800 East 96th Street, Indianapolis, Indiana 46240Preston GrallaWindows®XPTeachYourselfSnapin a00 671x fm 7/2/04 11:18 AM Page iiiPresented by:ivWindowsXP in a SnapCopyright  2005 by Sams PublishingAll rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. No patentliability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein.Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, thepublisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Nor is anyliability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information containedherein.International Standard Book Number: 0-672-32671-XLibrary of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2003099243Printed in the United States of AmericaFirst Printing: August 200407 06 05 04 4321TrademarksAll terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service markshave been appropriately capitalized. Sams Publishing cannot attest to the accuracyof this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affectingthe validity of any trademark or service mark.Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.Warning and DisclaimerEvery effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate aspossible, but no warranty or fitness is implied. The information provided is on an“as is” basis. The author and the publisher shall have neither liability nor responsi-bility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from theinformation contained in this book.Bulk SalesSams Publishing offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered in quantityfor bulk purchases or special sales. For more information, please contactU.S. Corporate and Government [email protected] sales outside of the U.S., please contactInternational [email protected] EditorBetsy BrownDevelopment EditorAlice Martina SmithManaging EditorCharlotte ClappProject EditorDan KnottProduction EditorSeth KerneyIndexerChris BarrickProofreaderWendy OttTechnical EditorDallas RelefordPublishing CoordinatorVanessa EvansDesignerGary AdairPage LayoutKelly Maish00 671x fm 7/2/04 11:18 AM Page ivFine-Tuning,Optimizing, andProtecting Your PCIN THIS CHAPTER:Balance Performance and Visual EffectsTurn Off Unneeded Programs and ServicesCreate and Use Power Schemes for LaptopsUse ClearType for Better Laptop ResolutionGet System Updates AutomaticallyAbout Backing Up Your Hard DiskProtect Your System with System RestoreFree Up Space on Your Hard DiskDefragment Your Hard Disk1261251241231221211201191181418 671x ch14 7/2/04 11:22 AM Page 379PCs always need fiddling with. Perhaps you want to make yours runfaster, or you want to get more life out of your laptop’s battery. You cer-tainly want to make sure that it has the latest software protection. And ifsomething goes wrong with it, you want to make sure that you can fix it.Windows XP offers many built-in tools for doing all that and more. Inthis chapter, you’ll learn how to fine-tune, optimize, and protect your PCusing XP’s built-in tools.PART IV: Troubleshooting and Optimizing XP380Balance Performance and Visual Effects118Balance Performance and Visual Effects118One of the many things that makes Windows XP unique is its specialvisual effects—menu items fading in and out, showing shadows undermenus, and so on.One problem with those special effects is each takes a toll on system per-formance. Your computer has to work harder to use them. If you havean older computer, or if you think your computer is slower than itshould be, you can turn off some or all of these special effects.Right-Click My ComputerThe My Computer icon might be located in several places depend-ing on how your computer has been set up. You might find anicon for it on your desktop. If not, you’ll find it on the right side ofthe Start menu after you click the Start button.Right-click the My Computer icon and choose Properties. TheSystem Properties dialog box appears.Open the Performance Options Dialog BoxIn the System Properties dialog box, click the Advanced tab. Inthe Performance section, click the Settings button to open thePerformance Options dialog box.Adjust for Best PerformanceIf you care more about having your system run as quickly as possi-ble than about the appearance of the screens, choose the Adjust forbest performance option and click OK twice. When you do this,Windows XP disables all the options in the dialog box and uses nospecial effects. The performance boost takes place immediately.321See Also➜ Turn Off UnneededPrograms andServices119TIPAnother way to open theSystem Properties dialogbox is to click the Startbutton, choose the ControlPanel option, click thePerformance andMaintenance icon, andthen click the Systemoption. If you don’t see thePerformance andMaintenance icon in theControl Panel list, choosethe System icon to launchthe System Properties dia-log box.NOTEThe Performance Optionsdialog box lists the variousspecial effects thatWindows XP can perform.The check boxes next tothe ones currently in useare enabled. Those optionswithout check marks arenot currently being used.18 671x ch14 7/2/04 11:22 AM Page 380CHAPTER 14: Fine-Tuning, Optimizing, and Protecting Your PC381Balance Performance and Visual Effects118Right-Click My Computer1Open thePerformanceOptionsDialog Box2Adjust for Best Appearance4Adjust for BestPerformance3BalancePerformance andSpecial Effects5Adjust for Best AppearanceIf you care more about your system using all of XP’s special visualeffects than about performance, choose the Adjust for bestappearance option and click OK twice. When you do this, XPenables all the check boxes in the Performance Options dialogbox and uses all its available special effects. The improved appear-ance occurs immediately.4TIPThere are too many effectsto detail them all here, sothe best advice is to dis-able check boxes next tosome effects and useWindows XP for a while; ifyou’re pleased with theresults, leave those effectsdisabled.18 671x ch14 7/2/04 11:22 AM Page 381Balance Performance and Special EffectsYou can decide on an effect-by-effect basis which options to useand which to turn off. Enable the check boxes next to those effectsyou want to use, and disable those you don’t want to use. Click OKtwice