Archive for March, 2006

Keep Your Computer Cool

Sunday, March 19th, 2006

If the computer after several hours’ use suddenly rebooted and
does not show any sign of system failure, there could only be
one thing. The computer is overheating.

Unknown to many, (especially those who are not into
technological stuff) the computer could generate a large amount
of heat when it is in use. Adding video or sound cards could
also add more heat generation from your computer.

The temperature inside the computer or laptop that has
high-powered processors that runs with multiple applications
reaches one hundred forty (140) degrees.

The more drives, memory and even colored lights stuffed in
today’s CPUs and laptops, the less space there is for internal
air circulation. Combine that with poor exhaust or surrounding
ventilation, and systems slow, applications run poorly, or the
computer could reboot to cool itself down, or crash altogether.

The popularity of cheap computers is fast increasing. People are
drawn to buying the cheap computers but they are not aware of
the reductions made just so to meet the demand.

One of these reductions is the size as well as the effectiveness
of cooling fans on the computer. As the computer gets warmer,
the computer speed also gets slower.

With the proper cooling device in the computer, rest assured
that the performance of the computer would be better. It could
also extend the life of the computer, motherboard and the
processor.

Cooling products help drop the temperature of the CPU and its
components by circulating, dissipating, cooling and pulling air
from a desktop or laptop computer.

Some fans mount in the front drive bays of computers, while
others slip into PCI slots to suck air out the back. Copper or
aluminum “heat sinks” mount atop the processor to cool that
device itself.

When buying a new computer, visit a retailer and touch the
computer case to see how hot it gets. Consider adding additional
fans to the PCI slots or atop the processor.

Other cooling tips include cleaning dust away from the CPU’s
fan, or opening the unit and using a can of compressed air to
blow dust off the components.

Keep the CPU off the floor, and install filters atop the fans,
to reduce dust, pet fur or other debris from getting into the
unit. A small electrical fan aimed to blow across the CPU also
can help disperse heat and cool the unit.

Keep the computer in a location where air can circulate freely.
Keeping the tower in a desk cabinet, leaving the doors open or
removed to aid circulation also helps air to circulate inside
the computer.

For general office cooling, a flat-panel monitor, or LCD, can
reduce the amount of heat generated, as compared to a
traditional CRT monitor.

Laptop heat is especially common. Many road warriors,
teleworkers and home office workers place the laptop literally
upon their laps to work.

This not only can block exhaust fans, but can trap and build
heat. Laptop pads dissipate heat by either elevating the unit
from the surface, or by using fans to help draw heat away from
the device.

Many slot coolers are being marketed today. There are two things
that you have to consider before buying one. The intake of fresh
cool air is very important. Case temperature drops with the
intake fan in the case. T

he position of the fan is the other. It has to be positioned one
slot away from the AGP card. The extra space would help the
airflow inside the computer. This way the computer heat would be
lessened.

About the author:
James Monahan is the owner and Senior Editor of CoolingBase.com and writes
expert articles about cooling.

Essentials of an Effective Backup Strategy

Saturday, March 18th, 2006

What will you do if you lost thousands of Megabytes worth of
data because you never saw the importance of a backup system? If
your personal computer or laptop suddenly crashes, the
irretrievable data can sum up to a staggering amount and even
cause irreversible damage to a company. Most people and
businesses make the mistake of not having a backup for years
worth of data. The primary reasons of foregoing this important
procedure is their belief that such a disaster can never happen
to them and copying data to a storage device is tedious and even
a waste of time. How do you put a price tag on lost work
documents, personal documents, notes, databases, emails, email
contacts and plans? Not backing up important data is an
invitation for disaster. Whether you encounter power failure, a
corrupted file, a virus, or human error, most computer users can
still lose some amount of data if not all. Having realized the
importance of backing up, here are 5 essential guidelines for a
reliable backup strategy.

Effective backup strategy element #1

Invest in a Backup Software of good quality and performance.
Think about how much more you’ll spend to recover lost data
versus the price of a reliable backup software. A product that
leaves you secured from future data data-loss disasters is
always a good investment. A good backup software is the heart of
an effective backup strategy. Do research over the Internet to
know the latest softwares, compare their features and prices.
You can also visit forums and see first-hand reviews of backup
softwares they have tried.

Effective backup strategy element #2

Double check the restore capability. Now what good is a backup
system if it can store but cannot be restore the data? One way
of ensuring the full restorability of your data is to invest in
a backup product that has bit-level verification. The feature
guarantees that while the product is performing your backup it
checks all the data down to the level of bits and bytes.
Fundamentally, the software first backs up the data and then
automatically performs a test restore to make sure that every
single bit has been copied.

Effective backup strategy element #3

Double check the capability of your backup medium. You can spend
so much on the best backup software and diligently backup your
data everyday but disaster can still hit if you don’t have a
dependable medium to store your archives. Another way to ensure
your data restorability is choose mediums of high quality and
performance. Performing test restores using the medium from time
to time is also a good idea.

Effective backup strategy element #4

Inspect your hard drives from time to time. Regularly checking
your hard drives to prevent disaster is not a waste of time.
Beware of spyware and viruses that can affect your system.
Correct errors and bad sectors as soon as they are detected to
prevent the failure of your drives.

Effective backup strategy element #5

Set a regular backup. You add data every time you use your
personal computer or laptop. This means that you will have to
backup all this additional data every once in a while too. Most
software packages can do the updating for you with a built in
scheduler. You can set the backup timetable from every hour to
as long an interval you think is needed.

About the author:
James Monahan is the owner and Senior Editor of