First steps

Posted on 11 Mar 2008 at 12:01

1. Create homepage tabs

Both Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox allow you to have more than one homepage. Simply navigate to Tools | Internet Options (press Alt to bring up the old-style menu in Internet Explorer) and where the URL of your current homepage is entered, hit Enter and type as many URLs as you want. Each new line means a new tab, so you'll have pages of material to read each time your browser starts. Why not try www.pcpro.co.uk!

2. Run Windows Update

You might think Windows Update only grabs a handful of essential security updates once in a blue moon, but it's a really useful utility if your PC is misbehaving. Not only should Windows Update be turned on and set to automatically install, but there's even more at www.windowsupdate.com, where essential software updates are available, including optional but invaluable downloads such as hardware drivers. In Vista, the process is fully integrated into the Windows Update control panel.

3. Defragment your hard disk

One Windows time-saving tip is as true under Vista as it was with XP, 98, 95 and beyond: defragment your hard disk. Although the icon that represents a file makes everything look tidy, the actual data may be spread in thousands of random sections of a disk. Defragging will move all files to contiguous segments of memory, speeding up access times and reducing the wait when you open or save files. You can schedule it to run at night, or in the background, so you don't have to waste time during your work day. Both XP and Vista have a defragmenter built in. Type defrag in the Start Search box in Vista and head to All Programs | Accessories | System Tools to find it in XP.

4. Tidy your desktop

Make it easier to find files on your desktop by setting your PC to auto- arrange files in name, size, type or modification date order. In XP, right-click on the desktop and ensure auto-arrange is checked under Arrange Icons By. In Vista, right-click and choose Sort By. You can also reduce desktop clutter by organising and storing files neatly in Documents (My Documents in XP) and placing shortcuts to your most-used folders on the desktop.

5. Uninstall unused programs

Over time, your hard disk's free space will dwindle. This is partly down to the number of redundant or temporary files on it, but having lots of unused applications on your system is bad news as well. Not only will your old applications be passively occupying hard disk space, they'll be actively slowing down your PC because many load up "optimisations" at startup. Spend some time in the Add/Remove Programs console of the Control Panel to help free your hard disk and RAM.

6. Turn on System Restore

Windows' System Restore feature is invaluable when installing programs or making significant changes to your PC. Found in Control Panel | System Properties (System | System Protection in Vista), System Restore is enabled by default, and you can choose the amount of hard disk space it consumes. It will then store images of your system at regular intervals - or before major changes - allowing you to restore your system should anything go awry.

7. Use the Quick Launch toolbar

The Quick Launch toolbar (right-click on the taskbar and make sure Quick Launch is ticked on the Toolbars option) is great for launching frequently used applications. To remove an icon, right-click it; to add one, drag an application shortcut onto it. And there'san accompanying crafty shortcut in Vista - Windows + 1 opens the first application on the menu, Windows + 2 the second, and so on.