Tools For your Computer

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Almost Everything You Need to Know About Your Packard Bell Computer

Tools for your Packard Bell

Well there are all kinds of tools out there more then I can list. I have included some of the utilities that I have needed at one time or another. I hope they will be helpful to you and if you know of some that are useful then please let me know.

All of these tools are free for you to use on your system
Synchronize your system's clock	MMx BIOS Check
Total System Performance	System Credentials	Personal Firewall
Winzip	L2 Cache	Test Your Security
Improve your Win95 Dial-Up Connection Speed	PowerLeap Control Panel	Test Your Connection Speed

Synchronize your system's clock

Here are two sites to synchronize your system's clock to their standards:

NIST Web Clock

Check your systems clock against USNO - U.S. Naval Observatory

Is your clock working right? The following is from an email from PB and is the methods that can be used to determine if your clock is working right. This info was for the PB 640, for other systems you should contact Packard Bell.

Steps to test the clock while the

computer is off:

Steps to test the clock while the

computer is on:

Before you turn the machine off at night:

1. Exit all applications to the C:\> prompt.
2. Type TIME <Enter>.
3. Set the time.
4. Turn off the machine.
5. Insert the Recovery diskette into the A: drive so that the next time you turn on the machine, you'll remember to check the time.
6. Let the computer sit while off long enough to determine if the clock is not keeping time.
7. Turn on the computer, it will boot to the Restore program.
8. Exit the Restore program to DOS.
9. Type TIME <Enter>. If the time is correct, the computer keeps time fine when it is off.

If this test fails, replace the battery.

Before you turn the machine off at night, leave it on instead.

1. Exit all applications to the C:\> prompt.
2. Type TIME <Enter>.
3. Set the time.
4. Let the computer sit while on long enough to determine if the clock is not keeping time.
5. Type TIME <Enter>.

If the time is correct, the computer keeps time fine when it is on.

If this test fails, replace the BIOS.

"If both tests above pass, the situation is due to software. The PB640 battery upgrade instructions: This 3V Lithium clip in battery is replaceable with a CR2032 battery. If you cannot locate this battery at a local store, then you may contact PB Customer Service department for information about purchases of Packard Bell products, components, and software." PB tech Support

L2 Cache -

Once you install L2 Cache is installed you should run Cachcheck 4 to determine if the L2 cache is working. You may also just want to know how much cache your system has. I found Cachecheck 4 to be fairly good, it at least gave me confidence my L2 cache was working.

Total System Performance-

Every time I upgrade I run Wintune 95 or 97 on my system just to see what improvements it has made. I find Wintune to be one of the simpler benchmark tools out there and best of all it is free. I also have a collection of results from Packard Bell owners like you so we can all compare how are systems are running. This utility also will give suggestions on how to tune up your system. For more info visit my Packard Bell Wintune Project Page.

CPU -

BIOS_CHK.EXE - Diagnostic Utility used to test the compatibility of your computer's BIOS with the Intel Pentium(R) OverDrive(R) Processor with MMX(tm) Technology.

System Credentials -
Here is a neat utility from the new Packard Bell computers, this is a better version then the old Winspec.exe (System credentials 1.10). This new file Syscred.exe is version 2.1, it looks a lot nicer then the old. This new version also tells a lot about your system like your motherboards type and original configuration of your system's RAM, Cahe, video memory etc. Packard Bell did a nice job creating this file.

Click here to down load it. I believe this to work on all recent Packard Bell computers, however if you find one it does not work on then please let me know. If you have formatted the hard drive, deleted the file (I am not sure of the name), or got a new hard drive then this file will not work. It runs off a hidden file some where and when it gets deleted you will get error messages.

Winzip
Winzip is the best zip file manager sofware available. Download it today and open up those zip files.

Improve your Win95 Dial-Up Connection Speed -
The default Windows 95 and 98 settings for network software is configured for communication over a LAN, because of this the MTU setting is not optimum for regular modems. or more information visit The System Optimization Home Page, this page has a number of methods to help you change these default settings.

PowerLeap Control Panel

The powerleap control panel can be used even if you do not have a PowerLeap adapter. The major use would be for all of you Packard Bell Owners that have a Evergreen MxPro or a IDT Winchip in their system. The control panel will allow you to change the settings of the CPU to make the CPU faster. Visit the PowerLeap Free Stuff Page to download.

Also the most recent CPU Control panel has a program called rain, it is similar to CpuIdle which is listed directly above.

Personal Firewall

For those of you that don't know what a fire wall it, it is a barrier that you can run on your system to prevent unauthorized entry into your PC from the internet. This type of software can protect you from hackers, snoopers, thieves and vandals. With the recent attacks on Yahoo, ZDnet and other large web sites, it is even more important to protect you PC.
This software is essential for anyone with a permanent IP address or dedicated connection to the internet like a cable modem or DSL.
I have tried a few different firewalls and Zone Alarm is by far the simplest to use and it offers the same protection as the harder to use fire alarms. Best of all this program is free. Click here to learn more and to download it.

Test Your Security

Well if you don't believe me that your system is at risk when you are connected to the internet simply visit "Shields UP! Internet Connection Security for Windows Users". This site has a simple test to determine if the most common ports on your PC are accessible from the internet. The site also explains the basics as to how an intruder can access your computer.

Test Your Connection Speed

Do you wonder how well your modem connects to the internet, well check out the "Bandwidth Speed Test". This site will also answer your basic questions about connecting to the internet and getting the best speed.