Thursday, February 17, 2005

Remove image and/or media preview in Explorer

TweakXP.com - Remove image and/or media preview in Explorer:

XP's Explorer annoys the crap out of me, because it seems to pause when dealing with image and/or video files. Apparently this works:

Simply do the following steps:
  1. Open a command window (Start->Run, type in 'cmd' hit enter)
  2. To remove image preview, type and hit enter:
    regsvr32 /u shimgvw.dll
  3. To readd image preview, type and hit enter:
    regsvr32 shimgvw.dll
  4. To remove media preview, type and hit enter:
    regsvr32 /u shmedia.dll
  5. To readd media preview, type and hit enter:
    regsvr32 shmedia.dll

Friday, February 11, 2005

How to maintain your computer (for normal people)

5 simple steps to keep you PC running smooth and fast
(Based on the How to Speed up your computer site)

  1. Spyware and Adware removal (Monthly or so)
    Basically, install Ad-aware and make sure its spyware definitions are up-to-date by clicking the globe icon on the top right and following the prompts.
    • Keep Spyware definitions up-to-date by clicking the globe icon on the top right and follow the prompts to update.
    • Do a full system scan.
    • AFAIK, it's safe to delete everything that appears in the scan results.
  2. Virus Removal (Monthly or so)
    I'd recommend the free AntiVir Personal Edition.
    + run it in the background ("background checking in installation options??)
    • To download, click on the Download button on the left, then click the "AntiVir logo" on the page to start the download.
    • To grab the latest Virus definitions file, click "antivir.vdf" link on the download page
      • Follow the instructions to download from within the program (clicking the "2 connected computers" icon.
      • or manually download the definitions file and overwrite the current file.
  3. Speed up your computer Part 3 - Clear Startup Group
  4. Speed up your computer Part 4 - Run Defrag
  5. Speed up your computer Part 5 - Run Scandisk
  6. Speed up your computer Part 6 - Free Software
  7. Speed up your computer Part 7 - Update Windows and Drivers