Copy and Move Files Faster and Smarter in Windows

Have you ever been frustrated copying or moving files in Windows? It seems to take forever and seems to slow the system down to a crawl. Sometimes you want to pause the copying or moving of files but in Windows your only option is to cancel the copy and the result is only a partial copy of the files and without taking the time to look through the files or folder, there’s no simple way of determining how far the copy got. Or maybe you’re copying off a dying drive and the system consistently fails on multiple files while copying.  Well there’s a simple program that overcomes the limitations of the Windows default file copy/move. The program is called TeraCopy by Code Sector. The link to the program is below.

http://www.codesector.com/teracopy.php

Just download and install the program. There’s one option that you should be aware of during the installation. You will be prompted if you would like to “Use TeraCopy as the default copy handler”. If you would still like to keep the Windows copy / move feature, I would suggest against selecting this option. This is especially so to make sure that there is no incompatibilities with other programs you may have installed in your system.

So here’s a quick guide on how to copy/ move files. In this example, I will be moving a 1.79GB folder to a completely different hard drive. The process is the same for copying files

Read more

Why Defrag Your Hard Drive?

Over time, your computer’s hard drive becomes fragmented from actions such as adding and deleting files and programs. As it becomes fragmented, the computer becomes slower accessing files and programs and it results in a slower computer.

Think of your computer’s hard drive as a bookcase full of books. At first, all the books are neatly placed in order either by category or alphabetically.  As you take books out to read them, add new books, and throw some out, inevitably some books get placed back in the wrong place and gaps appear where books have been thrown out. As this occurs finding a book becomes more difficult and takes more time to find. The same thing occurs to the hard drive on your PC. To make it easier and faster to find the books, it’s important to reorganize the books on your bookshelf once in a while. On a computer, this process is known as defragmenting or ‘defragging’ for short.

All recent versions of Windows have come with their own built in defragmenting utility but they can be very slow and sometimes not as intuitive. It’s still good to run the Windows version if you are willing to leave the system on for a while but it tends to feel like a chore to get it to run. As such, I’d like to introduce a freeware alternative to use on a more frequent basis. The program is called ‘Disk Defrag’ and is by a company called Auslogics. The program is very simple to use, works quite quickly, and best of all, free. So let me show you just how simple it is to use the program. You’ll need to first download the program from the link below:

http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/disk-defrag/download

If you need help installing the program, just click back on the link above and read on further down the page.

Once you’ve downloaded and installed the program, click on the program icon to get it running. You should be presented with the screen below:

Read more

DIY – Windows XP Facelift for Free – Part 2

A few weeks back, I wrote up an article on how to change the look of your Windows XP desktop by changing the theme. At the time I promised I would introduce a couple more programs that would refresh the look of XP. Well, it took a bit longer than expected to get back to the topic, but here it is. Enjoy!

As you’re probably already aware, one of the new features in Windows Vista called ‘Aero Glass’ This feature adds a level of transparency to the Windows taskbar. We’ll use a freeware program that adds does an admirable job of mimicking the feature. It’s called ‘True Transparency’ and it can be downloaded from the link below:

http://www.crystalxp.net/galerie/en.id.5139-truetransparency-lefreut-explorer-tools.htm

Once you’ve downloaded the file, it’s just a matter of extracting the file and running the ‘TrueTransparency’ application in the folder. There’s nothing to install.

In the ‘System Tray’ you’ll see a ‘T’ with an upside down ‘T’. Click it with the right mouse button and you’ll see the options as shown in the above screenshot. Here you can select the skin you wish to use, the language to use for the program, and finally to choose to have the program to run when the computer starts. You can also find additional skins for True Transparency on the internet. Just use your favorite search engine to look for them. One word of warning is that some themes (msstyles) that you may have installed may be ‘broken’ after installing this program.

Here’s a screenshot sample of the ‘transparency’ applied. Notice how the title bars of the applications are now transparent and you can see the picture underneath them. I’ve changed the desktop background so it’s easier to tell.

Read more

Asus M3N-HT Deluxe Boot Issues with Phenom 9850 and 9950

There is an issue between the Asus M3N-HT Deluxe and the AMD Phenom 9850 and 9950 CPUs that has been addressed with their most recent BIOS update (901). Although not uncommon for motherboard manufacturers to release BIOS updates to address issues, I thought this one should be posted just due to the unusual problem that the system exhibits.

