Tips & Tricks-May 2003
Windows XP has been a very stable operating system, but occasionally stuff happens. When it does, your computer likes to report it to Microsoft. If you don't like to see these annoying message and you don't care if Microsoft gets its error report, you can disable them.
Open the Control Panel from the Start Menu, then select Performance and Maintenance. Click on System, then on the Advanced tab. Find Error Reporting on the lower right. In the dialog box that opens, you can set whatever parameters you want for error reporting from no reporting to reporting only on certain types of errors.
By the way, System Properties is also where you can change the settings for Automatic Updates. Click on the tab and set the options as you desire. Again, you have several levels of updating from no updating to automatic updates by a schedule that you set.
If you decide that you miss all those report requests, you can always turn them back on.
How to Surprise Other Users on Your Local Area Network
You're at your computer and you know your kids are playing on their computer (networked with yours) and it's time for them to get to bed. Do you want to tell your children (or your partner) it's time to go to bed? There is a very simple way to send a message to everyone on your network all at once.
Again you have to go to the Control Panel, Performance and Maintenance, but this time you click Administrative Tools. Open Computer Management. Then click on Action, All Tasks, Send Console Message.
The computers that are connected will show in the lower box. Type your message in the upper box and click on Send. You can add recipients to the list. The resulting message will pop up on the screen on all the networked computers in the recipients list.
More Tips and How to Find Them
You probably didn't know this, but I don't make up all these tips by myself. I do some research and I subscribe to a number of email newsletters. In case, you want to find these yourself, here are a few web site sources that also do newsletters.
Microsoft has the Windows XP Expert Zone at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/tips/default.asp. There is also a newsletter, Exploring Windows XP, that is sent every few weeks.
Another source of tips is WinXP News, www.winxpnews.com. They have a web site and a weekly email newsletter. If you are more interested in Windows 2000 or 2003, they also have Win2K News, http://www.win2knews.com. These sources are all free.
Finally, Smart Computing Magazine and its companion website http://www.smartcomputing.com inspire a lot of these tips. You can visit the web site, but to really benefit you need to subscribe to the magazine.
Even the daily newspapers, usually in the business sections, have computer columns at least once a week. There is almost always an "I didn't know you could do that!" in them.
Happy hunting!