What are the different types of computers?

Image via Wikipedia

What are the different types of computers?
Goodness knows there are enough of them!

As you may have guess today’s How-To Guide for the Computer Beginner is to go over the different types of computers.

I will go over various types of computers today, and show you different photos of different types of computers so it will be easier to visualize.

I will go down a little personal history lane as well to remind you how far we have come with the different types of computers!

Desktop Computer or Desktop PC

This is the type of desktop computer years ago, and you really thought you were doing great!

I remember those ugly screens, and those green letters on the monitor. 

If you look below the monitor you will see the floppy drive.   The 5 1/4 floppy disks were extremely fragile, and yet you needed to make sure you stored your important files on them.

I have to wonder if these older computers are part of the reason I wear glasses today!  When I look at the newer desktop computers today?  WOW what a difference!

YIKES have we come a long way!

PC = Personal Computer

This last picture could also be part of a work station, but we will talk about that later.

These can also be referred to as a personal computer.

Computer Tower


One of the different types of computers is something you may have already.  The computer tower I have pictured here is a bit older.  It still has the 3.5 floppy drive.  Today those drives are not even used anymore, nor do computer towers even COME with them most of the time!

The computer tower was a different type of computer than the past.  It was tall, and you could add more than one hard drive, floppy drive, CD Rom, etc.  It was the wave of the future!  If you wanted the CD rom on a computer?   You would have updated to one of these computer towers.  The early desktop computers didn’t have them from what I remember.

Today’s computer towers you don’t have your floppy drive, and at the time if you wanted to be cutting edge (with the old computer tower) you wanted different CD rom drives to lets say burn information, or make videos.   Its quite amazing now because the CD rom drives of today will even burn in image with lasers onto your DVD or CD roms instead of having the write the title on them now.

Your CD rom was great for storage of your files, and when you got your NEW computer tower?  You had a CD rom for each and every program in the past.  If you ran out of memory or hard drive space?  The towers of old – just as today – were meant to be able to expand.

Computer towers started to take over the traditional desktop you see above.   Although you do see the desktop computers they aren’t as popular as they once were.

The Technology advanced so much I’m sure we could put your entire blocks old computer tower information into ONE home personal computer today.

Laptop Computer


You also have your laptop computer. I have seen most young adults take these to college with them.

What I would have done to get my hands on THIS laptop compared to the green fonted monster pictured above from IBM.

Laptops are meant for portability, and they are not as powerful (most of the time) as desktop computers.  Everything has to be more compact.

PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)


 Most people refer to this type of computer as a PDA.

PDA Stands for Personal Digital Assistant.

Generic term for handheld devices such as Palm Pilots that are commonly used to store address and calendar information. Newer models include networking features.


Years ago I had one, and it was nice…but the battery life was awful.



I had my calendar, contacts, etc online, and I would ‘sync’ as they called it when I got home.  Basically you hooked up the device with a cable to your computer, and executed some software. 

The software would look for changes, and update both locations – the PDA and the online location.  It was nice when you placed notes in the device while you were away from the office.  You also had a copy of your most recently notes from the computer WITH YOU to make appts, notes, and update address information.

Today?  Everything is wireless, and I’m sure sync software is obsolete.  When I think of the history of the personal digital assistant?  Its really neat to think how powerful they are today.


This different type of computer is also called handheld computer.

Personally, this would drive me up a tree! I don't want to type on something this small, and because my sight isn't the best. That screen would drive me nuts! There are people that love this type of computer, but its NOT for me!

It reminds me of the new and improved cell phones doesn’t it?  Our new and improved cell phones could be considered a PDA.

Tablet PC

This image with is different looking computer isn’t it?  This is the tablet PC.

With a Tablet PC you use an electronic stylus to write on the screen, just like with a pen and paper, only your words are in digital ink.

The Tablet PC saves your work just like you wrote it (as a picture), or you can let the Hand Recognition (HR) software turn your chicken-scratches into regular text.

Yes you can also put the button with your stylus like a keyboard as well.  Its neat to look at the progress that the tablet PC has made with time.


The Computer Workstation
They refer to this as a computer work station. The workstation to me is basically the whole complete package. Monitor, tower, keyboard, mouse, etc. Workstation is also connected to a network.


When talking about PC computers, most people probably think of the desktop type, which are designed to sit on your desk.

