Reports are coming in about netbooks suffering from diminished battery life when running Windows 7. The story broke with an article in the US Laptop magazine than claimed Windows 7 lopped 3 hours of a Toshiba NB2O5 netbook, compared to when it was running Windows XP. With Windows XP, the NB2O5 lasted for nine hours 24 minutes away from the mains, while with Windows 7, it ran for six hours 15 minutes.
Similar results have been reported by other sources, too — more details after the cut.
Netbook user forums have already seen complaints about the battery life of netbooks running the public beta and release candidate of Windows 7, as these sample threads from EeeUser, the Acer Aspire User Forum and MSIWind.net show. Tom’s Hardware also experienced reduced netbook battery life in its Windows 7 tests.
Windows 7 runs surprisingly well on the Intel Atom processor used in most netbooks, so these battery life results are a little disappointing for anyone looking to install Microsoft’s latest operating system once it goes on sale on 22 October.
It’s important to note, however, that these battery life issues could simply be the result of insufficiently optimised drivers, although the EeeUser thread does make specific mention of the ASUS Super Hybrid Engine power source-optimiser utility being installed and running with Windows 7.
We suspect netbook battery life will be improved by the time OEMs start shipping models with Windows 7 pre-installed. If you rely upon your netbook’s battery, it’s probably worth postponing an upgrade to Windows 7 until Windows 7-specific drivers and utilities are available for your model. Let us know in the comments if you’ve already installed Windows 7 on your netbook and aren’t getting quite the same battery life as Windows XP.
10 Important Computer Failures and Reason
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Symptoms: 
- “Fatal error: the system has become unstable or is busy”
- Blue Screen of Death.
- Fatal Exception Error. (RAM)
- Parity error messages. (RAM)
- RAM lock up and freeze the computer’s display. (BIOS)
- Fatal OE exceptions and VXD errors. (Video Card)
- Computer can not start.(Power supply problem) system files missing.
- Computer loop on BIOS.(Power supply problem) system files missing.
- Blank screen.(Overheating)
- Black screen of Death.(Overheating)
Cause of problem:
1. Hardware conflict
The number one reason why Windows crashes is hardware conflict. If there are a lot of devices, or if the hardware are not installed properly, when the user tries to use both devices at the same time, a crash can happen.
Sometimes mismatch driver also can make your device can function properly.
Troubleshoot:
- Go to ‘Device Manager‘ to check if all your device functional properly and all the driver for the device is install.
- Make sure your computer drive is up-to-date.
2. Bad Random-Access Memory(RAM)
RAM problems might bring on a fatal error message that indicates a serious hardware problem. Sometimes it may mean a part is damaged and will need replacing. But a fatal error caused by RAM might be caused by a mismatch of chips or mismatch speed of RAM.
Troubleshoot:
- Enter the BIOS settings and increase the wait state of the RAM.
- Rearrange the RAM chips on the motherboard, or take some of them out.(Do not to touch the gold connections, as they can be easily damaged.)
3. BIOS settings
A common way to access these settings is to press the F2 or delete button during the first few seconds of a boot-up. Usually BIOS problem is come up, if you change something in the BIOS and the computer becomes more unstable.
Troubleshoot:
- Write down on a piece of paper all the BIOS settings that appear on the screen. That way, you will know what settings to revert to.
- Restore BIOS setting to default.
4. Hard disk drives
After a few weeks, the information on a hard disk drive starts to become fragmented. Hard disks will slow down and crash if they are too full.
Troubleshoot:
- Defragment the hard disk every week or so, to prevent the disk from causing a screen freeze. (Use Windows Disk Defragment or any defragment application such as Diskeeper.)
- Empty the Recycle Bin every week to free more space.
- Scanned your hard disk every week for errors or bad sectors.
5. Video card
Troubleshoot:
- Take a look at the color settings in ‘Display Setting‘. For most desktops, high colour 16-bit depth is adequate.
