Monthly Archives: October 2010

ADSL dropouts and phone filters

Computer Aid Posted on by

This seemed like a common problem at first:

Customer purchased a new cordless phone, plugged it in, and now, whenever the phone rings (or a call is made), his ADSL internet connection drops out for a few minutes.

In most cases this just means the new phone is connected to a new outlet that doesn’t have an ADSL filter connected.

So I go to plug in a line filter, but find that the phone doesn’t work… no dial tone, nothing.

Next step is to try a normal “corded” phone… these are getting rare nowadays…

Well, I get the same problem… no dial tone… the phone line is dead.

So I ask: have you ever used a phone on this outlet before (I’m starting to think that the phone plug either goes nowhere, or it was for a second phone line).

But the customer is sure it was used for a phone a few years ago.

OK, maybe some corrosion on the contacts… this is one of those old-fashioned Australian plugs from 20 or 40 years ago… about 1 inch square.

So I insert and remove the plug about 5 times… and the phone now has a faint dial tone… but the line quality is very noisy.

I try another 5 “in and outs” to remove some more corrosion, and the phone line now sound good.

Now I plugin the filter and the phone goes dead again… hmmm, maybe a faulty filter… some filters are more problematic than others…

I try a different filter, and the phone is now working again.

I now plugin the cordless phone, and it too is working.

Next, I make a call while watching the ADSL modem, and it maintains an internet connection while I call.

All fixed! (but with a few minor hiccups along the way!).

Peter Van Schajik (Dandy Mushroom Farm) hasn’t payed his debt to Computer Aid

Computer Aid Posted on by

Yet another customer (Peter Vanschajik from Dandy Mushroom Farm, Pearcedale, Victoria), asked me to fix various computer problems, and then decided not to pay.

The debt was not large, so it couldn’t have been too hard to pay it, yet he decided to not pay, and despite many attempts to contact him over a period of a few months, he could not be reached.

Anyway, I suggest that anyone who deals with Peter Vanschajik from Dandy Mushroom Farm should do so with an appropriate amount of caution.

Sonnie Mai hasn’t payed her debt to Computer Aid

Computer Aid Posted on by

Sonnie May is another customer that owes me nearly $500 (for both goods and services), and then moved house and has proven difficult to track down over the last 18 months.

Again, I have had to write off the money that she owes me, as it has proven next to impossible to track her down.

I suggest that anyone who deals with Sonnie Mai should do so with an appropriate amount of caution.

Tammi Pointon hasn’t payed her debt to Computer Aid

Computer Aid Posted on by

As seems to happen often with non-paying customers, they start off asking Computer Aid to fix a few small problems, then increase the the size of the jobs.

The first few jobs are paid promptly, then, when the amount of money due increases they stop paying.

Initially they just say they cannot find the invoice… could you please send it again.

And then: nothing.

No replies to emails, and the phone isn’t answered.

When I pass the debt to a collection agency, the agency usually gets a lame excuse about Computer Aid having done a poor job.

Since the amount owing isn’t very large (by corporate standards), then I need to write off the debt.

I suggest that anyone who deals with Tammi Pointon should do so with an appropriate amount of caution.

Xbox 360 – Fixing The Console

Computer Aid Posted on by

Xbox 360 gaming consoles are the new craze of the youngsters. Well, not that new, but yes, the trend of being crazy over the Xbox 360 gaming console seems to have taken a great rise. Now people who are in their teenage and the people who are in their twenties love to play on the Xbox 360 and watch multimedia files through it. As Xbox 360 is a gaming console which happens to fall in the category of machines, it undergoes the process of wear and tear and so, the issue of the Xbox repair starts.

Any person who is new to Xbox 360 may find himself in a mess, as he does not know what to do and how to do it. He may think of sending his Xbox 360 to Microsoft for Xbox repair but this idea is only good for those people who actually own Xbox 360 gaming console which has the warranty still applicable to it but if the warranty has expired then Microsoft option will be quite an expensive one as Microsoft charges a lot when you do not have the warranty on your gaming console and hence, it becomes a problem for many people.

People who get disappointed with Microsoft often have to look for the ways to fix their beloved Xbox 360 gaming console as soon as possible. Many of such people do not know what to do and what to go for. They are left asking many Xbox 360 repair FAQs to one another. Some of these questions are written below.

What are the possible options left to fix the Xbox 360 after the Microsoft one?

