ok m8s,
any of you that do websites and like to open .html and similar files in notepad to edit scrpits, this is THE coolest windows registry edit everyou can download the zip file with the .reg in it (run it and it automatically adds itself to your registry) or do it manually CODEhttp://www.geocities.com/ichbindeingott5/winXP-Notepad.zip
Manually: regedit and navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\*\Shell
add the key "notepad"
it's default value should be "Open with Notepad"now, under "notepad", add the key "Command"it's default value should be (with the quotes) "C:\Windows\System32\Notepad.exe" "%1"
ok, exit regedit and go right click on ANY file...your new option: Open with Notepad
HOW BADASS IS THAT?!?!?!?I FOUND THIS ONE ON MY OWN!!!!!!
i know this one works on XP and 2000, you can PROBABLY enter it manually on windows 9x, but i have not tested that

Beep Code Manual

Beep Code Manual, Better Than Gold Techies, American Megatrends Int. & Phoenix
(I'm IT, I use these codes to trouble shoot hardware issues at my job. Enjoy) cold.gif
BIOS Beep Codes
When a computer is first turned on, or rebooted, its BIOS performs a power-on self test (POST) to test the system's hardware, checking to make sure that all of the system's hardware components are working properly. Under normal circumstances, the POST will display an error message; however, if the BIOS detects an error before it can access the video card, or if there is a problem with the video card, it will produce a series of beeps, and the pattern of the beeps indicates what kind of problem the BIOS has detected.Because there are many brands of BIOS, there are no standard beep codes for every BIOS.

The two most-used brands are AMI (American Megatrends International) and Phoenix.

Below are listed the beep codes for AMI systems, and here are the beep codes for Phoenix systems.

AMI Beep Codes

Beep Code Meaning

1 beep DRAM refresh failure. There is a problem in the system memory or the motherboard.

2 beeps Memory parity error. The parity circuit is not working properly.

3 beeps Base 64K RAM failure. There is a problem with the first 64K of system memory.

4 beeps System timer not operational. There is problem with the timer(s) that control functions on the motherboard.

5 beeps Processor failure. The system CPU has failed.

6 beeps Gate A20/keyboard controller failure. The keyboard IC controller has failed, preventing gate A20 from switching the processor to protect mode.

7 beeps Virtual mode exception error.

8 beeps Video memory error. The BIOS cannot write to the frame buffer memory on the video card.

9 beeps ROM checksum error. The BIOS ROM chip on the motherboard is likely faulty.

10 beeps CMOS checksum error. Something on the motherboard is causing an error when trying to interact with the CMOS.

11 beeps Bad cache memory. An error in the level 2 cache memory.

1 long beep, 2 short Failure in the video system.

1 long beep, 3 short A failure has been detected in memory above 64K.

1 long beep, 8 short Display test failure.

Continuous beeping A problem with the memory or video.

BIOS Beep Codes

Phoenix Beep Codes

Phoenix uses sequences of beeps to indicate problems. The "-" between each number below indicates a pause between each beep sequence. For example, 1-2-3 indicates one beep, followed by a pause and two beeps, followed by a pause and three beeps. Phoenix version before 4.x use 3-beep codes, while Phoenix versions starting with 4.x use 4-beep codes. Click here for AMI BIOS beep codes.

4-Beep Codes

Beep Code Meaning

1-1-1-3 Faulty CPU/motherboard. Verify real mode.

1-1-2-1 Faulty CPU/motherboard.

1-1-2-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

1-1-3-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. Initialize chipset registers with initial POST values.

1-1-3-2 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

1-1-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components. Initialize CPU registers.

1-1-3-2

1-1-3-3

1-1-3-4 Failure in the first 64K of memory.

1-1-4-1 Level 2 cache error.

1-1-4-3 I/O port error.

1-2-1-1 Power management error.

1-2-1-2

1-2-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

1-2-2-1 Keyboard controller failure.

1-2-2-3 BIOS ROM error.

1-2-3-1 System timer error.

1-2-3-3 DMA error.

1-2-4-1 IRQ controller error.

1-3-1-1 DRAM refresh error.

1-3-1-3 A20 gate failure.

1-3-2-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

1-3-3-1 Extended memory error.

1-3-3-3

1-3-4-11-3-4-3 Error in first 1MB of system memory.

