Free Computer Tips

Google's best-kept secrets: its features

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 18:06:00 +0000

Google continues to be the world's most-used search engine. So you might think that the search engine giant would roll out new features gently, not wanting to upset its massive user base, right? Not quite. Google introduces new features of its search engine with little warning and even less explanation of how to use them. The Instant Preview, Wonder Wheel, Timeline, and Date Ranges features are prime examples. What are they all about? Read on to find out.

Instant Preview

You've probably stumbled upon Google's new Instant Preview feature by accident. The feature consists of thumbnail snapshots of full-length Web pages that appear on the search page itself -to the right of your search results. Although Instant Search is supposed to be activated by clicking the little magnifying glass icon to the right of the title of a search result, clicking anywhere within the search result's descriptive text will turn on the feature as well. Instant Preview thumbnails are supposed to save you time by allowing you to view a tiny version of a website before actually visiting it. The problem is that the thumbnail previews are sometimes so large that, depending upon your monitor's size, they can somewhat obscure the list of search results, leading to annoyance as much as help. The good news is that you can deactivate Instant Preview temporarily by clicking the magnifying glass icon next to any search result. The bad news is that, currently, there's no way to permanently deactivate Instant Preview.

Wonder Wheel

The Wonder Wheel is another new search tool that Google has said next to nothing about, and because it is hidden under the More Search Tools link in the left-hand sidebar of Google, you may miss it entirely. That's unfortunate because, unlike Instant Previews, this is one tool that's both useful and easy to turn off. In essence, the Wonder Wheel can help you find information related to your original search in a way that you're probably not used to. Click the Wonder Wheel link and you'll see a circle with spokes jutting out from it -similar to a bicycle tyre. Inside the circle is your original search term, and at the end of each spoke is a term related to your search term that others have found useful. Click one of the related terms, and another Wheel appears, with yet more related terms at the end of its spokes. Keep clicking terms, and multiple wheels appear. Note that each time you click a related term or concept at the end of a spoke, search results for that term or concept appear on the right-hand side of your Google page. The power of the wheel is its visual nature: you can use it to activate additional wheels without losing the visual chain that led you to where you ultimately land. By contrast, if you click multiple "related" links under a standard list of search results, you'll soon lose track of where you started

Timeline

Google's little-known Timeline feature is one that you'll probably

turn to often -once you know how to access it. Timeline does what its name implies: it provides you with a chronological timeline of important events related to a search term. You'll find the Timeline link again hidden under the More Search Tools link in the left-hand sidebar, which appears after you enter a search term and click Search.

Try out Timeline on a search phrase such as "korean war!' You'll quickly see that Timeline provides you with a short history lesson, with key dates, synopses of events, and sources provided in a tidy list. A "Related web pages" following each synopsis gives you the opportunity to further explore a particular date or event.

Date Ranges

When people search the Internet, they're often looking for recent information. Yet search engines have traditionally made it tough to sort out the latest information from the rest.

Thankfully, Google has now moved its date range feature to the front page. To access it, type a search term, and from the left-hand sidebar, click either Latest or Past Month. When you do, you'll see additional links that allow you to narrow your search results even further. Click Custom Range, and you can specify a custom date range to get just the results you want.

Benefits of last bard drives

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 17:42:00 +0000

If you have a large media collection -music, video, or photos -be sure to place them on a fast hard drive, if possible. Most media players and browsers will create a catalogue of your media files and accessing that catalogue can take a lot of time -and slow your PC down -when the media player starts. An alternative to cataloguing a large media collection is to force your media player not to catalogue all of the files. Instead, open the music or video files individually.

BCC e-mails

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 19:39:00 +0000

To send a copy of an e-mail message to one or more additional recipients without the main recipient knowing, use your e-mail program's BCC field. BCC stands for "blind carbon copy" and it's often used to disguise the e-mail addresses of additional recipients. You can even use Bee to hide the addresses of all recipients. To do so, place your own e-mail address in the to field and the e-mail addresses of all recipients in the BCC field.

Speedy surfing

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 14:00:00 +0000

Want to get quickly to a website? Place your cursor in the address bar of your favorite browser, type the name of the site -minus the .com or http://www -and press Ctrl-Enter. Most browsers will automatically add ".com" to the end of the word and ''http://www'' to the beginning

Defrag details

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 18:48:00 +0000

Should you defragment your hard drive? With Windows 7, that question is becoming increasingly irrelevant these days. Disk defragmentation is automatically scheduled in Windows 7 on those drives that need it. With newer solid state disks (SSDs), defragmentation is not recommended at all, since files are stored differently on SSDs than they are on traditional disks. Windows 7 is smart enough to recognise SSDs and will turn off defragmentation by default.

Take charge of your Hard drive

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 19:20:00 +0000

It’s hard to feel in control of your digital life if you're not in control of your hard drive. After all, your hard drive is where all of your files are stored. When hard drives fill up or don't allow you to organise your data the way you'd like, frustration results. And when your computer won't start, it's important to know whether your hard drive is at the heart of the problem. Read on for some tips that will help you get a grip on your hard drive -and the data that lives there.

