IT News & Technology update

Windows 7 to be fully featured on netbooks

Microsoft is preparing a surprise for all fans netbook holding back on buying a new small, ultra-portable computer system before the arrival of long-awaited operating system. According to recent data on the Internet, Redmond, Washington-based software giant to OEMs for each new version of its operating system at the upcoming netbook systems, thus eliminating any fears that the netbook space will be left with a stripped down version of the estimated operational
systems. In addition, the software company confirmed that the three application limit was originally planned for Windows 7 Starter was no longer valid.

According to a recent news article on the CPUs, the software giant to its customers and OEM partners feature their upcoming netbook computer with a version of Windows 7 operating system, much appreciated. This allows users to take advantage of the many features built into the new operating system, a cheaper and more portable device, compared with many full-featured laptops.

"ODMs and OEMs are able to install any version of Windows on a netbook," said a spokesman for Microsoft Netherlands, according to the above article. "[But] is a post-prototype version and is not a lot of consumer or corporate events. The three application limit is gone. "

What happens if you start Microsoft Windows question, this version of the operating system only on 32bit, and will miss the features that Aero Glass, Aero taskbar previews and Peak. Designed for emerging markets, will not the OS desktop personalization, there is now Fast User Switching, support for multiple monitors configurations, DVD playback or Windows XP mode. Moreover, it seems that Microsoft is not the Starter Edition will be available in Europe, U.S. and other established markets.

No Comment | Posted in » Intel, Netbook, Operating System, windows 7, Windows 7 starter  

Elive 1.8.2 Development

The Elive Team announced the release of a new development version of its Linux distribution, which includes a new core, an improved installer, Firefox 3, a autoeject function, Madwifi drivers and more.

The core version used is 2.6.24.7, updated for a better configuration of IDE / SCSI chipset. If it does not work on your computer, you can report it on Elive channel, in fact, it is highly recommended that you do.

The new installer, with better and more user-friendly features, allows the installation of a later version on your computer. But you can not update your old Elite system to the current version, this feature is not yet implemented in the installer so, for now, we must content itself with a new installation.

This version includes Firefox 3, also with a new and more user-friendly features, and now the better, and apparently faster. The Elive bookmarks updated with better, too.

Hal discovers and fully succeed the eject button in this version of Elive, which uses a autoeject system without unmount needed.

By including the new Madwifi WLAN driver updated with the new slick version, the latest cards (with Atheros chipsets) are supported.

Skype has been moved to the static, larger in size version, where the bugs in the interface, like the buttons and gadgets, has been established.

You can now choose your console keymap in console mode, this is possible only be installed fashion, though. It is an improvement in the QT / KDE segment as well, making it possible for users to install this type of application for a more integrated look with the rest.

Other fixes are included in this version. For example, one small mistake with the boot resolutions option has been removed and ReadAhead has been implemented, speeding up the system's throughput.

No Comment | Posted in » Elive linux, Linux distribution, Open source, Operating System  

Fedora 8. Infinite Possibilities

The new version of Fedora has been released. The codename was werewof, Version 8.0.1 (2007-11-04). More detail of Fedora 8 documentation can be found here

Fedora is a Linux-based operating system that showcases the latest in free and open source software. Fedora is always free for anyone to use, modify, and distribute. It is built by people across the globe who work together as a community: the Fedora Project. The Fedora Project is open and anyone is welcome to join. The Fedora Project is out front for you, leading the advancement of free, open software and content.

Fedora 8 gets at least four listed spins: a KDE version that replaces the GNOME Linux desktop, a developer release that has tools specifically geared for developers, an Electronic Lab release for hardware developers and a gamer-friendly release complete with a Linux version of Quake 3.

Fedora 8 is not all about fun and games, though. The release also includes new feature, such new firewall and network management tools. The system-config-firewall tool is a GUI that helps users better control their firewall security and access settings.

here is some new features:
Codec Buddy: codec Buddy is Fedora's response to the magical Totem feature in Ubuntu, already talk in the previous version( 7.04 Feisty Fawn) release, that will automatically download necessary codecs for different audio and video streams, such as MP3, DivX or DVD playback.

