Setting up a new computer

Prevention is the best medicine when it comes to avoiding illness in ourselves. Prevention in the computer world is no different. And like a newborn baby, a newly purchased computer is subject to many terrible diseases and problems if not properly cared from the moment it is taken from its cardboard box. I follow these steps when setting up a new computer system for my clients, and recommend this methodology for all new...

Extricating Spyware

Article updated: July 2010 In 2004, spyware/adware became the #1 threat to personal computers. For a definition of spyware, visit Webopedia. Getting rid of spyware has reached a point that it takes an expert, or a lot of persistence, to really get rid of it totally. Following is a list of steps that we frequently take to completely restore a compromised computer. Depending on the level of problems, we may omit some steps,...

Deleting Programs and Files

This tip conjures up some points from older tips, but needs to be reiterated. Follow these rules-of-thumb to keep your system clean and more importantly running smoothly. Use these rules when deleting individual files: Never delete files that you did not create. If you can’t trace the origin of the file, leave it alone. If the file sports one of the generic looking ‘windows’ icons (see picture), do not...

Solution for computer users who can’t print ...

Since I use Firefox exclusively for my browsing, I haven’t seen this problem yet, but today I ran into a computer that could print from anywhere but Internet Explorer 7 (IE7). Turns out that, in her case, the upgrade to AVG 8.0 caused the problem. A standard installation of AVG 8 installs a security toolbar in Firefox, if you use it, or Internet Explorer 7. The toolbar is meant to help users from clicking on potentially...

Internet Speed does not determine computer speed

I’m always surprised at how many computer users equate the speed of their computer with the speed of their Internet. If you have a brand new computer, it will not make your dial-up connection faster. Likewise, if you have an older computer, a fast cable or DSL connection will not make the computer faster. Internet speed only makes your Internet experience faster or slower. If you have a high speed connection and your...

Adobe Reader 9 update – DON’T DO IT!

Adobe released version 9 of their PDF (Portable Document Format) Reader program. Once the king and almost sole PDF reader on the market, it, like so many other mainstream programs, has become bloated beyond recognition. This software bloat slows down the performance of even the fastest computers, and for this reason, I firmly stand against software bloat. I added Adobe Reader to my do not use list almost two years ago....

Remove .NET Framework and solve Quickbooks startup...

Microsoft Framework .NET consists of a set of tools that allow programmers to tap into some web related technologies for creating rich, interactive applications for our computers and web sites. Unfortunately, it sometimes causes problems as well. This week alone, I helped 3 Quickbooks users overcome problems with their programs hanging or failing to start by uninstalling and reinstalling the .NET Framework. Unfortunately,...

Troubleshoot Hardware Problems Using the Device Ma...

Starting with Windows 95 all the way through today’s Windows Vista, Microsoft supplied computer users with a great tool listing the different hardware devices attached to and residing in our computers. This tool is called the Device Manager. Today’s tip focuses on how to use the Device Manager to troubleshoot a video card, sound card or other internal hardware problem. If you suddenly lose sound or your...

Worst excuse for keeping Norton: I have already pa...

If you search for the word “Norton” using the search engine in the upper right corner of our website, you will discover that our advice to dump Norton branded software is echoed by dozens of other visitors to the site. This week I saw a computer that took 27 minutes to completely boot up. It was an older system with 256MB of RAM and a 1.6ghz processor. Even at that, 27 minutes was a long time. I noticed that they...

Troubleshooting 101

By now many of you have figured out that computers are unruly beasts. They seem to be fine one day and schizophrenic the next. As a person who troubleshoots computers for a living, I’m going to let you in on a little trade secret. When something on your computer seems to be a little left of center, stop and ask yourself three questions: Have I installed or deleted any software (computer program) in the last day or...

Uninstall Client for Netware

Here’s how to uninstall Netware from you computer: Click Start Click Control Panel Double-click Network RIGHT Clic on the Local Area Connection icon Click Properties Click the Client services for Netware option in the list of services box Click the Uninstall Button Click Yes Click OK That should do it. ...

Properly Uninstall Norton Products

How to get rid of Norton Antivirus: 1. Go to Start – Control Panel (Start – Settings – Control Panel)2. Open Add/Remove Programs3. Now you will want to remove the following items: Anything that says "Norton" or "Symantec" in the title. LiveUpdate LiveReg 4. Restart your computer when prompted to do so Install AVG,...

512mb is not enough

512mb of RAM is not enough for Windows Vista…any flavor. Vista has been out almost three months now, and I have setup almost a dozen Vista machines. Thankfully, they are rolling out slowly. All the machines I setup, until today, came with 1 GB (1024mb) or 2GB of RAM. And although not blazing, the computer's ran at an acceptable speed. I just finished spending nearly 2.5 hours setting up a laptop with Vista Basic and...

Is this a test?

Today I had an appointment that spanned almost every area of what I do on a daily basis. The appointment lasted roughly three hours. In that time I… Helped setup a new iMac. She is making the switch from Windows and wanted some of the features that she was used to in her PC. I set her computer to ask for her password whenever it was turned on or came out of sleep mode so her kids couldn't get online without her...

McAffee Uninstaller Removal Tool

Use this tool to completely remove McAffee Security 2005, 2006, or 2007. Here is another McAfee Uninstaller that you can try from Tucows.