Written by AskTheComputerTech on June 23rd, 2010
If you ever have to deal with a virus or other malware outbreak on your computer you’re going to find our spyware removal guide very useful. You’re going to find industry proven tips and techniques to remove spyware, adware, viruses, and other malware from your computer.
Even if you’ve successfully removed malware from your computer in the past using an anti-malware program, there may be a time in your future where an anti-malware program alone is not going to be enough to rid your system of a malware infestation. In these situations you’re simply not going to be successful without performing an old fashioned manual spyware removal.
On a basic level our malware removal guide shows you how to delete temporary Windows and Internet Explorer files that may contain malware, and then we’re going to explain in full detail how to use the free Process Explorer utility to track down potential bugs to perform a manual spyware removal via safe mode.
We also detail why you may want to create a new user profile when removing spyware from a severely infected computer, and we provide additional tips and recommendations for performing a complete spyware removal.
Want to learn more? Here is a direct link to our latest spyware removal guide, enjoy!
Posted in Computer Guides, Computer Optimization, Computer Troubleshooting, Windows 7 | Comments Off
Tags: malware removal, remove adware, remove malware, remove spyware, remove viruses, spyware removal guide
Written by AskTheComputerTech on June 9th, 2010
In today’s modern world it’s amazing how we use our computers daily to play games, write papers, check e-mail, browse Facebook, Myspace or YouTube, shop online, and even video chat via Skype with friends and family across the world, and the list doesn’t stop here.
It’s also just as amazing that the vast majority of us have also never ever thought about the complexity behind the brains of our computers, cell phones, or other digital gadgets despite using them them day in and day out.
See, on an inner most layer a computer processor/CPU functions via a complex highly sophisticated array of microscopic wires and switches called transistors in which electricity passes and controls. The modern microprocessor is simply amazing and some chips not much bigger than your finger nail have over 1 billion microscopic switches. Try to picture having 1 billion light switches in your home. Without the invention of the microprocessor we wouldn’t have cell phones, laptops, desktops, iPhones, iPads, or any computing system for that matter.
Despite this engineering marvel, most daily computer users have never once thought about how amazing a modern computer microprocessor really is. Even the most technical of individuals who may understand the inner workings of a computer rarely ever think about the marvel of a modern microprocessor during even their day to day digital lives either. Without this invention can you imagine the world today without all our precious digital devices? At the minimum communication would be so very limited that we’d all probably still be relying on big yellow phone books to find information and ole school phones for communication.
Sure knowing about how processors work isn’t necessary to use an iPhone, laptop or desktop, check e-mail, watch videos on YouTube or play a video game, but we highly recommend you learn what lies behind the machine you use daily, it really is quite fascinating. One of our favorite places to learn about how something works is HowStuffWorks.com, and they have a great easy to understand tutorial on how microprocessors work. You should totally check the site out if you haven’t already, it’s pretty sweet.
Of course we’ve also recently written some great articles of our own on computer microprocessors that we highly recommend you check out too.
Our computer history timeline is a great in a nutshell learning adventure that includes a page that introduces you to the modern computer and the first microprocessor among other computer history landmarks.
As part of our comprehensive desktop computer buying guide, we also have a solid tutorial that provides great purchasing recommendations for selecting the best processor when buying a desktop computer.
And for fun we’ve also answered some common questions regarding the top three components of a CPU from a technical and purchasing standpoint.
Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off
Tags: computer history timeline, computer technology history, cpu arithmetic logic unit, cpu comparison, cpu components, cpu specifications, history of the computer, history personal computer, intel desktop processors, intel processor comparison, processor buying guide, selecting a processor, three components of a cpu, top three components of a processor
Written by AskTheComputerTech on May 31st, 2010
I just finished a detailed desktop computer buying guide that contains a ton of information and tips to help you buy a great desktop.
I hate to see someone spend a ton of cash for features they may never end up using so I thought a desktop buying guide would be a great addition to the site.
Buying a desktop computer shouldn’t be a chore but a rewarding experience and if you do a bit of shopping preparation you can turn a potentially sour purchase into something sweet.
In my guide I start out by introducing you to four key desktop computer types including general purpose, power/gamer, digital media, and business/home office. Then I overview and provide advice for the most important desktop computer components including the processor, memory, video card and hard drive.
Each desktop type is tailored for a different user group so the first thing you should do before going out and buying a desktop computer is determine what group you belong. Once you’ve done this you will at the minimum have a general idea of what desktop features to look for and also how much money you may potentially spend.
After you’ve determined which desktop group you belong then the fun starts. At this point you can begin doing research to compare and contrast the different manufacturers, models, prices, specifications, etc. to look for the best bang for your buck deals.
