Specialized Computing Blog

Good computer maintenance is one way to keep your laptop or desktop working like new five years from now. Many people don’t think about maintenance until something catastrophic happens, but you have the good fortune to be thinking about it now. One part of the maintenance process is keeping your computer running at top speed. (Not only will this help your computer stay healthy, but it will help you continue to enjoy using your computer!)

There are many reasons that computers begin to run slow: viruses (or more commonly now, adware), not enough memory, too many applications & software bloat (goes along with insufficient memory) and/or a lot of files. Whatever the reason, something needs to be done so you don’t have to work at a snail’s pace.

One easy way address slowness is to run a hard drive defragmentation, or defrag. Defragging is a process where your computer finds a way to free up space on your hard drive. This may mean deleting temporary files that are no longer needed, rearranging and reorganizing to create bigger blocks of free space and generally helping to improve performance. Defragmenting your computer is a good first step when performance is not at its best, and is especially useful when your hard drive is reaching its full storage capacity.

Performing the operation once a week is more than enough for those who use their computer every day and create a lot of documents and files. For the average computer user with a computer less than 3 years old, once a month or every 3 months is just as effective.

This tool can be set up on a schedule so that it works behind the scenes (like Santa at Christmas or the Easter Bunny hiding eggs every year). Schedule maintenance operations at low-usage times like early in the morning or in the middle of the night, when you are not on your computer in order to keep them from slowing you while you’re trying to work.

Your computer comes with a defragmentation tool.

Windows: Most Windows users will find it listed under “Disk Defragmenter” in either Accessories or System Tools.

Mac: If you are a Mac user with Mac OS X, your computer is automatically optimizing your disk space so you don’t need to worry about doing this yourself, but if you have previous versions of Mac OS, you can find what you need in the Disk Utility program.

Happy defragging!

The secret to boosting your productivity sounds almost too simple: start working from checklists. The best kinds are those that you create yourself. By all means, use someone else’s checklist as an idea-starter; but remember that we all work in different ways and we all learn at different rates. You might find that you suddenly get stuck when using someone else’s checklist, because they seem to have left out a vital step. It’s more likely that as far as they’re concerned, they haven’t left out anything – they probably automatically do whatever it is, so it didn’t even occur to them to write anything down.

When you run any kind of business, you tend to repeat certain tasks over and over. However, when these tasks are new to you, they can take a long time.

You make mistakes.

You get stuck.

You spend hours working out how to do a relatively simple task.

Then, NEXT time you have to perform the same task, you get stuck again. You can’t believe that you didn’t scribble down a few instructions as you went! Now you have to search for the same information AGAIN. Aaarrgghh!!!

Get organized now and you’ll never again have to waste time repeating a search for essential information. Here’s how you do it.

1. Create a new folder on your desktop. (Right-click on the desktop and choose NEW then FOLDER.) Call it “HOW TO”.

2. Open Notepad (If you haven’t used it before, you’ll find it here: START/ALL PROGRAMS/ACCESSORIES/NOTEPAD. To put it on the desktop, RIGHT click “Notepad” and choose SEND TO/DESKTOP). In future, make it a habit to open Notepad before you ANY new task, ready to jot down notes.

3. Type the name of the task you’re about to start on. (For example: UPLOADING WEB PAGES.) Save your document – using the same name – to your new HOW TO folder.

4. Minimize Notepad. (Do this by clicking the ‘minus’ sign in the top right hand corner of the window. The icon for Notepad will go down to the task bar on the bottom of your computer screen. Whenever you need to make another note, just click on this icon and it will bring the document up on the screen again.)

5. Begin working on your task. At the completion of every successful step, bring up Notepad from the task bar and type what you did. Save your document every time you do this (just in case your computer shuts down unexpectedly).

6. If you have to send off a query to a help desk, or put in a support ticket, or stop to do some research, make a note that this is what you did. Copy and paste the URL of any website you go to for help. This could be invaluable to you later.

7. When you have successfully completed your task, go through your step-by-step notes. Tidy them up, and if necessary clarify a step here and there. Make sure that this is a reliable, useful checklist that you can follow the next time you need to do the same thing.

