PCinfospace

I see people confuse these all the time.

Storage is the amount of space available on the hard drive that stores any programs, file or information you have. You absolutely must have enough storage capability not only to store your files but also to run programs. If you have been storing pictures, music, word documents or any other data it does take space. Eventually you will reach the limit that the hard drive can store. With XP and above it will normally warn you when you get close to the limit. By luck most of the hard drives that are installed today are fairly large and can normally hold all the files you will ever be able to create. However, if you store large amount of large files it can happen that you could run out.

What if I run out of space?

First of all do not neglect any warnings you get. If the drive reaches a certain point it may not boot. This is because programs need some space for temporary files that make them work. This also includes the operating system. Your options are numerous. You could take the information (such as pictures) and move them to a CD or DVD. You could buy a USB drive (recommended) and start moving your pictures or other data to that drive. Although you could have another internal drive installed, I feel it is way too much work and may be expensive now that there are USB drives. You will need to know if you have a ATA or SATA drive if you plan to put in an internal drive. If you don’t know how to install a second drive you may need to pay somebody to do it. With a USB drive you just plug it into a USB port and you’re done. You can also use a Flash drive if you don’t have too many files. However, they do manufacture them up to 16 GIG which will store quite a bit of data. These Flash drives increase in storage size and decrease in price all the time. If you want to transport files from point to point this is the only way to go.

What about RAM?

First and foremost it is NOT storage. It is also called memory. It does not have any ability to store any information of any kind. It is your working space or where programs go to do the work you need to do. If you even type a letter it takes RAM working in the background to get any work of any kind done. If your computer runs slow or you are have a hard time opening program, you may need more RAM. The cheapest and fastest upgrade you can do is to add more RAM. This will let programs load faster and you will be able to get more productivity. In the event more RAM does not help speed things up, there could be other problems such as a Virus or Spyware. There could be a hardware problem also.

If you are low on RAM, programs will try to use the Hard drive instead (known as paging). That is why things slow down. This is especially a problem if you are lacking hard drive space. This is referring to virtual memory and it can be adjusted although it is beyond the scope of this article.

This article assumes you are on high speed internet such as cable or DSL.  If you have Dial-up it needs to be approached in a different way.

What if your page does not display?

Don’t assume it’s anything you did or didn’t do. Open Internet Explorer. Left click tools then Internet options. Click the tab that says connections.  Be sure that “Never Dial a connection” is clicked.  If you have one of the other buttons selected, your browser will attempt to use a dial-up connection.  Click on LAN Settings.  Click the block that says “Automatically detect settings”. Click OK and Click OK again on the next screen.  Reopen the browser.  See if that works.  This should help detect your settings.

Verify that all cables are connected securely to the proper device. When you look at the cables inspect them for damage. I have had cases where a vacuum cleaner ate the cable or cord.  If everything checks out unplug your DSL or cable modem.  If you are using a router unplug it also.  Wait about 10 seconds and plug one or both back in.  Check the lights on your modem and be sure the ones that should be lit are lit. (This may vary according to the type of modem or router you have) Try opening a web page again.  If it still fails, reboot the computer.  If you still are having trouble you may need to call your service provider.  Things can go wrong at your service provider also. They can help you determine the status of your connection. This can save your hours of troubleshooting and maybe some money.

Some other problems

You may have a Virus.  In fact this is one of the leading causes why you can’t get a web page to display.  Your web browser (normally Internet Explorer) may be corrupted for some reason.  If you have a different browser, such as Foxfire, try that. If you still are having difficulty you may need to take it to a professional.  They may need to remove a Virus or Spy-ware.  If it is really bad they may need to reload the operating system. There are many problems that can cause the same thing.  Another possibility is that your network card is defective or the driver for it may have become corrupt or disabled.
One thing you can try if you think you are skilled enough.  Go to start and click on run.  Type in the word: Command.  Hit enter. At the command line type: ping www.(website).com and hit enter. Be sure to put a space between the word ping and the web site address. Use any web site you want to.  See if you have any errors.  If it does communicate you definitely have a bad browser.  If it does not communicate you need to check deeper.  This article is not intended for the advanced technician.  I would recommend finding somebody in your area that can help you solve this problem if you don’t understand what to do.

