I just talked about getting on a backup schedule, and a good idea is to get an external hard drive and use it for backups. Here are some links to reviews of external hard drives from PCmag.com:
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2339037,00.asp?kc=BG012909N-1
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2294019,00.asp?kc=BG012909N-2
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Youngstown Computer Show Notes for Jan 31 2009
Youngstown Computer Show
January 31, 2009
Segment 1
Talking about the state of the roads this week.
Poll from last week: most people get music illegally
New poll this week: annoying things people do on smart phones
http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/018
Neat app for iPhone: Trapster - share where speed traps are
http://www.trapster.com
Segment 2
list of most ticketed vehicle types
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourCar/which-drivers-get-the-most-tickets.aspx
SMS - protocol to send text messages on phones
http://youngstowncomputer.com/images/charmap.gif
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_message_service
Caller 1
Q: getting black bars on the sides of video from cable
A: you have a widescreen monitor, those are normal, try changing the monitor resolutions
Segment 3
Weekly poker tounament: http://youngstowncomputer.com/pokerhelp.htm
News:
Microsoft will be launching IE 8 very soon
Caller 2
Q: how can you tell what programs are running?
A: use Ctrl-Alt-Del to choose the task manager
Q: we see it say that "1 program running" when I come back from shutdown
A: that is a normal message.
Caller 3
Q: getting a installer message says that the install media is not available, file name is ISUS.MSI. how do I get rid of it?
A: do a search on the files to see what program is causing it, use google
[From JoeM: ISUS is the InstallShield Update Service, it is usually bundled with a bigger program and used to download updates for the bigger program. A very common company that uses ISUS is Corel and their products include WordPerfect, PaintShop Pro, and WindDVD. If you have recently uninstalled any of these, that might have caused that installer error. Try looking at the site http://consumer.installshield.com for more information.]
GDrive from Google -- http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2009/01/first-official-description-of-gdrive.html
Segment 4
special paint from Japan blocks wi-fi
http://www.infoworld.com/article/09/01/21/New_paint_promises_highspeed_WiFi_shielding_1.html
Caller 4
Q: not there
Caller 5
Q: the computer and refrigerator are on the same circuit, is this harmful?
A: it can be, try to put computer on another circuit or use a battery-based UPS to protect the PC
Caller 6
Q: how much more money does it cost to run your computer all the time for magic jack?
A: look at the ratings of all the components
Caller 7
Q: is my copy of xp legit?
A: you can go to microsoft to check
Q: it looks like it is not, i have updates turned off, is this safe?
A: not really, you need to get a legal copy to get updates and be safe
January 31, 2009
Segment 1
Talking about the state of the roads this week.
Poll from last week: most people get music illegally
New poll this week: annoying things people do on smart phones
http://jdany.freepolls.com/cgi-bin/pollresults/018
Neat app for iPhone: Trapster - share where speed traps are
http://www.trapster.com
Segment 2
list of most ticketed vehicle types
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourCar/which-drivers-get-the-most-tickets.aspx
SMS - protocol to send text messages on phones
http://youngstowncomputer.com/images/charmap.gif
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_message_service
Caller 1
Q: getting black bars on the sides of video from cable
A: you have a widescreen monitor, those are normal, try changing the monitor resolutions
Segment 3
Weekly poker tounament: http://youngstowncomputer.com/pokerhelp.htm
News:
Microsoft will be launching IE 8 very soon
Caller 2
Q: how can you tell what programs are running?
A: use Ctrl-Alt-Del to choose the task manager
Q: we see it say that "1 program running" when I come back from shutdown
A: that is a normal message.
Caller 3
Q: getting a installer message says that the install media is not available, file name is ISUS.MSI. how do I get rid of it?
A: do a search on the files to see what program is causing it, use google
[From JoeM: ISUS is the InstallShield Update Service, it is usually bundled with a bigger program and used to download updates for the bigger program. A very common company that uses ISUS is Corel and their products include WordPerfect, PaintShop Pro, and WindDVD. If you have recently uninstalled any of these, that might have caused that installer error. Try looking at the site http://consumer.installshield.com for more information.]
GDrive from Google -- http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2009/01/first-official-description-of-gdrive.html
Segment 4
special paint from Japan blocks wi-fi
http://www.infoworld.com/article/09/01/21/New_paint_promises_highspeed_WiFi_shielding_1.html
Caller 4
Q: not there
Caller 5
Q: the computer and refrigerator are on the same circuit, is this harmful?
A: it can be, try to put computer on another circuit or use a battery-based UPS to protect the PC
Caller 6
Q: how much more money does it cost to run your computer all the time for magic jack?
A: look at the ratings of all the components
Caller 7
Q: is my copy of xp legit?
A: you can go to microsoft to check
Q: it looks like it is not, i have updates turned off, is this safe?
A: not really, you need to get a legal copy to get updates and be safe
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Youngstown Computer Show Notes for Jan 24 2009
Segment 1
New poll: how do you get music?
Discussion of DRM
2nd weekly poker tournament tonight at 8pm
Perhaps another tech training class starting in March
Segment 2
Caller 1
Q: problem with email, outlook express, it crashes if I open it after a week or so, then when I get it running, there are multiple copies of things
A: it seems like it is crashing as it is copying down emails, but before it erases them off the server, check if the data files are not too big
cables and wires and keeping them neat
use cable anchors and velcro ties to gather up cables
Caller 2
Q: changing motherboard, seems to be ok, machine won't recognize cd drive, bios won't boot to the CD-ROM
A: sounds like you are doing everything right, but we don't know what could be going on
Segment 3
Obama keeps his blackberry
Caller 3
Q: have to power-off and power-on router to get back on the internet
A: sometimes the router forgets its settings, try updating the firmare
Caller 4
Q: should I upgrade to firefox 3?
A: joe does not like 3
Q: got a older version of norton firewall, it is not supported, should I upgrade it?
A: no good reason to change it
Q: what do you think about pandora.com
A: Joe does not know about it, though Adam likes it
Segment 4
News on the Internet Cafe
News on Room 626: Joe did not like it
Reminder of the upcoming class in March
Discussion about upcoming video games
madworld for Wii --
ghostbusters for all platforms on June 16
Resident evil 5
condiut for Wii
GTA chinatown
Infamous
New poll: how do you get music?
