SMART Disk Drives Warn You Before They Fail
Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.) is a feature built-in to modern hard drives that monitors certain parameters of their operation in an attempt to provide a warning when failure is imminent. More ...
Top Ten RAID Tips
RAID, a Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks, is the storage technology which becomes more and more widespread these days. Those who are planning to build a new RAID system would probably find the tips below useful. More ...
A Handful of Useful Run Commands: calc, notepad, wordpad, voice recorder, control
The Run dialog box which can be opened by pressing the [Windows] + [R] keys. Run dialog box is a rapid way to open programs. Here are some quick and useful Run commands. More ...
Computer Technician's Guide to Dealing with Customers
I've been in the technology industry for many years. I've worked as a bench technician and I've been the manager of an electronics engineering department. And I can tell you this - people are a lot more complicated to deal with than even the most advanced technology. More ...
Recovering an Older Version of a File
The File History utility is used to recover older versions of a file. This feature is part of all backup programs, though it's often called Restore. The idea is to pluck an older version of a file from the backup archive. More ...
Disable Indexing to Speed Up Your Computer
The Windows Indexing Service has to continuously monitor the files on your computer for changes and update it's database when changes or new files are found. This uses processor time and can take up more than a megabyte of ram. If you're just you're sitting in front of your computer and the hard drive starts working very hard, that's probably the Indexing Service. More ...
Make Windows 10 File Explorer Open to This PC instead of Quick Access
When you open Windows 10 File Explorer, it defaults to Quick Access. If, like me, you prefer to have File Explorer open to This PC or an actual Computer folder, then you can configure it to do so in the Folder Options dialog box. More ...
Disable Windows 10 Automatic Updates
Windows 10 is not an operating system in the sense that previous versions of Windows were. It's primarily a marketing device. Automatic Updates are primarily used to bind the operating system tighter to Microsoft's Store. Here's how to disable Windows 10 Automatic Updates. More ...
How to Manually Register DLL in Microsoft Windows
A DLL (Dynamic link library) is a file that contains code that can be used by more than one program. A DLL is executed by the calling program. They are not directly executable. In order for the calling program to locate the DLL, it must be registered in windows registry database. More ...
Computer Technician's Guide to Electronics Disposal and Recycling
The United States alone creates about 3 million tons of electronics waste each year. Much of this electronics waste is sent to developing nations where primitive processing methods cause serious health and pollution problems. CompTIA considers the knowledge of how to properly dispose of old computer equipment, to be an important part of being a certified computer technician. More ...
How to Change Process Priorities in Windows Task Manager
In modern systems, many processes can run simultaneously. When an application is running, it's consuming system resources such as processor cycles. Sometimes, you may want to adjust a processes priority. More ...
PowerShell Script to Show Last 5 Errors in Event Log
The Windows System eventlog is one of the most powerful components of the operating system because it keeps a log of everything that happens. Here I provide a powershell script to display the last 5 error entries in the log. More ...
Search for Text in Text Files
Getting Windows Folder Search function to reliably find text within a file is a real trick. There are several places within windows where you can configure search, but it never seems to do a reliable job. The solution is to use the simple batch file. More ...
Windows PC Performance Troubleshooting and Optimisation
If your aging PC is running slow and you're considering getting a new one, this article explains how you can diagnose your performance problems, streamline and tune up. You'd be surprised just how much more you can get out of what you have. More ...
