Box Off My Computer

When you set up your new PC or completely restore your old one then you will pretty much need to start from scratch. At Box Off My Computer we recommend the following FREE software for your PC (or laptop);

AVG FREE - Free Anti-Virus

MOZILLA FIREFOX - Free...

A screensaver is what your computer screen shows when the computer is left idle or untouched for a while. Depending on your computer settings your screen may switch to the screensaver after 5 mins of being idle or up to a few hours after.

Some people prefer not to have a Screensaver on their computer as sometimes they can interupt movies or presentations where the computer will not be used or touched for a long period of time, as they're being watched from a distance.

Ipads are 'tablet computers' made by Apple.

A tablet computer or simply a tablet is a complete computer squeezed into flat touch screen that uses only a stylus, digital pen or fingertip as the primary input device (instead of a keyboard or mouse).

Ipads first appeared in our shops in January 2010. Even though prices range from £429 t...

Computer Memory is a toughy to discribe as each term has at least three accepted definitions.

So here it goes, a bit about computer memory, in very basic terms...

For Processor and Virtual Storage

1 Bit = Binary Digit

8 Bits = 1 Byte

1024 Bytes = 1 Kilobyte

1024 Kilobytes = 1 Megabyte

1024 Megabytes = 1 Gigabyte

1024 Gigabytes = 1 Terabyte

1024 Terabytes = 1 Petabyte

1024 Petabytes = 1 Exabyt...

So what is an operating system?

An operating system is what your computer uses to manage programs. Buying or upgrading an operating system can be very expensive but these days operating systems are preinstalled on new computers.

A few examples of operating systems are Windows 7 (the latest in Microsoft Operating Systems). Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows NT and Windows 98. Most operating systems have different versions; suitable for different uses such as, h...

If you have tried all the other things posted in Box Off My Computer - Computer Maintenace Help Blog and still your computer is slow and sluggish (especially on startup) then try this.

Go to your 'start menu' then 'run'

Type msconfig and click on 'run'

Go to 'start up' tab

Un-check everything in there*

Cli...

Using CD's or DVD's to save your work, pictures, videos etc is a great idea. It can help free space and also back up all your stuff in case somthing dreadfull happens to your PC or Laptop. Sometimes when you buy a pack of blank CDs or DVDs you may have to format them so they work.

Before you can copy files to a CD or DVD, the disc must first be prepared using a process called formatting.

There are several ways to format a CD or DVD disc. Your choice of fo...

Cleaning up your computer is a very important part of maintaining it. It will help keep your computer performance as it should be by deleting all the info and files it no longer uses. There are a few things we recommend to keep your computer as best as it can be.

1) Disk Clean Up 

So what is a zip file (.zip)?

A zip file is a file that has been compressed to reduce it's size. Zipping is also known as archiving or compressing. Although normally compression is optional in a zip archive, and if it is used, it is applied on a per-file basis. Before you zip up files or unzip files you must have zip software or facilities on your computer.

Has Your Computer Got Zip Facilities?

Most modern day computers using Windows...

Cut, copy and paste is a way of cutting or copying files or folders and pasting them to.. wherever you want on your computer!

Its away of organising and managing the stuff on your PC. Once you learn this trick, you can apply it to lots of computer stuff thats why we call it a necassary basic computer skill.

Cut, Copy and Paste is a simple technique using only two buttons on your mouse to either left click or right click, its really that easy. For exampl...

Most digital cameras come supplied with software and a lead for transferring your photos to your computer. The software supplied is different from camera to camera so instead of explaining all the different instructions for all the different types of camera softeware,here we will explain how to copy the photos to your computer using a generic method; Windows Explorer.

Please note that you should probably read our post on managing files (to be posted in the next few ho...

About Remote Assistance

Remote assistance is a tool provided by Windows to help you troubleshoot problems you're having with your computer. The whole idea is if you know somebody who can help you solve your problem they can remotely 'take over' your computer from their own computer instead of them talking you through the fixing process over the phone or having to come out to you.

Firstly, how you set up remote assistance will totally depend o...

Often you will have lots of unused or unwanted programs on your computer which just take up space and get in your way. 

Start Menu > Control Panel > Programs and Features (or Add and Remove Programs)

A box similar to this one should open and a list of programs on your computer will compile, this may take a few seconds.

Why Defragment Your Computer?

When your computer writes information onto your hard drive, it does not always write information in the same place on the actual hardware. A section of a file can be written near the beginning of the disc, whereas the rest of that file could be written near the end. This can cause programs to run slowly, as the computer spends time inretrieving these file clusters from all over the disc. Defragmenting your computer sorts all of your files [as ...

To Do A Disk Clean Up

(Windows Vista)

Go to the Start Menu > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Clean Up

From there select 'Files From All Users On This Computer'

You will need to give your permission now, click Continue

You will now need to choose the drive you want to clean up, select the (C) Drive and click OK

It will now calculate how much ...

Check out Liverpool City Council website for computer courses in your area.

Click here to ...

You may have noticed that some people have a photo of their cat or their favourite band as their desktop image. This is very quick and easy to do, just follow these simple steps.

There are two methods of achieving this.

Method 1 (Quickest and easiest way)

First, find the picture or image that you want on your computer desktop by looking through your pictures.

Once you have found the one you want RIGHT CLICK it.

...

ECDL stands for European Computer Driving License.

ICDL stands for International Computer Driving License.

It is an internationally recognised qualification that will teach you all the basics in computers that a user should know. It will greatly improve your confidence with computers both in work and at home and is suitable for all skill levels. 

Courses are generally ran in collages and workplaces all over the country.

Ok, here we will talk about how to copy a CD onto your computer. It's easy enough to do just follow these instructions.

Insert the CD you want to copy into your CD Rom drive

Within a few seconds, your computers default music player will open, probably Windows Media Player or iTunes.

iTunes

Here we will tell you how to copy (rip)...

Keeping your photos organised can help to make your computer life so much easier. You will probably have some photos on your phone and camera that you want to keep on your computer, here we talk about how to do it.

First you will need to take the pictures from your device (phone or camera) and upload them onto your computer. The device will have a USB lead supplied with it. This USB lead will plug into the device and also the computer.