PC Tech Support

Be sure to also check ComputerBob's Software page for PC Tech Support software.

ComputerBob's Guide To Buying A PC - Here's some important information to keep in mind when buying a new PC.

ComputerBob's Guide To ISPs - After spending many years, trying more than a dozen ISPs, ComputerBob knows a thing or two about choosing an ISP.

ComputerBob's Guide To Free Email Accounts - Many companies offer you a free Web-based email account that you can access from any Internet-connected PC. Which one should you use?

ComputerBob's Guide To Firewalls - ComputerBob explains what a firewall is, why you should use one, and which FREE one he uses.

ComputerBob's Guide To Web Hosts - Here's some important information to keep in mind when looking for a free or paid place to host your Web site.

Nightmare On Windows 98 Street - You may not believe why it took ComputerBob 7 attempts over 14 hours in 2 days to finally get Windows 98 Second Edition installed on his PC. Oooooh, scary.

Spotterwub - Have you ever tried to convince the phone company that static on your phone line was keeping you from connecting to the Internet? Read the hilarious story of how ComputerBob finally solved his connection problems.

Why Does My PC Lock Up? - ComputerBob tells you several things that can cause your PC to lock up, and gives you advice on how to prevent lock ups.

Answers That Work - "Just ask us about it, or browse our Libraries of Answers That Work (How-to documents, thoroughly tested software, Drivers library, Boot disks)."

BigFix - Your one-stop source for hundreds of free fixes for bugs, viruses, incompatibilities, tech support problems, and PC performance tips. I clicked on their link called "Security Hole in IE5". About 10 seconds later, it informed me that it had checked my computer and found several different security holes in my Internet Explorer 5. It described each security hole, and displayed links that I could click to automatically download and install the software patches that fix those holes. Pretty cool.

BOOT DISKS - Ultimate Boot Disk - (1 MB - Freeware) This download creates a bootable floppy disk that can start up your Windows 9x PC, scan it for viruses, restore your System files, extract files from a CD, identify your hardware, test the hard drive, do quick Windows installs, and more. Bart's Boot Disks is an entire Web site devoted to teaching you how to create all kinds of boot disks. Bootdisk.com has downloadable boot disks for many different versions of DOS and Windows, along with links to sites that have device drivers, updates, etc. (Thanks, ENTWIEDEMALA)

Bug Extermination Kit - A whole lot of information and sources to help you fix all the bugs in your PC's software.

Bugnet - "The World's Leading Supplier of PC Bug Fixes." Includes bug alerts, bug database and bug analysis.

Bugs, Viruses and Security Alerts - A current list of valuable information, maintained by ZDNet.

CD BURNING - Is Your Data Disappearing? will help you figure out which of the different types of CD-R media would be best for you to use.

Center For Democracy and Technology - A great source for information about protecting your rights and privacy, both on the Internet and in your daily life. Did you know that your personal information is sold to marketers every time you fill out a warrantee card, open a bank account, get a drivers license, and vote? The CDC also created Operation Opt-Out. "a single place to remove your name from research, profiling, marketing, and telemarketing databases".

Cookies - Friend Or Foe? - There's been a lot of controversy regarding these little bits of information that various Web sites save on your local computer. Are cookies good or evil? ZDNet explains all about cookies, and gives you resources to manage your cookies. Another good source is Web Cookie Basics.

Davesite - FREE online HTML tutorial for beginners.

DEFINITIONS - Ever wonder what "cookie" or "ICQ" or "Mozilla" are? NetLingo and Webopedia and Whatis have definitions for hundreds of computer terms.

Deja - Search for, and reply to, any message that anyone has posted to over 30,000 public newsgroup. (Thanks, Liese Petterson.)

DOS Commands and Syntax - Here's a list of DOS commands, with the correct syntax of each one, and a little explanation of how it is used. There's also a forum about DOS.

Drivers Ed - A driver is a pieces of software that teach your PC how to talk to a device like a printer, a video card, a sound card, and others. If you've installed the wrong driver for one of your PC's devices, it will cause problems. Here's a great Beginner's Guide To Drivers from CNet, that teaches you how to install, tweak, update, and solve conflicts with drivers.

Emergency Boot CD - According to its Web site, "EBCD is a bootable CD, intended for system recovery in the case of software or hardware faults. It is able to create backup copies of normally working system and restore system to saved state. It contains the best system software ever created, properly compiled and configured for the maximum efficient use."