- Make sure it does not have a hardware conflict. Check it in ‘Device Manager‘
- Look up your video card’s manufacturer on the internet and search for the most recent drivers for it.
6. Viruses
Some viruses erase the boot sector of a hard drive, making it impossible to start. Viruses also can ‘eat’ all your files in your hard drives including system files.
Troubleshoot:
- Install and update antivirus in your computer.
- Install also spyware application such as Spyware Doctor.
7. Printers
The action of sending a document to print creates a bigger file, often called a postscript file.
Printers have only a small amount of memory, called a buffer. This can be easily overloaded. Printing a document also uses a considerable amount of CPU power. This will also slow down the computer’s performance.
Troubleshoot:
A good way to clear the buffer is to unplug the printer for ten seconds. Booting up from a powerless state, also called a cold boot, will restore the printer’s default settings and you may be able to carry on and get printer support.
8. Software
A common cause of computer crash is faulty or badly-installed software. Incompatible software also cause of this problem. For example, you install Bitdefender and Kaspersky antivirus in a computer.
Troubleshoot:
- Use application like Your Uninstaller to uninstall this software.
- Make sure you have remove all the software before install a new software. To be safe, restart your computer after uninstall or remove a software.
- Use registry cleaner like Registry Booster to remove obsolete entries.
- Entering Safe Mode(Press F4 when Windows Start). Restore your computer to previous restore point.
9. Overheating
Central processing units (CPUs) are usually equipped with fans to keep them cool. If the fan fails or fills with dust it may start to overheat and generate a particular kind of error called a kernel error. This is a common problem in chips that have been overclocked to operate at higher speeds than they are supposed to.
Troubleshoot:
- Install bigger and faster fan on the CPU.
- Install more fan to make air flow move faster.
- Clean your fan.
- For laptop user, dont put your laptop at your bed. Make sure your laptop have good air flow.
10. Power supply problems
Sometime computer crash because data lost in your computer. Computer is not properly shutdown may be the cause of the computer problems.
Troubleshoot:
- Buying a uninterrupted power supply (UPS). This will give you a clean power supply when there is electricity, and it will give you a few minutes to perform a controlled shutdown in case of a power cut.
Microsoft SBS Wizard Troubleshooting
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Yesterday i have resolved my 4th SBS Wizard related difficulty this year. The symptoms are the same on both SBS 2003 and SBS 2008 – when attempting to use the Wizards to create a user or computer, the wizard works all the way until the last step and then fails with an error.
The trouble in all 4 cases this year has been because someone treated an SBS server like a Windows Standard Server. And the reality is that while it is based upon standard server, it really is not. There have been major tweaks and adjustments to permit it to work the way it does. Among them is various restrictions on changes to Active Directory. Basically, unless you understand exactly how the SBS Wizards leverage Active Directory, it is best not to do anything through the standard Active Director Users and Computers console. The Wizards require that users, computer and other data are placed in very specific Organization Units, with very specific names. Renaming OUs or moving users into a more “logical” place will prevent the wizards from working properly.
The people who get themselves into too much trouble are often IT consultants who think they know better – but really don’t. The reason is that a newbie administrator will actually read the documentation that comes with SBS and/or pickup a great reference book, which all say the same thing — use the wizards for absolutely everything, don’t make any changes to Active Directory outside of a wizard. The only exception being would be documentation which specifically takes SBS into account. A Microsoft Technet page will specifically call out that it works with SBS; if it just mentions Standard Server, beware! Remember that SBS is made for oranizations of 69 users or less, and in these environments, rarely will you need a complex OU scheme.
In all four cases this year, it has been because someone has renamed or deleted the default SBS OUs which are created automatically. A quick rename of the OUs back to what they were origionally named, will resolve your problems. That’s it, no big changes, registry adjustments, etc. Simply put the OUs back to where they were automatically created and you should be all set.
