Another Day With My PC

How many times have Windows crashed on you? I bet it’s twice the digits of your favorite basketball player’s jersey number. While Microsoft futilely denies it, their operating systems are prone to seizures, leaving the user helpless and dumbfounded during attacks or glitches.

However, to its credit, Redmond is continuously trying to avoid painting your screen blue whenever its OS stumbles upon something that makes it cough. Patches are regularly issued, while malicious software removal tools are being shipped with the updates.

What Microsoft isn’t directly addressing, though, is its operating system’s inability to flush out the remains of outdated or deleted programs in the registry. The program’s ineptness to deal with the problem has caused it to sometimes carry bricks when the actual load should only be pebbles.

This is the reason why RegCure is essential. It fills in the holes left open by Microsoft. The fact that the registry is a very vital organ in your system makes a registry cleaner indispensable. With RegCure installed, you could ensure that the featured cartoon in this post remains funny.

Do you involuntarily utter expletives whenever you encounter an error message by XP and Vista?

People’s reactions toward OS warnings vary, ranging from subliminal mental shocks to near out-of-the-body experiences reported by first time Windows users. While the reactions may seem a little bit exaggerated, you would definitely experience one or both when your computer holds precious files or data that could spell the difference between reading the morning paper for the headline and reading the dailies for job vacancies.

Do not mistake the panic button for the “ok” button plastered on the error message. Windows isn’t trying to scare the wits out of you whenever it coughs up messages that tell you that it isn’t feeling well. It’s not a notice or forecast that’s in the same category as that of Nostradamus’.

The proper attitude in dealing with Windows error messages is to calmly read (yes, error messages are meant to be read) the contents of the pop up. Note them down, especially the error message number, and go through your operating system’s manual for an explanation as to what it is and how it could be remedied.

No matter how many antivirus and anti-spyware programs you install in your system, there will definitely come a time when your OS would greet you with a not so pleasant message. Whether or not your system would recover from the problem that Windows just informed or warned you about would depend on how you initially react to it. A system crash might be inevitable if you panic. There’s no reason to call 911 in many of these cases. Answers and solutions abound. Browse your manuals for answers or type the error message and/or number in Google.

Messages about error 1068 can be frustrating to many users, but there are ways to repair and prevent this problem without having to pay for professional help. When you use Windows XP and attempt to run the Internet Connection Sharing Wizard, you may get an error 1068 message. This message will state that an error has occurred while the program was being enabled, and that the group or service has failed to start.

When this occurs you will get the following text- 1068: dependency service or group failed to start. This is normally caused when one of the dependent services does not load onto the system correctly. This may cause some confusion with users, because they may not be sure how to fix the cause of the error 1068 message.

How to Stop Error 1068 Messages for Good

Preventing error 1068 problems does not require extensive computer knowledge or programming experience, and once these messages start to occur there is a simple way to resolve them. To stop error 1068 error messages you must take steps to ensure that all of the needed dependent services are loaded onto the system and functioning correctly.

Open up your Start menu, and then choose the Help and Support option. Go the the Pick a task option, then choose Use Tools. This will allow you to view computer information as well as diagnose problems. Select the System Configuration Utility option in the Tools section, and then click the option  to open this menu in the right pop up pane.

Another method that can be used to get to this point when trying to get rid of any messages concerning error 1068 can be used. This is done by opening the Start menu, then choosing the Run option. Now type in msconfig and press enter. This will also open the dialog box for the System Configuration Utility.

Once you have accessed the System Configuration Utility dialog box, click to open up the Services tab. To eliminate any messages about error 1068, you must ensure that all relevant and required services are selected in this area. This includes Network Connections, Plug and Play, Telephony, Application Layer Gateway Service, Remote Access Auto Connection Manager, Network Location Awareness, Remote Procedure Call, and Remote Access Connection Manager. If all of these services are not selected this can cause 1068 errors.

Once you have made sure that all the relevant services have been checked, click okay. A prompt will appear to restart your computer, now simply select okay again. Once your computer has restarted you must run the Internet Connection Sharing Wizard again. These steps should get rid of any error 1068 messages that have been appearing. Cleaning your registry with a registry cleaner can also help eliminate all error messages on your system, including error 1068 messages.

Malware could be very unforgiving when it decides to strike. While some unwanted programs would already be contented in creating small shanties for themselves inside your hard drive and just monitor everything that you do, others are not so passive and will pillage your system until they are the only applications left in it.