Follow the same process every time you perform a new task. As time goes on, you will have an invaluable set of personalized checklists that will help you use your computer to run your business more smoothly. You also have the basis of a useful ‘how to’ product or e-book that will help others who are just starting out.

Its just a matter of time before you experience a hard drive problem. Are you prepared to loose your data? If your hard drive crashed right now do you have an action plan to follow?

Most people only think of backing up their data after they experience a problem. Don’t set yourself up for a data loss disaster.

Your data integrity action plan should consist of the following:

1) How often you will back up your data

2) What data you will back up

3) What back up procedure you will use

How often you back up your data can only be determined by how important you feel it is. Answer this question “If my hard drive crashed right now, I would be alright if I had the data from at least (time) ago”.

Of course you would want everything but if you could have the data from 1 month, or 6 months ago would that be sufficient? Whatever time is sufficient mark it on your calendar both a hard copy and set up a meeting on your PC to remind you.

You change your smoke detector batteries when you turn your clock back and when you turn it ahead right? Well back up your data then too.

If you don’t change your clocks then pick some holidays or special dates that happen close to the timeframe you want to back up your data so you won’t forget.

What data you back up depends on how you use your PC. Some of the key directories, if you are using Windows, are the My Documents, Favorites and Desktop directories.

Remember if you are using multiple profiles on your PC then the three directories above can be different for each profile and each one would need to be backed up.

You will also want to include your email data. Don’t forget to write down the email accounts you have. You should also write down any username and passwords so they are not lost. You should look at every directory to see if it has information that you would need.

Make a list of all the software programs you are using. If you have the physical CDs put them all together in a safe location.

Don’t forget the CDs for your peripherals like your scanner, digital camera, PDA, etc. Collecting these CDs may remind you of additional data that you need to back up.

If you are running software that you installed from downloaded files, burn them to a CD-R and add it to your collection. If you use a CD-R or DVD-R you can update it as you download and install new applications.

What procedure you use to back up your data can be determined by the amount of data you want to back up. Your data might fit onto a CD or DVD in which case you just need to burn it and you’re done.

If it spans multiple DVDs then you might want to consider getting a second hard drive to copy your data onto. If you are not comfortable with adding a second internal hard drive or you are using a laptop then you can purchase an external hard drive to back up your data.

The information you have on your hard drive could disappear in a flash. If you don’t want to spend up to $3,000 to have a data recovery company retrieve what information they can from your hard drive, then take a few minutes right now and create your back up action plan.

If you ever have a data emergency your action plan will be your insurance policy. If you adhere to it, your valuable data will adhere to you!

Today we have a lot of software on our computers and we all need to know how to take care of our computer as well as manage the hidden danger of a crash.

Some terms you might need to know to proceed with this article are:

1. Crash – When a program or your entire computer stops working and you cannot move the mouse or use the keyboard, and the screen is frozen.

2. Reboot – When you restart your computer after a crash.

3. Control Panel – A feature of Windows that will give you access to system utilities and settings.

Now, what should you do first if your computer crashes? Try to STOP and do nothing for a few minutes. Often, the computer is trying to do your commands and might just need to take a little more time. Pressing more keys will just add to the computer’s problems, maybe even forcing a crash.

Check your connections for the keyboard and make sure the pins are not bent. Maybe there is a jammed key on the keyboard, maybe some liquid has spilled. Check the computer connections as well. Also, the mouse may just be dirty and need the inner ball that rolls cleaned with soapy water, dry it, and remove any dust in the mouse body itself and replace the mouse roller ball.

Most of the times the hardware is OK, but the software has caused a problem. A good way to try to recover from a problem is to press the Ctrl + Alt + Delete keys. From this a box will appear and show you all the programs running. Note that at least one will have a non-responsive indication. Try clicking on the program listed and click END TASK. Close the dialog box and see if your computer is working again. Pray it is! If it does not respond, then try the dialog box again and see if there is another program causing trouble and End Task on it as well.

This should solve about 98% of your computer crashes. If your computer is not responding with all this, you can try restarting. Switching off the entire power is the last resort and should not be done unless everything else has not worked.

To prevent computer crashes, you need to take care of your computer and do some maintenance. First thing to check is that you have room on your hard drive. Windows likes to have space and will not work if you do not keep the total usage down on your hard drive. Never go over 70% usage of your total hard drive space. To check usage, go to Start, right click on My Computer, then click on your hard drive letter and Properties and see what amount of space is available.

