The Unfortunate Truth

One would think that in today’s advanced world that computers would be so well developed that they would work flawlessly without any problem. However, unfortunately, too many times this is far from the case. People are faced with all sorts of glitches, weird errors, virus attacks and other issues. Sometimes the problems become so severe that the computing experience is a horror and not a pleasure. Wouldn’t it be great if there were some quick and easy fix that would turn your machine into the productivity powerhouse that it’s supposed to be?

The Easy Solution

There is a tool that can fix the following problems automatically;

• Windows errors
• Blue Screen of Death
• damaged Dlls
• freezing computer
• virus damage
• general operating system refresh and repair

Reimage can usually repair these problems quickly and completely. It is also cheaper than technical repair services such as the Geek Squad and does not damage or lose your existing programs. Any changes are reversible so you’re always safe.

Reimage Magic

Reimage experts have compiled a gargantuan database which contains a library of all the essential components of the modern Windows operating systems, XP, Vista and Windows 7. The program scans the system and identifies hardware, malware and software issues. Memory, hard drive and system stability issues are pointed out to the user. Any Windows software issues are quickly identified and solved by replacing any defective software with the latest proven modules. Malware is removed and any system files which have been damaged are replaced with a healthy component. Anti virus programs may only remove the virus but they won’t repair what the virus damaged.

Complete Coverage and Support

Reimage provides the following to insure your success:

• 24/7 technical support in case of any problems
• a full year license to use the software and even reuse it if new problems arise
• coverage for all modern Windows operating systems including Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7.

Requirements for Repair

The Reimage people present the following requirements list

Minimum requirements to run the Reimage repair tool on your PC:

• 1 gigahertz (GHz) 32bit (x86) or 64bit (x64) processor – Single – core or Multi – core
• 512 megabytes (MB) of system memory
• 40 GB hard drive with at least 15 GB of available space

Internet Connection:

• Internet access (Broadband connection a must)
• Physical internet connection preferable (Not Wifi)

The vast majority of Windws versions are covered but some are not. For details, see the following list.

Summary

Computer problems no longer have to make you tear your hair out or lose sleep at night. For a very reasonable price, you can do a quick and easy and safe repair. Enjoy the trouble free promise of your computer backed by world class repair technology.

 

 

 

 

 

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A Windows update catalog offers various updates for all of their operating systems and the updates include updated system files, new windows features, hot fixes, service packs and device drivers.

Methods

Step one will be to visit the Microsoft website and access the Microsoft update catalog which allows you to search in a large variety of categories and update fields. When you search for drivers, it allows you to search for class, manufacturer as well as driver model, which will narrow the scope significantly with these additional search terms.

Microsoft offers a variety of optional updates, recommended and important updates for Windows 7. The important updates will provide the users with significant benefits, like improved reliability and security. The optional updates usually include, updated and new driver software for different devices that you may have added to the computer.

Step 2 will be to search for the needed updates or new drivers in the Windows Catalog using the following steps;

• You will get a search text box in which you type your search terms, in this instance Drivers.
• You will enter the word and click on search
• Browse through the list displayed in order to download the selected update.
• For each selection you just click, add to download basket.

Step 3 will be downloading the selected drivers or updates from the basket in the Windows Update Catalog;

• You no click on the “view basket” box which you will find under the search box.
• Verify if the items in the download basket is correct, followed by “Download”.
• You will be prompted to “Accept”; hereby you accept the license agreement.
• You now have to select a location on your computer where to save the downloaded drivers. Type in the path of the folder; otherwise just browse to locate the right folder.
• After the download is completed, you can click close.
• Now you need to find the location and in this instance, you go to the location “Installing drivers”.
• Each download needs to be double-clicked, after which you will get instructions to install the downloaded drivers.

Step 4 will be to install the downloaded drivers;

• From the Start menu, you will open a command prompt.
• In order to extract the downloaded driver files you must type in firstly “Expand” and the file name followed by the destination and press “Enter”.
• You will now receive a very explanatory wizard, which you must follow very closely to install the driver successfully to your computer.
• After following the instructions from the wizard, you will be prompted to restart your computer on which you can request a later update or immediate for the changes to take effect.

