Windows XP is still one of the best operating systems ever released by Windows. It is fast, secure and offers a great feature set. Unfortunately, there are various problems and bugs, but the guide below will help you fix all problems within minutes.

Windows XP Repair Software

For the fastest and most reliable XP repair, I highly recommend that you try out repair software. With the right product, you can fix 99% of errors and get a massive gain in speed, usually in under 4 minutes. Just be careful with the product you use, some optimization products and Registry cleaners can damage your performance. The best product we have tested is PC Health Advisor, the download can be found on this page.

Use XP  Repair Software to fix:

• Fix errors: DLL errors, EXE errors, application faults, script errors
• Fix applications such as Outlook Express, Internet Explorer, Media player etc
• Fix blue or black screen crashes
• Increase speed and performance
• Clean the registry and reduce clutter
• Improve disk performance and free up disk space

The download is no cost, and is well worth trying out. However, for many situations you can perform manual fixes to get back to peak performance and to eliminate errors. Keep reading to learn how to fix your XP now.

How to Fix Windows XP Without Third Party Software

If your installation of Windows XP is running slow or experiencing errors, the guide below will help you restore performance and eliminate errors. Please note: the following guide will not offer any advice on Registry cleaning. This should only be done with software, as the subject matter is too broad to cover in one article.

1) Get Up to Date

The first step before fixing Windows XP is to ensure that you are up-to-date. It is important to download the latest service packs. For Windows XP, this is Service Pack 3. The service packs contain many fixes and upgrades to the system and applications. In many cases, users can find excellent performance improvements just by upgrading.

To get the latest service pack, you need to open up Windows Update. Start -> All Programs -> Windows Update. From here you can check which updates your PC requires. You should also turn on automatic updates, if you haven’t done so already. SP3 is fairly large, so it will take a bit of time to download.

You should also ensure that you have the latest updates for Microsoft Office and update to the latest browser. Many errors that exist in Internet Explorer 6 and 7 can be eliminated simply by upgrading to the newest browser. The same applies for Microsoft Office. It often has new updates that fix bugs and security flaws.

So before you try any further optimizing, just make sure that everything is up-to-date. In particular, you need the latest Windows security updates. This will also be available via the Windows Update tool. Without these updates, your system can be exposed to Viruses and Malware. Once everything is up-to-date, you will be ready to properly fix Windows XP, or the updates may have already fixed your issue.

2) Reduce Clutter

By getting rid of clutter on your PC, you can greatly improve performance. You will also free up some valuable disk space.

Software and Programs

I can bet that your PC is probably loaded with applications and programs that you never use. The problem is these applications are consuming valuable resources on your PC. Those resources could be better used for your core usage.

When you have tons of unnecessary software on your computer, it is going to slow it down and waste disk space too. By de-cluttering, you will get a boost in performance.

The best way to remove programs is from the Add/Remove programs section of the Control Panel. Always remove software here. Do not just delete software folders, because entries will still remain in the Registry. If you don’t remove programs in this way, the Registry entries will still try to boot the program or do other funny things. This can result in various errors that won’t make any sense.

Cleanup the Disk

Cleaning up your disk should be done to improve computer performance and also to free up space on your hard drive. As time goes on, plenty of junk can build up on your hard drive and this slows things down.

To do this, we use a tool called disk cleanup. This will remove temp files files, empty the recycle bin, remove temporary internet files and remove programs and components no longer in use.

1) Click start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Cleanup

2) If you have multiple hard drives, you will need to select the drive you wish to clean up, then select ok.

3) When the disk cleanup begins, it will take a few minutes to analyze your disk. This will vary depending on disk size and the number of files.

4) On the disk cleanup menu, you can now choose which items to remove. It will also provide a calculation of how much disk space will be gained.

5) If you wish to clean up Windows components and programs, click on the more options tab. You can then remove programs/components by clicking the Clean up button and selecting which programs/components to remove.

