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It’s really annoying when you turn on your computer and sit there, for what seems like forever, waiting for it to load up. Finally it does and you click on a program and wait again for it to get going.

When the computer was newer it wasn’t like that. Everything loaded quickly in a fraction of the time it takes now. What is wrong? Well over time the computers registry has become bloated with a lot of useless bits and pieces of information. This slows down the operating system as it picks its way through the maze of fragments of data. Usually this is accompanied by freezing problems also. The answer is to clean your registry and remove all the material which is not needed. Read the rest of this entry »

If you truly want to speed up vista, you need to approach the issue from a few different angles. Simply installing an anti-virus tool or anti-spyware tool isn’t going to cut it. That being said, start considering different methods of speeding up your computer — examine what techniques can be used and how they can actually help to improve your PC’s performance. Luckily for you, here are a couple PC speedup tips that will get your Vista PC back up to speed. Read the rest of this entry »

Organize your data so it is easy to back up. 

You want all your data files (e.g. Word documents, Excel documents, email, etc.) to be in folders that are all inside a single folder on your hard disk. Windows provides you with a folder named “My Documents” designed for this purpose. In Windows 95/98/ME there is a single My Documents folder shared by all users while Windows NT/2000/XP creates a separate My Documents folder for each login account.  Backing up the “WinNT\Profiles” folder in NT 4.0 or the “Documents and Settings” folder in Windows 2000/XP will back up the My Documents folders for all users if you are logged in as an administrator.

Many programs default to saving files in the My Documents folder and programs that can’t can usually be set to do so. You will probably want to create new folders under the My Documents folder to keep data from different applications or projects separate. You may need to read the documentation to learn how, but you should set each program to open documents from and save documents to the appropriate folders you have created under the My Documents folder. If you do this consistently you will know where all your data is on your hard disk and won’t accidentally miss backing up important data.

Choose what device you will use to back up your data. Read the rest of this entry »

A very common fear in the minds of computer users is the occurrence of file corruption, accidental deletion of files or a virus attack.

The good news is that there are many good hard drive recovery software programs available to use to recover these lost, corrupt or delete files. Many of these are available as free downloads or sometimes even as freeware. In this article in the paragraphs below is a list of some of these free hard drive data recovery programs available nowadays.

PC Inspector File Recovery: Even when the boot sector of your computer has got damaged or deleted, this data recovery program is still capable of recovering lost files and of locating partitions automatically. This software can recover lost data even when a file’s header entry is no longer available. It can retrieve data with the original date and time stamps. You can save the recovered files on network drives by using this data recovery software. And surprisingly this hard drive data recovery software is still available as a free download. This is very popular software. 

VirtualLab Data Recovery Software v4.8.8: It is a remarkable free hard drive data recovery software. This data recovery software connects to a powerful recovery server and employs ‘artificial intelligence’. It compares your system condition with previous data recovery sessions and updates its solution methods. VirtualLab Data Recovery Software v4.8.8 is quite versatile and works with FAT 12, FAT 16, Fat 32, and NTFS file systems. It can even find the disappearing data from Jaz disks, Zip disks and digital camera media as well as from a computer hard drive. Read the rest of this entry »

If you have noticed that your computer is slowing down, or if a lot of errors windows are popping up, then it is time to repair your Windows XP registry file. This file is key to having a computer run at optimal speed and for smoothness of PC operation. Like other versions of Windows, your Windows XP registry becomes corrupted with time as part of its normal operation. Here are some tips on repairing your Windows XP registry file and restoring it back up to its prime condition.

Create Registry File Backup First

The first thing you want to do is to create a point of time to which to restore your computer to - if it should be needed. This means you need to create a file for a System Restore. To find this, simply go to your Start button, then Accessories, then System Tools, and finally, System Restore. Name your file and then you have a current place to restore your computer to if needed. Read the rest of this entry »

Does your connection crawl? I bet it does buddy, just try these few simple tweaks, lets get you fixed today. The following tweaks and modifications are the ones I personally perform to my Cable connection after fresh installing windows.

