You Myrtle Beach computer repair specialists, 1on1-Computers, wants you to know there are maintenance steps that you can take to avoid unexpected computer repair.

Here are our top 11 computer maintenance tips to avoid computer repair:

1.  Do not turn your computer off by using the power switch until Windows has completely shut down.  There is only one exception to this rule – a locked up computer.  If your computer is not running (i.e. the light on your hard drive is not blinking) you can use the power switch to turn off your computer without doing any harm.  However, you still run the risk of data loss in this situation.  This should be a last resort.  The best solution for a system lockup is to press the ctrl-alt-delete keys at the same time and get into the task manager.  This will allow you to close down programs that are not running and prevent a computer repair situation.
2. Always plug your computer and peripherals into a power supply.  This is a great recommendation for all of your appliances.  Your local electrician can help you with whole-house surge protection.  An uninterruptible power supply (UPS) will protect your computer from surges during storms.  In Myrtle Beach, this is the time of year we experience a lot of thunderstorms and this will save your system from necessary computer repair in the event of an electrical strike.
3. Backup – I have mentioned this before and I can’t stress this too strongly.  You can’t afford to lose your data.  I can tell you hundreds of horror stories about precious data, photos and videos being lost that can never be recovered.  For ultimate safety, you will want to utilize an offline data source.
4. Run a defrag and scandisk of your system at least once each month.  This will keep your hard drive cleaned up and help to prevent crashes and can even increase the speed of your system.  Both of these programs are included with Windows and can be found on your start menu under Accessories and System Tools.
5. If you need to unplug your peripherals from the computer, always power down your computer first.  Removing them with the power still on can actually short out the motherboard or the connector socket which is a major computer repair.  The only exception to this rule is peripherals such as headsets or external hard drives that use the USB of your computer. 
6. Leave a portion of your hard drive free for Windows.  As a rule of thumb this should be around 500 MBs.  Not leaving enough space will cause Windows to start dumping data on your hard drive in order to make room for operations.  You will start to notice your computer slowing down when this happens.  Running the programs in step 4 will help this situation.  Also, you will want to run programs such as CCleaner  or PC Pitstop periodically 
7. Monitor the programs that automatically start when you start your computer.  They use up memory and valuable Windows resources.  The systems tray in the lower right hand corner will tell you which programs load upon starting.  This will usually be your anti-virus program, screen capture programs and possibly share programs like DropBox.  You will want to change the settings on any program that is opening on startup that you do not need.
8. Always use an anti-virus checker.  This is one of the programs that need to start when you start your computer.  This will help to trap viruses before they have a chance to invade your computer.  One of the major causes for computer repair is a virus.  If you are not certain if you have a virus checker or want a recommendation on which program is best, contact your Myrtle Beach Computer Repair specialist.
9. You may need a firewall program if you use a high speed connection to the internet.  This program will keep out devious predators that are seeking to hijack your system and gain access to personal information.  Believe me, you don’t want someone else in your computer.  The current versions of Windows already have a firewall program installed.  You can use your Control Panel to access your firewall.  Never turn off the firewall unless you are instructed to do so while you are installing a program and then always remember to turn it back on when you are finished.  Make sure you are installing the software from a trusted provider before following their instructions.  If you are in doubt, you will want to call your Myrtle Beach Computer Repair specialist to check before doing this procedure.
10. Use a spreadsheet to keep track of your software disks with any keys, new peripherals and driver specifications.  Depending on the type of backup you are using, you may need this information if your hard drive needs to be reformatted and reinstalled (which can happen during computer repair). Always keep your software disks in a clean, dry spot.
11. Run Windows updates when prompted or have them set to run automatically.  Microsoft is always coming out with new updates that will add new features and help the performance of your computer.

Using a few common computer maintenance steps can help prevent the cost of a computer repair.  However, if you have used a computer for any length of time, you know that computers fail and a computer repair call will need to be made.

The next time you need to make that call for a computer repair, call 1on1 Computers, your Myrtle Beach Computer Repair specialists.

