Hard Drive | Castellini on Computers - Computer help for beginners

Posts Tagged: hard drive

Rick Answers his Email Videocast – 053

The summer has kept me busy and I let a few too many question stack up (remember that you can make a small donation when asking your question to get priority). I answered all the questions you asked the last 2 weeks in these two videos.

The first video contains questions from Doris, Henry, Andrew, Jean, John, Rae Ann, Craig, Janet, Maurice, Leo, Ryan, Shirley, Jason, Donna, Jeannie, Dave, and Scott. They asked questions about CCleaner, Picasa, recovering photos from a corrupt flash disk, netbook shopping, recovering the Mac desktop hard drive icon, shutting down the Windows magnifier and more.

The second video (YouTube only allows 10 minute videos for free accounts) has questions from Dot, Tiffany, Kitty, Anne, Barbara, Peter, Len, Anne and Romero. Their questions ranged from Continue reading →

Hardware Tips — 6 Comments
14
Mar 09

Four techniques for erasing your old hard drive

photo credit: Jason Schlachet

When you replace an old computer, you need to take steps to protect the data that was on that computer prior to donating it, selling it or even throwing it out or recycling it. Too many computer degenerates use the data that can be found on old hard drives to try and steal your identity. You can avoid this by using one of the following four options:

One free program that will completely cleanse a hard drive is called Autoclave. You can download and read the instructions here.
Darik’s Book and Nuke also provides a way of thoroughly cleaning the data from an old hard drive.
A third option to cleaning your old data form a hard drive is Active KillDisk. They offer a free and a pro version of this software.
My last, and probably easiest, fastest, and safest method of guaranteeing your old data doesn’t fall into the wrong hands is to to open the computer and Continue reading →

Riding Shotgun with Rick — 14 Comments
19
Jan 09

Computer boot time survey

I’m experimenting with an online database collection service and thought it would be interesting to put forth a practical question; How fast does your computer boot up? To measure the boot-up time of your computer, time it from the moment you turn the computer on until the desktop and all background applications are fully loaded (i.e. no hourglass present and no hard drive activity present). Click the title of this article above or the read more below to get to the form.

Use the form below to answer at least the first two questions, then click submit. I will keep this survey up for a few weeks and then compile some results. Share this survey with all your computer friends and families so we can build a large database. The larger the database, the more meaningful the results will be.

Thanks!

The first results are already making their way in, thanks, but please be diligent about your times. One result already in said they had a Windows Vista desktop with 256mb of RAM and it booted in 1-1.5 minutes. I’m calling big time B.S. on that time. Please read the instructions before filling in the survey. To properly time a boot-up start your stopwatch the second you hit the power button, then don’t shut off the stopwatch until there are no more hour glasses and no hard drive activity (indicated by the blinking LED on your computer). Also, ONLY answer the questions in the poll that you are sure of, please.

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Many of you are reading this, but few are filling out the form (only 86 responses through 1/22). Please participate and get your friends and family to do so as well. Here are the results through the first two days:

results1
results2

Riding Shotgun with Rick — 17 Comments
11
Jan 09

Windows 7 – First Impressions

Windows 7 Desktop

I just finished installing the Windows 7 Beta version released by Microsoft on Friday. I installed it on my Toshiba Intel dual-core processor with 4 GB of RAM. It was running Windows Vista which took more than 4 minutes to fully boot (I consider the boot up process to be finished when the hard drive stops spinning and I don’t have to compete with a still booting computer to do what I want to do), and running any applications was like walking through molasses. I can say that my expectations were pretty low, but I am pleasantly surprised…so far.

It took exactly 21 minutes from when I inserted the install DVD until I reached a workable desktop. Very impressive! The setup was painless and required very little input. In fact, it was so easy, I think that the folks at Microsoft must have taken a page out of the Linux/Ubuntu installs. It was easily the fastest and easiest install of any version of Windows. I hope it doesn’t change much with the final version.
Bootup time is faster than Vista too. With my fresh install of Windows 7 and no security software, boot time was just under 2 minutes.
Overall, the new OS feels snappy and clean. I haven’t seen any User Account Control (UAC) pop-ups yet.
On my Toshiba laptop, like Linux, I didn’t have to install a single driver. Once the quick install finished, my wireless, Ethernet, sound, video, SD card, and web cam all worked perfectly.
Microsoft has revamped and simplified the wireless connectivity…again very Ubuntuish in my opinion.
This beta version of Windows 7 also includes the new Internet Explorer 8 which doesn’t feel much different than 8, but is supposed to be more compatible and flexible than 7. I will test it a little, but still prefer Firefox. I will probably install Google Chrome as well to see how it runs in Windows 7.
The revamped Start menu has a new feature that when you hover on a recently used program it will also present to you your most recently used documents for that program. Nice.
The taskbar has also been changed, but I need to work with it some more before deciding exactly how those features affect uability and productivity.
I plan on installing AVG or Avast antivirus and OpenOffice to test them and will report more about speed and usability.