1-4-1-3

1-4-2-4 CPU error.

1-4-3-1

2-1-4-1 BIOS ROM shadow error.

1-4-3-2

1-4-3-3 Level 2 cache error.

1-4-4-11-4-4-22-1-1-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

2-1-1-3

2-1-2-1 IRQ failure.

2-1-2-3 BIOS ROM error.

2-1-2-4

2-1-3-2 I/O port failure.

2-1-3-1

2-1-3-3 Video system failure.

2-1-1-3

2-1-2-1 IRQ failure.

2-1-2-3 BIOS ROM error.

2-1-2-4 I/O port failure.

2-1-4-3

2-2-1-1 Video card failure.

2-2-1-3

2-2-2-12-2-2-3 Keyboard controller failure.

2-2-3-1 IRQ error.

2-2-4-1 Error in first 1MB of system memory.

2-3-1-12-3-3-3 Extended memory failure.

2-3-2-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

2-3-2-3

2-3-3-1 Level 2 cache error.

2-3-4-1

2-3-4-3 Motherboard or video card failure.

2-3-4-12-3-4-32-4-1-1 Motherboard or video card failure.

2-4-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

2-4-2-1 RTC error.

2-4-2-3 Keyboard controller error.

2-4-4-1 IRQ error.

3-1-1-13-1-1-33-1-2-13-1-2-3 I/O port error.

3-1-3-13-1-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

3-1-4-13-2-1-13-2-1-2 Floppy drive or hard drive failure.

3-2-1-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

3-2-2-1 Keyboard controller error.

3-2-2-33-2-3-13-2-4-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

3-2-4-3 IRQ error.

3-3-1-1 RTC error.

3-3-1-3 Key lock error.

3-3-3-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

3-3-3-33-3-4-13-3-4-33-4-1-13-4-1-33-4-2-13-4-2-33-4-3-13-4-4-13-4-4-4 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

4-1-1-1 Floppy drive or hard drive failure.

4-2-1-1

4-2-1-34-2-2-1 IRQ failure.

4-2-2-34-2-3-14-2-3-34-2-4-1 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

4-2-4-3 Keyboard controller error.

4-3-1-34-3-1-44-3-2-14-3-2-24-3-3-14-3-4-14-3-4-3 Faulty motherboard or one of its components.

4-3-3-24-3-3-4 IRQ failure.

4-3-3-34-3-4-2 Floppy drive or hard drive failure.

3-Beep Codes

Beep Code Meaning

1-1-2 Faulty CPU/motherboard.

1-1-3 Faulty motherboard/CMOS read-write failure.

1-1-4 Faulty BIOS/BIOS ROM checksum error.

1-2-1 System timer not operational. There is a problem with the timer(s) that control functions on the motherboard.

1-2-2

1-2-3 Faulty motherboard/DMA failure.

1-3-1 Memory refresh failure.

1-3-2

1-3-3

1-3-4 Failure in the first 64K of memory.

1-4-1 Address line failure.

1-4-2 Parity RAM failure.

1-4-3 Timer failure.

1-4-4 NMI port failure.

2-_-_ Any combination of beeps after 2 indicates a failure in the first 64K of memory.

3-1-1 Master DMA failure.

3-1-2 Slave DMA failure.

3-1-3

3-1-4 Interrupt controller failure.

3-2-4 Keyboard controller failure.

3-3-1

3-3-2 CMOS error.

3-3-4 Video card failure.

3-4-1 Video card failure.

4-2-1 Timer failure.

4-2-2 CMOS shutdown failure.

4-2-3 Gate A20 failure.

4-2-4 Unexpected interrupt in protected mode.

4-3-1 RAM test failure.

4-3-3 Timer failure.

4-3-4 Time of day clock failure.

4-4-1 Serial port failure.

4-4-2 Parallel port failure.

4-4-3 Math coprocessor.

