tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59866212024-02-07T03:02:08.125-07:00Dell Related Maintenence & Troubleshooting HelpGeneral help related to Dell computersUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5986621.post-26822827957723700612011-05-22T22:16:00.002-06:002011-05-22T22:29:12.480-06:00<b>Some of my favorite Windows Add on Programs:</b><div><br /></div><div><b>Launchy</b> - A nice unobtrusive launch bar that disappears when not in use and let's you quickly and easily launch programs and web pages. If you have windows indexing on, this one's not as needed for Windows Vista and 7 when you can use the start menu blank. There are a ton of add ons for it for the more technically inclined to allow you to post to twitter from it, run code scripting, etc. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>K-Lite Codec</b> - Great package for watching numerous file types in Windows media player or use...</div><div><br /></div><div><b>VLC Media Player</b> - Great little video program and tends to have most codecs available. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Agent Ransack</b> - I like this one as I'm not a big fan of some of the funky things they've been doing with Windows Search and like to turn indexing off to get max performance out of my machines with a minimal services load.</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Console2</b> - Great Windows CMD command line replacement. Is tabbed so you can run multiple sessions in one window and you can rename the tabs so as to know what each one is for. </div><div><br /></div><div><b>Autoruns</b> - From Microsoft Kind of like MSCONFIG on steroids. Lets you really see what processes and program threads are running in the background to a great degree.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5986621.post-10578600845175556152008-07-22T01:06:00.018-06:002008-08-11T21:29:49.776-06:00<strong><span style="font-size:180%;">How to Run the Dell 32bit diagnostics</span></strong><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#ff0000;">All information on this site is furnished in a general manner and can have errors, oversights and so cannot be expected to cover every specific scenario. Please research any information used with Dell documentation or contact their tech support if any clarification is needed</span><br /></em><br />With troubleshooting problems, it can sometimes be difficult to tell when a problem is caused by Windows software issues or when other factors like hardware failure might be causing a problem. One way you can test hardware issues outside of Windows is to run the <span style="color:#000099;"><strong>Dell 32bit diagnostics</strong></span> which can be thought of as a separate operating system running from a different area of the hard drive.<br /><br />To start Dell diagnostics, on notebooks you could <strong><span style="color:#000099;">hold down the FN key while you press in on the power button.</span></strong> On either notebooks or desktops you can restart the compuer and tap the <strong><span style="color:#000099;">F12</span></strong> key a couple of times when you see the Dell logo screen .<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDNCmxHb1pnyY8ux56LhmxlQxi1NRMNmTYhr_aEMy0cRZ6PoNY0fyz7Os95lf6qd06EwjEYJvGc5Lr75rytXB1gyVKAmXODRqBgbEZlYe4-X9trNMD40vcKxyZSLEdxpSkP85pmQ/s1600-h/boot1.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5233336632312077314" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDNCmxHb1pnyY8ux56LhmxlQxi1NRMNmTYhr_aEMy0cRZ6PoNY0fyz7Os95lf6qd06EwjEYJvGc5Lr75rytXB1gyVKAmXODRqBgbEZlYe4-X9trNMD40vcKxyZSLEdxpSkP85pmQ/s400/boot1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br />The next thing you will see is a boot menu, at this screen the diagnostics option will be the last item on the menu, usually labeled either <strong><span style="color:#000099;">"Diagnostics"</span></strong> or <span style="color:#000099;">"<strong>Utility Partition".</strong></span> Use the arrow keys to choose whichever of these two you have at the bottom of the menu and then tap the enter key to get things started.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLdt5Nrr-R8kJiOeFWCjG22GwrNI-YDd84b-uYCOh2nIoAqTxSe3vFPzXTOBmWvL9IVpgiIIBd4dwfCqqmZCnEXzqwIRFAR2KeoQHHnp6yJjhYYqA-cU5cQzfmDyrUyyhyNfvX3w/s1600-h/f12menu.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232380648507032274" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLdt5Nrr-R8kJiOeFWCjG22GwrNI-YDd84b-uYCOh2nIoAqTxSe3vFPzXTOBmWvL9IVpgiIIBd4dwfCqqmZCnEXzqwIRFAR2KeoQHHnp6yJjhYYqA-cU5cQzfmDyrUyyhyNfvX3w/s400/f12menu.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />or<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0S9hjeGPl8ZUhMSGO-w8rszyeC_wU7IT7aQAXbUlkDOoI-vzulF0gA9kUQNne69VB4j3uT05JwQF9mield4hE1PUQ58LLEIDYDgbGH8f5XWpoCkMSKgJnd-y-7Mkj6UnP70UxXw/s1600-h/step4_tellBiosToBootFromCD.