New Look and Feel: Fedora 8 just got pimped! It has a new wallpaper, a new default theme created especially for this version. You should know that the wallpaper is amazing. Depending on the time of day it changes color to reflect outdoor conditions: at mid-day, for example, it is a bright blue, while at sunset it shifts to include a warm-orange hue. its realy diferent compare to previous version.

Java Support through IcedTea: IcedTea was created to remove OpenJDK's binary encumbrances and enable Java for use on a completely free and open source system. Now, Java applets are supported out of the box for bot x86 and x86_64 architectures.

NetworkManager: the Network Management has been improve. NetworkManager was mostly rewritten to bring better stability, flexibility and usability. Features like Bluetooth connection, dial-up networking support and more will let you do your job better.

Compiz and Compiz-Fusion: Fedora 8 makes the same move as Ubuntu and installs Compiz by default, so you can enjoy the eye-candy and usability improvements. Although it is not enabled from the start, you can do that via the Preferences -> Desktop Effects menu.

Security: this new version comes with a lot of security fixes, like SHA256 and SHA512 hashing in the glibc package. Also, FORTIFY_SOURCE is now enhanced to cover C++ in addition to C, preventing a great number of security breaches.

Fedora Core has expanded in this release to four binary ISO images and four source ISO images, and is available for both x86-64 and i386 and also PPC machines.

The Fedora Project is a Red-Hat-sponsored and community-supported open source project. It is also a proving ground for new technology that may eventually make its way into Red Hat products. It is not a supported product of Red Hat, Inc.

The goal of The Fedora Project is to work with the Linux community to build a complete, general purpose operating system exclusively from free software. Development will be done in a public forum. The project will produce time-based releases of Fedora Core about 2-3 times a year with a public release schedule.

The Red Hat engineering team will continue to participate in the building of Fedora Core and will invite and encourage more outside participation than was possible in Red Hat Linux.

Clik here to download your free of Fedora-8 werewolf.

No Comment | Posted in » Fedora, Linux, News, Operating System, Technology  

One-Click Linux Software Installation BETA!

Is it difficult for you to get Linux software and it installation guidance? In the past you may have that question in mind, Now a new organized linux source was born.

Linspire is proud to announce the beta release of CNR.com. On the 23rd of January, 2007, Linspire announced for the first time that they are working to extend their CNR (Click 'N Run) website for other popular Linux distributions, such as Ubuntu, Fedora, openSUSE and Debian. The CNR service has already been available
for all Linspire and Freespire users. Kevin Carmony, the President and CEO of Linspire Inc., stated that he had enough with complaints from MS Windows and Mac users about Linux, and that there are too many distributions and each one has a different way of installing software: "When we started Linspire, we knew that we'd need to overcome this complexity. This led to Linspire's CNR ("Click 'N Run") technology."

CNR.com is a free one-click software delivery service designed to standardize the process and eliminate the complexity of finding, installing and managing Linux software for the most popular desktop Linux distributions, both Debian and RPM based. Please note that CNR.com is currently in alpha stage.

With CNR.com you get the most extensive free resource available anywhere for desktop Linux software. Search from tens of thousands of Linux software programs, packages and libraries by title, popularity, similar software, category, Who's Who, or function, and with just one click install the software on to your computer.

CNR come with two diferent service level, Free Basic CNR Service and Premium CNR Service.
Free Basic CNR Service:
The basic CNR Service provides supported desktop Linux distributions a free, simple one-click CNR Client (currently in beta stage) that allows you to begin installing software from CNR.com immediately as well as get involved with the community.

Premium CNR Service:
The Premium CNR Service offers CNR.com users everything that comes with the basic CNR Service, plus a number of added services and benefits, including great discounts on all commercial Linux Software and more.

This is really a revolutionary moment for all computer users all around the world. Hope that it will bring many new users into the Linux world.

No Comment | Posted in » Announcements, Linux, News, Operating System, Software  

Release for CentOS-5.1 i386 and x86_64

CentOS is an Enterprise-class Linux Distribution derived from sources freely provided to the public by a prominent North American Enterprise Linux vendor. CentOS conforms fully with the upstream vendors redistribution policy and aims to be 100% binary compatible. (CentOS mainly changes packages to remove upstream vendor branding and artwork.) CentOS is free.