Discussion of DRM
2nd weekly poker tournament tonight at 8pm
Perhaps another tech training class starting in March
Segment 2
Caller 1
Q: problem with email, outlook express, it crashes if I open it after a week or so, then when I get it running, there are multiple copies of things
A: it seems like it is crashing as it is copying down emails, but before it erases them off the server, check if the data files are not too big
cables and wires and keeping them neat
use cable anchors and velcro ties to gather up cables
Caller 2
Q: changing motherboard, seems to be ok, machine won't recognize cd drive, bios won't boot to the CD-ROM
A: sounds like you are doing everything right, but we don't know what could be going on
Segment 3
Obama keeps his blackberry
Caller 3
Q: have to power-off and power-on router to get back on the internet
A: sometimes the router forgets its settings, try updating the firmare
Caller 4
Q: should I upgrade to firefox 3?
A: joe does not like 3
Q: got a older version of norton firewall, it is not supported, should I upgrade it?
A: no good reason to change it
Q: what do you think about pandora.com
A: Joe does not know about it, though Adam likes it
Segment 4
News on the Internet Cafe
News on Room 626: Joe did not like it
Reminder of the upcoming class in March
Discussion about upcoming video games
madworld for Wii --
ghostbusters for all platforms on June 16
Resident evil 5
condiut for Wii
GTA chinatown
Infamous
Thursday, January 01, 2009
You might not like Windows 7
An author of many Windows books, Ed Bott has an article about why you might not like Windows 7 (and Vista for that matter) if you are pretty much set in your ways. Some users don't like anything new, they want to use the exact same steps they learned back in 1998. Read the article here: http://blogs.zdnet.com/Bott/?p=630
People always ask me if there was some class I took a book I read to learn what I know about computers and Windows. The truth is that it just takes time. I have been using computers for a long time, from my first VIC-20 computer, through Apple IIs, and TRS-80s, and an IBM PCjr, and so on.
I also love to read instructions and manuals. Some peolpe like to just jump right in and and start messing with thing and figure things out by using them. I like to read about it, then use it. For example, this article that I pointed out above. Even though I don't have Windows 7 yet, I'm already reading about it. So by the time I actually do use it, I am familiar with a lot of the new features already.
That's probably why I found Vista so enjoyable; because I had already read about how it works and its features and how it is different. Some people just jump into using Vista and expect it to work just like XP or Windows 95. They don't realize all the new features that make things easier to use, and they get frustrated.
Should Microsoft have kept the interface to Vista and Windows 7 the same as XP or 95? Should they have had a XP or 95 mode so that all the old ways of doing things still worked? I think they might have been criticized for not making the new versions different enough. What do you think?
People always ask me if there was some class I took a book I read to learn what I know about computers and Windows. The truth is that it just takes time. I have been using computers for a long time, from my first VIC-20 computer, through Apple IIs, and TRS-80s, and an IBM PCjr, and so on.
I also love to read instructions and manuals. Some peolpe like to just jump right in and and start messing with thing and figure things out by using them. I like to read about it, then use it. For example, this article that I pointed out above. Even though I don't have Windows 7 yet, I'm already reading about it. So by the time I actually do use it, I am familiar with a lot of the new features already.
That's probably why I found Vista so enjoyable; because I had already read about how it works and its features and how it is different. Some people just jump into using Vista and expect it to work just like XP or Windows 95. They don't realize all the new features that make things easier to use, and they get frustrated.
Should Microsoft have kept the interface to Vista and Windows 7 the same as XP or 95? Should they have had a XP or 95 mode so that all the old ways of doing things still worked? I think they might have been criticized for not making the new versions different enough. What do you think?
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Some Great PCs under $500 (w/no monitor)
PC Magazine reviews some good, some not so good PCs that are good for simple email and web surfing. And they are all under $500. The best of the lot is the Dell, which packs 2GB of RAM, a 250GB hard disk, and a 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo chip. Not bad for $499. Check out the reviews at http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2335136,00.asp
Friday, November 07, 2008
New PCs for trying time
PC Magazine reviews some new computers that give surprising performance for not that much money. Check it out at http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2333554,00.asp.
Monday, November 03, 2008
PC Magazine tests 2009 security suites
Security suites have a bad reputation for slowing down your system when they are installed. PC Magazine has added some new tests to help show how much or how little the latest security suites affect typical PC operations. Check it out at http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2333448,00.asp
Monday, October 20, 2008
Next Meeting: October 21st
The next meeting will be on October 21st, at 7:00 pm at the Canfield Prebyterian chrurch.
Some things we will talk about:
-- We will be showing some things you can do with your photos once you get them digitized on your computer. I'll be showing how to use Windows Movie Maker to make movies out of your photos. Windows Movie Maker comes free with Windows XP and Vista, and while it is not the most full-featured program, it is easy to use. And everybody has it!
-- We will be showing some things you can do with your photos once you get them digitized on your computer. I'll be showing how to use Windows Movie Maker to make movies out of your photos. Windows Movie Maker comes free with Windows XP and Vista, and while it is not the most full-featured program, it is easy to use. And everybody has it!
-- Like making scrapbooks? You can make and share virtual scrapbooks online at http://scrapblog.com.
-- From Microsoft Labs, they have released a very interesting technology to the public called PhotoSynths. It is hard to describe, but it is essentially the next step beyond creating stitched together panoramas. You'll have to see the results to get a better idea, so go to http://photosynth.net to see photosynths that users have shared. (Warning, you will have to download one-time a big plug-in for your browser in order to view and create photosynths.)
-- We missed this the last time, so hopefully we'll take a look a web site/service that is very popular with the kids these days: Twitter! It's not for everybody, but if you want to see what the hottest place is on the web these days, head over to http://www.twitter.com.
As always, we will also try and answer any other computer questions you may have. I hope to see you there!
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Youngstown Computer Show Oct 4, 2008 Show Notes
Oct 4, 2005
Show Notes
SEGMENT 1
Start of Show:
The Webcaster Settlement Bill of 2008 has passed both the House and Senate. It extended the deadline to allow further negotiations to set the royalty rates for web radio. The high rates that were supposed to go into effect threaten to close down small-time web radio stations. Web radio wants similar rates to that of radio, which pays less.
http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/09/house-of-repres.html
Caller 1:
Q: Caller has copied pictures on a USB flash drive that can't be opened or deleted.
A: The filesystem on the USB flash drive is probably corrupt. If you have a copy of those pictures somewhere else, just fomat that drive over again and copy again. Otherwise, try to run chkdsk on the drive to try and fix errors so that the file system is usable again.
Caller 2:
Q: Caller is getting a HTTP 403 error.