Disk Defragmentation

Files stored on your computer are often fragmented, with parts of the file stored separately across the hard drive. This fragmentation can make data access quite slow.

By running the disk defragmentation tool, it attempts to store the files in one piece, which makes data access faster and improves overall PC performance

To defragment your hard drive:

1) Click start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Defragmenter

2) The screen will display your hard drives and the capacity, free space, etc. You can then choose which hard drive to fragment and click Defragment. The Analyze button will give an estimate of how long the defragment process will take. In some cases, this might be a while, so you may want to click the Analyze button before performing the defrag.

Once your defrag is done, you can view a report. When you are done, click close.

3) Fix Windows XP Startup Performance

It is ok to have a lot of programs installed, but there is no need to have them all run at boot time. Most programs you will only need at certain times, so that is when they should be booted. By booting them all at startup, you are just slowing down your PC and creating unneccessary waiting times.

Here is how you can cut down the programs that run at bootup. This will definitely increase performance.

Click on Start -> Run. Then type “msconfig” into the run box and click OK.

Click on the Startup tab and remove any programs that you do not need. Be careful here, don’t remove anything you are not completely sure of. Note: you are not deleting or removing these programs from your computer. You are just stopping them from starting up at boot time. You can still start them anytime, just by double clicking their icon.

4) Drivers, Drivers, Drivers

So many errors can be fixed with the correct drivers. Make sure that you have the correct drivers installed on your system. If you have recently re-installed the operating system, remember to install all of the device drivers from the CDs that came with your computer.

It might be difficult to identify all system drivers without software, but you can update most of the crucial devices. Many come with software that will alert you when drivers need to be updated.

You can also check drivers by going  to: Start -> Control Panel -> System -> device manager

Here you just select a device, right-click and select Properties. You can now view the driver details by clicking on the Driver tab. Here you can update the driver or find out driver details. This will help you know if you have the correct driver installed. This whole process is better done with software. Check our downloads section if you need driver repair/update software. It scans your entire system and locates out-of-date or missing drivers.

5) Registry

This beyond the scope of this article, because it can take hours to manually fix the Registry. However, Registry repair can lead to the greatest improvement in PC performance. You can try some software to see what you think. Our recommendation is PC Health Advisor, which is an optimization tool, that also does Registry cleaning. Check it out.

Without the correct maintenance, your computer will get slower and slower. If your PC is 2 years or older, I can probably guarantee that it runs very slowly and crashes regularly. This doesn’t have to be the case, because simple maintenance can fix these issues very quickly. But there is a bigger issue that is often overlooked and we will get onto that shortly.

So how do you maintain your PC?

The basic principle behind PC maintenance is to keep your PC free from junk and clutter. Since everything is stored in the Windows Registry, this is where the problems can begin. If you have excessive software, Adware, temp files and disk clutter, you can expect performance to get very slow. Extra load means slowdown. Extra load also leads to less responsiveness and in some instances, crashes. Crashes can be very hard to fix, but are often due to software conflicts, invalid drivers or even Malware.

So in order to maintain your PC, just keep everything neat and tidy:

• Get rid of software you don’t use
• Delete duplicate files
• Get rid of temp files and defrag your hard disk(s)
• Remove Spyware and Malware and Adware
• Keep the Registry clean
• Remove unwanted startup items

Those simple points above are enough to dramatically improve performance. I am a firm believer that most modern hardware can run pretty fast for years. As long as you keep your PC optimized, then you don’t need to worry about upgrading hardware all the time. This is different if you are a game player, but for basic PC work use, average hardware works well on an optimized PC. On a PC that is not maintained, even the best hardware will still be slow.

If you won’t want to perform manual maintenance work on your PC, then just download something like PC Health Advisor. This products kicks butt and does everything in terms of optimization. It will quickly speed up your PC, in probably under 5 minutes.

