Hi Everyone,

This is something I found surfing the internet and that I use as a reference to work on machines. Hope you guys like it and find it useful.


When a computer is first turned on, or rebooted, its BIOS performs a power-on self test (POST) to test the system's hardware, checking to make sure that all of the systems hardware components are working properly. Under normal circumstances, the POST will display an error message; however, if the BIOS detects an error before it can access the video card, or if there is a problem with the video card, it will produce a series of beeps, and the pattern of the beeps indicates what kind of problem the BIOS has detected.
Because there are many brands of BIOS, there are no standard beep codes for every BIOS.

The two most-used brands are AMI (American Megatrends International) and Phoenix.

Below are listed the beep codes for AMI systems, and here are the beep codes for Phoenix systems.

Standard Original IBM POST Error Codes
Code Description

1 short beep System is OK
2 short beeps POST Error - error code shown on screen No beep Power supply or system board problem Continuous beep Power supply, system board, or keyboard problem Repeating short beeps Power supply or system board problem
1 long, 1 short beep System board problem
1 long, 2 short beeps Display adapter problem (MDA, CGA)
1 long, 3 short beeps Display adapter problem (EGA)
3 long beeps 3270 keyboard card

IBM POST Diagnostic Code Descriptions
Code Description

100 - 199 System Board
200 - 299 Memory
300 - 399 Keyboard
400 - 499 Monochrome Display
500 - 599 Colour/Graphics Display
600 - 699 Floppy-disk drive and/or Adapter
700 - 799 Math Coprocessor
900 - 999 Parallel Printer Port
1000 - 1099 Alternate Printer Adapter
1100 - 1299 Asynchronous Communication Device, Adapter, or Port
1300 - 1399 Game Port
1400 - 1499 Colour/Graphics Printer
1500 - 1599 Synchronous Communication Device, Adapter, or Port
1700 - 1799 Hard Drive and/or Adapter
1800 - 1899 Expansion Unit (XT)
2000 - 2199 Bisynchronous Communication Adapter
2400 - 2599 EGA system-board Video (MCA)
3000 - 3199 LAN Adapter
4800 - 4999 Internal Modem
7000 - 7099 Phoenix BIOS Chips
7300 - 7399 3.5" Disk Drive
8900 - 8999 MIDI Adapter
11200 - 11299 SCSI Adapter
21000 - 21099 SCSI Fixed Disk and Controller
21500 - 21599 SCSI CD-ROM System

AMI BIOS Beep Codes
Code Description

1 Short Beep System OK
2 Short Beeps Parity error in the first 64 KB of memory
3 Short Beeps Memory failure in the first 64 KB
4 Short Beeps Memory failure in the first 64 KB Operational of memory
or Timer 1 on the motherboard is not functioning
5 Short Beeps The CPU on the motherboard generated an error
6 Short Beeps The keyboard controller may be bad. The BIOS cannot switch to protected mode
7 Short Beeps The CPU generated an exception interrupt
8 Short Beeps The system video adapter is either missing, or its memory is faulty
9 Short Beeps The ROM checksum value does not match the value encoded in the BIOS
10 Short Beeps The shutdown register for CMOS RAM failed
11 Short Beeps The external cache is faulty
1 Long, 3 Short Beeps Memory Problems
1 Long, 8 Short Beeps Video Card Problems

Phoenix BIOS Beep Codes
Note - Phoenix BIOS emits three sets of beeps, separated by a brief pause.
Code Description

