Do you back-up your documents every day? Most people know they should, but rarely do it because they either don’t know how, they think that it is too time consuming, or they think that you need expensive backup software and external hard disks. This isnt the case.

In order to set up this backup you will need the following:

1. A USB Memory Stick (or Flash Drive, or USB Memory Drive - depending on who you talk to …)

   You can buy USB Flash Drives very cheaply these days. I recommend that you buy one around 8gb. This will allow plenty of room for the average persons documents, emails and photos etc. I bought a
   8GB PQI Flash Drive from Newegg
   

2. Microsoft SyncToy v1.4

   You can download Microsoft SyncToy for FREE from here.

Ok, so you now have your Flash Drive and SyncToy. Install SyncToy using the setup file you just downloaded from Microsoft - its very easy to do, just follow the prompts. After Sync Toy has installed, then plug your USB Flash Drive into an available port on your computer. I have plugged mine in the back of the computer because we will be leaving the Flash Drive permanently plugged in. Windows will probably pop up a few yellow messages in the bottom right corner while the USB Memory Drive installs, and may ask you to restart the computer after it finishes - if it does, restart the computer.

Now, here comes the slightly more difficult part - setting up SyncToy. Don’t worry, its not too difficult

1. First you need to open SyncToy.
2. You then need to click on “Create New Folder Pair” button.
3. In SyncToy the Left Folder is the source, and the Right Folder is the Destination.
   Click on Browse, select My Documents and then press OK (shown in image below)
   
4. Click the “Next” button
5. On the Right Folder click Browse button again, and then select your Flash Drive from under My Computer
6. Click the “Next” button again
7. You will be given 5 options for different back-up types. Most of the time I use the Echo function, but feel free to have a read of the descriptions on the other alternatives and pick the one whcih you think best suits you.
8. Click the “Next” button again! It will ask you to name the pair. This can be anything, I named mine My Documents
9. Click Finish and close SyncToy

SyncToy will only run as a scheduled task if you have a password on your Windows user account. If you do not have a password on your account you should go to Control Panel>User Accounts and add a password to your account.

Ok, great. Just a few more steps. All we have to do now is create a Scheduled Task so that SyncToy runs automatically every day.

1. Click the Start button, the click on the Run… button
2. Type control schedtask
3. This will open the Scheduled Tasks window. Click on Add Sheduled Task.
4. Click Next and choose SyncToy from the list. Click Next, again!
5. You will then be asked whether you would like the task to run daily, weekly, monthly etc.
   Choose Daily and press Next. Then select an appropriate time and press Next again.
6. Enter the password you use to log on to your Windows account, and then again to confirm it has been typed correctly.
7. Click Next. Tick the box next to Open advanced properties for this task when I click Finish. Click Finish.

8. In the form field beside Run: you should see something like this:
   “C:\Documents and Settings\{Your UserName}\Start Menu\Programs\SyncToy.lnk”
   Change it to -
   “C:\Documents and Settings\{Your UserName}\Start Menu\Programs\SyncToy.lnk” -R
   The -R switch tells SyncToy to run all Folder Pairs in the background without prompting or asking you questions

9. Press OK. And confirm your password again.

SyncToy is now set up to automatically copy your My Documents folder to your Flash Drive every day at the time you specified. It is a good idea to check the contents of your Flash Drive from time to time to make sure that all files are being copied successfully.

This technique can be applied to any folder on your computer. If you decide you want to backup multiple folders you may have to create individual folders on your Flash drive for each folder pair so that they do not get lumped together.

Heres another tip: When you go away on holidays take out your flash drive and give it to a Neighbour or family member so that if you get robbed your data is still safe.

At first glance this all probably looked quite overwhelming but your efforts a well worth it and will save you hours manually backing up to CDs, DVDs or Flash Drives.

Hope this has helped you out!

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Karen has noticed that both Softonic and Spanish Speaking Guy are no longer hosting this app. I have therefore uploaded to this site, so you will now have to download it from here - Thanks Karen!

