What Are NVMe Drives, and Should You Buy One?

ONE of biggest upgrade you can make to your PC is faster storage.

Back in 2016, I wrote in an earlier blog about Advantages of SSD over HDD. Since that entry the storage technology has advanced in leaps and bounds. We went from Mechanical Hard Drive storage to Solid State Drives to NVMe (Non Volatile Memory Express)

"Non-Volatile" means the storage isn't erased when your computer reboots, while "Express" refers to the fact that the data travels over the PCI Express (PCIe) interface on your computer's motherboard.

By attaching the storage directly onto the motherboard you've increased the data access speed bypassing PCI and USB data limits.

NVMe drives are much much faster than the SATA drives that have been around for years.

Lets check out a comparison: 

Mechanical Hard Drives: Top speeds of these drives are 80-180mb/s. Nothing really special to write home about here. Also, whether they were in a laptop or a desktop they had a tendency to heat up due to the moving components (platters, read/write head, spindle...etc)

SATA SSD: One of the fastest SATA SSDs---the Samsung 870 EVO---tops out at read and write speeds of about 560MBps.Thets a sweet spot for those involved in video editing.

The "New Kids On The Technology Block" - NVMe Drives: The speed of these drives are dependent on the PCIe slot it uses. 

The maximum speed for an NVMe PCIe 3.0 (aka Gen 3) is up to 350MB per second, while a NVMe PCIe 4.0 (aka Gen 4) SSD can hit up to 750MB per second.

Because of the bandwidth used, these little sticks are perfect for gaming and video editing.
NVMe drives come in a couple of different form factors. The most common of these is the m.2 stick, shown above. You can compare them to the size of a stick of gum.

 

The're 22 mm wide and can be 30, 42, 60, 80 or 100mm long. These sticks are thin enough to lay flat on a motherboard, so they're perfect for small form factor computers and laptops.

 

Installing a NVMe drive is very simple, but it is important to keep in mind that some SATA SSDs use this same form factor, so you'll want to pay close attention and make sure you don't mistakenly buy the slower drive. The Samsung 970 EVO is an example of an m.2 NVMe drive.

If you have the extra cash and the motherboard has the m.2 slot available, I'd recommend getting a NVMe drive. This will upgrade the performance of your PC and blow past the 550Mbps of the old SATA SSD limits.

(Updated 12/22/25)

How to: Using Remote Desktop Software

If you're needing technical support or assistance for a computer issue, and the tech is just too far away to be in person, often they will (or should) offer remote technical support.

Remote support is where you allow the technician access to your computer via a secure internet connection. 
The tech can then examine, diagnose and resolve your issue without having to drive to your home or business. 

Sometimes it's an easier way to go for both the customer and the tech. 

WARNING: DO not simply give remote access to any person on the phone.

Use caution and ensure you personally know the technician or person who you are talking to.

Most certified technicians are bonded and professional. 

Pay attention to the screen and what the technician or person is doing.
Scams exist where a "tech" (usually with a heavy Indian accent) will cold call you informing you that your computer has a dangerous virus and needs to be removed remotely. Be very leary of these type calls and do NOT allow remote access. Here's an example of one which occurred:
Technical support scam 

There are about a dozen remote desktop programs available with various access protocols. Some, like LogMeIn and GoToMyPC utilize a web based platform. Others such as TightVNC and TurboVNC use the Virtual Network Computing/RFB protocol.

Some programs are compatible with Windows only. Others can be used within Linux and OSX as well.

I've found that one of the best remote programs out there is Teamviewer. 

TeamViewer has a great user interface and is easy to navigate. 

The on-screen menus are out of the way, yet accessible.

An excellent screen-sharing and file-transfer app that can be used for business collaborations is available. There are two different versions. A licensed paid version for business and a private personal version free for noncorporate use, it gives users precisely the tools they need to share screens securely, send files with a minimum of hassle, control access rights, and even flip which user has control.

It's a secure connection and access is made by the user providing an access code and password.

I highly recommended it.

This article orig posted  02/01/20

How to: Creating and using a System Restore Point

System Restore Points give you the option of going back in time. Since Windows ME (yes...it goes back that far), Microsoft has made it available to users to create System Restore Points in Windows.

Call it an insurance policy if your system starts to go buggy and doesn't work as expected. There are two options for creating Restore Points - Automatic and Manual.

Enabling Restore Points:

1. Choose Start→Control Panel→System and Security.
Under the System link, click Create A Restore Point. You can also get to the System page by typing “System” in the Start menu’s Search box and selecting System from the results list.

2. Click the System Protection link in the left panel and ensure that the C drive Protection is turned on.
You can adjust how much disk space you want the Restore Points to use. You also have the option of Deleting a restore point. if you find you don't have enough disk space and you need to create another one.








3. Click Apply afterwards. Once you click Apply you enable Windows to create a Restore Point anytime a significant change in the operating system occurs. IE - new drivers or a Windows update is installed.