ENCRYPTION - How PGP Works - Learn more than you ever wanted to know about conventional and public key cryptography, digital signatures, and digital certificates.

FILE EXTENSIONS - Whether or not your PC is configured to display them, every file on your computer has some sort of 3 or 4-letter "extension" after its name. For example, Microsoft Word documents have a .doc extension at the end of their names, while Microsoft Excel documents have a .xls extension. The filename extension tells Windows which software to use to open a document when you double-click the document's icon. If Windows doesn't have software to be able to open a particular type of file, it depends on you to find and install the software it needs. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of different 3 and 4 letter filename extensions out there, so how will you know what software your computer needs you to install? FileInfo.net and File Formats and The File Extension Source and File-Extensions.org have information on hundreds of file extensions, with an explanation of what each is. Now you can finally find out what software your PC needs to be able to open that .AWD file you found.

FreeDrive - Sign up to get 50 MB of free hard drive space on the web. That's ten times the space that was on the first hard drive I ever worked with. Save your files to FreeDrive and then access them from any Internet-connected PC in the world. Share your files with co-workers and friends.

Help Channel - What's the best way to upgrade my PC to Windows 98? How can I clean up all the unneeded files on my PC's hard drive? ZDNet's help site has OVER 10,000 articles, tips, downloads, bug fixes and other things designed to help you with every PC problem you'll ever run into. You can also write to them if you have a question that they haven't already answered.

How The Internet Works - Learn The Net presents several short, simple online animations that explain how the Web works, how email works, how encryption works, and much more. Each animation requires that your browser has the Macromedia Flash plug-in, which is included as part of Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 and newer versions.

HOW TO AVOID GETTING SPAM - The Great CNet Spam-off tells you which Internet behaviors are the most and least likely to get you onto spammers' mailing lists.

HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN PC - Build It (part of ExtremeTech.com) has tons of excellent information on building your own PC. The Mother Board has lots of valuable information on buying and installing components (except their rcommendation of EMC Computing as a good online store - my experience with EMC was horrible). Tom's Hardware Guide and ExtremeTech and AnandTech and Overclockers each have valuable reviews of many PC components, along with tips for making them work, and helpful support forums. Tom's Do-It-Yourself PC System is a step-by-step guide to building your own PC from scratch. The specific technical details (i.e. motherboard and CPU) are a little dated, because the article was written in 2001, but the concepts and steps are still very helpful. (Thanks, White Wolf.) Before you order any PC components onine, be sure to check ResellerRatings.com to find a highly rated online store.

HOW TO CHOOSE AN INTERNET SERVICE PROVIDER (ISP) - Looking for an ISP? ComputerBob's Guide To ISPs describes ComputerBob's experiences with more than a dozen different ISPs. The List is an ISP shopper's guide that lists information for almost 8,000 ISPs, sorted by country, state, and area code, to help you find the best one for your needs and budget. Are you tired of waiting for Web pages to load and software to download over your modem? There are several options that are much faster than a modem, but should you go with a Cable Modem, ADSL, ISDN, Satellite, T-1 Line, Frame Relay, WavePhore, or Wireless? A ZDNet article, How To Beat The Bandwidth Blues, tells you the advantages and disadvantages of each. Then there's Getspeed, a site where you enter your zip code, address and telephone prefix, and it tells you if your area is set up for cable modems, satellite, DSL, or wireless Internet access.

How To Upgrade/Reinstall/Install/Troubleshoot Any Version of Windows - Lots of valuable information.

How To Setup A WebCam - ZDNet's step-by-step instructions for setting up a WebCam to put live shots on your Web site.

How To Upgrade Your PC's Sound Card - ZDNet's step-by-step instructions for upgrading to one of the newer, more powerful sound cards.

INTERNET CONNECTION SHARING (ICS) - Practically Networked and Annoyances.org have step-by-step utorials to help you get ICS working correctly.