PC stands for Personal Computer. The tower and the smaller mini-tower style cases have become popular as people started needing more room for extra drives inside – as we talked about.

The Workstation is computers that are all connected together.

A workstation that is part of a computer network and generally would be expected to have more than a regular desktop PC like memory, storage space, and speed.

If you see the picture networked means they are also connected together, and they share things like the printer or the scanner.



MainFrame Computer


This is called a mainframe computer. A main frame is the heart of a network of computers or terminals which allows hundreds of people to work at the same time on the same data.

It requires a special environment - cold and dry.

Example of Use:
Larger companies use this to hold on to information regarding your orders, contact information, etc. You may be talking to customer service but your information lands in one of these guys!   If you call one morning and speak to a representative in Illinois, and the next day call back and speak to California?  Chances are they are using the network hooked up together, and possibly on the same main frame.

In the early days of computing, mainframes were huge computers that could fill an entire room or even a whole floor! As the size of computers has diminished while the power has increased, the term mainframe has fallen out of use in favor of enterprise server. You'll still hear the term used, particularly in large companies to describe the huge machines processing millions of transactions every day.

SuperComputer

This is an example of a supercomputer. We are talking HUGE companies that use these. These are used for jobs that take massive amounts of calculating, like weather forecasting, engineering design and testing, serious decryption, economic forecasting, etc. Top 500 supercomputer site will show you these big daddies of the computer world!



The Server

When you talk about the various types of computer we shouldn’t leave out the server.

Have you ever called a company, and they told you they can't help you right now because their server went down? This is a picture of a server that might be used in smaller companies or home networks.

There are a couple of different types of servers, and here is a link to some computer definitions of server.

A computer that has been optimized to provide services to other work station computers over a network. Servers usually have powerful processors, lots of memory and large hard drives.   In this picture the brown tower would be the server.


Wearable Computers


NOW you can be ahead of some of your friends! THIS is called a wearable computer! Can you believe it?

According to Wikipedia®

Wearable computers are computers that are worn on the body. They have been applied to areas such as behavioral modeling, health monitoring systems, information technologies and media development. Wearable computers are especially useful for applications that require computational support while the user's hands, voice, eyes or attention are actively engaged with the physical environment.

One of the main features of a wearable computer is consistency. There is a constant interaction between the computer and user, ie. there is no need to turn the device on or off.

Another feature is the ability to multi-task. It is not necessary to stop what you are doing to use the device; it is augmented into all other actions. These devices can be incorporated by the user to act like a prosthetic. It can therefore be an extension of the user’s mind and/or body.  Amazing isn’t it?

Well! There you go with some of the different types of computers!   I’m sure with time we have to revised this article again.  The industry just keeps changing.

I hope you learned something today with out How-To Guide for the computer beginner lesson on ‘different types of computers’.

If you have any questions, comments, or don't understand something please use the comment section at the top of the lesson. How do you do that?? Click HERE to see how to comment on a blog!

Don't want to miss a lesson? Use the email Subscription button!

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How do I know if I have enough Ram installed?

Do I have enough memory? Do I have enough Ram? How do I know if I need more RAM? Do have enough RAM to run a program?

Currently RAM is one of the cheapest components you can buy for your PC and fortunately its a component that can have one of the highest performance boosts when upgraded. Its not hard to install either!

If your a basic computer user that browses the internet and simply sends e-mail then the chances are that the minimum is what you can get away with. Gaming rigs and graphics designers now need around 2Gb of memory as starting point in order to be at the right end of the scale. Some people need more and some can stay right where they are!

How do I know if I have enough RAM installed?

Windows task manager has an easy to use tool for checking this. Simply open window task manager by pressing ctrl + alt + del or right clicking on the toolbar at the bottom of the screen and selecting task manager. Select the "performance" tab and you will then be presented with the following screen.




At the bottom of the windows task manager below the graphs there is a section called physical memory. This states how much RAM your PC has installed and importantly here see how much is currently available. It is important however not to simply open task manager and see this figure as that would be pointless. In order to check if you have enough RAM installed in your PC you will need to open the applications and games that you regularly use and also any programs that you would normally run together (Browser and MP3 player for example).


