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| This page contains answers to common
questions, along with some tips and tricks that
we have found useful. IMPORTANT NOTE: It is
always recommended to backup any and all important data before attempting to
work on your computer. Even installing a new program can cause
unforeseen problems that could result in a loss of your data.
Backup Your Computer NOW!
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This is a very common problem and can be related to many issues or a
combination of issues. I will discuss some of the most common
problems that can cause a computer to run slowly. This section
applies to computers running windows XP, however many of the suggestions
here can also be used on Windows 98, 2000, and ME with minor changes to
the keystrokes or menus.
Always BACK UP your computer before attempting any
alterations to your computer.
First, I am assuming that your computer was originally running
well and is now starting to run slowly. If it never ran well or you
just want to improve the performance then Check out
Upgrading for Speed.
1. VIRUS INFECTION
If your computer connects to the internet and is used for email, the
first thing to check is for viruses. If you don't have antivirus
software, shame on you... Go out and purchase or download one.
Norton Antivirus or
McAfee both work fine. Both
Symantec and McAfee can scan your computer from their website if you want. Simply
having antivirus software is not enough. It must be turned on and updated
on a regular basis (weekly). New viruses are created every day and
the only way that your computer knows how to deal with them is to update.
So, now that you have antivirus software installed and updated, scan your
computer for viruses.
2. RUNNING LOW ON FREE DISK SPACE
A full disk drive can slow your system down to a crawl. Double
Click on My Computer and check to see how much Free space you have on your
C Drive by Right Clicking on your C drive and select properties.
Ideally, you want at least 15% Free. If you have less than 15%, you
may need to do some house cleaning and delete some files, uninstall some
programs that you don't use anymore or purchase a new larger hard drive.
4. DISK CLEAN AND DEFRAGMENT
Just like your automobile, you need to perform routine maintenance to
keep your computer in good running condition. Over time, your hard
drive becomes cluttered with temporary files and portions of files
scattered all over. At least once a month, you should clean and
defrag your hard drive by first clicking on
Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk Cleanup. Then click on
Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk Defragmenter. (this can take
several hours to complete).
NOTE: You can schedule many of these maintenance routines to run
automatically for you at selected times when you are not using your
computer.
5. INTERNET EXPLORER MAINTENANCE
Every time you go on the internet, information is being stored on your
computer indicating where you have been and what you have been doing.
All this information can build up and slow your system down. It is a
good idea to purge some of this information every once and a while,
depending on how much you use the internet. To do this, Start
Internet Explorer and Chick on Tools-Internet Options and delete temporary
internet files. You may also delete history if you want or reduce
the number of days stored. Some people like to delete the cookies as
well, but you may lose some stored passwords for websites and such.
6. CHECK FOR SPYWARE
Some spyware can slow you down, especially while surfing the internet.
Spyware are little programs that infect your system when you visit certain
websites. They track your activity and report back to various websites.
They are also responsible for those annoying pop-up ads. You can
download free spyware tools to remove these problems. Spybot and
Adware are the most popular ones to use. You can download these for
FREE from Download. com as well as
other websites. In some cases you may have to run more than one of
these tools to remove all of your problems.
7. TOO MANY BACKGROUND PROGRAMS
If you have a large number of programs and tasks running, it can slow
you down. Check the bottom right on your task bar, if you have more
than 4 or 5 icons, you may want to check to make sure you need all of
them. You can see what is running by pressing CTRL ALT DEL and
checking the applications and processes that are running. You can
also click on Start-Run and type msconfig and check your startup list to
see what is being loaded every time you start windows. Uncheck any
items you don't want loaded during startup. You can always go back
and recheck any items that you need. Be careful
what you remove-you may need it.
8. REMOVE UNUSED PROGRAMS
Uninstall programs and games that you no longer use. First check
your programs menu and see if the program you want to delete has it's own
uninstall program and use that. If not, go to START - CONTROL PANEL
- ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS and select the program you want to remove. If
you are not sure about a specific program, leave it.
