7-16-7 Tips for your PC

Brand New Hotmail

Have you heard about the new features that have praised the Hotmail e-mail program
One of the biggest (literally) changes Hotmail has made is its storage space. From now on, you can enjoy a whole 2 GB of space for all your e-mails and anything else you need to store. When it comes to e-mail, you can never have enough storage space, so this one is going to be very helpful. The second new feature is a completely new design. With this new design, you can now customize your Hotmail to be exactly like you want it. You can choose your own colors, pick how you want your layout to be.

The last feature is enhanced security, which is always nice to have. For example, with the new Hotmail, you will be warned about suspicious e-mails through color coding. Now, with all these changes, I know you might be worried about a few things. Well, don't be! Your e-mail address, your folders, your e-mails and all of your contacts will transfer over with you. It's all taken care of for you. So, if you'd like to check out the new Hotmail, just log in to your account and at the top of that page, click on the link that says "Supersize Your Inbox." That will take you to a page where all the features are explained or if you want to learn more about it, just click on the "Take the Tour" link. And if you're ready to just get started with it, click on the "Take Me to My New Inbox" link. That's all you have to do to start enjoying the brand new Hotmail!

If you ever lose one of your toolbars, all you have to do (in Internet Explorer) is go to View, Toolbars and make sure the one you want to use is checkmarked. You can do the exact same thing in Firefox, if that happens to be the browser you use. Once your toolbar of choice is selected, it will pop right back up for you.

why it's a good idea to buy an external hard drive. Well, the main purpose for one is to act as a backup option for your computer. If something were to go wrong with your regular hard drive, you could easily switch over to this one, without losing anything. It also adds a lot of portability to your data. With an external hard drive, you can take your data anywhere you need to go. They're very simple to use and they always seem to come in handy!

Alright, with all of that said, here are five tips you can use when buying an external hard drive:

1.) Go With a Brand Name - When it comes to external hard drives, it's best to buy a brand name. Yes, it may cost you a little more, but it will save you in the long run. If you go with a name you don't recognize, you're really only going to get what you pay for. (Yes, the saying is true!) A hard drive made by a "not so well known" company may end up breaking down faster than another brand would and so on. Another good reason to buy a brand name is the warranty that comes with it. If something does go wrong with your drive, you can always have it fixed right away. On the other hand, with other companies, you might have a little trouble contacting them and actually getting your hard drive repaired. So, if you don't want to deal with all that hassle, go with a brand name. You'll thank me later!

2.) Search It Out - It's best to do some research before you go out and buy a new external hard drive. You can use Google (or any of your other favorite search engines) to do this. You can search out the different brands and model types beforehand and that will really help you when you go to purchase the hard drive. If you have a specific type in mind that you want to buy, look for some reviews and any feedback you can find. That information will help you to see how reliable a certain hard drive really is. You may be surprised at some of the things you find, but at least you'll know you're getting the best hard drive for your money!

3.) Check the Connectivity - When you're buying an external hard drive, you'll want to pay attention to the connection type it has. The one you purchase will either connect via USB or Firewire. Now, Firewire is the fastest choice, but your computer may not have that type of connectivity. In that case, you'll need to find one that will work with your computer, which will probably be a USB version (most all computers these days have USB ports). You'll then also need to check on the USB connection you have. Do you have USB 1.0 or 2.0? It's likely that you'll have 2.0, but if you only have 1.0, you'll need to find a hard drive that will support that as well. Without the proper connections, the whole thing is pointless, so you really need to pay attention to this aspect of it.

4.) Speed - You don't want a hard drive that runs as slow as molasses, do you? I didn't think so! In that case, you need to look for a hard drive that is going to give you the speed you want. When it comes down to it, the faster your hard drive performs, the faster your data will be transferred to your computer, etc. With that in mind, there are three things you need to check out when you go to buy your drive. First is the seek time. This needs to be 10ms or less. Second is the buffer size. The more of this, the better, but your drive should have at least 4 MB of buffer. Third is the RPM. For this, the higher it is, the better. It should be at least 5400rpm, but 7200rpm is preferred. If you stick to those basic tips, your hard drive will work just fine!

5.) Size - The last thing you need to keep in mind when you're buying a new hard drive is the size of it. You knew this one was coming, didn't you?! When it comes to size, you can basically go by the rule of "buy as much as you can afford." When we're talking about data storage space, you can never have too much, so if you can afford 100 GB, get that. If you think you'll need more space and can handle it, get that. It's all up to you, but it's best to add an extra 50 percent on to the amount you think you're going to need. That way, you'll know for sure you won't run out of space within the first couple of months.

If you follow these five rules, you'll be purchasing the best external hard drive you possibly can. Be sure not to take a purchase like this lightly. It's best to really do your homework and get the best hard drive for yourself and for your computer. Now that you know what to look for, go on and get one!

If your flash drives suddenly dies. To revive the flash drive!. Here’s the procedure:

1.) First, you'll need to download and install the HP Drive Key Boot Utility, which can be found here.

2.) Once you have it downloaded, double click on the desktop icon and select the correct flash drive you want to repair under the Device section.

3.) Next, select the file system you want to format the drive to (FAT, FAT32 or NTFS).

4.) Checkmark Quick Format.

5.) Click Start.

After the download and the installation, this utility will place a shortcut of "HP System Tools" in your Programs Start menu folder.

To make your drive key bootable and/or capable of flashing firmware:

• Place your HP USB drive key in an available USB port.
• Select the HP Drive Key Boot Utility shortcut under the HP System Tools folder.
• Follow along and complete each step presented by the application.

During the interview process, when asked to select the drive letter your key is using, if the drop down box is unpopulated, please note that the drive key is either not properly connected to the system or it is of a drive type called "fixed disk." To determine the type of USB mass storage device your drive is, double click on the My Computer icon on your desktop, right click on the USB Drive Key and choose Properties. The drive type will be displayed in the Properties pane. If the drive is labeled "fixed disk" or "local disk," the following steps must be followed to assign a drive letter to the USB drive key, prior to running the HP Drive Key Boot Utility.

• Insert the Drive Key.
• Log in as the Administrator.
• Select Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Computer Management.
• Select Computer Management (local), Storage, Disk Management (local).
• Select "Change/Add Drive Letter" for the disk to map the Drive Key to.
• Choose a drive letter.

Officially, this software (HP Drive Key Boot Utility) is meant for HP disks, but unofficially, it seems to work fine with formatting most flash media and even digital camera cards. I hope you enjoy your newly repaired flash drive!