Help My Computer

Help my Computer

In today's world the personal computer is as common as a toaster. Almost every household has at least one computer. According to a 2001 survey over 65% of the population in the United States uses a computer. We use the computer to surf the Internet, keep track of our finances, email friends and relatives and play games. There are limitless possibilities for the use of computers. They have made typewriters and filing cabinets and thing of the past. However like any other parts of our society the pc is not safe from being harmed. There are computer viruses and spyware applications that can attack your computer. If your computer has been freezing up, giving you strange illegal operation error messages, or just not working properly it may be time to rebuild it.

Rebuilding your computer isn't as difficult as you may think. Most anyone who has some basic computer skills and who isn't afraid of taking a risk is capable of rebuilding a pc. You need to allow three to five hours of your time. Rebuilding your computer involves formatting your local hard disk first, and then reinstalling your operating system again. You will lose any personal folders and files you have on the hard disk, and programs not included in the operating system will have to be reinstalled. You will need to copy off the data you created. This is the information that you created in Word, Excel or Powerpoint. You should also backup your email messages along with your Internet favorites. You may choose to copy the data onto a CD or if your computer is networked, then copy it onto another computer or a network drive.

Next you need to verify that you have legal copies of the computer operating system. A legal copy allows you the ability to get the most up to date computer patches.

You need to get the most current software drivers for devices such as printers and scanners. The drivers are usually found on the CDs or disks that came with your computer and accessories. If you no longer have these disks, then you will need to download the latest drivers from the appropriate website. However, the newer operating systems like Windows XP and Windows 2000 usually contain the drivers needed to make these devices work.

The next step to take is to reinstall the operating system. You will need the Windows CD and serial number that came with your computer for this. There are various operating systems that can be installed, each with slight variations in the installation process. To complete this properly it is best to consult the Microsoft website or other websites for instructions on the setup procedure. When you have finished installing your operating