1. Many of the computer desks available today have a closed cabinet for you to place your computer in. Computers need circulating air to keep them from overheating. I recently replaced a video card that got too hot and blew some capacitors because it was in a closed cabinet. 

If possible try to put your computer out in the open and up off the ground. Also the environment should be moisture, smoke and dust free if possible.

2. I’m often asked if it’s better to leave a computer left on or shut it down when you’re done until the next time you need it. If you use your computer daily it’s best to leave it on. Every time you have to cold start your computer it causes stress to the electrical components. 

Leaving your computer on is better for it but make sure you’re using the energy saving features that turn off your monitor and hard drives after a set amount of time. I don’t recommend the Windows hibernate feature though. Also insure your computer is plugged into a surge protector and that you’re using a firewall if you have a broadband connection. The Windows firewall is sufficient, Comodo’s free firewall is even better.

3. Dust inside the computer case can plug fans and coat components causing your computer to work extra hard and overheat. I worked on a computer recently that the fans were literally plugged with dust and debris. 

The extra stress and heat caused three blown transistors right next to the processor and a fourth was bulging. 

The life of this computer has been cut short due to too much dust. Once a year I make it a point to clean up the inside of my computers. I also clean the inside of every computer I fix.

Here’s how to do it:

A. Shut down the computer and unplug it.

B. Open the case. Usually it’s as easy as removing two screws in the back of the computer or pushing a latch. See the documentation that came with your computer if you’re not sure how to open the case.

C. There’s a huge debate about whether you should use a vacuum or not since vacuums can create static electricity which can cause permanent damage to the computer. Everyone agrees though that using compressed air is OK to use as long as you keep the can upright. If you tip the can it starts blowing moisture and can even freeze components in the computer. 

I’ve always used a combination of compressed air and a vacuum. You might want to do this outside or in the garage if you don’t want a bunch of dust blown into your house. I usually just hold the computer hose outside the case and blow the compressed air to dislodge the dust.

If the computer is really dirty and you can see that the fans/heat-sinks are plugged and components are coated with dust you can carefully use a small paintbrush and/or these great, inexpensive vacuum micro attachments. Personally I would never purchase the special vacuums created specifically for vacuuming out computers because most of them get bad reviews.

4. While the computer is still unplugged, close the case and take a slightly damp rag and wipe down the exterior of the computer. I usually wait at least a couple hours after doing step 3 and 4 before I plug in and turn on the computer.

5. Next I unplug and clean the monitor. It’s very important that you don’t just start spraying Windex on your screen. LCD screens used on laptops and flat screens can be ruined using abrasive cleaners. Personally, I use Monster ScreenClean Display Cleaning Kit that includes a reusable MicroFiber cloth to clean any type of screen. Don’t spray the screen, spray the cloth then wipe the screen gently. You can find other screen cleaning options in your owner’s manual or a quick Google search.

6. You’ll also want to clean your keyboard. I usually just turn the keyboard over and shake it out then use compressed air to blow the dust out.

Following these simple and inexpensive steps to keep your computer hardware clean will extend its life and save you money in the long run so get started today!

-Bert

Tiger Direct has an excellent deal on a 500GB Western Digital external hard drive for $84.99. I have this same hard drive in the 250GB version and love it. The hard drive is super easy to hook up. It’s small, quiet and fast.

Get one while they’re on sale!

-Bert

I believe the reason most people haven’t backed up their files is that they’re not sure how to do it. So today, let’s look at some simple ways to give your data a second life and give you some peace of mind.

An important first consideration is to insure that all your files are in one place. By that, I mean that if you save all your files in your My Documents then it makes it easy to find all the files you need to back up. In fact you can simply backup that one folder, along with its contents, and you’re done. On the other hand if you commonly save files on your desktop or other places on your computer you have to remember where they are so you can back them up as well. Personally, I’d move everything into the My Documents folder.

If you don’t have a lot of media like music and pictures to backup the easiest thing to do is buy an inexpensive USB flash drive (click HERE for a 4GB Kingston flash drive  with great reviews and for only $22 at Amazon.com). If you do have a lot of media I’d suggest buying an external hard drive. You can find a great hard drive for around $100 at Amazon as well.

Once you have an external device to back up your files you could simply copy your important files by dragging your files from your My Documents to the external drive. For a one time backup that works great, but if you’re like most people, you’re constantly creating new files that should be backed up as well. If you’d like to easily schedule regular backups I’d suggest using a free program called SyncBack. Click HERE to get it at Download.com. Syncback allows you to choose what you want to back up and schedule it to run automatically. I’d suggest setting up a weekly or monthly backup of your files.

