If your PC is left on overnight when you`re not using it, you can schedule common tasks to occur while you`re away from your desk. Go to the Start search menu, type in Task Scheduler and hit Enter. Once the scheduler is open, select tasks and edits the time they occur and how long they last, along with other options. The tasks you`ll probably want to run most often are Defrag and System Restore.

You can save time on all the emails, messages or news you need to read in a day by integrating them all into your email program. Do this by downloading the recently released Windows Live Mail at get.live.com. From here you can add mail accounts, send instant messages and get you RSS feeds delivered to you.

 

 

To make it quicker to open programs or folders you use on a regular basis, you need to put them somewhere you can access immediately. The desktop is the most obvious place, although desktop icons require a double click to be launched. An even faster way is to put them on the quick launch toolbar at the bottom of the screen, or if space is tight, you can put them in the Start menu. All you need to do to add programs or folders to any of these areas is to simply left-click and drag them where you want them to go.

 

 

If you`re constantly adding new songs, pictures or videos to your PC, and you want them on your MP3 player or portable media player as well, then setting up a Sync Centre will detect whether new files have been added to your PC and add them to your portable device. To do this, go to Start-All Programs-Accessories-Sync Centre, and set up a new partnership.

 

If you`ve got a lot of photos or music stored on your PC, You`ll want to be able to find them quickly and easily. You can tag files by left-clicking on them and adding or changing the text in the bottom of the window they`re open in. You can also tag multiple files by selecting them all, tight-clicking one of the highlighted files, clicking on Properties in the drop-down menu, and selecting the Details tab.

 

When you shut down your PC it can take a few minutes for it to power down – and then even more time to start up again. You can avoid this lengthy process by using the Sleep function in Windows Vista. Just open the Start menu and click on the power button. This will save your current session and put your PC into a low-power state. Then all you need to do to start it back up in seconds is click the power button on your computer`s case.

 

To really save time using your PC, you need to master the Start search function. When you`ve got a lot of files, programs or emails to sift through, you can find them quickly by typing in exactly what you want by opening the Start search menu and typing into the bottom box. The less you type in, the more options come up (i.e. type cal and you`ll get calculator, calendar, etc), so don’t be tempted to hit Enter too quickly. You can also save your searches, so you can find things again in a hurry.

 

When you`ve got a huge amount of files you`d like to rename, instead of having to alter them one by one, you can rename them all in just a few clicks. Hold Ctrl and left-click each file, or left-click and drag to select all the files you want. Then press F2, type in a common name to use for all the files, press Enter and all the files will automatically be given the same name, with the exception of a number at the end.

 

User Account Control (UAC) is the in-built security prompt designed to safeguard against potentially damaging changes. It`s a great feature, but it slows you down quite a bit. If you`d prefer not to have it popping up, you can turn it off by typing User Accounts into the Start menu search, and clicking on Turn User Account Control on or off. Of course, we don`t recommend this, but it`s there if you want to try it.

 

 

We all use the QWERTY method of typing in documents and chat windows, but did you know the Dvorak Keyboard layout enables you type much faster? you can change your PC`s settings by going to the start menu, clicking on Control Panel and selecting Change Keyboards or other input methods under clock, language, and region. Then select change keyboards, click on add and scroll down till you find united states-Dvorak, then select this and click apply.

When you`ve got a whole family using just one computer, you`ll probably have to set up individual accounts. To swap between these accounts, just press Ctrl, Alt and delete on your keyboard, and select Switch user to change.

 

If you like keeping an eye on things like the weather or what you`re selling on eBay throughout the day, you don’t have to go through the rigmarole of opening Internet Explorer each time and logging into various accounts. Instead, use Windows Sidebar gadgets by right-clicking on the sidebar and selecting Add gadgets. To get more gadgets, go to gallery.live.com to download and install what you want.