Upgrade, Tune-up, Repair Your Windows PC www.WindowsSecrets.com PC Maintenance Guide Simple Effective Tips for Tuning, Upgrade, & Repairing Your Windows PC Upgrade, Tune-up, Repair Your Windows PC www.WindowsSecrets.com Page i Introduction: As a weekly publication, Windows Secrets covers a broad swath of topics — especially all things Windows. Some of that coverage is driven by the latest news in the world of PCs, such as the latest malware threats or the release of Windows 7. Other topics are generated by questions and suggestions — often sent in by readers like you. Over the years, Windows Secrets has accumulated at vast amount of information about Windows and Windows-related hardware and software. You can find all of it in the WindowsSecrets.com archives. It can, however, take some time to find what you’re looking for, because our stories are organized by issue date, not subject category. That’s where a Windows Secrets special-edition e-book comes in; it’s a concise guide that presents our accumulated PC wisdom — such as it is — based on a theme. Grouping the information this way can save hours of digging through back issues. In this format, the most essential articles and links are collected into one, easy to use reference. For this e-book, the Windows Secrets editors pored through several years of published information and selected the best tips in three major categories: 1. Upgrading your system 2. Tuning up/speeding up your PC 3. Emergency troubleshooting Each section starts with an anchor story covering the basics of a topic. That’s followed by 10 or so additional items, each with abundant direct links to the Windows Secrets archives. (Paid-content links are shown with an asterisk.) Using these links, you can quickly find the topics and subtopics that most interest you. You’re welcome to read the entire e-book from front to back, but it’s most useful as a quick-reference guide that you keep at hand. Each of the three major sections is a self- contained unit that lets you rapidly hone in on the information you need — when you need it. Because each section is self-contained, some topics appear more than once. For example, the defragmenting your hard drive tip appears both in the sections on cleaning up your PC and improving boot times. By putting it in two sections, you won’t have to remember which section it resides in, nor will you have to flip back and forth through the e-book to complete the overall task. We hope you find this thematic approach a useful complement to the normal flow of diverse information appearing every week in the Windows Secrets Newsletter. We’d also like to give a special thanks to Fred Langa for providing most of the leg work needed to put this e-book together. Happy computing! The editors of the Windows Secrets Newsletter Upgrade, Tune-up, Repair Your Windows PC www.WindowsSecrets.com Page ii Table of contents: Part 1: Upgrading your system The absolutely safest way to upgrade to Win7 1 What you need to start the transition to Win7 Back up your data and create the dual-boot system Move your data to the new Win7 partition When ready, toss out the old Windows partition An alternative: Install Windows from a USB drive 5 Buying a new system with Windows preinstalled? 5 Seven simple steps for optimizing your new Win7 setup 6 Get rid of the preinstalled junk software Free does not always mean useless Change Windows settings for safety Show filename extensions Create a user account Consider turning off Automatic Updates Need it or not, set up a Windows homegroup Get automatic daily backups working Install the basic helper applications Add useful but unobtrusive utilities Other Upgrade Information 11 Solid-state hard drives Networking Miscellaneous Part 2: Tuning up/speeding up your PC Start with a thorough system checkup 12 Check the hardware Check your hard drive's physical health Check your hard drive's logical health Correct driver errors now, while you can Upgrade, Tune-up, Repair Your Windows PC www.WindowsSecrets.com Page iii Review and update your PC's security system 13 Patch and update Windows and apps Verify system security Give your computer a thorough file cleaning 13 Take out the trash — all of it Rein in XP’s three worst space hogs Defrag Use disk imaging to preserve your new setup 14 Build a rock-solid safety net with Win7 15 System repair disc Use the new “Create a system image” tool Fully automate your routine backups Restore a previous version A step-by-step guide for improving boot times 16 Clean the Registry Shrink the Recycle Bin Trim the browser caches. Defrag, defrag, and defrag again Try a different anti-malware tool Also: speed shutdowns Make Internet Explorer 8 faster, better 19 How to manually reset IE8 to as first installed condition How to automatically reset IE8 to as first installed condition How to adjust Internet Explorer’s settings to your own preferences Other tune-up/speed-up information 21 Networking, Registry, Hard Drive, Video, Laptop, and User Interface/Shortcuts Part 3: Emergency troubleshooting What to do when your PC gets hosed 22 Try Windows' built-in repair tools Use Linux to restore data and test your PC When you know you have a hardware problem Upgrade, Tune-up, Repair Your Windows PC www.WindowsSecrets.com Page iv Use the tools on the Windows CD-ROM Bootcfg, Fixboot, Fixmbr, and Diskpart Your last, desperate move: reinstalling Rescuing Windows with a bootable flash drive Fixing your damaged Windows with bootable rescue CDs Fixing Windows disasters with custom boot CDs Resources for solving other issues 25 Boot and startup problems Networking problems Sleep/suspend/hibernate Issues Viruses, malware, and so on Driver problems More free troubleshooting/repair