Nowadays with viruses and spyware all over the Internet, everyone is worried about protecting their computers from software problems.  But have you ever worried about protecting your computer from hardware issues?

You can know whether your hardware is working properly or not by doing some simple monitoring.  SpeedFan is a hardware monitoring program that allows you to monitor everything from voltages to hard drive temperatures.  SpeedFan can even control your fan speeds so your computer runs quieter.

You can tell a lot about a computer by monitoring its hardware. For example, if the cpu and system temperatures are too high it is likely that your computer is being bogged down with too many processes running at the same time. If this is the case, you might want to read a previous article on how to disable unnecessary processes.  However, high temperatures could also be a fan beginning to fail or maybe your computer case doesn’t have good enough air flow.

By monitoring your system voltages you can tell if your power supply is still in good shape. For example, if your computer sometimes restarts for no reason or even locks up when multitasking it could be caused by a faulty power supply.  A good way to check is to place the computer under stress. This can be done by encoding a DVD or even a stress test that maxes out your hardware.  This is the time when your system could restart or become unresponsive. However, if your voltages are within the proper limits, chances are your power supply is still good.

But, if your computer still restarts or freezes from time to time, you might want to try keeping a log of the events to help you diagnose the problem. Here is a previous article on logging computer shutdowns.

Below is a screenshot of the main window.  As you can see, this is where you can monitor your fan speeds, hardware temperatures, and voltages.

To let SpeedFan automatically control your fan speeds, the ‘Automatic fan speed’ box must be checked. Once this box is checked, you will see the fan rpms vary depending on temperature. You can also manually control the fan speeds by changing the percentages located in the middle of the main window.

If you click the ‘Configure’ button in the upper-right corner, you will see the following screen. This is where you can adjust which temperatures are being monitored. You can also specify a desired temperature and a warning temperature.  This will help SpeedFan know which temperature to keep your hardware at when adjusting your fan speeds.

You can have SpeedFan display temperatures in the tray (near the clock) so that you don’t have to keep opening the main window to check on your temperatures. To display a temperature next to the clock, click the ‘Show in tray’ check box in the bottom-right corner. If you would like to rename the title of the hardware you are monitoring, simply click on the name and then press F2.

There are more tabs located in the configuration window. However, I am not going to go over these at this time since the settings are similar to those on this page. If you have a question about a setting, please email me or check out the SpeedFan website.

Another great feature of SpeedFan is it allows you to monitor the health of your hard drives.  While at the main window, click the ‘S.M.A.R.T.’ tab located across the top of the window.  There is a drop-down box where you can choose which hard drive you would like to test.

To test a hard drive simply select the drive you want and press the refresh button next to the drop-down box.  In a matter of seconds you will see a report on your hard drive. It also tells you some important information such as model number and firmware version.  For more information on what the values in the report mean, read the SpeedFan article on S.M.A.R.T.

Sure there are other hardware monitoring programs out there. The reason I like SpeedFan so much is it is clean, simple, and to the point. There are not a lot of extra features that clutter up the display or settings area. I also like being able to monitor my temperatures in the system tray.  Lastly, SpeedFan is updated pretty often to make sure the newest hardware is supported.

If you want to give SpeedFan a try go over to their download page and get your copy of SpeedFan. The link is located at the beginning of the second paragraph.

As always, remember that this software is freeware, so you do not have to pay to use it. However, if you want to keep it this way consider giving a donation to help out the guys over at SpeedFan.

If you are a Windows user, you have probably had to defragment your hard drive at one time or another.  However, even if you have never heard about defragging, this article is still for you.

It should come as no surprise that the built in defrag program “Windows Disk Defragmenter” isn’t the best program out there.  There are several other programs that are far more efficient and have more options than the default Windows program.  This article is going to cover Defraggler, a program from the same company as CCleaner.

Defraggler is one of the best defrag programs for Windows, and the best part is it’s FREE!  While you can’t beat the price, this isn’t the only selling point. Some other notable features include:

• The ability to defrag individual files as well as the entire drive
• Vista support including 64bit!
• Small enough to run on a flash drive (Setup file is less than 1MB)

Below is a screenshot of Defraggler at the main screen:

As you can see, the interface is pretty straight forward.

To begin, simply click on the hard drive or partition you wish to defrag and click the ‘Analze’ button in the bottom left corner.  When the analysis is complete, it will show you how many files are fragmented and the number of fragments.  You can also see a list of the fragmented files by clicking ‘View files.’

Once you are ready to defrag, simply click the ‘Defrag’ button. Can’t get much easier than that :-) .

This will analyze and defrag your entire hard drive. If you wish to only defrag a certain file or folder, click ‘Action’ and then make the appropriate choice.

Also, once you analyze the hard drive, you can click ‘View files’ and select individual files to defrag.

TIP: If you have more than 1 hard drive (or partition) don’t forget to defrag it as well.

Last but not least, Defraggler has the ability to check your hard drives for errors.

This is similar to running the “Error-checking” program in Windows.  This will check to make sure your drive is running in tip top shape.

If you have used Windows for more than a few days you have probably noticed that as you install more software your computer begins to get slower, especially when you first log into Windows.

On most computers this is because you have lots of programs trying to start up every time you login. Here’s how to eliminate unnecessary programs from your startup.

Step 1:
Identify which programs are running on startup. There are couple ways to do this. Before you begin, you should restart your computer to make sure you haven’t already closed some programs that would normally run on startup.

Many of the programs will have icons located in the taskbar (beside the clock) that shows they are running. Simply hover your mouse over the icon to see what it is.

You could also open the task manager by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del. This will show you a list of all the current processes that are running. If you look at the very bottom of the task manager window it should show the number of current processes. If you have over 40 processes after you login, you probably have too many programs running on startup.

