Audio/Sound
If you have audio or sound problems, double click the little Speaker icon located on the right Taskbar. An Audio Mixer pops up allowing you to set all level inputs and the volume output.  Make sure they are set between mid and full range.  Some programs will set the Wave level to zero and all of sudden there’s no sound.  You can also go to Options, then Properties and select Record.  Here you can adjust record levels and what to record from CDs, mikes, etc., by selecting an active option.

Automatic Windows Updates
With all of the viruses around these days, you should set your PC to receive automatic Windows Updates.  WinXP can be set up to receive updates automatically by clicking Start, Control Panel and double-clicking System.  Next select the Automatic Updates tab and choose "Automatically download the updates, and install them on the schedule that I specify."  Now create the schedule using the two boxes and click Apply and OK.  In WinMe click Start, Settings, ControlPanel and double-click Automatic Updates.  Select "Automatically download updates and notify me when they are ready to be installed" and click OK.  Win98 requires manual downloads.  Select the Windows Update icon off the Start button or open Internet Explorer and click Tools, Windows Update.  All three Windows versions can be updated manually in this manner.  Microsoft's Office patches also require manual downloads.  You can obtain them at Microsoft.  The site includes latest updates and a scan engine.  It will check your computer and tell you what you need for each program.

Backup
WinXP has a very good backup program. You can access it by clicking Start, All programs, Accessories, System Tools, Backup.  The program includes a wizard that walks you through the setup.  The Home edition does not install Backup by default. You'll find it on your Windows disk.  Double click VALUEADD, MSFT, NTBACKUP.  To install it, double click NTBackup.msi.  Once installed, Backup is accessed through the Start button.  Click Start, All Programs (in Win98/ME "Programs"), Accessories, System Tools, Backup.  Wizards steps you through the backup process.  Backup gives you the choice of backing up everything or selected files.  You can schedule regular backups. 

Build Number
The build number for your computer refers to the iteration of a particular version of Windows.  It can tell a tech support person what updates you have installed on your system.  Some software will not work with certain build numbers.  A simple way to get this number is to go to Start, Run and in the Open box, type WINVER. You will see the build number along with your version of Windows in the pop-up box.  Belarc is a free utility that will also tell you exactly what is inside a computer.  After downloading and running it, you get a report that includes the computer's components (CPU, motherboard, RAM, adapters, cards, etc.), make and model, along with serial numbers, and all the software installed on the system complete with license numbers. You can get it at Belarc.  Another way to get the build number is to download and install the Microsoft (MS) PowerToys TweakUI. One of the options here is to show the build number on the Desktop.
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Disk Cleanup
When you run Disk Cleanup found in the WinXP Windows System Tools folder, be sure to open the More Options tab.  It contains additional options for cleaning up Windows components or installed programs.  Use the Windows Components option to create free space by removing optional features, such as fax services, that you do not use.  You can also use the Installed Programs option to free more disk space by removing unused programs.  Clicking the Clean Up button starts the Change or Remove Programs option in the Add/Remove Programs tool.  Finally, under System Restore, you can remove all but the most recent restore point on your system.

Dlls
Dll’s are the very important files that have an annoying habit of disappearing from your computer.  This free Web site <www.dll-files.com> is a great resource for whenever you receive that Windows message, "Couldn't find XXX.dll".  The frequent asked questions (FAQ) section of this site has great instructions on how to install the dlls.

Drivers
Sometimes drivers can cause rather than resolve problems especially with applications/hardware.  If this happens and you’re operating WinXP, use its Device Driver Rollback feature to restore a previous driver.  Go to Control Panel and open the System applet.  Under Systems Properties, choose the Hardware tab and select Device Manager.  Expand the menu there for the type of device you want to roll back.  Right-click on that device, choose Properties and click on Roll Back Driver.  If all else fails, try drivers written for other versions of Windows.  You can download hardware drivers.

Error Messages
There are at least two programs that will help you interpret these messages. Both WinErr 1.0 and MS Windows Error Messages are free.

Memory Check
If you are having computer problems, they may stem from bad memory.  Memory is probably the most troublesome aspect of a computer.  Checking memory has always been a difficult task for everyone.  Most computer repair shops simply swap out a suspect memory with a good one.  However, few individuals have a spare memory on hand to replace a faulty one.  Microsoft has come up with a software utility that will check your computer's memory for you.  It's free at this web site.

