How to Make Your Laptop Work Faster

When you first buy a laptop, it always seems to accomplish most tasks very quickly. If you've had your laptop for six months or more, though, most of us would agree it tends to get bogged down, start up slower, take forever to do menial tasks. Thankfully, your laptop can be restored to its full speed a lot easier than you think.

Steps

1. 1
   Uninstall unnecessary programs. If you have a lot of programs running in the background (otherwise known as "bloatware") it can slow down your system immensely. To look at a list of installed programs in Windows Vista or Windows 7, click on the start menu. In the search bar, type "Add or Remove Programs" and press enter. A list of programs will appear. If you remember installing a program, and you don't use it anymore, click on the program name then click "Uninstall." Windows will guide you through the uninstall process.
   
   
   
   
2. 2
   Install and use a good registry cleaner.
   
   
   
   
3. 3
   Check your computer for spyware. This is a type of software that runs in the background and monitors your usage, sending information back to companies without your approval.
   
   
   
   
4. 4
   Install anti-virus software. This may seem counter-intuitive, but anti-virus software keeps malicious programs from invading your computer that could slow it down a lot more than an anti-virus program could.
   
   
   
   
5. 5
   Keep big files off the desktop. If you tend to download a lot of things off the internet, chances are you keep it on the desktop. If your desktop looks cluttered, move any non-essential files into a separate folder. This keeps your computer from having to keep track of them whenever it is turned on.
   
   
   
   
6. 6
   Disable Windows Aero. Aero makes the edges of windows pretty (semi-transparent) making your computer seem "smoother." If your computer isn't up to all these graphics, Aero will bog it down. To disable Aero, right click anywhere on your desktop and select "Personalize" from the drop-down menu. On the list of themes that appears, scroll to the bottom and select "Windows Classic."
   
   
   
   
7. 7
   Upgrade your memory. If you want great performance without sacrificing your programs, you may want to consider a memory upgrade. These typically run $50 - 70 for laptops, and most small places will install it for free. A memory upgrade is the most cost-effective performance booster for laptops.
   
   
   

How to Change Windows 7 Into Windows Vista

Don't like the new Windows 7 Interface? Follow these easy steps and you'll make it look like Windows Vista!

Steps

The Wallpaper

1. 1
   Go to Google Images and search for Windows Vista Wallpaper
   
   
   
   
2. 2
   Download the first result
   
   
   
   
3. 3
   Open the folder where the picture was saved (By default in 'Pictures')
   
   
   
   
4. 4
   Right-click the picture > 'Set as desktop background'
   
   
   
   
5. 5
   Wallpaper is ready!
   
   
   
   

Taskbar and Windows color

1. 1
   Right-click on desktop and select 'Personalize'
   
   
   
   
2. 2
   Select 'Window color'
   
   
   
   
3. 3
   Click 'Show color mixer' and Drag 'Color intensity' slider about half a centimeter (one fifth of an inch) from the rightmost position, and 'Brightness' slider to the leftmost position, but ignore 'Hue' and 'Saturation' sliders
   
   
   
   
4. 4
   Taskbar and Windows color is set!
   
   
   
   

Taskbar Functions

1. 1
   Close all programs except your browser (optional, but recommended)
   
   
   
   
2. 2
   Remove old icons:
   
   
   
   
    
   1. Right-click the first icon on taskbar (IE by default), and select 'Unpin this program from taskbar'
   2. Do this for the rest of the icons
3. 3
   Make icons small and add text:
   
   
   
   
    
   1. Right-click Taskbar > 'Properties'
   2. Check 'Use small icons'
   3. Select 'Never combine' instead of 'Always combine, hide labels'
   4. Click 'OK' button
4. 4
   Add Quick Launch:
   
   
   
   
    
   1. Right-click Taskbar > 'Toolbars' > 'New Toolbar...'
   2. Go to folder '%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer'
   3. Click once on 'Quick Launch', and click 'Select Folder' button
   4. Right click 'Quick Launch' > 'Show Text'
   5. Right click 'Quick Launch' > 'Show title'
   6. Right Click Taskbar > 'Lock taskbar'
   7. Drag 'Quick Launch' to the leftmost position of Taskbar
   8. Doing the previous step will move active windows buttons to the right, so drag them back to the left so all quick launch icons fit
   9. Right Click Taskbar > 'Lock taskbar'
5. 5
   Taskbar is ready!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Source : www.wikihow.com

Download MiRC 7.32

mIRC is a full featured Internet Relay Chat client for Windows that can be used to communicate, share, play or work with others on IRC networks around the world, either in multi-user group conferences or in one-to-one private discussions.

