Creating a quality video from your desktop PC can be done easily but takes preparation and preplanning. Always plan out what you are going to record and say before you make the actual recording. Sometimes if the recording is lengthy, a rehearsal will help smooth out some of the awkward moments. Below are some audio and video recording tips to help you with some of the subtleties of creating a quality video that will take your video from OK to great.
Audio Recording Tips
Do not rely on the microphone built into the PC for recording audio. Go out and purchase a quality microphone or mic/headphone set. There are significant differences in the quality of mic/headsets so take extra time to shop, expect to pay about US $50.
Ensure the recording volume level is not too high or too low. There is usually a way to test the volume level built in the recording program, be sure to use it.
On reviewing the audio recording, if you hear loud pops when you say "P" or "T", try repositioning the microphone slightly to avoid a direct angle to the mouth. For example, drop the mike down about 1 inch from your lower lip, or change the angle so it is not directly in front of your mouth.
If possible, make your recordings in a quiet room. Turn off fans and or other objects that can cause background noise. Closing the door is a good way to reduce or eliminate uncontrollable outside noises.
Something that is often overlooked is the ringing of phones. Make sure all phones in the room including cell phones are turned off.
Avoid drinking liquids or eating, including chewing gum, during recording. These activities result in very annoying sounds that have no place in a recording.
Plan what you are going to say ahead of time. Stumbling around with your words or restating your topic multiple times will annoy the listener
Video Recording Tips
Try to limit video training modules to 5 - 8 minutes in length. It is difficult for adult learners to maintain focus for longer periods. If a topic needs more than 8 minutes, break the material up into several smaller sections to maintain a 5 - 8 minute criteria. Organize your material in outline format. This makes it easier for the audience to follow and provide excellent cue’s for the conversation.
Slow your speech down. Normal conversational speech is a bit too fast when providing new material in a learning environment. Slowing down will allow better comprehension by the viewer. NOTE: Keep in mind this is likely the first time your viewers are seeing this material so they will need extra time to absorb the visual and audible conversation being presented.
Move the mouse and cursor at a slow and deliberate pace, avoid quick jumps. When fast cursor movement is reproduced in the video, the action becomes an annoying blur. Rely on post-production editing and highlighting to draw the viewers’ attention, as appropriate. Avoid circling the cursor around the field you are pointing out. At 10 frames per second, this frantic movement is useless.
Deliberately place the cursor near fields or screen elements you want to refer to. The arrow cursor should be pointed at the element and can rest there as you describe it. This will aid the audience in locating the visual material.
If you make an error in a spoken phrase, simply stop and pause for a couple of seconds, then say the whole phrase over again. When editing, you can see these pauses on the timeline and cut the pause and error from the video production.
When you make an error, maintain the cursor at the current location where you made the error. This will eliminate a distracting jump when the gaps are edited out
If you properly prepare the material for the desktop recording session and follow the tips above you can make a quality video that will enlighten and entertain your audience, good luck and enjoy.
This article provided by Woody Longacre
Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com
Check out other free articles at www.ihatesearchengines.com
Monday, September 7, 2009
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Windows Registry File
The windows xp registry file is a database file that is part of windows xp. It contains all the information and parameters pertaining to your windows xp installation. It holds information about the programs that you have installed as well as the entire configuration parameters for your system. The windows xp registry file holds all the information on how the desktop looks to you.
Your computer runs fast when your computer is new and the windows xp registry file has not got much in it and is clean without leftover information. As your computer gets older and you install more programs as well as removing programs you do not need, your computer starts to slow down. This is because the windows xp registry file get larger and larger causing windows XP to take longer to find information. Your registry will also start to contain errors, which also has a slowing effect. By removing unnecessary files, your computer finds what it needs in the registry a lot faster. Despite this, the windows registry will still get filled up over time. Frivolous entries will clutter the windows xp registry file as it becomes full.
One way to reduce this is by using a Registry Cleaner. This works by removing and deleting unnecessary programs. It will also remove all those errors that have accumulated in the windows xp registry file. When you create or delete files or install or uninstall software, it adds to your registry. Unfortunately by removing programs, fragments are frequently left behind. Bits of the software programs are often still on your computer. If you leave these remnants, problems can be caused, sometimes making your Windows XP unstable and slowing it down causing problems in the future. Your registry becomes more and more clogged the more your computer is used.
Because of the need for windows XP to use the registry, there is no way to avoid cluttering up your windows xp registry file. You can fix the Windows registry errors, but you should avoid trying to fiddle about and delete registry errors yourself. You would be much better off purchasing a low-cost Windows registry cleaner and periodically running it.
