Biden PC Small Business IT Blog

Windows Small Business Server 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:03:00 +0000

As great as it has been to work with Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, SBS 2008 looks to be even cooler. There are a bunch of changes that are quite exciting.

The software works on 64 bit hardware. Only.
It deploys as Single-NIC only, with a router required as ISA Server will no longer be offered.
Setup automatically detects your router if addressed between at 192.168.x.1 and 192.168.x.255
A new Administrator account created during setup and the built-in is disabled out of the box. This means that the admin account can be locked out in the event that it is being bombarded with hacking attempts.
The system software versions have been updated to Windows Server 2008, Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Windows SharePoint Services v3, WSUS v3
"My Documents" redirection is no longer all or nothing. You can choose which users should have their "My Documents" redirected to a folder on the server
CALs for SBS 2008 Standard are now less expensive and you can get "Standard" CALs for users that aren't using the features in Premium.
CALs purchased in 1, 5, or 25 packs instead of just 5 or 20.

There are many more cool features in Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 200. And if this interests you, I highly recommend that you take a look over at Sean Daniel's SBS 2008 blog.

Happy Computing,
Tim

Handling Cookies in Firefox

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:00:00 +0000

Mozilla Firefox gives you many more options on how to deal with cookies than Microsoft Internet Explorer does. You have the options of:

Accepting all cookies
Not accepting 3rd party cookies
choosing on a site by site basis which cookies to accept.

You also have options as to how long to keep the cookies that you do accept.

Keep them until they expire
Keep them until you close Firefox.

ITCSNY points out a few reasons why we should be more careful with the cookies that we accept.

So here are some easy instructions (for Windows Users) to change your default Cookie rules.

Go to the"Tools" menu and choose "Options".
Click under the "Privacy" tab at the top of the window and look under the "Cookies" section.
Choose your settings then click "OK".

Cookies can be very helpful so I don't delete them all but I do recommend AT LEAST removing the check mark from "Accept third-party cookies". I also choose "Ask me every time" under "Keep Until" just so that I can actually see who is requesting the cookies.

Remember, cookies help you log into websites and some absolutely require cookies so I don't recommend blocking them all, but you should at least learn about who is giving them to you.

Happy Computing,
Tim

Windows SBS 2003 and 2008 Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:00:00 +0000

I recently ran into a blog by a guy named Sean Daniel. He is a member of Microsoft's Windows SBS Product team. That means that he is intimately familiar with Windows Small Business Server 2003 and 2008.

Sean posts new factoids to his blog just about every day. Some posts are about new features, others are about training opportunities and still others are actual "how to" posts. I am excited about his blog and I wanted to share it with you in the event that you are also interested in Windows Small Business Server 2003 and 2008.

Multiple Outlook Accounts

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 05:47:00 +0000

Today I was assisting a remote desktop client who wanted to have multiple accounts set up in Microsoft Outlook. Usually this isn't a problem but the way she wanted it just can't be done.

Here is what she wanted... She wanted to be able to have 1 Microsoft Outlook window open with her personal account and a completely separate Microsoft Outlook window open with her business account.

This is not an unreasonable request. It just can't be done. You can create separate outlook profiles and have the choice of which to open, but when you open another window it remains in the same account as the first that was opened. This does not accomplish what she wanted.

Fortunately this client was easy to please (Thank you if you're reading this...) and we set her up with an IMAP account so that she could separate her 2 accounts into different folders located on the left hand side in the "Mail Folders" window of Outlook. That pleased her. Now she just has to get used to the delete and purge issue with IMAP.

If she had Outlook 2007, she could have done the folder separation with different POP3 accounts but since she had an earlier version of Outlook, going with IMAP was our only choice.

If you are looking for a way to separate your different POP3 email accounts within Microsoft Outlook 2007, look to this page to find out how to do it. Look for the "Directly assign the account a Folder Set" at the bottom of the page. Thank you to howto-outlook.com for the info!

Happy Computing,
Tim

How To Change SBS 2003 Password

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 16:13:00 +0000

I've been receiving lots of hits to my website asking how to change passwords in Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003.

If you don't have the legitimate Administrator password you (or your client) either forgot the password or you're trying to hack in to it. And if you're not my client, I won't tell you how to get in.