A: The HTTP 403 error means that you are asking for a web page that you have no rights to see. It is telling you that even if the page is there, you need to log in or authenticate yourself somehow before you can see that page. The most likely cause is that the web site you are trying to load has gone through a re-organization.
SEGMENT 2
Caller 3:
Q: Caller had DSL problems with his laptop. After letting them troubleshoot his computer remotely, he can't type anything into the address bar of his browser, all the letters are jumbled up.
A: When they connected remotely to your computer, the keyboard mapping might have changed to their format. This is strange enough that you should bring in the computer into the shop.
Caller 4:
Q: Caller and his son both use the same computer. When the caller logs in, he gets a popup that he is infected, but not on his son's account. What could be wrong?
A: There seems to be some malware, but you need to bring the computer in for a closer look.
Q: another question: he shut off the comptuer the regular way, but the next day it would not turn on. They thought it might be the power strip so they plugged it straight into the wall and it worked. They plugged it back into the strip and it also worked.
A: Something was not right and it needed the power to be totally removed to reset it.
Caller 5:
Q: Caller gets a runtime error popup (from the description it sounds like when he goes to a web page).
A: Joe Danyi thinks that this is usually caused by having old software installed. It could be an actual coding error on the page. He suggests uninstalling Java and reinstalling the latest version.
Caller 6:
Q: Caller has a Mac G4 laptop. He bought a new hard drive for it and OSX Leopard (the latest version). Should he initialize the disk with the startup disk he got with the laptop or should he just start with the Leopard disk?
A: It is probably safer to start up with the one that came with your computer before trying to install Leopard.
Acronyms:
HTTP = Hypertext Transfer Protocol
GIF = Graphics Interchange Format
CD-R = Compact Disc Recordable
LAN = Local Area Network
SEGMENT 3
Tips and Tricks:
There is a video for this week:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHKwc37a1cY
A way to manage spam is to create disposable email accounts.
Caller 7:
Q: Caller was typing something in Word, he held down the shift key for a while and something came up and got activated, now he cannot type anything. The mouse still works.
A: There is probably some accessibility option got set. If the caps lock or num lock lights don't work, there might be a problem with the keyboard. You should bring in the keyboard to the shop.
Caller 8:
Q: Caller wants to clean up cookies and other things.
A: Open up My Computer, right-click on the C: drive, choose properties, choose Disk Cleanup.
Availability of XP:
The OEM Downgrade option was extended from January 31, 2009 to July 31, 2009.
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/vista/xp_oem_licensing_extension_is_urban_myth.html?kc=MWRSS02129TX1K0000535
At the Shop:
Nick at the shop will be doing a "Cleanup Clinic" on your computer today for a special price $40.
Caller 9:
Q: Caller has a Dell 8200, it takes 8-10 minutes to boot up, is there anything he can do to it?
A: The memory and CPU should be ok for you, you just have too many startup processess. You just need to have someone clean that up, like today at the shop!
Caller 10:
Q: Caller started a defrag, but got a message that she needed to run Chkdsk to fix some file system errors before doing the defrag.
A: The drive might be going bad, or the file system might be bad. You should bring it into the shop.
SEGMENT 4
Caller 11:
Q: Caller cannot get online. A techincian came over, and his laptop worked with the DSL modem, but the caller's computer won't.
A: There is either the cable to the computer, or the network adapter might be bad. You'll have to have this diagnosed at the shop.
Security Segment:
1. Wardriving = Hackers drive around looking for open wireless hotspots. They publish these locations on the internet. So please put a password on your wireless network.
2. If your computer starts making noises that are not normal, like clicking on your hard drive, you need to get your computer serviced as soon as possible to save all your data.
Caller 12:
Q: Caller is running Firefox 2.0, and it asks to remember passwords that he enters on websites. Should he let it?
A: Yes, it is a handy feature. There doesn't seem to be any security concerns.
Operation Java Installation:
Internet Cafe Coming Soon!
SEGMENT 5
Bonus Half-hour!
More Security:
Microsoft sues several "Scareware" companies.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10053565-83.html
Caller 13:
Q: Caller has re-installed a printer, but when she prints, it always goes to a file.
A: Joe Danyi suggests to check which printer is set as your default.
Caller 14:
Q: Caller has XP, is there a way to save a copy of his current XP and put it on his new computer to replace Vista.
A: If all you have is a recovery disk, you need to get an XP install disk and re-install XP on the new computer, the recovery disk is made only for your current computer. (JOEM: Note that legally, you cannot transfer a version of Windows that came with a computer to another one.) Norton Ghost, or any disk imaging program, will not help you either because your version of windows is already configured with drivers that match your current computer, that same configuration will just crash on another computer.
Scam Email update:
No reponse to our email reply.
Caller 15:
Q: Caller has Vista, "...and I wrote a bunch of stuff into a notepad, and when I went to save it, it turned into a DOS document, and now I can't open it up....it's saying 16-bit MS-DOS subsystem, and it's saying C:usersjoedesktoplatest, and the NTVDM CPU has encountered an illegal instruction."
A: Joe suggests renaming the file with a .TXT extension.
Q: another question, want to email a video, but am running into a size limit. Video is 84 MB.
A: Find a file storage website and upload it there and just send a link to the video.
Special $40 cleanup clinic at the shop today.
SEGMENT 6
Google Search Tips:
--use quotes around exact text that you want to search for:
"saturday night live" searches for that exact phrase, the three words with no quotes will be found in any order and not even together.
-- use + to mark words you need to have, especially useful to included words that Google normally ignores, like A, An, or The
-- use - to mark words that you don't want to have, eg. dolphins -football will not find the football team
-- use ~ to say to look for synonyms for a word, eg. ~crazy
-- use OR to say to find either word (not necessarily both), eg. red or blue
-- use .. for ranges, eg. $10..$80
-- use * for a wildcard, eg. angels *moon
-- you can do math, eg. 5 + 5 =
-- you can do conversions from one unit to another, eg. 1km in miles, 50 dollars in euros
-- it can do a reverse lookup of phone numbers
Caller 16:
Q: Caller has a laptop, he tried to install Norton AV but the computer quit working, now in BIOS in diagnostics it says 1-07 failed. What does that mean?
A: Check with the manufacturer for the meaning of the code.
Show Notes
SEGMENT 1
Start of Show:
The Webcaster Settlement Bill of 2008 has passed both the House and Senate. It extended the deadline to allow further negotiations to set the royalty rates for web radio. The high rates that were supposed to go into effect threaten to close down small-time web radio stations. Web radio wants similar rates to that of radio, which pays less.
http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/09/house-of-repres.html
Caller 1:
Q: Caller has copied pictures on a USB flash drive that can't be opened or deleted.
