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Computer running slow? Heres what to check for.

By Colin

RAM check, Drive integrity, Drive space, Paging file vs drive space, virus scan the drive(s), delete unwanted statup files, runonce registry entry, network connections, update bios, update video and sounds drivers.

Automatically clear your pagefile at shutdown in Windows XP or 2000.

By Sarah Lane

Hey everybody! I know you’re not the kind of people who would do shady things on your computer. No sir! Me neither. That said, it’s always nice to know someone won’t get onto your machine, browse through your data history, and get you into hot water.

Pagefile, along with your computer’s physical memory, makes up your virtual memory. Like a paper trail, it stores a lot of data and may include sensitive stuff such as unencrypted passwords and other entered/accessed data.

If you’re concerned about computer security, have Windows clear the pagefile on shutdown. You’ll need to go into your Registry, so back it up before you start just in case you make a mistake.

Start the Registry Editor by clicking Start, Run, and type “regedit” (without quotes).

Go to this key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management

On the right, locate the ClearPageFileAtShutdown value. Right-click the value, select modify, and change the data value of the registry key to 1.

If the ClearPageFileAtShutdown value doesn’t exist, add it. Right-click the right side of your specified key and add it as a DWORD value. Then change the data value to 1.

Restart for your changes to take effect.

Note: Your shutdown time may slightly increase.

Add/Remove hidden programs in Windows XP and 2000. By Sarah Lane

We all want to uninstall everything Windows doesn’t completely need to run optimally. Problem is, some programs you don’t want taking up space hide away. They’re next to impossible to find, much less remove.

Don’t worry, because tonight I have a Windows tweak that’ll help you immediately. Yes, we showed you how to do it back in November 2001, but my gut and my inbox tell me I should mention it again.

Navigate to C:\WINDOWS\inf

Open the sysoc.inf file in Notepad or another plain text editor. If you can’t find the inf directory, it’s probably hidden. Unhide it.

Click Tools and choose Folder Options.

Under View, enable Show Hidden Files & Folders.

In sysoc.inf, look for the section called “components” in XP or “old base components” in 2000. What looks like a bunch of gibberish is actually pretty easy to read. You’ll see a component name, followed by an equals sign, followed by a list of parameters separated by commas.

For example: Games=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,games.inf,HIDE,7

The deal: the “HIDE” between the two last commas indicates a hidden component. Remove “HIDE” to unhide the component.

For example: Games=ocgen.dll,OcEntry,games.inf,,7

Unhide any component you want.

Save the file.

Reopen the Windows Component Wizard to see your new Add/Remove options!

Choose the Right Office

By M. David Stone

Microsoft offers several versions of Office, each with a different mix of programs. Choose the right one, so you have all the necessary tools without paying extra. If all you need is the core components, choose Microsoft Office XP Standard, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Office XP Professional adds Access to the lineup, and Office XP Professional Special Edition includes FrontPage and SharePoint Team Services. Office XP Developer includes Access, FrontPage, and SharePoint Team Services in addition to its developer tools. Meanwhile, students and teachers can take advantage of a specially priced Standard edition.

I look up to guys like you, James Hong, the Paypal dude, and others… How can I get myself to the professional level you guys are at right now? I’m 24, IT Manager for a small company and really want to make a mark financially and socially like you guys did.

Asked by mushimono, October 14, 2003.

Everyone, including you, has at least one $1 million idea every year. There are more than 7 million millionaires in the United States today.

Why isn’t everyone a millionaire? There are three common traits that every business-successful person I know shares (and I know both of the people you referenced). 1) They don’t give a fuck what anyone else says, they just do it. 2) They’re passionate about what they do. 3) They don’t let fear get in the way.

You probably have a problem with step 2 — you don’t know what your passion is, or you deny it. To help find your passion, think about all the stupid little things you like to do, then picture building an empire on those things and how fucking cool it would be.

Fear is the biggest obstacle for most entrepreneurs. It’s embarassing to launch and company and then have it fail. It’s scary to think you might start out making less money than you make today. Just remember that the potential rewards far outweigh the risks and go for it. -pud.com

My Computer runs real real slow!! why??

At this point it sounds like hardware. Switch the memory modules around. Remove all except 1, then work from there. Try that vacuum idea also. That seemed to work last time. If the problem is software its going to be take another step to fix.

When the computer boots hit F8. this will let you boot into “safe mode”. From here it loads just the basic drivers so that you can trouble shoot the computer. A lot of times the computer loads duplicate drivers and cause the computer to slow down. Here is how to remove the duplicate drivers.

Boot into saf mode and goto the control panel:

START > settings > control panel

Then load open the device manager:

“System” icon > “Hardware” tab > “Device manager” button

Here are all drivers that your computer loads. The items with a “+” symbol contain the drivers. Simply open each “+” and deleting all duplicate entries.

Delete all items under:

Disk Drives

DVD/CD-ROM

Floppy disk controllers

IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers

Floppy disk

NETWORK Adapters

Once you have done this with all the devices, reboot the computer. The computer will automatically reload the drivers that it needs to make the hardware run.

Window XP Tweaks

Making the Best of WEP By M. David Stone

I keep hearing that WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is too weak a security scheme for wireless networks, but I’m not prepared to throw out my old access point and card to buy new ones with better security. Recognizing that WEP is imperfect, how can I best take advantage of whatever security WEP provides my home network?

Using WEP instead of more sophisticated security schemes like WPA (Wireless Protected Access) is a little like putting a padlock on a door. It won’t stop someone who is determined to break in, but it will discourage anyone who isn’t willing to make an effort. Here’s a check list of things that will make breaking though WEP harder. Not all of the following features are available on all 802.11b hardware, but you should take as many of these steps as your hardware allows.

Check the manufacturer’s Web site for the latest firmware, which may have additional security features.

Make sure your access point is set to require WEP, not just use it as an option.

Set WEP for the highest-level encryption that you can. Alas, 128-bit encryption may not work among products from different manufacturers (the IEEE standard is 64 bits), but it’s worth a try. In an informal test, we were pleasantly surprised to find that the 128-bit encryption in a Linksys WAP11 access point works with the 128-bit encryption in a D-Link PC Card.

Don’t use default settings for SSID (Service Set IDentifier), your administrator password, or the WEP key. And avoid using a password that the teenage hacker across the street might guess—such as your dog’s name. As with any password, mix some numbers and letters and change the settings on a regular basis.

Disable the automatic SSID broadcast feature.

Set your hardware to refuse connections from systems with SSID set to Any.

Look for a feature that lets you define the MAC addresses to accept, and make sure that the only addresses in the list match the addresses for the systems you want to connect. MAC addresses (unique identifiers for network components), can be spoofed, but this is another hurdle for a would-be hacker to jump over.

There are further steps you can take, but they are more than a home network is likely to need. The steps mentioned here are enough to keep out anyone who isn’t highly motivated to break in.

If your equipment is less than a year old, you may be able to upgrade and install WPA. Check out “Wireless Security: WPA Step by Step”.