Faster-PC.net PC annoyances
Are there things about your computer that just drive you NUTS? Us too! Here's a list of our favorites, but we're sure there's more - please contact us with your own so we can all share in your misery.
List of Faster-PC.net annoyances (and how to cure them!):
- Getting Rid of Thumbs.db Thumbs.db is a special hidden file Windows XP uses to cache thumbnails for every image and video in a certain folder. By caching these thumbnails, Windows can quickly look up the preview image for a set of folders, images, or videos by consulting the thumbs.db file instead of re-rendering each thumbnail. The first time you look at thumbnails in a media-rich folder, your computer will take longer to display them as Windows is building the database; however, after the first time, it should get much faster.
- How To Stop Net Send and Alerter Messages The Messenger service is an application that runs in the background of most Windows NT-based systems, including Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. The Messenger service allows IT administrators to send your computer messages about important network events. For instance, if your corporate IT administrator has to reboot your company's primary server, he may use the Messenger service to send an Alerter message telling your entire company to ensure they've saved their work.
- Managing and Disabling Automatic Windows Updates Windows Update is a service that was installed alongside Windows XP that enables Microsoft to provide your PC with critical security updates. Microsoft has used Windows Update for other purposes as well, such as ensuring your software isn't pirated, pushing the latest feature updates for bundled applications, and deploying brand-new software to users of authentic Windows software.
- Prevent Startup Programs from Running The simplest method for controlling the programs that start with Windows has to do with modifying the "Startup" folder in your Start menu. You can find the "Startup" folder by choosing "Start", "All Programs" (or "Programs" in Windows 98SE/2000), then "Startup". Inspect the Startup folder and note any programs present there that you feel are unnecessary. To clean your Startup folder, take the following steps:
- Recycle Bin Missing RegCure seeks and destroys the root causes of your disappearing Recycle Bin: corrupt desktop registry keys, bad user settings, and malware remnants. Best of all, it's a free download.
- Removing Windows Messenger Windows Messenger is included with most editions of Microsoft Windows XP in the default installation. Users who run Windows XP Professional are more likely to have Windows Messenger come with their PC than users who run Windows XP Home. Just like Microsoft Paint, WordPad, and Calculator, Windows Messenger is installed on your computer at the same time as the host operating system. During the installation of Windows, you are not given an option to avoid installing Windows Messenger. If you purchased a computer that came with Windows XP, the computer manufacturer may have used a special installation process to prevent Windows Messenger from being installed on your computer.