How good is your processor?

Sometimes you may think "how good is my processor?" or "which one shall I get for my new PC?".

It used to be very easy. Back in '90s or at the very beginning of this decade everything was clear. 486 was better than 386, Pentium 3 was better than Pentium 1, and any 800MHz CPU (central processor unit) was worse than a 1GHz.

Now CPU manufacturers use names that say literally nothing. How knows what AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core TK-55 or Intel Pentium Dual E2200 @ 2.20GHz actually mean? Which one is better? It's all because it's not only speed that matters, there's plenty of other factors like a size and spacing of the processor's transistors, bus speed, size of L1 cache and L2 cache etc.

Confusing, very much.

Fortunately you can compare your CPU against other types and models on http://www.cpubenchmark.net/.
Brilliant site collecting benchmark data from real users and a whole spectrum of CPUs. You can also compare your video card http://www.cpubenchmark.net/,
hard drives http://www.harddrivebenchmark.net/
and whole systems http://www.passmark.com/baselines/index.php.

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Disk Cleanup Wizard

Windows XP includes a toll that helps users to get rid of unwanted files. It cleans up Temporary Internet Files, Temporary Windows Files, Temporary Program Files, Recycle Bin, Setup log files, Downloaded program files and also compresses files unused for a long time.

To Clean Up your disk:

1. Click Start
2. All Programs
3. Accessories
4. System Tools
5. Disk Cleanup

The program will ask you to choose a drive you want to clean. Pick one and press OK. It will start looking through the content of the hard drive, calculating how much space you can reclaim. After some time, usually a few minutes you will see a box from which you can choose what data you want to clean. Press OK. The program will ask you if it can proceed, press OK.

Optimizing your Hard Drive performance

Many of the functions in Windows XP rely on having enough disk space free to operate, including Windows’ virtual memory system and programs that need to create temporary files, to name just two of the most important. In addition, almost every function in windows relies on quick hard disk access. Windows includes a number of utilities that can help you optimize hard disk performance, including the following:

1. Disk Cleanup Wizard - Scans your hard disk, looking for files that can be safely removed, helping you to free up disk space.
2. Disk Defragmenter - Rearranges the data on your hard drive so that files are written to disk contiguously. During the defragmentation, it also places more frequently used files toward the front of the disk so that they load faster.
3. Chkdsk - Scans the files and directory structure of your disk to make sure that they are free of errors.

Cleaning your system - Hard Drive

Over time, your computer can become cluttered with unused programs, unknown data, and unwanted visitors. With a little effort, you can clean your system so that it runs at top form, and you can breeze through your work faster and easier than you can in an unclean system. In addition, clean systems are more reliable, less prone to failure, and easier to protect from attack by malicious programs.

Port Forwarding

If you use a router, sometimes you have to open (forward) a communication port to allow communication for programs and services like torrent clients, internet communicators, remote desktop.

Settings for every router are different. But here is a website where you can find a guide how to do it.

Check your broadband speed

You can check speed of your broadband with a single click.
www.speedtest.net is a free broadband speed test and in my opinion it is a one of the best facility of it’s kind.

Remote Assistance

If you need somebody to help you with your PC, you can invite that person using the Remote Assistance service.

Control over your PC will be taken by an invited person and he can sort out majority of software related problems on-line, without physically visiting your computer.

To send a Remote Assistance invitation:

1. From Start menu click Help and Support.
2. In the Help And Support Center, under Ask For Assistance, select Invite A Friend To Connect To Your Computer With Remote Assistance, and then select Invite Someone To Help You.
3. You have to select a method you want to use inviting your friend. You can send the invitation by using Windows Messenger (Live Messenger) or by email. If you prefer to send an email and you don’t use Outlook Express you can click on Save invitation as a file (Advanced) and send it as an attachment to your friend.
   
