Archive for category Computer Repair

Can’t Update Software or Having Problems Getting Online?

I was just working on a computer system in the office of a small business. I couldn’t update a virus removal software that used FTP. In addition Filezilla the FTP client they used for there website wouldn’t connect. In this case they had internet access, but I have seen situations where they didn’t. What was the cause? The over active firewall with there “internet security suite”. No matter who makes the software many have default settings that block many service you need. Try disabling the firewall and if everything now works you will need to find the exact hole you need to poke in your firewall and then restart it. If it still won’t work you can uninstall it completely, if that works use the windows firewall instead. You will still be protected, but will also be able to use your computer. If you can’t uninstall the firewall without the anti-virus uninstalling as well, consider switching to a new anti-virus software like AVG or Antivir it will be more effective with virus problems anyway, and they will let you use your computer.

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My Web Brower is Going Places I Didn’t Tell It To!

You most likely have a browser hijacker. What is a browser hijacker? A fun little guy that makes your web browser go were it wants it to. This is called redirecting, your browser, and there is something that you can do about it. You can get rid of the hijacker and get your browser back. Here is how to do it. Download and run Malwarebytes and that should clean it out. However it will probably redirect you and not let you download it. To get around that you can either boot into safe mode or you check the settings on your browser to make sure it is not going through a proxy which is a common way of making your browser redirect.

To Check proxy issue:

For Internet Explorer:

Click on tools -> internet options -> the connection tab of the box that pops up -> the lan settings button and then uncheck the box to use a proxy.

For Firefox:

Click on Tools -> options -> The advanced Tab at the top of the box -> The settings button -> then make sure the No Proxy button is selected.

This should enable you to download malwarebytes and remove the problem.

Hopefully that will make you able to go where you wish once again. Happy browsing.

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What To To If the Screen on Your Laptop Dies

The first thing to do is consider the age of the computer. If your system is getting close to 4 or 5 years old it might not make much sense economically to repair the computer. If you want to save the data on the computer that is easy enough to do but that is for a future post. Let’s say that your computer is newer, just after the warranty expired, odd how often that happens. Then there is two ways to go depending on how you use your computer.

If you just use your computer at home, never travel with it and leave it plugged in all the time, you might consider just getting a new monitor. By new monitor I mean a flat screen computer monitor, and not fixing the computer screen at all. This approach has the advantage of not needing to tear apart and install anything. You also can get deals on monitors, whereas you will need just the screen made for your computer it replace the screen on your laptop.

Finally you can replace the monitor yourself if you are comfortable working on your computer. You will need to look up the model number of the replacement screen and then do some tear down on your computer, but the advantage is you can have a fully restored laptop that you can take with you anywhere.

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You May Not Be Protected!

Did your internet service provider promise free antivirus software with your internet? They may not have told you that you need to download and install it on your computer. If you don’t have an antivirus program installed on your computer you are not protected. Your internet provider can not just filter it on there end. I have been removing a lot of viruses lately from computers people thought were protected because they were promised free antivirus software with there internet provider. This is usually a good thing but you have to download and install the software from your internet provider it is not automatic. Please protect yourself and either download it from them or choose one of the free antivirus software programs that are out there that work so well.

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What Are Rogue Anti-Spyware Programs and How do I get Rid of Them?

Crazy things are happening on your computer. You have programs you have never heard of popping up and telling you your computer has problems, that you need to pay them to fix them. DON’T fall for it. These are scams, programs that do bad things to your computer and steal your money. These types of programs are called rogue anti-spyware programs, and even though they are hard to remove, it can be done. Here is a little list of some of the programs but there are hundreds of them. ]

  • Antivirus 2008
  • Antivirus 2009
  • IE Antivirus 3.2
  • Winweb Security 2008
  • XP Antivirus

Notice how the names sound official, some even like they are from Microsoft? That is by design, to get people to believe there story and fall for it. It often works. So how did you get this thing in the first place? You picked it up from some website you were on, or someone else used your computer and did it for you. There is no other way to get it.

OK you have the thing now what? Read this link I have for hard to remove spyware it is the same process.
Remove Rogue anti-virus Video. If this doesn’t work for you or you need some help please post a comment hear and I will do my best to help with some additional information.

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Free Anti-Virus Software Update

This a free update to the recommendations that I have made about anti-virus software. I have and still do think that Avira AvitVir is very good software. It is very effective and for home use free. However I have had many problems lately getting it to update. I can’t my systems to update, or any of my customers at there different locations. I have had very good experiences lately with the new AVG 9.0 so I would recommend that if you are having problems with Avira updates you are not alone. Think about moving to something else. No matter how good an anti-virus software is, it is only as good as the next definitions update. I just wanted to keep you up to date.

