We all want to believe that we have pretty good children, and you know that they will generally stay away from the corrupted side on the internet. But if you know the internet like I do, you know that typing one wrong letter in a web address can take you to a website that is inappropriate for children’s viewing. Don’t let your children be a victim of what they shouldn’t or might accidentally stumble upon.

Teenagers are ones to be most concerned about with internet activity. We as teens had our curiosity, and you can bet, no matter how much you want to believe its not so, your kids do too. All kids are influenced by others and typically when they do bad things they know they are not supposed to do, it’s because they were influenced by others, or just plain curious. Though we know it is never going to be completely avoidable, if you continually teach them right from wrong they generally will learn.

K9 Web Protection is a free web filtering program that has all of the features that every parent needs to filter out any unwanted content on the web. But it’s also much more than that as it can be used to filter software downloads, viewing streaming video, as well as placing time restrictions on internet usage.

Some say that this is an invasion of privacy, I say if you are not in your children’s business then there is a good chance that they may be hiding something from you. It is very important as a parent to be involved in your children’s activities, no matter what they are. Because we as parents have lives outside our children’s (Work, Social, Etc) you can take action to filter out what your children can and can’t view on the internet, and soon they will use that to determine right from wrong. K9 is life lesson software, for free.

K9 Web Protection will not only work to filter out unwanted website viewing, but can also help to eliminate viruses, spyware, and spam from attacking your computer. If you eliminate the possibility of being able to browse to a website or download the stuff that are known to carry viruses or spyware, then your computer will have a less chance of getting infected right? Exactly.

So let’s get to the features that K9 Web Protection provides, and I have mentioned that every aspect of this software is free right? Of course I have, because Tech-Tim believes that free is the best price for anything.
K9 Web Protection is simple to install and to setup. It will take you a matter of minutes to have your computers protected, and keep them that way. I suggest it on every computer in the house, that way you eliminate the possibility of a hijack of your computer to get past the filter.

So let’s get started with installing it. Because K9 Web Protection is very secure and will only allow access to its console using a setup administrative password, it also uses email verification for downloading the software, and generating a license key. By the way, for your convenience, you can click on any of the links that say K9 Web Protection, this will direct you to their website. Click on the download tab in the website, enter your name and email address, check your email for the link to download the software, and get the license key. It’s that easy! Hmm I kind of sound like a spokes person for K9 huh? Well I’m not, I just really like the product, and its price is right too!

Once the software has been downloaded and you start the installation, you will be prompted for an Administrator password. This password is used to access the software and needs to be a very secure password that no one should have access to but you (The Adult), or be able to figure out. Make sure to write it down and place it in a very secure place as well for your records.

Now that we have it installed it’s time to set it up. Locate the software in “All Programs” under the Start button in Windows. If you are installing this product on an Apple machine, you will locate the software icon on your desktop, or under programs. I am not too familiar with Apple machines so results may vary. Notice that you are actually directed to a website? This is because K9 is web based and uses the internet to access its console. Also notice that you have not been prompted for a password yet? However, once you click on any of the features within; you will be prompted for the administrator password. So not to worry, no one can access the good stuff unless they have access to do so.

There are three options on the home page to access. View Internet Activity, Setup, and Get Help. The help section is a given, so I wont go there. Obviously we want to choose setup first so that we can setup the filters for web browsing. There are several options on how to setup administration of your web filter, and honestly it’s best if you view all your options there, and choose the best filter settings for your needs.

Notice there are several options here? You have the option to block content by category, or by specific website. You also have the option to set time restrictions on internet use, and choose to set the filter to even bark when your kids are trying to view a blocked website. You can even go as far as blocking by keywords which will tighten the security even more for the teenagers in your home. All of these options are to be determined by you and your preferences. Look them each over, and decide what how you want to block content, and what to block.

K9 also offers the View Internet activity feature. Yes, it is exactly what it says. You can view all internet activity on any machine you install K9 on. It is a great way to not only see what they have been viewing, and what they shouldn’t be on for future filtering needs, but let’s be honest; it could tell you something about your kid that you didn’t already know. What their new hobbies are, or what they are looking at to get good Christmas ideas, new interests, or it could even spark that time every parent dreads, talking to your kids about the birds and the bees. Bottom line is K9 is a great tool to have.

Be creative with it, and you won’t feel like you are only doing it to get into their business, but to get to know a little more about them. This applies especially to teenagers, because they can be quite secretive sometimes, I know I was. As far as myself, I use it because it is a great product to have, and it is 100% free. Check out the new feature for Iphones and ITouch that it offers as well, I haven’t got that far, but if you find it to be a must have, reply to this blog, send me a message, or even a smoke signal to let me know what you thought.

Thanks a lot for viewing my blog, I hope it will be of assistance to you and your family. Pass the word around about me, and don’t forget to sign up, an encourage others to sign up to receive all the news and information on Tech-Tim’s Blog.

Stay tuned for more to come in the future.

Tech-Tim

Are you one of those people that are scared to death to buy online? Do you fear that your identity will be stolen every time you get online and insert private information? Well, while it is good to be a little cautious when entering private information in a website, there are ways you can tell if the website you are on is secure.

So you find that item you really need, or in most cases really want, but would like to pay the best price for the money. I can tell you from experience that you really can get great deals online, but the key is making sure you can recognize the difference between a secure purchase site, and an unsecured purchase site. With identity theft being so wide spread these days, it is always good practice to do your research when ready to make a purchase online.

The first thing you want to be sure of is you are buying from a replicable company, and that the purchasing side of the website is secure. I am a firm believer in research, and researching a company before you buy from it is not bad practice at all. In fact it could save you a ton of money, or an identity theft claim. Check the Better Business Bureau, and research the company online for testimonies from other customers, or critics. You also can just do a simple Google search and find all kinds of public records of a company. If the ratings or comments are negative, stay away.

