Elijahkelley Blog

Many people want to be able to format their hard drive but it can be an intimidating prospect especially if you don’t know what to do. In this article are going through a few steps that you need to take before you format your hard drive.

Remember, when you format your drive you will lose absolutely everything that you have. For this reason before you format it you need to make sure that you have a backup of all the different files and folders. Failure to do so will mean that your data will be lost forever which is definitely not what you want. Whenever I format drive make sure I have at least two copies in separate places of different files that are especially important. For example I might put one on a DVD and then a second copy on an external hard drive.

Generally it is a good idea to backup everything and leave it a few days before you format the drive. This will give you time to make sure that you haven’t forgotten an important file which can be very easy to do. If you aren’t the only person that uses a computer you need to make sure that all the people who have accounts and files on it are aware that you’ll be formatting it soon so that they can get all important document off it as well.

So why would you want to format a drive in the first place? Hard drives are like garages – they can become very cluttered over time and need a clear out. If you’re installing a new drive then you may also want to format it to get rid of any unwanted files. Formatting a hard drive can also sometimes be the only solution if you have a virus that can’t be got rid of any other way.

Spyware, adware, popups, unwanted homepages, the list goes on. Spyware seems to grow more powerful each year. Maybe the programmers are getting more clever, maybe we just don’t bother reading any of the freeware disclaimers (yes that’s a big one folks). The truth is, nearly everyone (maybe not the mac community then!) has got some sort of spyware on their system, the chances are, you don’t even know it. Most spyware is pretty harmless and can remain in the background without too much worry but for anyone who is really experiencing the problems associated with spyware or adware and doesn’t want to fork out the money for software. Here are a few helpful problem solvers, be warned though, they are not for the faint of heart.

Firstly, you will have at some point in the past, downloaded the spyware or adware, you probably didn’t realise it at the time but by simply clicking an add or installing a piece of freeware of some kind, you would have inadvertently put something on your pc.

Using the first method, what you need to do is try to think of when your pc started to have noticeable problems, then using your system restore function within the system tools folder, you can wind back the clock on your pc. It works like magic and providing you have set it to create regular restore points this shouldn’t be too much bother, if you don’t have regular points then the system itself will provide one. Make sure however, that you save any recent documents or data before the restore. People over look this simple technique but it can work like magic.

The real hard hitter in wiping spyware has to be a complete reformat and reinstall. Now before you throw your hands up and close this page, bear with it. Yes its a long winded process but provided you save all relevant data, put by a morning at sometime in the future that you can afford to be without the pc and just go for it. It doesn’t take as long as you think, most of it is fully automated, you will have to click a few buttons but other than that, you will be guaranteed your pc will fly like new.

In future you will need to be more vigilant of certain ads, sites and free ware. These are the infamous gateways to spyware getting installed on your site.

The personal computer, or PC as it is better known has become an integral part of many people’s lives in today’s society and we use them in a variety of different ways. Some people use them for keeping in touch with friends and family via email, while others use them solely for entertainment purposes such as playing games, music and even watching movies. PC’s are also used in the workplace for a wide range of duties including typing letters, storing and calculating data or even creating graphics and technical drawings.

It seems that computers can cater for practically any requirement and the list of software and utilities available continues to grow at a frantic pace. Unfortunately, computers like all machines in life are not perfect and they can break down or malfunction which can be very frustrating. These days most people are familiar with using a computer but when things go wrong most people have little or no idea and how to fix the problem and specialist help is required. Some businesses have a dedicated department to deal with these issues as and when they arise but for people without this support outside assistance is required.

One of the best ways of having your computer checked out is via a Remote Computer Repair service and as most computer problems tend to be software related, this service has rapidly grown in popularity over recent years in both the workplace and at home. Providing you have a good Internet connection, you can easily search online for a remote computer repair specialist who can quickly gain access to your PC and start working on the problem. These specialists are highly trained in their field and can easily find and remove rogue software such as spyware or viruses as well as optimize and clean up your PC and even set up a network for you. Networking can be a real headache for most people but many remote computer specialists are experts and can create a network for both the home and office which is very useful if you want to share files between computers or browse the Internet from anywhere in the home.

There are many benefits from having your computer fixed using a remote computer service. You don’t have any of the hassle of packing up your PC and finding a repair shop to look at it which could takes days or even weeks to get sorted and sometimes can be very expensive. Your PC can be looked at straight away without any call out charges or waiting for an engineer to turn up and online support tends to be significantly cheaper than what most pc repair shops charge.

You might have reservations about allowing a specialist to access your computer which often contains data that you want to keep private but if you search online for reviews on the various remote software repair companies, you can easily find one that is trustworthy. Some specialists will even guide you through each step and allow you to make the repairs yourself if you feel that uneasy about allowing them access to your files which helps give you complete peace of mind.

Sometimes you will turn on your computer and use an application and suddenly you get a message saying that it’s missing a required DLL file or files. For one reason or another these DLL files have either been moved, erased, or changed. This can happen because of malware, viruses, or just technical glitches in the operating system.

You probably want to remove the missing DLL files message and keep using your computer like you always have. There are a couple ways of doing this.

Let’s say that whenever you open a program you see this message. The first step involves updating the program. The update might have the required files to fix whatever your version right now seems to be missing.

If this doesn’t work or an update isn’t available, you can try to reinstall the program. The installation files for that specific program should have all the files with it since you originally were not having these errors.

Some missing DLL files might not be associated with an application or you can’t figure out which one to fix. Sometimes these are seen as soon as you start your computer.

Some expert users can track down the DLL file on the internet and put it into the proper folder fixing the problem, but this is fairly difficult.

The simple option is to get a registry cleaner software that can help with DLL errors. The computer’s registry is kind of like it’s log book or journal of everything that has taken place on this computer concerning applications and settings. A registry cleaner can go through this registry and fix corruptions, errors, and problems. So if you want that annoying missing DLL files error to go away, this is a good solution.