How to Protect Computer in a Thunderstorm

Thunderstorm is a Storm with Thunder and Lightning and typically also Heavy Rain or Hail. The Earth has 100 Lightning Strikes per Second which means approx. 3.6 Trillion per Year. It's an unfortunate fact that someone, somewhere is going to have their Computer Fried by a Lightning Strike.

But don't worry, now we are up with the Tips on How to Protect Computer in a Thunderstorm.



Just read on to find out How you can Protect Yourself and Your Computer from Thunderstorm.

1) Unplug Everything from both the Mains and Telephone Lines.

The only Proven Protection from a Lightning Strike in Copper Cables ( like the ones used in Telephone Lines ) is a 30 cm Gap. As we all know this isn’t always possible, the Storm could Hit in the middle of the Night or when you are away from your Property. So what other measures can we take to try and protect us ?

2) The Best way to Protect your Computer from lightning is to use a Good Surge Protector.

Don't be Confused. A Power Strip, which is a Simple Strip of outlets, is not necessarily a Surge Protector. A Surge Protector may look like a Simple Strip of Outlets, but it has Built-in Protection against Power Surges. When your Home Receives a Power Spike, the Surge Protector takes this Spike and Pushes it away from the Computer.

3) Take lightning Strikes Seriously.

Even if your Computer appears to be working you should still give it a check over in case the Hit has left it in a Dangerous state that might result in Electric Shock or Fire. If you think that your Computer has been Hit by Lightning, the first thing you need to do is to see if anything else has been Damaged.

4) Check the Phone and other Electrical items for Damage.

If a Phone is Damaged then assume that the Lightning has entered your Computer through the Modem or affected your Router. If other Electrical items in your Home have been Damaged then assume the Strike has entered your Computer through the Power Supply.

5) Unplug the Computer ( Very important ! )

Check the outside of the Case for Signs of Smoke or Burn marks
( especially around the Power Supply at the back ).

6) Check the Electric, Telephone and Network Cables

Check the Electric, Telephone and Network Cables for Signs of Burning
( this is why it’s very important to unplug before Checking – you don’t want to be Electrocuted by a Damaged mains Lead ).

7) Use your Sense of Smell.

If you can Smell Acrid Smoke from your Computer or Router that’s not a Good Sign. If you can Tick any of the above situations, then it’s pretty evident that your Computer has taken a Hit and will need to be Repaired or Replaced. If your Computer wasn’t Running at the Time, it’s quite Probable that your Hard Drive is Recoverable, thereby Preserving any Important Document, Photos, etc.

Trick to Clean CD Drive

If the CD Drive is Creating Problems to read CD Disc or taking much Time to Read and finally Showing message
No Disc in the Drive then these are the Symptoms of Dirty or Weak CD Drive Lens as Dirty Lens can Create
Errors in Reading or Writing and can soon become Dead. Now here is the Trick to Clean CD Drive :

1) First make sure that Discs are Clean, Unscratched and is Loaded Properly.
2) Always use Laser Lens Cleaner to Clean Drive Lens.
3) Insert the Laser Lens Cleaner Disc and Play it for 2 to 3 minutes.
4) Using CD Drive Cleaner properly can efficiently Clean the CD Drive Laser from the Dust. But if the Problem is
not solved till these steps then Open it and Clean the Lens with a Cotton Swab.
Soit is a simple Trick to Clean CD Drive.

Tips to Clean the Motherboard

Dust Particles and other small dirty Particles can build up and Corrode circuitry causes various problems such as Computer Overheating and Computer Lockups. As we all know that Motherboard is also an Important Part of the Computer so we should keep in mind the good of health of the Motherboard. So we should Clean the Motherboard atleast once in 3 months or
early if the Computer is kept at the place where Dust Particles are more and can invade inside the CPU easily.

Note : We Recommend that you should be enough confident that you can Clean the Motherboard on your own easily. When inside the CPU you must take the necessary precautions and try to avoid Unplugging any cables or other Connections. When cleaning the inside of the case also look at any Fans or Heat Sinks as Dust, Dirt or Hair Particles collects around these Components the most.

