Are you missing your Recycle Bin or My Computer?

To restore you icons
1. Right-click the Desktop, and then click Properties.
2. In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Desktop tab, and then click Customize Desktop.
3. In the Desktop icons area in the Desktop Items dialog box, select the desktop icons that you want to
appear on your desktop.
4. Click OK.
5. Click OK again.

Change the picture on your welcome screen.

Each user account in Windows XP has a standard picture (such as a chess set, a dog, or an astronaut) associated with it. You can add your own image for each account.
To change the picture on the Welcome screen
1. Log on to your computer as an administrator.
2. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
3. Under Pick a category, click User Accounts.
4. Under or pick an account to change, click the account you want to choose a picture for.
5. Under What do you want to change…, click Change the picture.
6. Click Browse for more pictures.
7. Click the picture you want to display for that account, and then click Open.
Windows XP displays the picture on the Welcome screen for the account you selected. To choose pictures for other accounts, return to step 3.

Classic look make XP look like an older versions of windows

After installing XP you may notice the new interface looks nothing like the old one. I was completely thrown back when I tried using it for the first time, but I suspect that over time the new interface will begin to grow on you as it has with me.

Therefore, to ease your transition to the new OS, make a simple adjustment to XP to give it that classic look.

How to make XP look like older version

1. Right-click your Desktop and select Properties.
2. On the Desktop Display properties, click the Appearance tab.
3. Under the Windows and buttons pull-down menu, select Windows Classic.
4. Click Apply to see your new look.
5. Click OK to close the Desktop Display properties.

Cleaning up your computer

Over time, computers get slower because files become disorganized and resources are consumed by unnecessary software. Windows XP includes tools to clean up your computer and restore its performance. The five steps in this article will walk you through the use of these tools to tune up your computer.

Always make sure that you are backing up your computer. Some of the steps can cause pre-existing but hidden problems to surface, which may keep your computer from starting. A backup allows you to restore your important files in the unlikely event that something does go wrong.

Remove unused programs

First, remove programs you don’t use anymore. Programs take up space on your computer, and some run in the background without your knowledge. It is important to make sure that you are sure of what you are removing.  It is not recommended to remove programs that are part of Windows (i.e. Media Player). You can do this either through the uninstall option that comes with the program or if this option is not available, you can use the Add and Remove option in the control panel.

Remove temporary files and clean the registry

Temporary files build up on your computer for several reasons. This takes up space and slows your computer down. I recommend CCleaner it is free and works with most Windows operating systems. CCleaner will also clean the registry. The registry fills up with unwanted garbage, when you install and uninstall programs.

Install and run anti-virus software

Because of amount of viruses out there it is highly recommended to have a good quality anti-virus program. If your computer is loaded with viruses, your computer will not respond the way it should be. The other thing is you may be infecting other people. Download a good anti-virus program to make sure you are 99% safe. Before you scan your computer for viruses make sure you update it. Here are the Top Ten Reviews.

Install and run anti-spyware software

Most programs can be removed using the Add or Remove Programs function accessible from Control Panel, but spyware programs are more stubborn. Anti-spyware programs can detect and remove these programs. You should always have an anti-spyware program installed, because spyware can install itself on your computer without your knowledge. Here are the Top Ten Reviews.

Defragment your hard drive

Sometimes, a magazine article skips from the front page to somewhere in the middle. You have to flip through the paper to find the page on which it continues. It would be much faster if you had the entire story in one spot.

Files on your computer can either be fragmented, like magazine articles, or non-fragmented, like a book. Over time, files become fragmented. When a file is fragmented, it takes longer for the computer to read it because it has to skip to different sections of the hard drive – just like it takes you a few seconds to find a page in the middle of a newspaper.

This improves your computer’s performance by reorganizing your files.

Copy files and folders to CD

Backing up is important and sometimes a disk is the method of choice. Even to share data like photos a CD is a good option.

To copy files and folders to a CD

1. Insert a blank, writable CD into the CD recorder.

2. Open My Computer.

3. Click the files or folders you want to copy to the CD. To select more than one file, hold down the CTRL
key while you click the files you want. Then, under File and Folder Tasks, click Copy this file, Copy this folder, or Copy the selected items.

4. If the files are located in My Pictures, under Picture Tasks, click Copy to CD or Copy all items to CD, and
then skip to step 5.

