The Three Highest-Rated Free Spyware Elimination Programs

The Three Highest-Rated Free Spyware Elimination Programs

If you are a recurrent internet user, then you must have unsuspectingly at least once allowed your PC to be clemency of spyware programs.  It is not that intricate to eradicate the spyware programs from your PC and this wouldn’t even charge you a little sum. Exploit an active spyware removal application which would assist you a lot and there subsist three highest-rated spyware removal software elucidated as below:

Spybot is the first highest-ranked Spyware Elimination Program which would help in eradicating the terrible malware, adware, bots and spyware from the PC for free and it is referred as an imperative freebie anti-spyware remedy available in online now. It is always suggested to exploit optimal antivirus software. In case, if you want an extreme good medicine for virus then you can use Spybot along with the Ad-Aware. Virus removal tools and products are available now both offline and online so that the needed internet users can exploit them as per their requirements.

Ad-Aware is the second highest-ranked Spyware Elimination Program selected from the collection of spyware eradication programs and applications. This program will scan the system and will determine its recital levels. Scanning is performed in two ways, the first scan can be performed once in every week and the second scan can be performed only once in every two weeks. These two scans are performed for free and they are available in online similar to freebie anti spyware applications and you can download them and can install them at your convenience. Ad-Aware SE Personal is a private version which would not only guide the PC to stay away from spyware, but will also identify the kind of risk that it undergoes. This program is been exploited by 68 million users every year and it has gained huge reputation in a short period of time.

Last but not the least i.e., IE-SPYAD free anti-spyware application which is considered as a significant registry file named as "IE-ADS.REG." This program will also embrace acknowledged spyware makers, advertisers, marketing agents and pushers to the constrained sites permitting the users to elude dreadful viruses on the PC. Virus removal service would help you out in mitigating this issue to your anticipated level.

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Is antivirus software causing sound issues in Windows 7 ?

Is antivirus software causing sound issues in Windows 7 ?

While browsing the sites, the internet user would accidentally fix antivirus software on the PC from an unidentified source or some time installs the antivirus which would be available to them freely. But the users do not know that this kind of software is a malware and will utilize it for updating the programs which would finally result in malicious programs. This will also cause numerous PC problems and software bugs embracing concerns in Windows7.

You should adopt proper precautions and should be cautious while fixing software online as there would be numerous fake software, fake antivirus and detrimental applications. But it is very difficult to find out the genuine antivirus software in online. If the user when once clicks the download button, they wouldn’t know how many viruses they are welcoming on to their PC. In this manner, you would be the culprit for the damage of your own system. For any assistance on this, feel free to consult online tech support service in any time instance.

Deterrent signs of antivirus debasing Windows 7
Quandaries that you find in the Windows7 OS (Operating System) would be due to networking issue, sound troubles, BSOD, system crash, and many others reasons. The initial error that you rectify would be very intricate to perform and this is where you need to focus more on.

How to identify the issue in your antivirus software?
If ever you find that your antivirus is causing issues to your software, then the first and foremost thing that you need to do is uninstalling of antivirus. To uninstall the antivirus program from Windows 7, emulate the following procedure:

1. Select the start button 
2. Then go to control panel
3. Opt the option Uninstall programs
4. Select the anitivirus which you have installed earlier and press remove button. 
5. Now check whether the sound is been restored to mormalcy
6. Also, monitor whether the mute button is disabled or not.
7. Monitor the status of volume control buttons.
8. Ensure the connections of the speakers are properly fixed
9. Now plug in the earphones and watch whether the sound is passing from the headphones or not. Online tech support service would help more on this.
   @CP freetipspc.blogspot.com

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Windows 8 Preview 2012 Tricks & Tutorial 

Here's an easy beginners tutorial on Windows 8 Preview 2012 March. Learn some easy how-to's and some tricks and tips too. In this tutorial you will see how to move around in Windows 8 and see how to adjust and change Windows 8 PC settings and more.

Windows 8 is the next generation Windows operating system from Microsoft. It was released on Feb 29 2012 for consumer preview. The OS has a new icon start menu called Metro Interface. The metro interface is geared towards touch screen computers and mobile devices like tablets, cell phones, ipads and all in one computers with touch screen monitors and displays.
@CP freetipspc.blogspot.com
The system is not expected to be released commercially until late this year near the fourth quarter of 2012. It is up against the fast-growing tablet market dominated by Apple's iPad and devices that run Google's Android software. Will it succeed ? Watch my video and you decide. "Windows 8 Preview - 2012 March, Tricks, Tips & Tutorial"

My favorite downloads for Windows 8 stuff so far. You might like to check them out yourself: 

 

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Windows 8 Preview 2012 Tricks & How To's 

 Here's a hands on tutorial on Windows 8 Preview 2012 . Windows 8 start up, boot up, preview, tips, tricks and how to's. Windows 8 beta was just released for consumers preview. I give you a demo and my first impressions. Windows 8 Consumer Preview is only a beta but runs well. Also check out Windows 8 download link, see below.

Some stuff about my test computer setup:
I installed Windows 8 consumer preview on an old Pentium 4 CPU running at 2.4ghz with 1.5GB of memory. To my surprise, this old desktop computer ran Windows 8 with no problems. Mouse, keyboard and video display had decent response and speed. Windows 8 ran pretty good overall on this old test computer. Not bad for a low powered computer running a new Windows OS.

A side note: I was even able to run a Logitech Webcam on Windows 8 too using the builtin Webcam software in the OS. I will demo that in my next video.

Windows 8 is the next generation Windows operating system from Microsoft. It was released on Feb 29 2012 for consumer preview. The OS has a new icon start menu called Metro Interface. The metro interface is geared towards touch screen computers and mobile devices like tablets, cell phones, ipads and all in one computers with touch screen monitors and displays.

The system is not expected to be released commercially until late this year near the fourth quarter of 2012. It is up against the fast-growing tablet market dominated by Apple's iPad and devices that run Google's Android software. Will it succeed ? Watch my video and you decide. "Windows 8 Preview - 2012 March, Tricks, Tips & Tutorial"

 

 

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How To Access The BIOS On A Windows 8 Computer

Among the many changes coming with Windows 8 and new computers designed for it is a change in the way we access our computers’ BIOS. No longer do we press a certain key during the boot process to reveal the BIOS – instead, an option to access the BIOS is located in Windows 8’s boot options menu.

Traditionally, computers displayed a message like “Press F2 to enter setup” at the beginning of the boot process. Pressing this key entered the computer’s BIOS. However, Windows 8 hardware uses the UEFI replacement for the traditional BIOS, like Macs do. Some solid-state drive-equipped Windows 8 PCs boot so fast that you’d only have a 200 millisecond (that’s 0.2 seconds) window of opportunity to press the key combination.

Windows 8 Hardware vs. Old Computers With Windows 8

Note that this new method only applies if you purchased a new computer with Windows 8 preinstalled – these will use UEFI. However, if you’ve installed Windows 8 on an existing computer that uses the legacy BIOS system, you’ll access the BIOS in the same way as always by pressing the key that appears during your boot process.
This key is often F2 or Delete, but it can also be other keys. The exact key depends on your computer – if you don’t see the appropriate key displayed on your screen during the boot-up process, consult your computer’s manual.

bios upgrade

  Accessing Boot Options

There are several ways to access Windows 8’s boot options menu. The easiest one to find is in the PC Settings application – press WinKey+C to reveal the Charms bar, click Settings, and select Change PC settings to access it.

bios upgrade

In the PC Settings application, select the General category and click the Restart now button under Advanced startup. Your computer will restart and you’ll enter the Windows 8s boot options menu, where you can access the UEFI BIOS and change other settings.

bios upgrade

You can also hold Shift while clicking Restart in the Shut Down menu to restart your computer into the boot options menu. This is a quick way to restart into the boot options menu, as you can access the Shut Down button from the Charms anywhere on your system.

bios upgrade

Command-line geeks will be happy to know they can run a special shutdown.exe command in a Command Prompt window to restart their computer directly into the boot options menu:

Shutdown.exe /r /o

Accessing UEFI BIOS

The boot options menu has been designed to integrate some commonly used options that people went into the BIOS for. For example, if you want to boot your computer off a USB drive, DVD or CD, or another device, you can click the Use a device tile in the boot options menu and select the device you want to boot from.
If you’re just here to access your computer’s UEFI BIOS, click the Troubleshoot tile.

bios upgrade

This will reveal an Advanced Options screen with a variety of tools – the UEFI Firmware Settings tile will take you to your computer’s BIOS. (On UEFI, which stands for “Unified Extensible Firmware Interface”, the firmware settings menu is equivalent to a traditional PC’s BIOS.)

bios upgrade

If you don’t see the UEFI Firmware Settings tile here, your computer doesn’t use UEFI. You’ll need to access the BIOS in the traditional way, by pressing a specific key during the boot-up process. See the first section above for more information.
If there’s an error booting Windows, you won’t be locked out of the BIOS — the boot options screen will appear when you start your computer. From here, you can repair Windows or enter your BIOS.@saeedkhan

Why the Change?