Let’s face it; the Internet is a huge database for good buys, and a great source of information. If you are not sure about the company you are looking into buying from, and just don’t feel comfortable its most likely going to be offered somewhere else for around the same price. Using your better judgment is key to avoiding costly mistakes in all that life throws at you right?

So, now it’s time to get into a little lesson on website security that goes along with buying online. When typing in a website, do you ever wonder what all of the text really means? First there is HTTP://, then the www, and finally the website domain (tech-tim.com for instance) It’s all garbly goop to most people, but to the technology World it has meaning.

The website name and www part is self explanatory. Obviously the domain is the name of the website right? And the www means World Wide Web. This is the part of the website address that everyone knows. I am going to teach you all about the rest of the text in a website, and how it all works, and what to look out for when purchasing online.

HTTP vs. HTTPS

HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) is the protocol that is used in websites to basically take the website name you type in (tech-tim.com) also known as a domain name, and transfer it into numbers so that the server that is looking it up that website can understand what you are requesting. The server looks it up, sends the results back to the computer and the website pops up.

Everyone has probably heard the term, Computers only know ones and zeros! Well that is true with everything a computer or server processes. It changes everything you send across the wire in this case to numbers so that it can translate the information and sends you the response, which in this case is a website address. This is kind of like a Spanish translator at a boxing match; He has a translator there to tell the crowd and announcer how he won the fight.

So all HTTP is doing really is translating text into numbers so that the information can be read and processed by the server and the computer. People talk and communicate in text, while computers take the text you type and translate it into numbers. It’s really crazy that we just can’t teach computers English, it would be a lot easier if it could talk our language wouldn’t it?

Now, taking it a bit deeper, there is a newer protocol called HTTPS. This stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure, and this is the first thing to look for when purchasing from a website. Why? Because if it doesn’t have an “S”, then all of the data that you input in the website can be seen by people that are looking for that type of information like hackers, and therefore could surely result in a bad case of the Identity theft blues.

HTTPS is a combination of HTTP and another protocol called SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) which is used to secure data by encrypting it before it is sent across the wire. So, with that being said, the next thing you want to look for when purchasing from a website, is a gold lock or padlock somewhere on the footer of the web page, that’s the SSL security. Before I go any further I want to clarify something. Try this out, go to the site tech-tim.com and click on Tech Store. Notice it does not have an HTTPS in front of it? That is because you are not in the purchasing area of the website that security is needed.

If you are not entering personal information to send across the wire, then there is no reason for the entire site to be secured. (Personal information meaning credit card #s, or Social Security #s) Now, if you choose an item for purchase and then choose “Continue to checkout” it will transfer you to a secure site. Notice the gold padlock at the bottom? That means Tech-Tim’s store is secure. Of course, it’s also because I am an affiliate of Amazon a well known and trusted replicable website. So please feel free to buy from my store, because I get a commission from all purchases. (Just a little plug)

There is just one more thing I want to go over before you go out and start purchasing items online. Though these precautions are surely going to put you more at ease when shopping, there is one more thing you need to be aware of. Everyone knows there are idiots in this World that are out to ruin people’s lives, the infamous hackers, but I like to call them computer terrorists, and their purpose is to work hard to steal information from whoever they can. A common practice used by hackers today is called website spoofing; there are also other kinds of spoofing that I won’t get into right now.

Website Spoofing is very common today, and can trick you into thinking you are on your favorite website, when in actuality you are not. Spoofing is basically a hacker that mimics a website to look identical to the one you are trying to reach, and redirecting the website to their fake site. Spoofing is most common when you have a virus or worm on your computer that is controlling the way your computer requests data.

Remember how I said that when you insert a website into the address bar of your browser, that it changes it to numbers so that the server that receives it can understand? Well if the server that receives the request is redirected to the hacker’s house, then he or she can control what information is sent back to your computer, and therefore can send you to an identical site that is actually a spoofed website.

There are a couple of ways to tell if a site is spoofed. First of all look for misspelled or non-English terms because honestly most hackers are from other Countries, or just don’t know how to spell. Also, they are in a hurry to get that spoofed site up so they can start stealing your data, and don’t necessarily care too much about attention to detail. The second thing to look out for is most secure websites have an icon or Avatar that is placed on the left of the HTTP(S) that represents the sites logo. While this is not true on all replicable websites, it is certainly something to look out for if you are just not sure about the reliability of the website. Spoofing is common, but certainly avoidable, just be cautious, that’s the key.

If you strive to keep your computer clear and free of viruses, you won’t really have to worry about this much. It can still occur and does occur, but it’s not anything you need to worry about too much with website hosting and sever security out there these days. Please feel free to check out my Blog on “Preventions” to learn more about what to do to prevent your computer from getting infected.

I hope that you enjoyed this blog, and look forward to any comments or questions you may have. I am working on many other blogs for the future, so please add the RSS feed to stay informed when a new blog is published. Stay tuned to Tech-Tim’s blog, and thanks for viewing.

When you hear it from a techie “You need to reinstall your OS” you clinch up and begin to think about all of the things that you are about to lose. It is perceived today that reinstalling your Operating System is pure agony, and will ruin your life forever. In fact, most people avoid it at all costs. Whether or not it fixes the slow performance, the virus pop-ups, or even the random crashes it just isn’t worth it to many. Well I am here to tell you that reinstalling your OS is not the end of the world. In fact anyone can do it, and it’s fairly easy to do.

