JIM COATES Program allows Windows tweaks

Q. Even though I'm the only one who uses it, Windows makes me log on every time I turn on my computer. I understand there is a fix that eliminates my having to do that, but I can't find it. I recently upgraded from Windows 98 to XP Professional.
A. Your question is among dozens of other issues about the various versions of Windows that can be resolved by downloading a utility called TweakUI. The software was created by Microsoft programmers, but the company does not support the utility.
In your case, TweakUI includes a routine that will stop Windows from asking for passwords at login, as it does by default.
The TweakUI tool is included in what Microsoft calls Power Toys that allow users to customize their machines. TweakUI handles everything from the automatic login you seek to letting users remove programs from the list at the Start menu.
You can use it to change the browser so it always erases history files whenever you close the browser. A second browser tool lets you choose any search engine you want as the default. TweakUI lets users hide the existence of external hard drives connected to the machine and alter the way the mouse works, among other tweaks.
My favorite TweakUI feature is one called Tips that is listed at the top of the program's display and contains dozens of very useful insights into tricks such as keyboard shortcuts, finding files, changing icons and defragmenting drives.
So let me answer your question by pointing you and other readers to a tool that keeps many of us propeller heads busy long into the night. It's at www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/ pro/downloads/powertoys.asp.
Q. Whenever I open a document using Adobe Reader, my Internet connections suffer big time. Closing programs and even shutting down the computer becomes an extremely slow and difficult process. What's the cause, and is there a solution?
A. First of all, make sure your machine has downloaded the latest version of this free software, Adobe Reader 6.0. The software permits anybody with a Web browser to display the PDF files that are created by the company's expensive flagship product, Adobe Acrobat.
Early versions of Reader tended to slow down because they would load page after page and display each behind the other, thus running the software so often that machine resources got used up. If you do have an older version and are resisting an upgrade, click on Edit and then Preferences and General, and you will find a setting to disable multiple-page loading.
With Reader 6.0, there are several settings that let one reduce the amount of machine resources consumed by clicking on a PDF file online. So go to Start and then look for the icon for the Adobe Reader, which is a stand-alone program as well as a plug-in for the Web browser you use.
With Reader open, tap Control + K to call up commands to change basic settings. Go to the Internet area; make sure you have activated the "fast Web" display feature and ordered the software to download successive pages of a document in the background rather than just downloading a page at a time -- which forces the software to start from scratch with each page view. Also check the Page Display menu to make sure it is set for maximum speed.
The new 6.0 version of Reader adds a number of attention-grabbing features, including one that will read the text of a PDF document aloud. Adobe also offers a free download of a stripped-down version of its useful Photoshop Album 2.0 software that displays photographs, keeps track of their locations and delivers slide shows of one's digital pictures.
Here's hoping that you not only fix the downloading speeds by upgrading, but also enjoy all the new bells and whistles that Adobe offers in its never-ending drive to get us to buy its products by giving away some goodies.
XContact Jim Coates via e-mail at jcoates@tribune .com or via snail mail at the Chicago Tribune, Room 400, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611.