Category: Uncategorized

Anti-Malware Program

If you are not familiar with this relatively new term “malware”,
it refers to all kinds of nefarious programs that may infect your
are includes all kinds of viruses, spyware, adware, trojans,
rootkits, and others. The word itself stems from “malicious”
and “software”.

I’m always looking for programs that deal with PC infections in new
and better ways. I look for free programs that perform as intended.
After considerable testing I make the decision to write about them so
you have the necessary information to make your decisions. You may
think that free software, particularly security software, can not be
any good if it’s free. Well, think again. Many free security programs
are as good if not better than paid for versions. Why is this?
Viruses, trojans, worms, spyware, adware, and all the other malicious
garbage that can attack your computer isn’t just a threat to you – it
threatens everyone on the internet. This includes big companies and
governments. It is in everyone’s best interests to control these
attacks, but that can’t happen if a malicious program can hide in
your PC. Therefore a number of private companies have committed
themselves to providing free versions of their software for those
that have not maintained security on their PC. A lot of this software
is superior quality. Expect the worst if you have not updated your
security software, scanned your PC for malware, allowed your security
subscription to lag, or you have not installed security software. The
following are my recommendations.

Number one; install an anti-malware program if you haven’t done so.
I highly recommend “Avast”. This program is free and protects against
all forms of malware and is available at www.avast.com. Number two;
you need to provide supplementary protection in the form of an
anti-spyware type program. I now recommend Malwarebytes. This program
has become very popular during 2008 and has an uncanny way of finding
malware that other security programs may miss during scanning. It’s
available at www.malwarebytes.org. On the left side of the page click
the green block that says “Download Now!” The download will come from
download.com which is a safe site for downloads of all types.
Previously I had recommended Spyware Terminator for anti-spyware
protection along with Avast. While Spyware Terminator still performs
well it also has an annoying habit of intrusive pop-up windows. Some
residents that are not familiar with the program have clicked to
allow certain actions in these pop-up windows when they should not
have, and have blocked other actions they should have allowed. If you
are still running Spyware Terminator and understand how it works,
then it’s not necessary to uninstall it unless you want to.

After downloading and installing Malwarebytes there’s nothing to
configure in the program. That is a big plus in my book. Also there
are no annoying pop-up windows to deal with – another plus. One item
I’ll mention is that this free version does not give you real-time
protection. Real-time protection means that a security program will
block intrusive infections or protect your PC while you are on the
Internet. In summary, Avast does provide the necessary real-time
protection and Malwarebytes provides superior clean-up should
anything get by Avast. I believe this one-two combination will
provide a secure, stable, and trouble free way allowing your PC to
operate with very little slow down in its operation.

To find out more about how to download, install, run Avast, and
Malwarebytes, come to our PC Club meeting. We address general
computer, HDTV, and Comcast questions too. Our meetings are held
on the second Tuesday of every month at 7:00 PM upstairs in the community Center. Remember to check the Hershey’s Mill website at
www.hersheysmill.org and click on Tech Tips for past Technology
Tips articles.

Don Trauger

Toolbars

Don Trauger

There are well over a dozen popular toolbars that are available for download or come as part of other programs that are installed on your computer. For example, there are, the Yahoo toolbar, AOL, MSN, Ask, and Comcast toolbars, and of course the very popular Google toolbar. Basically these toolbars are convenient entry points for searching the Internet for almost anything you can think of plus a myriad of other buttons that whisk you off to specialized locations. They occupy a location in Internet Explorer near the top of the window you are viewing.  I’ve seen computers that have at least three of these toolbars installed. This reduces the ability of Internet Explorer to display the full height of the Web page. Although you can move the vertical scroll bar to the right of the window to see the full page, it requires you to manipulate the mouse more than you should. This of course is user preference but it can be annoying too.

