My Computer Has No Sound
by Wolfdave
My Computer Has No Sound. Windows XP
Your computer has no sound, from speakers or headphones. Here is a list of procedures to follow starting with the most obvious and dumbest suggestions.
*Are your Speakers plugged into the mains and turned on and the volume turned up?
*Is the speaker wire plugged into the jack on your computer, is it plugged into the correct one, usually green?
*is there more than one set of jacks on your computer? If so, try the other set?
*If your sound suddenly stopped, try restarting windows.
*If it was working ok yesterday, attempt a System Restore to a time when you had sound.
*Have you installed any new hardware or software? Remove and try again.
*Click on Start then Control Panel. Look for and open, ‘Sounds and Audio Devices’. In the Device Volume Box, is the slider set on low? If so, move it up. Is there a check mark in the ‘mute’ box? If everything looks ok here click the advanced button in the Device Volume box. Next screen, look for any Mute boxes with check marks and see if any sliders are set low. If everything is ok here, close the screen and then click on Speaker Volume and check the slider controls there. Then click on speaker Advanced and make sure the set up selected matches your speakers.
*Device manager is your next stop. Open control Panel then System. Click on Hardware, and then Device Manager. Look for Sound, Video and Game Controllers. If there are any issues with your device you will see a yellow circle next to it. Double click on your sound device and see what information you are given. There may be a conflict or you may need to update your Drivers.
*Don’t know which device you have installed? Click Start, in the RUN box type: dxdiag and click ok. Next screen click the Sound Tab, this should show your Device model and Provider. Contact the provider for Driver Updates.
Wednesday 30 September 2009
Tuesday 29 September 2009
My Computer Won't Start
My Computer won't start
by Wolfdave
My Computer Won’t Start.
If your Computer won’t start, then you obviously have a problem. And all your system tools and utilities are not going to help if you can’t even load your Operating System. First thing to do is Look and Listen.
Look for signs of life. Is the power LED on your computer case illuminated? If not, turn off the power at the socket, then pull out the main power lead from the power socket to your computer’s Power Supply Unit and firmly push it back in. Whilst you are in that area, some PSU’s have their own power switch; make sure this has not been accidentally knocked to the off position. Turn the wall socket back on and press the power button on your computer. If the LED light is still not on, then most likely, your Power Supply Unit has failed and will need replacing.
If your Computer LED light is illuminated, listen for sounds. Can you hear hard drive activity and/or fans working? Listen also for beeps, if you here a single beep, then everything is ok with your computer and it’s most likely that your Monitor has failed. If your Monitor’s power light is not illuminated,push the Monitor's power button, check that the power cable and the cable to your PC are secure. If the light is on then try another Monitor if you have one or can borrow one.
If both Computer and Monitor power lights are illuminated and you hear more than one beep, then this indicates an internal problem. For instance: One long beep with three short beeps, indicates you have a video problem, most likely your Video card. Long continuous beeps of eight or more, means you have a memory issue. If you’re computer has a second video port, try your monitor cable in this, or if you or a friend have a spare card, and it’s the correct voltage, fit this one and see if you now get video. Even if you do not have the correct drivers for this spare video card, it will still display on your monitor.
If it’s a memory issue, again try a spare one if you can, if not remove your memory modules, clean the contacts with an old toothbrush including the main board sockets, then replace.
One final point, the CPU and Heat sink have got to be in firm contact with each other, otherwise nothing will work. It is so easy to accidentally knock your tower which could dislodge memory modules and heat sink/CPU.
by Wolfdave
My Computer Won’t Start.
If your Computer won’t start, then you obviously have a problem. And all your system tools and utilities are not going to help if you can’t even load your Operating System. First thing to do is Look and Listen.
Look for signs of life. Is the power LED on your computer case illuminated? If not, turn off the power at the socket, then pull out the main power lead from the power socket to your computer’s Power Supply Unit and firmly push it back in. Whilst you are in that area, some PSU’s have their own power switch; make sure this has not been accidentally knocked to the off position. Turn the wall socket back on and press the power button on your computer. If the LED light is still not on, then most likely, your Power Supply Unit has failed and will need replacing.
If your Computer LED light is illuminated, listen for sounds. Can you hear hard drive activity and/or fans working? Listen also for beeps, if you here a single beep, then everything is ok with your computer and it’s most likely that your Monitor has failed. If your Monitor’s power light is not illuminated,push the Monitor's power button, check that the power cable and the cable to your PC are secure. If the light is on then try another Monitor if you have one or can borrow one.
