Speeding up searching for
files or folders
If you frequently
search for files or folders on your computer, you should think about
enabling the Windows 2000 Indexing Service. This service automatically
maintains an index of the files and folders on your computer and can
dramatically improve the performance of searches. The Indexing Service
runs only when your computer isn't busy.
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To enable the Indexing Service, from the
Start menu, choose Search | For Files and Folders.
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In the Search Results text box, click the
Indexing Service link.
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In the Indexing Service Settings dialog
box, select Yes, Enable Indexing Service And Run When My Computer Is
Idle and then click OK.
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The Indexing Service will now create an
index of your computers files and folders, and your searches will run
much faster.
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Adding programs to the Quick
Launch bar
One of our
favourite features in Windows 2000 is the Quick Launch bar. This bar,
displayed next to the Start menu, enables you to launch a program simply
by clicking on its icon. By default, Windows 2000's Setup automatically
adds Internet Explorer and Outlook Express to the Quick Launch bar. But
the good news is that you can easily add other programs to this Quick
Launch bar.
You can now run the program by clicking on
its icon on the Quick Launch bar. |
Changes to Task Manager in Windows XP
Microsoft made minor improvements to the
Task Manager in Windows XP. When you run it (the simplest way is to press
[Ctrl][Shift][Esc]), you'll see five tabs. The first three will be
familiar to Windows NT/2000 users. The other two are new to Windows XP.
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The Applications tab lists
all applications you are currently running. Use this tab to end running
applications, to switch between them, or to run new ones.
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The Processes tab displays
more detailed information about the processes that are running on your
system. It displays the name of the executable, the user account under
which the process is running, the CPU usage, and the amount of memory
the process is using. You also have the option to end running processes
on this tab.
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The Performance tab displays
the graphs for CPU and memory usage and some additional counters, such
as the amount of memory allocated to the system cache, the total amount
of memory used by the kernel, and so on.
The Networking and Users tabs are new to
Windows XP.
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By default, the Networking tab
displays the network utilization graph for your network adapters. You
can add additional counters on this tab by selecting the Select Columns
option on the View menu. You can set additional options on the Options
menu.
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The Users tab lists all
users currently logged on to your computer (either locally or through
Remote Desktop). You can send users messages and, if you have the proper
permissions, you can also disconnect them or log them off. When you
disconnect someone, his or her programs continue running on your
machine. When you log someone off, his or her programs are closed, and
the session is disconnected.
Note: For the Users
tab
to be
displayed you must have a computer administrator account on a computer
that is a member of a workgroup or is a stand-alone computer. This
enables the User Fast User Switching feature to be turned on or
off. Fast User Switching is not available on computers that are members
of a network domain.
Notice also that the Shut Down menu in Task
Manager performs the same tasks as the Start menu. You can shut the
machine down, log off, put the computer into hibernation or standby,
restart the computer, or switch the user. |