol over ATM
PPPoE - Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet
PQI - PQI Corporation
PSU - Power Supply Unit

R ---
RAID - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks
RAM - Random Access Memory
RAMDAC - Random Access Memory Digital Analog Convertor
RDRAM - Rambus Dynamic Random Access Memory
ROM - Read Only Memory
RPM - Revolutions Per Minute

S ---
SASID - Self-scanned Amorphous Silicon Integrated Display
SCA - SCSI Configured Automatically
SCSI - Small Computer System Interface
SDRAM - Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
SECC - Single Edge Contact Connector
SODIMM - Small Outline Dual Inline Memory Module
SPARC - Scalable Processor ArChitecture
SOHO - Small Office Home Office
SRAM - Static Random Access Memory
SSE - Streaming SIMD Extensions
SVGA - Super Video Graphics Array
S/PDIF - Sony/Philips Digital Interface

T ---
TB - Terabytes
TBps - Terabytes per second
Tbps - Terabits per second
TDK - TDK Electronics
TEC - Thermoelectric Cooler
TPC - TipidPC
TWAIN - Technology Without An Important Name

U ---
UART - Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter
USB - Universal Serial Bus
UTP - Unshieled Twisted Pair

V ---
VCD - Video CD
VPN - Virtual Private Network

W ---
WAN - Wide Area Network
WTB - Want to Buy
WYSIWYG - What You See Is What You Get

X ---
XGA - Extended Graphics Array
XFX - XFX Graphics, a Division of Pine
XMS - Extended Memory Specification
XT - Extended Technology

IBM Beep Codes

Code Description

1 short beep System is OK
2 short beeps POST Error - error code shown on screen No beep Power supply or system board problem Continuous beep Power supply, system board, or keyboard problem Repeating short beeps Power supply or system board problem
1 long, 1 short beep System board problem
1 long, 2 short beeps Display adapter problem (MDA, CGA)
1 long, 3 short beeps Display adapter problem (EGA)
3 long beeps 3270 keyboard card

IBM POST Diagnostic Code Descriptions
Code Description
100 - 199 System Board
200 - 299 Memory
300 - 399 Keyboard
400 - 499 Monochrome Display
500 - 599 Colour/Graphics Display
600 - 699 Floppy-disk drive and/or Adapter
700 - 799 Math Coprocessor
900 - 999 Parallel Printer Port
1000 - 1099 Alternate Printer Adapter
1100 - 1299 Asynchronous Communication Device, Adapter, or Port
1300 - 1399 Game Port
1400 - 1499 Colour/Graphics Printer
1500 - 1599 Synchronous Communication Device, Adapter, or Port
1700 - 1799 Hard Drive and/or Adapter
1800 - 1899 Expansion Unit (XT)
2000 - 2199 Bisynchronous Communication Adapter
2400 - 2599 EGA system-board Video (MCA)
3000 - 3199 LAN Adapter
4800 - 4999 Internal Modem
7000 - 7099 Phoenix BIOS Chips
7300 - 7399 3.5" Disk Drive
8900 - 8999 MIDI Adapter
11200 - 11299 SCSI Adapter
21000 - 21099 SCSI Fixed Disk and Controller
21500 - 21599 SCSI CD-ROM System

