5 Little Tricks Every Computer Beginner Should Know

14.11.08
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Written by Dave

This is a guest article written by Emma Best from www.laptopical.com a great source for laptop related news and reviews.

A few very basic steps can do wonders to improve the performance and reliability of your laptop. Most computer users find that their system performance deteriorates over time, but if you plan ahead you can avoid many of these degradation and reliability issues.

When “turning it off and on again” doesn’t help solve your computer problems anymore, it’s often too late. Following these simple tips will help keep you out of trouble and work more efficiently.

Uninstalling Stuff You Never Use

Despite Microsoft’s continuing effort to annoy users with UAC (User Account Control) prompts in Vista whenever you install new software, you probably have a lot of applications on your computer that you never use.
One example is trial versions of software, some of which come with adware attached (like various shopping toolbars). Most software, including “legitimate” adware can be uninstalled easily via the Control Panel –> Programs and Features.
More sinister adware and spyware are hidden from the Control Panel, but there are free programs available that scan the system for these elements and remove them, for example Lavasoft’s AdAware

Uninstalling apps that you don’t use may speed up boot time and system responsiveness considerably, as many applications – and practically all adware – launches itself on boot-up and resides in your system memory at all times.

Update Your Antivirus Software

The previous tip brings up the importance of always using up-to-date anti-virus software. A surprisingly large amount of computers use outdated software or none at all. Maybe that 30-day trial version of Symantec that came with your laptop expired two years ago and you didn’t bother to get a subscription?

For home users there are several free alternatives that provide fully adequate virus protection – a couple of good examples are Avast [avast.com] and AVG [free.avg.com]. Efficient antivirus software helps ensure that you don’t get any computer problems in the first place.

Add or Remove Features in Windows Vista

Windows Vista has received a lot of criticism for being bloated and slow down the computer, but you can always remove some of the features you don’t need. Access the control panel from the start menu; go to “Programs and Features” and open “Turn Windows features on and off” using the link to the left.Ã‚Â This won’t help you run Vista if your computer is too old in the first place, but it will save some space and resources.

If your computer feels sluggish and you think you can manage without the eye candy, another option is to disable Vista’s Aero Glass theme in favor of the old XP look and feel. Just right click on the desktop and choose personalize; in this menu select Theme and switch to Windows Classic.

Backup Your Important Data

This one falls a bit outside the “little tricks” category, but it’s a widely overlooked source of computer-related frustration, and definitely something all computer users should know.

One of the first components in your computer that gives in to old age is the hard drive. Unfortunately, this is where all of your saved data resides, and losing the hard drive could mean losing all of your important work files, your music collection, personal photos etc.

Regular backups to a USB thumb drive or external hard drive can be a life saver in the event of a crash. Both Windows and Mac OS X come with useful backup tools: Backup and Restore Center for Windows and Time Machine for Mac.

Some Windows Keyboard Shortcuts

Save some mouse clicks by using keyboard shortcuts instead of moving the mouse around. You probably already know that you can use Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V instead of Copy and Paste, but there are many more combinations that save you a tiny bit of effort each time, for example:
Ctrl + X cuts out anything you’ve highlighted in a document and Ctrl + A highlights the entire document. Saving a document is easily done by pressing Ctrl + S. The Windows key has several bindings as well; Windows key + D shows the desktop, M minimizes all windows. Windows key + E launches Explorer, and R opens the Run dialog box.

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