For researching desktop computers the Internet is going to be your best friend, plus you will find the best desktop computer deals online in the process. Of course you should also head on down to your local Best Buy or other favorite retailer to check out what desktops they are offering. Sometimes you can’t beat a deal at your local retailer. Recently I took a stroll through my local Best Buy and they had some great general purpose computers and mid-range media desktops to choose from.
Stopping by your local retailer also has other benefits for you can try before you buy and if you are not super tech savvy you may also have the opportunity to speak to a knowledgeable salesman who can personally answer some of your questions.
I actually started my own computer career in the retail sector as a computer salesman and I worked with some very knowledgeable folks. On the other hand I also worked with folks who lacked useful computer knowledge so finding a knowledgeable salesman in a retailer is hit or miss in my experience. Best advice I can give, politely move onto another salesman if you’re not getting the vibe that the person you are speaking to knows what they are talking about.
Remember to check out our desktop buying guide for more great tips and recommendations for buying a desktop computer.
Here is a direct link: Buying A Desktop Computer
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Tags: buying a computer, buying a desktop computer, buying the right computer, desktop buying guide, desktop computer buying guide
Written by AskTheComputerTech on May 27th, 2010
When your computer isn’t running at peak performance your computing experience will quickly turn into nothing more than a very frustrating computing experience, even when performing basic tasks like surfing the Web or typing a paper.
Luckily there are a ton of tips & tricks available to improve computer performance. Sometimes performing a routine operating system update or running a simple anti-malware scan is all you need to increase computer speed. But then you will also have those painful times when reinstalling an entire operating system is your only repair option.
Thankfully most computer system can be tweaked and repaired to run faster without the need for a complete reinstall so if your computer feels like a disaster area don’t worry. Plus performing a PC tune-up as we like to call it is a pretty straight forward process once you know the basics.
Our top picks to improve computer performance include running Windows update, cleaning your PC of malware, uninstalling and streamlining unneeded applications, and optimizing hard drive performance.
These simple yet effective computer optimization focal points are often the only thing you’ll need to worry about if you want to increase computer speed and put the fun back into your computing experience.
If you want to learn exactly how to speed up your computer we’ve just written an extensive computer optimization guide that will show you exactly how to improve computer performance. We pretty much guarantee that if you follow our tips and guidelines you’ll speed up your computer.
Our computer performance guide starts out by introducing you to PC performance tuning and then we proceed to go over in depth our top 5 recommendations to improve computer performance, increase stability, and even improve computer security.
Here is a direct link to our new page: Top 5 Tips To Improve Computer Performance
Posted in Computer Optimization, Windows 7 | Comments Off
Tags: Computer Optimization, improve computer performance, increase computer speed, speed up my computer, ways to speed up computer
Written by AskTheComputerTech on May 22nd, 2010
Microsoft Windows OS Naming & Dual Booting Windows 7
Even though I’ve personally transitioned my own computers to Windows 7, I know there are still a lot of computer users out there holding on to their Windows XP installations. While this isn’t necessarily a bad idea since Windows XP is a solid as hell proven operating system, I do however believe they are personally missing out on something great with Windows 7.
On the other hand I can definitely say those same individuals who’ve held on to Windows XP and didn’t jump on board with Microsoft’s Windows 7 transition OS Vista did a good thing. At the minimum they saved some cash and even spared themselves a bit of OS pain.
I like to think of Windows Vista as a modern Windows Millennium Edition operating system. Like Windows Me, Vista introduced some great new features and innovations however in all honestly it wasn’t exactly ready for prime time.
Microsoft also broke away from their more generic naming convention with Windows Me and Vista for a catchy title. This name change was in my opinion a double-edged sword for it drew in some folks but for others such as myself I knew it had transition OS written all over it. As an example successful Microsoft operating systems had names including Window 95, 98, 2000, XP, 7, etc. Then Microsoft gave us cool ass names like Windows Millennium Edition and Windows Vista.
The point I’m trying to make is stay away from future Microsoft Windows operating systems that break outside Microsoft’s typical naming convention. And yes I’m sure a time will come when this isn’t necessarily going to be the case, but you’d better make sure industry experts say it’s the Crème de la Crème of Microsoft operating systems. Hmm, Windows Crème de la Crème Edition, I wonder if Microsoft will use this name for their next transition OS?
Flashing forward to Windows 7 and in response to my own experience with dual booting Windows XP and Windows 2000 back in the day, I’d thought I’d share a little insight into dual booting Windows 7 with XP for our newer generation of folks. If you’re holding out and still using XP as your primary OS you may want to give Windows 7 a test drive.
