Need Free Tech Support For Your Computer?

Has your warranty — and your access to your computer's tech support — run out? You can still get help with nagging computer issues, according to Consumer Reports.

If you want free online support, there are a few resources available. Users of the Windows operating system should subscribe by e-mail to msnews.microsoft.com. It's a newsgroup for updates on Windows tech problems. You can also try visiting support.microsoft.com to access the computer giant's Knowledge Base. Apple users should check the user discussions at discussions.apple.com. Windows users should also check out www.wugnet.com.

You can try unofficial groups as well. There are thousands of them for both Mac and Windows users at groups.yahoo.com or groups.google.com.

There are free tools you can download for help, too. Visit www.pcpitstop.com for free analyzers that will test your hard drive, rate your computer's performance and search for spyware. The site also offers a service that you can pay for to have the problems corrected (if you can't fix them on your own).

Have too many unused and temporary files on your computer? Visit www.ccleaner.com to get them cleaned up.

By Marshall Loeb