| MS has recently released WinXP SP2. This very important update includes security fixes and new features which should be installed on all WinXP computers. The service packs are very large and a problem for people who download this software update over a dial-up connection. It's also a problem for folks who fix computers. Fortunately MS has made the service packs available free of charge on a CD. It can be ordered from the MS Web site. You can also order your CD online at officepackCD. SBC and Yahoo! have determined that some users will experience changes after loading SP 2 when using the customized SBC Yahoo! Browser, Parental Controls, SBC Yahoo! Web mail, and Instant Messenger. SBC and Yahoo! have prepared an update for these software components that you should load to ensure compatibility with SP2. In addition, if you are using a firewall on your XP computer, you will need to go to the firewall manufacturer's website and load any software updates they provide for SP2. You can find information and web-links for the major firewall companies at:
If you experience changes with other software on your computer, check the software manufacturer's website for information regarding SP2 software updates. SP2 installs Windows Firewall which can block connections for existing programs. To find out which programs are affected and get instructions for workarounds, search the MS knowledge Base for articles 842242 and 884130. You can refer to the SBC and Yahoo! Help Site for more details on WinXP SP2 and SBC Yahoo! software updates that are available for your computer. If you want to know more about the WinXP SP2 update, refer to the MS site. WinXP SP2 information may also be accessed by calling 1.888.SP2.HELP (1.888.772.4357).
Mouse Pointer
WinXP will let you change the size of your pointer. Click Start, Control
Panel and double click the Mouse icon. On the Pointer's tab, click the
down arrow under Scheme, and then try Windows Standard (large) or (extra
large).
Modem
To turn off the racket sound modems make when they connect with another
computer, click Start, Control Panel. Now doubleclick Phone and Modem Options,
select the Modems tab, and click Properties. Next select the Modem tab
and under "Speaker volume" move the slider to Off.
New Program Pop-Up
If annoyed with the little yellow message saying "New programs installed,"
which appears after installing a new program with WinXP, and clicking the
Start button, then disable it. Right-click on the Taskbar, choose Properties,
and click on the Start Menu tab. Make sure that the Start menu is selected
rather than Classic Start menu. Next, click on the Customize button next
to the Start menu. Now click on the Advanced tab, locate the box near the
top titled "Highlight newly installed programs," uncheck it, and click
on OK to accept the change.
NTFS Floppy Boot Disk
Bootable floppies run the old DOS operating system which doesn't recognize hard drives formatted in the NTFS that WinXP/2000 use. The solution is NTFS.com's free program NTFS Reader for DOS. Put the NTFS Reader on a bootable floppy to view the folders and files on an NTFS-formatted hard drive. You can also use this program to copy these files to a FAT-formatted or networked drive. Go to pcworld.com to download NTFS Reader for DOS. Password Reset Disk
Bypassing the password is easy in WinXP if you have yourself set up
as the Administrator. Click Start, Control Panel and double-click Users.
Next click your account and enter your password. Leave the new password
boxes and the hint box blank and click change password. People who have
a password always run the risk of forgetting it. If this is the case, make
a password reset disk. Assuming you have an Administrator account, click
Start, Control Panel and double-click User Accounts. Now click your account,
find "Related Tasks," and click "Prevent a forgotten password." When the
wizard starts, click Next and enter your password in the "Current user
account password" box. Click Next, wait until the Progress bar reaches
100%, click Next, Finish and then remove the disk. If you should forget
your password, do not try to enter a password in the password box. Press
Enter or click the arrow. You will be prompted to use your password reset
disk. That will allow you to enter a new password. The password reset disk
will automatically be updated with the new password. You can only use the
password reset disk on the computer which created it.
Photo w/User Name
Instead of selecting WinXP user accounts by name, you can use a digital
photo of the user. For this trick, click Start, Settings, and Control Panel.
Now doubleclick User Accounts, followed by Change An Account, and then
select an account. Next click Change My Picture, Browse For More Pictures.
Navigate to a folder containing a photo of the user, select it, and click
Open. The photo will appear next to the user account name.
Printer Sharing
You can set up a WinXP wireless network for two computers so they share
one printer. For this tip, install the printer on one of the computers
using WinXP. Plug it into the computer and WinXP should display the "Found
new hardware" balloon and install the drivers. If for some reason Win XP
does not find the drivers, go to the printer manufacturer's Web site and
download them. Next click Start, Control Panel, and then Printers and Faxes.
Click the printer's icon to select it and then right-click and select Sharing.
