Warning Signs of Hard Drive Trouble
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For every computer there comes a time when you have a problem with hardware or software. This is for those who want to learn the signs of possible fixes for having hard drive problems. Although if you know you’re hard drive is dieing then you better back it up as quickly as possible. You will of course need to get the back up software to protect your data. If you have special drivers you will need to backup yours drivers. If you have an OEM system then you will need to backup the Hidden Partition.
So what are the warning signs of a hard drive failure:
- Unexpected freezing of Windows — When Windows Locks up and you have to reboot or getting a Blue Screen of Death. You have no choice but to restart because you can’t do anything with windows.
- Losing data files — if you seem to see files being lost or deleted without your direct input. It might be a sign of a computer virus or it could be a damaged hard drive.
Signs of a Computer Infection!
Comments OffSo I was thinking this morning what I missed and I totally missed on how you might be able to tell if you have a computer virus. It does me no good to talk about a virus if you don’t know you’re infected. I was thinking of the times I had a client who had trouble but wasn’t what I thought.
So How do you know?
Some people would say it depends on factors but here are what I call clues that make me suspect a virus:
- Slow or Sluggish computers – Here is what I know if the computer is really slowing down and have a dual core or quad core. If you are running a system and sees a lot of hard drive activity even when the computer is idle then it might be a virus or it could be a program doing what it is supposed to be doing. So this is somewhat of an indication but not always.
- Slow internet connection on the computer or on the network — Due to the fact that most people have a router that is connected to all the computers and if you internet connection on all your systems are slower than normal then you could have a virus. I use Speed Test website to help determine this.
Microsoft kills a fake antivirus tool from 994,061 computers!
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According to Arstechnica and I’ll quote:Win32/FakeSecSen has gone by various names, including Micro Antivirus 2009, MS Antivirus, Spyware Preventer, Vista Antivirus 2008, Advanced Antivirus, System Antivirus 2008, Ultimate Antivirus 2008, Windows Antivirus, XPert Antivirus, Power Antivirus, and Ultra Antivirus 2009. Furthermore, it is skinnable, so each of these variants has a different GUI, although the basic functionality is the same: bother users with warnings of malware until they pay up.The Microsoft Malware Protection Center recently released some data on how the removal tool performed this month: FakeSecSen was removed from 994,061 machines. That number isn’t the highest Microsoft has recorded before, and the number of removals depends on which malware Microsoft adds each month and how widespread it is.
[via Arstechnica]
This seemed to of happened this month with the usual Windows update. If you haven’t updated your system just yet you should. This troublesome fake virus seems to have been killed from several systems. This could effectively make it harder for these guys who ever designed this program to make money. I hope microsoft does even more virus removals in next month. If you still want to try to get rid of these viruses don’t forget to check out my tips on Virus removal.
Paypal is having troubles today.
According to Sue Bailey and I’ll quote:
Many sellers are reporting a problem this morning with PayPal withdrawals: attempting to move cash to your bank account throws up an error page beginning Sorry, an error occurred after you clicked the last link.
[Via Tamebay]
It seems to be something going on with Paypal. I’ve not tried it to day but I might just to see what happens. If anyone else is having this trouble let me know. Accord to Sue it seems to be limited to Merchants but that doesn’t mean sellers and others are having the same trouble. I also don’t know if it is just affecting the United Kingdom area or not but I wanted to let everyone know that this might affect you to. So let’s find out if it is affecting the US also.
Windows update is getting a revision!
Comments Off“Over the next couple of months, we’ll be rolling out another infrastructure update to the Windows Update agent (client code),” said an unidentified Microsoft employee on the Windows Update team’s official blog. “This update makes it possible for users to install more than 80 updates at the same time.”
[via Computer World]
Now if your like me and have several computers who need to be updated at a given schedule, you sometimes worry about these updates that come along that might just break your system. I have been using a program call Offline Updater, which does what Autopatcher does really nicely. So why is Microsoft sending out this patch? Two reasons, one they want you to be able to update your operating System without hurting your system integrity.
Now lets talk about the integrity of having to reboot your system. You see, every time you reboot the system, it causes the system hardware some strain. It is something like having starting up a car, sooner or later you will have the starter go out, because of to much start up.
The Magazine Time, plans to elimate 600 jobs in the near future!
Comments OffAccording to Time Inc. Editor in Chief John Huey is planning on Laying off over 600 jobs:
Time Inc., the world’s largest magazine publisher, plans to cut 6 percent of its work force — more than 600 positions — and will revamp the organization in a way that could radically alter the culture at the company.
[via Nytimes.com]
With the way the economy is, we have more and more people who are having trouble with Layoffs. I got a list of companies right now who is laying people off. If you want to check it out just CLICK HERE.
Now let’s talk about the bigger picture, people are worried and want to get through this with out getting hit hard. So what is true hardship, that comes when you least expect it and want it. I’ve come to the conclusion that it will happen in the best of times. You see most people don’t know what hardship is until it hits them in the square on the head.
Taking back Program Controls : For the Beginners!
So, let’s face it, this is one of the most annoying problems there are with programs. Programs that you think are shut down but are actually still active in the Taskmanager. So I figured I’d talk about some of the most common fixes for these problems. Now as you know there can be any number of programs or glitches as they say, causing the problems. So let’s talk about the why, shall we.
Most of the time programs don’t quit because they are waiting for some kind of response from the system or the System is waiting for the program to close by itself. It could also be a problem with a Virus or Root kit? How do you fix it?
Fixing the problem is somewhat just trial and Error. It isn’t always the hardest thing to do but sometimes people overlook the easiest solutions. So here are some easy ones:
- Check to see if one of the Microsoft updates are causing the problem – Sometimes you might not realize it, but having installed an update can cause problems like KB951748. That one caused a major Headache for Zonealarm. So it is wise to check each months updates when you start seeing problems, sometimes it could of been happening for a while but it can sometimes cause troubles.
Having trouble with I-tunes Here is way to fix the problem:
Comments OffI’ve been having problem with I-Tunes lately and I wanted to talk about how to fix the problem that come along with using it.
Err = 8008 [A corrupt file that can't be completed due to some kind of glitch in downloading the file. It can happen to anyone at anytime.]
To Fix the problem here are the steps you must do:
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Go to the I-tunes Music Directory – C:\USERS\[USERNAME]\MUSIC\ITUNES\ITUNES MUSIC\DOWNLOADS
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Look for the corrupt files, depending on the problem you can expect to see two or three directories. Find the one directory that has the corrupt file and delete the whole directory.
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Once that is done load up I-tunes and go to the Store Tab and Check for Purchases.
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This will get I-tunes to download the file again.