The trouble in all 4 cases this year has been because someone treated an SBS server like a Windows Standard Server. And the reality is that while it is based upon standard server, it really is not. There have been major tweaks and adjustments to permit it to work the way it does. Among them is various restrictions on changes to Active Directory. Basically, unless you understand exactly how the SBS Wizards leverage Active Directory, it is best not to do anything through the standard Active Director Users and Computers console. The Wizards require that users, computer and other data are placed in very specific Organization Units, with very specific names. Renaming OUs or moving users into a more “logical” place will prevent the wizards from working properly.
The people who get themselves into too much trouble are often IT consultants who think they know better – but really don’t. The reason is that a newbie administrator will actually read the documentation that comes with SBS and/or pickup a great reference book, which all say the same thing — use the wizards for absolutely everything, don’t make any changes to Active Directory outside of a wizard. The only exception being would be documentation which specifically takes SBS into account. A Microsoft Technet page will specifically call out that it works with SBS; if it just mentions Standard Server, beware! Remember that SBS is made for oranizations of 69 users or less, and in these environments, rarely will you need a complex OU scheme.
In all four cases this year, it has been because someone has renamed or deleted the default SBS OUs which are created automatically. A quick rename of the OUs back to what they were origionally named, will resolve your problems. That’s it, no big changes, registry adjustments, etc. Simply put the OUs back to where they were automatically created and you should be all set.
What is Windows Movie Maker
Friday, August 21, 2009
Windows Movie Maker is a cool and easy to use video editing application that allows you to make home movies, photo albums and business presentations. It is a immense starter tool to learn the basics of video editing. It is also widely used in schools as a tool for class projects and allows students and teachers to create wonderful graduation presentations of all the goings-on that took place in the school year.
Still pictures, other video clips, can all be supplementary to a Windows Movie Maker project. Add titles and rolling credits to give a professional look to your movie. The final version of your project can be exported to a variety of formats that can be read on other computers and on DVD players. They can also be saved in formats so that they are ready to upload to your webpage.
Related search
Top 10 Windows Antivirus
windows technical support
microsoft windows xp support
Still pictures, other video clips, can all be supplementary to a Windows Movie Maker project. Add titles and rolling credits to give a professional look to your movie. The final version of your project can be exported to a variety of formats that can be read on other computers and on DVD players. They can also be saved in formats so that they are ready to upload to your webpage.
Related search
Top 10 Windows Antivirus
windows technical support
microsoft windows xp support
Windows Vista Service Pack 2 A guided tour
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
This 264MB monster (or 200MB if you install it via Windows Update) not only fixes bugs in the OS, but also adds brand new functionality both to core services and applications such as Internet Explorer and Outlook Express.
We've been using the beta Release Candidate 2 (RC2) for some time, and generally we're impressed. It seems pretty stable and has not yet created any major errors with the PCs we've installed it on. All the screenshots here were taken using build 2257 of RC2, so it's possible that some details may be changed by the time of the final public release version.
Microsoft's focus with SP2 is security, security and security - many of the changes are deep in the inner workings of XP and won't immediately be obvious to users. They could cause some problems for existing applications, so as ever it's wise to do a full system backup before installation.
In this overview we've concentrated on giving you a visual tour of the major new features - the technical changes are covered in great depth on the Microsoft website if you're interested. We plan to do a more in-depth look at the underlying technology in a future issue.
There are a couple of features not illustrated here, such as the addition of plain text email formatting to Outlook Express, but we've tried to cover as many of them as possible within the available space. The behaviour of Internet Explorer has also been changed, for example, to prevent malicious websites hiding the navigation bar or spawning multiple pop-ups. Overall we believe SP2 is a genuinely worthwhile update - many of the features are well overdue, but 'better late than never' is a phrase that's becoming familiar to most Windows users.
Click on thumbnails for a larger image.
Service Pack 2 is at least a 100MB download. Before you download it you'll be prompted to install the new Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS), which speeds up future patch downloads by only downloading files that have changed.
