I was recently on my wife’s laptop surfing the web when all of a sudden spyware popped up on the screen. I never figured out where it came from but it was there. I opened my anti spyware software and attempted to run updates but it failed (probably due to the spyware). I knew I could go online to get definition updates so I opened Internet Explorer but it would not open any websites. I thought for sure I would have to wipe the laptop after that happened. Fortunately I had a second web browser, Mozilla Firefox. I opened that browser and was able to get to any website so I got my definitions for my anti spyware. I was then able to remove the spyware and was able to get to websites in Internet Explorer again.
My suggestion after all this is that you should ALWAYS have a backup web browser. A few of note are: Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera, and Google Chrome.
I have been seeing more and more of my customers still using their 5+ year old computers and laptops. This has it’s ups and downs because the manufacturers are actually making quality products however parts are becoming more scarce for those machines thus driving up the cost to fix them.
It seems that the first thing to go is the hard drive. Either you start seeing Windows S.M.A.R.T errors or your Windows installation becomes unstable or corrupt due to bad sectors. It is still possible to retrieve the data when this happens, but I will say it again: have a backup of a backup of a backup.
It is usually random other things that start going wrong (i.e. video card BSODs, virtual memory messages, random reboots from hardware driver issues, etc.)
With Windows 7 out now I would suggest to most of my customers that it is nearly time for an upgrade. Hardware is pretty cheap right now and with the economy the way it is a lot of places are trying to nearly give away decent computers and laptops. Frequently look through hole-in-the-wall computer fix-it joints to see if they have any refurbished computers or laptops with decent specs. Make sure to do your research on what to look for (http://www.laptopadvisor.com/)
If you have an aging computer and you live in the Hiram, Georgia area then please either email me or call me with your questions.
Categories: Tech Reviews, Tip of the Day!
Why is it possible to burn an ISO file to a CD or DVD but not to a USB drive? Well, actually you can! I recently found software that will mount the ISO and copy the files to the USB drive and also makes the USB drive bootable. Now instead of having to burn CDs you’ll never use again you can just go and get a 1GB flash drive and you can use it again and again without degrading the drive unlike a rewritable CD or DVD. The software is called unetbootin. The software comes pre-configured to automatically find about 50 different bootable types of software including operating systems, live anti virus CDs, hard drive management, etc… It does require internet access to download the software first and then it burns to the flash drive. The only con about the software is that it takes a long time compared to burning a CD or DVD.
What most people do not know about Windows is that it provides an easy tool to keep a backup of all your data in a single file in a single location. The Backup and Restore feature of Windows allows you to create a single file (.bkf) that includes all of your files and folders.
To use the backup and restore feature all you need to do is run it! It does not require you to save the backup on separate media like many of the other backup applications you can use. You can save the backup file directly to your hard drive if you wish, but I would not recommend you keep it there long. The whole point of the backup file is to have it if the hard drive crashes, and if it crashes then you won’t be able to get to that backup file if it was only stored on your hard drive. I would suggest investing in an external hard drive that you can buy at pretty much any tech department in any department store.
The backup and restore feature is fairly dynamic. It will allow you to create incremental, differential, or full backups. To use the incremental and differential you MUST first do a full backup (called normal in the backup and restore wizard). After you have your full backup then you can set your scheduled backups to backup incrementally or differentially. Incremental means that if you take your full backup on Sunday then starting Monday your backup will include only the files that were saved or changed on Monday. Then on Tuesday your backups will include everything from Monday as well as Tuesdays new and saved documents and so on throughout the week. Differential backups will only backup the files that were changed on that day. Both incremental and differential have their plus and minuses so play around with it and find the best way for you. I would recommend incremental though.
The way you get to the Backup and Restore feature click on Start->programs->accessories->system tools->backup. When you get to the point where it wants to start the backup there will be an advanced button. You will need to hit advanced if you want to set the parameters on whether to do a full(normal), incremental, or differential backup.
To restore your files you will need to get the Backup and Restore feature again by following the above path. Instead of allowing the wizard to do a backup you would select the restore option. Check the folder you want to restore and allow the restore wizard to do the rest.
Most people don’t know how simple it really is to make a backup of their hard drive so give them my website if they would like to learn! You can also submit a help request and schedule a time for me to come out to your house. I service the surrounding areas of: Carrollton, Dallas, Douglasville, Hiram, and Villa Rica.
Computer Sound Issues – How To Fix
By Zach Hill
1. Make sure your speakers are on and plugged into power.
As I’ve said in other articles, nothing can run without power. Make sure your speakers are plugged into a power outlet and that the outlet itself is working.
