Do you have an LCD monitor that has a dead pixel somewhere on the screen? Those drive me crazy! But that won't be happening anymore, because now, there's something you can do to fix it! It isn’t a guaranteed fix, but it's definitely worth a shot, right?

Just drag the image over to the dead pixel and leave it there for an hour. The image will massage the dead pixel and canadian generic viagra try to stimulate it back to life. So, how does the massage work, you ask? Well, the image is rapidly changing the dead pixel and the pixels around it.

If after an hour, it's still dead, you can try another option. You can try the full screen version, but the downside is you have to leave it to do its work for 12 hours. Make sure you follow the directions carefully before you start the 12 hour massage.

You don’t want to leave any status bar visible during the process, because it may harm your LCD. Therefore, you need to put your Internet browser on full screen mode and hide all the bars.

This is fairly easy to use and it gives you a good shot at reviving those annoying dead pixels. If you ask me, it's definitely worth a try!

http://killdeadpixel.com/

Put your Registry-hacking knowledge to good use: hack your way to running Windows XP at top speed.

Creating and marketing tuning and customization utilities for the Windows XP operating system is quickly becoming big business. A Google search will turn up hundreds of sites and programs dedicated to tweaking Windows XP. But no matter what type of interface is developed to make system tweaking easier and safer for the average user, the end result is that the changes are reflected in XP by modifying the Registry. For some people, commercial tweaking utilities might be the method of choice, but with a few precautions and safeguards it’s possible to enhance system performance using only those tools supplied with Windows XP.

As you learned in Chapter 7, you can use the Registry Editor [Hack #83] to edit the Registry. Make sure you take the precautions outlined in that chapter and back up your Registry [Hack #86], no matter how comfortable you are editing the thing.

No single tweak is going to take an ancient PC and turn it into a gamer’s dream machine. It’s even unlikely that a number of tweaks will achieve substantial performance gains, but every little bit does help. As long as you keep your expectations realistic, you’ll learn something about the Registry and hopefully see a performance increase in the process.

Menu Speed

When XP first appeared, there was a lot of conversation about the new interface, both good and bad. In spite of the initial complaints, most users stick with the default settings rather than reverting to the Classic interface found in previous Windows versions. But you might want to change the delay you notice when you click the Start menu. I see no reason for there to be any delay when I click the Start menu. Effects are pretty, but I wouldn’t click it if I didn’t have business inside, so let’s get it open and get moving. The default speed can be adjusted with a quick Registry hack.

Go to the Registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\MenuShowDelay. The default value is 400. Set it to 0 to remove the delay completely, but if you do that it will be nearly impossible to move the mouse fast enough not to activate All Programs if you mouse over it en route to your final selection. Pick a number that suits your style, make the change, and then test it until you find a good compromise between speed and usability.

System Performance | 475

#110 More Power: Registry Hacks to Speed Up XP

Place Windows Kernel into RAM

It’s a given that anything that runs in RAM will be faster than an item that has to access the hard drive and virtual memory. Rather than have the kernel that is the foundation of XP using the slower Paging Executive functions, use this hack to create and set the DisablePagingExecutive DWORD to a value of 1.

Perform this hack only if the system has 256MB or more of installed RAM!

Edit the Registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\DisablePagingExecutive to 1 to disable paging and have the kernel run in RAM (set the value to 0 to undo this hack). Exit the Registry and reboot.

Alter Prefetch Parameters

Prefetching (the reading of system boot canada viagra generic files into a cache for faster loading) is a commonly overlooked component that can have a significant impact on system boot time. This tweak allows you to select which components will make use of the prefetch parameters. To see which files are gathered using each setting, clear the prefetch cache located at C:\Windows\Prefetch and then enable one of the settings listed in this hack. Clear the cache and repeat for each setting.

Set the Registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management\PrefetchParameters\EnablePrefetcher to 0 to disable prefetching, 1 to prefetch application launch files, 2 to prefetch boot files, or 3 to prefetch as many files as possible.

Disable 8.3 Name Creation in NTFS

Files that use the 8.3 naming convention can degrade NTFS drive performance. Unless you have a good reason for keeping the 8.3 naming convention intact (such as if you’re using 16-bit programs), a performance gain can be achieved by disabling it.

Set the Registry DWORD key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem
\NtfsDisable8dot3NameCreation to 1. Exit the Registry and reboot.

—Jim Foley

Date: February 20th, 2008

Author: Greg Shultz

If you’ve ever wanted to create your own font or maybe just a special character — for example, a character showing your initials for when you wish to approve documents with your “signature” — you can easily create your own special characters using a hidden Windows XP tool called the Private Character Editor. Here’s how:

Once you save your new character, you can access it using the Character Map tool. Here’s how:

1. Press [Windows]R to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type charmap in the Open text box and click OK.
3. When the Character Map appears, select the Font drop-down list and select All Fonts (Private Characters).
4. Select your character, click the Select button, and then click the Copy button.

You can now paste your font character in any document that you want.

We have now covered resetting your password in both Windows XP and Vista, so today, I thought we'd work on tying everything together. And in the process of doing that, we’ll make sure you never need to reset your password again! That's right, we will be creating a password reset disk you can use whenever you forget your password. All you have to do is put the disk into your computer and when you see the Welcome screen, simply choose your new password. Sounds pretty helpful and timesaving, don’t you think? Then let's get to it!

Note: This will only work if you have a floppy drive or a USB flash drive.

1.) First, I’ll show you how to create a password disk for Windows XP.

2.) Click on your Start button and select the Control Panel.

3.) Next, select User Accounts.

4.) Click on your account.

In the window that appears, look to the left sidebar.

5.) Click the "Prevent a forgotten password" option.

6.) Now, the Forgotten Password Wizard will open. Insert your floppy disk or flash best viagra prices drive and click Next.

7.) Next, type in your current Windows XP user account password and select Next.

8.) Your disk will then be created within seconds!

9.) Now, just finish up the wizard and voila! You now have a new password reset disk.

10.) Be sure to label it Password Reset and keep it in a safe place.

Now, in case you ever do forget your password, all you need to do is this:

1.) On the Welcome screen, click on your username and then hit Enter.

2.) A message will then appear, asking you to put in your password reset disk or flash drive.

3.) Next, click the link that says "Use your password reset disk."

4.) The Password Reset Wizard will then open up again. Just follow the instructions for creating a new password.

5.) And you know what the best part is? You don’t even have to create another password reset disk. The same one will work the next time you forget your password (if there ever is a next time!)

The steps are extremely similar for Windows Vista. Here they are:

1.) To access the Forget Password Wizard, go to Start, Control Panel.

2.) Click on User Accounts and then select your account.

3.) On the left pane, choose "Create a password reset disk." Everything else is the same!

This one's a definite must have for all computer users. Enjoy!

PC Wizard

I have a great download for you today called PC Wizard! This program is made for taking a deeper look into the performance of your computer system. With PC Wizard, you can look at all of your hardware and find out how well it's performing, compared to what it should be doing. And the best part is how easy it is to use. Let's take a look!

Right after you install the program, best natural viagra it will scan your system and let you know what all types of hardware you have. You can then look at each of those devices individually and see the technical information about how they run.

After having some fun with that, go ahead and click on the Benchmarks button, located in the bottom left hand corner. That will allow you to do a performance test on all of your hardware and see how it compares. PC Wizard is also great for finding hardware on your system that may be lacking or needs to be replaced.

And those two features are just half of the information this great program will provide for you. Feel free to surf around. There surely is a lot to discover!

PC Wizard is absolutely free and you can download it for yourself right here. Enjoy!