Phoenix Beep Codes

Code Description
1-1-3 CMOS read/write failure
1-1-4 ROM BIOS checksum error
1-2-1 Programmable interval timer failure
1-2-2 DMA initialisation failure
1-2-3 DMA page register read/write failure
1-3-1 RAM refresh verification failure
1-3-3 First 64k RAM chip or data line failure
1-3-4 First 64k RAM odd/even logic failure
1-4-1 Address line failure first 64k RAM
1-4-2 Parity failure first 64k RAM
2-_-_ Faulty Memory
3-1-_ Faulty Motherboard
3-2-4 Keyboard controller Test failure
3-3-4 Screen initialisation failure
3-4-1 Screen retrace test failure
3-4-2 Search for video ROM in progress
4-2-1 Timer tick interrupt in progress or failure
4-2-2 Shutdown test in progress or failure
4-2-3 Gate A20 failure
4-2-4 Unexpected interrupt in protected mode
4-3-1 RAM test in progress or failure>ffffh
4-3-2 Faulty Motherboard
4-3-3 Interval timer channel 2 test or failure
4-3-4 Time of Day clock test failure
4-4-1 Serial port test or failure
4-4-2 Parallel port test or failure
4-4-3 Math coprocessor test or failure
Low 1-1-2 System Board select failure
Low 1-1-3 Extended CMOS RAM failure

AMI Beep Codes

Beep Code Meaning
1 beep DRAM refresh failure. There is a problem in the system memory or the motherboard.
2 beeps Memory parity error. The parity circuit is not working properly.
3 beeps Base 64K RAM failure. There is a problem with the first 64K of system memory.
4 beeps System timer not operational. There is problem with the timer(s) that control functions on the motherboard.
5 beeps Processor failure. The system CPU has failed.
6 beeps Gate A20/keyboard controller failure. The keyboard IC controller has failed, preventing gate A20 from switching the processor to protect mode.
7 beeps Virtual mode exception error.
8 beeps Video memory error. The BIOS cannot write to the frame buffer memory on the video card.
9 beeps ROM checksum error. The BIOS ROM chip on the motherboard is likely faulty.
10 beeps CMOS checksum error. Something on the motherboard is causing an error when trying to interact with the CMOS.
11 beeps Bad cache memory. An error in the level 2 cache memory.
1 long beep, 2 short Failure in the video system.
1 long beep, 3 short A failure has been detected in memory above 64K.
1 long beep, 8 short Display test failure.
Continuous beeping A problem with the memory or video.
BIOS Beep Codes

Changing a folder icon and picture

Changing the icon that is displayed for a folder is one of the easiest ways to customize how it looks and make it stand out from the rest of your folders. Windows XP also includes a new way to apply pictures to the front of your folders when you are using thumbnail view. This next section will show you how to change the way your files and folders look as you browse through them by taking advantage of the new high-resolution icons.

Changing the folder icon and the folder picture are done within a folder properties menu. For the sake of demonstrating what you can do with these new features, create a new folder on one of your hard drives and call it Downloads. This can be a folder to which you can save all of your downloads so that they do not clutter up your desktop. Follow these steps to change the way this folder looks:

1. Right-click the new folder that you just created, or on any folder that you want to customize, and select Properties.

2. Next, click the Customize tab to reveal all of your customizing options.

3. The particular view you are currently using, whether it be the Icons, Tiles or Thumbnails view, will determine what you can customize. First, customize the icon, because that is the most popular way to customize the look of the folder. To do that, click the Change Icon button on the bottom of the window.

4. Now you will be able to browse through the list of available system icons or you will be able to specify your own by clicking the Browse button. Personally, the system icons are good enough for this folder, so I would select one of the globe icons for the Downloads folder.
5. Once you have selected the icon that you want to use, just click the OK button to return to the Customize screen. Then click Apply to see your changes.

6. If you are using Thumbnail view to view your icons, you can customize the folder by making an image appear on the front of the folder so that it can be used as a reminder of what is in the folder. To do that, just click the Choose Picture button on the Customize screen and specify a bitmap to be displayed on the file.

7. Once you are finished selecting the image, click OK to save your change. Then click Apply on the Customize screen to see your changes. Remember that you will only see your change if you are using the Thumbnails view. The view can be changed to Thumbnails view by clicking the View menu bar item.

When you are finished changing the way your folder looks, just click the OK button to save your changes and exit the folder properties window.

Customizing View Folder

Now that you have a specific template selected for your folder, you will have a more advanced feature list to work with so that you can display a lot of useful information about the file in your folder. First, you need to be aware of the new views that you can use in Windows XP:

The default view of Windows XP is the Tiles view. This view is basically the same as the Icons view, but the icons that are displayed are just a little bigger.