While this may be slightly inconvenient, as there’s no way to access the BIOS in normal use without booting into Windows first, it’s surely necessary. Microsoft’s blog post about this on the Building Windows 8 blog describes how this new system came to be. With the increased boot speed, some systems had a less than 200 millisecond window of opportunity to press a key. Even the best key-tappers at Microsoft could only press a key once every 250ms — to access the BIOS, frantic tapping, luck, and several compuer reboots were all necessary.
This also brings some much-needed consistency to Windows 8 computers — they’ll all have a consistent way of accessing the BIOS. Currently, different computers use different keys at start-up.
While Windows 8 may have some questionable design decisions that some people will dislike, this shouldn’t be one of them. The new method of accessing the BIOS is necessary and well-implemented.

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10 Tips and Tricks to Get The Most Out of Windows 8

The Big Guide: 10 Tips and Tricks to Get The Most Out of Windows 8
What do you do with a new operating system? If you’re a typical Maximum PC reader, you roll up your shirt sleeves and jump elbow-deep into every part of the OS you can get your hands on. You make manual registry tweaks to open up hidden elements of your new OS; you navigate through all of the different configuration options to see what’s changed, what’s new, and what you can personalize to your liking; you devote hours to playing around with all the different features.
Or, if you want a quick fix, you can read a guide like this.
We’ve gotten our arms full of data and dust in our attempts to unearth some of the more noteworthy features of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. And the following list of twenty awesome items represents the must-do tweaks and must-check-out, new features of Microsoft’s latest operating system.
This is but the start of our Windows 8 week festivities: Come back tomorrow and we’ll tell you about the 8 things we absolutely love in Windows 8!

1. Metro: Just Type It!

10 Tips and Tricks to Get The Most Out of Windows 8

We’ll start with an easy trick. When you’re in Windows 8’s Metro UI and you want to load an app, don’t bother moving your mouse around the screen or trying to scroll your way over to wherever it is you’ve placed the app’s tile icon. Just start typing. Literally – start typing. You don’t have to go find the search button or any of that: Windows 8 will try to find anything you type, be it “Solitaire” or “Control Panel,” or what-have-you.

2. Screenshots Are Fun and Useful

10 Tips and Tricks to Get The Most Out of Windows 8

Tech journalists covering Windows 8, take note: Microsoft has finally made it super-easy to dump the contents of your screen down to an image file. In times prior, you could hit the Print Screen key to copy the contents of the entire display, but you’d still have to paste that image into a third-party application (or Paint. Or you could also use Microsoft’s Snip tool, but we digress). Now, hitting the Windows Key and Print Screen at the same time dumps the entirety of your screen to a .PNG file in your Pictures folder. Easy!

3. Don’t Upgrade!

10 Tips and Tricks to Get The Most Out of Windows 8

You’ve (hopefully) caught our guide for installing Windows 8. If you haven’t, go read that. And no matter what you do, don’t install Windows 8 as an upgrade to your existing operating system. There’s a giant list of reasons why you shouldn’t let a Consumer-Preview-cough-beta serve as your primary operating system, the least of which being that it can be a bit confusing for newcomers to try. You’ll shoot your productivity in the foot, not to mention all the potential incompatibilities / bugs / quirks you’ll find in your favorite software, games, and the current “test version” apps found in Windows 8.

4. Hot Corners Are Your Friends

10 Tips and Tricks to Get The Most Out of Windows 8

If you’re a bit befuddled the first time you fire up Microsoft’s newest operating system, we understand. Microsoft’s left a number of navigational elements invisible to your eye unless you move your mouse over one of the four extreme corners of your screen. Hover your mouse over the top-right or bottom-right to access the Charms Bar: Windows 8’s built-in Search and Sharing capabilities, as well as a list of devices you can send the contents of the current app to and Windows 8’s ever-important Settings menu. Hover your mouse over the top-left or bottom-left corners of your screen to jump between open apps on Windows 8’s “Switch List,” just like you would otherwise do by hitting the combination of alt and tab on your keyboard.

5. Hotkeys Are Your Friends, Too

Unless you’re rocking a touchscreen PC, navigating your way around the Metro UI interface (and its horizontal-friendly apps) can be a bit of a drag. So don’t use your mouse; Use your keyboard. Check out some of these helpful hotkeys for flying through the OS and controlling its many elements:
· Windows Key + Tab – Opens up the left-hand “Switch List”
· Windows Key + C – Opens up the right-hand Charms Bar
· Windows Key + I – Opens up your ever-important Settings Menu
· Windows Key + T – Dumps you back to Desktop Mode and cycles through your open windows on the taskbar.
· Windows Key + Shift + . – Docks the app to the left, middle, or right side of the screen with each press.
· Windows Key + M – Jumps to the Desktop and minimizes all applications
· Windows Key + Q – Opens up Windows 8’s global search utility within Metro.

6. The PC Settings Panel is Your Best Friend

10 Tips and Tricks to Get The Most Out of Windows 8

In its infinite wisdom, Microsoft has decided to split the options you can configure on Windows 8 between the contents of its typical Control Panel and a new Metro-based Settings menu, which can be accessed by going to the Charms Bar’s Settings option and clicking on the slightly buried “More PC Settings” link. Here’s where you’ll be able to adjust your lock screen’s background, Metro’s colors, how notifications and Windows 8’s built-in search work, the names of the attached devices Windows 8 has found, and your specific synchronization settings, among other important options.

7. Windows 8 Versus Disaster

10 Tips and Tricks to Get The Most Out of Windows 8

Well, you’ve gone and done it. Either as a result of something (or things) you’ve installed, some setting you’ve mucked up, or just general apathy toward the well-being of your PC, Windows 8 doesn’t work right anymore. In Windows’ past, this would normally force you to take a trip down reinstallation lane. That part hasn’t changed, but Windows 8 now makes it really easy to return a broken operating system to happiness once again. Click on the General tab within the aforementioned “More PC Settings” menu. The “Refresh” option strips your system of the third-party apps you’ve installed and returns it to factory-default settings, but it keeps your User files. The “Reset” option wipes your operating system clean of all your data and returns your system to Windows 8’s factory-default settings.

8. Enable Safe Mode

10 Tips and Tricks to Get The Most Out of Windows 8

Speaking of computer disasters, if you want to reboot your system into Safe Mode, you can’t just jam on the F8 key prior to Windows 8 loading: You have to first enable Safe Mode itself. Type “cmd” on your Metro UI, right-click on the Command Prompt app (called “cmd”), and select to run it as an administrator. Then type “bcdedit /enum /v” on the command prompt screen and hit Enter. Copy the entire “identifier” string (including the braces) for the entry that has “Windows 8 Consumer Preview” as the description, not “Windows Boot manager.”  Then, type the following into the command prompt: bcdedit /copy youridentifierstring /d “Windows Developer Preview (Safe Mode)” and hit Enter. After that, type in “msconfig” and hit enter.
Click on the “Boot” tab and select the entry called “Windows Developer Preview (Safe Mode).” Click on the “Safe Boot” option, the “Make All Boot Settings Permanent” option, click OK, and click “Yes.” Restart your system, and you’ll be given the option to launch either your normal Windows 8 environment or your new Safe Mode environment.