tools Upgrade, Tune-up, Repair Your Windows PC www.WindowsSecrets.com Page 22 Part 3: Emergency troubleshooting We’ve all been there. Maybe it’s a subtle glitch where something just doesn’t feel right with the system, or maybe the system won’t boot at all. Problems come in all shapes and sizes, and Windows Secrets can help with them all. Let’s start with one of the worst problems that can befall a PC: the system hangs during the initial startup — or doesn't even try to boot. For this stop-you-in-your-tracks event, here's what to do and how to do it, as explained by Lincoln Spector’s “What to do when your PC gets hosed:” What to do when your PC gets hosed Try Windows' built-in repair tools If Windows can't start in the usual way, you may be able to boot and repair it in a simpler mode. Turn on the computer, and put your finger on the F8 key. The moment the first on-screen text disappears, just before Windows begins to load, press the key. Pressed at the precise moment, the F8 key should bring up the Windows Boot Menu. Depending on the PC, it may take a few tries — with reboots — to get the timing right. That's assuming, of course, that your PC and Windows are both in good-enough condition to get this far. If they're not, skip this section and go on to the next one. If you get to the menu, select Last Known Good Configuration. This option runs System Restore, which attempts to return Windows to a previous working condition. Should that effort not fix the problem, reboot, press F8 again, select Safe Mode, and try running System Restore from there. If you can load Safe Mode but System Restore doesn't do the trick, try running a good diagnostic and repair program (such as CCleaner) while still in Safe Mode. (If you don't already have CCleaner installed, I recommend the portable version download.) Still not fixed? Running in Safe Mode at least lets you back up your data — a task that's arguably more important than rebooting the PC in serious situations. Plug an external drive into a USB port and drag important folders (such as your documents, photos, music, and videos) onto the external drive. Using Linux to restore data and test your PC If you can't boot into Safe Mode, recovering your data files becomes an even more important job. You may be able to access your hard drive and recover these files via a bootable (also known as live) Linux CD or flash drive. Booting Linux does more than help you recover your data: it helps you diagnose your trouble. If you can successfully boot this way but can't access the hard drive after you're Upgrade, Tune-up, Repair Your Windows PC www.WindowsSecrets.com Page 23 in Linux, you know that the problem lies in your hard drive. If you can't boot at all, you've got a hardware problem that doesn't involve the hard drive. But if the whole process is a success, you've got a Windows difficulty, not a hardware one. There are a lot of live variations of Linux out there, but I recommend Puppy Linux (info/download). It's not the most powerful one by a long shot, but it's small, fast, and easy for Windows users. (See Figure 10.) Figure 10. Puppy Linux gives you access to your hard-drive files when Windows won't. Puppy downloads as an .iso file, which is basically an image backup of a CD. Double- click it; there's a good chance any program that burns a bootable CD will load the file and let you burn it to disc. If that doesn't happen, you need to download and install an app such as the free ISO Recorder. If you don't have an optical drive and therefore can't boot from a CD, see my July 8, 2010 Insider Tricks story, "Rescue Windows with a bootable flash drive," for instructions for putting your Puppy on a flash drive. After you prepare the CD or flash drive, insert it into your optical drive or USB port and try to start your machine. If it fails, make sure your PC is set to boot from this device. When you first turn on your computer, you might see an onscreen message telling you to press a particular key for a boot menu (which is not the same as the Windows Boot Menu I discussed earlier). Press that key to choose the right device. The boot menu message may or may not appear, but you'll almost certainly find instructions to press a particular key for Setup. In your PC's setup environment, which I can't describe in detail because it varies from one computer to another, you'll find options to control the devices it boots from and in what order. Look again for a boot menu. You want your optical drive or USB ports at the top of that list. Upgrade, Tune-up, Repair Your Windows PC www.WindowsSecrets.com Page 24 After you successfully boot into Linux, you can click the hard-drive icon (or one of the hard-drive icons) in the lower-left corner to bring up the drive's contents. If the drive opens properly, find the files you need, plug in an external drive (you'll get a new icon, of a flash drive), open that drive, and drag folders from one location to the other. When you know you have a hardware problem So what do you do if you can't boot from a CD or flash drive? Unless you have an extremely recent backup, your first priority is to recover your files. Open your computer and remove the drive. (If you don't know how, check the manual.) After you remove it, you need to connect the drive to another computer — but not as the main, bootable drive. If the other computer is a desktop machine, you can open it and plug the drive into a second SATA or IDE connector. If that sounds intimidating, or if the PC is a laptop, buy an adapter such as the Bytecc USB 2.0 to IDE/SATA Adapter Kit (info), which effectively turns an internal hard drive temporarily into an external one. I've seen them on sale for as little as U.S. $17. If