5. In the Copy Items dialog box, click the CD recording drive, and then click Copy.

6. In My Computer, double–click the CD recording drive. Windows displays a temporary area where the files are held before they are copied to the CD. Verify that the files and folders that you intend to copy to the CD appear under Files Ready to be written to the CD.

7. Under CD Writing Tasks, click Write these files to CD. Windows displays the CD Writing Wizard. Follow the
instructions in the wizard.

Note: Do not copy more files to the CD than it will hold. Standard CD’s hold up to 650 (MB). Be sure that you have enough disk space on your hard disk to store the temporary files that are created during the CD writing process. For a standard CD, Windows reserves up to 700 MB of the available free space. After you copy files or folders to the CD, it is good idea to make sure the data has indeed copied.

Create a personal screen saver

If you like using a screen saver and have digital photos on your computer, you can easily make your own screen saver using the pictures that you have stored on your PC. You can set up your screen saver in Microsoft Windows XP to display a slide show of some or all of your pictures when you’re not using your computer.

To set up a My Pictures slide show

1. Right-click on the desktop, and then click Properties
2. In the Display Properties dialog box, click theScreen Saver tab. Then,
click the Screen saver list, and click My Pictures Slideshow.
3. Click OK.

The next time your screen saver starts, you’ll see a slide show of all the pictures in your My Pictures folder.

Disk cleanup tool

1. Click Start, and then click My Computer.
2. Right-click Local Disk, and then click Properties.
3. On the General tab, click the Disk Cleanup button. Disk Cleanup will spend a few minutes examining your disk.
4. The Disk Cleanup dialog box will appear. Select each of the check boxes in the Files to delete list, and then click OK.
5. When prompted, click Yes. Disk Cleanup will spend several minutes removing these files. If you have more than one hard disk drive, repeat this process for each hard disk drive listed in My Computer.

Disk Defragmenter

1. Click Start, and then click My Computer.
2. Right-click Local Disk and then click Properties.
3. Click the Tools tab, and then click Defragment Now.
4. The Disk Defragmenter appears. Click your hard disk drive, and then click Defragment.
5. Disk Defragmenter will work for at least several minutes, although it might take several hours. When prompted, click Close.

Display the volume control icon in the taskbar

If you’re listening to music on your computer, and you want a quick way to turn the volume up or down, you can create a shortcut icon for your volume control and put it in the taskbar. That way it’s always right at your fingertips.

To add the volume control icon to your taskbar.

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices.
3. Under Pick a task, click Change the speaker settings.

4. In theSounds and Audio Devices Properties box, click the Volume tab, and select the Place volume icon in the taskbar check box. Then, click OK.

Now when you want to adjust the volume, you can just click the speaker icon in the taskbar and move the slider.

Note: You might need to click on the left-facing arrow button (<) on the taskbar to display the audio icon.

Enable/Disable firewall

Be cautious using the firewall as sometimes it may block some applications from accessing the internet.

1. Open the control panel.
2. Double click windows firewall.
3. Click the appropriate check box for enabling or disabling the firewall.

How to add a shortcut to your desktop

You can create shortcuts on your desktop that enable you to open your favorite files and folders by simply double-clicking your mouse.

To add a shortcut from a file to your desktop.

1. Find the file that you want to create a shortcut to.
2. Right-click the file that you want to be able to open from your desktop, click Send To, and then click Desktop.

You’ll see the shortcut on your desktop.

Note: The shortcut icon has an arrow in the lower-left corner to indicate that it’s a shortcut rather than the actual file. You can open a shortcut just like you would any other file by double-clicking it. However, if you delete the shortcut, you won’t remove the file itself. During a back up make sure that you are backing up the actual file and not just the shortcut.

Make your folders private

If you have more than one person using your computer, it may be handy to make your folders private. That way one user should not be able to disturb files in a folder that has been made private.

1. Open My Computer
2. Double-click the drive where Windows is installed (usually drive (C:), unless you have more than one drive on your computer).
3. If the contents of the drive are hidden, under under Tools, Folders Options, View, Select Show hidden files and folders.
4. Double-click the Documents and Settings folder.
5. Double-click your user folder.
6. Right-click any folder in your user profile, and then click Properties.
7. On the Sharing tab, select the Make this folder private so that only I have access to it check box.

