Entries for August, 2009

31 Aug
2009

How to Fix a CRC Error

Posted by Kat

A CRC error occurs when the source and destination values of the data transmission process do not match up.  The CRC or Cyclic Redundancy Check process helps identify errors in the data transmission process by assigning each small block of data a value when it is transmitted.  If this value does not match up when it is received, the test fails.  The CRC helps ensure that received or downloaded data is not damaged or corrupt.

Some problems that cause CRC Errors are when damage is done to the file during transmission, a problem occurs when the file is being sent, there is a problem with the device that is accessing or opening the file, or when there are problems with the file itself.

CRC Errors can occur primarily because of problems with network and modem transmission and removable media transmission.

To fix network/modem CRC errors:

- Ensure that there are no problems with your network or modem connection.
- Try retransmitting the file.
- Try to send the file by some other method or connection.
- Ensure that you used the correct format when sending the file.

To fix removable media CRC errors:

The easiest way to resolve the error in removable media is to simply use an alternative USB/floppy drive. Because of the wide range in media and PC types, not all styles or brands are completely compatible.

If there is one sure-fire way to fix any resolvable CRC error, this is it: add and utilize a good registry cleaner.  Registry cleaners find and fix registry errors on your hard drive, which, in turn, prevents faulty computer performance and system errors and optimizes PC performance and speed.

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30 Aug
2009

6 Things You Can Do to Optimize Computer Speed

Posted by Kat

Anyone who owns a PC has experienced a decline in computer speed or performance during the life of their computer.  The main problem concerning computer speed is decreased hard drive function.  This is caused primarily by excess unwanted files on the hard drive, corrupted or fragmented files, backdated software, or the presence of spyware, malware, viruses, or other malicious invaders.

A big step in optimizing your computer speed and performance is to perform a complete computer clean up.  This entails:

  • Running the Check Disk or Error Checking utility, Disk Cleanup utility, Disk Defragment utility, and cleaning up/purging temp files keeps your computer running smoothly.
  • Emptying the recycle bin prior to defragmenting your hard drive clears up needed space.
  • Another way to improve computer speed and performance is to ensure your Windows software is constantly updated.
  • To ensure your automatic updates are turned on, go to Control Panel, select the automatic updates dialogue and check to see that it is turned on.
  • Another important step in optimizing computer speed and performance is to protect it against spyware, malware, viruses, and other malicious invaders.
  • Downloading a good virus blocker and spyware/malware screen will help locate and purge any malicious programs already on your computer and prevent further infestation by screening all internet access to your computer.

Performing all of these options will ensure your computer is running at optimal performance and speed.  Regular PC clean ups will keep your hard drive clean and free of errors, but also download and add a good registry cleaner to this agenda to further enhance computer speed and performance.

Improve your computer speed with a registry cleaner.  A good registry cleaner will not only eliminate and fix all registry errors, but it will also prevent computer crashes and data loss due to these errors.

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29 Aug
2009

How to Use the Check Disk Utility and Get Your Computer Running Like New

Posted by Kat

Check disk utility (CheckDisk/CHKDSK/Error Checking) is a Microsoft disk utility/Windows operating system that displays and (when selected in the user options) fixes file system integrity of your hard disks and floppy disk.

The first option on the user options fixes file system errors.  The second option scans for and attempts to recover bad sectors on the hard disk. The utility also checks the disk surface for physical errors (bad sectors) and recovers readable data.

The check disk utility can run from any of three locations: the Windows Recovery Console, Windows Shell, or the Windows Command Prompt.  The user-friendly push-of-a-button prompt is easy to run, takes anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to do a complete check, and doesn’t take any special knowledge to use. Because it can take up to a few hours, it is suggested to run the check disk utility overnight.

The check disk utility will work with any hard drive that is formatted with a Windows file support system.  This includes most, if not all, PCs with Windows 98 and up can utilize this operating system.

In addition to using the check disk utility, download and utilize a registry cleaner regularly to keep your computer system running top-notch.  A good registry cleaner will find and fix check disk errors and registry errors on your computer’s system, keeping your hard drive clean and error-free and optimizing computer performance and speed.

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28 Aug
2009

3 Ways to Prevent Windows 2000 Professional Crashes

Posted by Kat

The bad news is that Windows 2000 Professional is no longer supported by Microsoft.  That means that they no longer create service packs that will help you overcome the common problems that cause your system crash.  Other solutions can keep your system running well.

Run Windows 2000 Professional in Safe Mode
One of the most accurate ways to figure out just what is wrong with your system is to boot the machine in Safe Mode.

  • Check the boot log file, NtBtlog.txt.
  • Write down the drivers and programs that didn’t load when you started the computer.
  • You can find this log in the System Root folder.
  • Once you have identified the faulty systems, you may be able to dig up reasonable solutions for your problems.

Online Bulletin Boards Have Windows 2000 Info
Because there are a seemingly endless number of people interested in keeping older systems running, bulletin boards abound online with helpful and not so helpful advice.

Common errors like DLL or a Virtual device driver fail are relatively straightforward to repair.  These errors occur when you add a new piece of software, and it corrupts the VDD value.  You can go into the operating system and correct the value by removing the corrupt one and inserting the proper value.