 

A more serious problem with toolbars is that they have their own behind-the-scene agenda. Many of them offer anti-phishing, anti-spam, anti-spyware, and a pop-up blocker. This built-in protection scheme often conflicts with your own installed anti-virus software. In addition, some toolbars may link to 3rd party sites of questionable integrity. My advice is to uninstall all toolbars. For Windows XP click Start, click Control Panel on the right, click Add or Remove Programs, click the name of the toolbar you want to remove, and then click on Change/Remove or Remove. For Vista and Windows 7 users, click the Start orb (lower left corner of the screen) then click Control Panel on the right. Click Programs and Features, click the name of the unneeded toolbar, and then click Uninstall. I can hear you now – “I really use my toolbar”. I understand, however, Internet Explorer can be configured to use any search engine you wish without using a toolbar. For Windows XP users, open Internet Explorer and click the tiny down arrow under the “X” in the upper right corner of the window. Click Find More Providers. Under Internet Explorer Gallery are the popular search engine providers. Google is the preferred choice. Click Google if it is not installed and choose to make it the default. Click Add, and then click the Add to Internet Explorer button. By clicking that same down arrow again in Internet Explorer, you should now see that Google has been added. You should also see Google in the grayed out search field of Internet Explorer. Type a search request in this field then click the magnifying icon next to the search field and you will automatically be taken to Google. The first ten search results will show in the opening window. Windows Vista, 7, and 8 users can click the gear icon, and then click on Manage add-ons, then Search Providers on the left side. At the lower left of the window, click on Find more search providers and then follow the above procedure for adding Google in the Internet Explorer Gallery. Vista, 7, and 8 users must type search requests in the address field of Internet Explorer.

 

            If you insist on having a toolbar make sure only one is installed to avoid conflicts. Look for where the Preferences or Options are in the toolbar and turn off or disable all the extra and unneeded security functions it offers.

 

            The basic rule is to not run your computer with multiple security programs of the same type at the same time. Only one anti-virus, anti-spyware, anti-spam, phishing filter, or pop-up blocker should be operational at a given time. More information about this and other subjects can be obtained if you attend our monthly PC Club meetings. They are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM upstairs in the Ardmore room of the Community Center.

 

Note: Remember to visit our newly designed Web site at www.hersheysmill.org to discover information about our community.

Windows 7 Tips and Tweaks

Don Trauger – Kennett

I’ve collected many Windows 7 tips and tweaks that can be performed on a Windows 7 computer. In this article I’ve noted
a few of the easier ones that may interest you. Just remember, they won’t necessarily work on XP or Vista computers.

Minimize multiple windows on your Desktop screen
This tip is a fun one to try. If you frequently run multiple programs simultaneously, your desktop can get extremely cluttered.
This can get annoying if you’re working on one program and want to minimize all the other windows. In previous versions of Windows
you had to minimize them individually. With Windows 7’s “shake” feature, though, you can minimize every window except the one in
which you’re currently working in a single step. Click and hold the title bar of the window you want to keep on the desktop; while
still holding the title bar, shake it quickly back and forth until all of the other windows minimize to the taskbar. Then let go.
To make them return, shake the title bar again.

Add a video link to the Start Menu
The Windows 7 Start Menu includes links to your Pictures and Music folders, but not to your Videos folder. If you watch a lot
of videos and want a link to them on your Start Menu, here’s what you can do:
1. Right-click the Start button and select Properties.
2. On the screen that appears, go to the Start Menu tab and click Customize.
3. In the dialog box that appears, scroll to the bottom, look for the Videos section, select “Display as a link,” and click OK and then OK.

Show all your drives in Windows Explorer
Depending on your system settings, when you go to Computer in Windows Explorer, you may be in for a shock you may not see all your
drives such as memory card readers if those drives are empty. If this disconcerts you, there’s a simple way for you to see them
even if there’s nothing there:
1. Launch Windows Explorer and press the Alt button to reveal the top menu.
2. Select Tools –> Folder Options and click the View tab.
3. Under “Advanced settings,” uncheck the box next to “Hide empty drives in the Computer folder.” Click OK. The drives will now always be visible.

Take control of the taskbar notification area
The notification area, at the far right of the taskbar, shows system messages and alerts, and displays the icons of programs
and services that typically run in the background, such as Windows 7’s wireless service. But what determines when, how and which
icons show up there seems one of Windows’ great mysteries.
There’s a simple way to find out, and better yet, to customize it.
1. Right-click the taskbar, select Properties, and from the dialog box in the notification area section, click Customize.
2. For each application, select from the drop-down box whether you want the icon and notifications to always be displayed,
to never be displayed or to have an icon appear only when there’s a notification of some kind. Click OK when you’re done.