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232380858079798178" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0S9hjeGPl8ZUhMSGO-w8rszyeC_wU7IT7aQAXbUlkDOoI-vzulF0gA9kUQNne69VB4j3uT05JwQF9mield4hE1PUQ58LLEIDYDgbGH8f5XWpoCkMSKgJnd-y-7Mkj6UnP70UxXw/s400/step4_tellBiosToBootFromCD.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />A series of short <strong><span style="color:#000099;">Preboot Assessment</span></strong> tests will run from a blue background. At the end of these tests, you will get the option to proceed to the full tests area by tapping any key (usually the Enter key). If you're asked to choose between system tests and memory tests, choose <span style="color:#000099;">S<strong>ystem</strong></span> tests. From there, the next step I usually recommend is clicking on the <strong><span style="color:#000099;">Custom</span> </strong>test as you can test anything you can think of, including memory from there. There are a lot of different test options so feel free to try any of them, they are non-destructive (but the extended test is very time consuming so keep that one as the last/final test option).<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Preboot Assessment</span>:</strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieUi3j2n9YTZ1RZT3T9Rout18_aJoi2lgfLMpRMy4Y6KzwOT4WBb0Gz3Xv4XjnTWKcKmYWI72e260mrA8xbYm7VuAe2-vp9o6z0r0EHGnodx_AlqUDD6tsBEjjhM7mZfp8jwgrGw/s1600-h/PSA.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5232395542026108610" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieUi3j2n9YTZ1RZT3T9Rout18_aJoi2lgfLMpRMy4Y6KzwOT4WBb0Gz3Xv4XjnTWKcKmYWI72e260mrA8xbYm7VuAe2-vp9o6z0r0EHGnodx_AlqUDD6tsBEjjhM7mZfp8jwgrGw/s400/PSA.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.thegeekstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/dd-gui-main-menu.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 458px; CURSOR: hand" height="260" alt="" src="http://www.thegeekstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/dd-gui-main-menu.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />If you choose Custom tests, here's the screen you would see to allow you to choose which specific tests you want to run. Just click the hardware to test and click the run test button on the bottom.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thegeekstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/dd-custom-gui-menu.jpg"><img style="WIDTH: 576px; CURSOR: hand" height="325" alt="" src="http://www.thegeekstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/dd-custom-gui-menu.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Quick description of the main hardware testing categories:<br /><br /><span style="color:#000099;"><strong>Express Test</strong>:</span> A quick test of most of the hardware. Usually takes a half hour to an hour to run.<br /><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Extended Test:</span></strong> A long in depth test of most of the parts on the computer. Usually takes a few hours to run. I rarely recommend this test, the length of time it takes to run is usually longer than it's worth.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Custom Test:</span></strong> Allows you to test 1 part at a time with varying amounts of depth.<br /><br />Another type of test not shown here but that is very common to see is <strong><span style="color:#000099;">Symptom Tree</span></strong> which can run batteries of tests based on the type of problem you're trying to fix (system getting hot, etc.)<br /><br />Here is an example of <strong><span style="color:#000099;">Custom Tests</span></strong> which gives you a menu and all you have to do is to click on the item on the list you want to run and then you'd click on the run tests button at the bottom of the screen.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5986621.post-6286438328878990342008-07-10T12:41:00.017-06:002008-08-11T21:33:30.773-06:00<span style="font-size:180%;">Computer Performance Part 3</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#ff0000;">All information on this site is furnished in a general manner and can have errors, oversights and so cannt be expected to cover every specific scenario. Please research any information used with Dell documentation or contact their tech support if any clarification is needed</span><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Researching programs shown in MSCONFIG</strong><br /><br />So you've opened up MSCONFIG and it's startup tab to troubleshoot how many programs are running at startup. It's not always so easy to determine what some of those beasties are that are running at startup. Maybe you've tried to put the names of the programs in to the Google search engine to see what you get. Maybe you're getting way too much information there or the information that you see is conflicting. What I recommend next is to visit a site that has an index showing what a large number of these items are. One of my favorites is <a href="http://www.castlecops.com/StartupList.html">http://www.castlecops.com/StartupList.html</a>. It has a search engine just for this type of research.