External Hard Drive

Tips For Buying A Refurbished Notebook

2009-04-23T11:18:00.000-07:00

Your buying criteria for refurbished notebooks should be the same as outlined in other sections of this site. In contrast to desktops, selecting a refurbished notebook computer presents a few different questions:

How important is screen size?
What are the trade-offs in price, size, and weight ?
How mobile should it be ?
Do you need to network? What about wireless?

When you've settled on what you need, you're ready to browse the product pages for used and refurbished notebooks. Be sure to consider these criteria before you break out your wallet:.

1. Expandability - Expandability allows flexibility. At a minimum, your refurbished notebook should have one serial, parallel, and one or more USB ports. A few used notebook PCs come with a built-in FireWire port. Extra PCMCIA slots will let you upgrade later.

2. Power - Instead of a faster processor, buy a reconditioned notebook with more memory. Increasing the RAM will give a real performance boost - more than getting the next faster processor.

3. Notebook Displays - The display is the most important component, so give it priority. Screens on 'generic' models can be dimmer and less crisp, so choose a major brand. The 12" screens on some ultra-small inexpensive laptops are ok only for travel or special uses, but not for long sessions on the computer.

4. Memory - Minimum RAM should be 512 MB. If you work with graphics, get more. An access panel will make memory upgrades easier.

5. Storage - 30 GB drives are common in cheap laptops, especially the budget notebook and tablet PCs. But 40 GB is best. If your laptop will substitute for a desktop system and be loaded with applications, 80 GB is a minimum.

6. Networking - Reconditioned laptop computers should have one or more Ethernet ports for networking or connecting to the Internet. Wireless is growing quickly, and a few refurbished laptops have wireless capability. Or consider adding a wireless card.

7. Size and Weight - Consider trade-offs. Ultra-Light refurbished notebooks are easy to carry, but sacrifice drive capacity and features. Larger laptops give you more, but lose the easy mobility.

8. Battery Specs - Ignore them. Battery life for a used notebook is not warranted, so get a spare. Good sources for laptop batteries are everywhere.

9. Warranty – Pre-owned computers come with a 90-day or 1-year warranty. Since laptops are more easily damaged than desktops, consider buying an extended warranty. The peace of mind is worth it.

10. Security – Laptops are easy to steal and resell. Avoid the financial loss and the loss of personal or business data by using passwords, a locking cable, and a solid computer bag.

Check out the computer shops in the local area - or even check online sites like Amazon.com that may showcase a good refurbished notebook computer on sale

You may be interested in reading Windows XP USB Drivers - Autorun an Application from a USB Flash Drive

How to Autorun an Application from a USB Flash Drive

2009-04-23T01:31:00.000-07:00

USB flash drives are a simple solution for easy backup and storage of important data. Once plugged into a USB slot, the information on a flash drive is immediately available to the host computer. When a flash drive is inserted into a Windows XP driven computer, the operating system reads the files then offers the user options of how to continue (the same process as when a data CD is inserted in a drive).

Setting up a program to automatically run directly from a flash drive in Windows XP is a little more complicated. A third-party program will need to be installed that will give the user the option to run the program when the flash drive is inserted. The inability to auto run a program from a USB drive is a security feature in XP to prevent malevolent programs from compromising the operating system's integrity.

In contrast, Windows Vista does allow this feature. A program on the root directory of the flash drive is run by creating a text file (with a text editing program like Notepad) named autorun.inf. The autorun.inf file should include the line "[autorun] open=XXX.exe" (without the quotes) where XXX is the name of the program you want to run. Save this file to the flash drive, making sure the extension is 'inf', not 'txt'. Once the drive is inserted again, choose 'Always Do This For Software and Games', then 'Run This Program'. Whenever the drive is inserted again, the program will run automatically.

Some computers are also capable of booting directly from the flash drive by changing CMOS options. With the proper CMOS settings, the computer will first attempt to boot from a flash drive inserted in a USB port. If bootable files are not located on the flash drive, the operating system will automatically boot from your hard drive as normal. A handy feature should your computer crash and modifications to your unbootable operating system need to be performed.

Flash drives are able to do everything CD-ROMs and DVDs can do, usually with greater ease. The fact that new computers all have USB ports, but vary in DVD or CD-ROM availability, is an argument for the USB drive's indispensability over any other storage medium.

Read the following quick guide on how to autorun application programs from your USB flash drive.