I’m writing this article and took the two screenshots in Windows 7 using the Snipping Tool introduced with Vista. I did use picnik.com to edit the photos, however, since the updated Paint program, although it does have a new Crop and Resize feature, the resize feature doesn’t have much flexibility.

Stay tuned for more articles about Windows 7 leading up to its release later this year, or early next year. If there are questions YOU have about Windows 7, leave a comment below and I will test them out for you.

Windows 7 taskbar

Hardware Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — 2 Comments
5
Jan 09

Another dead hard drive

External hard drives are spacious, cheap and relatively easy to use, but…

I resisted talking about backup this early in the year, but a phone conversation I had today illustrated my philosophy about backup perfectly. The gentleman I spoke with suffered an external hard drive failure, and he used it as the sole storage of his digital photos. Once again, my heart sank with his story of woe. He didn’t want to spend the hundreds of dollars it would require from a data recovery company (he also, unfortunately, opened the drive and tried to manually spin the hard drive platters), but was hoping for some sort of magical tech pixie dust that I might be storing in my pocket.

The point of the story is to scare you into backing up your data. Backing up your data means that your important data exists in at least two different locations. By different locations, I’m referring to two different digital media. Hard drive, and external hard drive. Hard drive and CD or DVD. Hard drive and USB flash drive. Hard drive and online backup. External hard drive and CD or DVD. You get the picture.

Exceptional backup systems would include having important data copied on at least three different mediums and one of those mediums being physically off site or at least placed in a fire proof, locked box in a basement or garage. You can learn more about backup by simply searching my site. Make it a new year’s resolution (or just smart computing practice) to start and maintain a good backup system starting today!

Riding Shotgun with Rick — 5 Comments
18
Dec 08

Thwarted by online poker

Today marked my second Linux/Ubuntu casualty in almost 2 dozen attempts. As I’ve learned more about Ubuntu the past couple of years, I carefully selected clients who would have little problems dealing with a non-Microsoft operating system.

You may have read my take on Ubuntu usage for the average computer user before, but here it is again to setup the rest of the story: I believe that any computer users who uses only email, word processing, Internet, digital photography, and maybe a solitaire or mahjong like game can function perfectly and happily in Ubuntu. Those who need proprietary Windows programs or like to buy and try out different types of software will not do well with Ubuntu.

OK, that being said, I consulted on the purchase of an Acer mini-desktop about 2 weeks ago from a local big box. It had a fast AMD processor, 4 GB of RAM, and a 320 GB hard drive and of course pre-loaded with Vista. I took the system home and booted into Windows to create the restore DVD set just in case. To fully boot into Vista took approximately 3:30. At initial boot, it took the computer nearly 19 minutes to finish whatever a Vista computer has to finish when you first take it out of the box.

After completing the DVD recovery set, I inserted my Ubuntu 8.10 CD and restarted the system. Literally 15 minutes later I was browsing the web in Ubuntu after the install CD wiped the hard drive, installed itself, shut down and rebooted. Later I timed the Ubuntu startup time: 49 seconds.

Anyway, the folks who I setup this computer for could not play online poker with Ubuntu. After some quick research, the service they use (I forgot which one), is the ONLY online poker service that needs a Windows download. I could have installed and configured the poker service to work under Wine in Ubuntu, bud didn’t. After hearing that “everything is different”, and they wanted to install Windows based software that was never mentioned before today, I inserted the first Vista recovery CD and showed them how to finish it up. They brought the computer back to the big box for a refund and ordered a Dell with XP and probably spent twice as much as the Acer.

