It is possible to log on to Windows XP even if the mouse or touch pad have gone walk about.  Whilst holding down the CTRL and ALT keys press and release the Delete key twice to get the text based Log On window, use the Tab key to move about between the buttons and text boxes.

When using Word to print a series of A4 sheets to make up for example S/A/L/E, F/E/T/E or L/Y/N/C/H/I/N/G you might find that the pull down font sizes doesn't go big enough.  Don't panic you just type in a font size ... and the next one rrrright in here please!

Perhaps obvious that you can restore a deleted pic/doc/file from the recycle bin as long as subsequently arriving stuff hasn't forced it out of the bottom ... so to speak ... sorry, reading Julian Clary's autobiog.  Less obviously emptying the recycle bin is only a temporary fix to creating more space on the hard disc as it will just fill up again.  A more useful ploy is to reduce the bin size, though this will make you more vulnerable the default 10% of the hard disc does seem overly cautious.  Right click on the recycle bin icon, select Properties, adjust the slider and click OK.

For reasons best known to Microscoft (possibly going back to DOS when hard discs were more unreliable) over time files end up split up and scattered over your hard disc (fragmented) slowing things down as the hard disc heads have to jump about to read a file.  Speed things up by periodically running the defrag utility.  Defrag usually lives in Start/Accessories/System Tools but if it's gone missing then whilst holding down the Windows key press R then type dfrg.msc in the Open: box, don't necessarily believe it when Analyze says you don't have to defrag.

Dead easy to set one of your pix as the desktop.  Go to My Pictures, point at a pic and then click the right mouse button, on the menu that opens click Set as Desktop Background.  If the pic is significantly smaller than the screen resolution the pic will repeat (Tile) to fill the screen otherwise it's stretched to fill and judging by the desktops you showed us last year that's how you like it.  Me?  I find a full picture makes it difficult to see the shortcut icons.  Try this, you might like it, point at an unoccupied bit of the desktop, click the mouse right button, click Properties, click the Desktop tab ,set Position to Center and click OK... don't like it?  Ok then, put things back the way they were:)

Avoid appearing a semi-literate paper pusher by NOT separating paragraphs with a blank line.  Instead point at the paragraph in Word with your mouse, click the right mouse button and then select Paragraph.  In the new window that appears set Spacing/After to say 6 and then click OK.  Job done and what's more when you create a new paragraph by pressing return the new paragraph will inherit the settings from the previous paragraph.

That there Microscoft are ending support for XP Service Pack 2 and Vista release version Tuesday so even though updating can take time you should visit www.update.microsoft.com and keep at it until the updater says it's had enough and you have the latest service pack installed.  The downloads are big enough that if you are still on dial up then take time will become until Christmas so best to part with the near six quid it costs to get the relevant service pack on cdrom.  Poke at this page long enough and you'll find out how to order a cd.

Microscoft and that there Gill Bates have released Windows 7 to manufacturing but the release candidate can still be downloaded for free.

Windows 7 is the next version of Windows and due in October.  These are ten reasons why it's a good idea and here are three reasons why it's not a good idea to try and install the release candidate on an old machine to see what it's like.

1. On broadband it's a two hour download.

2. You need to burn a boot DVD greater than two gig ... your version of Nero probably won't do it.

3. It will almost certainly hate much of your hardware unless it's at least vista capable.

We did manage to install it on an xp capable (just) box but it refused to acknowledge five network adaptors, two modems and didn't think much of two display adaptors so we couldn't really use it in hot blood.

If you point your mouse at an unoccupied part of the taskbar (that bar along the bottom) and click the right mouse button this menu appears.  You might want to unlock the taskbar.  Why?  By pointing at the top of the taskbar and then dragging you can change the height of the taskbar, by pointing at an unoccupied part of the taskbar and dragging you can really confuse yourself by moving the task bar to the side or top of the screen but most important you can now change the size of the quick launch.  Haven't got the quick launch enabled?  You should have.

tu 19 my 09

What's the difference between click and double click on the mouse?  Click selects whatever you're pointing at and double click actions it, though not in menus.  So if you point at a picture file (for example) and single click on it you have selected it for a subsequent action such as pressing Delete on the keyboard.  If you double click on a picture file it will open in whatever application is associated with the file type, usually the Windows Picture Viewer.

If you right click on something (that is press the other mouse button, the right button if the mouse is set right handed) then a menu opens offering choices like Print and Delete.

So, got it?  Click selects and double click actions.

sa 9 my 09

On your pc is a hidden file called the registry containing info about the the pc setup and the applications.  As time goes by this registry fills up with redundant and sometimes wrong info slowing down your pc because it takes the operating system longer to search the reg to find what it needs.  Perhaps you've encountered on the modern miracle of the interweb very generous invitations to a free registry scan?  Typical results are 2,345,612 errors in your reg and if you don't fix them your children will die or you'll be extradited by the US Committee for Homeland Security (they're a bit like your local council ... but more forgiving).  The free scan offers to save you and your children for a mere $19.95

Eusing actually is a free registry cleaner (it does have nag screen) which is impressively small and tight and does what it says ... though despite fixing over 2,000 errors on this machine it didn't seem to significantly speed it up whereas the visual effects demon tweak did.

Here's a demon tweak for XP (and Vista too though a slightly different configuration path), starting with where it says Start (usually bottom left of the screen) go Start/Control Panel/System.  A System Properties window opens, click on the Advanced tab and then the Perfomance/Settings button.   A Performance Options window opens, ensure you're on the Visual Effects tab where there are four radio buttons at the top, most likely with the Let Windows choose ... button set.  Click the Adjust for best performance option and then the OK button, there'll probably be a delay (maybe even a "Please Wait") and then the window will close.  Click OK to close the System Properties windows and what you should find is your machine is now more responsive at the price of the appearance being slightly more clunky.  If you don't like the clunkyness just put the pc back the way it was before.

Microscoft and that there Gill Bates may be very rich cowboys but they're still a bunch of cowboys.  Next week they're ending tech support for Windows XP the operating system that most of the world's pcs run on because Vista is rubbish.

Windows 7 will be the next flavour of Windows and it looks like it's reaching release candidate stage and may be out before Christmas ... so another reason not to buy Vista.

First looks at Windows 7 (maybe due end of next year) report it is more responsive than Vista, seems like a good reason to put off upgrading to Vista even longer.

Microscoft and that there Gill Bates are going to fix all the problems in Vista but in Microscoft's next operating system Windows 7.  All we have to do is wait for it at the end of 2009 ... or 2010.

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