Once you are done with that open the task manager and see how much memory your PC still has available. If this number is low - less than 100Mb then it is likely that windows is using quite a lot of virtual memory to substitute for a lack of physical memory. Could be time to look for upgrading a bit! This isn't uncommon, and matter of fact when I brought my daugther a computer on sale that was the FIRST thing I replaced! Matter of fact before I left the store! Ram is easy to install, and its cheap! I priced the next model up from what I got, and buying memory was the better deal!

When you go to purchase memory they are going to need what type your computer handles, and how many slots you have available, and lastly the capacity it can handle! The website Crucial made that really easy for you! They have a scanner on their home page which is a small program, and you may need to approve the installation of. It will tell you everything you need in order to purchase new RAM for you computer. You don't have to buy it from that company, but they are a reputable company. You have two ways of doing this!

Crucial System Scanner tool
Scan your computer to find out what is already inside your system and get recommended upgrades.

Keep in mind purchase as much RAM as you can afford! Also remember you can take out the RAM you have to replace it with a more powerful model! In the long run it will be worth it!

The second tool on the website:

Crucial Memory Advisor™ tool
The Crucial Memory Advisor™ tool is a quick, 3-step process to find guaranteed-compatible memory for computers and motherboards.

For that portion you will need to enter the manufacturer, product line, and model. If you know changes have been made to your computer, and you don't know what they are you are better off using the FIRST suggestion!

Keep in mind I'm sure you looking at that task manager, and thinking what the HECK! I don't even have that much running! Computers have things behind the scenes that use your RAM or Memory that is installed on your system.

Operating system (Windows)
Anti virus software
Firewall software
Device drivers
Keyboard and mouse software
instant messenger (MSN, AIM, Yahoo)
Printer software
E-mail client in the background
Media player client
Network resources
Peer to Peer Software
and my goodness we could go on all day and night for more!

Some use very little, and some are downright resource HOGS! I remember using a anti virus program that sucked the resources dry! You will notice changes like that after you install a program, and your computer JUST isn't the same!

How do you know if you have enough memory for the programs?

1 MB = 1024K of memory. Lets say your computer had 512 MB, and a software program you wish to use requires 614K. You have 512 MB which means 1024 x 512. You most certainly have enough memory to use the program! Remember you are going to want some wiggle room, so don't cut it to close! Last note on that: At times programs do slow the computer down anyway, and keep in mind that happens to everyone!

I will go into the task manager at a later date. You have to be careful with what you turn on and off if you are NOT familiar with it!

The company I mentioned above is also good for older computers, because at times its next to impossible for fine memory for them. It will also list the recommended amount per you operating system, etc. That changes so often I would recommend you see their website to keep up to date on it!

Check out the other posts:

What is Ram? What is Memory?

How much RAM does my computer have?

How do you know if you have enough memory installed? I hope I helped with some basics!

If you have any questions, comments, or don't understand something please use the comment section at the top of the lesson. How do you do that?? Click HERE to see how to comment on a blog!

Don't want to miss a lesson? Use the email Subscription button!


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What is Ram? What is Memory?

What is Ram? What is Memory? Below is a picture of RAM inside of your computer!



A standard "module" or "stick" of desktop memory is long, thin and resembles a short ruler. The bottom of the memory module has one or more notches to guide for proper installation and is lined with numerous, usually gold-plated connectors. Here is a closer look at RAM.



Random Access Memory (RAM) provides space for your computer to read and write data to be accessed by the CPU (central processing unit). When people refer to a computer's memory, they usually mean its RAM.



This type of memory usually allows your computer to work considerably faster, as RAM is many times faster than a hard disk. If you are familiar with cars it gives it more HORSEPOWER!

RAM is volatile, so data stored in RAM stays there only as long as your computer is running. As soon as you turn the computer off, the data stored in RAM disappears. Storage devices, such as hard drives, maintain data (Like your letters and pictures) even when they're turned off (as long as you saved the file); memory (RAM), on the other hand, holds onto its contents only when the the computer is on and functioning. Turn off your computer, and the data in memory vanishes. Temporary memory is referred to as RAM, or random-access memory.

SDR, DDR, DDR2, and DDR3 RAM these are types of RAM that you may have seen, and NOT known what the heck it was! If you look at the sales flyers for stores that sell computer items they will tell you what current is on sale!

Prior to 2002, most computers used single data rate (SDR) RAM. Most computers made since use either double data rate (DDR), DDR2, or DDR3 RAM. DDR2 is able to achieve faster transfer rates to prevent limitation of your CPU's performance, and DDR3 technology takes these advancements even further.

