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If you, dear reader, need or simply want to purchase a computer for your home or office, then you are usually faced with a decision of a financial nature. It is often due to costs that many people cannot necessarily buy the computers that they would like. However, is this really a financial problem or is it sheer lack of information?
The majority of PC users need neither new computers nor new software. But they do not know about it. To understand this you do not have to read more than half of this book – installation and OS customization, and the following chapters are for those who are interested in those specific topics.

At the beginning of the computer era Operating Systems (hereinafter OS) did not exist at all. Then several dozen OS were created, of which the most well-known and widespread in the world is MS-DOS introduced by Microsoft in 1981. A large number of programs were quickly created for this environment, which is probably what served to popularize this OS. The first commercially successful Windows 3.1 was developed on the basis of DOS in 1990, then came Windows 95 and the subsequent versions Windows 98 and Windows ME. In 1993 Windows NT 3.1 came on the scene as well, which in some aspects was better than Windows 95, for example, it worked with any memory capacity, but it did not become widely-used because it could not work with programs written for DOS and Windows 3...
By 2000 Windows 2000 was developed on the basis of Windows NT without the NT’s main shortcomings. Then came Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7...
So what are Operating Systems and their differences? Everyday users, who trust the advertising, naturally wish to have the latest OS. But do they need it?

 We can talk about the manufacturers of computer technology endlessly, and quite often, especially in recent years, some not so favourable things are being said about some of them. Perhaps it may interest the reader to hear the opinion of an expert in computer repair with over 30 years’ experience. I will try to explain the issue as briefly as possible.
First of all, it is a fact that computer manufacturers have an agreement with the software manufacturers to make consumers spend as much as possible. Together as well as separately they have become the enemies of the consumers, not their friends. Their task is to obtain as much profit as possible by any means possible, and friends, as you know, do not do that.
I hope that you will come to the same conclusion on the basis of the facts stated below.

 First and foremost, any manufacture is interested in their own profit. And what does a manufacturer need to obtain profit? To manufacture and sell as many products as possible.
But, as we have already said, it is impossible to produce the same product indefinitely, because the market will become oversaturated, the sales will fall and eventually the manufacture will have to be stopped. But there are several methods to prevent this from happening.
The first and the simplest method is to manufacture the product which has specifications and which looks better and more interesting than or just different from the competition.
The second method, which I would say is not nice at all towards the customer, is to make equipment that will not work forever, but break down after a period of time (quite predictable time) due to components failing or due the natural process of oxidation of metals or due to the user's fault.
The third method is more elaborate - to make repair of equipment difficult.
The fourth method is the most sophisticated - after a while to artificially make the technology produced old and obsolete.

It is impossible to just copy all OS files from one computer to another and expect that copy files will work. Even in the simplest OS DOS in order to download from a disk it is necessary to perform the SYS program for this disk, which means installing system files. Programs in the DOS environment did not require installation, whereas in the Windows environment although some programs can work without installation, installation is required to enable the installed program to write some of its files into the Directory where Windows are located.
Installing any OS is not particularly difficult. All that is needed is to buy (or borrow) a disk with the OS, install it in the CD / DVD drive and download it from this disk to the PC. And then follow the instructions and answer the questions appearing on the screen. It can take up to an hour to install the OS depending mainly on the speed of your PC.

 Now we turn to what some people find the most difficult – installation of drivers, which enable all the hardware connected to your PC to work well.
If your computer was manufactured earlier than the OS you installed, then very likely you may not even need any drivers...

 Probably the most important thing to bear in mind is the need to keep your computer CLEAN.
This goes for the hardware itself as well as the OS that you use. Let us start with keeping your PC clean.
Let us start with keeping your PC clean.
The all-knowing statisticians once calculated that the most bacteria populated place in the house is not toilet, but the computer keyboard. We are not concerned in this case with how clean you keep your own equipment, because it does not affect the performance of the PC.
Good performance relies on cleanliness inside...

Now we just have to deal with the optimization of Windows. To be honest, if you want to make your programs run quickly you will need to spend a bit of time and be very careful not to break something. By the way, you can optimise Windows XP as well as Windows Vista and 7.
Shall we start?
Or perhaps you do not need to change anything if you do not use programs that are large in size and if you are happy with how your PC operates.
If you have just purchased your PC or installed the OS, then like the majority of users you may wonder why some optimization is needed. Everything is working fine and fast, why change anything!

 I will not describe all the software available which you can find and use successfully. Nor will I analyze and describe various program features. To do so would require a book the size of a house. I propose that you become briefly acquainted with what you may find useful and see what may be discarded.