Tech Tip Of The Day -- Difference Between Hardware & Software

Your computer seem to be malfunctioning, running slow, programs crashing or the infamour BSoD. Is it your computer hardware or computer software? This can be difficult to figure out since hardware and software problems can have the same behavior on your computer.

Slow Computer issues can be fixed easily, remove recently installed software to fix the problem. Also check how much available RAM and Hard Drive space your computer has too many files and programs installed can cause slow computer performance. Hardware problems don't tend to lead to a slow computer. But there are some occassions where it is the hardware; CPU overheating and the computer downclocking itself to reduce the computer heat.

BSoD don't happen as often as they use to due to the stability of Windows now compared to that of the earlier versions of Windows. If you are encountering frequent BSoD there is a chance that hardware is failing or newly installed software is having issues. TO check to see which is the cause for this issue if you have installed new piece of hardware to your computer remove it. Also if you installed new software uninstall the software to see if that fixes the BSoD issues that you have been experiencing.

When Hardware starts to Fail

• Hard Drive - files may become corrupted and have long time gaps to loading files and programs
• CPU - computer not booting, overheating, possibly blue screen under load of an application
• RAM - application crashes, blue screens, file corruption
• Graphics Card - graphical errors rendering different aspects on the coputer
• Fans - cause computer to overheat, leading to problems with CPU and graphics card since the computer is exceeding functional operating heat
• Motherboard - these are extremely tough to diagnose, BSoD are frequent and 
• Power Supply - this is also tough to diagnose, the power supply might not be delivering the correct power to the needed device of the computer. 

A sure fire way to fix a hardware or software problem is to reinstall a fresh copy of windows or repair your current copy of Windows. 

Tech Tip Of The Day -- PC Won't Start

It happens you go to turn on your computer and it won't boot, this is a common issue with a vast array of causes. To find out what issue you are suffering for will take some troubleshooting.

First think of any recent changes, hardware upgrades you have done on your machine. Incompatible hardware, something might have come unplugged inside the computer.

The computer won't power on at all, verify that your computer is plugged in to the power outlet and that the ac plug is not loose. If all cables are connected on the outside open the case and verify that all the cables are plugged in to the correct location on the board and power component. Check that the monitor is powered on and all the connections on the back of the monitor are secure.

If computer powers on and says no bootable device this will be on a black screen. This mean that the computer is not booting from the Hard Drive that it is suppose to boot from. The device boot order might have changed, enter your computers BIOS and check Boot Order. If the hard drive is not listed at all the hard drive might have failed and is no longer able to be booted from.

WIndows Freezes or Crashes During Boot this could be signs of a software or hardware issue. Try to perform Startup Repair or Recover the computer from a perviously successful boot. Another option is to use the Windows disk and reinstall a new copy of Windows if all else fails.

Windows Start & BSoD or Freezes this is another sign of software or hardware problem. First try booting the computer in Safe Mode since windows doesn't load all drivers when a computer is loaded into safe mode. If computer loads in safe mode try and uninstall recently installed software, check for driver issues. I would also suggest running a malware scanner to check for any corrupt files. Also you can check the disk in command prompt - chkdsk which will check the hard disk for any issue and attempt to fix any issues found.

Tech Tip Of The Day - Open File W/ Unusual Extension

Ever had an issue opening a file due to the type of extension it was. Not sure what program to load or open the unknown file with. Well hopefully these tips will help  you in this process.

First I would suggest scanning the file for malware by using your antivirus software. Once you have verified that the file is clean and not an infected file double click. It is possible that Windows will open the program without any hiccup. But in the case it doesn't try these in the dialog box that opens Use the Web service to find the correct program. The result web page may not find a proper program to use to open the file. Try another file extension database like FILExt , which will allow you to enter the extension.

Another option is to use Google or Bing or any other search engine you prefer, simply search for open 'ext' replacing ext with the extension in question. Sometimes text files can be opened using notepad.

Tech Tip Of The Day -- Free Up Hard Drive Space

Here are some ways to free up hard drive space to allow for faster pc speed and processes to run more efficiently and smoother.

• Erase Windows Update Uninstall Files
• this process is helpful if an update causes a problem or fails. Then you can uninstall an update, uninstall files from several months or years ago are just taking up space on the hard drive that can be used for other programs or files. These files can be removed from the 'Windows Disk Cleanup Tool' Open Disk Cleanup, click Clean up System files, check Windows Update Cleanup and click 'OK'

• Remove Recovery Partition
• Generally windows computers come with recovery partitions that allow the computer to be reset to factory settings. The recovery partition also allows for the reinstall of Windows. These partitions take up several gigabytes of hard drive space. If you would like to remove this partition I suggest you put the partition on a flash drive that way it can be used if needed at a later time. 