In case of a fire or natural disaster it may be a good idea to keep a copy of important files in another location. If you can’t afford to buy an external drive or would prefer having your files offsite I’d suggest using MediaMax.com. They allow you to store 25GBs of data online for free. They’ve even recently added a free backup & synchronization service. It’s secure and easy to use.

An article about data backups wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Acronis True Image. If your hard drive were to ever crash you’d have buy a new hard drive, then reinstall your Operating System, the drivers, all your programs and finally re-load all the files you backed up. Acronis True Image costs $50 but it allows you to make an exact image of your entire hard drive so, should yours fail, you would install a new hard drive and restore the Acronis image and your computer would be exactly like it was the last time you created the image. An Acronis image would save several hours of work so unless you were intending to just buy a new computer if yours ever crashed you may want to consider this option.

This article has given you several simple options to backup your computer files but the most important thing I can leave you with is to do something now. Knowledge without action is useless and you’ll appreciate the piece of mind you’ll have knowing your most important files are safely backed up.

Regards,

-Bert

For those reasons I’ve still been advising people in the market for new PCs to stick with Windows XP. Because of that I wanted to let people know that the cutoff date for purchasing Windows XP is June 30th, 2008. I hope that date is extended but I wouldn’t count on it.

Also, Microsoft is stating a cutoff date for support of XP Home of April 14th, 2009. That’s when they intend to stop providing patches for consumer versions. My advice is that if you’re in the market for a new computer, try to get one with Windows XP Pro prior to June 30th.

Apparently NVIDIA (a popular video card) drivers are responsible for nearly 30% of Vista crashes in 2007. Microsoft claims responsibility for another 18%. Interesting article about that here: http://www.engadget.com/2008/03/27/nvidia-drivers-responsible-for-nearly-30-of-vista-crashes-in-20/.

Regards,

-Bert

Every program that’s running on your computer uses RAM. Unfortunately some of the new computers come loaded with unnecessary programs that run every time you boot your computer. This past weekend I worked on a new laptop with 1GB of RAM and Windows Vista. As I often hear, the computer starts up slow and runs slow. First of all, 1GB is the minimum running Vista, I highly recommend 2GB of RAM with that memory hungry Operating System. What threw this computer over the edge though was a ton of programs that were unnecessarily running in memory.

Your first clue that you have unnecessary programs running is if you have a bunch of icons next to the time display on your taskbar like in the picture below.

If you see a small arrow, click it to expand this area so you can see them all. If you have more than 4 or 5 icons before you’ve started any programs then some of them are, most likely, just slowing you down.

There are several ways to shut off unnecessary programs. Someone who’s worked with computers for a while might use MSCONFIG to turn them off. I’m not going to go into any details about MSCONFIG though, because there are easier ways for the average computer user to do it.

A person could also hover over those icons to see what they are and just go into each program, find the options, and stop them from starting up when the computer starts. Keep in mind though that there are some programs that run at startup that don’t display an icon so this option may be helpful just not as effective as the next one.

There are also applications, like Windows Defender (which is on Vista computers by default), that make it pretty easy to turn off applications that start when you turn on your computer. I like to go this route because you see all the programs and you can easily turn them off and on in one place.

Here are the rules for turning off programs. If you don’t know what it is, you should probably leave it alone. Some of these programs are necessary and make your PC run better. If you know what the program is though and know that you don’t use that program every time you start your computer, it’s fair game to turn off.

That new laptop I mentioned at the beginning of this article was using nearly all of its 1 GB of RAM before I did this. When I got done, it was using just a little over half of that and was much faster! Hopefully you’ll see some amazing results as well.

If you’d like to see a 25 minute video where I walk you step-by-step through what I do to speed up and optimize a computer click here .

Regards,

-Bert

For a desktop computer you primarily intend to use for things like email, internet, and working with pictures from a digital camera you shouldn’t pay more than $600. I’d recommend staying in the $400-$500 dollar range since you’ll need to add another $100-$200 for a decent flat screen monitor. If you can wait for a deal you can get everything for under $500.

For a laptop computer used for the same purpose you shouldn’t pay more than $700. If you can wait for a deal you can find one for $400-$500.

The brands I like to stick with are Dell, HP/Compaq, and Acer for both desktop computers and laptops. They all rate well for reliability and service.

When you’re looking for a new computer the most important specifications to look at are the OS (Operating System), processor speed, the amount of memory (RAM), and the size of the hard drive.

Let’s start with the OS. At the time of this article Microsoft is getting ready to release SP1 for Vista. I’ve heard more bad than good reviews of Vista. I think it has some good points and may be ready for purchase in 6 months to a year. In the meantime I’d recommend sticking with Windows XP Home or Professional version with SP2. It’s faster and more reliable than Vista.

