Here is a list of frequently asked questions that may help you better understand your computer and how to deal with common issues. If you have a question that is not addressed here please don't hesitate to call. |
Q1. Should I turn off my computer during a lightning storm? A. This is good question, but isn't a yes or no answer. First you should know that even if your computer is turned off electricity from the power supply is still running through the motherboard. Also if you use dial up internet access there is a constant flow of low voltage electricity through your phone line that is not provided by your electric company so if your power goes out your phone line is still energized. That means if your computer is turned off or even unplugged you can still suffer damage to your computer through the phone line if it is plugged into your dial up modem at the back of your computer tower. So the best thing you can do during a lightning storm is unplug the power cord from your computer as well as your phone line and if you have cable or DSL unplug the network cable too. Q2. Why does the light on the front of my computer blink constantly? A. The blinking light on the front of your computer is the hard drive activity indicator. It blinks when a program or command requires hard drive access, but should not be blinking constantly or be on all the time. If it is then that is what we refer to as "caching to the hard drive." Which means you are out of physical memory and your hard drive is being used to supplement the memory shortage. Optimizing your computer and or adding more memory will help prevent hard drive caching. You can confirm how much memory you have and how much of your memory is actually be used by hitting "ctrl + alt + del. that will bring up your task manager, click on the performance tab and look at the graph. It will show you your CPU and memory usage. Also caching to the hard drive not only causes a major performance decrease it also could cause a premature hard drive failure. This problem should be addressed as soon as possible. Q3. Will adding more memory speed up my computer? A. This is another question that really doesn't have a yes or no answer. The speed of your computer is relative to your overall hardware (CPU, memory, hard drive speed). Adding memory is generally a good thing but only gives you room to run bigger or more application at one time, not speed. To qualify that, an example would be like buying a bigger dinning room table to seat 8 people instead of 4 people. trying to feed 8 people at a table meant for 4 people means a few will have to wait in line until a spot opens up. The only time memory will speed up your computer is when you are using more memory than you have. For example: If you have 256MB of memory and you run consistantly over that anmount. But if you never peak over your current memory quantity then you will see very little if any performance increase. A CPU upgrade is generally the component you upgrade to increase the speed of your computer. Q4. My computer got hit by lightning and it was plugged into a protector? A. The first thing is, where the lightning strike entered your computer? Did the lightning strike come through the electrical outlet, or did it come through your dial up modem or cable modem or DSL modem? And does your internet connection also plug into your surge protector? (phone line, or network cable)? Also do you have a multi outlet strip or a UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply) commonly referred to as a battery back up? A power strip is generally an outlet expansion for a wall outlet, not surge protection. To give your computer complete and reliable protection invest in a UPS that has connections for your network cable and or your phone line. Q5. My friend has 2 monitors, how can i do that? A. Dual monitors are becoming more and more popular these days. With the price of monitors dropping make this technology easily attainable. All you need to take advantage of this feature is have or install if you don't have, a dual head video card. A dual head video card simply means it has 2 outputs, one for each monitor. Most new video cards, even the inexpensive ones have the dual head feature. So a dual head video card along with 2 monitor and a small configuration change you're all set. Q6. I bought a wireless router and now my neighbors are stealing my internet? A. This is called internet leaching. And its due to having an open security configuration in your wireless router. Most routers come configured this way. It is up to you to set your own security levels for your network. Every router has access to its configuration where you can require a password to access your network or internet access. most of the time just following the directions that come with the router will assist you in setting up your security. If you require help refer to the tech support information for contact phone numbers and the manufacture most of the time will walk you through the procedure. One thing to remember with a wireless network, if it is not protected then anyone who connects to it can access your shared files and folders, not just steal your internet. Q7. I'm getting a message when windows starts that says I have illegal software? A. There a only a couple of reasons you get this message. One is, you have just had a major upgrade (motherboard or CPU). Your best action in a upgrade situation is a window repair by using your original Windows disk that came with your computer. Ah you say you bought your computer from the flea market or a friend built it for you and you never got any CD's to do a repair. Well in this case you probably purchased a computer with a pirated copy of windows and there is no fix except to purchase an authentic copy of windows and then contact microsoft to have your new copy activated on your computer. Once you get this message you have 30 days to remedy the situation and then windows will not allow you to log on. Q8. When I get an e-mail with pictures why can't I ever see them? A. This issue generally occurs when you are using Outlook Express or Outlook. Both of these e-mail programs have a high level of security right from the start. you will need to configure these programs to except emails with attachments and graphic files. If you open your e-mail program click on "tools" along the top menu bar, then select "options" then "security" uncheck the boxes that prohibit attachment and photos. Click apply and ok then close the program and the next time you check your mail you should be able to open files and photos. This was a basic walk through and may very from version to version. you can also open your email program and hit your F1 key. The help section will open. you can read through the help files for more instruction on this topic. Q9. Why wont my old programs work on my new computer? A. If you have purchased your computer after January 2007 then you are probably running Windows Vista on your computer. Vista has been developed using a new software technology. Older programs may not install on Vista because Microsoft did not make it 100% backward compatible with every software title ever released. It is up to the developer of the programs you want to install to provide an update or patch to bring their software up to the new standards. The alternative is to format your hard drive and install a new copy of Windows XP Home or Pro to replace Vista. Q10. I bought a new computer and now I can't share files on my network, why? A. If your new computer is running Windows Vista and your other computer or computers are running XP Home Or XP Pro you will need to download an update from Microsoft to install on your XP computers. This update allows the correct network protocols to open communication between your XP computer and your Vista computer. Visit http://support.microsoft.com for more information regarding this topic. |
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