• Disable Hibernation File
• Whenever the computer goes into hibernation Windows saves contents of your RAM in the hibernation file and shuts down. When the computer boots up again it reads the contents of the file into memory and restores the computer. On a laptop I would not disable hibernation. When hibernation is disabled Windows deletes the file, the file can not be moved off the system drive. 

• Shrink Paging File
• The page file is a file used by Windows when available RAM fills up. Windows then page out data to disk to ensure that there is always available memory  for applications. The paging file can be moved to another drive

• Configure System Restore
• Disabling this file will make it so that you can unable to use system restore in an event that your computer needs to be restored. You'd would then have to perform a Windows reinstall and fix the problems manually. 

Tech Tip Of The Day -- Fix PC Annonyances

Are you sick of having to allow updates or installs of software that you have selected. How about files not deleting when selected. Then the dreaded slow Boot Time & start up.

Fixing UAC (User Account Control) less annoying tired of being bugged with having to enter your credentials when trying to update software or installing new software. You can disable UAC in a few simple steps to stop this annoying pop up and dimming of the screen. Start --> Control Panel --> User Accounts
Slide the bar down towards 'Never Notify' if you do not want bothered with this issue again. Or if you don't feel safe will disabling the UAC you can just put the bar as close to 'Never Notify' as you desire.

Deleting files that don't want to be deleted, this is caused by the file being locked by the system or a process that is running on the computer. You can download a piece of software called 'Unlocker' which will give you a detailed explanation of the file that you are trying to delete. Make sure the file in question is not a needed system file or critical to the computer or other programs operation.

Boot Time Speed is slowed down after time of use with a computer it is inevitable. The steps to speed this are very simple and easy. To speed up boot time you can remove unnecessary programs from the Start up. Windows Key + R type 'msconfig' this will bring up the System Configuration, go to the Start up Tab. Select the items you want to remove or that need to be removed since they are not needed for startup. Also deleting unneeded files and clearing out the cache and temporary files will free up space in your computer hard drive and allow for the computer operate better.

Tech Tip Of The Day -- Malware Infection Fix

Okay so you have a malware infected computer, know what do you do. Here are some steps to get rid of the malware and protect your computer.

Make sure that it is actually an virus and not just a faulty driver or piece of hardware. A slow computer that is doing things that you are not prompting the computer to do then you have reason to believe that you might be infected with malware. Open the Task Manager and go to the Processes tab and see if any unusual things are running. To check if a process is safe or not you can search google.

Check the signs of malware, if you are truly infected with malware your computer won't load some applications correctly; such as Google Redirect, not allowing antivirus to run or unusual pop ups. Food for thought never give any personal information: credit cards, etc to programs requesting this information from a site that you did not go to yourself. Rogue programs is a type of malware that tries to get you to give up private information saying that it will fix the problem this will not work and you will become a victim.

Check for online fixes google is a great place to search for fixes for your infected computer. Don't click on any pop-ups they will most likely send you to a malicious website trying to steal personal information.

Your current antivirus might be compromised saying that it found nothing when your computer is actually infected. Find a new malware scanner that is not installed on your computer to run a scan and search for the malware.

Reboot the computer and go to Safe Mode. Run any antivirus or malware scanner in Safe Mode to assure that the infected file is gone. To enter the computer in Safe Mode, press F8 before windows starts to load. Once the computer boots turns back on hit F8 continously to be given the option for Safe Mode.

Run a second scan just to make sure that all infected items have been removed. Better safe than sorry.

Tech Tip Of The Day -- Malware vs Virus Difference

While dealing with a computer you might have heard of the following words - Malware vs Virus. Here is a definition of what the two are. The word malware is malicious software that describes a piece of code designed to infect your computer or mobile devices. To make it do things that are not wanted, such as spam mass email, stealing password. Trojans, worms and rootkits are different types of malware. A virus on the other hand is the malicious code that spreads by infecting files.

Viruses have become rare within the computer world. Hackers have went to the trend of sending out malware that is disguised reputable programs or files that are actually stealing information in the background. 

To help guard yourself against malware (malicious content) do not click on any ad links within websites, or click on links in emails from those that are unknown. I would suggest deleting these emails from people you do not know that are asking for something. Better safe than sorry when it comes to protecting your computer and your sensitive information. 

You can also find various antivirus and malware protection software to help guard your computer. Malwarebytes is a free tool that can be used to scan your computer. 

At the first sign of your computer acting different I would suggest you run a virus scan or malware scan to see if anything is found. Malwarebytes is free and has a partial or full scan that can be run and will detect any defective files or registry entries.