Welcome to the Geek Choice Blog

This message cannot be stressed enough: PC’s come with great technology and great risks,  the former offers the user access to tons of information and the ability to run a company, manage finances, and reach amazing features. However,  the latter puts all that ease and comfort on a tight-wire, balancing over the black abyss which all the saved programs and files will fall into if the user is not careful. This happens time and time again when the belief that “my system will never fail” is shattered and the person has to come to terms with either throwing the computer away or paying hundreds of dollars to fix it.

There is a way out. If your system is about to fall off or has already fell and needs to be repaired, Geek Choice Blog has the key to recovery.

What you will need:

External Hard Drive: these can be found at your nearest computer store, Staples, Best Buy, anywhere they sell computer electronics. This will allow you to copy all of your original files from your old hard drive. You will need this if you want to keep all your existing files, music, documents, and information.

Recovery Tool: can be found in your Windows computer, search for it on the Start Menu. If you cannot find it, then contact your manufacturer to see what can be done. Usually the recovery tool is a CD that came with your computer, if you still have them, take a look at those and see if it is there. This tool will enable you to reinstall Windows. If all else fails, try TotalRecovery, for $50 dollars you can have a fail-safe recovery tool.

The Process:

Launch the back-up tool that is on your computer, TotalRecovery, or any back-up tool you can find. Clone, or copy your hard drive to the external hard drive that is connected via USB. The external hard drive is easy to see on the “My Computer” screen as an external drive. Now you have what  you need to reboot and reinstall.

Depending on whether your recovery tool is from Windows or is an external program, find the option that says “installation”. It usually is processed by a Wizard, no not from Harry Potter, but a step-by-step guide so you do not screw things up even more. Follow the Wizard to boot Windows in a safe environment.

After this is done, you will be asked what kind of Windows would you like to be installed. You want a fresh start right? There should be a “Custom”  option, click that.

Run the Windows Update that is already on your computer, that way your computer will stay fresh. Next you will need to reinstall your drivers, these can be found with the discs that came with your computer. If you do not have them, use the ones you cloned or copied to the external hard drive. What usually is the case is that a back-up folder is created, so when you are ready to copy the old files to the newly cleaned hard drive, you can just click and drag them over to folders located in C:

When picking the right programs to install, choose the security options first. If you do not have any anti-virus software, go online and download Avast or AVG. Most of the programs will ask you to restart the computer to finish the installation. Do not wait, just do it. After your firewall and internet security is in place, go for the Windows basic programs to install.

After you have created a new Windows, and all the programs you want are installed, make sure you back it up! Use the same tool you used at the beginning to clone your new, fresh hard drive so that IF this problem comes up again, you will have this as a fall back plan.

Good Luck!

Over time, the fixed disk on a computer becomes fragmented. Fragmentation is where related information is scatter over the disk, requiring numerous head movements and causing the computer to slow down. It can also cause the computer not to shut down properly, or to hang when you try to shut down. When it gets to that point, it’s time to format the drive and reinstall the operating system. All data will be lost! But have no fear my dear, there is always a simple solution to may seem like a complicated problem at first, once you complete it the problem will no longer be an issue.

To avoid the problem becoming something bigger than it might seem, you should defragment your C drive about twice a year. To start a defragmentation, go to “My Computer”, right mouse click on the C drive, left mouse click on “Properties”, select the “Tools” tab. The last item is “Defragment Now” – click on it, then click “Analyze”. Windows will indicate whether or not your drive needs defragmentation. If it does need defragmentation, do it by just clicking on the defragment button. If it does not, check again in six months.

If the drive is still fragmented after you try to defrag it: Try doing a Scandisk – the first item on the tools tab – sometimes called “Error Checking”. When it starts, be sure to check “Automatically Fix Errors”. If Scandisk cannot complete it means that you have a corrupt file system. This can lead to numerous problems, and must be fixed, or eventually your computer may not start.

The defragment program in Windows is not very good. There are many situations where it cannot defragment a drive. Fortunately, there are after market defragmenters available. Go to www.diskeeper.com for a good version.

If Diskeeper will not solve the problem, it’s time to reformat your disk, and re-install your operating system. This process of reformatting should be done with professional help. If you would like, the technician’s over at Geek Choice will be more than happy to do this for you. Be sure to back up your system before this.

The whole purpose of cleaning up your hard drive is to improve performance and make sure that it runs smoothly. After a while, it can get real frustrating trying to do simple tasks on the computer like internet or running a program if the C drive is full of unused files, temporary internet files, and programs you do not use. Get rid of it!

Personally I use Piriform’s CCleaner, or “Crap” Cleaner, whose name lives up to its task of getting rid of the crap that piles up in yourhard drive. This program actually has a defragment process that you can use with ease, with options to back up the system for you. I strongly recommend that if you are having problems with your computer, and you think that this might be the cause, consult a professional or someone who knows their stuff about computers.

Good Luck!

Owning a computer is great, it allows you to do so much with such little effort, perfect for our lazy natures to sit down and spend days not really doing any physical activity. I bet you want that to last a real long time, am I correct? Well, how do you think that will happen? Just by being lucky?

I say lucky because most people including me think they are invincible, or that nothing wrong and unexpected will happen to them. Recently I forced myself to go to Staples and by DVD-R’s for the purpose of backing up my system. I had seen too many people hopelessly lost due to the fact that their invincibility shield wore off and their system crashed.

If you are nodding your head in agreement wanting to back up important files, but do not know how to do it, Geek Choice is here for you as a friend to help with this. It is simple, but the mind complicates simplicity, so throw that out and just read.

Backing up your system is the smartest thing you can ever do on a computer, people think porn is, but those people are Neanderthals and need counseling. The computer is a machine, and machines have flaws, bugs, problems, and failures. So it is only right for someone who is of the right mind, to make the decision “just to be safe”, saving a huge headache in the event of disaster when all your precious files are lost.

Step 1: Get the hardware, go to your local supplier of computer devices and ask them for their best opinion on backup. Try DVD-R, they hold at least 4 GB, and they come in spindles so you get the biggest bang for your broccoli. If you do not have a DVD writer, which you can tell if you look at the disc tray(DVD ReWritable), then get a flash drive. If you are backing up a LOT of files, go the external hard drive.

Step 2: Go home, get a drink of something strong like hot apple cider, and put the device whether it be the DVD-R in the disc tray, or the flash/external hard drive in the USB port. Go to the computer folder, and look for the “Devices” section, you will see your device. Open that, this is where you will be copying files to.

Step 3: Now, here is where discretion is best put to the test: what do you need to backup and what do you need to ignore? That is up to you. Personally I backed up everything I could not recover simply by installing it again like games or internet browsers. They will only take up valuable space on my device which is meant to backup IMPORTANT files, such as documents and photos.

Step 4: Go through your computer with this discretion in the forefront of your mind, use the search button that is located in the Start Menu, this is an easy way to find all that crap. When you get the files up, copy them, and paste them onto the device.

Step 5: Take out the device, store it some place that is safe, and go to sleep that night with a smile knowing that no matter what happens, at least your computer which is your life, is backed up!