If both Computer and Monitor power lights are illuminated and you hear more than one beep, then this indicates an internal problem. For instance: One long beep with three short beeps, indicates you have a video problem, most likely your Video card. Long continuous beeps of eight or more, means you have a memory issue. If you’re computer has a second video port, try your monitor cable in this, or if you or a friend have a spare card, and it’s the correct voltage, fit this one and see if you now get video. Even if you do not have the correct drivers for this spare video card, it will still display on your monitor.
If it’s a memory issue, again try a spare one if you can, if not remove your memory modules, clean the contacts with an old toothbrush including the main board sockets, then replace.
One final point, the CPU and Heat sink have got to be in firm contact with each other, otherwise nothing will work. It is so easy to accidentally knock your tower which could dislodge memory modules and heat sink/CPU.
Sunday 27 September 2009
My Computer Keeps Restarting
My Computer Keeps Restarting.
By Wolfdave
Your Computer keeps restarting without warning which is very annoying! What could be wrong?
One of the most common reasons for a computer to shut down suddenly and re-start is recently installed software. This could be device drivers or updates to programs and utilities. Even updates to your Firewall, for example. Or perhaps you’re Flash Player.
To check for recently installed software, open Control Panel and click on Add or Remove. Tick the box at the top ‘Show Updates’ and in the ‘Sort By’ box to the right of this, choose-Date Last Used. Run through the list and look for ‘Installed On’. Apart from Microsoft Updates and Hot Fixes, do not remove these, look for any others on or near the date your Computer first started to restart by itself. Make a note of the Program this update was for, and then uninstall it.
If this fixes your problem you can then attempt to re-install the update. Always go to the Software makers own site to download updates, rather than a third party site. So for Flash Player, for instance, get your update direct from their site.
The second most common cause for a Computer to suddenly shut down and re-start, is overheating.
Does your PC have plenty of ventilation? Are all the internal fans working? Do you need to add an extra Case fan? Also, blow off any dust from the fan blades and case vents. Fit a bigger CPU fan, if you can. You could also try cleaning the CPU and Heat sink and apply a fresh smear of Thermal Grease.
Viruses and Malicious Spyware can also sometimes cause similar symptoms. Make sure your Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware programs are up to date and run a Full System Scan, with both.
By Wolfdave
Your Computer keeps restarting without warning which is very annoying! What could be wrong?
One of the most common reasons for a computer to shut down suddenly and re-start is recently installed software. This could be device drivers or updates to programs and utilities. Even updates to your Firewall, for example. Or perhaps you’re Flash Player.
To check for recently installed software, open Control Panel and click on Add or Remove. Tick the box at the top ‘Show Updates’ and in the ‘Sort By’ box to the right of this, choose-Date Last Used. Run through the list and look for ‘Installed On’. Apart from Microsoft Updates and Hot Fixes, do not remove these, look for any others on or near the date your Computer first started to restart by itself. Make a note of the Program this update was for, and then uninstall it.
If this fixes your problem you can then attempt to re-install the update. Always go to the Software makers own site to download updates, rather than a third party site. So for Flash Player, for instance, get your update direct from their site.
The second most common cause for a Computer to suddenly shut down and re-start, is overheating.
Does your PC have plenty of ventilation? Are all the internal fans working? Do you need to add an extra Case fan? Also, blow off any dust from the fan blades and case vents. Fit a bigger CPU fan, if you can. You could also try cleaning the CPU and Heat sink and apply a fresh smear of Thermal Grease.
Viruses and Malicious Spyware can also sometimes cause similar symptoms. Make sure your Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware programs are up to date and run a Full System Scan, with both.
My Computer Keeps Freezing
Computer Keeps Freezing
by Wolfdave.
My Computer Keeps Freezing
Computer Freezing can be very annoying, especially if you are in the middle of doing something important.
If your computer Freezes, but was working ok yesterday, try a System Restore. Choose a point a few days back when you know it was working properly.
If your computer is frozen up try hitting the Escape (Esc) key a few times. If your Mouse is still working, restart your computer. If nothing is moving, you will have to hit the Off button. You may have to hold it in for up to 5 seconds. Once you have turned it off, it is important to wait at least 20 seconds before turning it back on again.
