Posts Tagged ‘tiny bits’
May 15th, 2009 | 
Author: With this ever changing world of computers, more and more old computers are being thrown out, rightfully so. The old computers just can’t keep up with today’s software, that has been designed for the fastest and latest CPUs, and the most powerful video cards. But what about all that data? Your credit card details, client lists, personal emails? Although chances are if their found at a landfill, they won’t be used for malicious purposes, the ease of accessing that data is almost too simple.
Along side that, thousands of old motherboards, video cards, RAM sticks, get thrown out and end up with landfill every year. And even though I’m sounding like a new ageist, the incorrect dumping of computer parts can lead to all sorts of environmental issues, with the plastic used in circuit boards not easily broken down naturally. Monitors in particular have high lead content, which , while encased in the monitor isn’t exceptionally dangerous, but when exposed in a situation such as landfill, can pose a danger to nearby waterways and the surrounding environment.
Enter computer recycling. Computer recycling comes in two forms. Destruction and reusing. The destruction of computers parts is done in a contained environment and the plastic is then broken down in a controlled condition. Yes, this means they get big machines to effectively crush and turn what was once your computer, into many thousands of little tiny bits of plastic and metal. They then get this computer mulch, melt it, stretch it, burn it and turn it into different forms. Most of the major computer giants, such as HP and Apple, have recycling centres for the safe destruction of old PCs, however, some are a paid service.
CRT monitors are particularly favourable for destruction with each monitor potentially having up to 3.6kg of lead contained within. The processes are relativity simple, after the recyclable plastic case, metal chassis, yoke, PC board, wire and metal strap are all tediously removed from the monitor. The lead- impregnated tubing is all that’s left before it’s crushing demise. Even the circuit boards are crushed and recycled, with almost all of the materials being extracted. The extraction process involves various degrees of smelting resulting in lead, tin, gold, and palladium commodities for re-sale, and re-use. The whole process results in almost a 100% diversion rate, leaving only a small percentage that ends up in landfill, and of course, all that potentially dangerous lead is kept away from water supplies.
Re-using PCs is a very viable option. Some PCs get re-used for scientific use (correctly networked together to create a supercomputer) or given to those that can use older technology such as libraries or education centres. Just make sure you delete all the data off the hard drive or, if you know how to pull apart a computer, destroy the hard drive. The thought of handing over your data to a computer tech could be less comforting then throwing it in the trash, even though to comply with privacy legislation, employees have to wipe all data before re-using any computers.
If your going to be pulling the computer apart yourself, be sure to be gentle with your computer parts, always use static free bags, and always discharge yourself of static electricity before handling (touching something large and steel will do the trick).
For places that recycle in Australia -> http://www.recyclingnearyou.com.au/
Tommy Gerand is a techie with an attitude. With 10 years experience in the IT industry, Tommy has a knowledgeable and interesting view on the world of computers and electronics. He currently sells computer parts at Tekfix (http://www.tekfix.com.au/), an online computer store in Australia.
Article Source: Old computers. trash, treasure or landfill?
If your computer has slowed down, it could be because of a cluttered Windows registry. You can find a pc registry cleaner that can quickly and easily take care of that problem for you, and restore you computer to its peak performance levels.
The computer’s registry is where all of the information used by the control panel is stored. If you have added and then removed software, or added and removed hardware, if the removal was not done completely, tiny bits of unaccessible data can be left on the Windows registry. This is bad news for your computer’s ease of finding the information it needs when you send it out to perform a task. It has to work its way through all of the unneeded data fragments in search of the data it does need, and this can slow it down. You may have noticed this in how long it takes for your computer to bring up your email or to start various software programs, and in part this can be one of the reasons why this happens.
Many computer users turn to registry cleaners to help get rid of the unneeded data fragments, with the side effect that it speeds up your computer. But you will want to proceed with caution, because there are many registry cleaners available, and not all of them are good.
You might want to begin your search by looking at some online registry cleaner reviews. Finding the best registry cleaner will entail a bit of searching, but registry cleaner reviews have done a lot of the research for you, so that you can compare features of various registry cleaners side by side, and thus narrow it down to which will ultimately be the best registry cleaner for your computer.
You will certainly want to select a Microsoft registry cleaner or a Windows xp registry cleaner that has some built-in safety features. While a good Microsoft registry cleaner will get rid of unusable bits of data from the registry, a bad one can also take needed data away as well. You will want to pick a Windows xp registry cleaner that provides you with a full report of what all the problems are with the registry before it takes any action to correct those problems. What it determines to be a “problem” may not be to you, and by isolating these data fragments you can select the specific ones you want removed and those you do not.
Another feature to look for in a quality Windows xp registry cleaner is whether it allows you to restore and back up your registry. In this way if a mistake is made, there will be no harm done to your computer registry.
You can find reviews for the Windows xp registry cleaner you are considering, and read up on all its specific features to determine if it will work well for you.
Finding the best registry cleaner doesn’t have to be a tedious affair. In this article Jonathon Blocker writes about windows xp registry cleaner software.
Article Source: A Windows XP Registry Cleaner Can Put Lightning-Fast Speeds Back Into Your Computer
It is no fun to have to work on a slow computer. Routine tasks like opening your email or launching all sorts of software take what feels like forever when the computer is slow. Now you can optimize pc performance quickly and easily with cleanup registry software. This type of pc registry fix is both quick and easy to perform, and when routinely done it keeps your computer running at a speedy clip.
PC registry repair is a type of routine maintenance that helps keep your computer up to appropriate speeds. It gets slowed down when tiny bits of data clog the Windows registry, the place in your computer where all the information from the control panel is stored. When you ask the computer to launch a piece of software, for example, the control panel goes to the Windows registry to seek all the information it needs to perform your requested task. Those tiny data fragments that can get left behind when you uninstall software incompletely can get in the computer’s way as it searches for data it can actually access, and this causes the computer to slow down a bit. Every time you take off software or hardware from your computer, and it is not removed completely, it leaves data fragments behind, and thus it builds up in the Windows registry over time, and therefore your computer runs slower and slower as time passes.
The easy way to optimize pc performance is to use a quality pc optimizer cleaning software. Cleanup registry software such as this can go into your Windows registry and either fix or get rid of the unusable bits of data that get in the computer’s way each time it needs to search for information. In this way, your computer is brought back up to normal speeds.
PC registry repair is best performed regularly, so that the unusable data bits do not build up in the first place. If you have never used pc optimizer software before, you may wish to read a few cleanup registry reviews online.
Although this pc registry repair software is capable of great service, some of the less well-written software programs can actually do some damage to your computer. You will want to ensure, by reading pc optimizer reviews before you download any software, that your choice of cleaner software will not accidentally remove any information that is actually needed by your computer. The best cleaner programs will produce a report of all detected problems prior to removing any of them, and then you should be given specific choices as to which bits of data you want removed, so that no gross errors are committed by the computer unbenownst to you. In this way you can ensure that the pc optimizer software will actually do what you want to optimize pc performance for your computer.
PC Performance is a common concern. In this article Jonathon Blocker writes about the pc optimizer. Jonathon Blocker offers free advice on how to improve PC performance. Download his free eBook, the Definitive Guide to Registry Cleaners & PC Optimization.
http://www.pcfixreview.com/registry-cleaners-ebook/
Article Source: A Windows Registry Cleaner Makes A Great PC Optimizer