Valley Wide Computer Repair

My desktop is upside down, how do I fix this?

2009-02-09T11:10:00.000-08:00

Some computers have a function to rotate the screen. Usually this is Ctrl + Alt + up arrow (or down arrow.) Some have different key combinations or a option selected through the graphics card setting in the system tray or through the display properties in the control panel.
If all else fails, try doing a "System Restore" or start the computer using the "Last known good configuration" option.

Why is there a folder named ³Ø½¼ ÇÃ·¯±× in My Documents?

2008-08-04T16:57:00.000-07:00

If you have an empty folder in My Documents called ³Ø½¼ ÇÃ·¯±× don't worry. The folder named ³Ø½¼ ÇÃ·¯±× is not the result of a virus but rather a folder installed by one of several Nexon Games such as Combat Arms.

I plugged in my hardware but I don't see the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the system tray?

2008-07-03T07:58:00.000-07:00

If you add hot swappable hardware like a USB Flash Drive and do not get the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in the system tray, you can manually start the Removal Wizard.
Click on Start in the lower left hand corner
Select Run
In the Dialog box type or paste...

RunDll32.exe shell32.dll,Control_RunDLL hotplug.dll

Press OK.
That should bring up the "Safely Remove Hardware" Wizard.
The "Safely Remove Hardware" icon should also reappear in the system tray.

How do i add files to a disc image or ISO image?

2008-06-29T09:31:00.000-07:00

You can edit and ISO file or disk image several ways. The easiest method is to use MagicISO, PowerISO, or UltraISO. Any of these programs should make editing straight forward.

Why is Internet Explorer blocking the MSN, Hotmail, or Windows Live Mail photo uploader ActiveX Control?

2008-06-15T10:09:00.000-07:00

If you are seeing this message when trying to upload photos to Hotmail or Windows Live Mail it's most likely due to a setting in your Internet Explorer's options.
Here is the fix...

Go to the Tools tab and select Internet Options from the drop down menu.
1. Select the Security tab
2. Click on the Custom Level button
3. Scroll down to "Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe for scripting" and change the setting to "PROMPT"

Click Ok to close all windows.
Restart Internet Explorer.
In the future, the photo uploader will now prompt you with "An ActiveX control might be unsafe......do you want to allow this interaction?"
Click Ok and your good to go.

How do I Safley remove a Flash Drive?

2008-04-21T11:08:00.000-07:00

Removing Flash Drives and other peripherals from you computer can damage the device. To safely remove these devices try a single left click on the the "Safely Remove Hardware" icon in the system tray and then click on the device you wish to remove.

Windows will shut the device down and notify you when its safe to remove.

My right click menu has disappeared?

2008-04-15T21:09:00.001-07:00

You probably have a bad context menu handler interfering with your right click menu.

First download ShellExView and run it.

http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/shexview.html

This will scan your computer for the shell extensions. Give it a few seconds to complete and then click on the the "Type" column to reorder the list by Type. Look for the context menu handlers.

Disable non-Microsoft context menu handlers one by one while checking to see if the right click menu reappears after rebooting.

You can save time by disabling several context menu handlers at once by selecting multiple lines before rebooting. This will help you narrow the list, make sure you re-enable the good handlers.

Where have my task manager tabs gone?

2008-04-15T19:44:00.000-07:00

Have the tabs on your task manager disappeared? The tabs can be hidden or restored by double clicking on the edge of the task manager in Windows XP.

To hide do this...

To restore do this...

Publish Post

Why is my QuickTime video displaying a green screen?

2008-04-04T11:03:00.000-07:00

Your QuickTime player displaying a green screen instead of the movie may have something to do with DirectX hardware acceleration.
To fix this issue:
1. Open Quicktime and select Edit in the upper left.
2. Select Preferences then QuickTime Preferences...
3. In the Prefrences Control Panel that opens, select the Advanced tab in the upper right.
4. Uncheck the Enable DirectDraw Acceleration and the Enable Direct 3D video acceleration.

Why when I try to zip (compress) a file I get a File not found or no read permissions error?

2008-04-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

Reciently I was working on a computer running Windows Vista and trying to zip (compress) a file that was testing positive for a Trojan virus. A "File not found or no read permissions" error kept coming up, preventing me from zipping the file. Using other compression software like WinRAR also threw an access violation error.
The problem I determined is related to the antivirus software, in this case AVG. Traditionally right clicking the AVG icon in the system tray and selecting Quit AVG Control Center will turn off the antivirus and allow you to proceed. But in this case AVG's background heuristics scan does not shut down. To do this:

1. Press the "ctrl, alt, delete" keys at the same time and select "Start Task Manager".
2. In the task manager select the processes tab and right click any processes running thats starts with avg and select "End Process" Once AVG has been totally shut down you should be able to zip, move, copy, compress, or whatever.

What is PCI-E?

2008-04-02T09:18:00.000-07:00

PCI slots have been on motherboard for years, but some of you may have taken notice a newer trend in bus technology PCI-E. PCI Express slots are todays modern standard on most new motherboards and are blowing away older PCI standards and AGP graphic slots for speed. The new PCIe graphics cards are allowing higher speeds by utilizing 2 identical graphics cards placed in 2 identical PCIe slots. Brand names for this graphic solution include Nvidia's SLI, ATI's CrossFire. The new form factor can be confusing at first because unlike the old PCI slots PCI-E connectors are coming in X1, X4, X8, X16, X32.