9. CLEAN REGISTRY FILES
The windows registry files can become cluttered over time and should be
cleaned. Always back up the registry before attempting any changes
to the registry. There are many programs available to clean the
registry such as Norton System Works.
10. REINSTALL WINDOWS OR RESTORE
There comes a time, if all else fails, you just have to reinstall
a clean copy of windows. Many avid computer users will do this once
a year or two just to keep things running smoothly. Over time
problems, errors, corruption and clutter start to compound and your
computer comes to a grinding halt. With so many computers coming
with DVD Burners, it is fairly easy to make restore images of your hard
drive when it is running at it's best. As long as you keep backups
of your data, you can restore your system back to working condition
anytime it starts to give you problems. This will save you a lot of
time not having to completely reinstall all software, programs and
settings.
It is never fast enough... You can buy a new computer or you
could upgrade your existing machine. Unfortunately, upgrading
can be a lot more expensive than a whole new computer. With the
price of new computers falling, you can now get a new computer (the box only,
no monitor), for as little as $450. The problem with upgrading is
that the overall performance is based on the complete system working
together and is only as fast as the weakest (or slowest) link. So if
you upgrade the processor and you are still using an old, slow hard drive,
you will not get the performance boost you expected. This hold true
for most aspects of the complete computer system. I have seen many
people spend $1000 or more upgrading their computer and still not achieve
the performance of a new $500 computer. In order to get the
most out of your upgrade, you must fully understand what components you
currently have and what your needs really are. For example: If
you routinely work with large files, especially opening and closing large
files. You may benefit more by installing a new fast hard drive than
upgrading your processor. Or if you are one of those people who has 10
programs open and you are working on several projects at the same time,
then you may benefit more by installing additional memory than upgrading
your hard drive or video card.
In general, adding memory is the most common upgrade. But keep in
mind that the amount of memory vs. performance is not a linear function.
Going from 128meg to 256meg of ram will boost performance a lot more than
going from 256 to 512. Very few people find they need more than 512.
In most cases, more is better, but the return on investment diminishes
quickly. As a general rule, check the memory requirements for the
software that you are using. They usually have a minimum requirement
listed as well as a recommended amount. If your computer has
the recommended amount, you should be fine. If you are running at
the minimum, then purchase some additional memory. I often like to
go with double the recommended, but that's just me. If you are not
sure as to the type of memory your computer needs, various web sites have
a memory configurator that you can enter your make and model number and it
will display your memory requirements. Visit
pny.com,
crucial.com,
Viking or
Kingston.
If you have some specific needs, please feel free to contact us.
Wireless networks have become one of our most popular requests.
Families now have two or more computers( I have 8, but I am crazy).
Anyway, I still recommend a wired network wherever possible. But
sometimes you just can't run wires to other computers or in the case of a
laptop, wireless is the only way to go. One other drawback to
wireless is that all computers are sharing the wireless bandwidth, so
depending on the the way you use your computers, you could experience some
slowdowns. Many users complain about limited range with their wireless network and
there is no one solution to this problem. Wireless range is
dependent on a number of factors.
- The construction of your house or office can effect the range of
wireless transmission. Insulation, Wire Mesh, foil barriers, large appliances
and number of walls and floors between the transmitter and the receiving
computer will all effect the range.
- The location of the transmitter and receiving computer should have
the clearest line of site possible. Transmitting through walls,
floors and even furniture can reduce the overall performance. The
best location for the transmitter (Wireless Router, Access Point)
is generally above the receiving computer. In other words, placing
the transmitter in the attic will usually give better results than
placing it in the basement. Try to place the transmitter as close
to the center of the house as possible. This will not only
improve coverage throughout the house but also cut down stray signals
leaving the house.