Yes I will admit I stuck with Windows 2000 back in the day and even held out for over a year before upgrading to XP, though eventually I put all reservations aside and gave XP a whirl as a secondary OS in a dual boot configuration to ease the transition. As time went on I began using Windows 2000 less and less, eventually transitioning full time into XP. I see current users holding onto XP doing the same with Windows 7 for it really is a nice leap forward.
Setting up a dual boot configuration with XP and Windows 7 is actually very easy to setup too. I highly recommend you give Windows 7 a chance as I did back in the day when I was using Windows 2000. At the minimum if you end up not liking or wanting to transition to Microsoft’s latest bread and butter OS, uninstalling Windows 7 is also very easy when it is installed as a secondary operating system to XP. In fact I am in the process of writing an article on uninstalling Windows 7 at this moment.
If you want to learn how to setup Windows XP and Windows 7 in a dual boot configuration, check out my page on setting up a Dual Boot Windows 7 and XP installation. I will walk you through the process and even answer common dual boot questions. Also, don’t forget to stay tuned for my guide to uninstalling Windows 7 is on the way.
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Tags: dual boot vista and xp, dual boot win7, dual boot windows 7, multiboot windows 7, windows 7 dual boot
Written by AskTheComputerTech on May 21st, 2010
I recently worked on one of my client’s laptops that was infested with spyware, viruses, and adware galore. She gave me a call describing symptoms of a typical infestation and I knew immediately the issues would have to be addressed.
Every time she launched Internet Explorer it would open over and over to the point where her computer would run out of memory and crash. She was also receiving random pop ups galore and strange icons were showing in the system tray by her clock. She described her computer as being slow as molasses.
Once I scheduled an appointment and had laptop in hand I dove right in to see what could be done if anything to save her Windows installation. I’ve seen malware infestations so bad that a system was hosed beyond repair and upon first glance I wasn’t exactly optimistic with her laptop, it took about 10 minutes to boot into Windows.
Once Windows had finally launched I surveyed the system. She was running Windows Vista Home Premium with expired antivirus software, outdated virus definition files, and she also used Internet Explorer as her browser of choice. To make it worse I also noticed multiple peer to peer programs including Limewire installed.
I knew I was in for good times with a possible chance that I wouldn’t be able to save her system but I decided to give it a whirl. I wasn’t really digging the fact that I may need to backup her gigs of music and photos and completely re-image her machine so I dove right in and began to tackle her laptop issues one baby step at a time.
I will spare you the gritty details but here are the troubleshooting steps which ultimately fixed her computer.
Troubleshooting Steps Used To Fix Laptop From Hell:
- Created and logged in under a new user profile. Yes her profile was hosed.
- Installed Malwarebytes and Spybot Search and Destroy via my USB flash drive
- Ran full system scan using Malwarebytes & Spybot following it with a reboot.
- Removed old antivirus software and installed Microsoft Security Essentials
- Ran full system scan using Microsoft Security Essentials followed by a reboot.
- Ran Malwarebytes and Spybot again, following with a reboot
- Used Process Explorer to locate stubborn processes not removed via scans
- Booted into safe mode and removed processes noted in previous step
- Logged into Windows Vista in normal mode and uninstalled unneeded software
- Streamlined processes via the Msconfig startup utility and rebooted machine
- Copied only her core data from old profile into this new profile
- Tweaked a few settings and tested functionality of her system
- Topped everything off by running Windows update
Like all my clients I finished things off by explaining in user friendly terms what steps I took to fix her system, and I also gave her pointers and advice to help her prevent this from reoccurring in the future.
This was yet another interesting troubleshooting experience and it also influenced me to create another page for my site which I’m hoping will help others keep their systems safe from online threats. Topics include: Firewalls, virus protection, malware protection, Windows update and more.
Here is a direct link to my new page: Windows Security Essentials
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Tags: computer security, microsoft security essentials, security essentials, security tips, windows security essentials
Written by AskTheComputerTech on May 20th, 2010
Last week one of my clients called me regarding a problem on his personal laptop, he said it would not boot into Windows because it was returning an error message. After gathering more details from him it turned out he was running Windows 7 and it was returning a bootmgr is compressed error.
This was a new issue for me so I proceeded with typical troubleshooting steps by asking him a slew of questions to gather more information.
How do you think it happened? Did you see any error messages before the issue occurred? Was Windows 7 running ok before the error? After these and a few other questions the puzzle started to come together pretty quickly.
