How to Backup Your Computer

how to backup your computer

how to backup your computer Imagine this scenario.

Your business is thriving. Just a month ago you hired two more employees, and you are considering expanding further. Your office is filled with employees hard at work on customer’s orders.

You smile with satisfaction. Everything is going great.

Fast forward to tomorrow and your entire business is in shambles. Your computer system has went down so all of your information has been lost. You know that it will take months to replace the lost information and start running efficiently again. Your dreams of expansion have been delayed.

This scenario isn’t so far-fetched if you don’t back up your computer. It’s vital that you learn how to backup your computer effectively.

There are two ways to backup your computer, a physical drive and a cloud-based storage system. In this article on how to back up your computer we will look at both:

1.  Physical drive

Many businesses regret using physical drives to backup their computer. USB drives are expensive and are easily lost or destroyed. If you lose your USB or it is damaged in an event such as a fire all your data is gone. In addition, USB drives can be stolen.

Physical drives are not the optimal way to back up your computer.

2. Cloud-based storage

When you use a cloud-based storage service all of your data is stored online. If you use a good company your data will be secure and easily accessible.

When learning how to back up your computer this is the method that you want to use. It is far superior to the physical drive method because you can access your data anywhere and there’s no risk of a USB drive being destroyed.

Backing up your computer using cloud-based storage is simple. Simply choose a company then follow their directions to transfer your files to the cloud-based system. The process is quick and easy.

If you want to work with one of the best cloud-based storage systems available for small businesses contact us.

A Scam-Free Guide on How to Increase Your Computer Speed

a scam free guide on how to increase your computer speed

If you’ve ever owned a laptop or desktop computer older than a couple years, you have first-hand experience with slowing machines. Computers tend to gradually slow down, so some owners may not even realize how slow their computer is in comparison to its first day of use. If it’s now clicking that your computer is taking longer to start up and load web pages, consider these tips on how to speed it back up.Computer-Speed

Avoid MyCleanPC

We’ll start here because this may be the most important point. Registry cleaners don’t work and because of their questionable marketing tactics, some may even say that they’re a scam. Software such as MyCleanPC will offer you a free diagnosis, list hundreds of problems that probably don’t affect the performance of your computer, and then offer to fix them for a small fee ($39.99). A recent How-to-Geek article explains why this software is useless:

“Temporary files are not slowing down your computer, and neither are browser history entries or cookies. Registry entries are generally not a problem — there’s a reason Microsoft once created a registry cleaner of their own before discontinuing it and advising people not to use registry cleaners.”

Clean up your computer

Now on to steps that your business should actually take. Cleaning up your computer and getting rid of unnecessary files and programs can speed up your computer greatly. To do this:

  • run Disk Cleanup on Windows
  • clean up your Desktop
  • uninstall unused programs
  • reduce the number of programs that load at startup

You’d be surprised how much memory on your computer is used up by programs and files you haven’t used for years. The Disk Cleanup tool will help you find files you probably wouldn’t look for otherwise.

Remove viruses, spyware, and adware

Viruses, spyware, and adware are still very real threats to computers. You should scan your computer from time to time and remove any suspicious files. These may be hurting the performance of your computer.

Choose a new browser

When all of that’s done, pick an Internet browser that’s right for you. Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox are fast, reliable, and supported by almost all websites. If you already have one of these browsers and want to keep it, then remove unused plugins to clean the browser up.

It won’t take a long time to carry out all of these tips, but they should have a noticeable effect on your computer. You can check back to this list from time to time to repeat the actions and keep your computer fast.

If you are interested in speeding your computer up, contact us.

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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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.