The main reason you may want to sync folders on a single machine is to backup your data. You would probably be best to find a backup utility to do this.

If you want to sync folders over networked drives, this guide may help you also. There are more detailed articles at Inspect My Gadget on syncing documents between two networked computers. Find them here.

On the very odd occasion you do want to sync folders on a single computer, it is not too hard to achieve. There are  number of applications available to help you do this, but many of them cost money. Windows has a solution by a command in the command prompt which will work on all Windows PC’s. Microsoft also offers a program called SyncToy which does the same thing with a nice GUI interface.

This is a two part article. Part 1 will look at using xcopy to sync your folders, and Part 2 will look at using SyncToy.

Part 1 will cover the following topics.

• How to use xcopy
• How to put xcopy into a batch file
• How to schedule the batch file to run a sync at a set time.

The reason I like xcopy is that it is quick to setup, and you do not require any additional software to get it to work. This means it is good for 1 off syncs. SyncToy will be the best solution for most people who require to sync more frequently.

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Last week I showed you Reschange 3.11 which is a command line utility to change your screen resolution. Since then, Cybernetnews has reported on a tiny utility called JRes, otherwise known as JustinRes. I didn’t know of this utility previously and it is worth comparing the two as they both have their own advantages and disadvantages.

This utility clocks in at a tiny 5kb and runs in your tasktray. Once you click on it, you get to switch between a whole range of resolutions, refresh rates as well as bit depth, covering just about any resolution you might want.

This is great for quick resolution changes and it works well. To make it run at startup, place the executable in your Start Menus –> Startup folder. This will do the job for me changing resolutions. The only drawback I found with JRes is that it lacks dual monitor support.

As with ResChange, there is no 15 second revert if you enter into a resolution your monitor or card does not support. Worth keeping in mind is Windows Safe Mode which will get you out of this dilemma. Press F8 just before Windows starts up and then you can enter safe mode to set the resolution back to whatever you would like.

So take your pick, JRes for speed, and Reschange for more configuration control. It all depends on how often you want to change your resolution and for whatever reason.

Available from Nullsoft.

Joystick 2 mouse lets you use your game controller to move your mouse around the screen, and a whole lot more. You can do just about any Windows function with this program, including typing (though this would be a nightmare), all from your game controller.

The reason I looked into this was so that I could control Windows Media Centre from my couch. I had all sorts of problems finding a suitable tool. Eventually I came across this gem. After installing it, I found out that it could do much more than I initially wanted. There is no reason why it could not be configured to control first person shooter games.

It is highly configurable, allowing you to change almost every aspect of it. You can use it to control any application. The only drawback I found was that there was no option to disable/enable this utility from the controller. Disabling it is possible by exiting the program, but without the program open, you can no longer use your controller to re-launch the program.

Logitech users would probably be best using the profiler software which can be downloaded from their website. This will allow similar functionality.

Joystick 2 Mouse 3 is available for free from the authors website, or get it from Tucows.

My music collection was a mess. I copied files from various album folders into artist folders and deleted a whole heap of files in the process. As a result I ended up with lots of empty folders which would have been painful to delete individually.

Another situation where it is useful is when you sort out your camera pictures, as you move the pictures out of the default date folders into your personalised folders.

I needed to find a script or an application that would do the job for me. I wanted it to be simple, safe and reliable. JonasJohn came to the rescue with a little program called “Remove Empty Directories.”

RED scans your computer for empty folders and gives you the option to delete them. It is highly customisable so you can have it ignore specific files and folders. It does more than what I needed, but the extra functionality equates to safer operation.

You will need to be careful not to run this program over your “Windows” or “Program Files” directories as some programs require specific empty folders to work. I would advise you to run it only in folders which have your own documents in them, such as “My Documents” or “My Pictures”.

It’s small and free, and is available from jonasjohn|DE.

The standard Windows startup sound is shorter that it’s load time, making it a less than ideal indicator of when your machine is ready to use. If you time your startup and make a sound file which is of a similar length to the load time, you are able to use it as an indicator of when your machine is ready for action, giving the start-up sound a real purpose.

This time varies greatly from computer to computer, and changes according to what operating system you are using and what programs and tasks you have running at startup.

Even if you do not want a long startup sound, it is worth placing silence before the sound you currently use so that the startup sound comes to an end at the right time.

Vista has a predefined startup sound which cannot be changed. This is part of their branding. You may want to get around this by changing the login sound instead of the startup sound, though this will not be covered in the article.

This article will show you how to edit or change your current Windows XP startup sound so that you can use it as an indicator of when your machine is ready to use, or to add a personalised touch to your computer. It can also be a nice wakeup call when you get into work as music can lift your spirits and get you in the right frame of mind.

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