I recently received a contact from our website that said they sent their laptop into the recommended repair place for some computer repair warranty service.  When the laptop was returned, all of their files were gone.  They questioned how a computer repair company that was supposedly reputable could get away with this kind of treatment of their customers.  Is there a way this could have been prevented?  

With computers today there are only two kinds – those that have a problem and those that will eventually have a problem.  This means that almost everyone who utilizes a computer will at some point have a need for computer repair and will need to find someone they can trust to do the work.

Trust is a big factor when hiring someone for computer repair or any other type of service.  In marketing there is a formula that is referred to as the Know – Like – Trust factor.  A person needs to know who you are, like what you are doing and trust that you can do a good job.  With computer repair trusting that that the technician will preserve your data is one part of the equation.

A sad scenario today is that many computer repair shops treat computers just like any other appliance.  There are only concerned with returning a working computer.  Your data is not their concern.  They may even assume that you have backed up your data (and of course this is something you should do).  However, the problem may have happened before you could accomplish a current backup.  When you bring the missing data to their attention, they will simply refer to the small print in the warranty that states that saving your data is your responsibility.

Think of this like an appliance repair technician that destroys all the food in your refrigerator without warning but then feels he did his job because he fixed the ice maker.  Keep in mind that no computer repair company is legally obligated to save your data; the liability for this would be cost prohibitive.  Make sure that you cover data recovery when you contract with a local computer repair technician.

Online Computer Repair

The place where I see this happen most often is with warranty services on laptops because people usually send their laptops to a computer repair facility in another city and don’t usually talk directly to the technician.  They fill out a form online for warranty service and then take the laptop to the closest mail service and assume that the company on the other end understands their needs.

These types of services are specifically designed to be cost effective, which means they have little if any respect for the data that is stored on the laptop. Over and over I have had people tell me horror stories of how they sent in their laptop and it came back wiped clean because the primary objective of the warranty service provider is to return the laptop to factory specifications which often requires reformatting of the hard drive and reinstallation of the operating system. 

 We warn our customers that they will probably lose all of their information if they are sending their system in for computer repair and to back up the entire hard drive.  We can make a mirror image of the drive for them as a precaution before they send it in for warranty work.

 What is an image backup?  It is an exact copy of the entire system not just certain files.  If and when your computer is returned and has been wiped clean, you are able to restore the image backup exactly as it was prior to sending it to the computer repair facility.     

Most people don’t take into consideration the work involved when you have to reinstall your programs, restore your backup files and then recreate our settings such as passwords, printer drivers.  Think about recreating your address book, your photos and all the other information that has taken you time to accumulate and set up just the way you like it.

Then there is the sensitive information on your system that would be exposed to an unknown computer repair technician.  If you are considering sending your system out for warranty work, you may want to remove this information from your computer first.  If you leave it on the system, make sure that you are using strong passwords.

A convenient way to keep sensitive data from being accessed is to move files, photos, spreadsheets and other data to a external hard drive or a flash drive.  If you are using a program such as Sentry Backup, call and have your technician make a backup just prior to removing the data and sending the laptop in for repair.

 Unfortunately, none of these last steps will work if the computer went down prior to making the backup.  This brings us back to where we started – trust.  You need to trust the computer repair technician in whose hands you place this most valuable asset.

 Our motto is “Protect the tools that fuel your business.”  We understand that your data is more valuable than the system itself and we take the necessary steps to ensure it is protected.   Call us today for your computer repair needs.

Local Business Owner Can  Relate to Computer Repair Problems

In today’s world, computers are part of our everyday life.  I remember working for a CPA firm in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in the early ‘80’s when the personal computer was first introduced.  I suggested to the partners in the firm that we start a personal computer training division of the firm.  They laughed and said that the personal computer was a passing fancy.  I think that the joke is on them.

I work every day with people having computer maintenance problems. So where to start to diagnose and fix? The very first thing I have my customers to is run a program called OverDrive. It will scan your computer and send the results to me. It’s a free service and one of the finest diagnostic tools around anywhere to ensure you are engaging in the best do-it-yourself computer maintenance. Here are some of the biggest mistakes computer users make:

1. Computer Maintenance Tip # 1

Don’t overload your system with more than one antivirus program It’s a common mistake to think that if one antivirus program is good, then two or more is even better. NO! That will slow down your system down to a near crawl. Smart computer maintenance requires you to uninstall all of them except for the one you want to use on a regular basis. Don’t just turn them off or disable the real-time scan feature – uninstall them. This also includes what I call Malware programs. Choose one product, keep it updated, make sure it’s running at all times in the background and stick with it. Start off right to have optimal computer maintenance in place.

