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What To Do When The Computer Freezes

admin — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

When your computer freezes while you are in the middle of doing something productive, it can be an extremely frustrating experience. Unfortunately, depending on what is causing your computer to freeze, you may lose any unsaved data when you correct the problem.

However, regardless of whether the problem that is causing your computer to freeze is a software or hardware issue, there are simple straightforward steps that you can take to resolve it.

Press the Ctrl, Alt and Delete keys on your keyboard simultaneously. If the keyboard is responsive, a new window with a list of options appears. Click Start Task Manager to open the Task Manager window. The list of programs currently running on your computer is displayed.

Click on the name of the program that has the message “This program is not responding” next to it in the Status column, then click the End Task button. The program that is causing the problem is automatically terminated and you can resume using your computer.

If the keyboard is unresponsive, you will have to perform a hard reboot of your computer. A hard reboot is restarting your computer without using the normal shut down procedure through the operating system. Press the power button on your computer and hold it until the computer restarts. You can resume using the computer when it restarts.

Blue Screens Of Death: How To Fix Them

admin — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Trying to fix the Blue Screen of Death is not easy because there are quite a number of different reasons why it may be present. A virus, a faulty hard drive or a problem with a particular partition could all be at the root of the problem. So, how can you address it? First, you need to locate the error number present on the blue screen. Once you log the error number, you can then look it up and determine the right steps for fixing it.

One method entails little more than letting the computer cool down. The problem may go away on its own in an hour or so. Booting via the DVD drive could be another simple option.

In serious situations, you may have to take the system in for virus removal or hard drive repair. This can prove costly which is why other simpler methods may be employed first. Many will simply reinstall the operating system and save the files into a new folder. If this does not work, you could employ a Linux boot disk to access files, move them to an external drive and then totally reinstall the hard drive. Others might move the original hard drive to an external case and install a new one.

What happens if the motherboard is the cause of the Blue Screen of Death? In this dire scenario, you may have no choice but to buy a new computer.

The Importance Of Defragmenting The Computer

admin — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Over time, your computer’s hard drive becomes fragmented. What this means, is that there are hundreds of files broken up in several locations across your hard drive. This can cause your computer to slow down because it has to look for the information in different files. This is why it is so important to defragment your computer. What defragmenting does is it reorganizes the fragmented files and it speeds up the computer.
How often you use your computer, will help you decide how often to defragment it. If you keep your computer on everyday and never turn off, you never have to defragment it. The reason for this is because it automatically does it. If you use your computer just part of the time and turn it off, once every couple of weeks is fine. But if you are a heavy user it is a good idea to do it once a week.
It is easy to defragment your computer. Just follow these simple steps.

1. Click on your ‘start menu’. Then click in the ‘Computer’ icon.
2. Next, you right-click the disk you wish to defragment. Next you select ‘Properties’.
3. The next step is to click the ‘Tools’ tab and select ‘Defragment now’.
4. Next click ‘Defragment disk’. If you are not sure if you even need to defragment the disk, you can select ‘Analyze disk’. This will tell you how to proceed.

What To Do When Your Computer Is Slow

admin — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

If your computer is running slow, there are a few easy things that you can do to speed it up. Probably one of the first things you can do is make sure that there is no malware or viruses, causing things to slow down. Run a virus scan and correct any issues, then run a malware scan and do the same. You can find free trial versions online. Next make sure that you have enough disk space. If things are tight, you may want to delete any unnecessary things that may be clogging up your system.

Depending on your computer and operating system, you can run a disk scan and a disk defragment program, to make sure that your hard disk is storing information efficiently. Use Google to find the best defragment program for your system.

Another thing that can make your computer run slow is never updating the operating system, and the programs you are using. There is a reason your computer wants to run updates every few days. Software is not static and things are constantly changing. You need the updated software patches to keep things running smoothly and safely. So, go ahead, and turn on the update feature and make sure your operating system and software is up to date. These few tricks should speed things up. If not, then a hardware upgrade may be in order. You may need to add memory or upgrade your entire system.

Tips To Fix Computers At Home

admin — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Almost everyone has a computer, and if they don’t they probably should. Having a computer makes everything from research, to finances, to shopping, easy and convenient. More homes with computers, also make computer problems more common. Here a few tips everyone can do to make sure that their home computer is running properly and continues to do so.

First off, problems happen with computers. Instead of being afraid of something happening to your computer or hoping problems never come up, it is safer to be prepared for when problems arise. The easiest thing you can do is back up important information. You don’t have to backup everything on your computer, just those things you may want to keep. You can always reinstall your operating system and software that you have on discs. Also, since many things we use are online or on the cloud, just be sure to save all of your passwords. A spreadsheet can be a great place to save all of the important information, and make backing up passwords easy.

Backing up your data can be as simple as transferring the information, you want to keep, to an external hard drive, or as elaborate as signing up for an online backup service. Once you have your data saved, you will not have to live in fear of a hard drive failure or data loss. The next thing to do is make Google your friend, and don’t be afraid to research any potential issues that come up. If you have had the problem, there is a good chance that many other people have had that problem too, and someone has documented the solution online.

Often times, fixing your computer, at home, can be as simple as turning your computer off and on. If your computer is acting strange there is a good chance that you may need to run a virus scan or malware scan. There are many free programs that you can use to run and fix potential virus or malware issues. Also, proper maintenance such as keeping the operating system up to date and keeping the hard disc from becoming fragmented, will help keep things running smoothly.