If it continues to freeze - Have you installed any new software recently, including updates to Video Drivers or programs such as Flash Player? If so, uninstall these and restart your computer. If you still have Keyboard and Mouse control when your computer stops responding, this usually indicates a software issue.
Start you PC in ‘Safe Mode’ by repeatedly pressing F8 as your system boots. Then run a full scan with your Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware programs.
If everything is frozen up solid, then it is most likely a hardware problem. Have you installed any new hardware, including Memory Modules or a USB device? Remove any new internal hardware and remove all external devices apart from Monitor, Keyboard and Mouse. If it now works fine, plug them back in, one at a time.
Did you change any settings, including your Screen saver? If you did, reverse these settings or use System Restore, picking a point before you altered things.
Heat, is another common reason for your Computer to Freeze. Open your case and make sure all the fans are working, particularly the CPU fan. With your Computer powered down, blow off any dust from the fan blades and Case air vents. Clean off and apply a new smear of thermal grease between your CPU and Heat sink.
Another common reason for Computer Freezing, is your system Registry. Over time this can become extremely cluttered with old and unused files. Run a Registry Clean-Up utility.
If you need more help and advice, check out this excellent PC ebook, Here
by Wolfdave.
My Computer Keeps Freezing
Computer Freezing can be very annoying, especially if you are in the middle of doing something important.
If your computer Freezes, but was working ok yesterday, try a System Restore. Choose a point a few days back when you know it was working properly.
If your computer is frozen up try hitting the Escape (Esc) key a few times. If your Mouse is still working, restart your computer. If nothing is moving, you will have to hit the Off button. You may have to hold it in for up to 5 seconds. Once you have turned it off, it is important to wait at least 20 seconds before turning it back on again.
If it continues to freeze - Have you installed any new software recently, including updates to Video Drivers or programs such as Flash Player? If so, uninstall these and restart your computer. If you still have Keyboard and Mouse control when your computer stops responding, this usually indicates a software issue.
Start you PC in ‘Safe Mode’ by repeatedly pressing F8 as your system boots. Then run a full scan with your Anti-Virus and Anti-Spyware programs.
If everything is frozen up solid, then it is most likely a hardware problem. Have you installed any new hardware, including Memory Modules or a USB device? Remove any new internal hardware and remove all external devices apart from Monitor, Keyboard and Mouse. If it now works fine, plug them back in, one at a time.
Did you change any settings, including your Screen saver? If you did, reverse these settings or use System Restore, picking a point before you altered things.
Heat, is another common reason for your Computer to Freeze. Open your case and make sure all the fans are working, particularly the CPU fan. With your Computer powered down, blow off any dust from the fan blades and Case air vents. Clean off and apply a new smear of thermal grease between your CPU and Heat sink.
Another common reason for Computer Freezing, is your system Registry. Over time this can become extremely cluttered with old and unused files. Run a Registry Clean-Up utility.
If you need more help and advice, check out this excellent PC ebook, Here
Friday 25 September 2009
Hard Drive Maintenance To Speed-Up Your Computer
More Help to speed up a slow computer.
Computer Disk Drive Maintenance.
5 Tips to Improve Disk Performance and help prevent your computer running slow.
By Wolfdave
Your Computer’s Hard Drive is possibly, the most important part of your PC. It not only holds the Operating System, but also your important personal files and all those irreplaceable Digital Photo’s. What would happen if it failed?
A little maintenance, now and then, will not only improve the performance of your Disk drive, and your slow computer, but could possibly also identify any problems that are developing, so you can take action before it’s too late.
When was the last time you did a Back-up of your hard drive? You should consider doing one, then if a disaster strikes your Computer, you will have a back up of all your files and Photo’s. Back up to an external media for safety. An External Hard drive is the easiest method for a full back up. If you just want to back up your Pictures and personnal files, CD’s may be a better option or a Flash Drive.
5 Tips:
*Defragment your main drive (usually ‘C’) once a month
*Run an Anti-Spyware program, once a week.
*Run a Full System scan with your Anti-virus, once a week.
*Run the Disc Clean Up, System tool, once a month.
*Take a load off; Copy last year’s Pictures to CD, make two or more copies for safety, then delete them from your Computer. Do the same with some of your Music Files.
Regular maintenance will improve the performance of your Disk drive and will help to speed up your computer.
Need more help and advice? Check out this excellent PC ebook, Here
Computer Disk Drive Maintenance.
