Some computer “Best Practices”

There are certain accepted “best practices” for working on and using computers, including:

  • Preparing for the unexpected by backing up data and recording configurations.
  • Turning off and unplugging all related equipment.
  • Using the appropriate tool for the job.
  • Doing what you can to reduce the risk of electrostatic discharge (ESD).

Most CD and DVD drives come with a small hole in front, which is the emergency eject button. A paper clip can do wonders in removing a stuck disk, but in the hand of a child or someone who doesn’t know how to properly eject, it can spell disaster if the drive is active, those disk are spinning at hundreds of RPM and can easily fling into someone causing serious injury or death so be very careful.

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XP Tweak – 8.3 file names and speeding up your computer

Now that most of you are off of Windows 98 and ME, I would like to share this little tweak.

Files that use the 8.3 naming convention can degrade NTFS drive performance. Unless you have a good reason for keeping the 8.3 naming convention intact (such as if you’re using 16-bit programs), a performance gain can be achieved by disabling it.

Since this is a registry edit, don’t forget this little story…

Watch out T. Rex! Many people believe that the dinosaurs were wiped out by the Comet of Dataallgone. The fact is that the king of the dinosaurs forgot to backup his data and registry and was too arrogant to be cautious as he edited the registry on his new super duper high tech laptop computer. As a result he lost all of his data and had to reinstall the computer from scratch. The one thing that he forgot to put back in his appointment book was to keep looking to the Heavens for a sign and sure enough the comet came and the dinosaurs were left unprepared.

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