Free Awesome Utilities For Windows

With this post I would like to start a series over the next few days where I am going to introduce some free awesome utilities for Windows. Those utilities will help you to keep your computer save and organize. Today I would like to start with Windirstat.

What is Windirstat?

WinDirStat creates a graphical representation of the files on your hard drive. Each file on your computer is shown as a block in WinDirStat. The bigger the block the larger the file.



So when you run low on space on your hard drive, you can easily identify what takes up the most space then easily click on the block in the graphical representation which takes you right to the location where the file(s) are located on your hard drive. After that you can clean them up my deleting, moving them to a different drive or whatever you want to do with them. Unfortunately the current version does not support Windows 7, yet but all prior Windows version. For full features, click here. Direct download, click here.

If you have anymore question, please feel free to post and I will try to answer it as best as I can. WinDirStat is just one out of five utilities that I will be featuring. So stay tuned for more!

Stream Media Files And Live TV To Your iphone

I just found this service and I had to share it. With this freeware Orb application (www.orb.com) you can stream media files such as video, pictures etc., to your iphone or any other broadband -enabled phone or even between different computers from your home computer. Media files are transcoded on the fly, including online content from YouTube or even live TV if you have a TV Tuner in your computer. Orb even supports webcam streaming, so you could even use it as a home-monitoring service.

The website is very easy to navigate and explains it very well how to install. There is a free version of Orb for the iphone and one that cost money. The free version will give you a taste of Orb. If you want unlimited usage, the app cost $9.99. But I think well worth it for people who use their iphone beyond just having a pretty phone.

Enjoy!

What to do when Blue Screen of Death occurs?

People refer to it as the blue screen of death, but it does not actually mean you computer is not functioning anymore! You just need to know what the blue screen means. In some cases you might not know or the blue screen won't tell you any useful information. What to do then? Best way to diagnose the problem is to re-trace the steps you took just before it happened.

Here are some questions you should ask yourself when an error occurs:

-What did you do before it happened?
-What did the computer do before it happened; such as downloading updates or installing updates?
-How old is the computer?
-Has the computer been acting weird, slow, hiccupping prior to error? If so, for how long?

These are important questions that could lead to your solution. If you would like me to help you with some of your computer problems, these questions need to be answered when you post your question, please.

There are also some diagnostic options your computer can do that might tell you what is wrong with your computer. They differ from computer to computer. Usually those options can be found in the BIOS.

How to get to the BIOS?
When your computer loads up, pay attention to your screen. You will see some option you can choose from on the top or bottom of the screen such as change boot device, setup, recovery option, etc. You want to choose the setup option which is usually F2, DEL, ESC, or F9. It differs for the type of computer you have. If you need help finding the options for your computer, please post the model of computer you have and I can help you.

Most computers also have a repair option which also can be found in the loading screen (see above) but that usually requires the recovery CD’s or the original operating system. If you have a fairly new computer, you must create a recovery CD since most of the new computers don’t come with recovery CD’s anymore. The recovery CD will be your best fr­­­­­iend. It is very simple to reinstall your operating system BUT you will lose all your data if you do so. Please do your data back-up before you mess with your operating system. If you need any assistance and live in the Denver Metro area, please go to www.backupbandit.weebly.com for more details. I will be offering some “remote” assistance as well in the near future.

What is Remote Assistance?

I will give you instructions on how to install a program that will allow me to have temporary access to your computer. So I will see what you see, and once I am done, the instructions will tell you how to uninstall the program, to assure you that I will not have any further access to your computer. Check back to my website for more details to come.

TechTalk For The Average Joe

First off, thank you for stopping by.

I would like to start by writing about my vision for this blog and I hope my readers will enjoy it. What I had in mind is to bring "TechTalk" down to an Average Joe level.

Working in the computer industry, I run into people that admit they have no idea about computers besides their basic usage such as email, web browsing and basic functions. But as soon as the computer does something out of the ordinary, they don't know what to do.

People are very appreciative when you explain the problem on a level that they understand. That is exactly what I intend to do with this blog. I would like to you help to get more comfortable with your computer and explain some of the functions and errors that you might come across.

I also will talk about useful applications that are a must have for some of you. I will explain how to use them and what they are good for.

I hope you will enjoy my blog and find it useful! Please share your opinions and make suggestions about what you might want to hear about in the future. Thanks!


SHOUT OUT TO DENVER:

contact me for back-up services that I offer around the Denver Metro Area @ www.backupbandit.weebly.com