The Refurbished Laptops Guide » How-To

How To Speed Up Your Computer

GuestPoster — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 11:41:19 +0000

When you first buy a computer it always feels really great because the computer is working at it’s absolute best. You haven’t installed any software. You haven’t clogged up your hard disk with photos, videos or mp3. And your computer hasn’t been faced with viruses.

Unfortunately the longer you own your computer the worse it seems to get in terms of performance. Whereas before it would do something instantly, now you are having to sit around waiting for several seconds. When this begins to happen, often people will decide that it’s now time to buy a new computer. But is this really needed? If it worked well before perhaps it can work well again.

1. If you have got a lot of files on your computer that you don’t need you should just delete them. Yes it can seem harsh but there are probably lots of files you are never going to need. The same goes with software. A lot of people install free trials and such like but then never use them again. Just uninstall them.

2. If there are files you really want to keep but don’t need everyday then you should invest in an external hard drive. They have become very cheap these days and you can buy ones that are 1.5 TB which should be able to hold everything you need.

3. Did you realize that all those icons you have on your desktop can slow your computer down? Well, it does so delete any shortcuts you don’t really need. If you have files saved onto your desktop then you need to move them into your documents folder or somewhere else like that.

These are just a few tips on how to speed up your computer. If you still aren’t able to get it up to speed, you can search for more tips because there are loads more that you can try out.

Shopping:

Iomega Prestige 1 TB USB 2.0 Desktop External Hard Drive 34919 (Gray)

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

Vaultz VZ01176 A to Z CD/DVD Storage File Guides - 26 per Box (Black)

File-Folder Games in Color: Time & Money: 10 Ready-to-Go Games That Motivate Children to Practice and Strengthen Essential Math Skills-Independently!

Asus EeeBox EBXB202-BLK-X0081 Desktop PC (1.6 GHz Intel Atom N270 Processor, 1 GB RAM, 160 GB Hard Drive, XP Home) Black

How To Choose A Mini Notebook Computer

GuestPoster — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 19:39:44 +0000

There are lots of factors that come into play whenever buying any new laptop or computer. Mostly the same applies even when selecting a mini notebook computer (or netbook as they are sometimes called).

Brand
When it comes to computers brand does matter. The thing to be cautious of though is that price does not always mean it’s a better unit. Brands like Sony Vaio, Ferrari and Lamborghini are simply more expensive because they have that brand logo on the laptop. I recommend going with Dell, Toshiba or Asus. LG can also be good and Acer can too although sometimes Acer mini notebook computers can be a little flimsy and temperamental.

Specifications
I won’t go into too much detail on the specifications as they simply change to frequently. I will give you some points to check for though:

Make sure the specifications are at least ‘recommended’ level for the operating system.
Check that it has plenty of USB ports and even a memory card slot, mini notebook computers do not tend to have a DVD slot.
Type a few lines out on the keyboard and make sure that you like the feel of it.

Screen size
If you don’t like small screens than you may want to choose a regular sized laptop with a 13″, 15.4″ or 17″ screen. Most mini notebook computers come with a 10.1″ screen but can vary from 7″ to 11″. This is fine for checking emails, watching DVDs or just browsing the web. However, I wouldn’t do any long term work on the netbook as you can develop bad posture from hunching over the screen.

Note: Screen size are always measured diagonally from opposite corners.

That’s the deal on mini notebook computers. Whenever purchasing any electronic products always remember the key points are brand, specifications and size.

This article is courtesy of Tech By Tile

Shopping:

ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1005PE-PU17-BU 10.1-Inch Blue Netbook (Up to 14 Hours of Battery Life)

HP Mini 210-1010NR 10.1-Inch Black Netbook - 4.25 Hours of Battery Life

HP USB Mini Speakers

HP Mini 210-1084NR 10.1-Inch Blue Netbook - 9.75 Hours of Battery Life

Acer AO532h-2588 10.1-Inch Onyx Blue Netbook - Up to 8 Hours of Battery Life

How To Speed Up a Hard Drive

GuestPoster — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 05:31:54 +0000

Hard disk speed can significantly influence the machine functioning. Even if the computing machine has powerful CPU, good memory, a slow hard disk can be a bottleneck in the computing machine. It could be expensive to substitute the hard drive. A user can do many maintenance and tuning to improve hard disk velocity in a machine. De-fragment the hard drive at least once in six months.

