TIPS to Speedup your PC

1. Regularly Defragment your PC 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 . Increase RAM 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. Use NTFS with XP 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:NTFSFAT32 or NTFS. I highly recommend NTFS for its superior security, reliability, and efficiency with larger disk drives. 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 4. Disable files 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.

6.) Empty the Windows Prefetch

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. Run Disk Cleanup every month

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. Regularly check the Device Manager

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.

11.) Remove unnecessary programs from Startup

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.

12. Uninstall unnecessary programs

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

13. Turn of Desktop Animations

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) Use Tweak XP

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.) Update your system regularly

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

16.) Update your AntiVirus regularly

Update 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) Don’t’ install to many Fonts

Make sure you 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) Don’t make small partitions

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

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) Update Firmwares

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) to avoid Crashing launch Folders separately

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) Clean the Dust from inside

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.

About Bluetooth Technology

Bluetooth is a wireless technology that enables any electrical device to wirelessly communicate in the range of 2.5 GHz ISM frequency band.

Mobile phones, headsets, PDA's and portable computers can communicate and send data to each other without wires or cables to link to devices together. The name of Bluetooth derived from the name of an English king Harold Bluetooth.

It a low cost, low power, radio technology, which is particularly suited to the short range Personal Area Network (PAN) application. Bluetooth Special Interest Group is authorized to develop its specifications & license. Features The Main Features of Bluetooth are given below: • It operates in the 2.4GHz frequency band without having a license for wireless communication. • Up to 10-100 meters data can be transfer in real time. • Close proximity & accuracy is not required for Bluetooth as in case of infrared data (IrDA) communication device. Bluetooth does not suffer from interference from obstacles such as walls while infrared suffers due to obstacles. • Bluetooth supports both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint wireless connections without cables between mobile phones and personal computers. • Data transfer rate of blue tooth varies from version to version. Data rate of 1 Mbps for Version 1.2 Up to 3 Mbps for Version 2.0. Then major parts of Bluetooth system are RF transceiver, base band, and protocol stack. Bluetooth is used for small-area networking without user intervention. Due to extremely low transmission power in Bluetooth technique battery power is saved. It is a networking standard that works at two levels: • Physical level. • Protocol level Due to these levels mobiles have to agree on these levels when bits are sent. It decides the amount of data to be sent at a time, and how the parties in a conversation can be sure that the message received is the same as the message sent. Bluetooth networking transmits data through low-power radio waves. It can connect up to eight devices simultaneously. With in the range of about ten meters you must think that the devices will not interfere with each other. Bluetooth solved the problem of devices interference while sending the data by using the technique of Spread-Spectrum Frequency Hopping due to which devices may transfer data at the same frequency at the same time. The question rises here is how Bluetooth send the same data using same frequency band without devices interferences? In Bluetooth technique, transmitters change frequencies 1,600 times in every second. In this way devices can make full use of a limited band of the radio spectrum. When Bluetooth devices came into the range of each other, conversations take place automatically. This conversation automatically determines whether they have the data to share or not. In this way Bluetooth devices not only share the data but also control the data to be transferred. When the connection is established, the devices either they are part of a computer system or a network, Bluetooth systems create a personal-area network. The technology used in Bluetooth also provides security in three ways: • Pseudo-random frequency hopping, • Authentication, • Encryption. Frequency hops make it difficult for anyone to eavesdrop. Authentication allows a user to limit connectivity to specified devices. Encryption uses secret keys to make data intelligible only to authorized parties. Service-level security and device-level security work together to protect Bluetooth devices from unauthorized data transmission. Security Many serious problems create only due to improper security issues. Some of them are given below: • Blue jacking • Blue bugging • Car Whisperer Blue Jacking It is used to send a business card in the form of text message via Bluetooth to other users. It should be noted that the distance between two users is not more than 10 meters. If the user doesn't found the proper text, he should add the contact to his phone book. After saving his contact in his address book retry to send the same message. In this way the user can get business card from other user via Bluetooth. It’s all because of the known destination from where the massage is being coming. Blue Bugging Due to this hackers can access user’s phone. It not only access one’s mobile phone, but also use its features including placing call, messaging. Even though the user doesn't realize it’s happening. Car Whisperer Car whisper is a type of software due to which hackers can send and receive audio file from a Bluetooth-enabled car stereo.

Introduction to Modem

Modem (from modulator-demodulator) is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information.

The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data. Modems can be used over any means of transmitting analog signals, from driven diodes to radio.

The most familiar example is a voiceband modem that turns the digital '1s and 0s' of a personal computer into sounds that can be transmitted over the telephone lines of Plain Old Telephone Systems (POTS), and once received on the other side, converts those 1s and 0s back into a form used by a USB, Serial, or Network connection.

Modems are generally classified by the amount of data they can send in a given time, normally measured in bits per second, or "bps". They can also be classified by Baud, the number of distinct symbols transmitted per second; these numbers are directly connected, but not necessarily in linear fashion (as discussed under Baud.)

