Become An Expert Super Geek with a Multi Monitor PC

The days when nerdy computer geeks isolated themselves in fear of persecution are far behind us. Today Bill Gates still reigns as the savior of geeks all around the world, and with all due glory. Now that many so-called "computer geeks" are becoming wealthy, the age of ostracizing the computer savvy is coming to an end. Although the road to true computer geekdom is long and torturous, the benefits are well worth it.

One of the first steps towards being tech savvy is by updating your current computer system to something worthy of the term "state-of-the-art" or replace it all together. Your PC should support multi screen displays. Not only do they look very impressive, but also serve the purpose of multi stream computing the way a true techy would.

Upgrade your PC by adding a little RAM (random-access memory) and install a dual monitor video card or two. A dual monitor adapter is available for those who don't want to invest the farm on upgrading a already failing system, and/or on a new system. Adding another hard drive would give you plenty of storage space and free up stress on your main drive.

Get a real dual monitor setup from the Multi-Monitor Store at www.multi-monitors.com. No need to purchase expensive multi monitor software if windows and good graphics cards will do fine.

A multiple monitor PC will have you shining like a knight of armour when you can pull up research while watching YouTube videos simultaneously. Sure you can say that you know how to upgrade RAM, but with a multi monitor display, seeing is believing.

"Easy Setup, Relative Affordability"

"Beyond the stellar productivity rewards and the obvious geek cred, there's yet another cool thing about a dual-monitor setup: It's easy to put together."

Tom Mainelli, PC World

Dual screen monitors takes you from crawling to walking upright instantly, however if you want to zip through multiple applications simultaneously in a flash, go multiple screen display. The less you have to toggle through windows, the more efficient you'll operate. Thus becoming a bonafide computer geek.

Multiple Screens; Get Set Up Now!

In this article we're going to go over how to connect a second monitor to your computer. A Multiple Monitor display are a must for people who like to work on several documents simultaneously. Often video editors and graphics professionals ones who need to expand their screen real estate, but in today's fast paced culture, everyone benefits from a multiple monitor setup.

Most graphics cards today support multiple monitors. Trading Computers use many of these type of cards. If yours doesn't, inexpensive dual monitor video cards from companies such as ATI and NVidia are ideal choices. You can buy dual monitors for about $300 each with a special stand included, but if you want to keep using the computer monitor you already have, try to get a matching monitor of similar size and shape.

Many cards come with two different types of outputs. A standard analog video connector, and a digital DVI connector. If the monitors you're using come with a VGA plug you'll need to use a DVI to analog adapter, which should come with your new graphics card.

Before installing a new card, back up your PC. It's always a good safety precaution.

Next uninstall the drivers from the old graphics card. To protect your computers sensitive electronics, make sure you first ground yourself by touching a metal object or by wearing an anti static wrist strap.

Once this is done, shut your PC and unplug it. Open the case and remove the old card and install the new one. Once the new card is installed, plug the power cable back in, connect both monitors, and start the PC. The PC will recognize the new card and install the drivers.

Initially the same image will appear on each monitor, but by going to the Display Control Panel and selecting Settings, you can extend the size of your desktop over both monitors. The horizontal screen resolution will double. You can now drag application windows from one monitor to the other with ease, and run programs side by side.

Installation of a new card with dual monitor display takes about a half an hour. If you purchased a new card as well as a second monitor, cost for the project can run from $300 to $900 and up. However, having multiple monitors is like having a bigger desk. It makes it easier to get more done.

Do You Want A Quad Monitor Display? Or A 30 Inch Monitor?

Four Monitors or The Big One?

Ok we have to admit that the giant 30-inch computer monitors seen in stores are somewhat lust worthy.

Just imagine what you could do with all that screen real estate, and all those pixels! Wait hold it right there--those giant displays aren't necessarily all they're cracked up to be. Let's take a closer look and reconsider a few things.

