External Hard Drives To Keep Your Data Safe

By: Niall Roche

If you want to keep your data completely safe, you should look
into types of data backup that do not require constant power
supplies. While discs such as CDs and DVDs are a good way to
make a smaller, permanent backup, external hard drives are
another great way to back up your data safely. Just make sure
that the drives do not stay connected to your computer and on -
otherwise they'll be as at risk as your normal internal drives.
You don't want your backup to be damaged in the same disaster
that takes out your computer!

External hard drives are not actually new technology. In fact,
these drives work in much the same way as a normal hard drive.
Before external drives were affordable, there are some computer
users who made external drives by setting internal drives into
an outer casing. These worked fairly well, but they did not
stand up to being moved around as much.

Over the last several years, external drives have become
affordable, small, and easy to use. There are even some compact
USB hard drives that can fit in a pocket. These drives are also
much faster than they used to be, something that is being helped
by the switch from serial and parallel connections to USB and
firewire.

How much data can an external hard drive store? Most external
hard drives are about the same size as a normal hard disk inside
of your computer. In fact, one of the smallest capacities is
just 60GB . However, there are many other disk sizes available
at this point in time. Recently, external hard drives with as
much as 1000GB of space have begun to appear on the market. It
won't be long before we move into true Terabyte territory. These
huge storage capacities are the main reason why external hard
drives are rapidly becoming the most popular form of computer
backup for the normal computer user.

If you do not want to pick and choose through the files on your
computer to determine which ones you want to save, don't worry!
Most of the hard drives will come with a CD that has drivers and
some basic backup software on it. In most cases all you have to
do is install the software, plug in the drive, and click
"backup" and the software takes care of protecing your email, My
Documents folder and all the most commonly backed up items.

Once again, if you are using an external hard disk for computer
backup, do not leave the external drive connected to your
computer. Additionally, you should also have more than one
backup of your important information. You can do this by using
an online backup service, or by burning your most important
files to a DVD or five.

The best hard drives out there are going to be the ones built by
major name brands. Maxtor, Iomega and Western Digital drives are
known to be high quality and will last a long time. Purchasing a
cheap, no-name external hard drive will save you money up front,
but it is very likely that you will end up regretting it when it
breaks down and you find out that your warranty is worthless

About the author:
Wanna know what the HREF="http://www.backupadvice.com/externalhd.shtml">best
external hard drives are? Why not visit BackupAdvice dot com
for more information on external hard drives and computer
backups.

Don't Let Your Computer Bite The Dust!

Dust! Have you ever opened up your computer and noticed a
healthy sheet of dust dwelling inside? Well, if you live on Maui
you probably know the dust I'm talking about. The reddish cloud
that disperses into the air when you blow on it is genuine Maui
dust! So why should this dust concern you, and what can you do
about it?

Normal dust finds its way to every surface. Not even the fans,
floppy disks, hard disks, and circuitry of our computers are
safe from it. Dust on a computer fan isn't necessarily
catastrophic but if you notice the fan has trouble spinning it's
time to replace it. Floppy drives are very vulnerable to dust
because of their exposed nature. You may notice strange errors
or an outright failure of your floppy drive if it is damaged.
Hard drives are not nearly as forgiving as floppy drives. They
are built and sealed in a static and dust free environment but
after years of use it is possible for a grain of dust to find
its way inside the protective shell. Once inside the dust can
easily send the read/write mechanism to its demise by crashing
it into the data section of the disk spinning at up to 10,000
RPM. Unfortunately this destroys both your hard disk and its
data, and sometimes beyond repair! Now that we have covered
normal dust lets discuss Maui's dust.

Everyone knows that Maui's weather is unique, but did you know
our dust is equally unique? Maui's dust is heavily concentrated
with iron. Iron is a conductive, corrosive substance. Once it
collects on electronic components it eventually corrodes through
the circuitry's protective coating and then through the wires
themselves. Unfortunately due to today's advanced micro
soldering techniques this type of damage is not repairable. The
entire board must be replaced! I've seen a vast amount of
computers bite the dust while working here on Maui. It's an
unfortunate but avoidable event. So how can you protect your
computer from dust here on Maui?

First, do not use a vacuum cleaner to clean you computer! The
tiny dust particles that pass over the plastic nozzle of your
vacuum build a static charge. If the static discharges on your
computer (known as an ESD or Electro Static Discharge) you are
sure to destroy something. The best way to clean your computer
is to use compressed air that you can purchase from Costco or
any hardware store. The air will blow the dust away without
creating any harmful static. Another way to prevent dust from
getting to your computer is to cover it while it is turned off.
Those are the simplest ways to protect your computer from Maui
dust and it will help extend the life of your computer.

About the author:
For more information about keeping your computer clean and
running properly, check out my maui computer repair site!

How to Boost PC Speed

By: Gaelim Holland

So, you want to increase your PC speed. Well, before we begin
with the tips and tricks on how to increase your PC speed...Oops
I mean return your PC speed, lets understand why your PC speed
has gradually moved from Giga Hertz to No Hertz. The number one
problem is your Windows' registry. What is your Windows'
registry? Well your Windows' registry is a data repository. So,
how are PC speed and Windows' registry connected? Well, each
time you install or delete a program. Windows keeps track of it.
Eventually, this leads to fragmented data that actually needs
your PC resources, that means less resources for PC speed. So as
time goes by, your computer becomes slower and you go out and
buy another one. Otherwise known as the viscous consumer
cycle.Lets talk about how to prevent you from spending money and
"organically" keep your PC speed at the original resource
specification.

TOP 4 Ways to increase your PC speed.

1. Use a Registry Cleaner.

This will free up resources to increase PC speed. The easy point
and click programs also defrag your hard drive and remove
spyware. All that with the push of a button weekly will keep
your computer running at it's original PC speed specs. There are
dozens of different registry cleaners software and registry
cleaner tools available for use with the registry, However only
about 5 have really proven themselves These registry cleaners
have proven themselves in the industry, Regsweep is the easiest
and best. It's easy to get scammed with inferior products so
it's best to choose a registry cleaner with an excellent record
2. Defrag your hard drive

Over time, the data on your hard drive gets scattered.
Defragmenting your hard drive puts your data back into
sequential order, making it easier for Windows to access it. As
a result, the performance of your computer will improve. An
excellent registry cleaner will allow perform this task. However
if you would like to defrag your PC with Windows software. Here
a link to show you how.

3. Scan for Adware/Spyware and Viruses

These nasty little worms can wreak havoc on your PC speed.
Detecting and cleaning viruses is an excellent way to improve
your system's performance and increase PC speed. Registry
cleaners will help to remove these buggers also!

4. Adjust your computer's Visual effects

Windows provides a number of resource hogging and interesting
visual effects like animated windows and fading menus. These
effects, however, can slow down your computer and kill your PC
speed. By Altering your preferences and performance needs you
can increase your PC Speed.

A excellent registry cleaner can perform all but number 4. If
you are serious about increasing your PC speed. Get a registry
cleaner and let it do most of the work. There are lots of
registry cleaner choices on the market.

Two Bonus Tips

1. Manage Your Startup Programs

Take control of your startup programs and processes to increase
PC speed. By simply halting unnecessary startups, your computer
will decrease its start up time exponentially

2. Customize Your Internet

By changing the way you use the internet you can have access
more of your precious bandwidth. This will ultimately give you a
faster surfing experience. Here is a link to 3 ways to customize
your PC speed on the net.

About the author:
Don't spend $2500 on a new computer. Click this link http://www.delete-computer-history.com to
see in an in-dept comparison of the best and easiest ways to b
oost your PC speed with a registry cleaner.