You may need to delete or move to another hard drive or a CD any large audio or video files and remove software programs that you do not use. Do that by choosing “Add or Remove Programs” icon from the Control Panel from Start Menu.

You also should make sure you have enough Memory or RAM (Random Access Memory). You can help out your computer by not opening too many programs at once if your RAM is low. To find out how much RAM your computer has, select Control Panel from the Start Menu, Double Click System Tools, and then open the System Information tab. The total and available memory is listed towards the bottom of the right panel when you click on System Summary. Software that uses the most RAM are those that include a lot of graphics, video or sound capabilities. You can keep these to a minimum on your hard drive by burning to a CD and allowing your hard drive space to be saved.

Another quick tip is to back up your hard drive regularly. There are notes on how to do this online and it is very important and should be done consistently. This way you will not lose a lot of work should you have to turn off power or restart your computer due to a crash.

You will be very appreciative if you have done your proper maintenance and support work for your computer should you have a crash. Losing work is never fun and can be avoided by a little preventive maintenance. Enjoy your computer but keep in mind who is your computer’s boss!

Before you think of bringing your computer to the repair shop to have it optimized, you should try doing a few simple steps first. Using a computer shop to have your computer optimized so it runs as fast as possible can set you back a couple of hundred dollars for really what you can learn how to do.

Remember, even if you feel uncomfortable with computers, many times you can undo what you just did without any ill side effects.

Get rid of all the malware, spyware and anything in between.

Often times when you download peer-to-peer file sharing programs, you unknowingly allow little tiny pieces of software to get installed on your computer. And this sucks the speed right down it. These little pieces of software can send back information that could be confidential. But most of the time they just slow down the computer.

You can download free spyware removal programs such as Lavasoft’s Ad-Aware or SpyBot Search and Destroy.

They work great for PC. Mac users will need to check their system requirements. Just simply do a quick Google search using the program names as you search phrase. Or you can also go to download.com and get the program there as well.

Both are quick to install and very friendly to use. They update often which is nice so it keeps your computer protected all the time.

Another simple method you can do is to help your computer is shutting down many of the unnecessary Window’s services. There are many different kinds of services that Window’s thinks it needs in order to operate and honestly, this isn’t the case. Again, do a simple Google search for ‘services to shut down’ in order to get the best results and a faster computer.

If you go to the performance tab under the System option in Control Panel, you can actually optimized Windows there as well. As fancy as the graphical user interface (known also as GUI) can be in a Windows environment, it’s incredibly resource intensive when many different effects and colors are being used. This is completely harmless and will allow for best performance if you turn these non-essential features off.

And lastly, be sure you do update Windows often. You can easily update Windows while you sleep as the operating system allows you to auto-update so you don’t have to do anything.

With these few simple tips that a PC tech would do, you can save yourself some serious money with just a little bit of time invested in your learning and PC improvement.

If your installation of Windows XP has been there for a while – say 6 months or more – without you doing any housekeeping on the hard drive, then it may begin to get a little sluggish. I’m not talking about the problems caused by malware.

Computer hard drives need cleaning every now and then. That doesn’t mean you take it out and put it in a bucket of soap and water! No, we’re talking about getting rid of the junk that just seems to clutter up the drive.

The first tip involves spending no money at all, but uses a neat command to clean out temporary files that seem to grow in Windows like weeds in a garden.

If you know how, boot your computer in Safe Mode. Normally you do that by pressing several times the key marked F8 on your keyboard. You can safely ignore lots of beeps if they occur. If you’ve timed it right, a menu will appear. Click on the item near the top of the menu – Safe Mode and press .

After quite a lot of stuff flowing down the screen, the computer will boot into Safe Mode. It will tell you when it gets to Safe Mode. Just be aware that booting into Safe Mode is not the quickest activity in the world.

Anyway, when all is done and your dear old computer is sitting there, just click on the “Start” icon. Up pops the Start Menu and you will see over on the right-hand side “Search”. Click on that and window will open with several options on the left-hand side. Just above that pesky dog.

