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.
"Windows" is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation in
the United States and other countries.