Rearrange taskbar icons
It’s easy to rearrange the icons across the bottom of the screen simply drag an icon to where you want it to live. You can also add icons to the taskbar by dragging them from an application, and delete the icons by highlighting them and pressing the Delete key.


To get answers to your questions about computers, please come to the PC Club meeting. The computer club
meets the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM in Hershey’s Mill Community Center.

Speed Up Your PC

Don Trauger

Security is very important because viruses and spyware can slow down your computer and
most anti-virus programs like Norton and McAfee also contribute to slowing down your
computer. This month I’ll cover some other easy to correct areas of your PC that may be
slowing it down. Although I’ve covered this subject before I’m repeating it again for
anyone that reads this column and may have forgotten the procedure.

First, you may want to review past articles on PC performance by going to our website
www.hersheysmill.org, clicking on “Tech Tips”, and then click on “Computer Performance
and Maintenance Tips”. Next, click on “Maintenance – Basic” and “Maintenance – Recommended”.
The overall procedure has changed little from those articles. Do a Disk Cleanup first by
clicking Start, move to All Programs, move to Accessories, then System Tools, and click
Disk Cleanup. With Vista click on Accessories and System Tools. Click OK (XP only), make
sure all the items are checked, and click OK again for both XP and Vista. To gain a superior
cleanup I highly recommend downloading and installing CCleaner. To do that, just follow the
procedure in the “Maintenance – Recommended” on-line article. After cleaning out all the junk
files with these two programs, then click on Disk Defragmenter which is also in System Tools.
This will realign the files on the hard drive for faster startup and execution of your programs.
Click the Analyze button for information about your hard drive’s fragmentation then click the
Defragment button. Vista analyzes automatically but don’t depend on it. Click the Defragment
now button for Vista.

Another important item is to reduce the number of programs that unnecessarily start up with
your computer. This is an area that software manufacturers and to some extent the PC makers
themselves have taken advantage. Click Start, click Run, type msconfig in the Open: field and
click OK. With Vista type msconfig in the Start Search box which is above the Start button and
press the Enter key. Next, click the Startup tab. Note the items checked. Each is stealing some
amount of your computer’s resources. The idea here is to leave checked the ones you absolutely
need. For example you definitely need your security programs to start when you start the
computer. Remember, unchecking items does not uninstall them but only stops them from starting
up. When done unchecking unneeded items click the OK button. A Restart is necessary to effect
the changes you made. You can always start your programs when needed from your Desktop icon or
from the Programs Menu. You don’t need them to start at boot time. Read in more detail this
important speedup technique in the “Computer – Taking Control” on-line article.

Routine maintenance as described above should take place every month if you use your computer
everyday. A once a week user can go two months. However, security scanning should take place
weekly or more often if you are a daily user.

Another item that is also important for faster performance is the usable amount of physical
system memory available. The more programs you have checked in msconfig the less usable memory
you have for other things. Also, when you have many items checked they require attention from
the computer’s processor further slowing things down. Here’s how to check. Startup two or
three other programs you use frequently. For example if your computer is used mainly for the
Internet start Internet Explorer or whatever you use to browse web sites along with Outlook
Express for e-mail and Microsoft Word or some word processing program. Right click a blank area
on the Task Bar (the bar at the bottom of the screen). In the pop-up menu click Task Manager.
Click the Performance tab in the window. Now with 3 programs or so running note the available
memory under Physical Memory. You should have at least 100,000 or higher available. If not you
should consider adding more physical memory. For Vista users look at the Free number. It should
be above 100. Adding memory is easy to do but consult your PC user’s manual for your system’s
requirements. A low cost reliable Internet site to purchase memory is www.crucial.com. This
site will offer to scan your computer, noting details such as your manufacturer, model, what
memory you need, and the available memory slots.

In summary, installing my recommended security software, cleaning and defragging the hard
drive, and insuring you have enough memory installed, will improve the overall performance of
your PC.

