Jatex’s Weblog

One of the most irritating beeps happens when you use the Volume control… but there are other beeps, such as on error dialogs or when you hit the wrong key.

Disable Beep in Device Manager

Open up Device Manager by right-clicking on Computer and choosing Properties, then on the Hardware tab you’ll find the button for Device Manager.

Select View \ Show hidden devices from the menu.

Find Non-Plug and Play Drivers in the list, and then right-click on “Beep” and disable it:

When it prompts you to reboot, select no, and then right-click again and choose Properties this time. On the Driver tab, change the Startup type to “Disabled” and then click the “Stop” button if you are able to.

This should disable the system beep speaker, but it probably won’t change the volume control beep, so continue on.

Disabling Beep in Registry

Open up regedit.exe through the run box, and then navigate down to the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Sound

Find the “Beep” key on the right-hand side and change the value to “no”.

Disable Beep in Sounds Panel

Open up Control Panel and find the Sounds and Audio Devices panel, choose the Sounds tab and then find “Default Beep” in the list.

Change the sound drop-down on the bottom to “None” and then click Apply. This should disable the volume control beep.

You’ll want to also change Critical Stop to “None” as well, and should probably also turn off some of the other items.

I know that most of you probably know the basics like ctrl+v for paste and ctrl+c for copy. This is what you can also do with the windows key:

+ B

Set focus to first tray icon

+ D

Show Desktop

+ E

Windows Explorer

+ F

Find Files or Folders (aka Search)

+ M

Minimize All windows

+ ShiftM

Undo minimize all windows

+ R

Run…

+ Tab

Select Task

+ Pause/Break

System Properties

+ F1

Windows Help

+ L

Lock workstation

+ U

Utility manager (accessibility)

Where the default Windows key shortcuts end, WinKey begins. Winkey lets you map additional Windows key shortcuts. It can’t override the existing shortcuts, unfortunately, but you’re free to map any key that isn’t already taken.

-Use The Windows “Disk Cleanup” Utility
The Windows “Disk Cleanup” utility is super easy to use! All you have to do is click:

Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Disk Cleanup

After you select Disk Cleanup it will open and ask you which drive you want to cleanup. Typically, this will be drive C:
Once you select your drive click “OK” and the utility will scan your system to calculate how much junk it can remove, and space it can save.

Once The Scan Is Complete…
Once it completes it’s in itial scan, it will display the items it can remove, as well as an option to compress old files.
All of these options are safe and I recommend you do so.
Once you have everything you want checked, click the “OK” button and the Disk Cleanup utility will begin it’s process.
Once you click “OK” the cleanup utility goes to work deleting your junk files, and compressing the old. Sometimes this can take a while, but don’t worry! Just sit back and relax and watch the garbage get removed
Once it’s complete there is no need to reboot. Your computer is now free of unwanted clutter, violla!

-Disk Cleanup “More Options” Tab Explained
As I’m sure you noticed, there is also a, “More Options” tab in the Windows Disk Cleanup utility. This provides you with a few more things you can do to clean up space.

1) Windows Components: The utility will display components you may not have used recently. I recommend you steer away from this option. Just because you haven’t used them doesn’t mean you never will!
2) Installed Programs: This just gets you to the Add/Remove Programs function plain and simple. Feel free to go through installed programs and remove ones you know you’ll never use.
3) System Restore: Steer away from this! It will remove restore points and only keep your most recent. I am always a big fan of keeping a ton of different restore points “just in case”.

I have included some excellent resources below that explain this utility in a bit more detail.
* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_Cleanup – Windows Disk Cleanup Utility
Learn more about the Disk Cleanup utility
*http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310312- Disk Cleanup Utility In XP
Article Describing How To Use Disk Cleanup

-Optimize The Windows Registry

This is a critical step to speed up your slow PC, especially if you have recently removed malicious spyware or adware.
Over time the Windows registry gets bogged down due to leftover debris from spyware, shared DLL files, invalid registry entries, invalid shortcuts and more.

To access the Windows Registry Editor, pull up the Run command like I showed you above, and type “regedit”. Then click the OK button.

*WARNING: Although it is possible to manually edit your system registry (to remove excess code bloat), I HIGHLY do NOT recommend you attempt to do this unless you are extremely experienced with all aspects of it. You could seriously corrupt your Window’s operating system forcing you to re-install everything!

CCleaner Free Windows Registry PC System Cleaner
With this in mind, there are some tools that can do the task automatically. One particular free program is CCleaner. CCleaner is a great program you can download free to optimize your registry, and clean up all of the junk that can slow down your system. I actually use CCleaner on my laptop, even though I prefer RegCure on my desktop where I do most of my work, and store most of my files. Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck5FwzeDOAs&eurl=http://hubpages.com/hub/Speed-Up-Slow-PC

-RegCure Advanced Windows Registry PC System Cleaner
RegCure’s free scan let’s you see if you have any registry errors via a free registry scan. If you do, RegCure will fix a few problems for free however they do have a license fee in order to fix all of the problems (around $29 I believe) but it is highly worth it.
RegCure’s Advanced Features
RegCure also boasts a couple of advanced features that I absolutely love! RegCure backs up your entire registry prior to fixing your problems in case you want to revert back. RegCure also has a feature allowing you to handle Window’s startup programs without using the “System Configuration Utility” as I mentioned above.
Registry Editing Is Too Risky To Attempt Manually

When it comes to these tools, the point is that editing your registry manually is not only risky, but time consuming. Not only that, but I can guarantee you wouldn’t correct every issue because the registry is extremely complex. Having an error free registry is also essential to your system’s health. Imagine your car without ever having an oil and filter change or professional tune-up. http://www.regcure.tv/

-Finally, You’ve Taken Back Control Of Your PC!
Just taking these few steps above should speed up your PC 100 fold! One thing to keep in mind that when installing new programs (especially from the internet), is they tend to offer other things like toolbars etc. Make sure you uncheck the box for any program or utility you do not wish to be installed! This is especially true when downloading free games from gaming sites. They offer the games free because they will make money when you install a “Free” toolbar and often try to sneak it past you.

-Closing Thoughts
I really do hope this article helps you to avoid frustration when it comes to your PC. Using the steps above will definately make you fall in love your PC all over again!

-Speed Up Your Slow PC By Removing Spyware
One of the most common causes of a slow PC is spyware or adware infection. These infections are tiny programs that get placed on your computer without you even knowing about it.

-The Dangers Of Spyware & Malware Infection
These programs are very dangerous because not only do they monitor your internet activity and serve you pop-up ads based on your browsing activity, but they can also collect PERSONAL information from you such as usernames and passwords by recording your keystrokes.
The problem is, these programs usually go undetected in the System Configuration Utility and need to be removed by special software. Some even mask themselves by having a similar process name as a required component. I am mentioneing these things because I feel it is very important that you realize how critical removing these programs is.
How To Remove Spyware

The first step is to decide which Spyware remover is right for you. There is a free one called Spybot Search & Destroy that isn’t too bad. It is completely free and I have provided a tutorial video on the right that shows you how to use it to scan your system.
If you don’t mind paying, I recommend XoftSpySE. You can scan your system for spyware for free first, and then they have a small license fee for removal, which is around $29. It’s the one I use and prefer.
But like I mentioned, the best part is that they offer a free scan in advance so you’ll know if you even need it before you register it.

* Spybot Search & Destroy Spyware Remover
Eliminate Spyware Using Spybot Search & Destroy
* XoftSpySE Advanced Spyware & Adware Remover
Advanced Professional Spyware and Adware Remover