Do not make the mistake that you can go into the registry file and do a bit of fiddling. This can lead to disaster. The file is a sensitive instrument. Remember your whole system depends on the information contained within it. This is one reason that you should have “System Restore Checkpoint” enabled. It is also worthwhile saving a backup of your registry file. This can be done simply by hitting Start>run, typing “regedit” and under the “file” menu clicking on “export”
Most types of registry cleaner provide a backup feature, which should be used before using any registry cleaner software. Using the backup feature allows you to restore your registry settings if there is a problem during the cleaner use. Registry cleaner software allows you to clean and repair windows XP registry file without risk.
You should also have your system checkpoint enabled so that you can use the windows system restore feature if anything gets out of hand.
The most thorough registry cleanup can be performed using registry scanners and cleaners. With minimal instruction, the windows registry will be repaired and cleaned by these tools. Don’t make a mistake, a windows registry clean is of utmost importance to extend your computer’s life. I recommend you purchase a professional registry cleaner. Most will give you a free scan before purchase, this will give you an indication on how good or how bad your registry is and give you the count of entries that are bad.
The commercial registry cleaner programs now sold are much more efficient and up-to-date than the windows free registry repair tools available. But it is important that you periodically clean your windows XP registry file not only to speed up windows XP but to keep it stable.
There are lots of other ways to restore the performance of your PC, defragmenting your disk, cleaning up your hard disk by getting rid of all those old and unnecessary files, removing all those in memory programs that do not need to be there and much more. I recommend that you go to my Windows XP Slow blog where you can find instructions how to do all these.
Check other free PC articles at www.ihatesearchengines.com
By: Wilfred
Wilf Staton spent 35 years in the computer industry. He provides help for Windows problems at his blog: Windows XP Registry File.
Your computer runs fast when your computer is new and the windows xp registry file has not got much in it and is clean without leftover information. As your computer gets older and you install more programs as well as removing programs you do not need, your computer starts to slow down. This is because the windows xp registry file get larger and larger causing windows XP to take longer to find information. Your registry will also start to contain errors, which also has a slowing effect. By removing unnecessary files, your computer finds what it needs in the registry a lot faster. Despite this, the windows registry will still get filled up over time. Frivolous entries will clutter the windows xp registry file as it becomes full.
One way to reduce this is by using a Registry Cleaner. This works by removing and deleting unnecessary programs. It will also remove all those errors that have accumulated in the windows xp registry file. When you create or delete files or install or uninstall software, it adds to your registry. Unfortunately by removing programs, fragments are frequently left behind. Bits of the software programs are often still on your computer. If you leave these remnants, problems can be caused, sometimes making your Windows XP unstable and slowing it down causing problems in the future. Your registry becomes more and more clogged the more your computer is used.
Because of the need for windows XP to use the registry, there is no way to avoid cluttering up your windows xp registry file. You can fix the Windows registry errors, but you should avoid trying to fiddle about and delete registry errors yourself. You would be much better off purchasing a low-cost Windows registry cleaner and periodically running it.
Do not make the mistake that you can go into the registry file and do a bit of fiddling. This can lead to disaster. The file is a sensitive instrument. Remember your whole system depends on the information contained within it. This is one reason that you should have “System Restore Checkpoint” enabled. It is also worthwhile saving a backup of your registry file. This can be done simply by hitting Start>run, typing “regedit” and under the “file” menu clicking on “export”
Most types of registry cleaner provide a backup feature, which should be used before using any registry cleaner software. Using the backup feature allows you to restore your registry settings if there is a problem during the cleaner use. Registry cleaner software allows you to clean and repair windows XP registry file without risk.
You should also have your system checkpoint enabled so that you can use the windows system restore feature if anything gets out of hand.
The most thorough registry cleanup can be performed using registry scanners and cleaners. With minimal instruction, the windows registry will be repaired and cleaned by these tools. Don’t make a mistake, a windows registry clean is of utmost importance to extend your computer’s life. I recommend you purchase a professional registry cleaner. Most will give you a free scan before purchase, this will give you an indication on how good or how bad your registry is and give you the count of entries that are bad.
The commercial registry cleaner programs now sold are much more efficient and up-to-date than the windows free registry repair tools available. But it is important that you periodically clean your windows XP registry file not only to speed up windows XP but to keep it stable.
There are lots of other ways to restore the performance of your PC, defragmenting your disk, cleaning up your hard disk by getting rid of all those old and unnecessary files, removing all those in memory programs that do not need to be there and much more. I recommend that you go to my Windows XP Slow blog where you can find instructions how to do all these.
Check other free PC articles at www.ihatesearchengines.com
By: Wilfred
Wilf Staton spent 35 years in the computer industry. He provides help for Windows problems at his blog: Windows XP Registry File.
