Business Software Made Easy - Time Saving Tips

Control when your Vista computer goes to sleep

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 13:32:08 GMT

Originally Posted April 19 2008

Are you tired of waiting forever for your Vista computer to wake-up after it goes to sleep? Do you wish there was a way that it would just turn-on instantly when the monitor is black? All you need to do is change the Power Plan.

-In Vista

1. Start (button) > Control Panel

2. Click 'Classic View' for easy reference in the upper left-hand margin

3. Double Click Power Options

4. Click 'Create a power plan'

5. Enter a name for the power plan in the 'Plan name:" field

6. Click Next

-In the Put the computer to sleep:

7. Select Never for On Battery and Plugged in options

Note:

-You want to have your monitor turn-off after some period of time because LCD monitors will burn-in an image over time

-Leaving your hard drive on all the time is not recommended with a laptop computer because it will greatly reduce its battery life

8. Click Create

9. Verify your custom Power Plan is selected

10. Close the window

-Your power plan is now saved and applied to your Vista computer

That's it!

Synchronize your files the easy way with SyncToy

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 20:48:18 GMT

Originally Posted: Dec 16 2007

If you are like most people, you probably spend some time on your home computer completing work-related documents, spreadsheet, presentations etc. You probably then save or copy those files to a USB flashdrive, take it to work, and either print, e-mail, or work on them some more on your work computer. After a while you may loose track of what file has the most recent edits - is it the one on your flashdrive or your home computer?

If this sounds like you, you are in luck. Microsoft has a handy and FREE software called SyncToy. SyncToy will synchronize selected Folders on your computer with your flash drive (or even another computer if it is connected to your network). Download and setup is easy.

To Download:

1. Go to: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/prophoto/synctoy.mspx

2. Download SyncToy from the 'download' link on the right hand side of the screen

3. Click Run to install SyncToy

5. Click on the SyncToy icon in you Start menu (In All Programs, it should be near the end of the list)

6. Click 'Create new folder pair'

-The Wizard starts and helps you select which Folders you want to Sync

7. Sync!

That's it!

What should I do to prepare my computer before I give it away?

Sun, 9 Sep 2007 21:11:22 GMT

September 10 2007

Before you give your old computer away, you should probably take a few moments ensure that you don't leave any personal information on it. You may think that deleting files and old programs will do an effective job, but this is a misperception because deleted files and programs can be easily recovered. The best way to remove your personal information is with a Hard Drive Clean-up program.

Once installed, a hard drive clean-up program will erase your entire hard drive including all files, programs, and even the operating system. In addition, it will overwrite the deleted files with several random characters making the recovery of the deleted files virtually impossible.

These programs start about $30 and can be purchased in most electronics or business products store. Here are just a few:

-Drive Scrubber: http://www.iolo.com/ds/3/

-Window Washer (the System Eraser utility in Window Washer): http://www.webroot.com/consumer/products/windowwasher/?id=H2-HHO_Links-WW&WRSID=3071fb61c6fe68131c28fe4a363413d2

-WipeDrive: http://www.whitecanyon.com/wipedrive-erase-hard-drive.php

Once the process is started, it will take some time to complete so please plan accordingly. Depending on the number of sweeps of random characters, wiping your hard drive may take a few hours to a full day. The clean-up program you choose should provide an estimated time for completion when you start the process.

After you have wiped your hard drive, you can sell, donate, or recycle it. If you decide to sell it, expect to only get a fraction for what you paid.

If you want to sell your computer:

Ebay is a popular venue to sell old computers: http://www.ebay.com

If you choose to donate it and live in Austin:

You can do so at Goodwill Industries: https://www.austincomputerworks.org/

If you want to recycle it:

Both Dell and HP offer recycling programs:

Dell

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segtopic.aspx/dell_recycling?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

Free recycling on Dell brand computers also including:

-Printers

-Printer Toners

-Printer Cartridges

HP

https://warp1.external.hp.com/recycle/

Accepts all computer brands for a nominal fee.

That's it!

I purchased an external hard drive. What should I backup?

Tue, 14 Aug 2007 12:18:43 GMT

Aug 13 2007

If you purchased and installed an external hard drive to backup your computer, you were probably asked this question when setting up the backup software. You may have been inclined to just backup your My Documents Folder, but you should probably backup more. The reason is many times popular programs save their critical data in a Folder other than My Documents.

For example, Outlook Express/Outlook (emails, calendarcontacts, etc), Quicken, and QuickBooks (all financial transactions) are just some of these type of programs. Each of these programs save your critical information in Folders deep within your computer.

The best practice is to setup your backup software to do a complete backup of your entire hard drive, not just your My Documents Folder. This way all your critical data is saved and can be retreived in the event your computer crashes.

Defrag your Hard Drive for optimum performance

Sat, 3 Feb 2007 21:10:37 GMT

October 16 2006

Q: I heard that running the Disk Defragmenter on my Windows computer speeds-up the performance, but when I run it, it says that my Hard Drive is only 5% fragmented. Should I still run it?

A: Yes. Even though Disk Defragmenter is stating that only 5% of your Hard Drive is fragmented, your Hard Drive size could be anywhere from 20GB or larger. Five percent of 20GB represents about 1MB.

