posted on 28 Aug 2008 13:39 by computertips in WindowsTips
Would you rather not have to log on after your computer starts? If you’re the only person who uses your computer, you can make life a little easier by skipping the Welcome screen completely and having Microsoft Windows XP take you straight to your desktop.
To automatically log on to Windows XP upon startup
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Click Start, and then click Run.
Note: Remember your user name at the top of the Start menu, because you’ll need it later.
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In the Open box, type control userpasswords2 and click OK.
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Clear the Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer check box. Click OK.
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4.
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Click the User name box, type the user name that was displayed on the Start menu in step 1. If you normally type a password to log on, type your password in both the Password and Confirm Password boxes. Otherwise, leave these boxes blank. Click OK.
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Auto logon now allows anyone to start and use your computer without typing a password.
Note: Keep in mind that you should not enable auto logon if you need privacy for any files on your computer. If you need to maintain privacy, create separate user accounts for everyone in your home, and protect your account with a password.
posted on 28 Aug 2008 13:02 by computertips in WindowsTips
If you have more than one computer running Microsoft Windows XP connected to your home network, you can share folders between them so you can open files on one computer even if they’re stored on another. To make it easier to connect to a shared folder, you can add a Map Drive button to your Windows Explorer toolbar. This button provides a fast link to the shared folder.
To add a Map Drive button
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Click Start, and then click My Computer.
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Right-click the toolbar, and then click Customize.
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The Customize Toolbar dialog box appears. In the Available toolbar buttons list, click Map Drive, and then click Add. To be able to remove mapped drives using a toolbar button, select Disconnect, and then click Add.
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4.
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Click Close.
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The Map Drive button appears on your toolbar. To map a network drive, click the Map Drive toolbar button. The toolbar button has exactly the same effect as clicking the Tools menu and then clicking Map Network Drive.
For more information about customizing toolbars, read Change your toolbars.
posted on 28 Aug 2008 12:47 by computertips in WindowsTips
Backing up your important files regularly is the key to recovering from a serious system failure. And, with Microsoft Windows XP, the most effective way to back up your computer is to copy your files to an external hard drive using Windows Backup. Before you back up your computer for the first time, you'll want to be sure your external hard drive is formatted with the New Technology File System (NTFS).
There are two ways to enable NTFS on your external hard drive: you can format it or convert it. If you have not yet copied any files on your external drive, you should format it with NTFS. Formatting is preferable to converting because it will make the drive run faster, among other benefits. Formatting a hard drive permanently removes all files, so you should not format the drive if you have saved anything on it (without making a copy of the files first). If you don't want to overwrite the data, you should convert the drive to NTFS instead.
Note: File systems define how your computer writes (or saves) files to a hard drive. Windows XP supports two file systems for external drives: FAT32 and NTFS. External hard drives typically come formatted with the FAT32 file system because it is compatible with earlier versions of Windows. However, the NTFS file system is superior to the FAT32 file system in many ways. Most importantly, NTFS can support files larger than 4 GB in size, which provides plenty of room for your backups.
Format a backup drive with NTFS
Before you begin, connect your external hard drive.
To format the drive with NTFS
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Log on to your computer as an administrator.
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Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.
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Under Storage, click Disk Management.
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If the Initialize and Convert Disk Wizard appears, click Next. If the wizard does not appear, skip to step 8.
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On the Select Disks to Initialize page, click Next.
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On the Select Disks to Convert page, click Next.
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On the Completing the Initialize and Convert Disk Wizard page, click Finish.
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Right-click your external drive (which will probably be drive E or drive F), and then click Format.
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In the Format dialog box, type a name for your external hard drive, such as Backup Drive. Then, click OK.
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Click OK again.
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Windows XP formats your external hard drive. Within a few minutes, your drive will be ready for you to use.
Convert a backup drive to NTFS
If you have already copied files to your external hard drive, and you don't want to delete them, you can convert your hard drive to NTFS.
To convert an external drive to NTFS
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Log on to your computer as an administrator.
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Click Start, right-click My Computer.
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In the My Computer window, make a note of the drive letter and label assigned to your external drive. Usually, the drive letter will be E or F. The drive letter will not be C (that's the hard drive inside your computer). The label is the word between the drive picture and the drive letter. Some drives may not have a label.
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Click Start, click Run, and then type convert drive_letter: /fs:ntfs
For example, if your external drive is drive E, you would type convert E: /fs:ntfs
Then, click OK.
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A command window appears. Type the label for your external drive, and then press ENTER. If your drive does not have a label, just press ENTER.
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If a message warns you that the volume is in use by another process, close any other open windows. Then, press Y and then ENTER.
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Windows XP converts your external drive to NTFS. When the conversion is done, the window automatically closes. Your drive is ready for your backups.
posted on 28 Aug 2008 11:51 by computertips in WindowsTips
Computers, like any appliance, can break down or fail. To protect your important files from computer failure, you should make backup copies of your files. Each edition of Microsoft Windows XP—except Windows XP Home Edition—includes Windows Backup, a program that helps you save your files to an external disk. If you use Windows XP Home Edition, you can manually install Windows Backup.
To manually install Windows Backup
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Insert your Windows XP CD into your CD drive. If Windows XP Setup does not appear after several seconds, open My Computer, right-click your CD drive, and then click AutoPlay.
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In the Welcome to Microsoft Windows XP window, click Perform additional tasks.
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Click Browse this CD.
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Double-click VALUEADD, double-click MSFT, and then double-click NTBACKUP to open the \VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP folder.
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In the NTBACKUP folder, double-click NTBACKUP.
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After setup is complete, click Finish.
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You can now start Windows Backup by clicking Start, pointing to All Programs, pointing to Accessories, pointing to System Tools, and then clicking Backup. For more information about protecting your files from computer failure, read Back up your files.
posted on 28 Aug 2008 11:47 by computertips in WindowsTips
Do you have a folder that you'd like to be able to open quickly and easily whenever you want? If you create a keyboard shortcut for that folder, you can open it anytime by pressing a key combination, no matter which other programs you have open.
To create a keyboard shortcut to open a folder
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Click on Start, All Programs, Accessories, and then click Windows Explorer.
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In Windows Explorer (the program that appears when you open folders such as My Computer, My Documents, My Pictures, or My Music), right-click the folder to which you want instant access, click Send To, and then click Desktop.
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On your desktop, right-click the new shortcut, and then click Properties.
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On the Shortcut tab, click in the Shortcut key box. Now press the letter on your keyboard that you want to use to open the folder.
Note: In the Shortcut key box, Microsoft Windows XP automatically adds CTRL+ALT before the key you press, because to use the shortcut to open a folder, you have to hold down both the CTRL and ALT keys simultaneously, while pressing the letter you chose. This way, your folder won't open every time you type that letter.
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Click OK.
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Now test your shortcut. Hold down the CTRL and ALT keys, and then press the letter you chose.
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This tip can be applied to folders, programs, and text file shortcuts that are placed on the desktop. For more keyboard shortcuts, read Tired of chasing your mouse? Use keyboard shortcuts
