Archive for ◊ January, 2009 ◊
The bright blue sky
was as beautiful as me
The sky is the limit
by, shay rule age: 12
Popularity: 21% [?]
When Windows begins to run slowly (and it will..) what you need is a Windows Tune-Up! This is a guide to those Essential Applications to keep Windows running like new.
I’m going to focus on Windows XP since the target audience of this article is those individuals that know better than to run Windows Vista. No seriously, most of these applications will run on Vista and since Windows 7 is based upon the same architecture they should work on the next version of Windows as well.
There are four main aspects to tuning up Windows- removing unnecessary and temporary files, optimizing file structure and location, removing ready-state programs, and removing viruses and spyware.
Step One- Remove Junk Files
Any time you have a problem with an Internet application the first thing they tell you to do is to delete the Internet temporary files and history. This is a good tip too because Internet cache or temp files can easily exceed 1 GB on current computers. These extra files will not only slow down Internet usage, but disk reading as well. It’s easy enough to delete the private data in Internet Explorer or Firefox or Opera or whatever web browser you use, but that doesn’t remove any of the resident Windows temporary files that are left over after installing software or Windows updates or even during daily use. To do this easily you need an application. I suggest a little jewel I’ve used for years called Windows Cleanup. This is a very small program written by Steven Gould. I’ve tried all sorts of cleanup programs from Xclean to Advanced System Care and none are as simple and work as well as Windows Cleanup for deleting unneeded files. The current version is 4.5.2 however I am a bigger fan of 4.0 because it doesn’t ask you to donate after each run. Oh, and this application is so good that it shouldn’t be free… but it is. Download it from http://www.stevengould.org .
I also noticed Steven is running a website powered by Joomla and I’m a big fan of that as well. But that’s another story.
Step Two- Fix those fraged files
Ok, so we’ve deleted all the junk files from the computer. Our next step is to defragment the hard drive. The internal defragmenters in all versions of Windows really blow chunks so we need a better application for this as well. If you are in a real bind and can’t download this next tool, running the builtin defrag tool will work better than not running it. I’ve tried all of these tools as well on every version of Windows since Windows 3.0 and Windows NT 3.51 on both the server and workstation flavors. The ones I’ve tried are PerfectDisk, Diskkeeper and others. Yet for all the thousands (literally) of dollars I have spent on these commercial applications none have performed as well as IOBits Smart Defrag. Oh, and did I mention that this tool is FREE as well?? This is another one of those tools I would tell you to buy, but it’s free. Gotta love that! Download Smart Defrag from http://iobit.com/iobitsmartdefrag.html.
IOBit also has another exceptional tool for the average computer user that needs an all-in-one system care package called Advanced System Care. They have a free version but for the true all-in-one software you will need to buy it. Buying it bundles Smart Defrag into one interface and all levels of system care are handled with just the push of a button. This is ok for some, however I believe following the steps in this document results in a better tune-up and doesn’t cost anything. It does however take a little more time but I think it’s worth it.
Step Three- Remove unwanted startup items
Our next step is to get rid of the “ready state” applications that run in the background and hog system resources. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate all applications that run in the background. But when there are so many running it really does become a pinch point on system performance and can severely slow even the most powerful system. I haven’t found any good software packages that take care of this aspect of a Windows Tune-up and that’s because each system is so different in the software that’s installed.
Performing this next step is not for the faint of heart nor for the computer layman. You should have a pretty darn good understanding of how Windows works before you attempt this one. For this step we’ll use the built in tool msconfig. Click start and go to Run and type msconfig.
MSConfig has lots to look at but we’re only going to focus on two tabs, the Startup tab and the Services tab.
First click the Startup tab-
This will show you all the items that start when Windows starts running. Most of these items happen in the background and most are not needed. There are a few essential items here that you do not want to uncheck- make sure any antivirus software is left to run.
In my case here I would not uncheck VMWare tray or VMWare user because those are essential items that are needed for my version of Windows running under VMWare on my Mac.
In this case I could uncheck qtask which is the Quicktime quick launcher and Reader_sl because that is also a quick launcher for Adobe. And I could disable the CorelPhoto Downloader. This is the utility that allows Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo to see a digital camera and allow it to do the downloads through it.
See what I mean about needing to know what you’re doing here a bit? For the most part removing all the items here will not hurt anything and you can always run them manually after starting Windows or run msconfig again to re-check those items.
Secondly you will want to go to the Services tab-
Make sure first that you check the “Hide all Microsoft Services” check box otherwise this tab is very intimidating. Now your list is much shorter. The next thing to do is make sure you remove all non-essential services from starting. Once again, leave your antivirus software and other essential services.
Once you complete this task click on the Ok button and the System Configuration Utility will ask you to reboot the system so the changes can take effect. You can now or later but be aware that you will see a message upon the next restart from the System Config Utility telling you that some startup items have been disabled. There is a check box to NOT show the message again. Check it!
Next we can move on to our next step- removing Spyware and Viruses.