1-1-3 CMOS read/write failure
1-1-4 ROM BIOS checksum error
1-2-1 Programmable interval timer failure
1-2-2 DMA initialization failure
1-2-3 DMA page register read/write failure
1-3-1 RAM refresh verification failure
1-3-3 First 64k RAM chip or data line failure
1-3-4 First 64k RAM odd/even logic failure
1-4-1 Address line failure first 64k RAM
1-4-2 Parity failure first 64k RAM
2-_-_ Faulty Memory
3-1-_ Faulty Motherboard
3-2-4 Keyboard controller Test failure
3-3-4 Screen initialization failure
3-4-1 Screen retrace test failure
3-4-2 Search for video ROM in progress
4-2-1 Timer tick interrupt in progress or failure
4-2-2 Shutdown test in progress or failure
4-2-3 Gate A20 failure
4-2-4 Unexpected interrupt in protected mode
4-3-1 RAM test in progress or failure>ffffh
4-3-2 Faulty Motherboard
4-3-3 Interval timer channel 2 test or failure
4-3-4 Time of Day clock test failure
4-4-1 Serial port test or failure
4-4-2 Parallel port test or failure
4-4-3 Math coprocessor test or failure
Low 1-1-2 System Board select failure
Low 1-1-3 Extended CMOS RAM failure

USE KEYBOARD WITH MOUSE

If you feel that your external keyboard is not working properly or some particular key is not functioning then you can use internal keyboard on your desktop screen. This property of keyboard is found in windows xp and seven. Just follow these steps
Go to start menu and press “run”
Type  “osk”
Now press enter.
(note. Don’t use commas)
you will see keyboard on your desktop screen. Now use mouse to click on keys for operation.

Some time you install fresh Operating system in your computer and then you install Browser, google chrome. After installation you try to open gmail, yahoo, or facebook in google chrome but you do not see your required page and see a message “Server Security Certificate is not yet valid”.  Then you also try to open the page by clicking on “continue anyway” but the result is same.

Infect this problem occurs due to incorrect date and time of your computer. By synchronizing your system clock you can solve this problem.
I will tell you the best solution of this problem. Just follow these steps and after completion you will be able to login to facebook, yahoo, gmail etc.


step 1:Click on Start Menu and then control penal.

Step 2:Open Date/Time setting

Step 3:Adjust correct date and time according to your region.

step 4: Open "Internet Time Zone" tab.

Step 5:Click on "Update Now" button. After clicking on button, It will start synchronzing your internet server timing.

After 7-8 seconds you will see a message, "The time has been successfully synchronized with time.windows.com on 16-10-2015 at 7:09PM.

Done

General Cleaning Tips for Computer

Below is a listing of suggestions to follow when cleaning any computer components or peripherals as well as tips to help keep a computer clean.
1. Never spray or squirt any liquid onto any computer component. If a spray is needed, spray the liquid onto a cloth.
2. You can use a vacuum to suck up dirt, dust, or hair around the computer. However, do not use a vacuum inside your computer as it generates static electricity that can damage your computer. If you need to use a vacuum inside your computer, use a portable battery powered vacuum or try compressed air.
3. When cleaning a component or the computer, turn it off before cleaning.
4. Be cautious when using any cleaning solvents; some people have allergic reactions to chemicals in cleaning solvents, and some solvents can even damage the case. Try always to use water or a highly diluted solvent.
5. When cleaning, be careful to not accidentally adjust any knobs or controls. Also, when cleaning the back of the computer, if anything is connected make sure not to disconnect the plugs.
6. When cleaning fans, especially smaller fans, hold the fan or place something in-between the fan blades to prevent it from spinning. Spraying compressed air into a fan or cleaning a fan with a vacuum may cause damage or generate a back voltage.
7. Never eat or drink around the computer.
8. Limit smoking around the computer.

Cleaning Tools

Although computer cleaning products are available, you can also use household items to clean your computers and peripherals. Below is a listing of items you may need or want to use while cleaning your computer.
Cloth - A cotton cloth is the best tool used when rubbing down computer components. Paper towels can be used with most hardware, but we always recommend using a cloth whenever possible. However, only use a cloth when cleaning components such as the case, a drive, mouse, and keyboard. You should not use a cloth to clean any circuitry such as the RAM or motherboard.

Water or rubbing alcohol - When moistening a cloth, it is best to use water or rubbing alcohol. Other solvents may be bad for the plastics used with your computer.
Portable Vacuum - Sucking the dust, dirt, hair, cigarette particles, and other particles out of a computer can be one of the best methods of cleaning a computer. However, do not use a vacuum that plugs into the wall since it creates lots of static electricity that can damage your computer.