Click on “All Files and Folders”. On the left-hand side you will see a change occur and two empty boxes. You are going to type something into the box labeled “All or part of the file name”.

Click in that box and type the following – carefully:

*.tmp,*.chk,~*.*

No spaces and check when it’s a comma or a period (full stop). Do not, repeat not, leave out the ~ character (the tilde). If you do, you will need your hard drive backup!

Now, find the “Look in:” box and make sure only Drive C: is selected. Next, scroll down this left=hand window until you can see “More Advanced Options”.

When you do, click on the words “More Advanced Options” and in the list that appears, tick “Search hidden files and folders”. Then click on the “Search” button – well, rectangular box, actually.

Windows will now start searching for junk. It can take a good long time if there’s a lot of stuff on your drive and it hasn’t been cleaned for a while. I have waited many times for over 2,500 junk files to be found.

When this has finally finished, you will have a list of files (maybe a very long list) in the right-hand pane of the search window.

Select the top file with a single, left click. Then type CTRL-A (select all) and press delete. All of these files can be safely deleted.

It can take a while for files to disappear, especially if there are a lot. Be patient. They all end up in the recycle bin where you can really get rid of them.

Note that the *.tmp,*.chk,~*.* instructions can be used in earlier versions of Windows – right back to Windows 95. Some of the other options won’t be available.

You use your computer a lot! It seems to be running slower than it did even last week. What is up? Here are some steps to take to get back that speed. These steps should make a marked improvement on the speed of your computer. Best of all, they are mostly easy to do and don’t cost anything!

Before you perform any of these steps, you should make sure you have a current and valid backup of your hard drive, just in case.

1. Clean and organize your hard drive.

Don’t put a bunch of files in the root of your C: drive. Make folders that reflect how you work and put files in those folders. The root of your c: drive should have very few files and mostly folders. Open a command prompt by going to Start->Run and typing “Cmd” without the quotes and enter. This will open a command window. It should be in the root of C:. Type cd %temp% and press enter. This will take you to the temporary folder. Type del *.* and press enter. This should delete any temporary files that have been building up in your temporary folder. The ones that cannot be deleted will not be deleted. You can also clean up any folders that have tmp or .tmp in their names. Again, the computer system will not let you delete files that are in use.

Open your browser and delete any other files and folders that are no longer needed.

2. Perform a check of the hard drive.

From your Explorer window, right click on the C: drive and select Properties. Then select the Tools tab and the Check Now… button. Check all options and the Start button. Confirm that you want to perform the check after a reboot. Do this for any other hard drive you may have in your computer. Reboot your computer and let the system check the hard drives and fix any issues. This may take some time, so be patient.

3. Clean up Internet browser files.

Surfing the Internet is a definite cause for putting stuff on your computer that will slow it down. Before doing anything with your Internet browser, make sure you know the important information you enter at the websites you visit. You will be clearing the history, and that saved information will be gone. Most of it is not needed, but there may be some things that you have come to rely on, such as passwords.

For Internet Explorer, select Tools -> Internet Options. A new window will open. In the Temporary Internet files section, select to Delete Cookies and OK. Select Delete Files and OK. In the History section, select Clear History and Yes. Then select OK to close the Internet Options.

For Firefox, select Tools -> Options. In the Privacy section, select the Clear All button and Clear All Information. Then select OK to close the Options window.

For other browsers, there should be similar settings.

4. Update your virus software and virus definition files.

Keep them up to date. I would suggest setting your virus software to automatically update every day. Perform a full virus scan on your PC.

5. If you do not have antispyware software loaded, you need to get one loaded.

Microsoft has a free one that you can get at their website. It is called Windows Defender and should be available to download from here: http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/default.mspx
Make sure you keep your antispyware software up to date and keep it up to date.

6. Defragment your drives.

From your Explorer window, right click on the C: drive and select Properties. Then select the Tools tab and Defragment Now… button. Highlight the C: drive and select the Defragment button. Perform this operation for each drive in you PC.

Perform these steps on a routine basis and your computer should run much better.

How many times have you wondered how to do a particular task on your computer but didn’t know how? How about things like create a new folder or copy and paste some text into notepad? These are simple but often a lost skill with more than half of the computer users on and off line. If you are missing these and other computer training then these few tips may be of some help.

