Home Wireless Troubleshooting

Well, I had an interesting call recently. A DSL modem/wireless router was moved from one part of the house to another part. After the move the internet would no longer work on the wireless PC. It would not pick up an IP address via DHCP. First things first in a situation like this, always check the connections. Since I am 2 1/2 hours away from this house, I couldn't just hop in the car and head on over. So, I had the person verify the connections. I looked up the make and model of the unit online and was able to see which lights needed to be green and they were. I had the PC and modem both power cycled and no luck. I ran a release and renew of the IP address and no luck. I even tried putting in static entries just for the sake of trying something and still no luck. It would connect to the AP, but not get an IP. So, I had the connection disconnected and then reconnected. It then of course asked for a serial number. I said that it should have already had one in there when I was told that it was just entered manually a little while ago... BINGO!!! The wrong key was put in. Didn't think to ask if that was changed based upon the information that I had. Well, I should have asked what all steps had been taken to fix it. I still may not have been told that, but still should have asked.

USB Flash Drives

Storage has gotten a lot cheaper over the past few years. One piece of equipment that is still very useful is the USB flash drive. These devices fit in your pocket very well and store a large amount of data that the average person will probably not completely use.

In fact, I just saw one today online that was a 4GB stick for only $22 at Circuit City online. Just a few years ago I was in a bind and had to buy a 256MB and spent $35 for it. Imagine getting sixteen times more storage for almost 40% cheaper.

Imaging Software

Occasionally your computer may get to the point where it is so unstable that you need to wipe everything out and start over with your install/restore disks. In addition to making good routine backups, you may also find it a good idea to make an image of your PC. While a lot of businesses make this a common practice, it's not necessarily a bad idea for the home user... especially for those that build their own systems or do a lot of modifications after an initial setup.

Take some time getting your system the way you like it and then create an image. Make routine backups of your important data. When needed, you can get a full restore quickly instead of hours.

Faxing And Document Management Solution Review

The ability to fax from your PC has become easier lately with the use of a modern Fax Server. The one by Axacore comes with a lot of different features including unlimited users, fault tolerance and Outlook integration. It also has t.38 Fax support for faxing across IP networks. The unit can also redirect faxes to network printers and to a user’s email.

They also have a Document Management solution which keeps track of different versions. It is optimized to work with Windows Server 2003 and can integrate with SQL. It also has the ability to view images through a web browser.

Website Hosting

When it comes to finding a provider to host your website you need to take into consideration what your purpose for the website is. Is it for business or for personal? If it is personal, you may just want to look into something cheap... or FREE. If it is for business, you may you need to look into uptime, features and cost. Having a reliable provider would be the most important. Then look at features and plan for growth. Also, look at cost.

HTML Is Fun And Easy

Getting started in HTML does not have to be hard and difficult. Back in the old days you would use a text editor and start typing away code. Why this is a not a bad way to learn, it is more of a sink or swim approach. It is a lot easier to get frustrated this way.

An easy way to get started is by creating a web site at such places as Googlepages or here. You can create a nice web page without knowing the code. As you get more comfortable, you can look at the source code and then determine how things work.

You can also search Google for sites out there that have tutorials for HTML.

Last Known Good Config

I had a situation yesterday where a 2003 server was acting up. The database that was on there was no longer accessible and other programs on there would not work as well. So, I rebooted it. Then the fun began. The server rebooted and came back up fine... and then froze about 20 seconds later after it was replying. I had to cut the power and wait a few seconds (usually 10 is a good amount) and then power back on. I kept pressing F8 and then I was prompted how I wanted to start windows. I chose Last Known Good Configuration and that fixed it.

It is a good idea to do this right away instead of trying it after multiple reboots. If you don't, it might see the last boot up as the last known good configuration when it still wasn't fixed. Then you are out of luck for that option.

Mice - Wired or Wireless

What mouse you want to use depends on your preferences and weighing the pros and cons of each.

Wired - The pros are that wired mice are reliable. Unless the cord gets pinched up or partially unplugged, it works very well. Another pro is that you will never have to be concerned about batteries. The cons are the cord. They are subject to damaged and sometimes length limitations. The sometimes snag on other cables as well.

Wireless - The pros are that there is no cord. Well, not for the mouse anyway. Unless the system comes with the wireless controller built in, you will have a base that plugs into your PC. From there to your mouse it becomes wireless. You should have a better range for the wireless since you will not have limitations of a cord. The cons are batteries. They usually last a while, but eventually need to be changed. Synchronizing the signal can sometimes be an issue (depending on manufacturer). I have also seen where one mouse controlled two nearby PCs at once because they happened to use the same frequency. Doesn't happen too often though.

Personally, I prefer wired mouse that has an optical sensor instead of the old fashioned ball in the middle. The ones with the ball pick up too much lint and cause the mouse to not be as smooth.

