Microsoft's Windows Update Web site offers an easy way to view all of the updates that are available for your computer. Microsoft releases both critical and features updates that update various software apps and add interesting new features to Windows XP. For example, critical updates fix major security concerns, such as the widespread exploit for Windows XP known as the W32.Blaster.Worm worm. This worm spread to other computers by using a vulnerability in a component of Windows known as RPC (remote procedure call). To fix the security hole, Microsoft released a critical patch that fixed the security hole. Feature updates update bugs and add new features to common Windows applications such as Windows Movie Maker. Using the Windows Update Web site is very easy too. Just key in www.WindowsUpdate.com in your Web browser Address window, click Go, and you will be there in no time.
All systems initialize in more or less the same way. During the power on self-test mentioned earlier, the BIOS checks the hardware devices and counts the system memory. Out of all of the different types of system memory, the random access memory, better known as RAM, takes the longest to be counted. Counting the RAM takes time, and on a machine that has large amounts of RAM, this calculation can take several seconds. For example, a machine that has 512MB of RAM may take up to 3 seconds just to count the memory. On top of the RAM counting, a few other tests need to be done because your computer wants to make sure that all of the hardware in your computer is working properly. All of these system tests are not needed every time you boot, and can be turned off to save time. Most BIOS's offer a feature called quick boot. This feature will allow the user to turn off these tests. Other BIOSs only allow you to turn off the memory check, which will still cut down on a lot of time....
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