Well, the answer to this question can be given by showing the two possible options that are left for any user who cannot send his Xbox 360 gaming console to the Microsoft for any reason. The first option is that to send the Xbox 360 gaming console to any repair shop in your nearby area, which is a little risky, and the second option may that be of doing the repair on your own.

Why is the repair shop option a little risky?

It is risky because you have to trust the local technicians with your expensive Xbox 360 unknowingly of their capabilities and skills, and things can turn bad for you here.

How can one repair his own Xbox 360 gaming console by himself?

Well, there are many resources and materials that are available in the internet for the assistance of those people who are actually looking to fix the Xbox on their own. You can find manuals and guides in this respect for every single possible error that can occur to your Xbox 360.

These and many other questions rise in the mind of the people with the broken Xbox 360. Well, when there are questions there are obviously answers and so you should keep looking for these answers for the sake of knowledge and the health of your Xbox 360.

xp share is not accessible. Access is denied

Computer Aid Posted on by

To this day, I still find that the way Microsoft implements network folder sharing is full of mysteries.

In this case, I had an office setup with about 4 PCs (all running XP)

One PC was acting as a “file server”, and it was sharing a folder for everyones common use… so far, its all straightforward.

I’m asked to get a 5th PC (also XP) working and using the shared drive.

Hey, I’ve done this lots of times, so it shouldn’t be a problem.

I make sure the new PC is part of the same workgroup, restart, then in win explorer, I go to:

My Network Places -> Entire Network -> Microsoft Windows Network -> WorkgroupName -> ServerName

But as soon as I click on ServerName, I get the error: ServerName is not accessible. Access is denied.

OK, I go through the usual range of troubleshooting options:

  • disable firewalls
  • create a new share
  • check user permissions on the share
  • create an “everyone” user and give it full access
  • make sure the “computer browser” and “server” services are running
  • ipconfig /flushdns

After a while, I decide to look at a PC that is able to see the shared drive… but it also gives the “access is denied” error… yet it is able to read and write files on the shared Z: drive…

Weird, yet that gives me a clue on how to fix it:

On the new PC, I open a command prompt and type:

net use z: \ServerNameShareName /persistent:yes

And that works!

Z: allows the user to access the shared drive just like everyone else.

Why? I’m really not sure, but its good to know there is a “back door” to fixing this!

Outlook express lockup

Computer Aid Posted on by

I had a customer that said Outlook express would always lockup the PC.

I had a quick look, but couldn’t see a problem.

The PC was running XP, CPU was a core2 duo, and there was plenty of RAM (1GB).

I went through my usual tuning routine, as the PC seemed a bit slow.

While waiting for a defrag to complete, I looked at the outlook express files… ie:

C:Documents and Settings[UserName]Local SettingsApplication DataIdentities{LONG HEX NUMBER}MicrosoftOutlook Express

I found it odd that the “Deleted Items.dbx” file was huge (about 900Mb).

Something was wrong here.

I stopped the defrag (I’d have to restart it once I sorted out OE).

A quick look at Outlook express showed about 80 emails in the deleted items folder, and none that would explain why the dbx file was so large.

I suspect that a huge email was “deleted” at some point in the past, and that OE will occasionally take a long time (ie appear to be locked up) while managing the deleted items folder.

So, the obvious next step was to file -> folder -> compact all folders

After about 15 minutes, the process had completed, and the deleted items.dbx file was a much more manageable size of 140Kb

After that (3 weeks later), the customer reported that the email hasn’t lock up since.

Outlook express spell check in french only

Computer Aid Posted on by

This PC had an odd problem: Outlook express would not spell check.

I thought: simple enough: make sure that spell check is enabled, and make sure the correct dictionary is used.

But a quick look at tools -> options -> spelling -> language … and I quickly found that the only language available was: French.

Where was the English dictionary?

After a quick search, the answer became obvious: When you install Microsoft Office 2007 or 2010, Microsoft have decided to create “new” spell check dictionaries that are incompatible with outlook express.

Since Outlook express can no longer use English, German and Spanish dictionaries, it has no choice but to use French… what the ???

It seems the only solution is to install a free OE “plugin” that gives OE the ability to spell check in English again… as long as you spell in “UnitedStatian”, rather than British spelling.

That shouldn’t be a big problem, since British and UnitedStatian spelling is similar enough, and much better than having to teach French to the English world!