5 Tips to Improve Disk Performance and help prevent your computer running slow.
By Wolfdave
Your Computer’s Hard Drive is possibly, the most important part of your PC. It not only holds the Operating System, but also your important personal files and all those irreplaceable Digital Photo’s. What would happen if it failed?
A little maintenance, now and then, will not only improve the performance of your Disk drive, and your slow computer, but could possibly also identify any problems that are developing, so you can take action before it’s too late.
When was the last time you did a Back-up of your hard drive? You should consider doing one, then if a disaster strikes your Computer, you will have a back up of all your files and Photo’s. Back up to an external media for safety. An External Hard drive is the easiest method for a full back up. If you just want to back up your Pictures and personnal files, CD’s may be a better option or a Flash Drive.
5 Tips:
*Defragment your main drive (usually ‘C’) once a month
*Run an Anti-Spyware program, once a week.
*Run a Full System scan with your Anti-virus, once a week.
*Run the Disc Clean Up, System tool, once a month.
*Take a load off; Copy last year’s Pictures to CD, make two or more copies for safety, then delete them from your Computer. Do the same with some of your Music Files.
Regular maintenance will improve the performance of your Disk drive and will help to speed up your computer.
Need more help and advice? Check out this excellent PC ebook, Here
Saturday 19 September 2009
Low Virtual Memory
My Computer is Running Slow
Virtual Memory
by Wolfdave
Virtual memory is a chunk of disk space your computer uses to supplement system RAM when using Office Applications or other high usage programs.
This can be another reason for your computer to run slow.
If you see a message saying ‘Your system is low on virtual memory’ this could mean you need to add more RAM to your computer. Or perhaps your hard drive is low on space, or you may need to change the Virtual memory settings.
First time you see it simply press ok, if Windows can fix it itself, it will now do so. However, if this message continues to pop up then you need to do something about it.
Check your disk for free space. Click start, then My Computer. Right click once on your main drive, usually ‘C’ then click on ‘Properties’. If you have less than 10% free, you need to free up some disk space. Delete any unused programs; consider moving your digital photo’s and music files to an external storage – CD or External Hard drive etc...
Before making any changes to your settings, always create a Restore point using System Restore. Then if the changes make things worse, you can undo them using System Restore.
To check your Virtual memory settings, click on Start then Control Panel. Then open ‘System’. Next, click the Advanced tab; look for ‘Performance’ and click ‘settings’.
This will bring up Performance Settings dialog box. Make sure here that the ‘Let Windows Choose What’s Best’ button is selected. Then click the Advanced Tab at the top. Look for ‘Virtual memory’ and click Change. See under ‘Paging File Size’ if the System Managed Size button has the green dot in it. Then this probably means Windows is doing all it can to manage what Virtual memory it has and you should consider adding more RAM.
If the Custom Size button has the green dot in it, then you can try changing the numbers in the Initial Size & Maximum Size boxes. Make a note of the values before making changes. Look a little further down from these and you will see the Recommended size MB. Enter this number in both Initial & Maximum boxes, then press, Set then ok. You may be asked to restart your Computer.
Need a little help? Check out this excellent PC ebook, Here
Virtual Memory
by Wolfdave
Virtual memory is a chunk of disk space your computer uses to supplement system RAM when using Office Applications or other high usage programs.
This can be another reason for your computer to run slow.
If you see a message saying ‘Your system is low on virtual memory’ this could mean you need to add more RAM to your computer. Or perhaps your hard drive is low on space, or you may need to change the Virtual memory settings.
First time you see it simply press ok, if Windows can fix it itself, it will now do so. However, if this message continues to pop up then you need to do something about it.
Check your disk for free space. Click start, then My Computer. Right click once on your main drive, usually ‘C’ then click on ‘Properties’. If you have less than 10% free, you need to free up some disk space. Delete any unused programs; consider moving your digital photo’s and music files to an external storage – CD or External Hard drive etc...
Before making any changes to your settings, always create a Restore point using System Restore. Then if the changes make things worse, you can undo them using System Restore.
To check your Virtual memory settings, click on Start then Control Panel. Then open ‘System’. Next, click the Advanced tab; look for ‘Performance’ and click ‘settings’.
This will bring up Performance Settings dialog box. Make sure here that the ‘Let Windows Choose What’s Best’ button is selected. Then click the Advanced Tab at the top. Look for ‘Virtual memory’ and click Change. See under ‘Paging File Size’ if the System Managed Size button has the green dot in it. Then this probably means Windows is doing all it can to manage what Virtual memory it has and you should consider adding more RAM.
