My Tech Support House Call

I got a chuckle that you had to search your own past writing to remember the tools. Age, Bob?

Thanks for the Privazer reminder. I have it on my computer, keep updating it as notified, but never think to run it. I will do that now.

BOB - PLEASE REPLY, COMPATIBLE WITH PCM? c-below:

I, too, use PCM, and understand that it is very unhappy with CCleaner and MBAM. I notice that Speccy is made by the same folks, I hesitate to download it. CAN YOU COMMENT ON IT'S COMPATIBILITY? I was wanting to monitor my temps since Speed fan started to get a tad wonky-weird on me.

ALSO FROM SPECCY WEBSITE, SOFTONIC, - [update of 06/22 make it seem current], I found this as well:

"Since Speccy has not been updated for a while, two types of information may be misleading, which are the temperatures and VRAM numbers. While the temperature may not be accurate, current degrees are listed beside CPU and storage. . . .]

I know you don't comment often, mostly I'm curious about compatibility with PCM. With a Dell that their Tech Support can't seem to ever get working correctly, I am a tad leery of installing something that might give me false positives, or positive false reading-- thanks!

EDITOR'S NOTE: I've never had a problem with PC Matic and CCleaner. You can always whitelist a program if PCM flags it.

Never underestimate the ability of the 'stern look' as the solution to misbehaviour. I learned that from my father. He was also the master of the lower (deeper) tone of voice when telling you off. Sadly, when I became a Foster Parent here in North America I was told that 'telling off' was not allowed. I even had to describe what I meant, when I put it in my monthly reports :)

Dr. Bob: Referencing your comment at the end of the article... Yes! That is why God put you here - to be a blessing to people who are able to learn things, but need a plain English explanation. I'm pretty sure I'm older then you, so if things work out right, you'll be explaining things to me for the rest of my life! ;-)

Hopefully, this will help Doc (and perhaps others), who posted earlier today (I'm not Dr. Bob, but I do know a bit about PCs):

I monitor my CPU cores in real time using a small, lightweight, and free utility named Core-Temp (https://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/). I configure it to display the highest CPU core temperature (I have a 6-core device) in the notification area (next to the system clock). To configure the tool as you want, choose the Options menu, then Settings.

I discovered this utility back in my Windows XP days (perhaps earlier than that) and I have installed it on all my computers ever since. It is actively maintained, and it gets compatibility updates for new CPUs when appropriate. Any time one of my computers start acting up, my first reaction is to check the Core-Temp icon to see if my CPU is getting hot. If not, I look at Speccy to see if any other devices in that computer are getting hot.

My computers don't usually act up because I religiously perform a set of monthly, semi-annual, and annual system maintenance routines (the list is too long to enumerate here) to keep them all running smoothly. Among the things I do is to check for Windows updates on the Wednesday after the second Tuesday of each month (the second Tuesday of each month is known as Patch Tuesday because Microsoft releases their monthly cumulative update on that day). I use SUMo to inform me when third-party software updates become available (e.g.: LibreOffice, Core temp. etc.), although there are other update monitors available that you may prefer.

I keep a list of installed software, and I check it monthly. When I find an app that I no longer need, I remove it. These two actions are the most important things I do to keep my computer running smoothly. I keep my machines up to date, both the OS, and any third-party apps I use, and I remove any app I am no longer using.

Finally, I approach the Internet with a healthy dose of skepticism. This helps keep me safe from most malware, etc.

I hope my tips help,

Ernie

Dr Bob was also the role played by Rowlf the Dog in the soap opera spoof “Veterinarian’s Hospital” on The Muppet Show back in the late 70s. I don’t recall if we tagged you with the name at Big Blue but I know we always dropped by for help with the odd problems. Thanks for continuing to doctor our machines!

I'm an oldie who has been tutoring other oldies in laptops, mobiles and tablets for about 14 years.Your info has been very helpful to me over this time.
Solving problems is my forte' and running a variety of free checks quite often does the trick.

I’ve been using Privazer for years and I love it, especially for those friends who have problems with their computers. Usually, just running Privazer clears up any problems. Thanks, Bob, for all you do. I’ve learned so much from your articles over the years.

Go on, Bob! We're all techy nerds here (mostly!) - do tell how you found the Canon printer problem.

Just a quick comment to thank Dr. Bob for all he does and also a shout-out to Ernie Wilcox whose comments are always filled with tons of useful information (would love to learn your "too long to list" PC maintenance protocol sometime).

Been using PC Matic since a supplier offered me a free 1 yr. subscription back around 2000. Haven't looked back. I think PCM does everything for me, because I don't do anything except let it run. Thanks Bob for your weekly updates, it's been enormously helpful to keep me free from the gotchas.

Hi Bob... Similar background here with me, as well. I have always had a passion for computers (past, present and future). This article "My Tech Support House Call", very helpful to me in keeping up with what is out there and I totally relate to this. The crazy thing I have experienced is when folks know (or think) you have some knowledge in computers, they will tap for everything and anything that has a circuit board in it. I am retired, but keep my interest going (i.e. technewsfeeds.com). I appreciate and follow you regularly. Thanks... Rick