Windows XP

Computer Repair Tips and Tweaks guide

More often, the hard disk space becomes hogged and leaves an user to think what's the cause. If general, the following are the major consumers of hard disk space:

• System Restore snapshots

• Temporary Internet Files / History

You can free-up the space by running Disk Cleanup utility. Click Start, and then click Run. In the Open box, type cleanmgr, and then click OK. Select the drive, More Options, System Restore, Cleanup.

This purges all the restore points except the newest point. This should clear-up most of the disk space. If not, choose the following options disk cleanup and run it:

• Remove temporary Internet files

• Remove downloaded program files

• Empty the Recycle Bin

• Remove Windows temporary files

There may be other areas/folders which occupies your hard disk space and it's difficult [without a third-party utility] to track-down which folders are the major consumers. Windows Explorer / My Computer views shows the disk space data for the current working folder/drive only.

DISKdata is a powerful explorer-like application for Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP that analyzes disk space utilization. Selecting a disk volume or folder displays a summary of its contents in report or chart format.

After downloading fixes from Windows Updates page or via Automatic Updates, you may notice that Windows XP no longer logs into your account automatically. This is usually caused after the installation of .NET Framework from Microsoft. It creates an additional user account called ASP.NET, which you can see in the Control Panel User Accounts applet. But, you neither need to remove this update nor delete this account. You can still configure Windows XP to automatically login using these methods:

Click Start, Run and type CONTROL USERPASSWORDS2, and click Ok. Select the user account from the list (the account to which you want to automatically logon). Uncheck Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer option, and click Ok. Type the user account password and complete the process.

For Windows XP Home, don't try to auto-login as the built-in Administrator, as you'll receive an error message.

System Restore:

System Restore is one of the most useful tools available in Windows XP, which can help you restore the computer to an earlier state, when a problem occurs in your computer. There are situations where you are required to reinstall System Restore in order to restore its functionality. This article explains how to reinstall System Restore using the INF file.

1. Click Start, Run and type %Windir%\INF
2. Locate the SR.INF file. If you have configured Windows Explorer to hide known file extensions, the file may show up as SR. To see the file extensions for all file types, then try this:

• On the Tools menu in My Computer, click Folder Options.
• Click the View tab.
• Clear the Hide extensions for known file types check box.

3. Right-click the SR.INF file, and then click Install
4. Windows will now attempt to reinstall System Restore, and may prompt you for the Windows installation source path. Point to %Windir%\ServicePackFiles folder, or insert your slipstreamed Windows XP (matching the Service Pack level of your system.)
5. System Restore core files will be reinstalled. Restart Windows when prompted.

How do you perform a reinstallation of Windows XP, sometimes called a repair installation?

• Configure your computer to start from the CD-ROM drive. For more information about how to do this, refer to your computer's documentation or contact your computer manufacturer.
  
• Then insert your Windows XP Setup CD, and restart your computer.
• When the Press any key to boot from CD message is displayed on your screen, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD.
  
• Press ENTER when you see the message To setup Windows XP now, and then press ENTER displayed on the Welcome to Setup screen. Do not choose the option to press R to use the Recovery Console.
  
• In the Windows XP Licensing Agreement, press F8 to agree to the license agreement. Make sure that your current installation of Windows XP is selected in the box, and then press R to repair Windows XP.
  
• Follow the instructions on the screen to complete Setup.