A lot of people have asked me for help in getting their computers up and running. This site, I hope, will eventually provide enough basic help to accomplish that purpose. I am not a computer expert and have had to rely upon others for most of the tips I am posting, so with that in mind, I hope you enjoy the site.
I plan to be continually adding links on this site to
various freeware and shareware programs I have tested and use to
keep my computer ship shape. Most of the links for will be links to the
developer’s web sites or one of the major download sites like ZD net or
PC Magazine. I also plan on including links to various auction help pages.
If you have any suggestions for additional help links I would
appreciate your letting me know.
Lets start with some basics
Scandisk should be run on a weekly basis to insure the file structure remains in tact. To do this go to start, programs, accessories system tools. Sometimes it may be necessary to run scandisk from a dos prompt in order to access certain file folders. To do this you will need to start the computer in safe mode, command prompt only and type scandisk.
Also on a monthly basis you should defrag your computer. The link is located in the same system tools. Doing the above two maintenance steps on a regular basis is the first step to having a healthy computer. By running these you will eliminate a good percentage of your problems. If you have problems running a scandisk or defrag. Be sure that you rid your computer of any un-necessary files before you start. I normally clean my cache and delete all the file in my windows temp folder. The built in cache cleaner in the browser does a very poor job of cleaning out the cache in most cases. However the newest of the MSIE browsers does have a function that appears to work extremely well. That is under tools, internet options, advanced. Scroll down to the security section and check the box to delete temporary internet files when you close the browser.
I had posted links here to a few of the freeware programs that I use to do this type maintenance but unfortunately the links now require signup to enter. Its well worth the time and effort to visit here http://www.pcmag.com/default/0,2999,,00.asp
Once there you can search the downloads for utilities like Hard Drive Valet, Startup Cop and several others you might find useful.
Most windows problems have an answer that can be found on in the Windows
Knowledge Base which is located here
http://search.support.microsoft.com/kb/c.asp?fr=0&SD=GN&LN=EN-US
Windows also has a central downloads site where just about all their various download can be accessed. That is at
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/search.asp
Another good helper site is Windows Annoyances that is located at
http://www.annoyances.org/win98/
Windows 98 helper applications.
Lets start with windows regclean an application from the boys at Microsoft to repair errors in the windows registry.
http://www.zdnet.com/downloads/stories/info/0,10615,23283,00.html
This should be run on a periodic basis.
Next lets get a handle on how windows starts. It seems like every programmer wants to control your PC. this helper application from the people at PC magazine "Startup cop" will give you back the control of your windows startup and cut down on resource hogs that need not run every time you start up your computer.
If you have windows 98 you can accomplish the same thing by going to start run and typing.
MSCONFIG
in the white box that comes up next clicking on the start up tab. I myself prefer to use the startup cop program mainly because startup cop does not require a restart and you can reset to the default with just a click.
Windows also has a helper that will allow you to restore your corrupted system files or extract a file from a disk. Go to start run and then type
SFC
it the box that comes up. hit enter and windows will check to see if any files are corrupted. This same location will allow you to do a file extraction to replace a file other than a windows system file. Windows handles this a bit different. You will need to go to start run then type CMD in the box and in the next box that appears type SFC/SCANNOW
Here is a great site with a must read newsletter that will keep you up to date with the latest do's and don't
Here are a few helpful hints for the Microsoft Internet explorer users.
If your running MSIE 5 or higher this is a must download
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/Ie/WebAccess/default.ASP
Located on this page is Web developer accessories which is an extremely valuable tool to have in you arsenal. Of the tools is view "Partial Source". With this tool you can highlite a section of the page right click view partial source and see the source for that section. No more having to read line after line of code to see what was done.
Windows Cosmetics and desktop applications.
Lets start with some cosmetics. Change the bland old clock on the task bar to a full feature clock that can be customized to show days date hours minutes and seconds. You can get this at
http://users.iafrica.com/d/da/dalen/tclockex.htm
Now to keep your clock keeping the correct time this download is one of the best
http://www.thinkman.com/dimension4/index.html
Next tired of the every day windows wallpaper This site provides a free wallpaper changer and several has several excellent photos to download to use as wallpaper
Modem problems? no problem. Either this site or links on this page should solve just about anything you can come up with
http://808hi.com/56k/x2-inf1.htm
Here are a couple of photo editors and photo reducing sites
This is a decent free photo editor with a lot of add on possibilities
http://www.mediachance.com/digicam/index.html
Another I use a lot is the free Unlead Photo Explorer this can be downloaded at
http://www.ulead.com/pex/freeware.htm
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