Computer Maintenance Tips

Computer Maintenance Tips

Ten Tips to Keep your Computer Running Smoothly

1. Never, never, turn your computer off with the power switch until Windows has shut down.
The one exception to this rule is when your computer locks up and your hard drive is not running (hard drive light is not blinking). In this situation, you can turn the power off without harmful effects to the hard drive. As cutting the power can also result in lost data or Windows files, you should only do this when you have to.
Following this rule will prevent permanent hard drive defects caused by the hard drive heads contacting the surface of the drive disc, and it will prevent a host of Windows problems.Whenever possible, recover from crashes by pressing the Ctrl + Alt + Delete keys at the same time. Press them again to reboot your computer.

2. I highly recommend that you purchase an UPS (uninteruptable power supply) for your computer. This will keep your computer from crashing during power outages, and will protect your computer from low and high voltage occurrences.An UPS is far superior to a surge protector and will save your computer from almost any type of power disaster. (See #1 above for what happens when your computer crashes.)

3. Backup, backup, backup, any data you cannot afford to lose to at least two separate physical drives. So backup data to external hard drives, Zip disks, CD-RWs etc. The time to backup is when you create something you can't afford to lose. Don't wait until tomorrow.

4. Run Scandisk and Defragment at least once a month. This will keep your hard drive healthy and prevent crashes. Alternatively, purchase Norton Utilities and use it to keep your hard drive healthy.

5. Never unplug peripherals from the computer when it is powered up. Unplugging with the power on can short out the connector socket or the motherboard.
The only exception to this rule is if you know a peripheral is "hot pluggable". If you do not know what "hot pluggable" means then ignore this exception.

6. Do keep at least 300 MBs of your C: drive free for Windows to use. If you use Windows XP or Vista then you should have 400-600 MBs of free space on your C: drive.If you do not have enough free space you will choke Windows and it will start dumping data to your hard drive, or it will just get really, really, slow.Use the ADD/Delete tool in the Windows Control Panel to delete unneeded programs from your drive. You can also use Cleansweep included in Norton Utilities to clean up your drive. If you do use Cleansweep or another hard drive cleaner, do not delete shared files unless you back them up. The cleaners do a rotten job of knowing if another program uses shared files.

7. Do not let a lot of programs load up when you start your computer. They use valuable memory and Windows Resources (Windows internal workspace). All programs in your Windows System Tray (in the lower left of your screen) are running on your computer. Close them if you don't need them or run them and configure them not to load when you boot up. Other programs running in the background can be found by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Delete at the same time.

8. Do use a virus checker regularly. Everyone should use a virus checker. The best type of protection is continuous monitoring from a dedicated anti-virus program like Norton Antivirus. The second best thing is to use is the free online virus checkers such as Housecall provided by Trend Micro.

9. If you have a high speed Internet connection you need a firewall program. A firewall program keeps those who want to hijack your computer from gaining access to your system. You really do not want someone else running your computer.I suggest you purchase and run Norton's Personal Firewall program. Your firewall should boot up with your computer to protect it from invasion.
Case in point: When I am online 10 hours or more with my DSL connection, my computer is usually attacked by a hacker at least once. Do not think you are safe from hackers!! Hackers use search programs to seek out computers at random. Get a firewall program and use it.

10. Keep track of the software disks you receive with your computer and new peripherals. These disks contain valuable software drivers and programs for Windows and are needed when Windows must be reloaded. Keep these disks and your Windows software disks in a safe, dry, place -- you never know when you will need them.

Hopefully these computer maintenance tips will keep you out of trouble.

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Tips Before Buying a Netbook or Notebook

1.Match with your necessary and your budgetBefore buying Netbook, you must know your needs. If you need for presentation, surfing and office job or don’t use too heavy operation software, you should buy netbook. And also you must match with your budget.

2.You can buy netbook with screen size 8.9 inch, or bigger.When you buy netbook, look at the screen size. It’s better you choose netbook with screen size 8.9 inch. Smaller size will make you feel uncomfortable when you use netbook to work, because you can’t look full site page.

