CrystalDiskInfo - check your hard drives

15.04.20: Just a reminder what CrystalDiskInfo does for you. 

One of the features is total time the disk has been running. This should also remind you to run a backup of your data on this drive. 

If you suspect a problem may occur (computer running slower than normal or freezing), run CrystalDiskInfo. 

As you can see in the first pic, there is no problem with this hard drive (Blue Cool).
However, the second pic shows my other hard drive and it has a Yellow Caution indicator. It also has been in use for 18,000 hrs. That about 750 days of use.

Time to run the SCAN feature of the free Advanced SystemCare app and ensure Disc Scan is selected. You can also run the Disk Doctor item in the Toolbox section for mre detailed analysis of the hard drive.

It is essential to immediately backup up all your important data if a drive has a yellow caution indicator, as it could become non-accessible at any time. 

(left-click to enlarge)
01/29/10 - My last post referred to this free tool that analyzes your hard drives (including temperature), to let you know if a problem may happen in the near future.

The yellow Caution indicates it is time to take action. 

There is guidance on what to do when you suspect a hard drive problem at my computer assistance site.

support sites for Vista and WinXP and Win7

There are a few sites on the Web to provide you support for various types of problems.


01/29/10 - Here are a few:


1. Vista Tips


2. Windows Tools - create a new folder on the desktop and rename it to Tools.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}


3. Speed up Internet Explorer (really works!):

• increase connections - click and save this file to your desktop, double-click it to install it, restart your computer and see how much faster your browser responds

3. Speed up Internet Explorer 8

hard drive possible problem?

(left-click to enlarge a pic)

01/29/10 - Glad I followed my advice ... blue screen of death and drive not accessible today. A couple of days after CrystalDiskInfo (click on link below, for details) displayed a yellow caution status.

I purchased a replacement hard drive (100gb, 7200rpm, 5 year warranty) on eBay for approx $50.

01/27/10 - Is your PC freezing or does it stop without reason during normal operation?

If so, you should determine if it is a hard drive problem ... without delay.

My Microsoft Vista c-drive is freezing and over-heating the last few days.

I took the time to reformat the hard drive and perform a few error-checking routines ... hoping it might fix the problem. It still has problems and is a higher temperature than it should be.

I am now looking on eBay for a new small laptop hard drive (2.5" and 7200rpm) with a 5 year warranty to hold the operating system, should this drive fail.

Here are a way to check the drive, if you suspect your hard drive might have a problem.

checking your Internet download (access) speed

My speed is advertised at 10MB and this pic shows I am getting 11.1MB.

If you find your browser is slow to respond and/or files take a long time to download, it is worth testing your speed. It may not be what was advertised when you signed up.

There are a few free tools available to test your speed and increase your Internet speed.

Here is the best speed tester I have found.

Here is a good tool to possibly increase your Internet speed. I know of others, if this one doesn't work for you.

I am with Rogers and their speed to my PCs (wireless) is close or better than advertised.

When I was with Bell, a few years ago, I could only get half of what they indicated I could receive. It was only after quite a while (and a lot of complaining), I found out Bell only guarantees half of their advertised DSL speed.

If you find your speed to be not close to advertised, check out another provider:

- Bell - four types of service

- Rogers - six different pkgs compared

You might save some money and achieve faster download speed ... your Internet will run faster.

playing songs in your car without an MP3 player

(left-click to enlarge pic)
I have always balked at purchasing an MP3 player, as I felt they were too expensive.

After a little research, I located an inexpensive alternative ... under $15 for a 4GB player that connects to a car audio that doesn't have MP3 capability.

With this FM Transmitter and remote control (eBay, less than $5 delivered to your door) and a standard camera 4GB SD Card (eBay, less than $10 delivered to your door), you can easily have more than 500 songs available via your cigarette lighter.

It comes with a standard USB cable (if you computer doesn't have an SD card reader) for loading the songs from your CDs (via your computer).

A lot of Internet users have small PCs from years ago.

As long as it runs adequately, you shouldn't bother spending the money (approx $400 for a Netbook or desktop, approx

$600 for a Notebook) on a new PC.

However, more effort is required to keep it running at an adequate speed, if the memory is small (less than 500MB) and/or the hard drive is small (less than 100GB).

Small memory - less applications can run at the same time and interaction with the Web will be slower

Small hard drive - more effort required to ensure 20% unused space to ensure defragmentation can occur

Things you must do with a small PC:

1. spend more time backing up and deleting low usage data/files, to ensure 20% unused spa ce on the hard drive

2. do more defragmentation runs to ensure adequate PC speed (approx once every two days of use)

As I mentioned in a blog item a while ago, I increased memory from 256MB to 1GB on my wife's PC and it improved speed dramatically (saving the purchase of a new PC).

If you have a USB stick, use it for backup. It will allow you to copy most of your important data and then delete from the hard drive.

Another option, if you have a DVD drive, is to buy DVDs when on sale (as low as $18/100) and copy important data before deleting from your hard drive.

Another option, if you are part of the lowly few who continue to use Outlook or Outlook Express, is to switch to Gmail, Yahoo ot Hotmail and then delete Outlook/Express and all your e-mail files. The added value is you can then access your e-mails from any computer attached to the Web.

Deleting unnecessary data/files:

There are various good tools available to help you delete unwanted data/files on your hard drive. The easiest (not the best) is: Computer -> right-click on c-drive -> Properties -> Disk Cleanup

But first, in the Disk Cleanup window, ensure the two items are not checked (Compress this drive to save space, Index this drive for faster searching).

When the system present you with the files to consider for deleting, delete them all - if the items that are 1MB or larger).

Defragmentation:

Regardless if Vista or WinXP, you will need to defragment FREQUENTLY, to ensure adequate performance.

Smart Defrag is the best free defragmenting tool available.

Run it, or another tool, every two days of PC use.

Another method is to let Smart Defrag run every time you turn off your PC.

This is quite easy/free to set up.

Contact me, if you would like help with this approach.