CentOS has numerous advantages over some of the other clone projects including: an active and growing user community, quickly rebuilt, tested, and QA'ed errata packages, an extensive mirror network, developers who are contactable and responsive, multiple free support avenues including IRC Chat, Mailing Lists, Forums, a dynamic FAQ. Commercial support is offered via a number of vendors.

Better desktop support with compiz and AIGLX.
Virtualization provided by the Xen hypervisor with Virtual Machine Manager and libvirt.
Sabayon to simplify the construction of user profiles.

One big difference between Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and CentOS 5 is that CentOS 5 includes packages from different RHEL variants, including the server and client varieties. All the Red Hat repositories have been combined into one to make it easier for end users to work with packages

Links:
Distro Release Announcement | LiveCD Release Announcement
Documentation: CentOS 5
Read CentOS5 review at Linux.com

No Comment | Posted in » Announcements, CentOS, Linux, Operating System  

The best Web operating system!

eyeOS is an Open Source Platform designed to hold a wide variety of Web Applications over it. eyeOS was thought as a new definition of Operating System, where everything inside it can be accessed from everywhere in a Network.

All you need to do is to login into your eyeOS server with a normal Internet Browser, and access your personal desktop, with your applications, documents, music, movies... just like you left it last time.



Some features:
· Easy and powerful Free CMS
· eyeOS is scalable
· Eyecandy user interface
· Very easy to install
· Can be extended
· Very customizable

eyeOS is the open source web operating system. Let's take a look at some new features which make eyeOS unique. eyeOS is a web-based open source platform designed to hold a wide variety of web applications over it. It looks like a regular PC operating system, but the "trick" is that it can be accessed from anywhere. If you travel all the time, or you don't own a PC or laptop or move often, then you can access eyeOS from an Internet Cafe. All you need is a web browser, Internet access and eyeOS is there for you, always, all the time, the same way you left it!

Dahlia is the new eyeOS with a revolutionary redesign. Now it has a beautiful taskbar, desktop, its own filesystem and pretty effects. Let's have a look at the applications pre-installed on eyeOS Dahlia!

here is some features:
eyeFiles is a simple and intuitive file manager you can use to transfer, copy, rename, delete and paste files but also to create folders, download or upload files and explore the eyeOS virtual filesystem.

eyeDocs is a word processor that offers you a quick and efficient way to write and edit text, HTML and Microsoft Word documents. Not only is eyeDocs a pretty good HTML editor, but it can also be used to paste text from other applications installed on your real operating system.

eyeCalendar is a calendar application that allows the association of a block of text with a certain day of a given month. It can be useful for things such as meetings, tasks organizer or even for remembering birthdays.

eyeContacs is a address book application that allows you to store your contacts and even import vCards.

eyeBoard is, like the name says, a message board which can be used to post messages. Each user can post messages and others may view them.

eyeFTP is a FTP client to connect to servers through eyeOS. With eyeFTP you can browse directories, download and upload files, create folders, rename, move and delete files.

eyeMail is, as the name suggests, an e-mail client that permits multiple accounts and allows you to send and receive e-mails. At the moment, it is very simple and does not offer any other features.

eyeNav is, basically, a browser within a browser. You can use it for browsing the Internet. Note that eyeNav uses the bandwidth of the server that hosts eyeOS for you. However, note that some web hosting services might not allow such behavior of the applications that you host on their web servers. You might want to double check before allowing eyeNav to run on a server that is hosted by a third party. eyeNav can be useful if it runs on a server with a different ISP. In case you cannot reach a page from your ISP, you might reach it by using eyeNav on a different hosting server. You can even watch YouTube videos on it!

eyeRSS is a RSS/Atom feed reader that allows you to read the latest news on your favorite websites.

and many more..
More applications (files with the .eyepackage extension) can be downloaded from the eyeOS-apps website and uploaded to eyeOS. However, if someone else gave you access to a server that runs eyeOS, you might not be able to upload and run your own applications.