- Other wireless devices such as Cordless phones, microwave ovens,
wireless speaker systems and wireless cameras in the house can all
effect the range. Devices using the same frequency can be a major
problem. If you are using a wireless B or G system and cordless
phones that use the same 2.4 ghz band, this can destroy your range.
You should either purchase a Wireless network that uses the 5 ghz
band(802.11A) or replace your phones with either 900 mhz or 5 ghz
models. Sometimes changing the channel on your wireless
router or access point to channel 1 or 11 can help. If none of these are options, then try to keep
conflicting devices as far away from each other as possible.
- Slight changes in location can make a big difference. Try
moving the transmitter (Router, Access Point) to different locations.
I have seen situations where moving the transmitter 1 foot higher to a
shelf made all the difference in the world. I can't stress
enough the importance of trying different locations for the router or
access point.
- Depending on the brand of wireless network you have, you may be able
to purchase a high gain antenna, booster or repeater for it. The
standard wireless router or access point comes with a standard
omni-directional antenna that is designed to transmit evenly in all
directions. There are many add-on antennas that can increase the
range by focusing the transmission in a single direction. For
example: If your wireless transmitter is located on one side of the
house, it will send the signal in all directions including out of
the house. If you purchase a directional antenna, you can focus
the signal toward the inside of the house and away from the the
neighbors, thus increasing the coverage inside the house.
- Installing Multiple access points can greatly improve your wireless
coverage. Many users will install two access points on opposite
ends of the attic, your wireless computers can then seek the best signal of the two.
- Another method of increasing the range of a wireless network is to
install a repeater. You place the repeater half way between the
transmitter and the receiving computer and it picks up the signal and
retransmits on to the computer. Several companies sell repeaters,
but keep in mind that most of these products will only work with same
brand devices. For about $200 you can build a repeater using a
wireless bridge connected to an access point, but this takes a little
know-how.
- In some cases you just can't get a good wireless signal to reach a
desired location and running a wire is not practical. In this
case, you may want to use a power line bridge. You can bridge your
network from one location to another utilizing the power lines in your
home or office. There are also products out there that will send
network signals through existing telephone lines. So regardless of
your scenario, you should be able to resolve just about any problem.
- I have found that the best solution to range problems is to replace
your 802.11b or g router with one of the newer Pre-N Routers. I
most cases you can expect 2 to 3 times the range even when used in
conjunction with older wireless cards.
In general, depending on the installation, I have seen wireless ranges
as poor as 20 feet to as good as 150 feet. I usually tell customers
to expect about 35-40 feet through one wall or one floor.
This problem usually increases with time spent on the internet.
You need to download and install a good spyware program. I recommend
SpyBot or Adware. They can both be downloaded for FREE from
Download.com. Some Services
like AOL and MSN now have self-contained protection for spam, pop-ups and Viruses,
thus eliminating installing and updating all these additional programs.
As with antivirus software, you have to continually update and run spyware
tools to keep on top of this problem. Also, beware of installing
some Free downloaded programs, many of these also install spyware and
pop-up ads to pay for their free use. I have run into many problems
with some of those free weather programs that place the current
temperature down next to your clock. They can be cute, but watch
out, they can really slow down your system.
This is one of the biggest concerns for parents. There is so much
garbage on the net. We don't know who our kids are talking to or
what they are looking at. Many service providers like
AOL and MSN have many
controls to protect what kids are viewing and doing on the internet. You
can use these services on top of your existing cable or DSL accounts.
There are also many programs out there that allow you to set controls for
children. You can limit online time, restrict viewing and stop chat
rooms. You can even view a log of everything your child has seen or
typed on the computer. One such program is called
NetNanny and works
very well. If you have a home network and are using a router.
Many new routers have built-in controls that can restrict the hours
that kids can access the internet as well as filter out undesirable web
sites.
This problem comes and goes. There are a number of programs
available to block junk mail (spam). You can also set filters in
Outlook and Outlook Express to move or delete email containing specific words.