One thing to consider right off the bat is price. They're expensive considering the mere functionality. You could spend from $1300 to $2500 for a single 30-inch monitor. For example the NEC MultiSync LCD sells for more than $2000 which may not weigh out in terms of price over functionality.

Even though some monitors may have high resolution (typically 2560 X 1600 pixels), which can give you a good amount of detail. On the other hand, they're also so wide that the distance from your eyes to the screen varies. This is happens when your sitting 24 inches from the center of the screen, then you're 28 inches or more from the corners. That may not sound like a whole lot, but if you're working in front of a monitor all day, you could develop eye fatigue from constantly having to adjust your focus closer or farther as you look around the screen. It would work out better if the monitor was curved, keeping your eyes at a consistent distance from the display as you do your work.

Something else to consider would be practicality.

If you have a gigantic screen, then you have a single, vast, wide open unstructured desktop. Sure that's great if your editing large, HD images, or things of that nature. However if your the common foe who depend on PCs to work with a bunch of different types of information e.g. Web Browsers, Word Processors, Spreadsheets, Emails, and all at the same time. Try using all of that on a giant monitor and you may very well drown in an abyss of cluttered desktop madness. Having to drag and drop, and stretch and constantly adjust the windows manually.

Now hear this.

There's an alternative! Instead of one big screen, use four smaller ones! It's actually rather almost as easy to get a nice quad monitor display up and going. You can purchase a 4 monitor display, for under $1200 and get 4 19" wide-screen monitors, ergonomic stand and free delivery from the Multi Monitor Store @ www.multi-monitors.com.

Conserve desk space by suspending four flat panels on a single base. Easily, view multiple screens at once, to increase productivity. Get with the Quad Stand and Four DELL LCD 19" Wide-screen Monitors for less than $1200 delivered to you in just a few days.

In this senario alone you would come out with the equivalent of a 38-inch-diagonal monitor,

an area of 2880 x 1800 pixels. That's over 25% more than a 30-inch monitor can offer. Multiple monitors give a rather larger advantage considering size, resolution, costs, and not to mention overall health.

You don't have to have a fancy multiple monitor setup to still benefit from multi screen technology.

The mere act of dividing the display into four sections, allows you to park different applications on different panels. Just like you may have a placement system on you desk i.e. phone on the right, pencils on the left. You can also organize your work in multiple applications e.g. positioning you e-mail on the upper right screen, your word processor on the lower right screen and so on and so forth. You can then easily drag and drop information from one program to another, all while keeping all of your windows in full view. The days of minimizing and maximizing can now be behind you.

Find And Restore Data From An Old Hard Drive

How to Resurrect a Crashed Hard Drive

The hard drive is possibly the most failure prone part of your computer. Whether it's been dropped, over heated, or simply died of old age. If you've traced your problem to the hard drive, the solution depends on the symptoms it's exhibiting.

If the drive spins up but behaves erratically, you probably have data corruption caused by a failing drive. Try the following steps to recover your data and copy it to a good drive before the bad one dies.

Check cabling.

Before anything else, if you're using an IDE drive, check that the data cable is connected properly, and if it is, switch to a new cable. IDE cable are notoriously cheap and are prone to having their insulation stripped by the metal edges inside the PCs case shorting out the cable.

Try a boot Disc

Try starting your machine with a boot disc such as Ultimate Boot CD for Windows to learn if the drive is readable. If it is, back up all of the data to another drive, and reformat the original discs to see if it's salvageable.

Check for bad sectors

You may have bad sectors. Try using HDD Re-generator to locate any. Download the demo and burn it to a boot able CD. If the free demo finds bad sectors, it may be worth paying for the full version, if it can recover the bad sectors and make the drive usable once more.

Try Utilities from disk's manufacturer

TackTech.com features manufacturer specific utilities for virtually any hard drive vendor. Find outwhat company made the drive that's failing, then download the appropriate diagnostic application. All of the tools are free and can help diagnose problems on the drive and repair them.

