Free Tech Support Part 2

Do you have questions about computers, software, networking, or the Internet? Any current problems or issues? Need recommendations? Let me help. You can ask a question by posting a comment to this post. Try to be as specific as possible. The more details the better. Ask away!

ANSWERED 5/7/08

Question:
John asked, "I formatted my computer because it was slow (going to 100% CPU usage constantly for no reason), sometimes everything would just freeze. After formatting, the computer seemed ok for a bit but then started being slow again. I just had 2 1-gigabytes of RAM put in, replacing the 2 512s I had. It SEEMS to be faster but when I start Windows, the sound is distorted like it's struggling. A diagnosis done by Best Buy confirmed everything is ok and working. Even with 2 gigabytes, it is still slow. I have a 1.73 ghz Pentium M running on Windows XP with 60 gigabytes hard disk My question is: is it possible my hard drive might need to be replaced?To be more specific, my computer is the Sony Vaio FS980"

Answer:
Thank you John for including all of the details. The details you provided makes it easier to diagnose the problem. First of all, I guess you bought your Sony laptop before reading my post about how Sony products suck. In any case, if you do a clean install of Windows XP and you are still experiencing the same issues that is not a good sign because it looks to me like a hardware problem. But before we go on, are you sure that after the clean install of Windows XP, you didnt install anything else? I just want to eliminate the fact that maybe some software programs you are installing are causing the issue. So if its a laptop hardware issue, I would say that it's either the memory (RAM) or the hard drive. You said that you changed out the memory, so that eliminates that. So it might well be the hard drive. But before you go and throw more money at it, Im not sure if its really worth it. You took it over to best buy and had them check it out. You bought 2GB of laptop memory, which aint cheap. And next you might "try" to fix it by replacing the hard drive? Here is my advice:

1. Try Googling and see if anyone else is having similar issues.
2. Call Sony support to see if they have anything useful to say.
3. You can try installing some programs that specifically test out the different parts of the computer (ie. Memory, Video Card, Hard Drive) to figure out which part is having problems.
4. You can try swapping out parts, but that might be difficult and expensive.
5. Sell your laptop.
6. Get a Dell laptop instead. I can help you find one :)
   

Free WiFi at Starbucks

"Free at last". I've always been jealous of people surfing the Internet at local cofee shops like Starbucks on their laptops. Its not like I dont have free wifi at home or drink coffee. But there's just something about surfing the Internet in a public location and doing it for free which makes it fun. For the longest time, Starbucks had wifi, but you had to pay for it with T-Mobile. But now, they are offering free wifi. The catch? None really. You just have to have an ATT DSL account which Im sure many people do. Just login using your ATT DSL account (ie. joesmith@sbcglobal.net) According to the sfgate article, it starts today. Happy surfing!


SF gate article
Official Starbucks site article

Get Cash Back When Shopping Online

Did you know that you can earn cash back for many of your online purchases? Whenever I purchase something online, I always check 3 Cash Back sites (ebates, fatwallet, upromise) that pays me back 1-5% (sometimes 10%) of my total purchase. So the next time you buy something online, here is what you do (after signing up for an account on each of the sites).

1. Search for the online store on the Cash Back sites above to see if they offer cash back.
   


2. Of the sites, choose the one that gives the most % cash back (as it may differ).
   
   
3. Click on their special link that redirects to the participating store.

That's it. You just shop as you would normally and these Cash Back sites will automatically know how much you spent at the participating shopping site. In a few days, you will receive cash in your account. Then you can have them send you a check or transfer the amount to your bank account or even paypal it to you.

Right now, Ebates is having a referral promotion where if you sign up and make a qualifying purchase before May 31, 2008, we both get $10. Click here to take advantage of this offer.

My Favorite Steak Sandwich

This my friend is my favorite steak sandwich. What is it you might ask? Its a Steak Portebello Mushroom Sandwich w/ Provolone Cheese and Garlic Aioli on a Ciabatta Roll. You can find it the Nordstrom Cafe in the Stonestown Galleria Mall. I've been to other Nordstrom Cafe's in the Bay Area (ie. Valley Fair Mall and Standford Mall) but none of them seem to have this particular sandwich on their menu. Click on the image above to zoom in on the juicyness. *drool*

Free Google Phone Number

A while back I posted the ability to create disposable phone numbers in order to protect the privacy of your existing phone number. I found a similar service with many features by GrandCentral which was recently aquired by Google. There are many cool features, but I will touch upon a few.

