Best Consignment Shop Software

[Steve Henning]

Computers are actually somewhat delicate and require lots of love and attention. Here are just a few of the more important things to do to assure that your PC has it's best chance of working properly.

Wait until Windows has shut down before turning your computer off (unless the PC is locked up in which case the hard-drive light will not be blinking). 'Hard shut downs' can causer data loss or damage or lost Windows files.

Try to recover from software crashes (freeze ups) by pressing these three buttons simultaneously: Ctl + Alt + Delete. Press them a second time to attempt to restart the PC. If that doesn't work, use your PC's manual restart button instead of the power-off button.

Definitely use a back-up power source (UPS, Uninterrupted Power Supply) to keep the PC from crashing during power outages and to protect it voltage fluctuations.
A 'surge protector' is not the same as a UPS.

Back up data at least every day. Back up data more often if a fair amount of entries are being made. Back up to more than one location including floppies, Zip disks, CD-RWs, online storage services and on your website's server (if you have one). BCSS users can also send their data to us for storage.

If data has been lost or erased, stop using the PC immediately and see if the data can be recovered using a data recovery service or software program.

Windows provides maintenance services (Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter). Run these at least once per month to remove unnecessary files/programs and to keep individual files congruent.

Don't disconnect a peripheral from the computer when the PC is on unless the device is 'hot pluggable' (safe to plug/unplug with power on).

Go to the Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs and delete any programs not needed.

Go to Programs, Startup and delete any programs that don't need to be started each time Windows is started. Alternatively, go to Start, Run and type msconfig. Click the Startup tab and uncheck any programs that don't need to be running 'in the background'.

Programs running in the background are often represented by an icon in the lower-left corner of the PC screen by the clock. Right-click on each icon for program information. Different programs have different formats but look for check boxes or options to stop these programs from starting at PC startup.

If the PC is connected to the Internet, you must have a firewall and virus protection! Without these hackers can access your PC and viruses can infest your computer. We have one report of Consignpro accessing their user's PC and deleting data! We recommend PC-cillin http://www.trendmicro.com/en/products/desktop/pc-cillin/evaluate/overview.htm. Trend Micro provides a free virus scan called Housecall http://www.trendmicro.com/hc_intro/default.asp.
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Steve Henning
877-669-0854
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