AWOL Windows - Tips & Tricks Resolution, color depth & refresh rate Background color Service packs Disk cleanup (cleanmgr) Disk defragmentation
AWOL Windows Resolution, Color Depth & Refresh Rate The main goal here is to get things as clear and as good looking as possible. If you have an LCD (flat screen) monitor then you should match the resolution to that of the monitor. If you have an older CRT monitor then you need to pick one of the resolutions that it supports (there will be several) AND make the refresh rate as high as it supports. You will be able to tell if you went too high as you will get a blank screen. Do not worry it will reset to the previous setting in 10 seconds.
AWOL Windows Resolution, Color Depth & Refresh Rate Right click on the desktop & you will see:
AWOL Windows Resolution, Color Depth & Refresh Rate Select Properties & then Settings & you will see:
AWOL Windows Resolution, Color Depth & Refresh Rate Click Advanced & you will see:
AWOL Windows Background Color The reason to change your background color is to reduce eye strain by removing the staring into a flashlight effect. With a mostly white background the monitor you are looking at is producing a significant amount of light which you are staring at. Picture what it looks like if someone is working on a computer in a darkened room. It looks like they are staring into a flashlight. This can cause eye strain.
AWOL Windows Background Color Right click on the desktop & you will see:
AWOL Windows Background Color Select Properties & then Appearance & you will see:
AWOL Windows Background Color Select Advanced & you will see:
AWOL Windows Service Packs In general it is a good idea to stay current with your software but it is especially important to do so with Windows (and your anti-virus software for that matter) If you are on Windows XP you really should be on at least Service Pack 2 (SP 3 contains everything in SP 2 and then some) If you are on Windows 7 then you should get Service Pack 1 If you are on Vista then Get Out
AWOL Windows Service Packs Right click on My Computer and select Properties
AWOL Windows Service Packs You will see a window similar to this that tells you what Service Packs you have as well as CPU and memory information.
AWOL Windows Disk Cleanup The reason for running the disk cleanup utility is that it will remove junk that has been left over on you computer over time & save space. This includes items such as: Temporary Setup Files Downloaded Program Files Temporary Internet Files (not your personalized settings for Web pages which it leaves intact) Old Chkdsk Files Recycle Bin (you may not want to empty this and if not simply deselect it) Temporary Files For a full list of what it can remove for you please see: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315246
AWOL Windows Disk Cleanup There are several ways to run this utility. The quickest & easiest is to select Run from the Start menu, enter CleanMgr & click OK.
AWOL Windows Disk Cleanup You will see a screen asking which disk you want to clean up. Most likely it will be you C disk which is typically the main one.
AWOL Windows Disk Cleanup CleanMgr will run and present you with a screen allowing you to select what it should remove and telling you how much space you would save. Select the options you want & click OK. Please note that at the bottom of the list you have the option to tell it to compress old files that have not been used in a long time. This will not remove the files but rather compress them to save space.
AWOL Windows Disk Defragmentation The purpose to defragmenting is two fold: increase the speed with which your computer is able to retrieve information & reduce the amount of work that your hard disk most do. Over time, due to many file creations, deletes & updates, a disk becomes fragmented and is forced to store information in smaller & smaller junks in an ever increasing number of places. It is recommended that you first delete any & all files that you no longer need before doing this. Also please note that depending on how large & fragmented your disk is this could take a long time to run.
AWOL Windows Disk Defragmentation There are several ways to run this utility. The quickest & easiest is to select Run from the Start menu, enter DFrg.msc & click OK.
AWOL Windows Disk Defragmentation You will next see a screen that presents you with the hard disks on your computer and allows you to select which one you want to either analyze or defragment.
AWOL Windows Disk Defragmentation Use the analyze choice to get a quick view of how badly your disk is fragmented and a recommendation if you should defragment. Regardless of the recommendation you can chose to either defragment or not.