I used to do a lot of manual work on PCs, but now its just easier to run software, and the software these days is pretty damn good. Maybe 5 years I wouldn’t have used it, but now the optimization tools have come a long way and they won’t break your computer.

The bigger issue behind PC optimization

OK, as I mentioned earlier, there is a more important reason why you should be optimizing your PC. This is called productivity. I don’t know about you, but for me, time is the most valuable asset. The last thing I want to do is lose 20-30 minutes per day due to computer crashes, slowness, lag and other errors.

Just think about it, if you are losing 3 hours per week due to computer issues, that is about 160 hours per year. That is like 4 whole months of work hours, for those of us that do 40 hours per week. That can equate to something like $20,000 in dollar value. This is the exact reason that I keep all my computers optimized and running fast. I don’t have to waste any downtime on crashes, reboots, frozen Word documents etc.

So keep your PC optimized and enjoy the extra time.

For the past few years, I have been using a pretty basic Registry cleaner to optimize my PC and some client PCs. On top of that, I generally run a couple of anti-spyware products too. This usually gets the job done and PC performance will run pretty fast at all times.

Well, about a week ago, I was introduced to a product called “PC Health Advisor”. I was thinking, yeah great, another crappy Registry cleaner. So I went through the motions and got the download then ran the installer. Now when I first fired up this software, I realized this wasn’t just a Registry cleaner, but possibly the optimization tool that I had been dreaming of….So how did it measure up.

What is PC Health Advisor

PC Health Advisor is a complete optimization tool for your PC. Forget about Registry cleaners. This thing does that and a hell of a lot more. This product fully optimizes your PC by doing all of the following:

• Registry cleaning
• Malware detection and removal
• Disk optimization and duplicate finder
• Process manager
• Startup manager
• Restore point manager
• and more

This product covers all bases of optimization and PC error repair. I have written a lot of guides on manually optimizing disk and startup performance, but now this product incorporates all of that. So with one piece of software you can do everything. In the past, you could clean the Registry, but then you still had to perform disk optimization separately. Malware removal also required a separate program, but that is incorporated too.

You can download PC Health Advisor here

Using PC Health Advisor

Ok, so this product has a great feature set, but does it actually work and is it easy to use?

The installation process took under 2 minutes in total, on a Windows 7 64bit computer with 8GB ram. The total install was pretty small at under 10mb. So far so good.

I don’t read instructions, so after installing, I see these big buttons as options.  There are also tabs at the top of the program that give you access to each of the areas of optimization. You can access the process manager, startup manager, duplicate finder, browser manager, clear temp files, clear recent history, manage registry scan settings and so on.

The interface was all very intuitive. It took me less than a minute to figure it all out. There are quite a few options in there, some are not apparent directly from the main interface, but there is an excellent level of optimization available and this means faster computer. Anyway, after checking out all the settings I started the scan, which is the huge button on the main interface.

The scan results you can see below.

PC Health Advisor scans in three separate areas. The Registry, processes and privacy. The scan results, as you can see, incorporate all the different areas, privacy, Malware, startup, Registry etc. From here you can choose which area to optimize, or you can fix them all. Thankfully I have no Malware.

I didn’t fix all of the 268 items. I was able to check through the privacy files section and most of those were ok. Just a few that needed deleting, which i could do via the edit button. This was really cool, because you don’t always want to fix/remove everything. I did clean out the 193 Registry problems and the startup processes.

Duplicate File Finder

The scan doesn’t include the duplicate file finder. This is a separate section to the program but it will save you lots of disk space. I ran the scan on c: and located 252 duplicate entries. There were some doubled up folders I was not aware of.

Total disk space I saved from this was approximately 1.23GB. Not too bad for 30 seconds work. I know if I run this on some older PCs I will probably free up half the disk.

PC Health Advisor Good and Bad

Well this is a very solid optimization product, the best I have seen so far. I love the fact that it breaks down the scan into different sections and you can then view and optimize each one. It gives much greater control over the whole optimization process and I feel like I can now do away with much of the manual work I used to do.