<br /><br /><strong>Click on Pictures to see larger Versions</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpOAFR09OZ69ljo3nwHDawJAZtv1Ikhd4Y5oVyIVRg7aZZl9eH07ex1OYCtcGXE94p05_50CbdVwJrfvcism9Gld0_Bq5XzXg8fPoauoGqlUceLNehDlwF0HaBFcT11lljyNdYXw/s1600-h/castlecops.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221464645431975970" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpOAFR09OZ69ljo3nwHDawJAZtv1Ikhd4Y5oVyIVRg7aZZl9eH07ex1OYCtcGXE94p05_50CbdVwJrfvcism9Gld0_Bq5XzXg8fPoauoGqlUceLNehDlwF0HaBFcT11lljyNdYXw/s320/castlecops.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><strong>My Original msconfig startup list</strong><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJlqkl7r5bG4sG_t5HlsJ4wtfFPKigfVzn_jaivkOkdAWXPUbZ2KMmWpCrJaEk1seKlbbwDEhhqSdBEQi-geumHsoq_a4efs5iWt3n9BAhyOSyvTOPeVzsWWuO0buHmw_vFOgong/s1600-h/msconfigexpanded.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221460402479534626" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJlqkl7r5bG4sG_t5HlsJ4wtfFPKigfVzn_jaivkOkdAWXPUbZ2KMmWpCrJaEk1seKlbbwDEhhqSdBEQi-geumHsoq_a4efs5iWt3n9BAhyOSyvTOPeVzsWWuO0buHmw_vFOgong/s320/msconfigexpanded.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I notice that one of the programs on my list is named "ADU" so I go to the castlecops site, put ADU in the search blank and then I get a list of possible programs it could relate to and how safe they are to disable.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4B6hLuQnxE27mKpUmFz5n8znDklTmFrzpH7mVpUtAQjzwPO4mvmqjsqCchWdyP7IrvVH85psWKWJxgAJb8pu9uosvUbqsIrr9uROtVcW6jeAdnhq5p7aEbFXWqgjcpTUdbyXRA/s1600-h/ADUsearch.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221461142750962866" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy4B6hLuQnxE27mKpUmFz5n8znDklTmFrzpH7mVpUtAQjzwPO4mvmqjsqCchWdyP7IrvVH85psWKWJxgAJb8pu9uosvUbqsIrr9uROtVcW6jeAdnhq5p7aEbFXWqgjcpTUdbyXRA/s320/ADUsearch.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />List from Castle Cops of possible programs ADU could be:<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3jyPfXO0-Lnwsok5P3C-nEHO1rxT8AOgS_dh_oY5nycxUjaBKqwnIUYBAIFg4TfrOXjIAv3ZOtzkLJYGSoJ6xiXPWQ01y6gCQsTm_unaoNgm97nMAQdacirPruRyIQ5sh7xUstQ/s1600-h/ADUAironet.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221462089557874034" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3jyPfXO0-Lnwsok5P3C-nEHO1rxT8AOgS_dh_oY5nycxUjaBKqwnIUYBAIFg4TfrOXjIAv3ZOtzkLJYGSoJ6xiXPWQ01y6gCQsTm_unaoNgm97nMAQdacirPruRyIQ5sh7xUstQ/s320/ADUAironet.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The site ranks the programs it returns with some letters to rate how important it is to keep or remove them:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>KEY:</strong></span> </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">"Y" - Normally leave to run at start-up </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">"N" - Not required - typically infrequently used tasks that can be started manually if necessary </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">"U" - User's choice - depends whether a user deems it necessary </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">"X" - Definitely not required - typically viruses, spyware, adware and "resource hogs" </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">"?" - Unknown</span><br /><br />So based on these responses, I think it's likely this is related to my Cisco Aironet wireless card as msconfig does show it loading from an Aironet folder. It gives it a "U" for user's choice, and I think I'll leave it so that my wireless card program will load automatically when I restart my computer.<br /><br /><strong>CastleCops has a lot of other good features. Here's a video with an overview.</strong><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNKawLPky5A">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNKawLPky5A</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5986621.post-14262858279775604452008-07-09T18:39:00.012-06:002008-08-11T21:33:10.224-06:00<span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>Computer Performance Part 2</strong></span> <div><br /><div><span style="color:#ff0000;">All information on this site is furnished in a general manner and can have errors, oversights and so cannt be expected to cover every specific scenario. Please research any information used with Dell documentation or contact their tech support if any clarification is needed</span></div><br /><div><strong><span style="font-size:130%;">Using MSCONFIG part 2</span></strong></div><br /><div>On the last post I had given the basic steps to get into msconfig and had gotten to the point where we'd opened the startup tab to see which programs get loaded when Windows starts up.