Open Notepad
Type in:

[autorun]
open=ProStart.exe
action=Run ProStart Program
icon=ProStart.exe
label=Autostart Program PC

Save the file as autorun.inf
Put the file in the root of your USB flash drive
The next time you insert your removable drive into your PC, the specified program will autorun from the USB drive

Important notes on what the autorun.inf file contains:

open=Prostart.exe
The open option specifies the program that should autorun. You must use relative paths here. Do not specify the drive letter since it may vary from PC to PC.

action=Run ProStart Program
This describes the action that will be performed. This parameter is used by Windows Explorer in the autoplay dialog.

icon=ProStart.exe
Specifies the icon to be used for the USB drive. The icon can be fetched from an .EXE file or it can be in the normal .ICO format. (more on changing icons here)

label=Autostart Program PC
The label parameter can be used to specify the name of the drive.

Special offers available on Zoom ZFX C5.1t Modeling Software with USB Interface

You may be interested in reading: USB Share and How to Choose PC Cases

How to Choose PC Cases

2009-04-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

One of the most important but overlooked components in your PC is the PC case. Selecting a good PC case is an important step in building your computer, since it determines several things.It determines the number of PC components you can have, as well as how well your system's temperature. And heck, it also determines how good your PC looks!

Now let's take a look at how we can go about selecting a good PC case.

External Space

The first factor to consider is how much space your PC case is going to take up. Are you placing it on a tight, crammed desk? Or on a large desk? If you have the space, tower PC cases are a good choice. If you're short of space, you may wish to consider smaller mini PC cases which are getting more popular these days.

Internal Space

Another factor to consider is how many components you wish to fit in your PC case. If you're a computer nut like me, you'll want to fit in a good motherboard, CPU, a couple of hard drives, video card, LAN card, cooling fans, a CD-ROM drive and a DVD writer. That's a lot of components to be cramming into a PC case! Again, a good choice would be a tower PC case. However, with so many components, you have to watch out for overheating problems - make sure you deck out the system with a couple of good fans.

Motherboard Support

One thing you must absolutely remember - check that your motherboard can fit into the case! Some cases are flexible enough to support AT, ATX and Baby-AT boards, but others only support one of these sizes. Even then, you need to be careful - some cheaper 'ATX' cases don't really fit ATX motherboards. I remember buying a wonderful ATX motherboard and it couldn't fit into my PC case! Imagine my frustration!

Power Supply

Most PC cases come with power supplies. With more and more components being fitted into a PC, you will certainly need enough juice to power them. My advice is to go for at least a 400W power supply. Also make sure the unit is ATX 2.01 compliant to avoid motherboard compatibility issues.

Cooling

If you're a overclocker or have many system components, you'll need to ensure you've got enough fans in that case to cool the system. Good PC cases allow multiple (4 or more) cooling fans to be installed, ensuring good ventilation.

Looks

Just a few years back, PC cases were boring white boxes. These days, you can find a plethora of colorful PC cases - if you're concerned about your PC's 'look'. Many PC enthusiasts I know go for good looking PC cases that come in a variety of colors - red, black, green, blue and what not.

Conclusion

In summary, always remember to consider the above factors when selecting PC cases. For the average home or business user, a good, simple case is recommended. If you're a hardcore computer enthusiast, you'll want to pay more attention to factors like internal space, motherboard support and cooling. Just consider your budget and your needs carefully - then go grab that case! Here for tricks on assembling a PC.

You may be interested in reading: USB Share and Windows XP USB Drivers

How to Install Windows XP USB Drivers

2009-04-16T23:08:00.000-07:00

After install Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows XP, the universal serial bus (USB) drivers do not appear to update; and or after upgrade from Windows XP to Windows XP Service Pack 2, the USB drivers appear with the earlier version numbers, even though the files have been updated.

To resolve this problem, install Windows XP SP2, and then update the drivers for the USB devices that are connected to your computer. To update these drivers, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type devmgmt.msc, and then click OK.
2. Double-click the type of device that you want to update.
3. Double-click the specific device that you want to update.
4. Click the Driver tab, and then click Update Driver.
5. Follow the instructions in the Hardware Update Wizard.
6. Repeat steps 2 through 5 for each USB device.

And here's a simple way tutorial that will show you an easy way to install the USB 2.0 drivers for Windows XP.

Please make sure you are connected to the internet.

