GENERAL HELP

Computer help

The Disk Cleanup tool helps you free up space on your hard disk by searching your disk for files that you can safely delete. You can choose to delete some or all of the files. Use Disk Cleanup to perform any of the following tasks to free up space on your hard disk: Remove temporary Internet files. Remove downloaded program files. For example, ActiveX controls and Java applets that are downloaded from the Internet. Empty the Recycle Bin. Remove Windows temporary files. Remove optional Windows components that you are not using. Remove installed programs that you no longer use.

You can start Disk Cleanup, by

Clicking Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup.

Defragmenting your hard drive is an integral part of keeping your PC healthy, the defrag utility which ships with windows is very simple to use and can give a boost to your PC's performance.

Fragmentation is caused when an operating system breaks a file into pieces because there is not enough space on the storage device where the file was originally saved.

The process of defragmenting can be time consuming, but it is one of the easiest ways to increase the performance of your PC, the frequency of which a PC should be defragmented will directly depend on the amount of usage.

First of all make sure you have enough time to complete the defragmentation, the amount of time will depend on how much use your PC has had since the last defragmentation.

To start the defrag utility, click on

Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter.

Back up your data! Can you afford to lose all those irreplaceable digital photos, important documents, emails and addresses? Hard drives can fail without warning and data recovery can be an expensive option.

There are many means of storing your data and these include:

CD, DVD, External hard drive, USB stick, floppy disc & online backup.

BIOS battery

This is a internal battery normally located on your motherboard. Its function is to supply a small amount of power to the CMOS chip that stores system information such as the correct time , date & information about your hardware.If you notice that your system clock never seems to stay correct after you have set it you may need to replace your BIOS battery.

RAM random access memory, The amount of RAM memory used in modern computers is expressed in megabytes (MB) and gigabytes (GB). A gigabyte (1GB) is 1024MB. Most new desktop and laptop computers come with at least 1GB of RAM memory. You can see how much physical RAM you have installed by going to system in the control panel, click Start > Control Panel > double click on System.

Windows Update is the online extension of Windows designed to help your computer continue to work better and run better. Windows Update has a central catalog called Product Updates that includes new product enhancements such as system files, device drivers, service packs, and new Windows features. These enhancements will be recommended to you based on what is needed for your specific computer.

Protect your computer

Always ensure you have an up to date anti virus package running on your system.

Useful sites

http://www.eset.com
http://www.tucows.com
http://www.openoffice.org
http://www.safer-networking.org
http://www.ccleaner.com
http://www.lavasoft.com
http://www.filehippo.com
http://www.speedtest.net
http://www.avast.com

Keyboard short cuts

Ctrl + c will copy
Ctrl + v will paste
Ctrl + x will cut
Ctrl + a will select all
Ctrl + s will save

Testing your master telephone socket