To set Windows XP to automatically turn your monitor off when your computer isn't being used

1.      Right-click the desktop, and then click Properties.

2.      In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Screen Saver tab. Then, click the Power button.

3.      In the Power Options Properties dialog box, click the Turn off monitor list, and select a time to automatically turn off your monitor. Five minutes is a realistic setting. If you have a portable computer, set the time for both Plugged in and Running on batteries.

4.      Click OK twice.

Windows XP will let your monitor sleep after your computer has been idle for the specified number of minutes. To reactivate your monitor, move your mouse, or press a key. You'll save almost as much power as if you had manually turned your monitor off, but you won't have to press your monitor's power button.

Usually Wi-Fi connection problems are the result of configuration errors, incompatible firmware, or interference with another router. It's easy to fix firmware issues-all you need to do is download the latest firmware for your wireless router from the manufacturer's web site (refer to your wireless routers manual for more information).

  If you've installed the firmware update and still can't connect, your next step is to temporarily disable WEP or WPA (security). If you can connect to the router when security is disabled, check all your WEP settings. You need to use exactly the same key on your router and any machines that connect to it wirelessly. Also make sure the Authentication Type on each of the PCs matches the setting on the router.

  Troubleshooting interference issues is more complex. First, you should change the default channel. Most routers shipped today are set at channel 6 be default, and the sheer traffic can create a lot of interference. You should also uncheck the field that says, "Automatically connect to non-preferred networks".  (There is no advantage to the feature and it can cause your computer to behave erratically if you're in the proximity of the other networks.)  Position your laptop right next to the router and try again.

  If you're still having problems connecting, there may be a hardware problem on your laptop. Check Device Manager and make sure there isn't an exclamation point beside your Wi-Fi device. You should also try connecting to another router that you know works properly. Finally, try connecting to your network using the same settings, but a different brand of Wi-Fi card or adaptor.  If all else fails, contact your router manufacturer's tech support line. You may actually have a faulty router.

Finding programs on your All Programs menu can become difficult if you have a lot of programs installed. When you install new programs, Microsoft Windows XP adds each new item to the end of the All Programs menu. You can, however, quickly sort the items on your All Programs menu in alphabetical order.

To sort items on your All Programs menu alphabetically

1.  Click Start, click All Programs, and then right-click any folder or icon.

2.  On the shortcut menu, click Sort by Name.

That's it! Your programs are instantly alphabetized. Enjoy your newly organized All Programs menu.

This same tip works for your Favorites menu in Internet Explorer. In both cases, you'll probably need to go back periodically and sort the lists again, because Windows XP doesn't automatically keep the list in alphabetical order.

When you first got your computer, it probably had shortcuts for My Computer, My Documents, My Network Places, and the Recycle Bin on the desktop. If you or someone else removed any of those shortcuts and you'd like to get them back, you can easily restore them.

To restore your icons:

1.       Right-click the desktop, and then click Properties.

2.       In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Desktop tab, and then click Customize Desktop.

3.       In the Desktop icons area in the Desktop Items dialog box, select the desktop icons that you want to appear on your desktop.

4.       Click OK.

5.       Click OK again.

The icons you selected will be displayed on your desktop. You can also add shortcuts to your desktop or clean up unused icons on your desktop.

When playing PC games continuously for a long time, the computer randomly crashes or reverts to the desktop.

  Random crashes in games can be the result of a few different problems. Typically, it's heat, a driver, the Windows install, a virus, a software incompatibility, or a problem with the game.

  The first thing you should do is check for a patch for any of your games that are crashing. It seems like common sense, but frequently we receive complaints from people trying to run games that have been patches available but never downloaded. 

  Once you've updated your game, you may need to update your video card and chipset drivers. Download the latest video card driver from the company that manufactured your card's chipset.

  You should also check for newer drivers for your motherboard's chipset whenever you update your video card drivers. Outdated motherboard chipset drivers are one of the main causes of general system instability.

  If you've updated all your hardware, but are still having problems, you may have a heat issue. Open your case and look at your video card. Is there another card right next to it? If there is, you should consider moving that card to another slot. A card directly next to a high-end video card can disrupt airflow enough to cause overheating issues with today's top-of-the-line video cards.

  If freeing the neighboring slot doesn't alleviate your problem, try adding a fan that fits into one of your PCI slots and exhausts hot air from the bottom of your PC. 

Microsoft Windows XP lets you show the contents of folders in a variety of ways, such as a simple or detailed list of the files, or as thumbnail images. Each folder in My Computer or My Documents can have its own view. That's useful for folders like My Music or My Pictures, because you can look at your digital photos in Thumbnails or Filmstrip view, and see your song titles in Tiles view. But changing the view for every folder can be time-consuming.

If you prefer to have all your folder contents displayed in a particular way, you can save yourself some time by changing the view for all the folders on your computer at once.

To set your windows so they all have the same view

1.       Click Start, and then click My Documents.

2.       Click the Views button, and then click the view you want to apply to all folders.

3.       Click Tools, and then click Folder Options.

4.       Click the View tab, and then click Apply to All Folders.

5.       Click Yes.

6.       Click OK.

The next time you open a folder, it will be displayed using the view you chose. To restore your original folder settings, repeat steps 1-3. Then, in step 4, click Reset All Folders.