9. Be a Super-Administrator in One Clck

10 Tips and Tricks to Get The Most Out of Windows 8

Here’s a great hidden tidbit of Windows 8: Move your mouse cursor the lower-left corner of Windows 8’s Metro or Desktop mode until it pops up the live thumbnail of the to-be-switched-to environment. But don’t left-click; Right-click. You’ll pull up a menu that gives you a shortcut to a bunch of handy power user options, including Command Prompts, your Disk Management window, and your System menu, among other options.

10. Fast-Uninstall Apps

10 Tips and Tricks to Get The Most Out of Windows 8

Looking for a quick way to nuke any Windows Apps or third-party apps that you’ve installed on Windows 8? Just right-click on the app’s icon within Windows’ Metro UI and select “Uninstall.” Third-party apps will jump you to the good ol’ Windows “Programs and Features” window for the same ol’ Windows uninstallation routine you should be used to by now. Apps downloaded from the Windows Store will simply disappear. Poof!By Saeed

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Windows 8 Consumer Preview: Windows Key Keyboard Shortcuts

Windows 8 Consumer Preview: Windows Key Keyboard Shortcuts
Hotkeys unchanged from Windows 7
Key combination Windows 7 functionality
Windows - Display or hide the Start menu.
Windows-Left Arrow Dock the active window to the left half of the screen (does nothing to Metro-style applications).
Windows-Right Arrow Dock the active window to the right half of screen (does nothing to Metro-style applications).
Windows-Up Arrow Maximize the active window (does nothing to Metro-style applications).
Windows-Down Arrow Restore/minimize the active window (does nothing to Metro-style applications).
Windows-Shift-Up Arrow Maximize the active window vertically, maintaining width (does nothing to Metro-style applications).
Windows-Shift-Down Arrow Restore/minimize the active window vertically, maintaining width (does nothing to Metro-style applications).
Windows-Shift-Left Arrow Move the active window to the monitor on the left (does nothing to Metro-style applications).
Windows-Shift-Right Arrow Move the active window to the monitor on the right (does nothing to Metro-style applications).
Windows-P Display projection options.
Windows-Home Minimize all nonactive windows; restore on the second keystroke (does not restore Metro-style applications).
Windows-number Launch or switch to the program located at the given position on the taskbar. (Example: Use Windows-1 to launch the first program.)
Windows-Shift-number Launch a new instance of the program located at the given position on the taskbar.
Windows-B Set focus in the notification area.
Windows-Break Display the System Properties dialog box.
Windows-D Show the desktop; restore on the second keystroke (does not restore Metro-style applications).
Windows-E Open Windows Explorer, navigated to Computer. Windows-Ctrl-F Search for computers (if you are on a network).
Windows-Ctrl-F Search for computers (if you are on a network).
Windows-G Cycle through Windows Desktop Gadgets.
Windows-L Lock your computer (if you’re connected to a network domain), or switch users (if you’re not connected to a network domain).
Windows-M Minimize all windows.
Windows-Shift-M Restore minimized windows to the desktop (does not restore Metro-style applications).
Windows-N Create a new note (OneNote).
Windows-R Open the Run dialog box.
Windows-S Open screen clipper (OneNote).
Windows-T Set focus on the taskbar and cycle through programs.
Windows-Alt-Enter Open Windows Media Center. Note that Windows Media Center must be installed for this key combo to function; in many Windows 8 builds, it is not present.
Windows-U Open Ease of Access Center.
Windows-X Open Windows Mobility Center.
Windows-F1 Launch Windows Help and Support.
Windows-N Create a new note (OneNote).
Windows-S Open screen clipper (OneNote).
Windows-Q Open Lync. Note that in Windows 8 the Search function overrides this key combo.
Windows-A Accept an incoming call (Lync).
Windows-X Reject an incoming call (Lync). Note that this key combo does not function if Windows Mobility Center is present on the machine.
Windows-Minus Zoom out (Magnifier).
Windows-Plus Zoom in (Magnifer).
Windows-Esc Close Magnifier.
New hotkeys for the Windows 8 Consumer Preview
Key combination Windows 8 functionality
Ctrl-Shift-Esc Starts Task Manager
Windows-Space Switch input language and keyboard layout.
Windows-O Lock device orientation.
Windows-, Temporarily peek at the desktop.
Windows-V Cycle through toasts.
Windows-Shift-V Cycle through toasts in reverse order.
Windows-Enter Launch Narrator.
Windows-PgUp Move the Start Screen or a Metro-style application to the monitor on the left.
Windows-PgDown Move the Start Screen or a Metro-style application to the monitor on the right. Windows-Shift-. Move the gutter to the left (snap an application).
Windows-. Move the gutter to the right (snap an application).
Windows-C Open the Charms bar.
Windows-I Open the Settings charm.
Windows-K Open the Connect charm.
Windows-H Open the Share charm.
Windows-Q Open the Search pane.
Windows-W Open the Settings Search app.
Windows-F Open the File Search app.
Windows-Tab Cycle through apps.
Windows-Shift-Tab Cycle through apps in reverse order.
Windows-Ctrl-Tab Cycle through apps and snap them as they cycle.
Windows-Z Open the App Bar.
Windows-/ Initiate input method editor (IME) reconversion.
Windows-J Swap foreground between the snapped and filled apps.
Start screen/Metro
The following Windows key shortcuts work in the new Windows shell/Start screen.
WINKEY (tap) Toggles between the Start screen and the foremost running app (Metro-style) or the Windows Desktop.
WINKEY + 1, WINKEY + 2, etc. - Switch to the (classic) Windows desktop and launch the nth shortcut in the Windows taskbar. So WINKEY + 1 would launch whichever application is first in the list, from left to right.
WINKEY + B Switch to the (classic) Windows desktop and select the tray notification area.
WINKEY + C Display Charms and time/date/notification overlay.
WINKEY + D Switch to the (classic) Windows desktop and toggle Show Desktop (hides/shows any applications and other windows).
WINKEY + E Switch to the (classic) Windows desktop and launch Windows Explorer with Computer view displayed.
WINKEY + F Display File Search pane
WINKEY + H Display Share charm.
WINKEY + I Display Settings charm.
WINKEY + J Swaps foreground between the snapped and filled apps.
WINKEY + K Display Connect charm.
WINKEY + L Lock PC and return to Lock screen.
WINKEY + M Minimize the selected Explorer window.
WINKEY + O Toggle orientation switching on slate and tablet PCs.
WINKEY + P Display the new Project (for "projection") pane for choosing between available displays.
WINKEY + Q Search (within) Apps using the new Search pane.
WINKEY + R Switch to the (classic) Windows desktop and display the Run box.
WINKEY + U Switch to the (classic) Windows desktop and launch the Ease of Access Center.
WINKEY + V Cycles through Notification toasts.
WINKEY + W Display Settings Search pane
WINKEY + SHIFT + V Cycles through Notification toasts in reverse order.
WINKEY + X Access the advanced context menu on the Start preview tip.
WINKEY + Z Access the App Bar.
WINKEY + ENTER Launches Narrator.
WINKEY + SPACEBAR Switch input language and keyboard layout
WINKEY + TAB Cycle through apps in Switcher.
WINKEY + SHIFT + TAB Cycle through apps in Switcher in reverse order.
WINKEY + CTRL + TAB Cycle through apps, snapping them as you go.
WINKEY + , Peeks at the Windows desktop.
WINKEY + . Snaps application to the left.
WINKEY + SHIFT + . Snaps application to the right.
WINKEY + PGUP Moves the Start screen to the display on the left.
WINKEY + PGDN Moves the Start screen to the display on the right.
Windows desktop/Explorer
The following Windows key shortcuts work in the classic Windows desktop. Note that while many of these shortcuts also work in Windows 7, some are new to Windows 8.
WINKEY (tap) Toggles between the Windows desktop environment and the new Start screen.
WINKEY + 1, WINKEY + 2, etc. Launch the nth shortcut in the Windows taskbar. So WINKEY + 1 would launch whichever application is first in the list, from left to right.
WINKEY + B Select the tray notification area.
WINKEY + C Display Charms and time/date/notification overlay.
WINKEY + D Toggle Show Desktop (hides/shows any applications and other windows).
WINKEY + E Launch Windows Explorer with Computer view displayed.
WINKEY + F Search Files using the new Windows Search pane.
WINKEY + I Display Settings pane for Windows Desktop (also provides access to Networks, Volume, Screen Brightness, Notifications, Power, and Language).
WINKEY + L Lock PC and return to Lock screen.
WINKEY + M Minimize the selected Explorer window.
WINKEY + O Toggle orientation switching on slate and tablet PCs.
WINKEY + P Display the new Project (for "projection") pane for choosing between available displays.
WINKEY + Q Search (within) Apps using the new Windows Search pane.
WINKEY + R Display Run box.
WINKEY + U Launch Ease of Access Center.
WINKEY + W Search Settings using the new Windows Search pane.
WINKEY + X Display Windows Mobility Center application.
WINKEY + ARROW KEYS Aero Snap.by saeed khan