More complicated errors such as unreliable performance on a multi-booting system are harder to address.  Repartitioning the drive and putting each system in a separate partition can help, but involves some expertise and time.

FASTFAT errors are usually memory related, not the result of a corrupt driver.  Replacing the faulty memory with a known reliable card may solve the problem without needing a complete system overhaul or recovery.

Registry Cleaners to the Rescue
I’ve got to tell you; just the idea of trying to run anything but the simplest repair on my computer gives me palpitations.  I am certain I will do something that will make my data irretrievable or corrupt.  I know many other people in the same boat.

What we do is opt for downloading a good registry cleaner and let it figure out what is wrong and how to fix it.  A registry cleaner will find and eliminate problematic drivers, remove dysfunctional bits of old programs and in general clean things up.  Optimize Windows Professional 2000 with a registry cleaner to run fast and reliably.

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27 Aug
2009

How to Avoid Video Driver Problems and Optimize your Computer

Posted by Kat

The most common question I hear about video drivers, or any kind of driver really, is what do they do?  In simple terms, a driver is a translator, and just like other translators, it needs to know the two languages required for a good translation.  That means that every driver is a device unique program.

Video Driver Problems in a Foreign Land
Since each driver is unique to the hardware and operating system environment in which it functions, it means that each time you change something, hardware or software, it can impact the driver.  An improper driver will not work on your machine resulting in problems between the operating system and any device you have installed.

Preventing the Video Driver Problem
One of the ways to prevent these kinds of translation problems is to visit the manufacturer’s websites periodically and let your computer update your drivers.  By keeping up with this kind of maintenance, you will avoid the worst problems associated with out of date drivers, but it can’t prevent errors caused by changes within your system.

Windows is well known for updating regularly throughout an operating systems life.  If you have authorized automatic updates, you may never know when they have happened.  Suddenly, your video card isn’t functioning correctly and your machine is slowing down.  Requests are taking forever to be completed.  The situation is very frustrating.

My Video Driver Still Has an Error, Now What?
Honestly, the best thing to do at this point is to download a good registry cleaner and let it keep things updated for you at all times.

These wonderful little programs can keep your drivers up to date and keep your registry, an important part of any operating system, trouble free.  They delete bits of old programs that get left behind, make corrections to missing and damaged files and help optimize your PC.  Stop video driver error, now!

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26 Aug
2009

How to Fix Video Device Drivers that Are Incompatible with Your Computer

Posted by Kat

You may have recently changed a piece of hardware in your system or added a new program, and suddenly you are having problems with your video.  The most likely source of the problems is the video device drivers.  These little programs act as interpreters between your hardware and the computer’s operating system and the smallest thing can get in their way.

If you suspect you have an incompatibility with the drivers, you need to find the company website for the product you added.  For example, if you added a new video card, go to their website.  If you added a printer, you go to that company website.  Search for device drivers to download that match your system’s parameters.

Downloading New Video Device Drivers
If the company is a good one, it will run (with your permission) a quick scan of your machine and figure out on its own which driver is most appropriate to your computer.  You can do this yourself, but you need to know which version of the operating system you are running and whether or not you have made any changes to the system since you bought it.

Either way, you, or the company, will select a driver to replace what you have.  From here, it is usually a matter of selecting the download and accepting the End User agreement.  Your computer will download the program and a wizard will walk you through initiating the driver.  You will likely need to reboot the system.

What if Downloading a New Video Device Driver Fails?
Another option, especially for the less computer-savvy is to download a good registry cleaner.  The purpose of a registry cleaner is to dive into the operating system and clean up bits of old programs, fix gaps and errors, and in general optimize the machine so it works faster and better.  The process only takes a couple of minutes.  Fix more than just the video device drivers and bring your machine up to speed in the easiest way possible.

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25 Aug
2009

How to Upgrade Flash Player and Optimize Performance

Posted by Kat

Adobe puts out new versions of Flash Player regularly.  As a result, each time you upgrade flash player, you run the risk of creating incompatibilities within your system.  With Windows and Adobe constantly trying to create newer and perhaps better versions, the conflict is inevitable.

Are Flash Player Upgrades Necessary?
I have to be honest with you.  If I can, I wait until absolutely necessary before I agree to upgrade any software that I am successfully running on my computer.  Sometimes that means that I a running a version that is an edition or two behind the “leading edge.”  It doesn’t bother me at all because at least I know that my computer is running properly.

If you choose to upgrade your system you may find that over time your processing time slows, you start seeing Flash Player errors and System errors.  If this is the case, you have two options.

Reloading Flash Player
You can go directly to the Adobe website and download the newest version of Flash Player again.  Sometimes a bug arrives with a particular download and the next day the bug is corrected and the new copy is clean.  To do this properly you must:

  • First, remove the old version of Flash Player
  • Go to your control panel.
  • Find the link that allows you to Add/Remove/Change programs.
  • Click that option and let it create a list of all the programs upon your computer.
  • Remove the current version of Flash Player.
  • When that is complete you can reload the most recent upgrade of Flash Player.