A modem (a modulator/demodulator) lets you connect your computer to a standard telephone line so you can transmit and receive electronically transmitted data. It is the key that unlocks the world of the Internet and its World Wide Web, commercial online services, electronic mail (E-mail), and bulletin board systems (BBSes).

How Modem Works?

How Modem Works?

When a modem first makes a connection, you will hear screeching sounds coming from the modem. These are digital signals coming from the computer to which you are connecting being modulated into audible sounds. The modem sends a higher-pitched tone to represent the digit I and a lower-pitched tone to represent the digit 0.

At the other end of your modem connection, the computer attached to its modem reverses this process. The receiving modem demodulates the various tones into digital signals and sends them to the receiving computer.

Actually, the process is a bit more complicated than sending and receiving signals in one direction and then another. Modems simultaneously send and receive signals in small chunks. The modems can tell incoming from outgoing data signals by the type of standard tones they use.

Another part of the translation process involves transmission integrity. The modems exchange an added mathematical code along the way. This special code, called a checksum, lets both computers know if the data segments are coming through properly.

If the mathematical sums do not match, the modems communicate with each other by resending the missing segments of data. Modems also have special circuitry that allows them to compress digital signals before modulating them and then decompressing them after demoduating the signals. The compression/decompression process compacts the data so that it can travel along telephone lines more efficiently.

Modems convert analog data transmitted over phone lines into digital data computers can read; they also convert digital data into analog data so it can be transmitted. This process involves modulating and demodulating the computer’s digital signals into analog signals that travel over the telephone lines.

In other words, the modem translates computer data into the language used by telephones and then reverses the process to translate the responding data back into computer language.

What is the difference between digital and analog signals?

A computer performs its tasks by turning on and off a series of electronic switches represented by the numerical digits of 0 and 1. A 0 is the code for off, and a 1 is the code for on. Combinations of these digital codes represent text, computer commands, and graphics inside the computer. By comparison, the telephone works by sending sounds in a continuous analog signal sent along an electronic current that varies in frequency and strength.

Types of Modems

Types of Modems

Depending upon how your computer is configured and your preferences, you can have an external, internal or PC modem card. All three types work the same way, but each has its advantages and disadvantages.

External modem

This is the simplest type of modem to install because you don't have to open the computer. External modems have their own power supply and connect with a cable to a computer's serial port. The telephone line plugs into a socket on the rear panel of the modem.

Because external modems have their own power supply, you can turn off the modem to break an online connection quickly without powering down the computer.

Another advantage over an internal modem is that an external modem's separate power supply does not drain any power from the computer. You also can monitor your modem's connection activity by watching the status lights.

Internal modem

Most internal modems come installed in the computer you buy. Internal modems are more directly integrated into the computer system and, therefore, do not need any special attention. Internal modems are activated when you run a communications program and are turned off when you exit the program. This convenience is especially useful for novice users.

Internal modems usually cost less than external modems, but the price difference is usually small. The major disadvantage with internal modems is their location: inside the computer. When you want to replace an internal modem you have to go inside the computer case to make the switch.

PC Card modem

These modems, designed for portable computers, are the size of a credit card and fit into the PC Card slot on notebook and handheld computers. These modems are removed when the modem is not needed. Except for their size, PC Card modems are like a combination of external and internal modems.

These devices are plugged directly into an external slot in the portable computer, so no cable is required other than the telephone line connection. The cards are powered by the computer, which is fine unless the computer is battery-operated. Running a PC Card modem while the portable computer is operating on battery power drastically decreases the life of your batteries.

How to wire a tie?

Windsor knot

The Windsor Knot is a thick, wide and triangular tie knot that projects confidence. It would therefore be your knot of choice for presentations, job interviews, courtroom appearances etc. It is best suited for spread collar shirts and it's actually quite easy to do.

While just about everyone can use this tie knot to tie his tie, it looks especially well on men with longer necks as its wide form shortens the perceived height of the neck a little bit.

To tie the Windsor Knot, select a tie of your choice and stand in front of a mirror. Then simply follow the steps below:

1) The wide end "W" should extend about 12 inches below the narrow end "N". Cross the wide end "W" over the narrow end "N".

2) Bring the wide end "W" up through the loop between the collar and your tie; then back down.

3) Pull the wide end "W" underneath the narrow end "N" and to the right, back through the loop and to the right again so that the wide end "W" is inside out.

4) Bring the wide end "W" across the front from right to left.

5) Pull the wide end "W" up through the loop again.

6) Bring the wide end "W" down through the knot in front.

7) Using both hands, tighten the knot carefully and draw it up to the collar.

Congratulations, you did it! You see, it is not rocket science after all. Simply keep practicing the Windsor Knot a few more times until you can tie this necktie knot within less than 30 seconds.