February 4, 2009

BSOD

Q:
Every time my computer errors out, it automatically restarts itself and while that's okay in some situations, it doesn't give me much time to see what's causing the problem. Is there any way I can change that? If so, please share it with me. Thanks!

A:
Great question! When you go to shut down your computer, you may notice that there's an option for you to restart your computer as well. That option is there for all the times you just want to restart your computer, instead of completely shutting it down. But did you know it also plays a part in system order cialis without prescription failures? Basically, Windows is set to automatically restart your computer whenever a fatal error occurs on your system.

But let's say the problem only happens when you're shutting down your computer. If Windows automatically restarts your computer in a situation like that, how are you supposed to find out any other information about why the error occurred in the first place? I mean, everything is gone so quickly with the restart, so if some things changed, you might be able to find out some additional information about the problem.

So, if you're having failure problems, one of the things you can do during your troubleshooting process is stop your computer from automatically restarting. The changed setting may allow you to see more information about the error, which will help you troubleshoot even further.

To do that, right click on your My Computer icon and select Properties. Choose the Advanced tab and under the Startup and Recovery section, click on the Settings button. Now, uncheck the box that says "Automatically restart."

From now on, when an error shows its ugly face again, your system will remain shut down until you do a regular boot up. You can then hopefully see more of what's going on and it may help you fix the problem faster. Now, this may not help you in every situation, but it's definitely worth a try!

Permalink • Print • Comment

Windows Installer Cleanup Utility

Today, I'd like to share a little Microsoft utility with you that just might save your day! It's a free download and it's called the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility. It has a couple of small, yet helpful features if you ever happen to find yourself in a bind. Let's take a look!

Have you ever started up your computer and had the Windows Installer open automatically and try to install a program? If that's never happened to you, you're one of the lucky ones. When that type of problem happens, there are some very complicated steps to fix it. Luckily, Microsoft realized that and they created the Installer Cleanup Utility. In most cases, the utility will fix those issues.

The utility also fixes installer issues that are caused by incomplete installations. If you've ever had an install fail and you can't get it fixed on your own, the Cleanup Utility may be able to help you as well!

The Windows Installer Cleanup Utility is simple to download and run. Simply go here and scroll down the page a little bit. Then click on the link that says "Download the Windows non prescription cialis Installer Cleanup Utility package now."

At that point, you can choose Save or Run, depending on whether or not you want to save it to your computer. Either way, this utility is a great resource. Enjoy!

Permalink • Print • Comment

Giving It a Clean Boot

Have you ever tried to install a program and it just wouldn't go? You know, you try it several times, but no matter what you do, it just doesn't install properly. I bet almost everyone out there has run into this at least once and today, I'm going to share a tip with you that I use daily when helping people install programs.

You know about safe mode, right? It's the way a computer can be started to try and fix problems when it won't boot up correctly. Safe mode is great for fixing major problems, but most of the time, it's too restrictive to try and fix less troublesome issues. If you're having trouble installing a program and safe mode doesn't help you, you may want to try a lesser known startup mode, called clean boot.

The clean boot mode is somewhat like safe mode. It makes the computer start up with fewer features running and no background programs. The main difference is while safe mode won't allow you to do many things with your programs, the clean boot mode will. That way, you can start your computer in the clean boot mode, try to install the troublesome program and finally succeed. So, without further ado, here's how you can start your computer in the clean boot mode!

For Windows XP:

1.) Go to Start, Run.

2.) Type in "msconfig" (without the quotes) and click OK.

3.) Under the General tab, you should see that your computer is on Normal Startup. Select Selective Startup and then uncheck the following boxes:

  • "process system.ini file"

  • "process win.ini file"

  • "load startup items"

When you're finished with that, your screen will look like the picture below:

Note: If your computer was already on Selective Startup, you may want to consider not finishing this tip. If your system is already set that way, someone has already modified your startup configurations. Therefore, you may end up altering those configurations by switching over to the clean boot and that may cause undesired results.

4.) Next, go to the Services tab and put a check next to "Hide all Microsoft services." Then click on the Disable All button.

5.) Click OK and you will be prompted to restart your computer.

After your system restarts, it will be in the clean boot mode. Try to install the program you were having trouble with. After you're done, you'll need to put your system back into the normal mode. Here's how:

1.) Go to Start, Run.

2.) Type in "msconfig" (without the quotes) and click OK.

3.) Under the General tab, select Normal Startup.

4.) Click OK and then restart your computer once more.

For Windows Vista:

1.) Go to Start and type "msconfig" (without the quotes) in the search box. Then hit Enter on your keyboard.