This is essentially 3 or 4 products rolled into one. But the integration is excellent, so it doesn’t feel like you are using something that has just been patched together. I am still discovering some new features and techniques for better optimization within this software. It is a powerful tool, but so simple to use.

The only thing I am doubtful of is the Malware scanner. I don’t know how well this part has been done or how much it will actually find. I will perform further tests and compare with a fully fledged anti-spyware product.

The interface itself is great, but there are some features that you won’t immediately find. Some things are buried a bit and I would love to see all of these on the main interface. When you use this program, just take a couple of minutes to browse around, because you will find many features that are not evident at first.

9/10 from me. I have already deleted my old Registry cleaner.

Download PC Health Advisor at no cost

If you are reading this, you are probably having some troubles with your PST file. Below is a step-by-step guide to help you fix the problem fast.

You can use recovery tools to fix the problem or you can attempt a manual fix. Just choose your preferred option from the list below.

Outlook Recovery Software

In most cases, Outlook recovery software is the fastest and easiest way to restore a corrupt or damaged inbox. These are powerful tools that can fix many problems. If you have any of the following problems, we recommend that you try out the download, which you can find here at no cost.

Use PST Recovery software to fix:

• Corrupt or damaged PST files and inboxes
• Oversized PST files
• Frozen or locked PST files and inboxes
• Lost or missing Outlook passwords
• Missing or deleted Outlook email

Check out the download for PST repair on this page. Otherwise, you can try the manual fixes listed below.

Manually Fixing Outlook Problems

You are here probably due to a serious Outlook error, or a corrupt inbox. So for this reason, we have listed the more serious problems first, to help you quickly identify and fix, because there is nothing worse than losing your email and contacts.

Corrupt Outlook Inbox

This problem can be a real nightmare. Either your Outlook won’t open, or it reports a corrupted/damaged inbox. If you have this problem, the only way that I can see out of it, is to run a third party repair tool or the Microsoft repairt ool.

Using Scanpst.exe to fix Outlook Problems

There is a tool in Microsoft called Scanpst.exe. You can run this over your PST file to see if it fixes the problem. Hopefully it will.

The location of this tool can be difficult to find. Depending on your system, it should be in a similar location to this:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\System\MSMAPI\1033\SCANPST.EXE

Once you have located this file, just double-click to start it. You then just select the location of the inbox to repair. You will need to know the location of your Outlook PST file. You can get the location of the PST file by right-clicking your inbox and select properties. Then you click on the advanced tab. You should see the location.

If you can’t open Outlook, the default location of the PST file, will be something like:

For XP

C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

Vista and Windows 7

C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook

Once you know the location of your PST file, it is a good idea to also make a backup. Once you run scanpst.exe over your inbox, if successful you will be able to view mail again. If not, you will need a third party repair program. You can read our review of Stellar PST Repair, if you want a solution that works extremely well.

Cannot Find Outlook PST File / Missing PST File

Sometimes your PST file will change locations or you may have initially been setup with a non-default location for your PST files. If this is the case, you need to find your PST files and move them back to their original location or remap your account via Outlook.

For example, if you had PST files in a non-standard location, if Outlook was re-installed or your profile was moved to another machine, when you setup Outlook it won’t find your files. It might appear as if your email is all gone, but don’t worry it can be found. Assuming it hasn’t been deleted. You can also use third party tools to manage this.

First you need to find your PST file. The best way is to do a search in Windows, using “*.pst” as the search term. Once you have located large PST files, you should be able to identify which one is yours. Now you just need to remap in Outlook.