He pretty much responded by saying Windows 7 was running absolutely flawless for at least 3 months since he performed an upgrade installation to Windows 7 from Windows XP. However he then proceeded to tell me that he has been receiving messages on screen stating that his disk is near capacity, etc. for at least a week.
Hmm, could he have compressed his hard drive willingly or unwillingly possibly causing this bootmgr is compressed error? I proceeded to ask him if he remembers compressing his drive and to my surprise he said no. On the other hand end-users come to computer technicians like me for a reason so I was a bit skeptical to his response, plus I have seen before during the course of my career where a person compressed their drive or files unknowingly.
Regardless of my thoughts and experiences this was still a new issue to me but at least now I had something to go by so I was ready to start Googling for an answer. After I performed a bit of online research I discovered that my original hypothesis was a potential right on the money cause of the bootmgr is compressed error. Hmm, could I have been correct?
After I was able to get laptop in hand I immediately proceeded to boot from my Windows 7 repair disc to work with the Windows 7 system recovery option tools. I started by using the Startup repair option to no prevail. Startup repair is a great first step for troubleshooting Windows 7 startup issues but it didn’t do anything in this case.
After that failed I booted from my system repair disc again and clicked the load drivers button to open the explorer type window to check if the drive was compressed. Ahhhh, sure enough his drive was compressed. I unchecked “Compress this Drive” and rebooted, but the error still occurred.
Booting for a third time from my Windows 7 system repair disc I launched the command prompt system recovery tool. I then proceeded to write a new boot sector to the system partition and repair the boot disk’s master boot record by executing the following commands in order hitting enter after each one:
- Bootrec /fixboot
- Bootrec /fixmbr
Voila! After rebooting the computer Windows 7 launched successfully.
This was my first experience diagnosing a startup issue with Windows 7 since its release and it turned out to be a very interesting one indeed. If you want to learn more about troubleshooting bootmgr startup issues in Windows 7 and Windows Vista check out my new page that I’ve written in direct response to this experience.
Here’s the link: How to Fix Bootmgr is Missing and Bootmgr is Compressed startup errors.
Posted in Computer Troubleshooting, Windows 7 | Comments Off
Tags: bootmgr compressed, bootmgr is compressed, bootmgr is missing, bootmgr missing, windows 7 bootmgr is missing
Written by AskTheComputerTech on May 19th, 2010
Today while messing around with Windows 7 on my personal computer I setup the classic quick launch bar which is missing in Windows 7 by default, having been replaced by a dock style taskbar that acts very similar to the Macintosh OS X operating system dock.
This was in response to a recent personal experience. A few weeks back a friend of mine just bought Windows 7 and one of the first things he asked me was if I knew how to add the quick-launch bar to the taskbar. He actually uses it daily at work and he like myself and other first time Windows 7 users was experiencing what I like to call the breaking out of habit blues.
The old school quick launch bar has been in pretty much all prior Windows versions including Windows Vista and Windows XP and when I personally transitioned to Windows 7 it actually took me a bit of time to adjust to the new taskbar and I’m a fairly tech savvy guy.
I’ve recently seen Windows 7 tweaked to look and feel like prior Windows versions so I figured I would setup my own personal laptop and write a page about it for my readers who may want to do the same.
I cannot however advocate you switch to this classic Windows look and feel for in all honestly once you get used to the new Windows 7 dock style taskbar it may start to grow on you like it did me. On the other hand this is a nice tweak if end up being one of those computer users who for the life of you cannot get used to the new Windows 7 taskbar dock style.
Or as my friend and coworker’s says, the classic look and feel with the quick launch bar is better in his opinion for a business machine used in a desktop support role because seeing the program names displayed in the task bar open applications list is more efficient then seeing only the applications grouped under one icon on the taskbar.
A valid opinion yes, I can totally see how a program description in the taskbar may help some users in a desktop support rule being that they often juggle a crap load of applications at once, however in all honestly I’ve gotten used to the new look and feel and I work in a desktop support role using Windows 7 myself. The Windows 7 taskbar application switching feature utilizing the Windows 7 Aero interface when used is a powerful alternative to this classic look and feel.
Windows Classic Taskbar Vs Windows 7 Taskbar
Of course its ultimately up to you to decide which taskbar option to use, though I definitely recommend you give the new Windows 7 style a try for it may just grow on you. If you want to put each option through a trial run jump over to my most recent page to learn how to tweak the Windows 7 taskbar to make it look and feel very similar to Windows Vista & Windows XP and also learn how to add the classic quick launch bar back in Windows 7.