</div><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNx1GbEZyDX-9v8pFuxaGHf8JiED78F8RKm_4tTkTzTTYy8cnTBLmfW_kNkOvHOuk-buw5s9jgGQtN10HnnxZtAaWaThp_EELwsa5ElAn_mBqGZ862YLe9nU4RAbgKTK223fXzRg/s1600-h/startuptab.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221180131694025346" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNx1GbEZyDX-9v8pFuxaGHf8JiED78F8RKm_4tTkTzTTYy8cnTBLmfW_kNkOvHOuk-buw5s9jgGQtN10HnnxZtAaWaThp_EELwsa5ElAn_mBqGZ862YLe9nU4RAbgKTK223fXzRg/s320/startuptab.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br />You can uncheck the items on the list and then if you click the "Apply" button and then the OK or the Close buttons, the next time you start the computer, the unchecked programs will be kept from running. This will not uninstall the program so the programs can usually be opened manually if you want them by finding their program icon. If you determine you do need the program to be run win Windows starts, you can open the program, recheck the box next to it, click Apply and OK/Close and then the next time you restart the computer it will be loaded again.</div><div></div><br /><div>The next step is to determine which programs to uncheck and which ones to leave. The programs you can safely disable to free up resources are instant messagers and media players (yahoo messager, AIM, MSN messager, etc.), media players (movie and music playing software like iTunes, realplayer, qttask aka quicktime), and adobe reader and associated programs. I recommend leaving any programs that seem to be associated with your computer's security (antivirus, firewall programs for example) except in special circumstances like if you're troubleshooting the security program itself, you have multiple conflicting security programs, etc. If you're going to disable your security program/s, I'd recommend disabling your network adapter/wireless card or unplugging your ethernet cable prior to restarting the computer.</div><div></div><br /><div>Determing what the different listings are from the startup tab can some times be difficult and take some research. I'll mention a few things here to get started but will be covering this topic in more depth in the next post. The first thing you can look at is the location listing next to the list of programs. It's listed under the column named "command". It tells you where the program loads from, and some times that's enough to tell what the program is. Some of the directory listings are long so you may need to hover over the dividing lines between the sections and then drag the section open further to see the full path.</div><br /><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNx1GbEZyDX-9v8pFuxaGHf8JiED78F8RKm_4tTkTzTTYy8cnTBLmfW_kNkOvHOuk-buw5s9jgGQtN10HnnxZtAaWaThp_EELwsa5ElAn_mBqGZ862YLe9nU4RAbgKTK223fXzRg/s1600-h/startuptab.JPG"></a></div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-uyy5L1y2g7dnaIWPSSI65mRfzbJCoGiuaMI5Mh2vn-Htezo29IZjN7TmvwLBT1Rc_IjTTtwVLOElTFhUJPB0V9cXVJfIw9CzAJahFxIsH8jcSK98-GJQEkxgt_Bd9xlKZ1qVpw/s1600-h/msconfigexpanded.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221183700327145570" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-uyy5L1y2g7dnaIWPSSI65mRfzbJCoGiuaMI5Mh2vn-Htezo29IZjN7TmvwLBT1Rc_IjTTtwVLOElTFhUJPB0V9cXVJfIw9CzAJahFxIsH8jcSK98-GJQEkxgt_Bd9xlKZ1qVpw/s320/msconfigexpanded.JPG" border="0" /></a></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5986621.post-67529497257012189732008-07-09T17:07:00.010-06:002008-08-11T21:32:44.216-06:00<span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>Computer Performance Part 1</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#ff0000;">All information on this site is furnished in a general manner and can have errors, oversights and so cannt be expected to cover every specific scenario. Please research any information used with Dell documentation or contact their tech support if any clarification is needed</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000000;"><strong>Step 1 Use MSCONFIG to Clear Out the Cruft</strong></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#333333;">You bought this computer a while back and when you got it out of the box it was zippy, fast and speedy. What happened? You barely use it but now it slows to a crawl and gives you all sorts of error messages. </span><br /><br /><span style="color:#333333;">There are quite a few different causes of this but I will start by covering those that are easiest to look at and deal with. The first thing I want to talk about is what some people call "The Cruft". This is shorthand for an accumulation of programs that run in the background in the computer. Many programs don't need to be running all the time or may need to be uninstalled completely. </span><br /><br /><span style="color:#333333;">When you start getting an overabundance of them trying to run all the time, it can manifest in a couple of ways. Boot times can get slower and slower, programs can conflict with each other and slow the computer down to a crawl, or cause bad behavior and error messages and cause you to have problems getting the computer to shut down.