1. Permanent Local Phone Number - There is a subtle but important difference between the Numbr and GrandCentral phone number. For the Numbr phone number, you have to dial an extension which does require a little more work for the user. Not only that, I think that users might be a little weary of dialing a phone number with an extension. Users are more used to dialing extensions when calling companies. So its a bit weird to call a craigslist person with an extension in my opinion.



2. Ring Multiple Phones - So you can add multiple phones to your one GrandCentral phone number. For example, when someone calls your GrandCentral number, your cell phone AND home phone can ring. Therefore, you can answer the call by either phone.



3. Listen to Voicemails Online - This is probably my most favorite feature. Voicemails are recorded and can be played online in your GrandCentral account. I wish Verizon Wireless had this feature. I would love to listen to my voicemails online instead of always having to dial and punch in my password. Not to mention wasting valuable peak time minutes just for listening to my voicemails. This can also help you to screen your calls. Sometimes, you just want people to leave you a voicemail especially from uknown callers. Recently, I just used my GrandCentral number to sell something on craiglist. Usually, in terms of fairness, its first come first serve. But I found it to be more beneficial for me to sell it to one person over another. For example, I sold my desk on craiglist today. I wanted to sell it to someone who had a truck or van because I didnt want to disemble the desk. If I answered my first phone call, then I would be obliged to sell it to that person. But I intentionally did not answer calls from my GrandCentral number and just let my voicemail inbox fill up. Then I just chose the person who had a van and "sounded" the most reliable.
   

Feel free to leave me a voicemail by clicking on the button below.

4/2/08 Update: Someone just told me that they could not immediately sign up for the service since they are in private beta. Looks like you can just "reserve" a number (whatever that means). I wouldnt be surprised if they ran out of local phone numbers to give out. It also says on the site that a current user would be able to invite others, but I dont see that option in my account. They might have temporarily removed that as well.

Remote control a PC anytime...anywhere

Sometimes, I need to troubleshoot my parents computer when something goes wrong. The best way to do that is to remotely control the computer. Im going to show you the most effective way to remote control another PC for free. Keep in mind that this method is only for circumstances in which you would like take total control and have instant access to the host computer whenever and wherever you want.

Requirements:

1. Both computers need to be connected to the Internet...duh.


2. DSL or higher internet connection

Instructions:

Host PC (computer you wish to control)

1. Sign up for a free no-ip.com account



2. Click Add under Hosts/Redirects.



3. Enter a hostname and choose any domain name. For example, mydadscomputer.no-ip.org.
   Choose something easy to remember as this will be part of your login.



4. Install the Dynamic Update Client.
   This software ensures that the host computer ip address is always current and updated for the mydadscomputer.no-ip.org host.



5. Install VNC (free edition). During install, choose the server version.
   Run VNC and in the options, specify a password.
   
6. Turn off Windows Firewall in the Control Panel.



7. That's it. Both the Dynamic Update Client and the VNC server should automatically run in the background from now on.

Controller PC

1. Install VNC (free edition). During install, choose the client only version.



2. Launch VNC.



3. Enter "mydadscomputer.no-ip.org" for the server name and the password that you set in step 5 above.

Voila! Now I can control my dads computer wherever and whenever I want with a click of a button. My dad doesnt even need to be at the computer when I take control as long as the computer is on.

Now you might ask, why not just use something like crossloop to remote control another persons computer. The big difference is that I wanted full control of the host computer without having to call my dad every time I wanted to do so. With crossloop and most other remote controlling software, there has to be physically someone sitting at the host computer.

Elmo Live

Time to stock up on this one for this Christmas. Let the hunting begin...

AT&T jacks up DSL price $5 per month

Looks like for California, they are raising the prices this month. For me, its Feb 15 (that's tomorrow!) Currently, Im paying $19.99 per month for DSL Express. So tomorrow they are raising it to $24.99.

So there are a couple of things you can do. Since you are going to pay $24.99 for DSL Express, you might as well upgrade now to DSL Pro for $24.99 and lock that price in for a year before they raise the price. Too bad they dont offer DSL Pro in my area :( But I found an even better deal that was mentioned in the forums. Go to the online ATT upgrade tool and it will offer you a yearly renewal of your current rate.

You can also try calling the retention department and see what they can offer you (1-877-722-3755). They offered me a credit for $10 per month for the next 6 months which was weak. But YMMV (Your mileage may vary). I just purchased the renewal using the online ATT upgrade tool and it looks like it worked. Good Luck!

Y! Live Webcam streaming

Yahoo came out with live webcam streaming and Im testing it out by streaming my webcam....

If Im online, click here to chat with me.

cornerstonetrinity.org launches!

My church has recently launched its new web site. There's not much there now, but we (web ministry group) plan to add lots of new content and exciting features throughout the year.