The Thumbnails view is one of the most useful new views of Windows XP.

The Filmstrip view is another very useful view that makes it easy to browse through photos on your computer. It gives you the ability to see a large sample of the image, so that you can see a more detailed preview without having to open
up the file.

The Details view is not exactly a new view, but it has been expanded to include many new fields that display useful file information, such as ID3 tags and image data like dimensions and camera info.

The Details view can be customized like no other view can. All of the columns that are displayed can be resized, removed, rearranged, and more can be added. This can all be accomplished by using some of the lesser-known tricks of the interface. To start off, customize a folder that contains a bunch of MP3 files. By now, you should have already changed the template for this folder to one of the music templates so that you can use the advanced music specific features. If you have not already done that, go back to the last section to find out how. When you are ready, follow these steps to customize all of the different parts of the Detail view:

1. Start off by resizing the columns. To do so, just place the mouse on the vertical line that is displayed between the columns and click and hold the left mouse button while you drag the mouse back and forth.

2. Now, add some of the new columns that display information from the ID3 tags from the MP3 files. Just right-click the column heading and select one of the many new options, such as bit rate. You can even select more items to add from the bottom of the pop-up menu. Repeat this step until you have added all of the new columns that you want.

3. Most likely, there will be some columns that you just don't need. To remove these columns from the Details view, just right-click the column heading and select the item once again to uncheck it. This will instantly remove the column from view.

4. The last part of customizing the view is to set the order of the columns in a way that you like the best. To change the order of a column, just grab the column header and drag it around by holding down the left mouse button and moving the mouse.

If you want to customize the detailed view of a folder that contains other multimedia files such as videos or photos, just repeat the previous steps and you will see additional column features with which you will be able to customize your detailed view.

Applying Your Folder Settings To All Folders

When you first use Windows XP, all of the folders are configured to use the Tiles view. Personally, I don't always like to use the Tiles view for my folders. It takes up so much screen space and I usually end up scrolling through the long lists while trying to find the file that I want. Instead, I like to use the Detail view on all of the windows by default.

To do this, you could change the settings of every folder, but there is a much easier way. Instead, just customize one folder on your computer using the preceding sections so that you can get it looking great, then follow these steps to apply the same configuration to all of the other folders on your computer.

1. While the folder that you customize is still open, click the Tools menu bar item and select Folder Options.

2. Next, click the View tab.

3. Click the Apply to All Folders button and click Yes on the confirmation screen. Also, keep in mind that when you do that, you will overwrite your configuration on all of the other folders on your computer.
4. Click OK to close the Folder Options window and you are finished.

If for some reason you don't like what you did and want to restore all of the folders on your computer to the original look, just click the Reset All Folders button that was next to the Apply to All Folders button on the View tab in Folder Options.

Revealing The Super Hidden Files

Microsoft has added many features to Windows XP to protect the critical files of the operating system. The system file checker, for example, continually monitors the system files versions to ensure that no application will replace your system files with a version that Windows XP was not designed to work with. The new super hidden files feature allows Windows to protect itself even further by hiding some of its most critical files from the user. If they can't get to it, they can't hurt it, right?

Revealing the super hidden system files is not very difficult at all. You can uncheck the box on the list on the View tab of Folder Options, but where is the fun in that? Use the Registry Editor to turn this feature off:

1. Click the Start button and select Run.

2. Type regedit in the box and click OK to start up the Editor.

3. Once regedit appears, navigate through HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\
Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Advanced.

4. Right-click ShowSuperHidden and select Modify.

5. Change the value to 1 and click OK to save your changes.

Now you will be able to see all of the files on your computer, including the super hidden system files.