If you do have administrator access to your Small Business Server 2003 computer, changing users' passwords is extremely easy. Just follow these simple steps.

Go to the Server Management Console and click "Users".
Choose the user whose password you want to change and right-click on their name then click on "Change Password".
Type the new password in both boxes and click on "OK". Now the user can log in with their new password.

Simple huh? I thought so.

And if you are interested in a new server for your small business, Biden PC can install one (depending on your current computer network infrastructure) for less than $2000.00.

Happy Computing,
Tim

Computer Questions

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:12:00 +0000

Do you have computer networking questions? Do you have computer system problems that you haven't gotten answered. Send us an email at sales@bidenpc.com. We answer your computer questions in our blog just a few days.

Happy Computing,
Tim

Windows Vista Backup Sucks

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 23:06:00 +0000

I recently got a call from a friend who said he was having troubles with the Windows Vista backup program. Not going into too much of that conversation, I decided to try it out myself.

I did a complete windows Vista Backup of my laptop and saved it to my USB Hard drive. No big deal so far. So next I installed Vista again and went to copy some files back. IT COULD NOT FIND THE BACKUP!!! I am not joking, everything I tried to do to get vista to recognize the backup files failed.

I could go to the drive and get into the files but the same backup program that created the backup couldn't retrieve a single thing. I was amazed.

If you really need to backup your data files or even your complete system, use a more complete backup system such as Acronis True Image. Acronis is what I use and I am quite happy with it.

So, as if I needed another reason, I have to say once again that Windows Vista IS NOT READY to be released to the wild.

Maybe I should have gone to SP1 before attempting to restore the files but with the troubles that I had with SP1, I decided I would rather not restore the files and just copy what I needed from my desktop PC.

Vista Backup... What a joke!

Happy Computing, (said with much sarcasm)
Tim

Setup for Microsoft Outlook

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:02:00 +0000

If you are like me, you have a few different email addresses that are being managed by Microsoft Outlook. I have 2 IMAP email addresses that I have to check but Outlook defaults to opening the standard inbox first.

To correct this and setup Microsoft Outlook to open the folder you want open first, just follow these easy steps.

Go to the "TOOLS" menu and Click on"OPTIONS".
Click on the "OTHER" tab at the top of the new window.
Now click on "ADVANCED OPTIONS" then click on the "BROWSE" button.
Highlight the folder that you want to see opened when you first open Outlook and click "OK".
Now click "OK" and click "OK" again.
Reboot your computer and when you start up Microsoft Outlook it will start up in the folder that you chose.

If you have other computer support needs or questions, please feel free to contact Biden PC.

Happy Computing,
Tim

Google Needs SEO Help

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:23:00 +0000

Google, yes Google could use a bit of Search Engine Optimization help. Part of SEO is making sure that your links are valid. I guess they think that's a bit tough...

Click on the image to see it full size.

At their Google Webmaster Help Center they have a link to another page. This tells about their input on improving your page's Google Page Rank.

This is what happens if you click on that link...

Click on the image to see it full size.

I just thought you might find that interesting... I did. =)

Happy Computing,
Tim

Website SEO

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 16:40:00 +0000

Since everyone wants more business, it pays to be on the first page of Google, Yahoo, and MSN. Website rankings and their placements are always changing which is why we must perform SEO. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.

I've been learning quite a bit about SEO in recent weeks and I would like to share just the basics with you.

The wording on your page is extremely important, especially the H1 and Title tags.
Inbound links are are also extremely important. Not only how many you have but also what the anchor text (the text you click on that takes you to the link) says. For example, if your link anchor text says "Biden PC", that will only get you SEO credit for the term "Biden PC". That means, to find you, your prospective client must type in "Biden PC". Instead, if your anchor text says "Computer Networking" (which gets a lot more searches per month) you will now be found under that term. The more that you get with specific anchor text, the better off you will be.
Who links to you is also extremely important. If you have a page that has a Google Page Rank of 1, you don't get a lot of SEO credit for that. If a site with a Google Page Rank of 3 or 5 links to you, that carries more weight. But even better, if a site with a Google Page Rank of 6 to 10 links to you, that carries a whole lot more weight.

