You want to change the screen that you see when XP boots.
Solution
Using downloadable software
The best tool for changing your startup screen is BootXP, shareware available from http://www.bootxp.net. (You can try it out for free, but if you continue to use it, there’s a $7.95 registration fee.) To use it:
Download, install, and run the program. When you first run it, it asks where you want to store your boot screens. The default is C:\WINDOWS\Resources\ Bootscreens. Unless you can think of a better place to keep them, use this folder. The software will create it for you.
Select the Your Boot Screens tab. If you have any graphics or boot screens in C:\ WINDOWS\Resources\Bootscreens, the program displays a list of them.
If you don’t have any boot screens stored, click the Get Boot Screens button to have BootXP search several web sites that have downloadable boot screens. (If you find any you like, download them to the folder where you’ve chosen to store your boot screens, such as C:\Windows\Resources\Bootscreens.)
You can also create boot screens from an existing graphic. Put the graphic in C:\Windows\Resources\Bootscreens, so that, when you open them in BootXP and click Convert To Boot Screen, BootXP will convert them to the format Windows XP requires for boot screens: 640 × 480 pixels and 16-color. Once you have them in the right format, use BootXP to select any as your boot screen.
To choose a new boot screen, click the file in the list, and click OK. The program shows the graphic you’ve chosen on the left side of the screen, and how it looks as a boot screen on the right.
To confirm this is the boot screen you want, click the “Set As Your Boot Screen” button.
The next time you start XP, your new boot screen will be used.
Discussion
Be careful when going straight to Internet sites to download boot screens for your XP system. There are quite a few sites that specialize in boot screens, but when you install boot screens that you download from them, you may find that spyware rides on the back of the screens. If you download a boot screen and it includes an installation program, be wary, because the installation program often also installs spyware on your system.
If you decide to make your own boot screens using a graphics program, make sure they are 640 × 480 pixels and 16-color.
See Also
Another good program for selecting boot screen is ChangerXP, which is shareware available from http://www.nihuo.com/changerxp.html. In addition to changing boot screens, it also will change your wallpaper and Internet Explorer background.
You want to personalize the sounds your PC makes for various system events, including recording new sounds of your own.
Solution
Using a graphical user interface
If a microphone didn’t come with your PC, buy one and plug it into the microphone jack.
Open the Sound Recorder (Figure 6-6) by choosing Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Sound Recorder, or typing mmsys.cpl at the Run box or command line and pressing Enter.
Click the Record button, record your sound clip, and when you’re done, click the Stop button. When you record, speak in a normal tone of voice, about six
Figure 6-6.When you're recording with the Sound Recorder, Windows tells you how many seconds the sound will last
inches from the microphone. Keep the clip short, because you don’t want sounds to last too long. A few seconds is ideal.
Choose File -> Save and save the file to a folder. Note the location and the file-name (it ends in .wav). Exit the Sound Recorder.
Now that you’ve recorded the sound, you need to tell XP to use it. Choose Start -> Control Panel -> Sounds, Speech, and Audio Devices -> Sounds and Audio Devices. On the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties dialog box that appears (Figure 6-7), click the Sounds tab. In the Program events list, select the event you want to associate with your sound.
Click Browse and locate the .wav file you just recorded (or the existing file you want to use). Select it and click OK. When the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties dialog box appears again, click OK.
From now on, Windows will use your sound with the associated event.
Discussion
Don’t expect to record high-quality sounds with an inexpensive microphone, so if sound quality is important, buy a more expensive one. You can use any .wav sound with a Windows event, not just ones you record. Make sure when choosing a .wav sound to associate with an event that the sound only lasts a few seconds—you don’t want it lasting well beyond the start of the event.
Many people use sounds from TV shows, movies, or popular music to associate with Windows events. The law governing such use is murky at best. Some lawyers say such files violate copyright laws; others say that they are covered by the fair use provision of copyright laws, and so are legal. So follow your own conscience.
See Also
If you’re looking for a place with a big selection of .wav files you can use to associate with Windows events, go to http://www.wavcentral.com.
Figure 6-7.Choose the event you want to associate with a sound, and then click Browse to find the sound
You want to create different power schemes for your laptop—for example, one when it’s plugged in at home, and another for maximum battery life when you’re on an airplane on a cross-country trip.
Solution
Using a graphical user interface
Choose Control Panel -> Performance and Maintenance -> Power Options. The Power Options Properties dialog box appears.
Click the Power Schemes tab. This tab handles the most important power functions. It lets you customize how your laptop uses power when plugged in and when it runs on batteries. So you might have the laptop never turn off the power
Figure 6-8. One good way to save your batteries: Create separate power schemes for your laptop
to the LCD when it’s plugged in, for example, and have it shut off the power to the LCD after 15 minutes when it runs on power.