You can also set controls to block or accept mail only from specific people
or addresses. Unfortunately, right after I told outlook to move all emails containing the word
"Viagra" to my
junk folder. The sender changed the spelling for "Viagra" to "Vaigra".
One way that you can improve your odds is to create a second email for
yourself. Use your main email address for personal use only
(friends, family and work) and use the second address for all other
internet activity like registering software, ordering products and
requesting information.
Many service providers are starting to help us with this problem by
blocking them before they get to us. AOL is starting to do a fairly
good job of this. There are also many new
software product now available to help block spam. We all hope this problem will
someday go away...
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The most common questions I receive are regarding viruses and antivirus
software. If your computer is connected to the internet and you use
it to receive email, then at some point you will be subjected to virus
attacks. Some viruses can be very destructive while many others only
a minor nuisance. If you have a good antivirus software installed,
updated weekly and turned on, you should not have to worry (that much).
The antivirus software will identify the incoming virus and either delete
or quarantine the suspect file.
If you think you might be infected and don't have antivirus software,
there are a couple of things you can do depending on the working state of
your computer.
1. If you can still get on the internet, both the
Symantec and
McAfee
websites can scan your computer for you for Free. Once you have
identified and fixed the problem, you should purchase and install your own
antivirus software to prevent future problems.
2. If you can not get on the internet, then your only option is to go
out and purchase antivirus software
You would think that a $3000 computer would keep better time than a $10
Timex watch. NO, I have had some computers that lose or gain several
minutes per day. Whether this is a real problem for you or just an
annoyance that you can't stand, there is a solution. There are many
FREE programs that will synchronize your clock with the NIST atomic clock
whenever you want or you can set them to update your clock daily. I
use Atomic Clock Sync 2.6, you can download this free program from
Download.com.
Many customers ask me if they should build or buy their next computer?
Well, the price of computers has dropped so much that you can get a low
end computer for $500 now. To build a similar one from scratch could
run you almost double that price. The biggest advantage to building
your own computer is that you get to configure it exactly the way you want.
An other advantage is that you may be able to reuse some items from your
old computer. For example, without searching all over the internet
for deals, here is a breakdown of a typical entry level computer built
from scratch:
Computer Case w/ Power Supply
$120.00
Motherboard Intel
$150.00
Processor Intel P4 2.4ghz
$200.00
Memory 512meg
$100.00
Hard drive 80 gig (WD or Maxtor)
$ 80.00
CD-RW Drive (Sony)
$ 60.00
OS Window XP Home
$200.00
TOTAL
$910.00
*Note Motherboard contains onboard Video, Audio and Network ports.
On paper, the specs here pretty much look the same as some computers
advertised for $500. However, the component quality of this home
built version is likely to much better. Usually, the lower end
computer will use No-Name components, Celeron or AMD processors and
generic motherboards. In the example above, all the components are
name brand and will usually result in a long lasting, trouble free system.
If you wanted you could add or change any part of the system to match your
needs, creating the ideal computer. You have probably noticed that I
choose the Intel platform, it is not to say that Intel is better, but over
the years I have built many computer systems and have found that I get the
best results, especially in reliability and compatibility, with all Intel
parts. If you don't mind tweaking and experimenting, there are a lot
of other choices that may result in higher performance. But if you
are looking for reliability and compatibility, I suggest Intel.
The decision to install a wired or a wireless network can be difficult.
Wireless has become very reliable and seems like the obvious choice, but
there are several factors you should keep in mind before making the plunge.