Computer Tip #1

When a new Windows error message appears on your screen it seems that some people will simply ignore it and click “OK.” This is an example of what NOT TO DO! Instead you should realize that the programmers did not spend the time creating that message for the fun of it. Instead at a minimum you should READ EVERY WORD! Then read it again slowly the second time so it sinks in. Once you read it you may recognize the program that is causing it and be able to solve the problem yourself.

Don’t be afraid to research the error on any good search engine online. You may find free advice quickly although in most cases you may have to dig a bit to find it. As a last resort try making a call to a local computer tech that may just let you know how to solve it for free if it is not a serious issue. However if it is serious or mildly serious by all means ask for a qualified tech to come out and fix it.

Computer Tip #2

Have you ever downloaded a piece of software from the internet and couldn’t find it later? It happens to thousands of people all over the world every day! An easy way to find it later is to first prepare a landing zone or a place where you know you can always find it.

Some people use the My Documents of Windows but after downloading many files you may find it hard to find the latest file. One simple fix is to create a new folder on your desktop. The definition of your desktop is where you see icons of folder; files and you’re able to see your favorite picture as the wallpaper for your desktop.

To create the new folder is easy. First find an un-crowded portion of your desktop and then using your ring finger click the right mouse button to bring up the context menu for the desktop. There in the menu you will find a selection called “New” Then Click on “Folder.”

This will create a new folder on your desktop. You can name it something that will help you find the downloaded files. The first time you create a new folder, you will notice that the folder naming text is highlighted. To rename the folder to something more to your liking simply start typing and the highlighted text will be replaced with what you wish to type in. A good folder name would be downloads or my new files or even the month and year which will make it much easier to find those files in the future.

Now once the folder is created simply remember when you download the next file to save it in that folder on your desktop for easy and fast access.

Computer Tip #3

Copy and paste is one task that every computer user will find they are using many times per session for many useful tasks. Say you wish to copy a portion of text into a file in which you are creating a report or project, even an article or your website content? This too is a simple skill to learn with a little practice you will be an ace at it and wonder how you ever got along without it. To copy something you must first highlight it using your left mouse button with your index finger.

You will want to start at the beginning point of the text you wish to copy and place your mouse cursor then by clicking your left mouse button. Now when you do this DO NOT let go of the mouse button which you are holding with your index finger and while holding that mouse button down simply move your mouse over the text until you reach your stop point then let go of your index finger.

Now simply move your mouse into the center of the highlighted text and then using your ring finger to press the right mouse button. This will bring up a menu with the copy selection. Use your index finger, otherwise called the left mouse button; click on “COPY” from the menu that comes up. You have now successfully copied the text and are ready to paste it into your project or a new notepad text file.

Place your mouse cursor in the blank notepad or project and then using your ring finger press the right mouse button to bring up the menu. From the menu select “Paste.” If you successfully completed the copy process your text should appear in the new text file or your current project. If not go back and try again. With practice you will find it becomes second nature to you and your speed will increase as you use it more and more.

Computer Tip #4

Remember that you can look up most common Windows commands if you press the F1 key on your keyboard. This will bring up the help file for Windows allowing you to quickly search or browse for the answer or information you are seeking for almost everything you might want to do in windows as well as Windows programs.

Keep in mind that most all of the applications created for your Windows operating system have the same basic commands available from the menu system. Some variants may exist depending on the purpose of the software application but the basics are usually there.

If all else fails the next steps would be to either call a computer friend or a genuine computer repair tech. In most cases the cost of hiring a professional is affordable even time saving if you decide you are not comfortable and do not wish to do it yourself. Another possibility is a community college or even a high school student may be able to help you. You can also check your local ROP services in your area for free classes.

Mastering these tips will help you become more comfortable when using or working on your or most computers running the Windows operating system.

Good luck and stay tuned for more computer tips coming your way soon!

Much like an automobile, a computer needs a little bit of maintenance every so often to keep it running smoothly. One of the most overlooked of these tasks is defragmenting the hard drive. Here are some frequently asked questions regarding defragmentation.

What Is File Fragmentation?

Think of your computer’s hard disk drive as a large warehouse for your data. Every bin in the warehouse represents a file, and the boxes filling the bin represent the bytes of data that make up the file.