A: The filesystem on the USB flash drive is probably corrupt. If you have a copy of those pictures somewhere else, just fomat that drive over again and copy again. Otherwise, try to run chkdsk on the drive to try and fix errors so that the file system is usable again.
Caller 2:
Q: Caller is getting a HTTP 403 error.
A: The HTTP 403 error means that you are asking for a web page that you have no rights to see. It is telling you that even if the page is there, you need to log in or authenticate yourself somehow before you can see that page. The most likely cause is that the web site you are trying to load has gone through a re-organization.
SEGMENT 2
Caller 3:
Q: Caller had DSL problems with his laptop. After letting them troubleshoot his computer remotely, he can't type anything into the address bar of his browser, all the letters are jumbled up.
A: When they connected remotely to your computer, the keyboard mapping might have changed to their format. This is strange enough that you should bring in the computer into the shop.
Caller 4:
Q: Caller and his son both use the same computer. When the caller logs in, he gets a popup that he is infected, but not on his son's account. What could be wrong?
A: There seems to be some malware, but you need to bring the computer in for a closer look.
Q: another question: he shut off the comptuer the regular way, but the next day it would not turn on. They thought it might be the power strip so they plugged it straight into the wall and it worked. They plugged it back into the strip and it also worked.
A: Something was not right and it needed the power to be totally removed to reset it.
Caller 5:
Q: Caller gets a runtime error popup (from the description it sounds like when he goes to a web page).
A: Joe Danyi thinks that this is usually caused by having old software installed. It could be an actual coding error on the page. He suggests uninstalling Java and reinstalling the latest version.
Caller 6:
Q: Caller has a Mac G4 laptop. He bought a new hard drive for it and OSX Leopard (the latest version). Should he initialize the disk with the startup disk he got with the laptop or should he just start with the Leopard disk?
A: It is probably safer to start up with the one that came with your computer before trying to install Leopard.
Acronyms:
HTTP = Hypertext Transfer Protocol
GIF = Graphics Interchange Format
CD-R = Compact Disc Recordable
LAN = Local Area Network
SEGMENT 3
Tips and Tricks:
There is a video for this week:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHKwc37a1cY
A way to manage spam is to create disposable email accounts.
Caller 7:
Q: Caller was typing something in Word, he held down the shift key for a while and something came up and got activated, now he cannot type anything. The mouse still works.
A: There is probably some accessibility option got set. If the caps lock or num lock lights don't work, there might be a problem with the keyboard. You should bring in the keyboard to the shop.
Caller 8:
Q: Caller wants to clean up cookies and other things.
A: Open up My Computer, right-click on the C: drive, choose properties, choose Disk Cleanup.
Availability of XP:
The OEM Downgrade option was extended from January 31, 2009 to July 31, 2009.
http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/vista/xp_oem_licensing_extension_is_urban_myth.html?kc=MWRSS02129TX1K0000535
At the Shop:
Nick at the shop will be doing a "Cleanup Clinic" on your computer today for a special price $40.
Caller 9:
Q: Caller has a Dell 8200, it takes 8-10 minutes to boot up, is there anything he can do to it?
A: The memory and CPU should be ok for you, you just have too many startup processess. You just need to have someone clean that up, like today at the shop!
Caller 10:
Q: Caller started a defrag, but got a message that she needed to run Chkdsk to fix some file system errors before doing the defrag.
A: The drive might be going bad, or the file system might be bad. You should bring it into the shop.
SEGMENT 4
Caller 11:
Q: Caller cannot get online. A techincian came over, and his laptop worked with the DSL modem, but the caller's computer won't.
A: There is either the cable to the computer, or the network adapter might be bad. You'll have to have this diagnosed at the shop.
Security Segment:
1. Wardriving = Hackers drive around looking for open wireless hotspots. They publish these locations on the internet. So please put a password on your wireless network.
2. If your computer starts making noises that are not normal, like clicking on your hard drive, you need to get your computer serviced as soon as possible to save all your data.
Caller 12:
Q: Caller is running Firefox 2.0, and it asks to remember passwords that he enters on websites. Should he let it?
A: Yes, it is a handy feature. There doesn't seem to be any security concerns.
Operation Java Installation:
Internet Cafe Coming Soon!
SEGMENT 5
Bonus Half-hour!
More Security:
Microsoft sues several "Scareware" companies.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10053565-83.html
Caller 13:
Q: Caller has re-installed a printer, but when she prints, it always goes to a file.
A: Joe Danyi suggests to check which printer is set as your default.
Caller 14:
Q: Caller has XP, is there a way to save a copy of his current XP and put it on his new computer to replace Vista.
A: If all you have is a recovery disk, you need to get an XP install disk and re-install XP on the new computer, the recovery disk is made only for your current computer. (JOEM: Note that legally, you cannot transfer a version of Windows that came with a computer to another one.) Norton Ghost, or any disk imaging program, will not help you either because your version of windows is already configured with drivers that match your current computer, that same configuration will just crash on another computer.
Scam Email update:
No reponse to our email reply.
Caller 15:
Q: Caller has Vista, "...and I wrote a bunch of stuff into a notepad, and when I went to save it, it turned into a DOS document, and now I can't open it up....it's saying 16-bit MS-DOS subsystem, and it's saying C:usersjoedesktoplatest, and the NTVDM CPU has encountered an illegal instruction."
A: Joe suggests renaming the file with a .TXT extension.
Q: another question, want to email a video, but am running into a size limit. Video is 84 MB.
A: Find a file storage website and upload it there and just send a link to the video.
Special $40 cleanup clinic at the shop today.
SEGMENT 6
Google Search Tips:
--use quotes around exact text that you want to search for:
"saturday night live" searches for that exact phrase, the three words with no quotes will be found in any order and not even together.
-- use + to mark words you need to have, especially useful to included words that Google normally ignores, like A, An, or The
-- use - to mark words that you don't want to have, eg. dolphins -football will not find the football team
-- use ~ to say to look for synonyms for a word, eg. ~crazy
-- use OR to say to find either word (not necessarily both), eg. red or blue
-- use .. for ranges, eg. $10..$80
-- use * for a wildcard, eg. angels *moon
-- you can do math, eg. 5 + 5 =
-- you can do conversions from one unit to another, eg. 1km in miles, 50 dollars in euros
-- it can do a reverse lookup of phone numbers
Caller 16:
Q: Caller has a laptop, he tried to install Norton AV but the computer quit working, now in BIOS in diagnostics it says 1-07 failed. What does that mean?
