How to Fix the Biggest PC Annoyances
Had it with Windows glitches, hardware headaches, and Internet irritations? Here's how to get rid of them for good.Steve Bass is the author of PC Annoyances: How to Fix the Most Annoying Things About Your Personal Computer, published by O'Reilly.
<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#DBDBDB"> <tr> <td width="32" valign="middle" align="center"><a href="http://find.pcworld.com/44858" target="_blank"><img src="/howto/graphics/116993-pdf_logo.gif" width="32" height="31" border="0"/></a></td> <td width="1"><img src="/shared/graphics/spacer.gif" width="1" height="2" /></td> <td class="black11" valign="top"><div class="blueCBold11">Article PDF Available</div> The magazine version of this article is <a href="http://find.pcworld.com/44858" target="_blank">available for purchase</a> in a downloadable.pdf format. This complete article includes all the formatting, photos, tips, and charts contained in the original.</td> </tr> </table>
Illustration by Edwin Fotheringham
Inharmonious Hardware
Keep the Paper Flowing
Illustration by Edwin Fotheringham
The Fix: To avoid printer paper jams, make sure that all the paper in the tray is the same type and weight. (The most common paper weight is 20 pounds; it's usually listed on the package.) Don't mix photo paper, heavy card stock, and plain paper, for example. Always store your paper flat. If your printer comes with a vertical feed tray and you don't print often, flip the paper around to prevent it from curling in the tray. Use a can of compressed air (it costs about $6 at your local electronics store) to keep the insides of the printer free of dust and dirt. Gently remove bits of paper or labels that may be stuck on the feed rollers. Squirt a light coating of window cleaner on a sheet of paper (don't saturate it), and use the paper-feed button to send the sheet through the printer a few times. Then repeat the operation with several passes of dry paper to remove excess moisture from the rollers.
Bonus Printer Tip: You'll find dozens of additional tricks for laser printers at Fixyourownprinter.com. (A buddy found a fix there for a paper pick-up problem on his HP LaserJet 5P printer, which is still chugging along after nine years.) Another great laser-advice site is PrinterTechs.com.
Quintuple Up Your Cables
The Annoyance: Since my MP3 player, my digital camera, my PDA, and all the other USB devices cluttering my office each came with its own USB cable, I had more USB cables snaking under my desk than Starbucks has lattes.
The Fix: The $30 QuickConnect 5-in-1 USB Cable from GoldX Products has five interchangeable tips that attach to either end--so instead of unplugging a cable when I want to switch from my MP3 player to an external hard drive, for example, I just change the cable's tip. The cable also connects my PDA directly to my printer.
No-Fuss Backups
The Annoyance: Though I love my home-office network, lugging my external USB hard drive to each computer one by one to back them up used to be a real bother. And no, no, no--I didn't want to set up a file server.
The Fix: Instead of installing a server, I attached the drive to Linksys's Network Storage Link (see FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1: Backing up is a breeze with the Network Storage Link.
), a $99 device that connects to a wired or wireless router. Now everyone on my network (well, my wife and I) can access the drive for quick and easy backups. Fair warning: During installation the Storage Link needs to format the external USB drive that it connects to, so make sure you've backed up the data on that drive first.
Lighten Your Power Load
The Annoyance: It never failed: I would fall in love with some handy little gadget for my PC only to find that it used an AC adapter large and heavy enough to double as an anchor for an oil tanker. I'm telling you, I amassed enough bricks under my desk to rebuild Hadrian's Wall.
The Fix: A smart, though not cheap, fix for my power crisis came by way of the PowerCore DC Hub from GoldX; see FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2: Clear the bricks away by plugging several devices into GoldX Products' PowerCore DC Hub.
). This $30 hub powers up to five of my favorite electronic devices that would ordinarily need their own AC adapters. You can run one 12-volt, one 9-volt, and three 5-volt devices simultaneously. It's ideal for providing a constant stream of power to different devices. The downside? You also need to have the company's $30 PowerCore System Base Unit with surge protector to power the hub.