Note-This Guide works with DSL and Cable Connections!

The first thing I like to do is run over to Control Panel > Network Connections and “right click” Local Area Connection (Your primary connection)

Then I Uncheck:

“Client for Microsoft Networks”

“File and Printer Sharing For Microsoft Networks”

“QoS Packet Scheduler”

Then I like to install LVLLORD’S TCP PATCH…. (Read more info below)

Microsoft Limited TCP connections in SP2 to 10! Regain lost speed by applying lvllord’s patch. Just download the patcher and execute it. It will automatically find the windows directory and ask, if it should increase/decrease. Enter C and change the value to 100, and confirm your changes. After a successful patch, the new TCPIP.SYS will be automatically installed. Restart your computer

After I get my Tcp nicely patched, I move on and Tweak my windows xp registry settings to unleash my cable connection’s real potential. Don’t be worried if I said “I tweak my registry”, You wont have to manually edit it because I use a great free tool called Cablenut! Read the rest of this entry »

Home computers needs additional software in order to keep them protected from many threats on the Internet. Many think that using a secure browser is enough.

Computer security is not built into a new computer because the systems, which are already downloaded into a new computer, have not been tested against current hacker attacks. Too much software is built to interact with “well behaved” computers, so they have weak defenses to stop intruders. Therefore, PC owners must learn very quickly the weaknesses of PC systems and what to do to protect their computer from intruders. One of the most important ways to protect a PC effectively is using a secure web browser, such as Mozilla. Read the rest of this entry »

By following a few simple guidelines, you can maintain your computer and keep it running smoothly.  While most people would not think of skipping preventative maintenance on their automobiles, they do not apply the same care to the machine that holds their business and banking data, pictures, music, and important communications.

The majority of this article was first published in segments by Microsoft demonstrating how to use their tools available in Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) and Windows Vista to more efficiently maintain your computer and safeguard your privacy when you’re online.  The Computer Man in conjunction with the Remote Helpdesk 1 Team decided to add it to Remote Helpdesk 1’s Online PC Repair Articles and Web Based Computer Repair Blogs because most problems the Tennessee Mountain Man and Computer Man see are caused by a lack of simple preventative computer maintenance by users. Read the rest of this entry »

Note: Yeah…sure…I know. It’s not about Vista, but then again, that might be a good thing. For the majority of people that have not upgraded and are quite content with their present Windows XP operating system, the following article is definitely for you. Regular maintenance of your system is essential for optimum performance. If you find that your computer is not as fast as it used to be, read the following article carefully and follow the easy to understand step by step instructions. Better yet, do what I have done…. Print it and keep it next to your computer for reference.

There are many things that cause a computer to be sluggish from software to hardware. It can be too small a hard drive or not enough RAM.

It can be anything from BIOS and/or Operating System Settings to programs that are eating up your CPU and RAM (no matter how much you have). Or it can be your network.

Personally, I work my computer like a young mother with a house full of kids 12 to 18 hours a day.

That mother needs to unwind at the end of the day and so does my computer and probably yours too.

Here are 9 Tips in the order they should be completed that can help keep your computer happy and working without complaining: Read the rest of this entry »

If Microsoft has its way, you won’t be able to buy XP after June 30th, 2008. According to some sources, the public wishes otherwise.

Like all new operating systems, Windows Vista ushered in a new era of incompatibility for existing Windows users. In spite of this, Microsoft plans to start retiring Windows XP on June 30th. Some users, however, want to keep XP alive for years to come so that they can continue to work reliably and efficiently.

According to a Popular Science report, there’s a grassroots effort to force Microsoft to keep selling XP to customers in shrink-wrapped packages and to OEMs. What’s behind this movement? Just to clarify, it’s not really a “grassroots” movement. It’s actually being orchestrated by InfoWorld, an online news publication. Read the rest of this entry »