1. Getting hardware to work with the new WindowsXP operating system.
2. The easiest way to change tasks (programs) in Windows.
3. One of the best ways to get help with computer problems.
4. How to retrieve that lost URL (website) you saw a few days ago.
5. Filling in forms and personal info on websites and programs.
6. I lost my desktop Icon.
7. Changing your default homepage in Internet Explorer and Netscape.
8. Enlarge a Window.
9. Highlighting (selecting) a group of files; changing your selection.
10. Re-naming files.
11. Moving and copying files in Windows Explorer.
12. How come my modem states its speed at 56Kbps, but only downloads at about 5K?
13. Selecting various files.
14. Windows Explorer default view.
15. Moving and resizing the Start Menu.
16. Internet Answering Machine.
17. Generic printer to "print to file."
18. Print a "System Summary."
19. GB; MB; KB; 56Kbps; What do these terms mean, and what is the difference between a bit and a Byte?
20. Desktop Themes: Pick & Choose.
21. Create a Cascading Toolbar Menu for My Computer.
22. Rearranging and alphabetizing the Start Menu.
23. Desktop icons: are they shortcuts?  Can I delete them, or move them?
24. Trace-route.
25. Two-color Windows Title Bars.
26. Highlight (Select), type.
27. Netscape Messenger: larger message Window.
28. Put important files at the top of folders.
29. Windows keyboard shortcuts.
30. Simple way to avoid Spam (junk e-mail).
31. ACDSee - A GREAT picture viewer!
32. Are programs starting on their own with no initiation on your part?

1.)  Getting hardware to work with the new WindowsXP operating system.

Try using Windows 2000 drivers.   They will often work fine.

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2.)  The easiest way to change tasks (programs) in Windows.

Press and hold the ALT key down while tapping the TAB key to change between running programs.  When you get to the one you want to change to, let go of the ALT key (both keys).  You can also use this method to change between two programs you're using.

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3.)  One of the best ways to get help with computer problems.

Join a computer user group (computer club)!  Other than ours, there's a link to one under Favorite Links on this site.  There's also a link to a complete list covering the entire world at the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG) website.

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4.)  How to retrieve that lost URL (website) you saw a few days ago.

Use the history file.  In Netscape, on the menu bar, go to Communicator; Tools; History; Edit; Search History List.

In Internet Explorer, go to View; Explorer Bar; History to turn on the history view.  Click the "X" (close) button to close.

A faster way for both programs is CTRL/H.

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5.)  Filling in forms and personal info on websites and programs.

An easy way to fill in forms on websites, and other programs on your computer is to make up a notepad file containing all the info you use on a regular basis.  Then, open the file and minimize it.  Use ALT/Tab to switch between the Notepad file and the program requiring the info.  Select (highlight) the info you need and Copy/Paste the info where you need it.

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6.)  I lost my desktop Icon.

Left-click anywhere on the desktop.  Type the first letter of the icon you are searching for.  Keep hitting that key until the icon you want is selected (highlighted.)  Hit Enter (or double-click the icon) to start the selected program.

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7.)  Changing your default homepage in Internet Explorer and Netscape.

In Netscape, go to: Edit; Preferences; Navigator.  Search for the page you want, and hit Use Current Page.  This can be a website, or any ".htm" or ".html" file on your hard drive.  In Internet Explorer, go to: Tools; Internet Options; Homepage.  (You'll have to have the page you want already showing to choose "Use Current" in IE.)

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8.)  Enlarge a Window.

Clicking on the Maximize button in the upper right corner of a window is not the only way to enlarge a Window.  An easier way is to double-click the Title Bar of the Window.

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9.)  Selecting (highlighting) a group of files; changing your selection.

Find the files you want to work with in Windows Explorer.  Left-click and hold to the right and above the first file you want.  Drag the mouse diagonally to form a square outline of the files you want, and then let go.  To eliminate files individually, hold the CTRL button down, and click on the file to eliminate from the selected list.  To abort, click anywhere or hit ESC.

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10.)  Re-naming files.

As usual with Windows, there's more than one way to do this.  In Windows Explorer, click once on the file, wait 2 seconds and click on the file again.  Start typing immediately to completely replace the current name, or hit one of the arrow keys to modify the current filename.  You can also right-click the file, and choose Rename.