My computer won't start. How can I know if the hard drive has died?

Failures of conventional hard drives are often, but not always, preceded by some clicking or tapping sounds emanating from your PC. Sometimes a steady click-click-click sound will indicate a hard drive that has malfunctioned. Solid State Drives (SSDs), which have no moving parts, will obviously not exhibit such a clicking sound. They will simply fail, with no audible warning.

If your hard drive dies, your computer's initial bootup screen will still appear, but you'll receive an error message when the PC tries to load your operating system. You might receive a "drive not found" error message. If your computer is equipped with a technology known as SMART, you may receive advance warning of a failing hard drive. Take any such warning seriously, and replace the drive or have it replaced -as soon as possible.

If you do not see anything upon pressing the power button on your PC, it's unlikely that the hard drive is the culprit. A power supply failure or motherboard failure is more likely.

Something has consumed most of my hard drive space, and I'm not sure what. How can I find out?

You need a utility that shows you which folders and files are taking up the most space on your hard drive. FolderSizes (www.foldersizes.com) is one of the best commercial programs because its graphical display of the sizes of your folders make it easy to pinpoint exactly which folders and files are taking up most of your hard drive space. It does this by analysing your hard drive and presenting you afterwards with a bar graph. You can double-click lines on the graph to drill down as far into a folder structure as you wish.

GetFolderSizes (www.getfoldersize.com), which does essentially the same thing as FolderSizes, is a decent freeware alternative. FolderSizes is a bit more intuitive to use than GetFolderSizes, however, so you may wish to try out both utilities to see which one you prefer. There's really no similar utility in Windows that can give you this kind of information, so tools of this type are essential for what you need to figure out.

I bought an SSD for my desktop computer, but the drive doesn't seem to fit in any of the internal slots. What can I do?

Solid state disks (SSDs) are made in the 2.5-inch form factor -the size used in notebook computers. Desktop computers typically do not have internal slots small enough for 2.5-inch drives.

The solution is to purchase an adapter that will allow your 2.5 inch SSD to fit into a slot designed for a standard 3.5-inch desktop drive. Such adapters are readily available these days online and, probably, in your local computer store.

A "low tech" option, however, is to purchase some Velcro and use it to attach your drive to a solid surface within your computer. A substantial piece of Velcro is more than sufficient to hold in place the very lightweight SSDs sold today.

I installed a 2TB hard drive in my computer. I would like to partition it in to two drives. How can I do that in Windows 7?

The Disk management tool in both Windows 7 and Windows Vista will allow you to slice up your large hard drive into as many partitions as you'd like. A partition, as you probably know, is a section of a hard drive that, thanks to the magic of partitioning, is seen by the operating system as another physical disk. So while you might have just one hard drive in your computer, if you've partitioned it, the drive can show up as drives C, D, E, and so on, depending upon how many smaller partitions you create on the single drive.

The advantage of partitioning a drive is that you can then use individual partitions for particular purposes. Your C drive, for instance, might be devoted to your operating system files and applications, while your D drive might hold your data files and your E drive your music library. This type of organisational method makes backups of particular types of files a snap, and it would allow you to reinstall your entire operating system and applications without disturbing your data or music on partitions D and E, to use the previous example of how you might organise the data.

To partition your drive in Windows 7 or Vista, open the Start menu and type "partition” without the quotation marks. Click the resulting entry called "Create and format hard disk partitions!' The Disk Management tool opens, displaying all of your drives in a list format at the top of the window and in a tiled form at below. Right-click the drive you'd like to partition, and select Shrink Volume. In the resulting dialog box, you'll need to specify how much you'd like to shrink the volume. While the numbers you use to specify this may not make any sense to you, look at the "total size" number as a guideline. If the total size of your disk, for example, is 10063 MB, and you want to divide your disk up into two, then enter a number that's half of that total size figure -which would be 5031.

Once Shrink Volume is finished, you'll be left with a block marked "unallocated" in Disk Management. That unallocated chunk of space is going to be your new partition. Right -click that unallocated chunk, and select Extend Volume from the popup menu. The Extend Volume Wizard will open, showing you the unallocated space that have available and giving you the opportunity to click an Add button to add the unallocated space to your computer. Continue following the prompts until the new space is formatted and ready to use.

It will appear as an additional drive letter when you're finished. A free partitioning tool that makes the entire process of resizing partitions a bit easier than either Windows 7 or Vista is Easus Partition Master (www.partition-tool.com).It’s compatible with all versions of Windows from Windows 2000 through 7.

Plan a stress-free Migration to Windows7

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 18:23:00 +0000

For many, the hardest part about using Windows 7 is actually getting up the nerve to migrate to it. After all, you have all of your data files, e-mail, photos, addresses -and more -stored on your existing operating system. What if you should lose some of it in the move?

