Archive for the ‘General’ category

Fix Outlook Email Problems

August 10th, 2011

A common problem with Outlook is corrupt PST files. The PST file stores all of your Outlook data including: email, contacts, calendars and so on. This file can get quite large, it can also suffer from many issues as the size grows.

Obviously your Outlook .pst file is extremely important and if it becomes corrupt you can have huge issues. For this reason, it is handy to have a tool that can quickly recover your corrupt or damaged .pst files.

There are various tools on the market to perform the task of Outlook email recovery, but you shouldn’t rely on them. The best policy is to always keep backups of your email. Then you will avoid the huge problems that come with a corrupt inbox.

Anyway, if you need an excellent Outlook email recovery tool, then you really need to check out Total PST. This software is excellent for quickly restoring your email. Check it out.

Recover PST Files

How to Block Access to Websites

June 9th, 2011

There are various methods for blocking access to websites, but we will show you one of the best and easiest to implement.

Many software programs allow you to block access to sites but you can block any site without the need for any software. So if you want to block sites on your computer that are using up too much bandwidth, or maybe you want to stop your kids from accessing certain sites, this is the way to do it.

Block Websites Using the Hosts File

In Windows, there is a file known as the hosts file. This file contains details of sites and IP addresses. In order to block access to a website, all you need to do is put an entry into this file. Extremely simple.

First, let’s open the hosts file, you will find it in the following location:

C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc

Double click on the file called “hosts”. It will most likely ask you which program you want to use to open this file. Just select Notepad and click “OK”.

You can also open the hosts file by opening Notepad first and then clicking File->Open and browsing to the same location.

To block a website, just enter the following, 1 entry per line:

127.0.0.1       example.com

block a website

Save the file and you are done. Now any site you have in the hosts file will not be accessible from your computer!

How to Fix DLL Files

February 15th, 2011

Dynamic link errors or DLL errors arise as a result of corruption of the basic DLL file wherein DLL is a library containing code and data that can be shared by more than one program at a given time. Since such files act as common resources for various running programs, these play a crucial role for speeding up system performance.

Such errors can be caused by faulty registry entries of virus, malware attacks, or by their accidental removal while uninstalling some program. It’s necessary to take preventive action against such errors because these files are fundamental to the running of applications and various programs. Here are some ways to fix DLL errors.

1.)    Re-install

Sometimes the DLL errors are program specific. That is when the system shows an error every time you try to open a specific program or application. In this case follow the uninstall- reinstall procedure i.e. re run the installation procedure for that application.

2.)    Registry cleaner

Corrupt registry entries are a major reason behind such errors. Employ a suitable registry cleaner that automatically scans and fixes incorrect registry entries.

3.)    System restore utility

This utility is a life saviour, when it comes to removing DLL errors and resuming normal system functioning.  Prior to running a system restore, make sure that the restoration date is set prior to the date on which the errors were reported. This procedure might not be possible if Windows is not running properly. In that case run the Windows in safe mode and then restore the system.

Such errors if not fixed in time, could lead to further problems and complete system crashes.  A DLL error, as discussed above, is a problem with a shared file that can escalate. We recommend that you take the time to fix DLL problems early on. The best technique is with third party software or just re-install the DLL/Application.

Total PC Health Review

February 2nd, 2011

OK, I started using this product a couple weeks back. Initially i was a bit sceptical. I thought I am just downloading yet another Registry cleaner which would pretty much give me the same old results.

Well I was actually pretty shocked. This software certainly isn’t the run of the mill Registry cleaner, in fact it is kind of hard to explain, but I was completely impressed. First i will try and explain what the product is, then give a breakdown of all the actual features.

Total PC Health is not just a PC cleaner. It is an all-in-one tool that has all the features you need to totally fix your PC and improve performance. The scan model in this product is actually five scans built into one. It will scan the Registry, drivers, processes, privacy and Malware. Overall I think the scan took like 45 seconds, but this was on a decent PC. I expect slower scans, depending on how many errors.

The scan detected about 38 errors and 12 out-of-date drivers. What it also detected were all of my privacy items such as chat logs, internet browsing history, Office history etc. This was pretty cool because I don’t normally use a privacy cleaner, but i can see why it would be useful (i have now shredded some stuff that shouldn’t be seen).

Besides the scan and repair, I also found a bunch of other features in this product. There are disk defrag tools, duplicate file finder, file extension locator, temp files cleaner, startup process manager, restore point manager, etc.  To be honest, I haven’t gone through all of the features yet, as I find the quick scan and repair quite sufficient. But I think as an overall PC optimization tool, this is going to be hard to beat.

Here i will try and list all of the features I located in this application:

  • Registry cleaner and Registry repair
  • Automatic driver updater
  • Disk defrag analysis and repair (with scheduler)
  • Privacy cleaner and shredder
  • Duplicate file finder
  • Process optimizer and process manager
  • Startup manager
  • Browser helper object manager
  • Disk cleanup
  • Malware removal
  • File extension fix

That is a pretty impressive set of tools to have in one interface. To sum it all up, an excellent product that I now have on three of my PCs. I just can’t tell you how handy it is to have a driver updater with Registry cleaner. This saves me so much time and I no longer need to run two different programs.

