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Ridgeway Computer Repair & Laptop Service
Basic Free Computer Laptop Troubleshooting instructions.
on ac but not charging
Steps to fix this laptop battery problem:
1.Shut down your laptop 2.unplug the power cord 3. remove the battery 4. Turn on the laptop. 5. Shut down the laptop 6. Install the battery in the laptop 7. Plug in the ac power adapter. 8. Turn on the laptop. 9. Go to device manager. Open batteries tab- delete ACPI compliance control method battery. Then "scan for new hardware" from action menu.
XP anti-virus 2011 removal instructions
Here is how to remove xp anti-virus 2011.
Open windows explorer. Click on tools-folder options. Click on view tab. Under "hide files and folders" unhide files and folders. Unhide protected operating system files. Run an off-line antivirus scan. Run malwarebytes scan. Hope this works. This method also apply to xp home security(It's also called xp home security - unregistered version), XP Internet Security 2011 firewall (process in task manager xwt.exe), Vista antispyware 2012 firewall alert ( process otl.exe), Win 7 security 2012 alert & MS Removal tool threats. This threat runs with the help of cli.exe process.
Windows cannot be installed to Disk 0 Partition 1. (Show details)
This process also works if you want to convert dynamic disk to normal disk.
Boot your disk with windows 7 or vista. Instead of installing windows select "repair windows". Select the first option. Click on dos prompt. on the dos window type "diskpart" and press enter. Type "list disk". All the disks will be displayed. Type "select disk 0 or 1 (look for disk number). Type "det disk" and enter to see all partitions. Type "clean all" (this will delete all partitions and data) and press enter. Exit by typing "exit" and enter. Close the DOS windows and refresh to see the disk again. Install Windows 7 or vista.
"Community toolbar" error message at Mac startup
Steps how to remove this message when you startup or login to your iMac or MacBook. Go to finder. Then click on applications. Go to the related toolbar folder. Double click on uninstall. Enter the username and password and that's it (this error message has nothing to do with startup itmes).
This computer's hardware may not support booting to this disk
If you have a computer that has an un-initialized disk, This message will popup during Windows Vista installation. To fix this problem, create partitions on your hard drive during vista installation stage. After partitioning your hard drive, restart your computer and start the Windows installing again.
Which antivirus is good?
There are a few reputable antivirus companies that are experienced. Some of those are Symantec (popular as Norton), Trend Micro, Zone Alarm, McAfee, Kaspersky, Microsoft Security Essentials, Avast, AVG, Panda, and others. There is no good or bad but those with more years in this business are considered better. It is always recommended to keep the operation system and antivirus up to date.
How to be a computer technician
In this article I would discuss different ways to be a computer technician. There are different kinds of computer technicians. A PC technician, a Mac technician and a data recovery technician. A PC technician is the one who is trained for PC or laptop repair. This repair could be a software or hardware repair. A software repair includes fixing operating system or application related problems. A hardware repair is mainly related to parts in the PC or laptop. There is no limit on how much computer education the person should have. On the lower side if he has a computer technician diploma then he can start work as computer technician. Usually A+ certification (This course includes Microsoft and other related certifications) is the official certificate that is required by most of employer when they look for computer techs. In most cases a grade 10 plus a computer diploma or a plus certification is enough.
Other kind of technician is a Mac technician. Let me differentiate between two plate forms that are mainly used these days. One is Windows and the other one is Macintosh. Microsoft makes windows and Apple develops Mac. All the operating systems developed by Microsoft (Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Minimum, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows vista and Windows 7) are called windows plate forms. On the other side, Panther, Tiger, Leopard and snow leopard are the operating systems written by Apple engineers. Apple operating system only works at their own hardware that means Apple make their own computer machines to be used with their plate form. Windows operating system runs on PC(personal computer), laptop or netbook. There are other platforms that are very rarely used like UNIX and Linux. To become a Mac technician, one must be an Apple certified. Obviously experience is required after certification.
It’s a trend that a PC technician would not work on Mac machine. The reason in my opinion is Mac machines are more delicate and sensitive when it comes to repair them. The software platform is totally different than Windows system. The other reason could be the cost of these machines. Mac computers are expensive and personal computer technicians do not want to take risk. Another reason is parts for Mac computers are not available everywhere like PC parts are.
The next kind of computer technician is data recovery tech. This is the most high tech job. There are two important steps to become a computer data recovery specialist. First, one must have expert knowledge of storage media e.g opening a hard drives and must be trained to understand how hard disk or data storages work. A data recovery course or hard disk repair course is must for data recovery technicians. Data recovery job involves using different type of equipment. A Hard disk expert is trained on how to these data recovery equipments. Data recovery expert must use this kind of technology. The recovery process is not simple to follow especiallly using these machines. Whether it is PC, Mac or data recovery technician, one must be certified and experienced to do the job properly.