Of course, antivirus and anti-spyware programs are always there to save the day. But what if the carnage happened before you installed your security suites?

The Easy Step / Solution

Before anything else, let me just make it clear that anti-malware programs will still work even if you install them after your PC gets infected. Antivirus programs do not just prevent unwanted apps from entering into your system, but they also remove those which have already injected themselves therein.

The most common solution to an infection is to run a thorough virus or anti-spyware scan over your entire system. The security suites would automatically do the detection and removal of the malicious programs. Most of the time, the detection and removal will be successful. However, things will become a little bit different and complicated when the infection is so severe and it already involves vital system files.

It Doesn’t Always Win

There are times when security software cannot safely remove a virus from a file. Even if it can, doing so might render the file useless as the removal process could damage the data. In cases like this one, what the antivirus program usually does is to just leave the file as it is and recommends that you replace it with a new but similar one. This may seem easy, but I’m telling you that it isn’t. Take note that many programs come from zipped or compressed files. This means that you can’t just look for the infected program’s installation disk and get the needed file therein. You won’t find it in the disk. What you’ll probably see is just a few compressed files that need to be decompressed or unzipped first.

The Final Solution

If the infection is extremely severe, such as when a variety of malware have already nailed a “home sweet home” sign in your computer, then opening your antivirus to extract a cure may already be futile. The infestation in this case is already so serious that you cannot anymore remove the unwanted programs without damaging the whole operating system.

If your antivirus cannot remove many of the malware found in your system and you can’t also delete the infected file because it is vital to your system’s operation, then the only viable and effective solution to the problem would be to reformat your hard drive and reinstall your OS. This may seem a very tedious task that but a pandemic definitely requires the most extreme solution.

Fresh Start

Reformatting your hard disk and reinstalling your operating system would give you a fresh start in your effort to keep your system free from malware. A reformat would wipe out all programs, good or bad. As with all fresh starts or second chances, make sure that you won’t have to go into that situation again where you have to go back to the drawing board. Before you go online or introduce other programs aside from your OS, make sure that you install an antivirus and a registry cleaner first. This would ensure that no malicious program would get in your way when you surf the Web or run any application.

How do I turn off my computer? Let me count the ways…

While there may be a dozen means by which you could shut your PC down, there’s only one method by which Microsoft recommends on how you should do it – by clicking on the “Turn Off” button in the Start menu.

You may wonder why your operating system’s manufacturer insists that you put your PC to rest by clicking on the said button. You may surmise that Microsoft programmers are emphasizing on such method simply because they don’t want you to waste their effort in creating the red button. Surely there are other ways by which you could accomplish it. However, the textbook technique is the preferred one since it ensures that all programs would also shut down in the manner intended by their own manufacturers.

What Lies Beneath

There are many processes that transpire or run but lay hidden whenever we put our computer to life. The fact that you don’t see these programs running behind your operating system means that you also have practically no direct or immediate control over them. Hence, turning them off might be too complicated a task for you, if that’s even possible.

One of the reasons why control or management of these processes are directly delegated to the supervision of the operating system is that they are either too many or seem too insignificant for human attention. Imagine if you’re required to turn all of them manually. That would be a nightmare. Operating systems spare you from such dilemma or any needless intervention by executing those processes or applications automatically.

Already Taken Cared Of

Unsurprisingly, it is also the OS that shuts them down. However, as with the process of breathing life to your PC, a degree of human intervention is also needed in order to turn them off. By clicking the “Turn Off” button, you’re prompting your computer to end what it is doing and giving it ample time to execute the necessary steps in order to close all the programs running on your computer. This is the reason why it takes several seconds or even a few minutes before your PC shuts off.

The prescribed procedure is obviously long, especially if there are many programs that need to be closed. Resorting to faster techniques, such as pressing the power button for a few seconds, may spare you a few seconds, but it might not spare you from multiplying those saved seconds to the hours that you’ll need in order to restore important data or system files that got damaged or corrupted due to improper termination.

Follow the Rules

There are reasons as to why you should follow proper procedures, and most of these reasons have your welfare in mind. If you have a habit of just pulling the power plug in order to turn off your computer, then you’d better cut it. You might refute the dangers or consequences that I’m presenting here by attesting that not a single file in your hard drive got damaged by your improper shutdown practices. But I’m telling you, it’s only a matter of time when you’ll surely wish that you’ve clicked on that red button to turn your system off.