Quiet a Shrieking Monitor
The Annoyance: My six-year-old monitor, a 17-inch CRT that I affectionately call "Gramps," started making a high-pitched, drive-me-up-the-wall sound. I thought I'd landed in a low-budget sci-fi thriller.
The Fix: This was no horror-movie soundtrack. It turns out the whine was caused by a vibrating flyback transformer (don't ask; it's a voltage thing). I was finally able to muzzle my monitor by changing its refresh rate. To do so, right-click the desktop and choose Properties, Settings, Advanced. In Windows 98 and Me, click the Adapter tab and change the setting under 'Refresh rate' to 72 Hz or above (generally speaking, the higher your monitor's refresh rate, the less eyestrain you'll experience). In Windows XP and 2000, click the Monitor tab and change the setting under 'Screen refresh rate' (in XP; see FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3: Change your monitor's refresh rate in Display Settings to keep it from emitting an ear-piercing whine.
) or 'Refresh Frequency' (in 2000).
An alternate fix is to perform "percussive maintenance": Give the monitor a good, solid whack on the side. Really. This might stop the vibration, albeit temporarily. Keep in mind that repairing your monitor will likely cost more in the long run than replacing it. Of course, this may be your best excuse yet to buy that new LCD monitor you've had your eye on.
CD Burner Runs Hot and Cold
The Annoyance: How's this for irritating? Some days my external CD burner--which connected via FireWire to an add-in USB/FireWire card in my PC--worked perfectly, but other times my computer didn't recognize the darn thing. And here I thought it was the disc that was supposed to be burning, not me.
The Fix: As I began to investigate the matter, my prime suspect was the add-in card. First I tried removing the FireWire cable from the PC, rebooting the system, and plugging in the cable again. Sometimes this got Windows to see the drive, but other times it didn't. The next thing I tried was plugging the drive into a different port on the FireWire card: I turned off my PC, unplugged the external drive, turned the PC back on again; then, once Windows had loaded, I reconnected the FireWire cable and powered up the CD burner. This finally cured my system's glitch, but if it doesn't do the trick for you, try moving the add-in card to a different PCI slot on your motherboard (just make sure that you don't plug it into the slot nearest the AGP video adapter, since that could cause motherboard woes). And check your PC's manual to confirm that you're using a "bus-mastered slot."
Straighten Up and Display Right
The Annoyance: My mother called recently with yet another gripe about her PC (kvetching must run in the family). This time she was upset because she couldn't figure out why all of the images on her screen were tilted at a slight angle. Sometimes I wish Mom weren't such a geek.
The Fix: I quickly figured out that the problem was with her monitor's controls, which needed fine-tuning. Each monitor is different, but the controls are basically the same. Begin by looking for a button named 'Manual Image Adjustment' or something similar. The buttons on Mom's monitor enabled her to fix its tilt in a flash (with my help, of course). While she was fiddling, good ol' Mom found other settings that let her get more screen bang for her buck. Most monitors are factory-set with an annoying border, but she figured out how to enlarge her display to fill the entire screen by expanding the vertical and horizontal image areas until the black borders disappeared. (Note: Doing this may require that you adjust the image up or down, or maybe sideways, to keep it centered.) Sorry, folks: This screen-expansion trick works only on CRTs, not LCDs.
What Bugs Me: 'My Security Software Turns Into a Pumpkin'
Illustration by Edwin Fotheringham
--Patricia Ridley, Bethesda, Maryland
Symantec's response: Most products purchased in retail outlets come with a free subscription that expires after one year. Customers can then purchase a renewal.
Patricia Ridley replies: Their response doesn't tell me anything I didn't already know. The price they charge for updates is absurd. You can purchase the new version on EBay or at CompUSA with rebates so it's free or costs only a few dollars, which is a lot cheaper than the renewal price. I don't mind paying for updates, but spending more than it costs to buy the new version strikes me as not good business or customer service.