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11.)  Moving and copying files in Windows Explorer.

Clicking and dragging files and folders in Windows Explorer is hit-and-miss, because depending on what you are dragging, you never know what is going to happen: Copy? Move? Create Shortcut?  To make sure you  ~know~  what is going to happen, use the right-click method.  This way, you get a context menu to  ~choose~  what is going to happen to the file or folder.

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12.)  How come my modem states its speed is 56Kbps, but only downloads at about 5K?

Because bps represents bits per second, not Bytes per second, hence the small "b." (Please read #19 below.)  Downloading a  Byte requires 10 bits: 8 bits for each character, digit, or punctuation mark, and a start bit and a stop bit for each.  FCC regulations, Internet traffic, and other limitations bring typical speeds down to about 50Kbps.     50/10 = 5KB.

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13.)  Selecting various files.

To select multiple single files, select the first file.  Then use CTRL/Click to select more individual files.

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14.)  Windows Explorer default view.

Most computers when directed to use Windows Explorer to view the hard drive contents, default to the C:\ drive, fully expanded, showing all files.  I prefer to show all drives closed, so I can open the one I want, instead of closing drives before I can start viewing what I choose.  To change the default view, right-click the Windows Explorer link or icon.  Click Properties.  Copy down the info in the "Target" box (in case you need to change it back.)  Modify it to display the following:

C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /n,/e, /select, C:\

Click OK, and try it out.  If you like what you see, you're done.  If not, go back and modify the info to match what you copied.

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15.)  Moving and resizing the Start Menu.

You can reposition the Start Menu to any edge of your monitor, by clicking on any blank part of the task bar and dragging it.  You can make it bigger by mousing over the edge until it shows a double-arrow, and dragging it bigger.

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16.)  Internet Answering Machine.

Are you tired of your friends saying they can never get a hold of you on the phone because you're on the Internet all the time?  Try Internet Answering Machine.  Together with your phone company and a small $1.25/month, they can leave you a message that is played on your computer speakers while you're online!  Get more info @ www.callwave.com.

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17.)  Generic printer to "print to file."

Do you ever have a file you want to save, but you don't want to print it right now?  You can "print" to a file by using this trick.  Go to: Control Panel; Printers.   Double-click Add Printer.  Click Next when prompted.  Choose Local Printer, and Next.  Scroll down the list on the left column to Generic and select it.  The right column will display Generic/Text Only.  Click Next.  Choose File and Next.  When asked if you want this to be your default printer, select No and then Next.  Select No to print a test page, and then Finish.  Now when you want to save a document to a file instead of printing, "print" to the Generic printer.

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18.)  Print a "System Summary."

Do you want to know what hardware's installed on your computer?  Go to: Control Panel; Device Manager; Print.  Under Report Type, choose All Devices and System Summary.  Choose OK to send to your printer, or Print to File.  I suggest you print to file and browse thru it, since there's quite a bit of info here, and most of the info is unnecessary to the average user.  Another method, with the info sorted and labeled and a little easier to understand can be found here:  Start; Programs; Accessories: System Tools; System Information.

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19.)  GB; MB; KB; 56Kbps; etc.

What do these terms represent, and what is the difference between a bit and a Byte?  The computer doesn't recognize letters and numbers the way humans do.  Instead, it represents them with bits.  A bit is either a 0 or a 1.  It takes 8 bits to represent a letter, numeral, or punctuation mark, which is one byte.  One KB (KiloByte) is 1,024 Bytes.  1,024KB = One MB (MegaByte): 1,048,576 or 1,000,000 Bytes, depending on the source.  1,024MB = One GB (GigaByte): 1,073,741,824 or  1,000,000,000  Bytes.  Why are there two different answers to each term?  Your computer uses the larger number when it refers to your RAM memory or hard drive capacity.  When a hard drive manufacturer refers to the capacity of their hard drive, they use the smaller number.  Why?  Because it gives the impression that their drive is larger than it actually is. The smaller number is usually used when referring to transfer rates also.  Also, please note that in correct computer terminology, a small b = bit, and a large B = Byte.  (Definitions from http://www.webopedia.com)

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20.)  Desktop Themes: Pick & Choose.

