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Widescreen and the intel 8286g graphics chip – don’t bother

I have faced this problem several times now. I have read every post on the Internet and there are no fixes.

The Intel 85865g integrated graphics chip does not support wide screen resolutions. There is no update to the drivers, there is not working hack and there is no hope.

The only solution is to either buy a standard (square) monitor or a different graphics card. Any graphics card on the shelf will handle widescreen resolutions.

Before you post questions and comments on possible fixes, I repeat, I have tried everything and read everything. There is no fix for this problem.

Perhaps someone will find a testimonial of someone who found a fix or a workaround. I have tried it and it doesn’t work.

Remove .NET Framework and solve Quickbooks startup problem

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.

Zoho Spreadsheet Update

My favorite online application suite, Zoho, just got a little more powerful today for spreadsheet users. The Zoho spreadsheet, known as Zoho Sheet, added two huge features today; Macros and Pivot Tables.

Power spreadsheet users use these two features often and will appreciate Zoho Sheet’s new found power. For an overview, watch this video from Zoho:

Think twice before your blame your computer’s manufacturer for problems

“What brand of computer do you recommend?” is one of the most common questions I get asked. My answer is usually, “It really doesn’t matter as long as it is a name brand and has the specs that you need.”

I often hear comments like, “Our first computer was a Dell and we constantly had problems with viruses and spam,” or “I’m never going to get another HP, this one just locks up and crashes all the time.”

Most computer problems I see every day have nothing to do with the parts they are made up of. Most home computer problems are software related – not hardware.

PayPal Agrees

Last week I wrote a tip called 7 Habits of highly inefficient Internet Users.   The very first habit I wrote about was the use of old browsers. Literally, the next day PayPal (the leading online payment source for eBay and person-to-person payments) announced that it would stop supporting old browsers and users who did not upgrade to more modern and safer browsers would not be able to use the service. This will not be an isolated incident. Some banks also require the use of at least Internet Explorer 6 with all its updates or Firefox 2.0.

Take control of the AVG Scans – Video Tips

As you know, we whole heartedly recommend and use AVG Antivirus. It is unobtrusive, fast, and most importantly effective. However, one irritating function it has is the default full system scan at 8:00am. Many people are working on their computers at 8:00am and full system scan slows down the system enough to be highly annoying if not unusable in some cases.

You don’t have to wait for the scan to finish. Just RIGHT click on the AVG scanning icon in your system tray (by the clock). It looks just like the AVG icon, but has a little white triangle in the middle of it. After you right click, click “Cancel or Stop Scan”. You will get a confirmation box asking if you are sure, Click Yes, then OK.

One other tidbit to remember about AVG is that it is OK to click the OK button after it completes the daily update. Many computer users wait politely for

AVG Antivirus 8.0 Upgrade Advice

The past few days calls and emails started filtering in about the new AVG 8.0 version folks have seen appear on their free versions of AVG Antivirus. The common query is, “Should I upgrade?” No, home users of AVG Antvirus do not need to upgrade at all. The current free version of AVG will continue to be updated and as… Read More »AVG Antivirus 8.0 Upgrade Advice

Slow computer? Viruses? Malware? I can help!

After almost 13 years of battling security problems on Windows machines, I’m finally seeing the light of day and recommending Mac’s and Linux for many computer users. It will be a long journey convincing people that there is life beyond Microsoft.

For those who bang away with Microsoft Windows computers,and have problems with Slow Computer Disease (SCD), pop-ups, viruses and other problems, I present the following sage advice:

I’ve learned that when it comes to spyware/adware (THE major cause of SCD), if it takes more than an hour to troubleshoot and solve, you will be WAY AHEAD of the game to:

1. Backup your data
2. Reformat the system, and resinstall Windows

Help! My laptop has been stolen – No they didn’t catch the bad guys

Before I get a bunch of comments about the news story on the bad guys who were caught, it doesn’t appear to be the same bad guys at the moment. My stuff was not in the initial find and the dates don’t match up.

Maybe the bad guys know each other, but until the police contact me with a find, I am assuming that my laptops are still out there.

Yes, both my laptops were stolen out of my car last night. One was an Averatec with tons of stickers plastered on the top cover, the other was my Asus Eee PC. There was a lot of other stuff in the bag, but nothing that I can’t replace.