Answers to your questions on this subject and others can be found on the
second Tuesday of every month at 7:00 PM at the PC Club meeting upstairs in the Community Center

Repairing and Testing Your PC

Don Trauger – Kennett

Most computer problems are software related. Whether it’s a malware infection, a faulty program, or a computer that won’t boot,
the problems are usually in the software category. There are several approaches to correcting software problems. For example, a
malware problem can often be corrected by scanning with your anti-virus program and the Malwarebytes program. For a faulty program,
often just uninstalling then reinstalling the program will take care of the problem. For a computer that won’t boot the situation is
serious. For Windows XP you will need the operating system disk. Insert the disk, restart the computer and boot from the inserted
system disk. You may have change the boot priority in the BIOS to boot from the inserted CD system disk. To make a repair using the
Recovery Console press R. Follow the directions on the screen. At the Windows prompt you can employ several different fixes by typing c
ommands such as chkdsk c: /r, fixboot, and fixmbr and pressing Enter. Do one at a time! After employing the fixes remove the disk and
reboot normally. Windows Vista and 7 also have a repair feature that is built in. Reboot the computer and when you see the manufacturer’s
logo depress the F8 key for about 1 second – release for 1 second and repeat until you see the Advanced Boot Options window. Choose Repair
Your computer and press Enter. Follow any screen prompts. When you see the System Recovery Options window, click the Command prompt. To
repair a non boot condition type bootrec.exe /fixboot then press Enter. Repeat again by typing bootrec.exe /fixmbr then Enter. To repair
a computer that starts to boot but fails to complete type chkdsk c: /r. This command repairs Windows system files in XP, Vista, and
Windows 7. Type exit and press Enter to return to the main window. If the preceding fails to repair the problem, click on Startup Repair.
Another selection is System Restore which also may help with a problem of starting your computer. Regular maintenance can help eliminate t
he need to repair your computer at such a difficult level.

For testing your computer go to www.pcpitstop.com. This site will run a free analysis of your computer. Please use Internet Explorer for
this test. On the left side, click on Overdrive. In the next window, also on the left side, click on Sign up FREE. This will create an
account for you to save your test results. After your account is created you can proceed with the testing. Click on test your system now.
In the future just sign in, in the User Login on the left side and click Go, then click Scan this system now. After the test completes,
click the tabs to note any discrepancies. The Summary and the Performance tabs hold the most important info. If you wish, bring your results
to the PC Club meeting for further analysis.

Help with the above information is available at the PC Club meetings. We meet the second Tuesday of every month at 7:00 PM upstairs in the
Ardmore room of the Community Center.

Computer Freezes – What to do When

Don Trauger – Kennett

Problems can appear at anytime when using the computer. They may appear only at startup, they may appear only
when using a program, or they may appear when shutting down the computer. One of the reasons for all this mayhem
is the lack of maintenance on your computer. Make sure you do the required, and I do mean required, maintenance
as outlined under my TechTips in Computer Performance and Maintenance Tips on our www.hersheysmill.org website.
Also, be sure your anti-virus program is up to date with the current updates and make sure you do either a manual
scan for viruses or check for an automatic scan scheduled by the anti-virus program. Lack of maintenance or using
the computer with a virus can lead to instability, freezes, and crashes.

Even if you do all of the preceding and keep your computer in good condition, you can still experience the annoying
problem of a freeze. This is a condition when the mouse or keyboard fails to respond to your input. The screen is
more or less normal but nothing happens when you try clicking the mouse or pressing a keyboard key. There can be
several reasons for this situation. It may be the program itself. Sometimes an update will correct freeze up problems
particularly if it occurs at the same spot during use of the program. Check the website’s support area for the
manufacturer of the program to see if there are any updates. Another possibility is a program conflict. This can occur
when two or more programs (or files) occupy the same area in the computer’s memory. Another reason could be a faulty
device driver. Device drivers are small utility programs to make the hardware in computer perform the way it should.
This area is a bit technical and upgrading device drivers should only be done if they suspected of being unstable.

Now, here’s what to try to get out of a freeze condition. First, see if you can move the mouse down to the Task bar.
This the bar that contains the clock in the right hand corner of the screen. Right click the bar in a blank area and
then left click on Task Manager. Click the Application tab, highlight the program/s displayed, and then click End Task.
In a few seconds they should be closed out. If you see a window pop up click on End Now. Now try restarting your program
again to see if it works. If it doesn’t, you will have to restart the computer. You can do this within Task Manger by
clicking on ShutDown at the top of the window then click on Restart.