</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#333333;">How does this happen? A bit of history is in order here. Windows have never been particularly good about advertising that a program has been added to the startup locations on your computer. When you download and run certain necessary programs on your computer, you may also be installing others you weren't aware you were installing. For an example, I recently installed Nero on a computer and hidden on one of the installation screens was a message asking me if I wanted to install the ask.com toolbar on my computer. It was checked as if all people installing Nero were assumed to want to install it. If I hadn't specifically unchecked the box that was set to be checked, and told it not to install, it would have gone ahead and put it on my computer. Unfortunately this deceptive practice of making people opt out rather than having them opt in to install extra programs has become very common. </span><br /><br /><span style="color:#333333;">How does one research all of the programs that the computer runs when it starts? You could run one of a number of different programs, but the one that I will cover briefly in this post is msconfig. I'll cover that first because it's been a default program in the last few versions of Windows so most people have the program even though they might not realize it. </span><br /><br /><span style="color:#333333;">To open msconfig, which is a shortcut name for the system configuration utility, in Windows XP you would click on your start button, click on RUN and then type in "msconfig" at the blank and click the ok button. Once you open the program, you'd then click on the startup tab to see a list of the programs running when Windows boots as the checked items on the list. </span><br /><span style="color:#333333;"></span><br /><strong><span style="color:#000000;">Here's a video I found on youtube which does a great job explaining the basics of getting in to </span></strong><span style="color:#333333;"><strong><span style="color:#000000;">use msconfig:</span></strong> <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0_47ewwVrg">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0_47ewwVrg</a></span><br /><span style="color:#333333;"></span><br /><span style="color:#333333;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__o9zNjH1dkZU_UB4pyAHgJs_ixH__9zliaZafX_n3ba0y9KRMORtt2nM8y43Ox_KILPdWxhejIotuPJ8xIju2gv1fWmO1gmbYiJYC4U0HSXkGWqluJBetQ8aX5Hm7bsHRoxSqQ/s1600-h/startrun.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221160741500283730" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj__o9zNjH1dkZU_UB4pyAHgJs_ixH__9zliaZafX_n3ba0y9KRMORtt2nM8y43Ox_KILPdWxhejIotuPJ8xIju2gv1fWmO1gmbYiJYC4U0HSXkGWqluJBetQ8aX5Hm7bsHRoxSqQ/s320/startrun.JPG" border="0" /></a></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN5vMGl0g_RuUx0O42bsViCVT4gj9ObRWYXCZTZA0QPodkG5KenqBV92eCc7dnIg8UOkwmTJ6aj-5uyLqzRkdHZoHz5e-8n0dXu-YyTJTgzer_EMWH9ha6F8X77aw-gzxBTHyFQQ/s1600-h/msconfig.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221161290197397842" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN5vMGl0g_RuUx0O42bsViCVT4gj9ObRWYXCZTZA0QPodkG5KenqBV92eCc7dnIg8UOkwmTJ6aj-5uyLqzRkdHZoHz5e-8n0dXu-YyTJTgzer_EMWH9ha6F8X77aw-gzxBTHyFQQ/s320/msconfig.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4BgoYYVqOfwBx00TpfAjlHKrqmU9NvnRD1-HzI_xux414aqPTm712v3SsWbZL25tw3mIiJthVqldok1ny91uyIfXAT2MdJdHbIi1yOtlCYDJ_Ncz26fvhB0xJGcSrfL40BdoivA/s1600-h/startuptab.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5221161866402033762" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4BgoYYVqOfwBx00TpfAjlHKrqmU9NvnRD1-HzI_xux414aqPTm712v3SsWbZL25tw3mIiJthVqldok1ny91uyIfXAT2MdJdHbIi1yOtlCYDJ_Ncz26fvhB0xJGcSrfL40BdoivA/s320/startuptab.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Stay tuned for the next installment as I offer more detail on how to use MSCONFIG to speed up your computer's performance.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5986621.post-21552232394285086752008-07-09T03:13:00.005-06:002008-07-09T04:21:38.404-06:00<span style="font-size:180%;">Determining how important a driver update is</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#ff0000;">All information on this site is furnished in a general manner and can have errors, oversights and so cannt be expected to cover every specific scenario. Please research any information used with Dell documentation or contact their tech support if any clarification is needed</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><strong>To Update or Not to Update, that is the question!