Commentary : When you call for PC / Tech Support

As a pc user, I’ve had my share of frustration trying to get tech support help more than once in my life. However, as someone who also gives tech support the frustrations are a 2 way street. Tech support staff suffer many many frustrations everyday. The following post has 3 purposes (1) To educate readers of TGM about things you should NEVER do when calling support (2) Hopefully a little insight into the what Tech Support staff deal with / comic relief (3) Therapy for me as I’ve had to deal with many of these issues recently.

Things that drive Tech Support Staff NUTS!!!!

- Please Turn on your PC before calling support

**You would be surprised how many people never actually have their computer on when they call for help. Those same people usually have the slowest machines that takes forever to boot up.

- Please don’t complain that you had to wait !@#$% long in queue to get to support

**We were delayed in getting to you because we had to wait for the last caller to boot up their pc (Keep in mind that if your pc is off when you complained about your wait, everyone after you will have to wait even longer).

- Calling for support when you are not in front of the pc

**When you call for help and I ask for you to do something and I get Oh I’m not front of PC, right now (How the !@#$ am I supposed to help you, do you go to your mechanic to fix your car but forget to bring the car with you…..COME ON!!!!!).

- Calling to tell me that you keep getting an error message and when I ask you what it said, getting told it said “something about something not working, I think or something like that I don’t know, cant you just see it”

**No genius, my Carnac hat is currently at the Pawn shop, I needed to pay some bills!!!

- Customer calls me, tells me that they have an issue with something on the pc, then I say ok can you do the following (insert a troubleshooting step here) and they respond, "I’ve already done that"…..
**Yes you may have but NOT with me on the phone, so please humor me. Even better when you finally get them to do what you ask and then they say, "That didn’t work for me, how did you get that to work". (Well the computer likes me more than you!)

- Why do customers feel the need to read me everything they see on the screen.

**Even when you interrupt them and say that’s fine, and try and give them their next step, they continue reading.

- Do people need to have a test to prove they know their right from their left before buying a pc?

**It drives me crazy when I tell someone “Now right click on…..” and the response I get is “Is that with the right or left?” Really didn’t I say RIGHT CLICK on…..what part of RIGHT needs to be explained?

- Why do people believe computers will work forever? Why do so many people not backup things on a pc that are “critical” or “irreplaceable”?

**I can only assume that people think the inside of a hard drive is some ultra advanced technology that no one but Martians understand. The inside of the hard drive in fact can be compared to an old record player (for those of us who were born before CD’s). Here is what the inside actually looks like

Here the cover is removed showing the platters and read/write heads. These are the mechanical components. These platters were perfectly clean and shiny when I first removed the cover.

Here is a close-up of the read/write heads on the disk platters. These ride on a thin layer of air generated by the rotating platters

And here is all the electronics inside the drive. Not as much as you might think

This is the actuator that controls the read/write heads and moves them across the drive.

(Pictures from http://www.pcdoctor-guide.com/wordpress/?p=595 (http://www NULL.pcdoctor-guide NULL.com/wordpress/?p=595))

Imagine the plate you see in there as the record album, and there is the record needle, in fact the plate is where your data is stored and when you make a request of your pc, the needle you see moves across the plate and looks for the data you asked for. Obviously this all happens at speeds much faster than your 33 1/3 album (Most Hard drives these days rotate at 7800 RPM or 10000 RPM), but if your needle on your drive gets stuck or your plate gets “scratched” / “warped” your hard drive will stop working and eventually will happen to EVERY hard drive just like it would eventually happen to your old albums.

Keep in mind that if you have “critical” or “irreplaceable” data and your drive dies, there is nothing I or any other tech can do to recover your data. The only way to get it back is to send your drive to a specialty shop where they put your drive in a clean room, and use some true space age technology to pull your data. The cost of that kind of service start at $1000’s of dollars.

A good plan for your “critical” or “irreplaceable” data is referred to as a 3 step plan.

1 – The data on your hard drive

2 – Have a copy locally on an external drive

3 – Using one of the many online services – Have an off-site backup. **Tech Geek and More uses and recommends IDrive (LINK: https://www.idrive.com/?p=techgeekandmore (https://www NULL.idrive NULL.com/?p=techgeekandmore)) for your online back-up.

