To most, the command prompt is a somewhat frightening frill of the Windows operating system. The interface is black, bleak, and without much assistance. Compared to the rest of the Windows interface, it just seems empty. Despite its underwhelming first impression, the command prompt is one of the most powerful instruments in the Windows arsenal. The command prompt is useful for everything from complex automation to network configuration. What it lacks in interface it more than makes up for in effectiveness. If you don't know where to start with command prompt proficiency, what better place than to start here! CMD Commands While most seek the best and most useful commands immediately, it helps to gloss over what different parameters mean. Proficiency with your command prompt comes not only through having a lexicon of commands, but of understanding what each parameter means and how different parameters can be combined to achieve a desired effect as well. The following is a comprehensive list of most commands used in typical Windows commands. You can download the PDF version here. Scroll down to the following Essential Command List for an immediately usable list of commands. A--B ASSOC - Displays or modifies file extension associations. ATTRIB - Displays or changes file attributes. BREAK - Sets or clears extended CTRL+C checking. BCDBOOT - Used to copy critical files to the system partition and to crate a new system BCD store. BCDEDIT - Sets properties in boot database to control boot loading. C CACLS - Shows or changes access control lists (ACLs) of files. CALL - Calls a batch program from another. CD - Shows the name of or changes to a current directory. CHCP - Displays or sets the active code page number. CHDIR - Displays the name of or changes to the current directory. CHKDSK - Checks a disk and displays a status report. CHKNTFS - Displays or modifies the checking of disk at boot time. CHOICE - Batch file command that allows users to select from a set of options. CIPHER - Displays or alters the encryption of directories (files) on NTFS partitions. CLIP - Redirects output off another command to the Windows clipboard. CLS - Clears the screen. CMD - Starts a new instance of the Windows command interpreter. CMDKEY - Creates, lists, and deletes stored user names and passwords or credentials. COLOR - Sets the default console colors. COMP - Compares the contents of two files or sets of files byte-by-byte. COMPACT - Displays or alters the compression of files on NTSF partitions. CONVERT - Converts FAT volumes to NTFS. You cannot convert the current drive. COPY - Copies one of more files to another location. D DATE - Displays or sets the date. DEFRAG - Disk defragment accessory. DEL - Deletes one or more files. DIR - Displays a list of files and sub-directories in a directory. DISKCOMP - Compares the contents of two floppy disks. DISKCOPY - Copies the contents of one floppy disk to another. DISKPART - Displays or configures Disk Partition properties. DOSKEY - Edits command lines, recalls Windows commands, and creates macros. DRIVERQUERY - Displays current device driver status and properties. E ECHO - Displays messages, or turns commands echoing on or off. ENDLOCAL - Ends localization of environment changes in a batch file. ERASE - Deletes one of more files. EXIT - Quits and closes the command shell. EXPAND - Expands compressed files. F FC - Compares two files or sets of files, and displays the differences between them. FIND - Searches for a text string in a file or files. FINDSTR - Searches for strings in files. FOR - Runs a specified command for each item in a set. FORFILES - Selects files in a folder for batch processing. FORMAT - Formats a disc for use with Windows. FSUTIL - Displays or configures the file system properties. FTYPE - Displays or modifies file types used in file extensions associations. G--I GOTO - Directs the Windows command interpreter to a labeled line in a batch program. GPRESULT - Displays Group Policy Information for machine or user. GRAFTABL - Enables Windows to display an extended character set in graphics mode. HELP - Provides help information for Windows commands. ICACLS - Display, modify, backup, or restore ACLs for files and directories. IF - Performs conditional processing in batch programs. IPCONFIG - Displays all current TCP/IP network configuration values. L--M LABEL - Creates, changes, or deletes the volume label of a disk. MD - Creates a directory. MKDIR - Creates a directory. MKLINK - Creates Symbolic Links and Hard Links. MODE - Configures a system device. MORE - Displays output one screen at a time. MOVE - Moves one or more files from one directory to another directory. O--P OPENFILES - Queries, displays, or disconnects open files or files opened by network users. PATH - Displays or sets a search path for executable files. PAUSE - Suspends processing of a batch file. POPD - Restores the previous value of the current directory saved by PUSHD. PRINT - Prints a text file. PROMPT - Changes the Windows command prompt. PUSHD - Saves the current directory then changes it. R RD - Removes a directory. RECOVER - Recovers readable information from a bad or defective disk. REM - Designates comments (remarks) in batch files. REN - Renames a file or files. RENAME - Renames a file or files. REPLACE - Replaces files. RMDIR - Removes a directory. ROBOCOPY - Advanced utility to copy files and directory trees. S SET - Displays, sets, or removes environment variables for current session. SETLOCAL - Begins localization of environment changes in a batch file. SETX - Sets environment variables. SC - Displays or configures services (background processes). SCHTASKS - Schedules commands and programs to run on a computer. SHIFT - Shifts the position of replaceable parameters in batch files. SHUTDOWN - Allows proper local or remote shutdown of machine. SORT - Sorts input. START - Starts a separate window to run a specified programs or command. SUBST - Associates a path with a drive letter. SYSTEMINFO - Displays machine specific properties and configuration. T TAKEOWN - Allows an administrator to take ownership of a file. TASKLIST - Displays all currently running tasks including services. TASKKILL - Kill running process or applications. TIME - Displays or sets the system time. TIMEOUT - Pauses the command processor for the specified number of seconds. TITLE - Sets the window title for a CMD.EXE session. TREE - Graphically displays the directory structure of a drove or path. TYPE - Displays the contents of a text file. V--X VER - Displays the Windows version. VERIFY - Tells Windows whether or verify that your files are written correctly to a disk. VOL - Displays a disk volume label and serial number. VSSADMIN - Volume Shadow Copy Service administration tool. WHERE - Displays the locations of files that match a search pattern. WMIC - Displays WMI information inside interactive command shell. XCOPY - Copies files and directory trees. Note: In order to have full access of the command prompt, you must run the prompt as an Administrator. Administrator privilege allows users to access commands otherwise inaccessible. To activate Administrator mode, open your Start menu, type in cmd, right-click on the CMD program, and select Run as administrator. In Windows 10, you can also right-click the Start button and select Command Prompt (Admin). Essential Command List CMD commands number in the thousands, each one with its own action. [command] /? The above command provides users more information given particular commands. This tops the list, solely because it allows users the ability to figure out commands without having to rely on third party sources. sfc /scannow Repairs crucial system files without the needing to re-install the OS. It's best to run this command in safe mode, as any immediate OS issues may jeopardize a complete repair. chkdsk Repairs file system errors, bad sectors, and recovers readable information. There are two methods of running the chkdsk command. chkdsk /F -- Runs chkdsk and fixes file system errors. chkdsk /R -- Fixes errors, locates bad sectors, and recovers information from those bad errors. A more comprehensive scan than /F. ping, pathping, tracert Ping and pathping (a more comprehensive form of ping) will echo or display data packets sent to and from a specific website. Pathping, along with tracert, will display the IP address of every router (or hop) on the way to your desired domain. powercfg By default, certain power configurations like Hibernation mode are off by default. Hibernation mode, as opposed to powering the PC off, will save the last state of your PC (programs, windows, etc.) and start up quicker. In order to enable or disable, use the following commands: powercfg /hibernate on -- Turns on Hibernate mode, accessible through the default Windows power options. powercfg /hibernate off -- Turns off Hibernate mode. driverquery ... > [File Name] While most of us can't make heads and tails of our PC drivers, there are times when driver issues will spring up. This may be as minor as a delay in performance, or as major as constant BSODs. While the driverquery doesn't present an immediate advantage, it does give an overview of the PC's driver information in order to fully troubleshoot hardware and software issues. driverquery -- Presents an assorted list of installed drivers. driverquery /FO TABLE, LIST or CSV -- Presents your drivers as a Table, List, or excel spreadsheet. If you add > [FileName.csv] to your original parameter -- driverquery /FO CSV > driverquery.csv for example -- your command prompt will take the information presented through driverquery and output it to an Excel sheet. The file will be directed to your Windows32 folder by default. ipconfig /release, renew, flushdns At times, network issues can occur through faulty IP addresses or corrupted DNS (Domain Name Server) files. To fix this, enter the following commands in order: ipconfig /release -- Releases your IP address. ipconfig /renew -- Replaces your previous IP address (and takes considerably longer to finish than the other two). ipconfig /flushdns -- Erases the previously configured DNS listing, allowing websites that were previously unusable to load again. It's best only to do this when you're having a network issue. More specifically, when you're connected to the internet but certain websites won't work. Command Your Prompt! The command prompt isn't some strange beast made out to confuse you. It's a simple feature, jam-packed with useful tools to control pretty much every aspect of your PC. We've only scratched the surface of what the command prompt has in store for you, so get to learning!

When you create a bootable Windows installer or install the OS from a disc, you'll have to decide whether you want a 32-bit or 64-bit operating system. If you're not sure what these mean, this question might confuse you. And worse, choosing the wrong option could hamper your system performance down the road. Let's discuss the differences between 32-bit and 64-bit Windows, and which one you should choose next time you install Windows. 32-Bit and 64-Bit: What's the Difference? We've discussed the differences between 32-bit and 64-bit Windows before, which we'll summarize briefly here. Whether you can install a copy of 32-bit or 64-bit Windows depends on the processor inside your computer. Like Windows, modern processors are either 32-bit or 64-bit. 64-bit machines can process much more information at once, making them more powerful. If you have a 32-bit processor, your only option is to also install 32-bit Windows. Conversely, while it's possible to install 32-bit Windows on a 64-bit processor, you must run 64-bit Windows to take full advantage of a 64-bit CPU's benefits. To see if you have 64-bit Windows installed on Windows 10, head to Settings > System > About. Under the Device specifications header, next to System type, you'll see if Windows and your processor are 32-bit or 64-bit. On earlier versions of Windows, right-click Computer in the Start menu and choose Properties to view the same information. If you weren't aware, x86 refers to 32-bit architecture, while x64 means 64-bit. Should I Download 32-Bit or 64-Bit Windows? Today, 64-bit installations of Windows are much more common than 32-bit versions. However, whether you should install 32-bit or 64-bit Windows depends on your current setup. If you buy a new PC off the shelf, it most likely includes a 64-bit copy of Windows. Since 64-bit is largely the standard, only low-end machines will ship with a 32-bit processor these days. With a new PC that has a 64-bit version of Windows installed on a 64-bit processor, you're all set. When you're upgrading a current Windows installation, it's a different story. If you're upgrading to Windows 10 from an earlier version, first check to see if your processor is 64-bit using the above method. If it is, you should install the 64-bit version of Windows when you upgrade. This future-proofs your machine and ensures you won't have to go through another upgrade later. Those with a 32-bit processor can only upgrade to a 32-bit version of Windows, unfortunately. Installing the Right Version of Windows While you can still buy a physical copy of Windows 10 at stores like Walmart and Best Buy, the best way to install Windows 10 for most people is through Microsoft's Windows 10 download page. Click Download tool now on that page to grab the Media Creation Tool. This will walk you through upgrading your current PC to Windows 10 or creating a bootable USB drive to install Windows on another machine. When you walk through the steps, the tool will ask you to choose the Architecture for the install, which is where you can pick 64-bit or 32-bit. Windows will recommend an option based on what it detects from your PC. Uncheck the Use the recommended options box if you need to change it based on what you found earlier. You should know that if you're running a genuine copy of Windows, you can likely upgrade to Windows 10 for free. Your current product key will activate Windows 10 just fine. If you have to buy a fresh license, don't worry about 64-bit or 32-bit when getting the product key. Buying a license just entitles you to activate and use Windows; it's not tied to either architecture type. What Are the Advantages of 64-Bit Windows? Now that you know if you need 32-bit or 64-bit Windows, what does using a 64-bit edition of Windows 10 actually do for you? The biggest change is that x64 Windows can handle much more RAM than a 32-bit edition. 32-bit operating systems limit you to using 4GB of RAM or less. Thus, any RAM that you have installed over 4GB isn't usable on 32-bit Windows. 64-bit systems can use more RAM than you'll ever need (about 17 million TB, theoretically). On a 64-bit Windows system, you'll also notice two different Program Files folders in your system drive. Because 32-bit programs are inherently different from 64-bit software, Windows keeps them separate. Thus, whenever you install software that's built for x64 systems, it goes to the Program Files folder. 32-bit software goes into Program Files (x86) instead. On a 32-bit system, you'll only see one Program Files folder, as it can't use 64-bit software. Under the hood, 64-bit Windows is also inherently more secure. Most of the enhancements come from low-level tweaks beyond the scope of this overview; one example is that 64-bit Windows forces drivers to be signed. While these changes don't make the OS immune to attack, it's a more modern architecture that isn't held back by old exploits. Choosing Between 32-Bit and 64-Bit Software Some apps, such as Google Chrome and Microsoft Office, are available in a 64-bit flavor. These versions don't provide massive improvements over the 32-bit versions, but they are a bit more efficient and stable than their 32-bit counterparts. Heavy programs, like video editors and high-end games, run better in their 64-bit versions. Multi-tasking becomes more efficient, too. On a 64-bit system, if you have a choice between 32-bit and 64-bit apps, prefer to go with 64-bit for best performance. But there's nothing wrong with running 32-bit apps on a 64-bit system, as most apps can't take advantage of the differences anyway. You can see which apps on your system are 32-bit by opening the Task Manager with Ctrl + Shift + Esc and checking the Processes tab. Anything with (32 bit) next to its name isn't 64-bit yet. 32-Bit vs. 64-Bit: Other Considerations As long as your computer/processor is fairly recent, you shouldn't have any issues upgrading to a 64-bit version of Windows. If your computer's processor was one of the earliest to feature 64-bit architecture, it might lack support for a few minor features. This can cause issues with 64-bit Windows, but you can run a tool like 64bit Checker to make sure your hardware is ready to go for 64-bit Windows. If you're currently on a 32-bit version of Windows and plan to upgrade, you must do a clean install. There's no easy upgrade path, like when you update Windows 7 to Windows 10. Check out our guide on upgrading Windows 10 from 32 to 64-bit when you're ready. Additionally, when running 64-bit Windows, you must make sure that your hardware is compatible. Windows Update should automatically find drivers for your internal components, but outdated printers or other old peripherals might not have a 64-bit driver. Archaic 16-bit applications, like DOS games, won't work on 64-bit versions of Windows either. You'll need to use workarounds to run old software on 64-bit Windows 10. Do I Need 64-Bit Windows? For most people, 64-bit Windows is today's standard and you should use it to take advantage of security features, better performance, and increased RAM capability. The only reasons you'd want to stick with 32-bit Windows are: Your computer has a 32-bit processor. Since you'd have to buy a new machine to install 64-bit Windows, stick with what you have for now. Be sure to buy an x64 machine for your next computer. You use ancient software or devices. Since 32-bit Windows was widely used for years, older devices only offered 32-bit drivers. If your printer is 20 years old, it probably won't work on 64-bit Windows. Hopefully, you don't do daily work with software from decades ago, but if you do, you should probably hold off on upgrading to 64-bit Windows. In either case, consider updating those tools so you can modernize your system.