Friday, August 14, 2009
10 PROVEN TIPS TO SURVIVE A COMPUTER CRASH
10 PROVEN TIPS TO SURVIVE A COMPUTER CRASH
By Eve Abbott, excerpted from her new book, How to Do Space Age Work with a Stone Age Brain TM
COMPUTER CRASH Do these words strike fear into you? If not, maybe they should! A computer crash is at best time consuming and expensive, and at worst a genuine business disaster. Here are things you can do now to prevent a crash and/or insure a smooth recovery whether you use your computer at work or for your personal life-or both, like me!
The first rule in minimizing computer disasters is backup. The second rule in easier data recovery is BackUp. The third rule in computer organizing is BACKUP. I am astounded at the number of people (in large and small businesses) who do not back up their work regularly. Without good backups, you risk losing everything if your hard drive goes belly-up.
Start by setting all of your programs to save automatically after 2 minutes. This will protect your work against temporary freeze-ups and unplanned shutdowns. Second, plug your computer, monitor, and other electronic equipment into a UPS Battery Backup unit to protect it from power surges and outages. A unit like this one will give you 5 minutes to save your work and shut down your computer normally if the power goes out.
Then-BACK UP! (If you're not sure what the best way to back up is, keep reading.)I bought a brand new Hewlett Packard Pavilion XP system and began to back up weekly. Seven months later, I returned from making a cup of tea to hear my computer going click-click-click loudly. My hard drive had just crashed for no reason at all. As is often the case, I lost everything on it.I felt confident because I had my data backed up by copying my entire working C-drive onto a CD-but even with backups, and even if your computer is still under warranty, let's get realistic about how much time and money a crash can end up costing you.
It took four days for me to get the special shipping box HP sent me to return the computer. They replaced the hard drive, and it was returned within 10 business days at no charge for repair and shipping. This still adds up to three weeks without my computer.
First, I rented a laptop and spent hours installing the programs I normally use. Laptop rental cost me $250.00 for one month, with a $500 refundable deposit. I could have rented a desktop system for a little less per month, but I would have had to wait a week to get the computer. It was great to have the laptop to use until my repaired computer arrived. But, I had to go through the same restoration process again when it was returned with a new hard drive. More time lost and more frustration, too.
Second, I spent hours importing my data from backup CDs. I still lost almost a week's worth of data (Quicken entries, Word documents, calendar and contact information) because that's how long I go between backups.
Third, I spent hours recreating the custom settings on my software. Fourth, I had to install some smaller programs that I'd forgotten I would need.
THE DAMAGE:
Sometimes data can be recovered from a dead drive, depending on what has caused the crash. Professional data recovery services charge from $500 to $1500 to get your data back, and you have to pay whether or not they recover anything.
You can find more information about data recovery services at http://www.drlabs.com/pricing.html and http://www.dtidata.com/data_recovery.asp.
I paid $1,000.00 in computer consultant fees to get the laptop set up, and my computer taken apart and set up again to get it running A-OK. That's apart from data recovery costs, which my backups saved me from having to pay.The grand total: $1,250.00 and 7 days in lost time. Pretty expensive considering that I had all my current data backed up onto CDs.
BACKUP OPTIONS
There are many ways to back up information. Diskette, CD, Zip drive, External hard drive and Web (on-line). I will not discuss tape drive backups simply because tape media is unreliable and awkward compared to newer technologies. If you have more than one computer, you can back up from one to another via network drives-but that only protects you in the event that disaster strikes one machine at a time.
There are four questions you need to ask yourself regarding your back-ups:
1) How critical is your data? (My business and life are on my hard drive = critical)
2) Do you add or process high volumes of information?
3) In what time frame do you add enough to make it a real loss? (day, week, per project)
4) Do you work with very large files of any type?
The more information you process or add to your computer hard drive, the more often you need to back up. For high volume or crucial files you need to backup daily.
Diskette:
There is the small file backup onto diskette. For example, you just entered a lot of Quicken data and you don't want to take a chance on losing it but you don't want to do a full back up, or you have a single Word file, just pop it on a diskette. Remember to label any and all backup media with contents and date.
ZIP drives and disks:
ZIP drives and disks can work well for back ups of larger projects. I had a client who was an author and she kept one ZIP disk for each of her books, which contained every file related to the book - not just the text. If you are satisfied using a ZIP drive and disks for your data storage - don't change to another media. Note: many more people have CDs than zips, so if you need to share data you may need to switch to CDs.
CD:In the same way you archive paper every year after taxes (along with a backup of your accounting program and data), consider backing up entire projects onto CD when you're finished. This keeps the data available and safe, without cluttering your hard drive. You can file a project closeout CD with the matching archived paper files. Or keep a variety of backups in a CD organizer (date labeled) divided up into Projects, Backups and Programs.