A: Check with the manufacturer for the meaning of the code.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Build a sub-$250 computer
For the do-it-yourselfers, PCmag.com has a nice article on how to build your own sub-$250 desktop PC. To save money, it does run Ubuntu Linux instead of Windows, but you'll find that it provides just about all the functionality you need to surf the web, listen to music, burn CDs, write email, etc. Take a look and see what it takes to build an inexpensive PC.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Youngstown Computer Show Sept 27, 2008 Show Notes
Youngstown Computer Show
September 27, 2008
Show Notes
PART 1
Show Opening:
Sarah Palin got her email account got hacked. All the hackers did was use the password reset feature in Yahoo mail to reset her email password by guessing/looking up the answers to her security questions. To protect yourself, make sure that the answers to your security questions are something that only you will know. Mess up the answers in a way that you only know, like knowingly misspell something.
Caller 1:
Q: Caller has a HP computer, after the last power outage the computer will not turn on. What could have happened?
A: First, disconnect all devices on the computer and try. If that does not do anything, then the power supply needs replaced.
Caller 2:
Q: The caller asks a non-computer question about the government bail-out.
Caller 3:
Q: The caller has a few friends that have Norton Anti-Virus and every time they get on the internet, there are all these updates that slow up his system. Is there a way around it?
A: You really should let those updates happen so that you are protected against the latest threats. You should be able to adjust the update schedule and have it only update once a week maybe, if the updates are slowing you down. You could try starting the computer and just let it do its job for a little bit then come back to it.
PART 2
Caller 4:
Q: Caller has a C: drive that is almost filled up. “…but I’ve got an extra drive installed also. Is there any way I can make the extra drive, the bigger drive, my default drive so that everything doesn’t keep going to the C: drive and filling it up, or can I transfer that stuff off of the C: drive to another larger capacity drive?”
A: Since the files seem to be mostly audio/video files, you should be able to copy those from the C: drive to your new drive. Each program usually has its own default area to put files, so you will have to go into the settings of your software to change the default location to the new drive.
Q: A second question about a router. “…since I bought a router last, it looks like they sped up a little bit, I got a couple of TiVo’s and my router is hooked to both of those. It takes quite a while to load video. Is there a certain type I should look for to speed up that process?”
A: You have a wireless G router now, and wireless N routers can be faster, but you also need wireless N adapters on the TiVo’s too.
As a reminder, there is a demo of wireless networking today at the shop at 4:00pm.
Performance tip:
The tip is a little different this time. From this point on we will have a video on the website for you to watch as the performance tip is demonstrated. This week covers the Firefox browser and how to streamline your browsing: how to set up your start/home pages, how to use the bookmark bar, and how to organize your bookmarks into folders. The video link is: http://youngstowncomputer.com/performance.htm, or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nN1ICesQ-4.
Then, there was some discussion of web browsers, what does Joe Danyi use? He sticks with Firefox 2, he won’t upgrade to Firefox 3, or Google’s Chrome, or Opera.
Caller 5:
Q: The caller’s wife’s computer came with Vista, how does he put XP back on there? Could they use the XP disk that came with his computer?
A: If you don’t want to set up a dual boot situation where you can choose Vista or XP, you will just have to wipe the drive and install XP from scratch. You might not be able to use the XP disk from your computer because it is probably a restore disk that has XP set up just for your computer’s configuration and not your wife’s.
Caller 6:
Q: The caller has a Gateway Pentium 4 circa 2002. How does that stack up to the latest Core 2 chips? Should I buy a new computer or just add more memory?
A: If you check the Task manager and your CPU usage is not 99% all the time, then you might not need to get a new PC.
Maintenance:
Yearly maintenance tasks: make sure anti-virus is up-to-date, defrag hard disk, clean out files, and clean out dust and dirt.
PART 3
Caller 7:
Q: The caller had XP SP3 come in as an update, and one computer updated fine, while another Dell desktop seemed to install ok, but only boots to a blue screen.
A: This will require some expert work to fix. They will have to replace the files that SP3 updated with an earlier version that worked, then check for viruses to make sure that the update installs cleanly.
Q: A second question: he has a laptop where there is a row of keys where only the ones on the end work, nothing in the middle of the row.
A: Sounds like some conductors are broken, the keyboard should be replaced. However, the caller claims it was replaced a year ago and now the same thing is happening again, so it might be software related.
Caller 8:
Q: The caller has a laptop that has a pop-up that says he is infected with a serious virus. He used to have Norton AV, but the subscription ran out, but this used to pop up even then.
A: This is classic malware. Either a smal program got installed (usually when you installed some freeware that you downloaded, or website did a drive-by install by taking advantage of a security hole to install software without your knowledge), or you are just seeing a web page ad that makes it look like an error screen. Bring in the computer for a malware cleaninig.
Q: His son has a laptop and the mouse has quit working.
A: If the mouse is a wireless mouse, then it does have a battery and it probably needs replaced.
Q: Can you use these laptops anywhere?
A: You can use the laptop to work on data that is stored locally on the laptop anywhere as long as you have power. If you want to be on the internet, you need to be in a place where there is a wireless hotspot you can connect to. A lot of coffee shops have hotspots, airports have hotspots, some stores, etc. (JOEM: For internet connections just about anywhere, you can get internet connection through the cell phone network. You usually have a small dongle that plugs in and uses the cell network for internet connections anywhere you can get a cell phone signal. They do cost a bit.)
Security Segment:
Same thing as with the performance segment, we will have a video for this from now on. This week's segment is about firewalls. "A firewall is a device or a peice of software that separates you from the internet. Traffic goes one way where you make requests out, but there are times when something from the internet makes a request back from you. For instance if someone tries to use your IP address, when you connect to the internet you have an IP address, so they connect to your IP address to maybe look at a web site or download a file, and that request comes over a port number. Now, firewalls are set to block communications on some ports and allow communications on other ports. Now if you have a router, a Linksys router, you have essentially something acting as a firewall separating you from the internet. If you have something like Zone Alarm or you have the Windows firewall set up, you have software that is allowing or disallowing traffic on certain ports on your computer. We reccommend that you get something physical, something like a Linksys router or something like a Pix firewall, or something physical to separate your computer from the internet."
They got one of those scam emails wanting you to help them get their money by cashing a foreign check (which is bogus). They will string along the scammer and tell us about all the things they go through to see how the scam develops.