Most PC users go without ever updating their BIOS. After all, PC performance is often unaffected by your BIOS version. So why would you? Two words: continued stability. An outdated BIOS may limit PC performance, lower PC stability, debilitate overclock settings, and remain incompatible with certain devices. When confronted with issues, most PC users will try everything in the book without realizing their issues stem from an outdated BIOS. The general recommendation is: you're fine, until you start noticing hardware compatibility issues. Here we'll show you how to safely update your UEFI BIOS. What Is a UEFI BIOS? The BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) acts as a trigger of sorts, checking for and activating your hardware. It also dictates boot devices, CPU boost software, overclock settings, and several other parameters. It's also responsible for testing your hardware components, like the hard drive and GPU, through a sequence called POST (Power-On Self-Test). Most are familiar with the BIOS through issues associated with hardware connection. For example, your BIOS will submit an error to your screen if the hard drive SATA connection is unplugged. A UEFI (United Extensible Firmware Interface) BIOS is the more modern form of the BIOS. UEFI BIOS shares many similar features with old-school -- often called legacy -- BIOS versions. The biggest innovation in the UEFI BIOS is its clickable and more accessible user interface (UI). The UEFI BIOS also allow for great added features like hardware monitoring, more convenient overclocking accessibility, overclock profiles, and easier flashing capabilities. Note the difference between the BIOS above with the newer MSI Click BIOS 4 below. The advent of UEFI BIOS versions gave way to massive (> 2.2 TB) storage systems which wouldn't function on the legacy BIOS. It also allows for pre-boot environments which can be used when needed to move files, diagnose issues, and even browse the internet without the need of an operating system (OS). Every BIOS version depends on the motherboard make and model. Some older motherboards will not allow for a UEFI BIOS, while newer motherboards will. The process to update your BIOS, however, is generally the same. Finding Your UEFI BIOS Version BIOS versions can differ from one to the other, though rarely by much. Upgrading your BIOS version, or installing a previous version, can allow for different capabilities. It is recommended you install the latest versions of all software, including your BIOS, to ensure maximum compatibility and protection. You can access your available BIOS versions by searching under your motherboard model. You can find the model name and number of your motherboard through your command prompt. To open your command prompt, press Windows key + R, which brings up the Run window. Here, type cmd and click OK. Now, enter the following into your command prompt: wmic baseboard get product,Manufacturer Your motherboard make and model should appear in your command prompt. Google this information with the added bios tag to find your BIOS versions available for download. You may have to search for BIOS downloads under a Support category. Carefully consider which version of your BIOS you'd like to use. If you'd like to check your BIOS version, open your command prompt again and type in the following; systeminfo The BIOS Version appears next to the respective parameter in the list. I currently have version 1.8 installed on my PC. Upon further research, I found the latest version is 1.9. I will upgrade my current version to this new version. BIOS Files UEFI BIOS updates are comprised of two main files: A TXT file detailing the specific upgrades made to this BIOS version. The actual EXE file for your BIOS upgrade. Read the text file before updating. You'll note that you can't open the EXE file like a regular executable file. Rather than installing it, the file must be flashed. Flashing a device means wiping the software from a drive to install another version of that same software. The process derives its name from the BIOS' use of flash, rather than mechanical, memory. Since you are flashing your BIOS rather than updating it, an unexpected shutdown can lead to serious consequences and may render your PC unusable. Ensure that your USB and power supply are safe before proceeding. If the process is disturbed, the BIOS cannot revert back to a previous version by the nature of its process. That's why many users are intimidated by BIOS updates, even though its a simple process. Flashing Your UEFI BIOS It's best not to install your BIOS within the normal OS environment. You will need to unzip and move your files from your BIOS folder into the root (outermost) directory of a storage device, like a flash drive. Once you've saved your files to your USB drive's root folder, plug it into your computer and restart the PC. Afterward, enter your BIOS and locate the flash option. Navigate to M-Flash (or your BIOS' equivalent). There are two categories in the above case: BIOS and BIOS + ME. ME (Management Engine) -- specifically, Intel's Management Engine -- controls the hardware monitor and clickable environment you see within your UEFI BIOS. Oftentimes, your BIOS download will include both you BIOS and ME files, so you don't need to install both manually. In fact, most BIOS versions will require that you install it as BIOS and ME to ensure that the management engine is compatible with the BIOS. M-Flash will prompt you to load your BIOS file. Locate your file in the root USB folder and begin the process. Warning: Ensure that you do not lose power to your PC during this process. Since your BIOS is responsible for loading boot order, an unexpected shutdown during a BIOS flash may leave your PC unusable. Ensure that your PC is plugged in to its energy supply firmly before carrying out your BIOS update. Re-Checking BIOS Version Your BIOS update may require several restarts for the BIOS and ME, so wait until the total process has finished. Then, enter your BIOS again or check your BIOS version using the command prompt method. You should be able to see your newly updated BIOS version at the top of the screen. That's it! There is a fair amount of taboo behind upgrading your BIOS unless absolutely necessary, but the process really is simple, painless, and can prevent several PC issues from arising in the future. In With the New BIOS! Even die-hard PC users often go without updating their BIOS. That's fine, until something goes haywire and you're experiencing issues due to an outdated BIOS. Prevent that by updating your BIOS now!

Unlike an HDD, an SSD has a limited number of writes that are possible before the drive breaks down into read-only mode. This is due to the way SSD hardware is designed -- the massive boost in speed comes at a price. But the thing is, most users don't have to worry about this at all. As it turns out, even the most avid home user will need several years to run out of write cycles, so if you're worried about it, don't be. That being said, if you're curious about how many years are left on your SSD, here's an interesting way to estimate. On average, a modern SSD will survive until you've written about 700 TB of data over its lifetime. Some may survive longer, some shorter -- this is just the average. If you can see how much lifetime data you've written on your current SSD, you can estimate its remaining lifespan. Install and launch CrystalDiskInfo. Look under Health Status. If it says Good, then you don't have anything to worry about yet. If it says anything else, then you may want to investigate further -- but that's beyond the scope of this post. Look at the top right for Total Host Writes (or it might just be Host Writes depending on your version). This is how much total data has ever been written to this drive. If you're around the 400 TB mark, for example, then you know that you're more than halfway through the lifespan of the device. As you near 700 TB, you'll want to think about getting up a backup drive just in case. But truthfully speaking, it would take years of heavy use to even get close to that amount! Concerned about it dying soon? Heed these tips for extending SSD lifespan, and make sure you enable TRIM support as soon as you can.

When you run into data drive issues on Windows, the first thing you should do is run CHKDSK ("check disk"). It's one of the more useful diagnostic tools on Windows, and it's part of the operating system itself so you don't need to install anything. Long story short, CHKDSK scans a drive volume and verifies that the file system's integrity hasn't been compromised -- and if it spots any logical errors, it will fix them. It won't be able to fix everything, such as if your hard drive is physically dying, but it's a good place to start. We've already written about how to use CHKDSK so hop over there if you just want to get started. This post is about how the CHKDSK tool in Windows 8 and 10 is a vast improvement over what CHKDSK used to be in Windows 7. Online Scan /scan This switch only works on NTFS drives. Normally when a drive is scanned and found to be in need of fixing, it must first be dismounted. Since system drives can't be dismounted while the system is running, this means that you can only fix them prior to booting up. Non-system drives aren't beholden to this issue. With Windows 8, and thus also in Windows 10, a new feature called self-healing was introduced that made it possible for certain types of issues to be fixable without needing to dismount the drive. That's why it's called "online scan": it doesn't involve the internet at all, but rather lets your drive stay online while being fixed. Note that many drive-related issues still can't be fixed this way, so if the online scan doesn't help at all, you should immediately run a full offline scan to make sure CHKDSK covers everything it can. Image Credit: iceink via Shutterstock /forceofflinefix This switch must be used at the same time as the online scan switch. When used, it bypasses all online repairs and instead queues all of the found errors for offline repair. /perf This switch must be used at the same time as the online scan switch. Since the online scan runs while the system is operating, it doesn't scan at full power (so that your system doesn't slow down to a crawl). Use this switch if you want a faster scan, but know that it may impact your system's speed. Spot Fixing /spotfix This switch only works on NTFS drives. Windows 8 and Windows 10 both have system-level maintenance tasks that run in the background at various points throughout the day. When these tasks encounter errors or corruptions, they are logged into the system so that they can be fixed later. Spot fixing, then, is a switch that runs CHKDSK so that it only goes through these logged errors and corruptions, and it will immediately fix the ones that it can fix. This is much faster than normal as it doesn't require scanning the entire drive. Image Credit: Elya Vatel via Shutterstock Free Up Ophaned Cluster Chains /freeorphanedchains This switch only works on FAT/FAT32/exFAT drives. FAT-based drives divide the space into contiguous chunks of storage that are used to store files, and each of these chunks is called a cluster. All clusters are tracked with an index table, giving FAT its name: File Allocation Table. When multiple clusters are needed to store a file, table entries have pointers that point to the next cluster in the chain. But sometimes errors occur and these chains are broken. Maybe one cluster gets erased and marked as "unused" but its subsequent clusters get missed -- thus leading to clusters that are marked "used" but can't ever be accessed. These are called orphaned. This CHKDSK switch simply locates all orphaned clusters and frees up their data. Mark Drive as Clean /markclean This switch only works on FAT/FAT32/exFAT drives. Sometimes a drive's dirty bit won't be cleared, even though no corruption or issues were found. This can be a nuisance, as it causes CHKDSK to run every time the system is rebooted. This switch will manually mark the drive as clean. Cortana Integration "Integration" is a pretty strong word to use for this modest feature, but it is what it is so let's run with it. If you have Cortana enabled on Windows 10, you can bypass the Command Prompt altogether by typing the CHKDSK command straight into Cortana. CHKDSK May Not Be Enough As useful as CHKDSK is, you should know that it isn't perfect and it isn't the only tool that you should rely on. Check out our full exploration of proper maintenance in Windows 10 so that you know what to do when something goes wrong on your system. If your drive is corrupted or brkoen in an irreparable way, note that you may still be able to recover the data on the drive. If you ever find yourself in such a position, check out these free data recovery tools. Don't underestimate the importance of data backups! And if your drive is dead, there really isn't much you can do except to replace it. For drives meant for long-term storage, we recommend buying a hard disk drive. For drives meant to run an operating system, we recommend buying a solid state drive.

India’s Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has reportedly sent a notice to Wazirx, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in India, under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, (FEMA). The investigation was initiated “on the basis of the ongoing money-laundering investigation into Chinese owned illegal online betting applications,” the ED detailed. ED’s FEMA Investigation of Wazirx India’s Directorate of Enforcement (ED) reportedly said Friday that it has issued a Show Cause Notice (SCN) to Wazirx, CEO Nischal Shetty, and co-founder Sameer Hanuman Mhatre. Wazirx is one of the largest crypto exchanges in the country. The ED is India’s law enforcement and economic intelligence agency. The notice was issued under the “Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, (FEMA) for transactions involving crypto-currencies worth Rs 2,790.74 crore [$381.93 million],” the ED wrote, adding: ED initiated FEMA investigation on the basis of the ongoing money laundering investigation into Chinese owned illegal online betting applications. The ED explained that its investigation has revealed that the accused Chinese nationals had laundered proceeds of crime worth approximately Rs 57 crore by converting INR deposits into tether (USDT) and transferring them to Binance. The authority claims that during the period investigated, Wazirx’s users received cryptocurrency worth INR 880 crore from Binance accounts and transferred coins worth INR 1,400 crore to Binance accounts. The ED noted that “None of these transactions are available on the blockchain for any audit/investigation,” emphasizing: The Wazirx clients could transfer ‘valuable’ crypto-currencies to any person irrespective of its location and nationality without any proper documentation whatsoever, making it a safe haven for users looking for money laundering/ other illegitimate activities. The ED alleges that “Wazirx does not collect the requisite documents in clear violation of the basic mandatory anti money laundering (AML) and combating of financing of terrorism (CFT) precaution norms and FEMA guidelines.” Following the media reports of the ED notice, Wazirx CEO Shetty tweeted insisting that his exchange “is in compliance with all applicable laws.” He insisted, “We go beyond our legal obligations by following know your customer (KYC) and anti money laundering (AML) processes and have always provided information to law enforcement authorities whenever required,” elaborating: We are able to trace all users on our platform with official identity information. Should we receive a formal communication or notice from the ED, we’ll fully cooperate in the investigation. Wazirx said early Friday morning that it had not received a notice from the ED but emphasized to its users, “Your funds are absolutely safe on Wazirx.”

