Maintaining a Laptop Computer
Hi everybody. If you own a laptop computer you know how complicated they are by looking at how many parts that they try to place in a very small area. These tight quarters allow you to have a system that is small and lightweight but the amount of heat that is produced is almost always greater then that of a desktop counterpart. For this reason, there are some common sense things you should remember when operating your laptop. In this column, we will discuss some of the things you can do to help prolong their life.
Today’s laptops are like a modern marvel. They allow you to take your work almost anywhere so you are not confined to a single location. I have often seen customers placing their laptops on the bed, on the couch and yes, as the name implies, on their lap. The thing all these places have in common is that the surfaces are soft. The soft surface of a pillow or cushion can block the bottom ports of the machine.
This can lead to overheating and in some cases, damage to internal components. Whenever you need to place your laptop on a surface that is not solid, you should use a laptop cooler or a portable laptop stand. These devices ensure that the machine is not placed directly on the soft surface. Laptop coolers are fans built into a portable stand that you can place on your desk or anyplace you want to place the machine. These fans help to remove heat from under the computer so it stays cooler. In my tests, I have seen as much as a 10-degree difference in the operating temperature of the laptop we tested.
As like desktops, laptops can also accumulate dust and dirt in the cooling fins of the processor. You should use some canned air from time to time and blast away any dirt that is located around the cooling ports of the laptop. You might be surprised to see how much dirt might actually come out when you spray it. Be sure the machine is off when perform this operation. You can also use the air to blast away any dust or crumbs that might have accumulated in the keyboard. If your computer is running very slow and you have had a software cleanup performed and you have performed the steps I just described, your processor fan might not be working properly. While the machine is running, place your hand near the area where the fan blows out of the case. You should feel at least some hot air being discharged through the airport. If you do not, there is a good chance that the fan is defective. Laptop fans are complicated and sometimes expensive to replace. If the machine is older, you might want to consider a new machine over replacing the fan. This is something you would have to weigh out.
Author: Joe Zelenak, Staff Writer
How To Image your Hard Drive
Hi everybody. Have you ever booted up your computer and when you tried to log in your system files just would not show up? You might try to use safe mode and possibly even system restore to try and get your file system working again. When all of these attempts fail you have two choices: You can reformat the computer and completely wipe the drive or you can 
restore your computer from a newly updated bootable image you created on a removable hard rive. The second option will always be the best option because you will retain all your files and programs once the system is restored. The sad part is that very few people use this method to back up their system. In our offices, every one of our computers has a matching hard drive that is ready to go in case of a major breakdown. Being able to do this is not as complicated as you might think. In the following column, I will explain what you need and how to do it.
In order to perform a complete bootable image clone of your hard drive you will first have to purchase an external drive that is at least as big as the original already installed on your computer. If you are more technically inclined, you can install a second drive right inside your case. The second thing you will need is a good imaging software. We use and recommend Casper. We have been using it for many years with excellent results.
Once you have all your tools, it is time to start backing up! These directions will follow that of using Casper but will applicable for other imaging software as well. The first thing you will need to do is to install the software. Follow the install wizard, as you would with any new program install. Once the software is installed you can run it from the desktop shortcut. You will be presented with a wizard. The wizard will show you several options. You want to choose the option to copy your entire had drive. This is the option that will give you a bootable backup. In most cases, you will use the default options for the rest of the wizard. You will be asked what drive you want to back up so be sure to choose your main C drive. You will also be asked where you want the backupto go. In this case, choose the drive you just plugged in or installed. You will then be presented with an option to either run the backup now or to schedule it. That will be your choice but we are assuming you want to do the backup at the present time. Once all the options are selected, the back up will start. The initial backup could take several hours so be patient.
Once the backup is complete, a dialog will come up and explain all the details. You should now have a bootable clone of your system files. When you perform additional backups, the software will automatically sense what is already there and it will smartly only update things that have changed since the last backup. They call this Smart Clone.
When you purchase the software, be sure you download the ISO file they give you to burn to a CD. You will have to use burning software that supports burning to a CD as an image. The ISO file will need to be burned in this fashion in order to be bootable. In the event your computer will not boot, you can use this CD to run Casper as a DOS program and backwards clone your working backup to get your system running again.
