Tech Tip Archive

If You Want To Share, Turn on Your Guest Account! - Whig Standard 10/06/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 10:42:57 -0400

For those of you thinking of setting up a home network, here is a tip that might save you some time and a bit of head scratching.

NUMBER ONE USER PROBLEM! - Whig Standard 10/05/04

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 10:45:12 -0400

In my experience, the number one problem holding the average user back from understanding what is going on with and in their computers, is that they have no idea where they store files on their hard drive!

CHEAP AND CONVENIENT! - Whig Standard 09/29/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 10:48:22 -0400

When installing memory it is our recommendation and practise to run memory tests on the system before running the operating system.

LOOK BEFORE YOU LEAP ! - Whig Standard 09/23/04

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 10:51:05 -0400

Microsoft has released it's newest update for Windows XP, Service Pack 2.

USB PORTS - Whig Standard 09/22/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 10:53:56 -0400

Many people today are looking to add USB ports to the front of their computers.

THE BUCK STOPS AT THE TOP! - Whig Standard 09/16/04

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 10:57:19 -0400

If you are a small business owner and your business uses computers and the Internet for it's day to day operations, here are a couple of thoughts for you.

Be Kind and Gentle to Your Notebook! - Whig Standard 09/15/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:11:24 -0400

Today I have a tip gleaned from standing behind a computer service counter for years. We see notebook after notebook come in with broken mouse ports, broken power adapter ports and broken PCMCIA modem and ethernet card dongles.

KEEP YOUR VALUABLES UNDER LOCK AND KEY! - Whig Standard 09/08/04

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:12:54 -0400

A good tip for the back-to-school set is to keep those expensive notebooks and sexy LCD monitors locked to your desk when left unattended in rooms and dorms.

Can't Live with them, Can't live without them ! - Whig Standard 08/24/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:14:51 -0400

Last night I was playing with my new Edirol R1 WAV Recorder.

Be Prepared ! -Whig Standard 08/18/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:20:08 -0400

For those of you going off to school with a new computer, my advice is to not wait till the last minute, get the unit several days before you have to leave for school and run it 24/7 to make sure you have a working unit and that you have all the bits and pieces required to make it function.

LCD Monitors! - Whig Standard 08/05/04

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:21:51 -0400

LCD monitors have arrived on the scene and are starting to have a big impact on the market place. A little know feature of today's LCD monitors is that they have what is known as a "native resolution".

NOTEBOOKS IN THE RESIDENCE ! - Whig Standard 08/11/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:25:15 -0400

The new school year is so close you can smell it. Notebooks are sure to be hot items for the university student in your life.

Catch the DVD Wave! - Whig tandard 08/05/04

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:27:14 -0400

DVD burners have arrived and the price has fallen drastically. DVD burners are now cheaper that CD burners were a year ago and the blank media disks have fallen big time also.

THE POWER ! - Whig Standard 08/04/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:29:43 -0400

The big thunder storm we had in Kingston a couple of weeks ago certainly caused it's share of problems.

THE ADDRESS IS POWER! - Whig Standard 07/28/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:31:43 -0400

Being a repair shop, we get to look at a lot of other people's computers. One thing that always surprises me is the number of people that have the Address Toolbar turned off in INTERNET EXPLORER and/or WINDOWS EXPLORER.

INSTALLING MEMORY! - Whig Standard 07/25/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:37:16 -0400

Dropping in some extra memory into your machine is: A) one of the best ways to spend a little money to get noticeable performance improvements B) one of the easiest do it yourself jobs you can do on your computer.

MIGHT AS WELL GET WHAT YOU PAID FOR! - Whig Standard 0/24/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:40:13 -0400

We had a computer in here a few days ago that had McAfee VirusScan installed It was an earlier version, circa 2001, with the original virus DAT file and the subscription was current. The info page also stated that a full virus scan had never been run.

MIND THE P's and Q's! - Whig Standard 07/06/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:48:30 -0400

Something I see a lot of is very poor recording of Internet account details. Someone will bring in their Sympatico sign up sheet or the info sheet from one of a number of other Internet providers,

KEEP OUT THE RIFF RAFF! - Whig Standard 06/23/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 12:53:11 -0400

In today's high-speed, connected to the Internet 24 hour a day, 7 days a week world; computer security is certainly worth thinking about. Many people have quite a bit of personal data on their home computers. You have to ask yourself," How secure is my stuff?"

THE FUTURE IS UNCERTAIN! - Whig Standard 06/16/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:04:28 -0400

One thing that I have noticed while working at various offices is that office computers are often labeled with the name of the person that works at that desk. Sounds reasonable doesn't it?

Keep Your Cool! - Whig Standard 06/09/07

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:11:53 -0400

The by-product of speed is heat. Today's computers are running faster than ever before, so cooling is a major factor in keeping your computer running. The other factor in the equation is noise.

REFRESH YOUR MONITOR! - Whig Standard 06/02/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:14:01 -0400

One thing we see quite a bit of in our shop are video card / monitor combinations that are not set up for optimal performance.

LOOK IN THE BOOK! - Whig Standard 05/26/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:16:23 -0400

In my last tech tip I spoke about the new system I am building for myself. One always learns/remembers when you do this type of job.

Biting the Bullet! - Whig Standard 05/19/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:18:33 -0400

I am in the process of re-building my home computer - that's one of the perks of the job, new toys. It's a big change.

NOTHING LASTS FOREVER! - Whig Standard 05/12/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:20:32 -0400

Many businesses have gone to the trouble and expense to install UPS's (un-interruptible power supplies) to prevent power disruptions from shutting down their servers and/or workstations.

