How to Rebuild a Computer (Yes, You Can Do It!)

how to rebuild a computer yes you can do it

Whether your PC has finally given up the ghost or you simply want to upgrade your components, the time to rebuild your computer has come. Don’t worry, it’s not nearly as daunting as it seems. With a little patience and forethought, you’ll soon be beaming with pride at your state-of-the-art computing machine.

  • First of all, unless you aim to replace all of your components anyway, it might be a good idea to see if you can figure out which ones really need to be replaced. For example, if your system is displaying something along the lines of “disk boot failure”, you may want to consider replacing the hard drive for sure. Or, if it’s all dark and silent on the home front, it could be either a power supply or motherboard issue.
  • If you anticipate replacing the entire motherboard, order it ahead of time. Even if you can’t find the exact model number, you should at least be able to obtain the same type. Another important consideration with the motherboard is ensuring that your existing components, or any new ones you’ll be installing, are compatible.
  • Disconnect your power supply, moving the cables neatly out of the way.
  • Remove pluggable components, such as the processor and memory modules.
  • It’s vital for your computer’s future to avoid the danger of static electricity. Touch a bare metal surface inside your PC before removing each component. Try storing your removed components in an anti-static bag. Unless replacing, you’ll want to keep track of these to re-install later.
  • Before installing the new motherboard, make sure that its front-panel sockets match the front-panel plugs in your PC case. If not, you’ll also need to replace the computer case.
  • Re-install all of the pluggable components that you removed earlier and so carefully set aside.
  • Now it’s time to install your operating system. By the way, if installing Windows, you’ll also need to install motherboard drivers.
  • Test it!

Now, pat yourself on the back and bask in the glow of knowing that you just rebuilt your own computer!

Contact us for more information on how we can help to meet all of your technology needs.

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No-Cost Data Security Tips

no cost data security tips

computer-security One of the most important components of your business is its information. The customer contacts, financial transactions, and supplier contracts that form this important data are under constant threat from hackers and malware. You already protect this information through sophisticated and expensive security software. Improve your safeguards using these no-cost physical security tips.

  • Watch where your displays are facing. Your computer screens can show such confidential information as customer credit card numbers, employee Social Security numbers, and products in development. If these displays face a window, then passersby can easily observe what is being entered either from the sidewalk outside or from the next building with binoculars. If these screens face a public corridor, then office visitors can also view the data. Position your displays so only the person using them can view what’s being entered.
  • Don’t log into public WiFi. You like to keep in touch with work even on your breaks. You also want to save money by using public WiFi on public transportation or coffeehouses. The problem is what you enter on these unsecured networks can easily be collected by hackers who don’t even have to be visible to you. Avoid such theft by not using any websites that require logins, such as your personal email account or the company database.
  • Secure old equipment. You like to buy the latest technology for your employees and yourself because it makes work more efficient. But what happens to the old smartphones, tablets, laptops, and other data access devices that you no longer use? Do you just put them in a drawer or desktop where anyone can steal them to glean what’s on their hard drives? Always put unused devices in a locked cabinet inside a locked room to which only you and a key employee have access. Schedule regular wipes of the memories of such machines before donating them to worthy causes.

If you want more information on how to improve your data security or if you have any issues with your systems, please contact us, your Long Island computer network support specialists.

5 Easy Ways to Make Your Computer Faster and More Reliable

5 easy ways to make your computer faster and more reliable

mystery gears# 1 ADD MEMORY

One of the most inexpensive and effective ways to improve a computer’s performance is to install more RAM (random access memory). This will speed up the applications installed on your computer and allow you to open and run more programs simultaneously.

# 2 DELETE COOKIES

When you surf the web, most if not all sites send “cookies” to your profile. Deleting temporary internet files, system temp files and cookies will prevent slowing down while connected to the internet.

#3 PERFORM REGULAR MAINTENANCE ON YOUR SERVERS AND DESKTOPS

Computers, like cars, need regular maintenance to avoid problems, sluggish performance, and error messages. At a minimum, you should run ScanDisk and Disk Defrag Utility on your machines once a month. This will make your applications and files load and run faster.

