When you first buy a computer it’s like heaven. It runs fast, there are no problems like crashing or error screens and you’re left alone to do what you want. It’s bliss. However after a few months you begin to notice things. Things like:

* A Slow Computer

* Cryptic error Messages

* Random shutdowns and restarts

Things that not only annoy you but can cost you time and money. Sometimes the best way to resolve these problems is through a a complete restore to factory settings. This process will wipe your computer and reinstall the original software and operating that came with your computer. Usually it’ll be like having a new computer.

Unfortunately there is a downside. By restoring your computer to factory settings you’ll be forced to backup all of your stuff. All of your files and videos, pictures and documents. It’s a big job. And in the end you’ll still need to reinstall all of your programs since restoring to factory settings will wipe the computer clean.

Before I tell you how to wipe your computer I would like to recommend an easy to use tool that can fix those problems for you….without the need to loose all of your programs and files!

The software is called ReImage. With a few simple clicks you’ll be able to fix almost any software or virus problem you’re computer may have! Here are a few highlights:

ReImage can:

Repair damaged operating system

Refresh native OS drivers

Eliminate pop-ups

Remove viruses, trojans and spam

Fix registry keys

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.

I’ve recently had a lot of people come up and ask me what firewall and antivirus they should buy for their Mac Desktop or Macbook laptop. Well you don’t have to buy an antivirus (there is currently no virus out there for the Mac, and no trojans unless you pirate software) and the Mac computers already come with a built-in firewall. You just have to turn it on.

So how do you do it? Here’s how:

Step-By-Step:

1. Click on the Apple Logo on the upper-left corner of your screen.
2. A Menu will pop up. In that menu click on System Preferences.
3. The System Preferences window will open. In that Windows find and click on the Security Icon.
4. The Security Window will open. Check the bottom of the Security Window. If the padlock icon is closed then click on it and enter your password. This will enable you to start the firewall. If the padlock is already unlocked then leave it that way.
5. Click on the Start Button.
6. Close the Security Window. And you’re done!

Cheers!

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.

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.

As many of you know Apple is close to releasing a new update to it’s much applauded Mac Operating System OS X. The update is called Snow Leopard and will introduce several low-level fixes to the Mac. It will also add a few nice new features.

Some of the improvements:

1) About 6GB stripped right out! The new OS is much much lighter.

2) Faster start-up and shutdown.

3) A new version of QuickTime (called QuickTime X) that adds many of the pro features to the free version. You can also now edit in Quicktime!

4) Up to 50% times faster Time Machine Backup.

5) Faster Wireless connectivity.

6) The brand spanking new Safari 4. Which is supposed to be much faster and much more stable then previous versions.

*Note: PowerPC Mac users are unable to install Snow Leopard. They have finally been dropped. Intel Macs only.*

So. How do you get all that and more for only $9.95? Well it’s simple. If you bought a Mac after June 8th that includes OS X Leopard but not Snow Leopard then all you need to do is go to this website: http://www.apple.com/ca/macosx/uptodate/. Fill out the form, mail it off, and your upgrade should come soon after that! You have until December 26th, 2009 to get your copy.

But what if you didn’t buy your Mac after June 8th? What then? Don’t fret. As long as you’re running Leopard you can buy the upgrade from Apple for the awesomely reasonable price of $29. If you’re running an older version (such as Tiger) you’ll need to shell out $169. However that price includes an upgrade to both Leopard and Snow Leopard.

Cheers!

Encountered a HP Pavilion 900 Series desktop today with a routine “no power” problem. A quick power supply swap restored life to the machine however the strangest problem occurred: The computer was stuck at the HP logo screen!

So what to do?

Thankfully this is pretty easy to solve. My specific problem was being caused by having the two CD-ROM drives connected to the motherboard without having the power supply connected to those drives. Once I connected the new power supply to the drives the system booted fine.

This is what you should do to fix this issue on your computer: simply open up your computer and go through the components (starting with the hard drive and ending with the RAM) to see which one is defective. A faulty device will cause this error. You just need to find out which one it is.

I’ve been hearing from across the net that many HP Elite e9150t desktop computers are freezing and locking up at the slightest touch. There seems to be an entire mob of users at the following sites demanding to know why their shiny new machines are locking up and wondering when HP is going to do something about it:

http://h30434.www3.hp.com/psg/board/message?board.id=lockups&thread.id=895

http://futureshopforums.com/futureshop/board/message?board.id=computerlaptop&thread.id=14775&view=by_date_ascending&page=1

So what gives HP? When are you gonna fix these issues? For some users it’s been weeks of getting the run-around from different “departments” at HP. We all understand that not everyone is having the issue (as is evident from the customer reviews found here) but it is inescapable that a large section of your customer base for this series is having the same problem.

If anyone knows what’s happening here please let us know in the comments below. If you can please run “BlueScreenView” on your computer and post the results. If anyone finds a solution please write it below.

Program:BlueScreenView

Price: Freeware

Site: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.html

Description: Open “Minidump” information from Windows and tries to isolate a likely cause.

If you’re working on a computer that continually crashes and and gives you grief you can try using a very simple program called BlueScreenView to attempt to fix your issues. Now it won’t automatically solve Blue Screens for you but it will attempt to read error logs that those blue screens leave behind and give you a likely reason (such as a program or driver).

The program is small, portable and extremely easy to use.

I’m sure a lot of you have run into problems with the Acer Aspire Netbooks. I’ve personally now seen 6 of the Acer Aspire Ones develop a problem where they will light up their little LEDS but nothing will come on the screen. So far I’ve sent these units to Acer for repairs. But I think I’ve found the solution.

Acting on a hunch that this was a BIOS corruption I searched the net and found this helpful tidbit:

The AA1 has a built-in BIOS recovery routine, making it possible to flash the BIOS even if the system doesn’t boot anymore. It’s only meant for emergencies and may void your warranty, so use at your own risk.

Follow every step carefully!

First format an USB stick with FAT.

Download the latest BIOS, and put both FLASHIT.EXE and the BIOS file in the root directory of the stick. Rename the BIOS file to ZG5IA32.FD, that’s important. Do not remove the USB stick.

Turn the AA1 off, make sure both battery and AC adapter are connected. Press Fn+Esc, keep it pressed and press the power button to turn the AA1 on. Release Fn+Esc after a few seconds, the power button will be blinking. Press the power button once. The AA1 will now initiate the BIOS flash, do not interrupt it under any circumstances. After a while the power button will stop blinking, and the AA1 will reboot shortly after. Wait patiently.

The BIOS has been flashed and all settings reset to default.

If for some reason you made a mistake during the procedure and it doesn’t reboot by itself wait 5 minutes before turning it off, just to be safe that it isn’t still flashing the BIOS.

I have not tried this yet but I’ve decided to post it on the site so that I can update this post as soon as I try it out. If anyone gets a chance to try this please comment below.

Source: http://macles.blogspot.com/2008/08/acer-aspire-one-bios-recovery.html