Author: Rick

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Missing Vista Recycle Bin

I recently saw a McLean, Virginia, customer’s new laptop with Vista that did not have the recycle bin (trash can) on the desktop by default. She couldn’t find it in the program list or by doing a search for “recycle bin”. Here’s how to get it back.

Right click on the desktop, then choose Personalize. On the left side menu, you should click Change desktop icons.

This will show you the desktop items that you can have appear. Most people will want Computer, Recycle Bin, and User’s Files checked off so that they are easily accessible from the desktop.

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Speed Up Windows XP

Most people who ask me for computer support eventually need one of their computers to just be faster.

There are many cases where optimizing Windows for speed is useful. For slower machines (less than 1.3Ghz) or those with only a little RAM (512MB or less), these tips can allow applications to work faster.

PC Decrapifier

If you have a new PC with lots of bloatware (programs that are unneeded that Dell and others are often paid to include), consider running PC Decrapifier first. This runs a batch script to remove applications. It is free for personal use.

Add Remove Programs

While just removing programs that are on your hard drive does not speed up a computer, it is a good practice and will help if those programs auto-start. It also helps if you are very low on disk space. To remove programs, go to Add Remove Programs (Start – System – Add Remove Programs).

MSCONFIG

MSCONFIG allows control over many startup options. Be sure to only modify options if you understand what you are doing because you can accidentally disable needed Windows functions here. To reach MSCONFIC click Start, then Run, then type msconfig. From there you have a menu that will allow you to turn off startup items.

Startup Items Folder

The startup items folder (Programs – Startup) also lists items that will start up automatically. If you have applications such as AOL, MS Office, or music programs that you use but do not need to always have running, you can remove them here to save your active memory for other applications. Often applications will have helper programs that allow MS Office or iTunes, for example, to start up faster. If you don’t use those applications much, you can remove the applications from the startup folder.

Appearance

You can remove visual effects such as animating windows and having shadows under menus.

Click Start – Control Panel – System – Advanced tab – Performance Settings

From here you can adjust the computer for best performance or remove individual performance options

Desktop Wallpaper

If you have a picture background, you can replace it with a solid color background for a very small performance improvement.

To change your wallpaper or background image:

Right-click on the desktop, click Properties, Desktop tab

Disable Microsoft Messenger

Microsoft Messenger, in addition to taking up memory, can be a conduit for viruses. Messenger is not easy to remove and will attempt to launch when you run Outlook. I recommend using Steve Gilmore’s Shoot The Messenger application to disable Messenger.

Defragment the Hard Drive

Disk defragmenting can be useful when your computer has been used for a while and files are no longer in their optimal location on the disk. You can reach the Disk Deframenter here:

Start – Programs – Accessories – System Tools – Disk Defragmenter

Clean Install

Over time, Windows does become slower. And no matter what you do to clean it up, it may not be as fast as it was originally. So a fresh install may be the only real practical solution once your computer has been used for a long period of time with many programs having been installed over that period.

You will want to back up all of your documents and favorites from your browser before wiping out your system.

Add RAM

If you have 512MB or 1GB of RAM, adding RAM can be helpful depending on how many and what kind of programs you tend to run. Click CTRL-ALT-DELETE and then the Performance tab. From here you can see the physical memory available compared to how much total memory that you have.

Make sure to check how much memory your computer can physically see. This is a limitation of the motherboard and BIOS.

Also, XP’s standard 32-bit installation can only read a total of 3GB of RAM. The less popular 64-bit version, also known as x64 version, can use up to 128GB of RAM.

Buy a New Computer

Okay, this isn’t a very technical solution. But keep in mind that businesses typically replace computers every 3-4 years because beyond this point it is a better business decision to have a faster and more easily maintained computer. So if your computer is old, then consider that purchasing a new computer might be a better use of your time and money. A decent computer costs $500-$1500 depending on your needs. If you do decide that you need a new computer, be sure to properly recycle your old computer.

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Computer Recycling in the D.C. Area

While we are shopping for the holidays, we should remember to recycle our old electronics. This article covers recycling information and locations for the Virginia, D.C., and Maryland area.

