#top pc tips

Where a faster PC begins. If you're not experiencing the frustration free, slick operation that using a PC should give, there is usually something seriously amiss. Whilst fine tuning won't break a user's bad habits & the vicious cycle may continue, tuning itself is an art that in itself involves a somewhat lengthy procedure. Where we start is usually somewhere along the lines of a System File Check (sfc /scannow).

Minimal Reproduction

If you keep having the same problem, then simple band-aids like rebooting your computer aren’t the best solution. You need to fix the problem for real, so use the same technique real system administrators and programmers use to find the root cause of a problem. The technique is called “minimal steps to reproduce.”

First, figure out how to consistently cause the problem. If your computer keeps freezing, figure out when it always freezes. Next, try reducing the number of steps to reproduce the problem.

Keep trying to reduce the number of steps to reproduce the problem. When you find the minimal set of steps, you’ll know exactly what causes the problem and you can do a quick search on Google to see who else has had the same problem and what they did to fix it. Or you can take the problem to the people who wrote the software or built the hardware and ask them to fix it for you.

via tips4pc.com

Although upgrading can usefully extend the life of many PCs, there comes a time when you have to admit defeat. Updating an ancient Windows 98 PC with a Pentium II processor and 64MB of memory, for example, is probably not worth attempting unless you can find parts for pennies at a car boot sale.

Parts for old PCs are often difficult to find, modern items are frequently incompatible, and compatible items such as memory modules can cost an awful lot more than their modern equivalents.

So if this sounds like your PC, we’d suggest bidding farewell and moving on.

via computeractive.co.uk

Simple facts It might seem like there’s a lot to think about, but it is actually pretty simple. If you want HD, then you need three things: a screen with enough pixels for an HD picture; something that supplies HD pictures – like a set-top box, a Blu-ray player, or a built-in Freeview HD tuner – and the HD picture itself, like the HD version of a TV channel, or a Blu-ray disc (rather than a standard DVD).

Unless all three are in place, you’re not watching HD – and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

via computeractive.co.uk

Many have already traded in their big, bulbous CRT televisions for slimline flat-panel LCDs or plasmas on the promise of being able to feast our eyes on HD goodness, whether from broadcasters, PC hard disks, games consoles or the new razor-sharp DVD formats. But the truth of the matter is that there's still a distinct lack of HD content available.

Read more: http://goo.gl/9HXg9

via lifehacker.com

Pulling out USB connected items from your Computer can be more complicated than it seems if you are to be sure of not damaging or corrupting your system or data.

Whilst Mac & Linux use write caching on pretty much all drives, & will let you eject any drive through your file manager. Windows disables this write cache feature for drives it sees as "removable", because it knows people are likely to yank them out without ejecting (though you can still eject them by right-clicking on them and pressing "Eject"). As such, disabling this feature on removable drives decreases the chance of data corruption. It keeps the cache enabled on non-removable drives, though—and sometimes it recognises external USB drives as not removable, which is why your USB drive doesn't have an eject button. Paradoxically, it's also why you need to eject that drive: since Windows doesn't see it as removable, it's enabled the write cache for it, increasing the chance of data corruption.

You can edit the write cache settings for any drive from the Device Manager. Just expand the Disk Drives section, right click on the drive you want to edit, and hit Properties. Go to the Policies tab, and click the "Quick Removal" radio button to disable the cache (or click "Better Performance" to enable the write cache).

Since fixmypc.24ex has experienced instances where customers have experienced damage by being unaware that USB devices need to be 'safely removed'. It always advises that where the 'safely remove tray icon' appears, it should always be right-clicked & followed through to safely eject the connection being used, before it is yanked out. It is wise to configure 'Notification Area Icons' to 'always show' for this tray icon & of course other important icons (like your system security suite or antivirus program for example).

1. Don’t double-click ‘everything’.

Double-clicking is how you open items in Windows. It is NOT how you open links in your Web browser, click buttons in dialog boxes, or do virtually anything else. If you insistently double-click, you might accidentally skip right past something important or submit a form twice. If you don’t need this reminder yourself, chances are you may know someone who does.

2. Uncheck all ‘the boxes’ before you install!

Lots of ‘apps’ out there give you the option of installing search toolbars & other add-ons. Installers are configured to install these ‘uninvited extras’ (usually covertly) unless you check a box saying you do not want them. Not only is each add-on another thing that your PC needs to load, but you have no idea what kind of data it could be sending out. They come bundled with the app because they make money for the developer, not because they’re particularly useful. So take a close look at what you’re installing before you click ‘Install’- that way, you won’t change your search engine or install toolbars you don’t need.

3. Be very skeptical of “cleaning” apps.

Apps that make claims about improving your PC’s performance and clearing out its clutter (Registry cleaners, for example) will generally do more harm than good (if they do anything at all). The first & foremost way to clean up your system is to simply run ‘Disk Cleanup’ (to reach it, select Start Menu, All programs, Accessories, System Tools). It comes with every version of Windows. Tick all its boxes. Don’t worry it won’t delete any needed files on your PC. Better still put a shortcut on the desktop so you run it more often.

4. Uninstall your old programs.

If you regularly download and install new apps from the Internet, you should get in the habit of cleaning out your ‘collection’. To do so, open the Programs and Features control panel, scroll through the list, & click ‘Uninstall’ to get rid of those items you no longer want or use. The less you have on your PC, the less things are to go wrong & the faster it can run.