To point Outlook to your PST file:

• In Outlook, click Tools->Options
• Click Email accounts under the Mail Setup tab
• On Data files, click Add
• Select the PST option
• Find the location of your old PST file
• Set as Default
• Done – Don’t forget to restart Outlook

Oversized PST File

This was quite an issue with the earlier versions of Outlook. If you are using anything earlier than Outlook 2007, then you might experience this problem. The filesize limits for Outlook files were 2Gigabytes. Once you hit this limit, your Outlook will die. Well not quite, it will open, but you can forget about receiving any email. Generally you won’t receive any error messages either….thanks Microsoft!!

The filesize problem in Outlook is only relevant to users with imap accounts. This is where the restriction is placed. If you are using POP3 accounts, then your PST file can grow beyond the 2GB limit. If you have hit the limit though, there are some steps you can take to fix this.

1. Check the filesize of your PST file
2. Ensure that you have an imap account
3. If you have hit 2GB and no longer receiving email, you will need to start deleting
4. Delete or move mail accordingly, you might need to do this on the server
5. Alternatively, you can split an oversize PST file, with an Outlook Repair Tool (see bottom of page)

Because of the oversize file issues, it is a good idea to archive your email on a regular basis. This will stop oversize file problems from occuring. Then by the time you upgrade to Windows Vista onwards, with Outlook 2007, it won’t be a problem.

Email not being delivered

If you are not receiving email in Outlook, there are several culprits that could be causing the problem. Luckily this is not a serious problem. Only in rare circumstances was it due to a corrupt inbox. If your inbox is corrupt or if you suspect that to be the case, run a scan immediately with scanpst, or with a third party repair tool.

Common reasons for email not being delivered.

• No connection to server, lack of connectivity. Check your internet connection.
• Oversized PST file. This is very common cause for email to stop being delivered.
• Exchange server problems. There could be problems with the remote server that you connect to. Try again later on.

Oversized outlook imap files are usually the problem when email stops. You don’t receive any error messages and Outlook opens up fine. However, you will not receive any email, even though it all seems good. If this is the case, you need to check the filesize and take appropriate action.

Cannot Open Outlook

There are several causes to this problem. Unfortunately this can be a severe problem, due to a corrupt inbox or PST file. If you do have a corrupt file this will usually be reported to you in some way or another. If Outlook is just starting and crashing, you should first reboot your computer, then try again.

If the problem persists and you cannot fix. We recommend you try the step above for corrupt inbox. You will need to use some kind of repair tool in order to retrieve your email.

Other reasons for not being able to open Outlook include:

• Invalid shortcut or file pointer
• Oversized PST file
• Spyware or Malware
• Damaged inbox
• Missing PST file

Check that your PST file is in the right location and run a spyware scan on your computer if necessary.

Cannot Send Email in Outlook

Generally if you cannot send email in Outlook, this is a minor problem. It usually is not caused by a corrupt or damaged PST file. The general cause is connectivity or remote server problems. In probably 80% of the cases I have seen, it is the remote server down. Occasionally Windows can play up and a simple reboot fixes the problem.

If you cannot send email, the possible causes and solutions are:

• Check connectivity, ensure you are connected to the internet
• Check account setings, make sure SMTP settings are correct
• Check remote server, contact your IT admin to make sure it is up and running

Cannot Remember Outlook Password

If you have forgotten your Outlook password or if you need to access and Outlook account, there is only one option here. You need a third party tool, eg: Stellar Outlook Repair. This product can provide access to accounts that are password protected. We have never required this service, but we do know that it can be done quickly and easily.

Outlook Times Out

A very common problem in Outlook and very annoying. Outlook can timeout for a number of reasons. Generally due to lack of connectivity, remote server problems or a corrupt inbox. You might see a number of associated errors with this problem. Below are some steps that you can try to resolve these problems. If the steps below do not resolve the errors, you might require an Outlook repair tool.

Sometimes when connecting to the mail server, Outlook can timeout because the timeout setting for your account is set too low. To remedy this, do the following:

• Click Tools->Account Settings
• Select the account that is timing out
• Click More Settings->Advanced tab
• Here you can increase the timeout to a higher number

If that did not fix the problem, ensure that you are properly connected and that the remote server is not having problems. Otherwise, if you suspect a corrupt inbox, try the Outlook repair tool.

