Archive for the ‘Questions’ Category

How to Take a Screenshot on a Mac (OS X)

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To take a screenshot on a Mac simply do the following:

Command-Control-Shift-3 to save the current screen to the clipboard.

Command-Shift-3 to save the current screen to a file on the desktop.

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How to Renew McAfee when it Expires

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When your copy of McAfee Antivirus or McAfee Internet Security expires you can quickly and easily renew it online at the McAfee Website.

For more information simply visit the McAfee website here.

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How to Renew Norton Antivirus when it Expires

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When your copy of Norton Antivirus, Norton Internet Security, or Norton 360 expires you can quickly and easily renew it online at the Norton Website.

Simply click here: Norton Software Upgrades and Renewals.

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Does your HP Printer disappear? This is how you fix it.

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Lauren Writes:

I just bought a new HP printer and installed it using the disc that came in the box. The problem is that every time I turn off or restart the printer it disappears! This is very annoying, what do I do? I called HP and they said it was a problem with Vista and want me to erase everything and reinstall. I really don’t want to do that.

This is an annoying problem indeed. It’s also one that I’ve run into before. Fortunately there is an easy fix.

How to make your HP Printer Stop Disappearing

This problem is caused by a program that HP installs in your computer when you first installed the printer. The program is called “HP CUE DeviceDiscovery Service”. From the name I assume that it’s in charge of detecting HP devices connected to your computer. Unfortunately in some cases it fails to do its job and your devices remain undetected. Bummer.

To fix the problem simply disable HP CUE DeviceDiscovery Service. Follow these simple steps.

startbutton

Click on Start.

services

In the Search field type in Services.msc then press Enter.

listed

The Services Manager will open. Scroll down to where you see HP CUE DeviceDiscovery Service listed.

properties

Right-click on HP CUE DeviceDiscovery Service and click Properties.

startuptype

A Window will open. For Startup type select Disabled.

apply

Click Apply then close the Window. Reboot your computer.

And your printer should be back!

Having problems with your computer? Simply scan your computer for free to identify problem areas and solutions. Click here to start a free scan.

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What to do when your DVD Drive is not detected.

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I was recently asked to install a printer for someone. They had the CD, but I found out the DVD/CD player wasn’t responding. I looked in the device manager and noticed there wasn’t a DVD/CD listed. I tried the add new hardware but it said no new hardware found. It is a Presario F700 laptop with vista. They said the DVD/CD used to work. I’ve never came across this issue before. What is wrong and what should I do? Thanks for your time.

This is most likely caused by an upper/lower filter issue. Simply follow these steps and then reboot your computer.

  1. Open RegEdit (Start>Run> Type “regedit”)
  2. Navigate to “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}”
  3. Delete the “UpperFilters” value.
  4. Delete the “LowerFilters” value.
  5. Restart the computer.
  6. You might need to uninstall then reinstall any burning software you may have (Nero, iTunes, etc…) do this now.

Having problems with your computer? Simply scan your computer for free to identify problem areas and solutions. Click here to start a free scan.

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How to Fix “The specified I/O operation on \Device\Harddisk\ was not completed before the time-out period expired” error

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Ive got the error “The specified I/O operation on \Device\Harddisk\DR0 was not completed before the time-out period expired.” when I plug in my external USB hard drive.

externaldrive

This error can be caused by the following:

Bad USB Port on Your Computer

Your computer may have a defective USB port. I’ve seen many people get this error when using their device either on their front USB port or on a USB Hub with many other USB devices. Simply try plugging in the drive into another USB port (preferably on the back side of your computer not the front) and see if that works.

You can also try plugging the hard drive (or whatever other device you’re having the problem with) into another computer.

Bad Enclosure on the Drive

If your problem is with an external hard drive then you may be the victim of a faulty enclosure (the case that houses the hard drive). In this case you need to either take the drive out and move it to another USB enclosure or make it a secondary internal drive in your computer.

Bad Operating System

Your error may be caused by a corrupted Operating System. The best way to find out if this is the case is to connect the drive to another computer. If it works then you know that it’s a problem with your computer, if it doesn’t then it’s a problem with the drive.

Bad Sectors on the Drive

And finally it could be bad sectors on the drive. To find out use a tool such as HD Tune to scan your hard drive (use the Full option). If you do find bad sectors you will usually need to use a Data Recovery tool to get your data back. After your data is safe try to replace the drive if it’s under warranty or throw it out if it’s not.

Having problems with your computer? Simply scan your computer for free to identify problem areas and solutions. Click here to start a free scan.

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How to convert NTFS to FAT32

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How do you revert an NTFS partition to a FAT32 partition in windows XP (SP2)… Can you only use WinXP or do you need an external software?

Yes you can convert NTFS to FAT32. But before I tell you how I need to ask: Why?

NTFS is the much better file system. Here are some superior features it has over FAT32:

  • FAT32 can only support file sizes up to 4GB while NTFS can go above and beyond.
  • NTFS drives are far less likely to develop errors then FAT32 drives.
  • NTFS supports cluster remapping for bad sectors allowing the Operating System to “mark” bad sectors off limits. This increases the usable lifespan of a Hard Drive.

But if you’re sure you want to convert back to FAT32 read on.

Unfortunately there are really only two ways. You cannot just use Windows XP to convert back to FAT32 like you could to convert to NTFS. Here’s how:

  1. Reformat your computer (saving your data) and reinstall Windows XP using a FAT32 file system.
  2. Or use a product such as Partition Magic from Symantec to convert your existing NTFS installation to FAT32.

Whichever option you choose you’ll want to backup your data. Option 1 will erase your data for sure while Option 2 is a dangerous process so backing everything up is a wise move.

Having other problems with your computer? Simply scan your computer for free to identify problem areas. Click here to start a free scan.

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How to Remove/Uninstall Norton Internet Security and Norton Antivirus

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hey. I’m having trouble with my norton and want to remove it. how do it uninstall it?

If you want to uninstall Norton Internet Security or Norton AntiVirus there are two ways to do it. You can either remove it by using the built in Windows uninstaller or you can use the Norton Removal Tool. I prefer the Removal Tool because it removes Norton completely without leaving traces on your computer.

You can download the removal tool from the Norton Website here: Norton Removal Tool.

Having other problems with your computer? Simply scan your computer for free to identify problem areas. Click here to start a free scan.

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How to Fix Liquid/Water Damage to a Laptop

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I dumped wine all over my laptop, any suggestions? Its been sitting for a few days already.

Ouch! The first thing you want to do (and I hope that you’ve done this already) is to unplug the laptop from any power source including the power cord and the battery. Remove both of those immediately.

When water or any any liquid seeps into electronics that greatest danger comes from it’s internals shorting out. This doesn’t just go for laptops but for cell phones, mp3 players and anything else that has a chip in it.

Now I’m nervous to hear that it’s wine but what I would recommend you do is, as soon as you’ve taken away the power, let the electronic device sit there for a few days and led the liquid evaporate away. After a few days open up the device and see if there are any more droplets of liquid, if not give it a few more days and only then try plugging it back in.

Having other problems with your computer? Simply scan your computer for free to identify problem areas. Click here to start a free scan.

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How to Remove Nero Scout

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How do I remove Nero Scout?

To remove Nero Scout simply do the following:

  1. Click Start.
  2. Click Run (Or in Vista type in “Run” into the search box and click on the Run result that comes up)
  3. Type in: regsvr32 /u “%COMMONPROGRAMFILES%\Ahead\Lib\MediaLibraryNSE.dll”

This will remove Nero Scout.

Having other problems with your computer? Simply scan your computer for free to identify problem areas. Click here to start a free scan.

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