Author: Joe Zelenak, Staff Writer
Some Great Backup Solutions
Hi everybody. I am always preaching to our customers about how important it is to back up your files and pictures. Backing up should be part of your regular maintenance. There are many ways to do this but if you do not use a method you are comfortable with, you will probably not perform the backups as often as you should. I generally recommend backing up weekly or more often if you add a lot of pictures or music. I will describe some of the best ways to achieve this in this column.
One of the easiest ways to do a basic backup is by using a simple flash drive. These simple devices plug into your USB port on your computer. The drive will then show up as a removable drive in you’re my Computer folder. You can then simply drag and drop or copy and paste your photos and documents from your main drive C to your new removable drive you just installed. Once you have backed up the files you want to save, you can remove the flash drive from the computer and put it in safe location.
If you do not like the idea of using a piece of hardware to store your files, there are online options as well. If you want to do a full backup of every file on your computer, Carbonite is probably a good bet. The program is installed on your computer and once you create an account, you can go through the options and choose what folders you want to back up. This process can take a very long time to complete. It is not uncommon for the program to run days at a time to get all your information in the “cloud”. One drawback of this program is that it will slow down your system. This is especially true if the backup is running while you are trying to work. We have seen some older or slower computers really bogged down while running Carbonite. Bear this in mind when making your back up decision.
I would like to introduce you to one more backup solution. It is called Sky Drive. One of things I like best about this product is the fact that you can either use it web based or you can install the app. If you have Windows XP, you can only use the program web based. If you have Vista or Windows 7, you can use the program as an app that you download. This program is great in the fact that you use simple drag and drop to get your pictures and documents saved to the cloud. With this product, you create folders and then drag your individual files into the folder in order to upload them. Microsoft gives you 7 gigs free and there are paid options if you need more space then that. I put the program to the test and results were excellent. Of course your individual results will vary depending on your Internet connection speed.
Another great feature of Sky Drive is that you can view all your uploaded photos on your I Phone! All you have to do is download the SkyDrive app from the I Tunes store on your phone. The app is free. Sign in with your Windows Live ID and you’re in. You can even upload pictures that you take on your phone to share with others or yourself on your computer. What more could you ask for, especially for free. You can download Sky Drive at https://skydrive.live.com.
Author: Joe Zelenak, Staff Writer More at www.ComputerGeeksOnline.net
What Is The Best Browser To Use?
Hi everybody. Every time you turn on your computer and you want to surf the Internet, you open up your favorite browser and go to your home page. Most of us don’t think much about the complex task that is actually taking place to display all those crisp images and text. All this work is being done by the interaction of your browser and the operating system. In the early days of Windows when Windows 95 was introduced, Netscape was the main browser that was used with almost 85% of the market share. Once Microsoft started integrating the Internet Explorer browser with its operating system, the tides started to turn. Internet Explorer started to gain in popularity over its rival. Netscape eventually became Mozilla, which is the distributor of the famous browser called Firefox.
In late 2004, Internet Explorer enjoyed its highest usage, which was at almost 93%. Since then, there has been a slow but steady decline of its use. Browsers such as Chrome, Firefox and Maxthon have all increased browser security and in many cases speed as well. The early versions of Internet Explorer had plenty of security flaws. In fact, if you are using anything less then IE 7, you are at a very high risk of getting hacked or acquiring viruses.
In our tests, we have found that the newest versions of Internet Explorer including version 8 and 9 both appear to have problems viewing certain websites. In addition, we have found a flaw where both IE 8 and 9 loose it’s connection with Flash and even though Flash is installed as expected, the browser has trouble connecting with the movie or game you are trying to display.
One of our favorite browsers to use is Mozilla Firefox. In our tests, the browser is fast, functional and has lots of bells and whistles to play around with. It is secure as well. One thing nice about this browser is the safe mode function. If you hold the Shift key while clicking the shortcut, Firefox will open in safe mode and that will allow you to reset many of it’s functions in the event you are having problems with the browser.
There is one more browser I need to mention, it’s called Maxthon. This is probably one of the browsers that is the least known about, mainly because it is not advertised like most of the others. This browser is wicked fast and has some really cool features like Reader Mode, Night Mode, Mouse Gestures and much more. It is my browser by choice and is the only one I use. The browser has two modes of operation: Lightning mode and Retro Mode. Lightning mode works best for most websites but some sites like e-mail and banking sites might need to use the older Retro Mode to display properly.