There’s a lot of buzz in China around the Bee mainnet soft launch following the recent hype surrounding Filecoin and Chia. Reports detail that Swarm is set to kickstart the mainnet on June 13, and droves of miners from China are getting prepared to obtain rewards from the distributed storage platform and content distribution service. Swarm Preps to Launch Mainnet and Native Token BZZ This Sunday, the anticipated Bee mainnet launch is supposed to happen according to a blog post published by the Swarm Foundation. The Swarm project details can be found on ethswarm.org which details that Swarm is a distributed storage platform and content distribution service that leverages an ethereum web3 stack. The project also has a native token called BZZ which will be a utility coin aimed at rewarding decentralized storage and transactions. There’s an abundant quantity of info on Swarm and BZZ on the web, but the team has also published a compendium on the subject called the “Book of Swarm.” In February, Swarm raised $6 million in a private token sale and following the mainnet soft launch, a public BZZ token sale will take place on June 14. Just recently, reports stemming from China indicate that Swarm is becoming very popular in the region and Filecoin and Chia miners are preparing to join Swarm’s network. Chinese Journalist Says Swarm Popularity in China ‘Based on Belief’ Regional reporter and 8btc contributor Priyeshu Garg details that there “has been a huge increase in the number of Swarm groups popping up on Wechat.” Reports on Chinese social media verify Garg’s claims and the reporter notes that Swarm’s “popularity is based only on belief.” So far, Swarm started as a proof-of-concept created by its lead developer Viktor Tron and moved on to a testnet and a few releases. “So-called Swarm ‘believers’ [are] actively preaching on other social platforms as well. Some Filecoin groups have also reportedly been converted into Swarm groups.” Garg’s report insists. The Ethereum Swarm project is buzzing in China according to regional reports from Weixin and 8btc. Digital currency networks like Chia and Filecoin have been very popular in China specifically because the two network’s offer different mining solutions. Bittorrent creator Bram Cohen’s crypto project Chia sparked hard drive and SSD shortages in China earlier this year. During the BZZ private placement token sale, BZZ tokens sold for $0.25 per unit. The public offering indicates that BZZ will sell for $1.92 per unit increasing a whopping 668% in value compared to the private placement. According to the website, U.S. residents cannot participate in the BZZ public sale. U.S. visitors of the website coinlist.co where the BZZ sale is taking place, gets a warning that says: “Sorry, this content is not available in your location.” The codebase Bee v0.6 release is required for all existing Bee node operators and for users who want to participate in the airdrop. Anyone running a prior version (v0.5.x.) must upgrade or they won’t be able to connect to the network. The 0.6 version release will contain features such as light nodes, postage stamps, free bandwidth allowance, and reupload content.

Kraken, the US-based exchange, is weighing in on whether to use an IPO or a direct listing to go public. Kraken’s CEO Jesse Powell stated that after Coinbase’s performance, they were considering other options for going public next year. The company will be the second crypto exchange to go public in the US if things happen as projected. Kraken Considers IPO vs Direct Listing for Going Public Kraken, one of the leading US-based crypto exchanges, is having doubts about how to go public. Its CEO, Jesse Powell, had indicated earlier this year they would use the direct listing approach to launch next year. This stance mimics the direction Coinbase took. But now he is not so sure about that, due to the lackluster performance Coinbase has had up until now. Powell declared in an interview with Fortune: An IPO is looking a little more attractive in light of the direct listing’s performance. I would say we’re looking at it more seriously now having the benefit of seeing how the direct public offering played out for Coinbase. This statement might sound strange to some, as the direct listing process allows for a more involved price discovery period. This would be more in line with how cryptocurrency assets acquire their prices, too. An initial public offering would involve getting input from underwriters that will ultimately help to fix the initial price of the stock. However, Powell’s opinion now would mean the company is open to the financial advice of these underwriters. Powell stressed these two environments (Wall Street and the cryptocurrency market) were too different. He was very cautious and did not give a definitive answer as to how the company would ultimately go public. He implied that next year Kraken will have more experience and resources: More analyst coverage out, and there’s just more of a track record of growth for the industry that people feel like they can rely on. Shaken, Not Stirred Cryptocurrency companies have now allied with traditional markets and even sided with banks, that now offer some complementary products in the space. But this outspoken fellowship didn’t stop Powell from criticizing the legacy system and all that it implies. Powell stressed: [Wall Street has] a lot to lose from the success of this space. I think you might be seeing people facing this cognitive dissonance of becoming increasingly aware of the impending doom of the legacy financial system. In spite of this, the trend states that more crypto exchanges will test public markets in coming years. Kraken would be the second exchange to go public in U.S. markets after Coinbase. But other cryptocurrency-related companies have already filed IPOs. Canaan, an ASIC mining company, filed a $400 million IPO on Nasdaq in 2019.

A Cryptopunk NFT was recently sold for $11.8 million during an auction organized by Sotheby’s. The sale, which also featured works of other artists, was organized virtually. Sotheby’s anticipates strong demand for this kind of digital good in the future, even as NFT fever has somewhat subsided in recent weeks. Cryptopunk NFT Sold for Almost $12 Million Sotheby’s, a leading art and luxury auction house, announced yesterday the sale of a Cryptopunk NFT for almost $12 million. The auction, titled “Natively Digital,” presented a group of curated works in the form of NFTs. While the feature of the auction was the Cryptopunk NFT, it also featured 27 other digital artworks. The Cryptopunk NFTs are the very first series of NFTs minted on the Ethereum network by Larva Labs back in 2017. While they were created and distributed for free at that time, they are now highly valued for their origin. There are 10,000 Cryptopunks in total, but the one auctioned was especially strange. Dubbed by some as the “Covid Alien” Cryptopunk, the NFT avatar depicts a pale green-skinned character donning an orange beanie and a mask. This made it especially desired compared to other Cryptopunks that have more conventional traits. Shalom Meckenzie, a shareholder of fantasy sports betting site Draftkings, won the auction for the asset. According to Sotheby’s, this sale marks an auction record for a single Cryptopunk. Other tokens in the sale also reached high prices at the auction. Kevin McCoy’s Quantum sold for almost $1.5 million, and Robert Alice’s iNFT sold for almost $500K. NFT Bubble Popped While the NFT craze surged just some months ago, it has subsided recently. While the Sotheby’s auction shows there is still a real interest in digital artwork, it seems this interest has migrated to real artists and established collectibles. According to Protos, the sales of NFT’s are down 90% since their biggest numbers posted last May. This means the occasional NFT cash grab project is dying and could mean that the ecosystem around NFT’s is maturing. However important this NFT sale might seem, it pales in comparison to the amount of money Beeple got for an NFT last March. The artist managed to get $69 million for a work titled “Everydays: The First 5000 Days.” The NFT shows his first 5000 artworks from his “Everydays“ project, where he vowed to produce some kind of artwork every day.

There's another unusual idea developing in the Cryptoverse which may bring another seismic shift (pun intended) - and it involves geothermal energy, Bitcoin (BTC) mining, paying of the debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and raising an additional USD 1bn in some innovative ways. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele has already marked a historic moment in Bitcoin's evolution when the country declared the cryptocurrency legal tender. Then he followed that up with plans for El Salvador to use geothermal energy from volcanoes to mine BTC, saying that a state-owned company could provide mining facilities with affordable and green energy. Now, the Cryptoverse, known for implementing multiple crazy-looking ideas, is taking the new one and running with it. Primarily, they're offering options for the country to pay off the existing debt to the IMF, as well as to raise the USD 1bn currently being negotiated with the Fund. Heisenberg Capital co-founder Max Keiser suggested directly to Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz to "float[...] USD 1 billion in “Volcano Bonds” (backed by future BTC mining output) for El Salvador to pay off the IMF loan - so they can tell the IMF to beat it" - and he suggested another bull, MicroStrategy's CEO Michael Saylor, joins the effort, arguing there'd be money to spare. Entrepreneur and investor Chris Dark said Keiser's idea is an "obvious" one, and further argued that, should the IMF deny the USD 1bn loan to El Salvador, or pose "draconian" terms on it, Bitcoiners may be the ones to fund it, resulting in the IMF becoming "irrelevant extremely quickly." In May, Reuters reported that El Salvador was in the middle of negotiations with the IMF for a USD 1bn program to patch budget gaps through 2023. This follows USD 389m approved in April 2020 to assist the government's efforts in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. The country's been an IMF member since 1946, and per the IMF's website, it has received standby loans in the past decades, while El Salvador's financial position in the Fund as of May 31 this year, reflects the state of outstanding purchases and loans, totalling SDR 287.2m (the above-mentioned funds given to fight the pandemic). The IMF already expressed their opinion on adopting BTC as legal tender, saying it raises "a number of macroeconomic, financial and legal issues that require very careful analysis," and that they are following "developments closely." "Regardless of the IMFs actions, [Nayib Bukele] should issue a Geothermal Bitcoin Mining Bond that pays interest in BTC," wrote Lyle Pratt, the Vice President of Strategic Growth at communications enabler Inteliquent, while others offered the option of utilising a mining token on top of Liquid Network. Some, however - such as Reed Wommack, SwanBitcoin Head of Client Service, who says he studied geology - are making a distinction between volcanic and geothermal mining, favoring the latter and in very specific locations - which are not El Salvador. Only Iceland produces a meaningful percentage of their national electricity via geothermal (26%), and in the US, geothermal production has flatlined, while volcano-rich countries couldn't develop volcanic energy production, Wommack said. Meanwhile, in Costa Rica, the government stopped buying energy from some private renewable energy power plants, forcing them to shut down, reported La Nación. But one of these companies, operating Poás I and Poás II hydroelectric power plants, decided to reopen the business but this time to rent out spaces to the supercomputers and thus set up a crypto mining farm that uses the energy the government didn't want - which is now reportedly a successful business.

The Windows Store is the central place to download and buy web apps and desktop software for Windows 10. Are you having problems opening the Store or one of your apps? Don't worry, this is a common issue and we've rounded up steps to help you fix it. Many of the errors you might be encountering are unhelpful in pointing you towards a solution. In fact, getting a specific error doesn't mean there's a specific solution. That's why we recommend going through this list in order until your problem is fixed. If you have your own fixes to share with us then please let us know in the comments section below. 1. Reset the Store and Apps Many problems with the Windows Store and its apps can be resolved by resetting them. When Windows 10 first launched there wasn't a way to do this within the standard user interface. However, Microsoft rectified this with the Anniversary Update, and you can now reset apps within system settings. First, close the Store and/or the app you have open. Press Windows key + I to open Settings and navigate to System > Apps & features. Click the app which is causing the problem (note that Store is classed as an app) and then click Advanced options. Now click Reset. A warning will pop up to tell you that proceeding will delete the app's data, including preferences and sign-in details. Click Reset again. A checkmark will then appear next to the button to show it has completed. Finally, open up the problematic app and see if your error has been solved. If not, try some of the methods listed below. 2. Windows Store Apps Troubleshooter Whatever problem you might be having with an app, it's worth running the inbuilt troubleshooter to see it if can determine the issue and automatically fix it. First, do a system search for troubleshooting and select the relevant result. Then click View all from the left-hand menu. From the list click Windows Store Apps. This will open a new window. Click Advanced and ensure Apply repairs automatically is ticked. Click Next. The troubleshooter will try to detect any problems and will provide you with solutions. At the end you'll either be told that fixes have been applied or that troubleshooting couldn't identify the problem. Click View detailed information if you want to know more about what may or may not have been repaired. 3. Check Your Time Zone This will sound weird, but if you don't have the correct time zone set on your system, then it can cause the Store to not open. To check, right-click the time in your Taskbar and select Adjust date/time. It's recommended that you slide both Set time automatically and Set time zone automatically to On so that the system will handle it by itself. If, however, this isn't displaying the right time, slide both to Off and click Change. This will let you manually set the time. Save all your changes and try opening the Store again. 4. Reinstall and Reregister Apps This is a solution that can solve all manner of problems, including errors like "This app can't open" and "Your trial period for this app has expired. Visit the Windows Store to purchase the full app." The following command will reinstall and reregister all your apps across all your user accounts. Note, however, that it won't reinstall apps that you've previously removed. First, do a system search for powershell. Then right-click the relevant result and select Run as administrator. Click Yes on the UAC prompt. Copy the command below and then paste it into PowerShell with Ctrl + V. Then press Enter. Get-AppXPackage -AllUsers | Foreach {Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register "$($_.InstallLocation)\AppXManifest.xml"} The process will run. When complete, open the problematic apps once more and they should work as expected. 5. Clear Store Cache Clearing the cache for the Store can solve various different problems, often those related to installing or updating apps. For Default Apps Follow this process to clear the cache for default apps provided by Microsoft. It's simple to do and won't change your account settings or delete any of your apps. Press Windows key + R to open Run and input wsreset.exe and click OK. A Command Prompt window will open with nothing written in it. Don't worry, this is intentional. The window will close itself automatically when the process has finished, at which point you can see if your problem is resolved. For Third-Party Apps If you're having trouble with apps provided by a third-party, like those you've downloaded from the Store, follow this process instead. Press Windows key + X and select Command Prompt (Admin). Input the following command: wmic useraccount get name,sid This will give you a list of all user accounts on your system and their respective Security Identifiers (SID). Note down the SIDs for the accounts where you're having problems with the Store or apps. Press Windows key + R to open Run, input regedit and then click OK. This will open the Registry Editor -- follow the steps carefully because incorrect edits in the registry can be dangerous. Using the left-hand folder navigation, move to the following location: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Appx\AppxAllUserStore Within the left-hand pane, right-click on the SID key you noted previously. Click Delete and then Yes to confirm. Now restart your computer and see if the problems are resolved. The Store Solved Hopefully one of the above solutions has solved your problem with the Windows 10 Store or its apps. If not, you might want to look into creating a new user account, which can help you solve deep sitting Windows problems. If you're looking for more tips on the Windows Store, check out our guides on how to purge bloatware apps from your system or how to sideload any app in Windows 10.