- Responding to call backs. If your pc issue is really that critical, why don’t you respond to my messages and voicemails?

**You call me in a panic saying you need to get your pc back ASAP, then when I call you back all I get is voicemail. When I get a call I don’t answer I can see the caller ID saying missed call, and call them back or at least listen to the message and call back. So is the pc really that important, when you call me I need to be at your beck and call, but when I call you I can’t find you. That’s a great way to make me put your stuff at the bottom of my busy schedule.

- As a computer user, you should learn at least the basics about your pc. When you buy a car, you at least learn what the Gas Pedal, brake, parking break are, and how to remove the gas cap on your car (At least I would hope that you would!!), that doesn’t mean you’re a mechanic, it just means you understand what you use.

**So as pc users please learn what the following parts of your pc are – \

1) Address Bar – When you open up the program or window you use to access the internet, there is a box where you type Google.com or Bing.com or whatever site your visiting, that is your Address Bar.

2) Task Bar – When a tech asks you to look at your task bar, its that area (usually at the bottom) where all the open programs are listed.

(This is from Windows XP)

(This is from Windows 7)

3 – The internet is actually controlled via IP addresses, that is the equivalent to your phone number. There may be a time when a tech asks you to manually type in an IP address. The addresses will look like 192.168.1.1 (for an example), which is 4 numbers sequences with a period in between each area. Please understand that so that when a tech tell you to type you don’t type 192dot168dot1dot1 or 192period168period1period1, both of which I discovered the hard way after spending time working with a customer who said that it didn’t work. Of course it didn’t…..

4 – Please learn the difference between the power button on your monitor and the power button on your pc itself. I don’t know how many people I have asked to turn off their pc, and then turn it back on by the power button (mainly because the pc is frozen) and the response I get is

Customer: “Its Off”

Customer: “Its back On “ (2 seconds later)

Customer: “Its still frozen”

- As a tech, when you call me to work on your pc remotely, and I get dialed in, please wait until I’m done before getting back on your pc to go to Facepage (Yes that was typed correctly, shows you what the customer knows) or dealing with your crops.

**It is only 1 screen and 1 pc, there is no way I can do what I need while you plow your fields or respond to the POST ME if you believe this…..message. When you jump on all I will do is disconnect, so that when you call back to see if I’m done all I will say is that I couldn’t do anything because YOU WERE IN THE WAY!!!!

AND LASTLY –

- Its 2010, computers have been the norm for 15 yrs. (Using Windows 95 as the basis to that statement). Why do I still get periodic calls from people who say that their pc wont work, while they are in the middle of a power outage. (I don’t know if this one makes me laugh or cry more).

**All I will say to this one. If you call me as to why your pc wont work, and you are in the middle of a power outage, unplug the pc, put it back in its box, and return it to where you bought it. (I know that mean, but really…….)

Here is a rule that I and many other techs do support by -
"99% of all computer issues occur between the keyboard and the chair"

Cellular: Fix for HTC Battery Issues – How to get your HTC battery to last longer

I keep hearing from different HTC phone users about how they love their phone but hate the short life span of the battery. I will acknowledge that I saw many of the same battery life issues when I 1st got my EVO. I am not an expert on batteries, so I cant really explain how or why the following “extending” battery life solution works, however I do know from trying it on my EVO that it has worked for me. One person I shared this with said that this works because the HTC phones use lithium batteries, which do NOT have memory in them like ni-cads do (Even that is a little over my head, but hopefully that will make sense to some of you).

I know I said that this solution is for HTC phone users, the reason I say that is because I have only tried this solution with owners of HTC phones. In theory, this solution should work for any lithium cell phone battery. (If anyone who isn’t on an HTC device tries this and it works, post a message and let us know)

With that being said here are the steps -

Start by Preparing the phone
With the phone in the on position.

Fully charge the battery with the phone on… (until the led turns green.)
Once the led turns green, unplug the charger until the led goes off.
After the led goes off, plug the charger back in. When the led turns green , power off the phone.

Now the solution

With the phone fully powered off.

Unplug the charger.
Wait until led goes off.
Plug charger back in until the led turns green. When it turns green, unplug the charger again

Now go to step 1. and repeat steps 1 and 3 a total of 10 times. Typically this is about a 10 min. project.

