COVERDISC TWEAKING TOOLKIT ▲

Master your PC with our choice of the latest programs to tweak your system and boost performance and safety Tweaking toolkit Despite the fact that the latest

way you want. If you’re not a Windows expert

versions of Windows are easier, safer

and more convenient to use straight

from the box than ever, there are always

there’s no need to despair because you’ll

find there are plenty of handy utilities that

can help.

some things that can be improved. We all

have minor irritations with the way the

operating system works or things we feel

could be done differently or better. If you

know your way around the operating system

there are many hidden settings and registry

adjustments that can help you to get more

from your system or adjust it to work the

These tools enable you to carry out what

would otherwise be complex changes to

Windows simply by ticking a few boxes or

choosing options from an on-screen menu. This

means it’s easy to reverse the changes you’ve

made too if things go wrong or the effect isn’t

quite as you expected.

So, whether you’re after improved

performance, better security or simply greater

ease of use, the software we’ve included under

the Tweaking Toolkit tab of the DVD can help.

The programs here range from multi-purpose

tools to optimise and tune up Windows to more

specialised programs that target a particular

area of the operating system. From improving

general performance to reducing the chance of

crashes and beefing up access controls, you

should find something over the next six pages

to do the job.

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WinXP Manager

●Boost system performance ●Limit user access

●Clean up unwanted files ●Comprehensive and easy to use

If you want a program that offers a

complete toolkit for Windows XP, then

WinXP Manager is well worth

considering. It has a comprehensive

range of options that cover everything

from providing information about your

system to optimising and cleaning up

your PC.

Once installed, the program presents

a clear, simple screen with a list of

options down the left-hand side. Each of

these options expands into a sub-menu

containing the available tasks.

Beginners should start with the

▲The program has a straightforward interface that makes it easy to access all of its options

▲The Process Manager lets you see which background tasks are running in Windows

www.pc-utilities.co.uk issue 90 34 ▲

Information menu. This not only shows

you details of your hardware and system

processes, but also has an Optimization

Wizard and a 1-Click Cleaner. If you want

to go into more detail on any area then

work your way down the other menus.

Under the Optimizer heading, for

example, you can tweak the speed of

your machine, adjust settings for

multimedia and control which programs

are permitted to start with Windows.

From the Cleaner menu you can

analyse your hard drive to see which

files are taking up the most space, get

rid of unnecessary files, remove

duplicates, clean up the registry and

more. Under the Customization heading

you can get access to a range of

settings for the desktop, taskbar and

Windows Explorer. You can also

customise the context menu as well as

manage your wallpaper and icons.

You can make your system more

secure and help protect your privacy

via the options on the Security menu.

This includes options to disable system

tools such as the registry editor, as well

as enabling you to clean up your

browser history. Under the Misc

Utilities menu you’ll also find an option

to limit the times at which users can

log into the system. If you have a

network you’ll find WinXP Manager can

offer easy access to file-sharing

settings and help boost your connection

speed too. The program costs US$39.95

to register after the trial expires, but

you may find that’s a small price for the

range of options on offer.

Location \tweaking toolkit\xpmanager.exe System XP Licence Shareware: 15-day trial, US$39.95 Contact www.yamicsoft.com