Best Keyboard Shortcuts

Getting used to using your keyboard exclusively and leaving your mouse behind will make you much more efficient at performing any task on any Windows system. I use the following keyboard shortcuts every day:
Windows key + R = Run menu
This is usually followed by:cmd = Command Promptiexplore + "web address" = Internet Explorercompmgmt.msc = Computer Managementdhcpmgmt.msc = DHCP Managementdnsmgmt.msc = DNS Managementservices.msc = Serviceseventvwr = Event Viewerdsa.msc = Active Directory Users and Computersdssite.msc = Active Directory Sites and ServicesWindows key + E = Explorer
ALT + Tab = Switch between windows
ALT, Space, X = Maximize window
CTRL + Shift + Esc = Task Manager
Windows key + Break = System properties
Windows key + F = Search
Windows key + D = Hide/Display all windows
CTRL + C = copy
CTRL + X = cut
CTRL + V = paste
Also don't forget about the "Right-click" key next to the right Windows key on your keyboard. Using the arrows and that key can get just about anything done once you've opened up any program.
Keyboard Shortcuts
[Alt] and [Esc] Switch between running applications
[Alt] and letter Select menu item by underlined letter
[Ctrl] and [Esc] Open Program Menu
[Ctrl] and [F4] Close active document or group windows (does not work with some applications)
[Alt] and [F4] Quit active application or close current window
[Alt] and [-] Open Control menu for active document
Ctrl] Lft., Rt. arrow Move cursor forward or back one word
Ctrl] Up, Down arrow Move cursor forward or back one paragraph
[F1] Open Help for active application
Windows+M Minimize all open windows
Shift+Windows+M Undo minimize all open windows
Windows+F1 Open Windows Help
Windows+Tab Cycle through the Taskbar buttons
Windows+Break Open the System Properties dialog box

acessability shortcuts
Right SHIFT for eight seconds........ Switch FilterKeys on and off.
Left ALT +left SHIFT +PRINT SCREEN....... Switch High Contrast on and off.
Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCK....... Switch MouseKeys on and off.
SHIFT....... five times Switch StickyKeys on and off.
NUM LOCK...... for five seconds Switch ToggleKeys on and off.
explorer shortcuts
END....... Display the bottom of the active window.
HOME....... Display the top of the active window.
NUM LOCK+ASTERISK....... on numeric keypad (*) Display all subfolders under the selected folder.
NUM LOCK+PLUS SIGN....... on numeric keypad (+) Display the contents of the selected folder.
NUM LOCK+MINUS SIGN....... on numeric keypad (-) Collapse the selected folder.
LEFT ARROW...... Collapse current selection if it's expanded, or select parent folder.
RIGHT ARROW....... Display current selection if it's collapsed, or select first subfolder.

