Learn What To Do To Clean A Computer
June 25th, 2008
I have been a computer tech for quite a while now and it never fails that I run across people that never ever do anything to keep their computer in shape. I have compiled a list of 5 things that if practiced regularly will ward off a call to a service company or if you do your own work, it will delay the work you must sooner or later do.
It probably seems a little complicated to the novice but there are some basic procedures that we are going to discuss here today that should help optimize my computer.
Space on Your Hard Drive – As a tech, one of the first things that comes to mind to check when we have computer problems or when we are checking a computer in general is how much space on the hard drive is taken up by files that should be deleted. Temp files and others that once used need to be deleted. There are programs to do this sort of thing safely and security.
File Arrangement – A big problem with the way hard drives handle information is that they are not able to access whole files at once but instead they access little chunks of it at a time. To complicate matters even more, when they put those chunks back on the hard drive they scatter them to the closest space available instead of where they were originally stored. There are programs on the market that will de-chunk a file and put it back into order like it was intended. This makes the whole process of disk access easy and quick.
Rid Yourself of Spyware – Spyware as the name indicates spys on you and often times will try to sell you stuff through popup ads or redirects or sometimes things a lot worse than that. It can go as far as getting your passwords and account information. Sometimes a spyware software will open a computer up to use on a network for sending spam to others or attacking through the internet and it all looks like it came from your computer. There are legitimate programs for removing spyware but some can be spyware themselves. Consult a professional first.
Disc Errors – Disc Errors can be the death of a computer as they can get so bad that the hard drive will no longer function. What happens is that little sections on a hard drive can go bad and it is possible to loose data that is there. There is software that can detect these errors and either fix them or move the data and mark the bad spot so it is not used any longer. This needs to be done regularly especially on a older computer where hard drive errors are more prone to happen.
External hard Drive – because your hard drive is constantly being accessed the ideal situation is to have only the most used files on the main hard drive. That way the amount of information accessed is minimized. Ideally you want to have a separate storage space for all the rarely used files. Files like pictures and music should definitely be stored on another hard drive as this makes for a lean mean main drive and otherwise you only go get the info when you need it.
Many companies that work on computers will provide the hardware to make the changes you need and you can also go to many computer stores to have them install the new hardware as needed. Just make sure you are not sold a bill of goods that is not necessary. Other than upgrades to memory or unless the computer mother board is burnt out, in most cases upgrades should be minor. Find someone qualified to ask that doesn’t have a profit motive for their advise. This post brought to you by NickC for Computer Repair Las Vegas rel 67113
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5 Ways to Lighten the Load on Your PC
June 16th, 2008
In my work I run across a lot of people that have severely neglected their computer for years. Here is a list of the top five tips as a computer tech for a local computer repair that I would recommend for any user to help maintain their computer and keep it running great.
It probably seems a little complicated to the novice but there are some basic procedures that we are going to discuss here today that should help optimize your computer.
Free Up Disk Space – One of the primary ways to make a computer run faster is by freeing up disk space. This will give you more space on your hard disk. Certain utilities used identify certain files that can be safely deleted without making any serious changes and then it lets you choose whether you want to delete some or all of the files it identifies.
File Arrangement – A big problem with the way hard drives handle information is that they are not able to access whole files at once but instead they access little chunks of it at a time. To complicate matters even more, when they put those chunks back on the hard drive they scatter them to the closest space available instead of where they were orginally stored. There are programs on the market that will de-chunk a file and put it back into order like it was intended. This makes the whole process of disk access easy and quick.
Rid Yourself of Spyware – Spyware as the name indicates spys on you and often times trys to sell you stuff through popup ads or redirects or sometimes things a lot worse than that. It can go as far as getting your passwords and account informaition. Sometimes a spyware software will open a computer up to use on a network for sending spam to others or attacking through the internet and it all looks like it came from your computer. There are legitimate programs for removing spyware but some can be spyware themselves. Consult some computer repair help.
Mark or Repair Disc Errors – The hard drive of your computer is made up of discs that can over time get bad spots on them and in those spots it is possible to loose data if the computer attemptts to write to them. The program that locates these will not only locate them but will also identify if they can be fixed or if they need to be marked as bad sectors and it will no longer use that sector. This check should be done monthly on a newer computer and even more often on a older computer.
Secondary or External Hard Drive – A hard drive like any storage of information, will be more easily accessed if it is smaller. For that reason it is a good idea to break up your files into at least two areas. Those that are used often and those that are not used very often. The programs that you use all the time and that will be accessed multiple times at once should be kept on your main drive but the files like pictures or music that are rarely accessed should be kept on a secondary hard drive so that they can be loaded and then replaced but the main drive won’t fight it’s way around them when working with regular daily files.
Many companies that work on computer will provide the hardware to make the changes you need and you can also go to many computer stores to have them install the new hardware as needed. Just make sure you are not sold a bill of goods that is not necessary. Other than upgrades to memory or unless the computer mother board is burnt out, in most cases upgrades should be minor. Find someone qualified to ask that doesn’t have a profit motive for their advise. This post brought to you by NickC for Computer Repair Las Vegas rel 67112