Conclusion

You should also download a Drivers Backup tool that find appropriate drivers for your computer then back it up to chosen folders, along with INF files, which will inform the Windows 7 how to install the drivers. If you cannot find the appropriate driver on the Windows update site, then you can go to the manufacturer’s website.

http://www.bravofiles.com/ Download drivers and software

Run a Malware Scan

Malware programs are found to be the root cause of innumerable computer errors. In case system errors have suddenly started appearing out-of-nowhere or your computer performance has become erratic, then immediately run a malware scan on your entire system using a reliable antimalware tool to rule out the possibility of malware infection. To ensure your antimalware tool is equipped to identify and remove the latest threats, update your protective software with the latest malware definitions and security updates before running the scan.

Uninstall and reinstall the software that is causing the error

In case the error occurs only when you try to launch a particular software then try reinstalling the software and see if it makes a difference. If the error persists, install the latest available software updates.

Reinstall the corrupt driver

Certain errors, such as code 10 error occur due to a poorly installed or corrupt drivers. You may receive an error message similar to the one below when this happens:

“This device is either not present, not working properly, or does not have all the drivers installed. (Code 10)”

To resolve issues related to poorly installed or corrupt drivers, identify the culprit driver, and then uninstall and reinstall it. You can uninstall a faulty driver from the Device Manager – a Windows Control Panel applet that allows users to control the hardware attached to their PC. The steps below illustrate how to open the Device Manager and uninstall a faulty driver in Windows 7:

1. Click Start, type Device Manager in the Start Search box, and click the Enter key.
2. Expand the device whose driver is corrupt.
3. Right-click the faulty driver and click Unisntall.
4. Restart Windows.

If the uninstalled driver was a built-in driver, then Windows will automatically install the driver from its driver database upon restart. Otherwise, you can install the driver using the CD/DVD that came with the hardware device.

Perform System Restore

Restore your System settings to the time before the error code started appearing and check if things work normally or not.

To perform a System Restore in Windows 7, follow the simple steps illustrated below:

1. Click Start, type System Restore in the Start Search box, click System Restore under the Programs list.
2. In the System Restore dialog box depending on your preference, select either Recommended restore or Choose a different restore point.

Note: When you select Choose a different restore point option, the next screen prompts you to select the date and time to which you wish your system to be restored back to.

1. Click Next and then click Finish.

The good thing about this whole situation is that one doesn’t need to be a computer expert in order to solve CPU-related problems. It is possible to deal with these issues by following the simple steps given below:

• Stop Processes that Consume High CPU Resources – A process is anything that is under execution. Thus, something like msmpeng.exe is a process. Executable files invariably launch themselves as processes, and reside in the computer RAM. But there is a certain minimum amount of memory a process is supposed to consume. For instance, if you are viewing a normal PDF document, the memory occupied should ideally not be more than 50 MB. Anything that is way too high indicates that something is wrong with the process, and it should be immediately terminated. You can do this by using the Task Manager in Windows.

Similarly, some system process can be hijacked by a virus and used to keep the CPU busy, such as the ekrn.exe kernel process. Such malware processes can be resolved with the help of malware removal tools.

• Remove Viruses – Viruses form a very important part of the different types of stray processes that occupy system resources and make the CPU busy all the time. Examples of such processes would be the nmindexstoresvr.exe error, which is otherwise a normal system process. Therefore, defending your system against such threats is of prime importance, and one needs to have a professional antivirus installed on the computer. Also, it should be regularly updated and used to scan the system for threats.
• Perform registry cleanup – The registry happens to be a core and very important component of the Windows system, and should be taken care of on a regular basis. The reason is that in due course of time, the registry develops several problems that give rise to many system errors, thus leading to high CPU usage. Make sure that you have a professional registry cleaner installed in your system, and that you scan your registry regularly for problems.
• Manage your Programs – As a general precaution, uninstall any programs that are of not much use to you. Old programs, which are of no use anymore, can be a source of many problems and may compete for system resources.