How to install it? And what do I need to install it?
Now that you've learned what eyeOS is and what it can really do, you probably want to install it too. Well, eyeOS is very easy to install, as it contains only 7 files that you can upload in a few seconds on the web server where you want to install it. The main requirements for the eyeOS installation is a web server with Apache and PHP 5.x installed and working. Don't even bother to install the new version of eyeOS (Dahlia) on a web server with PHP 4.x as it will not work. The best part of the eyeOS installation is that it does not require a MySQL database, because it has its own virtual file system.

All you needed to do in order to install eyeOS is:
1. Download the latest installer from here
2. Extract the files from the archive
3. Connect to web server through a FTP client
4. Upload the extracted files into a previously created "eyeOS" folder (on web server).

eyeOS is simply beautiful, inside-out. It can be used from everywhere as long as you have access to a computer with a web browser and Internet connection. No matter if you use it to share photos with relatives living in a different country, store contacts, organize your tasks, do some quick word processing, read/send e-mails, play simple board games – eyeOS will always be there for you.

2 comments | Posted in » Internet, Linux, Operating System, Server OS, Software  

StartCom Enterprise Linux 4.0.5 Available

StartCom launched the updated release for the legacy AS-4.0.x series of StartCom Enterprise Linux.

StartCom provides long-term support for its enterprise-class operating systems. It is fully based on open source technology, offering a stable, reliable and secure distribution with mission-critical server deployments.

This sixth update comes with additionally supported and updated drivers, a new kernel (2.6.9-67), updated Samba, mirrored root support for Logical Volume Management and updated GNU Compiler Collection. Also, AS-4.0.5 supports the Xen hypervisor which allows the user to run multiple virtualized server instances on the hardware.

The new version of Samba is 3.0.25b, which addresses some critical issues related to interoperability with Windows 2003 and Vista. If you have an older version, you will need to change the configurations under certain circumstances when upgrading to the new version because some directives got deprecated or changed.

The kernel is equipped with new and updated drivers, an updated CIFS client (version 1.48) and back ported NFS performance metrics from the 2.6.17-rc6 kernel version.

The desktop applications that come with AS-4.0.5 turn this Linux distribution into an excellent choice for client and development workstations. Firefox, OpenOffice and some development tools are provided already during installation. Evolution mail client was updated to version 2.8 and provides more effective integration in mixed environments.

StartCom Enterprise Linux AS-4.0.5 (codename "Barak") is available for both i386 and AMD x86_64 architectures. To install StartCom, you will need at least 10 GB free space. It comes in two flavors, on CD ISOs and DVD ISOs. The installation is very quick and easy, presenting you a nice StartCom EL custom made GRUB splash and some options. The installer used is Anaconda, ported from Red Hat, with a few modifications.

No Comment | Posted in » Linux, News, Operating System, StartCom  

Mandriva Flash 4GB!- A 3D Desktop in your pocket

Mandriva Flash is a pre-installed Mandriva Linux distribution on a simple 4GB USB 2.0 Key, it claimed as the #1 linux key

Plug the key, start your Linux system everywhere, save and exchange your datas on the free space, up to 3GB!
Impress your friends with your mobile 3D desktop!

Why choose Mandriva Flash?

• Mobile: take it everywhere and make any desktop your own!
• Handy: everything for your office work, Internet and multimedia... on a stick!
• Keep your personal data in your pocket!
  
• Fun: spectacular 3D-accelerated desktop, only with Linux!
• Safe: it doesn't make any changes on the host computer
• Reliable: unmatched stability and hardware recognition
• Fast: high data transfer rates with USB 2.0
• Storage: up to 3GB available for user files

• 4GB USB flash drive designed by Dane-Elec Memory (5 year warranty!)
• A neck strap
  
• Mandriva Linux 2007 KDE 32-bit
• Mandriva Club trial account: Silver level 1 month
• Supplementary CD image to boot even on legacy systems
  
• Mandriva web support: 1 month*
  
• Automatic hardware detection**

• CPU: all Pentium, Celeron, Athlon, Duron, Sempron processors, Intel Core Duo
  
• RAM: 256MB minimum, 512MB recommended.
• Graphic cards: NVIDIA®, ATI(TM), Intel® i8xx and i9xx.
• Sound cards: all Sound Blaster compatible cards and AC97