Cotton swabs - Cotton swaps moistened with rubbing alcohol or water are excellent tools for wiping hard to reach areas in your keyboard, mouse, and other locations.

Foam swabs - Whenever possible, it is better to use lint-free swabs such as foam swabs.
Tip: See our tools page for a list of other tools every technician should have.

Here some cool tips and tricks to get more out of Windows 10

From the time, Microsoft launched its new operating system Windows 10 on July 29, it has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. While some complained about the security issues, some said that it is little better than Windows 8. However, not all of the things in Windows 10 are bad.

Here are some tips and tricks for those who have recently purchased a computer with Windows 10 or have upgraded, that will help you save time and make the operating system more effective and user-friendly.

Use Cortana

You can ask Cortana anything, and you will get your answer. For example, you can ask Cortana question about the weather, the age of your favorite celebrity or the events coming up on your calendar. Cortana, a digital personal assistant not only finds files and launch apps, but can be also used to type in requests for Cortana.

To send emails, you need to simply type in “Send an email to <NAME> about <SUBJECT> and then you can set alarms or reminders as well. You also do not have to open a separate app to do so. You can save a lot of your time, as you can do almost anything with Cortana by just requesting or asking it something.

Get a Longer Battery Life

Are you aware that there is a battery saver mode that will start when the AC power is unplugged? There are some things that you can do to make your battery life last longer. All you need to do is, go to “Start” and then “Settings”, click on “System” and “Battery Saver”. This will allow you to see what apps on your computer are consuming the most battery power. You can then add apps to the list of exclusions, which means that when the battery is low, Windows 10 will restrict those apps. This can really help you when you have very low battery power.

Increase Monitor Size

Windows 10 has an in-built function for a virtual Desktop, which makes it very simple to control the open apps that you have on your computer. All you need to do is to keep moving these open apps to their own Desktop, until you have to access them. In order to see the three Desktops that are the default, press [Windows] + [Tab] and you will be able to get a summary of the open apps on each of the three Desktops. To see the contents, all you need to do is keep the mouse pointer over one of the Desktops at the bottom of the screen.

You can also drag the apps from one Desktop to another Desktop, and then add more Desktops by clicking on “New Desktop”. This is very helpful for those who work from home and who require a lot of windows and apps to be opened at the same time. For instance, if you are looking at multiple types of documents at the same time, or browser apps and Excel or Word. You can also switch easily between the Desktops by pressing [Windows] + [Ctrl].

Using the Hidden Start Menu

With Windows 10, Microsoft brought back the Start Menu. The best feature about the Start Menu is that you can customize in a number of ways. Every one is aware of the left click, but you can now also right-click the Start Menu too. If you right-click on the Start button, it will allow you to access a range of shortcuts that are basically for the more complicated parts of Windows. Just use the right-click option on the Start Menu, if you want to access these advanced parts promptly.

Record Videos of Apps

Use the in-built app Game DVR for taking screenshots and recording videos. Meant for taking screenshots of videos games, Game DVR can be used with any open app and can make screenshots or record any types of videos of anything that you may have opened in Windows 10. It is very simple to use and helpful when you are looking to make a video for a family member or friend on your computer. You can access it through the shortcut by using [Windows] + [G]. However, it might not work through shortcut all the time.

Change File Explorer’s opening folder

In Windows 10, File Explorer opens with Quick Access selected. Old-school Windows users might prefer to start in This PC (previously known as My Computer), which includes the six standard data folders in your user profile as well as any local drives and removable media such as USB drives.

No problem. On the ribbon, open the View tab, click Options, Change folder and search options, and then choose one of these two options.

Use the expanded Send To menu

Yes, you can right-click a file or folder (or multiple items, for that matter) and use the Send To menu to do a few interesting things, like move or copy the selection to your Documents folder, create a compressed file (in .zip format), or send the selection as an email attachment.

