file management
What is user space? User space is the location in the filesystem where users put their personal files – their “stuff.” Here’s the user space folder structure in the Windows XP operating system: Documents and SettingsUser Application Data Cookies Desktop Favorites Local Settings My Documents My Music My Pictures My
security
I recently upgraded my dedicated racing simulation PC, so I was forced to re-install Windows XP SP2, along with all the games. As I was downloading the no-cd patches for the various racing sims I own, I was suddenly and inexplicably deluged with popups, icons, and unwanted software installations. I
operating systems
Windows Vista has a radically different approach to memory management. Check out the “Physical Memory, Free” column in my Task Manager: At the time this screenshot was taken, this machine had a few instances of IE7 running, plus one remote desktop. I’m hardly doing anything at all, yet I
operating systems
John Gruber gloats that Windows XP does not fare well in a comparison against OS X: But everything about Boot Camp is calibrated to position Windows-on-Mac as the next Classic-style ghetto – a compatibility layer that you might need but that you wish you didn’t. Even the Boot Camp logo:
virtual machines
Now that Virtual PC is finally free, I've become obsessed with producing the smallest possible Windows XP Virtual PC image. It's quite a challenge, because a default XP install can eat up well over a gigabyte. Once you factor in the swapfile and other overhead, you&
windows xp
If you... * use Windows XP SP2 of any flavor * have 1+ gigabytes or more of system memory * use hibernate functionality ... you may have experienced this error at some point when attempting to hibernate: I know I have. It drives me nuts, because my system fails to hibernate after I’ve
windows xp
I’m not sure exactly why, but the guys at winhistory.de managed to install Windows XP on a 20 megahertz Pentium 1 system with 32 megabytes of RAM: That puts the XP in back in Windows XP – Xtremely Pokey: The CPU is working at 60% of full capacity at
disk defragmentation
I tend to ignore defragmenting my hard drive until I belatedly realize it probably looks like swiss cheese by now: Wouldn’t it be nice if the operating system took care of defragmentation all by itself in the background when I’m not using the computer? Ah, to dream. Until
operating system
When people find out I’m a big fan of AMD’s Athlon 64 – specifically the dual core X2 chips – they often ask how I’m enjoying 64-bit Windows. They’re always surprised to hear that I have no interest in a 64-bit OS on the desktop. I’m glad
media center
As Omar recently pointed out, Update Rollup 2 for Windows XP Media Center 2005 adds one essential new feature that makes it a “must have” upgrade – non-linear stretch! I took a few screenshots on my HTPC to illustrate. This is typical 4:3 television content: On a widescreen 16:9
windows
We’re in the middle of an after-hours MAME arcade project at work.* As one of the final fit and finish steps, I did a bit of research on how to replace the default Windows XP boot screen with something a little more arcade-y. I came up with StarDock’s
command-line
Windows XP isn’t known for its powerful command line interface. Still, one of the first things I do on any fresh Windows install is set up the “Open Command Window Here” right click menu. And hoary old cmd.exe does have a few tricks up its sleeve that you