Computer Handyman Of Long Island, Inc.

Phone: 631-499-3953    Email: CHOLI@optonline.net

 

Reference Library

                   

Answers That Work

MajorGeeks.com

Protecting Personal Data In MS Word Documents

Linda's Computer Stop Ebooks, Free Stuff, Classes, Tutorials

 

Adobe Reader -

Speed Loading of PDF Files
ARTICLE DATE:  10.19.04
By  Neil J. Rubenking
Our readers frequently ask why Adobe Reader 6 is so slow to load when they open a PDF file. The main reason is that the Reader doesn't load alone—it comes with a crowd of plug-ins. If you watch the splash screen carefully you can see their names flip past. Most people need only a handful of these plug-ins. If you'd like to load PDF files faster, follow these simple instructions:
  • Launch Windows Explorer
  • Navigate to the Program Files folder, usually C:\Program Files
  • Below this, navigate to Adobe\Acrobat 6.0\Reader
  • In the right-hand pane, find the folder named plug_ins
  • Right-click it and choose Rename, changing it to plug_ins_NOT
  • Create a new folder named plug_ins
  • From the plug_ins_NOT folder, copy just three files to the new plug_ins folder: EWH32.api, printme.api, and search.api
That's all you need do. The next time you load a PDF file, only those three plug-ins will come along, and you should notice a significant speed improvement. If you need to read encrypted PDFs or if for any other reason you want to undo this change, simply close Adobe Reader, delete the plug_ins folder and rename plug_ins_NOT back to plug_ins.

 

 

Clear All AutoComplete Entries

  1. Open your IE browser and click Tools | Internet Options.

  2. Click the Content tab.

  3. Under Personal Information, click the AutoComplete button.

  4. Click the Clear Forms button to get rid of all stored entries. If you also want to clear all saved passwords, click the Clear Passwords button.

  5. Under Use AutoComplete for, uncheck all three boxes (Web addresses, Forms, and User names and passwords on forms) to make IE stop storing AutoComplete information.

CDs & DVDs

How to troubleshoot CD-ROM drive problems in Windows XP

How to Troubleshoot Issues with Reading CD, CD-R, CD-RW, and DVD Discs

IDE/ATA Configuration and Cabling
DVD FAQ

 

Customizing Windows for Users with Low Vision

Customizing Windows for Users with Low Vision

 

Rt click desktop/properties/settings/advanced/DPI settings to Large Size 120dpi./ok/ok/reboot.
Rt click desktop/properties/Appearance/Font size/Large/ok
Internet Explorer/tools/internet options/accessability/ignore font sizes specified on web pages
Internet Explorer/view/Text Size/Smallest

 

Norton/Symantec Removal

Using the Norton uninstall tool (only when all else fails)

 

NTLDR errors

How to Fix NTLDR Errors

 

Windows XP

Windows Update not working (here), also (here)

Command Line Reference

 

How to Speed up XP Startup

One of the advantages of Windows XP over older Microsoft operating systems is the speed with which the operating system starts, but if you'd like to see even better startup performance, you can try this tip shared with us by reader Daniel S.:

  1. Click Start | Run and type regedit to open the Registry Editor.
  2. Navigate to
    HKEY LOCAL MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters
  3. In the right pane, right click EnablePrefetcher and select Modify.
  4. Under Value data, change the value from 3 (the default) to 5.
  5. Reboot and watch XP fly.

Also, delete all files from the \Windows\Prefetch folder.

 

Top 10 Internet Explorer issues

It's not always malware: How to fix the top 10 Internet Explorer issues

 

How to Reinstall Internet Explorer 6

If you're having serious problems with IE, one way to repair it is to run the Windows XP installation CD to repair Windows. But what if you don't have your copy of the installation CD on hand? There's another way: you can just reinstall IE 6, but first you need to edit the Registry so Windows will think IE isn't installed. Here's how:

  1. Open your favorite Registry Editor.
  2. Navigate to the following registry key:
    HKEY LOCAL MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Active Setup\Installed Components\{89820200-ECBD-11cf-8B85-00AA005B4383}
  3. Right click the value labeled IsInstalled and select Modify.
  4. Change the data value setting from 1 to 0.
  5. Close the Registry Editor.

Now you can download and install IE 6 (with service pack 1) from the following link:
http://www.winxpnews.com/rd/rd.cfm?id=041026HT-Download_IE6

Note that this also includes the installation files for Outlook Express. Also note that you may need to reapply Windows XP Service Pack 2 to regain the SP2 changes to IE (such as the popup blocker).

 

Paging File Rebuild

In general, whenever you suspect swap or paging file-related problems--- and even if you don't--- it's good system hygiene to "clean under your paging file." Doing this also increases the likelihood that any paging file problems are not hard disk related. The process involves four steps: 1) delete your paging file; 2) run Scandisk with the /f and /r parameters to fix errors and "block" bad sectors on the disk; 3) run Disk Defragmenter; and 4) re-create your paging file on error-free sectors of an unfragmented disk. Here are the steps in detail:

  1. Delete your paging file - Right-click on My Computer and choose Properties. Select the Advanced tab, then click on the Settings button in the Performance box. Click on the Advanced tab, then the Change button. Select the No paging file radio button, click Set, then OK. Click on the next OK button, then reboot.
  2. Run Scandisk with the /f and /r parameters - Click, Start, choose Run, then type cmd in the text box and click OK to open a command line window.

    Type "chkdsk /f /r" without quotation marks and press the Enter key. Press Y and the Enter key to make Scandisk run next time you reboot. Now Reboot. This will take a while; if you have a large disk or partition to scan, you might want to start the task as bedtime, and let the PC work overnight.

  3. Run Defrag - Choose Start/All Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Defragmenter. Choose the hard disk that your paging file will live on (usually C:) and click Defragment. When defragmentation is complete, reboot.
  4. Re-create your paging file - Right-click on My Computer and choose Properties. Select the Advanced tab, then click on the Settings button in the Performance box. Click on the Advanced tab, then the Change button. Select in megabytes Initial and Maximum sizes. (Note that "Initial size" is equal to the size of the permanent part of your semi-permanent paging file, and the difference between the two sizes is the maximum size of the temporary part.

    Make them the same number for a fully permanent paging file if you want to sacrifice a little disk space for a little performance boost.) Click Set, then on the OK buttons to exit, then reboot.

One last optimization note: After all this, check to see if your paging file is fragmented. Launch Disk Defragmenter and click Analyze. In a few seconds a dialog box will pop up. Click View Report. In the Volume Information window, find Total Fragments under the Pagefile fragmentation section. If the number is higher than one, you've got a fragmented paging file. To fix this, you need to create space on your disk--- ideally at least 25% of the disk capacity should be free. You can do this by temporarily moving files to another drive. Follow steps 1, 3 and 4 above to delete your paging file, defrag the disk again, then re-create the paging file. With enough space, Windows will create it all in one contiguous area of the disk for maximum performance.

 

Microsoft acknowledged this week a new weakness that allows hacked Web sites to infect PCs merely by displaying specific images in the Internet Explorer browser.
 

 

Data Migration

CNET Labs article

 

Web Resources

UpgradingandRepairingPCs.com | Resources

Removing Norton Internet Security or Personal Firewall from XP/2000 after Add/Remove n.g.

Software Downloads - TechRepublic

 

Removing "Malware" - Elephant Boy Computers