PART 4
Caller 9:
Q: The caller is getting an error in Internet Explorer when she tries to get into her program: "A newer version of the enhanced printing/report generation activeX control could not be installed...the system will default to basic printing and view generation for this session."
A: This error sounds like it is from a custom application that uses a specialized printing/reporting custom component that is not updating itself properly. You probably need to contact the people who made the program or website you are trying to use. If you are a home user, you yourself are the "system administrator". If you are in an office, you can call the computer support guys.
Q: another question: "Up on the top bar, there's a question mark saying 'This website wants to install the following addon: ' and I never know whether to let it. This one is IRCSHARC.CAB from Market Links...how do I know if I trust it?"
A: You'll want to deny just about all of these sorts of install messages. (JOEM: Some Google searching seems to point to this addon coming from a company that used to be called Geac, that made financial and property managment software. So it seems that the caller is trying to run a web version of some custom program that needs specialized add-ons and activeX controls. The solution is to contact the maker of this software for support.)
Talking about Acronis True Image:
Acronis is a type of backup software that makes an "image" of your entire hard disk and stores it. It allows you to completely restore a system to the last time you made an "image" of your hard disk. It also is useful for migrating to a larger hard disk, by allowing you to transfer an "image" onto a new drive.
Project Java Installation:
They want to set up a place where the community can go for technology stuff. Part will be an Internet Cafe, part will be a recording studio, etc.
Acronyms:
People want a glossary for computer acronyms, like what is "WiFi?" It is just a branding that wireless networking devices use to say that they use standards so that different brands will work together with no problems. It is a play off of "High-Fidelity": it means "Wireless-Fidelity". Study up on Acronyms for next week, there might be a contest.
September 27, 2008
Show Notes
PART 1
Show Opening:
Sarah Palin got her email account got hacked. All the hackers did was use the password reset feature in Yahoo mail to reset her email password by guessing/looking up the answers to her security questions. To protect yourself, make sure that the answers to your security questions are something that only you will know. Mess up the answers in a way that you only know, like knowingly misspell something.
Caller 1:
Q: Caller has a HP computer, after the last power outage the computer will not turn on. What could have happened?
A: First, disconnect all devices on the computer and try. If that does not do anything, then the power supply needs replaced.
Caller 2:
Q: The caller asks a non-computer question about the government bail-out.
Caller 3:
Q: The caller has a few friends that have Norton Anti-Virus and every time they get on the internet, there are all these updates that slow up his system. Is there a way around it?
A: You really should let those updates happen so that you are protected against the latest threats. You should be able to adjust the update schedule and have it only update once a week maybe, if the updates are slowing you down. You could try starting the computer and just let it do its job for a little bit then come back to it.
PART 2
Caller 4:
Q: Caller has a C: drive that is almost filled up. “…but I’ve got an extra drive installed also. Is there any way I can make the extra drive, the bigger drive, my default drive so that everything doesn’t keep going to the C: drive and filling it up, or can I transfer that stuff off of the C: drive to another larger capacity drive?”
A: Since the files seem to be mostly audio/video files, you should be able to copy those from the C: drive to your new drive. Each program usually has its own default area to put files, so you will have to go into the settings of your software to change the default location to the new drive.
Q: A second question about a router. “…since I bought a router last, it looks like they sped up a little bit, I got a couple of TiVo’s and my router is hooked to both of those. It takes quite a while to load video. Is there a certain type I should look for to speed up that process?”
A: You have a wireless G router now, and wireless N routers can be faster, but you also need wireless N adapters on the TiVo’s too.
As a reminder, there is a demo of wireless networking today at the shop at 4:00pm.
Performance tip:
The tip is a little different this time. From this point on we will have a video on the website for you to watch as the performance tip is demonstrated. This week covers the Firefox browser and how to streamline your browsing: how to set up your start/home pages, how to use the bookmark bar, and how to organize your bookmarks into folders. The video link is: http://youngstowncomputer.com/performance.htm, or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nN1ICesQ-4.
Then, there was some discussion of web browsers, what does Joe Danyi use? He sticks with Firefox 2, he won’t upgrade to Firefox 3, or Google’s Chrome, or Opera.
Caller 5:
Q: The caller’s wife’s computer came with Vista, how does he put XP back on there? Could they use the XP disk that came with his computer?
A: If you don’t want to set up a dual boot situation where you can choose Vista or XP, you will just have to wipe the drive and install XP from scratch. You might not be able to use the XP disk from your computer because it is probably a restore disk that has XP set up just for your computer’s configuration and not your wife’s.
Caller 6:
Q: The caller has a Gateway Pentium 4 circa 2002. How does that stack up to the latest Core 2 chips? Should I buy a new computer or just add more memory?
A: If you check the Task manager and your CPU usage is not 99% all the time, then you might not need to get a new PC.
Maintenance:
Yearly maintenance tasks: make sure anti-virus is up-to-date, defrag hard disk, clean out files, and clean out dust and dirt.
PART 3
Caller 7:
Q: The caller had XP SP3 come in as an update, and one computer updated fine, while another Dell desktop seemed to install ok, but only boots to a blue screen.
A: This will require some expert work to fix. They will have to replace the files that SP3 updated with an earlier version that worked, then check for viruses to make sure that the update installs cleanly.
Q: A second question: he has a laptop where there is a row of keys where only the ones on the end work, nothing in the middle of the row.
A: Sounds like some conductors are broken, the keyboard should be replaced. However, the caller claims it was replaced a year ago and now the same thing is happening again, so it might be software related.
Caller 8:
Q: The caller has a laptop that has a pop-up that says he is infected with a serious virus. He used to have Norton AV, but the subscription ran out, but this used to pop up even then.
A: This is classic malware. Either a smal program got installed (usually when you installed some freeware that you downloaded, or website did a drive-by install by taking advantage of a security hole to install software without your knowledge), or you are just seeing a web page ad that makes it look like an error screen. Bring in the computer for a malware cleaninig.
Q: His son has a laptop and the mouse has quit working.
A: If the mouse is a wireless mouse, then it does have a battery and it probably needs replaced.
Q: Can you use these laptops anywhere?
A: You can use the laptop to work on data that is stored locally on the laptop anywhere as long as you have power. If you want to be on the internet, you need to be in a place where there is a wireless hotspot you can connect to. A lot of coffee shops have hotspots, airports have hotspots, some stores, etc. (JOEM: For internet connections just about anywhere, you can get internet connection through the cell phone network. You usually have a small dongle that plugs in and uses the cell network for internet connections anywhere you can get a cell phone signal. They do cost a bit.)