<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#DBDBDB"> <tr> <td width="32" valign="middle" align="center"><a href="http://find.pcworld.com/44858" target="_blank"><img src="/howto/graphics/116993-pdf_logo.gif" width="32" height="31" border="0"/></a></td> <td width="1"><img src="/shared/graphics/spacer.gif" width="1" height="2" /></td> <td class="black11" valign="top"><div class="blueCBold11">Article PDF Available</div> The magazine version of this article is <a href="http://find.pcworld.com/44858" target="_blank">available for purchase</a> in a downloadable.pdf format. This complete article includes all the formatting, photos, tips, and charts contained in the original.</td> </tr> </table>
Woeful Windows
One Click to Device Manager
The Annoyance: I often tweak my hardware settings in Windows' System Properties utility, but for the longest time opening it was a pain. Sure, I could get to it via the System applet in Control Panel or by right-clicking My Computer and choosing Properties, Hardware, Device Manager (or just Properties, Device Manager in Windows 98 and Me). But that was still too many clicks for my overworked fingers.
The Fix: I finally wised up and created a desktop shortcut to System Properties. To make one of your own, right-click the desktop and select New, Shortcut. In Windows XP and 2000, type devmgmt.msc in the Location field. In Win 98 and Me, type c:\windows\control.exe sysdm.cpl,system,1 in the 'Command line' field. (Note that this direction assumes that control.exe is in the Windows directory; in a very few systems, the executable file may be located elsewhere.) Click Next, give the shortcut a name--say, Hardware--and click Finish.
Restore MIA Quick Launch Shortcuts
The Annoyance: The other day I accidentally deleted the Show Desktop icon in my Quick Launch toolbar--you know, the one that minimizes all open windows and shows the desktop. And it gets worse: In the process of trying to get the shortcut back, I inadvertently erased the clock from my system tray.
The Fix: Sometimes my tendency to tinker gets me into trouble, but fortunately these two misadventures were easy to recover from. To restore the clock, first right-click the taskbar and select Properties. In Windows XP, check Show the clock under 'Notification area' on the Taskbar tab and click OK. In Windows 98, Me, and 2000, check Show clock on the General tab (Taskbar Options in 98) and click OK.
To retrieve my Show Desktop shortcut, I used a great free utility written by Doug Knox and aptly named "Restore Missing Show Desktop Icon to Quick Launch." After you download, unzip, and install the program, run it to recover your shortcut. Now you can get back to fiddling with your PC's settings without losing track of time.
Stop Defragus Interruptus
The Annoyance: Whenever I tried to defrag the hard drive on my old Windows 98 PC, the Disk Defragmenter tool would start, run to about 3 percent, and then restart--over and over. This happened even though I closed all of my open applications and shut down my antivirus, firewall, and other background programs.
The Fix: Some program was interrupting the defrag by running in the background. I suspected Windows' indexing function. Indexing is supposed to make searches faster, but I've never noticed a speed-up. To turn off indexing in Windows 98 and Me, click Start, Run, type msconfig, and press Enter. If you see an entry for FastFind, uncheck it. In Windows XP, right-click the C: drive in My Computer or any Explorer window, select Properties, General, and uncheck Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching (see FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4: You can defragment your disk without interruption if you first make sure that Windows' indexing is turned off.
). Repeat these steps for all your hard-drive volumes.
Pump Up Your Icons
The Annoyance: I set my large, 21-inch monitor at a screen resolution of 1152 by 864 pixels to get a bigger view of all my open applications. That was cool, but what wasn't was the microscopic size of the desktop icons and fonts at that resolution.
The Fix: Changing the size of your desktop icons may also change their positions on the screen, which is an annoyance in itself. So before you do anything, download the free Save My Desktop utility. Install and run the program before proceeding. Now, to adjust the size of your desktop icons, right-click the desktop and choose Properties, Appearance (and then, in Windows XP, click Advanced). Choose Icon from the 'Item' drop-down menu, and increase the number of pixels under 'Size'. Keep in mind, however, that many of your icons will look blurry when you make them bigger. A better way to raise your icon profile is to use BestView, a free online tool that sets your icons to normal, large, or extra-large. (You may be asked for permission to download an ActiveX control.)
