Improving Internet Connection:

Even when connected to the Internet, sometimes the websites do not load, or take too long to load. Use a simple trick I have used for years:

1. Go to Start, click Run...
2. Type "ping www.anysite.com -t" (without quotaion marks). Instead of "anysite" you may use www.msn.com, www.yahoo.com etc, or any other site that is normally up and running.
3. Hit OK.

In an MS-DOS prompt window you will see your computer pinging a website. You will see your Internet connection taking off!

Deleting Trash:

Sometimes you find files you KNOW you will not need ever again. Instead of sending them to the Recycle Bin by hitting Del in Windows Explorer, use the combination Shift+Del. Thus, you bypass the Recycle Bin, pretty much guaranteeing that you will never see those files again (use with caution).

Manage your computer remotely:

Just configure Microsoft Netmeeting on the computer that you know you will have to manage remotely and be sure to configure it with the option of shared desktop.

After that you will be able to enter the remote computer anytime, using the user name and password that you assigned at the configuration time.

Always remember to make a secure call.

And be prepared to get a user calling you about his/her computer is haunted because is moving alone.......hehehehe...

Customize the XP Start Menu:

To alter Windows XP's Start menu, right-click the Start button and choose Properties. Click Customize under the Start Menu tab and select the Advanced tab. In the scrolling list labeled 'Start menu items', you can hide or reveal Search, My Music, and other items, or you can make Control Panel, My Computer, Network Connections, My Documents, and related items appear as icons, as a cascading menu, or not at all Just make your choices and click OK twice.

Ungroup Buttons:

XP groups similar applications under a single button in the taskbar, forcing you to choose the item from a pop-up menu. If you would prefer separate buttons for each open application, right-click the taskbar, choose Properties, uncheck Group similar taskbar buttons, and click OK.

Making WindowsXP remember opten folders:

In other versions of Windows, folders and Explorer windows you had open when you logged off would open again the next time you logged on. This is not the default in Windows XP. choose Tools, Folder Options in any window, click the View tab, scroll to the end of the Advanced settings list, click" Restore previous folder windows at logon", and click OK.

Performance Boost:

This is the simple trick I always use to boot PC performance. It's low cost and everybody can do the same trick. I have a MB with Via chipsets. The simple way is to download the lastest version 4in1 driver. It can fixed many problems. If people know enough what they are doing, he can even twist the driver to get a little bit more juice out of it.

Overclocking the P4:

Intel Chip usually have more safety margin than AMD. It would be a good candidate for o/c. The easy way to o/c is to increase the FSB frequency by editing the BIOS. Say if you have one with 100MHz (or 400MHz depends how you look at it). You can increase up to 119Mhz without problem as long as you the the right cooler. Don't be aggressive or you will run into stability issue. You can increase increase more if you have those "downgrade" chip. You wouldn't fry your chip even if it run too hot.

Quick Boot:

If you would like your computer to boot a tad faster, and you are comfortable with changing a few bios settings try these,enable Quickboot,in bios features setup ,disable bootup floppy seek, and in boot sequence boot from C: only

Quick Computer Lock:

This is not a tweak, just a simple keyboard shortcut (very useful at least for me!)
I have to lock the computer several times a day because i have sensitive information and here's a simple way to do it: Just press Winkey (key between left control and left alt) and L at the same time. Bang, computer locked.

Boot XP Faster:

This will work for all versions of Windows.
Go to "Start"

Click on "Run"

Typ "msconfig" without the " " and click "ok"

Go to "startup"
You will now see a list of files. All the files that have a check in front of it, will be loaded when you boot the computer. A lot of these files are useless. For example, who needs Quicktime to be started automatically every single time the computer is booted?? If you need it, you can just start it via program files. So, all the files you don't want to be started at boot can be unselected. If you're not sure what a particular file means, leave it, it might be important. Important programs could include a virus scanner, a firewall, a driver needed to operate hardware or any other program you want to be booted.
I myself decreased the boot time for my WinXp machine from 45 seconds to 30 seconds. I got similar results for my WinMe and Win98 machine, nearly booting at half the time needed before! And that with a few simple clicks!

Use Partitions for better performance:

If you suffer from poor performance of your hard drive or your system overall, you might want to consider partitioning your hard drive into two or more partitions. If you do not, files on your hard drives will fragment, and it will take longer to boot windows, start programs and access your favorite files. Partitioning your hard drives allows you to install all additional windows programs onto the second partition. You can use a third partition to store your mp3 files, schoolwork or other personal files. This way, the main partition on which windows is installed will fragment less fast, leading to faster boots.

You can use any partition program, even fdisk in DOS. However, I recomend using Partition Magic, as it is considered to be one of the best partitioning managers.

As I said before, I advise you to install your main Operating System on the first partition. You can install any additional programs like Wordprocessors and Games on the second partition. A third partition can be used to store personal files like mp3's, video files and other files. Also, remember to defragment your hard drive frequently. If you follow my advice, you will benefit a faster hard drive.