System Information in Windows 98

Valuable System Information is saved on your computer that you should be aware of and have immediate access to. To gain and understand this knowledge, here’s what to do:

1. Right click My Computer.

2. Select Properties (from the context menu.)

3. Click on the Device Manager tab (if not already selected.)

4. Click Print.

NOTE!  From this point, you have two separate choices that you must make. You can select one of two choices, which are:

a. Select the default report which will give you a print out called the System Summary. The default report (depending on your printer and its settings) will spill out approximately 2 1/2 pages , of information as to your IRQ settings, your machines Input and Outport Usage (I/O), Usage of Memory (physical RAM), and finally your Basic Input-Output System (BIOS) date and its version.

b. Select All Devices and System Summary . This choice will print out an exhaustive report of approximately 9 1/2 pages.

COMMENT! Although I’m the first to conserve INK whenever possible… If you’re running 98, I suggest you do this at least once; regardless of the cost of ink, and save the extended report in a safe place. It’s just good common sense, and at least you’ll know everything about your computer, even though at first glance; the full report, at initial glance won’t make much sense to you… but, believe it or not… over time… you’ll find that saving this information will become invaluable.

More Speed from Windows XP

Because Random Access Memory (RAM) is so much faster than first storing it to your hard drive and then in turn, re-conjuring back from your hard drive into memory to use with any specific application (am I showing my age, or what?)… make sure that XP’s Operating Systems function’s stay in memory (RAM). Here’s how.

1. Hold down the Windows key, and then press the |R| key on your keyboard to invoke the Run dialog box.
2. In the Open: box, type: regedit and then press the |Enter| key (to accept the command) and take you directly the XP’s Registry Editor.
3. Look for and then double click on HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, and then drill down the tree, making sure to select each of the following in order…System\ > CurrentControlSet\ > Control\ > Session Manager\ > Memory Management
4. Right click on DisablePagingExecutive (right side pane), and then select Modify (from the context menu).
5. In the Edit DWORD Value (dialog box), type in the number 1 in the Value data field.
6. Click OK, and then back out of the Registry Editor and return to the Desktop.
7. Now, restart your computer for the changes that you have just made to take affect.

Note! The Registry Editor in Windows XP allows you to save the registrymodification of every entry you modify or change, so you can quickly find it. Just make sure to give it a specific name that you can remember in the future. Sometimes, long, long into the future. HINT! That’s why I suggest, you copy it to a Notepad, Wordpad, or Word document and keep it safely intac either on your Desktop or in your My Documents folder.

Also, instead of restarting your computer in the normal steps as outlined above, try using this keyboard shortcut: Windows key + U (keyboard key) + R (keyboard key), e.g. WinKey + U + R.

Want to discuss this article-post, have a comment, suggestion or would like to contribute your thoughts to further this topic, please feel free to contact me at gyzmodave@yahoo.com- please don’t use this opportunity to share your ideas to spam me. Thank you! Gyzmo Dave

Hard Drive Error Checking in XP

The Error Checking utility checks the integrity of the files that you have stored on your hard drive. You should use this utility every couple of weeks, or more, depending on how much you use your computer. CAUTION! Make sure to close any open applications (programs) or files before attempting this exercise.

1. Click on the Start button.
2. Click on My Computer.
3. Right click on your hard drive (usually [C:\]).
4. Select Properties (from the context menu).
5. Select the Tools tab (if not already selected).
6. Click on the Check Now button.
7. Click the check box to the left of Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.
8. Click on Start (to run the utility).
9. Should the Error Checking utility encounter bad sectors on your hard drive, select the option to fix the bad sectors. DO NOT select the check box to the left of Automatically fix file system errors; unless you know for sure that your hard drive is experiencing bad sectors.

Want to discuss this article-post, have a comment, suggestion or would like to contribute your thoughts to further this topic, please feel free to contact me at gyzmodave@yahoo.com- please don’t use this opportunity to share your ideas to spam me. Thank you! Gyzmo Dave

FREEBIE of the week-Backing Up Online

Don’t overlook or under estimate the benefit of backing up specific folders, especially when they contain critical documents and other important and vital information that are contained therein, especially when its FREE!. Use an online backup service such as Mozy Home (scroll down to the bottom of their Home Page) or IDrive Basic. Both services offer 2GB of free storage.