I have been using this application for a few days now and it has noticeably reduced Firefox’s memory usage - even when I have 20 tabs open with various media running!

Once you have downloaded this program, all you have to do is run the EXE file and it will add an icon to your task tray. I have added a shortcut of the EXE file to my Startup folder but I think there is an option to have it load when Windows starts.

Anyway, hope this helps you guys out!

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1. Click on Start button
2. Click on Run
3. Type regedit, in RegEdit use the search function to find the term FormSuggest
4. Double click on Use FormSuggest
5. Change value from no to yes (on some computers the value may appear as a DWORD value. If this is the case for you, change the value from 0 to 1)
6. You may need to restart computer for changes to take affect.

Here is a screenshot from my computer:

Let me know if this fixes IE7 on your computer!

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This is not a definitive guide to speeding up Firefox but it is a good start.

Happy Browsing

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Secondly, you could go out and buy a Wireless Antenna such as the Link Depot WiFi Signal Antenna from Newegg - but a decent wifi booster costs anywhere from $15-150. This is generally not a bad option but doesn’t always solve the problem. In my experience these antennas don’t do a terrific job, they do help, but I wouldnt spend too much money on them. I have used the Link Depot antenna featured above and it is as good as any (even when compared to models twice its price). The other option is to pick up a cheap wireless signal booster from Ebay.

• Buy a Link Depot WiFi Signal Antenna from NewEgg
• Find cheap Wireless Antenna’s on Ebay

If your on a budget however, you can try making your own homemade wi-fi booster by using the template provided by freeantennas.com for the Ez-12 Parabolic Reflector. I first noticed this info on Walyou.com

• Official Ez-12 Parabolic Reflector Template Instructions
• Download or print the Ez-12 Parabolic Reflector Template from here
• YouTube Video on how to create Ez-12 Parabolic Reflector Antenna

I made one for my wireless router at home and i can confirm that it does work. The outcome will however depend on other external interference factors. For some people not even the best wi fi antenna will help their signal problem. If after trying all of the above suggestions you are still having problems there is one more thing you can try which is almost certainly going to fix your problem.

There is a product called Ethernet over power adapters. These allow you to emulate a physical network connection over your house mains power without having to get an electrician in to wire your house with ethernet cable. Ethernet-over-Power adapters arn’t cheap, but they are quick fix for difficult network connections. I wouldn’t buy no name brands for this type of device. I would play it safe and get something like the NETGEAR XE102G Powerline which has a great track record.

• Buy NETGEAR XE102G Powerline from Amazon
• Buy NETGEAR XE102G Powerline from NewEgg
• Find the Netgear XE102G on Ebay

Well I hope this helps you fixing your wireless signal connection problems. If you still are having problems drop me a comment or send me an email via the contact form and I will see if I can help you out

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Anyway, don’t fear, they haven’t removed it altogether. It still exists, you just have to add it to the Quick Access Toolbar yourself.

To do this:

1. Click the Office Button
2. Click on Word Options in the bottom right corner of the drop down menu
3. Select Customize from left hand menu
4. Change Choose Commands from: drop down to All Commands
5. Scroll down list and “Add” AutoSummary Tools
6. Click OK and test tool from Quick Access Toolbar

Here is a screenshot to illustrate -

There you go, that should do it.

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Like any good nerd, I NEVER read the instructions to anything … particularly computer cases! So seeing that the 3.25″ bay had the clips on the drive rails facing the insided of the case I installed the drive rails the same way on my girlfriends brothers DVD Drive.

HINT: Don’t do this! The drive rails for your DVD Drive should be screwed on so that the clips are at the front of your Antec P180 case and the clips should also line up with the front of the DVD face. Here are some pictures to demonstrate what I mean:

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You can get it here: http://www.xblock.com/download/xclean_micro.exe

Download file to your computer and double click to run. It only takes two or three minutes to complete so is well worth the time. I usually download it every time I need to use it as it does not update definitions automatically.

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