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Looking for Legacy Device Drivers in all the Wrong Places?

One of the biggest problems I run into when reformatting a computer harddrive is finding the right drivers for all the components afterward. Maybe you have had that problem. System drivers can be elusive and search engines can’t always help you find them. I will tell you one of my sources for good system device drivers. Try Driverguide.com they provide a comprehensive list of legacy drivers and current drivers. It is a free service, if you start a free account which I recommend.

The end of last week I was looking for the drivers of 2 different Windows XP systems that had legacy drivers and driver guide had them all. So if you find yourself in a bind go check them out.

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What is wrong with Netbook Computers!

I have a friend who just got a netbook and he likes it except for one thing. It is very slow! I have noticed that most netbooks only have 1 gigabyte of memory, and they run Vista or Windows 7. The problem is, that is the minimum memory for that OS. It runs much better with more. So if you are getting a netbook make sure it has a least 2 gigabytes of memory or, you can install more later for pretty cheap as long as the netbook can take more than one stick of memory.

Basically they are really minimal computer systems, you may need to upgrade a few things to make it run well. You will absolutely
need to upgrade the memory if you only have 1 Gigabyte for it to run well

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Fake Spyware and Virus Programs and How to Remove Them

Wow, I have had a lot of computers in the shop this week with different fake programs claiming to be virus removal programs that have detected problems on a users computer. These scam programs often try to mimic Microsoft so that they look official. They offer to remove the problems for a price. If you give them any money things get worse on your computer not better. So How do you fix them? Especially since they often disable antimalware programs that can remove them.

You can start with trying to boot into safe mode with networking. Here is how you do that. Restart your computer and after it shuts down and just barley restarts start tapping the F8 key. This will get you to a boot menu and you can choose safe mode with networking. Next download Malwarebytes or Superantispyware or both. Install and update them then run. If you have a straight forward new infection this could work and fix the problem.

If you have a deeper problem and even in safe mode whatever it is won’t let the removal programs to run, sometimes you can rename them and they will work. If safe mode and renaming won’t work, you will need something like UBCD4win. That takes a little bit to create, basically it is a way to run Windows off of a CD so that you can run diagnositcs and repair programs. If this sounds complicated to you, that is because it takes being familiar with creating diagnostic CD’s, and if you are not technically inclined it can be complicated. This is the point you need to take it to a good tech to fix, because there also may be damage to your windows installation that will need to be repaired.

The best thing is to prevent it. Use a good anti-virus software. Be careful where you go online and what you click on, and run a good spyware remover regularly. I hope you never have this problem, but if you do maybe these tips can help you out.

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Is Your Computer Slow no Matter What you do?

How can I speed up my computer? I hear this question all the time. You might be defragging your computer, deleting your temporary internet files and running a spyware removal program and it is still slow. All of those things are important to keeping your computer running well, and fast. Sometimes it is just not enough.

What else can you do? One thing is check your storage space. If you harddrive it approaching full it will seriously slow your system down. Your computer needs some space on your drive for file paging, a swap file and various other functions it performs. If it doesn’t have enough space it will be very, very slow. So clear away the files and programs you can do without and it would go a long way to speeding things up. So what if you harddrive has plenty of space and you are still slow?

You could be running a ton of extra programs on your system and not know it. As time goes by people install programs that start when windows starts and stay resident in the memory. Things like instant messengers, software updating programs from Kodak, Compaq, and HP. Perhaps that instant weather reporting program. These things accumulate and have a huge effect on how fast your computer performs. It’s like starting off a juggler with 3 bean bags and adding a new one everyday for a month, at some point you just can’t do it anymore. So what can you do?

You can do 2 things, either one or both. Number 1 stop using all of those programs when windows starts. just turn them on when you need them and then shut them off again. How? You can uninstall some you don’t really use to start off with. Next if you are familiar with msconfig, you can click on your start button type msconfig into the run box ( this will work with both Windows XP and Windows Vista ) click on the start tab and deselect the programs you don’t want to run on startup. If you are not sure what in the world you are looking at, as you look at some of program names, you can type them into Google and find out then you will know what to do. When you finish you will reboot, if you get a message on reboot about the changes you have made just check the box that says don’t tell you about it anymore and click ok. You should have a lean, mean, and fast computer.

Number 2 you can add system memory. Putting more ram into a computer is the cheapest easiest way to speed it up. It is like adding more arms to the juggler. If you don’t know what memory that you need go to Crucial.com they have a utility that will scan your computer and help you get exactly what you need. If you combine these two steps you should have a top performing fast computer system that can do everything you need.

I hope this helps you have the fast stable computer system that you need. If you have other things you do to speed up a slow computer, let me know about it, share a comment that might help someone else.

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