Customize the Send To menu

Speaking of the Send To menu, you can make it much more useful by adding and removing the options on the default (short) menu. They’re just shortcuts, but good luck finding them, because they’re buried in a folder hidden deep within your user profile.

To get to that folder, open the Run box (Windows key+R), typeshell:sendto, and then press Enter.

First order of business: delete the Fax Recipient shortcut. After that, you can add shortcuts to favorite folders (local and network). You can also add shortcuts to programs. Adding a shortcut to Notepad or another text editor makes it much easier to quickly edit any file, for example. Ditto for pictures and your favorite image editor.

Hope you like the tricks given above. Please share you own tips and tricks in Windows 10 for the benefit of other readers.

Hard Drive Data Recovery

The first step in recovering from a data loss is to ascertain whether the loss is a result of a physical hard drive failure, i.e. broken hardware; or, a logical drive failure, i.e. corruption or loss of File System or data. This article identifies the symptoms of physical hard drive failure.

Symptoms of a Physical Hard Drive Failure

There are a number of warning factors that can alert you to a physical drive failure. These include:

Drive shows as "Not Initialized" in Windows Disk Management;
Drive not spinning (no power);
An excessively hot drive;
An abnormal ticking noise whilst the drive is reading data;
A loud clicking or grinding noise.
A Note Re. External USB Hard Drive Data Recovery

An external USB drive adds another layer of USB electronics between the hard disk and the computer. These USB components are also subject to failure. When dealing with a failed external drive, part of the diagnostic procedure is to remove the drive from its case and try an alternate connection.

1. Not Initialized in Windows Disk Management

Windows > Disk Management lists the physical drives recognized by the computer and the way in which the space on those drives is allocated. A "not initialized" error is a signal of a fundamental communication error. Usually an attempt to initialize a hardware failed drive will result in a low level "I/O" (Input / Output) error.

2. Drive Not Spinning (no power)

If a correctly powered drive is not spinning (i.e. it is silent) it can be an indication of a problem with the hard drive Printed Circuit Board (PCB). The PCB holds the electronics responsible for controlling the operation of the drive and its communication with the computer. It is possible to replace a printed circuit board, but this should only be undertaken by an experienced hard drive data recovery professional. It is essential that the replacement PCB not only be an identical make and model, but it must also hold the identical firmware to the original board.

hard drive data recovery
3. Excessively Hot Drive

A traditional (non Solid State) drive contains disks called 'platters'. These platters are coated with a magnetic substance and spin at high speed under an mechanical arm (the 'actuator' arm) that moves backwards and forwards over the surface of each platter. On the end of this metallic arm is a small copper wire. The computer sends a pulse through this wire which changes the state of the magnetic surface of a platter as it passes underneath. In this way the files that you store on your computer are encoded into the magnetic substance. The tolerances within a hard drive are finely calibrated. As with any mechanical moving parts, the friction in movement creates heat. A physical problem (or pending physical problem) may therefore present as an abnormally hot drive.

4. Abnormal Ticking Noise

In some instances a failing hard drive can present with an abnormal ticking noise whilst the disk is reading data. This can be a sign that the disk has bad sectors (the magnetic storage on that part of the drive is degraded). The noise is generated by the actuator arm returning to the same spot on the disk in multiple read attempts.

5. Loud Ticking or Grinding Noise

A more serious mechanical error is an abnormal loud clicking or a grinding noise. This is a serious issue as it is usually an indicator of significant mechanical failure. Continued use puts the platters containing the data at risk of permanent and irreversible damage. The drive should be powered down immediately.

Hard Drive Data Recovery

It may be possible on a degrading drive to successfully run data recovery software and retrieve data. Consideration should however be given to recovery techniques which will minimize drive access, for example, and MFT recovery rather than a block scan of the entire drive. It may also be prudent to attempt to acquire a sector by sector disk image of the problem media.