In the Microsoft Windows explorer, right click on the drive. Click on “Properties” menu. In the Properties window go to the “Tools” tab. Click on “Defragment Now” button. This will pack all the data in the drive together as well as improve hard disk. Run hard disk mistake check to improve hard disk velocity. In the Microsoft Windows explorer right click on the drive. Click on “Properties” menu. In the properties window go to the “Tools” tab. Click on “check Now” button. This will check and fix any mistake. Fixing error will improve hard disk speed to some extent.

You can also enable write caching. In the Windows explorer right click on the drive. Click on “Properties” menu. In the properties window go to the “Hardware” tab. Choose the hard disk to velocity up from the list. Click on the “Properties” button. In the properties window go to the Hardware tab. select “Optimize for functioning” radio button as well as select the look for box “Enable Write caching on the disk”. Letting this substitute betters hard disk velocity.

Hard drives often become cluttered after prolonged use as well as it is a good idea to defragment them every thus frequently. For your key drive that you hold most, I suggest a defrag every 6-12 months. Consider more such frequently if you down load lots of music as well as videos from the Internet. By defragging your drive, you will free up more such space and files will load faster. Defragging a drive is really a easy action. Every PC should come with a program called ‘Disk Defragmenter.’ To find it, simple click the Microsoft Windows button or start button as well as find the ‘Accessories’ folder. There should be another folder called ’scheme tools.’ In this folder is where Disk Defragmenter is found. Click the icon to open the programme. constantly analyze a drive before you defrag.

Sometimes a drive will not actually need to be defragmented, it just depends on how much you apply it and if you are constantly installing/uninstalling programmes or files. If the programme suggests which a drive be defragmented, start the action as well as let it run overnight. It is not a great idea to run other programmes while a drive is defragging.

This article about improve hard disk speed is based on information publicly available on answers.yahoo.com and testinternetspeed.

Shopping:

Canon HFS20 29 Piece Pro Kit with 5 Years Ext warranty Plan , 3 Piece Lens Cleaning Kit , Card case Holds 3 cards , High speed card reader , Table top Tripod , ultra compact with flexible wire leg , Camcorder Light , LCD protector , 16GB high speed card , 3 piece Filter kit , Rain sleeve, Soft case, full size Tripod , 2X Professional High Definition telephoto Lens , 0.5 X professional high Definition wide Angle Lens , Close-up Macro Set , Deluxe camcorder Bag , Pop Abrella , External Zoom Microphone , High Power Battery Pack , Rapid Battery Charger , HDMi Cable , Professional 58mm Digital video Lens Hood With Cap and cap keeper , Extra Cam Rudder : Excellent Handle For Video and cameras ,

Bytecc ME-350U2F - Storage enclosure - IDE - FireWire / Hi-Speed USB

HornetTek Goliath USB 3.0 Hard Drive Enclosure with Fan HT-318-U3-RED (Red)

Bytecc ME-740U2F - Storage enclosure - IDE - FireWire / Hi-Speed USB

Lexmark XS 463de - Multifunction ( printer / copier / scanner ) - B/W - laser - copying (up to): 40 ppm - printing (up to): 40 ppm - 300 sheets - Hi-Speed USB, 10/100 Base-TX, USB host

Improving the Speed and Performance of your Pink Laptop

GuestPoster — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 05:05:33 +0000

There’s no questioning the fact that cool pink laptops are some of the top sellers in the world of mobile computing. After all, these computers not only look great, but have also been outfitted with some of the latest technology, meaning that they can help you accomplish a variety of daily tasks. Although computers always seem to work well when we first bring them home, something different happens a few months down the road. Quite suddenly, the computer that we’ve grown to love because of its processing speed starts to slow down; pages take longer to load and some applications fail to work entirely.

There are several reasons why your computer might not be operating at its peak including damage caused by viruses and spyware, a fragmented hard disk and even insufficient internal memory (RAM). If you find yourself longing for the way things used to be when it comes to your computer’s performance, the following simple tips can get your machine back on track:

1. Run Disk Cleanup – if your machine is a Windows PC, it contains a free utility that allows you to clear your hard disk of useless files that tend to make your machine run slower. These files should be cleaned at least once per month if not more often.

