1. First, in order to change the Windows Update settings, you need to go to the Windows Vista control panel and select “Windows Update” (the Control Panel options is marked with the yellow dot in the image):

2.  Select the “Windows Update” option.

3. In the left-side column select “Change Settings”

4.   In the screen that follows, you can now choose your preferred setting:

Personally I prefer to check the updates and have Windows only download all the updates I select. The reason for this choice is that sometimes Windows will install updates that I don’t want, for example, a new version of Internet Explorer or a new Service Pack. So by doing it this way, I can select what is installed as well as when it’s installed.

If you aren’t concerned about this level of detail, then it’s probably best to select “Download Updates but let me choose whether to install them.” In this manner you will get all of the updates, but you will get to chose when they are installed — so this way you won’t be interrupted by Windows Update running at a random time.  But if you make either of these selections, you must remember to manually install the updates because they now will not happen automatically.

The other option you have is to have Windows  install updates automatically (which may once and a while be what you need if you don’t mind occasional interruptions).

The last option, which is to turn off updates, is not recommended. Windows Updates are important, and if you are not sure which ones to install and not install, it’s safer to err on the side of caution and let Windows install them all. If you don’t, you may be overlooking a critical security patch or other update that affects how your system works.

1. Go to Start->Control Panel->Network and Sharing Center.

2.  In the Task area at the left side of the screen, select “Manage wireless networks”

3. You will then see a list of wireless networks to which you have connected in the past. Right-click on the icon for the network in question and select “Properties”

4. In the properties screen that appears, make sure that you check the option: “Connect automatically when this network is in range”.

Note that you may require a restart for this change to take effect, and that if you’ve already entered the network password once, then you should not have to enter it each time you connect.

Also, you may find the following list of our other informative networking posts helpful

A: Windows Vista’s “little blue circle” or “waiting circle” basically means that the computer is “thinking”.   When too much is happening at once on a Windows system, the waiting icon usually appears.  Most likely this icon shows up because of a significant memory-intensive process running in the background, or because a program is frozen or stuck (which is also usually a memory issue).

Two of the memory-intensive things that can frequently cause the circle to show up are 1) windows update running in the background without  you knowing it or 2) your antivirus program starting a scan in the background.  I say “without you knowing it” and “in the background” because most people have windows update configured to work without notifying the user (which is generally fine) and most anti-virus programs are (as they should be) scheduled to run automatically.  The problem happens when you are working on a document and all of sudden the computer slows to a crawl and you’re not sure why.

For instructions on how to check or change your Windows Update settings, view this post.

The other thing to consider is that if the circle happens frequently, regularly and is a relatively new occurrence (and it’s not Windows Update or the anti-virus program running), then you may have a virus, spyware or other program that is newly installed and causing the problem.  You should check what system processes are running (or ask someone who knows how to do this) and see if there’s anything that shouldn’t be there.

But if the circle only happens once and a while, it may be ok to just let it go for a minute or two (this happens to everyone) and the system should recover.

A:  It depends. Generally speaking,  the addition of RAM will make your computer faster because most consumer-level computers are sold to minimize cost, and thus come with a minimum amount of RAM.  Here are some general guidelines:

1. If you have Windows  XP or Windows Vista  and you are doing anything more than basic email and internet browsing, then I recommend running your machine with a total of 4GB of RAM.  Windows XP and Vista max out at 4GB of RAM (technically this statement is only true for the 32-bit version but if you don’t know which version of Windows XP or Vista that you have, then the odds are that you have a 32-bit version).  RAM is not that expensive these days so maxing your machine out to 4GB is cost effective and productive.  You will most likely see a difference in your machine’s performance, especially if you are doing any kind of work with digital photography, music or graphics

2. Those of you with Windows 7 face a different dilemma.  Most new consumer machines are running Windows 7 64-bit (recall Windows 7 comes in a 32-bit and a 64-bit version).

The major advantage of Windows 7 64-bit is that you can now add more RAM than the traditional 4GB Windows XP/Vista barrier (see #1 above).  The question is “do you need it?”.

If you are doing basic email or internet work it probably pays to bring your computer up to 4GB of RAM, as Windows 7 is a memory intensive operating system and certain features will perform better with more RAM (e.g. Aero — though Aero performance is also contingent on your video card, as well).  Past that you probably won’t see a difference.

