Computer Tips & Tweaks- Digital Products Downloads

We all agree that Windows XP has to be the best running Windows Platform that Bill Gates has put out in a long time. It took us all two years to master Windows XP before many of us were comfortable. We won't speak about Vista, but now along comes Windows 7. Sooo, HERE WE GO AGAIN ! A whole new set of tips and tweaks and lessons to help guide thru Microsoft's newest addition. Are we ready for this?

I am here to share with you, the secrets that I have studied and learned in my 15 years repairing and working with these monsters of information. There are SOME things that Tips and Tweaks will not help. If your system is in great running shape, we can help you keep it that way. We can also help you fix those little quirks that are just small enough to be a pain in the neck, but not big enough to call a technician to your home or office. For those of you who don't have an ANNUAL TUNE-UP or never clean out your system, and who are having problems currently, it may be too late for you to benefit from many of these tips, So, its time to call the doctor.

Take Your Computer to a Trained Professional For Computer Repair

Computers are expensive devices that are changing every day. Computer specialists are working very hard to come up with new computer programs all the time. This means that you need to keep on top of things as well. Sometimes computer's break down and need to be fixed. If you are not familiar with computers then you need to take the computer to a trained professional to have it fixed. We all know that computer repair can be quite costly depending on the problem and the age of the computer. Some computers that are really old and out dated cannot be fixed, as they cannot handle the updates. Computer repair in some cases will cost more than a new computer nowadays...so what to do?

There are certain elements of computer repair that you yourself can do. Everyone knows that computers are full of cables and wires. If these cables are wires are not in working order than you are sure to have problems with your system. There are certain things you can do to keep your PC out of the computer repair store.

If you turn your computer on and it freezes and stops, then you this means that you have a virus or malware loading at startup, don't have enough memory on the computer for what you have starting up upon bootup, or you have a serious hardware problem, such as a parts problem. To fix the problem you simply need to check your memory on your computer, and do a update and disk cleanup on your computer. This will remove any unneeded files on the computer, hence freeing up space and loading time at boot. How do I do that...you may ask. I will talk more about this as we go along. For those of you advanced readers, you already know this. For those of you who use this site for knowledge, many of the tips and tweaks require running software utilities and programs that may all be foreign to you and I suggest that you allow a technician to do this work.

If you are experiencing problems with your mouse, speakers and keyboard, then you should check all connections. Maybe there is a loose wire or cable.

If you are hearing a grinding noise in your computer, then this usually means that there is a problem with the hard drive, or another moving part, which can ONLY be a CD-DVD Drive, a FAN, or the HARD DRIVE. If you suspect the hard drive, what you need to do is back up all data that you do not want lost and replace the hard drive. This is NOT an easy job to do and its not inexpensive if it has to go into the shop. Before doing this however, you might want to check and see if the fan is dirty and have it cleaned. Try the CD-player and make sure it works properly. You can rule things out as you go.

There are other things that could go wrong with your computer that might need to be repaired that you cannot do yourself. This means that you will need to bring the computer to the computer repair store to be fixed. I can offer you a link to a TUNE-UP Program that I use on a yearly basis for most customers for around $40.00, but this won't cure a bad hard drive or hardware problem, see my point? We'll discuss this later also, and I will place these in my LINKS page below for you to review, download and purchase if you feel that its what you want and need. I can tell you that any links placed on my pages are safe and all products are reputable and have been tried by me or my clients with good results.
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Most important, I will be adding WEEKLY updates to Windows Tips and Tweaks pages as they come in from my readers via the SUGGESTIONS box at the end of this article, or whatever I have on my mind at the time that I am updating the site. Feel free to let me know whats on your mind, or what you would like me to write about. I welcome all of your ideas.

All that being said, I offer you the Windows XP -Windows 7 -Tips and Tweaks here as promised. This page will be updated weekly, or sooner if I can find the time, so check back on a regular basis, and don't forget, TALK TO ME, ASK QUESTIONS, LEAVE FEEDBACK. I want to hear whats on your mind and what you have to say. Don't forget to sign up for our NEW Blog coming soon. Have a great day, Now on with the show!

Before you do anything else with Windows 7, read my article below Explaining Windows Xp Mode

Microsoft released something you need to download called "Windows XP Mode".

This installs Virtual PC onto your computer that virtualizes your operating system. All Windows 7 users should likely install Windows XP Mode. This will help make sure that all of your old software will run just fine on Windows 7. *NOTE* - This will not work with Windows 7 Home Premium.

The future of computers is all about virtualization. Microsoft has made it easy for you to upgrade, so what are you waiting for?

You can find the page to download WINDOWS XP MODE in my LINKS section below

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Personalizing your Windows 7 Machine

You can add a personal touch to your computer by changing the computer's theme, color, sounds, desktop background, screen saver, font size, and user account picture. You can also select specific gadgets for your desktop.

