Broken hard drive? If the problem lies in the PCB, it's relatively easy to fix
When a hard drive goes bad, the first thing you'll probably do is have a good old curse at the platter gods for picking on you. You then might decide to have a bit of a panic when you realise that you didn't back up your files.
Shortly after sweating out a few pounds, you'll probably have a go at fixing it. Well, it's worth a shot after all. But chances are, unless you know exactly what the problem is and have the skills necessary to fix it, you're pretty much up poop alley.
If you're lucky and the disk head or motor hasn't been damaged, the problem could lie in the controller board or printed circuit board (PCB). Often, when there's a power surge or the drive overheats, it can damage the board. If this happens, then you can quite easily replace the PCB with one that is working and bring your hard drive back to life.
A common sign that a PCB has been in the wars is a scorch mark, but sometimes there are no visual cues to give the game away.
First things first
The PCB might not be the problem after all, then, but it's the one area of the drive that you should tackle first when something goes wrong. After all, a replacement PCB from a specialist like www.hdd-parts.com will set you back around £25 delivered to your door, so it's a relatively inexpensive way of fixing your drive.
If you were feeling plucky, you could just go to a data specialist and get a man in a white coat in a lab to carefully take your entire hard drive apart and put it all back together, in the hope of rescuing your drive, but you'll be looking at a bill for at least £1,000. Unless you really, really need the files on that drive, you'll avoid this route and go down the PCB road first.
Back to life
Does it really work? Well, we tried it on a drive that had suddenly stopped working one day. There were no horrible clicking sounds, it simply wouldn't power on – the thing was lifeless. So, we replaced the PCB with an identical working one and managed to get it working again.
This wasn't after trying it on many different drives – this was the first one we'd worked on, so it wasn't a fluke.
It's worth mentioning that if this works for you, and there's a pretty good chance that it will, once it's up and running again, don't get lazy and put it back in your PC. If it failed once, there's a probability that it will fail again. Our advice is to transfer all your sacred files to another drive and then bin it… or pop it in the trophy cabinet.
There are plenty of Windows 8 convertibles and hybrids available
Microsoft has fundamentally changed the way Windows works with Windows 8, ensuring it works better with touchscreens and tablets.
But what about Windows 8 laptops, Ultrabooks and convertibles? They're all here, too.
One thing Windows 8 has in spades is convergence. A Windows 8 Ultrabook that has a touchscreen? Check. A laptop with a flip-around screen? Check. Tablet PCs that slide up to reveal a keyboard? Check.
It's tough differentiating some of these from tablets at times, but the one stipulation they have to be in this article is that they have a keyboard and also run x86 Intel or AMD processors. None of the machines in this article are ARM-based. They also come with keyboards in one way or another - for something more tablet-specific check out our Best Windows 8 tablet article.
That means they don't run Windows RT, the version of Windows for ARM systems. They do, however, run either Windows 8 or Windows 8 Pro. Check out our article on the different Windows 8 versions to get your head around which version you'd like.
So here's a rundown of the Windows 8 laptops, notebooks, convertibles and Ultrabooks we've looked at so far, to help you choose the right machine for you. And make sure you read our Windows 8 review, too and check out what's coming in the Windows 8.1 update.
Asus VivoBook S200 - £390/US$430/AU$400
Scoring five stars and an Editor's Choice award in a TechRadar review is pretty special. The 11.6-inch touchscreen Asus VivoBook S200 achieves this by offering good locks and hardware, an impressive performance, easy portability and a great price. The keyboard is faultless, and the trackpad is responsive and works well with Windows 8 touch gestures. An Intel Core i3 processor and 4GB of RAM give it the guts to perform without running the battery down too quickly, though the integrated graphics aren't cut out for fancy 3D games. It also comes with a 500GB hard drive, an SD card reader, HDMI port, two USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0 port, VGA and Ethernet connections. A 5MP webcam is handy for video calls, if you can take your eyes off the brushed metallic finish.
The Acer Aspire V5-122P is light and very portable and now comes with touchscreen input. As such, it works very well with Microsoft's Windows 8. You won't need to navigate using the touchpad's frustrating integrated click buttons because you can just reach up and swipe through options on the screen.
