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Upgrading my PC to Windows 7

Computer Repair Guy — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 20:28:30 +0000

Why should I upgrade my PC to windows 7?

This is a valid question and one you should strongly consider asking yourself as you weigh the pros and cons or upgrading to windows 7.

Its no secret that windows vista has received a bad rep and for good reason. This has left a bad taste for many including myself. I won’t get into many details of the pitfalls of Vista but let all agree it was a disaster! Its made me even more skeptical of upgrading to Windows 7. Lets say I think Microsoft got the hint and learned from their mistakes.

So before considering the big move, I will give you legitimate reasons why you should upgrade your PC to windows 7.

Reason 1 to upgrade my PC to Windows 7:
Compatibility is better in Windows 7.

Do you remember all of those unrecognized devices after installing Windows Vista? This was a prominent issue when Vista was released. As time went by more and more drivers and updates were rolled out for compatibility issues and eventually Vista was stable.

Fear not Windows 7 is essentially Vista on Steroids and upgrading has never been easier. No driver updates will be necessary sine Windows 7 will take care of everything for you.

Operating systems become more stable as they age primarily because there will be more service packs and upgrades released that fix major bugs. Since windows 7 uses the same code as Vista that’s been tweaked and nearly perfected, it proves to be a very stable OS. When was the last time someone complained about XP ?

Reason 2 to upgrade my PC to Windows 7:
Performance is Much Better in Windows 7!

Unlike its predecessor, Windows 7 runs very smoothly and is built better to optimize your hardware on your PC meaning quicker load times, less hang time and lag as well as no freezes! In addition if you use a laptop, you will notice a big increase in battery life. I can’t tell you what a blessing its been to work on my PC without any annoying interruptions. If you are a gamer, I can’t think of a better reason to upgrade to Windows 7 on your PC.

Reason 3 to upgrade my PC to Windows 7:
Windows XP compatibility mode!

Windows 7 professional offers an XP compatibility mode that you can switch on and off for programs they run better in a windows XP environment. If you’ve been using XP since its release, this is a great opportunity to slowly transition into this new OS.

If you have any other reasons you should or shouldn’t upgrade to Windows 7 feel free to share!

Go green and Recycle your PC!

Computer Repair Guy — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 22:43:32 +0000

We all know that modern computers look so cool and clean on the outside, but what’s inside the monitors and towers is not so pretty. We are constantly upgrading our electronic equipment and computers to get the next best advancement in technology. The old devices are now as good as garbage. This garbage is referred to as “e-waste”. What do we do with the old computers that we no longer need? The first thing we shouldn’t do is throw them in the trash. The inside of computers contain, “lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, polyvinyl chloride; all of which have known toxicological effects ranging from brain damage to kidney disease to mutations, cancers”, according to Dr. Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Keeping this information in mind, we have provided our blog readers with a very useful recycling link which lets you sell your used working electronics to be recycled. Let’s all play a part in protecting the environment and the future of our beautiful planet by going green!

The link can be found below.

How to Protect your PC from the Conficker Virus

Computer Repair Guy — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:40:31 +0000

With Microsoft offering a $250,000 bounty for catching the latest virus author, it goes to show you the havoc its caused to businesses and home PC users around the world. Conficker has been the thorn in Microsoft’s, Symantec, and other software giants side for the past 6 months. What makes this virus so difficult to deal with is that it keeps mutating into something more and more and more…complex. For this reason it is vital for you stay up to date with all your virus, spyware, and malware software updates. If you don’t have any you should download them…immediately.

It is hard to tell what is scheduled for the major release date of the latest conficker strain on April 1st but one thing is certain – it will not be no April fools joke. Attacks can range anywhere from taking over users pcs, sending mass spam, to stealing credit card and account information.

Precautions to take to protect your PC

As mentioned previously you MUST at the bare minimum have virus protection software and a firewall enabled on your PC.. Once you have downloaded this or purchased the software it is essential to get the latest updates. Symantec puts out an update every 5 minutes just to give you an idea of how important updates can be. It is recommended that you leave the automatic update feature enabled on the software you choose.

Secondly, make sure you refrain from clicking on any pop up messages that say “click here” or anything that says “click here” for that matter. This includes messages from friends at social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace, and Linkedin. These messages could say something like “check out this funny video, check out this site, ect” It is imperative that you get confirmation from your friends and family that they did indeed send this message before you click on it. It is a good practice to send them a follow up message or a quick phone call. It may seem silly but worth it for such a big price to pay.

See the diagram below for a useful overview of the virus and other preventative measures.