Clearing Out The Cobwebs From Your Computer

Normally when someone talks about cleaning your computer, they are talking about performing a defragmentation or deleting temporary and unused files or removing old programs. But today we are going to talk about a different type of cleaning, a physical cleaning. I am going to walk you through a little spring cleaning.
The most important part of cleaning your computer is dusting out the inside. Think of a nice hot summer day and going outside to do a bit of yard work. It’s hot and sticky and you move a bit slower because of the heat. Now try doing the same thing with a winter wool coat on. You would be lucky to move at a quarter of the speed; that is until you pass out from heat stroke. This is how your computer feels after it has a layer of dust on the components.
Dust buildup on your computer provides a layer of insulation which can destroy your computer and impact its performance, just as a wool coat would caused you to slow down and eventually pass out. Not only will the dust provide a thermal blanket for your computer but it can also cause damage to the fans. As the fans blow to cool the computer, the dust particles build up on the fan assembly and will eventually cause the fan to lock up.
Simple preventative maintenance can keep dust buildup from destroying your computer. The first step in cleaning the inside of your computer is to pick up some compressed air from your local store, most big box and office stores, along with computer stores carry compressed air.
The next step is to open up the case of your computer. Before opening the case, please shut down the computer and unplug the power. You may also want to disconnect the wires and take your computer outside if it is really dusty.
There are many different styles of computers and each open a different way, but the most common style is a tower that has a side that slides off. The side that comes off is always the side opposite of where you plug in your mouse and keyboard as you are looking at the back of your computer.
Look at the back of the case and there will be 1-3 screws holding the cover on the box. You may need a Phillips screwdriver to remove these screws. Once the screws are removed, the side will slide towards the back of the case. If your cover does not open this way and you need additional help, please consult your computer’s manual, me or your local computer professional as they will be glad to assist you.
Once the side is removed, if there is excessive dust you may want to carefully use the hose of a vacuum to remove the majority of the dust. Next, take the can of air, attach the extension tube, if provided, and using short bursts of air, blow out the inside of the computer. Make sure you blow inside the power supply from both ends. The power supply is the metal box the power cord plugs into. Also, be diligent about getting all the dust out of the fans.
After you have blown out the computer you should verify the operation of the fans. This is very easy, just plug in the power cord again, with the cover off, and turn on the computer. Once the computer is powered on, visually verify the fans are running. Most computers have 2-4 fans, sometimes more, depending on your computer. The power supply we mentioned earlier also has a fan inside, but is often difficult to see. A workaround for this is to hold your hand over the power supply at the back of the computer and see if you can feel the air blowing out.
If you have a fan that is not moving, with the computer still running, move the fan blade. This will often get the fan unstuck. If this does not get the fan running, please have the fan replaced right away to avoid any further damage to your computer system.
After you are done verifying the fan operation, turn the computer back off and reinstall the cover. Do not try to install the cover with the computer running as you can damage your computer.
I hope this simple little cleaning session will help keep your computer running in top condition. Depending on the conditions of where your computer is located, I recommend you blow out your computer every six months to a year.