This is why I am enrolled to be listed with Total Blog Directory under their Tech Support Blog Directory section. It has a page Rank of 3 (which is higher than my page rank of 1) and that will help me to get a higher Google Page Rank.

For more on SEO, check out Hubspot's Website Grader and their SEO Blog.

Happy computing,
Tim

SBS 2003 Passwords

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:13:00 +0000

I have a client who has a Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 system on his network and he is asking me to compile a list of his users' passwords. The problem is that even with administrator access to the server, I can't see the employees' passwords. I informed him of this and gave him these 3 options as to how he can achieve such a list.

He can ask his employees for their passwords and compile the list himself.
I can create the list and adjust the users' settings so they can't change their passwords. I can then give them new ones.
The most secretive way is to perform a brute force attack within the server to attempt to discover the employees passwords. I would then create the list. If they change their passwords, I will have to perform another brute force attack.

There are problems with each of these solutions and I will go about them in the same order.

Asking the employees for their passwords could make them feel as though they aren't trusted and cause a feeling of resentment. It could also compromise the users' passwords for other accounts which is a complete lack of security.
If we state that we are changing the security policy and give the employees new passwords, it is a policy change and they have to accept that. Fortunately that would not compromise the employees' passwords for other accounts.
The brute force attack is costly. What it entails is essentially hacking his own employees accounts on his own server. It takes time to do this and if the employees find out, their trust in the company could suffer. And like the first scenario of asking for the passwords, this may end up in compromising employees' passwords for other their accounts.

My professional recommendation is to go with option number 2 because it has the fewest security options, is inexpensive and will create the least distrust within the company.

Having a Microsoft Windows 2003 Small Business Server on your network is a great way to increase the security and effectiveness of your small business computer network. It has many options to increase your network security. These options include maximum password life, minimum password complexity, how often you can reuse your passwords and in the event that you forget a password, the administrator can easily reset it. The administrator can't see the employees' passwords but they can reset them to something new.

I hope this helps.

Happy computing,
Tim

Computer Repair

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 22:54:00 +0000

Since you're reading this blog post about computer repair, its pretty safe to say that you are looking for help with a computer that needs to be repaired. Whether you are looking for computer repair tools or a PC repair consultant, we can help you with the task at hand.

If you are a home user and your computer has pop-ups, we can help.
If you have a small business computer network and it has become slow, contact us.
If you attempted to fix a friend's computer and it still isn't working right, we will get the PC working again.

We use many different computer diagnostics tools to get to the root of the problem, no matter what it is. If the problem is because of computer hardware such as a power supply, RAM or hard drive we will diagnose it and fix it. If it is a software problem like a virus, registry error, or Windows error, we will use our extensive knowledge to rid you of your computer problems.

Happy computing,
Tim

Computer Maintenance

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:59:00 +0000

Regular computer maintenance will keep your computer running faster longer and over time that will save you both stress and the price of a new computer. Here are a couple easy computer maintenance procedures that you can quickly do on your own in less than 10 minutes.

Remove all the dust from the inside of your computer.

All you need is a can of compressed air. Take your computer outside and remove the side cover.
Using your can of compressed air, blow all the dust out of the inside of your computer. Point it at the CPU Fan, Power Supply, air vents and anywhere else there is a build-up of dust and/or animal fur.

Run CCleaner.

CCleaner is a free program that cleans up many parts of your version of Windows. You can download CCleaner here. You have many options when running CCleaner. Here are my favorites... I will assume that you start with the defaults then modify them. When you start CCleaner you have a number of check-boxes and some of those are checked and some are not.
To start with, under "Internet Explorer" uncheck cookies, history recently typed URLs, and AutoComplete Form History.
Under "Windows Explorer" uncheck Recent Documents.
Under "System" uncheck Startmenu Shortcuts and desktop Shortcuts.
Now, check the box that says "Advanced". Click "OK" to the boxes that pop up. We will turn off problematic ones.
Under "Advanced" uncheck Menu Order Cache and Custom Files and Folders.
Now click on "Run Cleaner" and then click on "OK".
Off to the left side, you will see a bunch of blue building blocks that say "Registry" under them. Click on that then click on "Scan for Issues". This will take a minute. When the process is completed, click on "Fix Selected Issues".
Now reboot your computer and know that your computer is cleaner both physically and in the software.