No Comment | Posted in » Announcements, Linux, Linux desktop, Mandriva, Open source, Operating System, Technology  

Mandriva Linux 2008 released

No Comment | Posted in » Announcements, Information, kernel, Linux, Linux desktop, Mandriva, Open source, Operating System, Technology  

Disable windows popup warning on XP SP2

Tips how to Disable "Your computer might be at risk" Popup in Windows XP SP2

If you just upgrading to windows XP SP2, you will see a popup message that tells you that your computer might be at risk because there is no antivirus software installed. Here's how to turn off that annoying message.


Note: The most recommendation regarding this issue is to install antivirus software on your computer.





Now open up your control panel, and then double-click the Security Center icon.

On the left hand side menu, you will see a resources section. Click the bottom link, "Change the way Security Center alerts me"
and makesure it isn't grayed.









Now choose which alert to disable. If you havn't installed any anti virus, just unchecked the "virus protection" checkbox.

No Comment | Posted in » Anti virus, Operating System, security, security software, Technology, Tips, Windows XP  

Create an IP address tracking batch tool in Windows XP Pro

When you're troubleshooting DHCP problems in Windows XP Pro and want to find out which addresses in a range of IP addresses aren't in use, you may open a command prompt window and launch a ping loop with the For…In…Do command. For example, to find out which IP addresses aren't being used in the range 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.100, you might use the command For /L %f in (1,1,100) Do Ping.exe -n 2 192.168.1.%f.

This command will report all the IP addresses, whether in use or not; you'll also have to scroll through a vast number of entries on the command line. You can avoid these inconveniences with a short batch file that returns only those IP addresses that aren't in use, and then compiles the results in a text file. Here's how:

1. Launch Notepad and type the following commands:
   @Echo off
   date /t > IPList.txt
   time /t >> IPList.txt
   echo =========== >> IPList.txt
   For /L %%f in (1,1,100) Do Ping.exe -n 2 192.168.1.%%f Find
   "Request timed out." && echo 192.168.1.%%f Timed Out >>
   IPList.txt && echo off
   cls
   Echo Finished!
   @Echo on
   Notepad.exe IPList.txt
2. Save the file as IPTracker.bat and close Notepad.

Keep in mind that the entire For…In…Do command consists of several commands strung together with &&s. The command begins with the word For and ends with the word off, and the entire command must be on one line. Also, be sure to replace the example numbers with numbers from the IP addresses you wish to track.

Now when you troubleshoot a DHCP problem, you can locate and double-click the IPTracker.bat file in Windows Explorer, and then launch an IP address tracking tool batch that will find only those addresses that aren't in use and then display the results in Notepad. (In this case, the saved batch file becomes an IP address tracking tool that can be created once and used over and over.)

Note: This tip applies only to Windows XP Professional.

1 comments | Posted in » Microsoft, Operating System, Technology, Tips, Windows vista, Windows XP  

Viewing non-present devices in Windows XP's Device Manager

Find out how Windows XP's Device Manager can help you track down non-present devices, which may still cause problems even though they're not physically attached to your machine.

When troubleshooting driver problems in Windows XP, one of the first places you may look is Device Manager, which provides detailed information about every piece of installed system hardware. In light of devices such as removable USB drives becoming more and more common, you may need information about devices that are not currently connected; Device Manager recognizes these as non-present devices. Here's how to get information about these devices:

1. Go to Start, right-click My Computer, and select Properties.
2. In the System Properties dialog box, select the Advanced tab and click the Environment Variables button.
3. In the Environment Variables dialog box, locate the System Variables panel and click New.
4. In the New System Variable dialog box, type DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES in the Variable Name text box and type 1 in the Variable Value text box.
   Click OK twice.
5. To view the non-present devices, go to Start, right-click My Computer, and select Manage.
6. Click Device Manager, pull down the View menu, and select Show Hidden Devices.

