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Computer Universe
Your source for all things computer!
August 20 Issue #2
Matthew Zator, Editor, compuniverse@yahoo.ca
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By subscription only! Welcome to your next issue of
"Computer Universe", this issue has a new section called
newsflash, I hope you like this new section. I haven't
gotton any questions yet!!!! Remember the question & answer
section is for you, the readers. This ezine and I are always
here to answer your computer questions so email me with some.

You are receiving this newsletter because you
requested a subscription. Unsubscribe instructions
are at the end of this newsletter.


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IN THIS ISSUE
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=> Feature Article
=> Weekly Step By Step Course On How To Clean Your PC
=> Review Of 3web ISP & HP CD-Writer 9100 Series
=> The Computer SpotLight On Windows 95
=> Feedback from Our Readers
=> Question & Answer Section
=> How To Submit Questions To Me
=> Classified Ads
=> How To Obtain Advertising Information
=> This Week's Contest
=> Next Week.... (Guest Columnists & more!)
=> Subscribe/Unsubscribe information


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FEATURE ARTICLE, Top 6 things to do to keep your computer
In Working Order
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To many, a computer is intimidating. You might use it for
typing a letter or strictly doing email, but if you are the
only one that uses it, it is your responsibility to keep it
working. If you rely on your computer for many things, such
as email, then you should follow these instructions:
NOTE: Most tips only apply to a Windows machine. Version 95,
98, ME, XP, NT or 2000.

1) Mouse. Clean your mouse. Sure, this peripheral is a
relatively cheap item, but it can be devastating when you
need it and it all of a sudden it doesn't work! If you have
an optical mouse, a mouse that uses light rather than a ball
and wheels, disregard these instructions.

To clean your mouse look under it and you should see the ball
toward the middle of it. There is a circular thing around the
ball that should have instructions to rotate it one way or another.
Then, look inside and notice a few wheels, usually, one at the top
and another to the side. If you notice black stuff, dirt, on
the wheel, you should use a toothpick or something small and
skinny to scrape the dirty away. Immediately you should notice
smoother movement of the mouse.
2) Keyboard. Most keyboards have little crevices between the keys.
All kinds of things can find its way between the keys. For some of
the stuff, simply lifting the keyboard upside down and shaking can
result in a lot of the stuff falling out. What I suggest is getting
a can of compressed air or similar product and blow out what ever
might be in the keyboard. This should result in a better working
keyboard.

3) Scan Disk. This system utility should be run at the very least
once a month. It's better once a week. Scan Disk will check the
physical disk for errors and check all files and folders for errors
as well. Certain problems with computers can be simply be remedied
by Scan Disk. Be prepared for a couple hours of letting the
computer do its thing with this utility. The bigger the hard drive
the longer it will take.

4) Defragment. This is another important utility that should be
run at the very least once a month, preferably once a week, or
even daily. This utility literally organizes the computer files.

When a file is created and saved on a computer then is exited
from what ever program used it, it is saved as "clusters," or
tiny segments of the hard drive, and can be in many different
places around the hard drive. Defragmenter finds the multiple
clusters from all over the disk and puts them right next to each
other. This will make programs and files load faster. As with
Scan Disk be prepared for a couple of hours of letting the
computer do its thing.

The bigger the hard drive the longer it will take. Also note,
that the more often you do this the less time it will take to
do it again. For example, if you haven't defragmented for over
a month and your hard drive is 20 Gigabytes (GB), it may take
3 hours to complete, but if you waited through that and
defragmented every week with that same hard drive it may only
take 1 hour because there hasn't been nearly as much activity
in a week than in a month so there is less work.

5) Backup. If you have email, or letters or reports or
anything you deem important on the computer, of course
you don't want anything to happen to it. Computers are
far from perfect and things can and usually will happen
where files can get lost, hence the importance of backing up.
Use a CD recorder. The media (blank CD's) are less than a
dollar a piece; they are versatile and last pretty much forever.
The expense is between $100-$200 for a CD recorder, but its well
worth it to not lose your precious files. Or, use a zip drive.
These can be about $100 and the media (zip disks) run about $10
a piece. Also, the difference between a CD-recorder and a zip
drive is that the CD-recorder holds 650 Megabytes (MB) of space
and a zip disk would only hold up to 250 Megabytes (MB) of space
(depending on the type of disk you buy).

6) Anti-Virus. This is most likely the most important thing one
could do to help the upkeep of their computer. There are two
well known anti-virus programs: Norton Anti-Virus and McAfee
Anti- Virus. Both of these have their pluses and minuses and
virtually work exactly the same. They will both get the work
done and protect you from viruses. A person can follow all of
the above outlines and then a virus can wipe out the computer
if the person didn't have an anti-virus.

Computers can be scary to non-techie owners, but with the right
care they can last a long time and be less intimidating.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-
About the author:
Thomas Le: Programmer, Web Designer, Techie.
http://www.ThomasLe.info
A Game I am developing
http://www.Miz-Maze.com
Get hosted! Cheap, Fast, Easy, Reliable hosting:
http://www.miz-maze.com/hosting.shtml
Subscribe to "Thom's Techie Tips" to recieve tips, news, articles,
and more twice a month for FREE. Go to http://techietips.thomasle.
info and use form at bottom of page.



