PCTips Box

Registry Cleaning and PC maintenance software has got a bad name with so many ‘scareware’ products popping up on websites, telling you that your computer needs attention and offering to put it right. Woe betide anyone who takes up the offer and more often than not you’ll end up with a infected PC, or a bill for a piece of useless software. The other problems is that maintenance software often makes little or no difference, and don’t be misled into thinking they will somehow restore the performance on a terminally sluggish or cluttered machine, that just doesn’t happen in the real world. On the other hand, running a decent cleaner every so often can help to avoid problems later down the line, by removing redundant files and Registry entries, and one freeware utility I have been trialling recently seems to do a pretty good job. (more…)

How much do you know about your PC? Yes, I know Windows tells you about the hardware and you can see what programs you have on the All Programs list, but that’s just scratching the surface. What, for instance, is the make and version of your PC’s BIOS, what peripherals are attached, how much of your memory is in use, when was your PC first switched on and how many times have you booted it up, what is the make, model number and size of your hard drive, and just how many programs are still on your PC that you’ve forgotten about? (more…)