Now if you are doing more than the basics — digital photography, video editing, or gaming, it pays to bring the machine up to more than 4GB or RAM.  8GB of RAM is usually a good starting point, but it makes sense to look at the software you are using to see if the program can use this extra RAM.  For example, while Photoshop is a program that will benefit from having lots of RAM, the 32-bit version of Photoshop in Windows 7 won’t be able to use this RAM — only 64-bit versions of software will be able to use the extra RAM.  So if you are going to add RAM past the 4GB mark, take the time to speak to the manufacturer of the software you are using to make sure that a) the software can take advantage of the extra RAM and 2) that you have the correct version of the software to do so.

Let’s assume you have a 100GB physical hard drive.  Most of you have drives that are 250GB or more (drives this large usually come with new machines) — and I’ve been partitioning drives as small as 5GB for a long time – so 100GB is a good round number to work with.

First I create an operating system partition. A C: drive that has around 20GB of space.  This partition serves to hold the operating system (Windows) only, as wells as the files that are associated with Windows.   There will be some exceptions — for example, Internet Explorer cannot be moved from the C: drive so there’s no point trying.  Also, certain program are happier running from C: (e.g. I let my WAMP server run off the C: drive), but for the most part I only leave the OS on the C: drive. By creating this C: drive as a 20GB partition, you are leaving plenty of space of the OS to run (hopefully you have plenty of RAM so you won’t need the hard drive space for performance), as well as room for the OS to grow with all of the updates and patches that are needed for a healthy Windows installation.

The next partition I create is the D: drive.  This is the drive that will contain all of your program files.  I usually create a 20GB partition for this drive though your individual size depends on what software you install. Adobe Creative Suite takes up a ton of space — Firefox doesn’t.

So at this point you have a C: drive that is reserved for the OS only (for the most part) and a D: drive that’s reserved for Program Files.  The first two benefits you will see at this point are that (1) your OS is separate from your program files so things will feel more organized and (2) you’ve saved yourself a ton of backup space.  And in case you are wondering, you’ve saved backup space because you don”t generally need to backup your OS (C) or your Program Files (D) because if you reinstall your operating system you will need to use the Windows disk to reinstall Windows, and you will need to reinstall all of your program files to this new install of Windows.  You’ll appreciate this more as we talk about your data drive(s) next.

The next partition I have is an E: drive that I use for MyDocuments and iTunes.  This is generally the largest partition that I have.  In our 100GB example here, let’s take the remaining 60GB and make it into our E: data drive.  On this data drive I will store the contents of MyDocuments (which as you will recall includes MyMusic, MyVideos, and MyPictures and more).    By having this E: drive setup as to be holding all of your data, you can easily backup this E: drive only to make sure you have a copy of all of your important files.  At this point, however, you must get into the habit of saving your data on the E: drive and make sure your all of your programs store the data on this E: drive.  The only exception to this setup on my machine is the /www directory that’s there as a part of wampserver, which is happiest having everything on the C:  drive.  So I know that when I run my backups that I include C:/…/www.

Note now that if you did need to reinstall windows, you’d be able to reinstall it on the C: drive, (you’d still have to reformat the D: drive to reinstall all of your programs) but your E: data drive would remain intact.  Note that depending upon your installation of Windows and your media, you may NOT be able to install Windows without reformatting the entire drive.  For example, many recovery DVDs that come with a new computer will reformat your entire drive and also DESTROY and partitions you had previously made.  So if you do reinstall the OS, make sure that you backup your data first — just in case your reinstall process truly reverts to factory settings.  But now backing up your data is easy because it’s all on the E: drive.

Advanced Partitioning

Now while the basic scheme above works well  for many people, you can break things down more as you need.  In my case, I split the E: drive even further.  On the E: (data) partition I store the MyDocuments folder that includes MyPictures and the rest of my regular data.  But because my iTunes library is huge, I have a separate partition, an F: drive that I use for media.  One of the reasons for this separation is that I don’t need to backup my music library as often as I backup my everyday data.  Also, note that the more data and files that you backup in a backup (or a mirror or a sync operation) the longer the process will take.  So if I’m just backing up my E: data drive, there’s no reason for my mirroring program (syncback) to have to copy over (and check the sync status of) thousands and thousands of music files.  So it makes sense to separate out data partitions based on the frequency of your backups.  And as it were, I personally keep an additional partition solely for virtual machines.  Because VM files are gigantic, it makes no sense to have to include them in a sync process unless you need to.