Try Data Recovery Software

If you still can;t get the drive to boot, turn to data recovery software to attempt salvage lost files. You have dozens of alternatives in this market, and prices may generally run from $40 to $200. Stellar Phoenix may be an ideal choice.

Some Last Ditch Efforts

If the Hard Drive won't spin up at all, you can still try a few last at jabs that have only a slim chance of working. But if your drive won't even spin, it probably wont hurt to try these, just don't do anything to further damage the disc, as the drive recovery surface may still be able to help. For example don't bang on the drive, and don't remove the cover and expose the heads.

Try the Freezer Trick

The freezer trick is an old standby if you have a drive that's clicking but not spinning. Put the drive in a plastic freezer bag to keep the water out, and wrap it in a towel for extra protection, and then freeze it for a few hours. Let it thaw back to room temperature after you remove and get rid of any condensation you can see. There's no agreed upon length of time to freeze it so start with an hour and work your way up to 24 hours and see if you can make that drive spin up one last time.

Try to Loosen Stuck Drives

To loosen stuck discs, hold the drive in your hand and rotate your arm outward quickly, parallel to the orientation to the plats, a bit like throwing a Frisbee. Repeat this action several times but make sure to not to bang the disc on anything. This action is designed to solve a problem called stiction or static friction, which can prevent drive platters from spinning.

Apply a High-Wattage Power Burst

Finally you can try attaching the drive to a high wattage power supply. Even though it wont draw up extra power, a burst of juice from the highest wattage power supply you can find, could jar it into spinning up one last time.

Copy All Your Files

Remember if you do get a dead drive spinning again, don't let it stop until you've copied off all your critical data. Chances are, you wont have it working again.

If all else fails and you absolutely need data off the hard drive, your last best hope is to send it to a data recovery service like Drivesavers. It isn't cheap and expect to pay up to $3000, but they can perform magic when consumer grade tools fail.

Make Regular BackupsTo alleviate this problem in the future, make sure your back ups are up to date, and for added security, mirror a second hard drive to ensure you have a real-time back up for the minimal risks of data loss and downtime. PC World Aug. 09



[caption id="" align="alignright" width="150" caption="dual monitor display"][/caption]

Private Data From Old Hard Drives As Good As Gone

Data thieves don't have to be programming wizards to get their hands on your personal information. They often find hard drives that contain financial and other sensitive data at flea markets, charity shops, city dumbs, and even on eBay. Trading computers can contain a lot of financial information that should be protected.

So if your upgrading your single computer monitor PC to a Multi Display Computer be sure to protect yourself with some of these tips from PC World.

These tips will help you render an old drives files unreadable.

Reformatting a drive and deleting its partition doesn't truly erase it's files. Putting files into windows recycle bin makes them unreadable by the operating system, but they're still viewable to anyone using data recovery. That's why a dedicated drive erasing tool is a must.

A reliable way to destroy old data is to use a block eraser utility such as DBAN, which overrides each block on your hard drive several times, and can create either a boot-able floppy disc or an ISO file you can burn to a CD. Once you boot from a start up disc just a few key strokes can begin blowing away your data.

The secure erase utility uses the disc drive secure erase command that's built into every modern hard drives firmware. The wipe is incredibly fast. Secure erase can do the whole job in about half the time that a block eraser could take. Especially if you already have a multi display.

Some government agencies use huge grinders to shred their discarded drives into tiny bits. Some folks chop their old drives with an ax or drive nails through them. You may not have to go through such extremes though, however a few whacks with a sledge hammer can do wonders for your peace of mind and may even reduce a little stress. Make sure you know how to use such tools safely and remember to use safety goggles.

Upgrade to a multi screen computer at the Multi Monitor Store/ Super PC

Encrypting files on your hard drive prevents unauthorized access to your information. You can also use encryption to help ensure that the files you delete are not recoverable. If you encrypt a file before you delete it, a file recovery utility may be able to restore the encrypted version of the file, but the utility will not be able to decrypt it, and chances are good that no one else will be able to decrypt either.