you can't read the hard drive that way and there are files on it you really need, you have to take it to a professional data-recovery service. Kroll Ontrack (info) and DriveSavers (info) are the best known, but because I've never figured out a good, practical way to test these services, I can't honestly say they're better than their cheaper competitors. Beyond hard-drive issues, what do you do if your PC won't boot from the hard drive, a CD, or a flash drive? If you're comfortable enough with the inside of your PC to open it up and check connections and then test and swap components, go ahead. Otherwise, take it to a professional. Using the tools on the Windows CD-ROM If Safe Mode didn't boot or didn't fix the problem, but you were able to boot into Linux and access the drive, it's time to try the tools on a standard, retail Windows CD or DVD. But if you're using the version of Windows that came with your computer, you probably don't have an actual Windows disc. That's okay. You can make a bootable CD that can do everything that an XP, Vista, or Windows 7 disc can do — except install an operating system. If Windows XP isn't booting, download the XP Recovery Console CD (download). Like Puppy Linux, it comes as an .iso file. Create the CD and boot it. At the main screen, press r for Repair to launch the Recovery Console. This brings up a DOS-like, command-prompt interface with several useful tools. The best are these:  Bootcfg: This is used for viewing and repairing the boot.ini file.  Fixboot: No, this isn't as wonderful as it sounds. It simply rewrites a partition's boot sector. Upgrade, Tune-up, Repair Your Windows PC www.WindowsSecrets.com Page 25  Fixmbr: This fixes the master boot record.  Diskpart: This one manages partitions, but be warned: it also destroys them. The tools on the Vista and Windows 7 discs are much friendlier than the XP versions. But unless you have retail copies of the operating system, you must still make a disc. To make the Vista recovery disc, download the appropriate .iso file, available on the NeoSmart Technologies site, and burn it to a CD. You need BitTorrent installed to properly download this file. Windows 7 comes with a tool for creating its recovery disc. Click the Start orb, type backup, and select Backup your computer. In the resulting window's left pane, click Create a system repair disc. You'll be prompted to insert a blank disc. When you boot from either the Vista or the Windows 7 disc, the boot process just might find your problem and offer to fix it before anything else happens. If not, or if this doesn't work, follow the prompts to the System Recovery Options menu. Everything is pretty obvious from there. Your last, desperate move: reinstalling If your luck is good, you won't get to this point. But if all else fails, you're left with reinstalling Windows — which most of us know is a long, boring, and sometimes scary process. Check out my how-to story, "Reinstall Windows without losing your data," for instructions. All the above can go a little more smoothly if you gather some recovery tools in advance of actually needing them. For example, see these:  Rescue Windows with a bootable flash drive  Bootable rescue CDs can fix your damaged Windows  Custom boot CDs help fix Windows disasters Resources for solving other issues Boot and startup problems  Removing a false dual-boot option in Windows 7 (includes tools for managing Win7 and Vista system bootup)  Tracking down and preventing unwanted reboots  Using Task Manager to troubleshoot startup woes  Using Bootrec.exe for startup repair [...]... valuable information such as:  Tighten your Facebook privacy settings  10 great “Do these first” tweaks for Windows 7  Your next PC: thinking beyond the desktop  Freeware outdoes Windows built-in tools  Hotmail’s social networking busts your privacy  Avoid the security risk of shortened URLs  Preparing XP for the long haul  Windows Live shares your Messenger contacts Subscribe for free at http://www.WindowsSecrets.com... Protection (WFP) www.WindowsSecrets.com Page 26 Upgrade, Tune-up, Repair Your Windows PC Subscribe to the Windows Secrets Newsletter Insider tips, authoritative how-tos, security best practices, and more! Sign up now and get Windows Secrets reported by industry veterans The Windows Secrets Newsletter brings you essential tricks for running Windows, IE, Firefox, Windows Update, and more — weekly, free Sign.. .Upgrade, Tune-up, Repair Your Windows PC Networking problems  Solving Windows 7 networking problems  More on Win7-NAS networking problems  What — or who — is using your connection?  Give your flagging WiFi signal a boost Sleep/suspend/hibernate issues  Insomniac PC simply wakes on its own, won't stay asleep  Network connection won’t recover from sleep mode  PC still seems active... Driver problems  Forcefully rooting out a bad hardware driver More free troubleshooting/repair tools:  Free utility suite bundles over 100 portable troubleshooting tools  Windows Free Reliability Monitor  Windows 7's built-in disk-imaging utility  Beyond Chkdsk.exe  Free 'Process Explorer' helps end shutdown woes  Using Windows' System File Checker/ Windows File Protection (WFP) www.WindowsSecrets.com... social networking busts your privacy  Avoid the security risk of shortened URLs  Preparing XP for the long haul  Windows Live shares your Messenger contacts Subscribe for free at http://www.WindowsSecrets.com www.WindowsSecrets.com Page 27 . Upgrade, Tune-up, Repair Your Windows PC www.WindowsSecrets.com PC Maintenance Guide Simple Effective Tips for Tuning, Upgrade, &. Upgrade, & Repairing Your Windows PC Upgrade, Tune-up, Repair Your Windows PC www.WindowsSecrets.com Page i Introduction: As a weekly