16 May
disc-cleanup-guide

What is Disc Cleanup on Windows & How to Do It

Some users confuse disc cleanup with disc defragmentation. While disc defragmenting involves analyzing and finding portions of files and combining them or deleting them, disc cleanup is all about freeing up space on your hard drive.

Think of it like looking at your refrigerator; you have a meat drawer, a veggie drawer, and maybe even a dairy drawer. If the main section of your fridge was running low on space, defragmenting it would be taking all of the similar food portions and putting them in the separate draws to make your refrigerator more efficient. Disc cleanup, on the other hand, would be physically purging the old food (see: files) and tossing them out. The food you don’t use anymore, things that are past their prime, and other unnecessary things, freeing up a ton more space than what you thought you had.

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16 May
hard-drive-maintenance

Here’s How to Do Proper Hard Drive Maintenance

The hard drive in your computer is what makes it more than just a really cool looking doorstop. Because it stores just about all the information on your computer, it includes information regarding starting up and using the system files. If your hard drive crashes, it’s essentially like your computer had its brain removed.

So how do you keep your hard drive in good working order? It’s actually a lot easier than you would think. The short answer is just routine regular cleaning; both run your defragmenter and/or your disc clean up, and you should be fine. However, as your hard drive gets older, you may need to start taking other preventative steps as well as looking for online storage services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and other cloud storage services.

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16 May
build-a-computer

How to Build Your Own PC from Scratch: A Beginner’s Guide

There’s this idea that building your own computer is a rite of passage for only the most hardcore of geeks. It’s as if building a computer is up there with Jedi building their own lightsaber. And while some people may think of it as akin to building your own car or motorcycle, it isn’t nearly as difficult. It also requires no real level of expertise; unlike building your own robot, for instance, building a computer is more or less just connecting various parts together.

The advantages of building your own computer is mainly from you deciding on what is and isn’t included. Pre-manufactured computers come loaded with bloatware; apps and programs that you don’t want, or even need, but are generally difficult, if not impossible, to get rid of. It also allows you to custom-built a computer for the exact purpose you need it for. (more…)