4. IF you need to create a Restore Point manually, simply click Create and give a name to the Restore Point.

Going Back In Time

Now lets say your system goes all weird on you. It's slow or certain programs freeze since your last update. You could use the "Reset This PC" option within Windows 10, but that would take some time. Instead use a System Restore Point to undo the changes that have made a mess with the Operating System.

1. After clicking Next, you'll be shown available Restore Points listed by date created and whether they were created by the system or manually.

2. You can also select Scan Affected Programs. This gives a list of all programs that have been installed since the creation of the last Restore Point.












4. Select the Restore Point and click Next and the click Finish.
Windows will then uninstall any drivers, programs, updates or registry entries after the last restore point was made.
Restore Points do not touch the User folders within Windows. All your music, photos and/or documents are not saved nor deleted. If you need to back those up, I would recommend a USB drive.

Originally posted 2/12/18

Physical security and tracking - laptops

A laptop is stolen every 53 seconds in the United States. To put that in perspective, one out of every ten laptops will be lost or stolen. 

So how do you prevent your device from joining these horrifying statistics? Beyond keeping your portable gadgets under your constant supervision, there are a few simple tools you can use.

Cables

Almost all laptops now have an industry-standard security slot. Cables that hook into that slot can anchor the laptop to a table or desk. The average cost for one is $35 to $50. The real benefit of these locks is in shared or well-trafficked spaces like dorm rooms or cubicles where a stealthy thief could slip an untethered laptop into a bag in just seconds. Cables don't provide 100% fool proof security, as the cable can be cut, but they work more of a deterrent.

As tablets become more popular, there are cases that lock onto the tablet and then hook into these standard laptop cables for similar protection.

Alarms

Another option is a laptop alarm which are about the size of a deck of cards. It attaches to the laptop and plugs into the USB port. If you need to leave your device for a few minutes (or hours) you can arm the alarm. Then, if someone tries to move it, a loud piercing alarm goes off, so loudly obnoxious that a thief would abandon his attempt in a hurry.The only problem I see is that one could just plug the USB.

Tracking Programs
If your laptop has been stolen, you can track it's location using tracking software.
Lojack costs about $40 a year, there is a free version of Prey available.
Find My iPhone offers free tracking services for iPhones, iPods, iPads, Macs and PC laptops. Lookout provides a free tracking program for Android devices. These programs will let you clear your device data remotely so that the thief can't raid your information to steal your identity.

Data Back-Up
One important note: think about the value of your data. For most people, it's worth more than the device itself. Backing it up means that all the hours of work won't be lost along with your hardware. Automatic backup programs like Carbonite or Mozy cost about $60 a year and, in combination with a physical back up of media (purchased music), they can fully protect the time, information, and media on your device.

orig posted on 9/6/2012

How to: Task Manager - how to use it

If you find that your system is running slow, before assuming that you have a virus or spyware, first examine what programs are running in the background.

 While it is true that a computer that is slow or freezes may be a possible indication of viruses and/or spyware, let's not jump the gun and assume that automatically.

Lets just open up Task Manager first.

Task Manager is a Windows utility that's been around since Windows 2000. It provides detailed information about background programs, processes, users logged in, services currently running or stopped, network activity as well as CPU and memory usage.

Yeah...it's a pretty decent tool.

Windows Vista Task Manager

Windows 10 Task Manager

1. How exactly do you open it up? 

There are various ways, but the easiest is holding down CTL+SHIFT+ESC. 

True, some will use the CTL+ALT+DEL, but that open up a menu with several selections including Task Manager. 

Lets just keep it simple shall we?..... CTL+SHIFT+ESC

2. When you open Task Manager up, you'll see 6 tabs....Applications, Processes,

Services, Performance, Networking, Users.

3. Click the Processes tab

4. This tab will show you what programs and processes are running in the background.

5. You can end/terminate one by RIGHT clicking and selecting End Process.

Win 11 Task manager

Now you may ask, "That's great, but which ones can I end... and why would I want to end a process?"

Those are good questions. If your computer is running slow, you may end a process here to free up memory.

Which ones should you end? 

It takes a keen eye to determine which ones exactly to end, however the ones listed as a System or Administrator process should NOT be stopped such as 'explorer.exe', 'winlogon.exe' or 'services.exe'.

'Spooler.exe' is a safe one to end only if you do not plan to print anything.

Ones like 'iTuneshelper.exe', 'Jusched.exe' or 'iPodservice.exe' are pretty safe to end as well.

The ones listed as a (your user name) usually are safe to end.

If you find any strange named processes such as "xtshbysa.exe' or 'yzghwtr.exe' chances or that you either have a virus or spyware (or both).

You'll see 'Svchost.exe' likely ALOT. This is a small executable that allows DLL's (Dynamic Link Libraries) to communicate with Windows. Many programs will use this file, however if you see one using excessive memory, end it.

One word of note: Ending ANY of the processes will not damage your computer. End any of these processes and you'll likely free up memory. At worst you 'll have to restart the computer. Ending processes in the task manager is only a temporary way of freeing up memory.

For a more permanent solution use System Configuration. I'll cover that in my next entry.

Originally Posted 03/06/2020