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Top torrent site

TOP torrent site

1. Torrentcafe.com This site needs to grow its user base some more. But Torrentcafe comes highly recommended by several About.com readers, so please give it a try and let us know how you like it.
   
 
2. Flixflux: a UK torrent site that is very popular with European downloaders. The advertising is not suitable for young people, and the sponsored links get mixed in with the torrent results. But many UK readers highly recommend this site for movies and music.
    
 
3. Toorgle.com Toorgle is a torrent metasearch engine based on Google technology. Like any metasearch service, your searches result from multiple other search engines on the Web. Toorgle retrieves the location of these files for you as a kind of matchmaking service. It's quick to use and can help you find rare or obscure torrents. Just make sure you are careful in which torrent you choose at Toorgle; because Toorgle will show results from dodgy torrent sites, take the time to check that a torrent has positive comments and is verified by users before you download. Careful and experienced users comment that Toorgle can be very helpful, if you know how to pick the good torrents from the bad,
    
4. Kick Ass Torrents.com This site is a favorite with a growing community.  The interface is a distinctive earth color, and the search results display in a useful format of columns, including torrent health.  The best part of Kick Ass Torrents is their comment and feedback system... the user community watches the quality of torrents, and offers their recommendations and warnings.
    
 
5. Torlock Torlock is special. These folks actually pay their users commission for uncovering fake torrents and reporting it to their community.  In a world of phony files, this is a tremendous service. If you are a regular downloader, and are tired of wasted downloads and fraudulent files, give Torlock a try.
    
6. Torrents.to  This site has a Tonga country domain name, but certainly offers plentiful metasearching of movies and music in English and Spanish. There are some popup advertisements that are annoying, but perhaps you might like the framed interface for searching other torrent sites.
    
7. Torrent Funk: Torrent Funk is a very popular torrent search site that now supports commenting. While Torrent Funk also supports 'verified status' tagging, which some people prefer to comments.  The interface can be difficult to discern between sponsored ads and the actual torrent links.  But the Torrent Funk site layout is pleasing, the cross-movie recommendations are very helpful, and several About.com readers highly recommended Torrent Funk.  Give this site a try, and watch if it will grow over time.
    
 
8. Demonoid.me Demonoid is a longtime semi-private community that has now been taken down by Ukrainian auhorities.  Since July 25, when the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs raided the Demonoid data center, Demonoid has been offline. There is no word about a possible comeback in a different country. The torrent community is deeply saddened by this loss, as Demonoid was a favorite amongst P2P users.
    
 
9. Fenopy has some compelling features. Fenopy is fully integrated with IMDB and Last.fm radio, so it offers engaging information for discovering movies and music. A graphics gallery of large and motivating thumbnails adorns the home page, and the fake finder feature is also very useful for avoiding bad files. Definitely give Fenopy a try.
   
10. TorrentZap: TorrentZap is not as large of a catalog as other torrent search engines. And, as with all sites, you need to endure advertising to keep it a no-cost service. But the interface is clean, bright, and easy to navigate. Try this site out, skip past the 'external search results' to find the real torrents at TorrentZap, and let us know what you think.
    
 
11. LinuxTracker.org (For legal linux torrents and virtual machines.)
    
12. Torrent Root: as another metasearch engine, Torrent Root will scan through other search engines on your behalf, and display the results in a slick tabbed interface.
    
13. Torrent Tree
    This search site is written in Ajax code language. Like any metasearch engine, Torrent Tree pulls its results from many other search engines. But Torrent Tree pulls *more* search results than any other current metasearcher. Definitely give this site a try.
    
14. CinemaTorrents: this site offers something really unique: IMDB ratings and vote information right on the search page. You can see public opinions on the movie itself before you download.
    
 
15. BitSnoop.com This site was recommended by reader Melody, who speaks very highly about its navigability, reliability, and clean design.  Using a growing community of users to help police the content, BitSnoop offers minimal advertising and reassuring tagging of good torrents.  Look for the green 'verified' tags, and you're bound to find good downloads here.  Definitely try BitSnoop.com, and let us know what you think of this newer site.
     
16. Torrentbit.nl This Netherlands site offers a simple interface and large index of torrents. It also offers a broad selection of European language movies and music.
    
   
17. Plentyoftorrents: this is a kind of launchpad search engine that offers choices where you want to search.  Multiple users have recommended Plentyoftorrents this summer; let us know what you think of this site.
     
18. Nowtorrents.com Now Torrents (allegedly) offers a special service: it filters out fake/dead torrents. It also offers date-range searching, so you can search for specific years of content (e.g. Flight of the Conchords, 2008).
    
 
19. Blues Brothers: Blues Brothers is a private site with a strong community and file-sharing ethic. As a private site, you can expect the leeching (selfish) users to be reduced. The BB community also strives to police itself by carefully watching each member's upload ratio... if you abuse your ratio, you are blocked from downloading until you donate. This policy may seem a bit harsh, but members seem to really appreciate it.
20. Isohunt.com Isohunt is a longtime site that has earned both the respect of P2P users everywhere...and the negative attention of the recording industry. While being sued by the CRIA, the Isohunt team fights to continue its solid service. The Isohunt community helps by monitoring itself for fake files. When choosing your torrents, definitely read the user comments, and only trust those files that have earned multiple green positive replies at Isohunt. Avoid any torrents that have red font numbers and negative comments, and you should be have good experiences at Isohunt.  NOTE:  adult advertising has become very prevalent at Isohunt, but if you can put up with the skimpily-clad girls, this site continues to be one of the true standout torrent services.
21. |ExtraTorrent
    1,468 - eBizMBA Rank | 3,000,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 1,826 - Compete Rank | *1,980* - Quantcast Rank | 599 - Alexa Rank.
    
22. TorrentReactor
    1,558 - eBizMBA Rank | 2,700,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 1,688 - Compete Rank | 2,230 - Quantcast Rank | 755 - Alexa Rank. 
23.  1337x.org
    6,419 - eBizMBA Rank | 750,000 - Estimated Unique Monthly Visitors | 10,856 - Compete Rank | *NA* - Quantcast Rank | 1,982 - Alexa Rank
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My Computer Doesn’t Recognize My USB Device – What Can I Do?

USB stands for Universal Serial Bus, and USB devices are those devices that use USB ports to send and receive data. This line of devices achieved huge popularity in the IT industry after getting their roots in the early part of 1990s. Before that, we had no other option than to settle with troublesome serial and parallel port configurations, in establishing communications with auxiliary devices like keyboard, mouse, external storage drive or a digital camera for example. Stable connection, simple integration and no need for a separate power supply are some of the key factors contributing to this massive acceptability and demands – USB devices are enjoying today.
As nothing is perfect in this world, USB ports and devices can also pose major concerns occasionally when they hide themselves and don’t get detected by the PC. Because of their wide range of applications and frequent use, the degree of frustration is often greater when they don’t show up. But, if you keep your cool, and try to sort out the problem, you can make them work quite easily – most of the time.