It's a reasonable concern. But with some careful planning, you can have both a seamless transition to Windows 7 and set yourself up to make future upgrades even easier. Here’s how.

Assemble drivers

Before you make a move, look at what's attached to your existing PC. Special sound card or audio interface? Exotic video card ? Brand new webcam? A printer from the dark ages?

Spend some time surfing for the latest drivers for these devices. You might not actually need the drivers, since Windows 7 comes with the best driver support of any previous version of the operating system, but you won't really know until you install Windows 7.

XP or Vista drivers will probably work if you can't find drivers that specifically say they are compatible with Windows 7. Assemble your drivers on a USB flash drive or an external drive, and then proceed to the next step.

Prepare your software

Some software companies today -especially Adobe -are requiring you to deactivate your software on your existing machine before reinstalling it on a new machine. If you fail to take this step, you will probably have to suffer through a frustrating and time-consuming call to tech support to get your serial numbers deactivated before you can be reactivate the software on a new machine.

Avoid this hassle by taking an inventory of the software on your existing computer now, and deactivate any software that has a "deactive" option in the Help menu.

Even when deactivation is not required, take stock of the software you rely upon every day and make sure you have installation disks and serial numbers for anything you'll want to use on your new Windows 7 installation.

Back up critical files

If you store your files documents, photos, music, and videos -in the locations chosen for you by your applications and you're running Windows Vista or XP, you can simply use the Windows Easy Transfer utility to back up your files to an external hard drive or USB stick.

Windows Easy Transfer comes with Windows Vista. It's simple to use both for backing up and restoring your data.

XP users can download a version for their operating system from Microsoft (http://bit.ly/az13Dl ). XP users, who want a migration utility that handles not only data files, but the transfer of applications, may want to consider Zinstall (http:// www.zinstall.com).

Install a new hard drive

If you want an extra layer of protection against losing data in the migration to Windows 7, don't install the new operating system on your existing hard drive. Instead, buy a new hard drive -perhaps a much faster one than you now have.

Install the new drive in place of your existing one. You'll find plenty of instructions online that tell you how to do this. If you're not comfortable tinkering with you computer, have the new drive installed at a computer store.

What you'll gain from this move is complete peace of mind. If something goes wrong, you can simply pop the old drive back into your computer and everything will be as it was before the upgrade.

You'll also have access to any files that you may have forgotten to back up. The icing on the cake is that, if you buy a new hard drive that's faster than your old one, you'll get a performance boost. Plus you'll potentially have an extra hard drive (your old one) that you can repurpose as a backup unit.

Install and restore

With the preparatory steps out of the way, you can now safely install your Windows 7 operating system, choosing Custom (advanced) when asked which type of installation you want to perform. The Custom option installs a new copy of Windows, leaving you with a clean installation of the operating system, uncluttered with the detritus of your old setup

Once Windows 7 is in place, install any missing drivers, and then move on to installing your application software. Finally, you can use Easy Transfer to restore your files from your previous operating system.

Image your system

Once you have your new Windows 7 system up and running, with the drivers and applications that you find essential, consider creating a backup image of the system in that pristine state. A backup image is a type of backup that allows you to restore everything, including your operating system, to a new drive in case your existing one fails.

Windows 7 itself contains imaging software, so start there. Open the Start menu, type Backup, and then click the Backup and Restore option that appears. In the left-hand pane of the resulting Backup=dialog box, you'll see links labelled "Create a system image" and "Create a system repair disk!' Perform both operations.

Know what you're getting

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 07 Nov 2010 15:04:00 +0000

When choosing a graphics card, there's more to consider than price. The most expensive cards may give you the impression that they'll be the fastest, but this might be true only for garners, Who require cards that offer high frame rates for the latest 3D games. For typical business applications, you may not notice much performance improvement over less expensive cards. High-end cards notonly cost more, but they also typically run hotter and consume more power. So know what you're getting before you buy.

Change battery

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 08:51:00 +0000

Does your mobile phone battery seem to run down faster than it used to? Try turning off hardware-based features that you don't use, such as built-in Wi-fi or Bluetooth. It's easy to activate these and forget about them. But your mobile phone doesn't and they use power. If that doesn't solve your problem, you may need to swap out the battery for a newer one. Batteries do wear out over time. Buying a replacement could make your phone run like new.

Google alert

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 18:22:00 +0000

Keep up with what's said about you or your company online by setting up a Google alert. The Google Alerts feature (http://www.google.com/alerts) will e-mail you about all new mentions of a particular keyword, including your name or your company's name. You can also use Google Alert to keep up on the latest news, event or your favorite sports team without having to visit a website.

Keeping your kids safe online

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 17:03:00 +0000

The Internet is scary enough for adults. For kids, whose experience in real life is limited, the Internet presents special challenges when it comes to safety.

How can you equip your kids with the knowledge to work and play safely online? And what software tools can you use to help give you some peace of mind? Read on for some answers.

I'm about to give my daughter a computer other own. What should I make sure she understands about Internet security?