To edit an existing scheme, choose your options from the drop-down boxes and click OK. For each scheme, you can choose options for when your laptop is running on batteries, and when it’s plugged in. You choose when your system should turn off the monitor and hard disk after a specified time of inactivity. You also choose when your laptop should go into system standby. When your laptop goes into system standby, it goes into a very low power state, using only a few watts of power, just enough to retain the contents of RAM. Power is shut off to the hard drive, the LCD, the fan, and the CPU, so that it appears that the laptop is powered off. When you’ve made your choices, click OK.
To create an entirely new scheme, edit and existing scheme, choose Save As from the dialog box, and save it with a new name.
To use a power scheme, come back to the Power Options dialog box, choose the scheme you want to use from the drop-down list, and click OK.
Discussion
Your laptop will come configured with several different power schemes—for example, one that preserves the maximum amount of battery life, one that is used when the laptop is plugged in, one when you’re making presentations on the road and so on. You may not need to change the power settings, but it’s a good idea to look at them, in case you want to.
Using system standby
If you choose to use system standby, you can configure how it works by clicking on the Advanced tab of the Power Options Properties dialog box. It lets you decide whether to put the system into standby if you close the lid of the laptop, what to do when you press the laptop’s power button, and what to do when you press the lap-top’s sleep button. Additionally, if you’re worried about security, it lets you require that a password be used in order to wake up the laptop from standby. And it can put an icon that reports about your power on the Taskbar.
Setting power alarms
You can have your laptop alert you or take an action when it has little power left. To set alerts, click on the Alarms tab, and customize the settings for when to alert you—at what percent of battery life is left. There are two settings, one for lower battery alarm and one for a critical battery alarm. You can have the system alert you via text, via an audible alarm, or have it automatically go into standby or shut down. You can also have it automatically run a program when the batter reaches a certain level.
See Also
For more information about managing power on a laptop, see http://www.microsoft. com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/pwrmn_choose_ power_scheme.mspx.
You want to extend the battery life of your laptop so that you can use it longer between recharges, for example on a cross-country plane flight.
Solution
Using a graphical user interface
If you have a wireless network adapter and you’re not using it, turn it off by right-clicking on its icon in the Notification Area and choosing Disable. Wireless and wired adapters can use a substantial amount of power—disabling yours could save you up to 20 minutes of battery life. If the wireless network adapter isn’t built into your laptop but instead is a PC card, take the PC card out of the laptop.
Lower the backlighting on your screen. Your screen takes up a substantial amount of electricity, and it most likely doesn’t need to be lit up to its brightest level. Check your system documentation for how to change the lighting level.
Use the right power scheme. XP includes a number of preset power schemes that you can use for various purposes. The schemes differ according to how long it takes for XP to shut off power to the monitor and hard disk when there is no system activity, or when the laptop should go into system standby. In system standby, power is cut to the hardware components you’re not using, such as your monitor and your hard drive, but power is still supplied to your computer’s memory so you don’t lose your work. Get to the power schemes by choosing Control Panel -> Performance and Maintenance -> Power Options. For maximum battery life, choose Max Battery from the Power schemes drop-down list. Low Power Mode and Portable/Laptop are also good choices, although they don’t preserve as much power as Max Battery. After you have selected your power scheme, click OK.
Remove unused PCMCIA cards from your laptop, because they can use substantial amounts of power.
Disconnect external drives, especially those that are USB-powered. External drives get power from your laptop and can be electricity hogs.
Increase your RAM and decrease your swap file space to limit disk accesses. The fewer times you access your hard disk, the less power you’ll use.
Disable sounds. Each time a .wav file plays, you’re using up juice unnecessarily.
Discussion
Take care when using laptop batteries that you fully discharge them before recharging them. Batteries have a “memory,” so if you frequently use only half their power before recharging them, for example, you’ll cut the amount of power that the battery retains.
There is at least one instance where trying to save power can interfere with the functioning of your PC. If you’re using WiFi, don’t use its power management feature, if it has one. You can lose your connection going into standby, and if you use EAP or other authentication methods, especially with separate secureID/cryptography devices, reconnecting can be very difficult.
See Also
For information about how to extend battery life by using standby and hibernate, see http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techenthusiast/ features/standby1127.asp.
Many airplanes that make transcontinental flights have an Empower port, which can be used to power a laptop. You’ll have to use a special adapter to connect your laptop to an Empower port. You can buy separate special adapters, or can instead buy a universal adapter that connects to Empower ports, AC power, and other power sources. Targus, among other hardware manufacturers, makes such a device.
Please check back next week for the conclusion of this article.
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