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Why Is My Computer So Slow All Of A Sudden – Causes And Solutions

November 8, 2010 By GuestPoster

Each time I find myself wondering why is my computer so slow all of a sudden, I refer back to the following checklist of common performance problems and solutions.

Is the PC overheating? Doing a quick check of the air vents to make sure they are not blocked by dust or other impediments. Go to the BIOS menu to check the diagnostics for CPU temperature and fan speeds. If these are not according to general guidelines then open up the PC casing and clear out any dust from filters and fans using a can of compressed air.

Have you checked for viruses? A malware application or other type of computer virus can regularly cause corruption to your operating system files and use a lot of CPU and RAM power if they are constantly running in the background. Run a complete scan of your hard drive and any external storage. Use a registry cleaner or computer repair software to repair the Windows registry, if required.

Is there enough free space on the hard drive? Windows uses virtual memory (i.e. the paging file) on the hard drive to process applications and OS programs. If free space drops below 10% on the hard drive then this virtual memory will start to be constricted and your computer will slow down. Remove old applications to free up some space quickly and then run Disk Cleanup to clear out temp files.

Has the hard disc been defragmented recently? Disk fragmentation leads to slow read/write access times for all programs on the computer. Run the Disk Defragmenter tool every month in order to reorder the data fragments on the disk in such a way as to optimize disk access times.

Are all your programs up-to-date? Check Windows update service to make sure you have the latest security and cumulative fix packs for your operating system and associated programs. If the computer is going slow all of a sudden when using specific applications then check these programs for updates and/or known performance faults.

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Filed Under: Computers Tagged With: computer repair software, computer running slow, my computer is running slow, my computer is running very slow, my computer is very slow, why is my computer so slow all of a sudden

How Data Recovery Experts Do Deleted File Recovery

November 3, 2010 By GuestPoster

Data recovery experts can use a variety of hardware and software tools to retrieve your data. In this article, we’ll look at a standard process for deleted file recovery.

Recovering deleted files is possible due to the fact that deletion of a document does not clear the hard drive of the original file contents. Files are stored on the disk as data clusters and these are associated with your original file by index references in the file allocation table. Deleting a file will simply alter the file allocation table settings so that the file no longer appears in Windows Explorer and makes the data clusters available for reuse (i.e. for storing new documents).

If there are any viruses or software damage to the PC then the data recovery expert’s first task is to complete any computer maintenance repair tasks. They make an initial analysis of the state of your computer and the probability of being able to retrieve your data in order to quote the cost of retrieval.

This can vary depending on whether they need software tools to retrieve data from the hard drive or will need to do a mechanical recovery (i.e. place the internal hard drive in a reading device/harness to directly read the disk platters).

Software recovery can actually be quite straightforward. The experts will perform a deleted file recovery using a variety of data recovery software. Basic file retrieval tools that are widely available (e.g. freeware tools like Smart Recover or Undelete Plus) may initially be used to scan the hard drive searching for data clusters that can be formed into documents.

If necessary, forensic level data recovery tools may be necessary to identify data shadows of clusters that have been overwritten. If the hard drive was continually used after the file was deleted then there is the possibility that your files were written over by newly stored documents.

All files leave data shadows on the disk which resemble data footprints of various versions of your document, and forensic recovery tools can in many cases recover some or all of your original document.

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Filed Under: Computers Tagged With: computer maintenance repair, computers, data recovery tools, deleted file recovery, recover deleted files, recover overwritten file, restore deleted files

Internet Security Virus Tips

November 1, 2010 By Corporate

One of the trickier Internet Security virus programs to remove is the System Security virus. In this article, we’ll show three different approaches to removing this type of malware application from your computer.

The virus is noted for the fact that it will stop you from running applications including System Restore so you first need to work out ways of working around the fault. The bug will try to force you into purchasing a fake anti-virus application, in spite of the fact that you may already have one installed. This info is not for those who simply have a slow computer.

The first method involves running your anti-virus applications from within safe mode. Safe mode can be started by hitting the F8 key repeatedly as Windows is starting and it will boot up Windows with a reduced number of services which will halt the virus from running.

Once started, run your anti-virus/malware application or install one of these programs if you do not already have one. One suggestion would be to use an online computer repair tool like Reimage which can detect faults in OS and registry files.

The second method involves manually removing files and registry settings relating to the virus. This method may not work out successfully depending on the virus on your PC as bug file locations can alter over time:

Boot up the PC in safe mode.
Launch the task manager and shutdown the applications relating to the virus (i.e. {some number}.exe and SystemSecurity.exe).
Remove the following directories from your hard drive C:\Program Files\System Security\ and C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\{some number}\{some number}.exe.
Open the registry editor and remove or rename the following keys HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\System Security and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\System Security.
Open msconfig (start, run, enter msconfig) and go to the Startup tab to disable the executables mentioned in the first step of this manual process.
Reboot the PC as normal.