Create A New User Account

Windows XP includes a new simple account management applet called User Accounts. This applet is a new approach to user management that replaces the Windows 2000 style user list with a nice-looking wizard approach. Follow these steps to remove passwords with the new management applet:

1. Launch the new applet by clicking the Start Menu and then selecting Run.

2. Key in nusrmgr.cpl and click the OK button. The applet will now launch.

3. Use your mouse to click the account from which you want to remove the password.

4. Next, click the text that says Remove the password.

5. After clicking the text, you will be taken to a confirmation screen, where you will be required to type in the password of the user. Type in the password and then click the Remove Password button.

That's it! The password is now removed for the user that you selected. Repeat the previous steps for any other accounts for which you would like to remove the password.

If for any reason you change you mind and want to put a password back on a user's account, just go back into the User Accounts applet and click the user you would like to change. Then, instead of showing Remove My Password, the applet will show, Create a password. Click the Create text and enter the new password in the two text boxes and then click the Create Password button.

Identifying The Auto Startup Programs

The first step in stopping the auto startup is identifying exactly what is starting up and what its purpose is. To do so, you will use a cool little program called the system configuration utility, which is built into Windows XP, and the Google search engine (www.google.com), which can look up what the entries are for. First, you will need to start up the system configuration utility and write down what programs are listed. To do so, follow these directions:

1. Start up the System Configuration Utility by clicking the Start Menu and selecting Run. Then key in msconfig and click OK.

2. Once the System Configuration Utility has loaded, click the Startup tab.

3. Now that the list of the active startup programs is visible, make a list of all of the items listed with the name as well as the file that is loaded, which is listed under the command column.

4. Once you have your list made, you can start researching which programs should be removed from the list and which programs should stay. Because almost every computer has different programs starting up after logon, I recommend that you browse the Web and look for a specific program and what will happen if it is removed from startup. One interesting site to visit is a database of common startup programs called Answers That Work. It is located at can't present you with recommendations for each of the programs listed. If you can not find one of your programs listed on that site, just do a quick search on Google and most likely you will find several Web sites telling you what that program does and what removing it will do.

Assigning Alternative IP Addresses

One of the most common network-related delays occurs in the last moments of the system startup. The majority of computer users use dynamic network card configuration. There is nothing wrong with this feature, but under certain configurations, the user can experience delays when getting an IP address.

Every time you turn on your computer, it has to set up the IP configuration. Often, this setup can result in your computer pausing for moments during the loading process. The delay is a result of your PC waiting for the DHCP server (a DHCP server dynamically assigns addresse to computers connected to a network), which is the provider of the network information, to respond. In other situations, a user can experience a delay when a DHCP server is not present on the network.

If you use a dialup connection to the Internet, your computer will rely on getting a dynamic IP address from your service provider when you connect. When you first turn on your computer, it will search for a DHCP server to get an address for the local networking components of the operating system. This is occurring when your computer is still in the early boot stages and is not connected to your dialup ISP (Internet Service Provider). Because you are not connected to a network that has a DHCP server, such as when you are dialed up to your Internet provider, your computer may experience a delay, as the computer is searching for a DHCP server when there really is none available.

This hack will only work for users that have network cards and modems installed. It does not apply to users that just have modem connections to the Internet.

One easy solution to this problem is to assign alternative information to your network card. This task is actually pretty easy, as it does not require any major tampering. Follow these steps to specify an alternative IP configuration for your computer:

1. First, get into Network Properties. This can be accomplished by going to the Control Panel through the Start Menu.

2. Once you are in the Control Panel, make sure that you are in the Classic View,
and open Network Connections. If you are not in Classic View, just click the button on the left that states Switch to Classic View.

3. Now that you are in the Network Connections window, you will see a list of network adapters on your computer. Right-click the icon to which your network connection is hooked up and select Properties.

4. Doing so will launch a new window that lists the different protocols installed on the network card. Click the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) to select it. Then click the Properties button.

5. Once the Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) Properties window is displayed, click the
Alternative Configuration tab. This is where you will have to enter in your data.