The customer was happy to get any spell checking working, so he didn’t care that it wasn’t Australian spelling.

If you are looking for the OE spellcheck addon, its called spelloe, and can be downloaded from:

SpellOE

Starting a Computer with No Screen Activity

Computer Aid Posted on by

You switch on your desktop or laptop when you get up in the morning and it refuses to turn on. Not so much as a single word on the screen, a sound from the fans, or even a change in screen colour. Nothing at all. What do you do?

Try Again

Disconnect all cables including the power supply cable. If its a laptop, remove the battery as well. Wait about 5 minutes, and press the power button once or twice. Then reconnect the power cable (and battery) and make sure it’s plugged in securely at both ends, check to make sure that the adapter isn’t disrupting the power supply if you have a laptop, and press firmly when you re-try the power button, holding it down for several seconds. If none of this causes your computer to boot, move on to the next step.

Check the Outlet

You can test the efficacy of your outlet by plugging a lamp into the same outlet you’ve been trying to use for your computer. If you can turn on the lamp, your outlet isn’t the problem, so try the next test.

Remove/Replace the RAM

Take out the RAM, one stick at a time. If you have a laptop, disconnect all cables before using a screwdriver to open the slot cover on the bottom of your laptop. Take out the battery first, then try removing one stick of RAM. Replace the battery and attempt to power on. If you can’t get your laptop to boot, replace the RAM and try removing the next stick, remembering to take out the battery again. If your laptop boots, you have a problem with the motherboard that can be temporarily circumvented by replacing your active stick with twice as much RAM. For example, if you had two 1 GB sticks, leave the inactive RAM slot empty and install a new 2 GB stick in the active slot. This will result in a slower overall speed, but it’s a temporary fix to tide you over. The same principle applies to desktop computers – simply open your case and remove RAM one stick at a time from the motherboard. If you can’t get any results this way, try the next step.

Replace the Power Supply/Battery

This is often less expensive than replacing the motherboard, so you may want to try it next.  To verify that your power supply needs replacing, you can purchase and use a power supply tester for under $20, or you can simply take a chance on replacing it. For laptop users, it’s relatively easy – just replace the battery and/or power cable. For desktop users, it’s more complex than that. You’ll need to follow specific directions for mounting the new power supply with screws and connecting all the cables to the devices in your case.

Replace the Motherboard

The last and most drastic step is to replace your motherboard. This is a complex process that should be performed by a professional in most cases, as static electricity can easily ruin your new component and there are extensive directions to follow. However, if you think you’re up to the challenge, make sure that the power supply is removed, all motherboard connections are removed and labelled, and all plug-in cards and other obstacles preventing board removal are taken out. Next, remove the old board and secure the new one, then follow the directions for reattaching connections and reinstalling cards. Replace the cover, connect all cables, and power on. Keep in mind that everything will need to be reinstalled, so follow the prompts on your screen.

Bio: Alexis Bonari is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at College Scholarships.org. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

xp stops at isapnp.sys

Computer Aid Posted on by

This large Dell PC (running one of the first Xeons that became the core2 duos), wasn’t starting.

I tried safe mode, and it would run through various drivers, and just suddenly stop at isapnp.sys

After a few minutes, I decide to try booting from my UBCD4Win CD, and run a chkdsk… but it finds no fault with the disk.

Next, I take a bit of a look around the internet, and I soon find that the problem isn’t with isapnp.sys, but with the file thats loaded after isapnp.sys…

So how do I find out the file thats next.

It seems there is no simple answer.

However, I did manage to find a simple solution:

After booting from UBCD4Win (again), I go to windowssystem32drivers

I then view the files in “detail mode” (ie each file is shown on a seperate line, with a size and date for each).

I then sort the whole folder by size (usually by clicking on the word “size” of the size column

I then notice that there is 1 file (sgeqcx.sys) that has a size of 0 bytes.

Since there is no was that this folder should have zero length files, I know that thats the problem.

I delete sgeqcx.sys, knowing the “good” version will be copied into place by system resore.

Sure enough, the PC boots normally, and everything is back to normal.

PS: a few days later, the same customer calls again, saying he has a very similar problem.

At this point, we both agree that the computer is dying, and needs to be replaced before any serious damage is done to the data.

So: if you have this problem happen more than once, within a week or two, then I suggest you stop using the computer, and get a new one ASAP.