Windows XP Pro Has Built-In File Encryption.

To use Windows XP Pros built in encryption, you have to log on to a password protected account. Next right click the files or folders you would like to encrypt, choose properties> advance and check "encrypt contents to secure data" and click OK. You can encrypt any files except system files. So you can select all the folders on the C drive except the Windows folder and encrypt everything inside.

Windows XP creates a unique encryption key automatically if you use this feature. If you wipe your installation of Windows which includes you encryption keys, neither you nor anyone else will be able to decrypt those files. However if you choose to encrypt you files this way you should still run a secure erase tool to be absolutely certain to ensure your privacy.

Find great prices on multiple monitors and multi monitor software at www.multi-monitors.com home of the Super PC.

The Taskbar Will Extend Across Multiple Monitors

So if your one of the happy folks that are just getting started on the multiple monitor concept, then there are a few basic tips you're going to want to know about. Whether you purchased a multiple monitor ready computer, installed a dual monitor video card or two, or simply used a dual monitor adapter, you're going to want to know how to make the most of your situation.

In this section we're going to focus on how to extend the task bar across multiple monitors.

We know that it's easy to move your Windows task-bar from one monitor to another. First make sure to (right click on taskbar)
uncheck the "Lock the Taskbar" and then just click and drag it to any side of either monitor to make it stay. You will soon learn that you don't want to have to scoot your mouse pointer over to the monitor where your taskbar is residing, several monitors over, which could be some distance if you have more than a dual monitor setup.

Get a multi monitor software that will extend your task-bar across all screens.

A very popular dual monitor softwareand easy to use utility that's also free to download, is called UltraMon. The "smart Taskbar" feature adds an additional taskbar for each secondary monitor, and each taskbar only shows tasks from the computer monitor it is on. This can be very effective in managing lots of open applications much easier, and when activating an application, you'll know on which monitor it will appear.

UltraMon will use the same setting for labels as the main taskbar, you can change this via Control Panel > Taskbar and Start Menu > Taskbar buttons, setting this to 'Never combine' will get you the same icon + label buttons as on XP.

UltraMon also enables dual monitor wallpaper

Start buttons on every display taskbar?

Support for toolbars in more than one taskbar is said to be available in the 3.0 versions. Early versions did not come with built-in toolbars, and you would have to install something like True Launch Bar to add taskbars to UltraMon.



Get the most out of your dual screen monitors and/or turn your multi-monitor display into the productivity machine you've always wanted.

Everyone Needs A Quad Monitor Display

How to Build a Quad Monitor Display

If you've just added a couple dual monitor video cards to your PC and you already have a computer monitor, I suggest buying matching monitors. Four monitors of the same make and model would eliminate annoying differences in color, brightness, and balance. As a minimum, they should be of the same size and resolution. In order to give yourself the most flexibility in the connections, be sure to get monitors that have both the VGA and DVI capabilities. There are cables and dual monitor adapters that can work out most differences.

Organize Your Multiple Monitors Right the 1st time

A good quad monitor display needs to have a good stand. You can find models that will branch out horizontally to give a great panoramic view (ideal for game enthusiast). Most prefer the two over two cube arrangement with less need to turn the head to see various screens.

Go to Someone that Knows

The Multi Monitor Store -www.multi-monitors.com, has flexible quad monitor arrays that let you easily angle the monitors for better ergonomics. It's important that the monitors match the mounting holes for the stand. VESA is the standard mount patterns used by most stand manufacturers, however it's not always the case that all monitors are VESA compatible. Otherwise, be sure to confirm your monitors will mount properly before you buy them by confirming they're VESA.

Assemble with care

Once you have your stand and monitors in place, simply screw the four bolts in the back of the monitor to the front of the stand. Be sure to tighten until firmly snug, and refrain from over tightening. Over tightening can cause stripping of the screw head. Adjust the monitors so that little space is in between and tighten.