Type the following commands in your Run Box (Windows Key + R) or Start Run
devmgmt.msc = Device Managermsinfo32 = System Informationcleanmgr = Disk Cleanupntbackup = Backup or Restore Wizard (Windows Backup Utility)mmc = Microsoft Management Consoleexcel = Microsoft Excel (If Installed)msaccess = Microsoft Access (If Installed)powerpnt = Microsoft PowerPoint (If Installed)winword = Microsoft Word (If Installed)frontpg = Microsoft FrontPage (If Installed)notepad = Notepadwordpad = WordPadcalc = Calculatormsmsgs = Windows Messengermspaint = Microsoft Paintwmplayer = Windows Media Playerrstrui = System Restorenetscp6 = Netscape 6.xnetscp = Netscape 7.xnetscape = Netscape 4.xwaol = America Onlinecontrol = Opens the Control Panelcontrol printers = Opens the Printers Dialog
internetbrowser
type in u're adress "google", then press [Right CTRL] and [Enter]add www. and .com to word and go to it
For Windows XP:
Copy. CTRL+CCut. CTRL+XPaste. CTRL+VUndo. CTRL+ZDelete. DELETEDelete selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin. SHIFT+DELETECopy selected item. CTRL while dragging an itemCreate shortcut to selected item. CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an itemRename selected item. F2Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word. CTRL+RIGHT ARROWMove the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word. CTRL+LEFT ARROWMove the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph. CTRL+DOWN ARROWMove the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph. CTRL+UP ARROWHighlight a block of text. CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keysSelect more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text within a document. SHIFT with any of the arrow keysSelect all. CTRL+ASearch for a file or folder. F3View properties for the selected item. ALT+ENTERClose the active item, or quit the active program. ALT+F4Opens the shortcut menu for the active window. ALT+SPACEBARClose the active document in programs that allow you to have multiple documents open simultaneously. CTRL+F4Switch between open items. ALT+TABCycle through items in the order they were opened. ALT+ESCCycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop. F6Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer. F4Display the shortcut menu for the selected item. SHIFT+F10Display the System menu for the active window. ALT+SPACEBARDisplay the Start menu. CTRL+ESCDisplay the corresponding menu. ALT+Underlined letter in a menu nameCarry out the corresponding command. Underlined letter in a command name on an open menuActivate the menu bar in the active program. F10Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu. RIGHT ARROWOpen the next menu to the left, or close a submenu. LEFT ARROWRefresh the active window. F5View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer. BACKSPACECancel the current task. ESCSHIFT when you insert a CD into the CD-ROM drive Prevent the CD from automatically playing.
Use these keyboard shortcuts for dialog boxes:
To PressMove forward through tabs. CTRL+TABMove backward through tabs. CTRL+SHIFT+TABMove forward through options. TABMove backward through options. SHIFT+TABCarry out the corresponding command or select the corresponding option. ALT+Underlined letterCarry out the command for the active option or button. ENTERSelect or clear the check box if the active option is a check box. SPACEBARSelect a button if the active option is a group of option buttons. Arrow keysDisplay Help. F1Display the items in the active list. F4Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box. BACKSPACE
If you have a Microsoft Natural Keyboard, or any other compatible keyboard that includes the Windows logo key and the Application key , you can use these keyboard shortcuts:
Display or hide the Start menu. WIN KeyDisplay the System Properties dialog box. WIN Key+BREAKShow the desktop. WIN Key+DMinimize all windows. WIN Key+MRestores minimized windows. WIN Key+Shift+MOpen My Computer. WIN Key+ESearch for a file or folder. WIN Key+FSearch for computers. CTRL+WIN Key+FDisplay Windows Help. WIN Key+F1Lock your computer if you are connected to a network domain, or switch users if you are not connected to a network domain. WIN Key+ LOpen the Run dialog box. WIN Key+ROpen Utility Manager. WIN Key+U
accessibility keyboard shortcuts:
Switch FilterKeys on and off. Right SHIFT for eight secondsSwitch High Contrast on and off. Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREENSwitch MouseKeys on and off. Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCKSwitch StickyKeys on and off. SHIFT five timesSwitch ToggleKeys on and off. NUM LOCK for five secondsOpen Utility Manager. WIN Key+U
shortcuts you can use with Windows Explorer:
Display the bottom of the active window. ENDDisplay the top of the active window. HOMEDisplay all subfolders under the selected folder. NUM LOCK+ASTERISK on numeric keypad (*)Display the contents of the selected folder. NUM LOCK+PLUS SIGN on numeric keypad (+)Collapse the selected folder. NUM LOCK+MINUS SIGN on numeric keypad (-)Collapse current selection if it's expanded, or select parent folder. LEFT ARROWDisplay current selection if it's collapsed, or select first subfolder. RIGHT ARROW

-[ How to rip Dynamic Flash Template ]-

How to Rip TM Dynamic Flash Templatesby: Baisan
What you need:
Sample dynamic flash template from TM website

Sothink SWF Decompiler

Macromedia Flash

Yourself

1. browse or search your favorite dynamic flash template in TM website. If you got one... click the "view" link and new window will open with dynamic flash.. loading...
2. If the movie fully loaded, click View -> Source in your browser to bring the source code of the current page and in the source code, search for "IFRAME" and you will see the iframe page. In this example were going to try the 7045 dynamic template. get the URL(ex.http://images.templatemonster.com/screenshots/7000/7045.html) then paste it to your browser... easy eh? wait! dont be to excited... erase the .html and change it to swf then press enter then you'll see the flash movie again icon_smile.gif.
3. copy the URL and download that SWF file.. use your favorite download manager.. mine I used flashget icon_smile.gif NOTE: dont close the browser we may need that later on.
4. open your Sothink SWF decompiler... click "Quick Open" then browse where you download your SWF/movie file. Click Export FLA to export your SWF to FLA, in short, save it as FLA icon_smile.gif
5. Open your Macromedia FLash and open the saved FLA file. press Control+Enter or publish the file... then wallah! the output window will come up with "Error opening URL blah blah blah..." dont panic, that error will help you where to get the remaining files.
6. Copy the first error, example: "7045_main.html" then go back to your browser and replace the 7045.swf to 7045_main.html press enter and you'll see a lot of text... nonsense text icon_lol.gif that text are your contents...