The backup CDs I use are 'data only' to safeguard important information in case a problem develops in between system backups. If you are going to archive (e.g., taxes) and may not access the backup for a long time - go with CDs. CDs are more stable, and you are less likely to run into trouble with irretrievable data. Always use premium brand-name CDs (or other media). Discount media is more likely to fail.
Disk 'Cloning':
For $70 or less, you can back up your entire drive (operating system, programs and data) using "disk cloning" software (Norton Ghost, Paragon Drive Backup, or PowerQuest Drive Image. You can store this "image" of your drive on removable media like CDs and ZIP disks, on tape, or on an external hard drive.
You'll still have to spend a lot of time doing the backups and most people will end up with a set of at least 10 CDs for each backup, since the copy of your drive will take up about 50% of the storage space as your drive itself. (That's not the size of your whole drive, just the part you have filled up.)
You can get more information about disk cloning software at:
http://www.powerquest.com/driveimage/
http://www.symantec.com/sabu/ghost/ghost_personal/
http://www.acronis.com/products/trueimage/
http://www.drive-backup.com/
Web:
There are on-line services (e.g., www.connected.com) which will automatically back up your computer (either totally or just the changed files). This backup and restore option is limited only by the speed of your connection to the internet. Some people leave their computer on all night to do the backups. The reverse process will be more complicated, because you cannot restore directly from the web. Many information technology and graphics professionals use web services because of the massive files they process each day.
Your backup files are stored on their server. This is good because it is off-site in case of disaster recovery. Unfortunately, your data is only as secure as the server it is on. I don't use this option, because I don't think there is any function on the internet that is as secure as doing it myself and keeping control over all the data at all times. If you don't use massive files, you don't need it.
External Hard Drive (XHD):
I chose this option after my crash disaster because I can recreate my entire system without the wasted time of restoring my operating system and settings, downloading programs and data from backups, and resetting application customizations, etc.
An external hard drive ($200) with 'disk cloning' software lets you put your entire drive onto your backups. If you don't use the ghosting software you can only put programs, and data backups onto the external hard drive, not the operating system itself. The ghosting software will enable you to make a 'boot disk' just for restoring from the external hard drive to your main computer.
This option will allow you to completely restore your computer, if necessary (with no hard drive damage). Or, install a new hard drive on your computer and then restore immediately.
Just plug the external hard drive into the computer and start the backup, which verifies the data. Then, you unplug the external hard drive. This takes about fifteen minutes total for my backups. After backing up, I store the XHD in the trunk of my car (in a laptop case for protection). Even if the house burns down I still have my entire computer capability just outside in my car.
First, put an XHD ghost of just your operating system and programs with all the custom settings. Second, do a ghost of your entire system (operating system, programs and data). Third, do regular working drive data backups. Make sure any programs you ever use are in the second XHD backup, and/or in your working hard drive for your 'regular maintenance' backups.
I can get a new computer, copy everything I need and get to work. One possible downside to this; if you have to 'recover' on a new computer with a new system (different configuration and drivers), you will have trouble using the restored system until you reload the correct drivers and eliminate the 'old' ones.
Backup, BackUp, BACKUP!
So, how can you combine these different backup choices to work in your particular situation?Take the simplest method that will safeguard your information. If all you need is a diskette file box for backups - great!
I use the XHD once a week for a programs and data backup. In between I use diskettes or CDs, depending on the size of the files and how long I want to maintain them. There is enough room on my XHD to put 4 total system-program-data backups of my entire XP system into it. Once, you've done an operating system backup, unless you change your configurations or programs, you don't need to do it again. For regular maintenance, do your working 'data' drive.
If you do nothing, you are guaranteed to have a disaster sooner or later. Choose what works best for you and set a reminder to BACKUP as often as you need to stay sane when it does happen.
Check out other free articles at www.ihatesearchengines.com
For more time saving tips go to http://www.organize.comCopyright 2009 Eve Abbott. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Copyright, Eve Abbott All Rights Reserved. The Organizer Extraordinaire's new book "How to Do Space Age Work with a Stone Age Brain" TM is available online at http://www.organize.com Sign up for more time-saving tips. Enjoy free brain quizzes to help you work at your personal best! Eve’s guide is the first book to offer easy, online assessments that will help you make your own personal organizing solutions match your individual work style.Written by: Eve Abbott, the Organizer Extraordinaire
By Eve Abbott, excerpted from her new book, How to Do Space Age Work with a Stone Age Brain TM
COMPUTER CRASH Do these words strike fear into you? If not, maybe they should! A computer crash is at best time consuming and expensive, and at worst a genuine business disaster. Here are things you can do now to prevent a crash and/or insure a smooth recovery whether you use your computer at work or for your personal life-or both, like me!