One’s marriage to a computer only lasts for about 2-3 years on the average. The union gets rocky after a year, with the human spouse beginning to complain that his or her electronic partner is not as sweet and reliable as it was when they first tied the knot. By the second year, a divorce is already in the works. Depending on how patient the human husband or wife is, the tie is usually severed by the third year.

If actual human divorces weren’t so expensive, I think that it would be much shorter than the separation of the union between man and computer. Clothes are not the only items that people change frequently. Everybody or everything seems to be expendable nowadays.

Needless Change

Unless you’re a collector of vintage items, you’ll definitely prefer an electronic partner that’s younger and faster. The desire to quickly ditch the one you have is made even much stronger by the fact that computers are being sold at very tempting prices. It’s not surprising then that many people treat their laptop, desktops, and other electronic gadgets as sort of wardrobes that they could quickly change every time their whim demands it.

For those who do not have the resources to shuffle PCs as if they’re cards, all they could do is either minimize their expectations or decrease their reliance on their e-spouse. This may be a cost-effective way of saving the marriage. However, this stagnates the union and the growth of both partners, especially for the one who’s breathing. But this doesn’t mean that one should immediately jump on the gun when his partner becomes a drag. There are ways by which such relationship could be revitalized.

Mindful

Many attribute their computer’s sluggishness to old age. Processors usually become obsolete after 2-3 years, while RAMs shrink in comparison with new models. As with humans, old age also brings about poor or deteriorating memory. Physicians usually solve this problem through food supplements and series of mental aerobics. For PC technicians, they tackle this problem by simply increasing the computer’s memory.

PC users often commit the mistake of tagging their aging processor as the culprit in their unit’s constructive demise. While they do get a bit of improvement in speed after a processor “transplant,” they soon realize that their computer’s old illness comes back to haunt them. The solution to this problem doesn’t lie on Intel’s new creation. It may surprise many and disappoint those who went through several processor and peripheral upgrades to know that all it takes to give their PC a shot in the arm is by injecting a gigabyte or two of RAM into their system. This cheap and simple band-aid beats most types of upgrade by about a mile and a half.

Before conducting a major upgrade on your PC, make sure that you’ve considered all the simple and cost-efficient solutions first before digging deep into your pockets, as well as into your PC’s casing. PC Optimization is not an esoteric or an expensive endeavor.

What do you do when you encounter a PC problem?

If it’s a software dilemma, chances are is that you’ll have your antivirus scan the program’s folder first. If the check turns out negative, then the next thing that you’ll probably do is delete it and just install a new copy. While this is one way of solving the problem, there are other ways by which you could bring that software back to tip top shape without wiping it off your hard drive.

If the virus check is negative, then there’s no file corruption involved. A probable reason or explanation for the problem is setting modification. There are times when we accidentally change the setting of our programs. You shouldn’t worry about this, though. Almost all applications have a back-to-the-future button in order to undo the errors that you’ve committed. I’m simply talking about the “reset” button, in case you’re wondering.

There’s one drawback in clicking this button, though. In case you’ve deliberately made some changes in the program, you’ll lose those modifications. So you have to go through the settings again in order to tailor-fit the program according to your preferences.

The thing that I really hate about malware attack or OS malfunction is data loss. I could deal with having to reinstall applications or even reformat my hard drive. While they may be time-consuming, they’re nothing compared to the time that you’ll spend in rewriting or recreating the files that have been damaged or deleted.

Antivirus

There are many ways by which one could prevent data loss, first and foremost of which is by installing security suites. The saying that “an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure” also holds true with regard to PC health. Indeed, why flirt or invite disaster when you could rid yourself of the worries from the start by making sure that no unwanted programs would be able to access your system. True, antivirus programs could cure and treat infected files. However, there are cases where files get corrupted beyond repair.

Backup

While antivirus programs are very effective in keeping your PC secured from unwanted intrusions, they are not 100% fool-proof. There will come a time when malware would be able to break through the wall and infect your system. When this happens, there’s pretty much nothing that you could do about it other than to resort and to restore the second or third copies of the files that got destroyed.

Since security suites are not a hundred percent reliable, you have to take another precautionary measure in order to ensure that you won’t lose the precious files in your hard drive. A very simple but efficient and practical solution to possible data loss is by backing up. This task or procedure is not complicated. Backing up data simply means making second copies thereof and saving them in another media.

Brainless Task

You don’t need a program in order to perform this task. However, doing it manually can be quite tedious, especially if you have thousands of files saved in your hard disk and scattered in different folders. This is the reason why there are several back up programs in the market despite the fact that the task simply involves dragging folders into the disk where you intend to save your data.