NOTE: when you save the remaining files dont forget to save with underscore sign (_) in the front on the file without the TM item number (e.g. 7045) if it is html save it as "_main.html" and same with the image save it as "_works1.jpg" save them where you save the FLA and SWF files. Continue browsing the file inside Flash application so you can track the remaining files... do the same until you finish downloading all the remaining the files.

23 Ways To Speed WinXP, Not only Defrag

Since defragging the disk won't do much to improve Windows XP performance, here are 23 suggestions that will. Each can enhance the performance and reliability of your customers' PCs. Best of all, most of them will cost you nothing.

1.) To decrease a system's boot time and increase system performance, use the money you save by not buying defragmentation software -- the built-in Windows defragmenter works just fine -- and instead equip the computer with an Ultra-133 or Serial ATA hard drive with 8-MB cache buffer.

2.) If a PC has less than 512 MB of RAM, add more memory. This is a relatively inexpensive and easy upgrade that can dramatically improve system performance.

3.) Ensure that Windows XP is utilizing the NTFS file system. If you're not sure, here's how to check: First, double-click the My Computer icon, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Next, examine the File System type; if it says FAT32, then back-up any important data. Next, click Start, click Run, type CMD, and then click OK. At the prompt, type CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS and press the Enter key. This process may take a while; it's important that the computer be uninterrupted and virus-free. The file system used by the bootable drive will be either FAT32 or NTFS. I highly recommend NTFS for its superior security, reliability, and efficiency with larger disk drives.

4.) Disable file indexing. The indexing service extracts information from documents and other files on the hard drive and creates a "searchable keyword index." As you can imagine, this process can be quite taxing on any system.
The idea is that the user can search for a word, phrase, or property inside a document, should they have hundreds or thousands of documents and not know the file name of the document they want. Windows XP's built-in search functionality can still perform these kinds of searches without the Indexing service. It just takes longer. The OS has to open each file at the time of the request to help find what the user is looking for.
Most people never need this feature of search. Those who do are typically in a large corporate environment where thousands of documents are located on at least one server. But if you're a typical system builder, most of your clients are small and medium businesses. And if your clients have no need for this search feature, I recommend disabling it.
Here's how: First, double-click the My Computer icon. Next, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Uncheck "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching." Next, apply changes to "C: subfolders and files," and click OK. If a warning or error message appears (such as "Access is denied"), click the Ignore All button.

5.) Update the PC's video and motherboard chipset drivers. Also, update and configure the BIOS. For more information on how to configure your BIOS properly, see this article on my site.

6.) Empty the Windows Prefetch folder every three months or so. Windows XP can "prefetch" portions of data and applications that are used frequently. This makes processes appear to load faster when called upon by the user. That's fine. But over time, the prefetch folder may become overloaded with references to files and applications no longer in use. When that happens, Windows XP is wasting time, and slowing system performance, by pre-loading them. Nothing critical is in this folder, and the entire contents are safe to delete.

7.) Once a month, run a disk cleanup. Here's how: Double-click the My Computer icon. Then right-click on the C: drive and select Properties. Click the Disk Cleanup button -- it's just to the right of the Capacity pie graph -- and delete all temporary files.

8.) In your Device Manager, double-click on the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers device, and ensure that DMA is enabled for each drive you have connected to the Primary and Secondary controller. Do this by double-clicking on Primary IDE Channel. Then click the Advanced Settings tab. Ensure the Transfer Mode is set to "DMA if available" for both Device 0 and Device 1. Then repeat this process with the Secondary IDE Channel.

9.) Upgrade the cabling. As hard-drive technology improves, the cabling requirements to achieve these performance boosts have become more stringent. Be sure to use 80-wire Ultra-133 cables on all of your IDE devices with the connectors properly assigned to the matching Master/Slave/Motherboard sockets. A single device must be at the end of the cable; connecting a single drive to the middle connector on a ribbon cable will cause signaling problems. With Ultra DMA hard drives, these signaling problems will prevent the drive from performing at its maximum potential. Also, because these cables inherently support "cable select," the location of each drive on the cable is important. For these reasons, the cable is designed so drive positioning is explicitly clear.