2. Defragment Your Hard Disk – another free utility included with most types of computers is a defragmentation tool. Over time your hard disk will become fragmented, which means that the files that were once neatly organized have become jumbled and misplaced. Consequently, whenever you try to launch an application or open a specific file, it takes longer for your computer to locate it, which translates into slower overall operation of your machine.

3. Install and Use Anti-Virus Software – software that protects against viruses, spyware and adware should be installed at all times. Even if you can’t afford to purchase one of the paid versions, there are several reputable free software programs that work great. Of course, it’s not enough to simply install the software; you must update the virus definitions regularly.

Keeping your computer running smoothly is easy to do as long as you are willing to perform some routine maintenance. By installing anti-virus software, defragmenting your hard disk and regularly running your disk cleanup utility, your pink laptop computer will continue to perform like new for the foreseeable future.

Shopping:

ThermaPAK, Laptop Cooling Heatshift Pad, for 13-Inch Laptops, Pink

15.4" Pink Trim Zebra Pattern Laptop Case Notebook Bag

15 inch Notebook Laptop Computer / Apple MacBook Pro 15 Pink Sparse Tranquility Carrying Case Sleeve

ThermaPAK, Laptop Cooling Heatshift Pad, for 15-Inch Laptops, Pink

Sumdex Aircube Thermoplastic Urethane and Neoprene Notebook Sleeve for up to 17-Inch Notebook Computers (Pink)

Preventing Data Lost on Your Computer

GuestPoster — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 17:01:44 +0000

Have you ever had to deal with the issue of trying to recover data from your computer hard drive that just so happen to lose all your information? If you have then you know what a pain the in butt it is to recovery and retrieve all the files and program that was lost during some virus attack on your computer hard drive just decided to crap out. This post will help you go through a few steps that will allow you to be more prepared and prevent losing all your data from your computer again. These simple advice will save you a lot of time and money.

Most data lost on a computer or a laptop occurs when the computer becomes infected by a virus or a Trojan. What these viruses do is hog up all your computer resources and really slows down your computer to a point where nothing seems to work. At this point the hard drive may probably crash and all your information on your computer is lost. So I highly recommend installing a good anti-virus software in your computer to prevent this from happening. Some well known anti-virus programs are McAfee and the free anti-virus software called AVG, be careful there are tons of so-called “free” anti-virus software out there that claims to be the best but their intentions is to a infect your computer with harmful virus or programs. Always thoroughly research all the anti-virus software or programs before deciding to install them.

There are professional computer technician that are trained to recover these lost data from your computer but they do come with a cost because not the average person can clean up the mess a virus has done. If you look around locally you’ll be able to find a few low cost data recovery shops around that can help you retrieve your lost data at a fairly low price.

Shopping:

PC Clean Machine Personal PC Concierge Service

Upgrade your PC to Avoid Spending on Expensive HD Televisions

GuestPoster — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 21:25:16 +0000

Sometimes technology advances at such a fast pace that we can fall behind without even realizing it. HD televisions have been an almost instant hit. Everyday more an more families are moving on and upgrading their home theaters with the necessary equipment to be able to watch their favorite programs and movies in high definition. On the downside, upgrading your home theater equipment is quite expensive, especially when it comes to buying a new television set.

For those of you that are interested in watching television programs in high definition and don’t have the money to spend on one of these expensive sets, a very viable option would be to upgrade some components in your computer so that it is able to receive high definition signals. The other is to install a Blu-Ray player in your PC to be able to play Blue-Ray discs in it.

While this may sound like an expensive project to develop, the truth is that if you already own a PC or a laptop computer you can find the necessary components for only a fraction of the money that you would be spending if you bought a new home theater. Of course, in your PC you won’t have a screen as big as that of an HD television but at least you can watch movies and programs using the ASTC standards.

Here is what you need apart from an antenna:

1)An HDTV tuner

An HDTV tuner is a device that is connected between your computer and an antenna. It decodes digital signal that are transmitted in ASTC standards so that they can be viewed in your PC.

2)A Blu-Ray disc

A Blu-Ray player accepts Blu-Ray discs, DVDs and CDs and is a great addition to every HD television or computer since it supports older formats. It can be external or internal depending if you have a desktop or a laptop PC.

With these two components you computer should be ready to display high definition media and On Air signals without effort.