1. Open Control pannel, and open up “system”.
2. Click on the hardware tab, and click on device manager.
3. Look in Other Devices section for something that looks similar to USB controller
4. Right click on USB controller and click on update driver.
5. A window will pop up and ask “Can windows connect to windows update to search for software?” Click yes, this time only
6. Windows will download the necessary drivers and install them.Finished!

Note: You can also install Windows XP SP2, and then disconnect and reconnect the USB devices that are connected to your computer. By doing this, you start the Plug and Play utility. The Plug and Play utility updates the version numbers for the drivers.

You may continue reading: USB 2.0 Manual Share Switch Hub

USB 2.0 Manual Share Switch Hub

2009-04-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

The MultiSwitch hub technology, developed by SMSC, allows the sharing of information and content from devices such as DVD players, cameras, printers, and scanners between laptops and desktops using a simple USB cable. Future hubs may also allow wireless sharing of peripherals.

The history of USB

Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a widely used hardware interface or connectivity standard for attaching peripheral devices to computers. USB was developed to simplify the installation procedure of various peripheral devices, which at the time used serial and parallel ports, required all sorts of drivers, and was slow. In the late 1990's, the common high speed standard was FireWire (IEEE 1394), which had a 400 Mbps transfer rate and was developed by Apple about the same time as the original USB.

Original USB Logo

The new Hi-speed USB 2.0 Logo

Over the years, several extensions to USB were developed including USB On-The-Go, allowing devices such as cameras, pocket PCs, and printers to transfer data directly to one another without the mediation of a PC. Another addition, which will soon join the USB family, is Wireless USB (WUSB), which uses Ultra-Wideband wireless technology to transfer high speed data up to a distance of 10 meters.

The USB 2.0 was an almost immediate hit and today it is the most common PC and peripheral connection incorporated in billions of devices worldwide, such as DiskOnKeys, cameras, mice, keyboards, TVs, and even a toothbrush. Over the years, several extensions to USB were developed including USB On-The-Go, allowing devices such as cameras, pocket PCs, and printers to transfer data directly to one another without the mediation of a PC. Another addition, which will soon join the USB family, is Wireless USB (WUSB), which uses Ultra-Wideband wireless technology to transfer high speed data up to a distance of 10 meters.

USB's ability to connect simultaneously to dozens of peripheral devices led to the development of USB hubs so that the limited number of ports doesn't limit the number of devices that can be connected simultaneously to a computer. Using a USB hub, four or more peripherals may be connected to the same computer.

Essential USB Share Info

Nearly all modern gadgets attach to your computer through a USB connection. With the USB 2.0 Manual Share Switch Hub, you can make quick and convenient connections with up to four devices, and each of those devices can be connected to two computers.In the same fashion that you would add a power strip for additional outlets, simply link the hub to a computer (or two computers) with the included USB cable(s) and add power by connecting the AC adapter.

With no software needed, once the hub has been connected and powered up there are multiple USB ports available for one or two computers to share. The switch hub has a hi-speed USB 2.0 rating offering data transfer speeds up to 480 mbps while being backward compatible with older USB 1.1 devices.

Contact me

2009-04-13T09:21:00.001-07:00

How to Contact Me

If you have any questions regarding the content in this weblog, about the products that are mentioned, or just any questions at all don’t hesitate to contact me at the following email address: exthd@telkom.net.

I’d also love to hear any feedback on the site if you’ve found it helpful or have some ideas about how I can improve the blog in some way.

I will reply to all messages as soon as possible.

Admin

About me

2009-04-13T09:20:00.001-07:00

About The Author

I'm just a blogger to spend my spare times

Privacy Policy

2009-03-13T09:18:00.001-07:00

Our Commitment To Your Privacy

Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy we provide this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used. To make this notice easy to find, we make it available on our homepage and at every point where personally identifiable information may be requested.

Our Commitment To Data Security

To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

Our Commitment To Children’s Privacy

Protecting the privacy of the very young is especially important. For that reason, we never collect or maintain information at our website from those we actually know are under 18, and no part of our website is structured to attract anyone under 18. Under our Terms of Service, children under 18 are no allowed to access our service.

Collection of Personal Information

On visiting this site, the IP address used to access the site will be logged along with the dates and times of access. This information is purely used to analyse trends, administer the site, track user’s movement, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. Importantly, IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information.

Links to third party websites

We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you.

lterations to this Privacy Statement

The content of this statement may be altered at any time.