PC Support

Saving personal documents in a digital form is one of the best ways to protect yourself against losing losing precious information in accidents like fires or malfunctioning hardware. There are...

So, you formatted your hard drive? And you want to get information back? Don't panic too much just yet, your data may be recoverable. May is key in that last sentence, but don't lose all hope.

Autorun.inf is a file that is run as soon as you insert a CD or DVD into the drive. Autorun is used to set the location of installation files. For some installations, the files may be on a hard...

Here are a few quick fixes to dealing with a computer that has slowed down over the years. There are hundreds of solutions out there and most of them charge you money, but here are a few free...

Sometimes bad things happen to good disk drives. If you have been using computers for a while, you know the sinking feeling of dread you get when you are told that a disk cannot be read, that the...

Data restoration on a PCI hard drive is the same as restoration on an IDE or SATA drive. Since data restoration can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars, it's a good idea to know how to do it...

An image of your hard drive serves a slightly different purpose than a simple backup. A drive image includes all user preferences, all software, all tweaks a user has made to the operating system,...

Microsoft Windows in its various forms is the most popular computer operating system in the world. However, many owners of Windows computers face a common problem: the ever-increasing amount of...

Apple introduced an automated backup for OS X v10.5 in 2007 called Time Machine. While this is great for backing up your Mac and allowing you access to missing files easily, I prefer to completely...

Backing up doesn't have to be piecemeal. It's perfectly possible to back up an entire hard drive, operating system and all, in a form that's easily recoverable should something go wrong with your...

None of us has time to waste waiting around while that slow computer loads up and does what you’ve already told it to do—but reinstalling windows, or paying to have your computer fixed for the...

You press the "On" button on your desktop computer and nothing happens. Before you panic, you can run some simple diagnostics to determine what may be wrong and perhaps repair the problem...

When you purchase a new computer, you may be surprised to learn that the capacity of the hard drive is less than advertised, and that the computer does not include an operating system disc. It is...

When building a computer that contains a Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive, you may experience a problem if the computer's BIOS won't recognize the hard drive. This problem is caused by driver issues....

After a while of errors, crashes, downloading unwanted software and general glitches, it may be time to wipe your 5150 Dell Laptop clean and start fresh. This means removing and deleting...

Data recovery is a task that few people want to take on. Performing data recovery means that some type of information has become corrupted, lost or deleted, and needs to be recovered. While this...

Removable disks are very versatile because you can use them to transfer and save data files much quicker. You can also easily delete data when there is a need to clear some space. Removable disks...

IDE external hard drives are great for storing all the extra data needed in our new digital lifestyles. USB connections have made connecting peripherals even easier with their instant plug and...

Computers, like any other tool, can decrease in effectiveness with years of use. Not only does simply using a computer tend to lead to increasing clutter on hard drives, but also computer programs...

It's fair to say that most people have a love/hate relationship with computers. So long as they work fine and do what we want them to, we love them. When they don't work we hate them, and the...

A computer's hard drive is a physical disk that stores the operating system, programs, and other data such as documents and media files. As hard drives become full of data, it can take longer to...

One of the most useful features of modern versions of Windows is virtual memory, also known as the "page file" or "swap file." Virtual memory makes it easier to run several programs...

Resetting a hard drive entails completely wiping it of all data and reinstalling the operating system. If the performance of your Gateway laptop has been poor, or you want to start over with a...

Creating a backup of any Windows Vista computer, including a laptop, is a safety measure in case the hard drive fails. Backups can be accomplished using several options, but the most convenient...

Cookies are small text files that websites download on your hard drive to allow you to access and run the websites better. They also come in the form of tracking cookies which, unlike regular...

Virtual memory is a type of storage for a Windows computer. When memory runs out, the operating system saves the information on the hard drive, which is called virtual memory since it isn't...

Defragmenting your computer's hard drive is one way to speed up your computer's response time. Defragmenting is the process of restoring order to a hard disk by retrieving scattered pieces of...

A computer's Basic Input-Output System, or BIOS, is a small application that runs when the user boots the machine. Enter the computer's BIOS setup to adjust settings for RAM, video cards, hard...

Enhance the way your computer system works by maintaining its hard drive space. A computer usually becomes sluggish and overworked when it has tons of useless information scattered everywhere....

Like any piece of machinery, a computer will last longer with routine maintenance. Over time, computers become cluttered with unneeded data while cases can fill up with dust. Properly maintaining...

Wiping a hard drive is typically needed either before selling (throwing) a computer to protect the sensitive personal/business information or to perform clean installation of an operating system...

Your hard drive just crashed, and you didn't have a backup! Is your data lost forever? Maybe not! Although corrupted system files can prevent your computer from starting, your other files may...

Computers are often used to store important data like financial documents, personal information and family photos. When a computer crashes or fails completely, retrieving important data from the...

External hard drives are great for keeping track of all those extra digital bits and bytes that keep piling up. Installation usually involves nothing more than plugging the drive into your...

A partition is an area on a hard drive seen as a separate drive by the operating system. Deleting a partition may be necessary to perform a clean installation of an operating system or to remove...

Virtual-memory usage is a process in which a Windows computer swaps information with installed RAM that is near capacity. When a software application is loaded into memory, it continues to use the...

Generally there are only a few areas available as potential hard drive mounting points. The specific hard drive mounting areas differ between case designs; however, this differentiation is usually...

External DVD drives are an inexpensive way to add the capability of DVD playback or recording to a Sony Vaio computer. Current models of DVD drives make the process of connecting the drive a...

A DVD burner is the drive that allows you to write data or video/audio files on a DVD disk. The amount of information that can be written to a DVD is typically 4.7 GB. However, double-layer DVD...

There are numerous reasons why data can become corrupted or lost. These range from hackers to viruses to physical damage. When your data is lost due to hard drive crashes or by malicious viruses,...

The main component of a computer that is bound to fail is the hard drive. The hard drive is made of platters and a reader head, and these parts will fail eventually. Knowing typical hard-drive...

Disk Cleanup allows a user to easily free up space on her hard drive that is occupied by unused or unnecessary files. The tool is designed to automate the process by minimizing the amount of user...

HDD, or hard disk drive, is a computer's data storage device. An HDD password is a security feature implemented on some computer motherboards that prevents access of the hard drive by unauthorized...

There's nothing quite like buying a new computer and booting it up for the first time, knowing that your hard drive is a blank slate that you can fill with whatever programs you desire. The...

A time always comes when a computer simply doesn't run as fast as it used to. Without proper maintenance, everyday computer activities slow down and become more of a chore than they're worth. As...

***** Why it doesn't get done. ***** Ever since I first saw the inside of a Vic 20 computer, I thought to myself this looks easy enough and so what began for me as a hobby eventually led to my...

A code 39 is usually a driver error that prevents your CD or DVD-ROM drive from being displayed. It alerts you that a communication error has occurred and the ROM drivers are either corrupt or...

Over time, as files are repeatedly accessed and saved, the pieces of the files become spread out across the hard drive. When the computer writes to the hard drive disk, it looks for the next...

Over time, computers can slow down and not work as optimally as when they were first bought. But although computer slowdown can be frustrating, fixing the problem may not require much time and...