Themes
A theme includes a desktop background, a screen saver, a window border color, sounds, and sometimes icons and mouse pointers. You can choose from several Aero themes. Use the whole theme or create your own customized theme by changing the pictures, colors, and sounds individually. You can also find more themes online at the Windows website. A theme is a combination of pictures, colors, and sounds on your computer. It includes a desktop background, a screen saver, a window border color, and a sound scheme. Some themes might also include desktop icons and mouse pointers.Windows comes with several themes. You can choose an Aero theme to personalize your computer, the Windows 7 Basic theme if your computer is performing slowly, or a high-contrast theme to make the items on your screen easier to see. Click a theme to apply it to your desktop.

Open Personalization by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type personalization, and then click Personalization.

You can also change a theme's pictures, color, and sounds individually to create a customized theme.

Customize a theme.
You can change individual parts of a theme (the desktop background, window color, sounds, and screen saver), and then save the revised theme for your own use or to share with other people.To change parts of a theme
1.Open Personalization by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type personalization, and then click Personalization.

2.Click the theme that you want to change to apply it to your desktop.

3.Do one or more of the following:

To change the background, click Desktop Background, select the check box for the image that you want to use, and then click Save changes.

To change the color of window borders, click Window Color, click the color that you want to use, adjust the intensity, and then click Save changes.

To change the sounds for the theme, click Sounds, click an item in the Sound Schemes list, and then click OK.

To add or change a screen saver, click Screen Saver, click an item in the Screen saver list, change any settings that you want to change, and then click OK.

Your revised theme will appear under My Themes as an unsaved theme. If you want to come back to your unsaved theme later, make sure you save it.

Aero
Aero is the premium visual experience of this version of Windows. It features a transparent glass design with subtle window animations, a new Start menu, a new taskbar, and new window border colors. The Aero desktop experience features a translucent glass design with subtle window animations and new window colors.It includes distinctive visual styles that combine the appearance of lightweight, translucent windows with powerful graphic advances. You can enjoy visually appealing effects and appearance and also benefit from better access to your programs.How do I get the Aero desktop experience?
The following editions of Windows 7 include Aero:

Windows 7 Enterprise

Windows 7 Home Premium

Windows 7 Professional

Windows 7 Ultimate

Aero is not included in Windows 7 Home Basic or Windows 7 Starter. You can find out which edition of Windows 7 you have on your computer by opening System in Control Panel.

Open System by clicking the Start button , right-clicking Computer, and then clicking Properties.

The edition of Windows 7 you're running is displayed under Windows edition near the top of the window.

You also need to use a Windows theme to display Aero graphics. If you are using an Ease of Access theme, some elements such as transparency and thumbnail previews will not appear. To view which theme you are using, open Personalization in Control Panel.

Open Theme Settings by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking Appearance and Personalization, clicking Personalization, and then clicking Theme.

The theme currently in use is highlighted.

Window border colors that are available with Aero
To learn how to change colors in Windows, see Change the colors on your computer.

Sounds

You can change the sounds your computer makes when, for example, you receive an e-mail message, start Windows, or shut down the computer. .Windows comes with several sound schemes (a collection of related sounds) for common events. Additionally, some desktop themes have their own sound schemes..Open Sound by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type sound, and then click Sound.

2.Click the Sounds tab.

3.In the Sound Scheme list, click the sound scheme that you want to use, and then click OK.

Desktop background

The desktop background, also called wallpaper, is a picture, color, or design on the desktop. It provides a backdrop to your open windows. You can choose one picture to be your desktop background or you can display a slide show of pictures. For more information, see Create a desktop background slide show and Change your desktop background (wallpaper).

Screen saver
A screen saver is a picture or animation that appears on the screen when you haven't used the mouse or keyboard for a set period of time. You can choose from a variety of Windows screen savers. Windows comes with several screen savers. You can also create your own screen savers from personal pictures that you've saved on your computer, and there are screen savers available to download from the web.You should download screen savers from trusted sources only. Screen savers can contain malicious software or spyware.Open Screen Saver Settings by clicking the Start button , and then clicking Control Panel. In the search box, type screen saver, and then click Change screen saver.

2.In the Screen saver list, click the screen saver that you want to use, and then click OK.

Note
If you upgraded to Windows 7 from Windows XP or Windows Vista, be aware that themes work a little differently in Windows 7. Whenever you change the theme, the new theme's settings will be applied to your desktop, including the screen saver. In some cases, the new theme might change your screen saver setting to None, and you'll need to reapply the screen saver settings you want.