Here is a direct link to my new page: Windows 7 Taskbar
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Tags: changing windows taskbar options, customize windows taskbar, quick launch bar, windows 7 taskbar, windows taskbar
Written by AskTheComputerTech on May 18th, 2010
Finished another web page today, this time on dual booting Windows 7. Spent a good chunk of the day playing with dual booting Windows XP with Windows 7. Started out with Windows XP and topped it off with a Windows 7 install on a secondary partition. Process was just as straight forward as installing Windows 7 as a single OS system.
I followed Microsoft’s recommendation and installed Windows 7 on a system with Windows XP already installed. I decided to stick with Microsoft’s recommendation by installing an older operating system first as opposed to after the newer version of Windows. I’ve successfully installed XP after Windows Vista in the past but it required a bit of tweaking, though as I found out it can be done. There are plenty of guides out there if you want to do this, just do a Google search for dual booting Windows 7.
You may also want to try Microsoft Virtual PC to run Windows XP along side Windows 7 as an alternative to dual booting, unless of course you need to play games. Virtual PC being a software emulated computer won’t take advantage of your hardware to allow gaming as it would if you installed XP in a dual boot setup. If you need a full speed Windows XP system for backwards compatibility for say a game, then dual booting will be your best choice.
On the other hand if you need XP for say an office application that you can’t get to function on Windows 7, then well Virtual PC is going to be a great option. Unlike a dual boot setup, with Virtual PC you don’t have to restart your computer to select the OS so that’s another added bonus to Virtual PC opposed to a dual boot setup. Plus the Windows XP mode feature of Virtual PC is pretty nifty and it allows XP apps to work pretty seamlessly along side Windows 7 apps.
Whether or not you choose to dual boot Windows XP with Vista or Windows 7, or to run XP on Microsoft Virtual PC, Microsoft has made it very easy to setup each type of configuration. Best of all Virtual PC is free and it works quite well. While I personally am a VMware user I’m going to save that topic for another post as soon as I get a page going. Of course I also use Virtual PC in addition to Vmware for testing and so I can definitely recommend Virtual PC too, especially because its totally free. Whichever you try whether or not it is dual booting an OS or running virtualization software, I think you will find either option useful for testing, learning, backwards compatibility for running applications and much more.
I must say this was the first time I’ve messed with dual booting in a while, but I decided out of the blue that I’d like to cover the topic and ran with that idea. If you are interested here is a direct link to my new page on setting up a dual-boot configuration. Dual Boot Win7
Please stop by anytime for additional AskTheComputerTech.com website updates & more.
Posted in Windows 7 | Comments Off
Tags: dual boot vista and xp, dual boot win7, dual boot windows 7, multiboot windows 7, windows 7 dual boot
Written by AskTheComputerTech on May 17th, 2010
I’ve been tweaking with the Windows 7 firewall for the past two days and I must say I’ve learned a fair amount about it.
I’m definitely impressed with the built in firewall in Windows 7, for a free firewall it works well and Microsoft has made it even easier to access various firewall settings from previous Windows firewalls.
Despite Microsoft tweaking their latest Windows 7 firewall in the right places it still isn’t quite revolutionary when comparing to third party alternatives but on the other hand I give it mad kudos for being easier to work with and an improvement over the Windows Vista firewall and substantially better than the old Windows XP firewall. Best of all the Windows software firewall doesn’t require any of your heard earned cash compared to third party solutions.
If you want to learn more about the new features in the Windows 7 firewall be sure to check out my post from yesterday for I’ve included a link on that post to my Windows firewall review and introduction.
I’ve also finally finished a brief firewall how to guide which covers topics such as turning off or on the windows firewall and how to allow a program to communicate through the firewall. That page also incorporates a nice FAQ that answers common firewall questions and it’s perfect for beginner computer technicians or do it yourself folks. I’ve provided the link below, enjoy!
Here is a direct link to my new page: Windows Firewall
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Tags: configure windows firewall options, windows 7 firewall, windows 7 firewall review, windows firewall
Written by AskTheComputerTech on May 16th, 2010
I’ve recently completed a new page on the Windows 7 firewall. Been exploring and playing with Windows 7 for a little while now and am really beginning to enjoy Microsoft’s new operating system.
Microsoft stepped up the Windows firewall and has added some nice new features to make configuring it a lot more intuitive. In my website article I pretty much detail some of my findings in a mini review type format.
I also am in the process of finishing up a Windows firewall page with info on how to perform some basic Windows firewall configuration tasks. I will link both pages together and will be updating this blog once completed.
Here is a direct link to my new page: Windows 7 Firewall
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Tags: configure windows firewall options, windows 7 firewall, windows 7 firewall review, windows firewall
