Cleaning And Tuning Tips

Keeping Desktop & Start Menu Clean

We have seen this too often. A user places all his 'stuff' on to his desktop or start menu. As a result, it is too messy and becomes so cluttered that even the user has trouble finding what he/she is looking for.

A Clean Desktop

Place only your most frequently used programs on to the desktop. Always place shortcuts and not the program itself onto the desktop. You can however, place folders which is a convenience on the desktop. Try not to fill up more than 3/4 of the desktop. If you place too many items onto the desktop, windows will place them beyond the screen and you will have to use the desktop folder itself instead. You will also have trouble using desktop components as they are all covered with icons. If you have a set of utilities you will like to have access to, use toolbars as a quick alternative. Set them to auto-hide to free up the desktop.

A Clean Start Menu

Dump your start menu shortcuts into manageable folders. Put all you games into one folder. Place all your stand-alone system utilities under System Tools. Group all your MS Office applications under another folder. You get what we mean. It will clear up the start menu and you won't have to scroll to the bottom just to launch a program. If you have a lot of first-level items on your start menu, use small icons instead by right-clicking the Taskbar|Properties.

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