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Yes Virginia, You Really Can Solve Your Windows Problems

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Unless you have the money to buy a new laptop or PC every six months, you have likely been faced with some of the most common Windows problems. Learning how to detect these three problems and how to fix them will mean you will have a faster and safer computer for far longer.

  1. Slow Boot: One of the most common problems faced by computer owners is a slow boot up. One of the best ways to fix this is to change how many programs run during the start-up process. The process is easy. Click Start and Run. Enter ‘msconfig’ into the box and hit enter. The system Configuration utility will appear. Choose the start-up tab and make changes as you see fit. Reboot and you will see the difference.
  2. Slow Run: Over a period time, you will see a decrease in the speed of your computer. Many users overlook common maintenance tasks that can make this easier. Regularly defragment of your hard drive to improve your performance speed. You can even schedule this process to make it easier.
  3. Pop Ups: If you have seen an increase in the number of pop ups, there is a pretty good chance your computer has a virus. Purchase a top quality anti-virus program and use it. Avoid the ‘free’ programs. These are not as robust.

Remember that you should regularly reboot your computer. It is also a good idea to manually check any Windows updates before installing them. A bit of care is all it really takes to keep your PC or laptop running smoothly for more than a few days.

Filed Under: Common Problems, Computers, Operating Systems Tagged With: , ,

Easy Tips to Boost Computer Performance

 

External hard drive from Iomega 

Image via Wikipedia

As you use your computer, you add more files to it; you store pictures in photo books; download your favorite songs; and perhaps even keep copies of your favorite movies. All of this can start to slow down your computer’s performance. You don’t have to delete your files to help your computer operate more efficiently, though. You just need to find a new place to save large pieces of information so that they will not interfere with your operating system.

External Hard Drives

Buying an external hard drive makes it much easier for you to keep all of the files that you want. As long as you purchase a fairly large drive, you can feel free to add HD movies, family pictures, and songs. When you keep your personal entertainment on an external hard drive, you free up resources within the computer. This makes it possible for the operating system to do its job better. Instead of feeling frustrated while you sit at the machine, you will be impressed by its speed.

Eliminate Old Files

Perhaps you don’t want to spend money on an external hard drive, but you still want your operating system to work more efficiently and quickly. You can start by deleting the old files that you never use anymore. You might have listened to that Justin Timberlake album over and over again for a few weeks, but that was five years ago. Maybe it’s time to let it and the other music, movies, and pictures go.

What are some of the old files that simply don’t have any business taken up space on your computer?

Filed Under: Computers, Internet Tagged With: , ,

Surfin’ the World Wide Web

There’s just no way around it! The internet is essential in our lives these days, so why try to avoid it. There are so many great things that can be learned and accomplished online, you just need to learn where to start and how to avoid the pitfalls of the web.

First off, just know that not every website is safe to view. There are viruses galore on the internet, so don’t get out of control with your clicking. It doesn’t hurt to get a good firewall or an anti-virus program to help safeguard your computer. This is especially important when you have children online. Which leads to the next tip: teach your children about internet safety.

It’s a scary world online for children. Between predators and sites with questionable content, you really don’t want to let your child surf the web alone! You can buy software that will block out bad sites, but the main thing you need to do is just teach your children about the dangers of the internet.

Now, the internet can be just as bad for adults as well. There are millions of time wasters out there, and it’s really easy to just get sucked in. From social network sites like Twitter and Facebook to video sites like YouTube, there’s so much time thrown away online. So, be smart about it! Set yourself a time limit and stick to it. That way, you will avoid just wasting time online.  However, setting aside some time from work-related tasks can be extremely beneficial.  Take some time to visit sites like 888 ladies where you can play a variety of games and relieve some stress.

Lastly, let’s look at online shopping. It really is a wonderful thing, especially when you want to avoid the crowds around the holidays. You can get all your shopping done in one afternoon, without even getting out of your pajamas. You still need to be careful though. Not all sites are safe to use your credit card on. So, if you really want to be safe, use Paypal or a prepaid credit card to do your shopping.

Happy surfing!

Filed Under: Computers, Internet Tagged With: , ,

Cleaning Your Computer

Samsung HD753LJ hard disk drive (750 GB storag...

Image via Wikipedia

Many people who have owned their computer for a year or longer begin to experience problems with it’s performance. This is very common and if you are experiencing a slow computer than you might want to consider some simple tips to fix it. Your computer isn’t unlike a car. It needs some basic tune-ups every so often to get it back to its tip top form.