If the mouse is totally frozen and can’t be moved, check to see if the keyboard is functional. The keyboard can substitute
for the mouse in many situations. To restart a computer using only the keyboard, press and hold the Ctrl key while you
press the Esc key. Next press the u key followed by the r key. This will restart the computer so you can be operational
again.

If all of the preceding fails, press and hold the power button on the computer for at least 7 seconds or until the
computer commences to shut down. Next, restart as you normally would. Hopefully it will now run normally.

Help with computer problems and questions can be found when you attend our PC Club meetings. We meet the 2nd Tuesday of
every month at 7:00 PM in the Ardmore room of the Community Center.

Monthly Computer Maintenance

Don Trauger – Kennett

Microsoft’s Disk Cleanup utility manages to do the required cleanup. However, there are other utility programs that are designed to
improve upon what Microsoft offers. I recommend downloading and installing CCleaner. This program is free. Open Internet Explorer and
go to www.filehippo.com. CCleaner will be found under “Popular Software”. Click it and in the next window click the big green arrow
on the right. If you see a yellow Information bar pop up under the Toolbar, click it, then click on “Download File” in the menu.
Click “Save” and direct the download to your Desktop. Do this by clicking the down arrow in the Save in: field. Select Desktop and
when the Save in: field shows Desktop, click the “Save” button. When the download completes, click the “Close” button, then close
Internet Explorer. The CCleaner download should now be on your Desktop. Look for an icon that says ccsetupxxx.exe. Double click it
then click the “Run” button to install CCleaner. Vista and Windows 7 users will see an additional security prompt. Answer Yes to continue.
Follow the screen prompts and be sure to remove any checks, if you see any, opting to add toolbars to Internet Explorer during the
installation. At the last window click the “Finish” button. CCleaner should start automatically. After installation delete the CCleaner
download file (ccsetupxxx.exe). The x’s represent any number.

If CCleaner doesn’t start, click the new CCleaner icon on the Desktop to open the program. The program comes properly configured so there
is no need to make further changes. When the program opens click the “Analyze” button. This will indicate the number of MB’s of unneeded junk
files that can be safely erased. Then click the “Run Cleaner” button. Follow the screen prompt to rid your system of the junk files. Next click
the “Registry” button. Click the “Scan for Issues” button. After the screen says 100% click the “Fix selected issues” button. The next pop-up
window asks to backup the changes. I find it’s not necessary so you can click No. Then click “Fix all selected issues” click OK then Close. For
best results click the “Registry” button again to run it a second time then close CCleaner.

Now that you have installed and have run CCleaner, the next tool to run is Microsoft’s Disk Cleanup located in System Tools. Click the
“Start” button, move the mouse to All Programs, then Accessories, then System Tools, and click Disk Cleanup. Click the OK button and wait
for the scan to complete. Then, place a check next to all the listed items. You may have to scroll down to see the complete list. Click OK
and answer Yes to the next prompt asking if you want to perform these actions. Wait for the cleanup to complete. To finish the maintenance,
click Disk Defragmenter, also in System Tools. For Windows XP users highlight your hard drive (C:) and click the “Defragment” button. This
will take time. For Vista users, uncheck “Run on a schedule” then click the “Defragment now” button. Choose the (C:) drive, OK the window,
and wait until it completes. For Windows 7 users click “Configure Schedule” and remove the check next to “Run on a schedule” and OK the window.
Choose the (C:) drive then click “Defragment disk”.

It’s best to do all maintenance manually so you can verify it’s been completed properly. Most importantly, this maintenance must be done at
least on a monthly basis to maintain your computer. If you don’t do this maintenance then you can expect have a slow computer and one that is
prone to crashes.

Help in maintaining your computer is available at the PC Club meetings. We meet the second Tuesday of every month at 7:00 PM upstairs in
the Ardmore room of the Community Center.


To get answers to your questions about computers, please come to the PC Club meeting. The computer club
meets the second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM in Hershey’s Mill Community Center.

Maint. Outlook Express and Mail



Don
Trauger

Last month’s article covered basic computer maintenance. This month
I’ll bump it up a notch and improve on the level of cleaning and maintenance of
the computer.