There are many reasons for someone to need to reinstall Windows, but the most important reason is because you have been infected with viruses. A Virus is simply a program, and reinstalling the OS will destroy 100% of all viruses on contact. (Too bad they don’t make bug spray that reliable) Microsoft’s own Bill Gates suggests reinstalling the OS every six months, and honestly, if you regularly back up your important data, performing a reinstall every six months would be a breeze. I have been reinstalling Windows for many years, and can reinstall an OS including reinstalling all device drivers and applications a little over an hour. (Depending on the OS)

Now because there are several variations of the Windows Operating System out there, I am not going to go into detail for each one. But as always, I suggest that you perform a search in either Google, or for a video illustration in YouTube (Reinstalling “Windows Operating System”) You need to specify what Windows you are reinstalling. What I am going to focus on is the basics, and how easy it is to perform, so that you can get the confidence to do it on your own. So, basically to reinstall an OS, you will need the Windows Operating System disk, the driver’s disk, or another computer with Internet. Oh, and you will need the disks for all the applications you have installed on your computer.

So what if I don’t have the disks? Well as far as the Operating System disk, it is most important and will need to be obtained, or bought if you just can’t find it. I also suggest that if it is a name brand computer (Dell, HP, and Toshiba) and under warranty that you contact the Vendor and ask them if you can get another copy. Sometimes they do it, sometimes they won’t. The applications CD’s will either need to be obtained, or in a lot of cases can be downloaded from the website of their vendor. However, you will need to have the product or license keys to activate them. And finally, the drivers can always be downloaded off the computer vendor’s website, or by searching the net.

OK, now that we have that all clarified, here’s what to do. First of all, and most importantly, back up all your data. Don’t do a full system backup with a tool, because most likely the problems will follow because this type of backup will back up all your system files. (Bad Idea) Just backup what you need. (Pictures, Documents, Videos, Internet Favorites, Microsoft Office files if you use Office desktop items) back them up to an external device and your data is safe.

Once you have secured all you important data, you want to write down all of the applications that you have installed on your computer. You can get the list from “All Programs” under the “Start Button” It’s that easy. Now it’s time to start the reinstall. Insert the Microsoft Operating System disk in your CD/DVD Rom. This is where most people mess up. If it says Welcome to the Reinstall of Microsoft, close it, this is not what you want to do. Next, you want to reboot your computer, and wait. Your computer will shut down, the screen will go blank, and then you will always see a “Splash Screen” or Black screen pop up With the computer vendor’s logo. This is the first thing that pops up when the computer starts.

In most new computers, and certainly on most Dell computers old or new, you can repeatedly push the F12 or F10 button at this point on the keyboard at the splash screen until a screen pops up displaying the “Boot Menu options”. Always look at the bottom of the screen for options on how to go to boot menu, or BIOS, because it may vary. Most computers will display instructions, but they are displayed quickly so be on your toes. You will choose to boot to the “CD/DVD Rom using the arrows on the keyboard and push enter. A screen will immediately appear indicating to push any key to boot to CD. Well of course, any key will work, I push enter myself. OK, stop there and let me catch up the people that don’t have that option.

If you do not have the F12/F10 option, then you will need to go into the BIOS to change the boot order. This is a little trickier. In this case, you will have to follow the instructions as explained above, until you get to the “Splash screen”. Now instead of the F12 or F10, push the F2 button repeatedly to enter the BIOS. This part may require a little Google searching for some if not familiar with the BIOS, but for the most part, you are looking for the words “Boot” or “boot order” or something very similar to that. Don’t be intimidated, you can accidentally make a change, and just choose to not save it when exiting. You know you’re in the right place when you see a list with the Hard Drive, the CD/DVD Rom, and the Floppy Drive.

Once you locate the boot order options, you will need to change the boot order to where the CD/DVD Rom is at the top of the order. It is a good idea to Google your computer model with the word “BIOS Boot Order” in the search. Most likely you can find an article showing you exactly what to do. Once you change the boot order, you will need to push “ESC” on your keyboard, and choose to save the changes and exit. Your machine will reboot, and then a message will come up that just like above says “Push any key to boot to CD. Push it few times, that way you don’t miss it, because its quick.

You will know you are in the right place if you see the words “Loading Files…..” This will take a few minutes to load up all the files. Once it’s complete, you will be asked to reinstall or repair. This part is slightly different for each Windows Operating System and you should be following a video feed or Reinstalling Operating System guide if unfamiliar with this process. Basically, you will use common sense and follow he onscreen instructions to reinstall, until you get to the “Partitions” section. Here is where you blow out your old Windows Operating System. By general rule, you will choose the partition in the list that says C: or Windows Operating System ( It is always the one in the list with the largest number) and then follow the instructions to delete it. Once it’s deleted it will still be there, but the name will change to “Unpartitoned disk space” In Windows 7, you will need to go to “Advanced Options to delete the partition

. Once it is deleted, it is time to start the reinstall. By the way, you just killed any issue you may have been having, because your Operating System just got deleted. Wait no need to panic, remember you backed up your data! With the Unpartitioned disk space highlighted, follow the on screen instructions to begin installing Windows. (Typically it’s as easy as pushing “Enter”) All the rest is waiting, and periodically answering a few questions. These are basic questions like choosing your time zone, naming your computer, and setting your Administrator password. This process will take anywhere for 45 minutes for XP, to 15 minutes or less with Windows 7. It is normal for the computer to reboot once or twice during this process. You do not want to “Push any key to boot to CD” during this process.

Once the installation is complete, Windows will start up, and you will see the desktop like you normally did when booting up before you reinstalled. So, now it’s time to reinstall the device drivers. It is best to start with the chipset drivers, network drivers, and move on from there. If you have the driver’s disk, it makes it a bit easier, because most of them will show you what drivers you will need to install by a check mark. If you don’t, then this is where you utilize your other computer with internet access. If you don’t have your driver’s disk, you will need to go to the Device manager to see what drivers need to be installed. Right click on the “My Computer” icon, and choose “Manage”. In the management console, look for “Device Manager” on the left side and click it.