The first rule in minimizing computer disasters is backup. The second rule in easier data recovery is BackUp. The third rule in computer organizing is BACKUP. I am astounded at the number of people (in large and small businesses) who do not back up their work regularly. Without good backups, you risk losing everything if your hard drive goes belly-up.
Start by setting all of your programs to save automatically after 2 minutes. This will protect your work against temporary freeze-ups and unplanned shutdowns. Second, plug your computer, monitor, and other electronic equipment into a UPS Battery Backup unit to protect it from power surges and outages. A unit like this one will give you 5 minutes to save your work and shut down your computer normally if the power goes out.
Then-BACK UP! (If you're not sure what the best way to back up is, keep reading.)I bought a brand new Hewlett Packard Pavilion XP system and began to back up weekly. Seven months later, I returned from making a cup of tea to hear my computer going click-click-click loudly. My hard drive had just crashed for no reason at all. As is often the case, I lost everything on it.I felt confident because I had my data backed up by copying my entire working C-drive onto a CD-but even with backups, and even if your computer is still under warranty, let's get realistic about how much time and money a crash can end up costing you.
It took four days for me to get the special shipping box HP sent me to return the computer. They replaced the hard drive, and it was returned within 10 business days at no charge for repair and shipping. This still adds up to three weeks without my computer.
First, I rented a laptop and spent hours installing the programs I normally use. Laptop rental cost me $250.00 for one month, with a $500 refundable deposit. I could have rented a desktop system for a little less per month, but I would have had to wait a week to get the computer. It was great to have the laptop to use until my repaired computer arrived. But, I had to go through the same restoration process again when it was returned with a new hard drive. More time lost and more frustration, too.
Second, I spent hours importing my data from backup CDs. I still lost almost a week's worth of data (Quicken entries, Word documents, calendar and contact information) because that's how long I go between backups.
Third, I spent hours recreating the custom settings on my software. Fourth, I had to install some smaller programs that I'd forgotten I would need.
THE DAMAGE:
Sometimes data can be recovered from a dead drive, depending on what has caused the crash. Professional data recovery services charge from $500 to $1500 to get your data back, and you have to pay whether or not they recover anything.
You can find more information about data recovery services at http://www.drlabs.com/pricing.html and http://www.dtidata.com/data_recovery.asp.
I paid $1,000.00 in computer consultant fees to get the laptop set up, and my computer taken apart and set up again to get it running A-OK. That's apart from data recovery costs, which my backups saved me from having to pay.The grand total: $1,250.00 and 7 days in lost time. Pretty expensive considering that I had all my current data backed up onto CDs.
BACKUP OPTIONS
There are many ways to back up information. Diskette, CD, Zip drive, External hard drive and Web (on-line). I will not discuss tape drive backups simply because tape media is unreliable and awkward compared to newer technologies. If you have more than one computer, you can back up from one to another via network drives-but that only protects you in the event that disaster strikes one machine at a time.
There are four questions you need to ask yourself regarding your back-ups:
1) How critical is your data? (My business and life are on my hard drive = critical)
2) Do you add or process high volumes of information?
3) In what time frame do you add enough to make it a real loss? (day, week, per project)
4) Do you work with very large files of any type?
The more information you process or add to your computer hard drive, the more often you need to back up. For high volume or crucial files you need to backup daily.
Diskette:
There is the small file backup onto diskette. For example, you just entered a lot of Quicken data and you don't want to take a chance on losing it but you don't want to do a full back up, or you have a single Word file, just pop it on a diskette. Remember to label any and all backup media with contents and date.
ZIP drives and disks:
ZIP drives and disks can work well for back ups of larger projects. I had a client who was an author and she kept one ZIP disk for each of her books, which contained every file related to the book - not just the text. If you are satisfied using a ZIP drive and disks for your data storage - don't change to another media. Note: many more people have CDs than zips, so if you need to share data you may need to switch to CDs.
CD:In the same way you archive paper every year after taxes (along with a backup of your accounting program and data), consider backing up entire projects onto CD when you're finished. This keeps the data available and safe, without cluttering your hard drive. You can file a project closeout CD with the matching archived paper files. Or keep a variety of backups in a CD organizer (date labeled) divided up into Projects, Backups and Programs.
The backup CDs I use are 'data only' to safeguard important information in case a problem develops in between system backups. If you are going to archive (e.g., taxes) and may not access the backup for a long time - go with CDs. CDs are more stable, and you are less likely to run into trouble with irretrievable data. Always use premium brand-name CDs (or other media). Discount media is more likely to fail.