A NOVEL IDEA, READ THE DIRECTIONS FIRST! - Whig Standard 04/28/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:23:50 -0400

USB devices have taken over the industry as far as the interface of choice for printers, scanners and other desktop computer add-ons.

SERVERS WITH A SMILE! - Whig Standard 04/21/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:25:31 -0400

When you are having email problems, two important settings to check are the POP and SMPT server settings. The POP server is the server you pick the mail up from and the SMTP server is the server that you send mail to.

Two Very Handy Keyboard Shortcuts! - Whig Standard 04/14/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:27:34 -0400

To quickly bring up Windows Explorer: hold the WINDOWS key down and press the E key at the same time.

A TIP FOR REMOVING SPYWARE - Whig Standard 03/31/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:08:15 -0400

If you bring your spyware infested machine in to our shop to have the spyware removed, one of the first things we do is boot your system up in safe mode and run the removal tools in safe-mode.

Start Simple, Work Your Way Up - Whig Standard 03/24/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:18:49 -0400

If you are going to add hardware to your computer use, the KISS principle (if you don't know what this is give GOOGLE a try).

Describe the Problem - Whig Standard 03/17/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:20:54 -0400

It's not a matter of IF you will have a technical question about your computer, it's a matter of WHEN.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DATA AND PROGRAMS - Whig Standard 03/10/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:22:52 -0400

Most people that use a Windows based computer will at some time or another run into the need to reformat the hard drive and reload the Windows operating system. Should this happen to you it may be of benefit to know what you can and can not backup.

"YOU NEVER CAN TELL" - Whig Standard 03/02/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:25:30 -0400

Computer problems can be very tricky to diagnose. Guessing at the problems often leads you in the wrong direction.

"What's My Problem?" - Whig Standard 02/24/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:27:57 -0400

It is not uncommon for someone to call us saying that they have been having Internet problems and that their provider's tech support has told the customer that they have a driver problem with a modem or Ethernet card.

"I've Tried Everything?" - Whig Standard 02/17/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:30:41 -0400

"I've tried everything." This is the phrase that makes computer technicians cringe and then look around for someplace to hide.

EVERYTHING IS A VERY BIG WORD! - Whig Standard 01/26/05

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 15:37:59 -0400

How long does it take to completely test a computer? If we are just talking about just the computer hardware, a conservative estimate would be at least 5 hours.

Batten down the Hatches! - Whig Standard 01/13/04

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 09:12:52 -0400

I went out the other day to a customer's location to install a wireless router and network card. As soon as I setup the wireless card and tried to login to the router I was informed that there were 4 other wireless networks in the area. Two were locked and two were wide open.

Resolutions for the New Year! - Whig Standard 01/06/04

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 09:15:27 -0400

Now that the new year is upon us I recommend you take this cyclic milestone as a reminder to spend a few minutes and perform these should-be regular maintenance tasks:

Gang Wars! - Whig Standard 09/01/05

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 09:17:23 -0400

You may not have noticed but over the past few weeks there has been a world wide war being carried out by rival gangs of hackers;

Upgrading your Motherboard! Part 3 - Whig tandard 05/11/06

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 09:21:49 -0400

Some other issues to consider when upgrading your motherboard are: type of memory on the new board, will your old memory fit or do you need a new type?

Upgrading your Motherboard! Part 2 - Whig Standard 05/04/06

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 09:23:33 -0400

Last week we were preparing for a motherboard swap by setting our IDE controller back to the standard Windows default driver.

Upgrading your Motherboard! Part 1 - Whig Standard 04/27/06

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 09:27:23 -0400

Here is a tip that will save the home tech hours! Before upgrading a motherboard in a Windows XP system, you need to set the hard drive controller drivers back to the Windows Standard PCI Controller.

Forced to reinstall Windows but want to avoid reactivation? - Whig Standard 04/13/06

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 09:31:21 -0400

When you activate your copy of the Windows XP operating system, a file gets created/updated in windows/system32 directory.

WINDOWS 2000 PRO and Your Home Network - Whig Standard 04/06/06

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 09:32:43 -0400

For those of you that have a computer running Windows 2000 Pro and want to share files and printers with your home network, here is a tip to make things easier.

TURN ON YOUR GUEST! - Whig Standard 03/16/06

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 09:34:04 -0400

The number one most overlooked networking issue with Windows and Home Networks is not turning on the Guest Account when setting up Simple File Sharing.

DON'T LOSE YOUR INVESTMENT! - Whig Standard 03/23/06

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 09:35:30 -0400

My tip for today is for those of you who purchase software over the Internet. I myself often purchase software this way.

My tip for today is for those of you who purchase software over the Internet. I myself often purchase software this way.

�Where are my Icons?� - Whig Standard 03/09/06

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 09:37:46 -0400

Many new users wonder where all the familiar desktop icons are in Windows XP? The big favorites: My Computer, My Network Places, and My Documents Icons are still available to place on your desktop. Here is how:

Always Something New to Learn! - Whig Standard 01/19/06

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 09:39:10 -0400

Even though I now have more grey hair than grey matter I learned something new last night.

I�m Telling You for the Last Time! - Whig Standard 01/12/06

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 10:06:44 -0400

Have you every thought that you would like your Windows XP system to boot right to the desktop instead of it asking you to login each and everytime you boot your computer?

A "Click" is Worth It's Weight in a Thousand Words! - Whig Standard 11/08/07

Thu, 08 Nov 2007 10:01:43 -0500

A "Click" is Worth It's Weight in a Thousand Words!

Here is a great tip, IMHO. When you have a computer problem and you get an error message, get your digital camera out and snap a picture of it. These error messages often give clues as to what is going wrong and can help a technician track down your problem.