PC Trouble Shooting

help is at hand

It may sound pessimistic, but PCs,like anything else, do occasionally go wrong. Though your first instincts may be to panic, cry or take a sledgehammer to your keyboard, there are a plethora of tools and techniques at your disposal for tackling both minor niggles and major hassles.

Hardware Problems, Thanks to the advent of Plug and Play technology, hardware connection problems are definitely rarer that they used to be. If you do encounter difficulties, they're most likely to be something simple like a disconnected power cable or a plug that has become loose..

Backing up, In case you hadn't already noticed, the world is an imperfect place, things go wrong, break and get stolen. So if you want to stay one step ahead of Fate, get yourself into a routine of backing up on a regular basis. If you do it frequently it'll seem less of a grind, so start today.

Windows pains. Most of the problems you encounter on your PC will be related to your Windows operating system. Though these difficulties can seem perplexing and complicated, there are various built-in System Tools and utilities at your disposal that can diagnose and fix many problems. As long as you keep a clear head and remember that most PC problems have occurred for a specific , and fixable, reason, Windows troubleshooting should be relatively straightforward and valuable part of the overall learning process. If all else fails remember technical support is available at a click of a link on this website

Viruses

What exactly are they? They're basically just small programs or bits of code that have been written just like regular applications. But these programs and codes have been designed to cause problems for computers, and generally for no reason other than the satisfaction of their creators. There are few things more annoying than picking up a computer virus, they can wreck havoc with your system, destroy data, corrupt system files and generally make your computer pretty poorly. A virus is very much like a cold or the flu, sneakily finding its way into its victim before infecting them. With computer viruses this will mostly likely happen when you open an email attachment, try to install a piece of downloaded software, not CD installations, or insert a floppy disk that's been used in an infected machine. You can also pick them up when opening certain types of documents like spreadsheets or word processor files. These conceal macro viruses which are very common but, thankfully, often not that serious. There are countless viruses out there looking for trouble, some nest in a computer and bide their time, while other types , called worms , spread by automatically forwarding themselves to everyone in your email address book. Still more , known as Trojans, find their way onto your system and then do a single piece of damage, perhaps disabling a specific system file or opening a gateway for hackers , individuals who try to access your data through your Internet connection, looking to invade your hard drive. So, as you can see, you need to be especially careful when using the Internet, but don't despair, there are things you can do to protect your system.

Install anti virus software, i have examples of free ones , on top right of this page, you can download from the Internet. Of these I've found Avast the best.

keep it updated, go to settings of the anti virus software and click update automatically.

keep you security settings to high or medium in Internet options, open Internet explorer, click on tools, on bottom of drop down menu, click on Internet option, go to privacy, adjust your settings, also click on block popups. Tip. if you download the google toolbar it comes with a free popup blocker

Computer getting slow, and giving trouble? Download Spybot, Search & Destroy for free. Will delete spyware, spam, adware etc...also have found this one pretty good as well Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus

Often great help can be got from different forums on-line with problems, from persistent browser hijackers to Trojan virus. So called because they usually come in with another program. The browser hijacker is even more annoying, in the middle of searching the Internet, unwanted ads from sites you don,t want to see or not even interested in just loads on to your browser, these can be hard to get rid of. A good software I have used and did the trick is called SuperAnti Spyware, and even better the home edition is free.

The Trojan virus was even more persistent to remove, but got a good software from Geekstogo Website, just go to Archives and you will get plenty of help there. The software that got rid of my Trojan is called Combofix but as with all software be careful using them, because some can delete pretty important dll files that the PC need to run. Usually going to forums like Geekstogo and other forums will go through how to use the software with care. tip: if using Combofix be sure to save it to the desktop..and close any other programs running including your antivirus

Help is at hand

To help you as best i can with your problem i need to know a few things about your computer. Please email by clicking on Tech Support,or to make it easier, just fill in the form below and submit it.

Address Details

Name        

Address 1

Address 2

Address 3

Comments?

Please answer as many of the following about your computer as you can but don't worry if you are not sure.

Technical Help

Select the operating system you are using Win 95 Win 98 Win ME Win 2000/NT Win XP Vista basic Vista Premium Mac Linux Other (Please State)

What size hard disk

How much RAM (Random Access Memory)

What type and speed processor: Type Speed Mhz Ghz

Does your computer have internet access? Yes No Modem Broadband Network Other

What Make and Size is Your Graphics Card 16 32 64 128 Other

What Make Sound Card

 

Lorie   Contact Lorie ©LaNPCs
Last updated: June 25th, 2009
Created Sept 5, 2006

Protecting Home PC's

Lorie's Resume:

Employment History:

• ( April 08 - July 08) work placement with a DE (Development Education) organisation as part of the end of my 3rd year in college.
  Responsiblities included Researching and Designing an Educational Photopack which involved the taking of suitable images for topics i had to cover with a digital camera, implimenting and promoting the Photopack, as well as designing a suitable booklet to include with the pack, and a CD cover and disk label. To promote the pack I also had to researched and make new databases in Microsoft Access to include suitable contacts to promote the pack. I also had to design a suitable interface for the CD to view and print the images.
• Freelance Graphic Designer
  1983-Present
• Responsibilities include working for various clients as a graphic designer to design brochures, business cards, ads, direct mail pieces, packaging, signage, and other marketing materials. I also Design Websites and freehand signs for B&B and other businesses. Working as a freelance graphic designer requires versatility, business and marketing knowledge, and organizational skills.

Program Knowledge:

• Adobe Indesign
• Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe Illustrator
• Macromedia Dream weaver
• Macromedia Flash
• Multimedia Authoring
• Microsoft Word
• Desktop Publishing,
• Microsoft PowerPoint.
• Microsoft Excel
• Final Cut Pro
• Microsoft Access

Working knowledge:

• HTML
• Media Analysis
• Radio Programme Production
• Communications
• Multimedia Project Development
• Computer Illustration Graphics
• Digital Camera
• Graphic Design
• Marketing

Able to work on both the Macintosh and PC.

Education:

• Crawford Municipal School of Art, Cork ,Graphic Design, Diploma.
• PLC Course, Tralee Community College, Tralee, Co. Kerry. Fetac (NCVA) level 5, 11 Distinctions in Multimedia Productions. ECDL-European Computer Driving Licence.
• Institute of Technology, Tralee, Co. Kerry. Level 8, 1st Class Honours in BA Honours Degree Course in Interactive Multimedia.

I know some of you use Firefox, but for all the IE6 users, just a quick message to let you know that IE7 has been officially released and is available for download. I've just downloaded it myself and it's quite Firefox-like in appearance and features with the addition of tabs being the main difference. There is also a "Phishing Filter" to improve security although knowing Microsoft, it's hard to know how effective this particular feature will be.

OK, got the link for the new Firefox 2 , You can download it here. I like the shiny tabs!, It also has a "Phishing Filter" like the new IE7. Both the IE7 and Firefox 2 are beta versions. ( for the untechnical web-user, this means there are still been tested.)

Lorie's
Website Design and PC Advice