Bonus XP Tip: To make your Quick Launch icons bigger, right-click the toolbar's title (or the bar to its left), make sure that 'Lock the Taskbar' is unchecked, and select View, Large Icons. Neat, eh?
My Favorite Fix: Ounce of Spam Prevention
Beth McIntire, systems support engineer, Raleigh, North Carolina
The Annoyance: If someone sends me a stupid "forward this to all your friends" urban-legend e-mail, I look it up on About.com's Urban Legends and Folklore page and then send them the link. It's amazing what people will believe just because it comes in a nicely typed e-mail. I guess I've embarrassed enough people that they don't send those messages to me anymore, but I still get lots of other spam.
--Beth McIntire, Raleigh, North Carolina
The Fix: To keep this and other junk out of my inbox, I use Outlook Express's Message Rules to sort messages. I can make sure mail from people I know goes into a certain folder so that I don't miss anything important, and I filter out obvious spam (anything containing the words viagra or mortgage, for example). Though this doesn't eliminate all spam, every little bit helps. [Read " Tame Your In-Box" for instructions on creating e-mail filters.]
<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#DBDBDB"> <tr> <td width="32" valign="middle" align="center"><a href="http://find.pcworld.com/44858" target="_blank"><img src="/howto/graphics/116993-pdf_logo.gif" width="32" height="31" border="0"/></a></td> <td width="1"><img src="/shared/graphics/spacer.gif" width="1" height="2" /></td> <td class="black11" valign="top"><div class="blueCBold11">Article PDF Available</div> The magazine version of this article is <a href="http://find.pcworld.com/44858" target="_blank">available for purchase</a> in a downloadable.pdf format. This complete article includes all the formatting, photos, tips, and charts contained in the original.</td> </tr> </table>
Tangled Web
Give Me Back Internet Explorer
Illustration by Edwin Fotheringham
The Fix: To reset IE as your default browser, open the program and click Tools, Internet Options. Choose the Programs tab and select Internet Explorer should check to see whether it is the default browser near the bottom (see FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5: Keep Internet Explorer as your default browser by checking this setting.
). If your third-party IE shell stops this from working, download Jem Berkes's SetBrowser, a free utility that uses a Registry setting to make IE your one and only.
Revive IE's Disabled Back Button
The Annoyance: Sometimes when I browsed with Internet Explorer, neither the Back button nor the Backspace key could return me to the prior Web page. Instead they sent me to the same page I was already on. How loopy is that?
The Fix: Some sites use redirects in such a way that clicking the Back button puts you in a loop between the redirect page and the page you're trying to get away from. To get around these redirects, click the down arrow next to the Back button to display a list of the last ten pages you have visited. Go back to at least the second earlier entry to avoid the redirect page. The alternative is to click the Back button twice in quick succession so that you can beat the redirect at its own game.
Skip the Registration
The Annoyance: I really disliked giving every online news site I visited my personal information. Not only did it invade my privacy (I know, I could've fibbed), but it irritated me and took too much time.
The Fix: True, many people use fake data for these annoying--and sometimes lengthy--registration forms. Me? Ethical considerations aside, I don't get bogged down with any of them now. Instead I use BugMeNot.com, a nifty site that offers a database of accounts--passwords and user IDs--that let me gain access to registration-required news sites.
Bye-Bye, Busy Signal
The Annoyance: Whenever I used my dial-up account, people would be miffed because they always got a busy signal when they called me while I was online.
The Fix: With the Web product BuzMe, your callers hear a greeting recorded in your own golden voice. A box on your screen tells you that someone's calling (you'll see who it is if your pal hasn't blocked caller ID). You can type a short reply that is read to the caller by a robotic voice, send the call to voice mail, reject the call, or grab the phone and say hello. On top of its own monthly fee (approximately $4), BuzMe requires your phone company's call-forwarding service, which costs about $4 more per month.
What Bugs Me: 'AOL CD-ROMs Harm the Environment'
Illustration by Edwin Fotheringham
--Diane George, via the Internet
AOL's response: America Online failed to respond to our numerous telephone requests for comment. (Full disclosure: PC World provides some content to AOL.)