If the Custom Size button has the green dot in it, then you can try changing the numbers in the Initial Size & Maximum Size boxes. Make a note of the values before making changes. Look a little further down from these and you will see the Recommended size MB. Enter this number in both Initial & Maximum boxes, then press, Set then ok. You may be asked to restart your Computer.
Need a little help? Check out this excellent PC ebook, Here
Spyware - What is it?
My Computer is Running Slow
Computer Spyware – What is it?
by Wolfdave
Spyware is a type of Malicious Software that infects Computers without your knowledge.It can cause your computer to run slow. It can also collect information about you.
This could be your personal and financial details, your surfing habits and sites visited. It then sends this information, again without your knowledge or consent, to a Third party.
It can also change the settings of your computer and can interfere with your control of your own PC. And can lead to your computer running slow.
Spyware can modify the Windows registry and change your Internet security settings. It can sometimes even disable your Firewall and Anti-Virus.
It is quite common for a computer to have multiple infections. This will result in increased CPU activity, disk usage and network traffic.
All this can cause your computer to slow down, freeze, and take longer to boot, crash and slower connections to the Internet.
If you notice that your computer seams slower at performing normal tasks, you may have spyware or malware on your PC.
How to remove Spyware.
Completely disconnect from the Internet, and then run antispyware program.
Use antispyware software to check your computer for spyware and remove it. You may already have antispyware on your PC. Most anti-virus suites now include this facility. Open your anti-virus control panel, if it’s there run a ‘full system scan’, not just a quick scan.
You can search the internet for antispyware software to download, choose a brand that you know or can verify as authentic. Some rogue ones will often offer you a Free Scan and will probably just add more spyware.
There are several good antispyware programs which are free for, personal use only. Ad-AwareSE and Spybot-Search & Destroy are two such programs which I personally use myself. Microsoft also do a Malicious Software Removal Tool.
A Two-way Firewall is an extra safety measure you could consider. So that if spyware does invade your computer, it will be prevented from calling ‘home’.
Computer Spyware – What is it?
by Wolfdave
Spyware is a type of Malicious Software that infects Computers without your knowledge.It can cause your computer to run slow. It can also collect information about you.
This could be your personal and financial details, your surfing habits and sites visited. It then sends this information, again without your knowledge or consent, to a Third party.
It can also change the settings of your computer and can interfere with your control of your own PC. And can lead to your computer running slow.
Spyware can modify the Windows registry and change your Internet security settings. It can sometimes even disable your Firewall and Anti-Virus.
It is quite common for a computer to have multiple infections. This will result in increased CPU activity, disk usage and network traffic.
All this can cause your computer to slow down, freeze, and take longer to boot, crash and slower connections to the Internet.
If you notice that your computer seams slower at performing normal tasks, you may have spyware or malware on your PC.
How to remove Spyware.
Completely disconnect from the Internet, and then run antispyware program.
Use antispyware software to check your computer for spyware and remove it. You may already have antispyware on your PC. Most anti-virus suites now include this facility. Open your anti-virus control panel, if it’s there run a ‘full system scan’, not just a quick scan.
You can search the internet for antispyware software to download, choose a brand that you know or can verify as authentic. Some rogue ones will often offer you a Free Scan and will probably just add more spyware.
There are several good antispyware programs which are free for, personal use only. Ad-AwareSE and Spybot-Search & Destroy are two such programs which I personally use myself. Microsoft also do a Malicious Software Removal Tool.
A Two-way Firewall is an extra safety measure you could consider. So that if spyware does invade your computer, it will be prevented from calling ‘home’.
Computer Viruses - What Are They and What is Their Purpose?
By Gregg Hall
Anyone that has ever owned a computer has either heard about or experienced a computer virus. Livescience.com recently reported that "before the month is even done, April has set a record for virus emails."
Gone are the days when new computer users were told about the rarity of viruses and that there was no need to worry. Countless news reports have since validated the worry over computer viruses, but what exactly is a virus?
Basically a computer virus is a software program designed to destroy or steal data. These viruses are most often sent through email attachments, software downloads, and some types of advanced web scripting. Different viruses cause different types of damage to your computer; Trojan horses destroy data, bombs explode through your system, and worms duplicate themselves, destroying or corrupting data as they go. These viruses can be combined into even more deadly forms but they can usually be identified by their location on your computer.