Font size

You can make the text, icons, and other items on your screen larger by increasing the dots per inch (DPI) scale. You can also decrease the DPI scale to make text and other items on your screen smaller, to fit more on the screen.
You can make the text and other items, such as icons, on your screen easier to see by making them larger. You can do this without changing the screen resolution of your monitor or laptop screen. This allows you to increase or decrease the size of text and other items on your screen while keeping your monitor or laptop set to its optimal resolution.
Applies to all editions of Windows 7

Make the text on your screen larger or smaller

You can make the text and other items, such as icons, on your screen easier to see by making them larger. You can do this without changing the screen resolution of your monitor or laptop screen. This allows you to increase or decrease the size of text and other items on your screen while keeping your monitor or laptop set to its optimal resolution.

To make the text on your screen larger or smaller
1.Open Screen Resolution by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, and then, under Appearance and Personalization, clicking Adjust screen resolution.

2.Choose one of the following:

Smaller - 100% (default). This keeps text and other items at normal size.

Medium - 125%. This sets text and other items to 125% of normal size.

Larger - 150%. This sets text and other items to 150% of normal size. This option appears only if your monitor supports a resolution of at least 1200 x 900 pixels.

3.Click Apply.

To see the change, close all of your programs and then log off of Windows. This change will take effect the next time you log on.

You can also make text appear larger or smaller by changing your screen resolution, but if you're using an LCD monitor or laptop, we recommend that you set your screen to its native resolution to avoid blurry text. This is the optimal resolution an LCD monitor or laptop screen was designed to display based on its size.

CHANGING USER ACCOUNT PICTURES

Choose a picture for your user account and Start menu

You can choose a picture that will be associated with your user account and shown on screens or menus that display your user name, such as the Welcome screen or Start menu.

A user account picture helps identify your account on a computer. The picture is displayed on the Welcome screen and on the Start menu. You can change your user account picture to one of the pictures included with Windows, or you can use your own.

THIS SHOULD GET YOU STARTED. GOOD LUCK!

If you own a computer, then chances are you've been affected by spyware. Maybe you never even heard of it before. But, if you're like me, there is nothing more frustrating than dealing with annoying pop-ups, having your home page changed or just dealing with a painfully slow computer.

The worse thing about spyware is that it's like cockroaches. Where you fine one piece of spyware, you're almost definitely going to find more. Multiple studies have shown that a computer that has any spyware probably has several and even dozens of different programs installed. This is because of the sheer amount of spyware out there just waiting to infect an unprotected computer. On top of this, windows spyware removal is notoriously frustrating, time consuming and sometimes downright impossible. Windows spyware removal has got to be one of the most difficult tasks a computer user will ever encounter.

The only way you can guarantee your computer won't get infected with spyware is if you simply don't connect to the Internet. But then what good is having a computer? The Internet is almost a necessity in this day and age. However, you can fight back against spyware and take actions to make sure you're computer is protected.

When looking for a windows spyware removal and anti-spyware programs, there are certain features you should look for.

A program should have the following features:

-Real time blocking to warn you of possibly dangerous programs as you encounter them

-The ability to schedule scans to keep your computer clean without having to watch the scan

-An up-to-date database of current spyware programs to make sure that the software is capable of detecting the latest threats

-Automatic updates so the program you run is looking for every possible threat

Finding a windows spyware removal program with these features is crucial to keeping your computer running quickly, smoothly and without interruptions. If you spend any time on the Internet, or using file-sharing programs then it is absolutely essential that you have an anti-spyware and spyware removal program installed on your machine. Without one, your computer is guaranteed to become infected and eventually grind to a screeching halt.

In my repair shop, I use several different programs, all run separately, to completely clean an infected computer that arrived from a client. Before I can return any computer to the customer, I must be sure its free from whatever it came in infected with, so after all my hours of scanning has finally shown a ZERO infection rate, I then run ONE FINAL PROGRAM overnight to be sure its clean. You may decide to run these programs in any order that you want, but my final program is SuperAntiSpware. I have been using this for over a year now and it have NEVER failed, and the BEST thing about it, is that its FREE!

SUPERAntiSpyware, with over 20 million users worldwide, is the most thorough scanner on the market. Our Multi-Dimensional Scanning and Process Interrogation Technology will detect spyware other products miss! Easily remove pests such as Vundo, TDSS, AntiVirus Pro 2010, and thousands more! Repair broken Internet Connections, Desktops, Registry Editing and more with our unique Repair System. Our Dedicated Threat Research Team scours the web for new threats and provides daily definition updates.

Try this for 30 days and if you like it, you can keep it for FREE or upgrade to the Professional Version. The ONLY difference between both versions is SUPER AntiSpyware Free Edition does not include real-time blocking or scheduled scanning, along with more advanced settings.

I HAVE INCLUDED A DOWNLOAD LINK FOR YOU IN THE TRUSTED LINKS SECTION BELOW