General Computer Tips

General Computer Tips — 4 Comments
2
Nov 09

Should I backup?

photo credit: daryl_mitchell

Should you carry health insurance? Should you carry car insurance? Should you save for retirement? Should you eat every day? Does a bear…. Well, hopefully you get the picture. The answer is a resounding YES!!

You should backup, and depending on your computer needs and usage your backups should occur frequently (sometimes daily). Many computer users equate backing up their computers with their mother’s giving them castor oil. It’s no fun, but a necessary evil. What is castor oil any way?

Things you should backup on your computer include Continue reading →

General Computer Tips — 2 Comments
1
Nov 09

Deleting Programs and Files

photo credit: geoftheref

This tip conjures up some points from older tips, but needs to be reiterated. Follow these rules-of-thumb to keep your system clean and more importantly running smoothly.

Use these rules when deleting individual files:

Never delete files that you did not create.
If you can’t trace the origin of the file, leave it alone.
If the file sports one of the generic looking ‘windows’ icons (see picture), do not delete it (again unless you created it).
Do not delete files that exist in the Windows directory, unless you created it.
Instead of willy nilly deleting files, use the CCleaner tool

Use these rules when deleting programs or applications:

Always start with Continue reading →

Share YOUR Favorite Keyboard Shortcuts

I’m always amazed at how surprised computer users become when they learn about a keyboard shortcut. A keyboard shortcut is a combination of keys that you press on your keyboard to perform a particular function. If you learn them and practice them, they can shave hours off of the tedious maneuvering of the mouse.

These are my favorite and most used computer keyboard shortcuts:

Alt + TAB	Switch between Open Windows
Windows key + E	Open Internet Explorer
Windows key + M	Minimize all windows and show the desktop
Ctrl + C	Copy
Ctrl + V or Shift + Insert	Paste
Arrow keys	To scroll pages and place my cursor
TAB	Move between form fields (boxes)
F2	Rename a file or folder
Ctrl + F	Usually on the web to search for a word on a page
Windows key + R	Open the Run Command

Here are a couple more tips that Continue reading →

General Computer Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — 2 Comments
20
Oct 09

Why use free security software?

photo credit: kalandrakas

A customer asked me a question that I get asked quite often on the radio show and when I’m making my daily house or office visits. “Why do you use free products versus the larger commercial pay products for keeping a computer secure?”

My answer can be summed up in word: effectiveness.

Time and time again, the products I recommend prove themselves in the field as being thorough, effective, and unobtrusive programs. Unobtrusive is a big one for me these days as the leaders in security software (Norton, McAfee, etc) bloat their software beyond recognition and slow down even the fastest, newest machines. Norton claims that their newest versions are Continue reading →

Application Tips / General Computer Tips — 2 Comments
9
Oct 09

Print Preview

Sometimes the most helpful computer utilities elude us and stay hidden for years. One such utility that I find very helpful (and have taken for granted) is the Print Preview function found in almost any program that allows printing.

Because Windows and Macintosh made the WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) environment available to the masses, what we see on our screens is pretty close to what we see on our print outs. However, if you need to tweak margins, find the extra line that is creating an extra page, or determine whether a document (like a spreadsheet) will look better in Landscape or Portrait mode, there is no substitute for the Continue reading →

General Computer Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — 4 Comments
3
Sep 09

9 Tweaks I perform for a new client’s computer

photo credit: Mooganic

When I meet a client’s computer for the first time, I go through a little routine to check for problems, improve performance, and speed up boot times. You can do it to your own computer too.

Use Task Manager to see how many processes are running and determine how much tweaking I have to do to startup.
Use msconfig to streamline the startup process
Install CCleaner to cleanup temporary files
Check on the amount of RAM in the computer. If less than 1 GB for XP or less than 2 GB for Vista, I recommend an upgrade.
Pull up Crucial.com and run the memory scanner to determine what type of RAM and how much RAM can be added. Print out the results and add Crucial’s phone number.
Talk about Continue reading →

General Computer Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — 4 Comments
9
Aug 09

Should you pay for AVG?

Over the past few weeks, AVG has been a little more agressive in their attempt to get folks to convert to their paid product by showing advertising screens every 2-4 days that ask to upgrade your security. It is completely your perogative to upgrade if you like, but I still use the free version and recommend you do the same.

Like any business, AVG simply wants to convert more of their of customers to paying customers. You can see a chart of the extra services that the pay version provides by clicking here.

General Computer Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — 5 Comments
5
Aug 09

CCleaner adds helpful new feature to cleaning results

Temporary files need to be cleaned from your computer from time-to-time. I recommend at least monthly. Temporary files are the support files created by Windows and the programs we use every day to perform the functions we ask of them. We don’t see these files because they created behind the scenes and can stack up over time and number in the tens of thousands.

Keeping these caches of small, numerous and expendable files cleaned out of our systems not only saves disk space, but also helps the peformace of the individual programs and the computer in general.

Over the past few years, I made it a habit to add Continue reading →

General Computer Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — 2 Comments
18
Jul 09

Why you should always backup

Search my site for the word backup and you will find many, many tips on how to backup your valuable data. I stumbled on this video today that shows how recovery services can recover lost data, but at a price of up to $2500. The video also has a few good shots of what the innards of a hard drive look like when running which is educational to watch as well. Take a look: Continue reading →

General Computer Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — 2 Comments
15
Jun 09

It’s OK to shut computer off with the power button

We have discussed this topic many times, but I continue to hear from people who forget this simple troubleshooting step. When a problem arises that seems insurmountable or you can’t move your mouse or type on your keyboard, shut the computer off at the switch.

There are two ways to shut your computer off when a problem occurs…actually three ways.

Push and hold the on/off button for at least fifteen seconds or until you hear the computer shut off (don’t just push it once and let go…nothing will happen).
Flip the switch on your surge protector. Yes, we should all use surge protectors…good ones.
Reach around the back of the computer and pull out the power cable.

Once you shut your computer off this way, let it sit in the off position for a few minutes before turning it on again. With any computer, this isn’t the preferred method of shutting off the computer, but in a pinch it usually gets you out of a jam.