Why My Computer Doesn’t Recognize My USB Device?

There could be multiple reasons why your computer cannot detect your USB device. First of all we need to know that there are several USB ports in your PC or laptop and you can generally configure your device connecting to any one of these ports. However, some ports offer high speed data transfer and if you are connecting a device that requires speedy communication – better to tie it up with a high speed port.
From a user’s standpoint, no difference is visible from outside. But, internally that is not the case! USB ports are connected to multiple hubs inside, and some are connected to the root hub and some are connected to the generic hub. Generic hubs are used for high speed USB devices where as root hubs are used for devices like keyboards, mouse etc.
USB functionality of the entire PC is actually controlled by USB host controllers. Host controllers route signals to the root hub, with the root hub being in the 1^st level of the hierarchy, and then the root hub distributes signals to the generic hubs underneath them. Therefore, if the root hub is down in signaling terms – all the USB ports will be down. In contrast, if a generic hub is down, that doesn’t necessarily mean all USB ports are down. It could be that the USB ports connected to one particular generic hub is not working because of a broken communication link with the root hub. Therefore you need to figure out how and to which port you should connect your USB device to.saeed

How to Make Your PC Detect USB Device?

Let’s try the following action items to work towards a solution, keeping in mind that if you are lucky enough, you don’t have to complete all the steps;
1.  First and the foremost thing to try and check the device in another PC, if you have access to it. Sometimes, a USB device itself could just go out of order, and in that case better not to look for faults at the wrong place.
2.  If you feel, there is nothing wrong with your USB device, then the 2^nd thing you check is putting it in another USB port – you know there are several USB ports out there in your PC.
3.  If the same thing repeats after trying all the USB ports, go to Windows explorer and right click on the computer icon as shown in image 1. And then select “properties”. You will reach the control panel home.

4.  Click on “Device Manager” and “Yes” to get to the device manager screen as shown in image 2.

5.  At the bottom, you will see Universal Serial Bus controllers. Here if you don’t see this option by chance, then definitely you have USB feature disabled in your BIOS. Normally this occurs when you bought a brand new PC or laptop and your laptop was not configured right. Here you should reboot your PC and hit the F2 key when prompted just after booting process starts. Find out the option in your BIOS setup that deals with enabling and disabling USB controller as shown in image 3. Make sure it is enabled in your BIOS and then save changes and exit. It is not necessary that everything will match with image 3 because the BIOS you have in your PC could be totally different than mine.  Reboot the PC – you should get your USB controllers detected this time in your control panel’s devices list.

6.  Once you see USB devices are listed in your control panel and still the PC cannot detect the device, expand the Universal Serial Bus controllers tab in the device manager as shown in image 2. You will see several USB controller supported devices here; root hub, generic hub, mass storage devices etc. If you see any one of them showing any exclamation sign followed by a yellow mark on it, there is something wrong there. Right click on that device tab and hit properties. In the properties screen, hit the “drivers” button and “update driver” as shown in image 4. Get ready to provide the windows installation disk when asked to update the driver. After updating the driver, most likely the problem will go away and you will see “this device is working properly” in its properties window. If doing this doesn’t bring any good news for you either – let’s try the next trick.

7.  Bring mouse over on the “USB root hub” in the same device manager screen as in image 2, right click on it and then select uninstall. Proceed with “yes” to confirm. Do the same for each and every device showing under Universal Serial Bus controller. After all of them are removed, reboot the PC. Windows Plug and Play should reinstall the entire USB functionality of your PC while rebooting. It may ask for the Windows installation CD to keep going, be ready to provide the installation CD in case the request comes in.
8.  This should make your USB device detected as you have tried all the options. Sometimes, it is also possible that you have too many USB devices connected to your PC and when you add the next one, there is a conflict with the assignment of drive letters. This problem is quite different than what we were discussing above and it should be fixed by going into disk manager and assigning a new drive letter to your USB device.
9. In Windows 7, you can also use the automated utility to try and to fix all hardware problems including USB. To do this you can go to “Control Panel” – “Find and Fix Problems under System and Security” – “Hardware and Sounds” – “Hardware and Devices” – “Yes” to proceed.

 

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What is Search Engine Optimization

If you are asking the question ”what is search engine optimization” you must have a website. Well either that or you are wanting to change your profession and become a professional SEO expert. Reading this tutorial will not make you an expert as I am not one myself, however I do have a few years experience in doing my own SEO for my websites.
I am going to explain what search engine optimization in technical terms that hopefully any new website builder could understand. Yes I am going to skip technical details because this will just confuse most people. If you are a bit more experienced in SEO then I suggest you visit my other website or (Lets Build Websites) that has tutorials about blogging and more advanced articles about SEO.

What is Search Engine Optimization?

Search engine optimization is something you do to your website so the search engines can find you. As I stated earlier, I am not search engine optimization expert, but I can definitely prove that I can get to the top of Google. It has taken me years to finally get it and then decide how to explain these years of learning in a few articles. So here we go.
Search engine optimization can fall into two categories.

1.  Onpage search engine optimization

On page SEO is all about optimizing the content or the article on your website. For example you need to have the right keyword targeted in the first place, then you need to have the right keyword density scattered in the article, and then you need to have related keywords mentioned in the article. It is also recommended that you use the keyword in your title, your URL, your tags and descriptions. I might have missed a few steps here so please forgive me. I actually use SEOpressor to help keep me on track as it rates my articles and tells me whats missing. I still need this even after all these years.
Onpage search engine optimization and  can seem easy but it takes practise as you have to balance SEO with great content for your readers. I also believe that finding the best WordPress theme or website design is very important for SEO. Website navigation and design are part of onpage SEO because your website visitors need to get around your website and find your content.

2.  Off page search engine optimization

This is all about everything that leads back to your website. Of course it is all centered around the keywords that you chose in the first place. Basically search engine optimization is all about keywords and this is how we choose the anchor text that will link back to our website. This anchor text tells the search engines what our page is about. If you are putting the wrong anchor text out onto the Internet you are telling the search engines the wrong message.
Off page search engine optimization which is SEO backlinking

The key “Ingredient” for Search Engine Optimization

The key ingredient for search engine optimization is researching keywords. You cannot perform search engine optimization without knowing what keywords you are actually targeting.
Ok so now you are asking “what are keywords”? Well lets think of keywords as people searching in Google or any other search engine. The reason I say this is that if people do not search for a keyword, then it is useless in the SEO game. If one person is searching for a keyword then this will not be good for your business if you target that keyword. This is why we have to find keywords that people are searching for.
When we know our keywords then we can build a website targeting this and perform search engine optimization. Choosing the wrong niche or topic is pretty mush the same as choosing the wrong keywords.

Why should you learn search engine optimization?

1. Search engine optimization specialists cost big dollars! Sometime they share their SEO Advice for hundreds of dollars an hour.
2.  It is not that hard you know the details of how to perform search engine optimization.

Why do Websites need Search Engine Optimization?

I had a fantastic article and I was getting approximately 5 visits per day to this article. After investing a small amount of time performing search engine optimization for this Post directly, I have turned five visits into nearly 2000 visits per day. This is just for one article on a website. Of course this website has many more articles and I have done promotion for approximately 10 posts only. Can you imagine when I get around to the other 700 posts?
Not all posts are worth performing a total search engine optimization makeover. This depends on how much traffic that particular keyword is limited to. Therefore if you have done your keyword research, in theory you would only write posts that were going to attract a high search volume. This is probably the first step in your SEO campaign.
Download my FREE REPORT called SEO My Way. Opens in another tab or window and takes a few seconds to load, depending on your internet connection.

 

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5 Simple Tips to Protect Your Online Accounts from Being Hacked

These days more and more people are discovering the joys of social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. But unfortunately not everyone is using these sites for legitimate purposes and hacking is becoming a real issue. Having your accounts hacked can be disastrous, especially if someone manages to access your online banking information. That’s why banks and companies like Google, Yahoo, and Facebook are constantly upgrading their security policies. That’s something, but it’s not enough. You should make sure your online accounts are safe.