You will see a list of drivers that need installed populate on the right side of the screen. Here’s a good time to have another computer available so that you can do some Google searching if needed on “How to reinstall Device Drivers after reinstall” Basically here are the main drivers that need installed. All items that show a yellow question mark need to be installed. Chipset drivers, Network drivers (Wireless & Wired if both are on computer) Video Driver, Audio Driver. If you reinstall all of these either from the vendor’s website or off sites like drivers.com, and you still have question mark, you will need to a bit of research to install the remaining drivers.(But it’s not typical that this happens).

The cool part is, if you are on the vendor’s website searching for drivers for your model, it won’t affect your computer to download and attempt install a driver that is not for your computer. If the driver doesn’t find the hardware to go with it, it will let you know, and wont install it. I know that this all sounds a bit much, and as with all things with the word “Microsoft” in it may not be seamless, but in most cases, reinstalling the Operating system is a matter of a couple hours of time for beginners, and will ultimately triple the performance of your computer, and erase viruses on the spot.

After all drivers are installed successfully, all that is left at this point is to reinstall everything you had installed on the computer. You always want to start with an Antivirus. I like free, so I use AVG and AVAST, which are both available for download in the ‘Freeware” section of my site. Now, break out the list you created at first of all of the applications you need to install, gather the disks, or download and install from the website and get your computer back where it was when you started. Reinstalling the Operating System is as easy as allowing some time to do it, and gathering information along the way to make sure it is done right. I guarantee that with a little research, and persistence, anyone can reinstall Windows. It seems like a lot when I am explaining it, but in reality, it’s not as hard as it seems. If you can insert a CD in the CD/DVD Rom., and follow a few directions, it’s easy to do. Remember, do your research, and have videos or how to guides handy in case you get stuck.

Tech-Tim is here to help if you need it, send me an email with the part you are stuck on, and I will point you in the right direction. I hope this blog was informative and helped you get a handle on the easy process to reinstalling your Windows Operating System.

Stay tuned for future techie blogs brought to you by Tech-Tim!

So before you call a vendor and tell them that their computers are junk, and that you will never buy another one of their computers, think about what you are saying. If your hard drive is the point of failure, and that is the reason you will never buy that computer, the blame should actually go on companies like Western Digital, Fujitsu, or Seagate.

If you are frustrated because your Video card keeps going out, and you have replaced it 3 times now, then blame companies like ATI or Nvidia. I think you know where I am going with this. It is a big misconception that the vendor is to blame for failed parts because their name is on it, when in fact, none of the parts in the computer are made by them.

So you may be asking by now, what are you getting at Tech-Tim? Well, I am not here to tell you what brand of computer to buy, and there is no better parts to buy then the other out there, including Apples for those that use Apple computers. I am simply here to say, computers break no matter what brand, no matter how much they cost, and no matter how careful you may be with them.
For this reason, and for the fact that in today’s World, computers are our central location for storing important information, and the most important thing you can do is back up your computers data. Some of you may be saying “Duh”, but you would be surprised how many people do not backup their computers often or at all.

Because a hard drive is one of the most active components in a computer, the likely hood of one going out in the computers life time is very high. It’s a fact that hard drives fail at times, and even 3 days after you bought a brand new computer. Backing up your important information should be one of the first things you think about when turning on your computer.

Now that I have clarified that, and you understand the importance, it’s time to show you the different methods to backing up your information. Most Operating Systems like XP, Vista, and Windows 7 have a built in backup tool built right in for your convenience. They are designed to be a one stop shop for backing up your information. They also can be setup to backup automatically for you.
While I cannot write a full descriptive article on how each of them work in detail, as this blog would become 20 pages long, I do invite you to utilize the best learning tool on the internet “Google” to search out the how-to’s for using the backup tools. You can also explore other options for backing up information as well.

I am going to keep my focus on the basics.

Where do i backup my data?

There are a number of options on what can be used to secure your information. One of the most common ways to backup your information in onto CD’s, or DVD’s. While this is not the safest way, it is one of the cheaper ways to backup your information. CD’s and DVD’s can get scratched very easy, and severely damaged media can result in loss of backed up data. Make sure that if you use this method, that you secure the media in a scratch proof case, and place it in a very safe place.

Flash drives and External Hard drives are another option for backing up your information. A flash drive will usually have a limited amount of space to backup your information, where an external hard drive can hold all the data you ever dreamed of. I suggest that if you are going to backup your data to a flash drive, that you do it as a temporary solution, as they can easily be lost or misplaced, and tend to break pretty easily. Overall, flash drives are designed for fast and easy data transfers.

An external hard drive is one of the safest places to backup your information, and can hold large amounts of data, including a backup of an image of your computer. Images are a great option because they take a snapshot of your hard drive in its entirety, and place it in a file for restoring. This means, if your computer crashed, and you backed up to an image, all data, applications, files, folders, would be restored as they were when you backed up the image. Everything would look just like normal in just a few minutes time.

External hard drives like any other device can fail just like your internal drive, but because the drive is not always being accessed, it has a considerably less chance of catastrophic failure then an internal hard drive, and in my opinion, is the best means of backing up your important information. I would, as always suggest backing up your information in two different locations for maximum protection.