To put it as simply as possible, the main difference between a Wired network
and a Wireless network is the overall speed of the network. The
difficult part is determining whether or not it will effect the way you use
your computers. If you are planning to use your computers to simply
check email, surf the internet and no more than 3 or 4 computers are doing
this at one time, no problem, a wireless network will probably be fine as
long as you are within the range of the wireless network (see
Poor Range on my Wireless Network). However,
if your needs are more specific and involve things like:
Backing up or accessing large files to or from another computer in the
house
Streaming Video or Audio across the network
Heavy usage of Online or network gaming
Usage of Wireless surveillance cameras
Then you might need to create an all wired network or at least wire part
of the network. The primary drawback to a wireless network is that all
computers on the network are sharing the same bandwidth. For example:
If you are backing up your living room computer to your basement computer
and at the same time downloading a large file from the internet on your
bedroom laptop, you could experience a real slowdown on a wireless network.
But if your had the living room and basement computers on a wired network
and the laptop on a wireless network, you would not see any difference in
the performance on any of the computers.
It would be impossible to discuss all the ins and outs of networking
here, but the bottom line is: It is always best to run a wired network
wherever possible and only use wireless only when absolutely necessary or
where it is impracticable to run wires. If you plan out your network
and make it a point to understand how you will be using it, you can have a
very enjoyable experience with networking.
There usually comes a time when you discover that you just deleted
something by mistake. The first thing you should do is NOTHING!
Well not exactly nothing, but my point is that the less you do on your
computer after deleting files, the better your chances are that you will be
able to recover those files. This includes digital cameras. If
you find that you just deleted all or some of your photos on your digital
camera, do not take any more photos. Call us or check out the
many programs available that can recover lost or deleted files.
Please, Please, Please... I can't stress enough the importance of backing
up your computer. At the very least, backup or make copies of your
documents, photos and any other important information like quicken files.
I can't begin to tell you how many times I get calls from customers who have
lost everything. Years of documents, family photos and address books,
gone in a flash. If you really don't want to do this yourself, there
are many companies that specialize in online backup, where your data is
stored on their computers for safekeeping.
To backup your computer, you first need something to backup to. In
the early days, a floppy disk was fine, but they do not hold enough data to
be of any value today. A CD writer, DVD writer, second internal hard
drive or external USB drive will all suffice. Check out my section on
backup devices for more details.
Depending on your backup needs, you may need some backup software.
However, Windows does have a backup routine built in or you can just copy
the files you want to one of the above devices. But if you want to
automate the process by having your system backup at night or at specific
times without your intervention, you will want to purchase a backup program.
One important step is to scan your whole computer for viruses before backing
up your files. You don't want to backup any viruses with your data.
It is always a good idea to plan your backup needs before your start.
Write a list of all the programs you normally use and take note of how large
they are and where the files are saved. The size of the files will
help you decide which type of backup device is best for you. Next you
have to decide what data is important to you. The operating system and
programs themselves can be reinstalled from the original disks, so they may
not need to backed up. But, the things that you create like word
documents, email and photos may be important and should be backed up.
After you have decided as to what needs to be backed up and how large the
files are, you have to determine how often you want to backup these files.
Obviously, backing up every hour would be the best, but this may be just too
much to do. So you must decide how much data you could afford to
loose, one hours worth, one days worth or maybe a weeks worth of data.
If you lost everything right now, what would you really want or need.
With this information in hand, you set your backup schedule and stick to it.
You never know when your hard drive will fail, a lightning bolt will hit or
a virus will take everything.
If you are like most of us, all you want is a computer that turns on,
surfs the net, reads email, writes the occasional letter and turns off.
You should not have to put up with errors, crashes, viruses, pop-ups and the
constant calls to some support tech located in India.
Unfortunately, a computer is just like your automobile in that you have
to perform routine maintenance. If you never change your oil, rotate
your tires or bring your car in for service, it will eventually start giving
you trouble. Although you computer does not have oil to change, there
are several maintenance steps you should use to keep your computer running
smoothly and reduce the number of day-to-day headaches.
1. Avoid mixing old software with newer operating systems
System stability can be a problem if you try to use older software on a
new computer. I you upgrade to a new computer, you should update the
software that you use everyday to the latest version. Trying to run
software that was originally designed for Windows 95 or 98 on a new Windows
XP computer will usually cause problems. It is not to say that you
can't get them to run, but your chances of problems increase.