Here are five simple tips that will help Protect Your Online Accounts

1. Use strong passwords

Using strong passwords is the best way to ensure your social media accounts don’t get hacked by a spammer or someone who wants to embarrass you. That’s why it’s so important to have a unique password for each of your accounts. Creating strong passwords is fairly easy – just remember to combine letters, numbers and symbols that require pressing the Shift key. It’s also a good idea to change your passwords once in a while, like every two months.
Using strong passwords to protect your online accounts is a good start, but it will not protect you from serious hackers that rely on malware like keyloggers to steal your data. If your computer is infected with a keylogger, the hacker will have access to everything you type, including your passwords. Protecting your computer will help. You can also use strong passwords when protecting your home wireless connection.

2. Protect your computer

Protecting your computer is a vital part of securing your online accounts. You need to have solid security software to prevent more advanced hackers from accessing your online accounts and other sensitive data. There are many security suites available today, both paid and free. As a rule, it’s best to have a couple of different security programs installed on your computer, for example an anti-virus and an antimalware application. In addition to that, it’s always good to replace the Windows firewall with a more advanced one. Remember that you shouldn’t have two anti-virus programs installed at once because they might conflict with each other. Update your security software daily and scan your computer weekly to make sure there are no infections. Protect your online accounts include protecting your computer as they both rely on each other for safety.

3. Keep an eye on running processes

Every single program, whether visible or hidden, launches a process that is displayed in the Windows Task Manager. So if you think that your computer is infected, you should check running processes. It’s also good to monitor running processes on a regular basis.

Windows 7 has a pretty decent task manager (press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open it), but it’s still best to use a third party application, such as the free Sysinternal’s Process Explorer or Auslogics Task Manager. These programs provide more details than the built-in task manager and can help you nip malware in the bud.
Some infections have a habit of masking themselves as Windows processes, such as svchost.exe and lsass.exe. So it’s always good to check your processes on Fileinspet.com, a Windows process library, and check their path.

4. Download with care

Do you like downloading free stuff from the Internet? I bet you do. But sometimes downloading free stuff can be dangerous. While a lot of free downloads are perfectly fine and come from legitimate sources, many are infected. They are designed to wreak your computer and steal your data. Never download anything that looks suspicious and stick to legitimate free downloads, be it software, songs, or videos.

5. Be careful when using unprotected public networks

We all love using free Wi-Fi in cafes and libraries. While they are great for browsing the web and reading the news, it’s not a good idea to use them for online banking, shopping and sometimes even email. These networks are unprotected, which means that a hacker sitting in the same cafe can easily access all of your open accounts and steal your passwords using special software. That’s why you should always take extra care and watch out for any strange activity. GMail users are lucky, because GMail tells you if more than two computers are using your account at the same time – just look below your messages to access this information.
These tips will help you stay safe, but also remember to use your common sense and watch out for anything suspicious.

 

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Computer Basics

Learning computer basics is a dreaded nightmare for any new computer user. There are so many things to learn about computers and the fact that they change with new updates every day, the entire learning process seems a little bit crazy. I have been working on computers for more than 25 years and when I first started to use a computer there was no such thing as Windows. You had to navigate around the computer by using DOS command lines, and believe me, computers did not look pretty in those days.
I must say, that learning computer basics now days is a lot easier, as everything is right in front of you on your desktop with a graphical interface. The Windows operating system has made it as easy as possible for you to navigate around your computer and get your job is done.
Computer literacy is the knowledge and ability to use computers and technology efficiently. These computers basics tutorial will help you understand everything you need to know.

Quick computer tips for new computer users

1. Enlarge the text on the screen:
Press CTRL and + on your keyboard to enlarge text while using Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, or Firefox. Press CTRL and - to reduce the size again.
2. Clicking on links:
Sometimes when you click on a link it might open on another tab or even in another window altogether. Often people click clicking a link because they think it is not opening. When browsing the Internet and you click on the link, it does not always open in the same window.

The first step in computer basics

Basic computer terminology This is the first computer basics article that I recommend that you read as it starts with the computer parts and works its way down. You will learn the difference between hardware and software and some common computer language terminology.
Computer Terms This computer terms page is set out like a dictionary. It lists the most common computer terms that you will need to know when learning computer basics. There is also a 59 page computer dictionary you to download for free.
Computer Terms and their Meanings Here are some extract computer Basic terms that will help you with your learning about computers.
Using a computer mouse This is a beginner’s guide on how to use a computer mouse. It will tell you about the left click the right click the double-click and so on. It can get a little bit confusing when you are trying to follow instructions and do not know the basics about using a computer mouse. It is not that hard when it is explained to you clearly.
Google search tips Searching in Google has become one of the necessary computer basics tasks you will need to know. You can find anything you want on the Internet if you know how to search for it.

 

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The Best Windows 7 Tips and Tricks

Want to speed up Windows 7 and fix common errors in the process? Try out some of these awesome tips and tricks!
Burn CDs and DVDs with Windows: Before Windows 7, PC users had to use expensive (often annoying) software in order to burn CDs and DVDs. Those days are over! To start, put a blank disk into your optical drive. Then, in Windows 7, simply double click on any ISO file, which is a virtual image of a physical disk, and select the drive with the blank disk. Click ‘Burn’ and your disk will be created. It’s that easy.
Built-in troubleshooting: Troubleshooting is relatively easy in Windows 7. Microsoft has included an expanded troubleshooting interface that gives users the ability to eliminate problems at the source. To access Windows 7’s troubleshooting tools, head over to the Control Panel and click on the ‘Find and Fix Problems’ button. Under this menu, you’ll find troubleshooting wizards and other useful tools. If you’re having any sort of PC problems, this should be one of the first places you check out.

The Best Windows 7 Tips and Tricks

Get the most of your calculator: The Windows 7 calculator has been greatly expanded from previous versions of the operating system. Now, you can use it to calculate everything from mortgage payments to statistical data. You can also perform unit conversions and other useful calculations. To access the expanded calculator features, open up your Calculator (which can be found under the Start Menu’s ‘Accessories’ folder) and open up the ‘Mode’ menu. Here, you’ll see options like the Statistics and Programmer views. For more customization features, check out the ‘Options’ menu.
Adjust color profiles and settings: Using an application called ‘dccw’, users can easily optimize the view options in Windows 7. To access this application, go to the Windows 7 search bar and type in dccw. Using this wizard, you can easily tweak your monitor’s display settings until they’re perfect.
Dock programs in certain parts of your screen: The Windows key has expanded functionality in Windows 7. By pressing Win+Right Arrow, for example, you can shift a program to the right part of your screen. By selecting another program and pressing Win+Left Arrow, you can move that program onto the other half of your screen. This is perfect for anybody who needs to work with multiple windows open at the same time. The Windows key is the button with the Windows logo on it.
Rearrange your system tray: Sick of seeing those annoying security warnings pop up in your system tray every few minutes? In Windows 7, you no longer have to suffer through these annoying problems. Instead, simply press the tiny arrow to open up your expanded system tray and then drag any unwanted system tray options into the box that pops up. This is an easy way to make your desktop appear as clean and neat as possible.
Make text easier to read: On some monitors, text can look fuzzy and unreadable. Using Windows Clear Type Tuner application, you can fix this problem and improve the readability of text. Go to your Windows 7 search bar and type in cttune.exe.Then, follow through the wizard that pops up. This will improve the readability of your text in a number of different ways, usually by making it stand out more on your particular screen.  

The Best Windows 7 Tips and Tricks

Use PC optimization software: A good PC optimization program can go a long ways towards making your Windows experience as smooth and as fast as possible. Good PC optimization software comes in all shapes and sizes. For example, there are registry cleaners and disk defragmenters, as well as antivirus programs and memory optimizers. Of course you can perform your own computer maintenance using the tools provided with Windows Seven but not everyone has the time for that!.
If you’re looking for a good registry cleaner, check out this entry on CNET. Registry Cleaner Pro offers extended registry cleaning functionality for free, as well as an expanded upgrade available for only $9.95. It’s a winning program in every sense of the word, which is why more and more people are using it speed up their computers and improve their performance.
Summary
By implementing all of the tips and tricks listed above, you can make your Windows 7 experience as enjoyable as possible. Try out these tips today!

