Spring-cleaning Windows XP Pro....

I've been most of the day, off and on, working on XP to clean up the files and the registry and get it in shape a bit better. One problem with all that is the time it takes to look for advice on how to do something, and then making sure it's done like the directions said, and then finding out whether those actually worked or not. Usually, they do, but sometimes not - as when the instructions were written for a previous version of Windows, and the writer hasn't told us which version was being described in the helpful instructions. There you are, looking through your setup for something that isn't there, and then just by accident, you find out that the writer is talking about Windows 98 or Millennium, and you've been assuming it was all about XP. That's one case where reading the directions doesn't help.

But I hasten to add that there's a whole lot of really valuable - I might even call it invaluable - help on the internet for just about anything that goes wrong with your computer. If you've got the time, then they've got the story. There's hardly-ever a 'quick fix' though. It usually takes about three days to solve the average thorny problem this way (just kidding!) or at least it can seem that way.

While messing with XP's registry and such today, I also found and used another guy's answer for the sometimes-disappearing volume icon in the system tray. You'll notice on the left in the picture that there's a couple of more icons in the bunch. One for the volume control, and one for Winamp, my favourite media player - and the best freebie you ever saw! But getting back to the volume control for a moment, if you have any problem with a now-you-see-it-now-you-don't volume icon in the system tray next to the clock, here's what to do: Go into C:\Windows\System32 and scroll away down to the S's, and look for a file called 'sndvol32.exe'. Right-click on it, and select 'create shortcut' and then look probably at the bottom of that System32 window for your new shortcut with the same name, and drag that out onto the desktop. Go into your personal stash of icons and select a nice one for it, then rename it 'Volume' instead of 'sndvol32.exe', and you're in business. Now, no matter what goes on in the system tray, you've got a volume control handy. And it's easier to hit with your mouse pointer than the little one on the slimline (windowblinds) version of Winamp up top.