In more serious cases it is necessary to send the hard drive a hard drive data recovery service. Hardware data recovery is a more expensive path as technicians may need to disassemble the hard drive to recover the data. Hard drive data recovery is usually done in a 'clean room' as hard drives are sealed to avoid errors caused by dust or other particles. Hard drives are finely tuned machinery and it takes specialist equipment to read the platters from a physically damaged drive.

If you are sending your hard drive to a data recovery specialist then you should attempt to obtain an upfront estimate of fees (although you will rarely get one), ask that if you send your hard drive for quotation purposes will they send it back to you in the same condition if you choose not to use the service, and make sure you send it to a reputable company as you may only get one chance at hard drive data recovery.

Computer Maintenance Tips

Proper maintenance will keep a home computer running well. A few minutes spent on tests and updates can avert frustrating crashes and sluggish performance.

Follow these computer maintenance tips:

1.    Install antivirus security software and set up a regular sweep. Your computer may have come with a pre-installed antivirus system, but be sure you have one and it is set up to regularly search for and destroy malware on your machine. There are plenty of quality free programs such as Symantec Endpoint protection, Avast or Avira available if you need them, but no matter what, it is vital to protect your computer against viruses.

2.    Consistently back up stored data and create restore points. Be prepared for the worst by regularly backing up your files on the hard drive or an external hard drive to be extra safe. It is likely that your computer came with a program to create system restore points (System Restore on Windows computers and Time Machine on Macs) that save a complete version of your computer that you can return to later. This is very helpful if a virus has completely ruined your machine and you can’t find out how to get rid of it. You simply go back to before the virus was introduced. Be sure to set up the programs to automatically create regular restore points or you can install third party programs to do this as well.

3.    Keep your system and programs updated. Software developers regularly put out updates for everything from your operating system to programs you use regularly. These updates make sure your software is running top notch, but updates also regularly plug security holes so you will want to install updates as soon as you are notified of them to protect yourself against malicious viruses and spyware.

4.    Uninstall unused programs and files and regularly de-fragment your hard drive to keep your computer from slowing down. The more free space your computer has on the hard drive, the faster it will run so if you have old files you don’t need or old programs you don’t use, clear them out. You will also want to regularly do a disk cleanup to clear out junk files that get downloaded by your browser or temporary program files that take up space. Also, regularly de-fragmenting your hard drive will keep your computer running smoothly. Your computer likely has a tool you can use to set up a routine de-fragmentation.

5.    Practice safe browsing habits to avoid viruses and phishing scams. Much of the malicious software that wrecks computers finds its way to your device through your own unknowing clicking. Protect yourself by always reading the web address before you click a link in a search result, never clicking through on a suspicious popup window, never giving out login information even if the requester claims to be from a reputable company and never opening an email or email attachment you are unsure of.

6.    Clean out dust and grime that accumulates outside and inside the machine. Built up dust can cause overheating and is to blame for lots of computer breakdowns. This is simple to avoid by regularly using a small vacuum to remove dust and then spray with compressed canned air. For tower-style desktops, you will want to remove the side panel to carefully clear the dust inside the tower every three to six months for optimum performance.

7.    Plug your desktop into a surge protector. Electric storms can irreparably damage sensitive components inside your computer. The simplest way to protect it from power surges is to plug it into a surge protector.

Microsoft’s Windows operating system have completed almost 30 years of successful run, with more and more features and user friendly user interface being added one after another

However Windows users still lack few of the features which they think should be enabled with their Windows OS. One of which is, feature which can enabled is to add “colors to folders” or to add different colors to different folders in Windows run PC.

You may think what is the use of “adding colors to Folder in Windows”, well colored folders looks more attractive and are easier to navigate.

While Microsoft does not provide any option to change colors of the folders in windows. few softwares available online may help you change colors of the folder as of your choice.

Here, in this article I will explain you a similar method which will help you to add different colors to folder in your Windows run PC.

How to Customize folders with different colors in Windows?

Tools Required : Folder Colorizer

Supported Operating System : Windows 8/7/Vista/XP

Download the Folder Colorizer software from the above provided link, the product provides options to add colors to folders and comes from a trusted vendor so it will not harm your PC.