Outlook location in Windows XP

The path location where Outlook is located in Windows XP is:
C:\Documents and Settings\User Name\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
User Name is the name of the users profile.

Removing programs

If you installed a program and it wasn’t what you had hoped or it has outlived its usefulness, it’s a good idea to remove it. Every program installed on your computer takes up space, and some programs slow your computer down. Before following the steps below, check to see if the program has an uninstall option. If it does click on it and follow the steps that the uninstall takes. If it does not have the uninstall option here are the steps to take.

To remove a program
1. Log on to your computer as an administrator. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Add or Remove Programs.
3. In the Currently installed programs list, click the program that you want to remove. Then, click Remove or Change/Remove.
4. Follow the instructions that appear to remove your program. Each program has a different process. Restart your computer if prompted.

Note: There may be programs on your computer that you’re not directly using but that are important. (Operating system updates are an example.) If you’re not sure what a program does, it’s wise not to remove it until you’re sure it’s something you do not need. A quick Google search can sometimes help you decide, but if you still don’t know at that point then it’s best not to remove it. Some programs cannot be removed from the Add or Remove Programs window. In this case, anti-spyware software may be able to remove the software.

Save energy by putting your monitor to sleep

You can save electricity by putting your monitor to sleep when you are not using it. Letting your monitor sleep allows it to go into a low-power mode. To wake your monitor, you simply touch your mouse or keyboard.

To set Windows XP to automatically turn your monitor off when your computer isn’t being used.
1. Right-click the desktop, and then click Properties
2. In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Screen Saver tab. Then, click the Power button.
3. In the Power Options Properties dialog box, click the Turn off monitor list, and select a time to automatically turn off your monitor. Five minutes is a realistic setting. If you have a portable computer, set the time for both Plugged in and Running on batteries.
4. Click OK twice.

Windows XP will let your monitor sleep after your computer has been idle for the specified number of minutes. To reactivate your monitor, move your mouse, or press a key. You’ll save almost as much power as if you had manually turned your monitor off, but you won’t have to press your monitor’s power button.

Schedule a weekly defragmentation

One thing that slows down your computer’s performance is fragmentation. This is a situation that occurs over time, in which files on your hard drive become divided into small pieces. Your computer must read a file to open, save, or close it. So when it reads each piece of a fragmented file separately, the effect is that the file can seem “slow” when you’re working with it.

Defragmenting your hard drive puts the scattered pieces of files back together. Windows XP includes a tool that will defragment your hard drive for you. To keep your system performing well, it’s a good idea to have Windows XP automatically defragment your hard drive every week. You can schedule this to occur when you are least likely to be using the computer.

To Schedule a Weekly Defragmentation
1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Performance and Maintenance.
3. Under or pick a Control Panel icon, click Scheduled Tasks.
4. In the Scheduled Tasks window, double-click Add Scheduled Task.
5. In the Scheduled Task Wizard, click Next.
6. Click Browse.
7. In the File name box, type %systemroot%\system32\defrag.exe, and then click Open.
8. Under Perform this task, click Weekly. Then, click Next.
9. Set the time and day of the week you would like to defragment your hard drive. For best results, choose a time when your computer will be on but you will be away from it. Click Next.
10. Type your password in both the Enter the password and Confirm password boxes. Then, click Next.
11. Select the Open advanced properties for this task when I click Finish check box, and then click Finish.
12. In the Run box, add C: to the existing command. Make sure you include a space before the “C:”. Then, click OK.
13. In the Set Account Information dialog box, type your password in both the Password and Confirm
password boxes. Then, click OK.

Windows XP will defragment your hard drive at the time you have scheduled. During defragmentation, a black window will open. If you happen to be working at your computer when the window opens, you can ignore it. However, it is recommended that you let the computer defrag undisturbed. The window will automatically disappear when defragmentation is complete.

Defragmentation works best when you have plenty of free space on your hard drive.

Schedule backups

Sometimes you might not have time to manually back up your files every week. You can schedule backups to occur automatically. This takes a few minutes to set up, but once you’ve done so, you’ll be protected.

