Computer Tips & Tricks

6) Remove Hibernation File
If you do not use hibernation, make sure you do not have it enabled, which reserves disk space equal to your RAM. If you have a hidden file on the root directory of your C-drive called hiberfil.sys, hibernation is enabled. To remove that file:

Go to Control Panel, select Performance and Maintenance, Power Options, Hibernate tab, and uncheck the Enable hibernation box.

7) Change Drive Letters in Windows XP
When you add drives to your computer, such as an extra hard drive, a CD drive, or a storage device that corresponds to a drive, Windows automatically assigns letters to the drives. However, this assignment might not suit your system; for example, you might have mapped a network drive to the same letter that Windows assigns to a new drive. When you want to change drive letters, follow these steps:

• Right-click My Computer, and then click Manage.
• Under Computer Management, click Disk Management. In the right pane, you’ll see your drives listed. CD-ROM drives are listed at the bottom of the pane.
• Right-click the drive or device you want to change, and then click Change Drive Letter and Paths.
• Click Change, click Assign the following drive letter, click the drive letter you want to assign, and then click OK.

8) Do Not Highlight Newly Installed Programs
Tired of that annoying little window that pops up to tell you that new software is installed? If it gets in the way when you’re logging off, turn it off completely. To do this:

• Click Start, right-click at the top of the Start menu where your name is displayed, and then click Properties.
• In the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box, on the Start Menu tab, click Customize.
• Click the Advanced tab, and then clear the Highlight newly installed programs check box.
• Click OK, and then click OK again.

9) Change the Default Opening Folder in Windows Explorer
By default, Windows Explorer opens showing the My Documents folder. To change the default setting so that all top–level drives and folders are shown, follow these steps:

• Click Start > Programs > Accessories, then right–click Windows Explorer, and click Properties.
• Under Target field, which reads %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe, add to make the line read:
• %SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /n, /e, /select, C:\
• Click OK.

10) Identify a 16-bit Program
Use Windows Explorer to open the folder that contains the program's executable (.exe) file.

• Right-click the .exe file, and then click Properties.
• A 16-bit program does not have a Version tab in this dialog box.