2. Antivirus Software
If you are on the net, antivirus software is a must and if you have
antivirus software, you have to update it weekly. New viruses are
created every day and the only way that your Antivirus software can deal
with these is to update the virus definitions as they come out. Most
all antivirus programs will update themselves automatically, but you have to
check the status window for your software every week to make sure it is
working correctly. Occasionally, you may need to update them manually.
Also, keep in mind that at some point you will have to purchase a new
subscription to continue receiving updates. New computers usually are
bundled with a 30-90 free subscription. After that you have to pay for
continued coverage (usually about $20 per year).
3. Run Disk Clean up every week
Windows has a built in disk cleaning utility that should be run at least
once a month if not every week. From the Start Menu, select Programs,
Accessories, System Tools, Disk Clean Up.
4. Run Disk Defragmenter at least once per month
Depending on how much you use your computer and how often you install and
delete programs and files, data on your hard drive becomes fragmented.
What this means is that files are broken up into small pieces and spread all
over your hard drive. When your computer needs to retrieve a file it
has to work extra hard to find all the information, thus reducing your
performance. Running Disk Defragmenter will reassemble all of these
broken pieces into contiguous files speeding up disk access. From the Start Menu, select Programs,
Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter. Note: depending on the
size of your hard drive this procedure may take several hours.
5. Purchase a good Surge Suppressor
Installing a surge suppressor is a worthwhile investment and purchasing a
UPS (uninterruptible power supply) is even better. For as little as
$50 you can purchase a UPS power strip that contains surge suppression as
well as a battery backup that will keep you computer running in the event of
a brief power outage.
6. Keep Windows Up to Date
Microsoft continuously makes changes and patches to Windows to fix
various bugs and security holes in their software. It is important to
download and install these updates to keep your computer running smoothly.
In Windows XP: Right Click on My Computer-Select Properties-Select
the Automatic Updates Tab-Select the way that you want your updates
installed. If you have a broadband internet connection you can select
any of the options. If you have a slower dialup connection you may
want to scheduled updates to take place late at night when you are not using
your computer.
7. Backup
Disasters happen, hard drives fail, viruses get in and people delete the
wrong files. Come up with a back up plan and stick to it. At the
very lease, back up your My Document File and any other important data that
you have. You will need it at some point. You just don't know when.
See How Do I Backup My Computer
I know that this seems like a lot of work, but you can set windows
scheduler to perform most of these in the middle of the night. For
those of you who don't leave your computer on at night. Pick one night
per week to leave your computer on and schedule all the tacks for that
night.
If you are thinking of upgrading your favorite software to the latest and
greatest version? Beware...
If you are like me and have a few key programs that you use all the time,
you have probable thought about upgrading to the latest version to get all
the newest features. Well, I can't express enough the importance of
doing a little research first, especially if you have a slightly older
computer. In order to get all those new features you want so badly,
you will usually sacrifice something and it usually means speed.
1. Check the system requirements for the software
Most retail boxes or software Websites state the minimum system
requirements as well as recommended system requirements to run their
software. Minimum requirements means the program should run, but
that's about it. If you want the program to run well make sure you
have a computer that meets the recommended requirements.
2. Check the Companies Website
Go to the companies website and check in the support section for known
problems with the software. If they have a forum, check there too.
You may find some complaints here but many companies remove the really bad
ones or don't allow you access until you become a registered user.
3. Search other Support Forums
There are many forums out there that you can check for other people that
are having problems with a particular software. You can even just go
to google or yahoo and type in "problems with xyz software".
Unfortunately, I did not check the internet until after I purchased and
installed the software. I see now that everyone is complaining about
the same problem that I am having.
4. Backup everything before you upgrade
Backup all your data before you upgrade any software. You may find
that you need to go back to the original version.
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