In short, it is probably a matter of opinion on what the best browser is but my vote goes to Maxthon. Keep up the good work guys!
Author: Joe Zelenak, Staff Writer
All about theTrojan Horse Pakes virus
If you are the owner of a computer or laptop, you have heard about the many different viruses that can infect your computer and destroy your computer while stealing your personal information. Any virus out there can be deadly to your computer, but the virus that you need to watch for is the Trojan Horse Pakes virus. This is a virus that will attach to your computer without your knowledge, making a deadly virus that will be hard to detect and remove from your computer.
How the Trojan Horse Pakes virus works. The virus will be attached to different websites that you may view, pop ups that are associated with websites, links that are included on websites and links that are on emails you receive. When you click on any of these options that the virus is attached to, you are inviting the virus onto your computer. The hacker that has created the virus, created a program that will “piggy back” itself to the link or program you click on. As you download the links information, you are also downloaded the virus onto your computer.
The virus will download itself without you even suspecting it. The Trojan Horse Pakes is a silent virus that will bundle itself within the programs and files that you have on your computer. As you search for the virus, you will have a hard time finding it because it knows how to dig deep into your files and hide. When the virus is linked with your programs, the virus will become active when you select the program to use or the hacker access the virus. This is why it is called the silent virus. You never know when it will be activated.
Most viruses will attach to your computer and start to duplicate as the virus infects your computer. As the normal virus attacks your computer, you will notice the signs sooner and have the virus removed quicker. As the Trojan Horse Pakes viruscan move slowly, it can also do the most damage to your computer. Some of the signs to watch for to know if the Trojan Horse Pakes virus is on your computer are:
- Your computer will take a long time to start up or boot up
- Your internet browser has become very slow
- The home page you have saved on your internet will change on its own, even after you have changed it back
- The programs and files you have on your computer have gone missing or have been moved
- Your computer suddenly freezes
If at any time you notice your computer and the programs on your computer acting differently, look to see if have a virus.
To remove a virus, the best option available for you to use in antivirus software, adware software or spyware software. These three different options can be installed onto your computer and will locate the viruses that have infected your computer. When the software locates the virus, you will have the option to remove the program. When to program is removed, you are also removing the Trojan Horse Pakes virus that has invited itself onto your computer.
Fast And Easy Fixes For Common DLL Errors
Among various computer errors that frustrate computer users, DLL errors are some of the most common. This is not surprising because of the sheer number of DLL files on a computer. However, unlike other computer errors, DLL errors are easy to resolve. All that is required is some knowledge of these files and a bit of patience.
Patience, we can’t impart, but knowledge we can and that is exactly what the objective of this article is. We will share simple steps that will help you troubleshoot common DLL errors on your own.
To begin with, let’s look at common causes of DLL errors:
- Missing DLL
- Corrupt DLL file
- Registry Issues
- Incorrect installation of a program
- Outdated device drivers
Perform the following steps in the sequence they appear, to resolve common DLL errors such as ntdll.dll error, mfc80.dll error or connapi.dll errors.
Download the DLL file from an online DLL Directory
In case the DLL file is missing, you may procure a new copy of the DLL file by downloading the DLL from a free reliable online DLL Directory. Always check the authenticity of the source from where you are downloading the DLL file or for that matter, any other file or software. Various sites are infamous for pushing harmful programs like spyware by attaching them to the files and software they list as free downloads.
Run a malware scan
Malware infection is often found to be the root cause of common DLL errors, such as ntdll.dll or mfc80.dll errors. To repair DLL errors that are the result of malware infection, weed out the malware from your computer and sanitize the infected DLL file. To achieve this, perform a malware scan on your entire computer using advanced security gear, such as Antivirus Plus and XoftSpySE.
Also, keep your protective tools up-to-date with the latest malware definitions and security updates. Make sure that you run regular malware scans to prevent any future malware infection.
Clean your registry
The Windows registry stores information related to your DLLs, which is accessed whenever a program or process needs to load any DLL. In case these entries become corrupt or invalid, you may receive recurring DLL errors, such as “connapi.dll not found” or “file ntdll.dll is missing” errors.
To fix such errors, clean your registry of invalid and corrupt information. You may seek the help of a reliable registry cleaning utility to clean your registry.