2. Computer Maintenance Tip #2

Don’t assume you can’t have a virus infection because you’re running an antivirus software program – As good as your antivirus program is (and I recommend and use the very best available anywhere!), no one program is perfect and it can’t provide complete protection. Viruses change and show up in morphed conditions on a minute-by-minute basis. Your virus protection software can only detect what is known at a particular time. It pulls from what’s called a “virus definition list.” It could be days before your virus software updates itself to new versions of a virus. So, what to do? The latest technology actually blends information from a known “bad list” with a known “good list.” The good list is provided by Super Shield, which is provided by my favorite package, called PCMatic. PCMatic is one of the first programs in the world to use this blended way of keeping your computer safe. You can control what programs are part of your “known good list.” You are alerted when you try to use or download a program that is “not known.” Then, you make the decision as to whether or not it can be trusted. Maybe a few more steps, but well worth it in the long run.

3. Computer Maintenance Tip #3

Don’t ignore an error message,  If you get an error message, don’t just move past it. It’s there for a reason. Hopefully, you have a screen shot program (such as the free Jing program) that will allow you to quickly capture the error message. Then, do a search on Google and see what it’s all about. Often, you’ll not only find out what the error message is referring to, but a quick fix will be offered. If you’re over your head at this point, call a professional. He won’t be stumped.

4. Computer Maintenance Tip #4

Pay attention to wrong monitor resolution settings. Some windows, buttons,
scroll bars and other options are often hidden because your monitor’s resolution
isn’t set correctly. This is easily fixable by going to your Display Settings
in your Control Panel. Just go to Appearance and Personalization. Move the slider
bar to the correct resolution, which should be explained in your monitor manual.
You could try just using the largest resolution available and see what happens.
There’s also the matter of DPI settings. Call One On One Computers to get
information on fixing the DPI settings.

5. Computer Maintenance Tip #5

Don’t assume Your New Computer is “Clean.” Unfortunately, there are myriads of
companies out there trying to make a little money off of your computer purchase,
and your new computer is actually loaded to the gills with trial software and
stuff you don’t need or want. You should begin by uninstalling all of it.
This includes programs that sound good, such as McAfee, Norton, and picture
sharing programs too numerous to mention. These programs are wasting your new
computer’s resources and slowing down your system, not to mention the endless
stream of ads that will pop up trying to get you to buy something. You can’t
get rid of this stuff by just deleting the shortcut.  Proper computer maintenance requires you educate yourself concerning what programs to delete and which ones to keep.

To see what’s running on your “new” computer (or even your old one), just go to: Start>Run Then type the letters: msconfig and press Enter. Then choose the tab for StartUp. You’ll see what’s running. You can go to the Control Panel, choose Add/Remove Programs and uninstall all the junk you don’t want. If these instructions seem foreign to you, you should call for help. Helping you with your computer maintenance is our only business.

I hope this blog post has helped you with some good information for your computer maintenance.

One On One Computers is an authorized reseller for the PCMatic products. To assist you with your computer maintenance, you can find links on our website. Please let me help you with any questions you have concerning your computer maintenance.

If you answered the question like this…”Yes, I need one,” then you’re thinking like most everyone else out there. We receive a lot of calls that are from people we’ve never heard from before who are in crisis over their computers misbehaving in some way. Either a virus has suddenly invaded and shut things down, or perhaps a component has gone bad, such as a power supply or even a hard drive failure.  Computer repair service is all of a sudden on the front burner.

Computer repair service is something you always hope you won’t need, but that’s not very realistic.

If your life and business depends upon your computer working 24/7, then please call us ahead of time, just to introduce yourself.  Offering top-notch computer repair service has been our business and our only business for many years.

One On One Computers offers computer repair service in the Myrtle Beach and surrounding areas.