Disk 'Cloning':
For $70 or less, you can back up your entire drive (operating system, programs and data) using "disk cloning" software (Norton Ghost, Paragon Drive Backup, or PowerQuest Drive Image. You can store this "image" of your drive on removable media like CDs and ZIP disks, on tape, or on an external hard drive.
You'll still have to spend a lot of time doing the backups and most people will end up with a set of at least 10 CDs for each backup, since the copy of your drive will take up about 50% of the storage space as your drive itself. (That's not the size of your whole drive, just the part you have filled up.)
You can get more information about disk cloning software at:
http://www.powerquest.com/driveimage/
http://www.symantec.com/sabu/ghost/ghost_personal/
http://www.acronis.com/products/trueimage/
http://www.drive-backup.com/
Web:
There are on-line services (e.g., www.connected.com) which will automatically back up your computer (either totally or just the changed files). This backup and restore option is limited only by the speed of your connection to the internet. Some people leave their computer on all night to do the backups. The reverse process will be more complicated, because you cannot restore directly from the web. Many information technology and graphics professionals use web services because of the massive files they process each day.
Your backup files are stored on their server. This is good because it is off-site in case of disaster recovery. Unfortunately, your data is only as secure as the server it is on. I don't use this option, because I don't think there is any function on the internet that is as secure as doing it myself and keeping control over all the data at all times. If you don't use massive files, you don't need it.
External Hard Drive (XHD):
I chose this option after my crash disaster because I can recreate my entire system without the wasted time of restoring my operating system and settings, downloading programs and data from backups, and resetting application customizations, etc.
An external hard drive ($200) with 'disk cloning' software lets you put your entire drive onto your backups. If you don't use the ghosting software you can only put programs, and data backups onto the external hard drive, not the operating system itself. The ghosting software will enable you to make a 'boot disk' just for restoring from the external hard drive to your main computer.
This option will allow you to completely restore your computer, if necessary (with no hard drive damage). Or, install a new hard drive on your computer and then restore immediately.
Just plug the external hard drive into the computer and start the backup, which verifies the data. Then, you unplug the external hard drive. This takes about fifteen minutes total for my backups. After backing up, I store the XHD in the trunk of my car (in a laptop case for protection). Even if the house burns down I still have my entire computer capability just outside in my car.
First, put an XHD ghost of just your operating system and programs with all the custom settings. Second, do a ghost of your entire system (operating system, programs and data). Third, do regular working drive data backups. Make sure any programs you ever use are in the second XHD backup, and/or in your working hard drive for your 'regular maintenance' backups.
I can get a new computer, copy everything I need and get to work. One possible downside to this; if you have to 'recover' on a new computer with a new system (different configuration and drivers), you will have trouble using the restored system until you reload the correct drivers and eliminate the 'old' ones.
Backup, BackUp, BACKUP!
So, how can you combine these different backup choices to work in your particular situation?Take the simplest method that will safeguard your information. If all you need is a diskette file box for backups - great!
I use the XHD once a week for a programs and data backup. In between I use diskettes or CDs, depending on the size of the files and how long I want to maintain them. There is enough room on my XHD to put 4 total system-program-data backups of my entire XP system into it. Once, you've done an operating system backup, unless you change your configurations or programs, you don't need to do it again. For regular maintenance, do your working 'data' drive.
If you do nothing, you are guaranteed to have a disaster sooner or later. Choose what works best for you and set a reminder to BACKUP as often as you need to stay sane when it does happen.
Check out other free articles at www.ihatesearchengines.com
For more time saving tips go to http://www.organize.comCopyright 2009 Eve Abbott. All rights reserved.
About the Author
Copyright, Eve Abbott All Rights Reserved. The Organizer Extraordinaire's new book "How to Do Space Age Work with a Stone Age Brain" TM is available online at http://www.organize.com Sign up for more time-saving tips. Enjoy free brain quizzes to help you work at your personal best! Eve’s guide is the first book to offer easy, online assessments that will help you make your own personal organizing solutions match your individual work style.Written by: Eve Abbott, the Organizer Extraordinaire
5 Critical Steps to Protecting Your Computer on the Internet
Spyware, viruses and worms... oh my!
If you are connected to the internet, you need to make sure you get your computer set up properly if you want to avoid problems down the road.
With all the viruses, spyware and other threats on the internet today, no computer should be set up without the proper protection.And that protection needs to be in place as soon after you hook up your new machine as possible.The following five steps will make your computer a much harder target for threats. You still won't be completely immune to problems, but 99% of the time the threat will pass you by, looking for the easy mark.
