PCTips Box

Windows Vista generates a preview thumbnail for nearly every file when viewed in Windows Explorer. Yes thumbnails can be really useful for quick photo viewing, but disabling these thumbnail previews in Windows Explorer can really speed things up.

Disabling Vista’s thumbnail previews in Windows Explorer is really easy to do and should really improve response time when browsing around your drives.

Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: Disabling thumbnail previews in Windows Vista Explorer usually takes less than a few minutes
Here’s How: (more…)

Scanning your hard drive using Error Checking can help diagnose and even correct a wide range of hard drive errors. Error Checking replaces older Windows hard drive diagnostics such as “scandisk” and “chkdsk”.
Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: Anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours or more, depending on the size and speed of the hard drive
Here’s How: (more…)

Removing temporary Internet files from Internet Explorer 7 is sometimes necessary to solve certain problems with web pages and sometimes to even fix problems with IE7 itself.

The temporary Internet files in Internet Explorer 7 contain locally saved copies, called cache, of web pages you have recently visited. Clearing the temporary Internet files in Internet Explorer is completely safe and should not remove any other data from your PC.

Follow the easy steps below to clear the temporary Internet files from your Internet Explorer 7 browser: (more…)

As long as security isn’t a big concern, configuring Windows Vista to log on to your user account automatically can save you some serious time and effort when your computer is starting up.

Just follow the easy steps outlined below to make Windows Vista automatically log on to your user account. After completing these steps, Windows Vista will stop prompting you for a user name and password on startup! (more…)

Clearing the temporary Internet files from Internet Explorer 6 is sometimes necessary to solve certain problems with web pages and with the browser itself.

The temporary Internet files in Internet Explorer 6 contain locally saved copies, also called cache, of recent web pages you have visited. Clearing the temporary Internet files in Internet Explorer is completely safe and should not remove any important data from your computer.

Follow the easy steps below to clear the temporary Internet files from your Internet Explorer 6 browser: (more…)

One way of disabling Internet Explorer in Windows XP is by using a dummy proxy server address inside the IE connection settings, disabling the browser from accessing anything on the Internet.

Make sure you’ve installed and tested an alternative browser (like Firefox) and then follow the easy steps below to disable Internet Explorer in Windows XP using a dummy proxy server:

Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: Disabling Internet Explorer in Windows XP using a dummy proxy server takes less than 15 minutes
Here’s How: (more…)

One way of disabling Internet Explorer in Windows XP is by using the Set Program Access and Defaults utility available as part of all Windows XP installations with at least Service Pack 2 installed.

Make sure you’ve installed and tested an alternative browser (like Firefox) and then follow the easy steps below to disable Internet Explorer using the Set Program Access and Defaults utility:

Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: Disabling IE in Windows XP using the Program Defaults Utility usually takes less than 15 minutes
Here’s How: (more…)

Most of us know that changing your Windows XP logon password regularly is a good habit to help keep your PC secure. Changing your password in Windows XP is easy and is something you should think about doing if you’re having problems remembering the one you’re using now.

Follow the easy steps below to change your Windows XP logon password:

Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: Changing your Windows XP logon password usually takes less than a few minutes
Here’s How: (more…)

Windows Vista is setup by default to restart immediately after a major system problem. This reboot usually happens too fast to see the error message on screen.

Follow these easy steps to disable the automatic restart feature for system failures in Windows Vista.

Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: Disabling the Automatic Restart option in Windows Vista usually takes less than 10 minutes
Here’s How: (more…)

As long as you’re the only user on your PC, deleting your Windows Vista account password will allow you to completely bypass the logon process. While it isn’t a very security-minded thing to do, removing your Windows Vista password might be something to consider if you have problems remembering your password.

Follow the easy steps below to remove the password to your Windows Vista logon account:

Difficulty: Easy
Time Required: Deleting your Windows Vista logon password usually takes less than a few minutes
Here’s How: (more…)