Busting Five Common Computer Myths

This week I wanted to delve into a few computer related myths running around out there in cyberspace. Often these myths, like all myths, have either a grain of truth or were originally true but have since become outdated. Listening to these myths can sometimes cost you money and or damage your computer.
Turning your computer off will save wear and tear on your computer. This myth is both true and false. If you use your computer once or twice a week, I recommend that you turn your computer off in between uses. If you are a daily user of your computer I recommend that you keep your computer running 24/7. If you want to save a bit of energy, turn off your monitor, but leave the computer running.
The main reason to leave your computer on is that I suggest you schedule regular virus scans, backups and anti-spyware scans for the middle of the night. There is nothing more annoying than trying to work on your computer in the middle of the day while the virus scanner is running. Leaving your computer on will give these programs full access to your computer to perform their assigned duties, while not annoying you.
Turning off your computer will save it from getting damaged during a lightning strike. This is false. Even though to the user the computer looks like it is turned off, there is still electricity running through the computer system and parts of it are still turned on. The only sure way to keep your computer from getting damaged is by unplugging the power and Internet cables from the computer as well as the power cables from your printer and other peripherals connected to your computer. Lightning can easily enter your computer from a printer or external hard drive.
The best way to protect your computer is by purchasing a good quality surge protector that also offers protection for your Internet cable. A good quality surge protector will come with insurance that will replace or repair your equipment in case of damage. Good quality surge protectors start off at $30. Unplugging your computer is effective until that one time you forget to unplug everything before the storm.
Using your credit card online is not safe. This is false. Statistics show that you are more likely to get your credit card number stolen when you use it at a store or a restaurant. The keys to protecting yourself from credit card theft online are: 1) only purchase from well known merchants, 2) make sure the lock symbol shows up on the page you are entering your card number (this means the page is encrypted and you are less likely to get your number stolen,) and 3) NEVER, EVER respond to an email solicitation that asks for money.
I need to defrag my computer every week. This myth is rooted in truth. Back in the days of Windows 98 and 95 it was necessary to defrag every week to keep your computer running fast, but in today’s age of Windows XP, Vista and 7, the need to defrag every week is overkill. Defragging once every three to six months is sufficient. For the average user, every six months is good. If you delete and add a lot of files and programs on a regular basis, then defragging more often is appropriate.
Defragging your hard drive is the process of rearranging the block on your hard drive so that the computer can read the files faster. Like putting the pages of a book in order so you don’t have to continually search through it to find the next page. The Disk Defragmenter can be found under System Tools in the Accessories section of the Start menu.
Registry cleaner programs will make my computer run better. Registry cleaning and other “speed up your computer” type utilities are full of hype and broken promises. The truth is that these tools can actually damage your computer if improperly used. They have great marketing pitches, but in reality do very little to speed up your computer. I would say that you should leave these tools to skilled technicians, but a skilled technician should know how to repair a computer without such tools. The only tools you need to keep your computer running properly are an anti-virus, an anti-malware software and Disk Defragmenter.
You can find links to free anti-virus and anti-spyware downloads, as well as links to an archive of these articles on my website www.connectutech.com.

Five Quick Tips To Make Your Computing Life Easier

This week I wanted to give you a few quick basic computing tips to make your life easier. None of these are really fancy, but get the job done with a few less keystrokes.
1. Quick Cut, Copy and Paste – Cut, Copy and Paste are the three most common commands used in creating office type documents. Most users will highlight a word, sentence, paragraph or image, and then they will use these commands to move or copy the item to another location in the document. They often access these commands right clicking with the mouse and selecting the appropriate command from the context menu which appears. A quicker way to access these same commands is through shortcut keys. Ctrl+C for copy, Ctrl+X for Cut and Ctrl+V for paste. In addition, you can use Ctrl+Z for Undo and Ctrl+A to select everything in a document. Other shortcut keys available are usually listed in the menu system next to the command or in the user guide.
2. Quick Calculator – If you are missing your calculator or just cannot remember how many feet are in a mile, just type the equation (example: 1 + 4 =) or your conversion question (example: feet in a mile) into the Google search engine and Google will respond with the answer.
3. Tracking Packages – Don’t you wish there was a more convenient way to track packages then opening UPS or FedEx’s website, entering the tracking number and clicking submit? There is easier way, just copy and paste your tracking number into the Google search engine and no matter if it is a UPS or FedEx tracking number, Google with respond with a link to the tracking information.
4. Finding the right word – Writing articles and documents as often as I do, I often run into words that I just cannot remember how to spell. Not ever knowing where I left my dictionary I rely heavily on the Internet and Microsoft Office to help solve my spelling quandaries. Dictionary.com is a free online dictionary which not only will give you the spelling of a work, but the pronunciation and definition of a word. They also have a partner websites, Thesaurus.com which is an online thesaurus and reference.com which is an online encyclopedia. If you have Microsoft Word or Outlook you can also use their integrated spell checker to find the correct spelling.
5. Locating a picture of an elephant – Creating different media projects with your computer is very enjoyable for many until you are faced with finding a picture of an elephant for your child’s school project, which is due tomorrow. I have a solution for you; http://images.google.com is a complete search engine for images. Just type elephant into the search box, click search and you will soon be presented with 20,500,000 pictures of elephants. A couple of notes on this site, first if you are searching with kid eyes nearby, make sure the “SafeSearch” is turned on, as if it is not you may be shown images little eyes should not be seeing. You can find “SafeSearch” setting right under the search box. Second, many of these images listed are copyrighted, please verify the website you are copying them from allow you to use them for your intended purpose.
There are many tips to help make your computing experience easier and more enjoyable. I hope that one or two of these tips prove useful to you. If you have any questions about these tips, please feel free to contact me at eric@connectutech.com.