20 Tools for Trouble-Free Computing

No Money Down: Five Free Tips

You don't need to spend money to make your PC run smoothly. Here are five improvements that won't cost you a penny but will make your life easier.

• Let the help do it. To deal with programs that lack a scheduler, Windows' Scheduled Tasks utility lets you automatically run any program at any predetermined time. Find it in Windows XP under Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools (Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools in Windows Me and Windows 2000).
  
  
• Go easy on the eyes. Preserve your vision with two free utilities from Windows XP PowerToys. Image Resize lets you enlarge a graphic file by right-clicking. Taskbar Magnifier enlarges whatever is under your cursor and displays it in a small window on the task bar--great for making small print readable.
  
  
• One click fits all. Tray Commander Lite lets you launch programs, open oft-used folders, and shut down your PC in two mouse clicks--very handy for frequent tasks.
  
  
• Make a fresh start. Accelerate your Windows start-up by disabling programs that automatically start with Windows. Go to Start, Run, type msconfig, press Enter, and select the Startup tab; uncheck the box for anything you don't want starting up with Windows. Recheck the box to change it back again.
  
  
• Listen up! Let your PC read to you. ReadPlease 2003 is a text-to-speech utility that enables you to listen to long blocks of text while you work on something else.
  
  

--Kirk Steers