After installation, the first thing you'll see is the new Security Centre that gives you easy access to your firewall, automatic updates and Internet settings. The antivirus settings can't be changed from here, though. Security Center can be opened from Control Panel.
If the publisher of an executable program can't be determined, Windows will now warn you before it lets you run it. This feature checks whether the program has a digital signature, something that many valid programs don't have at the moment. It's another welcome security feature in SP2.
Bluetooth users will be very happy to see this screen. Service Pack 2 adds native support for Bluetooth - this screen shows the Options tab found when you double-click the new Bluetooth applet in Control Panel. We found it worked well using an unbranded USB Bluetooth dongle, with drivers being found automatically. The control panel lets you configure discovery settings and connections to other Bluetooth devices. You can also set up Bluetooth COM ports.
We've been using the beta Release Candidate 2 (RC2) for some time, and generally we're impressed. It seems pretty stable and has not yet created any major errors with the PCs we've installed it on. All the screenshots here were taken using build 2257 of RC2, so it's possible that some details may be changed by the time of the final public release version.
Microsoft's focus with SP2 is security, security and security - many of the changes are deep in the inner workings of XP and won't immediately be obvious to users. They could cause some problems for existing applications, so as ever it's wise to do a full system backup before installation.
In this overview we've concentrated on giving you a visual tour of the major new features - the technical changes are covered in great depth on the Microsoft website if you're interested. We plan to do a more in-depth look at the underlying technology in a future issue.
There are a couple of features not illustrated here, such as the addition of plain text email formatting to Outlook Express, but we've tried to cover as many of them as possible within the available space. The behaviour of Internet Explorer has also been changed, for example, to prevent malicious websites hiding the navigation bar or spawning multiple pop-ups. Overall we believe SP2 is a genuinely worthwhile update - many of the features are well overdue, but 'better late than never' is a phrase that's becoming familiar to most Windows users.
Click on thumbnails for a larger image.
Service Pack 2 is at least a 100MB download. Before you download it you'll be prompted to install the new Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS), which speeds up future patch downloads by only downloading files that have changed.
After installation, the first thing you'll see is the new Security Centre that gives you easy access to your firewall, automatic updates and Internet settings. The antivirus settings can't be changed from here, though. Security Center can be opened from Control Panel.
If the publisher of an executable program can't be determined, Windows will now warn you before it lets you run it. This feature checks whether the program has a digital signature, something that many valid programs don't have at the moment. It's another welcome security feature in SP2.
Bluetooth users will be very happy to see this screen. Service Pack 2 adds native support for Bluetooth - this screen shows the Options tab found when you double-click the new Bluetooth applet in Control Panel. We found it worked well using an unbranded USB Bluetooth dongle, with drivers being found automatically. The control panel lets you configure discovery settings and connections to other Bluetooth devices. You can also set up Bluetooth COM ports.
Windows Vista features and applications
Friday, August 14, 2009
The latest version of Microsoft Windows, Windows Vista, has a lot of new applicationes. Whather you’re interested in security, performence, Windows Aero, 0r entertaining and useful applicationes, this group of resources will let you see what Windows Vista has to offer you.Information on the editions available, prices, and ways to upgrading should help you if you’re consider upgrading. Once you’ve made the switch, links to tutorials will help you to get the Microsoft Windows Vista Support.
Images 1-12 of 12
Virus News - Macs are not Immune, Conficker Update
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Symantec researchers believe they have found evidence of a virus that is specific to the Macintosh computers. Some experts are not sure of the actual threat to Mac Users. The interesting thing is that Mac users have always bragged about how safe their Macs are compared to PCs. You have probably even seen the commercials that try to pound PCs into the ground.
The virus (just like many viruses on the PC side of things) is downloaded along with a pirated or illegal copy of legitimate software. The type of virus is called a botnet, which gets on the computer, and can get out onto the internet, and cause a distributed denial of service (DDos) attack.
The way this attack works is a bunch of computers keep going to a website or sites, over and over. With thousands of computers doing this, it blocks anyone from getting to that site.