Security Segment:
Same thing as with the performance segment, we will have a video for this from now on. This week's segment is about firewalls. "A firewall is a device or a peice of software that separates you from the internet. Traffic goes one way where you make requests out, but there are times when something from the internet makes a request back from you. For instance if someone tries to use your IP address, when you connect to the internet you have an IP address, so they connect to your IP address to maybe look at a web site or download a file, and that request comes over a port number. Now, firewalls are set to block communications on some ports and allow communications on other ports. Now if you have a router, a Linksys router, you have essentially something acting as a firewall separating you from the internet. If you have something like Zone Alarm or you have the Windows firewall set up, you have software that is allowing or disallowing traffic on certain ports on your computer. We reccommend that you get something physical, something like a Linksys router or something like a Pix firewall, or something physical to separate your computer from the internet."
They got one of those scam emails wanting you to help them get their money by cashing a foreign check (which is bogus). They will string along the scammer and tell us about all the things they go through to see how the scam develops.
PART 4
Caller 9:
Q: The caller is getting an error in Internet Explorer when she tries to get into her program: "A newer version of the enhanced printing/report generation activeX control could not be installed...the system will default to basic printing and view generation for this session."
A: This error sounds like it is from a custom application that uses a specialized printing/reporting custom component that is not updating itself properly. You probably need to contact the people who made the program or website you are trying to use. If you are a home user, you yourself are the "system administrator". If you are in an office, you can call the computer support guys.
Q: another question: "Up on the top bar, there's a question mark saying 'This website wants to install the following addon: ' and I never know whether to let it. This one is IRCSHARC.CAB from Market Links...how do I know if I trust it?"
A: You'll want to deny just about all of these sorts of install messages. (JOEM: Some Google searching seems to point to this addon coming from a company that used to be called Geac, that made financial and property managment software. So it seems that the caller is trying to run a web version of some custom program that needs specialized add-ons and activeX controls. The solution is to contact the maker of this software for support.)
Talking about Acronis True Image:
Acronis is a type of backup software that makes an "image" of your entire hard disk and stores it. It allows you to completely restore a system to the last time you made an "image" of your hard disk. It also is useful for migrating to a larger hard disk, by allowing you to transfer an "image" onto a new drive.
Project Java Installation:
They want to set up a place where the community can go for technology stuff. Part will be an Internet Cafe, part will be a recording studio, etc.
Acronyms:
People want a glossary for computer acronyms, like what is "WiFi?" It is just a branding that wireless networking devices use to say that they use standards so that different brands will work together with no problems. It is a play off of "High-Fidelity": it means "Wireless-Fidelity". Study up on Acronyms for next week, there might be a contest.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Bloatware free laptops
Over at PCMAG.com I found this article about some laptops that are bloatware free. Check out the article at http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2329282,00.asp
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Vista Performance Roundtable
There was a recent webcast about Vista performance hosted by Mark Russinovich, author of the many SysInternals utilities. Check it out at https://ms.istreamplanet.com/springboard/portal.asp.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
MCCC September 2008 Meeting Notes
Download and listen to old episodes of The Youngstown Computer show
- Open up the web page at http://www.youngstowcomputer.com/
- Click on the words "MP3 download"
- On the page that opens up scroll to the bottom and you will find a list of 2008 broadcasts.
- Right-click on the links that say "download" or "hour 1" or "hour2". On the pop-up menu choose "Save target as…"
- In the "Save As" window, click on "My Documents" in the column on the left, then find "My music" in the list of folders and double-click on it.
- Click the Save button. The radio show will download into the "My Music" folder.
- When you want to listen to the program you downloaded, double-click on "My Documents" on your desktop, to open it (or click on it from the Start menu).
- Find "My Music" in the bunch of folders you'll see and double-click it to open
- Find the show (or shows) you downloaded. Their names will start with "YCS". Double-click on a the show to listen to it.
Tips to get your photos organized on your computer
- Windows provides a pre-made folder to hold your pictures called "My Pictures." It is found in "My Documents".
- Create folders in "My Pictures" to group pictures together by date or subject.
- Practice making folders. Open "My Documents" by double-clicking on it, then open "My Pictures" by double-clicking on it. Make a new folder by choosing "File", then "New", then "Folder" . Type a name for the new folder, and hit Enter, otherwise it will be named "New Folder".
- Windows knows the date you took your pictures, because you camera put the date in the picture file. So be sure to set the correct date and time on your camera!
- If you download Windows Live Photo Gallery (it's free!) you can also organize your photos by "tags", which are just words you can attach to your photos to describe them. You can put a tag on your pictures called "dog", and then you can quickly find all pictures tagged "dog", no matter what folder the picture happens to be in. In Windows Live Photo Gallery, right-click on a photo, then choose "Add Tags" on the pop-up menu. You'll see info area appear on the right side of the window with a text box where you can type in a tag for that photo.
- You can add tags to multiple pictures at once by holding down the Ctrl key as you click on multiple pictures, then click on the words "Add Tags" in the info pane on the right side, and type in one tag for all the ones you have selected.
How to download Windows Live Photo Gallery
- Go to the web page http://get.live.com/.
- Click the orange button that says "Get Windows Live"
- Clear out all the check boxes on the next page except for Photo Gallery.
- Click the orange button that says "Install"
- On the pop-up window, click Run. A short program will download.
- On the next pop-up window, again click Run. Photo Gallery and any prerequisites will download.
- When finished you can click the words "Start Photo Gallery" to run the program, or just click on "Close" to close the installer.
To start Photo Gallery in the future, you will find "Windows Live Photo Gallery" under "All Programs" on the Start menu.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Youngstown Computer Show Sept 20, 2008 Show Notes
Youngstown Computer Show
September 20 2008
Show Notes
PART 1
Talking about losing electricity during the wind storm on Sunday.
Regular surge suppressors are not designed to help with power outages and fluctuating power. They only protect against short spikes in the power. A UPS (uninterruptible power supply) is better in these situations to keep your equipment running long enough to shut them down safely. He does not recommend plugging computer equipment into a generator (though he is not an electrician).
For more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uninterruptible_power_supply
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surge_protector
Caller 1:
Q: The caller's computer "crashed" in that he found the screen completely black, he attempted to reboot and he finally got it to go through some sort of recovery mode, and it took forever, but he lost his Office 2003 programs, he doesn't have the cd key or the installation disks. Is there any way to regain that somehow?
A: They do make programs to dig that out of the registry, but it look like a system recovery was initiated, and normally if you don't have that key, there is really no way to dig it from anywhere.