The best defense that kids have against getting into trouble online is knowledge of what not to do and what to watch out for, so it's wise of you to think about talking to your daughter rather than relying solely on security software. Here are some ideas.

First, make sure that she knows your rules about what she may and may not do online -and when she can use the computer altogether.

Set limits that you can realistically supervise, and establish beforehand the consequences that will result from breaking the rules.

Beyond rules, though, you should equip your daughter with knowledge of best practices when it comes to protecting her identity and reputation.

Tell her not to use her real name anywhere on the Internet. Screen names, online signatures and login credentials should all be reasonably anonymous. It's even a good idea to suggest or require that any screen name she creates sound either neutral or masculine. Feminine sounding screen names are more likely to attract unwanted attention.

Also, of course, instill in her a healthy does of suspicion about people she meets online. Tell her never to give strangers her name, address, or details about her school or places she goes. And be sure that she knows to come to you if someone online should make her feel uncomfortable.

Give her a bit of advice, too, about do's and don'ts of social networks such as Facebook. Tell her that things that she reveals about herself online can come back to haunt her in the future.

Remind her that what she posts online tan often be difficult or impossible to remove. So not only should she check with you about the sites she joins, but, depending upon her age and your level If trust in her, you should probably also have access to her accounts on those sites so that you can monitor what is happening.

Finally, remind your daughter that. absent the facial expressions and body language that humans rely upon to communicate in the real world, words that she types on the Internet can easily be misconstrued. So it's important that she think carefully about what she writes and not respond in anger or haste.

We are torn about whether to allow our kids to use their computers in their bedrooms.

If you have any doubts at all about your children's ability to use their computers responsibly, it's probably a bad idea to allow them to use computers in their bedroom, for several reasons.

First, kids often have difficulty limiting their time on computers, and, unless you exercise careful control over when the machines are on, you may quickly find yourself with sleep deprived children.

If the computers are Internet connected, the temptation to stay on them for much of the night will likely be too great. Social sites such as Facebook are hugely attractive to kids, as are instant messaging systems and Skype.

You can, of course, install parental controls on your kids' computers. These will allow you to establish limits on which sites they can visit and how long they can use the machines. However, a savvy child can find a way around most parental controls. So even if you use those, be sure to do spot check that controls are still in place.

How can I protect my kids from landing on websites that are not appropriate?

There are multiple approaches you can take here. If you're allowing your child to use the Internet unprotected by parental control software, at the least you should adjust all “safe search" options in search engines so that known pornographic or other potentially inappropriate content is never seen by your kids.

An easy way to do this -and more -is to use the K9 Web Protection tool (http://www1.k9webprotection.com ). This is free for home use and available for both Windows and Macintosh systems. K9 will force most search engines -including Google and Yahoo -to use the Safe Search feature.

The tool has many other safeguards built in as well and is a good first step, especially if you're still using an older operating system that does not include parental controls, such as Windows XP.

If you're using Vista or Windows 7, you have web filtering built in to the parental control utility in those operating systems. K9 may still be a good adjunct, however. Experiment with both to see which you prefer.

Buying a Netbook

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 19:10:00 +0000

Netbooks are all the rage today, but they're not all created equal. That's why it's risky to order one over the Internet without having tried it in person. Among attributes that can quickly mean dissatisfaction or satisfaction are the feel of the keyboard, the clarity of the screen. and the responsiveness of the unit. Visit a local computer store to tryout several models. Then, if you find a great deal online, you'll be able to buy with more confidence.

Why is free software free?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:19:00 +0000

These days, when we want to spend money on anything unnecessary, the lure of free software is greater than ever. Software makers are aware of this, and as a consequence, there's more free software available now than ever before.

But how can you trust free software? How can companies give away software for free? How do you know whether a program that you download might contain a virus or be a phishing scam?

Read on for some answers.

I'm always suspicious of free software. It costs money or time to develop software, so how can companies give it away for free, especially if the software is complex and requires constant maintenance, like antivirus software?

The distribution of free software is actually part of a wel1-established and potentially profitable business model. If a company is trying to launch a product into an already crowded market, for example, it might decide that the best way to gain market share and brand recognition is to give away the software for a period of time. This is the tact taken, for example, by antivirus maker Comodo (http:// www.comodo.com). Which has come on strong of late with lots of free security products? It's a strategy that has paid off in a big way for Mozilla's Firefox Web browser, too, which is now one of the leading Web browsers and makes good money from associations with Google and other companies.

In short, there's always a market for free products, and gaining market share is a software product's strongest asset. With market share, opportunities for making money in ways other than by selling copies of the software program itself increase exponentially. Revenue from ads consulting, and training can often be more than enough to offset the potential revenue lost by trying to make a fee-based program popular in a crowded field. In fact, the software world has become so dominated by a few major players that the best hope a newcomer has to compete against the software behemoths is either to have a product that no one else has thought of or to adopt some type of free distribution model in order to gain market share.