As discussed, it is actually very easy to take care of high CPU usage issues, provided you have the right guidance and the right tools. But make sure you download all the software from a trusted resource only.

Step #1 – Install the latest Windows updates

Microsoft regularly releases new updates for its line of operating systems to fix known errors and to improve overall system security. If you use Windows ME or a later version, such as Windows XP/Vista/7, keep the built-in Automatic Update feature enabled to have new updates installed automatically as and when they are released. If you use Windows 95/98/NT then visit the Microsoft Update website and install any new available updates.

Step #2 – Install the latest software and driver updates

Various application errors, such as wmp.dll file errors occur when the software that uses the file is outdated. This is why it is essential that you keep your applications up-to-date. To achieve this simply visit the application manufacturer’s website and install the latest available updates.

Further, you must know that outdated drivers may not only prevent you from enjoying optimal performance of the associated hardware, but may also cause various application errors due to compatibility issues. You can manually update your third-party drivers by downloading the latest available updates from the driver manufacturer’s website or automate the driver updation process by using a reliable third party driver update tool.

Step #3 – Run the System File Checker (SFC) command

SFC is a command line utility that enables users to fix issues pertaining to missing, corrupt, damaged, or incorrect versions of protected Windows files. This utility scans the protected files and replaces any missing or corrupt core Windows file either from the DLL cache or original Windows installation disc.

To run the SFC command successfully you need to be logged in as an administrator and may require the original Windows CD. The following steps show how to run the SFC command.

1. Click Start and then click the Run utility.
2. In the Open box, type SFC and press Enter.

Step #4 – Run a malware scan

Malware, such as virus, worm, trojan, spyware, and other variants often infect/delete essential application files causing random application errors to occur. To fix application errors caused by malicious programs, update your security software with the latest malware definitions and run a malware scan on your system.

Step #5 – Run a registry scan

A corrupt, bloated, or damaged registry is another common cause of recurring application errors. Issues in the Windows registry are often the root cause of various application errors, such as the ogacheckcontrol.dll error and other performance-related issues. That is why it is essential that you maintain a clean and compact registry. To wipe out unnecessary and incorrect registry entries, clean your Windows registry using a professional registry maintenance tool.

Perform the five steps listed in this tutorial to fix, as well as prevent common application errors.

The Windows file system is very complex, and supports almost an infinite type of files. Moreover, files can be classified according to their functionality as well as priority. All this gives rise to what might be sometimes termed as bedlam – system crashes and file type errors that are hard to explain and even harder to do away with.

But that doesn’t mean you need to rush to the experts every time something goes wrong. There are many simple troubleshooting steps that you can undertake to make sure that the errors are minimized.

What are Windows file types?

A file type is denoted by the last three letters of a Windows file name, following the period ‘.’ in the filename. To keep matters simple, it would be sufficient to say that the file type tells the Windows operating system what the purpose of the file is, how it can be best opened and edited, and its relative importance. Therefore, a system file will get more priority than a .txt file.

Some common file types

Before we get down to understanding how to rectify the file type errors, we need to learn about the various types of file extensions. This will help us in increasing our awareness and understanding about these errors.

• .bup file type – This extension is for a backup file, a file created by many Windows programs during various types of operations. For instance, the registry cleaner may first create a backup of the registry, so that it can be restored in case something goes wrong. As soon as the backing-up process is over, this file should disappear.
• .ex_ file type – This extension is related to the compressed EXE files. Such files are created temporarily by many programs during their normal activities. For instance, a compression program might create these files out of EXE files, to be processed later on as the input for the second stage of compression algorithm.
• .tmp file type – The TMP file format is for temporary files. The temporary files are created by programs and processes for their own special needs and are barely presented to the user directly. For instance, a finance management software may create a temporary file for temporarily computing the future of your investments.

Why file type errors happen

There is no one reason why such errors occur, and if you want to keep away from such errors, you need to go for a holistic solution. The reasons may be:

• A Corrupt registry.
• Missing software.
• Wrong platform.
• Malware infection.