The first thing you can do is go into your system tools menu and clean the disk space. Many times your computer is storing things that you don’t need. It’s wasteful and it can harm the integrity of the product. Your best bet is to get yourself on a schedule of cleaning it every month. This will keep it from getting slow.

Additionally you want to make sure that your cookies on your browser. This is in your internet options screen. Took many cookies can create a problem and that’s the last thing that you need. You have to make sure that you clean those every month as well. It will save you valuable time and stress.

Defragmenting your hard drive is another thing that you should be doing every month. Your computer has gaps in its memory that often makes it run slower. This will erase that. Make sure you defragment and allow an ample amount of time to get the job done. It will make all the difference in the world. You have to do your best to keep your computer running at an optimum level.

 

Filed Under: Computers, Tips & Tricks Tagged With: , ,

Common Internet Browsing Problem and simple solutions

Today there are a large variety of devices that surf the web. For some people the device they use does not have the fastest most current processor and surfing can bog down your computer. Here are a couple questions for you: How many windows or tabs in your web browser do you usually open at once? Do you often open multiple programs at once and try to run it all at the same time? This may be your problem.

All of us would like to have everything we want to do all open at once. Some people may have their homework open a web browser with three or twelve windows, a game, an email program, all open at the same time. And after all that, one wonders why the computer is operating so slowly.

For your computer to operate optimally it is important to only open the programs that you are actually using and that may include closing background applications. It is important that if you web browser is going slower, don’t just close it and restart it. If you have not restarted your computer lately it may be good to do a restart of your operating system. It is important to let your computer reset itself and make sure that it is accessing the information it needs properly. There is plenty going on behind what you see on your monitor. If you are merely a user and not a computer whiz, then play it safe, rather than messing with something you don’t understand. And better yet, learn more about your computer so you can make it function better for you.

Filed Under: Computers, Internet Tagged With: , ,

Don’t Sink All of Your Time Into Your Computer

There are many tips and tricks to fixing little bugs in your computer. There are all sorts of ideas on how to make your computer do what you want it to do. Consider the amount of time you spend on the computer and see if it makes sense to put even more time into it.

Immediately when you open your web browser and start browsing you will be flooded with a variety of sources telling you where one the world wide web you need to go. Today’s tip and trick is to focus your time on the computer and don’t waste it following every link and pop-up that comes your way.

A computer is an important tool that many of us require most days to accomplish the tasks we want to accomplish. When you turn on the computer don’t be one of the people that look up six hours later and wonder what you have been doing with your day. Like any other activity it is good to have a plan of what you intend to do. If you are one that needs a list before you start your work then make a list and stick with it.

The internet is filled with advertising and advertising is meant to draw you in and take a bite. Stay focused on your internet time and even give yourself a limit. If you use social networking, set a time limit before you start. If you need an alarm to tell you when your time is up. Set one. Don’t let the computer rule your day, use it, it’s a tool.

Filed Under: Computers, Technology Tagged With: , ,

Organize Your Windows Taskbar

Some people never consider that they have the opportunity to customize their Windows task-bar. They see the start menu and figure that it is what it is and that is how Windows works. Actually there are  a few customizations that you can do to better suit your needs.

The first option is the size of the task-bar. Place your pointer over the top edge of the task-bar and a line with arrows in either direction will appear. One can left click and re-size the task-bar.  For people that open many applications at once and need to go back and forth between them, you can increase the size of the task bar. This is suggested only for people that have a larger monitor as this will take up more space on your desktop. For those that have a smaller monitor such as someone using a Netbook, you can minimize the task-bar off the screen.

Another option is to include a quick launch for certain programs. To enable the quick launch right click on the task-bar and left click on properties. In this properties menu along with the quick launch are a number of other options. You can add and delete whatever software you would like to have shortcuts to in the quick-launch. Another option listed here is to keep the task-bar on top of the window, another space saving option.

For many people their work space is important to them and with all the menu bars you can quickly reduce your space where you can actually work. Using the tools that customize the task-bar can help you optimize your space. Make sure your computer is working for you not making you mad.