Basically, with either a Phenom 9850 or 9950 CPU, this motherboard upon powering up will power on and off anywhere from two to twenty times before finally posting and booting to the operating system. Most would assume an issue with the power supply or just assume that the board is bad and needs to be replace when in fact all that is required a BIOS update. Some systems run fine for several days or weeks before the problem arises. So it would seem to make sense to update the BIOS beforehand.

The BIOS has been out since the end of May and some of you would question the necessity to post this now. The reasoning behind this is the majority of the Asus M3N-HT Deluxe motherboards available out in the retail chains still carry an older BIOS and you will probably need to update the BIOS when you receive it.

Asus Eee PC Adapter – Check First

As I work on computers as a profession, I thought I’d add some content based on issues that may not be commonly known that I come across on a daily basis. They’ll probably become quite old pretty quick but I thought it would be best to share with everyone so they don’t make the same mistake….

In regards to the Asus Eee PCs, there is an issue with the introduction of the new 900 series of the Eee. The newer Eee PCs require a 12v 3A adapter. The current ’slim’ Eee PC adapters on the market (90-OA00PW0100 and 90-OA00PW0000), which are sold as a seperate accessory, only provide 9.5v 2.5A which is not sufficient to run the 700 series of the Eee PC. Most people will have the units fail to detect that the unit is plugged into an electrical outlet. Some E-tailers are selling the 900s bundled with this adapter so it will be interesting to see how many people start complaining about this issue.

That said, information I have been provided with says that Asus is producing the new adapters with the correct power requirements and they will be available soon. Furthermore, these adapters are supposed to work with the 700 series as well. I’ll try to remember to post up if this is true that the new adapters work with the Eee 700s.

Finding and Ridding Your System of Duplicate Files in Windows

With hard drives being as cheap as they are, some of you have become lazy and have duplicate files all over your PC wasting up space. Sometimes it’s good to do a little housekeeping on your PC but the thought of taking the time to look for these files can be time consuming. A freeware program called DupKiller can make looking for these duplicate files easy.

Click on the program logo to open up the website for DupKiller

Read more

Preventative Maintenance for your PC (Windows) – Software

In a previous article we dealt with maintaining the hardware side of your PC. Now we’re going to deal with the software side; in particular, Windows. I could write a multi-page article on how to get your system running smoothly, but if you’re like me, you like simple and easy methods. There are a lot of programs out there that profess to optimize your PC but one I’ve been a fan of for a while now is CCleaner. It‘s easy to use and most importantly, it’s free!

So let’s get down to business. First off, you’ll want to download and install the program. Click the friendly link button below to do so:

Read more

EULA – Too lazy to read the fine print?

EULA, stands for End User Licensing Agreement. It’s the fine print that a lot of people skip over when they go to install a program. You’ve probably done it yourself, clicked ‘I Agree’ without reading over the licensing agreement. This is fine for well known products but with freeware and trialware that you download from the internet, you need to be careful. Within the license agreement can be a little clause which states that you agree to the install a bundled component that tracks your web surfing habits, pops up annoying advertisements, or other such nefarious little additions. You can use notable spyware prevention programs such as Ad-Aware and Spybot Search and Destroy but sometimes the best thing is to read the fine print before you go to install. Unfortunately, some of the language used is intentionally confusing and can make it frustrating to try and comprehend. This is where programs like the one I introduce below can help you out.

EULAlyzer by Javacool Software (http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/eulalyzer.html) helps search though the EULA for common terms and words that can be found in these programs that require your attention. It’s a mere 2.46 MB, installed, and if you like to download and try programs, it’s well worth it. Let’s take a look at the program in action:

Read more

Fix and/or Speed Up the Shutdown of XP

In a previous article we dealt with speeding up the way Windows loads up. In this article we’ll hopefully fix or speed up, as well as clean up, the way Windows XP shuts down. A lot of systems I see often take an unusual amount of time to shut down and usually I see errors in the Event Viewer reporting that the user profile could not be unloaded. The process is quite simple and a lot less involved as improving the boot up time of the system. Just click the link below to download a program from Microsoft that will automatically do this for you.

User Profile Hive Cleanup Service
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=1B286E6D-8912-4E18-B570-42470E2F3582&displaylang=en
(For XP only…. It’s already included with Vista under the User Profile Service)

Read more

Cannot Delete a File or Folder in Windows

Almost everyone has come across a file that cannot be deleted by Windows although you know for a fact that the file is not necessary for any program to run correctly.  Although the message may vary, the simple fact that it’s annoying, like getting gum on the sole of your shoe.

Read more

Next Page »