Final Note

I know the question that I get when I tell people about this trick is “How often do I have to do this?” Well in my case, I use this trick once a week (Each Monday) and I can see major improvements to the life of the battery.

Scam Alert/Rip-Off Warning: The Geek Squad @ Best Buy is selling an update to the Sony PlayStation 3 for $30 that is actually offered FREE by Sony

From the “ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!!!” file, it seems that the Geek Squad at Best Buy is now trying to sell a PlayStation 3 update that Sony gives to PS3 owners for FREE. The update in question is a Firmware update to the PS3 that takes no time at all for anyone to do as long as you have your PS3 connected to the internet. (Comment) I can only assume that Best Buy is looking for some seriously uneducated customers. The instructions direct from Sony posted below.

The following shot (Source: http://dualshockers.com/2010/10/01/best-buy-sells-free-ps3-upgrades/ (http://dualshockers NULL.com/2010/10/01/best-buy-sells-free-ps3-upgrades/)) Shows the Geek Squad In Store Ad at a Best Buy in Staten Island NYC:

A “normal” PlayStation 3 costs $299, but if Geek Squad does the firmware upgrade for you, there is an additional $30 fee.

Geek Squad / Best Buy claims that if they do the upgrade you will benefit from

- Play all Blu-Ray Movies & PS3 Games

- Eliminate bugs & glitches

- System Runs Smoother

- Improved connection to Facebook

- Power Save Settings

- Photo Gallery & Video Editor

- Addition of PlayStation Plus (which is an online service)

- Improved System Settings

At best (In my opinion) this is unnecessary/misleading and taking advantaged of an uneducated user…..At worst…….

(My opinion) I don’t think this should be legal.

To show you how misleading the $30 fee is, here are the steps that Geek Squad is charging you $30 for. The following comes from Sony’s PlayStation Page (LINK)

http://manuals.playstation.net/document/en/ps3/current/settings/update.html (http://manuals NULL.playstation NULL.net/document/en/ps3/current/settings/update NULL.html)

System Update

Software updates may include security patches, new or revised settings and features and other items, which will change your current operating system. It is recommended that you always maintain your system to use the latest version of the system software.

There are two ways to update as listed below:

Update via Internet

Update via Storage Media

Notices

Do not turn off the system or remove media during an update. If an update is cancelled before completion, the system software may become damaged, and the system may require servicing or exchange.

During an update, the power button on the system front and the PS button on the wireless controller are not active.

Depending on the content, you may not be able to play without first updating the system software.

Update via Internet

Download the update data directly to the system from the Internet. The latest update is automatically downloaded.

1.

Select (Settings) > (System Update).

2.

Select [Update via Internet].
Download the latest update data from the Internet. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the operation.

Update via Storage Media

Use update data saved on a disc, Memory Stick™ or other media. Download the update data from a Web site using a PC. For more information, visit the SCE Web site for your region (http://manuals NULL.playstation NULL.net/document/en/support NULL.html).

Hints

Update data may also be contained in some game discs, commercially available BD video software, and other types of disc media. When you play a disc that contains update data, a screen will be displayed to guide you through the update process. Follow the on-screen instructions to perform the update.

An appropriate USB adaptor (not included) is required to use storage media with some models of the PS3™ system.

Of course those instructions are based on the fact that you have your PS3 already connected to your internet service. If you have a PS 3 and are not sure how to get it connected to your home internet connection, you can visit the following Sony PlayStation pages

Wired Connection (LINK) http://us.playstation.com/support/answer/index.htm?a_id=261 (http://us NULL.playstation NULL.com/support/answer/index NULL.htm?a_id=261)

Wireless Connection (LINK) http://us.playstation.com/support/answer/index.htm?a_id=238 (http://us NULL.playstation NULL.com/support/answer/index NULL.htm?a_id=238)

So for now, be careful if you purchase a PS3 at a Best Buy location, save yourself the $30 dollars and use that to buy either an additional controller, a Blu-Ray disk, or an additional game. If nothing else, use that $30 to pay the 12 yr. old family member tech. or neighbor child to get them to unpack and install the PS3 at your house. I’m sure they would appreciate it more.

