Windows has so many ways to help you with your daily computer tasks. There are a lot more benefits and features to Windows than most PC users are aware of. As a rule, most individuals have no problem learning the basic functions that Windows offers and don’t try to find out what else they can do with their operating system.. We’ll give you some strategies for additional methods of using Windows to make you aware of the possibilities it has to offer.
If you learn how to use the Windows taskbar efficiently, it can make your life less complicated. If you need to switch between programs, or open a program, you use the taskbar. Do you need to open more than one copy of a particular program at the same time? This is where you can feel limited. The way things work usually is that if you click again on the icon for a program you are running, it will open the running version again. Well, there is a workaround. All you have to do to open a separate version of a program already running is to hold down the Shift Key and click on the program’s icon. A new instance of the program will open and you can repeat these steps for as many copies as you need. This is actually useful during working on some documents related to all my tasks as an ultrasound sonographer.
A program that is very important to schedule to run regularly is the Defragmentation tool. Some folks don’t defrag their hard drives because they’re afraid they’ll do something wrong and other people just don’t bother. If you want to improve the performance of Windows, make it a regular habit to defrag your hard drive. If you create or download many files it’s even more important to do this. What this does is free up space on your computer by organizing your files more efficiently. Go to Properties & Tools for each hard drive and choose defragmentation. Defragmentation doesn’t take long unless you have a lot of files on your hard drive that haven’t been defragged lately. Windows can schedule the defragmentation program to run automatically if you set up a schedule.
Just about everyone who owns a notebook or laptop PC wishes their battery would stay charged longer. There is an Energy Report you can run if you have Windows 7 that will tell you what you can do to extend your battery’s life. It’s not hard to generate this Energy Report. Open the Start menu and type CMD in the search box; right click on the command prompt that appears at the top and select ‘Run as Administrator.’ The next screen with be a familiar DOS screen. When the DOS screen appears, type ‘powercfg -ENERGY (leave off the quotes) at the DOS prompt and hit Enter. Your computer will then analyze your energy usage and give you recommendations on what you can do to increase your battery’s efficiency. It will also tell you if there are upgrades or drivers you may need to make your computer more efficient. Follow what this Energy Report suggests and your battery charge should last longer. Occasionally I used this when calculating our household’s monthly budget expenditures and the cost savings I acquire out of my ultrasound technician salary.
Windows users should make it a goal to learn as much about the different benefits they can tap into. If you want your Windows to run better and more efficiently, apply some of the tips we’ve outlined above. There are no doubts many shortcuts and tricks to more efficient use of your computer that you don’t know about – regardless of why you use a computer. It won’t take you long to recognize the many possibilities you will experience once you have decided to learn new and better ways to experience Windows.