It has a clean, practical interface that is highly configurable and supports features such as buddy lists, file transfers, multi-server connections, SSL encryption, proxy support, UTF-8 display, customizable sounds, spoken messages, tray notifications, message logging, and more.

mIRC also has a powerful scripting language that can be used both to automate mIRC and to create applications that perform a wide range of functions from network communications to playing games.

mIRC has been in development for over a decade and is constantly being improved and updated with new technologies.

Download MiRC 7.32

Microsoft Visual Basic 2010 Express

Microsoft Visual Basic 2010 Express is a part of Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Express Family. A free tool that is used by Windows developers of all levels to develop and build mobile applications on top of the system. NET Framework, using the BASIC language.Visual Basic provides a fast and easy way to create applications.You can download the program Microsoft Visual Basic 2010 Express by click here

How to Connect Two Computers

For the family or small business, having your computers connected can be a great way to share data, resources, and more. This article will show you how to connect two computers using various operating systems. Note: these instructions create a private network of only two devices. For an expanded understanding of the private network concept, visit How to Set up a Private Network after reading this article.

Method One: Ethernet

1. 1
   Plug in an ethernet cable. To connect two computers that don't have access to a shared network, you can use an Ethernet cable to make a direct connection between the two computer's Ethernet ports.
• Some computers require a special cable called "crossover cable." This is a specialized cable that is wired in reverse. Ethernet ports have both inputs and outputs, and the crossover cable is switched so that the output from one computer connects to the input of the other.
• Many current computers do not need a crossover cable: they use Auto-Medium Dependent Interface Crossover (Auto-MDIX), and will automatically configure the Ethernet port.
• Most Macintosh computers built recently do not need a crossover cable.
• If you're not sure, check your documentation to see what your system needs. If that's not available, just use a crossover cable: an auto-sensing Ethernet port will work with a crossover cable just as well as with a standard cable.

Method Two: Windows Vista, 7, or 8

1. 1
   Connect the two computers using a crossover cable. At least one of the computers being connected should be using Windows Vista, 7, or 8.
2. 2
   Open the Network and Sharing Center. If you're connecting a Windows 7 and Windows Vista computer together, use Windows 7 to perform these tasks.
   • Click the Start button, and then click Control Panel. In the search box, type "network," and then click on Network and Sharing Center.
3. 3
   Select your network. In the network map, shown at the top of the Network and Sharing Center, double click on the Unidentified network icon.
   • If you have more than a single network, the icon will be named Multiple networks.
4. 4
   Enable network discovery. If network discovery and file sharing are turned off, in Network, click the info bar containing this message: Network discovery and file sharing are turned off. Network computers and devices are not visible. Click to change..., and then click Turn on network discovery and file sharing. If you're asked for an admin password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation, as required.
• Note: if one of the computers is running Windows XP, it may take a while for it to appear in the Network window. You may need to configure the XP computer as described below.

Method Three: Windows XP

1. 1
   Open the Control Panel. From the Start menu, select Control Panel or Settings, and then Control Panel.
2. 2
   Double-click System, and then select the Computer Name tab. Enter the name of each computer and the name of the workgroup
   • The name of each computer should be unique, but the workgroup name must be identical for both.
3. 3
   Set up the network connection. From the Control Panel, double-click Network Connections, and then connect the computer using the crossover cable.
   • If either machine's status is shown as "Disconnected", the cable is either not firmly seated or bad.
4. 4
   Enable file sharing. Right-click the icon for the network connection, and then select Properties. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Windows Firewall Settings.
• In the Windows Firewall Settings window, click the Exceptions tab, and make sure that Printer and File Sharing is selected.
• It may take some time for the computer to obtain IP addresses and appear in the Network Connections window.
• Note: if you're connecting two Windows XP computers, you'll need to do the above steps for both computers.

Source : www.wikihow.com