New Love/Joy with Multiple Monitors..

Reasons I love my Multiple Monitor Computer:

• Multi Tasking needs flow, in order to be productive. As a smart business owner would say, “time is money.” That being said, it’s only wise to value time, and time spent over viewing process and production. Advantages to having a Dual Monitor display is twice that of a single monitor system. The first time I added an additional monitor to my pc, giving it Dual Screens

displaying my favorite sites in their respected entirety, I learned quickly that separate screens give you individual workspace for multiple applications. That can be crucial to overall productivity time. Multi-Screens and/or Multi-Monitors literally multiplied my productivity.

• Viewing a multi-monitor set up is going to give you more workable resolution. Some programs/windows may have conflicting resolutions when trying to view multiple applications on a single monitor. With a Multi-Monitor Display

arranging all my windows relieved me from the daunting task of toggling through applications by means of minimizing and maximizing each tab or window. Back in the day of single monitor computing, toggling through Multi-Screen Displays (without a Multiple Monitor capable computer), slowed my productivity down to a headache. Multiple monitors displaying multiple windows enabled my computer to handle all of my multiple tasks without bogging down the pc and my time.

• Sharing resolution in multiple monitors actually gave me a larger viewing area regardless of the smaller size displays, compared to the time I tried using my HDTV. When I maximized a window, my computer would freeze up for several seconds. Sometimes an entire application will freeze up and goes into that “Not responding” mode. Exploring Google Earth in Dual Screen

mode while watching a movie in another, and viewing local Real Estate listings in another gave my day a whole new meaning. Only Multi-Monitor Displays could handle all my productive eyes needed to see.

• I even considered hooking up my 42’ LCD to pc. However good it looked on paper, the reality didn’t fair as well as I hoped. My Quad Display

gave me even better resolution than my single Big Screen TV could dividing it’s resolution across a single display. Once you get a Multi-Screen Display on your desk, you will wonder how you ever did without it. Toggling through Multiple displays without my old single core processor computer sometimes slowed my productivity down until I upped to a Super PC. Ultimately, video is preferred on a large single monitor. Other times you may need more resolution than an HDTV can offer.

• Trading Computers

used by stockbrokers generally have Multiple Displays to show multiple, always-moving quote charts simultaneously. Watching charts and researching the next move has made many people billions of dollars. Many people don’t know that they too can have a Trading Computer in their home or office.

• Imagine designing a house with only one window with which to see the outside world. Then add three more windows displaying a different direction. Go figure. Multiple Monitor Displays enabled my computer to handle all of my multiple windows without bogging down the pc and my time.

5 Efficiency Tips for Dual monitors

Remembering back when I originally switched to a dual monitor setup to gain efficiency online, I know I'll never go back. The productivity benefits came not only in apparent gains but actually relieved stress and tension associated with my increasing frustration. Frustration that stemmed from the "single monitor blues." O f course I have written about how easy it is to setup a multiple monitor system including but not limited to adding a dual monitor video card, to using a dual monitor adapter. So we already know how easy it is to create multiple monitor displays. Now we're going to look at how to make the most of your multiple monitor setup. Here are 5 tips on efficiency using dual screen monitors that have worked for me. If you have a multi screen computer these tips will benefit you as well but to keep it simple this blog will address dual monitor backgrounds.




Relax Browser Tension.

In the days of the "single monitor blues" we can and often do fall into the trap of using one browser at a time and collecting tons of open tabs. That can increase crashing and slow PC performance way down. With dual monitors you can keep your Firefox open on the left screen and say Google Crome open on the right. Evidently Crome is well known for running applications and pages in tabs in such a manner that if one of the tabs go down, the other remaining tabs will stay intact, unlike the ole IE. However, we can say that Crome doesn't have (yet) the available customizing features and huge array of extensions than that of Firefox. So to maintain "Maximum Up-time Efficiency" use a browser like Firefox for apps that use your favorite extensions, and Crome for the tab browsing and so forth.