Few things are more frustrating than working with a slow computer. Whether your computer just started crawling or you've put up with poor performance for months, fixing the issue is important so you can get back to work. Let's look at various scenarios that could be dragging your system to a halt. You could be suffering from one or several of these causes. By going through each of these, you can pinpoint where your issue lies. You Need to Reboot Sometimes, a slowdown comes from a temporary Windows issue. Whether it's a program using too many resources or a Windows configuration error, poor performance does come out of nowhere at times. This is especially true if you leave your computer turned on all the time. You should reboot regularly to avoid these issues. Restarting your computer fixes all sorts of problems, so it's a wise first step when slowness pops up out of nowhere. If you reboot and the problem persists, continue with troubleshooting. You Have Too Many Programs Running at Startup With so much awesome Windows software out there, it's natural to want to try a lot of programs. However, you might run into a problem if too many programs run as soon as you boot your computer. Lots of software does this by default, so you might be running half a dozen apps that you aren't even using at the moment. Thankfully, it's easy to remove startup items. If you're not sure what you should disable, check out our top startup programs you don't need. You can remove non-essential apps like iTunes, Adobe Reader, and Skype, but make sure to keep your antivirus and backup software running. You're Infected With Malware Just like having too many programs running could slow down your computer, having one or more malicious programs running can cause big problems, too. Even if you have malware installed that isn't spawning pop-up ads or getting in your way, it's still wasting resources. With a few tools and a bit of time, you can beat any piece of malware out there. Review the ten steps to take when you're hit with malware, and follow the malware removal guide. Then, make sure you have essential Windows security software installed after you've confirmed that everything is clear. You're Using Heavy Software Some software leaves a hefty footprint on your system's performance, when a lighter alternative could get the job done just as well. Two of the most common examples are Norton Antivirus and Google Chrome. You can completely remove Norton and replace it with a superior free security suite. To stay light, using a cloud antivirus like Panda will free up resources on your machine. Google Chrome uses a lot of RAM, which the Chrome team will fix soon. If you're not trapped in Chrome, try using Opera or a super-fast alternative, like Nitro, to keep things light. It's also a good idea to turn Flash off in your main browser. The Flash plugin is on its way out, but plenty of sites still use it. Thus, you should still keep an extra browser around for occasional Flash needs, but disable it in your everyday browser for better performance. Your Computer Favors Visuals Over Performance Did you know that you can turn off all the fancy effects of Windows? By default, Windows enables colored title bars, real-time dragging, and more. However, these eye-candy enhancements take up system resources. If you don't mind a slightly less pretty experience, try adjusting Windows for best performance. To do this, type Performance into the Start Menu and click Adjust the appearance and performance of Windows. Here, you can disable individual visual effects like maximizing animations and window shadows. If you choose Adjust for best performance, you can disable all of these in one go. In Windows 7, this will result in your computer looking like Windows 95, but see if you can get used to it. Your Hard Drive Is Almost Full While deleting all kinds of files won't speed up your system, a hard drive that's nearly full can affect performance. Hard drives need a certain amount of free space to function, and constantly working with a maxed-out disk might be giving you problems. Thankfully, it's easy to clean up files and give the system some breathing room. Follow our step-by-step guide to cleaning Windows to reclaim plenty of space. You Need to Upgrade Your Hardware If you've run through the fixes for all the above scenarios and still aren't happy with your computer's speed, you probably have inadequate hardware. Hopefully, you're not still running Windows XP; if you are, you need to buy a new computer with a modern operating system. For machines that are only a couple of years old, spending about a hundred dollars on upgrades can go a long way. To save money, you should prioritize upgrading the components that improve performance the most. For most machines, this means replacing the hard drive with a solid state drive (SSD) and installing more RAM. These two upgrades will greatly boost your machine's performance and could help provide a few more years of service. While you're replacing the components, make sure to give your PC a physical cleaning, as dust and other grime can adversely affect it, too. Your Network Is to Blame If you're running into issues only when browsing the web, your problem might be with your internet connection, not your machine. You'll know this is the case if your system boots up quickly and has no problem running multiple programs at once, but struggles to load a webpage. You can perform some troubleshooting to get to the bottom of network issues. Have a look at fixing Wi-Fi slowness, items that could be slowing down your home network, and how to fix unstable Wi-Fi connections. If you've exhausted all of those options, you might need to upgrade the speed you receive from your ISP. You Need to Run Some Scans Before you take the nuclear step, there are a few scans to try that might fix some issues. You can run these in Windows from a command prompt. Type cmd into the Start Menu, then right-click its entry and choose Run As Administrator to open an elevated command line. The first scan will check Windows for errors. This scan is usually performed to fix corruption errors, but it's worth a shot to improve performance, too. The command to run is: sfc /scannow A second scan will check your hard drive for errors. If it finds any, the scan attempts to correct them. Those disk issues could be affecting performance, so this is a good one to try, as well. To run a disk check that attempts to fix bad sectors, type the following command: ckhdsk /r /f The system can't check the disk when you're using it, so reply Y to the prompt to run a scan at the next boot. Restart your system when you're ready, and the scan will run. This could take a while, so it's best to initialize it when you won't need your PC for a while. You Need to Reinstall Windows If you've tried all the above fixes and still have a speed problem, it might be in your best interest to reinstall Windows. Over time, Windows builds up crud and is prone to running into strange issues that are best fixed by a reimage. You don't need to regularly reinstall Windows like some people say, but if you're still having an issue, it's faster to just reimage than to waste time trying to pinpoint the problem. Note that you shouldn't reinstall Windows until you've upgraded the appropriate hardware -- that would be like putting new tires on a worn-out car. Additionally, it takes time to set up Windows just how you had it, so be certain that you can't isolate the cause before taking this step. Windows 10 allows you to refresh and reinstall using several methods. Thus, you can get a clean start without losing your data, or start over from scratch, depending on how severe your issue is. If nothing else could fix your problem, new hardware and a clean copy of Windows should do the trick nicely. How Else Can You Speed Up? These are ten common causes for a Windows computer running slowly, but you can probably think of others. While software fixes are usually pretty simple, nothing beats a hardware upgrade. Once you've narrowed down the problem, consider spending some money on new components to keep your system running sharply. You'll waste a lot of time waiting for the computer to catch up to you otherwise. Once you've got a speedy system again, make sure you put simple habits into practice to prevent slowdown in the future.

Do you feel like your PC is sluggish and unresponsive? It could be due to any number of factors -- too many apps running at once, old or weak hardware, hidden malware on your system, etc. -- and the hard part is pinpointing which ones apply to you. The good news is that Windows has a ton of useful diagnostic tools and one of them is something called the Performance Monitor (not to be confused with the Reliability Monitor). Using this can really cut down your troubleshooting times. Here's a quick but complete introduction that includes why you should use it and how to get started. How to Launch the Performance Monitor In Windows 10, you'll find no fewer than five ways to access the Performance Monitor. I personally only use the first method, but feel free to use whichever one is most familiar and comfortable to you. Via Windows Search: Open the Start Menu, search for performance monitor, and launch the Performance Monitor (which should be labeled as a Desktop App). Via Administrative Tools: Open the Control Panel and navigate to System and Security > Administrative Tools, then double-click the Performance Monitor shortcut. Via the Run Prompt: Use the Windows key + R shortcut to open the Run Prompt (one of many Windows Key shortcuts to learn), then type perfmon and click OK. Via the Command Prompt: Use the Windows key + X shortcut to open the Power User Menu (one of many Windows superpowers to learn), then click on Command Prompt. In the command line, type in perfmon and hit Enter. Via Windows PowerShell: Launch PowerShell using your method of choice, then type perfmon and hit Enter. This method is most useful if you're already a regular PowerShell user. Once the Performance Monitor is running, don't be intimidated by its not-so-friendly interface. Here's our step-by-step look at what this tool can do that'll ease you into it all. 1. Monitoring All Kinds of Data By default, the Performance Monitor starts off with one data measurement: Processor Time. This shows what percentage of your CPU's maximum power is being used on a moment-to-moment basis, or in other words, how hard it's working at any given moment. But you can monitor hundreds of other stats on your system if you want to. The Performance Monitor allows you to add and remove "counters" to the board (a counter is just another word for "thing you want to monitor"). This flexibility is what makes this tool so useful. So even though you can use the Task Manager for its performance overview, this is a much better tool to use when you're specifically trying to diagnose a particular problem. Feeling like you don't get it yet? That's okay. Let's explore some of the different counters that you can add. This should help you get a better idea of what counters are and why they're helpful: Memory | % Committed Bytes in Use: Tracks what percentage of your RAM is currently committed ("in use"). This should fluctuate as apps are opened and closed, but if it steadily increases, it could indicate a memory leak. Network Interface | Bytes Total/sec: Tracks how many bytes are sent and received over a particular network interface (such as Wi-Fi or Ethernet). If this ever gets above 70% of an interface's bandwidth, you should consider upgrading. Paging File | % Usage: Tracks how much of your system's paging file is being used. If this is consistently high, you should consider increasing your physical RAM or at least increase the size of your paging file. Physical Disk | % Disk Time: Tracks how much of the hard drive's time is spent handling read and/or write requests. If this is consistently high, you should consider upgrading to a solid state drive. Physical Disk | % Disk Read Time: Same as above except only for read requests. Physical Disk | % Disk Write Time: Same as above except only for write requests. Processor | % Interrupt Time: Tracks how much time is spent by your CPU handling hardware interrupts. If this is consistently above 10-20%, it could indicate a potential issue in one of your hardware components. Thread | % Processor Time: Tracks how much of your processor's capabilities are being used by an individual process thread (an app could have multiple threads). Only useful if you can identify which thread to monitor. Note that counters are conveniently categorized by the Performance Monitor, which is why each of the counters above has a prefix. These categories come in handy when you want to set up Data Collector Sets (more on this below). You can also add an entire category of counters to the monitor instead of picking single counters at a time. Pro Tip: You can create your own performance counters using languages like Visual Basic, C#, F#, as well as the PowerShell. Instructions for this are beyond the scope of this article. 2. Creating Data Collector Sets Let's say you want to monitor your system's memory usage every week. Isn't it such a hassle to open the Performance Monitor and add each of the counters you need every time? What if you want to monitor memory usage, data drive usage, network usage, and Windows Search Indexer performance? Isn't it an even bigger hassle to swap out counters one by one by hand? That's where Data Collector Sets come into play. A Data Collector Set is basically a group of different performance counters that can be saved so that you have quick access when you want to monitor a specific aspect of your system. They can also be used as templates when creating new Data Collector Sets. Windows 10 comes with two predefined sets. You can find these in the sidebar under Data Collector Sets > System. System Diagnostics: A detailed set of counters that track and log all kinds of deep system information. It runs for 60 seconds before automatically shutting itself off. It can let you know if, for example, some of your hardware might die soon. System Performance: A detailed set of counters that track information that's pertinent to processors, hard disks, memory, network performance, and kernel tracing. It runs for 60 seconds before automatically shutting itself off. What does it mean when a Data Collector Set "runs for 60 seconds"? That's the great thing about using sets: they run in the background and only collect information while running. You can schedule them to start or stop according to different conditions (more on this below). So let's walk through the process of creating your own custom Data Collector Set. In the sidebar, right-click on Data Collector Sets > User Defined and select New > Data Collector Set. Give it a name, such as "Network Performance" or "Memory Leaks", and make sure you select Create manually (Advanced) to set it up from scratch. Click Next. When asked about what kind of data you want to include, the simplest would be to select only Create data logs > Performance counter. Click Next. Now you get to determine which performance counters are going to be used in this set. Click Add... and select the ones you want and however many you want. Important: Before clicking Next, make sure you set the Sample Interval to 1 second. This determines how frequently the Performance Monitor will take a "sample" of your counters. If the interval is too long, you could miss important details between samples. The data that's collected by the set needs to be stored somewhere so you can analyze it at your convenience. The default location is fine, or you can move it wherever you want. Some even put it right on the Desktop. Lastly, you can choose under which user this set will run when it runs. By default it runs on the system that's currently active, but you can click Change and set it to a specific user regardless. Select Save and close and click Finish. And there you have it! Your first Data Collector Set is done. Right-click on it in the sidebar and select Start to start it or Stop to stop it. At this point, starting it will make it run forever (until the system shuts down). Setting a Run Duration Here's how to set a specific duration on it so that it only runs for, say, 60 seconds or 1 hour. First, right-click on your Data Collector Set and select Properties. Navigate to the Stop Condition tab. Here you can set an Overall Duration for the set so that it automatically stops when the duration is met. A common duration is 60 seconds. Scheduling Automatic Runs If you want to automatically monitor your system in the background at regular intervals, you can let the Performance Monitor handle that for you. Right-click on your set and select Properties. Navigate to the Schedule tab and you'll notice that you can set up multiple conditional triggers for when your set actually runs. Click Add to get started with your first one. Leave the beginning date as it is and ignore the expiration date (unless you want this schedule to only apply during a certain time period). Pick which days should run the set and at what time it should run. If you want to run at different times depending on the day, that's when multiple schedules come in handy. So maybe Schedule 1 runs the set at 3:30 AM on Saturdays while Schedule 2 runs the set at 9:00 AM on Wednesdays. It's a bit of a hassle, but it works. 3. Viewing Your Data for Analysis Once a Data Collector Set has finished running, you can load up its log file into the Performance Monitor, so you can visualize all of the information it tracked. Click on Performance Monitor in the sidebar to view the actual monitor, then click View Log Data in the toolbar. Under the Source tab, select Log files as the data source, then click Add and browse to the location where you saved your set's data and select the file (it should be in .BLG format). Next, navigate to the Data tab. With your log file loaded, this is where you can pick and choose which data points you want to view in the monitor. Click Add and you'll be able to choose from counters that were tracked in your log data. Click Apply, then click OK. The 5 Different Data Viewing Formats By default monitor data is shown as lines as can be seen in earlier screenshots in this article, but you can also view the data in other ways. The screenshots below show the same data in all five ways. Lines Histograms Reports Areas Stacked Others Ways to Boost PC Performance At the end of the day, the Performance Monitor is just that: a monitor. It's only good for identifying issues, not fixing them -- but as far as monitoring goes, nothing is better. It's a must-use tool for Windows power users. Note also that the Performance Monitor isn't a panacea. Your PC's slowdown could be caused by a number of other issues as well. If you're on Windows 10, there are several operating system specific tweaks and tips that you can use to boost speeds from start up to shut down. If your system is still slow, you may want to benchmark your hardware. Hardware bottlenecks are one of the biggest reasons for a slow PC.