Desktop themes are great, if you like all their feature enhancements.  But what if you only like a particular theme's icons, or colors, and nothing else?  Load a theme, and go thru it, selecting what you like and unselecting what you don't.  Apply the changes, and go to the next theme, doing the same thing.  When you're done, you'll have the best features of all the themes in one.  Give your new theme a name and save it.  Now you have your own customized theme!  Make individual changes in the Control Panel under Display.

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21.)  Create a Cascading Toolbar Menu for My Computer.

Right-click on the Taskbar.  Choose Toolbars; New Toolbar; Click My Computer and then OK.  Use the "handle" to the left of the title "My Computer" to drag the new toolbar so that only the title shows.  Now when you click on the little arrows showing, you get a cascading menu of My Computer.  This trick can be used for any folder on your computer.

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22.)  Rearranging and alphabetizing the Start Menu.

To alphabetize the Start menu, right-click on any program or folder.  Choose Sort by Name.  To rearrange individual items, click and drag to the position you want, indicated by the black bar under the cursor, and let go.  If you change your mind before you let go, just hit ESC and the move is cancelled.

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23.)  Desktop icons: are they shortcuts?  Can I delete them, or move them?

Normally, shortcut icons on your desktop are signified by a small arrow in the lower left corner of the icon.  These can safely be deleted without loosing the program itself.  Another way to see if the icon is a shortcut is to right-click on it and see if there is a shortcut tab.  If there's no shortcut tab, the icon is NOT a shortcut.  DO NOT DELETE!  Use Windows Explorer to move the icon (which is actually a program or folder) to one of your hard drives.  That will remove it from your desktop safely without removing it from the computer entirely.

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24.)  Trace-route.

This is a program that resides on most Windows computers.  It traces the route that is needed to get to a particular website, and tells you how many hops, or computers there are between you and the site.  To see it work, go to the MS-DOS Prompt on your Start Menu.  In the MS-DOS Window, type  "tracert www.sagatug.org" (for example) without the quotes, and hit Enter.

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25.)  Two-color Windows Title Bars.

Starting with Windows98, you can make your Windows Title Bars fade from one color into another.  Right-click a blank part of your Desktop, and click Properties.  Click the Appearance tab.  Click on the Title Bar called Active Window.  Under "Item", you'll notice it says "Active Title Bar."  To the right, there are two drop-down menus titled "Color" & "Color 2"    After entering your choices, you can preview your new colors and compare them to the "old" colors,  ~before~  you leave Display Properties/Appearance.  If you don't like the new colors, click  "Cancel"  but if you DO like your new colors, click  "OK"

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26.)  Highlight (Select), type.

When you want to enter text into a text box where there is text already entered, there's no need to delete it.  Just click on it to select (highlight) it, and start typing.  Your typing automatically replaces the old text.

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27.)  Netscape Messenger: larger message Window.

Want a larger Window to view your messages in Netscape Messenger?  Double-click the message in the message list Window:  Full size message Window!

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28.)  Put important files at the top of folders.

If you want certain files to be easier to find, try this: put a tilde symbol (~) as the first character of the filename.  Windows automatically places the file at the top of the folder listing.  Multiple  ~  files will alphabetize on the first letter after the  ~.

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29.)  Windows keyboard shortcuts.

Win/E = Windows Explorer        CTRL/X = Cut        CTRL/C = Copy        CTRL/V = Paste        CTRL/ESC = Start Menu       

Close current Window = CTRL/F4

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30.)  Simple way to avoid Spam (junk e-mail).

Most people don't realize that while they're surfing the Internet, their e-mail address can be gleaned from their browser.  To temporarily disable this, change or delete your e-mail address in your browser's preferences.  You'll have to put it back when you want to send or reply to e-mail.

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31.)  ACDSee - A GREAT picture viewer!

For a great program for viewing pictures, graphics, etc., I highly recommend "ACDSee Classic" (not spelled "ACDC").  It's a shareware program, but is free to use as long as you want, if you don't mind the "When are you going to pay me?" reminders. 

Look for the program under "Products" then "Image Management" and finally "ADCSee Classic".

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32.)  Programs starting on their own with no initiation on your part?

The program is probably being initialized (started) by a Windows program called Task Scheduler.  It's in the Accessories folder under Start; Programs; Accessories; Scheduled Tasks.   If the program is listed there, right-click it, then delete it.

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 33.)  Next tip goes here.... . .

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