This article explains how many types of technicians are out there and what are the requirements to become a personal computer, Mac or data recovery technician.
tags: Data recovery technician, PC technician, Mac technician, how to become a computer technician, PC technician
Lenovo T410 screen replacement
If your laptop screen is broken, it can be repaired. All you need is an led screen to replace. I will explain step-by-step instructions here. First of all remove the rubber cover from screws on both lower corner of the screen. There are two screws in pair on both sides. Then use a flat (thin) screwdriver to remove the to cover of the LCD screen. After that you have to open the top single screws on both upper corners. Now you can pull out the screen and remove the led cable from the back of the screen. Now remove the two metal brackets on both side of the LCD. Take the new screen and attach these brackets to it. Install the new screen the same way the old and finish everything properly. It won’t take more than 15 minutes.
How to save a screen shot
You can save any screen using word pad or ms word. Select any thing like a web page in Internet explorer, desktop or email page and click on the key "print screen" or prt or sysrq on your keyboard. Then open notepad or Microsoft Word, works or iWorks (if you are using Mac). Open a blank page and click on edit and then left click on paste. You will see whatever was on the screen will appear in your application. Click on file and then save as to save the screen shot by giving it a name.
Mac OS X upgrade / Archive and install
Sometimes if operating system is slow or has minor problems, users would perform an upgrade or archive & install. The other situation would be to upgrade from let say Tiger to leopard or snow leopard. It's very important to understand that this kind of action can destroy the data. In this kind of situation, you must know what steps to follow because you may notice missing files or data. If you have done it and cannot find your files, photos or documents, the data can still be recovered. Only advanced users or computer professionals can save your data. The same applies to Windows (from XP to vista or Windows 7 or repair install) and PCs.
Mouse right click does not work in Windows 7 installed on MacBook Pro
After you install Windows 7 home premium or other version on a MacBook Pro, right click on track pad might not work. You need to go to control panel and open boot camp program. Click on track pad tab in the small window. Then check the check box (last one) to enable right click as secondary function.
How to take ownership of a folder in Mac
When you double click on a folder, you get an error message "could not be opened because you do not have sufficient access privileges"
If you have copied data from one machine or hard drive to another or recovered data, you might not be able to access contents of a folder. Such folder will display a red minus sign on top of it. Right click on the folder or drive and click on "get info". In the bottom of the new window, you will see "sharing and permissions". Click on the lock beside it on the right side and enter your user name and password. The lock will open which means you now can take ownership of the folder or drive. So click on "everyone" under "share and permission" and to the right of it, you will see "no access". Beside "no access you will see two small arrows pointing up and down, click on it and change it to "read & write. You will now have full access to the target folder or partition.
Hide check box gray out
If a virus has changed hidden attributes, it can be fixed. You right click on a file or folder and you find that the hidden check box is grayed out, which means you cannot uncheck it. For this reason you only see your files or folder in fade color if you unhide files and folders through tools and folder options. To fix this problem in windows XP, click on "start" then click "run" type "cmd" a black window will open. On the command prompt type the drive letter (for example d:)you want to go to. Now type attrib -s -h *.* /s /d
This will get rid of the grayed checkbox beside the hidden attribute.
The volume has the wrong case sensitivity for a backup
This is the message that you will get when you try to copy time machine backup from one hard drive to another. I checked instructions on Apple website but those instructions do not work or these instructions are incomplete. Here is the solution to this message "The volume has the wrong case sensitivity for a backup".
1. Connect the target drive to a machine that has OSX lion on it. Go to disk utility and format the drive using Mac OSX extended (journaled). Also make sure you chose the option of "Guide partition".
2. Enter in Time machine and select this drive for backup. Then turn off the time machine by sliding the bar to "off" position.
3. Now copy your files from the source hard drive to the target one and you are done.
These instructions seems easy but it wont work on OSX 10.6 or lower. There are so many kinds of messages and situations where it is hard to copy time machine backup folder when dealing with different version of Mac OSX but every situation should be handled differently.
Internet Security virus removal process
I found this virus on a windows 8 laptop. It does not allow to open any program. As soon as the computer user opens a program, it displays an alert in the right lower corner of the screen. You will need to go to safe mode to remove it. How you go to safe mode in Windows 8? You have to stop the internet security virus process but you can't because as soon as you try to open task manager, it stops you. All you have to do is to stop the program by right click in the startup items at the right lower corner of the screen and click on settings and uncheck "start at windows startup" and reboot. You can also stop it by closing it with red x. Then the PC will allow you to go to task manager and stop all harmful processes. Then open msconfig and select "boot" and then choose safe boot. Restart the computer in safe mode and rename the program which may be hiding in roaming folder under user account. After that restart the computer in normal mode and run malwarebytes to get rid of the remaining malware.