CompuClever Blog

Hard Disk Drive Basics

by

An effective disk defragmenter is a vital utility for all PC users who take an active role in improving system performance. We have created two informational articles to cover this important topic thoroughly but in terminology that all computer users can understand. This article examines Hard Disk Drives and how they become fragmented. The follow up article will detail how fragmentation can impact system performance and how defragmentation and best practices can restore PC performance.

The Hard Disk Drive (HDD) is the main storage device for your PC; it is the mechanism that writes and reads data on the hard disk.  The HDD components consist of one or more drive platters sealed within a casing.  These drives connect to the motherboard of the computer through the use of internal data transfer and power cables.

The components within the drive include:

  • Head Actuator: controls the actuator arm.
  • Read/Write Actuator Arm: is similar to the arm of a record player; as the platter is spinning the arm locates and accesses the data needed so it can be read, written (edited), and deleted.
  • Read/Write Head: this is the device at the end of the actuator arm and is used to write or read the data on the platter.
Continue reading...

Defragmentation and Optimization

by

An effective disk defragmenter is a vital utility for all PC users who take an active role in improving system performance. The previous article on this topic examined how Hard Disk Drives become fragmented. With this general knowledge we can now describe how fragmentation can impact system performance and how defragmentation and best practices can restore PC performance.

Hard Disk Drive (HDD) performance is measured in the following manners:

  • Seek time:  This is the time from when the processor (CPU) makes its request to when the data is first delivered.  Common seek time rates fall between 10 to 20 milliseconds.
  • Data rate:  This is the rate at which data can be delivered to the CPU.  Data rate times typically range from 5 to 40 MB per second.

The size (capacity) of the drive and the amount of free space is another key factor with respect to HDD performance.

The performance of the HDD can be a bottleneck for your PC even if you have plenty of RAM and are using a very high-end processor (CPU).  This is especially true and perhaps noticeable when you have to open and use data files that are very large such as movies, database files, .ISO Continue reading...

How Defrag Hard Drives to Speed Up Your PC

by

One of the most effective ways of speeding up your PC is to defrag your hard drive. This article contains a full layout of how to dramatically improve the health and performance of your PC by using the PC TuneUp Maestro Defrag Disk utility. We will cover, in brief, preparing your PC by removing unwanted files. Next we will lay out step-by-step instructions for using the Disk Defrag tool. To wrap up, we will cover some additional tips and features such as frequency of defragmentation and automation of the Defrag tool. So, let’s begin.

Download free defrag tool

You can get lots of information on the subject of defragmentation in the following articles:

Best Practices

There are a few best practice recommendations to outline from the start.

Clean Up: Before you can organize, it is always best to do a quick clean up.  This is also true with your Hard Disk Drive (HDD).  If you stop to think about it, the defragment process works to organize scattered data caused from installing, modifying, and deleting files and software.  Before doing a defrag is the best time to do a quick removal of junk items including files in the recycle bin, temp files (unwanted items that are created as temporary storage), outdated cache items, log files, and more.  Continue reading...

A Close Brush with McAfee

by

“Safe is not a privilege.  It is a right.  Safe never sleeps.”

This is the message that McAfee delivers on their home page.  They claim to provide comprehensive anti-theft protection.  So what is theft?  What kind of price do we expect and are asked to endure in order to get “protection”?  Let’s look at the details which we at CompuClever experienced first-hand.

McAfee

  • Prior to Sept. 17 2012:  We were contacted by McAfee Web Security team about renewing our web security monitoring service for the next two years.  We had been using this service for the past four years, but given there are comparable services with better pricing plans, we decided not to renew.  The expired American Express credit card information was stored on our McAfee account.  The card expired in May 2012 and we decided to not update the card record, thinking that no one could do anything using a credit card with invalid expire date.
  • Oct. 22, 2012:  We discovered a transaction of $3,910.44 was charged by McAfee on Sept. 17th 2012, for a two-year web security monitoring service that we didn’t want to renew.  No bill, invoice, or notification of any sort was sent by McAfee.  
Continue reading...

Who Can You Trust?

by

There are software producers that are dedicated to security, safety, and to combat online crime.  One of the guiding principles for CompuClever is to assist users in making their PC secure by removing confidential and private information such as banking and credit card data.  There are many security vendors that protect our computers from viral attacks – viruses and malware and the like.  We come to rely on these companies and trust they employ high standards of ethics.  However, when it comes to the “bottom line” – money and the pursuit of profits – you need to be vigilant and you need to take precautions.  In some cases, such as the example described here, you need to take a stand.

McAfee Forges Credit Card

McAfee is a security software company based in California which was purchased in 2010 by Intel for $7.68 billion.  We are no less than shocked to experience first-hand that McAfee, a company whose objective is to protect its clientele from fraudulent behaviour, would go as far as to force a transaction by arbitrarily picking a new credit card expiry date.  This was done all for the purpose of renewing a software service license.  In this article we will provide an overview as follows.  Continue reading...