We will give you a free consultation, BEFORE a crisis hits, just to make sure you’re covering all the bases that you can to prevent a major failure. There are preventative measures that you can take, and we’ll help you with that. Look for our blog post on Computer Maintenance Tips.  I look forward to hearing from you.

Joe Thibodeau,

Your Local Computer Repair Service and Maintenance Specialist in Myrtle Beach.

Is Cloud Computing in Your Future?

I’ve been hearing a lot of buzz lately about cloud computing. The buzz is growing, so I started to dig into it to see where this cloud computing thing is going. Seems that it’s not such a new concept as what I had thought. I actually was faced with a “cloud computing” choice a couple years ago, but I didn’t know it had a name.

I Was Already Using Cloud Computing – I Just Didn’t Know It Had a Name!

I’ll explain. I run two businesses from home. The accounting software I used for 15 years has a couple of features I was not happy with and their programmers don’t seem to have an interest in upgrading in these areas. So, I started to look around at other software for accounting. One of the most well-known is QuickBooks Pro. When it came time to purchase, I was given the choice of buying the software OR simply leasing an online version. That would be cloud computing. At the time, I was afraid of it, and I opted to just purchase the software. Now, I think I would make a different choice.

I Think I Was Wrong About Cloud Computing

Here’s why… First, I am realizing more than ever that no matter how afraid I might be of depending on the internet, there’s no way to get away from it. I simply must have internet connection or I can’t work. I pay for high-end business class internet at my house – with a truckload of bandwidth. I want quick service when there is a problem and I pay a premium price for it. That’s a given. So, if I have to depend on it anyway, why not just jump in and really rely on it? Here’s what it would solve:

1. When I travel, I wouldn’t have to pay for a GoToMyPC subscription to logon to my desktop computer in my home office to access my accounting program, (which I access a LOT) or anything else, for that matter. I always travel with my air card modem in case I can’t find Wi-Fi. So I almost always have internet access. I say “almost” because I was in the mountains on a camping trip recently where nothing would work – no Wi-Fi, no Verizon aircard, no cell signal – nada, zip! (I just decided to relax and enjoy myself anyway.)

2. Sometimes, I am in my office so long during the day that I want to work somewhere else in the evenings…so I take my laptop to another room just for a change of scenery. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I have to get up and run into the office to get something from my desktop computer – files, passcodes, emails…you name it. I’m beginning to realize that if I used cloud computing, this would all be eliminated, or at least most of it.

3. The expense of software and hardware would be reduced. I haven’t run the numbers on this yet, but I think instead of buying some super-duper mega-terrabyte drive, I could just rely more on the “cloud,” – cloud computing wins again.

These are just a few of my thoughts about cloud computing. I’ll be watching and researching as the cloud grows ever-closer!

Cloud computing is an increasingly broad topic that encompasses everything from Google Apps to data center services to virtualization to software-, infrastructure- and platform-as-a service. Technology executives are increasingly interested in cloud computing as a way to save money. Nevertheless, cloud adoption remains in the single digits amid security concerns. Rest assured that cloud computing is a game changer. Key players include: IBM, HP, Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Salesforce.com, NetSuite, VMware as well as dozens of others. Security will be paramount!

Before you take your computer to a local computer shop or even call for on-site service, there are some questions you should ask to avoid any misunderstanding. If you don’t get answers you are comfortable with, look for another company to service your computers. Talk to the owner when ever you can, this way your hopefully getting the right answers and you will get a better understanding of just how dedicated they are to there customers, and the level of service they provide.

Question #1 – How much do you charge per hour? This is not something you want to find out after the fact.

Question #2 – Can you tell me how many hours this might take to repair? This is always going to be an estimate because every problem is different, but you should be able to get a reasonable estimate.

Question #3 – Do you have a minimum charge? Usually the answer is one billable hour, even if it only takes 30 minutes. This is completely customary.

Question #4 – Should I expect any other charges other than the hourly rate? Other than hardware, the answer should be no. Surcharges and other hidden fees should not be part of your invoice. If you live in the Myrtle Beach area, One On One Computers has gained a reputation for fast, fair and thorough service.