</strong><br /><strong></strong><br />Sometimes you will wonder "should I do some preventive maintenence and see if there are newer drivers for my computer?". Some updated drivers can make your system run better but it's difficult if not impossible to give an absolute answer on which ones to update. It can be very hard to determine exactly which ones will make your computer run like a well oiled machine and which ones will grind your system to a halt. It can be argued that "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"... Although to change that to computer terms, I would say "If it ain't broke, create a disk image" or "If it ain't broke, create a full back up" or at the very least, create a system restore point. Do this before you go and tweak around with the software workings of your computer. In general, Dell marks their drivers in terms of relative need so that if a driver fixes a very big problem, it can be marked so that you can know about it.<br /><br />As in my previous post, to get to your drivers, you'd start at support.dell.com, go to "I'm looking for drivers or downloads" enter your service tag, confirm the Windows version and then start looking through the driver categories by clicking on the "+" symbols next to them. To check the relative importance of an update, you'll see that there's an "importance" field to the right of the name. In general, if you see recommended, it's a good idea and if you see urgent, you should probably run the update. I'll repeat again... sometimes the best ideas can have unintended consequences... so whenever possible "back it up, back it up, back it up" before making major changes to your computer.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0FR1UyyOqDgTLVQYn8kp7w5rfEfbrWYRTlurod6YT8gEBFYq4AsKRdJtvD0fPHJXlFxv84rcUeQKIhpX2DmbrdkRJGn300xS99C2tlfn1faAHkfvgD-E5cS74olNjSJXn-_E8HQ/s1600-h/urgent.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220945945849055666" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0FR1UyyOqDgTLVQYn8kp7w5rfEfbrWYRTlurod6YT8gEBFYq4AsKRdJtvD0fPHJXlFxv84rcUeQKIhpX2DmbrdkRJGn300xS99C2tlfn1faAHkfvgD-E5cS74olNjSJXn-_E8HQ/s320/urgent.JPG" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5986621.post-3526825386399549682008-07-07T13:08:00.017-06:002008-07-10T02:38:29.448-06:00<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Locating Drivers on the Dell site for a Windows Reinstall</strong></span><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;color:#ff0000;">All information on this site is furnished in a general manner and can have errors, oversights and so cannt be expected to cover every specific scenario. Please research any information used with Dell documentation or contact their tech support if any clarification is needed.</span></div><br /><br /><strong>How to locate and download the Drivers on Dell's Site</strong> <div><br /></div><div>This is best done before the reinstallation if possible. Download the drivers and burn them to a disk or save to a USB flash drive. The quickest way to find your drivers would be to go to <a href="http://support.dell.com/">http://support.dell.com/</a> and click on the drivers link " I'm looking for Drivers and Downloads" and then enter your service tag. </div><div><br /></div><div>Be sure to double check which version of Windows is displayed. The site gets this wrong sometimes.</div><div><br /></div><div></div><div>Once you are on the correct page, the one showing driver categories, you will need to click the "+" symbols next to the categories to expand them and then you will see the links to click on to start your files downloading.</div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOIf8g2_ohPcUO-9-3Et1-sbyzABIVVI0aFizxo89u1-Trmh3OSbKLbvI0ZKtLHh_MijyplP6h6xboR3O5smscN1blIhoVDJ72WmLClIWDYf8n6jvSVeX_bGgitnuuQs5grslWdg/s1600-h/chipsetanddesktopsystem.jpg"></a><br /><strong>Screenshots:</strong><br /></div><div><br /></div><div></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgia8dRzfECeH2pX6GPlw5r9UCjexgmxL-1gJIve7lGZupdQecm5FMvuD6aYtzndMS4dyNWVzflUjWfjbNFwIMj28s5D4VX40ZTF1Ld3Un704ZdsXQl3-D0aCum5WTnvydT8QxEzA/s1600-h/driversanddownloads.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220363759802382322" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgia8dRzfECeH2pX6GPlw5r9UCjexgmxL-1gJIve7lGZupdQecm5FMvuD6aYtzndMS4dyNWVzflUjWfjbNFwIMj28s5D4VX40ZTF1Ld3Un704ZdsXQl3-D0aCum5WTnvydT8QxEzA/s320/driversanddownloads.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL3yZnVm3jYno2x1WcBm5Sq6CRTkA6YgVVGfW6YBOvtG25ZkputPaCRFTP8HUZ7LyFmVowLpcLRKuBp0mbmZ7561MN3jP09sawqCHwKOgwU802q1u0K61q6VX516zpf4D53dqv-Q/s1600-h/enterservicetag.