If the information that you have on your computer is for a business, I would suggest the next step in backing up important information, and that is the online or server side backup methods. When your business uses computers to store customer or business related information, this information becoming lost could destroy your business. If you own a business today, and do not backup your computers, you are at risk ever day of losing your business, hands down.
Because of the importance of information obtained for a business, it is most important to secure your data at all times. If you do not have an IT group or even individual that can manage your data, and maintain your computers, it is time to find one. In a business it is as important to have an IT professional readily available, then it is to have a manager to manage your business. The cost that you will spend to have an IT professional setup a data backup system, and to maintain your computers would be far less than the price of losing all your data.

Backing up data in a business should not be handled in the same manner as securing your personal data like personal pictures, documents, music, videos and so on. Business data should be backed up, and backed up again like all data. You will need to have a backup of a backup to ensure you never lose your data, and secured in a safe place.

Online backup systems offer a great means for data backup. There are online backup solutions that can back up your system every day to every hour. It backs up the information to a remote location onto a server that is very safe, and affordable. Do your research before you walk into a contract, and make sure you are working with a replicable company. Use big name companies in this case, and make sure to check them out on the Better Business Bureau before you commit to anything. Remember, this is your business and there is nothing more important in a business than your customers. Data on your computer secures all that information and more, and therefore should be taken seriously when it comes to backing it up.

If you prefer to backup the information yourself, the next option is to purchase a server for backup, and adding it to your network of computers. This is where an IT professional would need to be consulted, and it is suggested by me to stay away from the big boys, as you may end up spending all your money, and will have to shut the doors down before your first real backup. Also, it is very important to have your data also saved off site if the servers are set in house. An act of God can result in total loss if you do not backup your information in two central locations.

Find a friend, or friend of a friend that works in the field, and does work on the side. You are sure to get quality work done at a reasonable price. Stay away from the guys that charge retail prices, or that seem to be extremely cheap as well. Networking isn’t cheap labor, and it takes time to get a network setup to your specifications. But just bypassing the friend or family member, and going straight to the big names in this case may end up being more then you bargained for, or may result in not getting what you paid for ( A Personal IT Professional) and that is what you need.

Ok, now we are going to focus on what needs to be backed up, whether it be personal or business related. There are the basics in personal information that need to be backed up when backing up data. Documents, pictures, music, videos, Internet favorites, desktop stragglers.(Files saved to the desktop), and any programs data that has a database to access information (Eg: Financial programs, Quick books, Quicken, Outlook, etc). Remember, if ever in doubt, contact an IT Professional.

For businesses you want to backup all the above if applicable, and most importantly your customer information. Backing up using the “Image” process would be a good option here so that you secure all your data at once, but like I said before, backup the backup again. This means backing up the data individually in an alternate location is a wise decision indeed as I stressed before.

Ultimately, data backup should be one of the first thing you think about before you ever place an important file on your computer. Ask the questions. “What does this file mean to me?”and “How would it affect me if I lost it?” I work in the business and have seen people lose things that are most important to them all because they didn’t keep a backup of their data. If you believe that your data is important to you, simply back it up, and keep it backed up.

Thanks again for everyone who has signed up to be a subscriber of my Blog. I hope that the word spreads and soon I have millions of subscribers, ok thousands will work. Stay tuned for more to come from the mind of Tech-Tim.
]]> http://tech-tim.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=63 0 http://tech-tim.com/blog/?p=58 http://tech-tim.com/blog/?p=58#comments Wed, 31 Mar 2010 00:08:11 +0000 admin http://tech-tim.com/blog/?p=58 I know that when everyone hears the phrase “Blue screen of death” their eyes bug out, and their mouths drop. They believe that they are doomed for life, and their computer is ready to be trashed. Well I am here to tell you, I have heard it from the IT professionals, as well as the computer challenged. Everyone has the perception that the BSOD is a hardware catastrophy and its time to either contact the vendor for hardware replacements , or time for your computer to visit the circular file cabinet (Trashcan).

The infamous “Blue screen of death” is not as bad as you think. As a matter of fact, most of the time it is as simple as a device driver issue, an operating system issue, or something going on with a piece of software installed on your computer. It’s no longer the “blue screen of Death” I like to refer it as the “Blue screen of “You still have hope” Relax and take a load off of your brain folks, Microsoft has the tool readily available to resolve the issue for you. i will show you how to use it, and how to determine what the problem is.

First of all, you want to go to Microsoft support site to download “Windows Debugger”.
32bit version
http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/devtools/debugging/installx86.Mspx-
64bit version
http://www.microsoft.com/WHDC/DEVTOOLS/DEBUGGING/INSTALL64BIT.MSPX

This handy little tool will diagnose the file called a minidump that is produced when a “blue screen of death” is generated, and will tell you what file caused the blue screen to occur.

So how do you find the minidump file? Well if a true blue screen of death was generated, a folder is created in the c:\windows directory called “Minidump”. Every time it happens, another file is created. To analyze the file you will need to use Windows Debugger.
Open Windows Debugger, and at the top choose “File” then “Open Crash Dump” An explorer window will open for you to browse to the minidump file. Browse to it and choose open. The Debugger will then begin to analyze the file and will stop right at “Probably caused by:” and display the file in question. I know, it says “probably”, but that’s because Microsoft isn’t going to commit to any software they produce to be liable for being wrong. But it does work, trust me I use it on a daily basis.

The next step is to find out what the file is associated with. Copy and paste the file in a Google search, and add the word “What is” in front of it, and watch the results render. If you know like I know, you can nearly find anything on Google.
Find what the file is associated with and then it’s time to put the technical hands to work. But make sure you do your research, in other words don’t trust the first result you come to, verify the file association with several sites. If the file is associated with a device driver , then simply download the latest updated driver from the vendors website and install. Drivers get corrupt, and unfortunately they can cause a blue screen of death. Installing the latest drivers for devices is always a good practice anyway, and will stop blue screens in their tracks.