No Comment | Posted in » Computer, Microsoft, Operating System, Tips, Windows XP  

Keep DNS servers from contributing to a DDoS attack

Is your public DNS server just waiting to participate in a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack? If it's using recursion, then the answer is yes. DDoS and DNS attacks aren't new, but they're on the rise.

Using authoritative name service, DNS servers primarily advertise to the world the various records associated with the domain they serve. Because users prefer common names and networks prefer numbers, DNS servers handle the translation between what a user types in a browser—such as techrepublic.com—and the actual IP address the network understands.

The task of answering a query recursively is completely different. According to a US-CERT report, between 75 and 80 percent of all DNS servers can handle recursive requests.
Recursive DNS provide answers to queries for records by asking other DNS servers and providing that response to the client that made the request. Here's an example:

1. A user enters www.techrepublic.com into a Web browser.
2. The computer contacts its local DNS server to determine the IP address of www.techrepublic.com.
3. The DNS server looks up www.techrepublic.com in its local tables (i.e., its cache) but does not find it listed.
4. The DNS server sends a query to a root server for the IP address of www.techrepublic.com.
5. The root server replies with a referral to the top-level domain (TLD) servers for www.techrepublic.com.
6. The DNS server then contacts the TLD server to determine the IP address of www.techrepublic.com.
7. The TLD server replies with a referral to the name server for www.techrepublic.com.
8. The DNS server contacts the name server for www.techrepublic.com to determine the IP address.
9. The name server checks a zone file that defines a CNAME record, which shows www.techrepublic.com is an alias of techrepublic.com.com. DNS returns both the CNAME and the A record for techrepublic.com.com
10. The DNS server sends this response to the original client: techrepublic.com.com = 216.239.113.146 (with CNAME record www.techrepublic.com=techrepublic.com.com).

1. The attacker programs bots to continuously execute requests for this record against recursive DNS.
2. The bots spoof the source IP address of these requests, replacing it with the DDoS target.
3. The recursive servers take the record from the attacker-controlled zone, and send it along to the IP address they think the request came from.

No Comment | Posted in » DDoS, DNS, Operating System, security software, Technology, Tips, Windows XP  

Prevent identity theft by avoiding these seven common mistakes

Identity theft is on the rise. Is your organization part of the solution or part of the problem? Personally identifiable information (PII) is pouring through the security floodgates and ending up in the wrong hands at an alarming rate.

To protect your organization's employees and clients, you need to evaluate how well your company protects its PII. Here are seven common mistakes to avoid.

Keep users in the dark

Users will always be the weakest link in any enterprise network -- and all of the gadgets and controls in the world won't change that. If your users don't know how to identify and handle PII, it's only a matter of time before one of them discloses this data to the wrong source.

The solution is simple: Educate your users on your company's policies and mechanisms to process PII. And don't forget to include regularly scheduled refresher courses.

Partner with the wrong businesses

You've made sure your security is rock solid, and you've trained your users. But can your business partners say the same? Do you collect or share information with businesses that have little or no security?

If your company collects and shares PII with insecure partners, who do you think will end up in the paper and explaining to law enforcement about how a breach occurred? Your company will.

The solution is just as simple as the last dilemma: Educate and train your business partners on how to protect this sensitive information. Charge them for your expertise if you want, but get the job done.

Keep data around past its prime

What do you do with data once it's served its purpose? If you aren't destroying PII when it's no longer required, then you're not doing your job. That doesn't mean throwing it away either -- that means destroying it.

Dumpster divers make a living off of old bank statements and credit card receipts. That's why you need to wipe out PII when it's no longer necessary. If your organization doesn't have a shredder, you need to get one today.

Don't worry about physical security

It's imperative that you implement physical access controls to prevent unauthorized people -- including employees -- from gaining access to PII. Get a door lock and a badge reader, and start controlling access.

Don't lock up your records

If you don't have specific storage areas on your network (as well as file cabinets) for PII, then how can your properly protect it? Take inventory of your network -- and your paper copies -- and develop a plan to protect that data. This would be a good time to research encrypting data-at-rest and locking some file cabinets.