Boot Sector Virus - Most early forms of virus were boot sector because it required a removable device such as a floppy disk or CD to reach your machine. These viruses activate when you reboot your system and will infect any other floppies inserted afterwards. They have the potential to take up memory or freeze your system.
File Virus - This is a virus that infects other files on your system. Otherwise known as the 'classic' form of virus, it is also the most common and easiest to distribute. Some forms of file virus are able to hide themselves by changing aspects of their code with each infection.
Multipart Virus - This file infects both the boot sector and files. These types of viruses were fairly common when most computers operated on a DOS system but declined when integrated operating systems became the norm.
Who created the first virus and why remains a mystery; however, one virus programmer was willing to explain the motivation behind his destruction. According to this programmer, a popular online service (which will remain unnamed) failed to provide quality protection for children against what he considered to be online smut. To retaliate, he created and distributed a virus to as many file libraries of this service as he could find. His intention: to disable the computers of the people using this service, preventing them from connecting to the internet for days at a time, thus causing the service to lose revenue and customers.
Did it work? Somewhat. A small percentage of users were affected but the company in question is still alive and well, doing business today. Despite the programmers worthy intentions to save children from things best left unseen, his efforts were futile. There are probably many well intentioned motives for creating and distributing a virus, none of which take into account the damage done to an innocent bystander through a virus programmers 'good intentions'.
What can be done if you have a virus? To protect from getting or cleaning out an existing virus, an antivirus utility is needed. There are many of these available today but maybe there is another way. Education and Communication are the key. Perhaps educating the people creating the viruses about the damage done to innocent people and providing a way to communicate their dissatisfaction effectively will reduce the news stories and protect investments.
Gregg Hall is an author living on the Emerald Coast of Florida. Now that you know a little more about computers and viruses be sure that you get quality computer accessories by going to http://www.nsearch.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gregg_Hall
http://EzineArticles.com/?Computer-Viruses---What-Are-They-and-What-is-Their-Purpose?&id=1682728
By Gregg Hall
Anyone that has ever owned a computer has either heard about or experienced a computer virus. Livescience.com recently reported that "before the month is even done, April has set a record for virus emails."
Gone are the days when new computer users were told about the rarity of viruses and that there was no need to worry. Countless news reports have since validated the worry over computer viruses, but what exactly is a virus?
Basically a computer virus is a software program designed to destroy or steal data. These viruses are most often sent through email attachments, software downloads, and some types of advanced web scripting. Different viruses cause different types of damage to your computer; Trojan horses destroy data, bombs explode through your system, and worms duplicate themselves, destroying or corrupting data as they go. These viruses can be combined into even more deadly forms but they can usually be identified by their location on your computer.
Boot Sector Virus - Most early forms of virus were boot sector because it required a removable device such as a floppy disk or CD to reach your machine. These viruses activate when you reboot your system and will infect any other floppies inserted afterwards. They have the potential to take up memory or freeze your system.
File Virus - This is a virus that infects other files on your system. Otherwise known as the 'classic' form of virus, it is also the most common and easiest to distribute. Some forms of file virus are able to hide themselves by changing aspects of their code with each infection.
Multipart Virus - This file infects both the boot sector and files. These types of viruses were fairly common when most computers operated on a DOS system but declined when integrated operating systems became the norm.
Who created the first virus and why remains a mystery; however, one virus programmer was willing to explain the motivation behind his destruction. According to this programmer, a popular online service (which will remain unnamed) failed to provide quality protection for children against what he considered to be online smut. To retaliate, he created and distributed a virus to as many file libraries of this service as he could find. His intention: to disable the computers of the people using this service, preventing them from connecting to the internet for days at a time, thus causing the service to lose revenue and customers.
Did it work? Somewhat. A small percentage of users were affected but the company in question is still alive and well, doing business today. Despite the programmers worthy intentions to save children from things best left unseen, his efforts were futile. There are probably many well intentioned motives for creating and distributing a virus, none of which take into account the damage done to an innocent bystander through a virus programmers 'good intentions'.
What can be done if you have a virus? To protect from getting or cleaning out an existing virus, an antivirus utility is needed. There are many of these available today but maybe there is another way. Education and Communication are the key. Perhaps educating the people creating the viruses about the damage done to innocent people and providing a way to communicate their dissatisfaction effectively will reduce the news stories and protect investments.