6. First, you will have to click the User Configured radio button to allow the text boxes to be edited.

7. Next, type in an IP address for your computer that will be used for the sake of speed in the event that your computer cannot get a DHCP address because you are using a dialup Internet connection. I recommend you use 192.168.1.X. Replace X with any unique number for each computer between 2 and 254. The exact IP address numbers that you choose do not matter. You just want to have a valid IP address filled in so that your

computer does not waste too much time looking for a DHCP address when there is no DHCP server giving out the address on your network.

8. Then, type in 255.255.255.0 as your Subnet Mask.

9. Your Default Gateway should be set to 192.168.1.1 because that is a valid gateway address. As I mentioned earlier, the exact numbers do not matter. We just want to have the computer assign some value instead of spending time searching when it will not find a DHCP server.

10. Then, enter in what your DNS servers should be. You can ask your ISP what they should be. But this information really isn't essential, as this configuration will almost never be used to connect to the Internet. It is just a default fallback in the rare case that you are having networking trouble. Feel free to leave these fields blank, as well as the WINS fields.

11. Click the OK button and then click the OK button for the network properties screen.

That's it; you are now finished.

Turning off the Logon Music

The music that Windows XP plays every time I log on is something that, frankly, I can do without. Hearing the tunes was really cool back when most people didn't have sound cards in their computers. But nowadays, everyone has a sound card and the logon music is starting to get old. Additionally, having it play slows down your system's loading. Less is more, and when your computer has to load a 500KB media file to play, it slows things down. I would highly recommend you disable the logon music. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Go to the Control Panel and select the Sounds and Audio Devices icon from the classic Control Panel view.

2. Once the control has loaded, click the Sounds tab.

3. Locate the Program Events scrollbox. Look for Start Windows by scrolling through the list and click it to select it.

4. Then, locate the Sounds drop-down box and click the down arrow on the right to expand it. Scroll to the top of the list and select (None).

5. Click OK and you are finished.

That wasn't too bad. Plus, you just shaved another second or two off your loading time.

Changing The Location of The Paging File

The paging file can be placed all over your machine. If you really wanted to, your PC could move it to one of those keychain USB thumb drives that use a compact flash card. Although this would be insane because compact flash cards are extremely slow compared to hard drives, it is possible.

If you have multiple hard drives in your system, and I am not talking about multiple partitions on the same drive, you may see a performance increase if you move your paging file off the main system drive.

Moving the paging file off your main drive will allow it to be accessed faster in situations in which your primary hard drive is busy. Also, often when users add hard drives to their computers, they were purchased after their computer was made and usually are faster because hard drives, just like everything else in the computer, get faster as time passes. Moving your paging file to the faster hard drive will also help performance.

Changing the location of the paging file is very easy. Just follow these steps and you will have it done in no time:

1. Once again, you will want to get back to the Virtual Memory settings. If you can get there on your own, feel free to skip to step 4. For those of you that would like directions one more time, follow this and the next two steps. Right-click the My Computer icon located on the desktop in the Start Menu and select Properties.

2. Then click the Advanced tab and click the Settings button under the Performance section.

3. Next, click the Advanced tab and then click the Change button under the Virtual Memory section.

4. Now that you have the Virtual Memory settings displayed, you will want to select the drive on which your current paging file is located from the list of drives.

5. Before you make any changes, write down what the initial and maximum size text boxes contain, if your page file is set to the custom setting. Then, click the No Paging File option and click the Set button.

6. Select the hard drive on which you want your new paging file to be placed from the list of drives by clicking it.

7. When the new hard drive is highlighted, click the Custom Size radio box and enter in the number that you wrote down before. If you are not using the Custom Size mode,

then click the System Managed Size mode but reconsider what was talked about in the last section, because it will really help your performance.

8. Click the Set button and then click OK three times to close all of the settings windows, and you are finished.

After a reboot, your system will be using the paging file on the new hard drive. Feel free to delete pagefile.sys from your old hard drive location because it is no longer needed there.

