Technology Metro

“Not Responding” …..”Operation Timed Out”….frozen screens and God knows what other problems we face everyday on our computers. These issues are always on the back of your head when working, but the most problematic issue that you want to get rid of would be the slow speed of your computer. I always thought why my notebook was slow, and sought ways to speed up my overall performance in any way I could. Alas my worries are now over with just following some advice from a friend.

Unfortunately instead of adjusting a few things, people believe they need to buy a new computer in order to increase laptop speed. My views were initially the same but this just isn’t true. You can. Speed up your laptop in a few easy steps. This I definitely would like to share with you.

Step 1

It is preferred you start by defragging your system files. A disk defragmenter helps in accessing information in a much more speedy way. Whenever you want to process some information or access some file that you usually might not use, your operating system needs to jump from one place to another until it gets the desired file from it’s location. Defragging allows your system to stream information through a single path. This will definitely trigger your laptop computers ability to access and run several programs.

Step 2

On the next step you should consider removing startup programs, as many as possible. Whenever you install some program, it usually has default options which enable it to automatically start a program as soon as the computer starts. These settings slow down the speed with which your computer can start up or shut down. These programs steal another important space known as RAM, which adds immensely to the sluggishness of your computer. Eliminate all those programs that you usually do not use or just go to run button on your Start button and remove all checks that any kind of programs might have on the startup sequence.

Step 3

Third step could be applied by removing all those registry congestions on your system files. This is the most important step that you should follow under any circumstance if you really want to get your computer’s speed boost up. As we download, install new or remove our old programs our registries get flooded with useless and often redundant files. This is the biggest clot your system experiences. These may include any .exe file you used to install or maybe some temporary files required during installation like while installing Ms Office. You get rid of these files and not only do you speed it up but it will not hang (unless of spyware) and neither is it hopefully going to crash in future.

These step are really going to make your computer as if it just appeared to be brought out of it’s box. And if you really are a novice at your computing and configuration, I prefer you use a registry cleaner software that does all the work for you and tweak your computer for better performance.

It’s not always that you get your desktop as a complete unit and sometimes you will get it as a number of components and you will then have to assemble and install it together and you will have to assemble and install it step by step following specific instructions. There are a few things you will need to have before getting started for example anti-static wrist strap, a piece of cloth, set of screwdrivers and pliers, PC components, CPU Thermal compound.

Step 1: Install the motherboard

The first step is to install the motherboard, you have to take particular at this stage and ensure that the all the components are clean and that you have a big work area to work with.

You will have to put your antic-static wrist strap on to avoid your components from getting affected. Clean your hands before you start.

Step 2: Installing the power supply

The power supply is the second item that has to be installed into the computer, installing the power supply is very simple all you have to do is place the PSU into the cabinet and screw it in tightly.

Step 3: Installing the video card

The video card is the next item into the computer, you need to find a good video card as there are continuously being improved and you don’t want to be stuck with a card that is redundant.

Step 4: Installing the hard disk

The hard disk is one of the most important components of the computer and you will have to practice care when handling it. Installing the hard drive is not that difficult all you have to do is place it into the bay, screw it in tightly, connect it to the PSU with a power cable and connect it to the motherboard via a data cable.

Step 5: Installing the optical drive

The optical drive is next to go in and to install it you just simply follow the same instructions as that of installing the hard drive.

Step 6: Connecting the computers various cables

At this stage all that is left is to connect the computer various cables and to do that you have to
1. The ATX power connector on the PSU has to be connected to the power supply port on your motherboard.

2. The power, reset button has to be connected to the right port on the motherboard.

3. Connect the cable from the USB/audio panel to the motherboard.

4. Connect the cables for the cabinet fans

After this you will have to close the cabinet and screw it in tightly, having done this you would have finished installing the internal components and all that will be left would be to connect the external components of the computer together, these include the monitor, keyboard, mouse, CPU, this is a fairly easy process since you will have guideline on the computer manual. Once you are through with this then you can switch on your computer and start using it.

I believe everyone among us would prefer to have a laptop computer rather than a traditional home based desktop pc. If you ask me what makes a laptop computer a better option than regular desktop computer, it’s the mobility it offers and uncountable advantages that comes along with usage and experience. It is simply nothing but a blessing for all of us!

People on the go make the maximum use of laptop computers’ mobility as it is designed to work on batteries and through direct power supply. Its lets you stay connected to your office, home, business even from distantly remote places, be it in other countries or other continents. Who might think of getting a desktop computer on a plane? while you could use a laptop to look after your multiple business. (You might not be a millionaire but a man can dream can’t he?)

Without laptops, monitoring businesses miles away would have been very difficult. This mobility feature of a laptop gives us the freedom and ability to use computers anywhere. Be it in a restaurant, in a car or places we feel comfortable, we can use laptops as long as we do not disturb others and go beyond rules.

