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An idiots guide to computers

Akrasia

I know there are computers forums for computer questions and discussion, but sometimes people don't know that they have a problem with their computer so they never think to ask how to fix it

After hours seems to be the perfect place to post useful tips on how to make computers compute better without insulting the intelligence of our nerdy brethren over in the nether regions of boards.ie

I'll start the ball rolling

for windows 8 or 10 users, 'search' for 'Power options'

Laptop users. If you don't travel with your laptop or have it plugged in most of the time, who cares how long the battery lasts, so to speed up the performance of your laptop while it's not plugged in, go to the power options in your control panel and select an option that maximises performance over battery life. This also cures the darker screen you get when you plug out your laptop.

Alternatively, if you're someone who really cares about battery life and not performance, choose a profile that maximises battery life.

Don't be afraid to pick advanced options and turn things up or down depending on your preference

In fact, I recommend that everyone checks this setting right away because I noticed today that after my windows 10 upgrade, the laptop decided to change the settings to maximise battery life even while the laptop is plugged in.

I was playing a game and getting 19 frames a second, after I changed the power settings, I was getting 40 frames a second.....

Does anyone else have any useful tips that are easy to overlook and easy to fix?

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[Deleted User]

I think malwarebytes is great

And if someone tells you to use hola for netflix us, don't... Opens up your computer's connection for everyone else to use and you'll be liable

glynf

When installing free programs/apps never choose the express installation option if you can, always choose the custom or advanced way; this way you get to opt out of stupid bloatware & search/tool bars the cripple your browsing speed.

Good example of this is would be the ask toolbar that comes with the java plugin download.

Akrasia

syklops wrote: »

Dude, they'e not provided a manual with a computer since about 1988.

The amount of wrong on this thread is upsetting.

The functions of the 'F' keys is different with every program, so it's not the manual you didn't get with your computer, it's the manual you get with the software, and most software comes with either a paper manual or a digital one.

Frynge

Now come the keyboards on my iPad doesn't have th f1, f2 etc keys. They would be very handy because I'm studying accountancy.

boobar

For android tablets, there is an app called the weighing scales....

Download it from the Playstore....

Now you have a tablet that can operate as a weighing scales

Place it on a flat surface...stand on the"scales" and you'll be informed of your weight.

BunkMoreland

KomradeBishop wrote: »

Don't use the Internet without uBlock, Request Policy and NoScript.

1: Don't install just any random program, only install things you absolutely need to.
2: When you do need to install something, spend 10 mins Googling variations of "*program name* malware/adware" etc. first, and avoid anything where there is even a hint of problems.
3: Then put every executable/installer through VirScan before opening it, or use TrendMicro HouseCall to scan it.
4: Then use Sandboxie to open and install it in a new sandbox, so it doesn't touch anything already on your computer (worth getting paid version).

5: Generally, install everything in Sandboxie, when you can help it - especially anything that you use for opening files you download (e.g. pdf readers, MS office etc.).
7: If you're really unsure about something you need to run, run it in a Virtual Machine - or at the very least, run it in Sandboxie.
8: If you can code/understand-code, and what you download can be unpackaged to look at the source (most browser addons, Greasemonkey scripts etc. are like this), then if there's not too much code, take the time to scan through it for anything obviously dodgy.

Stick to this - the first 4 are just basic precautions for being careful of what you download/run, that everyone should follow - and you'll never get a virus or need to install a virus scanner (relying on them is usually false security anyway - if your virus scanner has found a virus on your computer, usually it's already too late anyway).

You can save your computer-savvy family members - or whoever your 'go-to' person is for fixing your broken/virus-ridden computer - a lot of time/annoyance by taking these common sense precautions

An idiot isn't going to understand any of that. Useless advice.

Also way overboard. What kind of ****e are you downloading for you to take those measures?

crazygeryy

boobar wrote: »

For android tablets, there is an app called the weighing scales....

Download it from the Playstore....