Gregg Hall is an author living on the Emerald Coast of Florida. Now that you know a little more about computers and viruses be sure that you get quality computer accessories by going to http://www.nsearch.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gregg_Hall
http://EzineArticles.com/?Computer-Viruses---What-Are-They-and-What-is-Their-Purpose?&id=1682728
Friday 18 September 2009
System Restore
Welcome
System Restore
What is it and how to use it.
by Wolfdave
System Restore was first introduced with Windows Me. It allows you to return your Computer to an earlier time.
So if your PC was working fine yesterday and it’s all screwed up today, you can use System Restore and return it to a time before it went crazy.
Windows will set restore points automatically as you use your PC. However, you should create a restore point yourself before making any changes to your system
Before adding any new software, for example. Or new hardware. Also before altering Internet or System settings. Before running a Registry cleaner or messing with files or the Start menu or uninstalling programs. Basically, before doing anything other than working on your PC.
To create a System Restore Point:
Click on Start – All Programs. Wait a moment for the full program list to appear, then move your pointer to Accessories – usually the First one at the top.
When the next list of programs appears, move your pointer to System Tools, another list will appear.
From this list, move your pointer to System Restore and left click, once.
You will now see a Welcome Screen, on the right of this screen are two buttons – Restore My Computer To an Earlier Time – Create a Restore Point. Click once on Create a Restore Point. Click next.
The next screen will ask you to choose a name for your Restore Point. Choose something you Will remember, ’Running Reg Clean’ or Uninstalling abc Program’ or just ’System ok’.
Then click on Create. After a few moments your Computer will confirm the restore point has been created. Click on Finish.
Now if your Computer starts acting crazy, restart System Restore and choose - Restore my computer to an earlier time. Find your restore point description and click next. If you are already having issues with your PC you can choose a restore point that already exists. Try to remember when the problem first started and choose a restore point, prior to that. You can go back several months.
Remember to close any programs you have running and save your work before using restore.
System Restore will also allow you to undo a restore, if this fails to solve the issue.
Personally, I would recommend you create a System Restore Point at least once a week. And always before adding any new software or programs, even Driver updates and the like.
System Restore is your first option for fixing - ‘It was working fine yesterday’ problems. Usually, if System restore fails to solve your problem, then most likely you will be looking at a hardware issue.
System Restore
What is it and how to use it.
by Wolfdave
System Restore was first introduced with Windows Me. It allows you to return your Computer to an earlier time.
So if your PC was working fine yesterday and it’s all screwed up today, you can use System Restore and return it to a time before it went crazy.
Windows will set restore points automatically as you use your PC. However, you should create a restore point yourself before making any changes to your system
Before adding any new software, for example. Or new hardware. Also before altering Internet or System settings. Before running a Registry cleaner or messing with files or the Start menu or uninstalling programs. Basically, before doing anything other than working on your PC.
To create a System Restore Point:
Click on Start – All Programs. Wait a moment for the full program list to appear, then move your pointer to Accessories – usually the First one at the top.
When the next list of programs appears, move your pointer to System Tools, another list will appear.
From this list, move your pointer to System Restore and left click, once.
You will now see a Welcome Screen, on the right of this screen are two buttons – Restore My Computer To an Earlier Time – Create a Restore Point. Click once on Create a Restore Point. Click next.
The next screen will ask you to choose a name for your Restore Point. Choose something you Will remember, ’Running Reg Clean’ or Uninstalling abc Program’ or just ’System ok’.
Then click on Create. After a few moments your Computer will confirm the restore point has been created. Click on Finish.
Now if your Computer starts acting crazy, restart System Restore and choose - Restore my computer to an earlier time. Find your restore point description and click next. If you are already having issues with your PC you can choose a restore point that already exists. Try to remember when the problem first started and choose a restore point, prior to that. You can go back several months.
Remember to close any programs you have running and save your work before using restore.
System Restore will also allow you to undo a restore, if this fails to solve the issue.
Personally, I would recommend you create a System Restore Point at least once a week. And always before adding any new software or programs, even Driver updates and the like.
System Restore is your first option for fixing - ‘It was working fine yesterday’ problems. Usually, if System restore fails to solve your problem, then most likely you will be looking at a hardware issue.
Tuesday 15 September 2009
Speed-Up Your Slow Computer
Computer Running Slow
Tips to speed up your slow PC
Slow Computer?
by Wolfdave
There are many ways to improve a computer running slow.