It's far too easy to run out of disk space. If you have countless high-resolution photos, hundreds of HD-quality movies, and tens of thousands of songs, you can find yourself hitting your memory limit in no time. The problem is compounded on older machines. Because of Microsoft's aggressive update strategy and Windows 10's low system requirements, lots of people are using the operating system on computers that don't have the same amount of space as more modern models. Whatever the reason, if you hit your limit, you'll want to know how to free up space without deleting your personal media. Here are six tips for freeing up disk space on Windows 10. 1. Delete Old Versions of Windows Windows automatically saves data from older versions of Windows after you upgrade. This lets you roll back to previous versions if needed, however, the old data takes up a lot of space. Even if you already knew this, you might not have realized that installing the latest Anniversary Update will also leave behind such files. Luckily, deleting them is easy. Open the Settings app, navigate to System > Storage, and click on your primary drive. You will be presented with a list of different categories along with how much space they're using. Scroll down until you find Temporary Files, then click on it. Lastly, mark the checkbox next to Previous Versions of Windows and hit Remove Files. (Note: You can still use the old Disk Clean-up method, if you prefer). 2. Clear the Update Cache Another way of removing storage space that's being unnecessarily hogged by Windows is to delete the update cache. The update cache consists of copies of the update installation files. The operating system uses them if you're ever forced to reapply an update; it saves downloading them again. Although it's a good idea, they take up a lot of space. Unless you either have a very slow Internet connection or you're seriously limited with data caps by your ISP, you can safely remove them. Sadly, the process is not particularly straightforward. The first step is stopping the Windows Update service. Search for Services, right-click on the top result, and open it as an administrator. Next, scroll down the list of entries until you find Windows Update. Right-click on it and choose Stop. Now you'll need to delete the files. Press Windows key + R to open the run box, then type C:\Windows\SoftwareDistribution\ and hit Enter. You can delete everything within the Downloads folder. Lastly, you'll need to head back to services and re-enable Windows Update. (Note: This is also an excellent way to remove corrupted update files.) 3. Delete Hibernation Data Hibernate and Sleep are two ways of conserving power when you're not using your Windows machine. There is one key difference – Sleep mode saves all your open documents and running applications to your device's RAM, whereas Hibernate saves it all to the hard disk. Sleep is akin to putting a television on standby, whereas Hibernate lets your computer shut down completely. If you don't use hibernate mode, you can disable it. This will automatically delete any associated saved data from previous hibernations. (Clearly, you should not do this if you find yourself making regular use of the feature). To disable it, search for Command Prompt, right-click it, and choose Open as Administrator. Type powercfg.exe -h off and press Enter. That's it, you won't see a notification or confirmation. If you change your mind, repeat the above steps, but type powercfg.exe -h on instead. 4. Delete Delivery Optimization Files Windows 10 introduced a new update feature – called "Delivery Optimization" – that allows your computer to pull updates from other machines nearby. The theory is that updates will be delivered faster, but in practice, a lot of people have complained about higher bandwidth usage and increased memory usage. It's easy to delete the files, but first you'll need to disable the feature – otherwise the files will just accumulate again. Head to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Advanced Options > Choose How Updates Are Delivered. Once there, make sure the slider is set to the Off position. Now search for Disk Clean-up and open the app. It'll spend a few seconds scanning your device before presenting you with a list of files that can be removed. Scroll down until you find the entry called Delivery Optimization Files. Click in the checkbox, then hit OK. Windows will take care of the rest. 5. Delete the OEM Recovery Partition Most computers come with an OEM recovery partition. Thanks to Windows 10, they are largely redundant and can be safely removed. Unfortunately, the only way to do this is to create a recovery drive. Typically, this means using a USB stick. Windows comes with a handy tool for creating a drive; you can find it by searching for Create a Recovery Drive from the Taskbar. Follow the on-screen instructions and enter a USB stick when prompted. Once the process is finished, you'll see the option to delete the recovery partition from your PC on the final screen. Click the link and choose Delete to proceed. 6. Delete the Windows 10 Recovery Partition Warning: Only proceed with this option if you are desperate because you will lose the ability to use any of Windows 10's recovery options and you will not be able to boot into the recovery environment to troubleshoot other aspects of the operating system. It's highly advisable to make complete backups of your data and create a USB recovery drive before continuing. Firstly, open Command Prompt as an administrator. Type Diskpart and press Enter, then type List disk and press Enter again. Next, type Select disk X (replace the X with the number of the disk where your recovery partition is saved). Then type List volume. You'll be shown a list of all the volumes on the disk, including your recovery partition. Type Select volume X (replace X with the correct number, on my machine, it's Volume 2). Lastly, type Delete volume and hit Enter. How Do You Save Space? I've shown you six cool tricks for your Windows 10 computer, but I know you'll have lots more interesting tips and ideas to free up disk space that can help out your fellow readers.

In theory, Windows Update is a convenient way for users to keep their PCs up-to-date with the latest patches from Microsoft. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work as intended, and that's just one of many reasons to hate Windows Update. There are countless ways in which Windows Update can cease to function, from hanging while it checks for new updates to failing to complete the installation of a particular package. As a result, it's sometimes difficult to determine the best course of action to pursue. Here are a variety of different methods that you can use to get Windows Update un-stuck. 1. Use the Windows Update Troubleshooter Microsoft's official Windows Update Troubleshooter isn't guaranteed to fix your problems with the utility, but it's a good place to start. Even if it can't deal with your situation outright, it might give you an idea of what needs to be done. You can download the tool [No Longer Available] and see if it offers any help before you delve into the solutions listed below. 2. Clear the Cache If your update installation fails repeatedly, there's a good chance that the files your system has downloaded were corrupted at some point in the process. The best way to rectify this is to clear the Windows Update cache. To get started, type "command prompt" into the search bar (Windows key + Q), right-click the appropriate result, and select Run as administrator. Enter the following text into the Command Prompt window: net stop wuauserv This will stop the Windows Update service from running on your computer. Next, open up a File Explorer window, head to the drive that Windows is installed on, and navigate to Windows > Software Distribution > Download. Click on the View tab and make sure that the box labelled Hidden Items is ticked. Select all the items in the folder and delete them — at this point, you can uncheck the Hidden Items box if you wish. Open up a new Command Prompt and enter the following text: net start wuauserv This will start up the Windows Update process once again. Hopefully, since we removed any files that could be interfering with the process, it will now be working as expected. 3. Use the Services Console If Windows Update slows to a halt while checking for new updates, you might be able to take advantage of the services console to jump-start the process. To access it, search for "services" on your computer, and select the desktop app that appears. Find the Windows Update service, right-click it and select Restart. This action should bump the process onto the next step, or add to the completed portion of a progress bar -- you may have to repeat this step several times before the check is completed. 4. Turn Off Automatic Updates If your issues stem from an update failing the installation process, it might be worth turning off automatic updates to ensure that the process doesn't cause more problems. Left to its own devices, Windows will repeatedly attempt to download the installation package, reversing updates in the event that it finds an error. Open the Settings app and head to Update & security. Head to the Windows Update section and select Advanced options, then click Choose how updates are delivered. You should find an option that allows you to opt out of automatic installs, and instead force your computer to notify you before it begins the installation process. Since the system has to notify you before installation gets underway, it's easier to keep track of which individual updates are causing problems. This might not fix the issue outright, but it can certainly make diagnosis easier. 5. Manually Apply a Windows 7 Patch Windows Update can be particularly problematic for users who are still working with Windows 7. Fresh installs and systems that haven't been updated in some time can take several hours to check for new updates, but thankfully there's a simple fix. Manually patching the operating system can be an exercise in futility, unless you know exactly what you're looking for. Download this patch, which contains improvements for Windows Update, and install it on your PC. Windows Update should work normally once again. 6. Use AutoPatcher AutoPatcher is a third-party alternative to Windows Update that allows for a higher level of control over which updates are applied, and how they are installed. It offers a host of advantages over Microsoft's solution, like the ability to download files ahead of an offline installation, and schedule updates for the future. The software downloads all installation packages directly from Microsoft's servers, ensuring that their contents are legitimate and won't cause any harm to your computer. However, since it's not an officially sanctioned Windows product, users have to be aware that AutoPatcher carries risks that Windows Update does not. AutoPatcher is available for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8 — a Windows 10 version is apparently feasible, but hasn't been created as of the time of writing. 7. Check the News If you're experiencing Windows Update problems -- especially on Windows 10 -- it's a good idea to perform a Google search and see whether anyone else is having similar issues. The fact is that Windows Update difficulties can arise very suddenly. Even if Microsoft is yet to release a patch, a targeted search of terms like "Windows update problems" or "Windows 10 update" may yield reports on widespread issues. Depending on what you find, the solution might simply be to wait until Microsoft distributes a patch -- or one of the methods listed above might work. Windows Update distributes new updates and patches, so the problems affecting it change on a regular basis. Here are some more simple fixes that are worth trying out if all else fails: Reboot your system. Disconnect any attached media drives and disable any active VPNs. Check that you have enough disk space available. Temporarily disable your anti-virus software. If you experience Windows Update Error 0x80070057, it can be fixed, see link. Windows Update, Unstuck and Working Now Windows Update isn't a perfect piece of software, but it's clearly a big part of Microsoft's plans for Windows 10, which means that many of us are simply going to have to live with it.

Why would anyone want to stress their PC further than it already is? Doesn't it have enough problems? That may be the case, but stress testing can be a vital resource to have in your techie arsenal. Stress tests test the stability of a PC under heavy loads. Stability issues may arise from PC overclocking. That's where stress testing comes in. Stress tests ensure the stability of your component part. Although stress tests can also gauge the performance of your PC, that is best left to benchmarks. Stress tests push your PC to its limits. By the time you finish reading this article, you'll be able to stress test with the best of them. The Skinny on Stress Testing Stress tests push your PC's performance, raising temperature and usage readings to their limits. If a PC passes a stress test, it is considered stable. Unstable PCs will not perform optimally, and may shut down. The automatic shut down feature saves PC components from damage. If a PC does shut down during a stress test, previous overclock settings must be lowered. These tests can sometimes be misleading. For example, stress testing components may raise temperature so high that the PC shuts down due to overheating rather than instability. In order to accurately stress test your PC, a few monitoring programs are needed. Monitoring Programs You will need to monitor your PC temps, voltage readings, and clock speeds to ensure that the process is running smoothly. CPUID HWMonitor provides real-time temperature and clock speed stats to ensure that your PC is running at max performance. When it comes to all-around monitoring software, MSI Afterburner is tops. Afterburner provides real-time usage and temperature readings, along with controlling the fan speeds of your GPU. This means you can provide real-time cooling by raising fan speeds for your GPU. It also makes for a handy overclocking tool if you'd like to overclock your GPU. Keep careful sight on your temperature readings during a stress test. If your temperatures are reaching 80°C on idle -- or under low-stress conditions -- then stress testing your parts may overheat your PC before results can be received. If so, consider measures to cool down your PC. Remember to close all extraneous programs beside your monitoring software and stress testing software. Advice on Stress Testing Stress testing may seem like a casual process, but proper stress testing requires a careful eye. Before stress testing, make sure to do the following. 1. Ensure 100% Usage Again, stress tests aren't used to test your performance. They're meant to max out your performance. Make sure that your parts, whether it be your CPU or GPU, are being used at maximum capacity throughout the test. This tip may seem overtly simple, but it ensures that you are testing your parts to their full capacity. You can use any of the programs mentioned above to monitor usage. To ensure correct usage readings, use multiple monitoring programs during testing. 2. Double-check Clock Speeds Ensure that you are stress testing your components with the correct clock speeds. Some software may stress test your PC properly, but display your clock speeds incorrectly. This is where using multiple monitoring programs becomes critical. Incorrect clock speeds are usually caused by forgetting to save clock speeds or saving clock speeds incorrectly. Clock speeds may also push past their supposed maximum clock speeds, as is the case with Intel's Turbo Boost technology. Intel's Turbo Boost software works by minimizing the performance of some cores to boost the performance of one past its supposed maximum speed setting, offering more on-demand processor performance under certain conditions. AMD has a similar software called AMD's Turbo Core which replicates this service. Features like these may explain conflicting speed readings from your CPU, so ensure that your CPU is running at maximum usage percentage rather than clock speed. 3. Keep Temperatures as Low as Possible Speedfan allows you to control the different fans in your PC. Increasing fan speeds will lower the overall temperature readings of your PC. It also allows you to keep tabs of which fans are working and which aren't. Some GPUs run fans all the time, while others do not activate their fans until the GPU is used past a certain percentage. Bump up fan speeds around 70 - 80% if any component reaches 80°C. Also, remember to use multiple monitoring programs to ensure temperature readings. The above example shows my CPU temperatures at 128°C at idle, implying overheating. MSI Afterburner and CPUID HWMonitor, however, indicate that my CPU temps are actually around ~40°C. Incorrect temperature readings are often a software, not hardware, issue. Most temperature readings are taken from the BIOS, which monitors the real-time temperatures of individual PC components. Monitoring software carefully parses these readings, and displays them in a convenient list. If a software cannot parse these readings or confuses them in some manner -- such as adding every CPU core temp reading rather than displaying each one individually or displaying readings in Fahrenheit instead of Celsius -- the software will provide false temperature specs. To uncover false readings, we recommend consulting more than one application. 4. Research Your Components Before stress testing or overclocking, remember that a wealth of online resources can help you. Doing a bit of research about your components will ease the stress testing process tremendously. First, research stable overclock settings for your components. Chances are, users have already stress tested and found stable conditions for your component parts. This will dramatically reduce the amount of time necessary to find a safe overclock. Secondly, research whether it's safe to overclock your component. For example, K series Intel CPUs allow for easy overclocking. Intel CPUs that are not a part of the K series do not have their clock multiplier unlocked, making them much harder and less safe to overclock. 5. Aim for the Crash The purpose of stress testing your PC is to push performance to the point of failure. Although a PC crash may seem like a major issue, PC components will shut down before serious harm is done. If you're overclocking your PC, aim for the crash. A PC crash sets clear limits for your overclock. Afterward, underclock your PC to reach stable settings. Stress Testing Your Components Now that you understand what stress tests are for and how to monitor components during a stress test, it's time to stress test your components. 1. GPU Stress Test A GPU stress test will cause one of two errors. Either your PC shuts down, or you begin to see video artifacts on your screen. Video artifacts are visual breaks in your screen which taint the image you see. These artifacts are usually green or purple, and indicate that your GPU is being pushed past a stable state. Visual artifacts during a stress test indicate that you should lower overclock settings. When it comes to stress testing GPUs, Furmark is a very well-known brand. Furmark was designed to stress your GPU as much as possible. Furmark attempts to render very high quality fur on your PC. When Furmark finishes, you will be given a rundown of your highest GPU temperature and a score rating. You can match this rating with Furmark's library, comparing your PC usage with others. Other stress testing software, such as Unigine's Heaven or Valley software, provide various other methods to stress test your GPU. Some stress testing software will cause your PC to shut down, while others will not. It depends on the amount of stress each software puts on your GPU. Try a few out to ensure that you are stress testing your PC completely. Stress testing GPUs does not take as long as testing CPUs, so a few runs through Furmark should be enough to ensure stability. 2. CPU Stress Test There is one indicator that a CPU stress test has worked: it crashes. Prime95 is perhaps the most trusted software on the market. Prime 95 is a client of the GIMPS (Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search) program, which attempts to find large prime numbers using your processor. Hence, the prime in Prime95. There are three settings within the Prime95 software. Small FFTs provides a CPU stress test, along with minor RAM testing. In-place large FFTs provides a harder CPU stress test, aiming towards maximum usage and temp readings. Blend aims for more RAM testing than CPU stress testing. In-place large FFTs provides the best stress test making it the best choice. If you are new to stress testing, however, I would consider running Small FFTs and keeping track of temperature readings. If your CPU cannot properly maintain its temperatures during this test, In-place large FFTs may overheat your PC. RealBench also provides an effective stress test for your CPU, and uses realistic actions like photo-editing and video rendering for its testing methods. The longer the duration of these stress tests, the more likely your PC is to crash. An over-night test in Prime 95 is best for proper results. Running a 3-4 hours test, however, will ensure that your CPU is not unstable and can take on heavy loads throughout the day. OCCT, which stresses your PC as much as these other programs, also provides a handy monitoring interface to keep track of temps, clocks speeds, and CPU usage over time. 3. RAM Stress Test RAM stress testing serves a similar purpose to stress testing other components, although it is often done to test the factory stability of the components. A malfunctioning RAM module can put serious limitations on your PC and lead to random, frequent shutdowns. Memtest86 commits thorough tests on your RAM, checking for any errors. If your PC suffers from shutdowns, there is a good chance the RAM in your PC may lead to errors. Memtest86 will locate errors, saving you the possible expense of a completely new PC. Unfortunately, this program cannot run from your regular desktop. You will need to install the program onto a separate flash drive and boot from your flash drive to run Memtest86. Download the program labeled Auto-installer for USB Key. This simple application will install Memtest on your drive automatically. Once Memtest begins, it will scan your RAM for errors. If Memtest doesn't find any errors with your installed RAM, your RAM is good to go. Stress It! Undergoing a proper stress test after overclocking ensures the performance increase of the overclock and the proper stability of your components. An unstable component can be a daily annoyance, and wear your components to an unusable point. No matter; now you can properly stress your PC with free, simple tools!

