Monday, November 26, 2012

Network Connectivity in Windows 7


Windows 7 is one of the most popular platforms in the market. This OS, with a lot of new features and utilities, belongs to the Windows platform series from the Redmond Software giant Microsoft.
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Connecting to a Network

Almost all the computers in the current market come inbuilt with both wireless and Ethernet connectivity. For Ethernet connectivity, a LAN Adapter is required and for Wireless Connectivity, a Wireless Network card is required. You can check your system support for connectivity by accessing the Device Manager. What you have to do is, right click on My Computer and click on the Manage option. Click on the Device Manager link located on the left pane of the window. You can see a list of the devices connected to the system. Now click on the + near Network Adapters link to expand it. In that you can see the network adapters your system has. Windows 7 Help center will be useful in locating the adapters, if you are facing any trouble locating it.
If you navigate to the Network and Sharing Center, you can find a lot of options related to networking, including System Security and Firewall options. For you, connecting to a Network in Windows 7 is very simple with the help of the instructions given below.

For LAN networks

1. Make sure you have connected the LAN cable to your system. Most of the routers will be working on Auto IP switching. In that case, you don’t have to change Local Area Connection Adapter settings.
2. In case a manual configuration is required, navigate to Network and Sharing Center. In the left pane of the window, click on the Change Adapter settings. Now right click on the icon named Local Area Network Connection and click on properties in the drop down menu. In the List given there, click on the IPV4 or IPV6 configuration depending on the communication method the router is set to work. Enter the IP address, Default Gateway, Subnet Mask and DNS Server address; service provider should have given you these details. Press OK and you are done.

For Wireless Networks

1. You have to click on the Connect button on the found network and enter the security pin to connect to a wireless network.
2. All the other Wireless Adapter settings can be changed the same way as for the LAN adapter.

Windows 7 Help forums have detailed articles on Wireless and Wired Connectivity in Windows. Check them out for more info.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

How to Optimize Windows Vista Platform for Better Performance?


Windows Vista, with good graphical UI, got a tainted name for its sluggish performance. Whatever reasons it maybe, there are a handful number of methods to speed up Windows vista and increase its total performance, and do not even think about hardware upgrade. Some tips for increasing Windows Vista performance, boot speed and efficiency are given below. Even Windows Vista Help Websites features many articles on Optimizing Windows Vista performance.

Remove Unwanted Programs
Many OEM’s pack their brand new computers with many programs that you have not ordered and are not necessary. Most of the programs they included are trial editions and limited edition versions of programs, which they add with the hope of you purchasing it after trial. If you are purchasing it, it’s fine. Else, these programs are big trouble. I called these limited or trial version programs trouble because they act like bottlenecks. These versions provide limited use of the program. However, they use the same amount of space in HDD and RAM.
What you can do is to remove these half-born programs for good. When you remove these programs you can see the difference in the performance of your PC.

Reduce the Start-up Programs
Many programs automatically assign themselves as start-up programs. Higher the number of the start-up programs, lower the performance. You can change the startup program list by accessing msconfig.exe utility. You can use it by typing the program name in the Run Window.

Defragmentation
Fragmentation makes your hard disk very slow and so does your computer. Disk Defragmenter is a utility that defragments your hard disk to increase hard disk read and write speed.

Remove Unwanted Files from HDD
By reducing the number of unnecessary files on your hard disk, you can free up a lot of disk space and optimize your computer for better performance. When you free up hard disk space, your computer runs faster. You can use Disk Cleanup for removing the unwanted files. It’s a very good utility in freeing up hard disk space.

Reduce Number of Simultaneous Programs
Changing your computing behavior can have a big impact on your PC's efficiency and performance. If you are the kind of person who keeps many programs and browser windows simultaneously open at an instance, your system performance will surely go down.
You can open Windows Vista Help Websites and download many utilities like registry cleaner that will help increase your system performance.