Hello! I am posting this guide to maybe help out folks that have troubles with their computers. I have seen people who have problems with the screen freezing up or being kicked off a browser, not being able to leave FB and last but not least …. The NEW EBAY FORMAT IS Sooooo SLOW comments. lol

I have been a PC gamer (among other things) since my first 33mhz TURBO (66mhz) computer w/4 color monitor & the games were on 5 ¼ floppy which took a DOS command to execute them & then you waiting 10 minutes for it to initiate. LOL (and I might add that comp cost me about the same as a new high end Alienware does now)

I have been a forum member to MANY gaming web sites& I have read over the years how people are saying THIS game doesn't work or THIS game causes my comp to freeze up or yadda yadda yadda. I don’t get these problems. But some people want to blame the games or software instead of their computer or their lack of maintaining it. Many folks that have comps do not realize that it takes more that just hitting the power button to keep a PC clean, maintained & trouble free.

NOW …. Is Windows Operating Systems (98SE/XP/VISTA) bug free? BAHAHAHAHHA!!! Heck No! I don’t think any software is completely bug free.

I am in NO way saying that your comps are not maintained or that your problems might not be Ebay's coding, but here is the way I make sure that all my comps run as smooth & trouble free as possible. I do this at least once a month, sometimes more depending on the amount of stuff I install, delete, etc. Some people say, "if it’s not broken, why fix it?" I say, "Have I mentioned that I never have problems with my Comps?"

All this information is for Windows XP!!! If you run a different version of Windows, it is pretty much the same. It’s just a little different navigating thru it.

#1 & THE most important thing are your drivers. Which include Sound, Video & Direct X (there is also the chipset & BIOS but most people will never need to worry about those 2 unless maybe you are getting the dreaded OS blue screen of death or booting issues. And I wouldn't advise messing with them unless you know what you are doing)

The Sound, Video & Direct X should always be up to date. An outdated vid/sound driver does NOT work well with an updated Direct X. Or visa-versa! Depending on your video, sound card, you can get the latest drivers from the manufacturer's web site. Here are the most common web sites. There are others not listed below. An internet search can be used to find others if needed. You will need to check your computer hardware specs to be sure which you have.

VIDEO:
Nvidia
ATI

SOUND:
SoundBlaster

DIRECT X:
Microsoft

Video & sound can be “integrated” into your motherboard or can be an actual card. You should look at your system specs to find out before getting the drivers for them. Direct X is the main driver which actually is the most important. And also is the only driver that should be upgraded without uninstalling. To find out what Direct X version you have (on XP) go to START, then RUN, then type in DXDIAG in the text box, then hit OK. A screen will come up & make sure the tab at the top is on “system”. At the bottom of the list will be Direct X Version: ….. Make sure it says Direct x 9.0c You can also go to Microsoft & see the newest version. (of course it always helps to make sure you have the most current SP = Service Pack for your OS)

Video & sound driver can always be updated to the newest version by just installing the newest version over the old, BUT I recommend uninstalling the old drivers first, then running (I use Driver Cleaner Pro) to get rid of all the other remnants of the driver out of your registry & such. Typical uninstalling will not get it all out. I can almost say positively that if you haven’t updated your sound/video drivers within the last 6 months …. They ARE out dated. Video for sure! Sound may be a little different.

There are actually several other programs (if installed on your comp) which need to be updated to the newest version. They are:

• Internet Explorer - Not sure why ANYBODY would use IE to surf the web. I use Mozilla Firefox for all my browsing.
• Mozilla Firefox
• Adobe Acrobat
• Flash
• Shockwave
• Windows Media Player
• Quick time
• Outlook Express - If you use this external email program. I don't touch it! Too many security holes in it. (thus why MS keeps having updates for it)
  

It's always a great idea to make sure all programs you have are the most recent version.

After you make sure your drivers & such are all up to date. Take a deep breath because the hardest & most tedious part is over.

The other stuff I am fixing to list below, I do at least once a month. If you don’t feel comfortable doing these things, then don’t. I just want to show you some things that most people are unaware of & that there are LOTS of things being processed in the background that you don’t see. (all this is for Windows XP. If you have Vista, It is pretty much the same, just a little different to navigate to it. You can always google it to be sure. I like XP much better & have used Vista for a short time. I may like Vista better once it hits SP3 also. :)~

#1 - I go into START, then RUN, then type in %temp%, then hit OK. (make sure you put the percent sign on both sides of temp) This is your Temp folder. (you are not gonna believe how much useless stuff will be in there. lol) I then select everything in there & delete it.

Then I go into START, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Clean up. Select your HD (usually C if you only have 1 Hard Drive) and hit OK. Let it run its course. It may take a little while depending on if you have ever done this before. After it is done it will show you a list of what it will clean up. The “Temporary Internet Files” is the main one. Make sure the box next to it is checked, then continue.

