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Four tips to using System Restore on Windows XP

System Restore is a feature of Windows XP that periodically backs up the Windows system folders. It does this in case some piece of software is not doing something today that it was doing yesterday. In that event, you can restore the latest System Restore backup and hopefully fix things.

Microsoft refers to System Restore backups as "restore points". They reside on the C disk in a folder Windows tries to keep hidden.

System Restore runs silently in the background, thus, you can use a Windows XP machine for years and not be aware of its existence - … Read more

NOD32 antivirus won't shut down

The NOD32 antivirus program from ESET has its share of enthusiasts. After a long, detailed review of the field, Scot Finnie in February called it the best antivirus product of 2007.

Based on Mr. Finnie's reviews and recommendation, I've been installing NOD32 on the computers of some of my clients. I've also lived with it a bit on one of my computers and had no major gripes.

Until yesterday.

I was about to run Microsoft Update on a Windows XP machine for the third or fourth time, and was getting tired of waiting for it complete. So … Read more

Clean your computer's clock

This program, like many others, promises to clean your registry, make your computer run faster and, if you're lucky, do your dishes, too. At least with cleaning your registry, Advanced Registry Optimizer seems to do a pretty good job.

The scan process was easy to initiate and was done in about three minutes, although don't forget that the scan time depends on the computer system. A row of five tabs makes navigating the program options stress-free while the lack of lag on the system was much appreciated. The user interface has quite a bit of white space, which … Read more

Norton 360

Computer security is all the rage, and there's no shortage of products out in the wild to help keep your system safe. If, like me, you're a general sort of user you may want to take a look at Symantec's Norton 360. With its intuitive user interface and light use of system resources this is a great all purpose application for the home user. Don't let your hot new system go to waste for lack of good security!

ZipWiz 2005

This is a novice-friendly file compression/decompression utility, but too many bells and whistles may leave advanced users searching for another tool.

ZipWiz 2005 isn't a wallflower. The bright red main control interface is glitzy and includes a mere six control buttons. Everything sparkles with this utility. Menus fly open, and preview buttons light up when you hover over them. Novices will like that ZipWiz holds their hand through every step. There are plenty of tips and hints on almost every screen, but all that information doesn't slow down the utility. Opening most directories quickly lists files, while … Read more

I can see clearly now with Windows Vista

Let's hear the drum roll. The moment we have been waiting for... Windows Vista is finally here! If your computer is Vista-ready, be among the first to get the operating system installed and let us know if you think it's really worth it? Or if your computer is not Vista-ready, you might want to browse through these lists of ( notebooks or desktops) and get in on the Vista action.