On this tab, click where it says "Share this printer." If the other computer
does not have WindXP, it can still use the shared printer. Underneath where
you selected "Share this printer," click Additional Drivers and also click
the "Environment and operating system" for the other computers followed
by OK to install the additional drivers. Once that printer is installed,
it is time to share the peripheral. Now, go to the computer that does not
have the printer installed to add the shared printer to this computer.
Click Start, Control Panel, Printers and Faxes, Add a Printer and Next.
Then, where you are asked to choose a local or network printer, select
Network, and browse the network until you find the printer. Now just follow
the prompts until it is installed on the second computer.
Records and Tapes into CDs
If you want to put your records and tapes on CDs, connect your tape or record player to your sound card's mic terminal with a 1/8" mini jack. Open the Volume Control and click Start, All Programs (or Programs), Accessories, Entertainment, Volume Control, Options, Properties. Next click Recording, under "Adjust Volume for." Ensure Microphone has a check mark next to it and then click OK. Also make sure the Select box under Microphone is checked. Now, you'll need software to convert your tape or record analog music into digital form to place on a CD. Audacity is a free program. Once installed, open Audacity, click the record button, and start playing your record or tape. You can do this one of two ways:
- Record each side of the tape or record into one big file and break up the tracks later.
- Record each song as an individual file.
After you record a song, stop the tape or record, click the Stop button
in Audacity, and click File, Export as WAV. Name your song file and continue
until you have recorded each song from the tape or record. There may be
some silent spots, pops, and hisses, thus you'll want to clean up and edit
the .WAV files.
Audacity has a noise removal effect. It also allows you to edit unwanted breaks. If you want more creative audio effects and editing techniques, Audacity has online tutorials and a downloadable manual. Once you have cleaned up all of your files, they're ready to burn to a CD. WinXP has built-in software that allows you to burn files onto a CD. There is also a free program called Burn4free. Of course, you can use the software that came with your CD burner.
Recycle Bin
WinXP assigns approximately 10% of your hard drive space to the Recycle
Bin. If you have a 10GB hard drive, 1GB is allocated to the Recycle Bin.
To reclaim some of that valuable hard drive space, right-click the Recycle
Bin, click Properties and then the Global tab. If you want to adjust the
maximum size for all the hard drives to the same setting, set the new maximum
size of the Recycle Bin by moving the Maximum Size of Recycle Bin slider
on the Global tab and then click OK. If you're tired of clicking "Yes"
for the message "Are You Sure You Want To Send (file name) To The Recycle
Bin," right-click the Recycle Bin, click Properties, and, in the dialog
box there, remove the checkmark from the "Display Delete Confirmation Dialog"
checkbox, and click OK. If you don't want to the use Recycle Bin at all,
in the Recycle Bin Properties dialog box, check "Do Not Move Files To The
Recycle Bin. Remove Files Immediately When Deleted."
Resize Toolbars Instantly
To get the optimum fit for all the toolbars on your taskbar, double-click
the divider bar to the left of each toolbar. The toolbar instantly resizes
to show all the icons. You may need to double-click the same divider a
couple of times to cycle through the possible arrangements. This tip also
works for the toolbars that share space on the same line of any folder
or Internet Explorer window. If using WinXP, you may have to start by right-clicking
the taskbar or toolbar and then deselecting "Lock the Taskbar" or "Lock
the Toolbars" to unlock these items before resizing them. To relock the
items later, simply reactivate the locking option.
Search Dog
If you aren't happy with the search dog, choose a different character
or delete it by clicking Start, selecting Search, and clicking Change Preferences
in the Search Companion column. From the list of options, click "Without
An Animated Character or With A Different Character," based on your preference.
You can also perform other tweaks, such as turning off balloon tips and
disabling AutoComplete.
Shutdown
To quickly shutdown WinXP, right-click the desktop, choose New, Shortcut,
type shutdown s t 0, and click Next. Now give the shortcut a name, like
Shutdown, and click Finish. The next time you need to shutdown your computer,
click the shortcut icon on your desktop.
In conclusion, it's not easy to stay current with MS' security updates.
Two or three alerts are issued weekly. MS has a free program to remove
some of the confusion. Called the MS Baseline Security Analyzer, it checks
your system for vulnerabilities. It is available for WinXP, but not Win98/Me.
In addition to Windows, it checks Office 2000/2002, Internet Explorer,
and Outlook Express. This program gives you a read out of flaws it finds,
and then recommends corrective action.
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