Dangers of Computer Waste

Old computers and monitors have harmful materials that can seep into the ground water and air if thrown in your normal trash. The cadmium and mercury in displays can damage the nervous system. Computers also may contain lead (causing birth defects and learning disabilities) and CFCs (destroying the ozone layer).

Donations

If you have a working computer, you can get rid of it through:

  1. Craigslist (Washington D.C. metro area) has sections for selling or giving away free stuff.
  2. Freecycle is a free program to give people items for reuse. They have groups everywhere, including, Washington D.C., Virginia, and Maryland.
  3. D.C. Goodwill accepts computers that are not more than 5 years old. They will not take CRT monitors, the older large monitors that have been replaced by LCDs.

Recycling Computers and eWaste

The easiest way to recycle an old computer is to do it with the purchase of a new computer. Apple, Dell, HP, Sony, Toshiba and others have a corporate recycling program that allows you to give them your old computer after buying your new computer.

This image shows the Free Recycling Kit option that Dell provides in their services customization when you buy a new computer.

Drop-off Locations for Computers and other eWaste

The EPA eCycling site is the closest thing to a definitive set of inks to eCycling programs across the country. Below are the best links I found to the D.C. area programs:

Washington D.C.

DC Free Electronic Disposal Sites:
DPW (Department of Public Works) offers free, weekly Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) and electronic recycling (e-cycling) drop-off service at the Benning Road Trash Transfer Station, 3200 Benning Road, NE, and at the Ft. Totten Trash Transfer Station, 4900 Bates Road, NE, each Saturday from 8 am to 3 pm.

Virginia

Arlington, VA HAZMAT Program:
Arlington residential households can recycle computers and other electronic items at the County’s HHM drop off sites.

Virginia Department of Environment Computers and Electronics Recycling, List of Virginia Collections Centers

Maryland

Maryland Department of Environment Electronic Recycling Collection Events and Locations:
Montgomery Country Shady Grove Transfer Station and Recycling Center

Ink Cartridges

Ink cartridges can be dropped off at Micro Center in Fairfax, Virginia. Office supply stores such as Staples, Office Max, and Office Depot take used toner cartridges and sometimes even give you credit toward a store purchase for dropping them off.

Cell Phones

Cell phones can be dropped off at cell phone stores. Working phones can also be donated to women’s shelters. Unactivated phones still have the ability to call 911 so they can be useful.

Recycling Can Be Easy

With many recycling options, you can easily dispose of your electronics safely.

Please let us know if you have any corrections or additions to this post.

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Acer Aspire One running Windows Vista

The Acer Aspire One is a fun little netbook, but it’s just not fast enough to run Windows Vista. That’s why Windows XP was included instead of Vista. Right? Well, I put that to the test and found that by modifying Vista as I described earlier, Vista runs great on the Aspire One.

It actually ran more fluidly than Windows XP did. I attribute that mainly to Vista’s support of:

  1. the Atom chipset’s hyperthreading. XP Home does not take full advantage of the chipset.
  2. ReadyBoost, a Vista feature that uses a flash drive to cache and speed up random reads that would otherwise go to the hard drive.

See this video of my Aspire One showing the speed of opening several applications:

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12 Ways to Speed Up and Slim Down Windows Vista

Windows Vista is a much maligned operating system, mainly because people say it:

  1. is slower than Windows XP
  2. has a silly security system requiring multiple clicks just to delete a file
  3. looks bad with all the Aero effects

While Microsoft is working to fix these and other problems in Windows 7, these problems can also be fixed today for most people by following these modifications

Note: Only make the changes that you understand and feel comfortable with. Also, if you already have a fast machine there is no need for most of these changes.

1. Turn off Windows Features

Turn off unneeded features by going to:

Start – Control Panel – Uninstall a Program (Under Programs) – Turn Windows Features on or off (on left Task panel)

From here, you can uncheck everything you would like to. On my system, I deleted everything except:

  • Some of the games
  • XPS Viewer (under .NET Framework 3.0)
  • Remote Differential Compression (a network optimizer)
  • Windows Ultimate Extras

2. Consider Disabling Security Center

Security Center is useful, but if you have a firewall, antivirus software, and you are comfortable with the idea, you can disable the Security Center. Open the Security Center from the System Tray in the bottom right. Then click Change the way Security Center alerts me on the left pane. Then select the last option, Don’t notify me and don’t display the icon (not recommended). To finish disabling security center, follow the instructions below in services.msc.