Diane George replies: What can they say? The ongoing distribution of the discs is not defensible on any grounds other than the successful acquisition of new customers. Until the cost to AOL of its shotgun approach to marketing exceeds the benefit, the public will continue to pay--at least environmentally. Other companies, like Dell and HP, have recycling programs, demonstrating at least some commitment to corporate responsibility.
<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#DBDBDB"> <tr> <td width="32" valign="middle" align="center"><a href="http://find.pcworld.com/44858" target="_blank"><img src="/howto/graphics/116993-pdf_logo.gif" width="32" height="31" border="0"/></a></td> <td width="1"><img src="/shared/graphics/spacer.gif" width="1" height="2" /></td> <td class="black11" valign="top"><div class="blueCBold11">Article PDF Available</div> The magazine version of this article is <a href="http://find.pcworld.com/44858" target="_blank">available for purchase</a> in a downloadable.pdf format. This complete article includes all the formatting, photos, tips, and charts contained in the original.</td> </tr> </table>
Application Aggravation
Zoom in Word and Excel
The Annoyance: I often get Word documents from a buddy who sets the fonts on his 15-inch CRT at a space-saving 10 points. On my high-end LCD, the fonts look minuscule. Of course, the opposite occurs, too. When he opens Word docs on his screen from people using LCDs, the fonts are humongous.
The Fix: On the Standard toolbar in Word and Excel is a Zoom box with a percentage setting. Increase or decrease the number to zoom in or out as if you were holding up a magnifying glass to the document. Even better, hold the Ctrl key as you roll your mouse wheel up (for larger) or down (for smaller). These tricks don't change the font-size setting. By the way, if this approach doesn't work, upgrading your mouse driver may do the job; for some drivers, changing an option is required. If you don't have a wheeled mouse, read about Windows' Magnifier tool in Scott Dunn's Windows Tips column from last May.
Tell Spam From Shinola
The Annoyance: I use every trick I can to avoid spam, but for a while I was too successful. Many great--and legitimate--lists and newsletters that I subscribed to weren't being delivered to my inbox.
The Fix: I added each newsletter's sending address to my spam filter's white list. If you have a recent e-mail from the sender, you're all set; if not, head to the newsletter site to get the sending address. In many Web-based e-mail services, clicking 'not spam' is often adequate. If you aren't receiving the mail at all, you'll have to add the newsletter address manually. In MSN Hotmail, click Mail, Options (on the far right), and then select Junk E-Mail Protection, Safe List. In Yahoo Mail, click Mail Options (on the right), choose Filters, Add, and enter the newsletter's sending address in the top row labeled 'From header'. In the 'Move the message to' drop-down list, choose Inbox. In AOL 9, open the newsletter and click Add Address, which adds it to your 'People I Know' list.
Excel's Enter Alternatives
The Annoyance: Whenever I used Excel, the way the Enter key worked would drive me nuts. Though I wanted it to take me one cell to the right, it always took me down the column instead.
The Fix: After doing a little digging, I found out that you can make the Enter key move the active cell any way you want, provided it's up, down, left, or right (or even not at all). To change your Enter key's setting in Excel, click Tools, Options, Edit and choose your direction from the drop-down menu. Or uncheck 'Move selection after Enter' to keep the current cell active when you use Enter.
IMHO You'll Be ROTFLOL
The Annoyance: I do okay deciphering most e-mail messages, but I was stymied when it came to those wacky messaging acronyms. I never knew whether to LOL, sport a VBG, or be MAHANTIA.
The Fix: FWIW (For what it's worth) and IMHO (in my humble opinion), these abbreviations can be TFAOCTKS (tough for an old codger to keep straight). IIRC (If I recall correctly), there's a handy online spot for sorting them out: the Acronym Finder. Search for an abbreviation, and you, too, can be ROTFLOL (rolling on the floor laughing out loud). SGTM (Sounds good to me).
Excise Your E-Mail Brackets
The Annoyance: I don't get why people send me e-mail messages with columns of brackets before each line. In fact, I've seen some messages (mainly from my editor) that contain more brackets than words. (On second thought, maybe I shouldn't be complaining.)
