Easy Way to Adjust LargeSystemCache

Normally, the tweak I've seen asks you to go into HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\Memory Management and change the value to either O or 1 to the adjustment the LargeSystemCache.

• However, in Windows XP, all you have to do is:
• Right-click My Computer.
• Select Properties.
• Click Advanced.
• Choose Performance.
• Click Advanced again.
• Select either Programs or System Cache under Memory Usage.
• Programs = 0 for the registry tweak equivalent
• System Cache = 1 for the registry tweak equivalent

Break an RGB color value into its components in Visual Basic Use

r = color And &HFF&

g = (color And &HFF00&) \ &H100&
b = (color And &HFF0000) \ &H10000

There are some system colors that have funny values like &H8000000F&. Unfortunately they don't work this way. You can use the GetSysColor API function to find these color values. Use And to mask off the leftmost digit. Then use GetSysColor to see get the color value.
Public Declare Function GetSysColor Lib "user32" Alias "GetSysColor" _
(ByVal nIndex As Long) As Long

If color And &H80000000 Then color = GetSysColor(color And &HFFFFFF)

One final case occurs if you use Point to get the color of a pixel that does not exist. For example, on a form with ScaleMode = vbPixels, Point(-100, -100) returns -1 because

The Best Computer Tips and Tricks: System Tweaks

Disable System Restore

You can gain a lot of drive space by disabling System Restore. (You should already have a backup regimen in place before you do this.) In Vista, right-click My Computer, select Advanced system settings, click the System Protection tab, and uncheck any drives. In XP, right-click My Computer, then under System Tasks, click on "View system information." Click on the System Restore tab and click the box next to "Turn off System Restore on all drives" to disable it.

Configure Windows Update

Windows Update is great, but if it's set on autopilot, it will download updates that require a reboot, then pester you forever to install them, and eventually reboot on its own. Change the Windows Update settings (in the Windows Security section of the Control Panel) to download updates but ask you whether to install them.

Disable Delete Confirmation

You can disable the confirmation that pops up whenever you delete something by right-clicking the Recycle Bin and selecting Properties. Uncheck the delete confirmation box, click Apply and then OK, and you're done. Also, you can bypass the Recycle Bin entirely by holding down the Shift key while deleting files.

Disable Windows Animations

Sliding Window animations look cool, but you can improve system performance by disabling them completely. Right-click My Computer and go to Properties. In Vista, select Advanced system settings, or click the Advanced tab in XP. Click Settings in the performance box and uncheck any box that says animate, slide, or fade.

Create a Custom Toolbar

If you're constantly accessing a particular folder, you can add it to your taskbar for quick access. Right-click the taskbar and scroll to Toolbars, then select New Toolbar. It will open an Explorer window, so browse to your folder and select it. It's also handy to add My Computer as a toolbar.