The best practice to Clean Motherboard from Dust, Dirt or Hair Particles is to use Compressed Air. When using Compressed Air, hold it in the Up Right position; otherwise, it is possible chemicals may come out of the container that could damage or corrode the Motherboard or other component within the Computer. Also, ensure when using Compressed Air that you always blow the dust or dirt away from the Motherboard or out of the case.

Another Good alternative to Compressed Air is to use a Portable Battery powered Vacuum Cleaver that can effectively remove the Dust, Dirt or Hair from the Motherboard Completely and Prevent it from getting Trapped within the Case. However, do not use a Standard Electricity Powered Vacuum Cleaner as it can cause a lot of static electricity that can Damage the Computer. When using the Vacuum Cleaner it is important that you keep it's nozzle a couple inches away from the Motherboard and all other components to help prevent any part or soldered joints from being Sucked by the Vacuum. Ensure that you do not remove even a small component with the Vacuum Cleaner.

So these are simple Tips to Clean the Motherboard

Tricks and Tips to Fix Slow Running Computer

Well, we neither all are having a Super Computer nor we all can efford it. This issue is not a big issue as not only the Super Computers can Run Fast but also the normal Computers can Run at an Optimum Speed. There are many ways to Speed Up computers and Improve their Performance. Here are some Top Tricks and Tips to Fix Slow Running Computer.
To use these Top Tricks and Tips follow the simple steps :

1) Clean the Computer Registry. Slow Computers often have Errors in their Registry. The registry is Similar to the Nervous System of the Computer and its function is to Connect Software, Hardware and Computer Files to each other. Over the period of time, Performance of any Computer Reduces as Errors accumulate in the Registry, which can also become Corrupted. A straight forward step is to locate any Errors in the Registry and Repair them. Cleaning the registry manually is possible but not Recommended, as this method requires specific knowledge of the Registry Structure and its Functions. Using a Registry Cleaner Software is a Faster, more reliable option to eliminate errors, redundant files, incorrect links and deal with ActiveX components.

2) Delete and Block Adware and Spyware. Another common reason leading the Computers to Slowing Down is the large number of Spyware and Adware which are downloaded from the Internet often without the Users knowledge. This happens particularly when Peer to Peer ( P2P ) Networks are being used to Download Files etc. An easy solution is to improve the response time of any Computer is to run an AntiSpyware or Adware program which will scan, remove and then block Adware and Spyware.

3) Eliminate Viruses. Unsurprisingly many Computer Viruses can Slow Down Computers and drive Down response time. Often Viruses Damage Computer files and use excessive resources such as large amount of RAM and Disk Space. By running the latest version of the best Anti Virus Programs we can overcome these problems and keep our Computer in a better position and can improve it's Performance.

4) Simple Housekeeping Tasks. As there may be many Softwares and Programs that would be worth nothing for us i.e they are of no use. So the best idea is to Uninstall any Software that is not needed. Another Simple step to Improve Computer Speed is to Stop Programs launching Automatically. These simple tasks generally produce marginal improvements.

5) Optimize the Hard Disk. For hard disks which are Smaller in size like 40 GB or less or are suffering from Low Disk Space then at least 500MB of disk should be kept free as the Computer Speed also depend on the Free Space on the Hard Disk. This can even be done by Performing a Handy Task of removing Temporary Files that are stored on our Hard Drive. As the Free Disk Space is also used for Swapping Files when the Operating System needs to use Virtual Memory when it runs out of RAM. The system can Slow Down Significantly at this stage if the space on the Hard Disk is insufficient. Disk Scanning Programs such as Scandisk for Windows can help check for errors on the Hard Disk. Running a Disk Defragmentar is another useful step which will improve Computer Performance and Speed.

6) Optimizing the RAM. Some Programs are Poorly designed that they do not Release RAM Resources even after they are closed. This means that other programs would be suffering from Less Memory to Run. Running out of RAM is too fast and is not uncommon. Users who have this problem should consider upgrading the Memory on their Computer. An alternative option is not to use certain Programs Simultaneously.