Shopping:

Coby TFDVD2274 22-Inch 720p Widescreen LCD HDTV/Monitor with DVD Player and HDMI Input (Black)

Brite-View BV-5005HD "CinemaTube" 3-in-1 1080p Full HD Multimedia Player/Streamer/Torrent Downloader, Black

Samsung LN40C630 40-Inch 1080p 120 Hz LCD HDTV (Black)

LG 47LE8500 Infinia Full HD 47-Inch 1080p 240Hz LED LCD TV

Sharp LC19SB27UT 19-Inch 720p LCD HDTV, Black

How To Choose A Laptop

GuestPoster — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 15:41:09 +0000

Laptops are probably the most popular form of computer on the market. The day of the desktop is quickly vanishing as laptops can finally do everything that the best of desktops can. Add the portability into the equation and the only real question is which laptop to buy?

The first thing that needs to be decided is how the laptop is going to be used. Most people will fall into one of just a few categories: web surfer, gamer or business. Each type of person will need their system tweaked to fit their more pressing need.

For someone that is using their computer to surf the web, the need to spend a lot of money really does not exist. Unless you are absolutely stuck on having a big screen, a netbook will more than suffice for casual web surfing. These computers only cost a couple of hundred dollars and will fit in a backpack for portability.

The gamer is another story completely. They are going to need a big screen, a fast processor, lots of RAM and a high-end video card. These computers are more or less the top of the line and can cost as much as $3,000 or more. However, the gamers will rave over computers from makers such as Alienware as they were built with the gamer in mind.

The businessperson will have their needs. More than likely, they are going to have several windows open and a lot of software on their machine. This means the processor, memory and hard drive will be among the top features. They can also benefit from both a bigger screen and keyboard, as it will more than likely serve as their office on the go.

Every type of person will have more than enough choices. Just about every brand of computer has a machine that is built for every niche, but some companies are known a little more for certain specialties. Where Alienware is known for gaming, companies like Dell and HP are favorites for business owners. Deciding which dell laptop is another story. Decide what the important features are and then make your purchase.

Shopping:

Apple MacBook Pro MC374LL/A 13.3-Inch Laptop

Dell D600 Laptop 1.6ghz 40gb DVD/CDRW B Grade Includes Genuine XP Professional restore cd!

HP Pavilion DV6-2162NR 15.6-Inch Black Laptop--Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life

Compaq Presario CQ61-420US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

Toshiba Satellite L505-ES5015 TruBrite 15.6-Inch Laptop (Silver/Black)

What To Do If You Have A Broken Laptop

GuestPoster — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:49:16 +0000

With the hustle and bustle of daily life, as well as the constant need to unpack, move, and repack your laptop computer, there are a variety of ways your device can be physically damaged. Above and beyond these perils come the common issue of planned obsolescence, where a device will simply not have the build quality or necessary strength to withstand that day to day pressures that should be requested of it. Thankfully, a broken laptop screen or any other problem, even if it was caused specifically by a short fall or other accident can often be repaired or replaced, sometimes at not cost to you the consumer.

These devices are engineered specifically to fizzle out as short as one month after the pre determined warranty period, which can not only lead to many headaches with the device, but also a sense of futility and wasted money. In addition, many people feel that these sorts of problems are their fault specifically, and don’t always feel as though they are eligible for a warranty. All in all, while many warranty claims state some sort of clause stating that damage caused by the user is not covered under warranty, more often than not these laptop manufacturers would prefer to send out a replacement laptop rather than risk a customer never returning and possible even telling their friends or posting about the issue online. The unfortunate truth is that these sorts of companies prey on people not voicing their concern, and simply dealing with the issue rather than addressing it. It does not matter what exactly caused the issue, more often than not these companies would rather pay out the cost for repairs rather than risk bad publicity and being accused of intentionally rigging their products to break shortly after the warranty period, and as such calling the manufacturer for warranty repair is the first, and often best course of action when you have a broken laptop.

Shopping:

Compaq Presario CQ61-420US 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

HP Pavilion DV6-2162NR 15.6-Inch Black Laptop--Up to 4.25 Hours of Battery Life

Dell D600 Laptop 1.6ghz 40gb DVD/CDRW B Grade Includes Genuine XP Professional restore cd!

Compaq Presario CQ62-210US Laptop PC

Toshiba Satellite L505-ES5015 TruBrite 15.6-Inch Laptop (Silver/Black)

USB Data Recovery

GuestPoster — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:49:38 +0000

USB flash drives are a very important storage device; they’re convenient, small, and easy to take around. They also perfect for sharing data between multiple computers. Almost any computer today is compatible with USB and they can store from 2 GB all the way up to 64 GB or more.

