Need To Do A File Recovery?

October 20, 2008 | Leave a Comment

File Recover allows you to recover critically important documents, or other files, which have been lost by accidental deletion. These files may be lost by emptying the Recycle Bin, or using other deletion actions that bypass the Recycle Bin altogether. Such actions include Windows® Shift-Delete, command line deletion, deleting excessively large files or using applications that delete files without the Recycle Bin.

When a file is deleted from the Recycle Bin, or if the recycle bin is bypassed altogether, the file can no longer be recovered by Windows. The content of the file still remains on the drive, relatively intact, until the section of the drive it occupies is overwritten by another file.

File Recover identifies the contents of such lost files on the hard drive and allows you to recover them. If a file has been partially overwritten, File Recover attempts to reconstruct as much of the file as possible with the remaining contents. This allows you to salvage at least part, if not all, of that recovered file to continue using it as required.

Grab it here while its still free!

http://www.pctools.com/mirror/frinstall.exe

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Marc Liron – Microsoft MVP

Marc Liron

Posted by marc | Filed Under Blog 

What is the Windows Experience Index?

October 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment

The Windows Experience Index measures the capability of your computer’s hardware and software configuration and expresses this measurement as a number called a base score. A higher base score generally means that your computer will perform better and faster than a computer with a lower base score, especially when performing more advanced and resource-intensive tasks.

Each hardware component receives an individual subscore. Your computer’s base score is determined by the lowest subscore. For example, if the lowest subscore of an individual hardware component is 2.6, then the base score is 2.6. The base score is not an average of the combined subscores.

You can use the base score to confidently buy programs and other software that are matched to your computer’s base score. For example, if your computer has a base score of 3.3, then you can confidently purchase any software designed for this version of Windows that requires a computer with a base score of 3 or lower.

The base scores currently range from 1 to 5.9. The Windows Experience Index is designed to accommodate advances in computer technology. As hardware speed and performance improves, higher base scores will be introduced. However, the standards for each level of the index stay the same. For example, a computer scored as a 2.8 will remain a 2.8 unless you decide to upgrade the computer’s hardware.

To view your computer’s base score:

1. Open Performance Information and Tools by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Performance Information and Tools.

2. View the Windows Experience Index base score and subscores for your computer. If you have recently upgraded your hardware and want to find out if your score has changed, click Update my score. If you don’t see subscores and a base score, click Score this computer.

Here are general descriptions of the kind of experience you can expect from a computer that receives the following base scores:

# A computer with a base score of 1 or 2 usually has sufficient performance to do most general computing tasks, such as run office productivity applications and search the Internet. However, a computer with this base score is generally not powerful enough to run Windows Aero, or the advanced multimedia experiences that are available with Windows Vista.

# A computer with a base score of 3 is able to run Windows Aero and many new features of Windows Vista at a basic level. Some of the new Windows Vista advanced features might not have all of their functionality available. For example, a machine with a base score of 3 can display the Windows Vista theme at a resolution of 1280 × 1024, but might struggle to run the theme on multiple monitors. Or, it can play digital TV content but might struggle to play High Definition Television (HDTV) content.

# A computer with a base score of 4 or 5 is able to run all new features of Windows Vista with full functionality, and it is able to support high-end, graphics-intensive experiences, such as multiplayer and 3?D gaming and recording and playback of HDTV content. Computers with a base score of 5 were the highest performing computers available when Windows Vista was released.

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Regards

Marc Liron – Microsoft MVP

Marc Liron

Posted by marc | Filed Under Blog 

Defragmenting Your Hard Disk

October 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Fragmentation makes your hard disk do extra work that can slow down your computer. Disk Defragmenter rearranges fragmented data so your hard disk can work more efficiently. Disk Defragmenter runs on a schedule, but you can also defragment your hard disk manually.

1. Open Disk Defragmenter by clicking the Start button , clicking All Programs, clicking Accessories, clicking System Tools, and then clicking Disk Defragmenter. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

2. Click Defragment Now.

Disk Defragmenter might take from several minutes to a few hours to finish, depending on the size and degree of fragmentation of your hard disk. You can still use your computer during the defragmentation process.

So What Are The Alternatives?

Keep it nice and simple…

Consider purchasing a third-party defragmenter!

They’re inexpensive, immeasurably better than the freebie version supplied with Windows Vista and can work in the background without slowing down system performance.

Infact software like TuneUp Utilities 2008 can really improve YOUR PC performance by:

# Intelligently defragment your hard drive on demand

# Optionally, and automatically, defragment your hard drive in the background

# Shorten the start-up time of Windows Vista

# Defragment and repair the Windows Vista registry

…not to mention all the other performance tools!

…FREE 30 Trial Download - http://www.updatexp.com/TuneUp2008  

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Marc Liron – Microsoft MVP

Marc Liron

Posted by marc | Filed Under Blog 

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