For your processor you have a lot of choices. Either an Intel or AMD processor is fine. For a laptop I’d look for at least 1.8GHZ and for a desktop look for at least 3GHZ. If you can get a dual processor that’s all the better.

The amount of memory or RAM you buy is an important consideration since, the more you have, the faster your computer will be. If you’re buying an XP computer system I’d recommend at least 1GB and for Vista 2GB. RAM is pretty easy to upgrade but don’t skimp on RAM when you buy a new computer.

The size of your hard drive isn’t much of a factor unless you plan to download a lot of songs or movies which take up more space. 80GB is fine for the majority of users. 160-250GB should be sufficient for those who will be downloading or storing a lot of media. Another reason that the hard drive size isn’t of huge importance is because you can buy and external hard drive for under $100 that you can use for backing up your files and for extra space.

If you’re looking for a computer to do serious gaming, plan on spending $1,000 or more. If you want to play games you might be better off with a PlayStation, Nintendo or Xbox.

Regards and happy shopping,

-Bert

The first place I go when I’m looking for a new or refurbished computer is TigerDirect.com They have a huge selection of desktop PCs and laptops, their prices are excellent and their delivery is very fast. Normally it only takes a few days to receive your computer and if you pay a little more you can get it even faster.

One last thing about TigerDirect.com, if you know you’re going to be buying a computer in the future, sign up for their Deal Alerts via email. After you submit your email address they’ll send great deals right to your inbox. It’s from these emails that I normally find the best deals on computers.

Another excellent online store is newegg.com. Anytime I need to buy memory (RAM), hard drives, graphics cards, etc. I check NewEgg.com first. NewEgg.com has a loyal following of computer geeks who write great reviews for their computer products.

Newegg.com also has excellent prices and extremely fast shipping. I’ve ordered a lot of computer parts from newegg.com and have never had a single problem with anything and I hear the customer service is excellent. I haven’t bought a PC or laptop from newegg.com yet, but don’t hesitate to do so if you find something you like there.

Since I mentioned buying memory (RAM), if you’re in the market for some be sure to read your computer documentation and find out what type you need in your computer. RAM comes in a wide variety of types that are not interchangeable. If you lost your computer’s documentation head over to Kingston.com. They make it easy to find what type of RAM you need and you can search by your computer’s manufacturer or model name.

My online computer shopping article wouldn’t be complete without mentioning amazon.com. Most people think of books when you mention Amazon and don’t realize they sell just about anything under the sun including computers, laptops, hardware and software. You’ll find great reviews again from other customers. I always look for products with a lot of 4 or 5 star reviews.

If you’re thinking of buying something from one of your local mega-stores like Best Buy or Circuit City be sure to check online first and read some customer reviews so you know what you want and what you should expect to pay.

Stay tuned for my next article about what I recommend for computer brands and specifications.

Regards and happy shopping,

-Bert

But I wonder how many of us who have friends and relatives far away are missing out because, thanks to broadband and webcams, we could see them any time we want to!

My sister Teresa and her husband Brandon live in Arizona and just recently added a baby girl to their family. Since Grandma, Grandpa, and the rest of us all live in Minnesota seeing this new baby girl could have been quite a challenge and very expensive in days gone by.

With all the advances in digital communications I knew there had to be an inexpensive way to communicate with voice and video.  And, if we needed a solution, I figured there were probably other people who might be looking for one as well.

So I set out to find a way for our families to be able to hear and see baby Milayna. After checking out several web cams and video services I came up with an excellent combination that’s inexpensive and works great!

First, I bought a Microsoft LifeCam VX-3000 webcam from Amazon. With a 4 out of 5 rating from over 200 reviews and for only $35 it sounded like a great deal. As expected the webcam was simple to set up and has a great picture quality. It even has a built in microphone.

Next, I needed to find an online service so we could call each other and talk. This particular webcam is optimized for use with Windows Live Messenger but I decided to find a different route for folks who don’t have this particular webcam.

After looking at several free and pay services I settled on SightSpeed and am glad I did. The service is free for personal use and it’s easy to set up. Simply fill out a registration form online, download and install the software, and you’re ready to call. Of course the other party will need to get a webcam and sign up for SightSpeed as well.

Last night we had our first video conference call using the VX-3000 webcam and SightSpeed and all I can say is WOW! For my $35 investment the call was priceless.

If you have loved ones far away don’t put this off.  As long as both of you have a broadband connection for less than $50 you could be seeing and talking to each other almost like you were talking face to face…

Regards,

-Bert