The third method involves starting your computer in safe mode and then using the System Restore functionality (accessories, system tools) to rollback changes made to the operating system faults. It is worth also running a malware removal program after doing this in order to clear down the application files relating to the virus from your hard drive.

If none of this works and you have not been able to gain access then you will have to start looking into a program that can recover lost or deleted files.

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Filed Under: Computers Tagged With: computer internet security, computers, internet security virus, online computer repair tool, recover lost or deleted files, system security virus removal

Computer Repair Services – Hardware And Software Tips

October 29, 2010 By GuestPoster

Many people will resort to contacting computer repair services when a severe computer error occurs, rather than attempt to make any of the computer maintenance and repairs themselves. In this article, we look at some of the basic troubleshooting techniques you can use on hardware and software faults before resorting to using a repair service.

Your starting point is always to consider hardware faults first, since if these are left unattended then they may actually cause more damage to components and possible data loss and you’ll end up looking for a data recovery tool. Use the Device Manager utility to identify components are working correctly, and that device drivers are up to date.

The troubleshooting section of this utility can guide you through some checks you can do on individual components that are failing. You can also check the BIOS menu (in particular diagnostics relating to CPU temperatures and fan speeds) to make sure all devices are being recognized/picked up and that the computer is not overheating.

Software issues may require a little more research before you can start your computer maintenance and repairs. If pop-up messages or exceptions are being shown then take note of the error and research at online. Any operating system related issues should first be checked on the Microsoft knowledge base website.

Third-party applications should always be checked on their own manufacturer’s site, followed by user forums. Try to target the customer support tickets on these websites to identify have others are experiencing the same fault and what solutions are being proposed.

In more general terms, you should run an anti-virus scan, run the Windows update program to get the latest operating system patches and device drivers and do a scan of the drive using the disk checking utility from Windows to repair bad sectors.

One final check to consider before calling upon computer repair services is to use a registry cleaner to check the Windows registry file has not become corrupted or faulty. It is worth having one of these utilities installed as the registry can easily develop faults due to application changes and damage from viruses.

Check out Prufe.net for a variety of interesting articles.

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Filed Under: Computers Tagged With: broken computers, computer maintenance and repairs, computer repair services, computers, data recovery tool, pc computer repair

Vtech Laptop: The Smarter Way to Learn

October 28, 2010 By GuestPoster

How would you approach a teaching toy that integrates basic learning essentials to enjoyable and highly entertaining games and activities? This is what a Vtech laptop is all about.

Learning the fundamental concepts (anything that has to do with reading, writing and the basic mathematical operations), is now getting even more complicated and harder for both parents and children. The reason behind this is due to the fact that there seems to be too many distractions that intrude between two concerning parties in the form of TV, computers and other outdoor activities that are somewhat associated to the modern age and generation that we are currently living in.

Oftentimes, parents would blame these technological inventions because children living in this current era have too many distractions to put up with. However, learning experts and gaming manufacturers have found a new way to integrate learning into this technological advancement. And this is something that the VTech Company has in mind when they were able to come up with interesting learning gadgets for young kids to learn and enjoy with – to mention a few – VTech laptops, computers, Vtech smartville playsets, Vsmile games and many more.

If you are a first time parent, clueless on how to impart and teach your beloved child the basic learning that he has to learn before he even starts preschool, then a VTech laptop will help you jumpstart his interest to learn new things. Now you can discover the amazing transformation that your child will undergo upon coming across with a useful and highly engaging toy that many kids out there have experienced too.

The Vtech laptop has in store for you a wide array of games that your child will surely find equally amusing to your own delight and functional to your own parental taste. You don’t have to repeatedly teach your child about letters, phonics and basic mathematical operations manually (which could end up really boring and painstaking for the child), you can just guide him through a multitude of activities instead.

This innovative and breakthrough concept: the ability to integrate learning functions to children’s toys made it easier for many parents to teach their child. After all, no child could resist the power of winning games and activities; any enthusiastic child would certainly go after such kind of toys even without knowing their educational functions.

The VTech Company, which is a Hong Kong based company, has been in this toy manufacturing industry for many decades. Their wide range of designs for Vtech laptops is just one of the many child centered educational and electronic toys the company has to offer. Among other things, this toy company is also notable for a few lines of engaging and charming toys for children which include the Vsmile learning system, Vtech smartville play sets and the Vsmile baby.