Download and install Folder Colorizer, if it asks to install Microsoft Dot Net 3.0 Framework. install it too.
While installing the software be cautious as it may ask to install several other tools to, disable those installs
After complete installation you may proceed with adding color to folders on your pc.
Right click any folder to which you want to add color.
After Right click select Colorizer Option from the menu.
Next select the color which you want to add to the folder.
the Color of the Folder will instantly change to selected color.

Users prompted to install test Windows 10 version on exiting Windows system and have a say in its operations

Microsoft has recently started to prompt Windows 7 and Windows 8 users about the showing the capacity it has to upgrade to Windows 10, giving us an insight as to how the upgrade process may work.

The prompt which in sync with an earlier report points out that this free upgrade will be a limited time offer. It further asserts that if users don’t claim the free upgrade within a year, the offer will be cancelled and they will have to pay for the upgrade.

The soon-to-be-released Microsoft Windows 10, even though not yet completed is already pretty good; however, it still has bugs in it causing it to freeze up from time to time. It is expected to be released in late July, if it’s completed in a month or so from now and Windows 10 is almost undoubtedly going to be very good indeed.

Windows 10 is set to replace Microsoft Windows 8. As far as the Windows 8 goes, it hasn’t been able to set a very high bar for itself so much so that even an unfinished software that crashes and involves hours of work is preferable. Also, one should have paid attention to Microsoft’s advice and held onto launching Windows 8 a bit longer before it was made public.

If you have a touch-screen device, Windows 10 will have the charm bar gesture on the edge of the screen that will slide from right-to-left for notifications and settings bar, similar to what one would find on a mobile phone. Windows 10 has started to share these features with mobile phone operating systems, as Microsoft plans to operate more or less universally, irrespective of whether one is using a notebook PC, mobile phone or tablet.

Further, let’s take a look at “Settings”. With every new build, more and more are getting fashioned differently in the universal style, which is created to work just the same with your finger touch on the screen as well as with a keyboard and mouse.

With every build, the start menus and the task bar, too, are getting better where many features are work exactly the same way you expect them to when you click on them.

For example, when you click on the date and time on the task bar of Windows 10, a big friendly calendar pops up, exactly the way you always wanted that click to do. It seems like Microsoft has been listening to its customers and is allowing us take a decision as to how things should operate on its Windows 10.

However, it looks like Microsoft has been exactly doing this for some time. A major reason of these Windows 10 builds is to let Microsoft observe how people do things and make the final product to match, irrespective of how much damaged the Windows 10 maybe.

Microsoft is paying keen attention as to why a feature is not clicked and if it is clicked why people are coming out of that feature. It’s becoming increasingly obvious that Windows 10 is going to be an operating system for the people with every passing build.

Windows 10 Professional was recently priced at $150 on Newegg’s website. Once the users book their free copy, they will be notified later on when the update is ready for download. Once that’s done, the Windows 10 will be ready for use.

Finally Microsoft reveals the official Windows 10 system requirements. It has published the entire list of system requirements and they are similar to Windows 7 and 8.1.

We can even quietly upgrade Windows 7 and 8.1 to Windows 10 on your computer. You wouldn’t feel much difference on performance of the computer when upgrading to Window 10.

Here are the list of system requirements for Windows 10 on Desktop:

Processor: 1 GB or faster processor or SoC
Ram: 1 GB for 32-bit or 2GB for 64-bit
Storage Disk: 16GB for 32-bit OS or 20GB for 64-bit OS
Graphics: DirectX 9 or later with WDM 1.0 driver
Display: 800×600 pixels resolution or higher

Method 1 of 3: For Windows

1. 
   
   1
   Find your computer's HOSTS file. For NT Based Windows, that'sC:\winnt\system32\drivers\etc. For others, that'sC:\windows\system32\drivers\etc.
   Ad
2. 2
   If the file is missing simply create create a new one by going to File >> New >> Text File (Text Document). Name it "HOSTS" without the .txt (if you have any problems see Tips).
3. 
   
