more Windows

Here's one from 2011; when defining a group click on a file, then click on another whilst holding down the Shift key and all the files in between will be added to the group.

Updating a struggling Vista laptop we should have followed our own advice and when some updates failed instead of trying to force it first do a reboot, which on this occasion sorted it out.

When we're searching for a mislaid file we often find that the file date is a quick way to find it.  Clicking in the Search Libraries text window will prompt a dropdown, click on Date modified: and a calendar for the current month will appear.  What it's taken us time to find is click on the month at the top of the calendar and the months of the year appear; click on the year at the calendar top and more years appear.

We still use Office 2000 because we don't need to schedule meetings with multiple yes persons and it doesn't have online activation so we can just keep on loading it up.  Annoyingly recent Office versions default to the docx Word format.  Office 2000 doesn't recognise docx but Microscoft have a Compatibility Pack so it will.  As well as Office 2000 here we have Outlook 2007 because the Blackberry won't recognise 2000, when we installed the Compatability Pack it seemed to think it was upgrading Office 2007 and after installation Word 2000 still couldn't recognise docx.  Running repair on the Pack in Add or Remove Programs inexplicably did the job.  Now we can read those irritating attachments that should be in the body of your press release ... just saying.

Under All Programs you'll find the folder Startup where you or installer software have put progs to run when Windows starts.  There's another whole bunch of stuff that loads at start up slowing things down and which isn't at easy to get at.  Freebie CCleaner now has under Tools a very handy Startup editor.  The bad news is it's often not clear what the progs listed do so perhaps firstly Disable and restart to try before Delete to prevent tears before bedtime.

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.

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.