Note that these RAM technologies are not interchangeable. One type of RAM will not function if installed with another type, and physical differences in the RAM modules prevent them from even being inserted in the same computer. In other words you can't place DDR2 into a computer that has slots for SDR memory (older computers). See the picture below to see what slots look like inside a computer.





RAM is Also Known As:
main memory, internal memory, primary storage, memory "stick", RAM "stick"

If you are interested in how excately it works How Stuff Works has a more technical article on it. I wanted you to have a basic idea so you know what people are talking about when you hear it.

Every time you start your operating system, launch a program, or open a file, the relevant program code and/or data is loaded into RAM. That's why you see RAM listed in the system requirements for the software you buy.


If you have more RAM, you can open more files or programs at once and load bigger files or programs onto your system.

RAM capacity is rated in terms of megabytes (MB), and a typical computer will ship with 64MB to 128MB installed. However, you can increase that total to 256MB, 512MB, or even a whopping 1GB, if your system supports it.

You might have heard the term, "Swap out the memory". I have done this with computers in the past. For Example, if you find that your slots have a capacity of a WHOPPING 1GB of memory. You look inside your computer, and find you have a 1 slot filled with 128MB memory installed into it. Keep in mind this isn't a realistic example okay? I wanted to use extreme measurements to make a point! You find that your computer has a total of 3 slots! If I were a huge gamer or do alot of graphic work I may need all the RAM I can get! I will buy 3 of those whopping 1GB RAM cards, and take out the 128MB that I have installed...and DUMP IT in trash can! I would place the new RAM into my computer. I have now swapped out my memory!

Ram is a type of memory! When you hear about it most of the time that is what they are talking about! Now you can answer questions when you are asked, "What is Ram? WHat is Memory?"

If you have any questions, comments, or don't understand something please use the comment section at the top of the lesson. How do you do that?? Click HERE to see how to comment on a blog!

Don't want to miss a lesson? Use the email Subscription button!

Make sure to check out, "How much RAM does my computer need?" and How do I know if I have enough RAM installed?


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How much (RAM) memory does my computer have?

How much memory does my computer have? I heard that question alot, and I wanted to give you some resources for it! Its not the only resource, but it will give you a starting point! If you need to know what RAM is please see, 'What is Ram?' First.

Some keyboards you should by able to see the WinKey and Break keys. Hold the Winkey down, and then push the break key. Below are pictures of the WinKey+Break! Keep in mind yours may look a bit different depending on your keyboard manufacturer!






Above is the Winkey. Does the logo look familiar?

If you can't find those keys you can try a different way. With the older operating systems to find how much memory your computer has you right click on your 'my computer' icon on your desktop.



For the newer versions of window to find how much memory your computer has you go to the start button, and then computer. In the picture below when you are over the MY computer you right click to properties!



You will get your system information, and your RAM amount for your computer.





Alot of people just go the start button, control panel, and look for the system icon.

How much memory does your computer have? WELL there are a number of ways you can find out!

Check out: How do I know if I have enough RAM installed? and What is Ram? WHat is Memory?

If you have any questions, comments, or don't understand something please use the comment section at the top of the lesson. How do you do that?? Click HERE to see how to comment on a blog!

Don't want to miss a lesson? Use the email Subscription button!








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How to Use a Search Engine

What is a search engine anyway?



Boy I could use that type what about you?

I guess we will have to wait for type of search engine!

Let me show you some logo's for some popular search engines for a minute!



You Recognize any of these logos? We have Google, Yahoo, MSN and AOL in this picture! Goodness knows there are TONS more! Those are the ones you hear about alot! I remember when I first read about a search engine called DOGPILE, and instead of your enter button it had FETCH!

As I was watching my daugther one night after she was allowed to use the computer, and she attempted to use a search engine for homework I realized...I need to clue her in on a few basics! She was doing a project for school called, "Do my plants need carbon dioxide to grow?" She of course typed in this question, but she got some pretty limited responses. Its the same principal as the humorous picture above, except it didn't show her where the keys were!

I'm NOT saying she didn't get any results just typing in her questions 'as is', because she did get results! She just wasn't thrilled with the results she got!