The Fix: Some e-mail programs insert a bracket automatically at the beginning of each line of the original text when you include it in your reply or forward it. Each time the message is replied to or forwarded, another layer of brackets is tacked on. To banish the brackets in Outlook Express, click Tools, Options, Send. Under 'Mail Sending Format', select Plain Text Settings and uncheck 'Indent the original text with > when replying or forwarding'. In Outlook, click Tools, Options, Preferences, E-mail Options, and under 'On replies and forwards', change both fields to anything except 'Prefix each line of the original message' (see FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6: Boot the brackets from your Outlook replies and forwarded messages via the E-mail Options dialog box.
). In Eudora 5 or 6, reset the ReplyPrefix: Go to Eudora's tech support site, and scroll down to and click <ReplyPrefix> to open the Change Option dialog box back in Eudora. Make sure that the 'New value' field is blank, and click OK. Repeat the process for <QuotePrefix>.
<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#DBDBDB"> <tr> <td width="32" valign="middle" align="center"><a href="http://find.pcworld.com/44858" target="_blank"><img src="/howto/graphics/116993-pdf_logo.gif" width="32" height="31" border="0"/></a></td> <td width="1"><img src="/shared/graphics/spacer.gif" width="1" height="2" /></td> <td class="black11" valign="top"><div class="blueCBold11">Article PDF Available</div> The magazine version of this article is <a href="http://find.pcworld.com/44858" target="_blank">available for purchase</a> in a downloadable.pdf format. This complete article includes all the formatting, photos, tips, and charts contained in the original.</td> </tr> </table>
PDA Problems
Emergency Power for Palms
Illustration by Edwin Fotheringham
The Fix: Now I squeeze more juice out of my Palm by turning the gizmo's backlight brightness way down. When I'm on the road, I leave the cradle at home and instead use Tech Center Labs' $15 Power Adapter for Universal Connector Palms (see FIGURE 7
FIGURE 7: Use Tech Center Labs' adapter to power your Palm minus the cradle.
). The device connects the cradle's AC adapter directly to my Palm. If you prefer, you can run your Palm with the company's $15 AA Emergency Charger, which uses rechargeable or regular AA batteries. And in dire emergencies, the company's 9-volt Emergency Charger, a $20 gadget, will give your Palm enough of a boost for you to win that last hand of solitaire.
Pocket PC File and Battery Woes
The Annoyance: That last tip was handy for Palm users, but what about all you Pocket PC users out there? You have two problems. Microsoft hides your battery-life indicator in the Settings, System, Power folder, requiring an annoying three clicks each time you want to see how much battery life you have left. And like Windows, the Pocket PC platform doesn't have a useful file management tool--you're stuck using the dreadful File Explorer to keep tabs on your files.
The Fix: First, grab a trial copy of Omega One's Battery Pack Pro, a $20 utility that not only displays a desktop bar indicating your Pocket PC's battery life, but also measures its expected life based on how you use the device. Next, replace File Explorer with Resco's $25 Explorer 2003--a great productivity tool that allows you to move your files in a single window, as well as to search, zip, and encrypt files.
<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#DBDBDB"> <tr> <td width="32" valign="middle" align="center"><a href="http://find.pcworld.com/44858" target="_blank"><img src="/howto/graphics/116993-pdf_logo.gif" width="32" height="31" border="0"/></a></td> <td width="1"><img src="/shared/graphics/spacer.gif" width="1" height="2" /></td> <td class="black11" valign="top"><div class="blueCBold11">Article PDF Available</div> The magazine version of this article is <a href="http://find.pcworld.com/44858" target="_blank">available for purchase</a> in a downloadable.pdf format. This complete article includes all the formatting, photos, tips, and charts contained in the original.</td> </tr> </table>
Media Player Madness
Good Riddance to Real
Illustration by Edwin Fotheringham
The Fix: It's easy to dump RealPlayer--and Apple's equally insistent QuickTime video player--and replace them with an app that is absolutely free and does just as good a job. First, uninstall RealPlayer and QuickTime via Windows' Add or Remove Programs applet in Control Panel. Then download Real Alternative, which plays RealAudio and RealMedia files and has plug-ins for Internet Explorer, Opera, Netscape, and Mozilla, so you can play music and videos right off the Web. (There's also a QuickTime Alternative.) If your media-file associations go wacko, read Lincoln Spector's instructions for reassociating your file types.