See, performing your own computer maintenance really isn't that hard. Of course, if you feel uncomfortable doing this, Biden PC is available for this and many other computer support services. These can be performed onsite at your office or home or they can be performed remotely over the Internet.

Happy computing,
Tim

Computer Upgrades

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:30:00 +0000

According to C-Net's senior editor Matt Elliott, the expected life of a computer is 3-5 years. I believe that desktop computers last about 5 years before they are too old and laptops last about 3 years. That typically isn't due to faulty parts as much as it is to computers getting old and software remaining new and always getting more sophisticated.

Because software continues getting more sophisticated, a straight computer repair isn't always the best solution to the problem. Often a small upgrade can extend the life of a computer and make it well worth the price of the upgrade.

Consider for a moment that you have a computer that has a faulty stick on RAM on a computer that runs Windows XP. Now consider that you want to upgrade to Windows Vista. If you only have 256 MB of RAM, you can't run Microsoft Windows Vista. It just won't work. But, if you replace that faulty 256 MB of RAM with 2 GB of RAM, your old PC will probably be able to run Windows Vista. before deciding onWindows Vista, I would recommend checking Microsoft's Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor. This tool will tell you whether you are ready or not.

Always remember, a small upgrade now can often save a lot of money down the road.

Happy computing,
Tim

Computer Hardware Quality

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 12:49:00 +0000

This weekend, my wife had just plugged in the iron in order to iron some clothes when there was a small click that came from the iron and the indicator light went off. She thought that it was odd but left it plugged in for an extra few second. Not only did the indicator light go off, but the entire iron started to cool.

Even under moderate to high usage an iron should last more than 4 years. This one was used approximately once a month and in less than 4 years it gave up the ghost.

Admittedly I know nothing about irons, not even how to correctly use one. But, being a computer repair professional, I know a bit about using high quality computer parts. There are hardware companies whose parts I refuse to use because I don't want to have to replace the part twice. Once I repair a PC, I want it to stay in good working order. From motherboards and hard drives to fans and power supplies, I use only high quality parts because you, the customer, want to have a computer that works for years, not a computer that works for months.

According to C-Net's senior editor Matt Elliott (and I agree with him), the expected life of a computer is 3-5 years. The high quality part will be far more likely through last the expected years of your computer.

Happy computing,
Tim

Onsite Computer Repair

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:32:00 +0000

Have you ever really thought about computer repair? There are real advantages to getting onsite computer repair over taking your computer into a shop to have it worked on.

If you have somebody come to your home or office, it is more convenient to you because they have to work around your schedule.
The pc repair will also be will also be finished quicker. You never know how long it will be until they get to work on your computer when it is at their shop.
It keeps the computer repair technicians honest because you can see exactly what processes are taking place and which parts are being replaced.
Your technical support technicians are less likely to overcharge you if they are onsite because they can't charge you for time they weren't there.

Right now, Biden PC offers a free computer repair consultation. If you would like to have us call you and examine your computer's type and symptoms, simply contact us now. We will call you as soon as possible or the next business day, depending on when you contact us.

Thank you and happy computing,
Tim

How to Hack

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 17:09:00 +0000

I often get requests from people who are looking for ways to gain network administrator access on computers or servers. Do you think I'm stupid? I'm not going to give you that!

I will be the first to admit that in my line of business, there are times when using hacking tools is necessary. If a user has locked himself our of a computer, it is my job to give them access again. If a network administrator left (or was fired) and didn't give the business owners the password, the password can often be retrieved by using tools that are commonly available on the internet. If I need to discover how many devices are on the network or what a printer's IP address is, I may use a network enumeration tool.

In my toolbox I keep many network enumeration, wireless sniffing, and password retrieval programs but I am not going to give them to you just because you ask for them. I don't know who you are and therefore I can't know what your true intentions are.

So please, script kiddies and junior hackers of the world, give up and look elsewhere. I'm not going to tell you how to hack my system or anybody else's, even if you do tell me that its your own computer.