4. Next enter the requested information, including your name, a message, when the invitation should expire, and a password to be used to establish the connection.
5. Once your friend is connected you must accept the Take Control request.

Configuring Automatic Updates

Automatic Update will keep your PC and applications up to date protecting you from malicious software, bugs etc.

1. Click the Start menu, click Control Panel.
2. In the Control Panel window, click Performance And Maintenance.
3. In the Performance And Maintenance window, click System.
4. On the Automatic Updates tab, click the Automatic option.
5. Click OK.

Installing Windows XP Professional from a CD-ROM

1. You have to set up a BIOS setting in your PC to be able to boot from the CD-ROM drive. If you don’t know how to do this, consult your computer documentation for information about accessing the BIOS settings.
2. Insert the Windows XP Professional installation CD into your CD-ROM drive and Reboot the PC. After the computer restarts, the text mode portion of the installation commences.
3. At this time, you will be asked if you need to install any third-party drivers like SCSI, SATA, wireless drivers. If so press F6. After a couple of seconds the installation continues. You may be asked to press “any key” to boot from the CD. If so press the spacebar.
4. Windows copies files onto your hard drive, needed for setup, and the Welcome To Setup screen appears after a while. You can use this screen to set up Windows XP or to repair an existing installation. Press ENTER to continue.
5. The Windows XP Licensing Agreement appears. Read the terms of the license, press F8 to accept them and continue the installation. If you do not accept the agreement, Setup does not continue.
6. After you accept the Licensing Agreement, Setup proceeds to the Disk Partitioning portion. If you have multiple partitions, Setup will list them and allow you to you choose which one to install XP Professional to. If you have no partitions configured, you can create one at this point.
7. After you have determined which partition to install to, press ENTER to continue.
8. The Format screen appears. Select Format The Partition Using The NTFS File System and press ENTER.
9. Setup displays a screen warning that format will erase all files from the disk. Press F to format the drive and continue.
10. After the format process is complete, Setup copies more files and reboots the PC.
11. After the PC restarts, Setup enters the grafic (GUI) mode portion of the installation.
12. Setup continues the installation for a couple minutes more, and then displays the Regional And Language Options page. Make sure that the settings are correct for your area, and click Next.
13. Next the Personalize Your Software page appears. Fill in the appropriate information and click Next.
14. The Product Key entry page appears. Enter the 25-digit product ID and click Next.
15. The Computer Name And Administrator Password page appears. Enter a name for your computer, choose a password for the Administrator account, and click Next. You can leave the Administrator password blank, but it is better to set the password.
16. The Date And Time Settings page appears. Check if the information is correct for your area and click Next. If Setup detects an installed network card, it will install network components.
17. When the Network Settings page appears just select the Typical Settings option. Click Next.
18. Setup displays the Workgroup Or Computer Domain name page. Enter the information and click Next.
19. After that, Setup continues with the rest of the installation. It may take from 20 minutes to 1 hour to finish. When the installation is complete, the PC restarts.

How to install Windows XP Professional on a previous OS

If there's a system already installed on your PC or your computer does not support booting from a CD-ROM, you can install Windows XP Professional from a CDROM without having to boot from the Windows XP Professional installation CD-ROM.