Android: (Possible) Solution for Angry Birds Game NOT starting

Angry Birds is one of the most annoying and at the same time most addicting games I’ve ever played. Angry Birds which was just released for the droid is the story of survival of a group of birds that Dish out revenge on the greedy pigs who stole their eggs (Duh – That’s why they are angry) . You use the unique powers of each bird to destroy the pigs’ fortresses. Angry Birds features challenging physics-based gameplay that requires logic, skill, and force to crush the enemy.

Angry Birds can be downloaded from the Android Marketplace (LINK) http://www.appbrain.com/app/com.rovio.angrybirds_lite (http://www NULL.appbrain NULL.com/app/com NULL.rovio NULL.angrybirds_lite) or using the QR Code

(http://chart NULL.apis NULL.google NULL.com/chart?cht=qr&chs=150x150&chl=market://search%3Fq%3Dpname:com NULL.rovio NULL.angrybirds_lite)

Once you install Angry Birds you can find it in the All apps section of your phone

One of the issues that I have been asked about with Angry Birds is that it seems not to start on some phones. During the startup process for the game you see the following screens

The Opening Screen from Rovio

Followed by the Angry Birds (Lite) Title screen and that’s it. The phone goes directly back to your phones desktop

(**This is the screen on my phone)

The (Possible) Solution to be able to run Angry Birds

Step #1 – Under All Apps go to Settings

Step #2 – In settings select Applications

Step #3 – In Applications select Manage Applications

Step #4 – In the Managed Applications Window look for the Angry Birds App and click on it

Step #5 – On the Info Screen click on Move to Phone. The game loads by default to the SD Card and for some phones it seems that is where the hang up happens. The button will change from “Move to Phone” to say “Move to SD”

<—Before <—After

Step #6 (And Final Step) During the game start up – Continuously tap the phone screen or hold your finger to the screen as soon as you see the title/splash screen for the game until it moves to the next screen. (**On my phone (EVO) tapping has worked but on a different phone (droid X) this was tested on holding your finger to the screen worked, so you may need to test both ways**)

Once you see the intro screen – you have made it to play the game.

I know this is a lot for a BETA game – However in the interest of my sanity, here is how I get in to play the game, so that you don’t have to ask (me!).

**Game Tip – Use the pinch function on the phone screen to zoom in and out of the screen. (Hope that helps)

Android: How to install apps on your Android phone.

The following post was inspired by a friend who said that she just got her 1st droid and wanted to know “what do I do now”. Since she was coming from a non-smart phone, as so many people it seems like these days (Android saw an 888% increase in users based on a recent reports http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10839034 (http://www NULL.bbc NULL.co NULL.uk/news/technology-10839034) ).

With all these new users, I figured an Android “How to” would be in order. A couple of things to keep in mind with Android is that most apps you will want will come from a “Marketplace” and for Android there is more than 1 marketplace to choose from (Like going to Safeway vs. Acme vs. Vons…..etc.). All the Marketplaces offer a lot of the same products (like the supermarket) but they each have their own twists. Do you need to pick just one of the markets to use, no not at all, in addition to the market(s) many sites will also have apps you can directly download for Android

How to Install Applications

To install applications using Android Market perform the following steps:

Open the Android Market application in the Applications menu.

You can select any option – Applications, Games, Search or My Downloads based on what you want to do. You will then get a list of applications or games to choose from. You can also search for any particular application using the magnifying glass (on the top right) . You will then get a list of apps with their description and rating.

Click on the application you want and you will get more details of that application – the number of downloads and user comments.

To install it, just click on the Install button on the bottom of the screen.

Prior to the install starting, you will see a final screen letting you know what the program you are installing will have access to. If you have privacy concerns, this is the screen you want to pay attention to, so that you can know what information about you the program your installing is collecting. Just click on OK to finish installing the application.
Once installed just look in your program list and the app will be ready to use.

Marketplaces for the Android

As mentioned earlier Android has more than one Marketplace. The most common marketplaces in addition to the one that comes with your Android the Marketplace created by your cell service provider

- Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, etc.

As well as the following sites (There are additional sites but these are two of the Major Ones)

- APP Brain App Marketplace (LINK) http://www.appbrain.com/ (http://www NULL.appbrain NULL.com/)

For App Brain you can do a search from the Main Android Marketplace and you will find a download for your phone that will allow you to search directly from your phone (exactly) the same way you do with the Android Marketplace.

