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Computer Hygiene - Take Out The Trash!
Do you find that your computer exhibits one or more of the following behaviors? - Inexplicable message or warning pop-ups - Frequent unsolicited reboots - Your favorite application often crashes - Applications now start up sluggishly - Your...
Data Backup Solution: Why you need a backup plan in place – Part 1
Is a data backup solution part of your computer plans? Do you have a way to protect yourself if something goes wrong with your computer or data? Computers are a useful part of our lives but we don't always protect ourselves from their loss be it...
Lost your USB Flash? Don't Panic!
The market for USB flash drives has grown very popular over the past several years. Any computer user can transport files from one computer to another with significant ease, using this lightweight, user-friendly and compact information carrier. For...
Seecrets On Security: A Gentle Introduction On Cryptography Part 2
The recent explosive growth of PC's and Internet-based commerce has significantly increased the need for a wide variety of computer security mechanisms. This article, the second of a three-part series, lays the underlying foundation in plain...
Wireless Home Networking - Choosing The Right One
Are you suffering from home wireless networking nightmare? There are so many options. 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g - what is all that? All you want is to get online on your notebook computer in your living room without tripping over wires.
First...
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The Cycle of Windows Life.
As with all creatures, Windows GUI’s (Graphic User Interface) running the Windows 9x operating system, including Windows ME, has a life cycle.
If your computer is setup correctly and you don’t regularly add and remove components or programs,the Windows life cycle usually will last about three years. You will know when Windows is fading by the signs it gives you. The most common is the GPF (General Protection Fault), you will see this from time to time while using programs in Windows, you know, the errors that come up telling you that something has
caused an illegal operation and although you have a couple of options, you still wind up using the infamous Ctr-Alt-Del soft boot to rectify the problem.
This is what’s happening: Time and usage takes its toll on your computers hardware and software. Windows9x/Me is no exception. Each time you add and remove components and/or software Windows has to make massive changes to itself. This includes rearranging files, adding and deleting dynamic linking files and hundreds of other changes. Over time even Windows starts getting Alzheimer’s disease.
Fortunately there is a cure.
Windows has a number of programs built-in that can increase the longevity of your system. The most important of these is SCANDISK, you can run scandisk by clicking on START, PROGRAMS,
ACCESSORIES, and then SYSTEM
TOOLS. Scandisk will check your hard drive for problems and can automatically fix most that it finds. You should run Scandisk at least once a month. Another program is DISK DEFRAGMENTER located in the same System Tools folder. Disk Defragmenter actually rearranges blocks of information on your hard drive. Each time you add, remove or make changes to programs Windows will save this information to the hard drive. Windows will not but these changes in any kind of logical order on the drive and can/will place portions of files in different areas of the drive. Disk Defragmenter checks the drives and buts the files in a logical order. This makes it easier for Windows to find and use the files a programs needs which inturn speeds up your computer. There are also third party programs that claim to do a better job cleaning up Windows such as Norton Utilities. Be
careful with third party programs, remember you are adding another program that can cause problems. If you really want to make Windows as fresh as the day you installed it, start all over again. Once you start getting errors in Windows and specifically more than one application its time to start over. The best way to do this is run the FDISK command from your boot disk and delete everything on your hard drive
and then reinstall all. Michael List, www.mpl1.com
About the Author
www.mpl1.com
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| Tom's Hardware |
| : Tom's Hardware Guide is the Internet's premiere resource for hardware news and reviews. |
| www.tomshardware.com |
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| HardwareCentral - Your source for in-depth computer hardware info. |
| HardwareCentral is the #1 Hardware Information Resource on the 'Net. Featuring over 600 pages of Hardware information, including advice on System ... |
| www.hardwarecentral.com |
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| Apple - Hardware |
| Find your favorite Mac, iPod and other Apple accessories. |
| www.apple.com |
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| Ace Hardware |
| Nationwide (United States) hardware and home improvement retailer. Includes products, dealer locator and corporate information. |
| www.acehardware.com |
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| Computer hardware - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| The hardware of a computer is infrequently changed, in comparison with software and ... Personal computers, the computer hardware familiar to most people, ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
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| Hardware - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| Hardware is the general term that is used to describe physical artifacts of a technology. ... In a looser sense, hardware can be major military equipment, ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
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| Open Directory - Computers: Hardware |
| Hardware Central - Computing-centric community providing vital information, support, tools and interaction facilities for power computer users and ... |
| dmoz.org |
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| Microsoft Hardware – Home Page |
| Learn about Microsoft mice, keyboards, desktop sets, webcams, media center peripherals, gaming products, fingerprint readers and presentation tools. |
| www.microsoft.com |
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| AnandTech: your source for hardware analysis and news |
| Independent hands-on reviews of computer hardware such as motherboards, graphic cards, and CPUs. |
| www.anandtech.com |
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| hardware.com - Routers, switches, firewalls, servers, memory ... |
| Supplier of new and refurbished networking hardware and approved and compatible network accessories. Located in the United Kingdom. |
| www.hardware.com |
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| Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters |
| From the article: "Although the news caused barely a ripple of reaction in the audience of software and hardware engineers, there are industry analysts who ... |
| hardware.slashdot.org |
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| InformationWeek HardwareTech Center |
| Our hardware coverage ranges from mobile computers and PDAs to servers and supercomputers, and the infrastructure issues enterprises deal with every day. ... |
| www.informationweek.com |
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| What is hardware? - A Word Definition From the Webopedia Computer ... |
| This page describes the term hardware and lists other pages on the Web where you can find additional information. |
| www.webopedia.com |
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| Google Directory - Computers > Hardware |
| Hardware Central - http://www.hardwarecentral.com/ Computing-centric community providing vital information, support, tools and interaction facilities for ... |
| www.google.com |
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| Gifts: Unique Gifts & Gift Ideas at Restoration Hardware |
| At Restoration Hardware, you'll explore an exceptional world of high quality unique gifts. Browse our products to find gift ideas & more at Restoration ... |
| www.restorationhardware.com |
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| HwB: The Hardware Book |
| HwB provides you with circuits, pinouts, cable/adapter descriptions and other technical information. |
| www.hardwarebook.net |
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| Reg Hardware: Product News and Gadget Reviews from The Register |
| More Gadgets Stuff. 5th December 2006 12:09 GMT. Author: Reg Hardware ... 27th November 2006 15:31 GMT. Author: The Hardware Widow ... |
| www.reghardware.co.uk |
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| red hat hardware compatibility lists |
| hardware.redhat.com/ - Similar pages |
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| TrueValue.com |
| Here's our tip to hang strands of lights with ease. Jeanenne & Jim Tucker Plantation True Value Hardware Richmond, TX ... |
| www.truevalue.com |
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| A complete illustrated Guide to the PC Hardware |
| A complete illustrated Guide to the PC Hardware, Logic and Architecture. 500 easy-read articles about the modern PC. Understand the basic architecture of ... |
| www.karbosguide.com |
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