Windows and your PC.. a basic guide by the 'Computer Guy'

 

 

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It all starts here

If your computer is getting old..

You can waste hours and even days trying to get something to work, but working with physically defective and/or old hardware and incompatible software will always end in tears.

If you pick up a virus/Trojan/worm..

Eliminating virus infections is not as easy as it once was. Virus writers aim for maximum operating system destruction these days. You can be 'macho' about them and try to get rid of them piece by piece, or you can re-install.

A re-install is NOT the easy way out, but it is the best way to ensure that there is no virus infection left in the computer.

This is particularly important if you fall victim to a 'telephone' scam and allow the caller remote access to your computer.

Staying out of trouble..

If you want trouble free computing, don't believe 'too good to be true' claims, don't mess with registry or system settings, and don't over-clock your hardware.

Note that the weakest part of a computer system is not always an internal part.. :-)

 

Microsoft Community.. 

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us

What you have to remember is that you can actually make it all a whole lot worse without the tools and the knowledge to use them. For this reason, my web site is about prevention, and these pages deliberately contain only 'prevention' advice.

 

I have a Blog too..

I generally add six to twenty posts per month, always topical, nothing in tech-speak, and no punches held.

http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/

Internet Usage capping..

Locally, Rogers and Bell both cap Internet usage. At a point in time when Internet popularity is so high, downloading movies, music etc, it seems like a mean thing to do. The worst is that if you wander over your cap limit, you find excess charges on your next bill.

Finding out how much you have download you have left is not easy, but it can be if you use NETWORX.

It sits in the notification area (by the clock) and a simple right click on it brings up a useful list of activities related to Internet use. You can get it here..

http://www.softperfect.com/products/networx/

Rogers Internet.. offers unlimited downloads on their Internet EXPRESS service for just $10 + tax per month in Ontario. This is great news for Netflix members and those of us who are into downloading from YouTube..

Stardock's Start8.. A Windows 8 alternative start menu

This nifty little utility brings back what is called the 'classic' menu with some of the features of the Windows 7 menu, notably the ability to ‘pin to the Start menu’ just like Windows 7.

All about the look and features here.. http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/features.asp

And guess what? It only costs $4.99 which is well worth it in my opinion. Imagine getting all of the benefits of Windows 8 and a usable Start Menu too.

Despite ultimately having to pay for Start8, this could be the deal maker re Windows 8 success not only at home level, but also enterprise.

2005/6/7/8/9

2010/11/12/13

The original logo

Windows 8

Windows Vista

Windows XP

"Well, it worked in Windows 95"

 

Send mail to mikehall@mvps.org if you have questions or comments about this web site.

Copyright © 2013 The Computer Guy - London Ontario