Ignore activity on your network

I've said this before in columns, but it's worth repeating: If you're not going to actively monitor your network for suspicious activity or incidents, then stop collecting the data. Develop a method that's within your capabilities and budget to monitor your network for suspicious activity or incidents. And while you're at it, develop a response and mitigation strategy for security incidents.

Audits? Who needs audits?

A lot of businesses either don't know what security events to audit or don't read their security logs -- or both. If you're not sure which events to audit, find out. Set up security auditing, and start reviewing your logs today.

Final thoughts

Identity theft may be on the rise, but you don't have to make it easy for thieves. You can help prevent identity theft both at home and at the office -- you just need to take a few extra steps.

No Comment | Posted in » Computer, Operating System, security software, Technology  

Tweaking Windows XP for Performance, Step 6

FINAL STEP

6. Restart!

Finally after doing all this tweaking you should restart and see how much faster it goes! Another thing I want to mention is to always defrag reguarly or else performance will slowly degrade.

7. New start up times

The results may not seem very impressive, but this IS on a very outdated machines. Your results will differ depending on how fast your machine is. After tweaking XP on my main rig the startup time went from one minute to get to the logon screen to a mere 20 seconds!

8. Last Words

If you don't want MSN Messanger to start at startup simply logon to your accout and go to tools --> options to disable it. If you don't have an account, as it won't let you change the options without first logoning on to an account. Click on the Start Button --> run and type in "regedit", then go to,

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Currentversion\Run

Delete the key that says,

MSMSGS - REG_SZ - "C:\Program Files\Messenger\msmsgs.exe" /background

And Another thing, if you're the only person that uses the computer you can easily disable the fast user switching feature by going to My Computer --> Control Panel --> User Accounts

A new windows will pop up, on the menu to the left click on "Change the way users log on and off" and finally, unselect the "use welcome screen" option --> apply option

9. Conclusion

I hope this guide helped you out and made your computer just a little faster. Because Windows XP comes with so many useless things you can easily disable them to increase performance. The performance isn't with a price though. There won't be any "eye candy", fading folders or menus, previews of pictures and mp3's, and no more Windows Themes. In other words it won't look nice and pretty with all the effects turned off, but it won't really matter once you realize just how much faster things are!

No Comment | Posted in » Microsoft, Operating System, Software, Technology, Tips, Tools, Windows XP  

Tweaking Windows XP for Performance, Step 5

STEP 6

5. Windows Services

One of the most crucial components of Windows. In this section of the guide we'll disable unnecessary servies. I really don't want to explain what each and every service does as it would take quite some time. If you curious here's a link to a fantastic website that's all about Windows services and what each service does, click here. What I'm going to do is list all the services you can safely disable without worrying it'll screw up windows, all the services you should leave at manual, and the services you should always leave at automatic.

A. First of all right click on the My Computer icon and click on Manage, a new window will pop up on the left is the menu, go down click on the plus for "Services and Application" to expand the menu. Last, click on the little icon with the gears named services.

B. To disable a service right click on it's name --> properties. I new window will pop up and with a description of the service, startup type roll down menu, and buttons to stop/start/ pause/resume. Simply select "disable" from the "start up type" menu to disable a service.

C. Services you can safely disable:

*1 = If you only have one computer in your network you can leave this service disabled. If you have more than one computer in your network, at least ONE of the computers in your network must be running this service in order for computers to show up when you go into My Network Places --> Entire Network --> Microsoft Windows Network --> Name of workgroup.

*1b = Needed for verifying updates downloaded from Microsoft (Windows Update, DirectX, Service Packs, etc...)

*2 = If you're using DHCP in your network, leave this service at Automatic.

*3 = If you have more that one person (e.g. family computer) using the computer you'll be tweaking leave this service on automatic.

*4 = Need lots of help? Leave this service on automatic instead of disabled.

*5 = Leave this service on automatic if you like XP's integrated CD burning feature.

*6 = Leave on automatic if you use ICS to share a connection with other computers on your network

*7 = Have a printer? If you do leave this service on automatic or else you won't be able to use your printer at all.

*8 = If you have a removable device in your computer leave this service on automatic.

*9 = Use Smartcards? If so leave both on automatic?