Although available in a wide range of specifications, our model arrived with an AMD A6-1460 processor with a clock speed of 1.0GHz and backed by 4GB of DDR3 RAM. While these components handled complex processes well on day one, we're not sure how well the V5-122P will hold up after a year's worth of program installation and software updates.
How much should a laptop cost? A laptop that can handle serious applications, surf like the best of them and also turn its hand to the odd game? How does £350 strike you?
That's the price tag that can be found hanging from Lenovo's latest offering, the potentially bargainous Lenovo G505. With the world and his dog jumping aboard on the Ultrabook bandwagon, it's good to see that there's still interest from system builders to manufacture value-focused machines.
HP Pavilion Touchbook Sleekbook - £400/US$650/AU$800
Sporting an AMD A-Series processor, 6GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, the HP Pavilion Touchbook Sleekbook is pretty well specced to run full Windows 8. It also boasts a 15.6-inch touchscreen, which is responsive and works well with the OS, but has a low resolution and dull colours. Its lid is also sparkly and shiny, and the laptop has HDMI, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 connections and a webcam. The keyboard doesn't feel that great to use, but the trackpad is great, with a hatched texture that feels nicely different.
Mid-ranged laptops such as the Asus V550CA-CJ106H can sometimes be a mixed bag. They come with price tags that make it hard to overlook the sort of shortcomings you'd forgive a laptop £300 cheaper. And yet they still can't target the highest-end components for the best possible performance.
Sometimes these laptops can get the balance right, such as the Samsung Series 9 NP900X3D, but more often than not they can end up being rather underwhelming, like the MSI CX61 0NF. So how does the Asus V550CA-CJ106H fare?
Built with media people in mind, the Toshiba Satellite P845 has a 14-inch touchscreen that works as a great display for for editing photos and responds very well to Windows 8 gestures, plus a dedicated Nvidia GeForce graphics chip. With third-gen Intel core processors, 6GB of RAM, a 640GB hard drive, three USB 3.0 ports, Harmon Kardon speakers and an optional Blu-ray player, the laptop may not be dazzling to look at, but it does pack in some power. There's also a good trackpad, if you'd prefer to use that.
A dual-core Intel Core i3 processor at 1.8GHz powers the Asus VivoBook S400C, which doesn't sound that impressive but handles every day tasks well. The 14.1-inch touchscreen has edge-to-edge glass, so works well with Windows 8 gestures, though it's not a Full HD resolution. 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive are reasonable, and there's an SD card slot, two USB 2.0 ports, one USB 3.0 port, Ethernet, VGA ad HDMI connections. Brushed aluminium on the lid is beautiful, while the keyboard is quite good, but the trackpad's gesture support is lacking. Battery is life isn't great, but sound is better than average, thanks to Asus's SonicMaster technology.
Sliding the screen backwards and lifting it up to reveal the keyboard underneath is how the Toshiba Satellite U920T converts from a tablet to a laptop. The 12.5-inch device runs full Windows 8 with its Intel Core i3/i5 processor, 4GB of RAM, 128GB/256GB SSD, two USB 3.0 ports, one HDMI port and one SD card slot. The hybrid device's touchscreen is low res and dull, and not as responsive as others, but Gorilla Glass protects its screen, which is always exposed. Its physical keyboard has short travel on the keys, and the device's general build quality and appearance is uninspiring, but battery life and usability are great.
The 13-inch Lenovo IdeaPad U310 comes in a choice of cool metallic finishes and has an Intel Core i3 processor at 1.8GHz, a 500GB hard drive, 24GB SSD, 4GB of RAM and full Windows 8. But it's not a touchscreen laptop, so you'll rely on the spacious trackpad and keyboard for navigation. This would be fine, but the Windows 8 gesture support on the trackpad is confusing and takes some getting used to. It comes with two USB 3.0 ports one USB 2.0, an Ethernet port, an SD/MMC card reader, an HDMI video output and a headphone jack. This Ultrabook looks great, but its performance is average.
The keyboard dock of the HP Envy x2 offers a great selection of connections - including an HDMI port for hooking it up to a monitor - and a second battery, though the tablet on its own doesn't have so much as a single USB port of its own. The 11.6-inch laptop-tablet convertible runs full Windows 8, with a Windows Start button on the bottom of the tablet screen that wakes the whole thing up. As well as a front-facing webcam, the device features an 8MP rear camera with a flash and Beats Audio for your music, though the speakers are weak.