I have gone through many browsers in my lifetime of IT. From Lynx to Mosaic to Mozilla to Netscape to Firefox to Internet Explorer to Safari to Flock. But there’s another browser that peeks its head in and out of that cycle — Opera. Opera is a browser that gets little press in the battle for Internet supremacy. But it’s a browser that is making huge waves in other arenas (Can you say “mobile”?) and is always a steady player in the browser market.

  But why would you want to use a browser that gets little love in the market? I will give you 10 good reasons.

Note: This information is also available as a PDF download.

#1: Speed

  It seems no matter how many leaps and bounds Firefox and Internet Explorer make, Opera is always able to render pages faster. In both cold and warm starts, Opera beats both Firefox and Internet explorer. We’re not talking about a difference the naked eye is incapable of seeing. The speed difference is actually noticeable. So if you are a speed junky, and most of you are, you should be using Opera for this reason alone.

#2: Speed Dial

  Speed Dial is one of those features that generally steals the show with browsers. It’s basically a set of visual bookmarks on one page. To add a page to Speed Dial, you simply click on an empty slot in the Speed Dial page and enter the information. When you have a full page of Speed Dial bookmarks, you can quickly go to the page you want by clicking the related image. For even faster browsing, you can click the Ctrl + * key combination (Where * is the number 1-9 associated with your page as assigned in Speed Dial).

#3: Widgets

  Opera Widgets are like Firefox extensions on steroids. Widgets are what the evolution of the Web is all about — little Web-based applications you can run from inside (or, in some cases, outside) your browser. Some of the widgets are useful (such as the  Touch The Sky international weather applet) and some are just fun (such as the Sim Aquarium.) They are just as easy to install as Firefox extensions.

#4: Wand

  Save form information and/or passwords with this handy tool. Every time you fill out a form or a password, the Wand will ask you if you want to save the information. When you save information (say a form), a yellow border will appear around the form. The next time you need to fill out that form, click on the Wand button or click Ctrl + Enter, and the information will automatically be filled out for you.

#5: Notes

  Have you ever been browsing and wanted to take notes on a page or site (or about something totally unrelated to your Web browsing)? Opera comes complete with a small Notes application that allows you to jot down whatever you need to jot down. To access Note, click on the Tools menu and then click on Notes. The tool itself is incredibly simple to use and equally as handy.

#6: BitTorrent

  Yes it is true, Opera has a built-in BitTorrent protocol. And the built-in BitTorrent client is simple to use: Click on a Torrent link, and a dialog will open asking you where you want to download the file. The Torrent client is enabled by default, so if your company doesn’t allow Torrenting, you should probably disable this feature. Note: When downloading Torrents, you will continue to share content until you either stop the download or close the browser.

#7: Display modes

  Another unique-to-Opera feature is its display modes, which allows you to quickly switch between Fit To Width and Full Screen mode. Fit To Width mode adjusts the page size to the available screen space while using flexible reformatting. Full Screen mode gives over the entire screen space to browsing. In this mode, you drop all menus and toolbars, leaving only context menus, mouse gestures, and keyboard shortcuts. The latter mode is especially good for smaller screens.

#8: Quick Preferences

  The Quick Preferences menu is one of those features the power user will really appreciate. I am quite often using it to enable/disable various features, and not having to open up the Preferences window makes for a much quicker experience. From this menu, you can alter preferences for pop-ups, images, Java/JavaScript, plug-ins, cookies, and proxies. This is perfect when you are one of those users who block cookies all the time, until a site comes along where you want to enable cookies.

#9: Mouse Gestures

  This feature tends to  bother most keyboard junkies (those who can’t stand to move their fingers from the keyboard.) But Mouse Gestures is a built-in feature that applies certain actions to specific mouse movements (or actions). For example, you can go back a page by holding down the right mouse button and clicking the left mouse button. This is pretty handy on a laptop, where using the track pad can take more time than you probably want to spend on navigation. But even for those who prefer to keep their hands on the keys and not the mouse, the feature can still save time. Instead of having to get to the mouse, move the mouse to the toolbar, and click a button, you simply have to get your hands to the mouse and make the gesture for the action to take place. Of course, this does require the memorization of the gestures.

#10: Session saving

  I love this feature. All too many times, I have needed to close a browser window but didn’t want to lose a page. To keep from losing the page, I would keep a temporary bookmark file where I could house these bookmarks. But with Opera, that’s history. If you have a page (or number of pages) you want to save, you just go to the File menu and then the Sessions submenu and click Save This Session. The next time you open Opera, the same tabs will open. You can also manage your saved sessions so that you can save multiple sessions and delete selected sessions.

The upshot

  With just the above list, you can see how easily Opera separates itself from the rest of the crowd. It’s a different beast in the Web browsing space. It’s fast, stable, and cross platform, and it contains many features other browsers can’t touch.

Source:

Jack Wallen

Jade shows you how to use your ipod as a hard drive.

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Submitted by Jade Gordon