Reinstall the program that is generating the DLL error
Oftentimes, you may notice that you receive a DLL error only when you run a particular program and not with other programs or applications. If this is the case, to fix the DLL error, uninstall the program that is generating the DLL error and reinstall it. When you uninstall a program, ensure all its associated files and registry entries are also removed. This is important, as leftover processes may interfere with other running processes and cause errors. To completely uninstall programs you may use an efficient third-party uninstaller tool.
Update your device drivers
Outdated driver files may also cause DLL errors on your computer. To fix DLL errors that are occurring due to the use of outdated drivers, install the latest device drivers. You may automate the driver update process by opting for a reliable third-party driver scanner tool.
Best Methods to Combat Windows PC Errors
What can the average computer user do to rid themselves of common Windows errors like the dao350.dll error, the msvcrt71.dll error, and the msvcr80.dll error?
In this article, we will briefly discuss some of the things that you can do to combat common Windows PC errors.
- Virus removal – This might not be something you’d expect, but too many people ignore the importance of a good anti-virus software and end up paying the price later on. A very simple solution is to have a very good anti-virus installed on your system, and update it regularly. This will keep harmful viruses at bay and prevent the loss of important DLL files.
- Spyware and adware removal – Spyware and adware are unwanted guests that feed off your system’s resources. They also display undesired advertisements on your desktop and at times, steal your personal as well as confidential information to use it for malicious purposes.
If you’ve been a victim of spyware or adware, there’s a very simple solution. Get a trusted anti-spyware program and run a scan every now and then. This will weed out many of the unwanted spyware and improve the speed of your system.
- Driver update – Outdated drivers are a source of innumerable computer problems, including frequent crashes, missing DLLs, and performance bottlenecks. You must ensure that the driver software you have are up-to-date, and a good way to accomplish this is to install a reliable third-party driver update software to automatically update and repair your drivers.
- System updates – You also need to make sure that your Windows operating system stays up to date with the very latest releases. You can do this by going to the Control Panel and activating the Automatic System Updates option, which will connect your system to Microsoft’s website and download the updates whenever they are available. It is all very easy to do, and takes only a single click of the mouse.
Resolving common Windows errors does not have to be a daunting task. We hope we’ve been able to convince you of that in this article. Using these very simple tips, you can keep in check all the common nuisances found on a Windows computer, and deal with them yourself rather than rushing to a technician.
Importance of Registry Cleaner Tools
Like the way that you rigorously clean your house on a Saturday morning, your computer too needed some cleaning from time to time. The problem is; window system is not available with any cleaning tool that can help you repair the registry because it is very complex that even the slightest change can create a big impact to the system.
In order to save your neck from the trouble, there are registry cleaner tools that you can simply download and install on your system in order to do the needed registry maintenance.
Registry cleaner tools are not something that you can brush off your shoulder since they are vital for the proper operation of your system. Do not worry if you are not proficient enough with computer activities and terms since most of these tools are GUI-based and provide a user-friendly interface so users won’t find them hard to operate. Even the options found of them are easy to use and they can automatically do the work after you do a simple click. They would also make use of advanced algorithms that would do a rigorous scan on your registry in order to get rid of errors that may take place within the registry.
In order to show the problem, most registry cleaners especially those advanced kind would display the errors on the screen. They will also allow you to manually go through all of the errors and pick the particular one that you wish to repair. Just in case you are a little bothered about the entry that you wish to delete, then you can simply allow these tools to do an automatic scan and repair. Doing this will give you the chance to free yourself from the bothersome system errors that may occur most of the time, like Drive errors, DLL errors, ActiveX/COM errors, and runtime errors.
You can as well free your mind from doing the critical decision of choosing which file you would like to delete since through the help of these registry cleaner tools, you are given the chance to backup and restore the whole or a part of the registry when needed. This feature is indeed very useful since only the affected parts of the registry will be lost and the unaffected part will still remain.
If you are able to obtain an advanced registry cleaner tools, then this will further help you defrag the registry. Doing this will give you the chance to get rid of empty registry hence this will lessen the size of the whole registry. There are as well advanced kinds that will give you the possibility of eradicating embedded and non removable keys away from your registry.
You see, there are a lot of benefits that you can reap in using a registry cleaner tool hence there is no reason left why you should not make use of them. Grab one from a computer specialist shop or simply download one from the internet. Truly, with vast choices, you are bound to get one that you like.