You don’t need a third party software if you’re using Windows Vista, though. Backing up in Vista is an effortless task. Its back up feature takes care of everything from file selection to file destination. All you have to do in the process is to change the disks or drives whenever they’re already full. It’s as simple as that.

Save Often

Back up regularly. Take note that you’re adding new files or modifying existing ones everyday. The file that you’ve saved a month ago might already be entirely different from the one that you have right now. Make sure that the media where you’re going to save the file is reliable. DVD disks, as well as external hard drives, are among the dependable storage devices. Flash drives could also be viable alternatives. However, data could be easily erased therein.

It’s Christmas Eve. The last thing that I should be doing is discussing PC problems with you guys. However, I can’t contain my excitement in sharing with you the gifts that I think I would be receiving.

On top of my list is a Mac notebook. Although many consider a Mac as a novelty rather than as a real functioning computer, I’m still excited with the thought of owning one. I’ve never had a Mac desktop or notebook before. My first PC was a 386SX clone. My mom almost bought me a Mac, but unfortunately (or fortunately), it was the Intel-based unit that was on sale.

While the PC and the Mac are starting to blend or morph into something that could seamlessly work together, differences still abound. This makes file sharing very difficult. And since 95% of the computers in the office are PC-based, the chances of successfully or productively using a Mac at the office are as slim as the latter’s new notebook.

Another present that I think I would be getting is a copy of Vista Ultimate. What I have in my new notebook is just a registered copy of Vista Home Basic. While the copy has already satisfied my curiosity as to how the new Microsoft OS looks and feels, it hasn’t allayed my fears with regard to dependability. If just for my peace of mind, I want the full (licensed, of course) copy Vista.

The license of my other system and security suites are already expiring, so I guess a good present for myself would be a new set of PC defenders. I’m thinking of trying a new antivirus for a change. Norton has already been my companion for almost a decade. While many regard it as the most reliable antivirus in the market, many are complaining that it’s making their system slow. I might try McAfee’s. Hmm maybe I’ll even try the freeware available in www.cnet.com or www.pcworld.com.

All of these might just be wishful thinking, though. I haven’t seen any box under our tree yet. Who knows, I might just be receiving gift checks or coffee mugs (again). I guess I’ll just be getting software license renewals (from me!!). While I may be contemplating on changing my antivirus, I will definitely be retaining my registry cleaner. RegCure has effectively kept my PC free from unwanted instructions brought about by malware attack or incomplete uninstall procedures.

My friends at the office usually wonder as to why their unit runs slower than mine considering that we’re using the same type of laptop. Even the applications that we have are also the same, except for the registry cleaner. The antivirus came in free when our boss gave the laptops to us. However, that was the only sentinel that came with the unit. My officemates were already contented in having a lone antivirus to protect their unit. I wasn’t. Judging by the way our units are running, I could definitely conclude that an antivirus is not enough in keeping and protecting a computer from things that could slow it down.

Application crashes are facts of life that happen almost everyday whenever you’re spending a great deal of time in front of the computer. Fortunately, most of these program malfunctions can be remedied by just closing it down and running it anew. It’s quite annoying though, especially if the application that crashes is a word processor and you weren’t able to save what you’re doing. Argh!

Some crashes are even nastier. Not only does it require you to run the program all over again, but it sometimes calls for the complete shut down and rebooting of the whole system. This was the dilemma that many PC users encountered during the days of Windows 95 and 98. Microsoft incorporated a mild solution to the problem by giving the user an option to report the crash to them.

I’m quite shameful to admit that I haven’t tried clicking the “report” button whenever I’m prompted after a crash to send a report about the incident to the OS maker. It’s not that it would entail extra time to fill out some electronic forms for the report. In fact, you don’t need to do anything other than click the button. The reason why I haven’t tried clicking that button yet is because I’m quite skeptical if Microsoft would really work on the problem. Many consumers have already sent complaints to Bill Gate’s company about various problems, but only a few of them were entertained and resolved.

I guess my skepticism is misplaced. Who knows, application crashes might be on top of the OS maker’s “to-do” list. Give it a try. You might just get a solution to that frequent software malfunction that you’re having. But don’t just sit and wait for Microsoft to solve your problem for you. Try to find other solutions. System crashes are also frequently caused by problems in the registry. Run a registry cleaner and see if it fixes your problem. Based from experience, it usually does.