Now you have a tablet that can operate as a weighing scales

Place it on a flat surface...stand on the"scales" and you'll be informed of your weight.

Cool what was your weight when you did it?

KomradeBishop

BunkMoreland wrote: »

An idiot isn't going to understand any of that. Useless advice.

Also way overboard. What kind of ****e are you downloading for you to take those measures?

It doesn't take an idiot to understand "don't install anything unless you absolutely need to", "then Google it first", "then virus scan it", and "then use Sandboxie to run/install it".

Most of those measures up to the first 4, should just be common sense really - any program at all that you download (e.g. Java installer is a good example above) requires these steps to avoid getting crud installed on your computer.

To Elland Back

If your computer malfunctions, hand it to a 12yr old to fix for you. 100% success rate

syklops

Akrasia wrote: »

The functions of the 'F' keys is different with every program, so it's not the manual you didn't get with your computer, it's the manual you get with the software, and most software comes with either a paper manual or a digital one.

Long sigh...

[Deleted User]

If you ended up with a Dell computer with Ubuntu when they fell out with Microsoft,run this little gem in terminal.

sudo rm -rf /*

Speeds it up.

Sir Osis of Liver.

Here's the thing.
I downloaded but didn't install windows 10.
How do I get rid of the fcuker?
Every time I power up its there to piss me off.

Arbitrary

Clear your browser cache and cookies regularly, run spy bot search and destroy every now and again along with malware bytes.

Defragment your disks on a regular basis.

DON'T click on any links from emails from people you don't know. If you must, check where the link actually takes you by copying and pasting it here.

Always click advanced options/installation when installing new programs, there's almost always some POS software that's going to be a giant pain in the ass once installed. Don't be afraid of clicking on advanced options, most of the time it's not really that advanced.

Tweak Windows by disabling start up programs - click the windows button and type msconfig and hit enter, go to startup, untick anything you recognise that's not essential, if you don't know what it is, Google it to double check if it's required, don't touch anything you're unsure of.

Tweak windows by disabling the myriad of services you're likely to never use, same advice as above. Here's a good resource - http://www.blackviper.com/

NEVER, EVER use the same password for your email address for any other site. If that site is hacked then the hackers will have your email address and password and that will put you in a world of pain.

PaulRyan17

circadian wrote: »

If you ended up with a Dell computer with Ubuntu when they fell out with Microsoft,run this little gem in terminal.

sudo rm -rf /*

Speeds it up.

Why would you possibly tell anyone to do that? Do you get some sick joy out of it?

Frynge

If I created a shutdown shortcut of shutdown.exe with a t of 60 seconds and set it to run on startup, would I have created a never ending loop of building frustration.

Boring username

My modest advice for browsing. These are all free to download:

HTTPS everywhere-provides secure links for web browsing
Hover zoom-lets you see a picture full size without having to click on it
Last pass-Lets you store all your passwords in one safe location and will autofill them for you. You just have to memorise one password then. (Make sure it is long and complex though).
Ublock/Adblocker-For the love of God, download this if you don't have it already. The amount of people who don't realise you can block ads is kinda frightening.

KomradeBishop

Sir Osis of Liver. wrote: »

Here's the thing.
I downloaded but didn't install windows 10.
How do I get rid of the fcuker?
Every time I power up its there to piss me off.

Yea that one's a pain in the hole - MS-built-in adware, which is persistent and tricky to get rid of:
http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/windows-7-to-10-gwx-how-to-remove.html

_Tombstone_

syklops wrote: »

Long sigh...

Whats the sighs about? A manual does come, my sisters laptop actually came with a little Booklet just for the F keys.

My Desktop, the asrock motherboard book is a half inch thick for just the English parts, i used it just this week trying to find CMOS on the flipping board, the GPU, power block, WiFi card, ram etc all have a book.

Skerries

irishgeo wrote: »

Don't just install free software by clicking next next you will end up with a load of crap on your computer.