If the issue is a particular software file that is causing the issue, then you want to either locate the CD for reinstalling that software, or run a repair on the installation if possible from Add/Remove programs. Software issues are common reasons for blue screens, and can be easily fixed with a simple reinstall.
And then there is the Operating system files in question. Most of the time, if you are receiving a blue screen that is related to the Operating system, you won’t be able to get in the operating system to analyze the problem. In this case it can be a bit more on the difficult side.

Operating systems like every other piece of software do sometimes become corrupt, and most of the time it will prevent you from booting into Windows at all. As this is really a whole other blog, I will keep things short. It is probably time to take your computer to a professional to back up your information on your computer, and then reinstall you operating system. It’s not a fun process for no one, but unfortunately it happens.

While most of the issues with the infamous “Blue screen of death” are not hardware related, there is that 10% or so that are caused by hardware failures. Make sure you test the obvious before you make the decision to replace hardware or trash your computer, it may save you a whole lot of money. Try disconnecting all printers, external drives, flash drives, Etc from your machine to make sure the problem isn’t the external hardware causing the problem, then move to the process of elimination routine if the problem persists.

I hope this blog was informative, and that you find this tool as helpful as I do. Stay tuned for more to come in the future from the mind of Tech-Tim

This tool can also be used for the tech in the same way. As you all know, new Operating Systems means new features, and different ways to get around. This can make navigating a bit of a challenge for the new users. A tech can record steps to getting around, and send it to the newbie of Windows 7, and they soon will be a pro at navigating in this new environment.

When I first found this tool, I couldn’t help but say “Finally, Microsoft created a useful tool for not only the Tech’s benefit, but the average Joe as well. The only problem is, that it’s a bit of a hidden feature, and not so well known to everyone. Oh, and did I mention that it’s hard to find. Well from what I learned, it’s because it’s still in a bit of a testing stage, and after perfected, it will be a great tool for all to use, and if one gets creative, it can be used in so many ways…

As you know, Windows 7 is now out, well unofficially, (Oct 22nd) and I must say as a tech, it is one of the best Operating Systems I have used. It is low on resources, so doesn’t require a ton of RAM to run or beefy processor to run. It has tons of features, and will sure to be the wave of the future in Operating Systems.

So anyway enough of my marketing spill, here is my run down of the PSR tool in Windows 7

The easiest way to get to PSR is to go to the start button, (or “Orb” as Microsoft describes it), and type in the search “PSR”. Push Enter.

The recorder will pop up on the desktop.

It’s that easy, and the features are as simple as this.
1. Push record to start recording your actions
2. Push stop when you are finished
3. You can also add comments to the recording
4. Save the file
5. Send it

For instance, if someone is getting an error when trying to access a website.
Push record

Click on Internet Explorer
Type in the website you are trying to access, and enter to access the website.

All steps will be recorded, including caption on the steps to getting there, and the website’s URL to send to the tech.
Save the file, and send it via email to your local computer guru.

So, let’s say that someone is new to Windows 7, and does not know how to access the Network settings in control panel. Well this tool can also be used for the tech, and will not only show a new user the way to access something, or resolve an issue on their own, but the file can be saved for future reference if needed. It has many benefits, and is sure to be a tool of choice in the Windows 7 environment.

Test it for yourself; it’s easy, and very helpful. I’m sure it will be a great tool for all to use.
And if you don’t have Windows 7 yet, I would suggest it to anyone that is looking for a stable, well designed Operating System.

Stay tuned for many more topics on the new age of computer software, Windows 7

To access the configuration console of Firefox you simply type: about:config in the address bar as if you were typing in a web address to view. You will first get a warning that tells you that you might void the warranty by changing the advanced settings. Well what does a warranty matter when the price of the application is free? Click on the “I’ll be careful, I promise” tab to continue.
The settings as shown below will need to be adjusted to speed up Firefox’s experience. I will not be changing any settings that are a security threat, or will cause vulnerabilities in your browser. These are strictly tweaks to speed up the performance of browsing.

network.http.max-connections from 30 to 96
network.http.max-connections-per-server from 15 to 32
network.http.max-persistent-connections-per-server from 6 to 8
network.http.pipelining: Change to True
network.http.proxy.pipelining Change to true
network.http.pipelining.maxrequests from 30 to 8
network.http.pipelining.ssl Change to true
network.http.proxy.pipelining Change to true

This will only speed up your Internet browsing, and will not cause vulnerabilities in the browser, nor will it cause strange behavior in your browser. This is a safe and secure method to speeding up browsing, and is sure to be a great tweak for those on a broadband or dial-up connection.
Enjoy, and don’t forget to sign up and comment on this blog.
Tech-Tim

So yesterday, you were online browsing your favorite websites, and checking your email, but today when you click on your internet browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Etc) you get the ever dreadful “This page cannot be displayed, check your internet connection and try again” message.

As a tech, I start out at this point by physically taking a look at my modem and the network interface card, and in my case my wireless router as well. Are all the same lights on as usual on the modem and router? Are there any lights on at all? Is the network interface card light on? Is it plugged in? And have I had a power outage recently? Are a few questions I ask myself? I’ll get back to a few of these later.

So assuming that all looks normal, and nothing has seemed to change, I will then see if I am getting an IP Address, (The numeric number assigned to a computer used to communicate across networks of computers, otherwise known as the net…) To do this go to “Start” then click on the “Run” dialogue.  (It’s located in the start menu. Type in “CMD” in “Run” and this will take you to a command prompt. (A black box with text)

Don’t be frightened by the command prompt, because unless you really know what you are doing, you cannot break anything here, and even then its not as easy as you may thin these days. Now you will see your local drive letter (Usually C:/followed by the default path it takes you to “C:> documents & Settings, followed by your computer name)

No need to remember that, it’s irrelevant.  After the C prompt is a flashing cursor, you can type commands here to perform certain tasks. In this case, we are checking the IP Address of the machine in question. So therefore we want to type: “ipconfig” then push enter. No quotations needed, I just use them to emphasize words.