7) Stop the Computer from OverHeating. Faulty Fans are a common cause leading to the Computer Overheating, Slowing Down and then finally resulting in Freezing of a Computer. To overcome this problem, we should operate our Computer somewhere at cool place as cool as possible. This does not mean to work inside a Freezer ! It's just an advice to operate at cool place from the surrounding. The other Best solution is to Install a New Fan in CPU which will Reduce the Computer’s Temperature by Increasing the Airflow and Ultimately Improve Response Time.

So these are some Tricks and Tips to Fix Slow Running Computer.

How to enable registry editor disabled by virus

There are many viruses which disable registry editing of your windows. And when you try to edit registry you get a message that "Registry editor has been disabled by your administrator". This can be solved by taking these two simple steps.

Step1: Restart your computer in safe mode and open cmd and type following command

reg delete HKCU\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\policies\system /v "DisableRegistryTools"

it will ask you for(Y/N)?  typeY.

Step2.: Run this another command:     run HKLM\software\microsoft\windows\currentversion\policies\system /v "DisableRegistryTools"

This will enable your registry editor

10 reasons why PCs crash - U must Know

10 reasons why PCs crash U must Know

Fatal error: the system has become unstable or is busy," it says. "Enter to return to Windows or press Control-Alt-Delete to restart your computer. If you do this you will lose any unsaved information in all open applications."

You have just been struck by the Blue Screen of Death. Anyone who uses Mcft Windows will be familiar with this. What can you do? More importantly, how can you prevent it happening?

1 Hardware conflict

The number one reason why Windows crashes is hardware conflict. Each hardware device communicates to other devices through an interrupt request channel (IRQ). These are supposed to be unique for each device.

For example, a printer usually connects internally on IRQ 7. The keyboard usually uses IRQ 1 and the floppy disk drive IRQ 6. Each device will try to hog a single IRQ for itself.

If there are a lot of devices, or if they are not installed properly, two of them may end up sharing the same IRQ number. When the user tries to use both devices at the same time, a crash can happen. The way to check if your computer has a hardware conflict is through the following route:

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager.

Often if a device has a problem a yellow '!' appears next to its description in the Device Manager. Highlight Computer (in the Device Manager) and press Properties to see the IRQ numbers used by your computer. If the IRQ number appears twice, two devices may be using it.

Sometimes a device might share an IRQ with something described as 'IRQ holder for PCI steering'. This can be ignored. The best way to fix this problem is to remove the problem device and reinstall it.

Sometimes you may have to find more recent drivers on the internet to make the device function properly. A good resource is www.driverguide.com. If the device is a soundcard, or a modem, it can often be fixed by moving it to a different slot on the motherboard (be careful about opening your computer, as you may void the warranty).

When working inside a computer you should switch it off, unplug the mains lead and touch an unpainted metal surface to discharge any static electricity.

To be fair to Mcft, the problem with IRQ numbers is not of its making. It is a legacy problem going back to the first PC designs using the IBM 8086 chip. Initially there were only eight IRQs. Today there are 16 IRQs in a PC. It is easy to run out of them. There are plans to increase the number of IRQs in future designs.

2 Bad Ram

Ram (random-access memory) problems might bring on the blue screen of death with a message saying Fatal Exception Error. A fatal error indicates a serious hardware problem. Sometimes it may mean a part is damaged and will need replacing.

But a fatal error caused by Ram might be caused by a mismatch of chips. For example, mixing 70-nanosecond (70ns) Ram with 60ns Ram will usually force the computer to run all the Ram at the slower speed. This will often crash the machine if the Ram is overworked.

One way around this problem is to enter the BIOS settings and increase the wait state of the Ram. This can make it more stable. Another way to troubleshoot a suspected Ram problem is to rearrange the Ram chips on the motherboard, or take some of them out. Then try to repeat the circumstances that caused the crash. When handling Ram try not to touch the gold connections, as they can be easily damaged.

Parity error messages also refer to Ram. Modern Ram chips are either parity (ECC) or non parity (non-ECC). It is best not to mix the two types, as this can be a cause of trouble.

EMM386 error messages refer to memory problems but may not be connected to bad Ram. This may be due to free memory problems often linked to old Dos-based programmes.