PC speed up
There are so many instances when our personal computers suddenly function at a snail pace. This may be caused by so many files stored in your computers or you are lacking maintenance of your PC. There are always so many ways to speed up your slow computer and I will only be discussing a few important ones.
A computer user should always check his or her PC for infections that may have cause the sudden decline in the functioning of ones computer. Viruses and spyware are the usual types of these infections. These viruses go into the system of your PCs and affect its overall performance. Usually these infectious softwares come with games and other computer applications and when they are already in the computer system, they quickly spread to its different vital parts. These do not only slow down a computer but it may also cause errors in the system and may eventually lead to the destruction of ones computer system. So for one to avoid this problem, he or she must always scan his or her PC for possible viruses or infections that has crept into the computer software. Using an antivirus program can also be very helpful in eliminating harmful viruses in your computer.
A slow computer may also take its roots from a full registry. Sometimes when you are working on your PC much information still gets left behind even if you have already erased them. This can cause a truly slow computer response. So in order for you to prevent this problem, you should always clean your registry to avoid the stacking up of unneeded information and files. A registry cleaner tool can be very helpful in doing this job for you.
Another cause of the decline of computer function is jumbled hard disk. The hard disk is a very vital part of your PC because it stores all your information and data. So when this disk gets loaded of information and programs, your computer may slow down in functioning. So for one to maintain a healthy hard disk, he or she must not install programs which are not important. A disk cleanup must also be done to be sure that all irrelevant information will be removed from your disk.
All these things must be carefully done in order for your computer to continue working fast. We should not forget that our own efforts in maintaining our computers can be very helpful in keeping its speedy performance. There are so many things causing the decline of various computer functions but we must always keep in mind that there are also many ways to counter these things. We only need to be aware of the measures we can perform so that our computer will be free form viruses and spywares so that it may continue working in full speed. If we will not start doing these things w may find our computer unusable in the next months. Of course we dot want this to happen because our computers are already vital pats of our existence. Remember prevention is always better than cure.
Ten Ways to Keep Your PC Clean and Healthy
Ways to a trouble free computer
There are many people that greatly depend on computers as they do their daily assigned tasks. Thus, their routines normally entail them to have little or more contact with computers. With this, you would most probably aim that your computer would function the right and fast way so that you would also be able to function properly in daily life. This would be important so that the things that you do in your computer would also be done faster. You should then be able to do the ten ways to keep your pc clean and healthy. In this article, you will learn, understand and try to apply them more often.
An error free computer can be possible if you follow the ten ways to keep your pc clean and healthy. You would not want to allow any virus infection in your computer as it would be hindering you from doing your everyday operations. Thus, you should know that there are many anti-virus, anti-malware, and anti-spyware programs in the Internet. You should be able to select the best possible program and do the scan regularly. There are more important steps to do for your computer to better function.
To summarize, you should know these ten ways to keep your pc clean and healthy.
Make sure that the firewall functions properly so that malicious programs in the computer would not be transferred to other more important files in your computer as you are using the Internet.
Regularly scan your computer for possible viruses through anti-virus scans.
Regular anti spyware scans should also be done. If found, you should immediately eliminate them to avoid further damages in the computer system.
Keep a healthy system through getting updated or latest version of programs. Thus, the performance of your computer would improve as you get updates in the Internet.
Doing the regular hard disk maintenance would also a big help if you would be able to clean up a considerable amount of cleared space. This step is easy to use and Windows can give you the steps on how to do this.
Scan the windows registry more often. Additionally, you should make sure that you do the registry scan as part of the computer maintenance.
The computers have bigger possibilities to crash if the power is insufficient or is fluctuating. Thus, you should also be more knowledgeable of the different problems related to the computer power that you use.
Remove all the clutters in your computer area. Also, dust should also be avoided as it may be the cause of overheating in the computers.
Try to know the different threats to the computer and know to solve them. As the technology changes, the threats may also find different hosts and you should know how to solve them. Be extra careful in handling files and avoid opening them in times that you feel suspicious.
Back up your files and folders so that you may still have all your files in case that you will need them in the future.
When you follow these steps, you will learn that fixing a troubled computer may be easy to do. So, enjoyment of the person while using the computer is still attainable and your daily functions would not be affected with a high performing and well managed computer.
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