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220364290090933250" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL3yZnVm3jYno2x1WcBm5Sq6CRTkA6YgVVGfW6YBOvtG25ZkputPaCRFTP8HUZ7LyFmVowLpcLRKuBp0mbmZ7561MN3jP09sawqCHwKOgwU802q1u0K61q6VX516zpf4D53dqv-Q/s320/enterservicetag.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJcQaQbuEpyPzHKf02Nm1wQdEwUBxZg5I6-BU88J2b1A99a2YXZyn5wBBv4hyphenhypheni0mHe8Z6cthppQQhiqQcQB1sbblTVfuaV17Vb8ASRld_2y0TsvUyN02PnXrE7RIlJLSDyAVRK6w/s1600-h/checkosversion.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220364440819884050" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJcQaQbuEpyPzHKf02Nm1wQdEwUBxZg5I6-BU88J2b1A99a2YXZyn5wBBv4hyphenhypheni0mHe8Z6cthppQQhiqQcQB1sbblTVfuaV17Vb8ASRld_2y0TsvUyN02PnXrE7RIlJLSDyAVRK6w/s320/checkosversion.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEQ9IpgKyc60pLYzdXwNf7HyqOXEE6TEHK4UHVnYHinlu5KHRgrfl6IM7Qo2kZIIgLuDD1CoIiSPLZwyqqBOXnvFm1FKE2tgalHYxTUoPU5-_mxwZZrhvKv4eYND9u6lnMCf-6jg/s1600-h/chipsetanddesktopsystem.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220364528920309474" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEQ9IpgKyc60pLYzdXwNf7HyqOXEE6TEHK4UHVnYHinlu5KHRgrfl6IM7Qo2kZIIgLuDD1CoIiSPLZwyqqBOXnvFm1FKE2tgalHYxTUoPU5-_mxwZZrhvKv4eYND9u6lnMCf-6jg/s320/chipsetanddesktopsystem.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div> </div><div><strong>A guy on youtube put together a nice video showing how to do this:</strong></div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_Gs_pWbT44">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_Gs_pWbT44</a></div><div><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_Gs_pWbT44">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_Gs_pWbT44</a></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8D2ScPo1G0Rg0I_j_3TsK7GGOB3NKJrJY8zkGDyTm2YWYOApVyQiWB0K72qi9SubJB_rGxlgTAsvAsgVER4sSFzLGAjAhYpScLG9YvNpiah3cyvIitNdgsFyKl_ggiRrJZw2uMA/s1600-h/checkosversion.jpg"></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5986621.post-34024585728245384952008-06-30T12:29:00.006-06:002008-07-09T03:10:00.537-06:00<span style="font-size:180%;">Installing Dell Drivers after a reinstall of Windows... Part 1...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;color:#ff0000;">All information on this site is furnished in a general manor and can have errors, oversights and so cannt be expected to cover every specific scenario. Please research any information used with Dell documentation or contact their tech support if any clarification is needed.</span> <br /><br /><strong>Quick Version: System software first, chipset installer 2nd, security program before installing network related drivers.</strong><br /><br />If you should have to manually reinstall Windows on a fairly recent Dell computer... There are some thing you should know about reinstalling your Drivers. There are quite a few that are unique to Dell systems and there is an order to follow to get some of them to reinstall correctly. On a Desktop computer, you'd need to reinstall the Desktop System Software first, and then secondly a Chipset driver of some sort (usually an Intel, AMD or nVidia). On Notebook/Laptop computers it would change only slightly, You'd need the Notebook System Software first and then the Mobile Chipset driver second. If these 2 types of drivers aren't installed first, some other drivers and programs will not install correctly.<br /><br />After these are installed, the driver installation order isn't as critical but there is a general order to follow after this which I recommed, Video driver, Antivirus/Security Software, Network drivers for Ethernet and Wireless, Mobile Broadband as applicable, Audio, Input Devices, Dial Up Modem, etc.<br /><br />Dell has a link to their recommendations and my order is just slightly different from theirs:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;">Downloading and Installing Drivers in the Correct Order</span><br /><a href="http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/en/document?&docid=1A0C0937D62A8739E0401E0A55174744">http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/en/document?