*10 = The psychotic paranoid type who thinks his/her computer is going to die at any minute people should leave this service on automatic.

*11 = If you use Remote Desktop leave at Automatic.

*12 = Leave at automatic if you use a UPS.

*13 = If you have a scanner attached to the computer and use it, leave at automatic

Continued to final step..

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Tweaking Windows XP for Performance, Step 3

3. Increasing file system browsing

Another thing XP has changed is the way the folder icons look. It used to be small icons for the all the drives and the controll panel now it's made up of rather large icons that consume their fair share of the system resources.

3A. To prevent the large icons from taking up too much system resources start by clicking on the view button --> list

3B. Next click on the view button again --> status bar.

3C. Double click on my computer, a window will pop up, at the top of the window click on the tools button --> folder options.

A. General tab, you won't need to do anything here.

B. View tab, it's comprised of two sections, folder view and advanced settings. In the advanced sections area start by making sure you have the same settings as listed below,

After you're done checking and unchecking all of of those options, click on apply button at the bottom of the window, then at the top. Click on the "Apply to All Folders" button to apply the same settings to ALL windows folders. Click on the X to close the window. You won't need to do anything else on the other tabs.

Now browsing through the Windows file system should be immensely faster.

Continued to Step 4...

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Tweaking Windows XP for Performance, Step 2

STEP 2

2. Gaining performance through system properties

2A. "Advanced" tab in they system properties window

The first three tabs in system properties you won't need to change, but the third tab called "Advanced" you will. There are some options here you can disable to improve performance. In this tab you'll notice five things you can select: performance, user profiles, start up an recovery, enviromental variables, and error reporting.

A. Select the settings button for the "performance" section and click on the "adjust for best performance option" --> apply --> ok.

B. Select the "Error Reporting" button. Next, select the "diable error reporting" option and uncheck the "but notify me when critical errors" box.

C. The "Remote" tab, uncheck the "Allow Remote Invatations" button, You'll want to turn this feature off for security reasons. If you actually use this feature leave it on.

D. Automatic Updates Tab, Select "Turn off Automatic Updates" option and proceed to next tab.

E. System Restore, You'll want to select the "Turn off System Restore" option. I think this feature is a complete waste of system resources, but for you paranoid psychos out there who think their computer could die at any minute then you can leave this on. Otherwise turn it OFF! It will give you a warning message when you disable it, just click yes when it comes up.

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Get Fast Access to System Settings

You don't have to pass through Control Panel to get to the System Properties dialog box.

Hold down the Windows key and press Break to open this handy dialog box immediately.

No Windows key? Create a shortcut to Sysdm.cpl (you'll find it in the %systemroot%\System32 folder) and place it anywhere in the Programs menu. Then open the shortcut's Properties dialog box and assign it an easy-to-remember keyboard shortcut such as Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S.

Some laptop keyboards may have separate keys for Break and Pause, and you may find this dialog box opens if you hold the Windows key and press Pause.

Tip taken from Microsoft Windows XP Inside Out by Ed Bott and Carl Siechert. Published by Microsoft Press.

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Creating your own Sleep button in Windows XP

Is the Sleep button on your Windows XP machine in an inconvenient location for regular use? If so, here are five simple steps that show you how to create your own Sleep button.

Many computers or keyboards have a Sleep button, which when pressed puts the computer into either Stand By or Hibernate mode depending on how Windows XP's Power Options are configured. However, the Sleep button might not be in convenient location for regular use (e.g., if the Sleep button is on the front of a mid tower case that is under your desk).

You could activate Stand By or Hibernate mode from the Shut Down Windows dialog box. An alternative to this method is to create your own Sleep button by creating a shortcut on your desktop. Here's how:

1. Right click on the desktop.
2. Select New | Shortcut.
3. Type rundll32.exe powrprof.dll,SetSuspendState in the text box.
4. Click Next.
5. Type Sleep in the text box and click Finish.

Now when you click the Sleep icon, Windows XP will put the computer into either Stand By or Hibernate mode depending on how the When I Press The Sleep Button On My Computer setting is configured on the Advanced tab of the Power Options Properties dialog box.

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