While other manufacturers are busy pointing fingers as to why the PC seems to be struggling in the face of competition from that Cupertino-based company and myriad tablets, Lenovo is both pumping out solidWindows 8 devices while at the same time, turning a profit. Which brings us to the Lenovo Yoga 11S.
Of course, this isn't Lenovo's first time on the yoga mat. The 13-inch Lenovo IdeaPad Yoga was released last year to very favorable reviews. The appropriately named 11s is a size down. At just 11.6-inches, it's the smallest form factor that can support a full QWERTY keyboard.
Acer has upped its game in recent years, and it's easy to forget that just two years ago the Taiwanese giant made its money peddling identi-kit budget laptops by their millions.
The company has since turned around its reputation and is responsible for the glorious Acer Aspire S7 - one of finest Ultrabooks out there - and has also got chins wagging about the Acer Iconia W3 - the world's first 8-inch Windows 8 tablet - as well as the Acer Aspire R7 and Acer Aspire P3Acer Aspire P3 review
Microsoft's own full Windows 8 laptop-tablet hybrid, the Surface Pro, has the same look and the same VaporMg coat as the Surface RT, but has a tweaked kickstand and magnetic connectors for power and the two tear-off keyboards. It also has a higher resolution 10.6-inch touchscreen with excellent blacks, a smooth, pressure-sensitive stylus and an Intel Core i5 processor. It can run any application you throw at it, and has USB and DisplayPort connections. The clip-on Touch Cover feels very light, and typing on its flat surface takes some getting used to, or the more expensive Type Cover feels more like a normal laptop keyboard, which we prefer.
We first crossed paths with the Lenovo IdeaPad U410 around this time last year, finding it to be a very tidy little package, even if it strained the Ultrabook name a little. Its mid-range price belied some rather useful specs, though, such as a dedicated graphics card and an uncommonly large hard drive.
While the name change from the original Lenovo U410 to the Lenovo U410 Touch here might draw attention to the touchscreen, it's not the special part: it's everything else in it that's noticeable.
Unlike traditional clamshell designed laptops, the Lenovo ThinkPad Twist's screen - as you may have guessed - twists away from its keyboard, transforming into a tablet. The twisting mechanism is elegant but sturdy, holding the screen at the angle you want away from the keyboard and twisting back into laptop position with a nice clunk. It's insides contain a dual-core Intel Core i5 processor at 1.7GHz, HD 4000 integrated graphics, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. Gorilla Glass protects the 12.5-inch touchscreen, which works well with Windows 8 when you don't fancy using the keyboard, or when you want to use the device as a tablet.
If a picture says a thousands word, SwiftKey just got a lot more efficient
Even though SwiftKey remains the top paid app in the Google Play Store, a new beta proves its creators haven't put a predictive period at the end of its Android keyboard's development.
The SwiftKey 4.5 beta adds more than 500 emoji faces to the letters, numbers and symbols that users are accustomed to seeing from the keyboard app.
Emoji representing everything from smileys and sports images to traffic signs and musical references are all part of the release.
The emoji icons can be accessed through a popup panel. Tabs split the fun little pictures into five categories: people, objects, nature, places and symbols.
Predictive emoji
As you might expect from the minds of SwiftKey, the emoji in today's beta are just as much a part of the predictive candidate bar as any matching word.
"If a user starts typing 'pizza' they might see a tasty slice being served up on the candidate bar," illustrated SwiftKey.
Even more timely for the holiday season, entering in the letters for the word "Santa" suggests a Christmas emoji.
SwiftKey is even poised to learn which emoji icons you usually type after words and names.
"If someone regularly uses a particular emoji next to a specific word, such as their girlfriend's name and a heart symbol, it will learn to suggest it in future," noted SwiftKey's press release.
A (optional) numbers game
More productive than exciting, the SwiftKey 4.5 beta on Android introduces an optional dedicated number row, which the company said was added by popular request.
It appears at the top of the keyboard instead of forcing users to hold down the top row keys or toggle between numbers and letters.
CS Fire Monitor is a system monitoring app that has 11 different system monitors for keeping an eye on your PC
There's a tool for just about anything you can think of in Windows. And if you look hard enough, you'll find a freebie is more than capable of doing the job you want – in some cases, free tools outclass their shareware or commercial rivals.