Microsoft’s Disk Cleanup utility manages to do the required
cleanup. However, there are other utility programs that are designed to improve
upon what Microsoft offers. For one, I recommend downloading and installing
CCleaner. This program is free. Open Internet Explorer and go to
www.filehippo.com. CCleaner will be found under “Most Popular Downloads”. Click
it and in the next window click the big green arrow on the right. If you see an
Information Bar pop-up, click Close then click on the light yellow bar under
Internet Explorer’s buttons. You should see a drop down menu and then click on
Download file in the menu. Click Save and direct the download to your Desktop.
Do this by clicking the down arrow in the Save in: field. Select Desktop and
when the Save in: field shows Desktop, click the Save button. When the download
completes click the Close button, then close Internet Explorer. The CCleaner
download should now be on your Desktop. Look for an icon that says ccsetupxxx.
Double click to install. Follow the screen prompts and be sure to remove the
check next to adding the Yahoo Toolbar during the setup. Click the Install
button to complete and click Finish. After installation you may delete the
CCleaner download file (ccsetupxxx).

Click the new CCleaner icon on the Desktop
to open the program. The program comes properly configured so there is no need
to make further changes. When the program opens click the Analyze button. This
will indicate the number of MB’s that will be erased. Then click the Run Cleaner
button. Follow the screen prompt to rid your system of more unwanted files. Next
click the Registry button. Click the Scan for Issues button. After the screen
says 100% click the Fix selected issues button. The next pop-up window asks to
backup the changes. I find it’s not necessary so you can click No. However,
click Yes if you do. Then click Fix all selected issues click OK then Close. For
best results click the Registry button again to run it a second time then close
CCleaner.

Now that you have installed CCleaner the proper order for cleanup and
tune-up is to run Microsoft’s Disk Cleanup located in System Tools first,
CCleaner second, Disk Defragmenter, also in System Tools, third. Refer to the
October 2008 issue of the TV-Guide’s Technology Tips for more information
regarding Microsoft’s Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter or go online to
www.hersheysmill.org and click on Tech Tips.

Another recommended cleanup routine
involves users of Outlook Express. Outlook Express is not meant to store
hundreds of emails. It can become unstable. To avoid difficulties empty your
Inbox, Outbox, Sent Items, Drafts, and Deleted Items frequently. Highlight
(click it) the first email to be deleted, then hold down the Shift key and move
the mouse to the last email you want to delete and click. The items to be
deleted should now be highlighted. Then click the Delete button. Remember all
highlighted items will be deleted when you click the Delete button. This works
on all the folders (Inbox, Outbox, etc.). Start with the Inbox and end with the
Deleted Items. Another technique is to highlight the first email, then hold down
the Ctrl key and press the “A” key. This highlights all the items and is
especially useful when emptying the Deleted Items. After emptying the preceding
folders, click File in the Main window, move to Folders, and click Compact All
Folders. Wait until the process completes. Normally compacting is done
automatically after 100 runs in Outlook express. If you see a message that says,
“To free up disk space, Outlook Express can compact messages. This may take up
to a few minutes”, click OK and allow the process to continue without
interruption. However, I would recommend that compacting be done manually 2-3
times a month especially for heavy email use. For Vista computers, using Windows
Mail, you will also see a message after every 100 runs of Windows Mail that says
“Windows mail can compact the message store”. Make sure to OK it and don’t
interrupt the process! Windows Mail does not have a manual method of compacting.


Help in maintaining your computer is available at the PC Club meetings. We meet
the second Tuesday of every month at 7:00 PM upstairs in the Community Center.

Computer Maintenance

Don Trauger – Kennett

I’ve been writing this column for over 10 years and two areas I’ve stressed over and over are anti-virus/anti-spyware protection and system maintenance.
It seems some folk still disregard the aforementioned and blithely operate their computers as if all is well in the world. I hear all kinds of excuses
regarding maintenance like “Oh, that’s too complicated for me”, or “I’m a computer illiterate”, or “I just don’t understand what you write”.

