June 2010

 

 

A key portion of the classes was a discussion of

●     how to control what starts up at boot time,

●     how to control the start up sequence, and

●     how that can help a user.

 

While resurrecting a very old computer, I was reminded that MSCONFIG < http:// tinyurl.com/2fgja8z> does not require ANY entry in MSCONFIG STARTUP. Indeed, one of the best ways to cut down on overhead is to uncheck ALL of the entries and let the computer recheck only those items it needs. The problem is that some programs will egotistically set themselves up to start when the computer starts, although they are really only marginal players that could wait on the sideline until they were needed. The answer to this problem is a DELAYER that permits user to inhibit the startup of one or more selected programs until a specified period of time has elapsed. The catch is that, while it may be beneficial, the delayer program may not operate with enough of the programs you want it to find. [Editor’s Note: Snapfiles.com lists a program named “Startup Delayer” < http://tinyurl.com/2ddtm9 > in its “Startup Managers” < http://tinyurl.com/nndds > freeware category, which includes other programs that do the same, similar, or related things. Here’s the list sorted by popularity < http://tinyurl.com/2vn5d86 >.]

 

 

Whenever possible, you should automate your backing-up process to be sure your system—especially your personal data files—gets backed up.   The first thing asked in the Clinic is: “What is the status of your back­up?”, and the answer is usually not good.

 

Not only should you automate your backups, you should also automate whether a full or incremental backup is created. Indeed, you should check, on a timely basis, to delete files so you don’t fill the HDD and thus stop the backup process, leaving yourself vulnerable.

 

 

Adding RAM is one of the cheapest and most productive upgrades to your computer. If you wish to add memory (RAM) to your computer, you might bring your computer to the Clinic to see what can be accomplished.. You can learn there how to find out the RAM installation limits that apply to your into your motherboard.

 

Motherboards can vary in RAM installation pattern, so you need to establish just how much memory your motherboard can accommodate and in what sequence. Depending on the board, RAM often can be installed · in a single slot or · in pairs, or · biggest in the lowest-numbered slot and successively smaller memory sticks in each of the higher-numbered slots.

 

To find out what rules apply to your machine:

●     First, see what the motherboard manufacturer has to say about the memory assignments. You want two things if possible:

□       the Model Number and

□       the motherboard number.

One problem is that often the manufacturer gives no documentation, or the documentation gets lost. The best place to keep the documentation of your new computer is inside the case, so it is likely to be available when needed; be sure you don’t block ventilation holes or slots when you use this method.

●     If you lack the needed documentation, run a copy of Belarc Advisor < http://tinyurl.com/2dkcmul > to get the inventory of your computer; you will learn the actual model number of the motherboard from the results. [Editor’s Note: It might be interesting to compare Belarc’s report against what the manufacturer said.]

 

When you have the needed information, go to each manufacturers’ website—Kingston, Crucial, Micron, PNY and OCZ, and plug into their website the computer information and the result will be a statement of what a particular motherboard can take. [Editor’s Note: For more info about these RAM mfrs/sellers, you might start here: http://tinyurl.com/2c4v95p.]

 

Once you know this, then buying locally can get you a speedier computer for not much money. Note that the various manufacturers will gladly sell you their memory for a higher cost plus shipping. The local dealer will sell the same product for less money and immediate delivery.

 

 

When there is only one hard drive, a second partition may be created on it, and backups created on that partition. Then, if you need to restore the “C” partition (which contains your operating system and programs), your data stays untouched (on the other partition) and your computer can be restored in about 10 minutes.

 

What I’ve just said applies only as long as the single HDD has not crashed, which would mean that both partitions are likely lost forever.

 

A common upgrade is to add a Hard Disk Drive (HDD) to a desktop computer in order to · permit backing up to a separate physical drive or · add data storage area.

 

Good desktop HDD practice is to have a second physical HDD installed and used. Then, if the primary drive fails, you can restore to a new HDD from the secondary drive. For laptops, you must use an external HDD.

 

The added internal desktop HDD technique works for everything except fire and theft, where everything in the computer is lost at once. For fire and theft protection, about every 3 months I put the contents of my “C” partition onto a DVD DL and give the disc(s) to a person about a mile away. I have never had to use this backup, but it is there.

 

For professional situations and the need to recover from problems in minutes, I have each computer make a full backup every day onto a second partition. Where possible, the presence of a second HDD increases data safety by making a copy on the secondary HDD.

 

A secondary effect of creating an image each night is to assure that there are no bad spots on the source HDD. Thus data is known readable because you know the backup copy was created correctly. Usually a message will be generated for the user if the source or backup data is not readable. If you need additional clarification, then you need to investigate the Event Viewer

 

 

The Event Viewer is located in Settings/Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Computer Management/Event Viewer or via Settings/Control Panel/Administrative Tools/ Event Viewer.

 

You should check your Event Viewer daily, but I know that’s not likely to happen. The point remains that this is how to check the health of the entire computer. When you get an indication of trouble, this is the first place to go to review what might be wrong. The entries are stored in a fixed-size buffer; when the buffer is full, each new entry forces the oldest one out. It is often useful to review and then delete the report on a periodic basis. This is a very good habit to get into.

 

Now, having done all the management described above, maybe you will actually have some time left over to use the computer for what you bought it for!