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Computer Has a Black Screen in Windows and Will Not Boot or Start Up

Rarely do I come across a problem with a computer that I cannot diagnose, however when a computer has a black screen in windows it can stump me sometimes. A computer black screen on start up is a challenge for me and I always try to trouble shoot the problem manually, without using those fancy programs, because I believe it is the only way to learn.
There are two types of computer black screens that can appear in Windows. One where the computer will not boot up but you have a beep sequence sounding to let you know what the problem could be, and the other has nothing at all. No beeps, no cursor, no logo screen, and no choice to boot to safe mode or access the bios.
If your computer will not boot up and you get a beep sequence, I am not saying it is good news, however it is a step in the right direction towards solving this problem. This is a message from your computer that can be understood by looking up your bios (the brand) beep code. For example you may have an Award Bios, Ami Bios, Phoenix BIOS, Compaq, Dell, or Acer Bios. This list goes on and on.  You can search for Bios beep codes in Google. Here is an example of results in Google search Search results for “bios beep codes”
If you heard a single beep, then the computer posted, and the CPU is OK. POST= Power On Self Test A procedure the computer goes through on starting to ensure all is well.
When your computer has a black screen in windows, and absolutely nothing else, this is where the challenge begins. Sometimes the fans and the CPU seems to be running.
When this happens to me, I have an instant advantage as I have a replacement part for basically any computer component at my fingertips. I also have a magic boot disc that repairs missing files on my hard drive and will boot up any computer, fix and install Windows easy. If you do not have any of these tools then you will need to try and find the errors manually.

Common things that can happen when your computer has a black screen in Windows:

• When the computer will not boot up, it sound like it is booting as the CPU fan is running and the lights are on. It also finds the CD ROM but it won’t boot from a CD either.
• Sometimes when you have a computer black screen on startup and the power switch light will be green and then turns to orange or amber. Everything is running.
• Everything seems to be running but you can’t see anything on the screen, not even a flashing cursor. Your black screen in Windows has occurred before the Windows logo screen.

Some common causes of a computer black screen in Windows:

I have to be honest, there are literally hundred’s of reasons why your computer might have a black screen. Hopefully your problem will be something relatively basic.
If you see the screen that tells you your computer had an error, do not choose to start normally, choose to start in safe mode now. See what is safe mode. This is your chance to go the safe way. Many people rush and press to start Windows normally and sometimes this causes a serious problem.

Where is your Monitor plugged in? “My computer screen is black”

The first and most obvious reason for a computer appearing to run but you cannot see the video is the monitor. A common mistake is to plug the monitor into the on-board video plug when you actually have a PCI or AGP video card installed. Trust me I have done this myself. Simply move the plug to the correct position. If you see two blue monitor plugs at the back of the computer or even a blue plug and a HDMI port then try using a different plug.
Obviously you should also check to see if the monitor plugged is actually in firmly. It could have been knocked out if it was not correctly positioned in the first place. This is the simplest computer black screen you can get.

Failing Display adapter or video card can cause a black screen in windows:

Most of the time you can tell if your computer video card is deteriorating by seeing little tell tale signs. Lines appearing or flashing can sometimes occur, however sometimes nothing happens at all. You might turn your computer on and have the dreaded black screen. You can try removing your video card and using onboard video, or replacing the video card to see if that is the problem.

People often also see a computer black screen when they have plugged their computer into a different monitor or even a TV where the screen resolution is not compatible. If it is a simple black screen on your computer it can also be a simple problem to fix, but unfortunately people do not realize this problem and start troubleshooting, which actually gives the computer are serious black screen. When I know that my computer is showing a black screen on my Windows computer and I know that I have just connected it to a different monitor, I immediately restart and press F8. This will take me to the the menu where I will choose enable VGA mode or something similar.

The next reason the computer will not boot up is RAM…or memory:

This can be the cause when your computer has a black screen in Windows.
If your memory is not seated properly (not in), is damaged, or even absent altogether, this can cause a black screen.

1. If you have no memory installed at all, some computers make no sounds and just show a black screen on startup. Other computers go crazy and beep their head off. I am an expert at this one, as I build so my computers.
2. When your computer gets a black screen only sometimes, it usually means your ram is on the way out..For example if you boot your computer and it doesn’t work, then go back an hour later, and it does work, your memory is playing up. You can try taking the ram out, gently cleaning it with an antistatic cloth, and replacing it. This may solve your problem. If it does not, then you should try running your computer with another compatible stick of ram installed.

If you plan to open your computer case and remove the ram please read these articles on how to open computer cases safely and Upgrade Memory

Black screen on startup with an amber flashing light

A flashing amber light along with your black screen on startup can be a few things.

1. Not enough power getting to the motherboard.
2. A dead power supply.
3. A bent pin or shorted out USB port causing a problem.

Computer black screen after installing new hardware

Often when computer users install hardware in order to upgrade their own computers they run into problems. If you have just performed an upgrade and then get a black screen, the answer is obvious. Some hardware components may not be compatible with the others in your system. And of course there is always the risk of static electricity damaging your components when you are not an experienced computer repair person.
You might just be installing a new piece of RAM but the best way to troubleshoot this is to go back to where you started from. Always start from the beginning. If your computer was working and you installed something, then take it back out. Think about what you are doing and try again.
This has nothing to with getting a black screen in Windows, as sometimes you have not even installed Windows yet. The hardware must be compatible together and also must be installed correctly.

Leaving a bootable usb flash drive connected to your computer

Yes this can confuse your computer and it won’t know where to boot up. When your computer has a black screen on startup from doing this and you realize this is the problem and remove the USB, the computer just continues to boot normally..this sometimes happens because a computer sometimes recognizes a USB as a CD drive and tries to boot to it. This is the easiest cause of a black screen in Windows as you can simply just take it out and restart your computer.

Corrupting the Boot Sector

A black screen on startup can be so many things! I have learned this lesson the hard way. Never turn off the computer when it is half way through the boot procedure. Even when it is taking forever, or having a major problem you must let it run through if possible. Interrupting it once may be ok, but twice or three times is a no no. After you have carelessly restarted and shutdown a few times the black screen may appear. But this time it may be beyond repair for the average computer user. How to repair a damaged boot sector by replacing the master boot record (MBR) in Windows XP

Black screen on startup – Your CPU is not correctly seated

If your computer has a black screen after transporting one place to another, this is the first place I look. Transporting a working computer, and then not working with a black screen = dislodging the CPU. You can fix this easily by removing the CPU fan and carefully replacing it back in its spot. You may also have to replace some thermal paste between the cpu and heat sink as it stops the cpu from overheating. Be very careful not to bend any pins when dealing with your computer CPU.

Keyboard Faulty

This one surprised me because when there is a problem with the keyboard the computer still boots and says that there is no keyboard detected on the screen. Well this didn’t happen for me. I had a keyboard with a bent pin on the cable, so when it was plugged into the computer, it just plugged in normally. Then the computer black screen on startup appeared, you could here it starting up but no posting beeps, no display, nothing. I even swapped monitors around until finally I tested the keyboard and found the bent pin. I never thought to look there because of the usual default message that appears on the screen when there is something wrong with your keyboard. This is why having a black screen in Windows as a crazy amount of causes and solutions. I really did not expect this one to come out of the woodwork.

Corrupted User Account – Computer Boots to Black Screen

If you have logged into Windows, so you actually saw the login screen, then logged into Windows, this can mean a few different things. One is that it can be a corrupted user account. In this case it would be handy to have another user account to login to. Then you would be able to tell straight away if that was the problem or not. If you can log into another account you will be able to access the corrupted user account through the main hard drive which is usually called C: drive. You will see a folder called “users” and then there will be another folder for the actual username.
If you are using windows XP than the files are in the Document and Settings section.