PART 2
Caller 2:
Q: The caller can't seem to get any range from their wireless router, it only lasts for maybe two rooms, signal is lost going upstairs.
A: There are range expander kits that you plug in to repeat the signal over a greater area.
http://compnetworking.about.com/od/wireless/ss/wirelessgear_7.htm
Caller 3:
Q: A friend has a HP 3100 printer that has mysteriously stopped printing. This is the second time this has happened.
A: Check to make sure that the print spooler process is running, make sure the printer is not in some power saver mode, swap out the cable, check that the driver is up-to-date, there is not much else to do.
To check the print spooler in Vista:
September 20 2008
Show Notes
PART 1
Talking about losing electricity during the wind storm on Sunday.
Regular surge suppressors are not designed to help with power outages and fluctuating power. They only protect against short spikes in the power. A UPS (uninterruptible power supply) is better in these situations to keep your equipment running long enough to shut them down safely. He does not recommend plugging computer equipment into a generator (though he is not an electrician).
For more information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uninterruptible_power_supply
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surge_protector
Caller 1:
Q: The caller's computer "crashed" in that he found the screen completely black, he attempted to reboot and he finally got it to go through some sort of recovery mode, and it took forever, but he lost his Office 2003 programs, he doesn't have the cd key or the installation disks. Is there any way to regain that somehow?
A: They do make programs to dig that out of the registry, but it look like a system recovery was initiated, and normally if you don't have that key, there is really no way to dig it from anywhere.
PART 2
Caller 2:
Q: The caller can't seem to get any range from their wireless router, it only lasts for maybe two rooms, signal is lost going upstairs.
A: There are range expander kits that you plug in to repeat the signal over a greater area.
http://compnetworking.about.com/od/wireless/ss/wirelessgear_7.htm
Caller 3:
Q: A friend has a HP 3100 printer that has mysteriously stopped printing. This is the second time this has happened.
A: Check to make sure that the print spooler process is running, make sure the printer is not in some power saver mode, swap out the cable, check that the driver is up-to-date, there is not much else to do.
To check the print spooler in Vista:
- open the Start Menu
- right-click on Computer (in the second column)
- Choose "Manage"
- in the list on the left, expand "Services and Applications"
- Choose "Services"
- Scroll down the list on the right (it is in alphabetical order) and look for Print Spooler, make sure it is Running and is Automatic.
(JoeM: Or the new fast way:
Open the Start Menu
Type "services" then hit Enter.
See step 6 above.)
Performance Tip:
Three things to make Vista more like XP:
Turn on classic view in the control panel.
1. Goto Start -> Control Panel, then click on "Classic View" on the left-hand side
Make the Start Menu like XP
1. in the classic control panel view, find "Taskbar and Start Menu"
2. Go to the "Start Menu" tab
3. Choose "Classic Start Menu" selection.
(JoeM: This actually makes the start menu not like XP, but Windows 2000.)
Turn on the Windows Classic View
1. In the classic Control Panel, open "Personalize" (JoeM: or right-click the desktop and choose "Personalize")
2. Choose "Window Color and Appearance"
3. Click on "Open Classic Appearance Properties"
4. Select "Windows Classic" and click OK.
Turn off Windows Indexing service
1. in the Vista-style control panel, click on "System and Maintenance"
2. click on "Indexing Options"
3. click on "Modify"
4. find the users pane (at the bottom)
5. Click on "Users" in the bottom pane. (JoeM: you will need to click on the "Show All Locations" button to see this)
6. Un-check "Users" on the top pane.
7. Do the same thing for "Start Menu"
8. Click OK
Next week on Sept 27 at 4:00pm at the shop, there will be a demonstration of wireless networking. Please call ahead. If you are planning to buy any wireless equipment, call the shop and they will buy the equipment for you and have it for you on Saturday.
PART 3
Caller 4:
Q: Caller is having the same problem as previous caller about printer not working. What was that service?
A: The Print Spooler service
Caller 5:
Q: The caller is having problems with an LCD monitor, it started to flicker then went dark. After he turns it on, it stays on for 2 seconds then it goes out. Connecting to another computer shows the same problem.
A: Joe Danyi seems to think it is a problem with the pins or cable might be bad.
Security Tips:
Run as a limited user instead of an administrator. Viruses run with the same privileges as the user, so if you are an admin, then the virus can make system-wide changes. Normal users can't make system-wide changes.
In the Control Panel, go to User Accounts, choose a user to switch, change them to limited users, and add a password if it doesn't have one.
(JoeM: You might just have one account created, usually it is called "Owner". The first account you create on a new system is the administrator. So if you only have one account, create another account and make it a limited user. Use the limited user for day-to-day computing and save the admin account for when you need to make system changes.)
A previous caller had a question about parental control software, Joe Danyi recommends Net Nanny (http://www.netnanny.com/).
Caller 6:
Q: Caller has an error popping up when logging on: host process RUNDLL32 has stopped working, windows host process has been closed. He also can't access some programs in the control panel, like setting the date and time.
A: It seems like there might be the beginnings of an infection. He will probably need expert help to fix this.
Q: Caller shut down all non-microsoft services, and that helped.
A: Try starting those one-by-one to isolate which one is bad.
PART 4
Email question:
Q: User doesn't like in Vista where you get a list of accounts to choose from before you get to the desktop.
A: Use either the classic start menu -> run or find Run under accessories and type "netplwiz", uncheck the option that says "Users must enter a user name" and click OK.
Caller 7:
Q: When the power went out, was able to get on the Computer wednesday, it comes up to a blank screen, you see the mouse cursor and that's all. Starting up in safe mode, it never gets to the desktop. Now, we try it again, the desktop is back, but none of his programs or files are visible.
A: Chances are that there might be some lingering damage to the operating system. He will probably need expert repair to the system. They will probably do a fresh install of Windows. His stuff should still be in there, if there is no damage to the files system.
Caller 8:
Q: Caller talks about how HP service troubleshooted a problem with his printer, and they eventually shipped him a brand new printer.
Caller 9:
Q: Caller has a problem with their Toshiba laptop that is now telling her that there is a problem with the cooling system, that she needs to shut down the system and bring it in for repair. Is this a major problem? Is it going to be expensive?
A: There are some workarounds you might be able to do. If the fans have failed completely, then you will have to have it serviced. You might try and clearing out the air vents if they look like they are filled with dust. You can get a cooling pad from an office supply store that you can put the laptop on to keep it cool.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