Google for example sends what they called spiders to crawl the web! If you don't like spiders that doesn't sound so nice, but if you have a website that is totally awesome! Websites are being created all the time, and those spiders go out to see what is available! Search engines are the biggest card catalog of information that you library wished they had!



YES there are websites out there that have the title of my daugther's report, and YES you can just type in your questions and see what happens! People that compose those websites may not always use that phrase, AND you could be missing out on some awesome websites elsewhere!

With search engines at times you need to think of keywords or key phrases to use. I told my daughter to remember it was a machine! If she wanted MORE information about carbon dioxide, plants, and if they needed it to grow .... TRY some different ways of asking the computer! REMEMBER the search engines are GOOD, but they don't have the human common sense factor! I told her to try CARBON DIOXIDE or CO2 than hit the space bar and then type PLANTS and see what comes up! She looked at me .... CO2? I said YES that is a different way of saying carbon dioxide right?

Google is going to look for sites that use the words carbon dioxide and plants first off. Those are first few words she typed in. I told her to use CO2 and plants to see if she came up with even BETTER results! It would be nice if the search engines were as smart as the cartoon above to tell you where you can find your keys, but they aren't that good just YET!

Google does bring up the most POPULAR sites that use the keywords or phrases you type into your search box first! Don't get scared when you see it came up with 7,000,000,000,000,000 results! YOU don't have to search that far to get your answer! If the first 2 pages of results aren't anywhere NEAR what you are looking for - try new keywords or phrases!

What is nice about search engines is let's say you are looking for a hunting ground in Galena Illinois. Make sure you include the GALENA and the state to narrow your results! Goodness knows if you type in hunting in Illinois you will come up with a heck of alot MORE results, but it may not be near Galena! Try Pizza in Tampa Florida, or African Violets in Dallas Texas! Keep in mind you don't have to get technical with search engines. 'Pizza (space) Tampa, FL" is fine!

Remember those spiders?

Those spiders crawled into websites, and the search engine will bring you the most popular sites for those keywords! There are TONS of stores that sell Pizza, but not ALL of them are in Tampa! The spiders tell Google to show the ones they CRAWLED that had the words PIZZA and TAMPA in it!

Keep in mind the phrase: you say tomato and i say tomahto

In other words in my daugther's example Carbon Dioxide or CO2 to see if you get better answers! Can't think of anything search for a thesaurus!

OHHHH! Another really neat thing about search engines? They are a really cool calculator! Need to check your child's schoolwork? Type in 15% of 125! It will give you the answer....remember its a MACHINE! 15% of 125 = 18.75... WOO HOO! What about the weather? Type in temperature in Tempe AR and it will give you the answer! Remember MACHINE, and key thing to remember.....NO common sense! Play around with it! Chances are GOOD you will come up with all kinds of neat stuff!

How to use a search engine isn't that hard...now is IT?!?!

If you have any questions, comments, or don't understand something please use the comment section at the top of the lesson. How do you do that?? Click HERE to see how to comment on a blog!

Don't want to miss a lesson? Use the email Subscription button!

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What is a Firewall?

I am going to go over the bare basics of firewalls, and if you need more than that there are TONS of firewall information sites out there! I know when I started to learn about firewalls years ago it was overwhelming at times!

A firewall's job is basically the same thing as a physical firewall! It keeps destructive sources AWAY from your property!

If you have been using the Internet for any length of time, and especially if you use one at work you may have heard the term FIREWALL before! You might have heard some coworkers mention they can't go to a certain site, because it won't let it pass the firewall!




The above picture may be a corporate setup, or a home network. You have the Internet with all its dangers, and the firewall basically helps to filter OUT some of the items you DON'T want near your company or home computer!

If firewall sees harm it won't allow you to view the material. Firewalls aren't perfect, and they can stop you from seeing or using perfectly fine websites. It doesn't have common sense like you and I, but there are ways to help override the firewall....NOT at work though!

The best way I can to describe it.......its like a traffic cop! It decides what will come in!



Firewalls use filters to calculate what it feels safe at the time. Machines use what they call IP addresses. You can think of it like your house number if you will. Firewalls will block certain IP address, and we humans just see that we can't view a website! The domain name could be blocked. The Domain here for example is: http://computerbasicslearning.blogspot.com/.

Certain home computers will come with a firewall already installed, and other times you will need to purchase one. Its an extra layer of insurance that your computer will not come into harm. Your computer in this case would be considered the gateway. You are the access point for the computer to the Internet.

