1. Ctrl + Alt + Del to bring up Task Manager.
2. Click “New Task…” then click “Browse…”
3. Click My Computer on the left panel. Click C:\ – WINDOWS
4. Navigate to explorer.exe, right click and copy explorer. Rename it to explorer1 (.exe)
5. Hit Cancel to go back to Create New Task window. Type regedit.exe and click OK.
6. In the registry editor, navigate to the following Key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
7. With the Winlogon key selected, look in the right side window for the
‘Shell” value.
8. Double click Shell. In the Value Data box, you should see Explorer.exe. Change it to
explorer1.exe and click OK.
9. Exit the registry editor and reboot the computer

Your computer should be back to functioning normally.

No need to open the case and look for the model number on the device. Dead Simple and Fast.

Download Unkown Devices

Start
Regedit

Check current user and local machine

Software—Microsoft—Office—Outlook—Addins

It just says Addin may have ALTCOM somewhere in the desription.

I have used this method after my Iphone was hit with a water balloon.

CloneZilla works on all operating systems including Windows, Linux, and MAC. You Can install clonezilla on a CD/DVD or A Flash Drive. For more information you can check out CloneZilla’sWebsite

Also See How to Install Linux on a Flash Drive

Free software that ever computer repair technician should have in his toolkit.

UBCD4WIN-Ultimate Boot CD for windows provides a preinstalled windows environment that will allow you to boot into a windows environment from a cd when your hard drive crashes.

Hirens Boot CD 9.9 – Most importantly Mini Windows XP bootable from CD.

MalwareBytes Anti-Malware- Great at Removing Rouge Anti virus Software.

PC Tools Spyware Doctor-One of the best spyware scanners around. It blows Spybot and Adaware out of the water. This program is now free with Googlepack.

CCleaner- Use CCleaner to delete hidden unwanted data, Fix Registry Errors and remove unwanted programs

Advanced System Care-Scans and removes spyware. Prevents spyware from being installed on your computer by blocking know threats websites and cookies. Fixes Registry Errors. Performs System Optimization. A Start up manager shows you which entries are trust worthy and which should be removed. Privacy Sweep removes your history and tracking cookies. Removes junk files and Provides Detailed System Information.

If you guys have any other ideas, feel free to share.

Thinking of throwing away that ancient system, think again. Make your old computer into something useful. If you guys have any other ideas feel free to comment.

File Server- Store movies, music, and pictures on your home network.
Webserver- Host your own website and avoid paying for webhosting.
FTP Server- Upload and download files across the internet
Firewall- Protect your home network with Smoothwall
Router- You can also use Smooth wall to turn you computer into a router.
Media Server- Play stored Movies and Music on a media server.
Proxy Server- Programs like Squid or Netcache turn your old PC into a Proxy Server.
Linux- Have you ever wanted to try out Linux but didn’t want to give up windows?
DHCP Server- Dish out dynamic IP addresses by turning you old computer into a DHCP server.
A Table- If all else fails you can use that old desktop for a table or a nightstand.
A Paper Weight-Need something to prevent the wind from blowing all of your important papers of your desk?

For thoses out there who are new to computers and want to get a handle on computer technology and what there function is, you have come to the right place. So lets get started and learn !

With the hardware within the computer there is

1. Hard drive – This piece of hard ware holds all programs and files that is not in use by the computer, also this is where all files and programs are housed while the computer is off. Also I would like to point out that when talking about RAM,which I will get to shortly, and hard drives we talk in bytes. Now to get off topic for a moment, Bytes are made up of 8 bits, so for every byte there is 8 pieces of information in it. So when talking about bytes with Ram and the Hard Drive, we say Kilabyte, MegaByte,Gigabyte,TerraByte, and so on. If you wish to figure out how much free space you have on your computer, find your C Drive icon and right click on it, then click on Properties. On the first tab it will show you in Blue how much space is used up right now, in red/pinkish color it will show u how much free space is left on your drive. Enough on that back to Hard Drive, its not uncommon to have two hard drives in a computer, but to do this you must set one to Master and slave, what this does is make it to where the computer says “Ok, what Hard Drive do i need to get my information from.” when it reads the master drive it takes the information from there, it is still possible to take information from the slave drive.
2. RAM - RAM stands for Random Access Memory, what this piece of hardware does is house and lets you access programs and files that are in use by the computer, good example of this, is your internet browser is in RAM right now while you are reading this article . RAM holds programs while the comptuer is on and in use by the computer. There are Many different forms of Ram, A couple of different forms are SRAM, and DRAM. SRAM is Static Ram, which holds programs and files while the computer is not on. So think of it like this, your teacher tells you she will give you an “A” in class if you remember the Square of 99*288, so that night you go to bed with the answer in your mind you wake up and you go to class and you still remember the answer, that is Static RAM. now DRAM is the total opposite, DRAM stands for Dymatic Ram, same situation with the math problem, you go to bed wake up the next morning go to class you dont remember nothing, thats DRAM.
3. CPU- The CPU A.K.A Central Processing Unit is where all information incoming and out going comes to get send to the right place. So lets say you want to access your favorite program from your hard drive, what this will do is send information to the CPU then to the proper place, which will be RAM and your montior. Out going is the same way, but its leaving your computer or going to another part. An example would be, you tell your computer to do a virus scan on your Whole C Drive, that goes will go the CPU then to the hard drive.
4. MotherBoard- This is the most important piece of hardware you got in your computer, this is how your hardware gets power, how the computers sends and receives information. Without this piece of ware in your computer you got a paper weight. and with Computer priced as they are today, that is a bad thing.
5. Audio Card - The audio card sounds and converts them to whatever the needs are of the computer to output what we hear in video games, music videos, someone watching something on youtube Etc. It can only be convereted into two different things, Digital, and analog. Here is some more information on the subject Digital and Analog Signals.
6. Video Card – Video card just renders everything so we are able to see it on the screen, like this website and article at the moment. Video Card
7. CD ROM - CD ROM Stands for Compact Disc Read Only Memory. So the best way to explain this is to think about a CD Player, and the disk you put into it. What this does is the “Eye” reads the information on the disc and out puts it in the correct format, IE CD player plays the music. So the computer takes the data on the disc and plays it on the computer, but due to it being Read only memory, you can not change anything on that disc or nothing due to the fact that it has been sealed and locked from having any more data added on to it.
8. USB - USB Stands for Universal Serial Bus, we all know what this device is. Its a Flash Drive, Thumb Drive. What this is its just a portal hard drive, or music player, IE Ipods, and IPhones etc. It takes information you wish to put on there to a certain Gigabyte nowadays, and lets you transport it to a different location to install on another computer.
9. Heat Sink – The Heat Sink is important to the CPU, because this piece of metal helps vent all the heat that is caused by the CPU, is the CPU gets over heated the computer reaches a certain point then it shuts down to cool off for a while. Best way to cool off your whole system is Liquid Cooling Systems.

I’ve hope you have learned something from this article today that you can take out into the world and share with others.