Depending on how many network connections that machine has, it will display all connections in order. For instance, if you have a “local area connection” (Fancy word for a wired connection)and a “Wireless connection” they will both display on the screen.  Obviously, if you are troubleshooting a “Local area connection” you would look for the “IP Address” for that connection and so on.

If an IP address is displaying, then the issue may be that the address has expired or another machine on your network obtained that address and this one needs a new one. While this process is usually automatic, sometimes it needs to be forced because computers are funny like that sometimes. In the cursor, type: “ipconfig /renew” no quotations. Notice the space between “ipconfig and the forward slash. Make sure you place a space there. Then pushes enter.

If no problems occur, the connections screen will display again, and will display the IP Address again, or possibly a new one. At this point check your internet access, because it could have been that easy, and you will be back to browsing. Sometimes, if the machine is holding onto the address, a release of the address will need to be performed.

In this case, first type: ipaddress /release, then after the ip address is released, type: ipconfig /renew. So this is how you use the command prompt to manually release and renew an IP Address. Got it so far? Its just that simple, and in most cases this will resolve the issue.

If you have tried this, and still get nothing, it may be that your modem, and or, router need to be reset. On the modem (the little blinking device that the technician came to plug in when you decided to step up and get the internet), there is a reset button on the back. All of them have one, and it’s usually a button that you can easily push, or an inverted button like you see on a watch. (You will need a sharp object like a straight pin if it’s the inverted kind).

Push and hold the button in for about 20 to 30 seconds to reset the router, or you can also unplug it for 30 seconds to get the same results. Either way will reset it. If you have a wireless router, then you just want to unplug it and wait 30 seconds then plug it back in. If you have both, reset them both at the same time. Resetting a wireless router using the reset button will take it back to factory default, then you would have to set all your settings back up, so no need to do that unless all else fails.

After the devices reset themselves which usually takes around 1 to 5 minutes, check your internet connection again. It should be up and running like new, and this is a common issue that occurs with a power outage, or brief internet outage, resetting the device will fix you up.

If you have both a modem and a wireless router, then a good process of elimination trick is to plug the modem straight to the wall, then from the modem to your computer, and see if you get a connection. If so, the problem is with the wireless router. This issue may mean that either your wireless router is not functioning, or it needs to be set to factory default and setup from default. Meaning setting up the wireless network name, security, and any other setting you may have set. If you set it up using the disk, try resetting it up using the disk.

If you still don’t get connection when hooked straight up to your modem, and you have already tried to reset it, then the issue may be your network interface card on your computer, the modem itself, or on the internet service provider side as well, maybe an internet outage. But wait; did you check your network interface card on the back of your computer?

So where you plug the Ethernet cable into the back of your computer is the “Network Interface card”.  (NIC) And all of them have a light that flashes green when it is working properly. If you look back there, and see no light at all, then it’s most likely that your card is fried. If you see a solid green light or a red solid light, it means that something may be wrong. A solid green light means it’s just not getting a connection, and a solid red light usually means there is something wrong with the communication from the NIC to the computer.

Either way, this is really irrelevant because there is only two more things to try, and that is reinstalling the NIC driver, or replacing the NIC card. I would suggest always reinstalling or even updating the driver before replacing it, because like all drivers, including in golf, they get corrupt, and no longer perform like they are supposed to. Well corrupt drivers in golf may be an operator error…..!!

To check the driver, assuming you are using XP, go to “Start” and the “Control Panel”.  If you insist on using Vista, go to System and Maintenance | System | Device Manager. Using XP you want to click on the “System” icon. This will take you to the System Properties. If you are still having issues finding it, do a search in Google for :”How do I get to device manager in (XP, Vista, Windows 7)?”

Ok now click on the hardware tab if using XP, and then Device Manager.  This displays all the drivers for your machine. You are looking for “Network Adapters” If you expand that by clicking on the plus beside it, all network adapters will display. If you are troubleshooting a wireless network in a laptop, click it once to highlight the wireless network adapter, if you are troubleshooting a network adapter on your desktop do the same for that connection.

If you want to remove the adapters driver, and reinstall, then right click the adapter, and choose delete. I would recommend to first writing down the network adapter name in full in case something goes wrong and you need it, or to update it. Don’t worry, the installation is cached, (the installation files are stored in a temporary place for reinstall) and will reinstall right back after a reboot, or by choosing to run a hardware scan. And you can always download it from another machine, or reinstall it from the disk.

To run a hardware scan, click on the “Action” tab at the top of the Device manager screen, and choose “Scan for hardware changes”.  The scan will take place, find that driver and reinstall it fresh. This clears up more problems with NIC cards then you would think trust me.

If you have already tried this, and still get nothing, updating the driver may also fix the issue resolving any bugs in the driver, or issues with compatibilities. I recommend updating drivers for things like video cards, NIC cards, and sound cards when updates are available. This step will require downloading the most recent driver for the device, and installing it. First you will need to know the name of the network adapter, see why I had you write it down? Then you need to go on the internet and do a Google search for it. Try to get the driver from the manufacturer’s site, or a replicable website like drivers.com. Download the driver, and run the executable to update the driver.

Updated drivers are important because with standards always changing, and bugs to be resolved, an updated driver is like a windows update, it’s pretty important. Feel free to update the other drivers mentioned while you’re on a roll. It sure won’t hurt to do it, and may just bring up the performance of your devices at the same time.

