Tips from the Windows Pros: Upgrading and Optimizing Your Computer

Following are several tips I've learned over the years that will help save you hours of headaches.

Make the Move to PCI Cards

Even if your system still has one or more ISA slots and you have cards to match, it's time to retire this 1984-vintage technology and switch to PCI cards. Here are a few of the reasons why:

• Most recent systems support PCI IRQ steering, which enables multiple PCI devices to share a single IRQ without conflicts. However, if an ISA card uses an IRQ, it usually can't be shared with any other card, ISA or PCI. A single ISA sound card, for example, might use two IRQs, preventing any other device from using those IRQs. The ISA cards in your system could literally prevent you from installing other cards, no matter how many free slots you have.

• ISA cards are much slower than PCI cards, and require much more CPU attention. The result? Your system is a lot slower than it needs to be.

• ISA cards don't support recent technologies that are now common with PCI cards. Here are just a couple of examples: If you want Fast Ethernet's 100Mbps network speed, you can't achieve it with an ISA card. Want Dolby Digital 5.1 sound for your DVD movies? Forget that old ISA sound card; only some top-of-the-line PCI sound cards support it.

Use the Device Manager to uninstall your old card, shut down your machine, and remove it before you install a PCI card to replace it. If you're changing motherboards, keep in mind that many recent motherboards have on-board sound, and many also have a built-in modem, Ethernet, FireWire, and USB ports as well.

Keep Your Eyes on the Hardware Compatibility List

If you've been accustomed to thumbing your nose at Microsoft's Hardware Compatibility Listing because you've been using Windows 9x, it's time to reform your behavior. In a pinch, Windows 9x could use older Windows drivers and could even load MS-DOS device drivers to make older hardware work correctly. Windows XP, like other NT-based versions of Windows, has done away with AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS, so you can't use DOS-based drivers anymore. And, while Windows XP can use some Windows 2000 drivers in an emergency, you're much better off with drivers made especially for Windows XP. You can view the online version of the HCL by setting your browser to

www.microsoft.com/hcl

The HCL also offers links to let you download drivers from either Microsoft or the manufacturer's Web site.

NOTE

There is a difference between the "Windows Catalog" and "Windows Hardware Compatibility List." Check the Hardware Compatibility List (www.microsoft.com/hcl) first, as it contains just unbiased, straightforward lists of compatible hardware"just the facts, ma'am." Yes, it only lists compatibility with Windows 2000, but if a device works with Windows 2000, it will work with XP. Unfortunately, Windows Catalog adds sales pitches and "featured products," whose manufacturers have paid for them to be listed. The URL windowsmarketplace.com says it allit's more of a sales channel than an objective reference source.

TIP

Hardware failures, power failures, and human errors can prevent Windows XP from starting successfully. Recovery is easier if you know the configuration of each computer and its history and if you back up critical system files when making changes to your Windows XP configuration.

A good hedge against this problem is to create a technical reference library for all your hardware and software documentation. Your reference library should include the history of software changes and upgrades for each machine, as well as hardware settings such as those described here.

Lest this all sound too dire, remember that Windows XP has been the personal computer industry's mainstream operating system for over two years now, so virtually all newly manufactured hardware has XP support. It may not have been tested and approved by Microsoft, but at least the motivation to make it work is there.

Sleuthing Out Conflicts

When you're hunting down potential IRQ, memory, and I/O conflicts, try using the Device Manager to help out. Yes, Computer Management, System Information, Hardware Resources, Conflicts Sharing will show you potential conflicts, so that's a good place to look, too. But let me share a trick with the Device Manager that isn't readily apparent.

Normally, a class of devices called Hidden Devices isn't shown. To show them, open the Device Manager (either via Control Panel, System or from Computer Management). Then, on the View menu, click Show Hidden Devices. A check mark next to Show Hidden Devices indicates that hidden devices are showing. Click it again to clear the check mark. Hidden devices include nonPlug and Play devices (devices with earlier Windows 2000 device drivers) and devices that have been physically removed from the computer but have not had their drivers uninstalled.

Optimizing Your Computer for Windows XP

Finally, here's my biggest tip…

Optimizing your computer for Windows XP is actually pretty easy. I'm very impressed with this operating system's capability to keep on chugging. It doesn't cough or die easily if you mind your manners.

• If you're buying new stuff for an upgrade, consider only hardware that's on the HCL.

• When you're buying a new machine, get it with Windows XP Professional preinstalled and from a reputable maker with decent technical support, not just a reputable dealer. The dealer might not be able to solve complex technical problems. Brand-name manufacturers such as Dell, Compaq, Gateway, IBM, and so on have teams of engineers devoted to testing new operating systems and ironing out kinks in their hardware, with help from engineers at Microsoft.

  If you love to upgrade and experiment, more power to you. I used to build PCs from scratch, even soldering them together from parts. Then again, you can also build your own car. (I used to just about do that myself, too.) Or you can buy it preassembled from some company in Detroit. It really isn't worth spending much time fiddling with PC hardware unless you are putting together systems for a specific purpose. With the amazingly low price of computers these days, don't waste your time. And don't cut corners in configuring a new machine. For an extra 50 bucks, you can get goodies such as a modem, network card, and faster video card thrown in. Do it up front, and save the hassle down the road.

• Run Windows Update frequently.

• Keep the hard disks defragmented (see Chapter 29), and make sure you have a decent amount of free space on your drives, especially your boot drive.

NOTE

Chapter 2 contains a lot of discussion about computer upgrades. This is a good starting point whenever you are considering a computer hardware or software upgrade.