A hardware firewall would be your router if you have one at your home. You are connected to your router - that is connected to your modem...which you connect to the Internet thru! Routers can be configured to your needs, and you can set the filters to what you DON'T want in and what you do!

The firewall protects you from all kinds of crooks, nuts, and just plain NASTY people that are just looking for an unprotected computer to take advantage of!

They can take control of your computer, and run programs on it. At times they get into your personal files that you might have on the computer.

Certain programs may have they call 'backdoor' entrance. Its basically a hidden access to the program so they can control it.

They could use your email program to send out all kinds of ugly spam!

They could place an application on your computer, and basically make it crash!

It would infect your system with viruses.

Always be careful of the pop up ads, because they could place a backdoor program on your computer to use later!

There are more things that could happen, but these are just to name a few!

Firewalls have levels of protection, and I'm sure you are thinking the fullest protection possible! If you block everything it does defeat the purpose of the Internet to begin with! You can choose one of the upper levels, and as you surf the Internet tell the computer WHICH sites you know are safe!

Firewall programs do take come getting used to at times! The Vista firewall I have on my computer was a pain when I first got it! EVERY site I love to visit was blocked, and I to slowly tell the computer..........ITS OKAY ALREADY!

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How-to System Restore - Data Recovery

Within Windows ME, Windows XP and Windows Vista you have utility called 'system restore' that can help you return your computer almost back in time when everything was working properly! Its the magic time machine for data recovery!



Depending on how your computer system is setup will depend on how many restore points your system will offer you. You computer will only store so many of them - the points of restoring that is!

Its kind of like a assembly line! A new restore point is made, and an old one falls in the HUGE computer DELETE pile! One in and ONE out!




Some people will increase or decrease the amount of storage space that their computer will allow for this process! In Windows XP

Start -> Right Click my Computer properties
Click System Restore Tab
Under Disk space usage,Slide it according to how much disk space you need for your system restore.

Here is a quick video showing you the above directions for the storage space used for System Resource!



In Vista of course its MORE work! Vista for Beginners has a good explanation to do this!

A good hint if you plan on changing anything within your operation system like install a program, a device like a printer, or even change system settings like size of fonts - always 'create a restore' point before doing that. That way if anything goes wrong you can go back to previous condition of your computer!

Your computer MUST have enough storage space in order to use system restore, so if you know your computer is SHORT on storage space (space on your C drive) it not even be able to handle the system restore operation! You will know this by an error you get, or you don't have any restore points on your computer. You can try to free up some space on your hard drive by removing documents, programs, etc that are taking up precious space to see if you can get it working! There are other causes as well such as registry damage as well.

System Restore creates restore points during the day in case something goes wrong with your computer during the day. This is basically a data recovery program, and it will restore you computer to an earlier time! Lets say you decided to install a program, change a setting, or introduce your new webcam to the computer, and then all of a sudden your computer is really having problems! YEP computers can be moody!

Click your start button, and then programs or all programs, then accessories, then system tools. Under your system tools there should be a program called 'system restore'.



You can either 'create a restore point'



Or as you can see from this screen 'restore my computer to an earlier time'



Vista also shows backup, but you want SYSTEM restore. I wanted to show you this so you don't get confused!




Depending on your operating system the options for calendar maybe different! This is one example of what you will see. All of them are pretty similiar calendars, and your screen should be pretty straight forward as far as what dates and times are available for you to use!






If you are ON your computer during the afternoon, and all a sudden the computer decided to throw a temper tantrum you want to pick a time prior to the computer being MOODY!

You would then push next, and system restore will display a message basically asking you if you are SURE you want to do this!



Your data files (like if you wrote a letter or report earlier that day) should be okay. Make sure you save them before contining! The program will tell you that this operation is reversible. Click NEXT again!

This data recovery program will take a little while to collect the information it needs to complete the process, and will restart the system as well. Once you log into your system again, and you may get messages that the restoration is complete or asks you if you want to undo the system restore operation.


Here is a video basically going over the items we just spoke about with system restore.



Final HINT - some people actually keep an log of changes you make to your system. It takes a little time, but it will HELP retrace your steps LATER!

We all have used system restore from time to time! ITS OKAY... we happens! That is what is there for! Remember if you have questions, comments or corrections.......USE the comment section! Don't know how? Check out the post of the post it shows you HOW!