I then run my spyware/adware software. I use Ad-Aware by Lavasoft. It is free & it is great. After it is finished, I remove/delete all the stuff it detected.

Then I empty my “Recycle Bin”

I don't really worry about deleting my browser history (because nobody touches my comps anyways heh) & I don't worry about deleting cookies either, since one of the main jobs of a cookie is to SPEED up the loading times when you revisit that web site again. Not to mention having to log back into every site you are registered at again. Ugh!

Then I go into START, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter. Select the appropriate Drive (C) & start the defrag process. Depending on how often you have done this before & also the size of your HD, it could take a while. After it is done, I restart my computer. All done!!

One other thing I would like to explain that many don’t know about is ALL the programs that are running in the background. And also taking up processing resources. Many programs will be displayed in the task bar. (the bar at the bottom right where your clock is) But many won't! Whenever you install new programs, it will automatically add these to your Start up Menu. (unless it gives you the option during installation to not add it to the start up menu) Ever wonder why it takes forever to boot up your comp?

If you want to see what programs are in the startup. go to START, then RUN, then type in MSCONFIG, hit OK. Then at the top of that screen, click on the Startup Tab. You will see ALL of them & probably will all be checked. Uuuuuuggghhhh!! I only have a couple of them checked anymore out of the 40+ that are there. If you do uncheck most of them, or all of them, after you hit the APPLY button & close the screen, it will have you restart your comp. You will then see how fast your comp boots back up.

Many problems that people have with freezing or sluggish behavior can also depend on how much RAM they have. Anybody running XP should have at least 1gb RAM, 2gb for VISTA. I would recommend at least 2gb. period! You wouldn't believe how RAM can speed up things and how programs respond better.

If you have made any upgrades to your comp, let me say that when adding more RAM, it's NOT a good idea to mix RAM quantity or RAM speeds. What I mean is do not put a 512mb stick along side a 256mb stick, etc. Depending on how many RAM slots you have & also the capacity which your MoBo can be upgraded to, you should always put in the same sticks in each slot. Put in ALL 512 sticks, 1gb sticks, etc. Also DO NOT mix RAM speeds either. You should check your MoBo specs to see the fastest speed RAM it will support. (MoBo = Motherboard) If you do mix RAM, you always run the risk of crashes, frying your MoBo, etc. Just Don't Do IT!

I actually use this comp for web surfing, emails, several programs (macromedia, MS office, etc) & also some gaming (the games that I can still get away with playing on this fossil lol). It is over 5 years old, but has had a few upgrades done & it runs flawlessly. It is a P4 2.6ghz, 2gb RAM, 256mb video card.

One last thing is VIRUS PROTECTORS!!!!! <GULP> They should just call them, “jump in unannounced any time you like, freeze my screen, bog down my processor, crash the document I have been working on for 3 hours” Software! If I am not checking emails or I am not going to shady web sites, etc I will not use my VP. Nope …. Do not get Virus Protector & Firewall confused. You should NEVER disable your Windows Firewall & should always make sure you have the latest Windows Security updates.

I once even tried the FREE AVG virus protector. OMG! Sure it may work good, but Dayyyyyyyyyyyyyng! I would shut the software off, go into my task manager (ctrl alt delete) And that bugger was still sucking a bunch of resources from my processor. There was NO way to stop it. End Task? Hahahah That sucker would just restart itself. I finally put it out of it's misery by completely uninstalling it. Not sure about the MANY other ones out there. But try turning your VP off, then go into your task manager & see if its still pulling resources.

Now just imagine trying to load a page from ebay with VP running. Your browser has to read ALL those java scripts, algorithms, etc & load the images too. If you only have 256/512 of RAM … & a slow processor …… ugh! One can hardly even imagine all the scripts & coding that goes into Ebay pages with all the options that can be selected & such. Its mind blowing!

Remember, technology will NOT wait for anyone to catch up to it. It is their responsibility to follow technology. And if you think that the 512 of RAM that came with your computer a couple years ago is enough to browse the web anymore, you are quite mistaken. (unless you set your browser to not show images, disable active x, java, flash, .........or not having any other windows or programs running also)

I haven’t had one single problem YET (knocking on wood) with listing, leaving FB, navigating through My Ebay pages or any pages for that matter. I really like it too. Apparently I was always a beta tester cause as far back as I can remember, I have almost always had the “Opt Out” option. It took me maybe an hour total to configure things the way I want. I used one color for my Selling tabs, another color for my Buying tabs, another color for my ebay messages, one for announcements. I also really have nothing against change! Change can be good, for the most part. :)~

Just wanted to let people know that it does take a lot of effort to maintain a comp. Especially when using the comp for web surfing & running many new resource hungry programs.

I hope this helps out some people & I hope you see a major difference in your comp performance. You can always message me if you need help. If you have read down to this point, I thank you for listening. lol Mike