My first Ubuntu failure was a couple of years ago and ended because the woman missed her AOL software and didn’t like using AOL web mail in Firefox. Being approximated 21 for 23 on my Ubuntu converts isn’t bad, and is actually kind of humorous that the two defeats were at the hands of AOL and online poker.

General Computer Tips / Hardware Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — No Comments
4
Dec 08

Does that computer have enough hard drive space?

hard drive properties While counseling a customer on buying a new computer recently, the customer asked if a 500 gigabyte drive was ok compared to another a computer that had a 640 GB hard drive. Other than hard drive capacity, the machines were pretty equal. Unless the person plans to store their 2000 album music collection, edit feature length movies, or are designing the next skyscraper for Dubai, I have them go through this simple exercise:

Double-click My Computer
RIGHT Click the Hard drive icon (usually designated as the C drive)
Click Properties

When the pie chart appears, I ask them to tell me what the total capacity of the drive is (in the woman’s case I was helping today, it was 20 GB), then I ask them to tell me how much of the drive is being used (the blue part of the chart and in this woman’s case it was 8 GB). Then I ask them how long they have used the computer and in her case it was 6 or 7 years.

The demonstration solidifies the answer for them and will for you too if you need to decide what kind of hard drive capacity is needed when buying a new computer.

Riding Shotgun with Rick — No Comments
3
Dec 08

Acer Aspire One Netbook

Today, I had my first opportunity to get some hands-on time with Acer’s entry into the netbook craze, the Acer Aspire One. The young lady I helped bought a blue Aspire One on Black Friday for just over $300. Sporting a 120GB hard drive, an extremely nice 8.9″ screen, 1 GB of RAM, and Windows XP, this little unit was very impressive to look at and use. After some discussion with me, she decided that she didn’t want to leave the Windows XP on it and have to maintain security updates, anti-spyware software, anti-virus software, etc. She planned on using the netbook for traveling mostly and some email, Internet, and downloading her digital photos from time to time on it.

I decided to try installing Ubuntu’s new Netbook Remix (UNR) operating system for her. After doing some research, I discovered that before doing the Ubuntu install, a BIOS update was necessary so the SD card readers (there are two of them on the Aspire One) would work once UNR was installed. That was the biggest hurdle, and I haven’t cleared it yet. After following many instructions on the Acer and other user sites to get the BIOS installed (requires a bootable USB drive), I gave up because of time restraints. Frustrated, but not beaten, we decided to go ahead with the install of UNR. At home, I downloaded and created a UNR bootable flash drive for the install (has to be done in Ubuntu). Literally within 8 minutes of inserting the USB drive and starting the netbook, we were staring at the cleanly laid out desktop of UNR and just another 30 seconds to connect to the Internet via wi-fi. Amazing! It took nearly 40 minutes to get the computer to boot up and finish installing and configuring Windows XP when we first turned the machine on out of the box. The AspireOne community documentation at Ubuntu’s site for installing and configuring UNR is nothing short of awesome.

I need to help the young woman clean up a few little rough edges with some plug-ins and get the card readers to work properly, but overall, I was impressed and she was happy with her purchase. The Aspire One comes in a few different colors and configurations. The XP seemed snappy enough on the netbook, but I know that wouldn’t last long after all the Windows updates were installed, security software was installed, etc. UNR runs extremely fast and smooth and should be virtually trouble-free for this happy new netbook owner. You can buy the Acer AspireOne with Windows XP and use the steps I did to install UNR or stay with the XP. Or you can get the Aspire One with a special version of Linux pre-installed.

Hardware Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — 18 Comments
14
Nov 08

Netbooks are NOT made for Windows XP or Vista

EeePC One year ago, ASUS started a fire storm of new computers that now go by the name of netbooks with the release of their EeePC. I wrote about this subject just a few months ago, but with the holidays approaching and netbooks are high on gift giver’s radar screens so I want to explore netbooks a little more in depth.

Netbooks make attractive gift giving ideas for a few reasons:

They are inexpensive; usually cost less than $400.
They are extremely portable (2-3 pounds).
They are cute.