   3
   Open the hosts file using Notepad. Right-click the host file, select Open >> Notepad and click OK.
4. 
   
   4
   Add new entries to block at the bottom of the file. For example, if you wish to block evil-site.com, add this to the bottom of the hosts file (after 127.0.0.1 press TAB not Spaces):
5. 
   
   5
   Save the file.

Computer Maintenance

Steps 1: Fix Error Messages
I hate computer error messages—and I was once paid to write them. They’re usually confusing and often useless, but if you ignore them, you shouldn’t be surprised if your computer starts to slow down.

An error message tells you that something is wrong. If you don’t take the time to figure out what is wrong, you’ll probably suffer for weeks before spending just as much time tracking down the problem later.

Too often I get called in by an angry user complaining of a slow computer only to find out that the user has been ignoring the same error message for weeks or months. All that suffering could have been avoided with a simple fix to the obvious error message.

If you want to avoid a slow computer, this is one computer tip you should never forget: fix error messages right away. Happily, you’re already on the site that will help you fix even the most confusing error messages.


Steps 2: Remove Unused Programs
In theory, unused programs shouldn’t affect your computer—they’d just take up a little extra disk space. But too many unused programs, especially ad-ware, install extra features on your computer that slow you down.

For example, some unused programs install small programs that run when your computer starts up. Each of these programs takes up a little bit of your computer memory and a little bit of your computer processing (CPU); they may also “ping” other computers on the Internet, taking up a little bit of your network bandwidth.

A few extra programs won’t slow down your computer much, but what happens when you get a dozen or more? These unused programs begin to use too much of your computer’s resources, slowing you down.

The solution is simple: uninstall programs you’re not using. Go to the Control Panel, open the Add/Remove Programs console, highlight any programs you don’t use, and click Remove. After you remove all the programs you don’t need, reboot your computer to kill any old startup programs.

Steps 3: Defragment
Microsoft designed Windows over 20 years ago to work on computers so slow you can barely imagine them any more. (The first computer I ran Windows on had an 11 MHz processor—you read that right, just eleven megahertz.)

Those ancient computers needed all of the help they could get, so Microsoft designed Windows to save files as quickly as possible. Saving files was fast because Windows would split files into several smaller pieces and write them on separate parts of the disk.

Those small pieces of the files are called fragments, and reading fragments makes your computer take longer to open files. Microsoft suggests that you speed up your computer by removing the fragments and turning the pieces into whole files again—a process called defragmentation. You should run the defragment tool from the control panel at least once a month on an active computer.

Steps 4: Clean The Registry
You probably keep all of your paper records in a file cabinet. When you need information from an old credit card statement, you open your file cabinet, flip through all the old folders until you get to the credit card folder, find the specific statement, and pull it out.

Windows does the same thing when it needs some information about a piece of software, except it uses the Windows Registry instead of a file cabinet.

The problem is that Windows checks the Windows Registry hundreds or thousands of times a day. Imagine if you had to check your file cabinet hundreds of times a day—you’d quickly realize how much time you’re wasting flipping though old folders. You’d probably take a moment and throw out those old folders. That’s what I suggest you do with the Windows registry—throw out old registry entries using a program called a registry cleaner.

A quick Google search for “registry cleaner” turns up dozens of useful programs. Find registry errors with a free scan from PC Matic.

Steps 5: Get Better Anti-Virus Software
I remember getting a new laptop one time and being impressed at how fast it ran. Then I installed the anti-virus software and it seemed like all I ever saw was the “please wait” hourglass.

Every anti-virus program will slow down your computer, but the best anti-virus programs will slow it down the least because they’re optimized. If you aren’t happy with your anti-virus program, don’t just keep using it—look for alternatives. Remember that most good anti-virus programs have free trials. See our virus removal software page for some great ideas.

Here is a great way to protect and maintain 3 computers for 1 year for under.

Steps 6: Check The Disk
Engineers love saying that all moving parts fail, and no part on your computer moves more than your disk drive.