In case you don’t know: All your computer files (including documents, spreadsheets, presentations, music, and even programs) are saved on your hard drive. When you double click on a program icon, your computer goes to your hard drive, retrieves the vital files of that program that makes it run, stores those files in RAM memory, and then starts your program.

In the process of retrieving the files from the hard drive, your computer’s hard drive works similar to a phonograph where an arm sweeps over the surface of a record to play the songs. But instead of a record it is a magnetic disk, and instead of songs, it is locating files and programs.

Unlike a phonograph, your files and programs are not stored in a sequential fashion – they are actually saved randomly over the entire surface of the disk. Although you cannot tell, over time elements of each individual file on your computer are scattered over the entire surface of the hard drive. Since this happens slowly you may not realize it, but your computer takes more and more time to retrieve each file. The remedy is to run the Disk Defragmenter regularly. Here’s how:

In Windows:

1. Click the START button

2. (All) Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter

3. Click the ‘Defragment’ button

* This process will take some time to complete. It is best to do this as the last task of the day

That’s it!

Virtual Memory running low?

Mon, 8 Jan 2007 09:23:11 GMT

Feb 13 2006

Q: This last week I had two of my customers ask me about the same problem. Periodically, they get a message ‘Virtual memory running low’ usually when they are running several programs.

First, let me give a brief explanation; Virtual Memory is a mechanism that Windows used to compensate for when RAM memory (the real physical memory that comes on a chip) was more expensive.

When your computer is working, it stores critical information in the RAM memory – this is the real, physical memory (like what you can purchase at an electronics store). Back in the old days, RAM memory was very expensive hence; it was available only in limited quantities. To compensate for the limited RAM memory, Windows cleverly created a mechanism that saves any ‘overflow’ on to the Hard Drive that pretends to be this RAM memory. This is the Virtual Memory and the amount of space dedicated on your Hard Drive to it can be adjusted.

A: There is a way to adjust the Virtual Memory on your computer so you won’t get this message. Here’s how:

In Windows XP:

1. Right click on your My Computer icon (either in your Start menu or Desktop)

2. Select ‘Properties’

3. Click the ‘Advanced’ tab

Under the Performance section

4. Click the ‘Settings’ button

In the Performance Options window:

5. Click the Advanced tab

Under the Virtual Memory section:

6. Click the ‘Change’ button

7. Select ‘System managed size’

8. Click the ‘Set’ button

9. Click OK at the message saying you have to restart your computer

10. Click OK

11. Click Apply

12. Click OK

13. Click OK to restart your computer

That’s it!

How can I change the default folder Word that word saves new files?

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 21:33:19 GMT

Dec 5 2005

Q: I regularly save my Word documents to a specific folder on my company’s server Ex. K:\Staff\Marketing\Paul M. It is a real hassle to click through the folder tree to find the folder when I save each new document. How can I change the default folder Word saves new files?

A: Here’ how:

In Word

1. Tools > Options

2. Click the 'File Locations' tab

-Under 'File types:' column:

3. Click 'Documents'

4. Click the 'Modify' button

Locate the folder you want to have Word automatically save to

5. Click OK

6. Click OK

That's it!

Will that software fit on your PC?

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 20:40:27 GMT

April 18 2005

Q: I want to install a new software program, but I am not sure if my computer has the minimum requirements. How can I check?

A: You can learn your computer's specificaitons in a few places. Here's how:

Well, you can learn most of your computer's specs quickly by:

1. Find your 'My Computer' Icon-usually on your Desktop or in the Start menu

2. Right Click on your 'My Computer' Icon

3. Select 'Properties' from the Pointer Menu

Your:

-Windows Version

-Processor (Usually an Intel Pentium or AMD Athlon, along with Processor speed in MHz or GHz), and

-RAM depicted in KB (Kilobytes) MB (Megabytes) or GB (Gigabytes)

are listed in this screen (the General-tab).

- For the remaining specification of how much space is available on your Hard Disk Drive:

1. Find your 'My Computer' Icon-usually on your desktop or in the Start menu

2. Double click on your 'My Computer' Icon

3. Right Click on the 'Local Disk (C:)'

-Your hard disk capacity and well as the Used and Free space are displayed

Before you give away your old computer...

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 20:32:02 GMT

April 10 2006

Q: Is deleting my personal files all I need to do before I sell or donate my computer?

A: No, there are a few extra steps you have to take

Today, I want to talk about a tip that may not save you time, but perhaps will save you some frustration. If you are planning on giving away or selling your computer, you may have deleted you sensitive files, purged your Recycle Bin, or even reformatted your hard drive to try to eliminate any sensitive information that you may not want others to gain access to. This is not enough. There are several software programs that can be purchased at any computer store that can recover these files. You need to take an extra step.

Before you sell or give away your computer, you need to install and run a program that will delete your files then overwrite them with random data making them unrecoverable. Some of the programs are: Symantec Wipe Info (comes with Norton System Works), Disk Wipe, and Window Washer to name a few. These programs are available at retail stores or even on-line.

Some of these programs will even search all the nooks and crannies of your computer to find and delete shortcuts related to sensitive files and even websites that you have visited.

When you run any of these programs, it will take some time so plan accordingly. It may be best to start the process at the end of the day and have it run through the evening.