They are probably honest answers but they don’t solve the problems building in your computer and only add to it. Everyday you use your computer, once
used and now discarded files build up on your hard drive. On a daily basis they can number in the thousands especially if you access the Internet. Over
time they can slow, freeze, or eventually crash a computer. I often wonder how many people have simply swept the problem under the rug and then went out
to purchase a new computer only to start the cycle all over again. Of course this wastes hundreds of dollars plus the loss of personal data such as
emails, programs, pictures, etc. when all that was needed was routine maintenance.

We all have our cars serviced including an oil change on a regular basis. At least I hope so. Computers also need routine maintenance. With cars, most of
us understand little of what goes on “under the hood”. Computers may be in the same category but with a little knowledge and hands on experience you can
become an expert – at least in providing the necessary routine maintenance. All of my articles provide click by click instructions, meaning you don’t have
to understand everything you are reading but simply follow along and perform the needed maintenance. Of course at our PC Club meetings you can ask questions
to gain more knowledge or attend a special session that deals with computer maintenance. This special session will be advertised on the Ch. 20 Bulletin
Board shortly. Our sessions are for everyone not just those that have experience.

Once you have gained the knowledge necessary to keep your computer running properly you’ll benefit by extending its lifetime and reducing your frustration
with the computer’s performance.

If you have recently purchased a new computer get started right as this is an excellent time to learn how to care for it. Chances are your computer
manufacturer has supplied little if any information on proper system maintenance. Microsoft also has done little to provide easy step by step maintenance
instructions. One session at our PC Club will give you enough confidence to take care of your computer!

Basic Computer Maintenance

Don Trauger – Kennett

I’ve written about this subject several times over the years and I feel it’s important enough to stress the fact that it needs to be done
on a regular basis, typically once a month. You can’t expect computers to run forever without some attention to maintenance. Even if you
never have performed this procedure, now is the time to do it. All the steps are safe and it will keep your computer in good shape. You
don’t have to understand the subject or even have much interest in it. If you can take the time to follow along and click the mouse, you
can perform the necessary maintenance.

Windows XP and Windows Vista provide a utility to clean up unneeded and unwanted files that are stored on your hard disk. It’s called
Disk Cleanup located in System Tools. To start this procedure click Start, move to All Programs, Accessories (click it for Vista),
System Tools (click it for Vista), click Disk Cleanup, and click OK (XP only). After a wait period (XP only) place a checkmark by clicking
on all the empty boxes without a checkmark. Next, click the More Options tab (XP only) and under System Restore, click Clean up, click Yes,
then click OK. Finally, click Yes again. For Vista users just click on OK. You now have completed a basic cleanup of your hard disk.

There’s another item that is part of basic maintenance. It’s called Disk Defragmenter and it is also located in System Tools. For Windows XP
users only, click on Disk Defragmenter and when the window opens click the (C:) disk, then click the Defragment button. The idea behind this
operation is to align the files on the hard disk so the computer will start up faster and open your programs more quickly. This will take a while
but you should end up with almost all blue at the left side of the graph. You may see some green bars mixed in and some white spaces which are fine.
You should not see red bars. I recommend that you run Disk Defragmenter twice in a row for the best results. Close the program when it completes.
Again, I’ll mention this is safe to do.

For Windows Vista users Disk Defragmenter is also in System Tools. Click Disk Defragmenter then uncheck (click) “Run on a schedule”. After
“Analyzing disks” completes click the Defragment now button. In the pop-up window place a checkmark, if necessary, in the box next to (C:) then
click OK. Lastly, click OK on the main Disk Defragment window when the program completes. For both XP and Vista users ignore messages that may say
you do not need to defragment the disk. These messages are misleading and really don’t indicate the true state of the hard disk.

Finally, to complete basic maintenance click Start, click Run (XP only) and in the Open: field type chkdsk C: /f Vista users should click Start,
click on Start Search then type chkdsk C: /f and press the Enter key. NOTE: there is a space between chkdsk and C: and between C: and /f.
Click OK (XP only) and you should see a window pop up. For both XP and Vista users type the letter y in the pop-up window and press the Enter key.
Next restart the computer and during the startup you will see a screen that indicates various tests and corrections. After it completes the computer
will start normally although this particular startup will be slower than normal. Subsequent starts should show a faster starting computer.

There you have it. Help in maintaining your computer is just around the corner at the PC Club meetings. We meet the second Tuesday of every month
at 7:00 PM upstairs in the Community Center.