1. Running a Personal Firewall A personal firewall is software that basically makes your computer invisible to hackers, worms and other threats that can infect your computer over the internet. Setting up a firewall is the absolute first thing you should do if you're going to connect to the internet. Without a firewall, your computer could get infected in as little as one minute after connecting.If you have a brand new computer running Windows XP Service Pack 2, there is a firewall built into Windows. It will already have been turned on when you first set up your computer.If you're running an older version of Windows, even an earlier version of Windows XP, there is no firewall automatically set up for you. In this case there are two possibilities:- Your computer came pre-loaded with a firewall such as Norton Internet Security or McAfee Internet Security- You have no firewall installed and should download one ASAP.If you don't have any personal firewall software installed, you should do so right away. Zone Alarm is a very good firewall program that has a version that you can download and install for free.You can download the free version of Zone Alarm from http://www.computer-help-squad.com/zonealarm
2. Turn on Windows Updates Again, if you're running Windows XP Service Pack 2 this is already set up, but otherwise you should turn on Windows Updates. Microsoft releases updates for security problems and other bugs in Windows on a regular basis.These updates will keep your computer running better, and they often fix security issues that could compromise your information or privacy.If you are running Windows XP Service Pack 2, you can double-check that automatic updates are turned on by clicking Start, then click Control Panel, then double-click Security Center. The window that opens will tell you if automatic updates are turned on, and lets you turn them on if they're not.To turn on automatic updates in earlier versions of Windows XP, click on the Start menu, click Control Panel and then double-click on System. On the "Automatic Updates" tab, click the option to "Automatically download the updates and install them on the schedule I specify."To turn them on in Windows 2009, click on Start, click Control Panel and then double-click on Automatic Updates. Again, click the option to "automatically download the updates and install them on the schedule I specify."Now when Microsoft releases updates, they will be downloaded for you automatically and Windows will tell you when they are ready to be installed.
3. Install & Update Antivirus SoftwareMost new computers come with antivirus software these days. You might have Norton, McAfee, PC-Cillin or another brand. No matter what program you have, you will need to update it when you get connected to the internet.It doesn't matter how new your computer is - there will be new viruses, and new updates for the antivirus software, since it was loaded.The exact process is different for each brand of antivirus program, but most of them will have an icon in the bottom right corner of your desktop, beside the time. The icon might be a picture of a shield (McAfee), a stethoscope (Norton) or something else.In most cases, if you point to the icon for your antivirus and click the right mouse button, a menu will pop up with an update option. It could be simply called update or could be something like Live Update or Download Latest Updates. If you click on the update option (with the left button this time) it will install the newest updates for you.If you're not sure which icon is for your antivirus software, just point to each one for a few seconds and a little title should pop up telling you what it is.
4. Install Anti-Spyware Software Spyware - and other things known as adware and malware - is becoming as big a problem as viruses. Spyware programs can cause a lot of problems with your computer, not to mention they can track your personal information and you never know where it's being sent.Some new computers might includes antispyware software, but most of them don't yet. There are quite a few anti-spyware programs available, some free and some not. The one I recommend is from Microsoft and is one of the free ones.One of the reasons I like it is because it always runs in the background and will automatically catch a lot of spyware before it gets on your computer.Many of the other programs don't catch it until you run a scan. Not only does this allow things to get on your computer, it also means you have to actually remember to run a scan.You can download the free Microsoft Antispyware from http://www.computer-help-squad.com/antispyware
5. Set up a Free Email AccountThis last item is not as critical as the first four, but I would highly recommend you set up an email account with one of the free services like Hotmail or Gmail.Once you're on the internet, you'll find a lot of useful information that you want that requires you to provide an email address. In some cases, these people will end up sending you a bunch of spam.If you use a free email account to sign up for anything that you don't know for sure you can trust, it's not going to fill your main email with a bunch of junk.This goes for anything really, not just online information. If you're entering a contest or signing up for anything offline and you don't know where your information could end up being used, I would suggest using your free email address.If worse comes to worse, and your free email address gets inundated with spam, you can always just set up a new one and let the old one expire.Some of the better free email services are www.hotmail.com, www.gmail.com and www.yahoomail.com.If you've had your computer for a while and never done any of these things, you should still take these steps to get it set up properly. It will definitely save you a lot of time - and possibly money - as you use your system.
Check out other free articles at www.ihatesearchengines.com
About the Author
John Lenaghan offers easy-to-understand advice at the Computer Help Squad website. Find out more about these 5 steps - sign up for our newsletter and receive your free 5-part guide at http://www.computer-help-squad.com/5stepsWritten by: John Lenaghan
If you are connected to the internet, you need to make sure you get your computer set up properly if you want to avoid problems down the road.
With all the viruses, spyware and other threats on the internet today, no computer should be set up without the proper protection.And that protection needs to be in place as soon after you hook up your new machine as possible.The following five steps will make your computer a much harder target for threats. You still won't be completely immune to problems, but 99% of the time the threat will pass you by, looking for the easy mark.