To schedule a weekly backup
1. Click Start, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Backup. If the Backup option does not appear on the System Tools menu, you can install it.
2. The Backup or Restore Wizard appears. Click Next.
3. On the Backup or Restore page, click Next
4. On the What to Back Up page, click All information on this computer, and then click Next.
5. On the Backup Type, Destination, and Name page, click Choose a place to save your backup, and select your external hard disk drive. Then click Next.
6. On the Completing the Backup or Restore Wizard page, click Advanced.
7. On the Type of Backup page, click Next.
8. On the How to Back Up page, click Next.
9. On the Backup Options page, select Replace the existing backups. Then click Next.
10. On the When to Back Up page, click Later. In the Job name box, type Backup. Then click Set
Schedule.
11. On the Schedule tab in the Schedule Job dialog box, click the Schedule Task list, and then click Weekly.
12. In the Start time box, specify a time of day when your computer will not be used for several hours, such as 3:00 AM. In the Schedule Task Weekly area, select the day of the week you want to back up your files. If you are backing up files overnight, remember to leave your computer running the night before.
13. Click the Settings tab. Select the Wake the computer to run this task check box.
14. Click OK.
15. In the Set Account Information dialog box, type your password in both the Password and Confirm
password fields. Then click OK.
16. On the When to Back Up page, click Next.
17. In the Set Account Information dialog box, type your password in both the Password and Confirm
password fields. Then click OK.
18. In the Account Information Warning dialog box, click OK.
19. On the Completing the Backup or Restore Wizard page, click Finish.

Your computer will automatically back up your files to your external hard disk drive every week at the time you specified.

Set up your computer so that only authorized people can use it

If several people use a single computer, it may be convenient to set up a user account for each person to keep everyone’s setup preferences and documents separate. If someone wants to use your computer briefly he or she can use the Guest user account. By default in Microsoft Window XP, this account is disabled, which means that only specifically authorized users can access your computer.

If you have enabled your Guest account, you should disable the Guest account (once your guest has finished using your computer) to improve your computer’s security.

To disable the Guest account
1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel
2. Under Pick a Category, click User Accounts.
3. Under or pick an account to change, click Guest.
4. On the What do you want to change about the guest account? Click Turn off the guest account.

Now the Guest account is disabled. As an added safety precaution, and to prevent users without user accounts from logging on, it’s a good idea to add passwords to every account on your computer.

Take ownership of a folder

First you must Disable Simple File Sharing in Windows XP.

Left click on Start the left click on My Computer.
At the top of the new Window left click on Tools then left click on Folder Options.
On the new Window left click on the tab View.
In the Advanced Settings uncheck Use Simple File Sharing.
Left click on Apply then left click on OK.

Next Right click the folder that you want to take ownership of, and then click Properties.
Click the Security tab, and then click OK on the Security message (if one appears).
Click Advanced, and then click the Owner tab.
In the Name list, click your user name, or click Administrator if you are logged in as Administrator, or click the Administrators group.
If you want to take ownership of the contents of the folder, select the Replace owner on sub containers and objects check box.
Click OK, and then click Yes when you receive the following message:
You do not have permission to read the contents of directory folder name. Do you want to replace the directory permissions with permissions granting you Full Control?

All permissions will be replaced if you click Yes.

Note folder name is the name of the folder that you want to take ownership of.

Click OK, and then reapply the permissions and security settings that you want for the folder and its contents.

Take your favorite tunes with you

Take your favorite tunes with you where ever you go. Windows Media Player for Windows XP is designed to make the transfer of music to portable players simple. Since the music is stored on your computer hard drive, you can keep refilling your portable player as often as you want.

To transfer music to a portable player
1. Connect your portable player to your computer, according to the directions supplied with the player.
2. Click Start, point to All Programs, and then click Windows Media Player.
3. Click Copy to CD or Device. If necessary, click the player to which you want to copy music.
4. Choose a playlist from the Music to Copy drop-down menu.
5. Clear the check boxes beside any tracks you do not want to copy.
6. Click Copy Music.

Use a web graphic for your desktop background

If you find a picture you particularly like, such as a beautiful landscape or a cute little kitty, you can make it your desktop background, so that you can see it whenever you use your computer.

To use a Web graphic for your desktop background
1. Use Microsoft Internet Explorer to open the Web page with the picture you like.
2. Right-click the picture, and then click Set as Background

Windows XP displays the picture as your desktop background. For best results, use large pictures that are wider than they are tall.