So it should help your sense of security to know the profit motive behind the distribution of most free software: But you are justified in being suspicious of certain types of free software in general. Purvey ors of viruses and phishing scams regularly try to lure unsuspecting consumers into downloading malicious software by promoting bogus antivirus and anti-spyware software through pop-up ads on the Web and through spam e-mail messages. These criminals, of course, are attempting to exploit the consumer's trust -built up through the efforts of legitimate companies -that reliable, free antivirus and anti-spyware software exists.

The bogus anti-spyware products have become so numerous and so nefarious that a Web site called Spyware Warrior (http: //www. spywarewarrior.com/rogue_antispyware.htm) has been erected to identify them and warn users away. Stick with the well-known makers of free antivirus products -Avast, Avira, and AVG are the most established.

Occasionally, a developer will write a piece of software for herself and then distribute it to the world on her website in an act of generosity or in the spirit of contribution to a greater cause. These may be the only instances of free software that have no obvious profit motive attached.

What are some good sources of free software?

There are plenty of trustworthy sources of free software. You might start with the major software manufacturers of software that you've already purchased. Microsoft, for instance, offers a host of free software programs to those who have purchased Windows. You'll find them by browsing Microsoft’s downloads section (bttp://www.mirosoft.com/downloads).

Sometimes well-known software companies retire versions of a product but make those older versions available for free. You’ll find plenty of such offerings at the website OldVersion.com (http:// www.oldversion.com). Then there are established sites that distribute tested and totally free software. These sites include The Free Site (http://www.thefreesite.com). No Nags (http://www.nonags.com) and Source Forge (http:www.sourceforge.net). These days; Google is a source for a plethora of very good, free software. Check Google Labs (http://labs.google.com) frequently. While there's ultimately a profit motive behind many of the software programs distributed on these sites -even if it's primarily marketing related -that doesn't mean the products themselves can't be quite useful to you for some time to come.

How can I be sure that free software does not contain a virus or spyware?

You'll need to combine a good antivirus program with some detective work on the Internet. Before . you even think of downloading some software from a company you've never heard of, do a bit of digging to find out whether it's a known conveyor of spyware, adware, or a virus. Chances are, if it's an offender, it's been reported and will show up in a Web search.

If the software passes that small test, download it, but be sure you have your antivirus software installed and running. After downloading it, right-click the file or files you downloaded and run a virus check on just those files. Most antivirus software today installs a file manager plug-in that makes the inspection of specific files a breeze. .

Guard against virus

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 14:34:00 +0000

What's the easiest way to catch a computer virus? Participate in a peer-to-peer file sharing service. These services -with names like BitTorrent and Gnutella -are popular among those who go looking for free software or music files. There's just one problem. aside from the frequently illegal software found on these networks: plenty of viruses are hiding in the files distributed. Not using these services can put you one step ahead in the struggle to maintain a virus free computer.

Check Firmware

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 09 Oct 2010 18:17:00 +0000

Having problems with your wireless router? Check to see whether the unit's firmware is up to·date. Firmware is the software that controls many vital functions of the router. And manufacturers frequently provide updates to this software in order to correct connectivity and other issues. Check the manufacturer's website for the latest firmware. There, You should also find instructions for applying the firmware updates.

Speed bootup in Windows7

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 19:27:00 +0000

Windows 7 is faster overall than Vista. But startup and shutdown times can still be frustrating. If you shut down your computer once a day -or more -those minutes waiting for a usable Windows 7 desktop can seem to drag on forever.

The same can go for shutting down. The good news: There are steps you can take to shave seconds, even minutes, off of both processes.

Use your cores

Windows 7 is the first version of the operating system that can use all processor cores to speed bootup. There's just one problem: the feature is not active by default.

You can change that, though. Open Windows 7's Start menu, type "msconfig;' and click the msconfig.exe entry that appears.

The System Configuration dialog box opens. From there, click the Boot tab, and then click the Advanced Options button. From the resulting BOOT Advanced Options dialog box, select the checkbox labeled "Number of processors;' and then from the drop-down list box underneath, select the number of "cores" that your computer has.

Typically, just select the highest number offered in the drop-down box, Click OK, and you're done.

Remove fonts

Fonts in Windows 7 -and all previous versions of Windows -load at startup. So to cut down on startup time, pare your font collection to only those typefaces that you need and use.

Visit the Fonts dialog box by opening the Start menu and typing Fonts. Select the Fonts entry that appears and, from the resulting dialog box, delete any fonts you don't use.

To save those fonts for later use, try a font management program, such as Font Frenzy or Suitcase, which makes it easy to uninstall fonts without removing the underlying files.

Supercharge shutdown

Often what holds up the Windows shutdown routine is the operating system waiting for background and foreground processes to close. Microsoft has tried to alleviate the problem by introducing a Force Shutdown command in Windows 7.

This kicks in after 12 seconds by default. You can speed that up, however, by changing a registry setting. Open the Start menu, type "regedit:' and then click the regedit.exe entry that appears. The Windows Registry Editor opens.

