The first step in making your own website is to decide on a domain name (ie pcbitsandbytes, google, yahoo, etc…). After you decide on the name you need to check and see if it is available. Once you have a unique website domain name you need to decide on where to have your website hosted. Most of the businesses that provide your domain name have an option to have your website hosted through them. Go Daddy is pretty competitive. If you are an experienced computer user then using software like Adobe’s DreamWeaver might work well for you. If you are somewhat experienced with computers then software like Microsoft’s Front Page would be good for making a basic website. I have tried using both of the website building software that I have suggested so far and have made working websites. For this website I wasn’t sure how I was going to make a professional looking website. I work on computers for a living and had no idea how to make a professional looking website.  I was introduced to WordPress by a friend and found it so easy to use.

There is also the option of hosting your own website.  I tried this option for awhile as well and I will tell you it was not easy. Finding the directions to set up IIS took a long time because there are not too many websites out there that give good, detailed, step by step directions on how to set it up correctly. Plus you have to make sure that you are keeping IIS up to date because of all the hackers out there that are trying to do harm to whomever they can.

So, my suggestion is you get with a website like WordPress or Blogger or something like those two if you are like me and have little to no website creating experience. The easier you can make it for yourself the less frustration you will face.

PC LOAD LTR! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN!? -Michael Bolton of Office Space

My favorite printer fix of all time comes from that movie quoted above. The fix being taking their office printer to an open field and bashing it to kingdom come with a wood baseball bat. I can’t express to you my loathing of how complicated printers can be to try to fix. There are so many small fragile parts that are very intricately placed together in such a way that only a trained technician can perform any meaningful troubleshooting. The most any normal PC technician can do for a printer is to replace the consumable parts (ink, rollers, maybe a drum and fuser kit) and install the correct drivers and/or software that the printer comes with.

Here is a link of a place that might provide some good advice on how to fix your printer issues

If you are worried that your computer security has been compromised then I would suggest that you do all of the following:

• update your anti-virus definitions
• scan for viruses
• scan for spyware
• scan your firewall for leaks

By doing a firewall test you are checking to make sure that there are no security holes  that have been created by spyware or viruses that would allow hackers entry into your computer to steal personal information. I would suggest to check this regularly if you have gotten spyware or a virus recently.

Before you attempt to do anything in your computer Google it and make sure it can be done with standard household tools. I have access to non standard tools so if you need a special repair and you live around Dallas, Douglasville, Hiram, or Villa Rica then call me up or email me and we’ll set an appointment.

I do not claim to be a computer parts repair expert by any means, however, I will try to provide some helpful advice. First and foremost, if you are needing something like a monitor or television to be repaired then DO NOT try to open it up and repair it yourself. Chances are you will do more harm than good. Don’t justify trying by telling yourself that it is already broken because what most people do not know is how some of the older monitors and televsion sets can maintain an electrical charge large enough to put you on your back. Refer to a television or monitor repair specialist for that sort of work.

With that out of the way I will give you a basic knowledge of what you need to do before attempting to destroy…I mean fix your computer. Computers are very sensitive to ESD (electro static discharge) so please make sure to ground yourself before ever touching anything inside of your computer. The easiest way to ground yourself is to touch the metal from of the computer before you do anything. The next best advice I can give is to never touch the part of the hard that connects up to the motherboard. This applies especially to devices like RAM or expansion card pins. Most of the damage you can do to your computer is from ESD so I will try to not sound repetitive.  It would even be a good idea to wear an antistatic wristband that is grounded if you have it. Never blow into PC to remove dust. Use some compressed air that you can buy cheap at a local Wally World (again for static reasons).  

Pretty much the only tools you need for repairing your computer are some screw drivers and a sledge hammer and/or axe (just kidding!).  Your motherboard documentation should have almost everything you need to know about where everything is located and how to remove and install it.