Notes relating to your computer black screen in Windows:

• If your computer has black screen but you can see one small flashing cursor, I see this as a good sign! It usually means your computer is ok to be formatted. It can also mean that you should try to repair the boot sector first. How to repair a damaged boot sector by replacing the master boot record (MBR) in Windows XP
• Here is an error specific article about your computer boots to a black screen with blinking cursor.
• Lets face it.. Having a black screen on startup is a common symptom for so many problems.
• Sometimes you can repair a black screen in windows or fix boot errors using a post diagnostic card.
• See more black screen troubleshooting tips.

More options when dealing with a black screen:

Buy the Ebook “Recover Your Computer From a Black Screen” only $7..

We also have a Tips4pc forum where you can chat with others that have the same problem.

If your computer has a black screen, please research your possible problem and be patient as fixing this error is usually left to the experts.
I really hope that your computer black screen has been caused by something simple and is a problem that you can fix quickly without too much stress.

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10 Tips To Improve Your Computer Security

Computer security is no joke—the FBI recently arrested a man for child pornography, but when they investigated his computer, it turned out that a computer virus had been downloading the images using his account; in this article we’ll give you 10 tips to improve your computer security that may save you from being dragged out in handcuffs in front of your neighbors.
As I said, this is no joke! You would not wish this on your worst, most annoying neighbor. This just proves that your lack of computer security can interfere with your life, but hopefully not enough to get carted away.

Computer Tips #1: Use Top Anti-Virus Software

There are a lot of anti-virus programs out there, but they’re not all created equal. In order to catch viruses before they infect your computer, anti-virus software needs to know what the virus looks like—this is called the virus’s signature.

It takes a professional security researcher to find virus signatures and some companies that sell generic anti-virus software can’t afford to hire enough security researchers to cover all the viruses. Only the top anti-virus companies and those companies that rely on volunteers have the resources necessary to identify the most recent viruses.
AVG, McAfee, and Symantic (Norton) all make top anti-virus software backed by dozens or hundreds of security researchers whose job it is to identify current viruses. Other software might work, but it might also be too out of date to catch today’s viruses.

Computer Tips #2: Use A Firewall

When other computers try to connect to your computer, it’s the job of your operating system—Microsoft Windows—to handle the connection attempts. But Windows has security flaws. Microsoft tries to fix these flaws as fast as possible, but every time a new flaw appears, hackers can use it to break into your computer.
A firewall changes that. A firewall sits between the Internet and your computer, monitoring the traffic going between them. It looks at every incoming Internet connection to see if you requested it. If you did request it, the firewall lets the connection through. But if you didn’t request it, the firewall blocks it.
Blocking connections you didn’t ask for is simple and takes up only a tiny bit of your computer’s processing power, yet it provides an incredible amount of security, so we highly recommend a firewall for all users everywhere.

Computer Tips #3: Use A Router

You probably know that routers let several computers share one Internet connection, but did you ever wonder how they do it? Every time your computer tries to connect to a computer on the Internet through your router, your router adds that connection to its list of open connections.
When the other computer on the Internet responds, your router then needs to figure out which computer it’s responding to, so your router looks at its list and matches the connection to your computer.
But what happens if a computer on the Internet tries connecting to you without you trying to connect to it first? The router doesn’t know what to do because that connection isn’t in its list of connections, so the router simply ignores the connection attempt. That means you router acts like an extra firewall.
But a router is in some ways better than a regular firewall. Routers are dumb, which makes them hard to hack. Even if a hacker finds a fault in your firewall, he’ll still need to get past your dumb router, which increases your security.
Better yet, every connection attempt blocked by your router is a connection attempt your firewall won’t need to block. Blocking connection attempts takes a small amount of computer processing time, which slows down your computer slightly—but blocking thousands of attempts when your computer is under attack can measurably slow down your computer. Your router does all of that work for you without slowing down your computer one bit.

Computer Tips #4: Run A Free Port Scan

The problem with routers and firewalls is that you can’t see them work, so you have to trust that they’re doing their jobs—or do you?
A free port scanning service will pretend to be a hacker trying to connect to your computer. It won’t run any hacker exploits, but it will see if you’re vulnerable. The best part is that port scanners need to be run from other computers on the Internet, so there’s nothing to install on your computer.
I suggest you start with the free port scan provided at SecurityMetrics.com. If you want to try other port scanners, just search Google for “port scan.”

Computer Tips #5: Investigate Problems

Makers of anti-virus software are always trying to track down viruses, so hackers try very hard to hide their code. Often they try to hide viruses in essential parts of Microsoft Windows so the anti-virus software can’t find them, which can cause weird problems.
If you start to see weird problems on your computer—problems you can’t easily explain—take the time to investigate. I know it’s a bother, but most viruses make it easy for other viruses to install themselves, which means that you probably only have a few days from the time you start noticing problems until your computer becomes unusable—or your financial accounts get hacked.
Tracking down most computer problems is usually just a matter of typing the symptoms into Google search and reading the top results. Of course, if you encounter a problem you can’t easily solve, feel free to drop us a line.

Computer Tips #6: Check CPU Use

Viruses are programs, and just like any other program, they need to use your computer’s processor to run. Unlike most other programs, most viruses will try to monopolize computer processor use (CPU).
If you press Ctrl-Alt-Delete in Windows, you’ll be able to open task manager and see the amount of CPU each program uses. If you see a program taking up 80% or more of your CPU and you don’t recognize the program’s name, search Google for its name. The top results on Google will tell you whether its legitimate or a virus.
This method isn’t foolproof—in order to hide from anti-virus software, some viruses will try to hide their CPU use from Windows. However, this will catch many back-door viruses.

Computer Tips #7: Check Running Programs

Some viruses don’t require much CPU—like those viruses that use your computer to send spam email. To detect these viruses, you can use the same method you used to find CPU-intensive viruses—press Ctrl-Alt-Delete and check the program list.
In the program list, look for any programs with suspicious names or names you don’t recognize. If you find a virus, use the End Program or End Task buttons to kill it immediately. Then find the file that was running and place it in the Recycle Bin so it doesn’t autostart the next time your reboot your computer.

Computer Tips #8: Restrict Administrator Access

Installing software on Windows is really easy—that’s one of the things I like about Windows. Unfortunately it might be too easy—even people completely unfamiliar with computer security can install programs.
Not only do you risk catching a computer virus when an uninformed user installs strange programs on your computer, but when every user can install his or her own programs, you’ll never know what should and should not be on your computer.
For households and small businesses where people share computers, I highly recommend only one person have administrator access to install new programs. This applies even when there are several adults in the house. After all, it only seems fair that the person responsible for keeping your computer secure also have the privilege of controlling what software gets installed.

Computer Tips #9: Update Internet Software Frequently

Most threats to your computer come from the Internet, so my next piece of advice should come as no surprise: update Internet software frequently. You could call this software maintenance.
All complicated software has bugs. Internet software is especially complicated, so it has an especially high number of bugs. Many of those bugs are just nuisances, but others are grave security risks. Luckily, most software publishers find out about bugs before hackers can exploit them, and so they publish patches that fix your software.
But that luck turns sour if you fail to install the latest patches, as is the case when you don’t update your Internet software frequently. Updating is easy in most programs, look in the Tools or Help menus of each program for a Check For Updates button and click it. If there are any updates, install them. Try to check for updates every month.

Computer Tips #10: Make Regular Backups

When a virus gets on your computer, it will often install copies of itself into other programs or your documents. That’s one of the reasons it’s so hard to get a virus off of your computer without reinstalling Windows—the virus keeps installing itself again and again.
Backups can’t save you from catching a virus the first time, but they can make recovering much quicker, and they will save you from worrying about whether or not your documents are infected.
Tips4PC has several other great articles about making good secure backups. I suggest you read them, but I also suggest you commit to making a backup of your most important files before you go to bed tonight.  It’s one of the tips most likely to help you sleep.Saeed khan

 

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