PC Fast Fix

This is the question that many a net user will argue over and I’m not going to get in a argument over which browser I think is better or safer (I use Firefox).

But I have to say that I used Opera for the first time yesterday and I felt like a newbie to the net, I was not impressed at all. Firstly the speed, they claim they have one of the fastest browsers around but I felt like I was using dial-up from 98. It seems to take an eternity for any screen to load and don’t get me started on secure pages!!!

And I tried to write a post or two in this blog in Opera and it did some things that I have never seen before. The lines of text never went to a new line, so I thought that must be normal in Opera but when I posted it the text had disapeared! I eventually went into notepad and cut and pasted the text back into my blog and it worked fine.

As I said I’m not here to say one browser is better than others, but unless someone can explain the bizarre things I saw on Opera I will never use it again.

If you really want to download the Opera browser, then click here

Tags: Internet Browsers by admin
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Cannot play the file

Windows Media Player cannot play the file because there is a problem with your sound device, such as a sound card or sound controller. You might encounter this error message for one of the following reasons:

• Your sound device is in use by another program. Quit other programs that might be using your sound device, and then try to play the file again.
• Your sound device is not functioning properly. To troubleshoot the problem, see the “Sound Troubleshooter” topic in Windows Help or refer to your sound device’s documentation.
• You do not have a sound device installed on your computer. Install a sound device, and then try to play the file again.

Tags: PC Error Repair by admin
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For the second time in a week, Microsoft said a version of its software is ready sooner than expected. On Thursday, the software maker made available a beta version of its Hyper-V hypervisor technology, a release that had been scheduled for early next year.

Microsoft didn’t change its timing for the final release of the technology, which is due to ship within 180 days of the release of Windows Server 2008. (That product is slated to be wrapped up ahead of its formal launch on February 27.)

“Delivering the high-quality Hyper-V beta earlier than expected allows our customers and partners to begin evaluating this feature of Windows Server 2008 and provide us with valuable feedback” said Bill Laing, general manager of the Windows Server Division, in a prepared statement.

By issuing Hyper-V in a beta version early and certifying it as “high quality,” Microsoft is sending a signal that it may not be as far behind in virtualization technology as it sometimes appears. The sooner it can get its hypervisor into the hands of developers, the sooner it can start competing for mindshare with market leader VMware and its ESX Hypervisor.

Rand Morimoto, president of Convergent Computing, Oakland, Calif., has been using Hyper-V for about four months and has been “extremely pleased” with what Microsoft has delivered.

“The beta has been very stable, and we’ve been able to take old Virtual Server 2005 and Virtual PC images and just ‘boot them up’ on Hyper-V. All of our previous Virtual Server 2005 images and demo images moved right across,” said Morimoto. “Hyper-V now supports 64-bit guest images, so now all of the 64-bit apps are working in virtual spaces.”

Tags: New Computer Products by admin
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Throughout the world of computers, it’s simply amazing just how many people are scared to death of losing their data. Most of those who are scared, don’t give a second thought to backing up their data.

Even though the thought may be the same, most people are worried more about losing their data than actually backing it up - which can prove to be a downfall in the face of disaster.

The process of backing up files is done by using servers, floppy disks, CD, DVD, external hard drives, or other methods to keep the data protected. This way, when something happens to your hard drive and you lose your information, you’ll have the information backed up so that you can easily access it again. Data that is important, such as tax files or business records should always be backed up, to ensure that nothing happens to it.

If you are using Windows as your operating system, it will be a lot easier to back up your files. Windows XP has a back up facility in it, so that it can make things a lot easier when you create your backups.

If data that is stored on hard drives with XP becomes lost, Windows will immediately fetch the file from another drive or area where it has been stored as a back up.

This is a very useful technique, although it still has to be practiced to ensure that you understand how it works. Although it may be very useful, it isn’t as safe as other options.

In order to back up your data and programs in a safe and efficient manner, you’ll need to use some of the more reliable methods, such as external hard drives or servers. Offsite backups are great as well, as the data you backup isn’t left around your office, it is instead entrusted with a company who will ensure that it stays protected.

No matter which method or methods you have decided to use for backing up your data, you’ll be happy to know that they are all easy to use. CD and DVD backups are easy to create, all you need is the software installed on your computer to create the backups with. Servers are easy to use as well, all you have to do is upload your data to a server, then log into the server anytime you need to have access to the data.

Tags: PC Optimization by admin
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I had an interesting email from Jane in London after most post yesterday regarding a few terms she had heard about but had no idea what they stood for. Jane asked me what exactly RAM and ROM stood for, and what do they mean? Well here you are Jane;

RAM (Random access memory) is a type of computer data storage. It takes the form of integrated circuits that allow the stored data to be accessed in any order, i.e. at random. The word random thus refers to the fact that any piece of data can be returned in a constant time, regardless of its physical location and whether or not it is related to the previous piece of data.

This contrasts with storage mechanisms such as tapes, magnetic discs and optical discs, which rely on the physical movement of the recording medium or a reading head. In these devices, the movement takes longer than the data transfer, and the retrieval time varies depending on the physical location of the next item.

ROM (Read-only memory) is a class of storage media used in computers and other electronic devices. Because data stored in ROM cannot be modified (at least not very quickly or easily), it is mainly used to distribute firmware (software that is very closely tied to specific hardware, and unlikely to require frequent updates).

In its strictest sense, ROM refers only to mask ROM (the oldest type of solid state ROM), which is fabricated with the desired data permanently stored in it, and thus can never be modified.

I hope that clears up some RAM and ROM issues you have Jane.

Tags: PC Error Repair by admin
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I have talked about ways to increase your bootup speed but James from Miami wanted to know exactly what a boot up is. Basically he is aware that a boot starts up your computer, but how does it work?

In computing, booting (booting up) is a bootstrapping process that starts operating systems when the user turns on a computer system. A boot sequence is the set of operations the computer performs when it is switched on that loads an operating system.

Most computer systems can only execute code found in the memory (ROM or RAM). Modern operating systems are stored on hard disks, or occasionally on LiveCDs, USB flash drives, or other non-volatile storage devices. When a computer is first powered on, it doesn’t have an operating system in memory.

The computer’s hardware alone cannot perform complex actions such as loading a program from disk, so an apparent paradox exists: to load the operating system into memory, one appears to need to have an operating system already loaded.

The solution is to use a special small program, called a bootstrap loader, bootstrap or boot loader. This program’s only job is to load other software for the operating system to start.

Often, multiple-stage boot loaders are used, in which several small programs of increasing complexity summon each other, until the last of them loads the operating system. The name bootstrap loader comes from the image of one pulling oneself up by one’s bootstraps (see bootstrapping).

It derives from the very earliest days of computers and is possibly one of the oldest pieces of computer terminology in common use.

Tags: PC Speedup by admin
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Here is a very useful add-on that will inrease the speed of your firefox, simply follow these steps;

• Go to this page - Fasterfox
• Install the add-on
• Finish the installation
• You have successfully the add-on Fasterfox that will make your Firefox run faster

Tags: Internet Browsers by admin
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