Step Four- Removing spyware and viruses
The number one cause of a slow PC is spyware. The number one cause of a slow PC is spyware. No that’s not a typo- it’s that important! Spyware slows down your computer because it affects all of our three previous steps and removing it is like a double bonus! There are lots of good spyware applications our there and most antivirus software even catches the worst kind now, but to cover yourself the best for the least amount of money keep reading. Spybot Search & Destroy is by far the best free spyware removal tool. It’s so good that you SHOULD donate to the cause because it’s that good! It can be downloaded from http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/ . Ocasionally you will get some bad little buggies that Spybot doesn’t have the latest and greatest definitions for and in that case I suggest you get MalwareBytes from http://www.malwarebytes.org/mbam.php . This is another EXCELLENT choice and they have a version you can buy although I never have so I can’t even tell you what the difference between the free and commercial version is.
If you use Spybot make sure you imunize after downloading the latest definitions because this will help prevent spyware! What a concept!
As far as antivirus is concerned, be very picky. The big commercial named software isn’t always the best. I’m a big fan of AVG Free Antivirus because it’s… well… it’s free. AND it works very well especially for the price 
! You can downlaod AVG from http://free.avg.com/ . I’m not a big fan of McAfee, Norton, or Trend Micro. Sophos is ok although I would suggest F-Prot because it is the by far the best and most lightweight antivirus software out there! We ran it on the network for years before being talked into one of the “name brand” packages. I have regretted it ever since and can’t wait until our contract expires so we can go back. It is so light weight that you cannot tell it’s running on a 1 ghz machine running XP with 265 mb of ram. Keep in mind however, you will need to buy F-Prot. Visit them here http://www.f-prot.com/.
Armed with these four simple tactics you will be able to revive the weak and struggling PC back to good health! Along with these steps make sure you are keeping Windows updated by running Windows Updates and even better opt into Microsoft’s newer Microsoft Update which updates all the MS software like Office as well as Windows critical updates.
Leave comments of email me and I will be happy to take or make suggestions!
Popularity: 6% [?]
Haiku is very fun
Most haiku does not rhyme period
Haiku fun to write
By Shay Rule age: 12
Popularity: 21% [?]
The weather this winter has been extremly odd. We have swung from temperatures in the arctic cold to VERY warm for this time of year. At first I thought it might only be here in the north western part of Colorado, but upon further observation I realized that the same thing is happening in Denver and on the Front Range as well.
Temperatures for the past week have been in the low 70’s for Denver and surrounding areas and up as high as 76 in Pueblo. While at the same time the temperatures here have been cold. We have been getting down to an average of 17 below zero and up to as much as 9 degrees during the day. This was happening at the same time that Denver and company were in the 70’s. That seems odd to me.
Earlier this year we were unseasonably warm here while Denver had the Arctic blast with wind chills down to 30 below zero. At this time we unseasonably warm getting into the low 50’s. This is the first year I remember such an odd temperature difference between the two sides of the mountains and such extremes.
I am moved to write about this since yesterday the temperature was -19 when we left for school at 7:30 and this morning at 7:30 it’s raining at 32 degrees. The weather patterns are certainly changing, there is no doubt about that.
Popularity: 4% [?]
“Ewww” I can already smell everyone’s stinky feet. They may smell good but I know that I don’t want to smell any of them!
For one of our writing prompts this year, we had our chose of partners (So I picked Meghan) and we were asked to compare each other’s shoes and write a paragraph about what we observed.
Meghan and I live in the type of country that’s real rugged, and it would be very difficult to live the way we do if we didn’t have cowboy boots. We ride, walk, compete, and go on cattle drives with our boots.
The only purposes of our boots are: so that you can enjoy them, ride in them, and compete in them. The reason I wear boots for these events is because if you need to get off your horse fast, like if you were doing Goat Tail Tying and need to jump off you can because the bottom of my boots are slick witch makes it possible to get off without getting drug by your horse. Plus if boots had strings on them then you might get the shoe strings caught on something. So because boots have slick bottoms and no shoe laces they prevent you from being drug or any other dangerous stunts, except for if you fall down on the ice.
When I think of what kind of boot that I want to have, I think about what I’ll be doing so that I’ll know what to look for in a boot that will suit me , like: barrel racing, pole bending, cattle driving, having fun, going through mud, and just about anything you can think of. My boots appearance may not satisfy you, because my boots are old, dirty, and just about worn out. Their cracked on the outside, and the bottoms are caked with mud and cow manure. Though they’re now clean because of the snow you can still smell the aroma of their true sent. It’s wild and no one can make out the exact sent of the boot, but that doesn’t matter to me. My boot is old and worn, and they have holes inside and a few on the outside. My boots are suppose to be as black as the midnight sky and are suppose to have a pattern of mystical animals fighting in the sky. I know that I have a wild imagination about patterns and stuff like that but I try my best. But Meghan’s shoes are very different from mine. They have lots of zigzagging lines on them.