You may not be able to identify what all of the processes are but some of them will be very obvious (Ex: iTunes.exe, AIM.exe, etc)

Step 2:
Once you have identified which programs are running on startup, decide which ones you don’t need to start every time you login to Windows. If you decide a program is not needed on startup that does not mean that it will be uninstalled or unusable.

It will help to make a list of the programs that are currently running and the programs that you wish to have running on startup.

Step 3:
There are a couple ways to keep programs from running on startup.

The first is by opening each program that currently runs on startup, and changing its preferences so that it no longer runs when you login to Windows. This is typically the best solution but will require different instructions for each software.

The second way is to use MSCONFIG. This system utility will allow you to disable certain programs from your startup.

To open MSCONFIG, first click on the start menu and then Run. Type in ‘msconfig’ and press enter. Once the MSCONFIG window appears, click the Startup tab on the top.

Here you will probably notice there are tons and tons of programs listed with check boxes by each of them. To disable a program from running on startup, simply un-check the check box. If you don’t recognize what the program is by the name, try looking at the file path.

Computers from manufacturers such as Dell and HP are likely to have several programs installed by these companies. Usually most of them can be disabled.

TIP: Be careful to not disable programs that control your wireless connection, unless you use the Windows utility or a 3rd party program for this.

If you still aren’t sure what a certain program is and whether or not it is needed, check out this comprehensive list of startup applications. On this site, programs with an “N” or an “X” can safely be disabled. Programs with a “Y” should be left alone and those with a “U” are left up to the user to decide.

TIP: Disable only a few programs at a time and then restart. This way if you realize you disabled a program that you need, it will be easy to identity. Also, if you need to enable a program you can do this by simply checking the box next to the program name.

Some startup programs might actually be due to viruses or spy-ware. If you are having trouble disabling a certain application, try scanning for viruses and spy-ware. It could take you several restarts to finally disable all of the unnecessary programs.

Step 4:
Once you have disabled all the unnecessary programs from running on startup, check the task manager again to see how many processes are running when you login. This number should be lower than when you started. Again, anything less than 40 is ideal. The less processes the better.You can see the number at the bottom left corner of the task manager.

Today’s post is one that all Windows users should read (we would love to have all that traffic :-) ). If you want to keep Windows running in tip top condition, you need to take some precautions. Since Windows has a problems with spy-ware and viruses, you will need to have some programs in your arsenal to keep everything running smoothly. Lastly, it is always a good idea to fix problems in the registry as well as clear temporary files.

Whenever I install Windows on a computer, whether it is for me or for a friend, one of the first things I do is download and install the following programs.

1) AVG Anti-virus Free Edition – is one of the best FREE anti-virus programs I have ever used. I hate using some of those name brand programs, since all they seem to do is slow down your computer. If you think free anti-virus programs don’t provide the same protection as paid versions, you haven’t tried AVG Free Edition yet. AVG Free Edition has everything most users look for in an anti-virus program. For me, the biggest advantages are it is FREE and it protects my computer without slowing it down. Another great feature is AVG will automatically update with the latest detection information. AVG Free gives you options to scan any part of your computer as well as a complete scan that scans the whole system. If a virus is detected, you have the options to quarantine the item, try and heal the item, or simply delete it. You can set AVG to run in the background on boot-up so you wont forget to scan regularly. I however do not do this in fear that it will bog down my system. All-in-all, this program is top-notch and definitely worth a download, especially if the subscription on your name brand software has run out.

For more FREE products from the makers of AVG Anti-virus Free Edition, visit their website.

Another great FREE anti-virus program I recommend is AVAST Anti-virus, which has a 64bit version for FREE as well.

If you are afraid of using free anti-virus programs, look at the folowing articles.

• Free or Paid Antivirus, Any Difference?
• Free Antivirus Comparision
• How Good Are Free Security Programs

2) Spybot Search and Destroy – is a great FREE program to remove spyware. This is another program that merely protects your computer without slowing things down. Full system scans only take about 5-15 minutes depending on your system and what else is running at the time of the test. Spybot-S&D provides FREE updates to help detect new threats. However, the update is not automatic, you have to ask Spybot to check for updates. Spybot has a couple great features including a “Tea Timer” that monitors Windows and alerts you when a program is trying to edit your system. This can become very annoying when it notifies you every 30 seconds. However, this can be very helpful when trying to diagnose what program is causing your problem.

For more information on Spybot-S&D feature as well as a getting started tutorial visit their website.

3) HijackThis – is a FREE advanced tool for scanning and removing spyware. When you run HijackThis, it will scan your registry and hard drive and return a log of settings that may have been changed by spyware, malware or other unwanted programs. WARNING- this program is recommended for advanced users only. If you are unsure how to use the program or the meaning of the results, I suggest you post your log file on a support forum, where someone can suggest which entries to remove. Removing the wrong entries could render your computer unusable.

4) CrapCleaner – is a FREE system optimization and privacy tool. CCleaner removes temporary files allowing your computer to run faster, as well as free up hard drive space. CCleaner has the ability to remove temporary files created by Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Windows Media Player, MS Office, Nero and many more. It also erases your online activity such as your Internet history. With CCleaner, you can even repair your registry. One of the best features of this software is it allows you to backup your registry before making any changes to it.

For more information of CrapCleaner, take a look at Michael’s post “How to use CCleaner“.

Now its time to hear from you. What do you use to protect your computer from threats? Let us know in the comments!

Images taken from the following website respectively:
http://www.mgcr.com/images/AVG_Antivirus_System_logo.jpg

http://www.moradnet.ca/images/SpybotSD_Logo.jpg
http://tweakers.net/ext/i/1183761414.jpg
http://www.wikipedia.com

http://ccleaner.com