Is the hard drive failing, i.e. crashing or is a virus attacking your computer system? Try the following suggestions to determine which problem you have.

Can you get the task manager to appear on your desktop?*1

If the task manager does not display, usually a virus is stopping the task manager from appearing, which is used to delete processes. A virus does not want to give you a tool to delete it.

Does the high level of disk drive activity diminish when you boot your computer in Safe Mode?*2

Safe Mode runs a minimal version of the operating system in which you cannot print to a printer. The screen will look distorted because the normal video card driver is not loaded. This minimal version usually does not have the resources for the virus to thrive, but once you boot in normal mode the virus can thrive. 

If the S.M.A.R.T. status is good, your hard drive is probably not failing.*3 

S.M.A.R.T. enabled hard drives can predict if your hard drive is starting to fail. You can load and execute a program like Speed Fan, which can display the S.M.A.R.T. Status of your hard drive.

Running the Error-Checking utility will scan the hard drive and look for and repair hard drive errors.*4

If errors are found, your hard drive is failing. Back up as much as you can before the computer stops booting to the failing hard drive.  

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*1 Press Ctrl, Atl and the Delete key at the same time. If your operating system is Win XP, the Task Manager should pop up. If your operating system is Vista or Windows 7, select Task Manager from the menu that is presented.

*2 Restart your computer and start pressing the F8 key. When the menu is displayed, select Safe Mode with the cursor keys.

*3 Click here to download Speed Fan.

*4 You can get to the Properties Tab of the hard drive by right mouse clicking the hard drive icon and select Tools, you can run the Error-Checking utility. You will need to re-boot your computer to get the Error-Checking utility start running.

Reducing the Cost Duplicating Car Keys

Have you gotten any duplicate car keys made lately? The days of going to Home Depot and spending $2.00 are over!

Many car keys have a security feature built into them that dramatically increases the cost of obtaining a duplicate. The feature is a computer chip that must be programmed for your engine to start.

It appeared that there was only one way of obtaining duplicate keys with computer chips embedded in them: the car dealership.

1. Take the car to the dealership. 
2. Leave the car. 
3. Come back later in the day when the new key has been cut and programmed. 
4. Pay $150 plus to get your car back along with the duplicate key.

Here is an alternative: Go to West Paces Smith Ace Hardware in Buckhead. Present the key you need duplicated. Ten minutes later, walk out with a new key after paying $75.00.

Note: Not all car makes and models can be duplicated at West Paces Smith Ace Hardware. You might want to call first. They also can program new key fobs to go along with that new car key.

Note to buyers of used cars: When buying a used car from a dealership or individual, pay attention to how many keys you are getting. If you need to buy duplicate keys, you need to take this into account on the price offered for the car.