In the left-hand pane of the Registry Editor, expands the HKEY_LOCAL_ MACHINE tree, and then expand System,

Current ControlSet, and Control. With the Control branch highlighted, look for the entry Wait ToKillService in the right-hand pane of the Registry Editor. Right-click it, select Modify from the pop-up menu, and from the resulting dialog box, change the value 12000 (for 12 seconds) to something lower.

Try 6000 for a start. Once you click OK, the setting will stick, and shutdown will proceed more quickly.

Buy an SSD

Software tweaks are useful, but they'll only speed startup and shutdown so far. But tweak the hard drive -and you might get the fastest performance possible. Solid State Drives (SSDs) are considerably faster than traditional magnetic platter hard drives. They're so much faster, in fact, that many people report a halving of their startup and shutdown times after upgrading.

Essentially, SSDs are a combination of nonvolatile flash memory and advanced controller chips that can retrieve and write data several times faster than the typical hard drive. Since bootup and shutdown can both be intensive data reading and writing processes, the fastest hard drive helps a lot.

The downside? SSDs are more expensive than conventional hard drives, and their capacities aren't as great. Atypical 80GB SSD, for instance, costs about $200. That same $200 can buy almost two ITB traditional hard drives.

Still, the combination of an SSD as a boot and application drive and a much larger conventional hard drive in the same system can provide the best of both worlds -and get your the startup and shutdown speeds you crave.

Adjust your BIOS

No matter how fast your hard drive or how much you optimize Windows 7 to improve bootup and shutdown times, your computer's BIOS can make you wait.

The BIOS -or Basic Input Output System –is the character-based screen that most computer users see as soon as they turn on their machines. It's the interface between the hardware installed in your computer and the operating system on your hard drive.

Often the BIOS contains settings that add unnecessarily to your bootup time. Enter the BIOS by pressing F2 or Fl0 upon starting up your computer. Once in the BIOS, look at all of the screen, and turn off any services or functions that you don't use.

For instance, if there's a Boot menu in the BIOS, make sure that the QuickBoot option is selected. Also, find the option for "boot device priority;' and make sure that your hard drive is selected as the first bootable drive, as opposed to your CD or DVD.

Also, turn off any bootup options -such as booting from a network or USB drive -if you don't use them. Finally, save your BIOS changes, and reboot.

Assembling a PC first-aid kit

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 17:00:00 +0000

When it comes to computers, there's really only one certainty: at some point, difference between being trouble will strike. The only question is whether you'll be ready.

If either your livelihood or your sanity depends upon having a computer up and running when you need it, you owe it to yourself to have on hand the parts you need to get your machine back up to speed as quickly as possible once trouble does occur.

Here's a rundown of some items that could mean the difference between being without your PC for a week or more and being back in business in no time flat.

Tools

If you ever have to pop open the case of your computer -and most of us do at some point -you need to have the right tools on hand. First, gather together both Phillipshead and flathead screwdrivers. Both are needed when working on a PC. You'll need a Phillips-head screwdriver to remove the screws that hold the cover on most desktop computers, and once inside, an assortment of Phillips-head and flathead screwdrivers will likely be required to remove parts. It doesn't hurt to have screwdrivers with magnetized tips, either.

These are perfect for fishing out screws that have become lodged deep down inside a PC.

Notebook computers require especially small screwdrivers of both types. You'll probably find a kit of miniature screwdrivers at your local electronics or computer store. In fact, if you don't have any tools on hand at all, your best bet might be to purchase one of the "pc repair" tool kits -complete with screwdrivers of all sizes, as well as tweezers, cable ties, and magnetised instruments designed specifically for retrieving screws that you've lost control of.

The good news is that most of what you'll need to do inside of a computer can be handled with a screwdriver of some sort.

Extra bard drive

Upgraded your hard drive lately? If so, don't throw away or sell that old hard drive. Keep it around, either for use as an external hard drive or simply as a spare. Old hard drives don't bring much on the used market, anyway, and they'll be far more valuable to you if you suddenly begin to hear the steady "click, click, click" sound that often precedes the premature death of a drive.

Swapping out a hard drive is easy, too just put the cables back into the new drive the way they are inserted into the old one, and you should be good to go. You'll need a backup of your data, of course, and you'll need to know how to restore it, as well.

USB flash drive

USB-based flash drives -sometimes called thumb drives -are less expensive by the day and capacities of 32GB and higher provide a respectable amount of storage. So there's every reason to keep one or two on hand.

They can be indispensible as a way to transfer files, store essential drivers and utilities, or even to boot your entire computer. Should you ever have to reinstall your operating system from scratch, for example, having all the driver files you need on a USB drive is just about the fastest way to get everything running the way it used to. You might even use an ISO creation tool such as Magic ISO or Ultra ISO to create copies of your installation CDs and DVDs on a USB drive. That way, you can install all of your applications in a hurry from one source.

