Q&A
Compressing hard drives will slow speed

By Kim Komando

Q. I am thinking of compressing my hard drive. Will that make Windows run faster?

A. Windows allows you to compress the hard drive. But compression will slow the computer, not increase its speed. The computer will have to decompress or compress a file each time it is opened or closed. There is only one reason to compress a hard drive: to gain more space. Nowadays hard drives are so roomy that compressing is rarely needed.

Q. I need to run a DOS program on my computer that runs Windows XP. How do I get to DOS?

A. Windows XP is the first consumer version of Windows that is not based on the old DOS code. So it does not run DOS natively. Rather, it emulates the DOS environment. To open a DOS window, click Start, All Programs, Accessories and Command Prompt. Or, click Start and Run. Enter "cmd.exe" (without the quotes) and click OK.

Q. I have a new PC, and it doesn't have a floppy drive. Unfortunately, I need one. I cannot use a flash drive or recordable CD. How do I add one?

A. You could add an internal floppy drive, which costs about $15. External floppy drives run around $50 and normally connect through a Universal Serial Bus port.