Reimage Tips & Tricks: Giving the boot a Boost!

Remember the days when restarting your system meant that it was time to make a few phone calls or go for a smoke (yes kids, once upon a time people spoke on phones that were tethered to the walls and we were also allowed to smoke indoors).

One of the great bonuses with Windows 7 is the time it takes to boot up. Relative to previous versions of Windows, it was like being upgraded from having to take a 12 hour transatlantic flight to flying in a concord (I remain optimistic that most of you were born before 1990).

Reimage Tips & Tricks: Keyboard shortcuts for Windows

In an effort to make life easier for the average Windows PC user, Microsoft has gone to great lengths to provide keyboard shortcuts. Whether you know them as keyboard shortcuts or hotkeys, they have been around for as long as I have used a PC (and I’m reserving the right to keep that information a secret), and in recent years, more and more apps and programs are providing users not only with keyboard shortcuts to speed up and simplify their workflow, but are enabling users to customize and create their own shortcuts.

What to Do When Your PC Won’t Boot into Windows

1) Try Safe Mode First

When your PC just won’t boot into Windows at all, you’ll probably want to start off with Safe Mode—use the F8 key right when the system starts up to access the menu and see if Windows will boot into Safe Mode. If you’re able to get into Windows, the problem is likely something that would load only when you boot normally—graphics card drivers, junk applications, or perhaps some spy ware applications.

If Safe Mode Doesn’t Work

Why You Don’t Need to Regularly Reinstall Windows

One of the most persistent myths about Windows is that you need to reinstall the operating system regularly to keep it running at top performance. Let’s take a look at the real problem and how to fix it.

Let’s talk a little bit about “Windows rot” and how to solve the problem. Windows doesn’t slow down or “rot” if you were to just take care of your PC a little more. Follow these tips, and you won’t have to waste your precious time spend hours backing up data, installing from disc, and re-installing your essential applications.

3 Hair-Raising Facts About Your PC

These are 3 things about your PC that will raise your hair on end:

1. Your computer’s operating system begins to “rot” the minute you start working on it
2. Viruses leave damage on your operating system, even after they are deleted
3. Moving files and folders rearranges the “logic” of your computer, resulting in instability and crashes

However, the good news is Reimage’s online PC repair program deals directly with all 3 problems!

What does it diagnose?

• Performance & stability problems
• Security issues
• Windows “rot”

How does it work?

8 Ways to Keep Your PC New – DIY Hardware Check-Up

Tip 1. Check your hard drive’s “physical” health

Most new and XP-era drives are equipped with Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology, aka SMART reporting. SMART data is stored within the hard drive itself and can often alert you to impending problems before they get serious.

It’s easy to check the SMART data. Two tools we recommend are PassMark’s DiskCheckup and Active@ DiskMonitorFree. Both programs are free for personal use and also come in commercial versions for organizations.

Tip 2. Check your hard drive’s “logical” health

Run chkdsk.exe to check the integrity of your hard drive’s files and to repair any errors.

4 Ways to Keep the Ghouls & Goblins Away From Your PC

The Ghouls – Internet Hackers

“Hackers are attacking PCs with Internet access every 39 seconds.”

- Hackers Attack Every 39 Seconds – James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland

The Goblins – Free Downloads

Based on last month’s poll results, it’s pretty clear that the majority of voters, that is, 58% of you wait for feedback from trusted sources before you update your browser. But how do you decide if a “trusted source” is to be trusted? What should you look for?

How to Run Microsoft Update in Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7

How to Run Windows Update in Windows XP

How to Run Windows Update in Windows Vista

How to Run Windows Update in Windows 7