Question: I need a little clarification, please. I think I know what icons and shortcuts are but sometimes in this column you write about creating them on the Desktop.

If that means having them on the screen that I see when I first start my computer, (with the rolling hills and the clouds background) I agree that certain of them would be useful, if there aren't too many making the screen too cluttered to read. Can you tell me exactly how to go about creating shortcuts and which ones you consider essential or just helpful?

Answer: On your PC the Desktop is the main screen with the little pictures (icons) on it indicating shortcuts to programs and functions which can be clicked to activate the application or program they represent.

On the bottom of the Desktop there is also a toolbar with the Start button on the left side and the clock on the right. The Start button is where you go to start programs and access other functions of the computer.

Ninety nine percent of all home PC's have one of three 'operating systems' on them. They are Windows 98SE, Windows ME, and one of the versions of the current Windows XP. On all the computers I own, repair or rebuild I place a preferred core of the same useful shortcuts on their Desktops. The exact ones used are, in part, determined by the operating system used.

For example, Windows ME and XP use System Restore but Windows 98SE doesn't come with this feature. On Windows 98SE and ME I like to have a Scan Disk icon on the Desktop but this function is handled differently in XP where I achieve essentially the same function by clicking on Start Run and typing in CHKDSK and the appropriate switches (for example CHKDSK c: /f )

On of the most neglected and at the same time useful functions common to all of these operating systems is the Disk Defragmenter. There's a good bet that when your computer slows down with time that at least some of that loss of speed is due to a fragmented hard disk.

Disk Defragmenter, which should be used regularly, can improve access speed noticeably. Every PC benefits from being defragmented from time to time. XP uses a different defragmentation engine than the earlier operating systems but the shortcut is still formed in the same way. Here's how to create Disk Defragmenter shortcut on your Desktop.

Before we begin let's agree to use the symbol to indicate 'go to' or to tell you when to progress to the immediate next stage.

OK. Using your mouse left click the Start button on the bottom left hand corner of the Desktop; Start All Programs Accessories System Tools Disk Defragmenter.

When Disk Defragmenter is highlighted, click the right mouse button and you will see a 'drop down' menu. Scroll down to Send to highlight and click on Desktop (create shortcut) and you've created an icon on your Desktop. It's that easy. Find your new shortcut on the Desktop highlight it with a single mouse click and while holding down the left mouse button drag it to the position you want to locate it on the Desktop.

Repeat this procedure to look through the Programs listed to create the rest of the shortcuts that you would use regularly. If there's a shortcut to a program that you never use and you want to remove it simply highlight it, right click and select Delete.

And it'll be gone. You're not deleting any software simply the shortcut to it.

On a Windows ME or XP (Pro version) PC I like to create Desktop shortcuts for the following functions; Windows Explorer, Disk Defragmenter, Backup, Windows Updates, Ad-Aware 6, Internet Explorer (for access to the Internet) Outlook Express 6 (for access to e-mail) System Restore and to whatever shortcut has been set up to connect the machine to its ISP.

Windows 98SE and ME PC's are the same except they don't come with the Backup program. XP Home doesn't automatically install it either although it is available from the original installation CD. All of the shortcuts for these very useful functions can be created by the substantially the same method described here. Make icons for any program you use regularly like Word or Excel or Internet Explorer or Ad-Aware 6.

Once you've made your new icons, with their new prominence on your Desktop and with the simplicity of just clicking on a shortcut you created to open them, you should find that you remember to maintain and backup your PC more often especially if you use Backup regularly and want to make it easier to remember.

A Shortcut makes it easier to set a System Restore point before you get adventurous and make possibly harmful changes to your system. Even with this slight degree of customisation, you should have a lot less trouble and a lot more fun with your computer.

I haven't mentioned a shortcut to your anti-virus software because, if its property installed and set to run automatically, a shortcut will already be visible in the group of programs already loaded that appear to the immediate left of the clock at the bottom of the screen on the right.

Question: The operating system on my PC is Windows XP. I was impressed with myself for creating an Explorer shortcut on the Desktop (explorer.exe) but when I use it, which is many times daily, it opens to My Documents not My Computer. Can you tell me how to fix this? Thanks.

Answer: The Explorer view is one of the great resources available yet often under used for viewing the file structure of all version of the Windows Operating System.

Using Explorer helps you to picture the files and programs contained in your computer in orderly terms as if they were contained in a series of filing cabinets (drives) each with several drawers (directories) which in their turn containing folders holding all the files in the computer in alphabetical order. With a greater awareness of the location and contents you will be better able to manage the computer files and directories and thereby enjoy the benefits of an orderly and efficient computer.

To get your shortcut to point to directly to My Computer in Explorer right click on the desktop shortcut for Windows Explorer (see previous question), select properties and copy this to target (you have to get it exactly correct, don't get creative with spaces or punctuation);%SystemRoot%\explorer.exe /n,/e,/select,C:\Click Apply, OK, and that should do it!

With the My Computer shortcut in Windows Explorer you can easily look at the various drives that are in your PC, for example you will find drive C: and A: at least and probably at least one other letter representing your CD-Rom drive as well.

Try highlighting each of them in turn and then right clicking the drive letters and untold vistas of interesting information and drive maintenance tools will be there for the taking. Go ahead you can't do any harm.

The other way to have a shortcut to My Computer on your Desktop is to click on Start find the My Computer icon, highlight it, right click and check Show on Desktop.

James W. Lapsley of ComputerWorks specialises in PC repairs, upgrades and advice for the home and small office user. ComputerWorks welcomes your questions and comments. Send your PC questions by e-mail to computerworks@logic.bm or by phone to 293-0992.

Copyright 2004 James W. Lapsley