In order to ensure fast access to your bins, you want to keep the bins at the front of the warehouse full, so they can be pulled from as quickly as possible. Let’s say, however, that when you get a new shipment of product, you completely fill up the bin, have more boxes of product to store, and the bins next to it are full as well. In most warehouses, the extra product is moved to the back of the warehouse and a note left in the original bin as to where the overstock is stored.

Your computer works in much the same way. Space is allocated on the hard drive to keep each file. To keep your computer running smoothly, files are often stored right next to each other in the first available space. However, if you go back and add a few pages to that story you were writing, the computer doesn’t see any space on the hard drive to store the new data. Therefore, it moves the new data into the next available spot on the hard drive and leaves itself a “note” of sorts as to where the rest of your file is. This splitting of the file into separate pieces is known as “file fragmentation.”

Why Do I Need to Defragment My Hard Drive?

As more and more files get more and more fragmented, it takes the computer longer to access these files, whether you’re opening, editing, or even deleting them. If we revisit our warehouse analogy, when someone purchases the entire stock of a product, the warehouse employees may have to visit 3-4 different bins to fill the order. This same exact thing is happening on your hard drive.

What Does Defragmenting My Hard Drive Do?

The disk defragmentation process takes all the pieces of a file and puts them back together in one single spot on the hard drive. Additionally, your file is moved toward the front of the drive so that it can be accessed faster.

How Often Do I Need to Defragment My Hard Drive?

This is going to depend on how you use your computer. If you access a lot of large files on a frequent basis, chances are your files will fragment more quickly than someone who only checks his e-mail a few times a week. Generally speaking, the average home user should defragment his or her hard drive 4-6 times per year (which is every 2-3 months).

How Do I Defragment My Hard Drive?

Your operating system should have a built-in utility for performing this task. Check your manual, help files, or favorite search engine for the full procedure. Although the process can take a long time, depending on the size of your files and how many files are fragmented, starting the process is usually straightforward.

If it’s been a while since you last defragmented your hard drive, you should notice your computer running much faster and more stably than it was before.

We have had some time now to get accustomed to Microsoft’s latest incarnation of Windows with its release of Vista. And it seems the general consensus is….PASS!

If you are considering a new computer, understand the hardware has not caught up to the physical demands set forth by Microsoft and it’s newly born cash cow.

The most important upgrade you could buy to make your computer experience worthwhile is more memory. In other words, the hardware needs to catch up to the software.

Running 512k memory is useless so don’t even bother to buy one with this amount of memory. You have to get AT LEAST 1 gig of memory to even consider running Vista.

But here is a point to consider, why should you have to go out and spend more money on more memory just to be able to run a spreadsheet and watch the latest episode of 30 Rock? Why should any new machine slog along as if it has been subjected to year’s worth of unprotected malware attacks?

Sure there are some great security features built into Vista that pretty much prevent you from doing anything to your machine, but what is the cost? The user experience really has taken a hit with this release.

Why? Vista takes at least 350k of memory for it just to run. WOW! Nothing like streamlining your software Bill since you have only delayed the launch four times.

People have been buying computers for twenty years now and at no time was your new machine worse than the old one! It seems as if Microsoft and the hardware people need to get together and come up with a decent performance standard that would be acceptable for everyone.

Companies like CompUSA and Best Buy are charging consumers $150-$200 to UNISTALL Vista! That’s right, up to $200 to take the software off of your machine. Seems like we really have taken a step back with this upgrade.

The new UI (user interface) is clean and rounded and bubbly and smooth and looks nice. There is a bit of a learning curve with some of the functionality so you want to spend some time going over the built in “what’s new” function.

Microsoft seems to be taking user feedback and using it to eliminate or bury unused features. For example, in previous incarnations of Windows you would get to the “Run” feature (used primarily when your DVD or CD that was supposed to autorun decides not to run) by going to Start>Run.

Vista hides Run – here is your trick. Start>Acessories>Run, not too big a deal, but it is if you can’t find it where you have been looking for it for the last four years.

In short, if you are in the market for a new machine, put your arms around the fact that you are getting Vista no matter what. Just make sure you save a few bucks to upgrade your memory or your user experience is not going to be what you want it to be.