Data loss on USB drives is a common occurrence. They can be caused by a number of problems but there are some simple steps to recovering important files from your USB drive. First you’ll need to plug the USB drive into your computer, many desktop computers will have a slot in the front but you may have to reach for a slot in the back, notebook laptops should have their USB ports located on the side. Now you’ll need to make sure that your computer has the proper drivers installed for the flash drive. You can find this out by accessing the control panel and then going to the printers and device section. Click on ‘add a device’ and the computer will try its best to find the USB flash drive.

If by some reason you the computer still won’t locate the USB device click on the ‘Check for Update’ button. This will let your computer automatically update the drivers that it needs. Once the device has been installed properly access the drive from windows explorer and then simply copy or transfer the information back onto your hard drive.

If that doesn’t fit the problem for your USB data recovery then there are plenty of online programs available that are designed to help you to recover your USB drive data. You may also be able to search for or contact the manufactures of the flash drive to see if they have any software that might help you. Many big USB device manufacturers also have recovery software available for downloading.

Once you have recovered you data, be sure to regularly update your drivers to prevent any of those problems from arising in the future. You could find the device drivers from your manufacturer either by going to they’re support website and entering the correct model.

Shopping:

Perfect Image Professional

ioSafe Solo 500 GB Fireproof and Waterproof Desktop External Hard Drive with 5 Year Data Recovery Service SL0500GBUSB205YR (Silver)

ioSafe Solo 500 GB Fireproof and Waterproof Desktop External Hard Drive with 3 Year Data Recovery Service SL0500GBUSB203YR (Silver)

ioSafe Solo 1000 GB Fireproof and Waterproof Desktop External Hard Drive with 3 Year Data Recovery Service SL000GBUSB203YR (Silver)

Sandisk RescuePro Recovery Software, V3.3 Disk

How to check the serial number on a refurbished laptop

Brent — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 21:56:08 +0000

There are a number of ways to identify refurbished laptops versus new ones. The most popular ways to do this include looking for obvious wear and tear on the outside (may be tough to find), but also include running the computer’s serial number against a know database. The former is by far the easiest way to do this; many manufacturers do keep a database of the laptops they’ve put out that have been refurbished; I know Dell does this, as well as the other large manufacturers like ASUS and Acer. If in doubt, go ahead and call up their help number and they’ll help you out. Generally refurbished systems will be “flagged” in the manufacturer’s computers as refurbished, but sometimes the company that did the reconditioning will append a letter or a number to the original serial number to show it as a refurb. The former is probably the most common, though. Again, if you’re in doubt go ahead and call the manufacturer to see if they can’t help you out.

Sometimes you may run into a laptop where the serial number doesn’t actually give you a clue as to if it’s been refurbished or not. This is often the case if a third-party company actually did the reconditioning, though most of them are supposed to comply with the tracking requirements of the original manufacturer. If this is the case, there are a few other things you can check:

1. The first thing you can do is check to see if there are any wear marks or scratches where people would have been touching the laptop the most. Check the keyboard keys, LCD screen, etc. for any signs of prior use.

2. This was an interesting idea I just read about online: Check the small screws holding on the access panels on the bottom for any abnormal wear as well. When companies do their refurbishment they’ll take those panels off and do whatever they need to do to bring that laptop back up to solid working order. If you see wear on those screws, there’s a good chance the laptop has been opened before.

3. Use your nose and smell for an industrial-style cleaner odor. This is tough to describe but the best I can say is that you’ll know it when you smell it. It certainly does make the laptop smell differently than new laptops that haven’t had that treatment done.

Those are the three that seem to work the best. Of course, if you can get the company to run the serial number, that’ll be your best bet. Good luck.

Shopping:

ASUS G51VX-RX05 15.6-Inch Laptop (Refurbished)

Asus K50I-RBBGR05 15.6-Inch Widescreen Titanium Notebook - Black (Manufacturer Refurbished)

Dell Latitude D610 Laptop Wireless Computer (Refurbished)

Asus K60I Dual Core Notebook PC (Refurbished)

Asus U50F Intel Core i3 Notebook PC ( Manufacturer Refurbished)