[Technology columnist Walter S. Mossberg answers readers' questions]
Q: In last week's Mailbox, you said that Windows XP machines can slow down over time unless you do 'a lot of techie maintenance.' What did you mean? I regularly defragment the hard disk, tweak the registry, and clean out temporary files, but my PC is still slow.
A: All of these things are helpful, though I don't recommend that nontechie users 'tweak' the Windows registry, which contains vital program information that can mistakenly be removed or altered if you don't know what you're doing. Another speed-enhancing tactic is to use a program like Startup Cop Pro (snipurl.com/b4v91) to prevent unneeded programs from running at startup, and one like PC Decrapifier (pcdecrapifier.com) to clean out craplets -- unwanted pre-installed programs.
However, what I had in mind when I wrote that was something more drastic, something a number of techies I know do annually: a complete replacement of Windows. This involves first backing up all your files, and then performing what's called a 'clean install' of Windows XP that wipes out everything on the PC and starts fresh. You then would copy back all your data files and re-install your programs.
This can make the computer feel like new, but the problem is that it can be tricky and tedious for nontechie users. Depending on the source of the copy of Windows XP you are using for the clean install, you may have to locate and re-install drivers for peripheral hardware and for hardware features of your particular make and model of PC. You may run into licensing and activation issues with your re-installed programs. And you may have to download numerous patches and upgrades for Windows itself and for your programs.
Q: I am considering buying one of the new MacBook Pro 15' laptops. What do you think of the keyboard on this laptop? Is it easy to type on compared to other laptop keyboards? What do you think of the shiny screen?
A: Because keyboard and screen preferences vary from person to person, I strongly urge all laptop shoppers to try out models they are considering before buying, even if only for a few minutes at a retail store. Having said that, I find the MacBook Pro keyboard to be very comfortable and easy to use, with good key spacing and feel. I personally prefer matte screens to glossy ones, but own laptops with both types and find the glossy ones acceptable, if not optimal.
Q: I use the Windows Mail program that came with Vista on my computer. You say Windows 7 won't come with that program. Is there something similar that can be installed?
A: Microsoft will encourage people to download a similar free program called Windows Live Mail, which is closely tied to its Live online service. Or, you could switch to a competing email program, or rely on Web-based email.
專欄作家莫博士就有關(guān)電腦和其他電子設備的常見技術(shù)問題答讀者問。
問：你在之前的專欄文章中說，如果不做許多技術(shù)維護工作，Windows XP電腦的運行速度會越來越慢。你指的是什么？我會定期整理磁盤碎片、打掃注冊表，清理臨時文件，但我的電腦仍然很慢。
答：所有這些做法都會有幫助，不過我不建議普通用戶“打掃”Windows注冊表，因為注冊表中含有重要的程序信息，如果你對所做的不太了解，這些信息可能會被錯誤刪除或修改。另一個提高速度的辦法是使用Startup Cop Pro (snipurl.com/b4v91)等程序阻止在開機時運行不需要的軟件，或是PC Decrapifier (pcdecrapifier.com)等程序清理掉不想要的預裝程序。
不過，我在寫上述內(nèi)容時想到的做法更激進，我知道不少高手每年都會這樣做：完全更換Windows系統(tǒng)。這要首先備份所有文件，然后對Windows XP進行所謂的“全新安裝”，即刪除電腦上的所有文件，重新安裝新操作系統(tǒng)。然后將所有數(shù)據(jù)文件復制回來，并重新安裝應用程序。
這可以讓電腦像新的一樣，但問題是，對普通用戶而言它可能會非常需要技術(shù)，也很繁瑣。根據(jù)您正在使用的不同版本W(wǎng)indows XP進行全新安裝，您可能必須找到并重新安裝驅(qū)動程序的硬件和外設的硬件特點，您的特定品牌和型號的電腦。根據(jù)你要進行全新安裝的Windows XP版本，你可能需要查找和重新安裝外設驅(qū)動程序，以及你專門設定的硬件功能和電腦型號。你重新安裝的軟件可能會遇到授權(quán)和激活問題。你也可能需要下載大量補丁，升級Windows操作系統(tǒng)和應用程序。
問：我正考慮買一臺新的MacBook Pro 15'筆記本電腦。你覺得這種筆記本電腦的鍵盤怎么樣？相對于其它筆記本電腦的鍵盤是否容易打字？你覺得光面顯示屏怎么樣？
答：因為對鍵盤和顯示屏的喜好因人而異，我強烈建議所有筆記本電腦買家在購買前試用一下他們考慮購買的型號，哪怕只在零售店試用幾分鐘。說到這里，我覺得MacBook Pro鍵盤非常舒適，易于使用，具有良好的鍵盤間距和手感。相對于光面顯示屏，我個人更喜歡亞光顯示屏，但這兩種顯示屏的筆記本電腦我都有，而且發(fā)現(xiàn)光面顯示屏即使不算選擇的話，起碼也是可以接受的。
問：我使用的是Vista附帶的Windows Mail程序。你曾說過Windows 7將不會附帶這個程序。那是否會安裝類似的軟件？
答：微軟(Microsoft)將鼓勵人們下載一個叫做Windows Live Mail的類似的免費程序，這個程序與其Live在線服務密切聯(lián)系在一起?；蛘?，你可以改用其它電子郵件程序，或使用基于Web的電子郵件。
Q: In last week's Mailbox, you said that Windows XP machines can slow down over time unless you do 'a lot of techie maintenance.' What did you mean? I regularly defragment the hard disk, tweak the registry, and clean out temporary files, but my PC is still slow.