PROS: Multiple scan models, tons of excellent features. You can easily fix PC errors and optimize with this product. If this doesn’t fix up your PC, nothing will.

CONS: I think the Malware remover needs a bit of work. It does find stuff, but I don’t think it finds everything. Also, some of the menu browsing was a bit confusing. You just need to get acquainted with the green arrows in the top right.

I highly recommend this product. You can get it from the link below, or via Softpedia.

Total PC Health

Total PC Health on Softpedia

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Download Latest Video Drivers

May 16th, 2010
Image of Graphics Card Model: PNY, nVidia 6600GT
Image via Wikipedia

Video drivers and videocard drivers are a common failing point and can easily fall out-of-date. The problem with this is that your display can suffer badly and things like games and video will look terrible.

Luckily there is a very easy way to update video drivers without wasting hours of your time.  Previously we had to search around manufacturer websites for hours looking for the correct driver.  If you have ever visited a driver manufacturer website, you probably know how hard they make it to find anything. The search functions never work either. There are also many sites that offer the driver for download, but it’s really just a virus in disguise waiting to wreak havoc on your computer.

Fortunately, you can now update your video drivers in less than a minute with software such as Driver Detective, Driver Genius and Driver Updater. These are all great programs and they will update all of your system drivers, it is not limited to just video drivers, you can update printer drivers, scanner drivers, network drivers etc etc.

These programs also support all of the major manufacturers, so don’t worry about having an old or less popular driver. If an update for it exists, this software will find it. Once you have the right drivers installed, you will be amazed at how much better the overall performance is.

Download Official Video Drivers Now

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Use Primo PDF to Convert for Free

April 7th, 2010

Every now and then a great product comes along and you should all download it.

Well my license for Acrobat has long gone and I needed to convert something to PDF fast. Well I wasn’t about to fork out thousands of dollars on a clunky piece of software that does nothing but slow down my PC.

To cut a long story short, I stumbled upon Primo PDF and this is a great little product. It’s lightweight, converts to PDF fast and its FREE. Yep, 100% Free to convert your documents to PDF.

convert to pdf for free

There are plenty of cool features including a new drag and drop. So once installed, you just drag your documents onto the icon and they automatically convert. You don’t even need to open the application. Awesome!!

If you ever need to convert to PDF, then try this product. Well worth the free download.

PrimoPDF – Free PDF Converter Download Link

Update Audio Drivers

September 1st, 2009

Audio drivers are a common failing point and can easily fall out-of-date.

Luckily there is a very easy way to update audio drivers without wasting any time.  Previously we had to search around manufacturer websites for hours looking for the correct driver.  If you have ever visited a driver manufacturer website, you probably know how hard they make it to find anything. The search functions never work either.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, you can now update your audio drivers in less than a minute with software such as Driver Detective, Driver Genius and Driver Updater. These are all great programs and they will update all of your system drivers, it is not limited to just audio drivers.

These programs also support all of the major manufacturers, so don’t worry about having an old or less popular driver. If an update for it exists, this software will find it.

Try it free and update your drivers now

Update Audio Drivers – Free Download

Uninstaller

May 20th, 2009

Quite often we get asked how to remove those annoying programs.

Well the first step is to try and remove these programs via the Windows installer. Of course this does not always work. In Control Panel, there is an option called “Add or Remove Programs”. This should be the first thing to try.

Now if that doesn’t work it can be difficult. Many programs leave remnants or have missing uninstall files and then can never be uninstalled. This clutters your PC and is also very annoying.

The best option in such situations is to use something like Perfect Uninstaller. This program has the ability to remove anything. No matter how hard it might be to uninstall, this product can handle it. It uses advanced registry editing and cleanup tools to fully remove any program that you don’t want.

So if you have something that won’t uninstall, give this a try. It is free to download.

Download Perfect Uninstaller – Free Download

Skype 4.0

February 5th, 2009

The latest version of Skype (4.0), the gold version has just been released for Windows. This version has been in development since 2006 and it does deliver many new features.

This is basically one of the biggest releases in the history of the company and now you can expect an even better experience when using Skype.

The new version has had a very strong focus on: improved video calling, great call quality and ease of use. Check it out and see for yourself.

Get the latest version at skype.com

Intel Closing Some Plants

January 22nd, 2009

With more bad economic news, it has been reported that Intel will be closing some plants. The closure of these plants could affect hundreds of jobs.

The plants are test facilities in Phillipines and Malaysia where 200mm production took place. A local plant in Santa Clara may also be shut down.

This is more bad news for the computing industry, but is to be expected until we break out of the recession.

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Fix PC Errors Now – Free Download