Many Mac experts are downplaying this and saying the media attention is not necessary. Many are also saying the Mac is still safe, and security software is not needed. Good luck with that!
Conficker - We are not out of the woods yet
Reports are that the Conficker virus is infecting more computers, and could possibly do more on May 1st. I wrote about this in an entry in March. April 1st has come and gone, and most people think it was just a scare. This particular worm is more of a long-term, slow acting virus. There are three parts to this virus, and the one that has my attention is the last one which has to do with your computer and not stuff it will do to others on the Internet.
Here is a quote from Fox News online, " Conficker also carries a third virus that warns users their PCs are infected and offers them a fake anti-virus program, Spyware removal 2009 for $49.95, according to Russian-based security researcher Kaspersky Lab. If they buy it, their credit card information is stolen and the virus downloads even more malicious software."
Interestingly, I have seen very similar malware on many machines this month. I cannot say it was this virus, but it is interesting that the malware I have been cleaning was similar, and most of the customers had valid, up to date virus protection. They could have been "drive by" type viruses, but there is also a chance the malware was hidden in the Conficker virus. Once these machines are cleaned up, it is really hard to tell, because all traces are gone.
Check out the link to see if you have the conficker virus on your system if you have not already.
See Also
top 10 spyware
Top 10 Windows Antivirus
Is Your Cell Phone Spying on You
What are anti spyware softwares
The virus (just like many viruses on the PC side of things) is downloaded along with a pirated or illegal copy of legitimate software. The type of virus is called a botnet, which gets on the computer, and can get out onto the internet, and cause a distributed denial of service (DDos) attack.
The way this attack works is a bunch of computers keep going to a website or sites, over and over. With thousands of computers doing this, it blocks anyone from getting to that site.
Many Mac experts are downplaying this and saying the media attention is not necessary. Many are also saying the Mac is still safe, and security software is not needed. Good luck with that!
Conficker - We are not out of the woods yet
Reports are that the Conficker virus is infecting more computers, and could possibly do more on May 1st. I wrote about this in an entry in March. April 1st has come and gone, and most people think it was just a scare. This particular worm is more of a long-term, slow acting virus. There are three parts to this virus, and the one that has my attention is the last one which has to do with your computer and not stuff it will do to others on the Internet.
Here is a quote from Fox News online, " Conficker also carries a third virus that warns users their PCs are infected and offers them a fake anti-virus program, Spyware removal 2009 for $49.95, according to Russian-based security researcher Kaspersky Lab. If they buy it, their credit card information is stolen and the virus downloads even more malicious software."
Interestingly, I have seen very similar malware on many machines this month. I cannot say it was this virus, but it is interesting that the malware I have been cleaning was similar, and most of the customers had valid, up to date virus protection. They could have been "drive by" type viruses, but there is also a chance the malware was hidden in the Conficker virus. Once these machines are cleaned up, it is really hard to tell, because all traces are gone.
Check out the link to see if you have the conficker virus on your system if you have not already.
See Also
top 10 spyware
Top 10 Windows Antivirus
Is Your Cell Phone Spying on You
How To locate files and folders In Windows Vista
Friday, August 7, 2009
When you click Search on the Start menu, the Search window appears. A search field is located in the upper-right corner of the window. In the search field, type the name of the file or folder you are looking for, the date it was last modified, or even the author of the file. As you type, Vista searches for the file. Vista also provides you with a several options to narrow your search. You can click All to search everything, E-mail to search e-mail, Document to search documents, and so on.
- Click the Start button.
- Click Search. The Search dialog box appears.
- Type the filename, the folder name, the date the file was last modified, or the author of the file in the Search field. As you type, Vista attempts to locate the file. The results of the search appear in the window. You can click the filename to open the file.
By default, vista searches indexed locations. Indexed locations are locations that are stored in your Personal folder. To close the Search window, click the X in the upper-right corner.
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