Disabling unneeded protocols

With every computer comes programs installed that you do not need. As with extra programs taking up space, extra protocols are just wasting your network connection and can actually slow it down. How is this possible? By default, a few different protocols are installed on your computer to allow for maximum compatibility with other computers on a network; these protocols each require bandwidth to operate. Most users will not use too many protocols, and their computers will use up a portion of their connection as they respond and transmit information for these protocols.

Additionally, with extra protocols installed on your network adapter connected to the Internet, you increase your risk of security-related problems. One of the most common risks for broadband users is that they have the Client for Microsoft Networks networking protocol enabled on their connection. This protocol allows everyone in their neighborhood to connect to the users computers and view any files that they may be sharing. This fact alone should be a good enough reason for you to turn off the extra protocols. But with them disabled, you will also save a little bandwidth as well.

Viewing protocols on your network adapters

Viewing the protocols installed and active on your various network adapters is easy. Just follow these quick steps and you will be viewing them in no time:

1. Right-click the My Network Places icon on the desktop or in the Start Menu and select Properties. If the My Network Places icon is not in either of those locations, then go to the Control Panel and click the Network Connections icon that is shown under the Classic view.

2. Next, right-click the network adapter with which you want to view the network protocols and select Properties.

3. This will bring up a list of the protocols installed as well as active on your adapter, as Figure 11-11 shows. The protocols that are installed but not active are indicated by the absence of a check in the checkbox.

Disabling a specific protocol

Now that you have the list of installed and active protocols on your screen, you are ready to disable a protocol. To do so, just click the check box to remove the check. Then click the OK button and the protocol is no longer active on the network adapter. I highly recommend that you disable all protocols except for the TCP/IP protocol (also referred to as the Internet Protocol). Doing so will optimize your adapter for speed and security.

Be aware that if you remove the Client for Microsoft Networks protocol and the file-sharing protocol, you will no longer be able to share your files. Additionally, you will no longer be able to connect to remote computers to view their shared files.

Also keep in mind that if you have multiple adapters in your machines, such as a wireless adapter, a wired network adapter, and a dialup modem, you will have to repeat the preceding instructions for each adapter.

Enabling the Windows firewall

The new Windows firewall is usually disabled by default on any computers running Windows XP, including those that upgraded to Service Pack 2, unless your computer manufacturer has turned this feature on for you. If you want to use the built-in firewall to protect your computer, just follow these steps to enable it:

1. Click the Start button and open Control Panel and Click on Windows Firewall.

2. When the Windows Firewall settings window loads, just select On and click OK to save your changes.

3. Click OK once more to save the settings for the adapter,and the firewall will be activated.

Now that you have the firewall set up, try using all of your common Internet applications. If you find that some of them do not work, then you can configure the firewall to allow them to pass through the firewall so that they can still be useful. Instant messaging programs can have problems with firewalls when a remote user attempts to send you a file. Sending files often requires the remote computer that is sending you the file to be able to connect to your computer. Because your firewall is designed to block all connections by default, you will have to configure it so that it will let certain applications work through the firewall. How to do so is described in the next section.

Configuring Windows firewall

Configuring the firewall to allow certain programs to work through it is not always the best thing to do, because it will expose your computer more to the outside world and increase your risk of getting infected with something. However, in the short term or for an application that you must use, you can make it work through the firewall. In the original version of the firewall, the only possibility was to specify a port number to open. Now, it is much easier to make an application work though the firewall. Instead of typing in a port number, users can just select the program on their computer that they want to have accessed through the firewall.

This capability makes the firewall configuration much more user-friendly. Additionally, in Service Pack 2, Microsoft left in the old way to open up the firewall manually by entering in a port number, so that users still have total control if they really want it. The end result of these two methods is the same; the only difference is the ease of use for less experienced Windows XP users.