Third Party Repair Tools

If you need a quick fix for a corrupted inbox, or the solutions above did not work, you should try an Outlook repair tool. This software can recover corrupt, damaged or missing Outlook PST files in 95% of cases. The free scan model first notifies you of what can be recovered. We highly recommend such a tool for anyone that needs to recover email fast. With Outlook, you will also recover contacts, notes, calendar and everything else in your PST.

Just be sure to always use a trusted third party product. Some software can be harmful. I have personally used Stellar Outlook PST repair on various occasions and it has always worked great. You can find this in our downloads section, or you can read a review about this application here.

When we ran into trouble with a client’s PST file, we found there were a few products on the market. Many of them look similar and probably do a similar job.

Stellar PST Repair

So why did we end up using Stellar Outlook PST Repair?

The main reason was that we were impressed with the free download and simple to use interface. Once we had the product installed, it was able to quickly identify the problematic PST and provide a solution. A paid version is required to implement the real fixes, but saving our clients email was worth 100 times the asking price.

So What Does Stellar Outlook Repair Actually Do?

Stellar Outlook PST Repair scans all the damaged .pst files on your system, it then extracts and restores that information into new and usable .pst files – allowing you to completely and totally recover all your missing Outlook data… Fast! It can provide a quick fix for the following Outlook PST problems:

• Completely recovers emails, calendar entries, contacts, notes and journals from damaged PST files
• Repairs password protected files
• Restores Text, RTF and HTML messages
• Recovers data from encrypted files
• Repairs .pst files larger than 2GB
• Recovers deleted emails
• Creates unique profiles for individual PST files
• Exports recovered files automatically to Microsoft Outlook
• Includes a Live Update option to constantly update the software with the latest version
• Supports MS Outlook 97, 98, 2000, 2002 ,XP, 2003 & 2007

Using Stellar Outlook PST Repair

Here is a quick rundown of how we used the program and what you can expect. Getting started is really easy, just grab the download and install. Just follow the on-screen wizard, it should take no longer than about 2 minutes to get the product fully installed.

Once installed, just fire up the software. It is then just a matter of selecting the Outlook PST file to repair, or you can let the software find the PST files.

You will see a status bar showing the progress of the repair. Depending on how large the PST file is, this can take anywhere from 2 minutes to an hour. The software shows you what can be retrieved, then it outputs this to a new, fully working .PST file.

It is a very simple process and anyone can have this running in just a few minutes. You just select the corrupt file and this software throws out a working version.

What We Really Think of Stellar Outlook PST Repair

Well, in this area of computing, some software can be very intimidating. Luckily, Stellar Outlook PST Repair is not one of these products, instead it is very simple to use and any user can get results fast. Just open the program, choose the .pst files you want to repair and recover, select a destination, and click to restore. Watch the slider-bar glide across the screen to indicate your important Outlook data has been completely revived!

The interface is fast loading and very intuitive. So once you install the product, you can get started immediately without having to read through pages of documentation. Just note: the recovery process can be slow depending on your CPU, RAM and the size of your PST file. If it is a very large file, you will need to be patient. So after running the recovery, we recommend that you let it completely finish before using your computer.

I really like this product, because it did the job. It was very easy to install and you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to run the scan and repair. I think the only downside is that it could have been a bit cheaper. But then again, this is a solid product and obviously a lot of development time has gone into this.

If you value your email and want it back, check out this product. You can get it from our downloads page.

Visit our free downloads page

In Windows Vista and Windows 7, there were various new powersaving features introduced. Now these are great features and it is good to see moves towards helping the environment. We are all for that and you should be too.