2. Make sure your speaker wires are in the right place.
Basic Speakers may just have the one wire, but If you have anything other than the bare minimum, there’s going to be 2, 3 or even 4. And if you don’t plug the right wires into the corresponding plugs, your system won’t work. The one that every system has is the plug for the main speakers and it’s pretty universal that green corresponds to these, and therefore should go into the green jack. If there aren’t matching colors, the speaker jack should have some sort of symbol depicting a speaker or headphones radiating sound, or something similar. If you have anything more than a two speaker system, for example a 5 speaker surround sound system, you will have more to deal with. The green will be for the front left and right speakers, but you will have two more wires that correspond to the front center speaker and the back left and back right speakers. On my Logitech system these are black and orange respectively. Now there is another jack for a microphone, which I have encountered as pink most of the time. But even without a color there should be a symbol depicting a microphone beside it.On a side note, most sound cards will have three plugs, one for the main speakers, another for the front center speaker, and one for a microphone. In order to have a surround sound computer system you usually need a higher end sound card that supports those extra back two. But don’t worry if you have a big speaker set and don’t have enough plugs for everything, the main speakers will still work, you’ll just have to upgrade Cards to get the surround sound experience. Now if all else fails and your cords and plugs are the wrong colors and there aren’t any symbols depicting which is which, a simple trial and error will eventually work, plug each wire into each plug, and one of them should eventually work.
3. Check windows volume control aren’t turned down or muted.
I know I’ve done this a thousand times. Turned on some music, heard nothing, had a mini-panic attack about my speakers being broken, and then realizing that the sound was just muted. To start with, make sure your speakers themselves are turned on. Many speakers will have a button that turns them on when they’re plugged in. They also may have a volume knob that you can turn to adjust the sound, make sure this isn’t turned all the way down.Most applications that involve sound (for example windows media player or iTunes) will have a built in volume control somewhere in the interface. These can look like a slider or meter that shows a speaker with sound waves coming out to show what it is. Make sure this is turned up and the mute box (if it has one) is unchecked. Now Windows has a master volume control that sits near the clock on the bottom right corner of the screen. If you double click the speaker icon, then the sliders will come up. Make sure they are all turned up to how loud you want them. Now if all this doesn’t work, it could simply be your system is trying to play through the wrong device. If (in Vista) you right click your volume control and select “playback devices” from the list, you should open up a window that lets you change the device.
Or in XP, you can right click your volume control and go to “Adjust Audio Properties” and then go to the Audio tab.
Now if you have more than one device in this screen then select one, and click set default, and try your sound, and then the other, click set default, and try the sound. Click OK when you find the one that works.
4. Make sure your sound card drive is installed and working.
Now this step is a little bit more complex, though not awfully so. Sound cards have drivers that run them, so if there’s no driver, then your sound card won’t work. There sound be a driver CD that came with your computer with the right driver on it, so look for that and use the CD to install or re-install the driver. Failing that, most manufacturers will have the drivers to their products on their website so if you know the maker of your card you can simply go to the website and download it. Additionally if you know the model number of your card you can sometimes input that into Google or other search engine and it will take you to a site where you can download your driver. In order to find the model number of your card you have to look at the card and you have to take apart the computer to do so and I don’t really recommend that unless you really know what you’re doing.
Well that should be about it for basic sound troubleshooting. This should cover anything that’s not a real malfunction, hope it helps!
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To get more tips on computer repair, visit http://fasteasycomputerrepair.com/ where you will find this and much more, including how to remove viruses and find out which companies are scamming you! Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Zach_Hill |
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.
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.
80-90% of all the computer problems that I encounter with machines seem to all have the same fix when it comes to minor errors and issues. The most common fix when troubleshooting your own machine is to reboot. Yes, that does sound like the typical tech support response when tech support doesn’t want to talk to you anymore but that is because it is the most common fix for PC errors. Typically I tell my customers that rebooting weekly in Windows Vista is all that is needed. In Windows XP and earlier I would suggest rebooting at least 2 times a week and sometimes more if the installation is over 2-3 years old.
Getting some annoying error messages recently? The best way to try and fix your machine at home is to research the error you are receiving. There is about 100% chance someone else has already had the same issue you are having and there are a lot of people out there that report their errors to forums. More often than not I find the solution to the problems I encounter.
If you live in the surrounding Dallas, GA area (Hiram, Douglasville, Villa Rica) and are looking for advice on fixing your own machine then take a look a some of these suggestions in my blog posts (see right panel under recent posts).
This is probably not exactly what you are expecting with this title of a post, but it is the best way to describe this article. The best time of the day to fix your PC is when you are completely awake and in a calm mood. There are no words to describe the frustration you will have if you attempt to work on a slow computer when you are exauhsted. I can’t count the times that I have wanted to put a sledge hammer through my machines when I was working on them in the middle of the night. Don’t attempt to work on a PC when you just wake up either. In my experiences I have noticed I make more mistakes or miss a few steps when I have just woke up and started troubleshooting my PCs. Be awake. Be alert. Be careful. Most of all, be calm.
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