Using the new feature to open up holes in the firewall is pretty cool. Follow these steps to open up the firewall for a specific application:

1. Open up Network Connections again by clicking the Start Menu and selecting Run. Then, type firewall.cpl in the box and click OK.

2. When the Windows Firewall settings window loads, click the Exceptions tab.

3. You will see a list of all of the different exceptions that are currently enabled, as signified by the check in the box. By default, a few applications will be enabled. I recommend that you uncheck all of the entries unless you use them. If not, then you are just taking an unnecessary risk by leaving those doors open.

4. If you want to add an application to the exception list so that it will be able to accept connections and data from the outside world, such as an Instant Message program that wants to receive files from other users, just click the Add Program button.

5. Select the name of the program from the list or click the Browse button on the Add a Program window to select the executable of the application that you want to open to the world.

6. When you are finished selecting the program that you want to be able to access through the firewall, click OK and it will appear on the list.

7. Now that the program is on the list, just check the box next to the name to open up the firewall for the application.

8. Click OK to activate your new firewall settings.

Windows Firewall also includes settings on how you want your computer to respond when several different standard Internet messages are sent to it. For example, one setting you can specify is the ping command, which is a network command used to estimate turnaround time between sending data to a computer and receiving a response. All of these settings are found on the Advanced tab by clicking the Settings button under the ICMP section. The screen is pretty straightforward. If you want your computer to have a stealth presence on the Web, as I mentioned earlier, you should uncheck all of the entries listed on the ICMP tab.

Disabling Remote Desktop connection

The Remote Desktop feature of Windows XP is a great way to be able to access your
computer when you are away from the office or home. However, if you have poor computer security, the Remote Desktop also is a great way for anyone to be able to access and control your whole computer. Remote Desktop is a very risky application to leave exposed to the world. Its security relies solely on your account password, which for most users is easy to guess.

If you do not use Remote Desktop, then it would be a good idea to disable the feature. Doing so is a snap. Just follow these steps to turn it off:

1. Right-click the My Computer icon on the desktop or in the Start Menu and select
Properties.

2. Click the Remote tab to expose the remote access settings.

3. Next, uncheck the box under Remote Assistance.

4. Uncheck the box under Remote Desktop as well.

5. Click OK to save your changes.

When Remote Desktop connections are disabled, you have one less thing to worry about namely, someone having the ability to break into your computer.

Disabling Messenger Service

Microsoft has included a service in the last few versions of Windows that allows system administrators to send pop-up messages to all computers on a local network. This service can be an invaluable resource for administrators who want to get the word out about some upcoming server maintenance. For example, end users would see a message pop up on their screens that notifies them that the work group file server will be inaccessible for the next hour while routine maintenance is performed.

This is a great service n when it is used correctly. Unfortunately, the Messenger Service has been abused. Just because any user can send messages to the entire work group doesn't mean that she or he should. This capability is sometimes not a good thing. Users that are part of large local area network, such as just about every Internet user, can send out a mass message to all users in the same subnet. As you can imagine, some users that know how to use the service have started to
abuse it by sending spam to all the users in their same subnet. Nowadays, you may get spam not only in your inbox but also in a pop-up window that could appear at any time.

The Messenger Service, just like any other service or program that is accessible to the outside world, increases your security risk. Although there is currently not an exploit for the Messenger Service that allows remote users to execute commands on your computer, who knows what the future will hold? To be safe, it is best to just disable this service. You will also be cutting down on a new type of spam.

Disabling the Messenger Service can be done by using the Service Manager. Follow these steps to get started:

1. Click the Start button and select Run.

2. Key in services.msc in the box and click OK.

3. The Services Manager will load. Scroll though the list and right-click Messenger and select Properties.

4. Change the Startup Type to Disabled.

5. Click the Stop button and then click OK to save your changes.

Now the Messenger Service is one less thing to worry about. You can kiss the annoying pop-up text ads goodbye and also reduce your risk for an attack in the future.