- Android Lib (LINK) http://www.androlib.com/ (http://www NULL.androlib NULL.com/)

For Android Lib they do not have an app for your phone, however, when searching their site, you will find a QR code next to each app. The QR code can be used to make installing on your Android phone extremely simple (QR Code directions below)

Using QR Codes with your Android phone

One of the features that makes accessing links on your phone extremely simple involves using QR Codes. The QR Code below is the code for the TechGeekandMore.com Mobile site.

TechGeekandMoreMobileBarcode_thumb (file:///C:/Users/anovelo NULL.IMS/AppData/Local/Temp/WindowsLiveWriter-429641856/supfiles173FFD8/TechGeekandMoreMobileBarcode2 NULL.png)

A QR Code is a matrix (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Matrix_(mathematics)) barcode (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Barcode) (or two-dimensional code (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Barcode#Matrix_ NULL.282D NULL.29_barcodes)), readable (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Machine-readable_medium) by QR scanners (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Barcode_reader), mobile phones (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Mobile_phone) with camera (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Camera), and smartphones (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/Smartphones). The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on white background. The information encoded can be text, URL (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/URL) or other data. (From Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_Code (http://en NULL.wikipedia NULL.org/wiki/QR_Code) )

A QR code, derived from “Quick Response”, is a two dimensional matrix bar code created by a Japanese corporation back in 1994 to allow its contents to be decoded at very high speed. Here is how to scan QR bar codes in order to get apps.

Instructions

From either the Android Marketplace or the APP Brain Marketplace, do a search for “Barcode Scanner”. You will see many scanners for download (as of this post there were 88 choices). I recommend that you install the app called “Barcode Scanner” developed by ZXing Team for Android phones. It is a free application and should be one of the 1st ones on the list. This barcode scanner is what you will use to then be able to access the QR code barcodes.

Once installed, launch Barcode Scanner

Barcode Scanner (http://i NULL.ehow NULL.com/images/a05/nh/1u/scan-barcodes-apps-motorola-droid-1 NULL.1-800X800 NULL.jpg)

Scan QR codes – To scan a QR code, move your phone towards the code and allowing enough distance from your Android phones camera in order to focus on the QR codes. You can scan almost any QR codes directly from your computer screen, as well as, magazines, or newspaper. (http://i NULL.ehow NULL.com/images/a05/nh/1u/scan-barcodes-apps-motorola-droid-1 NULL.3-800X800 NULL.jpg)
When the QR code is successfully read, you will be notified that a URL is found. Simply click “Open Browser” button and you will see that the app is found quickly.

At which point when you click open browser, you will get the prompt to install the program.

That’s all there is to it, to install apps on Android……

SIMPLE!!!

ALERT: New Rogueware–This one can detect which browser your using and customize the fake alert to the browser you are using

In a never ending effort to inform the visitors to TGM, here is another ALERT concerning a new version of Rogueware (Rogue:MSIL/Zeven (http://www NULL.microsoft NULL.com/security/portal/Threat/Encyclopedia/Entry NULL.aspx?Name=Rogue:MSIL/Zeven)) that can actually figure out what web browser you are using and then customize the fake message to look like a standard message for the browser you are using. As always the reason these types of attacks work is because of the social engineering aspect, most people don’t know any better, they assume that if the message pops up on their pc the “it must be true”. Unfortunately the messages that you will see as a result of the Rogueware are nothing more than a trick to get control of your pc.

The following article (Written by Daniel Radu of the Microsoft Malware Protection Center) comes from the Microsoft TechNet Blog (LINK) http://blogs.technet.com/b/mmpc/archive/2010/09/01/rogue-msil-zeven-wants-a-piece-of-the-microsoft-security-essentials-pie.aspx (http://blogs NULL.technet NULL.com/b/mmpc/archive/2010/09/01/rogue-msil-zeven-wants-a-piece-of-the-microsoft-security-essentials-pie NULL.aspx) . You should pay close attention to what the fake alert can look at in each of the browsers (At the bottom of the message you get “Upgrade to a reliable solution”).