Dealing with file type errors

Perform the following steps to get rid of file type errors:

• Purchase a good registry-cleaner and scan the registry regularly.
• Make sure you update your anti-malware tool regularly.
• Check the hard disk frequently for errors with the help of system utilities.
• Invest in a file repair software and get to know what’s wrong with the particular file extension.

Follow these simple steps and make sure that your system is always free from Windows file type errors.

• Laptop Safety

  • Laptop Theft

In case you want to fix driver errors manually or if the cause of the error is not a missing or outdated driver, you can perform the following steps to get rid of the error:

Step 1 – Uninstall any recently installed updates

In case you are getting frequent driver errors soon after you installed new updates, uninstall the most recently installed updates via the Device Manager. The Device Manager is a built-in utility in Windows computers that allows users to install, uninstall, update, or roll-back installed drivers.

To uninstall the latest installed updates via the Device Manager in Windows 7 or Windows Vista, you need to perform the following steps:

1. Click the Windows icon in your taskbar.
2. Click Control Panel.
3. In the Control Panel, double-click Device Manager.
4. Double-click the hardware device whose driver is reporting an error.
5. Double-click the faulty driver to open its properties dialog box.
6. Click the Driver tab.
7. Click the Roll Back Driver button.
8. Follow the onscreen instructions.

Step 2 – Update your Windows files

The next step is to update your Windows files. Use the Automatic Update feature to automatically download new Windows updates.

If you use Windows 7 or Windows Vista, you can follow the steps mentioned below to check if new Windows updates are available for your Windows operating system:

1. Click the Windows icon on your taskbar.
2. Click Control Panel.
3. Double-click Windows Update.
4. If new updates are available, you will see an Install updates button in the Windows Update window. Click the Install updates button to install the latest updates.
5. Restart Windows if required.

Step 3 – Perform a malware scan

Infected driver files can lead to various driver errors and can make your Windows system unstable. If the above steps failed to fix the driver error, run a malware scan on your computer to ensure that your system is malware free.

Before you run a malware scan, ensure that your protective software is up to date. Otherwise, your protective software will be unable to identify and/or take corrective measures against the latest malware. To update you protective software, click the Update option present in its interface.

After you have updated your protective software, restart Windows in Safe Mode and run a complete malware scan.

If you need help on how to launch Windows in Safe Mode, just follow the steps below:

1. Close all open programs and restart Windows.
2. Press and hold the F8 key as your computer reloads and till Windows Advanced Boot Option menu appears.
3. Select Safe Mode using your arrow keys.
4. Finally, press Enter to start Windows in Safe Mode.

When people steal a laptop, they are not just stealing a piece of expensive hardware. They may be stealing the intimate details of a person’s personal life, financial secrets and details and information that may be crucial to running one’s life. Losing the hardware hurts, but losing the data hurts even more.

Besides the tremendous inconvenience of not having access to important people or institutions at your fingertips, there are other worries. If the thieves use the passwords and other information to do identity theft, they can introduce a whole new world of hurt. Buzzblog reports on the case of laptop which had personal information about Boeing Wichita employees and the tale of woe of one of those employees that was victimized. Multiple accounts were opened with his information and it took him years to clear his name and he is still not free of problems.

The Stages of Laptop Theft Protection

These are the stages of laptop theft protection

1. Detection – if they don’t know that you have a laptop,  they won’t try to steal it. Hiding it avoids problems.
2. Access – Don’t allow a thief to have free access to your laptop. Stay near it and don’t leave it unguarded. Lock it, secure it and/or alarm it
3. Data Protection – Back it up so that even if the laptop is stolen or destroyed, you still have your information. Encrypt it so that unauthorized people can’t get at it.
4. Make it recoverable – Mark it or stamp it with personal identification. Register it with the manufacturer.
5. Locate it – Use tracking software to find it if it was lost or stolen.

1.Detection Prevention

There’s nothing that broadcasts the fact that you have a valuable laptop more than a fancy special laptop case. The best way to store the laptop when you travel or move is to put it in a nondescript bag or briefcase. eBags sells Pacsafe bags which include backpacks that don’t have any hint that they are carrying a laptop. They are also made of rugged materials which can’t easily be slashed open. Additionally, they offer rugged locks which can be used to anchor the bag to some immovable object such as a pole or heavy table.