I have seen some figures on how much power is wasted just by workers leaving on their computers 24/7. With some of the powersaving features, it can massively cut electricity usage. It is time for all of us to get a bit smarter in this regard. Funny thing is, not only do you save electricity, but money too. This goes for home and business users. Come on guys, switch it off.

Okay, enough ranting. What I wanted to say was watch out for the powersaving feature, because it might be turning off crucial hardware.

We have had users that unexpectedly lost their internet connectivity. This was for no reason at all and it wouldn’t come back until a reboot. It turns out the culprit was powersaving and the ethernet card being powered down.

So if you are running Windows 7 and you lose internet after a brief stint away from your computer, then check out the power settings. It is very possible that the ethernet card is being powered down. If this happens, you obviously lose all connectivity, but it’s a bit tricky to debug. Sometimes it doesn’t seem to power back, until reboot.

So check it out.

Remove Startup Programs

Removing startup programs will decrease boot time as well as making your computer far more responsive.

Many programs run at boot time and then the process continues to run during your work session. By removing unnecessary services, you can regain a ton of performance.

To do this, type in “msconfig” in the quick search box. Or in the Run window if using XP.

Click on the Startup tab and remove any programs that you do not need. Be careful here, don’t remove anything you are not completely sure of.

Cleanup the Disk

Cleaning up your disk should be done to improve computer performance and also to free up space on your hard drive. As time goes on, plenty of junk can build up on your hard drive and this slows things down.

To do this, we use a tool called disk cleanup. This will remove temp files files, empty the recycle bin, remove temporary internet files and remove programs and components no longer in use.

1) Click start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Cleanup

2) If you have multiple hard drives, you will need to select the drive you wish to clean up, then select ok.

3) When the disk cleanup begins, it will take a few minutes to analyze your disk. This will vary depending on disk size and the number of files.

4) On the disk cleanup menu, you can now choose which items to remove. It will also provide a calculation of how much disk space will be gained.

5) If you wish to clean up Windows components and programs, click on the more options tab. You can then remove programs/components by clicking the Clean up button and selecting which programs/components to remove.

Disk Defragmentation

Files stored on your computer are often fragmented, with parts of the file stored separately across the hard drive. This fragmentation can make data access quite slow.

By running the disk defragmentation tool, it attempts to store the files in one piece, which makes data access faster and improves overall PC performance

To defragment your hard drive:

1) Click start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Defragmenter

2) The screen will display your hard drives and the capacity, free space, etc. You can then choose which hard drive to fragment and click Defragment. The Analyze button will give an estimate of how long the defragment process will take. In some cases, this might be a while, so you may want to click the Analyze button before performing the defrag.

Once your defrag is done, you can view a report. When you are done, click close.

Remove Spyware and Adware

It is amazing to see how many users actually have Spyware or Adware on their system, but they are completely unaware. In the majority of slow computer complaints, this is the culprit.

There is not much else to say here. You need to scan your PC for Spyware and Adware, and then remove it. There are some good products out there. If you need help, check out our downloads page, for an excellent product.

Remove Unwanted Software and Applications

If you have owned your computer for a while, it is probably packed with all kinds of software and applications. I bet that you probably don’t even use half of these. So now is a good time to remove them.

When you have tons of unnecessary software on your computer, it is going to slow it down and waste disk space too. By de-cluttering, you will get a boost in performance.

The best way to remove programs is from the Add/Remove programs section of the Control Panel. Always remove software here. Do not just delete software folders, because entries will still remain in the Registry. Use the uninstaller.

Use a Registry Cleaner

Registry cleaners provide an excellent boost in performance. Essentially they clean out the Registry and help to fix errors on your PC. The performance gains can vary, from little to massive. It all depends on how cluttered the PC is to start off with.

We recommend Registry cleaners for general optimization and PC maintenance. You can download both free and paid versions. They cost only a few bucks for the good ones, so it is a worthwhile investment. Even if you just save 20 minutes per day by having a faster PC, that equates to a lot of saved time per year, and time is money.