Use a Good Registry Cleaner before Your Flash Player Upgrade
Sometimes the problem doesn’t lay with the version of Flash Player you possess. Rather, it is within your Windows Registry.  Small errors develop in any registry system over time, and the combination of new versions of programs with system errors is deadly.

Use a registry cleaner before you update Flash Player.  It’s the quickest way to eliminate such errors and bugs. It will not only fix registry errors; it will optimize the speed of your machine and allow all programs, even an upgrade Flash Player download, to work ideally.

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24 Aug
2009

How to Clean Files Off Your Computer

Posted by Kat

To optimize computer performance and keep your hard drive clean of any unwanted files, programs, or software, it is highly recommended to clean files such as temp files, Filecheck files, data files, and cache files from your hard drive.

When you purge (clean files from) your hard drive, it frees up needed space, removes unnecessary programs/files, and creates a cleaner, more organized hard drive.

Cleaning the Temp folder:

- Right-click on My Computer and select Explore
- Under My Computer, select and expand Local Disk (C:)->WINDOWS->Temp
- There may be anywhere from a few to very many files in this folder.  Select them all and delete them.

Searching for *.tmp files:

- Go to the Start menu
- Select Search, select All files and folders, type “*.tmp” in the All or Part of File box, and search
- When the search is over, select all .tmp search results and delete.

Emptying your Recycle Bin:

- First, open the Recycle Bin and make sure there are no files that you do not want deleted.  Then, right-click and select Empty Recycle Bin.  This will permanently rid your computer of all of the Temp and .tmp files you just deleted.

Defragmenting your hard drive:

- Go to: Start->All Programs->Accessories->System Tools and select Disk Defragmenter
- Choose to defragment your hard drive.  It is recommended to have all programs closed during this time and to leave your computer idle. It may take a few minutes to a few hours to perform this task, so it is recommended to perform it overnight.

In addition to defragging files, add a registry cleaner to clean files and optimize performance on a regular basis.  The quickest and easiest way to instantly clean files and all other registry errors is to run a registry cleaner before the problem gets out of hand.

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23 Aug
2009

How PC Tuning Optimizes PC Performance in 5 Easy Steps

Posted by Kat

PC tuning, or PC performance tuning, is a process usually performed by a professional computer analyst or PC program that analyzes and measures PC performance, designates areas of the PC that need improvement, and then improves these areas.

5 Steps to PC Performance Tuning

  1. First, the problem(s) are assessed and are categorized according to acceptable behavior.
  2. Next, the performance of the system is measured as a variable before system modification for comparison after.
  3. Then the key part of the system that are in critical need of improvement are identified.  This is referred to as the bottleneck.
  4. After the bottleneck is identified, that part of the system is modified to remove the bottleneck.
  5. Last, the performance of the computer system is measured yet again after modification.

Bottleneck Modification

Modifying the bottleneck, or key part of the computer system causing problems, means altering, fixing, or improving a part or parts of the system.  To ensure that the key part suspected is indeed the bottleneck, sampling and testing must be done.

This means that their existence must be proven with evidence.  Guessing as to what the bottleneck is can often be faulty and result in false modification that does not help and may even harm your system.

A variety of techniques are used to improve performance.  Among these techniques are self-tuning, code optimization, caching strategy, distributed computing, and load balancing.  Locating and modifying the bottleneck will improve your PC’s runtime.

You can find software that will do all of this for you before your computer starts to freeze and crash.  Stop chasing problems and waiting endlessly to access your programs with regular maintenance.  Add a registry cleaner after your next PC tuning to your computer’s system to optimize performance on a regular basis.

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22 Aug
2009

3 Benefits of Using Clean Up Software for Your PC

Posted by Kat

When it comes to your PC, disk cleanliness and safety of your information should come first.  To make things quick and easy for you, you should download and use a well-known and safe disk clean up software.

Disk clean up software is a utility that removes internet cookies, clears the web history, deletes cache files, and manages the clean-up of various temp files, all of which accumulate over time and slow your computer down.

1.    Manages Your Hard Drive and Temporary Files for You
Failing computer performance, slow runtime, and frequent freezing or crashing can all be signs that your computer’s hard drive needs to be cleaned.  You can either do this manually if you know how, call tech support, or buy or download free disk clean up software.  The latter is the most painless and easiest of the three options.  The software removes unwanted files from your hard drive and manages the storing of temporary files on your PC.

2.    Prevents Data Loss and Corruption of Files
This type of software also seeks out and deletes hidden applets and controls in your system registry, eliminating executable files from your hard drive, and preventing data loss and/or corruption.

3.    Cleans Up Cache Files that Slow Down Your System
Most of these clean up softwares show you all of your file statistics and improve PC performance by cleaning up all internet cookies, cache files, search engine data, index data files, MRU’s, history files, ActiveX controls and Java applets, and password/userID entries.

Disk clean up software is a great choice when looking for a simple, user-friendly way to improve and optimize computer performance without the hassle of doing it all yourself or the possible cost of calling a tech service.  Add a registry cleaner to your disk clean up software and fully optimize your PC’s performance on a regular basis before you undergo time-consuming and costly repair of your registry.


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