CompuClever Blog

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...

How Defrag Hard Drives to Speed Up Your PC

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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...

Top 5 Simple Tasks Every Computer User Should Know

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As computing power has increased rapidly over the past few years, maintaining a computer has become as complicated as looking after a car. And, because of that, it’s easy to miss out on all of the great features and abilities our computers have.

Here are 5 things about using your computer you should know:

Know how to create a computer backup

Computer hard disks fail pretty regularly, which can be traumatic because the hard disk is used to store everything from the computer’s operating system and main programs (Microsoft Word) that can be expensive to replace, to photos and media libraries. Microsoft Windows 7 actually features a Windows backup feature, and you’ll need an external hard drive or a number of DVD’s to do this. To be even safer, you can use a service like CrashPlan to back up your computer online.

Understand how to set up your home WiFi

Understanding routers, modems, and the other things that make up your network can seem daunting, but there are a few basics that can fix most problems that come your way. Does your router constantly need resetting? Make sure it isn’t overheating or clogged with traffic. Is your Wi-Fi speed and range less than ideal?  Continue reading...

How to Start Your PC Faster

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speed up windows computer

Unlike super-quick iPhone and iPad mobile devices that turn on and off nearly instantly, PC’s often take forever to “boot up” or start. It’s one of the minor annoyances of owning a Windows computer.

What’s causing all of this?

There are two culprits responsible for preventing your PC from starting up more quickly:

1) Many applications are set up start up automatically when Windows starts without you even knowing or agreeing beforehand!

2) Some of these programs are rarely or never used, and are not needed to run your Windows computer.

It is annoying and painstaking to wait for 5 minutes before your PC finishes booting and is ready for you to use, all on the account of unneeded programs.

It’s not only slow Startup times…

And there’s another problem:

All of those and unused programs that slow your computer’s Startup times can even slow down the process of shutting down your PC!

And PC’s need to be shut down a lot. Windows security patches and updates need to be installed or a low battery, means laptops and PC’s often need to be shut down and booted up on a daily basis.

What’s the solution to slow boot-up and shutdown times? Continue reading...

More on the difference between Flash and Shockwave Flash

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You may have heard of “Flash” and “Shockwave Flash”. If you think they are the same thing, you might be wrong!

First of all, Flash (or, more correctly “Adobe Flash”, and in the past “Macromedia Flash” before Adobe acquired the company) is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. In a nutshell, Flash usually need to play YouTube video on your computer, and the way to do this is to install the Adobe Flash Player.

Your browser uses the Adobe Flash Player to watch movies, stream audio, play games, and even interact with some web pages. Flash Player is freely available as a plugin for recent versions of web browsers (such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and Safari) on selected platforms. Google Chrome even integrates the player into its distribution, which means you never have to worry about updating it.

So what’s Shockwave Flash?

Shockwave Flash is actually an “authoring tool” that is used to create content for websites, such as games. You can use more types of files with Shockwave. You could, for example, import a Flash file into a Shockwave movie, but it doesn’t work the other way around – you can’t play Shockwave file in a Flash Player. Continue reading...