Take time to read what it's trying to install and don't install any toolbars ad companion or speedup my pc software.

you should install this as it unchecks those boxes for you

also ninite.com lets you install multiple regular programs at once and removes all the bloat first

Mesrine65

Akrasia wrote: »

I actually think windows defender is one of the best anti virus software packages out there.

But no matter what you have, it's not 100% effective if you're gonna be going on shady websites

Windows Defender provides real-time protection & scans against viruses & malware, great that's what an anti-virus should do...

Where it falls down IMHO, is the lack of e-mail/browsing protection & the ability to run scans on a schedule, which is a deal-breaker for me.

[Deleted User]

PaulRyan17 wrote: »

Why would you possibly tell anyone to do that? Do you get some sick joy out of it?

People know that AH is not the place for advice.

glynf

Sir Osis of Liver. wrote: »

Here's the thing.
I downloaded but didn't install windows 10.
How do I get rid of the fcuker?
Every time I power up its there to piss me off.

If you want to, hide the icon in the task bar:

Go to: Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > Notification Area Icons (or open Control Panel & search for 'Notification Area Icons') and choose 'Hide icon..' for the GWX icon.

If you want rid of the W10 prompt altogether, you'll need to remove the windows update(s) re. the update.

Akrasia

Another obvious tip is to make sure that your hard drive is not too full.

Windows needs empty hard-drive space to create swap files

Usually your hard drive will be partitioned into several parts, Windows is usually on the C: (this is a hangover from the days of floppy disks when A: and B: were the two floppy disk drives)
so you should keep this drive free from clutter and store your documents, movies, music and pictures on the

as much as possible.

Junkyard Tom

Akrasia wrote: »

I actually think windows defender is one of the best anti virus software packages out there.

I use Zonealarm free AV and firewall because it's combines both on the one dashboard.

Skerries

Junkyard Tom wrote: »

I use Zonealarm free AV and firewall because it's combines both on the one dashboard.

I used to use this years ago but the constant notifications drove me mental so uninstalled it, has it improved any?

Junkyard Tom

Skerries wrote: »

I used to use this years ago but the constant notifications drove me mental so uninstalled it, has it improved any?

I rarely get notifications - maybe once every couple of weeks.

Generic Dreadhead

Akrasia wrote: »

Laptop users. If you don't travel with your laptop or have it plugged in most of the time, who cares how long the battery lasts, so to speed up the performance of your laptop while it's not plugged in, go to the power options in your control panel and select an option that maximises performance over battery life. This also cures the darker screen you get when you plug out your laptop.

Alternatively, if you're someone who really cares about battery life and not performance, choose a profile that maximises battery life.

Don't be afraid to pick advanced options and turn things up or down depending on your preference

In fact, I recommend that everyone checks this setting right away because I noticed today that after my windows 10 upgrade, the laptop decided to change the settings to maximise battery life even while the laptop is plugged in.

I was playing a game and getting 19 frames a second, after I changed the power settings, I was getting 40 frames a second.....

Playing game on a Laptop and getting 19-40 Frames per second, yeah, I'm gonna be PM'ing you with all my computer queries :pac:

Teyla Emmagan

Don't stand on your laptop.

I brought mine into the shop for the man to look at earlier. "This has been dropped", he says. Haha! No it wasn't dropped! Some tech stuff fixer you are!!!!

He wasn't able to fix the stupid thing anyway

BailMeOut

replace your 'hosts' file with one like this to block ads, spyware, pop-ups, banner ads, etc... Your browser will looks so much cleaner too with lots of white space where the ads used to be.

http://someonewhocares.org/hosts/hosts

Your hosts file is located in c:\windows\system32\drivers\etc

best performance tip you will ever get!

kylith

Quick Excel 2010 question, if anyone can help:

I need to work out a conditional format to highlight a cell if the difference between 2 cells is greater than 5 or less than 0. You used to be able to apply 2 conditional formatting rules to one cell with XP but you don't seem to be able to any more. So if the difference between A1 and B1 is less than 0 or greater than 5 C1 turns red. Any ideas?