#4 RUN A SPYWARE SCAN ONCE A WEEK

One tell tale sign that your computer is infected with spyware is slow, unstable performance. Spyware sucks up your system’s resources to carry out its evil intent, slowing down your computer and even causing it to freeze and crash.

#5 DISABLE OR REMOVE UNNECESSARY PROGRAMS RUNNING IN THE BACKGROUND

Many computers have pre-installed software programs that use up system resources and slow down your computer.

While these recommendations will certainly speed up your system, they aren’t a miracle cure for a seriously out-of-date computer network. If your computer or network constantly crashes, freezes up, or runs painfully slow, then it’s time for an upgrade.

How to Recycle Your Technology?

We love our computers and electronics. That is, until they stop working. Then these computers and their peripherals, from printers to monitors, not to mention your handhelds, batteries, and accessories, often become digital garbage.

These things aren’t made to last after all. (No computer or phone maker is going to mind if you buy an upgrade every year or two.) Consequently, all of this junk ends up in the back of your closet or stored in your garage, collecting dust, because you aren’t sure what to do with the stuff. The best thing to do with this growing accumulation of old electronic equipment is to either donate or recycle it.

Donate your old computers and phones whenever you can to groups that will fix and clean them up and then put them back to good use. Even the oldest computer, something you consider the most obsolete of digital dinosaurs, can probably be used by someone.

There are times, though, when a device is too far gone and there’s nothing else that can be done to bring it back to life again. Even a charity doesn’t want your unusable junk. That junk—called e-waste—is potentially dangerous. Electronics are filled with “heavy metals” (read: toxic metals) and carcinogenic chemicals that are fine when you’re using them, but not so much when sitting in a landfill or, worse, when people try to recycle them incorrectly. Thousands of tons of e-waste is shipped overseas yearly to countries like China and India where it gets dumped and maybe burned, which puts mercury and lead into the air.

So on this 41st Earth Day, we want to point out the places you can take your old or even dead electronics, so they can end up either being used by someone in need or safely recycled.

IT Consulting A Service Needed Now More Than Ever

Information Technology consulting for businesses is more important these days than it has ever been before due to the current proliferation of new technologies that are allowing businesses of all sizes to maximize efficiency and cut costs. In fact we are almost blurring the line between traditional business and “tech” business as IT resources become more and more necessary for the operations of almost every company small or large.

Today’s modern business employee is offered an array of options that – almost coincidentally – reduce overhead, better manage personnel and minimize the effort needed to maintain your business mission itself. Let us examine the most popular and effective new technologies a business has at its disposal:

Managed IT Services

Rather than hiring on-site personnel allow AE Technology Group, an MSP (Managed Service Provider) that is always on the bleeding edge of technology to take over and streamline all of your IT needs so that you may focus all your time on your business and your customers. We provide, support, implement, and educate all our clients on the newest technologies they need to be industry leaders.

Cloud Computing

Uses web-based software and safeguards your data storage through a public or private cloud in order to avoid heavy startup costs, licensing fees, upgrades, and all the hassles of software/data maintenance. Your business is available from any device in any location.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Uses effective software systems to hold on to leads, close sales, manage feedback within your sales pipeline, and much more.

E-Mail

Almost everyone these days uses email on some level but an organization can get so much more if it uses email and its collaboration tools properly. Hosted email solutions manage email economically and avoid the costs of downtime and server maintenance.

Data Protection

Given the resources that potential malicious attackers have to your important data it is more crucial than ever to find the solution to keeping your information secure.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

Traditional phone line systems such as key systems and PBX can be relatively inflexible and costly. Managing phone lines over Internet Protocol as you do your other Internet resources reduces costs, improves quality, and opens you up to a new array of applications such as video conferencing.

All of these solutions can increase productivity, reduce costs, and effectively make your business more profitable if implemented and managed properly. Expert IT consulting can make these technologies work for you. Contact us to learn more.