Laptop Buyers Guide

Purchasing a laptop can be a fun experience. However, it can also be a frustrating one if you are not sure what to look for. The main thing to take into consideration is what do you need a latop for anyway. Below is a list of things to take into consideration when making your purchase:

1. Wireless - I strongly recommend that you make sure that is has a wireless card. Most new units these days have one. Also, it is ideal if it is built into the system. It has been my experience that they have a better signal than the add-on PCMCIA cards. I also recommend 802.11g for speed purposes.

2. USB - Make sure that it has enough ports (USB and firewire) available. Depending on your purpose, you may not need a whole lot. Keep in mind that devices like external mice and most modern printers have a USB connection.

3. Hard Drive - These days I would not recommend a system that is less than 60GB in size. You will most likely find a minimum of 80GB on new systems. You probably will not need it all, but it is always nice to have a little more space.

4. Memory - Running at 512MB is good, but it would be nice to have 1GB. Sounds crazy, but it will probably not be too long before 1GB will barely be enough.

5. DVD/CD - Most new systems come with a unit that will read and write to both of these media types. Mainly be aware of its capabilities. It's nice to have a drive that can both read and write to DVDs and CDs.

6. Reviews - Check to see what others are saying about the product. Maybe it looks good on paper, but perhaps there are a lot of people that have had problems with that specific model. Do some research.

7. Price - Cost isn't everything although it does help. Don't spend more that you should. You should be able to find something decent for around $700. Again, it goes back to what you need.

8. Card Readers - These are great to have built in. Keep in mind though that you can get an external USB device for around $20 to $40.

Most people use laptops for internet usage and a few programs like spreadsheets and word processing. For these purposes, a basic unit should be sufficient. For more heavy usage, you may want to spend a little more money upgrading things like memory and hard drive space.

Surge Protection

Now that you have spent hundreds of dollars on computer equipment, it is a good idea to protect it. One good way is to purchase a surge protector. Make sure that you do not settle for just a power strip. The difference between the two is that a power strip just provides power. A surge protector goes beyond that and provides a level of protection to the equipment that is hooked up to it. In the event of a surge of electrical power through an outlet, which sometimes happens in electrical storms, the surge protector will prevent that extra voltage from reaching the equipment.

Keep in mind that not all surge protectors are created equally. Take a look at the rating of the surge protector. Some also provide a guarantee up to a certain dollar amount that your equipment will be safe. Look for the joule rating and the warranty that it comes with before purchasing.

Toner Options

Toner for your laser printer goes a long ways these days. However, it is still nice to save money when replacing your old cartridge. I needed a toner for one of my printers a while back, but didn't want to spend over $80 for it. So, I purchased a new one at an online auction for less than $25 out the door including shipping costs.

You can also look into refurbished or refilled toners. Find out what the merchant's satisfaction guarantee is before purchasing. If you buy online, see if they pay to ship it back.

Removeable Storage

The ability to store your data and transfer it to another PC quickly and easily has become a must have these days. There are many types of removeable storage.

Removable Hard Drives - These are great for larger amounts of data. The only down side to this is that they are not always compact.

CDs - These are still a good form of data storage. The drawback is once again the size. They don't fit in your pocket. They also are subject to scratches.

Flash Drives - This is my personal favorite. They offer a decent amount of storage for the money, they are very compact and are far more durable than CDs.

Printer Jams

It is easy to take printers for granted until they start jamming. Some things to look at when your printer jams are the following:

Labels - This is not just for the old dot matrix printers. Any printer you feed labels through can have problems. It just takes one label to peel off while being fed inside the printer to get caught up inside and jam things up. You may have to look a little hard for these.

Pickup Rollers - These are the rollers that grab the paper from the tray. Over time, friction causes these rollers to wear down and get smooth. As a result, they lose their ability to grip the paper.

Exit Rollers - These are the rollers that feed the paper on the way out. These rollers also wear down over time and can slip when gripping the paper. This will also cause a jam.

Tape Or Disk Backup

Is there a better choice when it comes to the two?

Tape (Pros) - Tape backups provide you mobility with your data storage needs. What I mean is that you can store your tapes at one location for easy restore purposes for let's say the first month. Then you can move the tapes to another site or third party storage facility for disaster recovery purposes for a longer period of time. You can also store a larger amount of data for relatively cheap compared to a disk solution.

Tape (Cons) - Tape is slower. Not only does it take longer to backup, it takes longer to restore. Tape is also not as reliable as disk. Tape is more prone to media errors and failed restores than disk.

Disk (Pros) - Disk is FAST. Disk backs up a lot faster and restores a lot faster. Disk is also a lot more reliable than tape.

Disk (Cons) - Not mobile. You cannot just pick up your SAN and relocate it to another site. Well you could, but it is not practical. Disk is expensive. A good SAN solution is not cheap. A lot of them are fiber channel.

SOULTION

An ideal solution, if your budget alllows it, would be to use both. I recommend backing up to disk first and then to tape. That will allow for quick backup and restore for recent data and provide you long retention for systems such as email.