Technology Tip of the Week Archive

Defragmenting

January 30 - February 6

Defragmenting your hard drive helps keep your Windows operating system running at peak performance. Over time deleting and adding new files to your hard drive causes the files to become fragmented; that is, different parts of a file are stored on different physical areas of the hard drive which decreases performance over time. Defragmenting helps to correct this by moving the files closer together.

To defragment your computer click on Start --> Programs --> Accessories --> System Tools --> Disk Defragmenter or try using Defraggler in the Utilities section of the Rescue Drives!

Spaces

February 6-12

Spaces is a user interface improvement on Mac OS. Spaces lets you assign different applications to difference "spaces" which are essentially different desktops. You can also asign a shortcut for each space to easily switch between your spaces. Using Spaces is a very useful organizational tool for users who have multiple applications open at one time.

To setup spaces navigate to system preferences and click on Expose and Spaces and select the Spaces tab. To add an application to a space click the + and select the application you want to assign to a space. Hint: open the application first and it will show up on the list without having to navigate to it.

Once you have selected an application you can select which Space to add it to and what key combination will switch Spaces. Many users use the command key and a number to switch between a space. So for example hitting command + 1 will switch to Space 1 which may be the space you selected for Safari and hitting command + 2 will switch to space 2 which may be the space you selected for iTunes.

Hint: you can assign multiple applications to a single space!

Virus Removal Trick

February 13-19

Many viruses attempt to block you from running programs that may attempt to remove the virus. This can be very annoying when trying to remove a virus from an infected machine. One trick to attempt to get around this is to rename the anti-virus application you're using to explorer.exe. This will sometimes trick the virus into allowing the anti-virus application to launch!

Note: Only use this trick with Malwarebytes and SUPERAntiSpyware!

Reseting PRAM - Mac OS

February 21-25 PRAM or Parameter RAM stores several bits of information for your Mac OS computer such as display and video settings, start up volume, speaker volume, kernel panic info, and DVD regional settings. Sometimes PRAM can become corrupted causing a variety of issues fortunately it's easy to reset. 1. Shut down your computer.

2. When the computer is powered off hold in Command + Option + P + R at the same time and power on your computer.

3. Hold these keys until the computer restarts and you hear the start-up chime a second time.