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Beginners Guides: 101 Tech Tips and Tweaks for Windows XP
Beginners Guides: 101 Tech Tips and Tweaks for Windows XP - PCSTATS
PCSTATS has a massive Tech Tip guide for Windows XP covering 101 useful and sometimes spicy Tweaks and Tech Tips that will make your clunkly PC run better!
Filed under: Beginners Guides Published:  Author: 
External Mfg. Website: PCSTATS May 01 2011   M. Dowler  
Home > Reviews > Beginners Guides > PCSTATS

Useful Tips for XP: tips 23 to 26

23. Compressing files and folders to save space

Windows XP includes a built in compression utility which can save you some valuable space on your hard disk by archiving little used files. Working similarly to compression programs such as PKZIP and WINRAR, the built in software reduces the space your files take up on the disk at the penalty of increased disk access time for the compressed files in question. There are several ways of compressing data on your system:

If you have a pre-existing folder and would like to compress everything in it, right click on the folder, select 'properties' then the 'advanced' button at the bottom. In the 'compress or encrypt attributes' section, check the 'compress contents to save disk space' option.

If you wish to create a compressed folder for a file or folder separate from the one it is in now, right click on the item you wish to compress and choose 'send to\compressed (zipped) folder.' This will create a new compressed folder in the same location as the original file or folder.

24. Open explorer window from current command prompt directory

There is a built in command prompt ('start\run' then type 'cmd') command that will open a Windows Explorer window to your exact current directory location in the DOS-oriented command prompt. Simply type 'Start .' from the prompt to open up explorer in that location. And yes, that is 'start(space).'

25. Using Quick Edit in the Command Prompt

The Quick Edit function allows you to cut and paste text to and from the command prompt window, something which you may have become used to not being able to do.

To activate Quick Edit: Open a command prompt Window ('start\run' and type 'cmd'). Right click on the toolbar at the top and select 'properties.' Put a checkmark in the Quick Edit mode box. When prompted, opt to apply changes to all similar windows.

Now that Quick Edit is enabled in the command prompt, you can click and drag to highlight text, then press ENTER to copy it to the clipboard. To paste text from the clipboard, simply right click on the command prompt window.

26. Select 'No to all' when copying files in XP

Have you ever noticed that Windows XP gives you the 'yes to all' option in its file copy dialog box, useful if you would like to overwrite files in a directory with newer files of the same name from another location, for example, but fails to offer a 'no to all' option for doing the opposite. Kind of annoying if you think about it. What if you have a lengthy file copy operation partially finished, and wish to restart it? If you use the default options, you essentially have to recopy every file, since saying 'no' to each and every duplicate file will take just as long, and cause your mouse finger to fall off.

Fortunately, there is a way to tell your computer not to copy all duplicated files with a single command:

To do this, when the file copy dialog box appears asking you whether you wish to overwrite the first file, hold down SHIFT and click 'no.' This will automatically answer no for all following files. Note that it will ask you again for the first folder it encounters, so follow the procedure again to answer no automatically for all folders. This will dramatically speed up the file copying process.

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Contents of Article: PCSTATS
 Pg 1.  Beginners Guides: 101 Tech Tips and Tweaks for Windows XP
 Pg 2.  PCSTATS Performance Tech Tips
 Pg 3.  Performance Tips 3 to 5
 Pg 4.  Performance Tips 6 to 7
 Pg 5.  Performance Tips 8 to 12
 Pg 6.  Useful tips for XP (13 to 16)
 Pg 7.  Useful Tips for XP: tips 17 to 18
 Pg 8.  Useful Tips for XP: tip 19
 Pg 9.  Useful Tips for XP: tips 20 to 22
 Pg 10.  — Useful Tips for XP: tips 23 to 26
 Pg 11.  Useful Tips for XP: tips 27 to 30
 Pg 12.  Security, privacy and recovery tips (31 to 33)
 Pg 13.  Security, privacy and recovery: tips 34 to 36
 Pg 14.  Security, privacy and recovery: tips 37 to 39
 Pg 15.  Security, privacy and recovery: tips 40 to 42
 Pg 16.  Security, privacy and recovery: tips 43 to 45
 Pg 17.  Customizing WinsdowsXP: tips 46 to 49
 Pg 18.  Customizing WinsdowsXP: tips 50 to 52
 Pg 19.  Customizing WinsdowsXP: tips 53 to 54
 Pg 20.  Customizing WinsdowsXP: tips 55 to 56
 Pg 21.  Customizing WinsdowsXP: tips 57 to 59
 Pg 22.  Essential Advice for Beginners: Tips 60 to 61
 Pg 23.  Essential Advice for Beginners: Tips 62 to 64
 Pg 24.  Essential Advice for Beginners: Tips 65 to 68
 Pg 25.  Essential Advice for Beginners: Tips 69 to 71
 Pg 26.  Essential Advice for Beginners: Tips 72 to 76
 Pg 27.  Essential Advice for Beginners: Tips 77
 Pg 28.  Essential Advice for Beginners: Tips 78 to 80
 Pg 29.  Next Section: Registry tweaks (81)
 Pg 30.  Registry Tweaks: Tip 82
 Pg 31.  Registry Tweaks For performance (83 to 85)
 Pg 32.  Registry Tweaks for Performance: Tips 86 to 88
 Pg 33.  Registry Tweaks for Performance: Tips 89 to 92
 Pg 34.  Miscellaneous registry tweaks (93 to 95)
 Pg 35.  Miscellaneous Registry Tweaks: Tips 96 to 99
 Pg 36.  Miscellaneous Registry Tweaks: Tips 100 to 101

 
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