Computer Repair n Tips

Hey everyone, just wanted to pass along my services as a computer tech. If You have any computer related questions or advice do not hesitate to ask me here or in a PM. I am not asking for anything in return so this is in no way a solicitation. Figured we are a community here and I would like to offer what I can. Going to post some tips now and then also. These are going to be "everyday" tips so for those of you who are already computer savvy you probably will not find any enlightning info here. If you would like to talk on an advanced level please feel free to PM me. Thanks All.

This posts tip: When you run a virus scan and a virus is found ensure that you disable your system restore option and then do another scan, you may have a virus backed up and not realize it. This only applies to XP and ME. To do this right click on the "My computer" Icon and click on the System restore tab, check the box to turn off system restore, then do another scan. Make sure you turn it back on when you are through. If you have been the victim of a virus recently you may want to do this also. It is best to always run a scan with system restore turned off.

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“The gladdest moment in human life, methinks, is a departure into unknown lands.” – Sir Richard Burton

Great thread... I know several have popped up from time to time needing help... including me... so if I can't figure something out... I will give you a yell... Thanks...

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Same here ....I will definitely PM you or chat with you here if I need to. I do have problems now and then and yes....recently I have had viruses on my computer. Thank God they're gone.

I'm a computer guru. I know a sh*t load. I just like to talk about computers with my gramps. He's the biggest guru in the world, no joke. He has a lot of free time because, he's retired. I might PM you just to talk once in a while. If you want to know how I learned it all PM me. It's a very funny story.

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"This is that human freedom, which all boast that they possess, and which consists solely in the fact, that men are conscious of their own desire, but are ignorant of the causes whereby that desire has been determined." -Baruch Spinoza

The Sasser worm has been spreading like crazy across the computer world. Protect yourself if you have not already.
http://securityresponse.symantec.com...er.b.worm.html

You must down load a removal tool if you already are infected, it is available
here:http://securityresponse.symantec.com...r/FxSasser.exe


Then make sure you get the latest Microsoft updates:http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp


Any questions please ask. I have been getting alot of work lately due to this worm and I hate charging people to fix something that was caused by malicious acts. Just wanted to try and prevent it from happening to my friends here.

I've been getting a lot of work too, because of the virus and all. I'll tell you one thing, I like this virus. It's getting me work and I need it badly.

I truly hate viruses, to me it would be kinda of like a Doctor wanting people to get sick. True it does bring in buisness, and if it were buisness from people who neglected to take care of their computers then thats cool. But this virus, like many others lately, takes advantage of a Microsoft issue, I think Microsoft should pay these bills.

My people, that I help, mostly don't keep up to date and other stuff; I do. I didn't get hit but, I got spyware out the wazoo.

Here's a question I've been dying to ask someone knowledgeable(I don't know if this goes in with your area of expertise but I'll give it a shot): My video playback is considerably lagging and the color is horrible. I'm currently set at 16-bit color, which explains the bad color I guess. I try to set it to 32-bit but it causes the video to lag behind the audio severely. ...I'm totally lost, and have no idea what to try. New video card maybe?

This is no longer desperately important as I'm considering a new computer, but I would like to know for future reference.
And I'm sorry if none of that makes any sense

It's comments like that that brighten my day. It's good to see someone who cares once in a while. (Trust me, I go to doctors often, and it's hard to find one that cares. Even though you aren't a medical doctor I think it's a logical comparison)

I have a question for you:

I have been experiencing laggy performace on the net recently and I called up my DSL provider, who garenteed me the connection is perfectly fine. So I started chatting with other people and they say that the Internet Explorer is buggy and not my connection.

So my question is any truth to that? If so what could be done or what browser should I switch to?

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And like that .... he's gone

Could be many different factors. What operating system are you running? How long has it been since you did a reformat/defrag? It may be Internet Explorer, if you want to try a different browser I highly reccomend FireFox. Its fantastic, really fast and easy to use.

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I would need a little more information to expertly diagnose this:
Your CPU size, how much memory you have, your operating system and what type video card you have.
If you are talking about ALL video playback whether it be from a DVD, a file on your Hard drive, or playback over the internet then you probably just do not have the power in your computer to handle these things. Has your playback always been sketchy? If not then you may just need to update your drivers for your video card. IMO anything less than a 32 mb video card is not going to peform well for any video playback. Also if and when you decide on a new computer please please please get a custom built system at a local shop that has a good warranty. I see so many Dells, Gateways, Hp's, and Compaqs in here that require propietary replacement parts that cost about twice as much as standard parts.

Hey there. I'm not exactly sure when or how it happened, but Notepad seems to have been replaced with a setup application which opens and runs hundreds of mIRC windows. I never used notepad much anyway, but it is kinda annoying... How can this be fixed?

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Mr M Rides Again

MoFo Survivor - r3port3r66 wins!!!!!!

It very well could be your browser causing the problems. If it is however, you should address that issue even if you do go to another browser. Ensure you do the following things if you have not already:
1. Get the latest updates from Microsoft for your operating sytem.
2. Run some type of spyware removal program, I like adaware, use the free version as it does a good job. Also when you use this or any other spyware removal program make sure you pay attention to what is being removed. it only removes spyware, but Kazaa for example is considered spyware (which it is).
3. Run a virus scan with the latest updates.
4. Clear your cache and cookies and repair your IE Installation.
5. Run a ping test to see if you are having any packet loss.

You can also try another browser to verify you are having an IE problem.

If you have any question about any of these steps or any other issues please ask. Also dont always take your providers word for it, your problem may be intemittent and they may not see it when you call them.

It sounds as if this setup program has been listed as your default text editor. There should be an option within this program to have it not be your default editor. What is the name of this program?

Uh, I have no idea, how do I find out? It's just sort of there. When I foolishly tried to fix it myself, all I managed to do was correct the shortcut on my start menu, when I click on a text file, it still opens that setup program.

Right click on a text document, go to properties, there whould be an "opens with" option, see what program is opening your text file there, depending on your operating system you can even change it right there in the properties.

Question.... Okay, I am a pc dummy... ... why does Windows keep saying my Virtual Memory is not large enough every few days?

That happens to me too. Not every few days, but it happens. I have LOADS of my memory left and yet it says its low. That's a very good question Cait.

Rarely is this error a positive, at least in my experience. Basically it is an error that can be created for many reasons and most of them are not because you are low on virtual memory. However if the error is positive and not something caused by a virus or worm or corrupted files, etc... you should do the following:

1. Check to see how much free memory you do have, if you are just running more than your computer can handle this could just be an upgrade problem. If your computer has always done this or if you have installed alot of programs lately then you need to upgrade.

2. If your memory is sufficient make sure you run an up to date virus scan and spyware removal tool. (I know this sounds like the answer given to every computer problem, but believe it or not i fix about 70% of the computers I work on by doing this).

3. Turn off all programs that are running and do a defrag. It helps if you turn off your virtual memory first, If you are not sure how to do this let me know what OS you have (win98, ME, XP, etc) and I will tell you how.

Another peformance tip is to turn off everything that you do not want running when your computer starts. Go to start....Run...type in msconfig, go to the startup tab and uncheck anything that you do not want to start automatically, If you are not sure what to turn off you may want to leave it alone, or send me a list of your startup programs and I can look at it for you.


Good Luck