Once your laptop becomes a few years old, you face that familiar question: should you upgrade or just buy a new notebook? Obviously a new laptop will cost a lot while an upgrade will be cheaper, but cheaper isn't always the best option. Before you make the decision, there are a few things you should know. For example, there are only certain parts that you can upgrade yourself, and that too if your laptop lets you do that. Plus, upgrading parts will almost always void your warranty. So, what can you upgrade in your laptop, and what are the risks involved? Are said risks worth the savings? Keep reading to find out. 1. Is Your Laptop Even Upgradeable? Not everything in your laptop can be upgraded easily. Unlike a desktop PC, several parts of a laptop are soldered on, which means they can't be removed. This is why it's a good idea to future-proof the laptops you buy (whereas future-proofing is bad for desktop PCs). But you first need to find out whether your laptop can be upgraded, or if it has soldered components. You can find the answer by reading the original manufacturer's manual. If you don't have that, try the Crucial System Scanner tool. Run it on your Windows laptop or Macbook and it will scan your machine to find out which parts of your device can be upgraded. You could also simply Google it. Search for "How to upgrade RAM in XYZ", replacing XYZ with your laptop's exact model number. If you see a proper guide, go for it. If you don't, you're better off skipping the upgrade. You can also try iFixit, one of the best DIY sites to repair electronics. It has detailed repair manuals as well as step-by-step guides on how to open laptops and replace parts. Hopefully your laptop is listed there. 2. Which Parts Should You Upgrade? The most common laptop parts that can be upgraded easily are RAM modules, hard drives, batteries, and wireless cards -- assuming none of those parts are soldered on. Of these, RAM modules and hard drives are the easiest and most common. Indeed, adding more RAM or installing a solid state drive (SSD) instead of a hard disk drive (HDD) are among the best upgrades to improve PC performance. And if that's what you decide to do, we have a full guide on how to upgrade a laptop's RAM. It's also pretty straightforward to add an SSD into a laptop. As for the battery and the wireless card, those aren't always upgradeable. You will need to first research and check if those can be changed on your laptop. If yes, then finding a compatible battery is possible only through the same manufacturer. Wireless cards, however, are simple mini-PCIe cards, which you can purchase on Amazon. If your laptop is old and you want to make it compatible with Wireless AC standards, then replacing the mini-PCIe card is one way to do it. Otherwise, you could even get a Wi-Fi USB dongle. 3. Some Parts Aren't Worth Upgrading Among the components of a computer, the motherboard, processor, and the screen are the main parts that you can't (and shouldn't) upgrade. Most laptops are constructed with a particular motherboard and processor series in mind, and these two parts largely determine how much heat the laptop will generate. The case is hence designed so that the estimated heat can be dissipated efficiently. The screen, on the other hand, is almost never worth upgrading. I'm not even sure if it's possible to upgrade. You can fix a broken screen by replacing it with the same type, but just like upgrading a PC monitor is all about buying a new one, upgrading the screen also requires buying a new laptop. 4. How to Find Compatible Parts So now that you know the basic hardware to give your laptop a new life, you need to figure out exactly what to buy. For example, laptop RAM is different from desktop RAM, and if your laptop is old, it might use older DDR2 RAM rather than DDR3 or DDR4 RAM. When shopping for RAM modules and solid state drives, companies like Crucial and Kingston have online guides to find out compatible parts for your notebook. Crucial's Advisor Tool is our preferred choice, but Kingston's Memory Search is a decent option too. All you need to do is select your laptop manufacturer and model, and the tools will show you a list of compatible RAM and SSD. Apart from the specifications for the acceptable RAM or SSD, you will also find how many DIMM expansion slots your laptop has, and how much maximum memory it can support. Using the specifications, feel free to search for similar memory or storage on Amazon or other sites. If it matches the specs, it will be compatible with your laptop. 5. Should You Upgrade or Buy New? There are certain signs it's time to replace your old computer. If your laptop is running too slow, if it can't install new operating systems or doesn't support new software, or if it regularly has some problem, you may be tempted to buy a replacement just for peace of mind. And that wouldn't be so terrible. There are some fantastic laptops available for low prices these days, so instead of upgrading an old laptop and voiding your warranty, you might want to just buy a new one. For example, the Lenovo Ideapad 100s is a fantastic Chromebook for just $165! In my opinion, and based on personal experiences as well as anecdotes from friends and family, buying a new laptop is almost always a better option than upgrading your current one. The reason you're upgrading is probably because some part is no longer working as efficiently as it should. Assuming this is because the entire laptop is old, then you'll soon face similar issues with other parts that are nearing their end of life. So unless your laptop is new and it's only one part that's malfunctioning, just go for the replacement. You'll be happier in the long run.

You've had your computer for some time now and it's been a match made in paradise. That is, until you noticed that your computer no longer runs like it used to. What took a couple of seconds to load now takes a couple of minutes, and you need a change. I have good news and bad news. The good news is, it's surprisingly easy to speed up your PC. The bad news? It takes a while to wade through the false methods and cheap tricks found online before achieving actual results. Plenty of online resources promise to speed up and boost your computer speed. Unfortunately, these product rarely if ever have an effect on PC performance. Use this list to scope out the real from the fake! 1. Performance / Gaming Optimizers Countless software packages considered optimizers or boosters promise to optimize your PC for gaming or general use. Unfortunately, they will rarely if ever provide a performance boost. The main issue with PC boosters are their methods of "boosting your computer". Instead of overclocking your hardware or optimizing your RAM usage, boosters only shut down background processes and services. That's it. Furthermore, they may drag down performance by running in the background themselves. Do This Instead Task Manager provides the same functionality as performance boosters without the need of a third-party application. Press CTRL + SHIFT + ESC on your keyboard to open Task Manager. Click on the CPU tab to order the programs by % of CPU usage. Then right-click any unnecessary running programs and click End task. Programs like Microsoft Autoruns will give you even more control over your running processes. Afterward, select the Startup tab and begin disabling unnecessary programs. This will prevent nagging startup programs from hindering PC performance. Then, configure the services running on your computer. Press WIN KEY + R on your keyboard and enter msconfig into the prompt. Select the Services tab in the System Configuration window and check Hide all Microsoft entries. Go over the entries list and uncheck unnecessary programs like toolbars and background scanners. Apply the settings and restart your PC. You can also use task manager to set program priorities as well, which boosts program performance. Right-click an item from the list and select Go to details. Right-click the item again and Set priority to Above normal or High. 2. PC Cleaners PC cleaners differ from PC boosters. PC boosters stop certain processes on your computer. PC cleaners promise to clean your registry, delete your Internet cache, and free up disk space -- all methods that do not contribute to computer speed. PC cleaners typically wipe three key areas: browser caches, browser history, and your recycle bin. Temporary Internet files and browser history accumulate from browsing the Internet. Over time, you could develop several GBs of these files on your hard drive. Cleaning these files may seem useful, but will not contribute to PC or website load speeds, unless you're running out of space on your system drive. Browsers caches actually work to load pages faster, so this process may end up making slow Internet connection issues worse. Do This Instead CCleaner is a popular and highly regarded cleaning application which will clean your PC as much as any other PC cleaner on the market for free. Run the cleaner to delete temp files, browser history, Internet caches, and more. If you aren't satisfied with CCleaner's cleaning performance, try installing the CCEnhancer addon. CCEnhancer is a CCleaner addon which adds functionality to the original CCleaner. It allows users to clean program caches and system folders otherwise inaccessible to CCleaner. If you are unsure of what you are cleaning, uncheck the paths located on the left-hand side of the window to prevent issues. To clear your browser caches individually, follow the instructions below. Firefox: Menu > History > Clear Recent History. Change Time range to clear to Everything and select Clear Now. Chrome: CTRL + H > Clear browsing data. Change Obliterate the following items from to the beginning of time and select Clear browsing data. Opera: Menu > History > Clear browsing data. Change Obliterate the following items from to the beginning of time and select Clear Browing data. Internet Explorer: Settings > Internet Options > Browsing history > Delete. Select your settings, preferably all of them, and select Delete. Microsoft Edge: Menu > Settings > Clear browing data > Choose what to clear. Select your settings, preferably all of them, and select Clear. This covers most of what PC cleaners do, and you won't receive any annoying popups on your computer. 3. CPU Core Unparking CPU core unparking promises to boost FPS and decrease latency in PC games. It's a relatively rare process, so it's surprising to see a program like CPUCores in the Steam Store. CPU cores, by default, "park" or become inactive when not in use. That means certain cores will stop functioning to save power. When your computer is under heavy use, your CPU cores unpark automatically. Certain programs also allow users to unpark their cores in case their PC 'forgets'. To charge for this service is selling snake oil to unsuspecting victims. Core unparking, as a practice, fluctuates in utility. Some swear by a 10-20 FPS gain in their games, while others claim results from core unparking are negligable. In any case, core parking and unparking will not harm your PC if you're in an experimental mood. Furthermore, core parking is a feature more notably occurring in Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2. It's rumored to have been deactivated for Windows 8, 8.1, and 10, though not much official documentation exists on the subject. Do This Instead Unparking cores reserves power, so you can achieve the same general effect by changing the power options on your PC. You can access your power options in your Control Panel by using the Windows key + X keyboard shortcut. Open System Security and then Power Options to customize your power plan. Choose High performance and you should be set. This setting won't lower CPU speeds when idle, simulating the process of core unparking. Alternatively, you can use the free application CPU Core Parking Manager to unpark your cores. Download and follow the instruction on the Coderbag website to achieve the desired effect. 4. RAM Drives RAM drive software allows you to store programs on your RAM modules and turns your sticks into actual drives. Storing programs on your RAM can be problematic. For one, RAM is much more expensive -- per GB of space -- than both hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs). RAM is also an example of volatile storage, which erases its contents every time you shut the PC down. Even a fix-all solution like the Dimmdrive -- available on Steam -- has several issues. Dimmdrive runs software from your RAM module and speeds up program loading times. Yet, running your entire Steam library off of your RAM modules is next to impossible when you consider the cost and motherboard space required. Also, this program will not run games faster or at a higher quality as that's the job of your graphics processing unit (GPU). Do This Instead A 32 GB RAM kit will cost ~$120, four RAM slots, and a motherboard capable of utilizing 32 GBs of RAM, all without including the cost off Dimmdrive. Ballistix Sport 32GB Kit (8GBx4) DDR3 1600 MT/s (PC3-12800) UDIMM 240-Pin Memory - BLS4KIT8G3D1609DS1S00BUY NOW ON AMAZON A 32 GB SSD, on the other hand, costs ~$50 and a SATA connection. SanDisk ReadyCache 32GB 2.5-Inch 7mm Height Cache Only Solid State Drive (SSD) With Upgrade Kit- SDSSDRC-032G-G26BUY NOW ON AMAZON Both provide similar loading speeds and only the SSD works as a regular HDD would. Save the money you would have spent buying a Dimmdrive and invest it in an SSD. You won't regret it. 5. ReadyBoost ReadyBoost is a Windows feature that turns your regular flash drive into a hard drive cache to improve disk read performance. ReadyBoost works alongside SuperFetch -- a memory manager which pre-loads certain program files on your hard drive for quicker access. Flash memory speeds are faster than mechanical hard disk drive (HDD) speeds. For this reason, ReadyBoost should theoretically help programs run faster on your PC with the assistance of your flash drive. But only if your system is installed on a HDD. Although ReadyBoost will affect the performance of older and RAM starved PCs, most computers do not benefit from the program. The main issue with ReadyBoost is that RAM does what ReadyBoost can do at a larger and faster capacity. Furthermore, you can only write data on a flash drive so many times before the flash drive fails. If you activate ReadyBoost with your flash drive, you may be sacrificing the drive for no tangible reason. Do This Instead Modern computers only requires 8 GBs of RAM to run intensive games and programs. Increasing RAM capacity by a few gigabytes will have a larger effect than using ReadyBoost and save your flash drive from failure. If a RAM upgrade doesn't speed up your PC, look to speed it up elsewhere. Be Alert! In the past, I've tried every trick on the market to squeeze as much juice as I could from my PC. But some options just won't work. Programs that promise to speed up your computer with a single click sound too good to be true because they are. You should never have to settle for a slow computer, and there are methods to speed up and optimize your PC for heavy use. You don't have to settle for the various forms of snake oil online.