1. If there is an operating system currently installed on your computer, start the computer, log on as an administrator or a user with administrative privileges, and insert the Windows XP Professional CDROM into the CD-ROM drive.
2. When the Welcome To Microsoft Windows XP page pops up, click Install Windows XP.
3. If you see a Windows Setup message box indicating that the version of the operating system cannot be upgraded and that option to upgrade will not be available, click OK.
4. On the Welcome To Setup page in the Installation Type box, click New Installation (Advanced), click Next.
5. On the License Agreement page, read the license agreement, select I Accept This Agreement, click Next.
6. On the Your Product Key page, type in your 25-character product key, click Next.
7. The Setup Options page allows you to configure the following three options:
   - Advanced Options Allows you to control where the installation files are obtained, where the installation files are copied to, whether or not to copy all installation files to the hard disk, and whether or not you want to specify the drive letter and partition during Setup.
   - Accessibility Options Gives you the option of using the Microsoft Magnifier during Setup to display an enlarged portion of the screen in a separate window for users with limited vision and the option of using the Microsoft Narrator to read the contents of the screen for users who are blind.
   - Select The Primary Language And Region You Want To Use - to specify your language and region.
8. After configuration, click Next.
9. Setup displays the Get Updated Setup Files dialog box. If your PC has access to the Internet,select the Yes, Download The Updated Setup Files (Recommended) check box, and click Next. Otherwise, select No, Skip This Step And Continue Installing Windows, and then
   click Next.
10. If your disk partition is not currently formatted with NTFS, the Setup Wizard displays the Upgrade To The Windows NTFS File System page. If you get the Upgrade To The Windows NTFS File System page, ensure that Yes, Upgrade My Drive is selected, and then click Next.
11. If you are installing a Windows XP Professional Evaluation Edition , the Setup Wizard displays the Setup Notification page, informing you that this is an evaluation version. If Setup displays the Setup Notification screen, press ENTER to continue.
12. On the Welcome To Setup page, press ENTER to install Windows XP Professional.
13. The Setup Wizard prompts you to select an area of free space on an existing partition to install Windows XP Professional. Select the C partition. The Setup Wizard displays the following message: You Chose To Install Windows XP On A Partition That Contains Another Operating System. Installing Windows XP Professional On This Partition Might Cause The Other Operating System To Function Improperly.
14. Press C to continue Setup.
15. If you get an information that a Windows folder already exists, press L to use the folder and delete the installation in it. If your partition was not previously formatted with NTFS and you choose to have the partition formatted as NTFS, Setup formats it, and then copies files. Otherwise, Setup examines the partition and then copies files.
16. The Setup Wizard reboots the PC and continues to copy files in a graphic (GUI) mode, then it displays the Regional And Language Options page. Choose the appropriate system locale, user locale, and keyboard layout and click Next.
17. Setup shows the Personalize Your Software page, asking you for your name and your organization name. The Setup Wizard uses your organization name to generate the default computer name. If you install applications later they may use this information for document identification and registration. Fill the boxed appropriately and then click Next.
18. The Setup Wizard displays the Computer Name And Administrator Password page. Type a name for the computer in the Computer Name text box. If your PC is connected to LAN, ask your administartor for a name of your PC.
19. In the Administrator Password text box and in the Confirm Password text box, type a password, click Next. You may leave the box empty.
20. Depending on your computer configuration, the Setup Wizard might display the Modem Dialing Information page. You need to give following information:
    - The correct country or region is selected.
    - Type the correct area code or city code.
    - If you dial a number to get an outside line, type the number.
    - Ensure that the correct dialing tone is selected, and click Next.
21. The Setup Wizard displays the Date And Time Settings page. If necessary, select the time zone for your location from the Time Zone drop-down list, and adjust the date and the time. Ensure that the Automatically Adjust Clock For Daylight Saving Changes check box is selected if you want Windows XP Professional to automatically adjust the time on your computer for daylight savings time, and then click Next.
22. Check that Typical Settings is selected and click Next.
23. On the Workgroup Or Computer Domain page, ensure that the No, This Computer Is Not On A Network, Or Is On A Network Without A Domain option is selected, make sure that the workgroup name is Workgroup, and then click Next.
24. The Setup Wizard configures the networking components and then copies files, installs Start menu items, registers components, saves settings, and removes temporary files. This process takes several minutes.
25. The PC restarts, and Windows XP Professional starts for the first time.
    
    

How to gather information about your PC

Sometimes you may want to know what hardware is in your PC.
1. Click Start
2. Click Run
3. In the run dialog box type: msinfo32 and click OK
4. The System Information utility will open and show a summary of your system.