&docid=1A0C0937D62A8739E0401E0A55174744</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5986621.post-12305360922383638542007-12-29T20:45:00.000-07:002007-12-29T20:52:51.622-07:00If you are having difficulties getting Vista to run consistently over the internet, and your computer is sitting behind a router or other network device doing firewalling, you may want to look at the autotuning feature and turn it off. The general idea of this feature is pretty cool, it checks the network connection on a very regular basis to see how large a packet it can send, optimizing network performance. The rub is that many routers and other network gear that supports firewalling features don't appreciate being pinged all the time and may end up dumping your connection after a while. Microsoft's own document about this feature and how to turn it off can be found at:<br /><br /><a href="http://support.microsoft.com/kb/934430">http://support.microsoft.com/kb/934430</a><br /><br />the syntax for turning the feature off at a command prompt is:<br /><br /><strong>netsh interface tcp set global autotuninglevel=disabled</strong>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5986621.post-77191371315781912102007-11-12T23:57:00.001-07:002008-07-07T23:22:50.345-06:00So I started working as a technical support agent helping people with Vista on their new computers. I figured that I would be spending plenty of time working with the new Vista operating system with which I had not yet had any experience. I acquired an OEM copy of the software through a local store (pcclub. btw guys, where's my rebate?). OEM means no Microsoft support. It's meant for PC builders. I figured that I'd have access to plenty of hands on through work and wouldn't need a full retail copy. OEM copies tend to be a lot less expensive.<br /><br />My thoughts so far are mixed. I have it running more or less solidly and it's a very graphically pretty Operating System. I find that the changes that have been made can be challenging and that the casual user (read most typical computer owners) will find the OS a bit daunting and a bit of a learning curve will be involved. Microsoft has changed some things for the better, some things for the worse, and a lot of things have just changed that maybe didn't need to. I have a feeling that with a bit of work, Vista could be made into a very nice OS for the average consumer. Let's hope that with some more updates and major service packs that it gets to the maturity and refinement level that XP has settled into.<br /><br />This Blog will be covering a lot of general PC troubleshooting points, especially ones that come up on a very regular basis with my customers at work. I am not going to limit it strictly to Vista, but am using Windows Vista tips and experience as my entry point into more general PC troubleshooting<br /><br />The first thing that most people will notice about Vista is that the hardware requirements are kind of steep. I have it running on a computer that meets most of the requirements but my computer won't run Aero in it's current configuration. I have a gig of memory which I think is the minimum. Technically it's supposed to be able to run on 512mb but I don't recomment it. Vista really seems to like having 2 gig. I think Aero is pretty nice but that the Aero features are rather blingy rather than practical. I think MS has made this feature rather more hardware taxing than it had to be as a way of helping its partners in the hardware game sell higher performance equipment. Linux and MAC OS have similar features that require much less performance graphics hardware and I'm sure MS could do it too were they so motivated. There are some very small applications I know of that makes windows more or less transparent for instance, glass2k, which doesn't tax the hardware very much at all. Other companies also sell software enabling features much like flip 3D on lower versions of Windows as well.<br /><br />That being said, there are things I do like about Vista such as the networking troubleshooting console within the network and sharing application. The visual depiction of the network can be helpful. The recovery features seem a bit more robust and the Windows disk itself can run some nice applications very similar to what you used to have within Windows XP Pro. Media Center, formerly a separate OS, is now a component of the Home Premium and Ultimate versions of Vista. It seems to have quite a few interface improvements and also to be a bit more robust. There are still some things that could be a bit better but it does seem quite a bit more usable to me. The error reporting features have also been very helpful. It actually suggested the root causes of a few problems I had accurately and provided useful information to help fix them. For instance, I have a sound card that only works about halfway with Vista. The inexpensive Create SoundBlaster Live is an older generation sound card and the game port on it doesn't work and Vista told me so. Initially Vista told me the card wasn't going to work at all but later detected an updated driver for me and automatically installed it. Wallah, I had sound. Very nice. The parental controls seem very powerful and handy for those with multiple users on their computers. I could see this being used even in some situations where the other users might not necessarily be Children.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com