3. Disable Services in services.msc

Services.msc shows you all the services that can run on the computer. Go to:

Start

Then type in the text area (where it says Start Search) services.msc and hit Enter

Services are under the Startup Type categories:

  • Automatic – service starts when Windows starts.
  • Manual – service starts when Windows detects that something needs it.
  • Disabled – service doesn’t start at all.

You can look for automatic services and change them to manual or disabled. Right click and choose Properties for the option to change the Startup Type. TweakHound has a Vista Services Guide listing the services and what they are used for.

This is the list of services that most people can disable:

  • Computer Browser
  • Distributed Link Tracking Client
  • IKE and AuthIP IP Keying Modules
  • Offline Files
  • Remote Registry
  • Tablet PC Input Service (unless you’re using a tablet PC)
  • Windows Error Reporting

Other services to consider diabling include:

  • DFS Replication
  • Distributed Link Tracking Client
  • IP Helper
  • IPsec Policy Agent
  • KtmRm for Distributed Transaction Coordinator
  • Secondary Logon
  • Security Center (as noted in the above Consider Disabling Security Center)
  • SSDP Discovery
  • Terminal Services
  • Windows Defender

Be sure to NOT disable:

  • Multimedia Class Scheduler
  • Plug and Play
  • Superfetch
  • Task Scheduler
  • Windows Audio
  • Windows Driver Foundation

4. Remove System Tray and msconfig items

Go to the system tray in the bottom right and remove programs that you do not need to be running, or at least remove their system tray portions if you do not need them. This is often available in the application preferences or options. You can also remove services and system tray items by typing in the start bar (where it says Start Search) msconfig and hit Enter

Each of the tabs show startup items that you can edit. There are usually items like iTunes helper, Quicktime, and AOL that are listed here. Even if you use those programs, you may not want them to start up automatically if you use those programs less frequently. They typically allow an app to start up more quickly, but at the price of always running and taking up computer resources.

5. Update your drivers

Device drivers are often updated for motherboards, chipsets, graphics. You can get a boost in performance by checking your drivers for updates. Go to:

Start – Control Panel – Hardware and Sound – View hardware and devices (under Device Manager)

From there you can right click on devices and select Update Driver Software.

6. Use ReadyBoost

ReadyBoost is a feature that uses a flash drive (thumb drive) or memory card (SD card or other) for caching data so that it does not need to be read from the hard drive. Microsoft recommends using a drive one to three times the size of the system RAM. So if you have 2GB of RAM, use a ReadyBoost flash drive of 2GB to 8GB in size.

ReadyBoost is particularly useful if you have a small amount of RAM (512MB – 1GB).

Hard drives are great for large sequential I/O. For those situations, ReadyBoost gets out of the way. ReadyBoost concentrates on improving the performance of small, random I/Os, like paging to and from disk.

7. Remove Transparency

Personally, I find the transparent bars at the top of Windows ugly. They also take up video processing resources.

Go to:
Right-click on the desktop, Personalize, Windows Color and Appearance. Uncheck Transparency

8. Stop the Sidebar

While pretty, the Sidebar takes up memory. Right-click on the sidebar, select Properties, uncheck Start Sidebar When Windows Starts. To get the sidebar back, type sidebar into the start bar.

9 . Shoot the Aero

I prefer Windows Vista Basic to the Aero visual effects. Aero also puts a heavy hit on the computer’s video resources.

To remove Aero, right-click on the desktop, select Personalize, and then Windows Color and Appearance. Click Open Classic Appearance Properties and choose a theme in the Scheme list.

10. Run occasional Defrags

Disk deframenting still helps computers that have been used for some time. But Vista is scheduled to defrag every week. You should defragment whenever you want and turn off the scheduled defrags. Type defrag into the Start area and hit Enter.

11. Turn off Anti-Virus

Yes, it’s a little dangerous. But removing antivirus software, especially standards such as Norton and McAfee will free a lot of resources.

12. Use Vista

Over time, Vista’s speed should improve as it learns how you use it, through a system called Superfetch. This takes often used files and moves them to the outer edge of the disk because the outer edge of the disk is the fastest part. Vista does this by default.