EXPERT TIPS:WINDOWS XP

Change sounds made by Windows events

By default, Windows assigns certain sounds, such as beeps to certain events—when the computer turns off or when you receive new e-mail, for instance. You can change these sounds to any of those available in Windows itself, or to something that you have created or downloaded, such as favorite song clips from movies or TV shows. However, these have to be .wav format.

To change the sounds, click Start and then Control Panel. A word of caution: you have to be logged on as administrator on your computer. Click Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices. Click Change the sound scheme. A dialog box will open. In the Program events list, click an event and then click Play to hear the sound associated with it. To change the sound, click the down arrow next to the Sounds list and click a sound. If you want to change to a sound that you’ve recorded or downloaded, click Browse, select the sound, and click OK. Click Play again to preview the sound that you’ve selected. Repeat this process for each event whose sound you want to change. When you’re done, click Save As and assign a name for this sound scheme in the dialog box that opens; click OK. Click OK again in the dialog box that’s still open.

Clean up your hard disk

If you feel your computer’s slowing down, it may be a good idea for you to run the Disk Cleanup Tool. This helps you clear up files that are temporary and compress those that you haven’t used for a specified period of time.

For disk cleanup, click Start and My Computer, and then right-click the local hard drive. Click Properties and then Disk Cleanup. A few minutes will be spent in analyzing the hard drive to see how much space can be freed with cleanup. Then, a dialog box will appear with a list of files that you can delete, along with a description of each type of file. Click the checkbox against the files you’d like to delete and click OK. When prompted for confirmation, click Yes. The Disk Cleanup tool will clean out the files that you’ve selected.

Repeat this process if you have any other hard drives connected to your computer.

Defragment your hard disk

After repeated usage of files, information about each file is stored in a fragmented form on the hard disk. Defragmenting the hard disk enables all the information about each file to be stored together, so that you get faster access to all your files. It is a good practice to defrag your hard disk at least once a month, especially if you have very little free space left on the hard disk.

Click Start and then My Computer. Right-click the local hard disk and then click Properties. Click the Tools tab and then click Defragment now. This will open the Disk Defragmenter. Click your hard disk drive and click Analyze to see how much space will be freed up after defragmenting. After viewing the report, if you require, click Defragment. The process could take several minutes to a couple of hours, so it’s best to do it at the end of the day. Click Close when you’re prompted to do so.

Repeat this process if you have any other hard drives connected to your computer.