Mighty Mouse Power.

Eventhough a lowly name such as mouse conjures up the idea of a small thing to be shooed away, the mouse proves to be a significant force waiting to be harnessed. I'll give you some ideas here to make possibly the smallest deveice do some of the larger work.

1) Open a new tab in your browser by clicking on your scroll wheel once over a link.

2) Increase the size of your text in a document by holding the Ctrl key down and lightly move your mouses scroll wheel down. The text will increase in size. Hold the Crtl key down and move the scroll wheel up and the text returns to it's normal size.

3) Instantly Select Lines of Text and paragraphs by using multiple mouse clicks. Highlight on a word with two quick clicks of a button, or scoop up the entire sentence with three quick clicks. If your in a word-pad document you can put the cursor in the middle of the paragraph, and click it three times and it will select the whole paragraph. Hit the delete button if want to see the quickest way to eject a whole paragraph.



Organize Your Desktop.

I use a bunch of different software applications, so my desktop can get cluttered very quickly. Having at dual monitor desktop can give you a place to separate operating system utilities from browser specific applications. This will also free up time used to find a shortcut in a sea of many, much like a diamond in a haystack.



Use Keyword Shortcuts.

Learning how to manipulate the keyboard and the mouse at the same time has been one of the most underrated (and least used) features of the system. Keyboard shortcuts are skills we can all use and they serve a helpful purpose when they can be recalled quickly. Here, I will remind you of some neat little shortcut tips to give you more time to do other things.

1) Quickly Access the Start Menu: hit either of the two those infamous "Windows" keys located on both sides of the space-bar.

2) Quickly get to your System Properties: Windows key+Pause/Break instead of going through that whole process of "My Computer" and so on.

3) Quickly Lock your System: Need to step away from your PC without hesitation but don't want to leave your work to sneaky eyes? Use this Keyboard Shortcut: Windows key+L

4) When you need to access the Utility Manager try this handy Keyboard Shortcut: Windows key+U

5) Toggle through different open programs without the old minimizing and maximizing with this easy Keyboard Shortcut: Alt+Tab



Let the PC Rest.

Many times when our PC gets congested we can generally shut the system down and restart to a fresh rested computer. To minimize productivity loss from these types of CPU brain-farts, shut down your computer when not in use. Turn it back on while your preparing to get into your state and let your PC get into it's state. This will help your PC be free from the many side dumps of data we typically go through throughout the day, and can help prevent your computer from freezing up when its had enough.

With these 5 tips on staying efficient, you and your beloved PC can go on to see many more miles in less time. After all isn't that the whole point? If you have questions on mounting dual monitors check out my other blog. Go Surf!

Mounting Dual Monitors

Mounting Your Dual Monitor Setup

Whether you used a dual monitor video card or a dual monitor adapter, your sure to know that dual monitor wallpaper will not display quite right unless you have your dual monitor display setup on a Dual Monitor Mount.

A dual monitor mount is basically a fixing arm specially made to mount multiple monitors upon by utilizing the VESA mounting system LCD monitors on the wall or desk. Different types of dual monitor stands with different capacity and size guidelines for varying multi screen needs.




Dual computer monitors can come in different designs, styles, colors, and types. Therefore it is important to have a general idea of what to expect. Whether its a light duty load or heavy duty load, the strength of your mounts will depend on what class it is.

A dual monitor wall mount can have many useful features to easily rotate the monitors, and to tile the arm to the desired direction. Mounting your dual display on mounts can have the advantage of saving space, the ability to move monitors in desired directions, ability to rotate monitors to view the monitor contents in a landscape or portrait view, giving those dual monitor backgrounds a good look. There can be other advantages to using a dual monitor screen stand as well.

When mounting the monitors to the stand be sure that the 4 (four) VESA screw holes align with those on the back of the monitor. This will save you time if for whatever reason they don't line up. Also be sure to use the right tool for the job.

See one multi-monitor display user had to say about his New Super PC Computer.