Network Status
To check the speed of your Internet Service Provider (ISP) connection, you must activate the Network Status icon which resides in the System Tray. You can right-click it to find your ISP connection's speed and close the connection.  To find it in WinXP, you must click Start and select My Computer.  In the Other Places menu, click My Network Places.  In the Network Tasks menu, click View Network Connections.  Right click the icon of the ISP connection or network and select Properties.  On the General tab, check the box for "Show icon in notification area when connected" and click OK.  Users of Win98 can also activate the icon by opening Windows Explorer and clicking Dial Up Networking.   Right click the connection in which you are interested and click Properties.   Select General and click “Configure in the Connect Using area.”  On the Options tab, click the box for "Display modem status" and then click OK.  Now, whenever you connect to your ISP, the icon will appear in your System Tray.

Safe Mode
When all else fails after some computer problem, you can usually open Windows in the Safe Mode. There you can run diagnostic checks to help figure out what is wrong with your machine.  However, you might get stuck in the Safe Mode.  This situation usually happens after something is installed on your computer. The probable cause is a bad driver.  For instance, when adding a printer to your computer, you'll also add software usually from a CD.  If the software is incompatible or defective, Windows may have a problem with it.  Should this situation happen to you, while in Safe Mode, click Start, Settings, and Control Panel.  Next double click System and select the Device Manager tab.  Look for a bright yellow exclamation mark. Right-click the item and select Remove and restart Windows.  When it reboots, you should get the New Hardware Found window.  Instead of reinstalling the software, let Windows find a driver for you.  Alternatively, you could uninstall whatever was installed recently and then reboot Windows.

Suspend Glitch
There is a little known bug in Win98 that causes the computer to hang when it is in Suspend mode. This problem is caused when a drive letter is lower case in the SYSTEM.INI. You can fix this glitch by selecting Start, Run and typing msconfig in the Open box, then pressing OK.  Next select the System.ini tab. Click the + sign next to the 386Enh section to expand it.  Now select the line PagingFile= and click Edit. Change the lowercase drive letter to uppercase and click Apply and OK.  When prompted, restart your computer.

System Enhancement Utilities
There are many utilities which can improve the performance of WinXP.  The following three in particular seem to do an especially good job.  They clean out the system registry, fix system flaws, and make the whole operating system run more smoothly.  RegScrubXP does a clean sweep of your WinXP registry to make it much more efficient.  Xteq X-Setup gets down and dirty with XP, changing hidden system settings to make your computer run faster.  Boost XP trims the excess processes that slow down your computer. It also lets you enable hidden performance settings.

System Information/Properties
Press the Start button, and select the run command.  At the prompt, type MSINFO32 and a dialogue box will appear with all kinds of information about your computer.  With WinXP in System Properties, you can select the Advanced tab, click on Settings, and click ‘Adjust for best performance’ to improve computer operations.

Win98 Registry
Any trip to the registry can be a dangerous one.  However, if you have a need to view your Win98 Registry there is a way to do it.  First, click on Start, Run.  Next, type “regedit.exe” and click OK.  While browsing, be especially careful not to edit or delete any entries.  Also, never leave Regedit Tool (built into Windows) running for an extended period of time.  For more information on viewing and editing the Windows Registry, see the topic “Changing Keys and Values” in Regedit’s Help file.  If you ever need to recover your Registry, follow the instructions in “How to Manually Restore the Win98 Registry”.

In regard to the aforementioned Automatic Windows Update tip, MS’ widely used Windows Update routine often finds no updates to install even when there are clearly many patches needed by a PC.  This situation would not cause most users to suspect a problem because there is no MS error message to inform them of it.  The cause of the problem has to do with the date set on the machine.   If the date is set to something outside of the valid range of the SSL certificate on MS's WinUpdate site, it will get an SSL error.  WinUpdate provides this message:   “There are no updates available for your computer. Please check back later without reporting an error message.”  Only if you then click on the ‘See Also/Windows Update Catalog' will there be an awareness of an error.  You will get an error page, but the only troubleshooting tip is a mail to tag that formats an e-mail to MS with 'ERROR 0x800A138F' in the subject line.  You must change your machine's date to 2001, open a fresh instance of Internet Explorer (IE), and go to Windows Update.  You may need to reboot after the date change.  This development would most likely occur when setting up a computer for the first time, and its internal clock hadn't yet been configured by the user.  But it can also happen to many experienced users who don’t pay attention to their computer's date and time settings.