A: All of these things are helpful, though I don't recommend that nontechie users 'tweak' the Windows registry, which contains vital program information that can mistakenly be removed or altered if you don't know what you're doing. Another speed-enhancing tactic is to use a program like Startup Cop Pro (snipurl.com/b4v91) to prevent unneeded programs from running at startup, and one like PC Decrapifier (pcdecrapifier.com) to clean out craplets -- unwanted pre-installed programs.
However, what I had in mind when I wrote that was something more drastic, something a number of techies I know do annually: a complete replacement of Windows. This involves first backing up all your files, and then performing what's called a 'clean install' of Windows XP that wipes out everything on the PC and starts fresh. You then would copy back all your data files and re-install your programs.
This can make the computer feel like new, but the problem is that it can be tricky and tedious for nontechie users. Depending on the source of the copy of Windows XP you are using for the clean install, you may have to locate and re-install drivers for peripheral hardware and for hardware features of your particular make and model of PC. You may run into licensing and activation issues with your re-installed programs. And you may have to download numerous patches and upgrades for Windows itself and for your programs.
Q: I am considering buying one of the new MacBook Pro 15' laptops. What do you think of the keyboard on this laptop? Is it easy to type on compared to other laptop keyboards? What do you think of the shiny screen?
A: Because keyboard and screen preferences vary from person to person, I strongly urge all laptop shoppers to try out models they are considering before buying, even if only for a few minutes at a retail store. Having said that, I find the MacBook Pro keyboard to be very comfortable and easy to use, with good key spacing and feel. I personally prefer matte screens to glossy ones, but own laptops with both types and find the glossy ones acceptable, if not optimal.
Q: I use the Windows Mail program that came with Vista on my computer. You say Windows 7 won't come with that program. Is there something similar that can be installed?
A: Microsoft will encourage people to download a similar free program called Windows Live Mail, which is closely tied to its Live online service. Or, you could switch to a competing email program, or rely on Web-based email.
專欄作家莫博士就有關(guān)電腦和其他電子設備的常見技術(shù)問題答讀者問。
問：你在之前的專欄文章中說，如果不做許多技術(shù)維護工作，Windows XP電腦的運行速度會越來越慢。你指的是什么？我會定期整理磁盤碎片、打掃注冊表，清理臨時文件，但我的電腦仍然很慢。
答：所有這些做法都會有幫助，不過我不建議普通用戶“打掃”Windows注冊表，因為注冊表中含有重要的程序信息，如果你對所做的不太了解，這些信息可能會被錯誤刪除或修改。另一個提高速度的辦法是使用Startup Cop Pro (snipurl.com/b4v91)等程序阻止在開機時運行不需要的軟件，或是PC Decrapifier (pcdecrapifier.com)等程序清理掉不想要的預裝程序。
不過，我在寫上述內(nèi)容時想到的做法更激進，我知道不少高手每年都會這樣做：完全更換Windows系統(tǒng)。這要首先備份所有文件，然后對Windows XP進行所謂的“全新安裝”，即刪除電腦上的所有文件，重新安裝新操作系統(tǒng)。然后將所有數(shù)據(jù)文件復制回來，并重新安裝應用程序。
這可以讓電腦像新的一樣，但問題是，對普通用戶而言它可能會非常需要技術(shù)，也很繁瑣。根據(jù)您正在使用的不同版本W(wǎng)indows XP進行全新安裝，您可能必須找到并重新安裝驅(qū)動程序的硬件和外設的硬件特點，您的特定品牌和型號的電腦。根據(jù)你要進行全新安裝的Windows XP版本，你可能需要查找和重新安裝外設驅(qū)動程序，以及你專門設定的硬件功能和電腦型號。你重新安裝的軟件可能會遇到授權(quán)和激活問題。你也可能需要下載大量補丁，升級Windows操作系統(tǒng)和應用程序。
問：我正考慮買一臺新的MacBook Pro 15'筆記本電腦。你覺得這種筆記本電腦的鍵盤怎么樣？相對于其它筆記本電腦的鍵盤是否容易打字？你覺得光面顯示屏怎么樣？
答：因為對鍵盤和顯示屏的喜好因人而異，我強烈建議所有筆記本電腦買家在購買前試用一下他們考慮購買的型號，哪怕只在零售店試用幾分鐘。說到這里，我覺得MacBook Pro鍵盤非常舒適，易于使用，具有良好的鍵盤間距和手感。相對于光面顯示屏，我個人更喜歡亞光顯示屏，但這兩種顯示屏的筆記本電腦我都有，而且發(fā)現(xiàn)光面顯示屏即使不算選擇的話，起碼也是可以接受的。
問：我使用的是Vista附帶的Windows Mail程序。你曾說過Windows 7將不會附帶這個程序。那是否會安裝類似的軟件？
答：微軟(Microsoft)將鼓勵人們下載一個叫做Windows Live Mail的類似的免費程序，這個程序與其Live在線服務密切聯(lián)系在一起?；蛘?，你可以改用其它電子郵件程序，或使用基于Web的電子郵件。