5. Keep your Control Panel in ‘Icon View’.

The Control Panel’s Categories view can be useful if you are intimidated by the many different options available, but it can also make finding what you’re looking for more difficult (especially if you’re following detailed instructions that refer to the control panels by name). Click Classic view on the left (in Vista) or choose Large Icons from the View by dropdown menu in the upper right (in Windows 7), and you’ll have ready access to all of the control panels.

fixmypc.24ex can perform a proper pc health check & intensive system clean. At the minimum, system file checks, integrity & performance can be addressed. A full PC tune up can eliminate the frustration associated with any sluggishness that may have set in to a PC that has been in use for some months.

Stop Spam Emails With A Webmail Account

Free webmail providers such as Google, Yahoo!, and Hotmail all receive millions of spam emails a day addressed to thousands of their customers, so they get to see larger spam trends before anyone else. Also, they all know that if they let through too many spam emails, they’ll lose customers to a competitor, so they have a vested interest to stop spam emails.

These providers also have dozens or hundreds of in-house system administrators and programmers who can implement advanced solutions to stop spam emails. For example, one way spammers try to get around the Bayesian filter used at Google is by including spam text in images embedded in the email, so Google wrote a program that extracts every large image sent to a GMail customer and runs it through Optical Character Recognition so its Bayesian filter can “read” images too. Few home users have the time or the resources to implement this level of sophistication to stop spam emails.

Again, the very thing that makes webmail spam filtering so effective also serves as its Achilles heal—so zealous are these large providers at protecting customers from spam that they often accidentally mark legitimate email as spam. Often this happens to users who receive newsletters, which look like spam because they get sent to hundreds or thousands of readers.

If you are really on the ball about your emails that you do not want to miss out on, you can always whitelist an email address, which ensures they get delivered to you.

via tips4pc.com

Spam has reportedly sunk to its lowest level for years & since many now use web based email providers it is no longer absolutely necessary to back up or download your emails locally to your computer. Windows 7 no longer includes a local based email client within & fixmypc.24ex recommends using web based accounts (but not your isps provided addresses just in case you change provider!).

Lithium-ion batteries are different from older, nickel-based batteries (which suffered from a nasty memory effect not present in lithium-ion batteries). Charging them incorrectly can decrease their lifespan. Most lithium batteries should last you a few years, but improper care can decrease that lifespan, meaning that your battery will be unable to hold a charge—or unable to hold as big a charge as it used to—quicker. So, to clear things up, here’s how to actually extend your battery’s health as much as possible.

Perform shallow discharges Instead of discharging to 0% all the time, lithium-ion batteries do best when you discharge them for a little bit, then charge them for a little bit. Discharges to 50% are better for your battery’s long-term life than, say, small discharges to 90% or large discharges to 0% (since the 50% discharges provide the best number of cycles-to-usage ratio).

Don’t leave it fully charged. Similarly, lithium-ion batteries don’t need to be charged all the way to 100%. In fact, they’d prefer not to be—so the 40%-80% rule you heard is a good guideline. When possible, keep it in that range to prolong its life as long as you can. And, if you do charge it to 100%, don’t leave it plugged in. This is something most of us do, but it’s another thing that will degrade your battery’s health.

Fully discharge it once a month. This may seem contradictory, but hear us out. While lithium-ion batteries shouldn’t be discharged regularly, most modern batteries are what’s known as “smart batteries”, which means that they can tell you how long you have until your battery dies (e.g. “2 hours, 15 minutes remaining”). This feature can get miscalibrated after a lot of shallow discharges. So, manufacturers recommend fully discharging your battery once a month to make sure this stays accurate.

Most people overlook this one. Excess heat is not only bad for your processor (and your lap), but your battery as well. Once again, see the table from Battery University —which you can click on for a closer view—a hot battery will degrade in health much quicker than a cool one. As such, we highly recommend using a laptop stand, like one of the many DIY options featured at Lifehacker. When it comes to your phone, check out previous Ask Lifehacker on keeping your phone temperature down.

Keep these things in mind and your battery will last longer. That said, remember that you don’t need to be super strict about these things. Don’t sacrifice practicality just to keep your battery alive—if you’re in a situation where you don’t have a charger, it’s okay to discharge it to 0%, or charge it up to 100% if you want to do so for a long plane ride. Remember that your battery is going to die in a few years, no matter what you do—even if you just let it sit on a shelf. So don’t go overboard: use your battery as you need it. But, if you’re just sitting at home or in a coffee shop, these guidelines will help you keep it healthy for as long as possible (and when it’s dead, check out what do to when your battery doesn’t last as long as it used to).

If you want a more detailed look at how lithium batteries work and how to take care of them, check out the links below from Battery University.

How to Prolong Lithium-Based Batteries

Charging Lithium-Ion Batteries

How to Store Batteries

When to Charge Table

via lifehacker.com

Your Laptop battery will degrade considerably if your laptop is left plugged in when the battery is in fact actually fully charged. fixmypc.24ex recommends removing your battery completely from your Laptop, since you can still use the laptop without its battery pack when on mains adapter & therefore keep your battery as cool as possible, & in it’s best condition, thereby prolonging it’s life. The same advice applies to smartphones also.