1. Running a Personal Firewall A personal firewall is software that basically makes your computer invisible to hackers, worms and other threats that can infect your computer over the internet. Setting up a firewall is the absolute first thing you should do if you're going to connect to the internet. Without a firewall, your computer could get infected in as little as one minute after connecting.If you have a brand new computer running Windows XP Service Pack 2, there is a firewall built into Windows. It will already have been turned on when you first set up your computer.If you're running an older version of Windows, even an earlier version of Windows XP, there is no firewall automatically set up for you. In this case there are two possibilities:- Your computer came pre-loaded with a firewall such as Norton Internet Security or McAfee Internet Security- You have no firewall installed and should download one ASAP.If you don't have any personal firewall software installed, you should do so right away. Zone Alarm is a very good firewall program that has a version that you can download and install for free.You can download the free version of Zone Alarm from http://www.computer-help-squad.com/zonealarm
2. Turn on Windows Updates Again, if you're running Windows XP Service Pack 2 this is already set up, but otherwise you should turn on Windows Updates. Microsoft releases updates for security problems and other bugs in Windows on a regular basis.These updates will keep your computer running better, and they often fix security issues that could compromise your information or privacy.If you are running Windows XP Service Pack 2, you can double-check that automatic updates are turned on by clicking Start, then click Control Panel, then double-click Security Center. The window that opens will tell you if automatic updates are turned on, and lets you turn them on if they're not.To turn on automatic updates in earlier versions of Windows XP, click on the Start menu, click Control Panel and then double-click on System. On the "Automatic Updates" tab, click the option to "Automatically download the updates and install them on the schedule I specify."To turn them on in Windows 2009, click on Start, click Control Panel and then double-click on Automatic Updates. Again, click the option to "automatically download the updates and install them on the schedule I specify."Now when Microsoft releases updates, they will be downloaded for you automatically and Windows will tell you when they are ready to be installed.
3. Install & Update Antivirus SoftwareMost new computers come with antivirus software these days. You might have Norton, McAfee, PC-Cillin or another brand. No matter what program you have, you will need to update it when you get connected to the internet.It doesn't matter how new your computer is - there will be new viruses, and new updates for the antivirus software, since it was loaded.The exact process is different for each brand of antivirus program, but most of them will have an icon in the bottom right corner of your desktop, beside the time. The icon might be a picture of a shield (McAfee), a stethoscope (Norton) or something else.In most cases, if you point to the icon for your antivirus and click the right mouse button, a menu will pop up with an update option. It could be simply called update or could be something like Live Update or Download Latest Updates. If you click on the update option (with the left button this time) it will install the newest updates for you.If you're not sure which icon is for your antivirus software, just point to each one for a few seconds and a little title should pop up telling you what it is.
4. Install Anti-Spyware Software Spyware - and other things known as adware and malware - is becoming as big a problem as viruses. Spyware programs can cause a lot of problems with your computer, not to mention they can track your personal information and you never know where it's being sent.Some new computers might includes antispyware software, but most of them don't yet. There are quite a few anti-spyware programs available, some free and some not. The one I recommend is from Microsoft and is one of the free ones.One of the reasons I like it is because it always runs in the background and will automatically catch a lot of spyware before it gets on your computer.Many of the other programs don't catch it until you run a scan. Not only does this allow things to get on your computer, it also means you have to actually remember to run a scan.You can download the free Microsoft Antispyware from http://www.computer-help-squad.com/antispyware
5. Set up a Free Email AccountThis last item is not as critical as the first four, but I would highly recommend you set up an email account with one of the free services like Hotmail or Gmail.Once you're on the internet, you'll find a lot of useful information that you want that requires you to provide an email address. In some cases, these people will end up sending you a bunch of spam.If you use a free email account to sign up for anything that you don't know for sure you can trust, it's not going to fill your main email with a bunch of junk.This goes for anything really, not just online information. If you're entering a contest or signing up for anything offline and you don't know where your information could end up being used, I would suggest using your free email address.If worse comes to worse, and your free email address gets inundated with spam, you can always just set up a new one and let the old one expire.Some of the better free email services are www.hotmail.com, www.gmail.com and www.yahoomail.com.If you've had your computer for a while and never done any of these things, you should still take these steps to get it set up properly. It will definitely save you a lot of time - and possibly money - as you use your system.
Check out other free articles at www.ihatesearchengines.com
About the Author
John Lenaghan offers easy-to-understand advice at the Computer Help Squad website. Find out more about these 5 steps - sign up for our newsletter and receive your free 5-part guide at http://www.computer-help-squad.com/5stepsWritten by: John Lenaghan
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)