The trick is knowing what's out there and where to find it, which is where we come in. We've done the hard work for you, trawling the web for hundreds of free Windows tools and selecting the finest 100 to include in this feature.
You'll find programs to help you fix problems, speed up the way you use Windows, and unlock cool and exciting features you never knew existed. You'll save money in many ways too.
We're not going to pretend you need to download all 100 of these tools and install or run them all simultaneously; that's a recipe for disaster. Here's one tip, however: if you're in the mood to experiment with a selection, install Comodo Time Machine first, so you can undo any changes you make to your PC if you discover a program isn't to your tastes or doesn't meet your needs.
We'd also recommend backing up your computer before you begin – as you'd expect, we've highlighted a number of free backup tools in the System health section to help you here too.
One thing we will guarantee you: there will be at least one tool in this collection that – if you haven't already discovered it – will become indispensable. We predict you'll find at least ten tools to revolutionise the way you use your PC.
Now that's got to be worth an hour or two of your time…
System health tools
Monitor the status of your hard drive, CPU, memory and software
Your hard drive is arguably the most important component in your PC, seeing as all your precious data and settings (never mind Windows and programs) are stored on it. Knowing when a hard drive is about to physically fail could save you heartache, as well as hundreds of pounds in expensive data recovery fees.
CrystalDiskMonitor enables you to keep an eye on your hard drives' health in the background, providing you with a health rating based on its SMART status, as well as information about each drive's temperature.
If a drive is running too hot – over 50-55 degrees Celsius in a desktop or over 60 degrees in a laptop – you'll need to invest in cooling measures to reduce its stress and lengthen its life.
What gives CrystalDiskMonitor the edge over similar products is the fact it can also monitor external USB and FireWire drives, so your essential backup device is also covered.
This handy – and portable – utility can fix common Windows problems in a single click. Over 50 issues – such as a missing Recycle Bin – are covered, and although it's designed for Windows 7, many fixes work in Vista and XP too.
Create, resize, move and recover partitions without data loss, thanks to the free Home Edition of this powerful partition manager. We've picked it over other similar offerings as it also works in 64-bit versions of Windows.
This centralised tool gives access to all of Microsoft Support Center's automated fixes in a single tool. Select your problem to download and apply the fix.
A downloadable boot disc (burn with ISO Recorder) to test for memory errors. If you have a Windows 7 or Vista install disc it's under "Repair your computer".
This useful system information utility lists your PC's hardware spec, installed software, product keys and Microsoft updates, on a web page to save or print.
This is a detailed hardware system information and diagnostics tool – frequently updated to work with the latest chipsets, motherboards, and processors.
Another system information tool, CPU-Z focuses on core components (with CPU, memory and graphics). Again, you can save reports to give to others or print.
Currently the best free files and settings backup tool, this is essential if you use XP or if you want more control over your Vista or Windows 7 backup.
This backs up your Registry each time Windows starts. It's invaluable if you use XP, as you can easily fix a corrupt Registry from the Recovery Console.
Easily back up, restore, and find updates for your drivers with this free tool. It also identifies unknown hardware devices – a free subscription is required.
This will set Windows to shut down, restart, log off, hibernate, or lock at a certain time or after an interval. Great for file servers and non-attended PCs.
This stores all Microsoft updates and certain system components offline, enabling you to quickly bring your PC back up to date after reinstalling Windows.
You can monitor the temperature of your PC and – if supported – adjust fan speeds, to give better cooling or less noise directly from within Windows itself.
A life without System Restore is unthinkable, and Comodo Time Machine offers something even better – instead of only monitoring certain changes on your system, it monitors every file and setting, enabling you to roll back your PC to a working state quickly, easily and with complete confidence!
Step 1. Take snapshots
Like System Restore, Comodo Time Machine can take both automatic snapshots and manual ones; take one before installing a new program, for example.
Step 2. Reverse changes
Select Restore System to roll your PC back to a previous state. Remember though, all changes (such as data stored on monitored drives) will be rolled back.
Step 3. Individual files
You can also restore lost, deleted or changed files and folders: choose Recover Files and enter all or part of the filename you want to restore.
Frustrated by Windows' inability to retain your open programs and documents after a restart? CacheMyWork solves this, so you can restart after updates without having to start from scratch.