Well, there you have it, I bet at least once in everyone’s lifetime; they experience issues with internet connectivity, and just don’t know where to start to fix it. I hope this post will help you in that situation, so next time you don’t have to spend two hours on the phone with some foreigner that you can’t even understand. That’s what I’m here for, to help you do it yourself to save you money, as well as time.

Stay tuned for more posts, and make sure to keep an eye out for the illustrated documentation on this subject, as well as many others. Remember, these things take time because I don’t steal them from others, I build them myself.

I know this may sound crazy, but when you turn on your computer, and nothing happens, but it turned on yesterday without a problem, the first thing you need to do is make sure it is plugged in. This means check all power sources to the computer, including if you have it on a power strip, or Power Supply, make sure it is plugged in and working as well.

Power Supply

Now all computers are designed a little different when it comes to the diagnostics of the machine, but if your computer is not coming on at all, and you are not getting any lights, most likely your machines power supply, or Motherboard has failed. To test that, it’s a pretty easy process.

Open the case of your machine, and plug in the power to the computer. Don’t worry it’s not going to shock you unless of course you stick a screw driver in the power slot, lol. With the power plugged in, look at the motherboard (The big board inside) and search for a green illuminated light. All motherboards, unless it’s ancient have a light indicating they are getting power to them.

If you do not see a light on your motherboard, your power supply is most likely not supplying power, and needs to be replaced. If you do see a light, then the next step is to determine if you are getting enough power to the motherboard. If you are a bit of an electrical guru, you can check the voltage that the power supply is putting out by using a voltage meter on one of the Molex power connectors coming off of the power supply. Look up “What is a Molex connector” in Google to determine what it looks like.

Unplug the machine next, and make sure first that all connections inside the machine are securely fastened and intact. If they are indeed in good shape, and everything is plugged in securely I would suggest first replacing the power supply. A sure sign that a power supply is defective is if the fan on it is not running, or there is no light on the motherboard. Every Motherboard has a illuminated light indicating it is receiving power.

Another indication that your power supply is going out, is if it does come on, but suddenly reboots your machine without any error indication before, or after restarting, this is a sure sign that your power supply is failing and needs to replaced. It’s best to do it sooner than later to avoid it causing any other hardware failures.

A power supply is generally $20 to $150 dollars just depending on what you have under the hood. If you have a gamer machine, than its probably going to need a higher wattage power supply, but if not stick with the same wattage you have now. On the side of the power supply indicates the power wattage and voltage, a good rule to stand by is to get the same power supply as is in the machine now, unless you have upgraded it considerably, and in that case I would hope that you know you need a more powerful power supply.

If I get no power to a machine, the first thing I am going to do is replace the power supply, it is by far one of the cheapest hardware in a computer, and is the most likely to fail. Looking up the exact model of your machine, with the keyword “specifications”  will give access to all you will ever need to finding out your power supply specs, and replacing your power supply. It’s simple to do, and will make you feel better when you didn’t have to pay a $50-$100 dollar labor fee on top of the part replacement cost.

Memory (RAM)

RAM failures usually happen in the form of a  reboot much like a power supply failure, except for the fact that a RAM failure will usually generate the “Blue screen of death” error. (A blue screen with an error will generate, then the machine will reboot).

RAM failures can also be detected in the systems Diagnostic tests. Most newer machines have this capability, the most common being the F12 keyboard stroke at boot up. Look up the diagnostics for your specific machine on Google if this is not it.

The diagnostic tool is a hardware diagnostic tool that will identify defective hardware. It can come in handy when you are not sure what the issue at hand is. To diagnose a RAM issue manually, you can use the process of elimination procedure. If you have more than one stick of RAM in your machine, pull one stick out, and try to boot up.  If the issue goes away, than that particular stick is defective and needs to be replaced. If it still fails with both in, it could be something else wrong with the machine, because usually both will not become defective simultaneously.

Process of Elimination

If you are unsure of what the issue is, and would like to manually troubleshoot the issue, this is where the process of elimination procedure comes into play. Before you start opening up cases of computers, and playing around, I would suggest going to the local computer store and purchasing a static guard wrist band to avoid static electricity to generate and fry one of your components before you have a chance to troubleshoot them.

So you are having a hardware issue but cannot pinpoint the problem. Here’s what you do. Open the case and unplug the hard drive, CD Rom, Floppy, pull all the RAM but the first stick, video card, and Network Interface card. So basically unplug everything except for the power supply to the motherboard, and one stick of RAM. Most computers have what’s called a beep code.  Turn the machine o with the bare essentials plugged in, if it does not fire up at all, it’s most likely your power supply.

If it does fire up, but you get a beep code that is more than one short beep, it is most likely your motherboard. This is where you would shut it down; replace the one stick of RAM, with another to eliminate the possibility of it being the RAM. Do you see where I am going with this? Its process of elimination and you will never harm the computer by plugging and unplugging parts to test as long as you have a static wrist guard, and you make sure to turn off the machine and unplug it each time you remove or replace parts.

This is a great method to troubleshooting hardware, and like I always say, anyone can do it if you are comfortable with electronics. If not, take it to a technician to do it for you, but make sure it’s someone you trust, and not one of the big boys because they will only charge you more than it’s worth. Just keep in mind, you wasn’t to make sure if you unplug it, you know where it goes. Draw out a diagram for yourself, that way you don’t forget.

Now laptops are a different story, and if you have never done it before, I would highly recommend taking it to a professional to handle. This is just an overview, and with a little practice, and some research, I am certain you will be on your way to becoming a troubleshooting guru. Don’t be afraid, and if you have questions feel free to ask. I am always up for questions.