Using windows back up to manually back up your files

To back up your files to an external hard disk drive
1. Click Start, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Backup. If the Backup option does not appear on the System Tools menu, you can install it.
2. The Backup or Restore Wizard appears. Click Next.
3. On the Backup or Restore page, click Next.
4. On the What to Back Up page, click All information on this computer, and then click Next.
5. On the Backup Type, Destination, and Name page, click Choose a place to save your backup, and
select your external hard disk drive. Then click Next.
6. On the Completing the Backup or Restore Wizard page, click Finish.
7. Windows Backup saves a copy of your files to your external hard disk drive. When the backup is
complete, click Close.

If your computer stops responding, you will be able to restore your files to the state they were in when you completed the backup. However, any new files you have created and any changes you have made to existing files since the backup occurred will not be saved unless you back up your files again. For best results, back up your files every week or immediately after creating important files, such as after you copy pictures from your digital camera.

Windows XP error-checking is a tool available for you in windows

Windows XP Error-checking is a tool available for you in Windows. Everyone should run it from time to time because it can prevent your computer from becoming unstable.

There are different reasons why the data on your hard disk can become corrupt. Windows keeps “meta-data” about each file and every directory on your hard drive in a Master File Table (MFT). In some cases, the information in the MFT can become corrupt. This can be the case when your computer experiences a sudden power cut or a system hang. To make things even worse, your hard disk may show signs of wear over time and some sectors may become unreadable.

Windows XP Error-checking is the tool to handle these situations. It can fix logical errors on your hard disk and it can detect bad sectors and flag them so that Windows no longer uses them.

It’s a valuable tool, but it has a disadvantage, checking and fixing an entire hard disk is a tough job, so Error-checking can take a considerable amount of time under certain conditions. Predicting how much time is very hard to do. It depends on several factors such as;

* Overall speed of your computer
* Number of files and directories on the disk
* Size of the disk
* Amount of RAM

Run Error-checking at a time when you don’t need your computer. In most cases Error-checking wants to restart your computer and during the time that it runs, you won’t have access to your computer. You can always interrupt Error-checking during its work, but this is not recommended.

How to use Windows XP Error-checking
1. Click the start button
2. Right-click “My Computer” and select “Explore”
3. Right-click the disk you want to check and select “Properties”
4. In the properties dialog click the tab “Tools”
5. Click “check now”
6. The “checking disk” dialog appears, check both options and click start
7. You will probably see a message that Error-checking wants exclusive access to the disk and therefore wants to begin first thing after you restart your computer. Accept by clicking ok.

When your computer restarts you will see Error-checking advancing through several different stages of verification, examining your hard disk. If it detects no errors, Windows will continue to start to your normal desktop. If there are errors, Error-checking presents a report with what it has done and waits for your confirmation.

You should always back up to an external source

As technology moves along we become more reliant on our computers. We are saving more important documents and pictures on our hard drives. They are more convenient and take up less space than file cabinets and photo albums.

Unfortunately, computers sometimes fail. Like a light bulb there is no way to tell how long your hard drive will last. It may run for 10 years or 10 days. To make sure you don’t lose important files if your computer stops working, you should back up your computer on a regular basis. The backup process copies your files to a safe place so that even if your computer fails, you won’t lose them.

Choose backup storage

You should always back up to an external source. You have the choice of an external hard drive, CD’s or DVD’s. There are also websites that will store your data for you. You should never backup to the drive inside you computer because if that drive fails you have lost your backup as well. If your computer does fail, you can then connect the external hard disk drive or use the CD’s to restore your files to your new or repaired computer.

If you decide to get an external hard disk drive, choose one that is at least as large as the hard disk drive inside your computer. For example, if your computer has a 100-gigabyte (GB) hard disk drive, choose a 100-GB or larger external hard disk drive. Then connect the external hard disk drive to your computer. Make a note of the drive letter (such as E:, F:, or G: …) assigned to your new hard disk drive. With an external hard disk drive, you can manually back up your files, or you can schedule automatic weekly backups.

Using CD or DVD to back up your data, you have to manually choose which data to back up. Burn off whatever information you deem necessary. When you are ready to put your data back on your computer it is as simple as copying and pasting.

If you are using a web based backup station, make sure that you research and find one that fits your needs the best.
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