Here are some more technically advance number on the PCI-E Revolution:
PCI 132 MBps
AGP 8X 2,100 MBps
PCI Express 1x 250 MBps
PCI Express 2x 500 MBps
PCI Express 4x 1000 MBps
PCI Express 8x 2000 MBps
PCI Express 16x 4000 MBps
PCI Express 32x 8000 MBps

It's worthwhile to note that any PCI-E card will work in a larger PCI-E slot. Meaning you can use a PCI Express 1x card in any PCI-E slot(2x, 4x, 8x, ect.)

How can I speed up Firefox?

2008-03-31T13:11:00.001-07:00

You should be able to see a noticeable improvement in how fast pages load in Firefox by following these steps.

1. Open Firefox and type “about:config” in the address bar.

2. In the Filter bar type “network.http”.

3. Double click on the line that says “network.http.pipelining” so that its value changes from false to true.

4. Double click on the line that says “network.http.pipelining.maxrequests” and enter a value of 30 in the popup window.

5. Double click on the line that says “network.http.proxy.pipelining” so that its value changes from false to true.

6. Restart your Firefox browser.

How can I speed up Outlook 2007?

2008-03-23T11:10:00.000-07:00

1. Open Outlook 2007, go to Tools at the top and select Trust Center from the drop down menu. On the left side of the new window that opens, select Add-ins.

2. Toward the bottom select Com Add-ins from the Manage box and click the Go button

3. In the new window that opens, uncheck everything you don’t want to turn on at start up which for most people is everything except Windows Search Email Indexer.

I get this popup warning when vista starts "Microsoft Windows Search Indexer stopped working and was closed"?

2008-03-19T06:56:00.000-07:00

The problem is an indexing error. You should delete all files and folders in this directory.
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data\Applications\Windows

If that does not fix the problem also delete the files in this directory.
C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Search\Data\Temp

How do I get Outlook 2003 and 2007 to check for email more often?

2008-03-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

Open Outlook, at the top, select Tools > Options.

Once the Options dialog box is open, select the second tab over which is Mail Setup.

Click second button down, Send/Receive…

This should open the Send/Receive Groups dialog box.

Here we can change how often Outlook checks for email by selecting either “All Accounts” or the individual account.

(Most people should select All Account.)

Next, place a check mark to the left of “Schedule an automatic Send/Receive every” and adjust the time to down to 1 minute or whatever pleases you.

Select Close and then on the previous (options) dialog select OK and you’re done!

How do I quiet noisy computer fans?

2007-12-15T19:52:00.000-08:00

I'm sorry to say the best solution is to replace the fan. If you are on a budget or are working with legacy components that can’t be replaced, you can try to lubricate the fan. DO NOT use WD-40, it is not made for high speed motors and is flammable. I use 3 in 1 motor oil, a small bottle can be had at any hardware store. For the more adventuresome types, sewing machine oil is an excellent lubricant for fans and can be found at most fabric stores.

Should my case fans blow in or out?

2007-12-08T22:42:00.000-08:00

The general consensus seems to be that fans placed on the front of the computer case should blow in. While most other fans including, those in the rear and top should blow outward. This seems to be a 50/50 split amongst my peers as to whether the side fan should blow in or out.

Office 2007, Windows XP, and Speech Recognition (Language Bar)

2007-12-08T01:38:00.000-08:00

Last week I upgraded to Office 2007 Ultimate edition. After an entire morning spent trying to repair my missing Language Bar. I discovered that Office 2007 no longer supports Speech Recognition for Windows XP. Wow, I'm so glad I paid $492.36 so I could loose functionality. Do you hear that giant sucking sound?

High Desity Vs. Low Desity RAM

2007-12-07T13:59:00.000-08:00

One of the easiest and most effective upgrade a person can make to their computer is to add more RAM. Memory can be purchased from many online vendors at a substantial savings over the local retail stores.

Determining what RAM to buy is as easy as looking in your computer/motherboards owner’s manual. But be careful, some online retailers are selling high density ram at cost to unsuspecting consumers. Most computers on the market today take low density ram.

You may ask, “What is the difference between High and Low Density RAM and why would they sell me RAM at cost?” The answer is 90%+ of computers on the market use only low density ram and low density ram is compatible with 100% of computers. I will spare you the technical explanation of the differences and tell you to just pony up for the low density ram.

Several online retailers are selling High Density RAM to unsuspecting consumers at or near cost. The reason for this is because it is cheap, 1/3 the cost of Low Density. They make their profit on excess shipping charges, and restocking fees.

Can I use an 8x AGP video card in a 4x AGP slot?

2007-12-07T09:05:00.000-08:00

Yes, as a general rule of thumb, most Motherboards can supply the proper voltage (1.5 vs. 0.8). Fore some of the higher video cards, check with the manufacturer. Most will plainly tell you if they are backward compatible with the 4x standard.