3 BIOS settings

Every motherboard is supplied with a range of chipset settings that are decided in the factory. A common way to access these settings is to press the F2 or delete button during the first few seconds of a boot-up.

Once inside the BIOS, great care should be taken. It is a good idea to write down on a piece of paper all the settings that appear on the screen. That way, if you change something and the computer becomes more unstable, you will know what settings to revert to.

A common BIOS error concerns the CAS latency. This refers to the Ram. Older EDO (extended data out) Ram has a CAS latency of 3. Newer SDRam has a CAS latency of 2. Setting the wrong figure can cause the Ram to lock up and freeze the computer's display.

Mcft Windows is better at allocating IRQ numbers than any BIOS. If possible set the IRQ numbers to Auto in the BIOS. This will allow Windows to allocate the IRQ numbers (make sure the BIOS setting for Plug and Play OS is switched to 'yes' to allow Windows to do this.).

4 Hard disk drives

After a few weeks, the information on a hard disk drive starts to become piecemeal or fragmented. It is a good idea to defragment the hard disk every week or so, to prevent the disk from causing a screen freeze. Go to

* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-Disk Defragmenter

This will start the procedure. You will be unable to write data to the hard drive (to save it) while the disk is defragmenting, so it is a good idea to schedule the procedure for a period of inactivity using the Task Scheduler.

The Task Scheduler should be one of the small icons on the bottom right of the Windows opening page (the desktop).

Some lockups and screen freezes caused by hard disk problems can be solved by reducing the read-ahead optimisation. This can be adjusted by going to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System Icon-Performance-File System-Hard Disk.

Hard disks will slow down and crash if they are too full. Do some housekeeping on your hard drive every few months and free some space on it. Open the Windows folder on the C drive and find the Temporary Internet Files folder. Deleting the contents (not the folder) can free a lot of space.

Empty the Recycle Bin every week to free more space. Hard disk drives should be scanned every week for errors or bad sectors. Go to

* Start-Programs-Accessories-System Tools-ScanDisk

Otherwise assign the Task Scheduler to perform this operation at night when the computer is not in use.

5 Fatal OE exceptions and VXD errors

Fatal OE exception errors and VXD errors are often caused by video card problems.

These can often be resolved easily by reducing the resolution of the video display. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Display-Settings

Here you should slide the screen area bar to the left. Take a look at the colour settings on the left of that window. For most desktops, high colour 16-bit depth is adequate.

If the screen freezes or you experience system lockups it might be due to the video card. Make sure it does not have a hardware conflict. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Device Manager

Here, select the + beside Display Adapter. A line of text describing your video card should appear. Select it (make it blue) and press properties. Then select Resources and select each line in the window. Look for a message that says No Conflicts.

If you have video card hardware conflict, you will see it here. Be careful at this point and make a note of everything you do in case you make things worse.

The way to resolve a hardware conflict is to uncheck the Use Automatic Settings box and hit the Change Settings button. You are searching for a setting that will display a No Conflicts message.

Another useful way to resolve video problems is to go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-System-Performance-Graphics

Here you should move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the left. As ever, the most common cause of problems relating to graphics cards is old or faulty drivers (a driver is a small piece of software used by a computer to communicate with a device).

Look up your video card's manufacturer on the internet and search for the most recent drivers for it.

6 Viruses

Often the first sign of a virus infection is instability. Some viruses erase the boot sector of a hard drive, making it impossible to start. This is why it is a good idea to create a Windows start-up disk. Go to

* Start-Settings-Control Panel-Add/Remove Programs

Here, look for the Start Up Disk tab. Virus protection requires constant vigilance.

A virus scanner requires a list of virus signatures in order to be able to identify viruses. These signatures are stored in a DAT file. DAT files should be updated weekly from the website of your antivirus software manufacturer.

An excellent antivirus programme is McAfee VirusScan by Network Associates ( www.nai.com). Another is Norton AntiVirus 2000, made by Symantec ( www.symantec.com).

7 Printers

The action of sending a document to print creates a bigger file, often called a postscript file.

Printers have only a small amount of memory, called a buffer. This can be easily overloaded. Printing a document also uses a considerable amount of CPU power. This will also slow down the computer's performance.

