The processor speed is slower than expected on a notebook computer that is running Windows XP

SYMPTOMS
When you start a laptop computer on battery power, the processor speed may be slower than the processor speed that the manufacturer indicates. To view the processor speed, you can use the System tool in Control Panel.

CAUSE
This behavior occurs because most laptop computers on battery power set the processor speed to a slower speed to conserve battery power and to reduce the temperature of the processor.

RESOLUTION
This behavior depends on the capability of the processor and the BIOS settings for the laptop computer. When the computer starts to use battery power, the processor speed is automatically reduced and written to the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\HARDWARE\DESCRIPTION\System\CentralProcessor\0\~MHz

How to get the address bar back after SP3 takes it away?

One of the optional toolbars that you can enable on Windows XP (and Vista) is the address bar, which is handy for typing in a URL without first opening up the browser. You can add it to your taskbar by right clicking and selecting Toolbars Address. Or at least, you could - prior to installing the latest service pack. However, if you've installed SP3, you might notice that you no longer have that option when you right click. Apparently the EU deems this to be a violation of their antitrust ruling. Well, I'm not in the EU and I want that option back. Luckily, there's a way to get it, but you'll need to replace the version of the browserui.dll file installed by SP3 with one from SP2. Copy it from an XP system that doesn't have SP3 and put it on the c: drive, then do the following:


1. Restart the SP3 computer in Safe Mode (press F8 at bootup and select Safe Mode with Command Prompt option.
2. At the command prompt, type this: xcopy c:browserui.dll c:WindowsSystem32
3. Reboot the computer.

How can I work with RAW photo images in XP?

Many digital photographers who are serious about their pictures set their cameras to take photos in RAW format instead of JPG. That's because RAW files preserve much more information recorded by the camera and can be more easily manipulated (for example, you can change the white balance and color settings after the fact). But you may not be able to open RAW files without special software. To work with RAW images in XP, you can download the Microsoft RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer, which supports the RAW files created by most Canon and Nikon "prosumer" level digital cameras.

How to reduce the size of pictures for emailing?

Picture files are often large, and you may want to reduce the file size before you send them to others as email attachments. There are a number of software programs that will do this, but here's the easiest way and it doesn't require any extra software:

1. Save the pictures you want to send in your My Pictures folder.
2. In the My Pictures folder, select the one(s) you want to email and highlight them.
3. In the File and Folder Tasks pane on the left side, select Email This File or Email The Selected Items.
4. When the Send Pictures via Email dialog box appears, select Make all my pictures smaller and click OK. You can click Show More Options in the bottom left corner of the box if you want to specify the size for the files (small, medium or large).
5. Click OK and XP will create a new message in your default mail client, reduce the size of the pictures and attach them to the message. Type in the recipient's address, subject and a message (the last is optional) and click Send.