Your disk drive will fail, and it will probably fail sooner than you expect. But, before it fails, it will probably slow down—I mean that it will physically slow down. The “disk” part of the disk drive will stop spinning as fast.

The disk drive will slow down gradually, so you probably won’t notice when it starts happening, but you will notice your computer start to take longer booting, opening files, and saving files.

You can install software which will run diagnostics on your disk drive to tell you that it’s slowing down and that it’s getting closer and closer to failure. For details, see why your computer is running slow.

Steps 7: Scan For Bad RAM
The part of your computer most likely to start failing without you noticing it is your computer memory (RAM). Your computer can recover from most RAM failures, but recovering from a failure takes time, and the worse your RAM gets, the longer it takes to recover each time.

Eventually, if your RAM keeps failing, programs will start to crash with weird error messages or your computer won’t boot sometimes.

Running a simple RAM scanner like the free memtest86 every few months can help you avoid computer slowdowns and crashes.

Steps 8: Check The Cords
More and more people are using external disk drives these days, as well as people using digital music players, cell phones, and cameras which do the same thing.

If you copy files to or from these devices, you should occasionally check to make sure the cords are plugged in fully. When the cords aren’t plugged in correctly, not all of the data gets sent. Worse, the computer sends data in chunks, and when a part of the chunk doesn’t arrive, the computer has to throw out the whole chunk (kind of like how you might throw out a whole loaf of half-rotten bread). So a 1% data error rate can slow down your transfer by 50% or more.

You should also check the (usually blue) Ethernet cord plugged into some desktop computers to maximize the speed of your Internet connection for the exact same reason.

Steps 9: Clean Inside The Case
Did you know that electricity travels further over cold metal than it does over hot metal? This is important to your computer because its Computer Processing Unit (CPU) uses millions and millions of tiny electrical pulses to do all of its processing.

(Nifty fact: in computer terminology, a Hertz (Hz) is 1,000 computer processor operations a second. A gigahertz (GHz) is 1,000 Hertz, or in other words 1,000,000 (one million) operations a second. So a quad-core 1.6 GHz computer does 4 times 1.6 times 1,000 times 1,000 operations—that’s 6.4 million operations every second.)

When your CPU gets hot, the electricity can’t travel as far, so your computer can’t process information as well. (And when it gets too cold, it can’t process information at all.)

Small amounts of household dust gets inside your computer every day, and as it builds up, it blocks your computer’s air vents, making your computer hotter than it should be. If you want your computer to keep running fast, you should take five minutes every year to turn off your computer, buy a bottle of compressed air from the supermarket or Wal-Mart, open your computer case, and clean out all of the dust. Smokers may want to clean twice a year.

Please note that you need to know how to open computer cases correctly and please do not breathe any dust in while performing this job.

 Steps 10: Use Your Senses
The simplest on-going maintenance you can do for your computer is to pay attention to it. Notice when it starts making a new sound or when it starts getting hotter than usual. Treat your computer like a car and investigate any change in its behavior. Remember that problems are usually easiest to fix the sooner you start working on them.   Even the best computer maintenance Stepsare no substitute for fixing current problems

Hiren Boot Cd

Hiren’s bootCD is full of handy tools and life saver Utilities, in this post we are going to learn how to Recover/Reset Windows 8.1 password (Also can be apply on win7/vista/server OS) Using Hiren’s BootCD. If you are not willing to spend your precious time and go throug this tutorial and manually reset password, consider buying this Password Resetter paid utility which is much easier and time saving method.

You can even Launch Hiren’s BootCD from your Flash Drive please see this refer post “How to Make Hiren’s Bootable USB”.

Okay let’s Start !

Step-1 : Restart your PC and boot with Hire’s BootCD

Step-2 : Load Mini Windows Xp From 1st Boot Screen.

Step-3 : Open Hiren’s Boot CD Menu.

Step-4 : Launch Password Reset Tool.

Follow the below screen shot

Step-5 : Restart your PC

Boot with hard drive there will be no password as we set blank password in previous step.

Finally Logged in without password