**************************************************************************************************************************************

Rogue:MSIL/Zeven wants a piece of the Microsoft Security Essentials pie

A new rogue has started making its appearance from compromised websites: Rogue:MSIL/Zeven (http://www NULL.microsoft NULL.com/security/portal/Threat/Encyclopedia/Entry NULL.aspx?Name=Rogue:MSIL/Zeven). We received a sample (70be8ca73142922fd78acf2aafa9f141a977f15a) and a URL and began our investigation.

Let us say from the beginning that the guys behind this rogue like to copy big-time. They start by auto-detecting what browser the user is currently using, and then faking the malware warning page if the browser is Internet Explorer, Chrome, or Firefox. This is meant to be a social engineering scheme in order to trick the user into downloading and installing the rogue, relying on the user’s trust of his day-to-day browser.

The similarity between the fake warning pages is so accurate that it can trick even highly trained eyes.

In the Firefox page, for example, you can see it’s not the real warning page because they misspelled ‘out’ and wrote ‘Get me our of here’.

Chrome

Internet Explorer

But for all three browsers, a common indication that you are not looking at the actual browser warning is the offer of some sort of an “update” or “solution”. All the “updates” point to a copy of MSIL/Zeven that promises to provide “a new approach to windows detection”. Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome do not offer such a solution when a website is blocked.

When installed, the product looks very genuine: it allows you to scan files, tells you when you’re behind on doing your updates, and enables you to tweak your security and privacy settings. These features are usually available in various legitimate antivirus solutions. However, the features don’t work; everything is there just to look nice, not to offer any kind of protection (just like in all other rogue antivirus programs).

Of course once it scans your computer it’s bound to claim it found something scary (malicious), as shown below:

As usual with rogue scanners, although it “found” malicious files, it claims it cannot delete them unless you update. That implies that you need to pay for the full version, which has the ability to download updates. However, these files are totally bogus; no such files exist in the user’s computer.

If you decide to buy the product, this rogue opens an HTML window enabled with ‘Safe Browsing Mode’ and high strength encryption to “help” and ”protect” you while completing your purchase. Of course these features are totally worthless and don’t actually do anything in the way of securing your credit card details.

The main page of the rogue antivirus program itself looks awfully close to the Microsoft Security Essentials webpage – more copying from the bad guys. The people behind it have even copied the awards received by Microsoft Security Essentials and link to the Microsoft Malware Protection Center - pretty sneaky of them.

This is a screenshot of the rogue’s main webpage:

And, by way of contrast, this is a screenshot of the genuine Microsoft Security Essentials (http://www NULL.microsoft NULL.com/security_essentials/) page:

It seems that these guys want to profit on the good reputation and success of Microsoft Security Essentials in order to make money – but we remind our customers that Microsoft Security Essentials can be downloaded at no cost. And it really does protect your computer from malware!

We detect both the downloader of the rogue and the rogue itself as Rogue:MSIL/Zeven (http://www NULL.microsoft NULL.com/security/portal/Threat/Encyclopedia/Entry NULL.aspx?Name=Rogue:MSIL/Zeven).

Until our next encounter: browse safely!

Daniel Radu
MMPC Dublin

TechNet Video: How Do I: Migration From Windows XP to Windows 7 (Level 200)

From Microsoft:

TechNet Video: How Do I: Migration From Windows XP to Windows 7 (Level 200) (http://www NULL.microsoftbroadcaster NULL.com/en-us/Content/Link/11813?WT NULL.z_cType=VI&WT NULL.z_cSource=WWE)

(LINK) http://www.microsoftbroadcaster.com/en-us/Content/Link/11813?WT.z_cType=VI&WT.z_cSource=WWE (http://www NULL.microsoftbroadcaster NULL.com/en-us/Content/Link/11813?WT NULL.z_cType=VI&WT NULL.z_cSource=WWE) (http://www NULL.microsoftbroadcaster NULL.com/en-us/Content/Media/11813?WT NULL.z_cType=VI&WT NULL.z_cSource=WWE)

Find out what you need to know about the process of migrating your computers from Windows XP to Windows 7.