Planning Partitions

The best way to setup partitions is with a clean install, but as you may not always have a clean install in front of you, you may elect to partition an existing system.  When you partition an existing system — before you do anything else — make sure you backup your data.   I usually will install the OS first, load the partitioning software, and then create my partitions.  But if you are partitioning an existing setup, MAKE SURE you leave the OS drive (e.g. the C: drive in the above example) with plenty of room.  In fact — OVERESTIMATE.  You do not want to be in a situation where you have a partitioned drive/system and you run out of space on the OS drive.  You can get out of this mess but it’s better not to be there in the first place.

Partitioning Software

For many, many years I was a big fan of Symantec (Norton) Partition Magic.  The software was (is) reasonably priced and (unlike much of Norton’s newer products) has never failed me.   In my travels, however, I came across a free partitioning utility that I really like.  The program is the EASUS Partition Master Home Edition, and I’ve found it to be a worth replacement for Partition Magic (sorry Symantec).   I’ve used the program with Windows Vista and Windows 7 and I have had success.

In this article I introduced you to the world of partitioning and reviewed some of the advantages of having a partitioned system.   Remember that whenever you partition a drive, however, you may lose data.  So be sure to BACKUP you system prior to performing partition operatiosn.

A: This is a question I’m often asked, and unless you are a computer enthusiast, I’d try to do everything you can to stick with the 32-bit version of an operating system (such as Windows 7 or Windows Vista).

First I’ll mention that the difference between a 32-bit and 64-bit operating system, grossly oversimplified, is that a 64-bit operating system can do things more efficiently than a 32-bit operating system. There are many caveats to this statement, the most important one being that the average user, using relatively new computer, will never be able to tell the difference. One of the big advantages of a 64-bit operating system is that a 64-bit OS can access more than 4GB of RAM, which is something 32-bit OS’s can’t do (e.g. Windows XP* [*Windows XP does have a 64-bit version but you'll never see it commercially]).

Let’s talk about why you should NOT rush get a 64-bit OS.

1. Compatibility. Because 64-bit OS’s haven’t really taken off yet, there are many peripherials that don’t have 64-bit drivers. Practically speaking, this means that if you have a multifunction scanner, printer, fax, you have to make sure that the manufacturer has a 64-bit driver or you may not be able to use all the features of your multifunction device.

2. Software. Software must specifically be written for a 64-bit OS. Many newer mainstream programs (e.g. Micorosft products) do have 64-bit versions. The problem is that if your old machine was running an older version of Microsoft Office, the older version many not run on a 64-bit OS and you will now have to purchase a new version of Office. That’s fine if this expense were in your budget, but what happens if you have 4 or 5 programs like this — older ones that were working just fine on your XP machine that you really don’t want to change?

3. The RAM Factor. Some people ask, “But if a 64-bit Windows can use more RAM than Windows XP, isn’t that better?” The answer to that question is yes — if you are encoding mult-gigabyte video files or are using AutoCad with tremendous files, as well. Your average user using Microsoft Word or Excel while browsing the internet isn’t going to be able to take advantage of this increase in RAM. The problem is that the software either hasn’t caught up to the hardware, or has no need to use that much RAM. Think of it like your car — you car has a 120mph marker on the speedometer, but have you ever hit it? Have you ever really needed to go over 75mph on the highway? So while you car can hit 120, it will never use that potential because you will never be in the situation where 120mph is needed.

I’ll close by saying that many computer manufacturers are only showing their home users and home office users 64-bit OS machines. To get around this limitation, look in the small business section and you will see an array of 32-bit machines that you can purchase.

You can easily get Virtual PC 2007  free from Microsoft here.
And you can then download a free, time-limited Windows Vista Virtual Hard Drive from Microsoft.

It’s not a perfect solution, but it works…

Note that if you are using a Microsoft Office program such as Word or Excel, you can insert a bullet (or other symbol) in these programs using the character map as described below, or by using the programs’ built in “Insert Symbol” feature. See this post to learn how to insert a bullet or other character in Word.

1. Let’s first open the character map. Head to Start -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Character Map.

2. With the Character Map open, you will now select the character you want to use. You will probably have to navigate to the “Symbol” character set/font by clicking the down arrow at the top of the dialog box (right next to the help button in the image below).

Once you have selected symbol you will see the symbol character set (as shown in the image below). Find the symbol you’d like to use. In this example we chose the bullet. Click on the bullet and then hit the select button. You will then see the bullet symbol appear in the “Characters to copy” box.

3. Then click the Copy button. You can then switch to whatever application you wish to use the bullet in and use the paste feature in that application.

1.  First head to the control panel:  Start->Control Panel.

2. Then head to Folder Options.

3. In the window that opens, select the View tab.

4. Lastly, select Show Hidden Files or Folders and press OK.