Here are some facts you need to know about netbooks:

Netbooks run on an Intel Atom processor that has roughly half the power of a typical laptop Intel or AMD processor.
Netbooks utilize a very basic graphics system.
Maximum RAM is 1 GB (very few exceptions)
Hard drives are usually solid state flash memory ranging from 4-16GB. More expensive models have small hard drives with up 160 GB of space)
Screens are no larger than 10″
Keyboards are 80-90% of a typical laptop keyboard.
They do not have CD or DVD ROMs.
Prices range from $300-700
Most have built-in web cams
All have wi-fi capability and Ethernet as well
Some models run a Linux operating system, some Windows XP, and a few attempt to run Vista.

Netbooks are in no way meant to replace a desktop computer or even a laptop. Instead, netbooks are designed to be used as a second or third computer for traveling, Internet or email access in another room of your home, light word processing or document creating/editing, making Internet phone and video calls, instant messaging, and even listening to music.

Because netbooks run on tiny batteries and less powerful processors, trying to run a large operating system like Windows XP and especially Vista is completely impractical. Windows XP with all its updates and service packs and security software requires a strong processor and a minimum of 512mb of RAM or 1 GB of RAM on a slightly older processor. Also, Windows XP, and especially Vista) require above average graphics processing to function with any oomph. Vista barely crawls on dual core processor with 1 GB of RAM and is completely useless on a netbook.

Linux, on the other hand, can be completely customized for a less powerful computer like a netbook and doesn’t need to be burdened by excessive updates and security software. This makes Linux a perfect fit for the netbook Plus, Linux laptops come pre-installed with complete office compatibility, games, multimedia software and more…all things you need to spend extra for with a Windows install plus you need to have an external CDROM to install all of these things on a netbook since it has no CDROM.

If you are in the market for a netbook for yourself or to give as gift this Christmas, by all means go for it. I love my little Asus EeePC and think they make the best travel companions and work great for getting a small amount of work or email done while watching TV or sitting outside. But know up front their purpose and don’t expect more from them. Here are my recommendations when shopping for a netbook:

Do NOT spend more than $400.
Get one with a Linux operating system, NOT WINDOWS.
Make sure it has a built-in web cam. You will like having the ability to make video calls while on the road.
Purchase a 4-16GB extra SD Card for storage, but realize that it isn’t meant to be storage machine.

If all this still makes your head swim a little, here are my top 5 netbook suggestions (in no particular order):

Again, keep in mind that netbooks are not meant to be a replacement for a desktop or a full-time laptop, but an adjunct to them for traveling and quick access to a computer. If you already own a netbook, leave a comment below sharing how you use yours and what your experience has been with it.

Computer User Group / Hardware Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — 10 Comments
25
Sep 08

Setting up a new computer

new computer box Prevention is the best medicine when it comes to avoiding illness in ourselves. Prevention in the computer world is no different. And like a newborn baby, a newly purchased computer is subject to many terrible diseases and problems if not properly cared from the moment it is taken from its cardboard box. I follow these steps when setting up a new computer system for my clients, and recommend this methodology for all new computer setups:

Before setting up the new computer, back up all of your data to CD’s, DVD’s, external hard drives, or flash drives for transfer to the new computer Make sure you get not only your obvious data like documents, pictures, and financial data, but also your address book, email settings, favorites, etc. Remember, you can backup data, but not programs.
Make note of your email settings and configuration (if you didn’t back them up).
Download a copy of a AVG Antivirus and have them on a CD or flash drive at the ready.
When setting up the new PC, DO NOT connect printers, scanners, cameras, and especially the Internet until later.
Once at the new desktop, the first place to head is the Control Panel and Add/Remove programs (Programs and Features in Vista). Remove all trial software that you don’t plan on purchasing (Quicken, Quickbooks, Office suites, etc). Also remove any <!–break–>Internet provider software that you will not use like AOL, Earthlink, NetZero, etc.
Now go back to Add/Remove programs and uninstall any trial security software that came with the machine.
If you uninstalled the pre-installed security software (recommended), install the AVG antivirus program you have at the ready.
Now, you can hook up your Internet connection. Once you have a connection established, update your anti-virus software immediately.
Setup your email program and accounts.
Install your peripherals (scanners, printers, etc) per your manufacturers instructions.
Install any programs that you want on the new system
Transfer your data from their backup locations.
Strongly consider downloading and using Mozilla Firefox as your primary browser.
Create your Recovery CD set found in your manufacturer’s options or utilities folder (if required).

Enjoy your properly setup and safe, new computer!