How to optimize you're PC (Windows)

           So you just got a new PC for a great price however the performance its not every great. So here are a few tips on how to optimize that PC for performance and put in it the fast lane.

1. Turn off unnecessary services like the Smart card service is used if you're PC has a smart card slot. You can disable unused services which services can decrease you're battery life. However I do recommend that you keep services on like Windows Update.

2. Install CCLEANER as this is a free program for home users and it scans into you're system and removes lots of stuff like browser cache and temporary system files. It also has a registry cleaner to keep you're registry up and clean.

3. Turn off Areo. In Windows Vista and 7 Areo provides those visual affects like transparency however they do slow down the PC noticeably. To turn not use Areo go to you're control panel and appearance and themes and select windows classic or change the color and unselect use transparency affects.

4. Install more RAM as RAM becomes cheaper it makes sense to install more. Make sure you install RAM that will work with you're motherboard or it will not work at all.

5. Install a SSD. They range in capacitites from 60GB to 1TB. The benefit of owning a SSD is you don't have to defragment the drive and the read and write speeds of the drive can be as high as 550/MBS.

6. Remove unnecessary programs you are not going to use.

PC disaster tips

       We all face disaster in our PC lives whether it is an incorrectly configured Bios causing you're PC not to boot or a dead hard drive causing you're PC's boot to slow to a crawl. Here a few tips to keep in mind when you are using you're PC and if disaster does strike you will feel like you can recover in a small amount of time.

5. Back up all you're data onto something that is not you're boot drive. I personally recommend using DVDs if you have a low amount of bandwidth as they are very cheap and range in the 4GB capacity however if you're PC does not have an optical drive purchase a USB to DVD drive they can be around ~$10. If you have a high enough amount of bandwidth then upload you're data to the "cloud" as the cloud is available everywhere.

4. Make a system repair disc when you are using Windows do this after you reinstall or purchase you're PC. By doing this you can recover from a huge disaster or use it when ever you have incorrectly configured a component but remember you can't use this disc if you have changed mother boards.

3. If possible use another PC or use you're recovery PC. In those desperate times use you're Sister's PC or you're Mother's however offer to optimize it after words.

2. Keep a bootable USB key with you as if you have a bad operating system or a critical file is missing like Hal.dll use a USB key to boot. Depending on how old you're PC is or if you're BIOS hasn't been updated try doing so as not every PC supports this. You can do this with a 2GB flash drive and install programs and when you reboot nothing is affected and you can install Ubuntu from the key.

1. Is to reinstall you're operating system although this is the most destructive way to recovery. You can do this if you are still receiving lock ups or crashes. Reinstalling you're operating system can remove you're personal files and programs but you can have a clean PC.

Asus Transformer Prime

               This is a follow up on the Asus Transformer Prime Tablet and the article for more information can be found in Maximum PC magazine the March 2011 issue.

 

               This is the first tablet to have the nVidia Tegra 3 quad core processor with a 5 core to do small tasks like quick calculations or take a photo of something nice. The tablet runs Android 4.0 code named “IceCreamSandwich”. The tablet can accommodate a keyboard which has a full USB port so you can plug up a game controller and a play console like games on you're tablet. So playing games like Shogun and typing an essay afterwards couldn't be any easier. This tablet is equipped with a 10” screen with a resolution of 1280x800 and it capable of 1080p video play back. Rather than an accessory like a keyboard bringing down you're battery life this tablet has a maximum battery life 18 hours with the key board and is included with software that can not be removed however in Android 4.0 built in applications can be disabled. 

   

               

               This tablet is highly recommended as in this world PCs aren't dying they are just meeting their companions to help you get what needs to be done. On this tablet you can do so much like you can write that article while you are on the train going to work. You will want to be advised that with this tablet having a quad core processor it will not have support for 4G LTE but it will work with any other type of network technology such as HSPA+ but sadly the transformer does not support these such communications. The tablet will be an excellent thing to have when you are on the road but in no way is it a replacement for a PC as it is only a tablet. 

Norton irritates user

     

               This is a follow up on a small article I felt it was interesting because the popular software company Symantec sued as a scareware seller. The article can be found in Maximum PC magazine the March 2011 issue.

               

                A man claims that Norton Utilities said made his PC full of privacy issue and continued to display them while he was using his PC. Also as a PC user I feel that Norton constantly aggravated me for multiple things how when it would constantly bug me about potential malware on my PC that didn't exist and the fact that unistalling the software completely requires me to download their own program to completely “remove” their program and before removing the program it literally want to to enter a code to verify which bugs me and makes me wonder about the numerous IT professionals having to maintenance hundereds of computers and having to enter a code for every single would become very time consuming. 

          

              

               The man states that Symantec uses these warnings to trick their users to purchase licences for their products. With Symantec's popular Norton AntiVirus when a trial is activated the program constantly harasses it's users to upgrade their license and if you wait you are hit with a annoyance every hour it minimizes full screen applications and makes the user want to quit using their computer completely until the program is fully unistalled which requires another Symantec program which users don't know if it putting more registry keys onto the computer.