Tim

Editing Sony DVD Videos

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 15:12:00 +0000

Yesterday my wife needed to create and edit some videos for her class (she's an art teacher) on how to work with water-color paints. We have a Sony DCR-DVD 105 camcorder that records to the mini DVDs. It doesn't have a Firewire or USB connection on it so this presents a bit of a problem... How do you get the video onto your computer? Here's what I do.

First you'll need a bit of inexpensive software (sorry, not free this time) called AVS Video Converter. It is only $39.95 right now and it does a great job of converting the DVD files to almost any video format you would like. I usually choose .wmv, but the choice is up to you.

So here are the steps to converting the DVD video to any format you would like so you can edit your videos.

When you're finished recording video, finalize the DVD.
After it is finalized, put the DVD into your computer's DVD drive.
go to "My Computer" and Right-Click on the DVD drive.
Choose "Explore".
A new window will be opened and you will see some files.
Copy the files that end in ".vob" to your desktop because AVS Video Converter can't read directly from the DVD.
Start AVS Video Converter and choose the file format that you want to convert the DVD files to.
Click "Browse" to choose your .vob file.
Look under "Output File name" and you will see "... Profile" click on the box there to choose your exact output method within your video type.
Now you are almost finished. click on "Convert Now" and it will start it's magic. Obviously the software will take longer to convert larger files but it will do it.

When the program is finished, you'll be able to watch your video on your computer or edit it any way you want.

Happy video editing,
Tim

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Print From a DOS Application

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:50:00 +0000

Recently I was asked how to make a DOS application print from Windows Vista or XP if there is no Parallel Port. This is actually quite easy and takes only a few simple steps.

Install the printer on another printer and make sure it prints.
Share the printer and note the computer-name and printer's share-name.
On the printer that has the DOS program, create a batch file that looks like this:

net use lpt1 /delete
net use lpt1 \\pc-name\printer-name
c:\folder\dos-application

Now in Windows XP, all you have to do is run the batch file and it works.

With Windows Vista, there is a slight catch. when you run it, you may not get anything or you may get an error that asks you for a password. If either of these happen to you:

close it out and go back to where the batch file is located.
Right-click on the batch file and choose "Run As Administrator".
You can now run the program and print to LPT1.

If you need to print to LPT2 instead of LPT1, simply change the commands in the batch file to sat LPT2.

Happy computing,
Tim

Hard Drive Problems

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 15:27:00 +0000

As I have had 2 clients in the week that have Hard Drive Problems, I would like to talk a bit about what these problems are and how to recover data when they occur.

First, hard drive problems are typically bad spots on the internal platters (think of CDs inside a metal box with metal arms that run across them reading data) that can no longer be read from or written to. These spots are called sectors and when a sector cannot be accessed, your Operating System (probably Windows) ignores it and writes data around it instead of in it.

There are 2 different types of problems that cause bad sectors. We'll start with the type that is the most common and least problematic.

Software errors are exactly what they sound like, problems with the data on the drive. A software error can be caused by a small number of things. This includes:

a write-head not writing in the exact space that a sector is located in, therefore causing 2 sector errors.
a piece of data being written and the master record (for the drive) not being updated or incorrectly updated.
loss of power while writing data.

There are a number of ways to fix or recover data from these software hard drive problems. Lets go over those now.

Chkdsk - No that is not a typo. Chkdsk is short for CheckDisk and is a Windows native application that performs a scan of your hard drive and maps out bad sectors. This allows your drive to continue performing and reduces the probability of more sector problems. Click here to see how to run Chkdsk in Windows.
If data has been lost, there are many free programs that can be used to recover them with decent reliability. Many can be found on the Ultimate Boot CD 4 Windows. If you don't feel comfortable creating a boot cd, then check out Recuva. I have recently used to to recover many files from a client's PC.
As well as data recovery, the Ultimate Boot CD 4 Windows can also perform hard drive scans and fix many errors. If you need a copy, please contact me via my business website.
After recovering your data, I recommend backing up your data and completely formatting (Not a quick format) your hard drive. This will cause the system to ignore the problematic areas and rewrite the data elsewhere. Now, we hope, those hard drive issues should be gone.

