• And where are your files? You can copy and paste the lines found in the "Location of files" area below into a Windows Explorer address bar or cut-and-paste the lines into the "Start->Run" box.

  A little note on the text below. The "%USERPROFILE%" and "%APPDATA%" are known as variables. When you type (or cut-and-paste) this into the "Run" box (or IE address bar) the computer will see it and figure out what your logged in user name is and will determine your main drive (the "C" drive most likely). Basically "%USERPROFILE%" would equal c:\Documenats and Settings\Doug (or c:\users\doug in Vista). Variables can make for a lot less typing. Then again... cutting and pasting makes for a lot less typing.

  For Windows 2000, 2003 or XP users
  What to backup	Location of files
  Desktop	%USERPROFILE%\Desktop
  Favorites	%USERPROFILE%\Favorites
  My Documents (My Music, My Pictures)	%USERPROFILE%\My Documents
  Outlook (email .pst)	%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
  Outlook Express	%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities
  FireFox bookmarks	%APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles
  Thunderbird Email	%APPDATA%\Thunderbird
  For Windows Vista and 7 users
  What to backup	Location of files
  Desktop	%USERPROFILE%\Desktop
  Favorites	%USERPROFILE%\Favorites
  My Documents	%USERPROFILE%\Documents
  My Music	%USERPROFILE%\Music
  My Pictures	%USERPROFILE%\Pictures
  Outlook (email .pst)	%APPDATA%\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
  Windows Mail (was Outlook Express)	%APPDATA%\Local\Microsoft\Windows Mail
  Windows Live Mail (was Windows Mail)	%APPDATA%\Local\Microsoft\Windows Mail
  FireFox bookmarks	%APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles
  Thunderbird Email	%APPDATA%\Thunderbird

Click on the "Performance" tab to see your "Physical Memory" being used. Need more RAM? This area will help you decide.

• First, get the Service Packs: Service Pack 2, Service Pack 3,
• Second, learn how to slipstream them in: http://www.theeldergeek.com/slipstreamed_xpsp2_cd.htm, or
  http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sp2_slipstream.asp.

1. Go to Start, choose Run, and then type "gpedit.msc" (without the quotes).
2. Go to User Configuration\Windows Settings\Internet Explorer Maintenance\Browser User Interface and choose Custom Logo from the right-hand pane.
3. Check the boxes to add customization, and browse to add any files you would like to see as resting images. They must be bitmaps (extension ".bmp") and they must conform to the proportions indicated.
4. Now for the animation. Your small animated image should be a strip of 10 slightly different individual images pasted together so it appears like a strip of film. You have a series of 10 (or more or less) images that are 22x22 pixels, creating a bitmap that is 22 pixels wide by 220 pixels high (if there are 10 images).
5. The large animation bitmap will be 38 pixels wide by 380 (more or less) pixels high.

   A note on this process:
   Older versions of Internet Explorer would accept strips of images 220 pixels wide and 22 pixels high, meaning the film strips were flipped on their side. If you find any throbbers on the Internet with this format, do not try to use them. They will not work with current versions of Internet Explorer.

1. To copy the whole screen to your Clipboard hold down the Ctrl key and press the Print Screen (Prt Scrn) key.
2. To copy the selected window to your Clipboard hold down the Alt key and press the Print Screen (Prt Scrn) key.

File name: Shutdown.bat
Info put into the file: c:\windows\system32\shutdown -s -t 5 -c "Oh Nooooooo.... I'm shutting down!!!!"

File name: Reboot.bat
Info put into the file: c:\windows\system32\shutdown -r -t 0

File name: Wipe.bat
Info put into the file: cmd /c "cd %userprofile%\Recent && echo y| del *.*"

Tools->Options->General tab->Allow starting in Reading Layout check box

1. Click Start, Run, type cmd (or command) to bring up a command (DOS) window.
2. The tick.ucla.edu server is the time server you want to connect to. Type the following line and then press Enter:

   w32tm /config /syncfromflags:manual /manualpeerlist:tick.ucla.edu

3. Finally type the following then press ENTER.

   w32tm /config /update

1. Right click "My Computer" and select "Properties".
2. Click on the "Advanced" tab then the "Error Reporting" button.
3. Select "Disable error reporting" (and I turn off the "But notify me" selection).
4. OK everything to close out.

1. Click "Start -> Control Panel -> Regional and Language Options".
2. Click on the "Languages" tab then the "Details" button.
3. Click on the "Language Bar..." button.
4. Un-check (deselect) "Show the Language bar on the desktop" then click on the "OK" buttons to close out this crazy mess.

NOTE: I need to check this on computers with high and low amounts of RAM to see if it works correctly.

You can also look here to see how it's done: Speed up Windows

Disable Paging of Core System Files

• Run "Start->Run...->regedit->OK"
• Backup your registry file: "File->Export..." name the file something that makes sense and save the file in your "My Documents" area.
• Navigate to the "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management" area.
• Double click the "DisablePagingExecutive" key.
• Change the "Value data:" from 0 to 1.