Another online backup service is called ADrive which offers 50GD of FREE online storage. NOTE! Unlike, IDrive and Mozy Home, ADrive doesn’t automatically synchronize (update-automatically any critically modified folder or alert you of redundant folder content, so in essence, you must be organized and aware of updating the contents of specific folders and their files when saving. In other words, simply keep youself organized and focused on what is contain in the folders that you want to upload to be kept safe. For a complete list of Websites for ADrive, IDrive and Mozy Home, log onto http://davebrooks.net and then click on the Free Stuff tab, and then scroll down to: Online Backup.

Freebie of the Week-Orb the Audio Transmitter-Streamer

Orb is a free service that turns your PC into a media server, which allows you to transmit (stream) and receive music, pictures, Television and Video to almost any Web-connected device. However, there os one downside… Orb’s software requires no less than the Windows XP Operating System (OS), or Windows Vista OS, coupled with a broadband connection.

Once you’ve downloaded abd have installed Orb on your PC, set it up (configure the program) to monitor your media folders, e.g.: My Music, My Pictures, etc. or create your own folders for hashing things out. For Orbs Website, log onto http://davebrooks.net and then click on the Free Stuff tab. Scroll down the list of headings to: Audio and Editing. Also, under this category, you’ll find other free sites which includes JukeFly and VibeStreamer.

Word-Finding Its Document Statistics

Microsoft Word has more features and capabilities than most of us ever realize, much less utilize. One feature you might find extremely useful is the statistics Word collects about every document you create.

To locate statistics about your Word document, from within an open document…

1. Click File (menu).
2. Select Properties (from the context menu).
3. Click the Statistics tab (if not already selected).

An interesting piece of information presented here is Total editing time, and Created and Modified dates, etc.

The Statistics (dialog) also includes information about the:

• Pages:
• Paragraphs:
• Lines:
• Words:
• Characters:
• Characters (with spaces):

Internet-Taskbar Shortcut to the Web

There are certain Websites I refer to often, especially mine when it comes to my attention that a reader drops me an email with a question about something I’ve posted. I find that shortcuts to Websites save me time and effort. Here are a few that I’d like to share with you.

One way to reach a Website quickly is to hold down the Windows key and then press the |R| key on your keyboard (to invoke the Run dialog box).

Example: In the Open: text box, type: http://davebrooks.net

Press the |Enter| key (to accept the command).

This little shortcut fires up my browser and takes me directly to my Home page, even when I’m not on the Internet and working on another project.

Another way…

To invoke the Run: dialog box…

Press the Windows key, and then press the letter |R| on your keyboard. NOTE! Pressing the |Ctrl| and |Esc| keys are the same as pressing the Windows key, and then finally press the |R| key on your keyboard.

You can also create a Taskbar shortcut to any Website, albeit obscure. it’s interesting… Once again, for the sake of this example, I’ll use my Website…

1. Right click on any open space on the Taskbar.
2. Select Toolbars (from the context menu).
3. Select New Toolbar… (from the submenu).
4. In the New Folder (dialog box), down at the bottom to the left of folder: type in the Website address, e.g. http://davebrooks.net
5. To access the Website, right click on the shortcut and then select Open in Window (from the context menu).

Folder and File Properties-Keyboard Shortcut

If you favor the keyboard over the mouse or other pointing device, there’s an easy way to get to the Properties of any folder or file. Highlight the folder or file in which you are interested in, and then press the |Alt| and |Enter| key at the same time.

Files-Bring Important Files to the Top of a List

Sometimes it’s convenient to have certain files appear at the top of files lists we see when we view the contents of our hard drive or the files in any folder. Here’s an easy way to bring those files to the top of the list.

By default, Windows lists files in alphabetical order. Folders that start with the letter A will appear at the top of the list. NOTE! You can use a double A [AA], or even a triple A [AAA] when naming or renaming a file. To rename a file using an alphabetical beginning, either right click the folder or file and then select Rename (from the context menu), or highlight the folder or file and then press the |F2| key, or click once on the folder or file you wish to rename, wait a second and then click again to highlight the folder or file and rename it that way.

Keep in mind, too that numbers supplant letters. For example, a folder or file named 1folder will appear before afolder.

Another way to guarantee top position in any listing is to start the folder or file name with an underscore using the Shift + Hyphen keys ( _ ).

Applying a Style to Text and Paragraphs

Where? To the right of the Font Style (formatting toolbar), click the Style drop-down arrow (right-sdie of the box).

How to use: Click the text (by highlighting; dragging the mouse over) the text you want to change, or a paragraph, to apply a style list to, etc.

Related Topics:

Create a New Style Along with Its Formatiinf for Better Precision

Creating a New Paragraph Style Directly From the Screen (monitor(

Manually Modyifing a Style