Backup Important System Files the Easy WayBackup Important System Files the Easy Way

Contrary to what you may have heard, Backing up your important system files doesn’t require any additional software. In fact it can be easily done using something called xcopy, which is a feature that is included with Windows XP …

Note:This procedure requires a second drive or partition.

Click ,

then .

Type notepad then click

Once Notepad opens, copy and paste into Notepad the following:

xcopy “c:\Documents and Settings\*.*” “d:\Backup” /d /e /c /h /y

Click Here for more information on xcopy and the various switches

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Then Click File then Save As… then name the file Backup.bat , pick somewhere to save it (anywhere, just as long as you remember where it is)

Now when you want to run a backup, simply double click on Backup.bat , the first time (and only the first time) you run this windows will ask you if you are trying to create a file or directory. Type “d” for directory.

Use Shortcut Keys to Open Programs Fast

What to access your programs even faster? With a shortcut key you can launch any program with the tap of a few keys on your keyboard. It’s easy – You choose the program(s) and what key strokes.

Locate the icon of the program that you want to launch faster. Then right click on it and select Properties.

Then put the mouse cursor in the Shortcut Key box (click on the word None )

Choose a key combination that you want to use as a shortcut key using any combination of CONTROL, ALT and/or SHIFT keys along with any regular keyboard character (alphanumeric). Then, on your keyboard, hit that key combination. You will see your key combinations appear as you press them

Then Click Apply and you are done. You can test it out immediately by just hitting the same key combination. If your program opens, then it is working.

Prevent Programs From Auto Starting With MSCONFIG

This tweak will give you a fairly large performance boost. What most people don’t know is that every time you boot your computer a whole mess of “hidden” programs load in the background. To access this list, do the following:

Click

then

Type msconfig then click

Click on the Startup tab, then uncheck programs you don’t want starting (by starting, I mean that these programs are always running, so by disabling them they won’t auto start but don’t worry, these programs will still be accessible).

In XP Essential programs are loaded through something called ‘Windows Services.’ This means that most of the startup items you see in XP are completely optional and can be turned off.

As a good rule of thumb if you don’t recognize the program name leave it on. If you see one that is blank (see below example) DEFINITELY DISABLE IT. These are usually spyware or viruses and you definitely don’t want them starting with your computer. When I see these I always run a Virus Check, then scan for Spyware.

Reboot your computer and you should notice faster performance.

Fix a “Cannot Delete File” Error

Windows XP: If you have ever gotten the Cannot Delete File error, then you definitely know how frustrating it can be to get rid of the file. In this article I will walk you through how to delete these “undeletable” files.

First write down the location of the file and the file name (for example, myfile.txt located C:\Documents and Settings\John\My Documents)

Then click Start then Turn Off Computer, then click Restart

While the Computer is booting tap F8 until the Advanced Boot Options Menu Pops up

Choose Safe Mode with Command Prompt and log in normally to a local administrator account. Now Using the command cd (Change directory), change to the directory that you wrote down however make sure to put Quotation Marks around the whole path.

For example:
Cd “C:\Documents and Settings\John\My Documents”

Finally delete the file, using the del (delete) command:

For example
del myfile.txt