2.) If you're prompted for an Administrator password or for a confirmation, type in the password or click Continue.

3.) You'll then see a screen labeled "System Configuration." On that screen, select Selective Startup and uncheck the box that says "Load startup items."

Note: If your computer was already on Selective Startup, you may want to consider not finishing this tip. If your system is already set that way, someone has already modified your startup configurations. You may end up altering those configurations by switching over to the clean boot and that may cause undesired results.

4.) Next, go to the Services tab and put a check next to "Hide all Microsoft services." Then click on the Disable All button.

5.) Click OK and you'll be prompted to restart your computer.

After your system restarts, it will be in the clean boot mode. Try to install the program you were having trouble with. After you're done, you'll need to put your system back into the normal mode. Here's how:

1.) Go to Start, type "msconfig" (without the quotes) in the search box and hit Enter on your keyboard.

2.) If natural cialis you're prompted for an Administrator password or for a confirmation, type in the password or click Continue.

3.) You'll then see a screen labeled "System Configuration." On that screen, select Normal Startup and click OK.

After your computer restarts again, you'll be back to normal. Yes!

Permalink • Print • Comment

February 3, 2009

What exactly is a hijack?

Q:
What exactly is a hijack and are there different kinds I should look out for when I'm using my computer?

A:
That's a wonderful question! I'm actually quite surprised that we've never gone over this in a tip before. With that in mind, now is the perfect time to do so. Like any virus or piece of spyware that invades your computer, a hijack is similar. generic brand for cialis They work in just a little different way though. So, let's tackle this subject and continue to keep you and your computer safe!

Basically, a computer hijacker is any type of software that messes with your Web browser. They begin by resetting the preferences you have chosen and they then point that information to other Web sites. For example, a hijacker may work to reroute the information you have set in place, along with any Web address requests you make. The hijacker will point that information to some sort of unseen site and with doing that, they are able to capture all of that material. If something like this happens, your Web browser may still work the same, but it will react much slower.

There are a couple of other types of hijacks as well, including search and homepage hijacks. A search hijacker will change all of the search settings you have chosen and a homepage hijacker will change your preferred homepage to a completely different site. I'm sure you've all had experience with a homepage hijack before, am I right? You know, you choose a site to be your homepage and then the next time you open your browser, it has changed. How frustrating!

Hijacking has been known for awhile now, but it's still pretty popular. It may not be as scary as a virus, but it still has its downfalls. If you ever get caught in a hijack, there are some pretty simple ways to fix them. See, what the hijackers are doing is messing with your registry keys. They go in and change certain settings so you're unable to do what you intended to on your computer.

So, to fix the search hijack, open Internet Explorer and go to Tools, Internet Options, Programs tab. You will see a listing of some of your Internet services. Look past those and in the bottom left hand corner, there is a button that says "Reset Web Settings." Click that and the registry keys will be renewed. Click OK when you're finished.

To fix the homepage problem, you have to disable some scripting within your browser. In Internet Explorer, go to Tools, Internet Options, Security tab. Make sure the Internet icon is highlighted and click on the Custom Level button. Scroll down to the Scripting area and choose the Disable option under both the "Active scripting" and "Scripting of Java applets" choices. Then click OK twice.

That wasn't too bad, was it?! Now, you should be safe from any hijackers who may try to hit your computer. You can't beat that!

Permalink • Print • Comment

Ping Pong

Do you have any idea what the term "ping" means in the world of computers? If not, allow me to give you a brief definition. Basically, ping is short for Packet InterNet Groper and it is a utility that is most widely used to check for network errors. It's the main utility that is used to verify whether or not a network data packet can be sent to an address (usually an IP address) without any errors.

Now, let me try to explain how a ping process works. First, a ping command is used to ping an IP address and that request is then sent over the network to the computer with that address. Once it's successfully received, the computer produces what is called a "pong" response. The time between the two is then calculated to come up with an average response time. If the ping, for some reason, does not make it through to its destination, the computer will then receive a timed out error.

So, if you've ever received an error like that, you now know that it's coming from the ping utility. The term ping is also used quite a bit in computer gaming. In this case, it goes by either a high ping or a low ping and it basically has to do with how fast of a connection a user has to the game server. For example, if you play games online, you'll want to have a lower ping rate (around 50 is good). If you have too high of a ping speed, you may not be able to play, because a lot of game servers only accept low pings. Well, hopefully that helps you all in understanding this computer term a little more. As you can see, it's all in the ping and the free cialis pills pong!

Permalink • Print • Comment
« Previous PageNext Page »
Made with WordPress and a healthy dose of Semiologic • Sky Gold skin by Denis de Bernardy