Filed Under: Computers, Operating Systems Tagged With: , ,

Top Ten Most Downloaded Windows Utilities

By now we’d expect an OS to be all-encompassing, but there’s just too much available now for it all to be put into any one OS. And, sticking to an OS alone would be like eating only vanilla ice cream all the time, when there’s so many toppings available. There are little programs that can help enhance the user familiarity.
Windows calls them utilities and there are a number of things that can be downloaded to make the user experience more valuable. Some people prefer screen savers and some prefer programs that can do things, but there’s a lot out there to choose from. A user can do anything from tweaking the OS to un-deleting lost files.
A website called tips29.com tells us what the top ten (most downloaded) utilities for Windows are.
Windows Desktop Search 3.01 for Windows XP. It’s a search function that sits on the desktop where it’s handy. It searches the computer for files and photos the user wants.
Windows Theme Nunavut. It gives the desktop a Nunavut theme, or it makes everything look really cold and scenic.
Also popular is the Microsoft Egypt Nile Theme; it gives the desktop an Egyptian themed wallpaper, animated cursors and new icons.
Windows Autoplay Repair Wizard. This utility scans the pc and devices to find and fix defective AutoPlay settings.
3D American Flag Screen Saver; give the desktop a patriotic look with the American flag.
SyncToy v1.4 With this utility users can copy, rename, delete and move files between folders and computers.
Winter Fun Screensavers for Windows XP. Cool (cold) screen saver 3-D pictures with interactive sound effects.
Dancer LE. This one lets the user experience music with life-like 3-D animated dancers that have lots of groovy and funny dance moves.
NZ Bliss Desktop Backgrounds for Windows. Set the desktop to show scenes that are New Zealand backdrops for wallpaper.
Internet Explorer Developer Toolbar. This one’s very popular for IE users, but it might have a little problem with IE8 or 9. It gives the user a variety of tools for the Internet experience.
Filed Under: Computers, Operating Systems Tagged With: , , , , ,

New Internet Switch Won’t be Over Night

The Internet is running out of IP addresses, have you heard? They say on January 3rd of this year they sold the last two remaining blocks of Internet addresses. The limit has been reached. What to do now?
Officials could see this coming decades ago, and in the ‘90s they made another Internet system (IPv6 or version 6) that can accommodate many times the numbers of people it accommodates now. In time, people are going to have to switch over. Over to an intangible place where 340 undecillion websites can exist. An undecillion has 12 zeros behind the number. That’s a lot more than the 4.3 billion IP addresses that were made available in version 4.
Using IPv6 Can Connect Everyone to Their Devices

There are already places using IPv6 technology, but only privately and it hasn’t been public yet. The thing is, if businesses want to have a website people will see, the business will have to set up for version 6. Version 4 has been called brittle and fragile; ready to break down, so to speak. However nobody wants to go to version 6 just yet, because nobody’s there. It isn’t easy to sell space on an Internet that nobody else uses.
They might have to come kicking and screaming, but everyone will have to upgrade to version 6 soon enough. There are already smart phones and computers that have the technology, just waiting for the change to take place. But the change won’t happen overnight; it’ll be a gradual change as people slowly learn and migrate over to version 6.
Right now, there are two versions of the Internet and they both are written with different languages and the two cannot communicate, so it’s the devices that will have to manage both versions and allow users to integrate the old with the new.
The new Internet is where all 6 billion people who want to be connected to their devices can have that, but version 4 just isn’t big enough to handle everyone plus their devices.
Filed Under: Computers, Internet Tagged With: , , , ,

Protecting Your Computer Against Malware Attacks

If you are like most people, you rely on your computer in many ways, which makes it a necessity to protect your computer against viruses using software such as PC Tools Antivirus. Running your computer without antivirus protection exposes you to malware that can harm your computer and wreak havoc on your life in the form of lost productivity and other time consuming hassles.

What Antivirus Software is Intended For

Antivirus software protects your computer against all manners of invaders, such as viruses, Trojans and worms. Malware can enter your computer from clicking on an email file, downloading untrustworthy files or visiting harmful websites. The best strategy for protecting your computer against these issues is to install antivirus software that prevents these malicious attacks.

Quality antivirus software is able to detect the presence of these invaders and block them from harming your computer. A good product demands little attention from you. You simply install it and it runs in the background as you go about your business. When it does detect malicious files, it blocks them and alerts you to them, as needed. You know the quality of antivirus software from its ability to detect all kinds of malware. The best products are those that are continually updated by the manufacturer to recognize any and all types of attacks. Poor quality antivirus software is rarely updated and leaves your computer exposed to malware attacks.

Reasons to Use PC Tools Antivirus

With so many antivirus products constantly entering the market, you’ll want to choose one that is well-known and constantly updated, such as PC Tools Antivirus. This product has many protective layers in place to react to and eliminate malware attacks. It automatically protects your computer and allows you to have peace of mind. With this antivirus software, your entire computer is scanned and you have access to a report of all malware issues and how they were resolved.

Filed Under: Common Problems, Computers Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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