Welcome to
the second edition, year 2, of Presidio Computer's Newsletter.
Vol 2. No. 2
A. General
Audience
1.
Informative Web Sites. Recently, I have
found more web sites that provide tutorials or otherwise inform computer users.
a. Kim
Komando’s [self-proclaimed computer goddess of the radio] http://www.bcentral.com/articles/komando/default.asp
b. Geek Girls
[plain-english computing] www.geekgirls.com
c. Baycon
Group. Although labeled “Windows 98”,
the information is most of the information is applicable to all versions of
Windows. Training in other computer
programs is also available.
http://www.baycongroup.com/win98/win9800.htm
2. Have you ever wondered where you can find an
answer to your computing issue? Welcome
to the world of user groups. There are
multiple web sites at which you can post your question. Sometimes within minutes [but more commonly
within a day or 2], computer experts will respond to your issue. How much does it cost? Usually, this service is free. Hardware and software manufacturers often
provide this type of service. Here are a
few examples:
a. Hewlett
Packard - http://bizforums.itrc.hp.com/cm/Home/1,,2,00.html
b. Microsoft
- http://support.microsoft.com/newsgroups/default.aspx
c. PC
Magazine - http://discuss.pcmag.com/n/main.asp?webtag=pcmag&nav=start
d. Experts
Exchange - www.experts-exchange.com
.
3. Frequently, computer programs
[software] are released before the product has been fully tested. [Some software companies are more notorious
than others for participating in this practice.
Often, it seems that we, the users, are the testers for the software
development companies.] Generically,
these flaws are called "bugs".
Sometimes, a software developer will release a program designed to
repair or "patch" these "bugs". On occasion, the software developer will
gather a group of "patches", and make the group of patches available
to the public in the form of a "service pack". Late last year, Microsoft published
"service packs" for "Windows XP", "Windows 2000"
and "Internet Explorer 6".
For Windows XP and Windows 2000
To determine which, if any service
pack, has been installed on your computer:
a. Left click "start".
b. Left click "programs". If you have XP, left click "all
programs".
c. Left click "accessories".
d. Left click "system
tools".
e. Left click "system
information".
For XP, “service pack 1” is the only
“service pack” currently available.
For 2000, “service pack 1” , “service
pack 2”, and “service pack 3” are available.
For Internet Explorer
a. Left click on the big, blue
"e" on your desktop.
b. If your computer tries to connect
to the internet, you can cancel, or allow your computer to connect.
c. In the upper left of "Internet
Explorer", you will see "file"
, "edit" , etc. Look
for "help", which will a big towards the center, of the top.
d. Left click on "help".
e. Left click on "about Internet
Explorer".
f. A small
window will appear. Look, near the
center, for “update versions”.
For “Internet
Explorer 6”, “service pack 1” is the only “service pack” currently available”.
Presidio
Computers can install these service packs for you, or you can obtain them, for
free, from Microsoft’s update web page [ www.windowsupdate.microsoft.com ] .
4. What is an
operating system [OS]? The operating
system is the primary program of any computer.
The most common OS family is Windows.
When you are shopping for a software program, a piece of hardware, such
as a CD writer [aka burner], or Internet Service Provider [ISP], it is
important to know which OS your computer uses.
B.
Intermediate Users
1. IBM
created the hard disk drive [aka hard drive].
That’s right, during the early years of computing, computers only had
floppy disk drives. Recently, IBM sold
its hard drive business to Hitachi. With
that sale, computer users also lost an excellent warranty. IBM hard drives were the last to have a 3
[three] year warranty. Now, all IDE
[integrated drive electronics, the most common type of hard drive, for personal
computers] manufacturers provide only a 1 year warranty. If this is a comment of the computer hardware
industry on the products they produce, it re-enforces the notion that data
backup is very, very important.
2. I am a
member of the Tucson Computer Society [www.aztcs.org]. There, I have taught many classes during the
previous 3 years. As a result of a
recent “PCs for Intermediate Users” class, TCS will offer a SIG [special
interest group] for intermediate computer users. This SIG will meet on the 3rd
Thursday evening of each month, 7pm to 9pm.
C. Advanced
Users
1.
Troubleshooting your computer can be rewarding.
It can often be frustrating. Here
are some things to consider.
a] Is your data backed up? If not, you may not be able to recover your
data quickly and/or cheaply.
b] When did the problem begin, after installing
or removing some hardware or software?
If yes, try to reverse that change.
c] Make only one change to your computer @ a
time. Installing a program and an
unassociated piece of hardware can really confuse things. For example, a customer called me recently,
complaining that he could connect to his Internet Service Provider [ISP], but
could not view web sites. He said he had
spoken with his ISP. They suspected a
hardware problem. I asked him when the
problem began. He said it began after he
installed a program to block “popup” ads.
I suggested that he install that program. Success was reported.
d] Does the
problem persist after you have saved your work and re-booted?
e] Does the problem happen in safe mode? Problems that occur in safe mode are often
difficult and costly to fix. They
usually involve a computer virus, a hardware issue, or a corrupt file. If a problem doesn’t occur in safe mode, it
can still be caused by a virus or a hardware issue or a corrupt file, but if
the problem only happens in safe mode, we know that it isn’t caused by some
other program, because the only things running in safe mode are Windows, and
the program we are testing.
2. Lessons
learned. Recently, a customer
encountered an error, when installing AOL 8.
A call to AOL tech support was initiated. The tech tried many maneuvers. An installation of AOL 6 was attempted, with
no success. Finally, AOL 7 was installed
successfully. Patience and persistence
are virtues to be treasured when working with people and computers.
3. Another
lesson learned. A customer called,
stating that her PC would not go into Windows.
She uses XP Home edition. The
problem began after she tried to install a new mouse [& driver]. We couldn’t even get into safe mode, so we
could not use XP’s “system restore” feature.
Apparently, the driver install program had corrupted an essential file,
and/or the registry. All data that she
had not backed up had been lost. [She
didn’t want to attempt “data recovery” because the data wasn’t that
important.] We were unable to use the
“repair” feature from the XP installation disk.
We had to re-format the hard drive, then re-install the OS. Fortunately, her computer manufacturer had
provided her with a “system recovery” disk, so we were able to return her
computer’s programs to the same state as when her computer had arrived from the
factory. But, we had to re-establish her
internet connection and install any programs that she had installed after she
had purchased the computer. This could
have been avoided with a “backup” of the hard drive, or a “clone” of the hard
drive.
4. Don’t
blame Microsoft. It is easy to blame
Microsoft for any and all of our computer problems. Microsoft’s products are far from
perfect. [Often, I wish Microsoft would
sell reliable products with fewer features, rather than sell unreliable
products with a lot of features.] Even
though Microsoft is a very large company, they do care about the computer users
who purchase only one Microsoft product every few years. Before you curse Bill Gates [founder and
majority share holder of Microsoft], consider calling Microsoft tech support. To review your support options, see: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;Personalsup .
Reminder:
You can now access previous issues of the newsletter, from my website. When you visit www.presidiocomputers.com, no
cookies are placed on your computer.
As always,
Presidio Computers, is available to assist you with any of the computer issues
described above.
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The
information contained in this newsletter is provided for informational purposes
only. No guarantees nor warranties are expressly given nor implied.
Best of
success.
Sincerely,
Ed Sloup
Presidio Computers, LLC
520 731 6446
www.presidiocomputers.com