When Cheap Ain't Good Enough! by Gary Woods

When you're ol' computer just isn't performing up to snuff you've got a lot of options to get it going. Unfortunately most of them require you to write a check or put in your credit card number. I thought it would be interesting to wander around the net and see if there are any free options available.

If you're a Microsoft Windows user the best place to start is the Microsoft Knowledge Base. http://support.microsoft.com/search The Knowledge Base is great and you can usually find an answer there. The trick is to try several different ways to phrase your question. This can sometimes be tedious but keep trying the answer is usually there.

For those of you who use Outlook Express you might want to check out Inside Outlook Express. http://insideoe.tomsterdam.com This site has news, including bug fixes update reports and frequently reported problems.

If your problem is a little more wide ranging you might want to give ExtremeTech a look www.extremetech.com. This site is run by the publishing company Ziff Davis and offers up plenty of straightforward information and advice. A good tip here is to just browse the questions by topics to narrow down your search.

Another all around site is Mike the Tech Support Guy www.helponthe.net. The site is very simple to use, just read the rules, search the forums, and register to post your message. With almost 200,000 members, the Tech Support guy is sure to have an answer.

If you have any suggestions or questions for me please drop me a note at garyandlaury@santabarbaraproperties.com or see my column on the Internet at http://www.santabarbaraproperties.com or call me at (805) 729-0910