There are also hardware errors that can occur in hard drives. These are more problematic but in most cases, data can still be recovered from the damaged sectors.

Hardware errors also have a number of causes that we'll discuss a few of those here.

There can be dust or metal flakes (caused by the movement of the internal parts) inside the hard drive that get onto a platter. This can cause a small magnetic blackout of a sector. If it moves along with the head it can cause small scratches like on a CD. Also, like a CD, the data can usually be read using different methods (Please don't use toothpaste inside your hard drive.).
Dropping Computer or Laptop - If you drop your computer, in many cases it will be safe from harm but there is the chance that the read head (which is kind of like the needle and arm on a record player) can scratch the surface of the platter. These will require special Data Recovery facilities to retrieve the data.

Here are a few ways to fix or recover data from more serious hard drive problems.

You've heard me say it before and you'll hear it again, the Ultimate Boot CD 4 Windows is a godsend and the same programs that can retrieve software error sectors can also retrieve hardware error sector. TestDisk and Disk Investigator (both on the UBCD4Win) recently saved my hide.
SpinRite - Gibson Research Corporation makes a great piece of software that can fix the drive so you can retrieve data from damaged hard drives. I have used it quite successfully many times.
If the above tools can't do it, I would recommend sending the drive to a data recovery specialist. There are many to be found. Simply google "data recovery" and you'll find plenty. As I've never had to use one, I really can't recommend one.

Now that you have recovered your data, I recommend backing up your data and completely formatting (not a quick format) your hard drive. This will cause the system to ignore the problematic areas and rewrite the data elsewhere. Now, we hope, those hard drive issues should be gone.

May all of your hard drives have long lives,
Tim

How to Describe Tech Problems

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:41:00 +0000

As a professional computer technician, I always have people describing different problems to me. Due to a lack of details, I often have no idea what they are trying to tell me and that just makes things more difficult for everyone. In light of this, I want to help you describe your issues to a technician.

Here are a few things to consider when thinking about how to describe a technical problem.

How often does it happen? Timing can be a big help when trying to figure out what is causing a problem.
How long has the problem existed? This could signal a change to your system that can be removed or fixed. Maybe a new program was installed or a new PC was added to the network.
Can you reproduce the problem at will or is it random? If it seems random, it is harder to find. If it can be reproduced by following a series of actions, that narrows down the issue quite quickly.
Is there an Error Message? If there is, please note exactly what it says, not just the color. The color tells us very little except for the fact that there was an error. The message will usually tell us at least something about the error.
What caused the error to occur? If you had just opened or closed a program and the error appeared, odds are the problem is with that program.
Are there any common factors that make it happen? For example, does it only happen when you're connected to the Internet or when you change your speaker volume?
Has someone else or another company worked on your computer? Believe it or not, computer technicians often have their own ways of doing things and if we know the other technician, we may know what programs they use and how they do their work.

These are just a few ideas to help you communicate with your computer technician. The more details you can give him or her, the less time it will take them and the less you spend. Being more exact can save you money.

Happy computing,
Tim

New IP Address

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 19:03:00 +0000

This morning I was at a client's office because they had just switched Internet Service Providers (ISP) and their IP (Internet Protocol) Address changed. Under many circumstances, this wouldn't be a big deal because they can be assigned dynamically but because this client went from a static IP address to another static IP addres, their entire network was offline until their router was changed to the new address.

To get their computer network running with the new ISP we had to change the static IP address. Not a problem... Except for the fact that the client didn't have the password for their router. This meant that we had to completely reset their router back to factory settings. Nothing from the old configuration was kept.

Now we had to set the static IP Address, Default Gateway, and DNS entries. We changed the router's internal static IP address settings and the default password to something that he can easily remember.

Much of this hassle could have been averted if the IT Company who installed the network had given him the password. Keeping passwords and documentation is a way that computer companies try to lock you into using their services and that is poor customer service.

Always remember, the computers and network in your home or office are yours. They do not belong to the IT company no matter what they say. If you paid for the hardware, you own it and should have all the passwords and documentation.

If you are in the position where your IT services are holding you hostage, Contact Biden PC. We'll gladly set you free.

