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Welcome to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, February 18, 2007
In this Issue:
Special Feature: Speed Up a Slow Computer
Tips & Tricks: Shortcut Keys ABCs
This Week's Topic: Microsoft Word: Creating Page Borders
Websites of Interest: Presidents Day; Chinese New Year; Snow Report; The Symphony
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Special Feature: Speed Up a Slow Computer
Question: My computer is only about a year old but it is moving so slowly that I don’t even want to use it anymore. What can I do?
Answer:
While Windows XP is generally much better than older versions of Windows, one of the major downsides is the fact that it slows down after awhile. Programs are added and removed, files added and removed, and before you know it, your computer is moving at a snails pace.
These are maintenance projects that you can do to keep the computer running at a good speed. These should be done periodically to keep your computer running smoothly and also guard against potential threats.
Defrag
When a file is stored on your hard disk, it's often split into separate fragments. Fragmentation occurs naturally when you use a disk frequently: creating, deleting, and modifying files. At some point, the operating system needs to store parts of a file in noncontiguous clusters. You cannot see the fragments, and you cannot stop this fragmenting from occurring, but it can slow down the speed at which data is accessed because the disk drive must search through different parts of the disk to put together a single file.
However, you can defrag your system. This is the term used for reorganizing the data on your Hard Disk into a more logical sequence, which means taking all those scattered fragments of files and piecing them back together where they belong. This helps free more hard drive space and makes the accessing of files a speedier process; your Hard Disk will work quicker and more efficiently.
In Windows, the defragmenter is located in your System Tools folder. Click on the Start button, point to Programs, then Accessories, then System Tools. Click on Disk Defragmenter.
More about defrag:
http://stsico.com/html/driveclean7.html
Startup Folder
Windows will automatically open programs that are in your Startup folder. You will find the startup folder in the Start button menus. Click the Start button, point to Programs, and then point to Startup. Everything you see in there automatically opens when you turn your computer on. (If you don’t recognize everything in there, note that some programs run behind the scenes and you’ll never see them)
While it may be convenient for programs to already be open when you are ready to use them, this process will usually significantly increase the time it takes to start the computer.
Some programs, in the installation process, are designed to put a shortcut in the Startup folder; you may not necessarily want that program to open every time you use your computer. These programs can be removed.
To remove a program, click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Startup. Right click the program that you want to remove. Left click Delete from the resulting menu. You’ll be asked to confirm the deletion; click Delete Shortcut.
Start Up Applications
Task list programs also start when Windows start, using up valuable computer resources. These can be found by accessing the System Configuration Utility dialog box. Click the Start button, click Run. In the Run dialog box, type msconfig in the Open box. Click OK.
In the Configuration Utility dialog box, click the Startup tab.
Remove the check mark by the programs that you do not want to automatically start up with Windows. To help identify what these items are and if it is safe to remove them, visit one of the following websites:
http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm
http://www.processlibrary.com/
http://sysinfo.org/startuplist.php
When you are finished, click OK. You will be prompted to restart the computer. Upon restart, you will see a message about using Selective Startup. Click the checkbox next to Do not show this message.
Services
A service is a small program running in the background that lets Windows do certain things. Windows XP starts a lot of different services and many of them will not be of any use to you. By disabling all unused services, you can get higher system performances.
Click the Start button and then click Run. In the Open box, type services.msc. Click the OK button. This will open the Services window.
Click the name of a service to see its description appear on the left. To change the Startup type of a service, right click on the name of the service and then left click on Properties. Click the small down arrow to the right of Startup type and click to select Disabled. Click the OK button.
Some services are vital to the performance of the computer and should not be disabled. To help you identify what these items are and if it is safe to disable them, visit one of the following websites:
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/windowsxp_tips.htm#services_disable
http://www.z123.org/techsupport/xpservices.htm
Visit our newsletter archives for a list of regular housekeeping tasks that will keep your computer running smoothly.
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/020407.html
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Tips & Tricks: Shortcut Keys ABCs
Shortcut keys provide an easier and usually quicker way of giving commands. They are used by holding down the Alt, Ctrl, Shift, and/or Windows keys and then pressing and releasing a single letter key. For example, Ctrl+c means hold down the Ctrl key, press and release the c key, and then release the Ctrl key.
Some keyboard shortcuts:
Alt + F Opens the File menu in the active program.
Ctrl + A Selects all the text in the active program.
Ctrl + C Copies the selected text.
Ctrl + V Pastes the selected text.
Ctrl + Home Moves to the beginning of the document
Ctrl + End Goes to the end of the document.
Alt + Tab Switch between open applications.
Ctrl + Esc Open the Start Menu
Alt + F4 Closes the active window.
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Today's Topic: Microsoft Word: Creating Page Borders
Question: I have seen Word documents with borders around the edge of the page. Can I do this on mine?
Answer:
Yes, you can. You can create borders of different designs, colors, and sizes.
Here are the steps:
Open Microsoft Word. If you have an existing document that you would like to add a border to, open it.
Click Format on the menu, and then click Borders and Shading. This will open the Borders and Shading dialog box; click the Page Border tab.
On the left, you will see that you have options such as Box or shadow; click to choose the one you like.
You can choose a line style. Scroll down for many choices. Click to choose one. Under Color you see Automatic. To the right is a small down arrow; click it for many color choices. Click the color you want.
Choose the width of your border.
In the Art drop down box, you will see some design choices. Click to choose the one you like. (Note: you may have to insert the setup CD to install this feature)
The Preview area will show you what your border will look like. Click the OK button when you are finished.
Remember, if you do not like the results of your settings, you can always Undo (click Edit on the menu, and then click Undo).
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Websites of Interest:
Presidents Day
Tomorrow is Presidents Day. Visit our website for links to sites with biographies, timelines, articles, e-cards and much more.
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/presidents.html
Chinese New Year
2007 is Year of Pig
Visit these websites for in-depth explanation of the 15-day Chinese New Year celebration including explanation of feasts, descriptions of traditional foods and decorations, and much more.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_New_Year
http://www.educ.uvic.ca/faculty/mroth/438/CHINA/chinese_new_year.html
http://www.c-c-c.org/chineseculture/festival/newyear/newyear.html
Snow Report
Do you like to ski? At this site, you will get a complete report of local conditions including the amount of new snow, number of open runs, and even lifts that are currently operating.
http://www.onthesnow.com
The Symphony
This is a great site for anyone who loves classical music but often feels lost when it comes to understanding the symphonies they listen to.
http://library.thinkquest.org/22673/index.html |
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