Erik's Computer Tips

Current news

Windows^® XP Service Pack 2 (SP2): This is a very importnat security update for Windows XP computers and you should plan to install it as soon as you can; however, you should be aware that it may have compatibility problems with some hardware and software. If you mainly use your PC to surf the web and read e-mail, then you should definitely install SP2 as soon as you can. Microsoft Office (at least the newer versions, Office XP and Office 2003) also appears to run with no problems. If you run other software, or hardware other than the computer, a monitor, a keyboard, and a mouse, then you should probably check on the manufacturers website 's to see if they have any updates or compatibility warnings regarding Service Pack 2.

Security Tips

All computers connected to the internet should be protected by a firewall. Windows^® XP includes a firewall that will protect your computer against attacks from the outside. If you have a broadband internet connection, I would strongly recommend that you consider a hardware firewall, which will intercept unwanted traffic before it ever reaches your PC at all. Most hardware firewalls designed for home users (often called broadband routers, cable routers, or DSL routers) also provide connections for several computers, which will allow you to easily set up a home network and share your broadband connection between all of your PCs.

Safety Tips (keeping your computer and data safe)

Troubleshooting Tips

PC Maintenance Tips

Tips for Upgrading your old PC

The biggest bang for your buck for increassing the speed of an older PC is generally to add more memory (RAM). The one caution is that there are a number of types of RAM out there (basic SDRAM, DDR, DDR2, and RDRAM), and you need to be sure to pick RAM that is compatible with your system and the RAM already installed in it.

Tips for Buying a new PC

General note: When choosing a PC or components for a PC, I usually look for the point just before the price increase for each step up gets big. For example, as I write this, the price increase to go from a Celeron 2.4 to 2.53 is $10, 2.53 to 2.66 is $15, and 2.66 to 2.80 is $30. I would probably go with the 2.66.
Brand/Manufacturer: I have no experince with Apple Macintosh computers (the last time I touched an Apple, it was an Apple II in elementary school in the mid 1980s), so if you are interested in Apple, you will have to look elsewhere for advice. There are two ways to go when purchasing a PC: go to a local system builder who will custom-build one to your specifications or buy a well-known brand such as Dell, HP/Compaq, or IBM.
A local system builder will probably give you the most value for your money, because you can get exactly what you need rather than being forced to choose from specific models, where you may go with a higher model because you need one out of the five upgrades it offers over the base model. However, if you don't know enough about computers to make knowledgeable choices yourself, you should have a knowledgable friend or family member help you out.
The biggest advantage to a brand-name system is that they are typically backed by a 24-hour support call centre and may have longer warranties and support contracts available.
Dell offers a good compromise between the two, because you can have a system custom-built for you to get the upgrades that you need. (Please note that I am in no way affilliated with Dell.)
CPU: For the average home user, CPU speed is no longer important. For basic internet use (web browsing and e-mail), word processing, developing a simple web site,and even less-demanding gaming, a Celeron PC will do nicely. I run a Celeron 2.7 (as of August 2004), and I have no trouble playing Railroad Tycoon and Train Simulator. For games with faster action, video processing, and more demanding data processing, an AMD Athlon or Pentium 4 would be better. We run primarily AMD Athlons in my workplace for data analysis, GIS (mapping), and programming work.
Memory: Memory has a bigger impact on system performance than many people realise. I recommend a minimum of 512 MB for any new system, double that (1 GB, or 1024 MB) if you will be doing any of the heavier work for which I recommended an Athlon or Pentium processor above. If you are buying through a local system builder, for a modest price increase, ask for brand-name memory (such as Kingston or Crucial) rather than generic memory, as it is usually more stable.
Hard drive: Hard drives are cheap, and probably the biggest hassle to upgrade later, so get one that's 1.5 or 2 times the size you think you need. To protect important data, consider getting a second drive for data backup. This is especially important if you are getting a PC for a home business or small business. Some computers support RAID 1 with 2 hard drives; basically, RAID 1 makes 2 identical copies of your data, one on each drive, so that if a drive fails, you will not lose your data. RAID 5 is a similar idea, using 3 drives to give you the storage capacity of two drives and protecting all your data in the event that any one drive fails.
Optical drives (CD/DVD): Get at least a DVD-ROM drive, in case you ever want to buy software that comes on a DVD instead of a CD, and make sure that it is a tray-load rather than a slot-load. Slot-load drives cannot use smaller CDs such as the business-card CDs; you might wind up with a wrecked drive and a wrecked disc if you try.
You should have either a CD-writer or a DVD-writer for backing up your data. Prices for DVD-writers have plummeted to the point where they are barely more expensive than CD-writers, and they can write CDs as well as DVDs. For reliability in terms of creating error-free discs, I always ask for Plextor writer drives. By Christmas season this year (2004), it will probably be reasonable to look for a dual-layer DVD burner if you anticipate writing video discs or very large amounts of data.

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