Boot Disk

Imagine this: your operating system is rendered useless by an errant application or download. What will you do? The answer is probably "panic" -unless you are able to boot up your PC with a boot disk or rescue disk. You can create any number of boot disks for free from a site such as BootDisk.com (http://www.bootdisk.com), or you can use your original Windows CD as a boot disk. Whichever method you choose, make sure you have a bootable CD or DVD on hand.

Oil-based markers

Of course, creating a boot disk or other CD to hold files or drivers won't help you much if yours ends up lost in a stack of unlabelled CDs. That's why you need a good supply of oil-based magic markers on hand -the kind that can write easily and legibly on the non-data side of recordable disks. Standard pens and pencils won't do.

You can find these markers at any computer or office supply store. In some countries, the brand name Sharpie is synonymous with CD labeller. They come in assorted colours and sizes.

Vacuum cleaner

Believe it or not, excessive dust can really foul up a computer -in more ways than one. Over time, not only will dust clog air vents on the outside of a computer. It can also literally bring fans inside the computer to a near standstill, causing sensitive parts to overheat or even die.

That's why a versatile vacuum cleaner with an attachment hose that can reach into the depths of a PC -is an invaluable part of any computer first –aid kit. Your best bet is to use the vacuum cleaner on a regular basis -once a month, for example -both inside and outside the PC. Doing so will help you rule out what is always one potential cause of system shutdowns: overheating.

Installation disks

Imagine that you had to reinstall everything on your computer from scratch within a matter of hours in order to be able to finish an important report. Would you be able to find all of your installation disks and serial numbers? If not, you could be in for days or even weeks of downtime rather than a few hours.

If you don't routinely create ISO copies of your installation CDs, assemble them in one place, and keep them handy. And don't forget the other pieces of information that you'll need at hand in order to get up and running: passwords for your most frequently used websites, important technical support numbers, and even warranty information.

Disaster always seems to strike at just the wrong time -and to those least prepared to face it.

That's why the time you spend assembling the components of a good PC first-aid kit will be amply repaid if the unthinkable ever happens to your computer.

Speed up your PC

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:47:00 +0000

Getting rid of unwanted programs is not an easy task, since it’s all too easy to wind up with system full of free or low-cost software that seemed necessary and useful at the time but ended up being more of a nuisance than a gift.

And it can, at times, seem almost impossible to prevent applications you need from installing all kinds of" helper" applications that slow down your bootup process and increase overall system sluggishness.

Luckily, among the many free applications out there are some that can help restore your PC to the zippy state it was in when you first brought it home.

Get rid of applications

The best way to start decluttering your computer -and thereby speeding it up -is to remove any programs that you no longer need. Windows, of course, provides the Add/Remove Programs feature also called Programs and Features in recent versions -that gives you an Uninstall option for most applications you have installed.

But Add/Remove Programs is notorious for leaving bits and pieces of applications behind including empty directories and registry entries that, cumulatively, can lengthen your PC's bootup time. Thankfully, the VS Revo group has created a free utility called Revo Uninstaller (http:// www.revouninstaller.com) that improves on Windows' Add! Remove Programs utility in several respects.

Revo Uninstaller loads faster than the standard Windows application removal tool, and once it's loaded, it provides you with several levels of uninstallation that Windows' own uninstallation program does not, including "Built-in:' "Safe:' "Moderate," and "Advanced:' with each level doing a bit more to root out all traces of an application on your computer, including identifying and removing registry entries.

Speed up startup

Why does it take your PC forever to boot up, and why does the problem of slow booting seem to get worse over time? The culprits are applications that load automatically when Windows starts.

All sorts of programs -from antivirus applications to word processors -install optional utilities that load automatically each time you start your PC.

The slowdown comes when Windows tries to load all of these optional utilities at the same time during the bootup process. There's no way, of course, for your hard drive or your processor to keep up with so many simultaneous requests for startup, and the result is that you have to wait a long time before you get control of your computer. The time increases as you install more applications.

The folks over at R2 Studios have thought a while about this problem, and they’ve come up with an elegant, free solution in the form of Startup Delayer (http: //www.r2.com.au/software. php?page=2&:show=startdelay).

This little application will show you, at a glance, exactly which applications and applets are scheduled to load each time you boot up your Windows PC. Once you see what’s going to load, you have two choices: specify not to load the application by deselecting the box next to its name, or establish that the program or applet loads a certain amount of time after Windows starts -hence the "delayer" in the application's title.

Use Startup Delayer to look through the list of startup programs on your PC and you're bound to see applets that you simply don't need, as well as ones that you don’t need immediately when you start your PC. You'll probably find scheduling applets, perhaps an Acrobat speed launcher, some update clients, and various other little tools that add precious seconds to your bootup time.

If you run across a startup program with which you're not familiar, a simple Google search will likely reveal what its purpose is and to which application it belongs. With Startup Delayer, you can easily specify how long after bootup time these programs should be started in the background. Get them out of the way up front, and your PC will start faster.

