ABCOM IT services – the newsdesk

1. Disable Indexing Services

Indexing Services is a small little program that uses large amounts of RAM and can often make a computer tied up . This system process indexes and updates lists of all the files that are on . It does this so that when you do a search for something on your computer, it will search faster by scanning the index lists. If you don’t search your computer often, or even if you do search often, this system service is completely unneeded. To disable do the following:

• Go to Start
• Click Settings
• Click Control Panel
• Double-click Add/Remove Programs
• Click the Add/Remove Window Components
• Uncheck the Indexing services
• Click Next

2. Optimise Display Settings

Visual items can waste system resources. To optimise:

• Go to Start
• Click Settings
• Click Control Panel
• Click System
• Click Advanced tab
• In the Performance tab click Settings
• Leave only the following ticked:

• Show shadows under menus
• Show shadows under mouse pointer
• Show translucent selection rectangle
• Use drop shadows for icons labels on the desktop
• Use visual styles on windows and buttons

3. Speedup Folder Browsing

 to increase browsing significantly:

• Open My Computer
• Click on Tools menu
• Click on Folder Options
• Click on the View tab.
• Uncheck the Automatically search for network folders and printers check box
• Click Apply
• Click Ok
• Reboot your computer

4. Optimise Your Pagefile

If you give your pagefile a fixed size it saves the operating system from needing to resize the page file.

• Right click on My Computer and select Properties
• Select the Advanced tab
• Under Performance choose the Settings button
• Select the Advanced tab again and under Virtual Memory select Change
• Highlight the drive containing your page file and make the initial Size of the file the same as the Maximum Size of the file.

Windows XP sizes the page file to about 1.5X the amount of actual physical memory by default.

• Upon reboot, BootVis will automatically start, analyze and log your system’s boot process. When it’s done, in the menu go to Trace and select Optimize System
• Reboot.
• When your machine has rebooted wait until you see the Optimizing System box appear. Be patient and wait for the process to complete

 5. Remove the Desktop Picture

Your desktop background consumes a fair amount of memory and can slow the loading time of your system. Lets loose it.

• Right click on Desktop and select Properties
• Select the Desktop tab
• In the Background window select None
• Click Ok

6. Remove Fonts for Speed

Fonts, especially TrueType fonts, use quite a bit of resources. For optimal performance, trim your fonts down to just those that you need to use on a daily basis and fonts that applications may require.

• Open Control Panel
• Open Fonts folder
• Move fonts you don’t need to a temporary directory (e.g. C:\FONTBKUP?) just in case you need or want to bring a few of them back. The more fonts you uninstall, the more system resources you will gain.

One of our support technicians is taking his Microsoft Certified Professional 70-270 Exam next week!

The exam is based upon Installing, Configuring, and Administering Microsoft Windows XP Professional.

Here at ABCOM we are keen for our technicians to gain qualifications and strengthen their knowledge.

So much so that even our MD is looking into developing his own IT knowledge and taking the exam in the future!

A couple from Sweden who used their GPS to go to isle of Capri ended 400 miles off course and in the Italian town of Carpi after misspelling the name in the GPS.

According to BBC news the couple became aware what they had done when they asked at Carpi tourist office where Capri’s famous Blue Grotto was. Apparently once they realised their mistake they got back in the car heading South.

In this case it seems that for once the technology was not to blame and the event was caused entirely by human error!

Here at ABCOM we were as shocked as you to hear about the abuse of trust taking place in some so called computer repair shops. We are pleased that this nasty side of the sector has been exposed and hope that it makes consumers wary on cheap uncertified repair shops.

In the reports engineers were seen going through private files, attempting to hack into bank accounts and misdiagnosing and overcharging customers. 

We would like to reassure you of our credentials and professional service and to let you know that you can trust us with your computers and data.

We are ISO 9000 quality assured and a Trading Standards Buy with Confidence Company.

We only hire experienced and qualified engineers that are CRB vetted before starting and we are ourselves a Microsoft Certified Partner. 

We only ever charge you for work that needs to be done and is carried out on your machine.  

Many of our new customers have been referred to us by our existing ones, so we must be doing something right!

For a friendly, professional and quality service we are your one stop shop for your IT needs.

www.abcom.co.uk

Burgess Hill – Martletts  – this coming Friday 12:30 DATA SECURITY FOR BUSINESSES
ABCOM – ALBION BUSINESS COMPUTERS

In an increasingly security-conscious world, what steps can you take to protect your customers data, and yours? Media destruction and secure data erasure for businesses. We showcase and discuss methods for data protection, compliancy and all round better data security.

about the event: “free one-day event showcases many of the businesses in and around Burgess Hill. Attend one of the informative, free business seminars to gain invaluable tips, hear expert opinions and share ideas. The event and workshops provide an excellent opportunity to network with local businesses. Twitter us @ abcomuk for directions, information or general chat…

http://blogs.ft.com/techblog/2009/04/intel-sees-green-chips-of-recovery/ (courtesy of Financial Times Twitter)

Intel, which believes in investing during a downturn is trying to persuade its customers to think the same way.

It released a survey and statistics on Tuesday that suggested investing in upgrading three or four-year-old computers will quickly pay for itself.

The study, carried out by consultants Wipro involving 106 US and European companies, said that two-thirds of them were continuing to upgrade their computers during the recession.

Their reasons were that new PCs were more secure and cheaper to run, to the extent that they paid for themselves with energy and other savings in a matter of months – as low as 10 months for those using Intel’s vPro technology.

“Yes, it’s tough economic times but those IT departments who can, are continuing to refresh because they are worried about security, and newer PCs can reduce their operational costs,” Rob Crooke, head of Intel’s Business Client Group, told a press briefing.

Just installing this at the moment on my pc . Having this backed up now sure will avoid a lot of grief, the alternative is it may eventually fail.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=8b081f3a-b7d0-4b16-b8af-5a6322f4fd01&displaylang=en

How to use :     http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/outlook/HA010875321033.aspx

Its great – there are statistics and some thought provoking info on trends, IMHO.