Happy Computing,
Tim

Computer Repair Tools

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 16:35:00 +0000

An invaluable piece of test equipment for any Computer Repair company is a POST Card. I'm not talking about the piece of paper with a picture on it that requires a postage stamp to send, I mean a P.O.S.T. Card.

P.O.S.T. is an acronym that stands for Power On Self Test.

Have you ever noticed the beeps your computer makes when you start it up? That is a small part of the internal part Power On Self Test. The number and length of the beeps tell you if you have hardware problems and what the (general) problem is.

A Power On Self Test Card goes through hardware diagnostics and shows error codes on the display. Different codes mean different things on different motherboards but some are the same. For example, "FF" or "00" means there is a problem with the CPU. "C1", "C6", "31", and "3E" are typically memory errors.

Some of these hardware errors can be difficult to diagnose without tools that tell you what the error is. That is why I recommend having a P.O.S.T. Card, they have diagnose many errors and a good one also comes with a book to give more details about the error code.

I am not endorsing any specific brand or manufacturer, just the type of card. I would recommend googling "power on self test card".

Good luck and happy computing,
Tim

We remove Vista. Long live XP.

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 13:40:00 +0000

Most people that I know are less than thrilled about the concept of switching to Microsoft Windows Vista. Unfortunately, Microsoft, as of today, has officially killed sales of XP on prebuilt computers. This means that if you call Dell, HP, Gateway or Acer all you can get as an Operating System is a version of Windows Vista or possibly Linux.

If you are in the market for a new computer and still want XP, call Biden PC. We still have Windows XP licenses in stock. We can sell Windows XP Professional for $160 and XP Home for $110.

We will even completely remove Windows Vista from your current computer and install either Windows XP Professional or XP Home with all drivers and updates installed.

If you would like to have Vista uninstalled on your computer and replace it with windows XP Pro, Home or Media Center Edition, please contact Biden PC. We will be glad to do that for you.

Biden PC is a computer networking, repair, and support company that is located in Pomona, California. We are central to San Dimas, Glendora, Diamond Bar, Monrovia, Chino, Chino Hills, Claremont, Montclair, Ontario, and Rancho Cucamonga.

FREE – Speed Up Your Own Computer - AntiVirus

noreply@blogger.com (Tim Biden) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:36:00 +0000

So you're probably wondering why I called this post Anti-Virus instead of Virus... Well, the wrong antivirus software can slow your computer down immensely.

As you may or may not know, you have many different options for antivirus software. You of course have the big 2, Symantec (Norton) and MaAfee. Then you also have antivirus programs from

Microsoft
Panda
TrustPort
Sophos
AVG Grisoft
Trend Micro
Dr Web
ClamAV
ZoneAlarm
AVK (G Data)
Avast
Avira Antivir
Kaspersky Labs

There are tons of antivirus programs and they all catch different viruses and different percentages of them. Yes, some are better than others.

Symantec (Norton) and MaAfee (and probably many others) have a bunch of background process happening at one time, therefore reducing the speed of your computer. They do this to provide as many services to you as is possible. They provide a firewall, active virus scanning, active spyware scanning, online child protection, online personal data protection, and others. Expect to see them protecting you from traffic accidents and the flu in future releases. (Just kidding about the traffic accident and flu protection.)

There are other AntiVirus programs that find and remove more viruses than they do and they do it faster without the large strain to your system resources. Check the most recent test results from av-test.org at Virus Bulletin.

So there is a lot of data at the above sites. You're probably wondering which ones I use or recommend. In the past I have recommended Grisoft's AVG but I've recently switched to Avira Antivir and I've been quite happy with it. It performs active scanning on every file that is written and read from any drive but doesn't slow the computer nearly as much as the big 2.

If you think you would like to try another product, I encourage you to examine the test results from av-test.org at Virus Bulletin and make your own informed decision from them. But if your subscription has not yet run out, I would recommend you keep your current anti-virus software so you can save your money until the subscription runs out.

Also Norton and Symantec can be difficult to remove and if you do so, you do it at your own risk. Click here to remove Norton and here to remove McAfee.

I hope this has been informative for you. If you have any questions or feel that this may be best left to a computer service professional, please email Biden PC here.

Happy Computing,
Tim