LINUX - Both Linux.com and LinuxWorld.com have Linux news, information, software, documentation, and how-tos. ExtremeTech's excellent series of articles, Desktop Linux Superguide, describes the pros and cons of several popular Linux distributions, and made me think that I just might be able to end my over-20-year addiction to Microsoft products. As I write this, I've already ordered Mandrake Linux 9.0, and I hope to dual-boot my computer with Linux and Windows. My ultimate goal is that, eventually, Linux will be the only operating system on my home PC. Read all about it in ComputerBob's Guide To Windows vs. Linux. LinuxQuestions.org has an excellent forum where beginners can post questions and experts can answer them.

Living Internet - An extensive site, with information on how the Internet was created, how it works, how to use it, plus explanations of TCP/IP, email, IRC, Usenet newsgroups, mailing lists, and more.

MICROSOFT OFFICE - Hidden Gems in Office XP - PC Magazine's tips for making the transition from Office 2000 to Office XP.

MODEM INFORMATION - Modems.com and Modemsite - All the latest news and updates about dial-up modems, modem standards, and ISPs. Curt's High Speed Modem FAQ and ModemHelp - Just what their names imply -- all kinds of explanations and help for installing, setting up, and tweaking your PC's modem, including links to the latest modem driver software for many types of modems.

My Updates - Is your PC running all the newest versions of software, DLLs and other system files? Find out with ZDNet's personalized PC upgrading/updating service. Your PC is scanned online and you are shown a list of all the available software and system updates and upgrades available for your PC. Then, you can download the ones that you want.

NeoWin - All of the latest news, software updates, message board postings, bug fixes and tips for Windows users.

Netiquette - Net + etiquette = Netiquette. Here's everything you ever wanted to know about how to behave on the Internet, including a netiquette quiz and newsletter. (Thanks, MaryT.)

Netscape UFAQ - The Netscape Unofficial FAQ (frequently asked questions) Page, hosted by volunteer "Netscape Champions". Here, you'll learn how to keep all versions of Netscape from crashing, how to customize it, how to add features to it, how to back up your email folder, how to get rid of that annoying "Welcome to Netscape" message in Communicator 4.5's email window, and more. If you're having any problem at all with any version of Netscape, this is the place to look for answers.

NETWORKING - World of Windows Networking has advice and tips, how-tos, and answers to all kinds of questions on how to network computers that are running DOS through Windows XP Professional. BroadbandReports has FAQs, forums, reviews, and lots of other networking information. PC Magazine's Home Networking 101 explains networking basics, and how to set up and secure your home network.

New PC Setup Guide - ZDNet's step-by-step guide to setting up your new PC.

No Wonder. - Here's free online tech support for Windows, Macintosh, Linux, OS/2, and more, provided by over 1300 volunteers. You can even become one of them.

PC Memory Configurator - Wondering what to buy to upgrade your PC's RAM memory? Crucial Technology, a subsidiary of Micron, lets you look up your PC's make and model, and then tells you exactly what RAM to buy.

PC PitStop - This site runs several different online diagnostic tests on your PC for free, to help you solve its problems and keep it running in tip-top shape.

PC Tuneup Tips - ZDNet presents 11 simple and quick hardware and software tweaks that will speed up your PC.

PLUG AND PLAY - Windows' "Plug and Play" feature was supposed to make it easy to add devices to your PC, but it fails often enough that many people refer to it as "Plug and Pray." ZDNet's Troubleshooting Windows' Hardware Detection describes several troubleshooting tests that will help you get all of your PC's devices working again.

Protonic - A highly-recommended FREE technical support site, staffed by volunteers. Send them a question about your PC, post messages on their helpful online discussion boards. You can sign up to become one of their volunteers.

SECURITY, PROTECTION, PRIVACY - How safe are you when you browse the Internet or send email messages? ZDNet warns that there are many ways for others to read your email messages, keep track of where you've browsed, peek at your personal information, and even look at the files on your PC. To help you protect yourself, Keep Hackers Out reviews 17 hardware and software security products, while Wilders and SnapFiles and Saltmeadow maintain lists of what they consider to be the best available free applications and advice for safeguarding PCs; DSLReports also has an excellent list, provided by their readers. ZDNet describes several tools to help you browse securely, send secure email, stop junk email, protect your passwords, and deal with browser cookies, and ZDNet's Anchordesk and Online Privacy Guide provide many more, and their article, Three Ways to Avoid Web Snoopers, describes two shareware and one freeware software applications that let you use proxy servers on the Web. Yahoo.com publishes a list of Secure and Encrypted Email Providers that provide extra protection when sending and receiving email. Stay Safe Online has many important tips for staying safe online, a test to show you how much (or little) you know about online safety, plus links to many valuable security sites. Make sure your PC is safe with incredible free online services called Shields UP that quickly and automatically scans your PC over the Internet, tells you which parts of it are vulnerable to attacks, and tells you how to secure it. Finally, Fred Langa's short-but-excellent Spyware And Worms And Trojans, Oh My describes five simple and free ways that you can protect your computer while online. Finally, SpywareInfo has links to all kinds of important computer security information, tips and software, plus a free weekly security newsletter. Ten Steps to a Secure Wireless Network will help you lock strangers out of your wireless network.

