Operating Systems

Windows 7 comes with the built-in ability of being able to create an “image” of your hard drive. A system image, or hard drive image, is an exact “snapshot” of your system, including all drivers,...

One of the great features of Windows 7 is the built-in backup utility. Now with just a few clicks, you can setup, schedule, and manage a backup files and folders in Windows 7 without any...

Having worked in IT for many years, I can tell you that if there is one thing you can be certain of, it’s that hard drives will eventually Few experiences are more exasperating for a computer user...

For all your PC users out there experiencing problems with your Windows XP operating system, this article may be for you. If you are experiencing slow performance, .dll errors, and occasional...

Windows Vista introduced the ability to use a spare flash drive as way to increase your computer's memory, subsequently allowing you to run multiple programs simultaneously without completely...

The HP Mini is one of the top five selling netbook computers on Amazon as of late 2009. As with most netbooks, the HP Mini offers exceptional Internet performance in a tiny package. Running Linux...

If you are installing or reinstalling Windows XP, you will want to do so on a clean hard drive. Reformatting your hard drive is actually part of installing your new Operating System (OS). You...

The easiest way to repair Windows XP is to reload it, a process that basically consists of putting the Windows XP disc into the CD drive and wiping out everything on the hard drive to replace with...

Clonezilla Live is an open source software application that can be used to create an image of your Ubuntu partition. The software allows you to create a complete backup of your system through the...

When building a computer from parts you will have to also install an operating system. Transferring Windows XP from one computer to another is authorized by Microsoft as long you retire or install...

Hard drive backups can be used to restore the files in Windows 2000, if the system crashes for one reason or another. Operating systems generally crash because of corrupted system files. You can...

So your computer is telling you that your hard drive is dangerously low on space. Yikes! I hear you. You have no idea how to start all over with a new hard drive. I'm here to tell you: "You...

Formatting your hard drive completely erases everything and should only be performed if you have properly backed up all your important information and files first. That said, a newly formatted...

Although the majority of the computers sold today can both read and write DVDs, a few recently manufactured computers are only able to read DVD discs. If you purchased your computer used, you may...

Booting from a CDROM is used in emergency situations when the boot sector of the hard drive has failed or when the user wants to install a new operating system. The Windows CDs drives are all boot...

If your hard drive is filling up, your computer may be slowing down. Computers often collect clutter in the form of files and programs that, once created or installed, are never used again and...

By default My Documents folder is stored in the same hard drive as the Windows operating system. This is not recommended because (1) My Documents stores all personal data which quickly grow in...

Windows 98 is a Microsoft based operating system that is several upgrades removed from the most current edition. However, just because the Microsoft Windows 98 operating system is old doesn't mean...

With computers becoming increasingly vital to one's work, the importance of backing up a system is obvious. In fact, Windows 7 makes it extremely easy to back up your system, so that in the event...

On the surface, installing an operating system appears to be a daunting procedure. A computer cannot function without an operating system, and if you make an error while installing an operating...

CD-ROM drives are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Many modern laptops--including most netbooks---do not include them. This might seem like it makes installing Windows XP (or any CD-based...

Windows XP is not designed to allow bootable installation on an external drive. However, by taking the drive out of its external enclosure and attaching it directly to your computer, you can load...

Windows Vista is a good choice for a computer operating system. Designed to replace Windows XP, installing or upgrading to Windows Vista is a fairly straightforward process, even if you'll be...

Windows Vista has received a lot of attention since being released in 2007. While some of the attention has been good, some of it has been bad. Lots of PC users have decided to abandon Vista and...

Microsoft Windows Vista is an operating system that incorporates simple letters and icons to display and identify storage devices. You can change these letters and names in the Vista operating...

As long as there have been personal computers, hard drives have been identified with esoteric and unfriendly names such as "C:" and "Local Disk." Although this might not cause a serious problem on...

A start-up or bootable disk (diskette) allows you to start your computer if the operating system cannot be booted from your hard drive because of corrupted system files or a physical hard-drive...

If your computer has suffered a crash, or you are trying to restore it to a working condition after a virus attack, there are some simple steps you can take to aid you in your recovery efforts....

Windows assigns default letters to all drives. For example, early PC versions used "(Drive A:)" as the default floppy disk drive. "(Drive C:)" is probably the hard disk drive on your computer. As...

Many computer owners and technicians keep a Windows 98 CD on-hand, because it provides one of the fastest ways to access MS-DOS and format a hard drive; the procedure can be accomplished in only a...

You can to copy a video CD with your favorite movie or save personal pictures to the hard drive by copying the files off a CD and pasting them back to your hard drive, like with an internal file...

After years or even months of use, you may notice that your PC computer's performance has significantly decreased. If this is the case, you may want to consider re-imaging your system. The process...

You can now upgrade Windows Vista to Windows 7. If you have waited for Windows 7 to be released because of the inefficiency of the Windows Vista operating system, you no longer need to wait. The...

Is Windows Starter just not cutting it? Even with the 3-app limit removed, the lack of personalization and Aero just makes the interface a tad too useless? According to various forums, you're not...

Having a full Windows XP install on a flash drive can be a handy tool for troubleshooting your computer. If your hard drive fails, or if your computer is locked down with an unknown password,...

Most computer motherboards built since the late 1990s have the ability to boot from a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive. However, a few can only boot from the hard drive or floppy drive, which creates a...

If you are preparing to sell or give away an old computer, the last thing that you will likely want to do before the machine leaves your hands is clear all of your files from the hard drive....

Windows XP is normally installed using an installation CD. However, if you are unable to install Windows onto your computer due to not having access to a CD drive or some other reason, there is a...

For as long as they've been available, Compaq computers have always come with a way for a user to restore the computer in the event that something catastrophic happens. If you get a virus that you...

Windows XP is the last version of Windows released in an age when floppies were common; the drives largely disappeared from new computers around 2005. Still, some enthusiasts insist on having a...

Dual booting a Microsoft Windows operating system with another operating system (Windows, Linux or otherwise) is -- contrary to what some people might think -- a relatively straightforward task....

PCs aren't just for Windows anymore; a growing number of people are using Ubuntu or one of the many flavors of Linux available for free on their PC. If you'd like to find out if Linux is right for...

The master boot record (MBR) is a section of your hard drive that stores essential information about the contents of the disk and how to initialize the boot sequence. Before making changes, it's a...

The floppy drive largely disappeared in the first decade of the 21st century; these days it seems optical drives are slowly suffering the same fate. Netbooks, in particular, generally do not come...

Some newer computers, particularly netbooks, do not come with a CD drive at all. In instances like this, it is good to have a USB CD drive, but if you do not, you can still install Windows XP. All...

Many computer users running Microsoft Vista long for the simplicity and superior performance of Windows XP, especially on older or less powerful machines. When downgrading to the older operating...

You may come to a point in time when it is necessary to boot your computer directly from a CD, either to start a computer with a damaged operating system or to install an update to your computer...

If a virus or hard drive corruption has damaged the bootloader of your hard drive, Windows Vista may be unable to load. Thankfully, a hard drive's bootloader can be repaired without formatting the...

You may want to clean out the D drive on your computer if you are planning on giving the machine away, or if the drive has been taken over by a particularly nasty virus. To clean out the D drive,...

A start-up or bootable disk (diskette) allows you start your computer if the operating system cannot be booted from your hard drive because of corrupted system files or a physical hard-drive...