This was our last Computer group meeting of the season.  Mary Ellen Roach has decided to step down from leading the group.  Bill Roach is staying on and is being joined for next season by Dave Clark.

 

     Just two reminders.  If you leave your printer down here for the summer, don't forget to remove the ink cartridges and store them in saran wrap or some other air tight wrap. 

 

     Check your computer to make sure that it changed to daylight saving time.  If it didn't, change it manually -- but then don't forget to change it again when the "old" daylight saving time kicks in.

 

 

GPS (Global Positioning System)

 

A demonstration of the Garmin GPS Street Pilot c330 was given. Street Pilot "c-series" GPS navigators feature a simple touch screen interface, with automatic route calculation to any destination and turn-by-turn voice-prompted directions along the way. Selecting a destination is straightforward and requires only a limited amount of input from the user. Plus, the Street Pilot c330 allows you to choose between a three-dimensional navigation view or the more traditional “bird’s eye” overhead view.

 

The centerpiece of the c330 is a bright, 3.5-inch diagonal, 16-bit color display that makes navigation a snap. The unit also features dual integrated speakers for high-quality voice prompts, and an internal lithium-ion battery for out-of-car route planning.

 

A demonstration of a short trip around the park was given. The unit is very accurate and will give movement as small as 2 meters.

 

It is available from Wal-Mart for less than $300. This unit is very accurate and easy to use.

 

Update Your Windows software

 

Go to Start, programs, and scan up for Windows Update. Click on Windows Update.

When the Windows Update window opens click on Pick a time to install updates. Select a time your computer will be connected to the web and set the time and click ok.

 

Check your computer from time to time to make sure there are no updates that you have missed.

 

 

 

Speed up your computer

 

When you first bought your computer, there were few programs installed and surfing the Internet probably went quite quickly, depending on your connection speed.  As time went by, you loaded more and more programs and personal files into the hard drive.  Just like your car, your computer needs regular maintenance or the performance will start to deteriorate, resulting in frustrating slowdowns and loss of functionality.  Here are some tips on just a few of the ways you can maintain your computer to run at peak performance.

 

Run Daily Anti-Virus Checks

 

There are some very good, free, anti-virus software programs.  They work every bit as well as expensive programs, like Norton Anti-Virus.  Generally, they use less of your computer’s resources, so things work a little faster.  Everything that comes in and goes out of your computer should be checked for viruses, including all e-mail and anything that you download from a website.  Get to know how your anti-virus software works.

 

v     Make sure your anti-virus software is updated at all times

v     Schedule a check for the same time each day

v     After closing down for a few days, do a manual anti-virus update and check your computer for viruses before you begin anything.

 

Free-up Memory

 

Every website you view will leave a record on your computer, so that you can go back to it quickly at any time.  These records are known as your browsing history and they reside in the memory.  To free up the space they occupy, do the following:

 

v     Click Start>Control Panel>Internet Options

v     Under the General tab, Browsing history, click Delete

v     Delete Temporary Internet Files

v     Delete Cookies (these are typically very small files and may be left if required)

v     Delete History.

 

Delete Prefetch files

These files are created whenever you use a program so that, at the next boot-up, the computer can quickly load a small part of that program into the memory. If you use the program, it speeds up the time taken to load it. However, if you don't want to use that program, you are losing valuable memory space.

Click Start>My Computer>Tools>Folder Options

Click on the View tab

In the two choices shown under 'Hidden files and folders', make sure that the 'Show hidden files and folders' circle has a dot in it.

Click OK, then close the My Computer window.

Right click on Start>Explore and go to C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch

Double-click the Prefetch folder

Click Edit>Select All

Press Delete.

 

Scan Disk

 

v     This maintenance program repairs disk errors, which you may be unaware of.  These cause slowdowns.  Read about this at:
http://www.bsu.edu/ucs/article/0,1370,6327-1987-4756,00.html

 

1.      Click Start>Run

2.      Type chkdsk

3.      Click OK

4.      DOS dialog box shows computer progress during scan.

 

De-fragment your hard drive

 

If the files on your hard drive become separated by open space, the process of retrieval of those files takes longer than necessary.  Defragmenting closes up all the files that should be together.

 

v     Close all running programs before you start (Internet Explorer etc.)

v     To open Disk Defragmenter, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Defragmenter.

v     In the Volume box, select the hard drive. The main one is usually (C:)

v     Click Analyze

v     If required, click the Defragment button.  If not, click Close.

 

Last, but not least, clean up Adware and Spyware

 

Many places you visit on the Internet insert small programs into your computer without your knowledge, in order to get information about the kind of things you like to view.  This information is used by advertisers.  Most of these programs are relatively harmless but there are some nasty ones, known as Trojan Horses and Worms, that can have serious effects on the way your computer operates.  Fortunately, there are ways to detect and delete them if you catch them in time.

 

v     Install Windows Defender (free download from Microsoft) and schedule daily checks.  This is an excellent automatic program which requires no input from you after you have set a schedule for it.

v     Other good software programs include ‘Ad-Aware SE Personal’ and ‘Spybot - Search and Destroy‘.  These must be used regularly, and do not have scheduling As there are always new viruses being created by malicious computer users, the software developers try to stay ahead of the detection game by making updates available to you, so be sure to search for updates before running these two programs.

 

There are many other tricks to learn in order to keep your computer running smoothly and quickly, but these are the easiest for inexperienced users.  Good luck!