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Set Clock on Computer

Today’s How-To Guide for the Computer Beginning is setting the computer Clock.

When learning computer basics you will notice on the right hand corner of the bottom of your screen is a clock.   Most of the time when you setup your computer the operating system will prompt you to set the clock.  The computer clock has come a long way, because most of the time you can set it and forget it!

 

 

I realize those of you that have landed here need to change the clock for some reason, and we will be going over that.

 

As I mentioned the computer clock will be located in your computer’s system tray.

 

 

Below are two screen shots of clocks on the computer.


 

 

Since all computers have a small battery inside to keep the clock running on your computer, even when unplugged, the time should not be off much unless the battery is getting old in most cases.

It is important that the date and time be correct so that your files will have an accurate time stamp. You can also insert the date or time into a document. If the computer doesn't have the right date or time, neither will your document.

Clock on Computer

Double-click the time on the Task bar located in the system tray where you see your clock.

 
The Date and Time Properties dialog box appears. This dialog box contains a calendar and a clock. This is where you set the time on the computer!

Most of the newer operating systems have similar date and time properties.  I have included two examples here. 

I will show you the older operating systems as well towards the bottom of this article.

 

The red rectangles are spots in which you can pull down the menu to change your month from March (as pictured) to the month of your choice.  The same goes for the year.  The date itself you can click on the number you wish.  You would use the up and down arrows to set the time, or in some systems you can literally click on one of the hands of the clock to drag to the new time.

 

 

 

 

Our second example of setting the clock is similar, but you have to go to one additional menu.  The top red arrows prompts the date and time menu to appear.  At times you must have administrative privileges to do this. 

 

 

 

 

 

Setting the month is pretty straight forward.  If you wish to pick a month prior to July then click the arrow  I pointed to on your left.  You will notice JUNE shows up.  If you wish to go forward in the months you would push the section I pointed to with the right arrow.  You would move to August. 

 

Please note:  If you go forward to August in order to get to January faster?  You will see that the year for January will change as well.  Remember this is a machine.  If you want to go back to January, 2011?  You must go left (backwards) to January.  If you go forwards?  You will land on January, 2012.  As you might have guessed this section controls the month and the year.

 

The picture I supplied for the ‘date’ is set on July 10, 2011.  You may click on a different number for your date.

 

For the Clock you will use the up and down arrows under the clock to change the time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once you have completed all your changes? You will click the OKAY button towards the bottom.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you look again at the main menu’s for the time change properties?  One option has you switching tabs, and the second one has a button for the time zone.

 

You will have a pull down menu to pick your time zone, but also notice the option for ‘daylight savings time’.  If your time zone adjusts for daylight savings time you need to make sure this option is marked.  If not, make sure it is NOT marked.  (clicked in other words)

 

When you click the down right for the time zone you will be able to scroll up and down in order to find the time zone that applies to you, and your computer’s clock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once again if you made changes?  Click OKAY to apply them.

 

On internet tab you can reset your computer clock to match a standard clock at Microsoft or at NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology). Of course, you must be connected to the Internet to do this. If your computer is connected nearly all the time, the clock will update weekly. There is a button that updates the clock right now.   We will go into that more later.

The older operating systems also have pretty much the same features! How to set time on computer for this screen is also pretty straight forward! You can MOVE the hands on the clock with your cursor. Bring down the dialog box for your time zone, and CLICK your correct day and month! You can also bring down the dialog boxes for those as well!

 

Yes, its basically the same thing as with newer operating systems.  The screens to me just got more ‘pretty’ if you will.

 

Speaking of clocks I have a neat website for you! Its a online alarm clock! YEP you will need your speakers for this! There are times in which I know I have to get off the computer at a certain time, or other times I will be doing housework and don't want to get all wrapped up and forget a appointment!

 

This Online Alarm Clock is really NEAT! Nothing to download! You just set the time, and keep the window open! I normally minimize the window.  Believe me you will HEAR it when it rings! Make sure you have your speakers ON!

 

 

This is VERY funny! How would you like this type of alarm clock?

 

Well I hope today’s How-To Guide for Computer Beginner’s help you understand how to set your computer clock.

 

If you have any question please feel free to leave a comment.

 

Make sure you leave your email in the subscription box so future lessons will be sent to you automatically.

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