If the printer is trying to print unusual characters, these might not be recognised, and can crash the computer. Sometimes printers will not recover from a crash because of confusion in the buffer. A good way to clear the buffer is to unplug the printer for ten seconds. Booting up from a powerless state, also called a cold boot, will restore the printer's default settings and you may be able to carry on.

8 Software

A common cause of computer crash is faulty or badly-installed software. Often the problem can be cured by uninstalling the software and then reinstalling it. Use Norton Uninstall or Uninstall Shield to remove an application from your system properly. This will also remove references to the programme in the System Registry and leaves the way clear for a completely fresh copy.

The System Registry can be corrupted by old references to obsolete software that you thought was uninstalled. Use Reg Cleaner by Jouni Vuorio to clean up the System Registry and remove obsolete entries. It works on Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98 SE (Second Edition), Windows Millennium Edition (ME), NT4 and Windows 2000.

Read the instructions and use it carefully so you don't do permanent damage to the Registry. If the Registry is damaged you will have to reinstall your operating system. Reg Cleaner can be obtained from www.jv16.org

Often a Windows problem can be resolved by entering Safe Mode. This can be done during start-up. When you see the message "Starting Windows" press F4. This should take you into Safe Mode.

Safe Mode loads a minimum of drivers. It allows you to find and fix problems that prevent Windows from loading properly.

Sometimes installing Windows is difficult because of unsuitable BIOS settings. If you keep getting SUWIN error messages (Windows setup) during the Windows installation, then try entering the BIOS and disabling the CPU internal cache. Try to disable the Level 2 (L2) cache if that doesn't work.

Remember to restore all the BIOS settings back to their former settings following installation.

9 Overheating

Central processing units (CPUs) are usually equipped with fans to keep them cool. If the fan fails or if the CPU gets old it may start to overheat and generate a particular kind of error called a kernel error. This is a common problem in chips that have been overclocked to operate at higher speeds than they are supposed to.

One remedy is to get a bigger better fan and install it on top of the CPU. Specialist cooling fans/heatsinks are available from www.computernerd.com or www.coolit.com

CPU problems can often be fixed by disabling the CPU internal cache in the BIOS. This will make the machine run more slowly, but it should also be more stable.

10 Power supply problems

With all the new construction going on around the country the steady supply of electricity has become disrupted. A power surge or spike can crash a computer as easily as a power cut.

If this has become a nuisance for you then consider buying a uninterrupted power supply (UPS). This will give you a clean power supply when there is electricity, and it will give you a few minutes to perform a controlled shutdown in case of a power cut.

It is a good investment if your data are critical, because a power cut will cause any unsaved data to be lost.

Top 20 Tips To Keep Your System Faster

Follow these tips and you will definitely have a much faster and more reliable PC!



 1. Wallpapers: They slow your whole system down, so if you're willing to compromise, have a basic plain one instead!



2. Drivers: Update your hardware drivers as frequently as possible.  New drivers tend to increase system speed especially in the case of graphics cards, their drivers are updated by the manufacturer very frequently!



3. Minimizing: If you want to use several programs at the same time then minimize those you are not using.  This helps reduce the overload on RAM.



4. Boot Faster: The 'starting Windows 98/XP' message on startup can delay your booting for a couple of seconds.  To get rid of this message go to c:\ and find the file Msdos.sys.  Remove the Read-Only option.  Next, open it in Notepad or any other text editor.  Finally, go to the text 'Options' within the file and make the following changes: Add BootDelay=0.  To make your booting even faster, set add Logo=0 to remove the Windows logo at startup.



5. Restart only Windows: When restarting your PC, hold down Shift to only restart Windows rather than the whole system which will only take a fraction of the time.

6. Turn Off Animations:  Go to Display Settings from the Control Panel and switch to the Effects Tab. Now turn off Show Windows Content While Dragging and Smooth Edges on Screen Fonts.  This tip is also helpful with Windows XP because of the various fade/scroll effects.