Services Guide For Windows XP - An excellent resource that will tell you all about Windows XP's many services, including their default settings and which ones you can safely disable to speed up your computer.

Shields Up. - Steve Gibson's incredible PC security check Web site. This Web site will quickly check your PC's overall security on the Internet, and scans your PC's ports, to determine which are vulnerable to attack by online hackers. Then, it tells you how to make your PC safer and close any vulnerable ports.

Smart Computing - An online version of the popular magazine, with tips and information about hardware, software, security, networking, the Internet, and more.

SPEED UP YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION- For cable modem, DSL and other broadband users, SpeedGuide has many system performance tweaks designed for "a technically aware audience." And ZDNet's How to speed up your Net connection--for free describes 3 different free software tools that can speed up your Internet connection. If you prefer to manually edit your Windows Registry, instead of using optimizing software, then see Optimize Internet Connection Speed and Optimize the DefaultRcvWindow & DefaultTTL Settings.

SUPPORT FORUMS - You can find some great online PC support at the Extremetech Forums and Tom's Hardware and the Overclockers site.

TechServer - Technology-related news stories, columns and reviews.

TECHtionary - "The world's first animated technical dictionary."

Ultimate Boot Disk - (1 MB - Freeware) This download creates a bootable floppy disk that can start up your Windows 9x PC, scan it for viruses, restore your System files, extract files from a CD, identify your hardware, test the hard drive, do quick Windows installs, and more. (also see How To Create A Bootable Floppy Disk, above)

Virus Information Library - McAfee's site contains much more than you'll ever want to know about computer viruses.

What To Do With Your Old PC - ZDNet has plenty of great suggestions for recycling, re-purposing and donating your old PC.

Windows 2000 Readiness Analyzer - Checks your hardware and software to see if all of it is compatible with Windows 2000.

Windows Registry Guide - This site "Provides an extensive range of registry tweaks, tricks & hacks for optimizing, enhancing and securing the Windows operating system."

Windows Shutdown Troubleshooter - If you're one of the many people who run into trouble when you try to shut down Windows (any version), this site will help you solve the problem once and for all.

Windows Superguide 98 - Windows 95/98 Setup Secrets, Speed Tricks, Hardware Secrets, and more.

Windows 95/98 Setup Switches - Here's Microsoft's list of all the setup switches that you can use at the DOS prompt when installing Windows 95 or Windows 98.

Windows98 - Microsoft's official Windows 98 site, with lots of information about features and tech support issues, plus some free downloads of the latest software, including Internet Explorer, NetMeeting, and more.

Windows 98 Updates Downloads - If you use Windows 98's "Update" feature, it will go out on the Internet and download and install any operating system upgrades needed by your PC. The problem is, if you ever reinstall Windows 98, you'll have to go back and do all of those upgrades all over again. That is, unless you go to this Microsoft site, where you can download and store most of those upgrades, so that they'll be on your hard drive if you ever need to reinstall them.

WinDrivers.Com - Looking for the latest software driver for some part of your PC? WinDrivers.com has hundreds of different manufacturers' free software drivers, including drivers for mice, printers, modems, hard drives, video cards, sound cards, and more. Also, hundreds of tech support tips.

WIRELESS NETWORKING - The same features that make a wireless network so easy to configure and use, may be allowing outsiders to access your Internet connection and your local PCs. Fred Langa's article, Wireless Poaches, Wireless Guests explains how it happens and tells how to secure your wireless network to prevent it from happening.

World O' Windows - According to its author, "Frank Condron's World O'Windows is a collection of useful news, resources, and tips about Microsoft's current and future versions of Windows, including Windows 95/98, Windows NT, and Windows 2000."