AutoPlay, Go Away (or Come Back)
The Annoyance: The other day I inserted a music CD in my CD-ROM drive and clicked 'Open folder to view file using Windows Explorer.' But then I foolishly clicked 'Always do the selected action'.
The Fix: To reset Windows' AutoPlay, open My Computer, right-click your CD drive, select Properties, AutoPlay, and click Restore Defaults. If the AutoPlay tab is missing in XP or 2000, close the Properties dialog box, click Start, Run, type services.msc, press Enter, scroll to and double-click Shell Hardware Detection, set the 'Startup type' drop-down box to Automatic, choose Start or Resume, click OK, and close the Services window. The CD drive's Properties dialog box has other AutoPlay options for pictures, video files, and other CD content; this is your chance to reset them to their default values as well.
Annoyances by the Numbers
Claria The adware removed most often by PestPatrol in June 2004 --PestPatrol
159 Number of files, Registry keys, and directories Claria adds to a PC --PestPatrol
6% Percentage of Internet ads that popped atop or under Web pages --Nielsen/NetRatings AdRelevance
CNN Web site where you are most likely to encounter a pop-up ad --Nielsen/NetRatings AdRelevance
16.7 billion Spam e-mail messages sent daily, worldwide, in 2004 --IDC
129 Number of icons/links Yahoo Messenger adds to a PC by default --PC World Research
10-15 Number of new viruses and worms Symantec identifies daily --Symantec
<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#DBDBDB"> <tr> <td width="32" valign="middle" align="center"><a href="http://find.pcworld.com/44858" target="_blank"><img src="/howto/graphics/116993-pdf_logo.gif" width="32" height="31" border="0"/></a></td> <td width="1"><img src="/shared/graphics/spacer.gif" width="1" height="2" /></td> <td class="black11" valign="top"><div class="blueCBold11">Article PDF Available</div> The magazine version of this article is <a href="http://find.pcworld.com/44858" target="_blank">available for purchase</a> in a downloadable.pdf format. This complete article includes all the formatting, photos, tips, and charts contained in the original.</td> </tr> </table>
Good vs. Bad Tech Implementations
We've all had occasion to marvel at the ingenuity of the people who design our hardware and software, but just as often some feature leaves us shaking our heads. Here are three products that got it right, and three others that missed the mark.
MP3 player carrying cases:
Good: The IRiver IHP-200 provides access to the controls even with the case on.
Photograph by Marc Simon
Bad: With the Apple IPod, you have to take the case off to work the controls.
Photograph by Marc Simon
Changing browser font size with your mouse's scroll wheel:
Good: Opera enlarges both the page's images and its text.
Bad: Internet Explorer enlarges only the text, leaving images their original size and throwing the page's design out of whack.
USB ports:
Good: A system provides more-versatile powered USB ports on the case front.
Photograph by Marc Simon
Bad: The only USB ports on the front are not powered.
Photograph by Marc Simon
<table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="4" cellpadding="0" bgcolor="#DBDBDB"> <tr> <td width="32" valign="middle" align="center"><a href="http://find.pcworld.com/44858" target="_blank"><img src="/howto/graphics/116993-pdf_logo.gif" width="32" height="31" border="0"/></a></td> <td width="1"><img src="/shared/graphics/spacer.gif" width="1" height="2" /></td> <td class="black11" valign="top"><div class="blueCBold11">Article PDF Available</div> The magazine version of this article is <a href="http://find.pcworld.com/44858" target="_blank">available for purchase</a> in a downloadable.pdf format. This complete article includes all the formatting, photos, tips, and charts contained in the original.</td> </tr> </table>