Quite simply, this is the simplest and most effective free tool for connecting remotely to another PC, whether that's your home machine from work, or a friend's PC that's been playing up. You can even use it from your iPhone.
This handy tool gives access to key Registry tweaks for a more user-friendly experience, by describing what tweaks do rather than listing Registry keys and values. It's a good substitute for the Group Policy Editor.
This freebie has a whopping 11 monitors, to keep a beady eye on everything from hardware to software and the internet. Once set up it monitors in real-time, with a graphic display in the guise of a line graph and it also stores the results in a database to output as reports.
Its monitoring tools include NetStats, which doesn't just track your network and internet activity, but also identifies which programs are hogging your bandwidth. It can track processes, services and installed software too.
The program also has a built-in screensaver, which feeds data from the program into a series of graphs that display when the screensaver kicks in.
Do you want the security of an online backup program, but can't afford the monthly cost? Buddy Backup enables you, and like-minded individuals, to back up to each others' PCs over the internet for free. The new version now also backs up to external devices such as a hard drive, for when your buddies aren't online.
If you lose access to non-Windows partitions, this recovery tool fi nds them. It can mount the partition and transfer the data off it to a more reliable source.
This commercial program gives one component for free in its trial version: the ability to recover lost and deleted image files from a camera's memory card.
Data recovery from damaged CDs can be tricky, but ISOBuster is one of the best tools. Some functions are free but others require registration (US$29.95).
This useful freebie helps you identify hardware that shows up as "unknown" when detected by Windows. Once identified, you can source the correct drivers.
Data recovery used to be an expensive business, but Recuva is the best in the growing number of data recovery tools that don't cost a bean. It enables you to recover your deleted and lost files with the help of a user-friendly wizard.
This handy free tool enables you to recover the Registry settings from files stored inside a drive image (such as that taken by Macrium Reflect Free). It's perfect if you've forgotten to export a key setting prior to reinstalling Windows on your PC.
Vista and Windows 7 use a different bootloader to XP. Therefore if you have two or more Operating Systems – including Linux – installed on your hard drive using this alternative bootloader, you'll need this to manage them all.
MSN Wallpaper gives you over 100 high resolution wallpapers
Want to make your Windows desktop look better in just a few minutes? Our sister magazine Windows Vista: The Official Magazine has come up with eight ways to get a better looking desktop.
Try these methods yourself and say goodbye to boring desktops!
1. Get a constantly changing background
A great Microsoft application which lets you cycle between wallpapers automatically, meaning your desktop is always looking fresh and new. What's more MSN Wallpaper gives you over 100 high resolution wallpapers to get you started.
2. Clean up those icons
Icons can look great, but the annoying text doesn't do them any favours, so here's how to get rid of unsightly words forever:
Right click on an icon and click on Rename. Then using the number pad on the right-hand side of your keyboard, hold down the ALT key and type in numbers 255 and press enter. For the next icon write 255 twice, and so on until your desktop is text free. For a full guide on how to do this go to Nick's tutorial.
3. Download a dock
If you like the look of the Apple side of the PC spectrum, there are plenty of ways to recreate this on your PC. ObjectDock and the impressiveCircleDock are great places to start.
4. The ultimate background
Windows Vista Ultimate users can take advantage of a great selection of looping movie backgrounds called DreamScenes. There are loads available now, and there's no better way to bring some "Wow" to your desktop. If you're not running Windows Vista Ultimate then there are moving desktops available to download from StarDock.
5. Get even more wallpapers
You can't have too many wallpapers, and there are some beautiful ones available for free on the internet. Artist Dan Proops created some great free abstract wallpapers, VladStudio has a wide range of funky desktop offerings and Hamad Darwish released some the stunning photos which didn't make it to the final release of Windows Vista.
6. Move the Sidebar
If you fancy making your desktop look a little different, then why not move it round. You can have your Sidebar on the left of your screen if you want to mix things up a little bit.
7. Style your Sidebar
There's not many customization options for the Windows Sidebar but a neat little application called Windows Sidebar Styler lets you resize your sidebar, and play around with many of the options.
8. Clean your desktop
The How-to Geek has posted an excellent guide on how to make a button to toggle your desktop icons. If your screen looks unsightly this is a great way to sweep it under the carpet with a single click, and maintain the tidiest of desktops.
Get more handy Vista tips at Windows Vista: The Official Magazine