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Weekly Step-By-Step Course: How To Clean Your PC
Matthew Zator, Editor
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STEP 1: diagram where all the prepherals plug in, so that you
know where to plug them in when you are finished. (Or if
you're creative, you could make labels and stick them
where the prepherals plug in) This makes it easier when
you plug them back in and eliminates a headache.
STEP 2: Ground yourself.
STEP 3: Open up your computer by unscrewing the screws at the
back of the computer that secures the cover.
STEP 4: Get a can of compressed air (retail $7) or use your
shop's compressor at low pressure and blow out all the
dust that has collected inside your computer's innards.
This dust, surprisingly, is causing problems in your PC.
You see the dust is the thing that is clogging up your
fan and making it move slower, thus making the fan unable
to cool your computer.
**IMPORTANT!** Do not vishously blow off the heat sink, it might
do undesirable things to your computer.
STEP 5: Be sure to blow off the cards, fan, (especially the fan),
and be careful not to dislodge the cards or any of the plugs
that are plugged into the motherboard.
STEP 6: Put the cover back on and screw the screws back in, and plug
all prepherals back into the computer.
Now your PC should run more smoother then it did earlier.



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*-----------------Weekly Computer Trick!----------------*
You can *-----------------Weekly Computer Trick!----------------*
*-----------------Weekly Computer Tip!------------------*
*-----------------Weekly Computer Tip!------------------*
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REVIEW: 3web Internet Service Provider and HP CD-Writer
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**3web ISP**
This ISP is one of the better cheap ISP's out there.
It doesn't have any ads that pop up while you are
using the internet, and it doesn't bother you by
emailing you all the time. It only costs 9.95/month
and it is unlimited. I've used it for 1 year already
and I haven't had any trouble with it. If you are on
a tight budget and you can't afford an ISP that costs
$21 a month, this is the ISP for you. This is a dial-up
service but it is a good one. I give it a rating of 4 out
of five.

**HP CD-Writer 9100 series**
This cd-writer is a great cd-writer. The only bad thing
about it is that it doesn't work well on a low end system
like a 200mhz computer. The requirement you should have is
at least a 300mhz computer. It works the best on that kind
of system. It doesn't have protection against buffer underruns
but it does work well if you close all programs and defrag the
hard drive before you burn the cd. It also works good when you
want to back up your hard drive or burn a copy of a program.
The only thing that it doesn't work good on is music. But maybe
it's just because I have a low end system. Overall this is a
good cd-writer to buy. It costs retail, $250 though.



*Also, if you would like to submit a review of a product or
service you just used, email compuniversezine@yahoo.ca and
I will publish it in the next issue.
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COMPUTER SPOTLIGHT: On WINDOWS 95
Fast System Maintenance For End Users of Windows 95
By Jeff Baygents
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Instructions and Configuration:
Turn off all screen savers and other applications that
might be running (including any running utilities, e.g.,
task manager, Norton utilities, etc.)

Run antiviral check.

Run Scandisk. If this cannot be accomplished, reboot into
DOS Mode and then run it.

Run Defrag.

Search for and delete and checksum files named like
"chk.001", "chk.002", etc.

Search for and delete any *.tmp files. Some will be in use
by Windows.

Ensure you have about 100 MB of disk free space in your
boot drive (the drive where Windows is stored, usually C).

Fastest Ways to Improve Performance Immediately:

Run Scandisk and then defrag (in that order).

Turn off the MS Office toolbar and turn off the feature of
starting each time you reboot.

Turn off Active Desktop (if using MS Internet Explorer 4.0
or higher).

Ensure colors used are 256 or less in the "Color Palette"
tab of Display Properties.

Turn off all screen savers in the "Screensavers" tab of
Display Properties.

Turn off (deselect) any items in the "Plus!" tab of Display
Properties.

Where Programs/Utilities are Located:

Scandisk: Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools,
Scandisk

Scandisk (in DOS Mode): Type "Scandisk" (without the
quotation marks) and press .

Defrag: Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk
Defragmenter

Checksum files: Usually are located in "C:\"

Display Properties: Use the mouse and click once onto a
blank area of the desktop (the main Windows screen). Then,
right-click once. Left-click on "Properties".

Microsoft, Windows, Windows 95, and Windows NT are
trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation. Linxent is a
trademark of Linx Enterprises, Inc.

Brought to you by: World Wide Information Outlet -
http://certificate.net/wwio/, your source of FREEWare
Content online.

Copyright © 1997-2002 by Jeff Baygents. All rights reserved.



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From our Readers:
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None This Time Around

(you can submit feedback or suggestions to compuniversezine@
yahoo.ca)

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Question & Answer Column
Where you can submit computer questions/problems
and get answers!
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Questions that I wish you asked me.....
I have an annoying song that plays on my computer after
1 hour of use. How do I make it stop?!

This music is just an alert sound that your computer
plays to tell you that the computer is overheating and
needs cleaning. This is a simple task. Refer to my step by
step course at the beginning of the ezine.



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You can submit questions to me at compuniversezine@yahoo.ca
for the next issue.
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THIS WEEK'S CONTEST
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This week's contest is a chance to win a FREE Report On
Computer Lingo!


**To Enter**
go to my website:
http://compuniverse.bizhosting.com/contest.html
and fill in the form.

AOL Users:
Click Here!

**********************


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**??? Want To Advertise In This EZine ???**

Just go over to http://compuniverse.bizhosting.com/main.html
or you can request info from the autoresponder,zatornator85@
biz-e-bot.com.

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If you like the info in this ezine, recommend it to a friend!

Copyright 2002 Matthew Zator


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Matthew Zator
compuniversezine@yahoo.ca