What Every Blogger Needs to Know about their PC: FREE TIPS

Colors of success... These are the colors I am TOTALLY into right now for the holidays...I thought I would spread the cheer. If these don't make you smile, then you might definitely be a GRUNCH!! hahaha The G-word that has an "I" where I have a "U" is trademarked, so I made up my own version. You are more than welcome to adopt this cutie...we will start a Frindle trend...with the word, GRUNCH...

Over the next few weeks, I will be completing a series of posts dedicated to helping you keep your computers running strong. 

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As I continue to learn more about the structure, components and quirks of PC's, I learn even more from helping fellow bloggers with simple computer problems. I am completely self-taught and built the computer I use now (which is friggin amazing by the way). Before that, I was a big believer in HP products. Hp was GREAT for the simple computing tasks needed for completing my masters and teaching; however, none could handle the wrath of my excessive use of the graphics card. It would freeze, hang, shut down, stomp its "feet", throw itself on the floor in a complete tantrum, and I even experienced a moment with the BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH. 

If you have not heard of this before, this is technically referred to as a "stop error" code  and happens when Windows suffers a SERIOUS malfunction and completely shuts down.Stop errors are actually Windows way of "protecting the hardware and drivers from serious damage; however, the crash itself can put your computer to "sleep" for good.  Sometimes, this can even be caused from driver updates (experienced that as well) and other times, it is just from the hardware and/or drivers over-working or over-heating. It is VITAL to anyone doing digital design or gaming, to have a SUPREME cooling system within the computer itself. HP computers do NOT have these liquid cooling systems and the HP cases are IMPOSSIBLE to work on. They are so compact that I would have had to build the belly of the beast outside of the case..hahaha. It would be like trying to fix something within the engine of a Toyota. 

These companies compact their products to the point of suffocation at times. My Hp was not only suffocating, it was claustrophobic in that it would begin having "panic attacks" every time I worked for more than 5 hours at a time. If you know me, this kind of slacking off is just not acceptable at all. Since I received my computer, I have added some pretty cool new additions, and drooled over others that I hope to add in the future. The most difficult part of adding more to the computer is having to organize and zip-tie the wires!!! I was so excited about getting my new PC in May that I even wrote a poem about it...

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TWAS THE DAY BEFORE MY COMPUTER ARRIVED

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I am a PC girl all the way to the bone!! I have fixed the blue screens of death many times. It is actually a very simple process if it weren't for the location of the battery on the motherboard that must be removed for 5 minutes. It can be a tedious and pain-staking task, which is why a tech will charge you $75 an hour or more to fix. 

Removing the battery resets the NetBIOS and allows your computer a fresh boot. It is funny in the sense that it really does feel like I was kickin' my HP with a boot each time I had that crash!! In worse cases, the motherboard or processor will fry and everything on the computer will be a lost cause.

Getting back to the point of this post...
I have allowed many fellow bloggers/artists to call me personally after finding out that they are shaking their fists at the "gods" of slow technology, hang ups, and what the hay-barrels! What I find occurring most often is that many of YOU...

YEAH, I AM TALKING TO YOU!! You KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!

do not keep up with the simple upkeep and maintenance of your PC's. Proper maintenance on your computer will help keep it running super fast, and keep your hardware healthy. There have been many times that I have chatted with people who have panicked during a hang-up, freeze, or a s-l-o-w computer and have Googled a fix and ended up making everything worse. Downloading more stuff onto a suffocating computer will cause it to die. It would be like sitting on someone's chest who has a really bad cold. The best thing to do is STOP & re-boot - But that is not the topic of my post...maybe another time for that one..hahaha

I have created and compiled a list of vital weekly and/or monthly things you can do to speed up your computer and keep it running.

Time for the nitty-gritty fun - put on your big-girl (or boy) panties and start takin' notes people!! For those of you with MAC computers, you can keep your pull-ups on for now...hahaha..just kidding. I have nothing against MAC, except everything really..hahaha. I know nothing about the MAC computers, but I do have that on my life's bucket list - right after the one on my list labeled, "Have sex with an 800 lb man". As you might as well guessed, I don't think I will be getting around to that in this life-time. hahaha 

Another ADD moment before the list:
The very first computers available to mankind were IBM personal computers (okay, I think there was something before that in around 1977...gosh...), but IBM was MY very first computer. No ONE and I mean NO ONE had computers when I was growing up and I am not ancient- people!! Computers have really only been on the market since the early 1980's!! My family was given this clunky, grandma bathroom beige IBM computer (I can't even remember from who) when I was in about 5th grade. My parents had no clue what to do with the thing and none of my sisters or brothers were interested, but I was FASCINATED!! I taught myself how to use it, play Oregon Trail, write short stories and save them on my floppy disks...Not only did I teach myself, but I bought a set of MULTI-COLORED floppy's in sea green, pink, and that grandma beige. I was a floppy rock star I tell you!! I even got to put it in my room!! I have been a committed PC girl since. For those of you nerds out there, I am fully aware that after Apple was released in 1984, IBM also adopted Apple's more advanced GUI (Graphic User Interface)...but never mind that bit of information - it's irrelevant. haha!

Now that you know when my love for computers began, you might now understand how my love for art and technology would someday intertwine.

End of ADD side-track

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Ways to keep your computer healthy and running at top speed:

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Tip # 1. CLEAN UP YOUR HARD DRIVE!!
 I can't stress this enough!! It is the simplest of tasks and so many of you neglect it. We own a HVAC company and people are just as careless when it comes to changing out your filters! Dirty filters raise your monthly heating and A/C up to 60%!! Just imagine what those same skin cells and dust particles do to your computer?? Betcha didn't think of that, did you?

Here is how:
I have Windows 7, but other windows platforms should be fairly simple and not too different from the directions below.

  Go to START>ACCESSORIES>SYSTEM TOOLS and go to DISK CLEAN UP.

*You can take a little short cut and just go straight to the START menu and type: "Disk Clean up" in the search bar on the start tab. You should see the option in your list now. Click on it. 

*Choose your drive and allow the disk clean-up tool to generate the list of items that can be cleaned from your computer.

Once a list is generated, make sure ALL of the boxes are checked and click on OKAY (OK). 
*NOTE: You will want to make sure to save any files you have in your downloads folder before running this, because this will clear everything in the downloads file. 

When you download something from the internet, your computer will automatically place this file in your downloads folder. This is good to know and might come in handy in emergencies...

You will get a pop-up window asking if you whether or not you are sure with this...click YES, don't even begin to analyze this.

AND - Voila!!

I recommend that you re-boot your system to rid the computer of any broken registry keys and anything else that might linger.

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If however, you need some heavy-duty clean-up, because you have been terribly neglectful, read on...OR, if you are like me, you may want to read on because you do not want ANY clutter slowing down your system.

Go to: www.piriform.com and click on the download tab in the TOP navigation of the webpage. See below:

Once there, choose to download and install the CCleaner...

Choose the FREE option from PIRIFORM...

Follow the steps to download and install.

IT IS FREE!!

Once downloaded and installed, click ANALYZE to see how much clutter can be removed from your system...you might be in for a shocker here!! When ready, choose to RUN the cleaner and I am sure you will be feeling lighter already!! You should run this about once a month. Make sure to ALWAYS check for updates before you run the next time.

Next Week: How to Deep Clean your Computer using compressed air and a Phillips screwdriver. Check back in next week for more helpful tips on this series to help keep your computer healthy!!

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As always, thank you for stopping by my blog!!

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