We haven’t had a tips and tricks article for ages. So here it is, Merry Christmas…
Get rid of the white pointer
What was Gates thinking of giving us a white pointer cursor by default? It should have been black. Go to Start/Control Panel/Mouse and click the Pointers tab. Select the Scheme drop down menu or select a new cursor from the box.
Error reporting
Doesn’t that error message reporting dialogue tick you off when software falls over? No good will come of it, so it may as well be switched off. Banish error reporting forever by going to Start/Control Panel/System/Advanced tab. Scroll to the Error Reporting button at the foot of the page and check the item ‘Disable Error Reporting’ and click OK.
Alarm clock
Not a lot of people know this but Windows has an alarm clock. Or, to be more precise, has the building blocks of one via the Windows Task Scheduler.
If you need a musical reminder or wake up call at a certain time each day, here’s a neat trick to try. Browse to where you store your music files then open Task Scheduler by going Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools. Now drag and drop a music file into the Task Scheduler window. Right click the music file icon, select Properties then the Schedule tab, set times and dates, and click OK.
Be aware, though, that if you haven’t yet set a User Password for Windows this trick won’t work because Windows does not allow this password field to be left blank for security reasons.
Don’t hibernate?
You can save a sizeable stack of disk space if you ditch the Hibernate option in Windows XP. For when Hibernate is enabled, Windows creates a hidden system file that is around the same capacity as the machine’s RAM memory. To reclaim some vital hard disc real estate, go Start/Control Panel/Power Options and then select the Hibernate tab and deselect ‘Enable Hibernation’.
Beefy bin
Another prolific consumer of disc space is the Recycle Bin, by default up to ten per cent of the available space is set aside. This is way too much; one or two per cent is nearer the mark. It’s the equivalent of having a wheelie bin parked permanently in your kitchen. Reclaim your hard disc space by right clicking the Bin icon, selecting Properties, then the drive tab and move the slider down to 1 or 2, then click OK.
