Rocket Helpdesk

If your computer is missing the shortcuts to AR, you can get to it by simply typing the server name in the address field. If you’re at Sowers or the high school, the server you need is Mayhem. If you’re at the junior high, you’re looking for Chaos. Then simply make it a favorite in Internet Explorer or create a shortcut on your desktop for later access.

To create a desktop shortcut without opening Internet Explorer, perform the following steps:

1. Right-click anywhere on your desktop
2. Click New, then Shortcut
3. In the new window, type in http://servername (i.e., http://mayhem or http://chaos) and click next
4. Type in a name for the shortcut — Accelerated Reader is what I always use — and click Finish

You should now see the shortcut on your desktop.

Enjoy!

With some of the hardware in the district lagging behind the requirements of Windows XP, some machines take a long time to cough up a browser window, a program, or even the Start menu. The best fix is to add more memory to each machine, but that’s not a practical (or affordable) solution. Fortunately there is a way you can get Windows to consume less memory and get a little speed back from the machine.

By default, Windows XP puts a lot of effort into creating pretty effects, most of which you’ll never even notice such as drop shadows on the icons and scrolling effects on windows. Each of these requires more CPU cycles and more memory to create, and while Windows is supposed to adjust these for performance, it doesn’t do a very good job of it. In fact, I’ll even turn these off on a modern, faster machine because it’s a waste of power.

To turn them off on your machine:

1. Right-click My Computer (either on the desktop or in the Start menu), then click on Properties in the pop-up menu
2. Click on the Advanced tab
3. In the first section marked Performance, click the Settings tab
4. You should be on the Visual Effects tab. Click on the “Adjust for best performance” radio button, which will clear the checkmarks in the box below
5. Scroll to the bottom of the box, and check “Use visual styles on windows and buttons”
6. Click Ok, then Ok again.

The option in step 5 will maintain the normal look and feel of windows, i.e. the Start button will still be green and the menu bars will still be blue. If you leave that box unchecked, you will get the old-fashioned gray look of Windows 98 and 2000. This is just a matter of personal preference, and you can leave it unchecked on your computer if you like.

Note this has already been done on machine images created this summer. This includes the high school lab, the new junior high lab, and any machines that have been installed/replaced over the summer. If you got a new computer for your desk this year, this is already taken care of.

As I continue to replace machines or reinstall Windows on existing machines, this will be the policy. In the meantime, if your classroom machines are dragging, this may help get a little speed back from them.

• Sep 15 : Access AR From Any Computer
• Sep 6 : Maximize Windows Performance