CompuClever Blog

New Year’s PC Resolution

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This past year we introduced topics and subject matter related to PC enhancement. We intend to highlight the best of these as they apply to providing you the tools needed to enhance your PC performance and take action against unwanted behavior. It is our hope that you can take a look at our year in review and pick what you need to carry out your PC goals for the upcoming year. It’s likely that there are items in your computing world that need attention and here’s your chance to fast track to those areas that have been neglected.

We have chosen six of the most popular articles from 2014. Here is an overview of these articles in three categories:

Privacy / Security:
– Identify and Clean Cookies (July)
– Virus vs PUP and How to Remove Both (Sept)

TuneUp / Clean Up:
– Improve Startup (Aug)
– Spring PC Cleaning (June)

Support:
– CompuClever Free Functionality (Oct)
– DIY vs. Repair Shop (Nov)

Here are the PC enhancement articles for 2014.

Identify and Clean Cookies

About: Not all cookies are created equal. Cookies are created when browsing to particular web pages. While most are safe – especially when coming from a trusted source – not all are. Continue reading...

DIY vs. Repair Shop

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Why is it that asking for help can be an overwhelming obstacle?  The reality is… there is a certain shame that comes from seeking help when we don’t know something.  No one wants to admit to being lost and needing directions and no one wants to feel like they are not smart enough.  Plus, we all want to join the ranks of DIY – Do It Yourself.  To be real, this takes assessing the situation and knowing if the issues are outside our expertise.  When we are simply spinning our wheels, it’s time to take it to the professionals.  The next task is to get good and reliable service that will lead to a real solution.  This article segues from some of our recent articles that focus on assessment of PC problems.  We’ll cover this in brief and provide links.  The main impetus for this article is to shine some light on PC repair technicians that are not trustworthy and to strongly emphasize how our users can benefit from available tools and services including those offered by our CompuClever support team.

Here is the article menu du jour:

  • Background:  We’ll start with the background story of one man’s experience with a not-so-honest repair shop.
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Looking back and moving forward

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During the year 2013 we covered a wide range of topics and moving forward we think there are many suggestions and recommendations that can be used in dealing with PC issues you may be facing right now.  So, we embark on a two-part adventure: to review the best of our articles and to highlight what PC tips and tricks you can take advantage of immediately.  What better way to step up to the plate when asked: What is your New Year’s resolution?  We hope it’s to take charge of your computing needs so that your PC works for you! This summary of our top PC stories for us is a celebration of a year’s correspondences to you our readership.

The following topics include our top stories that we find will give you an upper edge on PC good practices and regular use:

Security & Privacy

Digital security – updates and trends
Edward Snowden hit the news this past year and opened up a whole can of worms in relation to surveillance and the reams of digital information that is readily available.  Our information article broached the subject of the digital universe and our level of exposure to surveillance.  We have become participants and are increasingly more involved in the creation of digital information that can be accessed from online means.  Continue reading...

Hard Disk Drive Basics

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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.
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Defragmentation and Optimization

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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...