This video discusses:

Backup considerations and options
Preparing hard drives and partitions
Capturing Windows XP data and settings with the Windows Easy Transfer Tool
Installing Windows 7
Restoring captured data and settings with the Windows Easy Transfer Tool
Confirming settings

Software: Getting your Creative Labs Sound Blaster soundcard working with Windows Vista / 7

Came across an interesting issue this week with one of my clients who has just upgraded to Windows 7 on his pc (x86/32 bit). His pc hardware included a Creative Labs SB200 sound card, which Windows 7 recognized but said was not compatible with the operating system. I know I could have easily gone out and bought a new sound card but I figured I would try a few things before going down that route. If you do a search for the driver on the Creative Labs site all you will find are drivers that list for Windows 2000 and XP. I tried downloading the XP file and then using Windows 7 compatibility mode to install it, but that didn’t work. So I kept looking and found a version of the Creative Labs Sound Driver on the Dell site – So I decided to try it and “boom”, there it was. Here are the steps I took

Downloaded the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 (LINK) http://ftp.us.dell.com/audio/R80459.EXE (http://ftp NULL.us NULL.dell NULL.com/audio/R80459 NULL.EXE)
Once Downloaded – Right click on the R80459.exe file –> Left Click on Properties. This will bring up the properties screen. On the properties screen put a check next to “Run this program in compatibility mode” (and select Windows XP SP3) and also select “Run this program as Administrator”.

3. Once you have done that select ok, then double click R80459.exe. During the install you will get prompted for the location you wish to save your file. I recommend just leaving the default location.

4. The install will now run and install your drivers. At the end of the install it will still appear that the install did NOT work. Reboot your pc. After the reboot you should have sound……..Enjoy

**The instructions list Windows 7 – However, should work exactly the same under Windows Vista.

Apple: (From Gizmodo) Apple Security Breach Gives Complete Access to Your iPhone (ALERT)

Gizmodo is reporting that a new vulnerability has been found that affects iPhone, iPod, and iPads

From Gizmodo -

Right now, if you visit a web page and load a simple PDF file, you may give total control of your iPhone, iPod touch (http://gizmodo NULL.com/tag/ipodtouch/), or iPad to a hacker. The security bug affects all devices running iOS 3.1.2 and higher.

Update: Initially we thought that this exploit only effected iOS4 devices, but it turns out all iPhones, iPod Touches and iPads running 3.1.2 and higher are susceptible.

The vulnerability is easily exploitable. In fact, the latest one-click, no-computer-required Jailbreak solution for iOS 4 devices (http://gizmodo NULL.com/5601874/jailbreakme-20-jailbreaks-all-apple-ios-40-401-and-321-devices) uses this same method to break Apple’s own security (although in a completely benign way for the user).

The result is that, without any user intervention whatsoever, that program can do whatever it wants inside your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. Anything you can imagine: Delete files, transmit files, install programs running on the background that can monitor your actions… anything can be done.

The short answer to this issue is that you need to be careful and not click on any links to PDFs on your iPhone, iPod, or iPad until Apple releases an update to this issue.

The complete post can be found on the Gizmodo site (LINK:) http://gizmodo.com/5603319/ (http://gizmodo NULL.com/5603319/)

Apple: Possible fix for iPhone 3G(S) that run slow or have issues after upgrading the phone to iOS4

Virtually everyone is aware of the “Antennagate” issues with the iPhone 4, however there have also been reported issues for those using iPhone 3G/3GS models that upgrade to the iOS4 software. The issues appear to be everything from shortened battery life, to very slow performance of the phone (making it unusable, to random reboots of the phone. With all the attention to the antenna issues, these other issues haven’t gotten as much attention until now. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple is now conducting a probe concerning complaints about these issues (LINK: http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/07/28/apple-investigates-reports-of-problems-with-ios4-on-iphone-3g/ (http://blogs NULL.wsj NULL.com/digits/2010/07/28/apple-investigates-reports-of-problems-with-ios4-on-iphone-3g/) )

With all that being said, it now seems that a member of the tech site Neowin (http://www.Neowin.net (http://www NULL.Neowin NULL.net)) by the name of NathanMillson (http://www NULL.neowin NULL.net/forum/?showuser=327910) may have just figured out the cause (At least one of them) and a simple solution that many have reported fixes the issues.

From Nathan’s Neowin post:

From my experience, I find if you go into Settings->General->Home Button->Spotlight Search-> Deselect every option. No more background indexing on iPhone 3G.

I haven’t had much performance issues after this…

If you find this solution works for you, post a response and TGM will make sure to let Nathan and Neowin know.

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