Backing up your documents is something you shouldn’t put off doing. Losing documents is a feeling best not experienced. It’s important to realise that losing documents doesn’t come down to luck - it comes down to being prepared. Every electrical device is eventually going to die, don’t make the mistake of believing that your computer is somehow invincible.

Windows XP has a backup utility included. If you’re using XP Home Edition then you might need to download the package and install it. If so, you can follow this link to do so and then come back here when you’re ready.

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Microsoft provide a backup utility with all versions of XP. Except in Home Edition it isn’t automatically installed, you have to find it on your XP disc and install it. Unfortunately, many people either don’t have an XP disc or have mislaid it! So here’s a download for you:

www.eyeonsilicon.com/downloads/ntbackup.msi

Follow the wizard to install the application.

Following on from my previous entry “does server location affect google search ranks?“, I was curious as to whether the speed of a server would affect the search ranks.

Reading through the web I can’t find a definitive answer. So instead, I’m resorting to a logical argument.

Would it make sense for Google to reward sites with faster servers?

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In short, YES!

Allow me to put forth a theory:

You have your very own website at yourwebsite.com. Your site is becoming more popular by the day and you decide to look for a better hosting deal. You notice that servers in the Netherlands are cheap, so you pay your first month’s rent and move your website on over. A couple months down the line, you notice you aren’t getting as many hits from Google search.

Conclusion: Google thinks your site is for the Netherlands.

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Windows XP has had mysterious bugs from the day Microsoft said go, some serious and others just more… annoying. One such bug is corruption of the generic driver used for CD and DVD drives.

One day, you may just find that your CD/DVD drive has vanished. When you check in Device Manager, you see your drives have little yellow exclamations by them - what’s up with that?

If you look further, you might come across something similar to:

“Windows cannot load the device driver for this hardware. The driver may be corrupted or missing. (Code 39)”

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RAM stands for Random Access Memory.

Here’s a few ways to think of RAM:

• RAM is the equivalent to “thinking memory”. When you’re trying to work out a long equation, or complete a puzzle like a Sudoku, your thinking memory is what limits your ability to do so efficiently. If you can’t remember something, you have to write it down. The more you have to write down, the longer the entire process will take.
• When you go shopping, you take a shopping list. If the shopping list is in your head, you know what you need and where to go. If it’s on a piece of paper, you have to look at the piece of paper, read it, and cross out where you’ve already been. The latter takes longer.
• You have a desk that is big enough to spread eight sheets of paper and keep them visible. If you have less than eight sheets, you’ll be able to work on the paper with no problems. If you have more than eight, you’ll have to shuffle sheets with a pile, which is less efficient.

Get the picture? Your computer works the same way - it can only remember so much at any given time. It’s important not to mix the purpose of RAM and your hard disk space; RAM is a precious resource that applications use to temporarily store data, and hard disk space is an abundant resource that you use to store your precious documents that should be backed up!

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There’s nothing more frustrating than a slow PC grinding its cogs while you wait to check your bank balance before you leave for work in the morning. Clicking Internet Explorer and waiting 30 seconds for the application to load begs for justification as to why you spent $400 on that computer in the first place - wouldn’t it be quicker to just drive to the bank? It could certainly be less stressful.

There is an epidemic of slow computer syndrome, it’s caused primarily by the constant bulky packages we install as consumers. Buy a printer, install the drivers - and the boat load of sofware that comes with it. Even Windows is bloated full of useful tools that you’ll probably never use.

So I want to focus on how to speed up your machine, or rather stop it from running so slowly. We’ll be looking at how you can reduce your computer’s work load, and give your computer more resources to help it better manage the work load it has.

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