When we talk about age between my boots and Meghan there’s a three year difference. She’s only had her boots for a month and mine are three years old. Though they do look like there 100 years old!
But all in all Meghan’s boots have way more differences then similarities.
Popularity: 14% [?]
“Too Much Homework” sounds familiar don’t you think so. These are three words often used by kids. But kids don’t just say them so that they can get out of doing their homework.
Many schools around Colorado don’t understand that the more homework you give your students, the more stressed out they get. Plus, it hurts kids academically as well. Kids also don’t have all the time in the world to do their homework, because lots of parents (like mine) want to go do fun activities with their children; and since global worming has been going on, recycling is also very important and homework is a waste of paper.
In Canada I researched that they took surveys that would tell them if homework really does apply stress, and if it hurts young children’s self confidence. I personally think that it was a good call on their part, because many children have these problems.
Lots of kids tend to worry about when they will be able to have time to do their homework. If they aren’t able to turn in their homework on time and do it right, they might get the idea that their not good at anything; and that will cause their self confidence to go down the drain. But having more than four pages, affects kids of all ages and a lot of the time it gets worse as they get older. If they only had one or two or maybe not any homework at all; they might have higher self confidence and they won’t have to find an extra hour just to work on their homework, and they probably won’t be able to have any help from their parents. But with no homework the schools scores will most likely improve by the hundreds!
Kids need more freedom throughout their lives and they can’t have that privilege because their always working on a homework assignment.
In our school (West Grand Elementary School and Middle School) we start school at 8:00am and end school at 4:00pm. The middle schoolers have at least 5 pages of homework a day, and the girls have basketball practice right after school which is at 4:00pm until 6:00pm and sometimes all the way to 6:30pm. No one has any time to do their homework that’s one of the main reasons everybody dislikes their homework, including parents as well.
Many websites on the internet are trying to fight against making kids (like me and my friends) do homework. They know that kids get stressed out and that they don’t have enough time to do their homework.
All of these reasons that I stated are true, and I’ve spoken to many kids like me about this matter and they all agreed, so I hope that you will to.
Popularity: 14% [?]
As of the time of this writing, at about 1:00 pm the temperature has warmed up to 5 degrees. That’s right, warmed up. We started the day at -16 at 6:00 am so you can forget what I wrote earlier about global warming.
The crazy thing is that Denver is experiencing very warm temperatures and is supposed to get up to 70 tomorrow. We’re expecting a high of maybe 30 unless the pressure system changes dramatically tonight- which it could.
This picture although taken in Norway pretty much sums up the temperature out side. Well, except for the fact that you can see the lake and not a large chunk of ice which is what the lakes around here are right now.
Popularity: 12% [?]
Hey, my name is Sheree Rule. I’m the second to youngest child in my family but I don’t let my older sisters boss me around. I love crazy, bright colors, horses espeshely, playing sports, and most of all spending time with my friends and family doing what ever. I’ve met many people before from different places and actually became very good friends with them. Hey, maybe someday I’ll become friends with you too.
Popularity: 17% [?]
Hello my name is Shawna. Tomatoes are evil!!
This is some more text and I love to write on this BLOG!!!
That’s me as an alien…
Popularity: 7% [?]
When the sun begins to show it’s magical glow over the earth,
You know that this is your time to fly with the sun over the blazing fields of wheat.
You and your horse alone with a magical creature soaring through the skies,
As if you were racing the clouds.
But as the sun sets the magic fades until the next dawn.
Popularity: 32% [?]
Windows 7 Beta 1 has shown up on the Internet on various download sites and peer-to-peer sharing location and many are beginning to suspect that this “mostly complete” beta of the next latest and greatest version of Windows was leaked by Microsoft themselves! And this makes sense. After all there are problems, features, and issues that never show up in beta releases until released and subjected to the wide variety of hardware and software combinations.
I was able to get my hands on a version of the Windows 7 Ultimate beta. It’s running as a virtual machine on my Mac and I must say that with what little testing I have done it does appear to be faster than Vista which was one of the main complaints. Even with only 512 mb of ram allocated it runs fairly well and in some cases better than my copy of Windows XP Pro running with 512 mb ram. Disk activity is an issue and certainly affects performance expecially on my Macbook with only a 5400 rpm drive. I am almost certain at this point that I’m going to buy and install a 7200 rpm 320 gb drive for the Macbook but that is another story. This may be a biased report because Windows Glass (Aero) is not supported under VMWare fusion 1.1 officially and even though I’m running 2.0 (the latest version) it still doesn’t work. more…
Popularity: 31% [?]
We took a trip to Silverthorne to get some groceries today and it was 60 degrees in Frisco! Currently at the time of this writing it’s 5:40 pm and 39 degrees. The past few days have been very warm for this time of year and there is lots of snow melt already. This is highly unusual and I’ve noticed that this year is quite a bit warmer overall than winters past.
Popularity: 7% [?]