Adding more RAM (memory) to your slow computer will improve its resources.
Windows XP will operate with 256Mb of memory although it is recognized that
512Mb is the minimum ammount you should have. However, with your Anti-Virus,
Anti-Spam and Firewall, all using more and more resources these days, 1Ghz of RAM
Is now recommended for XP.
You could also purchase a faster CPU to improve speed, providing your Motherboard
Will accept a faster version.
If your Computer has become slower over time, there is usually a reason, or several
Reasons.
Is your Hard Drive cluttered up with unused programs and files?
Check your Hard Drive Space by clicking on Start, then My Computer. Next, click once on
Your main drive – usually C to highlight it. Then click on ‘File’ top left, then ‘Properties’.
You will now see a Pie chart showing you Hard Drive. It will show how much Free Space
You have left. Note also the ‘Disc Clean-Up’ button. This is a System Tool that will delete
Any files it considers you no longer need, like Temporary Internet Files.
Please Note: Before using any System Tools, you should Back-Up your files and also create
A System Restore Point – Just in case.
Removing files and programs you no longer use will also free up space and improve the
Speed of your PC.
The important rule here: Only delete files and programs that you yourself created. So, any
Word documents for example, that you created and no longer need. All those Digital
Pictures, you could copy them to CD or an external removable Hard Drive, then delete
them from your PC. The same with all your Music Files.
If your PC came with a Game pre-installed, do not remove it, even if you have never
Played this game and have no intention of ever playing it.
This is because that game may share files with other programs on your computer. Programs
Which you do use. Delete this game and your other programs will not work!
Create a System Restore Point at least once a week and definately before making any
changes or running new software.
Other Things you could try:
Run a full sytem scan with your Anti-Virus. Do the same with your Anti-Spyware.
A sudden slowing of your PC could mean you have a ‘BUG’ in your system.
Back Up your Files, then run the Disc Clean Up mentioned earlier, then Defragment your
Disk drive. The defrag utility is a must for improving your hard drives performance.
Run a Registry Clean-Up utility. This will also improve the Start-Up speed of your PC.
If you need a some excellent help and advice with your PC. Check out this ebook, Here
Tips to speed up your slow PC
Slow Computer?
by Wolfdave
There are many ways to improve a computer running slow.
Adding more RAM (memory) to your slow computer will improve its resources.
Windows XP will operate with 256Mb of memory although it is recognized that
512Mb is the minimum ammount you should have. However, with your Anti-Virus,
Anti-Spam and Firewall, all using more and more resources these days, 1Ghz of RAM
Is now recommended for XP.
You could also purchase a faster CPU to improve speed, providing your Motherboard
Will accept a faster version.
If your Computer has become slower over time, there is usually a reason, or several
Reasons.
Is your Hard Drive cluttered up with unused programs and files?
Check your Hard Drive Space by clicking on Start, then My Computer. Next, click once on
Your main drive – usually C to highlight it. Then click on ‘File’ top left, then ‘Properties’.
You will now see a Pie chart showing you Hard Drive. It will show how much Free Space
You have left. Note also the ‘Disc Clean-Up’ button. This is a System Tool that will delete
Any files it considers you no longer need, like Temporary Internet Files.
Please Note: Before using any System Tools, you should Back-Up your files and also create
A System Restore Point – Just in case.
Removing files and programs you no longer use will also free up space and improve the
Speed of your PC.
The important rule here: Only delete files and programs that you yourself created. So, any
Word documents for example, that you created and no longer need. All those Digital
Pictures, you could copy them to CD or an external removable Hard Drive, then delete
them from your PC. The same with all your Music Files.
If your PC came with a Game pre-installed, do not remove it, even if you have never
Played this game and have no intention of ever playing it.
This is because that game may share files with other programs on your computer. Programs
Which you do use. Delete this game and your other programs will not work!
Create a System Restore Point at least once a week and definately before making any
changes or running new software.
Other Things you could try:
Run a full sytem scan with your Anti-Virus. Do the same with your Anti-Spyware.
A sudden slowing of your PC could mean you have a ‘BUG’ in your system.
Back Up your Files, then run the Disc Clean Up mentioned earlier, then Defragment your
Disk drive. The defrag utility is a must for improving your hard drives performance.
Run a Registry Clean-Up utility. This will also improve the Start-Up speed of your PC.
If you need a some excellent help and advice with your PC. Check out this ebook, Here
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