10.) Remove all spyware from the computer. Use free programs such as AdAware by Lavasoft or SpyBot Search & Destroy. Once these programs are installed, be sure to check for and download any updates before starting your search. Anything either program finds can be safely removed. Any free software that requires spyware to run will no longer function once the spyware portion has been removed; if your customer really wants the program even though it contains spyware, simply reinstall it. For more information on removing Spyware visit this Web Pro News page.

11.) Remove any unnecessary programs and/or items from Windows Startup routine using the MSCONFIG utility. Here's how: First, click Start, click Run, type MSCONFIG, and click OK. Click the StartUp tab, then uncheck any items you don't want to start when Windows starts. Unsure what some items are? Visit the WinTasks Process Library. It contains known system processes, applications, as well as spyware references and explanations. Or quickly identify them by searching for the filenames using Google or another Web search engine.

12.) Remove any unnecessary or unused programs from the Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel.

13.) Turn off any and all unnecessary animations, and disable active desktop. In fact, for optimal performance, turn off all animations. Windows XP offers many different settings in this area. Here's how to do it: First click on the System icon in the Control Panel. Next, click on the Advanced tab. Select the Settings button located under Performance. Feel free to play around with the options offered here, as nothing you can change will alter the reliability of the computer -- only its responsiveness.

14.) If your customer is an advanced user who is comfortable editing their registry, try some of the performance registry tweaks offered at Tweak XP.

15.) Visit Microsoft's Windows update site regularly, and download all updates labeled Critical. Download any optional updates at your discretion.

16.) Update the customer's anti-virus software on a weekly, even daily, basis. Make sure they have only one anti-virus software package installed. Mixing anti-virus software is a sure way to spell disaster for performance and reliability.

17.) Make sure the customer has fewer than 500 type fonts installed on their computer. The more fonts they have, the slower the system will become. While Windows XP handles fonts much more efficiently than did the previous versions of Windows, too many fonts -- that is, anything over 500 -- will noticeably tax the system.

18.) Do not partition the hard drive. Windows XP's NTFS file system runs more efficiently on one large partition. The data is no safer on a separate partition, and a reformat is never necessary to reinstall an operating system. The same excuses people offer for using partitions apply to using a folder instead. For example, instead of putting all your data on the D: drive, put it in a folder called "D drive." You'll achieve the same organizational benefits that a separate partition offers, but without the degradation in system performance. Also, your free space won't be limited by the size of the partition; instead, it will be limited by the size of the entire hard drive. This means you won't need to resize any partitions, ever. That task can be time-consuming and also can result in lost data.

19.) Check the system's RAM to ensure it is operating properly. I recommend using a free program called MemTest86. The download will make a bootable CD or diskette (your choice), which will run 10 extensive tests on the PC's memory automatically after you boot to the disk you created. Allow all tests to run until at least three passes of the 10 tests are completed. If the program encounters any errors, turn off and unplug the computer, remove a stick of memory (assuming you have more than one), and run the test again. Remember, bad memory cannot be repaired, but only replaced.

20.) If the PC has a CD or DVD recorder, check the drive manufacturer's Web site for updated firmware. In some cases you'll be able to upgrade the recorder to a faster speed. Best of all, it's free.

21.) Disable unnecessary services. Windows XP loads a lot of services that your customer most likely does not need. To determine which services you can disable for your client, visit the Black Viper site for Windows XP configurations.

22.) If you're sick of a single Windows Explorer window crashing and then taking the rest of your OS down with it, then follow this tip: open My Computer, click on Tools, then Folder Options. Now click on the View tab. Scroll down to "Launch folder windows in a separate process," and enable this option. You'll have to reboot your machine for this option to take effect.

23.) At least once a year, open the computer's cases and blow out all the dust and debris. While you're in there, check that all the fans are turning properly. Also inspect the motherboard capacitors for bulging or leaks. For more information on this leaking-capacitor phenomena, you can read numerous articles on my site.

Following any of these suggestions should result in noticeable improvements to the performance and reliability of your customers' computers. If you still want to defrag a disk, remember that the main benefit will be to make your data more retrievable in the event of a crashed drive.