I am soon (I hope) going to be changing this website to 1024×768 screen resolution from the current 800×600. My Google Analytics tells me that now less than 5% of visitors use the outdated 800×600 resolution and let’s face it, new, larger flat panel monitors are cheap.
So here is a video to show you How to Change Screen Resolution in Windows:
Every once in a while I will come across a computer that will not boot up but instead stops at a black screen of death (as opposed to a blue screen of death) that looks something like this:
This happens to show the system hive of the registry as being missing or corrupt, you might also see the same thing only with “software” replacing “system”.
Either one is bad news.
Microsoft’s answer is to boot with your XP CD and try a repair. What the repair process will hope to find is backups of these critical Windows registry files in %WINDIR%\Repair (Probably C:\Windows\Repair, but maybe C:\WINNT\Repair if XP was an upgrade from Windows 2000).
But as I show in the video down below, those files may not have been updated since Windows XP was installed - maybe a long time ago. If that is the case, you might as well plan on a complete Windows Reinstall, along with reinstalling all of your software programs and any special device drivers.
The solution is to be prepared with current, updated repair files. How, you ask?
Easy, watch this short video showing how you can make a system state backup that will update these repair files and even schedule that backup to occur automatically, say, once per week so that a repair can be quick and successful should this little tragedy ever befall your computer.
HDMI is the way all your devices want to connect to your HDTV. Newer HDTV’s might have multiple HDMI ports, but older ones don’t.
Now you decide to hook up a computer via HDMI and find the port already in use by a Sony Playstation 3 or HDV camcorder, what are you gonna do?
The answer may be to alleviate that HDMI congestion with a convenient HDMI switch. IOGear has been around a long time providing solutions in connectivity. Now they offer the GHDMIAS4 which is a 4 port HMDI automatic switch that automatically chooses the active connection. But it also includes a handy remote so that you can choose the input if you want.
The IOGear GHDMIAS4 comes with the 4 port automatic HDMI switch, remote, and a cable to connect to the HDTV. If you want, you can use your existing universal programmable remote instead of the one IOGear includes.
You do need power available for the HDMI switch, but I presume you already have a rats nest of cabling and plugs. Just be sure to plug everything into a quality surge protector or UPS, not just an outlet strip or multi-outlet drop cord.
Searching around I found that you can get the GHDMIAS4 at Buy.com for about $92.00 and even get free shipping.
Check it out.
IOGear 4 Port HDMI Switch
Last week I tackled some brutal Chicagoland traffic and attended an Acronis Certified Engineer training course. The course was well done and with a small class size was very worthwhile. As a bonus I took a knowledge test of the Acronis True Image software.
I passed.
It’s always encouraging to meet with other people in the same line of work that have experienced positive results using the same tools that I have chosen to use. One of the others in attendance has been using the product about as long as I have, dating back to version 7 (several years ago).
The new Acronis True Image Echo is quite a product, and there is even an SBS (Microsoft Small Business Server) version out now.
You can read more here.
Sometimes when your computer is acting sluggish or a program like Adobe Acrobat Reader appears to hang or freeze, the problem could be excessive Windows temporary files gumming up the works.
I have seen instances where Microsoft Word will lock up or otherwise misbehave and the solution is as simple as cleaning out excessive Windows temp files.
Microsoft doesn’t exactly make that easy to do.
By default, Windows buries the temporary folder in a hidden portion of the User Profile directory. Further, the tool Disk Cleanup is buried in the Start Menu under All Programs | Accessories | System Tools and by default does not delete temp files.
After several instances at client locations where the fix to a problem software program was to clean out the Windows temp folder, I thought I should do a short screencast video explaining the problem and the solution:
How and Why To Clean Out Windows Temporary Files
Please remember that it is ALWAYS wise to have a good backup of your computer before performing any system maintenance or deleting any files.
When it’s all done, you may find your computer or some particular software program runs faster or more reliably than before.
With a few exceptions that I would put in the suggestion box, I really do love the NetGear ReadyNAS NV+ product line.
One of those exceptions is that I feel that the standard units that ship with only 256MB RAM are light on memory.
It turns out that they are easily upgradeable to 1GB with an inexpensive memory upgrade from Crucial.com
For your viewing enjoyment I have a short video showing the upgrade process for the ReadyNAS NV+ 1GB memory upgrade.
Upgrade Memory in NetGear ReadyNAS NV+
And as promised, it isn’t a direct link unfortunately, but you can buy the memory by clicking on the link below and doing the search for part #CT12864X40B, description is “CT12864X40B 1GB, 200-pin SODIMM, DDR PC3200 memory module”. At this writing it goes for about $75.
I just had a client ask me what wireless router he should buy for his home. Good question. How much do you want to spend and what kind of performance are you expecting?
Your wireless router, for most people, is also doubling as a hardware firewall - albeit not the most fantastic firewall, but certainly of value.
Cheap is ok, but don’t expect blazing speeds from PC to PC in your home and you may not get the range you are looking for.
The latest specification in wireless is 802.11n (which is still a “draft” spec, for about 4 years now?) but the products on the market are pretty stable nonetheless.
D-Link has gotten better and better over the years and delivers a good product for a good price. The “n” router I show below will deliver good performance and a lot of features. D-Link calls it the DIR-655 Xtreme N Gigabit Router, and as its name implies, all wired ports - 4 for your network and 1 for your ISP or “wan” connection will operate at gigabit speeds. Don’t expect your ISP to deliver gigabit bandwidth anytime soon, though.
This means that any wired computers with gigabit networking will operate quite a bit faster than any wireless ones, but if you have appropriate “n” mode wireless adapters they should be quite fast also.
If you are in the market for a good wireless router (slash firewall), take a look at the DIR-655. About the only thing I don’t like about it is the white color - kind a looks like a NetGear product, but it reviews well.
If you like it, you won’t go wrong buying from Newegg.com.
FireFox has been my recommended browser going way back to version 1.5, I think. Now Mozilla has released FireFox 3. I think it’s going to be great.
But I’m not upgrading yet, I don’t think you should either.
Unless:
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t expect big problems. But goofballs like banks who half the time don’t allow FireFox in the first place may have problems dealing with the new browser.
I rely heavily on FireFox add-ons. While I haven’t checked, I’m betting some of the ones I use are not FireFox 3 ready yet.
With my schedule, I just don’t have time to deal with new program bugs or nuances; I need my stuff to work.
FireFox 3 will be a definite upgrade for me and my clients, but not until I know everything is rock solid and ready to roll, possibly with version, say, 3.0.0.2.
Like
Having a recent Windows XP Restore Point can really save the day. Yesterday I showed how to create a Windows XP Restore Point.
I knew I needed to create a companion video and post showing how easy it is to roll back to a restore point, but didn’t have time at the moment.
Only two hours after creating the video I was at a client’s and used a restore point to undo what would otherwise have been a major project to fix.
Windows Restore Points are a great tool to have available, but they ARE NOT a substitute for good backups.
Here’s the companion video that shows how to restore to a Windows XP restore point:
If your computer is running great right now, create a Windows XP system restore point to commemorate the occasion.
You never know what might happen to your system:
The short video I have below shows how quick and easy it is to do this. Make yourself a reminder and do this often.
It’s usually a lot easier to go back to a system restore point than to trouble shoot and repair a problem the hard way.
Note: A system restore point is only one part of a good backup / recovery strategy, not a substitute for a good backup regimen.