RAM, or Random Access Memory, is essentially a piece of hardware that stores your computer's short-term memory while the computer is running. The difference between a RAM module and a data drive (whether HDD or SSD) is that RAM is volatile memory, meaning that data is completely erased when the power source is cut. On non-volatile types of memory, like a data drive, stored data is preserved in the absence of electricity. Even though RAM is cleared every time you reboot, memory management has a significant impact on the performance of your system. We'll show you everything you need to know about RAM, how it works, and how you can possibly increase its efficiency. The Various Types of RAM DDR RAM, EDO, FPM, SDRAM, SIMM, DIMM... it can all be a bit confusing, especially if this is your first exposure to computer hardware. These terms all describe different types of RAM modules that each differ in their physical properties. Generally, RAM modules fall into two types of categories: SIMM (Single In-line Memory Module) DIMM (Dual In-line Memory Module) SIMMs were first released in 1983 and are not commonly used today. With the advent of 64-bit processors, the 32-bit wide SIMMs had to be installed in pairs to remain compatible. Consequently, SIMMs have been replaced by 64-bit wide DIMMs, which can be installed individually. EDO (Extended Data Out) and FPM (Fast Page Mode) are types of SIMM, while DDR (Dual Data Rate) and SDRAM (Synchronous Dynamic RAM) fall into the DIMM category. There's also a type called SO-DIMMs (Small Outline DIMMs) which are smaller in size and commonly found in laptops. You might have noticed that DDR RAM comes in different versions, namely DDR, DDR2, DDR3, and DDR4. These are increasingly faster RAM modules that are not compatible with each other. If this terminology fascinates you and you would like to know more about it, have a look at our Quick & Dirty Guide to RAM for fascinating facts about computer memory. RAM Capacity, Frequency, and Latency The storage size, or Capacity, of RAM modules is measured in megabytes, gigabytes, and terabytes (MB, GB, and TB, respectively). For example, Windows 10 Professional 64-bit can support up to 2 TB of RAM. On a 32-bit system, you can unlock up to 64 GB of RAM using a physical address extension (PAE) Patch. On the average computer, however, you're more likely to find between 1 and 4 GB of RAM installed, which is sufficient for most casual users. The Frequency is measured in MHz and higher numbers potentially indicate faster access to the information stored in memory. This is a key factor if your graphics card shares your RAM. Latency describes the delay between a request and execution of the task, meaning lower numbers are better. Together, Frequency and Latency affect the speed of your RAM. A higher frequency, which makes RAM faster, can compensate for higher latency, which makes RAM slower. Generally speaking, however, you should prioritize capacity over frequency and latency. More is always better. To see how much RAM is installed on your Windows computer, open File Explorer, right-click on This PC, and select Properties. This will open the System page in your Control Panel, which reveals the capacity of installed memory (RAM). To find out the specs of your RAM, you need to use a tool like CPU-Z, which can analyze your system specs. This will also reveal whether your RAM runs as advertised by the manufacturer. For instructions on how to read the results of CPU-Z, please refer to our article on RAM speed. When You Run Out of RAM All modern operating systems have something called a page file, also known as a swap file, which is a special file on your data drive that temporarily stores data from RAM. It comes into play when your computer needs to juggle too much data that can't fit entirely on the RAM modules alone. To make up for this lack in RAM capacity, the least-used data is outsourced to the page file and becomes what's known as virtual memory. As such, over time, the page file can grow in size and exceed hundreds of MBs, though the operating system can set limits to the size of your page file, usually giving you as much virtual RAM as the amount of physical RAM on your system. Should you ever see an error message indicating that you're running low on virtual memory, it means that you're nearing the size limit of your page file. On Windows, you can manually increase the size of the page file via the Control Panel, which we have covered in our article on How to Fix Low Memory. Note that when the system has to access data stored in the page file, it can slow down your computer because data drives are much slower than RAM modules. Thus, rather than increasing your page file, you should consider installing more RAM. RAM Data Can Be Compressed In Windows 10, the page file still exists, but before the system outsources data to your local drive, Windows 10 compresses least-used RAM data. Compression can reduce the size of stored data by up to 60%. Microsoft estimates that as a result of memory compression, the Windows 10 page file is used half as much as in previous Windows versions. You can see it in action in your Task Manager as System and compressed memory. Note that memory compression isn't a novel feature. It's been known as ZRAM in Linux or ZSWAP on Android long before Windows 10 became available. The only potential downside of memory compression is that the tool that handles the compression -- the Memory Manager -- demands extra processing power. If it isn't managed well, RAM compression can lead to high CPU usage of the System and compressed memory item seen in the Task Manager. This common Windows 10 issue is typically fixed by disabling hibernation, updating the BIOS, or -- when you also observe a high CPU load for System Interrupts -- updating memory- and storage-related drivers with Windows 10-compatible versions. Smart RAM Management With SuperFetch SuperFetch is a Windows tool that improves memory management in several different ways. First, SuperFetch analyzes how you use your computer and notes patterns, such as the usual times at which certain files and programs are accessed. Second, SuperFetch collaborates with the Windows defragmenter to store files in the order that they are typically accessed. Finally, it can pre-load applications into memory at opportune times. Overall, SuperFetch contributes to the efficient use of available memory to speed up Windows boot time and make applications launch faster. It's possible to disable SuperFetch if it negatively impacts disk performance, but in the absence of this issue, we strongly suggest you keep SuperFetch enabled! While turning SuperFetch off might increase the amount of available memory, it will have a negative impact on your system's performance. ReadyBoost: Only for Hard Disk Drives ReadyBoost is a neglected Windows feature that works similar to SuperFetch. It analyses user activity and writes information to designated flash drives or SD cards. This type of cache is faster than information stored on a notoriously slow hard drive and can thus improve computer performance. With the rise of solid state drives, however, ReadyBoost has lost much of its advantages. But if you're still using a hard disk drive and are curious about ReadyBoost, we have covered it in our piece on how to increase RAM, although strictly speaking ReadyBoost doesn't actually increase available RAM. RAM Reloaded With all the tools designed to optimize memory management, your RAM shouldn't need a lot of babysitting. Just make sure you install the right amount and version of RAM and you should never run out of memory. In the worst case, increase the size of your page file or try out ReadyBoost.

Windows has never been a perfect operating system. We all run into problems from time to time, whether that means setbacks during a Windows upgrade, errors in the Windows Registry, or even failures during System Restore. And when these issues pile on top of each other, they can result in an unstable, crash-prone system -- a frustrating nightmare that has actually driven users towards other operating systems. But before you take such drastic measures, there's a lesser-known tool in Windows, called the Reliability Monitor, that can help you solve and rectify such reliability issues. Here's how it can benefit you, starting right now. How to Launch the Reliability Monitor Though this tool has been around since Windows Vista, Microsoft still hasn't put it front and center by actually providing an app called Reliability Monitor. If you had never heard of it, the only way you'd find it is by meandering a bit: Launch the Control Panel (Windows key + X > Control Panel). Select the System and Security category. Select the Security and Maintenance sub-category. Expand the Maintenance section. Under the label of Check for solutions to problem reports, click the link labeled View reliability history. These steps are for Windows 10 and may differ slightly if you're on Windows 7 or 8.1. Thankfully, in Windows 10, you can also take a shortcut: Press Windows key + Q to launch Cortana. Search for reliability history. Select View reliability history. It may take a few minutes for it to load the first time you launch it. Now that the Reliability Monitor is open, let's explore what it can do for you in maintaining your system's health. 1. It Tracks System Crashes & Errors The first thing to know about the Reliability Monitor is that it pulls all of its information from the Windows Event Manager. A Windows Event is exactly what it sounds like: something that happened on your system that you may want to know about. What's nice about the Reliability Monitor is that it only pulls certain kinds of events, namely ones that are relevant to system uptime and reliability. These events fall into six distinct categories: Software Installs: Includes Windows updates, driver updates, application installations and removals, as well as changes made to operating system components. Application Failures: Includes applications that terminated while in a non-responding state and applications that suddenly and unexpectedly stopped working. Hardware Failures: Includes hardware component failures, mainly data drives and RAM modules. Windows Failures: Includes any times the operating itself failed to boot up or unexpectedly crashed. Miscellaneous Failures: Includes any other kind of reliability event that doesn't fall into the other categories. Whenever one of these events is fired, the Reliability Monitor records details about what just happened -- the date and time, the application involved, what kind of failure it was, etc. -- and these records are kept for several months. By default, the Reliability Monitor only shows activity over the past month, but it actually stores all kinds of data from the past year. And as we'll see, this is immensely useful for diagnosing problems. 2. It's a Starting Point for Troubleshooting Let's say you have a laptop, one that's only a year or two old, and it's starting to become unstable. Every once in a while, you may experience the dreaded blue screen of death. Or maybe applications are randomly crashing for no apparent reason. All you know is that something is definitely wrong, but you have no idea where to begin. Maybe it's been happening for several months now, which makes it even harder to discern why this started happening. That's a perfect time to consult the Reliability Monitor. In the hypothetical history shown in the screenshot above, we can see that the very first critical error occurred on May 26, followed by another critical error on May 30, and a third on June 1. These may or may not be related, but they serve as a starting point and that's what we need. So we look at the informational events provided by the Reliability Monitor on these two days and perhaps we find that nothing in particular stands out. Okay, that's fine. Maybe these two errors were isolated events. No problem. What about that other long string of critical errors? That looks promising. Day after day, important system processes have been suddenly stopping for some reason, and it seems to have started on June 6. Now we look at the log of Informational events and perhaps we find that a certain Windows Update ran on this day. Or maybe that's the day we installed a new application or driver update. The solution could be as simple as reverting our drivers or uninstalling the application. Even though all of the above was hypothetical, it illustrates one way in which you can use the Reliability Monitor to your advantage. If the Monitor showed a hardware failure relating to RAM, for example, you would want to go and troubleshoot your RAM in more specific ways. Each event also features a follow-up Action -- either Check for solutions or View technical details -- that can shed more light on the problem and potentially even fix the issue altogether, although I wouldn't count on that being successful most of the time. 3. It's Easy to Skim at a Glance The Reliability Monitor also provides two more bits of information that make it easier to gauge the overall health of your system. The first is the System Stability Index, which is a numerical value between 1 and 10. If your system is incredibly unstable, the index drops down towards 1. However, as your system becomes more stable and robust, the index climbs up towards 10. Ideally you want to aim for an indefinite streak of 10, but that's usually unrealistic, unless the computer is rarely used or only used for simple activities like browsing Facebook or playing Solitaire. How is the index calculated? Here's what we know: For every hour that you don't have any warnings, errors, or crashes, the index will slowly increase. Every warning, error, or crash you encounter, the index will drop. The more severe the issue, the steeper the decrease -- usually between 0.1 and 1.0. Recent failures have more of an impact than past failures. The index only considers days when the computer is on and active. The other bit of information is the overview of problem reports, which you can view by going to the bottom of the window and clicking the link labeled View all problem reports. This is basically a breakdown of all recorded errors sorted by individual applications and processes. You probably won't use this overview very often, but you should check into it about once a month or so. It's a great way to see if a certain application or process is consistently causing problems over time, and if so, which ones. How Do You Troubleshoot Windows? Of the many ways to diagnose an unstable or faulty Windows PC, this should be at the top of your list. It's easy to use, doesn't require much time or effort, and the dividends are well worth it. If nothing works, you may have to rely on one of the built-in recovery modes that are available in Windows, including Restore, Refresh, and Reset. And if things are really bad, you can always rely on the nuclear option: reinstall Windows 10 from scratch. But with careful use of the Reliability Monitor, there's a good chance you may never have to go nuclear again.

