The Tlog - a technology blog

(the following is adapted from my wiki)

I do not like Microsoft Windows, or Microsoft. However, since I love computer games, I have to keep a Windows PC at home, and through the years I’ve learned a few Windows tips.

1. Keep Windows updated - go to Windows Update regularly, and turn on Automatic Updates.
2. If you use Microsoft Office, keep it updated as well - go to Office Update.
3. If you can’t have a router or a non-Windows PC serving as a gateway so that your Windows PC isn’t directly connected to the Internet, then install a software firewall - the Windows XP one after Service Pack 2 is OK, as is ZoneAlarm.
4. Install an anti-virus and keep it updated and active. I know of a couple of freeware anti-virus programs:
   • AVG Anti-Virus
   • Avast! Anti-Virus
5. Keep your PC free of spyware. I have a full article about it: How to avoid and remove Spyware.
6. If you use a customized background, like a photograph, look at the size of the file. A 600 KB .BMP file can slow down everything on your computer. You can solve that by opening it in Windows Paint, saving it as a (20 KB or so) .JPG file, and setting that one as your background; it will be exactly the same picture, but your PC will become noticeably faster.
7. Update your hardware drivers. Get each driver from the maker’s official site, e.g. if you have an NVIDIA video card, the drivers are on www.nvidia.com. The hardware whose drivers you should update are, usually:
   • the video card
   • the sound card
   • the motherboard
   • the network card
   • any optional hardware you may have: a webcam, a gamepad, a printer…
8. Note: laptops are an exception to the step above: their drivers usually are all downloaded from the laptop maker’s site (e.g. Dell, Toshiba…)
9. Unless you have a very old computer, avoid any Windows before Windows 2000 at all costs. That includes Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows Millennium Edition. Windows 2000 and Windows XP are acceptable. In an old computer, however, you are probably stuck with Windows 98 (95 is too old and many programs don’t run on it, and Millennium is horrible).
10. If you are not a gamer, and are not afraid to try out new stuff, at least take a look at an efficient - and fun - alternative that would spare you all the above: Linux.

What will you gain by all this?

• your PC will crash a lot less
• individual programs will also crash a lot less
• your PC will be much faster, and more responsive
• your PC will not become slower and slower as you use it - you won’t suffer the absurdity of “six months have passed since this Windows install… time to format and reinstall.”
• you won’t get infected by viruses or spyware from time to time
• especially in games, there will be quite fewer compatibility problems
• you will get to laugh maniacally when your friends complain about their PCs always crashing, being much slower than a few months ago, 20 reboots a day, the PC locking up just before saving their work…

See also:

• Avoiding and removing spyware
• Limiting Internet Explorer to Windows Update (overkill for just one PC, but great for a small network where you control the gateway but not the individual desktops)
• How to install Windows XP safely

Add to:

Related posts:

1. Avoiding and removing Spyware
2. Removing “difficult” IE toolbars
3. Linux and usability
4. How to install Windows XP “safely”
5. Old and improved: Spyware Prevention and Removal Guide