PC Memoirs

According to a leaked page on the Microsoft Partner Program Web site, Windows 7 Release Candidate will be available as early as 5. May this year. Apparently, the page was scheduled to be published in May but it was mistakenly published last weekend. It was quickly taken down after it appeared online.

It looks as though Windows 7 might be nearing its development and testing stages and after a successsful beta release earlier this year and following mostly positive reviews, PC users across the world are eagerly awaiting the more stable successor to Windows Vista.

Even if the rumour is not true, this is the second time that a leaked press release has mentioned the Windows 7 Release Candidate. Microsoft probably want to get out the final Windows 7 version as soon as possible to compensate for bad hype surrounding its current operating system (Windows Vista) and falling sales and profits. Then again, they won’t release and unfinished or untested product. After all, the software needs to meet the quality bar for the release. However, Microsoft has admitted that PC makers such as Dell and HP have already received the Release Candidate to test with their PCs.

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Are you asking yourself where all the free space on your hard drive has gone when you don’t even have that many (big) files? Do you want to free up space but you don’t know how or what to delete? If yes, then it’s time to investigate and find out what’s taking up the space and figure out a way to free it up for new files.

So, what can you do?

Firstly, you should know that some space is reserved for System Restore, and you can find out how much by going into System Properties (Control Panel, System), selecting your local drive and clicking on Settings. You will see how much space (in GB and percent) has been reserved for this purpose. You can adjust this but don’t turn off this option or you may regret it later. If you need more space, just move the slider to the left a bit.

Sometimes, your space is taken up by hidden files. This can be either a swapfile (pagefile.sys) or hiberfil.sys, a file used in laptops for hibernation. They can take up to 1GB each. Your hard drive can also have a hidden partition with Windows installation files or recovery programs, set up by the manufacturer of your PC.

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All of us have or will at some point come across this problem: how to restore or recover files that we accidentally deleted from the PC? Sometimes it’s not even an accidental loss. Maybe we deleted something on purpose and realized later that we want the file back, but it’s too late. Or is it?

There are ways to find files that have been lost or deleted and you don’t have to be an IT expert to do this. Of course it helps if you have advanced computer knowledge. You can try some easy ways to recover files before you move on to more advanced options (which involve installing and running third party software).

Warning: if your hard drive is making noises and you are unable to load Windows from that hard drive, don’t try the following solutions. Instead, take it out and connect the drive to another PC and try to access your files from there. It’s most likely damaged and only professional (and expensive) help will solve your problem.

Let’s try the easy options first: When you first delete documents/files, they usually go directly into the recycle bin and stay there until you empty it. If you open the recycle bin first, you may find your files. If they are there simply right click on each file and select Restore. They will go back to their original location.

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Every PC should have a good Registry cleaning program. It’s just as important for the Windows system as antivirus or antispyware programs. If you don’t use registry repair software, you are running the risk of experiencing error messages, Windows crashes and slow PC performance. A healthy registry is important to keep the system running without problems and as efficiently as possible.

Besides using this software, there is not much an average PC user can do to prevent damage to the registry, as it can get damaged for many different reasons. It usually has to do with references left behind after removal of programs, incorrect uninstallations of programs, missing/corrupt drivers or virus/spyware intrusions. The result is often an increased size of the registry which slows the system down as Windows needs more time to load and search data.

Therefore, you should install and use registry repair software. Here is my selection of top 10 registry cleaning programs:

1. Ccleaner
2. Registry Mechanic
3. Eusing Registry Cleaner
4. Abexo
5. RegCure
6. Registry Patrol
7. Registry Booster
8. CleanMyPC
9. Amust Registry Cleaner
10. Registry Fix

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With the increasing popularity of social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter and millions of people taking part in the new Internet phenomenon every day, it’s probably a good idea to learn about the dangers involved and things you can do to protect yourself from them. I’m sure many of you have heard about the negative sides of social networking, one of which is exposing your identity online. By joining the network, potentially thousands or millions of people can access, view and steal your (private) information. Some dangers include: virus and spyware attacks, hacking, stealing information, cyber-stalking and assuming false identities with intent to gain something from you.

I have found some interesting tips that may help you protect yourself and your family from harm:

1. Be careful with links you click – they could lead you to fraudulent web sites or sites which contain illegal material or malicious software.

2. Be sure that the message you receive is really from the person it says it’s from – maybe someone else sent you a message, pretending to be one of your contacts with the intent to gain access to your PC, online accounts or to find out where you live.

3. Don’t allow social networking services to scan your email address book – you don’t want to give away any of the email addresses of your contacts.

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