Squeeze your data

There's nothing that'll slow down a PC faster than a hard drive that's almost full. To keep your Windows computer speedy, you need to maintain at least 20%free space on your hard drive. If you’re getting close to that, consider allowing Windows to compress your data. Automatic data compression is one of those once cutting-edge features of Windows that has been all but forgotten. It's still there, however, and it does essentially one thing: compresses files that haven't been used in a while.

To turn on file compression, simply open Windows Explorer, right-click the drive you'd like to allow compression on, and click Properties from the pop-up menu.

From the General tab of the resulting Properties dialog box, select the check box, labelled "Compress this drive to save space, and click OK. Windows will compress only those files that you have not used within a certain amount of time.

When the compression routine is finished, you should see considerably more free space on your hard drive, and the files that were compressed will still be accessible.

Tips to secure Netbook from theft

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:44:00 +0000

Netbooks are terrific for computing on the go. Yet their very compactness makes them easy to lose or to forget -not to mention being a target for thieves.

The material loss is bad enough the threat of someone getting access to your data can be catastrophic. The two obvious countermeasures include a mechanical lock or one of the various electronic solutions on the market.

There are three primary methods to protect the data on a netbook in the event of theft: encryption, BIOS and Windows passwords, or special anti-theft software.

Passwords alone aren't necessarily secure, "Thieves can circumvent Windows passwords by reinstalling the operating system, for example, or using a live CD!'
BIOS passwords are also relatively easy to reset. If the thief removes the hard drive from the unit, it's also possible to access the data. Anti-theft software is also only a limited solution,

It works only if the thief goes online with the device. Then the rightful owner has the chance to lock or delete the hard drive remotely. If the thief avoids the Web with the device altogether, then there's nothing the owner can do.

Password protection for individual files or directories to commercial encryption products and on to free open source solutions. "While the latter do offer reliable protection, they are primarily suited for technically savvy users.

In principle the entire hard drive should always be encrypted, not just individual folders or files, Otherwise thieves might be able to find copies of key files in unexpected locations, such as the temporary files folder.

Another key factor is the password. The security is only as good as the password protecting it. It should be as long and complicated as possible.

Mechanical locks are a good way to prevent amateur thieves from preying on a netbook. One best selling model is the Kensington Lock from Kensington Technology, for example.

The security mechanism features two components: the security slot located on almost all netbooks and notebooks and the cable lock combination. The device is only secured once the owner stretches the cable around a fixed object, inserts the piece into the slot and turns the key.

"The casing on the netbooks should also be reinforced with a metal insert on the inside of the wall, Otherwise the cable can be ripped out relatively easily.

For this reason mechanical protections can only serve as an initial protection against theft. Ultimately the safest method is to encrypt the entire hard drive of the netbook and secure it with a sufficiently complicated and long password.

Change Update setting

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:42:00 +0000

Windows Update can either be useful or annoying. It's annoying when it's on autopilot, set up to automatically download and install updates, which sometimes require a reboot. Change the Windows Update setting in the Windows Security section of the Control Panel to download updates automatically but them to ask you whether to install them.

Right Posture

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:40:00 +0000

If you use a computer for long periods of time, remember that proper posture is crucial to your health. Keep your feet on the floor, arms parallel with the desk, head up, and back straight. It's also a great idea to invest in a high quality office chair, one that provides as many adjustments as possible. Also, if you have short legs, consider adding a footrest to your setup.

Increase Circulation

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:37:00 +0000

Sitting at the computer for long hours will take a toll on your body. That's why it's important to get up, stretch, and move your legs from time to time. if you have trouble remembering, download a program such as Stretch Break http://www.paratec.com, which will not only remind you to take breaks but also show you examples of how to move around to increase circulation.

CPU Details

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:34:00 +0000

Thinking of upgrading your computer's central processing unit (CPU) ? Take the guesswork out of finding out which CPU is compatible with your current computer by visiting CPU upgrade.com (http://www.cpu-upgrade.com). The site provides information on exactly which processors your motherboard supports. You can conduct searches by motherboard or by CPU, and links take you to more information about individual processors.

Animation image to DVD Writer/Converter

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:32:00 +0000

AVStoDVD is a flexible tool to convert various media formats to DVD compliant streams and burn them into a highly compatible multiple tracks DVD.
Features:
Video and Audio editing using AviSynth

Video encoding using QuEnc/HCenc/ReJig/FFmpeg
Audio encoding using QuEnc/FFmpeg/Aften/Wavi
Subtitles encoding using SubtitlesCreator
DVD Authoring using MuxMan/BatchMux
ISO Image Building and DVD Burning using ImgBurn
Internal DVD Menu Editor with customizable menus

Download link

Free Antivirus Lists

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 14:29:00 +0000

Dear friends First things first: you should have some kind of antivirus protection on your PC otherwise you will lose your valuable information.

Following Computer viruses; offers total PC protection for free. It's not some stripped down version of a paid product: it's the real deal. Scan any drive or file. Get in-depth reports on viral activity. Detect suspicious files that behave like computer viruses do. Even scan compressed .zip files, where viruses often hide. All in one attractive user-friendly interface.