On-Line Assistance

Links to a number of services that I use regularly. All have proven to be very useful and I thank the authors of these sites for making these free tools available to me.

Beginners Central - If you are new to the Internet and 'surfing' this is the place to visit to get a wealth of information  about   learning  to traverse cyber space. The info has sections for both Netscape and Internet Explorer! Advice  is clearly written and will appeal to those looking for answers to technical questions about setting up your browser for off line viewing and setting up e-mail accounts and newsreaders to simple explanations about the history of the Internet and it's uses.

Site Translation - Ever wish you could read the info on that German site? Do you want to translate info on this site into French? Take this link. Bablefish will enable you to translate a site from one language to another. You can even copy and paste text from an e-mail into the text box and have it translated as well.

Virus Information - This link will take you to a page that contains everything you need to understand, clean and protect your system from  virus attacks, hackers and more. If you don't have protection you can find freeware programs and services here that are excellent.

Finding Information On The Internet: A Tutorial - by the Teaching Library at the University of California at Berkeley.

PC Pitstop - PC Pitstop runs diagnostics on your PC to identify things that might help improve performance. The process is fully automated, private and safe. After the diagnostics run, they give you tips for improving all kinds of things. Best of all, the service is free!

HelpDrivers.Com - Are you looking for information on drivers? This site  has it all. Information, Latest Drivers for Windows 9x/2000, BIOS updates and even a Forum where you can seek out the assitance you need. This is a great first stop if you are thinking about upgrading.

The PCGuide - Quite simply one of the best resources I've seen. Very well done and comprehensive. Charles M. Kozierok   authored  this site and asks fo your feedback.

The Troubleshooting section  - from the above PCGuide  is linked here seperately. Check this out folks!

User-Friendly BootDisks and Utilites  - a variety of DOS tools for troubleshooting and fixing Windows 9x/Me

BIOS Setup Information Guide - Great info about features and settings found in  The Basic Input Output System

WIM'S BIOS Page - If you need a BIOS upgrade this is an excellent starting point.

CTBIOS  - will allow you to identify your motherboard's manufacturer and BIOS version without opening the case. Take the link and download the freeware program. You can use the info to find a BIOS upgrade by going to the WIM's BIOS Page at the above link.

BIOS Trashed - flashing  your computer's bios can sometimes go wrong leaving your computer a useless paperweight. You'll notice the disclaimer at any vendor's download site. The good people at badflash.com show you the proper precautions to take, and what to do if disaster strikes.

Test Your Cable or DSL Line Speed - Ever wonder how fast your connection speed is? 
Test Your Analog Modem speed here

How To Build A Computer - You asked the question and here is an wonderfully written resource. If you've ever asked yourself "What makes my system tick?" then check this site out. If you are serious about starting from scratch, there is more than enough here to get you pointed in the right direction.

Installing a New or Second Hard Drive - Links to several sites covering this topic
How To Install a Second Hard Drive -with the prices coming down and drives getting larger I thought I would put a couple of links here to some useful info. It is also important to realize that some older BIOS carry limitations on the size of a drive that they can read. Check here for great information on this subject as well as a tool to check your BIOS capability to break these size limitations The BIOS IDE Harddisk Limitations

Installing More RAM - this link takes you to site that will help you identify the type of RAM you have and show you how to upgrade. You can also use this site if you need to remove your current RAM to reseat it. 

Home Networking Made Easy -  Home networking is easy and these folks show you how it's done. Take the guess work out of setting up your own home network with this tutorial from ZDNet. Yes there are pictures!

SOHO.inter.net All the help you need to learn about, choose, and create your own small home or office Windows network for sharing files, printers, and Internet access using dial-up, ISDN, cable, or DSL, with your own .com name.

Internet Connection Sharing - is made available with Windows 98 SE. This link will help you setup the ICS feature and includes links to troublehoot any difficulty you may have with getting ICS working properly. Additional info on ICS is found here PC Tech Page and at Windows 98 Annoyances 

Direct Cable Connection - If you need info on connecting two computer using a cable here is the resource for you are looking for. Simple instructions.

The Device Driver Discussion Forum - Take this link  to a ask about, discuss, and share device drivers of all types. Avery solid resource.

The Troubleshooting Flow Chart - Are you having trouble with your system. Check out this site for suggestions prior to calling the tech's in!

Catch-Up is a free online service that will analyze your computer and detect if you need to update any of your drivers or software. It will then give you an option to download the updates. A neat program.  You need to download and install a small program before using the site.

MS Search Setup Site Choose an engine from the complete list of Internet Explorer search engine providers below, click on the Name, and type your query as prompted in the Search Explorer Bar to the left. Note that when you select an engine, it becomes your default Search engine.

Deja News Archives- Now owned by Google take this link to the  Web site where you can read, search, participate in and subscribe to more than 80,000 discussion forums, including Usenet newsgroups.

e-Fax.com this service enables you to receive faxes at your e-mail address. A very handy tool and it is free!

PC Checkup Center. Check it out

Windows 98 Updates Are you tired of having to access the Windows Update site every time you reinstall Windows 98? Download the updates and save them to disk for future installs.

Microsoft Troubleshooters - this link will take you to the Troubleshooting site for Windows 98.

Microsoft Knowledge Base Quick Link Find your answer by searching MSPersonal Support Center's extensive collection of Knowledge Base articles, troubleshooters, downloads, and other self-help content.

Links to Tips for Searching The MS Knowledge Base Get some help from Mr. Scary's links to ways to making your visits to the MS Knowledge Base more effective.

whatis?com® is a knowledge exploration tool about information technology, especially about the Internet and computers. It contains over 2,000 individual encyclopaedic definition/topics and a number of quick-reference pages. The topics contain about 10,000 hyperlinked cross-references between definition-topics and to other sites for further information.

PC Drivers HeadQuarters - Computer Technical Support for drivers including a link to a  download of Driver Detective v2.0
A FREE software program written by DriversHQ to help you find your current driver version and manufacturer to help you decide if you need to update. There is also a help site here for installing new drivers if you need the assistance.

PC Mechanic If you are interested in building your own computer then check out this site. It is also useful if you are simply upgrading some component of your system.