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XP Repair install (Posted August 15th, 2010) 1. Boot the computer using the XP CD. You may need to change the boot order in the system BIOS so the CD boots before the hard drive. Check your system documentation for steps to access the BIOS and change the boot order. 2. When you see the "Welcome To Setup" screen, you will see the options below: This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft Windows XP to run on your computer: To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER. To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R. To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3. 3. Press Enter to start the Windows Setup. To setup Windows XP now and Repair Install , press ENTER. do not choose "To repair a Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console, press R", (you Do Not want to load Recovery Console). I repeat, do not choose "To repair a Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console, press R". 4. Accept the License Agreement and Windows will search for existing Windows installations. 5. Select the XP installation you want to repair from the list and press R to start the repair. If Repair is not one of the options, END setup. Tune up your startup programs: XP, Vista and Windows 7 (Posted February 23rd, 2010) 1. Go to Start (windows orb in Vista, 7) 2. Click on Accessories, and then Command Prompt 3. Type "msconfig" and hit enter. 4. Click on the "Startup" tab. 5. Uncheck any programs you don't need. (If you don't recognize it, you probably don't need it.) 6. Click the OK button. 7. Reboot and you're done! Should speed things up a lot. Click on the Clamwin logo below to download our recommended free anti virus program (Posted December 11th, 2009) Disable UAC (User Account Control - that annoying prompt every time you try to change anything) in Vista (Posted September 21st, 2009) Launch MSCONFIG by from the Run menu, or from a Command Prompt. Click on the Tools tab. Scroll down till you find "Disable UAC". Click on that line. Press the Launch button. A CMD window will open. When the command is done, you can close the window. Close MSCONFIG. You need to reboot the computer for changes to apply. IE8 Running Slow? Try This: (Posted September 20th, 2009) Many people who install IE8 complain that it runs very slowly, sometimes completely bogging down their systems. This type of behavior usually signals a problem with system resources, but there may be a simple fix. Run this simple command from RUN under START, or from a Command Prompt: regsvr32 actxprxy.dll This re-registers the ActiveX Interface Marshaling Library, an obscure DLL that most people (even Microsoft experts) have never heard of. (Note that if you try this using Windows Vista, you must do this from an elevated Command Prompt window; type cmd in the Start menu Search box, right-click the Cmd.exe shortcut, and then choose Run As Administrator.) I did this on all my computers, and the results were astonishing. IE8 is stable as well as performing faster. Best of all, it starts faster. You know that irritating "Connecting" message? It is virtually eliminated. Windows XP Registry Hacks: 1: Right mouse on the links. 2: Save to computer. 3: Double click to add to your registry. Simple Windows 2000 style Search Disable the Windows XP tour Add "Copy To" and "Move To" to right mouse context menus - Works in Vista and Windows 7 also Add useful options to right-click context menu of My Computer - Works in Vista and Windows 7 also Cool Dark XP Themes: Download, unzip and run the executable. Then go to themes, and choose Royale. Royale Blue Theme Download, unzip and open "Read Me.txt" then follow the instructions. Must install Royale theme (above) first. - Posted 11/7/09 Royale Black Theme Free Windows Apps: Unlocker (Added 10/8/09) - Delete un-deleteable files. AVG Free Anti Virus - (Better than the pro apps! Why pay?) Open Office - Who needs Microsoft office, when this is free and open source? CD Burner XP - Better, lighter and easier than Nero or Roxio. And free! 7 Zip for Windows and Linux - Better, lighter and easier than Winzip or WinRar. And free! (Google the 64 bit version for a 64 bit OS.) Foxit Reader - Read PDF files. Smaller, lighter, faster than Adobe Acrobat Reader. Browsers. (These are all better than Internet Explorer!) My personal favorite is TheWorld. TheWorld browser Mozilla Firefox Opera Apple Safari for Windows Slim Browser Google Chrome Check back with us regularly. More interesting tips, tweaks and suggestions are coming soon!