By Donna Tapellini
Senior Editor, Features and Columns
YOU CAN'T BELIEVE Monday morning is already here. As you press your computer's power-on switch to start a new work week, you're feeling a little tired, and no wonder. It was a beautiful weekend, and you were out test-riding that new bicycle for two days straight. Well, now you can sit back and let your PC do the pedaling-uh-oh, what's this? It's running more slowly than usual. Come to think of it, your system really hasn't been its old reliable self for quite some time.
No problem. You head out to WINDOWS Magazine's Web site (http://www.winmag.com) and pick up a handy piece of diagnostic software called Wintune. You get details about the program in the story titled Test It in this issue. Then you run Wintune, and you've got an instant look at your system's inner workings. Charts, graphs and databases confirm your suspicions, and show you how your system stacks up (not so well right now) against others of its ilk. You also discover a couple of heretofore unknown problems. Now what?
Easy. You read Tune It, also in this issue. It walks you through some of the many adjustments you can make to your system, using the tips and Help files that come with Wintune. It's not long before you're seeing some noticeable improvements in your PC (even though you're still dragging from that weekend marathon road test).
You run Wintune again. Hmmm-looks better, but maybe a few component upgrades are in order. Where to start? You check out the four Upgrade It articles-covering CPU, memory, hard disk and video-to see which changes would be most cost-effective. While you're at it, you peruse the Win 100 Hardware Awards, also in this issue, to find out which products earned the stamp of approval from the editors of WINDOWS Magazine. Before you know it, you and your system are re-energized, and you're heading for the door with a shopping list of some pretty exciting Windows hardware. Hey, maybe you can get in another bike ride before you hit the local computer superstore.