XP and Vista Uptime

If you leave your computer running 24/7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week), you might be interested in determining the amount of uptime that has accumulated since your last reboot. Luckily, it's very easy to find that information in both Windows XP and Vista. Let's take a look!
Tracking Uptime in Vista
To find Vista’s uptime, right click on your taskbar and select Task Manager.

Now, with the Task Manager open, click on the Performance tab and you'll see the amount of uptime listed under the System section.

Tracking Uptime in XP (Professional edition only)
To find the uptime in XP, go to Start, Run, type in "cmd" and then click OK.

That will bring up a command prompt. Type in “systeminfo” (without the quotes) and then hit Enter. It will take a few minutes for the analysis to complete and get your results, but when it's finished, you'll see your uptime listed in days, hours, minutes and seconds.

Computer Fans

That is an excellent question and I'm so glad you asked! I'm sure you're not the only one who has ever wondered about this either. So, in a sense, I'll be taking care of two birds with one stone by helping you and everyone else who reads this tip. I love it when it works out that way! Well, let's not waste any more time and get right into it. Go!
I know every computer is different, but most of them usually have a heatsink fan and some case fans. All of the fans work to keep your computer protected so that it does not overheat or become inoperable. Let's start with an explanation of the heatsink fan.
Basically, the heatsink fan usually works right along with your CPU and it helps monitor the motherboard, video card and any other circuit boards that may work with your computer. The heatsink fan should always be blowing any heat away from the components I mentioned above. Its main purpose is to give the heat an escape route out of the computer case so that it doesn't damage any of the circuits inside. For example, if your motherboard was hit with too much heat, it's possible that it would stop working. And well, you need the motherboard to be able to use your computer, so you don't want that to happen!
So, while the heatsink fan is doing its job of blowing the air out, the case fans are working just as hard. How your case fans work depends on how your chassis is set up. Chassis is just another word for your computer case. It's the housing unit that holds all of your computer's components together. So, depending on how yours is laid out, the case fans will either be blowing the air out or sucking it in. Allow me to explain this a little more!
If your computer case only has one fan, it will more than likely be located in the back. In that case, the fan will be blowing hot air out. Now, another common configuration is to have one fan in the back and another in the front. In that instance, the fan in the back will be blowing hot air out while the fan in the front is sucking cooler air in. By default, your computer case brings cool air in from the front, because it's not constrained and it's more of an open area. So, once that cool air is sucked in by the front fan, it's blown out by the back fan once it's heated up. Interesting, huh? It's like this:

If you're still a little confused, all you really need to remember is if your computer case has two fans, one should always be sucking air in while the other is blowing it out. That's the best configuration to use to keep your computer in proper working condition. The heatsink fan then will always work on its own to blow hot air out, because it works in such close conjunction with all the major components of your computer.
That's it. Now you know exactly how the fans work for your computer. Who knew there was so much going on inside that little case?!

Troubleshooting Video Problems

Does your display flicker? Are your animations not working correctly? Have you been notified that you have “display problems. This program can’t continue”? This tip will help you solve those video problems.
Hold down the Alt key and double click on the My Computer icon, then select the Device Manager tab (XP Users: it’s the Hardware tab). Double click Display Adapters.

Next, double click your video card. The Device Status window will list any problems with your video card. If a problem is listed here it is usually a conflict between two devices. Click on the Resources tab. If there are any conflicts listed in the Conflicting Device List, make sure the Use Automatic Settings is checked and reboot your computer. You can also try running through the steps under the Troubleshooting button in the General tab of the Properties window

If either of these solutions doesn’t solve your problem, reload your video driver by repeating the above steps up to double clicking on your video card. From there click on the Driver tab, then Update Driver and follow the on-screen instructions. Have your video card driver disk or cd ready when you reinstall the driver.

Organize Your Wires

Most of us have wires all over the place. If you're a neat freak, this can be a constant source of aggravation and frustration.
Well, there's a simple way to get them off the floor, off the monitor, and generally out of the way.
A woodworking tool known as a 'clamp' (a spring type thing for holding wood together, SIMILAR to huge spring clips for paper), selling for anywhere from $0.99-2.00 at Home Depot, works fantastically well for this. I am in the process of moving around (yet again) and until things are situated right (with networks, attachments, scanners, etc.) the wires are in the way.
I just took one of those big clamps and clamped it to a shelf on the desk. There is plenty of room behind the grasping edge of the clamp and the jaws to fit a bunch of wires. I used a total of 4 clamps and all the wires are up and out of the way.

Tip contributed by SHAHAN