3.Look at, your choice netbook is supported by battery 6 cell.By using battery 6 cell will give you more time or long time to work and can finish your duty, such as Asus Eee PC 1000 and Asus Eee pc 901 that have long lasting battery.

4.Try the netbook keypad, make sure that the keypad gives comfortable for your finger.Before deciding to take netbook, you should try to use keypad, if your finger feels comfort when using netbook. It means that the netbook you choose is suitable for you.You must check what software is installed at the netbook. Choose the netbook that use suitable software with your needs like windows XP and Linux.

5.Consider the price of netbook.Mostly, netbook will offer with price less than US$ 500. If the price of netbook is more than US$ 500, consider your need to buy netbook or not at that time. Because the price is nearly price of Laptop that has complete feature.

6.Consider features in the netbook.Check the features in the netbook, what features are needed at your job and support your job.

Netbooks (also called "subnotebooks" or "mini notebooks") lack the power of a traditional notebook computer, but have more than enough muscle to provide web access, handle word processing, and even play your digital movies and music files. Best of all, netbooks are smaller than most school textbooks and usually cost less than $600.
Netbooks aren't designed to be your primary computer. Rather, they're designed to be your "mobile companion" that provides quick internet access and basic computing needs whenever you need it. Most students who use a netbook in class will also want a full-featured notebook or desktop at home or in the dorm room.

Netbooks (also called "subnotebooks" or "mini notebooks") lack the power of a traditional notebook computer, but have more than enough muscle to provide web access, handle word processing, and even play your digital movies and music files. Best of all, netbooks are smaller than most school textbooks and usually cost less than $600.
Netbooks aren't designed to be your primary computer. Rather, they're designed to be your "mobile companion" that provides quick internet access and basic computing needs whenever you need it. Most students who use a netbook in class will also want a full-featured notebook or desktop at home or in the dorm room.

Dell Inspiron Mini 9
The Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is an 8.9" netbook with a $349 (Linux) or $399 (Windows XP) starting price and some impressive features. The Mini 9 features the Intel Atom processor, solid state drive (SSD) storage, and a sleek design. Ultimately, the Dell Inspiron Mini 9 is a fabulous netbook that is sure to end up on many Christmas lists this year, but there's also a lot of competition.

Acer Aspire One
Weighing just 2.17 pounds and measuring 9.8 x 6.7 x 1.14-inches, Aspire one is lightweight and compact for easy travel. The Aspire one features an 8.9-inch CrystalBrite WSVGA LED backlit display with a resolution of 1024x600 pixels, a standard 3-cell battery or optional 6-cell battery, and a NAND flash module of 8GB with an additional SD card slot for smart storage expansion or a 120GB internal hard drive.

Asus Eee PC 1000

The 1000 series of netbooks is one of the latest additions to the Eee PC family of mini notebooks. Featuring a 10" display, Intel Atom processor, large hard drive, an a larger keyboard than any previous Eee PC, the 1000 series promises to raise the bar for this category of laptops.

Lenovo IdeaPad S10
The Lenovo IdeaPad S10 is a 10-inch netbook with a $439 starting price and some impressive features (such as an ExpressCard slot for expansion) that help place it a step above the competition. The S10 combines the surprisingly capable Intel Atom processor with a standard hard drive. While budget SSDs are nice, most consumers can't get over the limited storage capacity of SSDs and that is why hard drives still have a place in netbooks. On the other hand, the S10 still suffers from some of the same limitations as other netbooks: relatively high temperatures, small battery, and a cramped screen and keyboard. Ultimately, the Lenovo IdeaPad S10 is a great ultra-portable laptop priced below $500.



HP Mini 1000
The HP Mini 1000 is the consumer version of the HP 2133 Mini-Note and has an Intel Atom processor, 8.9-inch or 10-inch diagonal display, 512MB-2GB of DDR2 SDRAM, and a range of storage options. More importantly, it has the same keyboard used on the 2133 Mini-Note: the best keyboard we've seen on any of the netbooks currently on the market ... something extremely important for students who are constantly typing notes or papers in class

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