The heat is on for South Korean exchanges, who have suffered a blow in their quest to gain banking contracts that will ultimately determine if they can keep operating after a slew of government regulations to police trading platforms comes into force on September 25. After the country’s first piece of crypto-specific legislation promulgated in March this year, exchanges were handed a six-month grace period during which they must obtain real named-authenticated banking contracts with domestic banks, as well as information security management (ISMS) certification and satisfy other criteria, including introducing anti-money laundering (AML) protocols. A growing number of exchanges have now put AML systems into place and gained their ISMS certificates, but banking remains a thorn in the side for most. Not even the “big four” exchanges – Upbit, Bithumb, Korbit, and Coinone – have yet received assurances that their own existing deals, with the neobank K-Bank, as well as the commercial banks NongHyup and Shinhan, will be renewed. Although many in the sector have told Cryptonews.com and other news outlets they are confident that the likes of Upbit and the rest of the “big four” will either renew with their existing partners after a successful past few months or find new partners, there is a large chasing pack of trading platforms determined to make the deadline. But doors appear to be closing to many of these. Banks have been handed the responsibility to conduct their own risk assessment checks on trading platforms, aware that they will have to bear the onus of blame should an exchange, say, suffer a security breach or fraud allegations. Previously, Shinhan and NongHyup’s three biggest commercial rivals – Kookmin, Woori and KEB Hana – have ruled out the prospect of partnering with exchanges “for the foreseeable future.” But a fresh blow has come from BNK Busan, which had previously expressed a strong interest in working with exchanges. BNK officials visited banks that work with exchanges to find out more – but per Asia Kyungjae – that interest has now gone cold. A BNK spokesperson ruled out a partnership, explaining: “There are advantages [to partnering with exchanges] such as new account creation and banking fees, but we decided that risks such as money laundering-related concerns were greater.” Given the success of K-Bank’s Upbit partnership, some have been looking to the neobank sector in hope of a lifeline. But there will not be any forthcoming from Toss, one of the nation’s fastest-growing fintech unicorns. Toss will launch Toss Bank in September – as a direct rival to K-Bank and Kakao’s KakaoBank. But per Dalian, Toss chiefs are not in a rush to find an exchange to team up with. While they did not rule out partnering with crypto trading platforms, officials stated that they had “no specific preparations or plans” to find an exchange partner – although they claimed that that could change before launch. Meanwhile, the top financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) has held a second set of offline meetings with 30 South Korean exchanges – and has conducted a full “due diligence” audit at one major (unnamed) exchange. The FSC has recently been handed the lion’s share of control over the crypto sector, and has been keen to flex its muscles – particularly after a raft of criticism from political rivals claiming it has “neglected” the crypto sector. According to Newspim, the FSC will carry out week-long checks at certain exchanges – and the group of exchanges in question comprised 20 that already have ISMS certificates and 10 that are in the process of obtaining them. The exchanges were briefed in two groups, each for about 40 minutes, in meetings held at FSC premises yesterday. Meanwhile, the Segye Ilbo reported that the FSC has also been alerted to the fact that some exchanges may seek legal means to keep hold of their clients’ funds. Unnamed sources close to the regulator and other industry insiders have reportedly expressed the worry that some will execute “planned bankruptcies” on the cusp of the grace period deadline in a bid to avoid having to refund their customers – or even abscond with their money and tokens.

On Thursday, the Boston-based financial services and bank holding company State Street Corporation announced the launch of a division dedicated to cryptocurrencies, the digital economy, and decentralized finance (defi). State Street Invokes New Division Dedicated to Crypto, Blockchain, and Defi The financial services company State Street (NYSE: STT) offers a wide array of products like Investment management, securities lending, stock trading, and custodial banking services. In Q3 2020, data shows that State Street has around $3.15 trillion assets under management (AUM). On June 10, the company revealed it is stepping into the world of digital finance in a big way by launching a new division focused on innovative technologies. State Street’s announcement on Thursday reveals the financial institution plans to “expand to include crypto, central bank digital currency, blockchain, and tokenization.” The company also notes that it already operates the firm’s proprietary Globallink technology platform. The technology will be enhanced, State Street details and it will become a “digital multi-asset platform.” “The financial industry is transforming to a digital economy, and we see digital assets as one of the most significant forces impacting our industry over the next five years,” Ron O’Hanley, chairman and chief executive officer of State Street Corporation explained. “Digital assets are quickly becoming integrated into the existing framework of financial services, and it is critical we have the tools in place to provide our clients with solutions for both their traditional investment needs as well as their increased digital needs.” The banking firm further noted that as the objective is to evolve into a multi-asset platform it will support both crypto asset classes and other types of assets. “The aim will also be to support our peer-to-peer ambitions by creating new liquidity venues for our clients and investors worldwide,” State Street’s announcement said. “State Street has a major role to play in the evolution of digital market infrastructure and this new division will help us bring our expertise and resources to the conversation,” State Street executive Nadine Chakar explained. “As digital currencies and tokenization not only gain momentum, but transform financial infrastructure and operating models, we can help our clients bridge the gap between the industry of today and the one of tomorrow.” Chakar was recently appointed to lead State Street Digital to address the financial industry shift to a digital economy and defi, the announcement highlights. The financial services firm executive concluded that the company has been “developing a number of digital capabilities and other solutions,” alongside investing in infrastructur

The crypto market is busier than ever. More and more tokens and cryptocurrencies are flooding the exchanges and it’s getting difficult to recognize the best trading opportunities. The majority of tokens and altcoins available on the market fail to represent any real value. A new cryptocurrency that will soon be listed on the new CEX seems to have a solution to this problem. Continue reading to find out more about TecraCoin and have a look at the bigger picture of the ecosystem of Tecra. Bullish Run on Uniswap From the latest news, Tecra has added a liquidity pool on Uniswap, the market responded with a strong rise. After adding more funds to the pool, the price increased by about 150% within 3 days. Currently, the price is holding at $3 amid positive news, which might give the market a chance to continue growing. Listing on the new CEX can lead to the strong bullish trend on TCR soon. Tecra’s Innovation on the Crypto Market With the grant received from European Union, the company has clear, ambitious goals to achieve – bringing value to tradable tokens and making a positive change in the world. Tecra’s project seamlessly integrates various rapidly growing sectors: investment, crypto, fintech, technological development, and more. The previous article on the company’s activity introduced the readers to the ecosystem of Tecra – their currency (TecraCoin), crowdfunding platform (Tecra Space) and a decentralised exchange (Tecra DEX). This time, the article will put some focus on TecraCoin and its tokenomics – what is the real value of this coin, how is it connected to other elements of Tecra’s ecosystem and what exactly makes it different from other altcoins available on the market. The Value and Mechanics of TecraCoin The main functionality of TecraCoin is connected to the crowdfunding platform TecraSpace. The currency is used to purchase the tokens of the projects with active fundraisers on the website. The tokens serve as a confirmation of your participation in the project and concluding an agreement between you (the investor) and the project creator. The tokens you can obtain on Tecra Space represent real early-stage businesses, therefore there is a tangible value behind both the token and the TecraCoin currency. This is how Tecra responds to the current trend of tokens with unlimited supply and no real use. The value of TecraCoin is linked directly to the tokenomics of Tecra’s project. Unlike other cryptocurrencies, the price of TCR does not fluctuate according to market speculation, but is influenced by the development and success of real businesses and projects on Tecra Space. In addition to the coin on Tecra’s native blockchain, the company specifically created an ERC-20 based TecraCoin token to quicker and easier integrate with new exchanges, and to speed up the global expansion of the project. The circulating supply of TecraCoin is limited. The fully diluted supply is 80 million coins – most of them are dedicated for the development of the company, and locked. Currently, 5,7 million coins are circulating on the market, with 81.4% locked in the adviser wallets. There are 1 000 000 coins available on Uniswap – no more coins will be added on this exchange. Current market cap on Uniswap is 3M$. It’s clear to see that the project at its current stage is severely undervalued. Additional details on lockups and vesting will be announced soon. At the moment, the creators of the project are implementing business solutions on how to facilitate the circulation of coins in the market and between blockchains. Real Life Impact of TecraCoin One of the biggest advantages TecraCoin has over many other cryptocurrencies is that the usability of this coin goes beyond the boundaries of the world of crypto. Obtaining TecraCoin allows you to participate in a multitude of interesting projects on Tecra Space, which means that the currency has a real, positive impact on the world. With projects such as a large-scale photovoltaic farm by Expanse Plus, TecraCoin makes it possible for you to support technological development, sustainable energy production, and much more. How Do You Benefit From Project Tokens? The first way for token holders to profit from their participation in the projects are the commissions on Tecra Space. 3% of the funds raised during the campaign will be distributed among the token holders, and 2% will be designated for burning native TCRs from the exchanges, which will increase their market value. The second way is to re-sell the tokens to project creators. The creators are contractually obliged to repurchase their tokens from the market over a period of 10-20 years once the project enters the commercialization stage. For example, the photovoltaic farm project of Expanse Plus declared to contribute 80% of their revenue to repurchase the tokens from the market over a period of 15 years. The repurchasing of tokens are conducted quarterly on Tecra DEX from a time specified by the project creator beforehand. Lastly, the tokens that represent early-stage businesses are a valuable crypto-asset in themselves. They will be tradable on Tecra’s dedicated decentralised exchange, Tecra DEX. The launch of the exchange is planned for early 2022. Advantages of TecraCoin: possibility to participate in crowdfunding with a low entry-barrier (from 1 USD) obtaining project tokens of real businesses participating in projects that make breakthroughs in technological development price does not fluctuate according to market speculation, but according to measurable value of real businesses a multitude of trading opportunities – TCR is tradable on CEXs, DEXs and (in the future) on Tecra’s own exchange.

n May 27, the state of Florida saw one of the largest real estate sales in cryptocurrency, as a Miami Beach ultra-exclusive luxury penthouse was sold for over $22 million. The penthouse located on the ninth floor of the 12-story building offers 5,067 square feet of space and a 2,960-square-foot terrace with oceanfront views. One of the Most Exclusive Luxury Homes in Miami Sells Entirely for Crypto Assets According to Arte by Antonio Citterio, a penthouse in Miami’s Surfside neighborhood has been sold to an anonymous buyer who paid for the property entirely in cryptocurrency. The sale was the largest real estate purchase with crypto assets in Florida’s history. Developers say that the penthouse is one of the most expensive properties in Miami in terms of price per square foot. The Surfside region in Miami made headlines in December 2020, when a penthouse sold for a whopping $33 million. This particular luxury condo sold for cryptocurrencies at $22.5 million was sold for $4,440.50 per square foot. It is one of the largest real estate purchases after the December buy since 2017. “Cryptocurrency is the future of wealth, and we believe this is only the beginning,” said Giovanni Fasciano, codeveloper of the Miami building, explained in an interview. Arte by Antonio Citterio was developed by Fasciano and Alex Sapir. “There is strong pent-up demand for cryptocurrency transactions that are seamless and secure for both parties, and this deal is a prime example of that,” Sapir, the chairman of Sapir Corp said. Sapir added: We were overwhelmed by the amount of calls we received from qualified buyers just after announcing our ability to facilitate cryptocurrency transactions for the condominiums at Arte. Real-world crypto transactions haven’t made their way fully into the mainstream yet, so it’s clear that top holders around the world pay attention when new opportunities to transact open up. Closing Took Less Than Ten Days, Crypto Used in the Transaction Undisclosed The Arte by Antonio Citterio penthouse sold for over $22 million gives the owner the entire ninth floor of the building. This includes 360-degree views of the ocean and a wraparound terrace. There are four bedrooms, a powder room, four bathrooms, a wine bar, and massive walk-in closets. The condo owners get access to an indoor and outdoor swimming pool, a sauna, steam room, rooftop tennis court, a gym, and a yoga studio. Parking spaces in the building are temperature-controlled and the condo also offers a toddler’s playroom and catering staff. The blockchain settled arrangement took less than ten days to settle and the digital asset used has not been made public.

A court in Russia’s Perm region has decided to block a number of websites describing how to exchange cryptocurrency for fiat cash. Local prosecutors claim the dissemination of this type of information is against the law in Russia as it may facilitate the laundering of illicit funds. Kungur City Court Blocks Crypto-Related Sites The Kungur City Court in the Russian Perm Krai region has upheld a request filed by the Beryozovsky District Prosecutor’s Office to take down several internet sites detailing various methods of cashing out bitcoin. The prosecutors who discovered the crypto platforms insist the publishing of such content violates Russian legislation on combating the legalization of crime proceeds. “It was established that information on methods of cashing out the Bitcoin cryptocurrency was freely available for viewing and using on certain Internet resources,” a press release explained, further noting: Taking into account that the legislation considers the exchange of virtual currencies as a potential involvement in dubious transactions, the prosecutor sent an administrative statement of claim to the court demanding to restrict access to this information. The number of the affected websites as well as their domain names were not disclosed, but Forklog quoted the prosecutor’s office saying that five such requests have been submitted since the beginning of the year. One of the claims, according to the publication, concerns a Youtube video describing ways of exchanging bitcoin for Russian rubles. Russia’s Crackdown on Bitcoin Websites Continues Access to the websites subject to Kungur City Court’s latest decision will be restricted after the ruling enters into force, the Perm Prosecutor’s Office said without providing any more details. The banned sites will join a growing number of crypto-related outlets that have been taken down by Russian authorities in the past few years. Last August, the Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor blocked a crypto exchange monitoring website, Bestchange.ru, the third time the platform went offline as Bitcoin.com News reported. The popular site helps Russian-speaking users to find the best crypto-fiat exchange rates available. Roskomnadzor’s attempts to blacklist the aggregator started back in 2017. Roskomnadzor In March 2020, the agency added five crypto websites to its register of banned internet sources. The platforms were offering various services, from crypto exchange to mobile top-ups with bitcoin, and one of them was an information portal. The forum section of the crypto news outlet Bits.media was also targeted. Crypto website operators have in the past successfully challenged some of these censorship measures in Russian courts. In March 2018, the Saint Petersburg City Court struck down a ban on 40 websites publishing information and offering services related to cryptocurrencies. In April of that year, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation overturned a decision to block the Bitcoininfo.ru portal. In May 2019, Roskomnadzor was forced to remove Bestchange.ru from its blacklist, after prosecutors gave up efforts to block the website.