THE ADVISOR - December 1999
Originally published 12/7/99

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IN THIS ISSUE
*Al's December ADVICE - Registering Your Computer's Owner - YOU
*Editing the Registry
*Backup your Registry
*Windows Tip - Keyboard Shortcuts
*Autosave to Avoid Lost Data
*Holiday Special - $1100 ADVICE Pentium III System
*Jim's Technical Tips - Report Card for your System's Resources
*Lisa's Links for December

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*Al's December ADVICE - Registering Your Computer's Owner - YOU*
Does your Windows 9X System Properties screen correctly
identify you as the registered owner?
If not, you can change the values in the System Registry.
Open the Registry Editor and navigate your way to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion.
Once there, you will find entries on the right side of
the screen for RegisteredOwner and RegisteredOrganization.
If you right click the KeyName and choose Modify,
you can change the entry displayed in System Properties.


EDITING THE REGISTRY
USE CAUTION ALWAYS!
ALWAYS BACKUP BEFORE MAKING CHANGES
CHANGES HERE ARE IMMEDIATE!
CHANGES ARE IRREVERSIBLE!
IF YOU CAN’T FIX IT, DON’T!

BACKUP YOUR REGISTRY
Do you have a current backup of your System Registry?
You should. Here’s a way to get a quick backup anytime
before you make changes to your system.
Open the Registry Editor.
Choose Alt-Registry, Export Registry File.
You can then save your existing registry in the
location you prefer for your data backups.
(See the ADVISOR archives for suggestions on organizing your data.)
I suggest you select Export Range All and name the
file relevant to the backup date;
something like REG BACKUP 120799.
If you give the file an extension, be sure it’s .REG.
You don’t need to give it an extension;
Windows will name it .REG by default.

[editor's note: for the technically challenged, e-mail 
us for more information on this one.]


*Windows Tip - Keyboard Shortcuts*
If you have a Windows 9X Keyboard (one with the WinKey
picturing the Windows 95 logo between Ctrl and Alt.)
You can use these shortcuts to move around quickly
without having to reach for the rat.
I call it a rat instead of a mouse
because like a rat it has a long tail.

WinKey + E Open Windows Explorer
WinKey + M Minimize all open windows
WinKey + D Toggle to the desktop
WinKey Display the Start Menu
Ctrl+Esc Display the Start Menu


*Autosave to Avoid Lost Data*
Many programs will allow you to save your
data automatically on a set time interval.
You should check to be sure if your programs
do or do not. With Microsoft Word,
select Tools, Options, Save and then check
the box and specify the Save AutoRecover
info every XX minutes to a frequent value like 5 or 10.
With Microsoft Excel, select Tools and AutoSave to
specify your preferences. If AutoSave is not available
in Excel, then you can choose to enable it under AddIns.
If your program does not autosave,
then save frequently to avoid data loss.


*$1100 HOLIDAY SPECIAL $1100*
ADVICE Pentium III 500 mHz
InWin MidTower ATX Case & Power Supply
Intel Seattle SE440BX-2 System Board 
Yamaha integrated sound & speakers
Intel Pentium III 500 mHz processor
64 mB PC100 SDRAM
Teac 1.44 mB, Toshiba 40X IDE CD ROM
Western Digital 13 gB IDE Drive
ATI 8 mB AGP Video
W9X Keyboard, Microsoft IP Mouse
Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition


*Jim's Technical Tips - Report Card for your System's Resources*
Provided we pass safely through the new year, and that
electricity still zips across the wire when we flip on our
light switches and coffee makers, here are some tips
to give you a better perspective of the
payload your computer is shouldering.

SYSTEM RESOURCES
Just as adjusting oneself to life in a post-Y2K
frontier style military state is simply wwaaay
too much to handle alongside other demands of
the new year, your computer has its limitations.
The more we make our computers do simultaneously,
the more "system resources" we use
(and, of course, the less we have available for
other programs and functions). Here is where we
can view our system's resources and determine the % free:

 Click START, then SETTINGS, then CONTROL PANEL
 in the CONTROL PANEL, click the SYSTEM icon.
 in the SYSTEM properties, click the PERFORMANCE tab.
 look for "system resources.....xx%"

Now Try this: Open Microsoft Word and/or Excel.
go back in to SYSTEM PROPERTIES (as explained above)
and see how much available resources those programs used!
(You can close Word and Excel when you're done.)

We can grade this like a school paper:
90-99%..A
80-89%..B
70-79%..C
60-69%..D
 0-59%..surprised you get ANYTHING done!

If you scored low (C, D or F), you may need do
some cleanup. In next months issue,
we'll cover a few simple, SAFE routines to
help you minimize the amount of resources
used when you boot up your computer each day.

For those of us here in America, January 2000
will most likely look like December 99 did,God willing.
The one sure-bet? There's little we can do to affect the outcome.
On the other hand, The life and health of our PCs is
something we can participate in. Stay Tuned for
OPTIMIZING YOUR RESOURCES in the January edition!

*Lisa's Links for December*

Today Al and I celebrate our son's 13th birthday.
Many Americans are remembering another December 7th.
The anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
I found a great site that has great information on
Pearl Harbor. Video and audio clips as well as personal accounts.
A treasury of information, share it with the children in your life,
lest we forget.
http://www.execpc.com/~dschaaf/mainmenu.html

I received a mailer from the US Postmaster. It was
about fraud. I wanted to share the Web site with you. 
A great resource, funded by our tax dollars.
Bookmark it or add it to your favorites list.
You may need it sometime.
www.consumer.gov/knowfraud

Speaking of the Postmaster... did you know you 
can now have your postage in your computer. For a monthly
usage charge you can run your envelops through
your printer and the postage is printed on it.
It is NOT part of the Post Office.
They have a special offer running right now.
$25.00 free postage to try it.
Check it out at:
www.stamps.com

Look for my On-line shopping tips - due out tomorrow.