PCstats has worked hard to provide guides that detail every facet of modern computer use. Starting with the basics, PCstats covers installing Windows XP and upgrading from Windows 98 to XP. Once you've got XP installed, how about learning about some of its hidden features. Moving on, we tackle some of the most asked computer questions like "how do I create MP3 files from my CDs?", "how do I burn CDs/DVDs and what formats should I use?." We also put you on the right track towards converting your home movies into video files, then turning those video files into DVDs . Most important of all, how should you protect your data? We have some good answers, and more than a few helpful hints to put you on the right track.

A second area PCstats Beginners Guides focus on is how to make your computing life easier. For example, spam email has become a painful fact of life for most computer users, but it doesn't have to be such a major irritation. Our beginner's guide to stopping spam gives you several easy procedures which will quickly make spam email much less of an obstacle to your use of email. Likewise, the proliferation of viruses and spyware on the Internet threatens everybody. We give you a heads up on computer safety in our guide to firewalls and Internet security, and cover the safe removal of intrusive adware and spyware programs too. Do your wrists and eyes ache from too much computer time? Check out PCstats' ergonomics guide for some handy tips towards more comfortable computing.

Increasing your productivity within Windows XP is also a topic covered in several of our guides. If you regularly work at home as well as the office, you'll be interested in our guide to synchronizing files and folders so you'll always have the latest versions of your files at hand with out confusion. Own one of those handy-dandy USB key drives? take a look at our set of USB drive projects; you can do a lot more with those things than you might think! Another handy thing to learn is how to create batch files within Windows; these little programs allow you to automate many of your most tedious tasks.

Tired of installing the latest Service Packs in every new Windows XP system you create? Tired of installing Windows XP at all? Check out this pair of guides, both of which are among the most popular articles on our site: 'Slipstreaming: creating a Windows XP CD with Service Pack 2 included' guides you through the process of incorporating the latest Windows XP Service Pack right into your operating system CD, while our guide to creating a fully unattended Windows XP installation CD gives you everything you need to know about automating the Windows installation process in one handy location.

If you'd like to be sure that you have the basics of security and computer hygiene nailed down, but don't have the time or the inclination to learn about these subjects, try our quick guides to securing your PC and getting rid of spyware, adware and browser hijackers.

If you want to know more about the guts of your system, the hardware that keeps it going, PCstats has a series of articles just the weekend hardware warrior. Take a look at our guide to assembling your own PC for a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to building a home computer. Our annual PC maintenance checklist helps ensure that your PC will stay in top shape for as long as you own it. Sometimes it's good to go back to basics, and a good way to start is with this guide to computer memory. It explains how RAM works and why you might want more of it if your computer is getting 'slow'. For PC speed freaks, we cover RAID hard drive setups in detail, what they are, and how to set them up. If you are feeling ambitious, how about a bit of video card BIOS flashing?

Interested in what makes Windows XP tick? Then we have some articles for you. Our guide to the Windows XP registry will take you through this storehouse of XP customization settings, while our comprehensive article on Windows XP's Safe Mode will equip you to use this powerful recovery mode to your advantage. Check out our guide to the Windows XP services for information on what these behind-the-scenes programs do and how to create your own. If you are experiencing frustrating crashes or errors (and what Windows user hasn't at some point or another?) our guide to understanding and resolving the infamous BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) error should be interesting reading. Finally, get to grips with the Windows XP command prompt to increase your knowledge and control of the OS.

Upgrading and updating your PC is another inevitable task that we try to make easier. Take a look at our guide to flashing your motherboard's BIOS for one example. If you've grown used to your Windows XP install and hate the thought of reinstalling to accommodate a new computer system or hard drive, see our guide to cloning windows XP for another solution... Want to upgrade your system but don't know where to begin? Check out our guide to the fundamentals of updating a PC article for a helping hand. If all you want to do is upgrade your motherboard, we've got an article on handling this complex operation too. No more service charges!

If you are tired of Windows altogether, or wary of Microsoft's upcoming operating system validation requirement for downloading patches, why not consider moving to Linux? Our first two guides to this alternative OS cover getting familiar with the Linux KDE desktop and installing a Linux PC. Look for more great Linux guides coming soon.

Networking is a very important area of computer knowledge, especially as many homes now have more than one computer. Sharing an Internet connection among the computers in your household is a good start. If you're curious, PCstats also has guides to home networking, allowing you to share files between the systems in your home, and an article on the benefits of wireless networking. While wireless is extremely easy to set up and use, it has some security concerns that every user should know about. In our wireless security article we provide any user with the knowledge they need to secure their wireless network from intruders. If you have a printer, why not share it over your network so that anyone in your house can use it? Our printer sharing guide has the goods.

Once you have a broadband Internet connection, there are a lot of interesting things you can do with Windows XP that are not immediately obvious. For example, how about enabling remote access, so you can work on your desktop from any Internet enabled computer in the world? Or maybe you'd like to create your own FTP server, allowing easy file transfers over the Internet? Perhaps you'd even like to learn how to create your own weblog ('blog') a small personal website. It's all here in PCstats collection of Beginners Guides. Once you've got a blog or website going, how about setting up an RSS feed so others can track your site easily. If you check out several bookmarks every day, learning about RSS readers could save you a lot of time.

Hardware failure is an unfortunate fact of life for PC owners, and one of the things that keeps computer stores in business, your business. Fortunately there are ways to detect problems before they happen, and reduce the damage if your hardware should fail. Hard drives are one of the focal areas for failure in modern computer systems, due to their mechanical nature. They are also rather easy to erase, accidentally or maliciously. In one of our most popular and acclaimed guides, PCstats Beginners Guides looks at ways to restore your lost data in the event of just such a hard drive disaster. On the same topic, our guides to diagnosing bad memory and bad hard drives as well as interpreting your computer's 'beep' error codes will help you troubleshoot your PC at home.

Encryption and passwords are important facets of modern computer use, especially where the Internet is concerned. These subjects can be rather hard to understand for the average user, however. We've attempted to set things straight in our guide to encryption and online privacy.

Locked yourself out of your computer or file by forgetting a password? In twin guides, we examine the strengths and weaknesses of Windows password security and document password decryption giving you the knowledge you need to reclaim access. Knowing how to break back into Windows, or a locked document or ZIP file isn't something you'll need to know everyday, but when you're in a bind this information can be a life saver. PCstats also examines how to 'harden' your laptop computer , so if it is lost or stolen, your data will be safe.

For assorted tips and tweaks that can make your Windows XP experience, cleaner, faster and uniquely yours, we present our most popular set of PCstats Guides; 101 tips and tweaks for Windows XP, 99 Performance Tips for Windows XP and 104 Great Tech Tips for Windows XP. That's 304 useful tips, every one of them tested. You are sure to find something you like in one of these articles.

For some comic relief, as well as a serious look into the kinds of problems and errors of judgement that may one day destroy your precious computer, take a look at our extremely popular guide to the most common ways to kill a PC. Why not visit our feedback page and share your own stories once you're finished?