Don’t leave it in your car exposed on the seat. Don’t even leave it on a conference table at work unattended.

2.Deny Access

Don’t leave it in an open or exposed place where someone can easily grab it and make a quick getaway. If you are out eating with friends, make sure someone is watching it if you step away. Don’t get up to greet anyone in a crowded cafeteria or meeting place without taking it with you.

Airport security lines are very vulnerable areas. Don’t put your laptop through the security machine until you are ready to go through the metal detector. Don’t go into the metal detector until the laptop is in the machine and take it as soon as it gets out.

Even when you are using your laptop and you want to look at something or talk to someone, it pays to keep a hand or a finger on the laptop so that you are always aware of its status.

An extra level of protection can be provided by installing a lock or alarm. In an office environment, it makes sense to use a docking station which will secure the laptop to your desk.

3.Data Protection

The most valuable part of a laptop is actually the data that is on it. Protect it by backing it up. This is true even for desktop computers. Acronis and Fabs are 2 very powerful and effective backup programs. Back up to an external drive and keep it somewhere away from your laptop when not in use. In this way, even if your laptop is lost, destroyed or stolen you will be able to recover all your data.

Get 15% off on Acronis True Image Home 2011 with Coupon Code FMAATIH15

Online backup is especially useful for notebooks, ipads or laptops that are taken from place to place. They are always backing up wherever you are. However, this should not be the only form of backup that you use for a number of reasons described in . Idrive, Carbonite and Mozy are good programs with Idrive being my favorite.

Protect your personal and sensitive data from others by putting it into unreadable code. Encrypt your data so that only you or someone you trust can see it. I personally do this with Truecrypt which is free. For a full discussion of encryption see Security and Encryption.

Turn off your encrypted volume or drive when your laptop is not in use so that it will not be available to anyone that gets your laptop.

4.Make It Recoverable

If your laptop is lost or stolen, you want and honest finder to be able to return it and you want to be able to prove ownership in case the authorities locate it.

You should register your backup with your computer vendor. They can vouch for your ownership.

Another good idea is to tag it with and identification tag. It will have anonymous return information and may offer a reward for return. They are made to be difficult to remove. ArmorTag is one company that provides this service. Trackitback also provides for tagging and supports a reward and return service.

5.Locate the Stolen Laptop

You can also install location software which will use GPS technology to let the authorities locate your laptop when lost or stolen. The software also allows for disabling the computer or destroying sensitive data remotely. Once you indicate that the laptop is missing, the program will start transmitting its location to a central server and police agencies are alerted and can get it back.

Summary

Follow the 5 steps above to insure that your laptop stays safely with you. A few simple steps can save a world of grief.

Laptop Safety Issues

The laptop or notebook has special safety issues which are not applicable to a desktop or much less of an issue.

The laptop owner is faced with the following safety concerns:

• physical safety – Since a laptop is ofter carried from place to place it is subject to the danger of being dropped and damaged. Additionally, all the parts are built into one unit and are much more exposed than a desktop. Liquids spilling into laptop keyboard can damage the entire laptop while a desktop’s keyboard may be damaged but the rest of the computer is ok.
• theft danger – A laptop is made to be carried and can very easily be carried off by the wrong people. It’s also exposed to less secure environments than one’s home or business. Notebooks can be found in all travel locations and can easily be left behind on an airplane or taxi seat. To protect against theft, see Laptop Theft – 5 Protection Steps
• data security – Since the laptop may be left exposed in foreign environments, it is more subject to snooping and tampering by unauthorized people. People who use laptops very often make them the data and information centers of their lives. If stolen, all one’s personal and financial secrets can be used against the owner’s will.

Safety Measures

There are a number of things that can be done to deal with the safety concerns mentioned above. Some involve best practices for user handling of the laptop. Others involve software or hardware to alleviate the problem. These will be discussed in following articles.

Summary

A laptop is an extremely useful and powerful tool. However, it is subject to many dangers. Proper management of these issues will provide many years of fruitful use of this valuable appliance.