Open Means Open Means

It’s a common problem among computer users that system is not giving full performance. If your PC is a few years old and you have not given it the maintenance, then some problem occurs. PCs need to be kept in good condition. Here I am describing some steps which need to be carried out once per month. These steps will help keep your PC running well and efficiently.

Empty Recycle Bin

When you delete a file it is stored in recycle bin folder. Keeping these file in recycle bin only consumes hard disk space. If you don’t need those unwanted files then delete them. Click on the recycle bin icon on your desktop and then choose Empty the recycle bin option.

Uninstall unused programs

There are many programs in your computer that you are no longer using. So it’s better to delete them since they are taking lots of hard disk space, and you can again reinstall them if your need arises. Go to start -> control panel -> add/remove programs, choose the program to delete, and click on change/remove button.

Disk Cleanup

It must be performed regularly to release the storage space occupied by temporary internet files and others. To access disk cleanup go to Start -> programs -> accessories ->system tools -> disk cleanup. 

Disk Defragmenter

Disk defragmenter helps in placing the fragmented files of a program in contiguous memory location. So the system can easily search and find the program from the memory, it improves the processing time. To access disk defragmenter go to Start -> programs -> accessories ->system tools -> disk defragmenter. 

Empty prefetch cache

Prefetch cache stores lots of files that are required by system during processing. Gradually it is loaded with files that are no longer required; hence it slows down windows start up. So you have to empty this cache in order to speed up your PC on start up. For this go to, start-> run, type Prefetch and click ok. In the new window select all the icons and delete.

Increase RAM size

Adding more memory to your computer gives better performance. If you are running Windows Xp, you need a minimum of 256 Mb of RAM. But this may put strain on your system if you are running any kind of graphics or games. So upgrade to 512 Mb and processing power of system will speed up.  

Increase Virtual memory

By default the system allocates sufficient virtual memory. But if you want to run many programs simultaneously then system may slow down. To avoid such situation, it is better to increase virtual memory size. Right click on my computer icon, select properties and choose advanced tab. Click on settings under the performance, select advanced tab, and click on change button under virtual memory. Make the initial size 2 times of recommended memory size and maximum size a little higher; set those values only for C drive. Now you will notice the speed improvement!

MASTER BOOT RECORD is one of the process include in the processing of computer system When you turn on your pc ,the process has to begin processing,however your systen memoryis empty and the processor doesnt have anything to execute or really even know where it is??? To ensure that the pc can always boot regardless of which BIOS is in the machine ,chip makers and BIOS manufactures arrange so that the processor once turned on ,always start executing at the same place.there is also need to be somewhere that the BIOS can load the process of loading the operating system.The place where this information is stored is called MASTER BOOT RECORD (MBR).Sometimes it is also called as boot section MBR always located at cylinder 0,head 0,and sector 1,first sector on the disk.When the BIOS boots the machine ,it will look here for instruction and information on how to boot the disk and load the Operating System

Windows has been integral part of our life from the day we have started using the computers.  Dos has been platform for all the basic users.  Still we miss out on certain commands which can make the black window and white text change to different colors.

Some of the Dos command using the keyboards are:

1) Change the color scheme of the DOS Window

color bf - where b is the background color while f is for the foreground color (they are hex codes).
For a list of all available colors, type color /? on the command line.

2) Change the Title of the Window to reflect the current time

title your_name  %time%

That %time% will append the current timestamp to the Window’s title.

3) Navigate the Command History using Keyboard.

If you have a long list of commands in the history, press the function key F7 to navigate through the history list using the arrow keys.

If you know the command number, press F9 and directly type that number. This is Very useful if you have to run some command repeatedly.

4) Typing Long Commands at the DOS Prompt.

Even now when we need to perform certain commands which are long, while typing we missed out a character.  It is very annoying that we need to type the whole thing than replacing or adding the particular word.

So here a command F1 prints characters of the previous command one by one.  and Press F2 to copy a certain number of characters from the previous command to the current one.

METHOD 1:

Go to the registry editor by running regedit in the run box. Go to this key : HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Currentversion\Explorer\Advanced

In the right hand area, double click hidden and change the value to 1. Check it in u r tools menu if changes have taken effect.

METHOD 2:

1. Click  "Start" -> "Run"

2. Type "regedit" & then click "ok"

3. Find the key :HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Currentversion\Explorer\Advanced\Folder\Hidden \SHOWALL

4. Look at the "checkedvalue" key this should be a dword key. If isnt then delete the key .

5. Create a new key called "checkedvalue" as a dword with a value of 1.

6. The "Show Hidden Files and Folders" should now work normally !

 

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