The high-tech features such as built-in camera, speakers, Bluetooth, WiFi device, and infrared and its compact design makes it different and adds to its uncountable benefits which normally doesn’t come in a small package in a desktop computers. However if such features are to be added in a desktop it requires individual purchases and manual installation for both hardware and software.

The size really does matter. When it comes to Mobile Computing, Smaller the better. The computing power of laptop makes it really evident. Small-sized components, architecture of laptop computers are very much distinct from that of desktop computers. However, the performance and operations are in no way affected by the size of computer. Be it a Core 2 duo for your new desktop, the same technology is available on a small laptop.

The new addition to the laptop family known as the wonderful tablet pc has much more to offer. These super small and powerful computers have emerged to revolutionize computing. Energy saving is another feature of laptops as they don’t use up a lot of electricity as compared to CRT and LCD monitors of desktop. Some features such as display difference. Ultra portable laptop or tablet is a major and advance addition to the mobile computers. Emergence of such high-tech, micro and powerful computers has revolutionized the industry to a great deal.

Well there have been instances with a couple of my old high school friends who always complained the slow performance and short battery life of their notebooks. Some of you reading this might give their assent on this comment, but before you even think about giving a bad name to the laptop technology please be sure that you have the adequate configuration to synchronize with your work too. A laptop without graphics card will definitely not show you good gaming results now, would it?

Building a PC is not that big of a deal if you know what you are doing. For this you need some experience with hardware and software installation. Well to do this you need to buy all the different parts you would need to build your own PC from scratch. This simple step can be quite confusing if you don’t know what you want and what best works with what as there are lots and lots of hardwares available for PC. So you will need some information and some experience to build you own PC. There are some upsides to building your own PC, you could get a high end system for a very low price. A pre-assembled PC of the same configuration would cost much much more than if you build your own PC.

How to Build a Computer? Well for a novice it can be a very confusing and hard task but there are some sites that offer their expertise in building your own PC. Not only that, they will provide you with all the parts and instructions to do so. This way, you won’t have any problems with different parts not being compatible with each other as sites like Easy AS My PC that sell PC building kit would have tested the compatibility of all these parts. These kind of Build your own PC kits are much more cheaper than a pre-assembled ones. Easy AS My PC will also give all the instruction you would need to build your own PC with a very detailed illustration. Besides the kit, you would need only a screwdriver to do so. Doesn’t matter if you are a novice as the instructions are very easy to read and follow.

The best kit found at Easy AS My PC costs $1,199 which is a lot cheaper if you get a pre-assembled PC with the same configuration. This Build your own Gaming PC kit has:

• Fully illustrated assembly guide
• 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
• 2GB SDRAM (2 x 1GB)
• 250GB Hard Drive
• GeForce 8600GTS 256MB Video
• 16X DVD-ROM
• 750W ATX 12V power supply
• Keyboard and mouse
• Choice of operating system

It is not the best available configuration by far but it is not that bad either. For the best configuration, you would want to get a quad core processor and a bit more of RAM plus a Video Card with at least 512MB of Video RAM. I would also get a DVD Writer or even a BluRay optical drive if you want to go state of the art but it would cost you considerably much more money. Power supply and Hard drive looks good but you could get a bigger hard drive, maybe a 1TB hard drive. Thats just me though. This system should be enough for a regular gamer. Well, if you know what you are doing, you should get your own parts and customize it to suit your needs. This system is geared towards novices for building their own PC and save some money doing so.

Dell has just dropped the price of their Dell Vostro 200 series mini tower desktop PC. The regular price was $799 but dell has given an instant discount of $300 off of $799 so you can get this mini tower desktop PC for just $499 if you choose the default configuration. You can see the default configuration for Dell Vostro 200 series mini tower desktop PC. This system will have a Windows XP home edition operating system or a Windows Vista Home Basic edition on it which will depend on you. I like Windows XP as it uses very less hardware power than the new Windows Vista Operating system and lot of bugs on Windows XP has been fixed over time in contrast to Windows Vista Operating system. Below are the specs for the Dell Vostro 200 series mini tower desktop PC.

• Intel Core2 Duo Proc E4500 (2.20GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800FSB)
• Genuine Windows XP Home Edition or Windows Vista Home Basic
• Dell 20 inch Widescreen E207WFP Flat Panel Display W/ DVI
• 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz - 2DIMM
• 80GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
• Single Drive: 16X DVD+/-RW Drive
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
• Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
• 1 Year Ltd Warranty with Next Business Day On-Site Service

For an additional $50, you can choose Intel®Core™2 Duo Proc E6550 (2.33GHz,4MB L2Cache,1333FSB). The graphics card on Dell Vostro 200 series mini tower desktop PC is integrated in the mother board so don’t expect too much from it. If you want a gaming sytem, you might want to select a 256mb NVIDIA 8600 GT for an additional $120. This video card will enable you to run almost all the new games on the market today.

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