Critical settings

Security setting in Internet Explorer control how a computer running Windows XP handles content from application servers inside and outside the network. Security settings are as follows: 1. Internet   2. Local Intranet 3.  Trusted Sites  4. Restricted zones.  Set  these to their default level. Viruses will try to reset these so can gain access to the browser or other parts of your computer.

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The reason I am writing this article is because I had a computer with this problem. The first thing that came to mind is that it had a Virus. When the client brought me the laptop he wanted me to replace the keyboard. DO NOT replace anything until you are sure what it is. In this case a new keyboard would not have helped.

The problem was that I couldn’t get to a computer screen. Whenever I clicked on the password field it filled it in with the letter “H”. I tried deleting the field but it wouldn’t let me.
I decided to reload the operating system. I reloaded the operating system with the WinXP disk. My thought was that this would now solve the problem. It finally made it to the screen that requires you to enter the key code. I didn’t have a chance to do anything. It immediately typed the letter “H” in every block. I had no chance to enter anything else. This meant that I had no way to continue loading the operating system.

I decided to do some research on line. One blog told me that I should try flashing the BIOS. I went to the Hewlett Packard site and did find a Flash BIOS utility which I down loaded and cut to a disk. I carefully followed the instructions. However this did not solve the problem. It wouldn’t even let me flash the bios. It just gave me an error message.

The problem now appeared to be in the keyboard controller of the mother board.
I recommended that the client replace the computer. The computer was uneconomically repairable. Although you could replace the mother board it would be to costly. You could buy a new unit for almost the same amount of money.

What else can be done?

You could try to sell the individual component on line or locally. Most components such as the hard drive and ram are still good and do have a value. Even the keyboard could be sold.

If I had purchased the keyboard before I did the troubleshooting I would have either been stuck with a keyboard or I would have had to sell it. Returning it probably would not have been an option. Many of these sites will not allow you to return the parts at least in an easy manner. Check their policy to know what you’re up against BEFORE you buy.

Did you ever type in a web site address in the URL space (know as address bar) and you get a totally different site? If you did you may be hijacked. That is to say you may have downloaded a spyware program without knowing it.
Redirects
A redirect is a special program put in a web page and/or imbedded in a spy-ware program that makes the web browser go to a page different from the one you typed in. This normally happens when you are infected with a virus or spy-ware.
How does this happen?
If you open an infected e-mail or web site you can easily get a Virus or spy-ware program. Even clicking on a picture or link on a web site can infect your computer’s hard drive instantly. New programs called Rootkits can do extensive damage to your computer or gather information about you that can be used for illegal reasons. These programs can run undetected for as long as they are written for. By the time you know it you’re infected it could be to late.
How can I protect myself?
• Do not go on Illegal sites or sites that contain pornography. These sites are designed to cause harm to you or your computer.
• Keep a quality Anti-Virus/spyware program running and activated at all times.
• Do not let you Anti-Virus/spyware program expire. This is the leading cause of infection.
• Purchase a new program every year or two to be sure you have the best protection available.
• Periodically check for updates.
• Scan your system on a schedule. This can be set up right inside the program.
• DO NOT assume you can install the program and forget it.
• Do not install cheap or free Anti-Virus/spyware programs. These normally do very little to protect you from the latest and greatest threat.
Do not underestimate what a Virus or Spy-ware program will do. They can destroy or change your information, they can obtain information that will lead to identity theft and much more.

This is a great program in my opinion.  I have used it along with Norton internet security.  I still feel it protects you more to have a quality anti-spyware program installed along with your regular program.  Why? it is hard to convince me that any of these programs can work alone.  The threats are to extreme.  I feel you must do everything in your power to protect not only your valuable data but also your identity. If you have been urged to install a free program of any kind don’t bet it will protect you.  If you can not  afford to protect yourself you shouldn’t own a computer.   I have seen people that have spent thousands for a computer but didn’t want to spend the money for an anti-virus / spyware program.  In not to long a time their computer became infected and either was really really slow, they couldn’t get on the internet and a wide range of other problems. DO NOT take this chance.  The virus production people are always ahead of you. Get the best Anti-spyware program you can afford.