If you need recommendations on the best Registry cleaners, check out our downloads section.

Here we will answer common questions and solve problems related to software, pc performance, hardware and much more.

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But, by a wonderful twist of fate he lands right on your Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi, with the help of homebrew programmers and the trusty R4 DS Card for the Nintendo DS / DSi system.Can you help and save Rick Dangerous and guide him through the tiers to escape the angry Amazonians? I think you can. With the help of your R4 DS and your stylus for the Nintendo DS, you’ll be running through each level with ease…But don’t make the mistake of thinking it is easy.Rick Dangerous is not not an easy platorm game, whether you play the remake or play the original on the Amiga.

Oh the memories of platform games come rushing in when I recollect my fondest of them all – Rick Dangerous as the main character. Undoubltly based right on the hero himself made famous by the movies.With giant stone boulders chasing you in the first five seconds of the game.What was the name of our hero? A young Indian Jones?  No… It was none other than Core Designs Rick Dangerous.It really was the reason I still, to this day, love my trusty Amiga 500 so very much.So much that I couldn’t stop myself from buying an Amiga 500 online after close to 10 years of having sold mine.

fine, I am assuming a lot, and assuming that everyone reading this will have heard of or player Rick Dangerous.For the people that have not, here is a quick explanation. Rick Dangerous is a platform game developed by Core Design for the Amiga, Atari ST, and 8-Bit computers, as well as for DOS based PCs. It was put out in EU by Rainbird Software and MicroProse in North America back in 1989. subsequently it was released with two other games – Stunt Car Racer and Microprose Soccer on the Commodore 64 Powerplay 64 cartridge.I don’t want to go over the packed in games – instead, I want to focus on the main Rick Dangerous itself!) and how you can play it using an R4 DS Card with your Nintendo DS.

So why talk about a game that was release back in 1989?How could it, in any way, be even close to what you’re playing now. Well, if you know anything about challenging platform games, or are into platform games, you’re reading about the grandfather of platform games Really. Many of the elements from this game have been incorporated into countless newer generation platform games.Mo than that though, if you think about it, it is because what is old is once again new. With the help and dedication of homebrew programmers that make or remake games for the pure love and joy of it. You can, with the help of an R4 DS Card, play Rick Dangerous on your current generation hand held Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi consoles. And it won’t cost you a cent, because the game is released absolutely FREE. Non commercially, and available for download for your to enjoy on your NDS system (and assorted other systems as well) All you’ll need is an R4 for Nintendo DS for Nintendo DS and the NDS itself of course.

The game is largely based on the Indiana Jones movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. Set in 1945, British agent Rick Dangerous travels to the Amazon jungle to search for the lost Goolu tribe. The airplance crash lands in the middle of the jungle and Rick has nowhere to go, but has to get there was in order to escape the Goolu tribe. When the game starts Rick finds himself in a cave running from a rolling boulder, a famous scene from the Indiana Jones movie.

Armed with a pistol and dynamite, Rick must fight hostiles and evade countless traps in 3 more levels. The second level is set inside a Great Pyramid in Egypt. On Level Three, You and Rick need to take a trip to the Nazi Stronghold of Schwarzendumpf to save the captured Allied soldiers. The rescued soldiers tell him that the Nazis are planning a missile attack on London. Therefore, in the last level Rick must infiltrate their secret missile base.

The original garnered fantastic reviews. Many magazines giving the game 92% or more in the reviews. And I am certain of the R4 DS card version / homebrew version for the Nintendo DS / DSi were ever released commercially, it would garner the same type of reviews, for both its retro look and feel and amazing gameplay. The really amazing thing about this is that it is not a commercial release, and that this free homebrew version has the blessing of the original developers as well.

So get out your Nintendo DS, buy an R4 DS Card and start exploring the amazing world of Rick Dangerous and other great homebrew games for the Nintendo DS system.

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