7. Faster Start-Menu Access: Go to the Start menu and select Run.  Now type Regedit and hit Enter.  The Registry Editor will appear on the screen.  Now, open the folder HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop.  You should see a MenuShowDelay value.  If you don't then do the following: right click on a blank space in the right pane and select New\String.  Change the name in the new value to MenuShowDelay.  Now that we have the MenuShowDelay value, double click on it and enter 0 in the value data field.  This sets the start menu delay to 0 milliseconds.



8. Resolutions: If you are willing to do anything for faster performance from your PC, then try lowering your display resolution.  The lower it is, the faster your PC.



9. Turn off Active Desktop:  Go to your Display Properties and switch to the Web tab.  Uncheck View My Active Desktop As a Web Page.  Since the Active Desktop option under Windows 98 uses a lot of system resources, this option can have a dramatic effect on the speed of the whole system.



10. Defragment Often:  Windows 98's Defrag tool uses Application Acceleration from Intel which means that when you defragment your drive, data is physically arranged on the drive so that applications will load faster.

11. Take your PC to Bed:  Using the Advanced Power Management feature under Windows 98 gives you the option to use the sleep command.  That way, you can send your PC to sleep instead of shutting it down and then restarting it.  It's as simple as pressing a button and then pressing the same button to wake it up.  You can tell Windows after how many minutes/hours of inactivity to automatically sleep the machine in the Advanced Power Management section of the Control Panel.



12. Faster Internet Access: If you use the internet for reference and the sites you visit are rarely  updated then try the following.  In IE (the same can be done in Netscape) go to Tools, Internet Options.  Next, click on Settings... in the Temporary Internet Files  section.  Finally, select Never for the first option and double the amount of storage space to use, click OK!



13. Benchmarking: Benchmarking can be very useful when run frequently.  It can tell you how your PC's components are performing and then compare them to other machines like yours.  For example, when you overclock your PC, you want to know how much more speed you have and whether it is stable.  All this and more can be discovered using benchmarking.  An excellent piece of software for doing this job is SiSoft Sandra which can be found in the Downloads File Archive!



14. Refresh the Taskbar without restarting: If you in some way change the taskbar, either in Regedit or elsewhere, you can refresh the task bar without restarting.  Hold down Ctrl Alt Del, and double click on Explorer.  Say Yes to close Explorer, but no to closing Windows.  This will refresh the Taskbar and system tray.



15. Quick CD Eject: Instead of pushing the button on your drive, right-click your CD drive letter in My Computer and click on Eject.  This will also remove any icons that have become associated with the CD drive.

16. Start Up Programs:  Windows can be slowed down when programs run on start up.  To eliminate this, check your Start up folder.  You can access it from the start menu: Start, Programs, Start Up.  Another way to eliminate programs from loading even before Windows actually starts is by doing the following: Click on Start, then Run.  Type msconfig.  It will take quite a long time for this program to load, but when you finally see it on your screen, explore the different tabs.  They all have to do with how quickly your PC boots, so select what you want, and uncheck what you don't want!



17. Fonts: When Windows starts, it loads every single font in the Fonts folder.  Therefore, the more fonts you have, the slower the booting process.  To get rid of unwanted fonts, simply go to the Fonts folder under c:\windows and remove whatever you don't want.  Fonts that have a red letter 'A' as their icon are system fonts, so don't delete them.



18. Stretching Wallpapers:  Don't "stretch" your wallpaper in Windows 98 since it actually slows Windows down when you drag icons around on the desktop.



19. RAM Matters: If you have less than 32MB then you should seriously think of upgrading it to at least 64MB.  Windows runs much more smoothly with 64MB or higher and tends to use less hard disk space for virtual memory.



20. Partitioning: A very nice little thing you can do to boost system performance.  By partitioning your hard drive, splitting one physical drive into several logical ones, you can gain several advantages.  1. If you get a virus or you accidentally format a drive, not all will be lost.  2. By placing the swap file (Win386.swp) on a separate drive, The swap file will be less fragmented and thus, faster. 3. Place Windows on a separate drive and whenever you need to reinstall it, you rest assured that your data is safe on a separate drive.  Partitioning can be done using a few programs such as FDisk which comes with DOS.  However, FDisk formats everything on the hard disk before partitioning. Alternatively, you can use Partition Magic from Power Quest to partition your hard disk without losing your data.