Tips & Tricks-February 2002

Last month's newsletter article on Windows XP couldn't have come at a better time. I decided to take the plunge right after Christmas. First I installed Windows XP on a new hard drive on a byo (build your own) system from Fry's. Installation was uneventful and I was amazed to see the network get installed automatically and watched as printers connected to other computers on the network appeared in the printers folder without much fuss. That was relatively easy so I decided my next adventure would be to upgrade my own Windows 98 system to XP.

The system has an AMD 600 MHz CPU, 512k of memory, a SCSI card for a scanner, a video capture card, a network interface card, and the usual sound card. It is on a peer to peer network, connecting to the Internet using a router (and a cable modem at the time of installation). It is loaded with applications of various vintages. Oh, I forgot the USB hub and the Intel Pro Camera.

One of the utilities that comes with XP is tool that analyzes your system's hardware and software for incompatibilities with XP that you can run prior to install Windows XP. On my system, it generated a 5 page report that told me that my scanner would not work at all, gave me a list of items that needed new drivers, where to get the drivers, including the camera and the video capture card. It told me which applications needed to be uninstalled so that versions incompatible with XP could be gotten out of the way. I followed the instructions in the report and backed up all data on the system.

With much fear and trepidation, I inserted the CD and began the installation. About an hour later my system restarted and-it worked. My applications and data files were all intact and I was able to take up where I left off-not. My applications and data files were, for the most part, fully functional without much change. I did have to spend a lot of time downloading drivers (the compatibility report gives the URL for many of the vendor sites). I was able to successfully upgrade the Intel camera, but not the scanner. The maker of the video capture card promises a new version soon. The scanner would not work and the manufacturer will not be creating drivers for XP.

I also discovered that the CD writing utility that comes with Windows would not work on my system, only after spending a considerable amount of time trying to copy files. In the meantime, Roxio came out with an XP compatible version of its software, so I am using an evaluation version (90 days) until I decide what I want to use. I was able to find updates for virtually every important software application on my system and most of the hardware. I am back in business after spending about a full day getting everything updated and reinstalled as needed.

My next project is to run the program that converts the file format on the hard drive from FAT32 to NTFS format, without losing existing data.

Since we talking Windows XP this month, the tips are for Windows XP.

Selecting Files to Open Without Scrolling

In some applications under Windows XP (WordPad and NotePad, for example), when you use the File, Open commands or click on a "Browse" button, a dialog box opens showing the folders and files in the starting folder. You can scroll through the list to find the file to open. But what if you have many files and folders to look through? Instead of scrolling, you can begin typing the filename in the "Filename" area and a drop down list will appear showing the files that begin with the letter you typed. As you continue typing the name, the list will get shorter and you can find your file.

Compressed Files

You can create compressed folders in XP to save space and archive files like documents or images. The folder will be in a zip format. You create the folder by right-clicking on the desktop, select "New" and "Compressed," then give the folder a name. You can now add files to the compressed folder by using "Drag and Drop."

Then when you need to extract the files from the folder, you simply open the folder and drag the file out of the folder. If you want to extract all the files, right click on the folder and select "Extract All" and follow the instructions in the dialog box.