July 22, 2008

My favorite utilities and apps(Part 1)!

I want to share to you a few of my favorite applications and utilities(all files are tested virus free):

1. Limewire Pro - Limewire is a free file sharing program, which allows individual users on the Internet to make music, video and other files available for direct access by other users. It also allows a user to search for desired content on other users' computers and download those files.

Unlike the now-defunct Napster, no centralized server or website is used to store files. Limewire directly transfers files from the hard drive of one user (peer) to the hard drive of another user, hence the term "peer-to-peer" or P2P file sharing is used. Given that understanding, it's more accurate to say that a file is being "transferred" instead of "downloaded" in the context of P2P applications.

It allows you to share or access any file type such as MP3 (music), AVI/MPEG (video), JPG (photo), etc. Because it is written in the cross-platform Java programming language, it will run on Windows, Macintosh, Linux, and other operating systems.

Click here to download LIMEWIRE(PRO)

2. Total Video Converter - a complete solution for video conversion which supports reading, playing all kinds of video and audio formats and converting them to the popular video formats.

Main features of Total Video Converter are to convert all kinds of videos to mobile videos or audios (mp4, 3gp, xvid, divx mpeg4 avi, amr audio) which are used by cell-phone, PDA, PSP, iPod;Photos slide show combines multi-photos and musics with more than 300 photos fantasy transition effect;high compatibility and high efficiency for Importing RMVB or RM video/audio;convert various videos to MPEG videos compatible with standard DVD/SVCD/VCD;burn the converted videos to DVD/SVCD/VCD;rip DVD to popular videos of all sorts;extract audio from various of videos and convert which to all kinds of audios (mp3, ac3, ogg, wav, aac);RIP CD to audios of all sorts directly.

It has own video player that support almost all popular formats.

Click here to download TOTAL VIDEO CONVERTER

3. SSCServe - An Epson printer utility use to reset its ink counter back to 0, Epson inkjet printers are design to stop operation when its ink head counter reach to its maximum,its purpose is to avoid the waste ink pad to overflow at the same time you can perform general cleaning on the unit.

But more often waste ink counter expires even if the waste ink pad of your printer still not full, so you don't need to clean or replace it.Just install this utility, look for the waste ink reset feature and click reset the counter to 0, turn off and turn on the printer, your printer is back in business(supposedly).

A sign that ink counter reach to its maximum is when power and error LED are alternately blinking when printer is powered on, at some instance status monitor notify you that the printer is for service maintenance.

Click here to download SSCSERVE

Watch out the next batch of my favorite apps and util! Comments are most welcome!

July 21, 2008

System hangs up when starting at Windows!

Have you experience a system that hangs up just after Windows XP logo appears on the monitor screen but works fine when set to safe mode? Try the solution presented here,it may fix the problem.

Try to start the unit at safe mode,go to system properties and remove the graphics card device and re-start the system, XP will try to re-install the driver of the graphics card and will continue on your desktop and Windows is now back to normal.

In cases where you can't enter safe mode,try re-installing Windows, if still does not work refer to my previous post "Windows XP Perform Endless Reboot"

Note:
This solution will be applicable also on system that graphics resolution is hard or cannot be set on higher colors.

July 18, 2008

Windows XP perform an endless reboot!

Have you ever encounter a problem that Windows continuously restart just after the Windows XP logo appear on the monitor screen? And that when you try to re-install from an XP installer, it will appear that its already an unknown partition.

Now your thinking of reformatting your hard drive? Not yet, I suggest to try this action before re-formatting. Try installing the problematic hard drive to a different system and let Windows on another machine repair the corrupted partition, you will be surprise that you can now access all your data.

Once you are able to access the problematic hard drive,back up all the important files and then reformat the hard drive and install new Windows XP.Their are lots of hard drive recovery software available in the net that may also able to fix the mentioned problem, but if you don't have time to look for such utilities, you can try my solution and it might save your precious data from extinction.

July 16, 2008

A LAN Cable Problem and others!

Case I

The problem show that it can browse the net normally, but it can't browse its fellow workgroup.At first its hard to suspect that its LAN connection problem but when I swap a different LAN connection everything works fine.In this case it maybe the LAN cable is problematic but it could also be the connectors,so I suggest try replacing the RJ-45 connectors first before replacing the whole cable.

Case II

Next is a system that cannot browse the network and internet but it says that your connected,basing on the situation you can say that its a software problem.But some user are less supportive if you suggest to reformat the hard drive especially if they have already loaded tons of applications in the unit, unless its the only way to restore its LAN connectivity.In this case you can use the restore utility of Windows, restoring the system to a later date that LAN is still functional might solve the problem.

Case III

I just installed a fresh OS of a P4 CPU and LAN card driver is properly installed, but says it has limited connectivity and the exclamation yellow thing appears on the LAN icon when inserted to the network.At first you may suspect its either a cable, LAN card and a software problem.In my case LAN cable was ok, Onboard LAN was also ok, what I did is remove the LAN device in the device manager and re-detect the whole thing and system now connects to the LAN properly. This solution may also applies to wireless adapter.

Until on my next post!

June 15, 2008

A defective onboard video!

Its an ECSP4M800 motherboard and it was bought almost two years ago,the system performs a POST test and base by its single beep sound plus the keyboard is responding when I press the NUM or CAPS lock button, I can tell that the system is normal . The only problem is that it has no video going to the display monitor.

I tried to install a known good monitor but the problem still the same. I install an AGP card on its AGP slot and the display comes in and tested that the unit is working fine. It was confirmed that it was a defective on board video device that is causing the problem.

May 29, 2008

Reset Button Did It Again!

Just a few days ago, again I happen to encounter a black-out CPU cause by a shorted reset button.If you troubleshoot the unit without disassembling or unplugging all front panel switches, chances are you will be mislead into believing that you have a defective motherboard.

Micro switches in CPU's accumulate dirt or stuck overtime(especially on cheaper CPU Casing) and will cause short circuit on front panel micro switches,it could be the power button or the reset button, and in this case its the reset button initiating a continuous reset of the motherboard as the CPU is turn on.

Next time when you encounter a black-out CPU, replace key components(mem,PS,processor) and still did not work, then this maybe your case.You can clean micro switches by dropping small amount of alcohol or spraying a contact cleaner on the top portion of a micro switch while repeatedly pushing the switch, if the latter still cause problem to the system you may opt to replace or just disable the particular switch.

May 24, 2008

Simple steps in deleting WGA notifications!


Good day to all my readers!Its been quite a while that I have not updated my blog,cause I been kinda busy for the past couple of weeks.

Today I will discuss a solution to one of the most common problems end-users and PC repairman encounters in a PC and this is the WGA(Windows Genuine Advantage)notification.Huge volumes of PC around the globe(especially from 3rd world nations)has an unlicensed Windows XP installed in it,and some of it automatically downloaded this small WGA apps from Microsoft server informing you that "you may be a victim of piracy.....blah...blah..." during startup and its annoying.

There are options in combating such situation,you either buy a license copy of XP(expensive one),reformat your hard drive and re-install everything(long process) or delete this notification thing and everything will be back to normal(recommended).

Their are different ways in disabling WGA notifications but some of them are confusing and has hard to follow steps, making it difficult for an end user to perform.Just recently I just found out an easier way to get rid of WGA notifications and I will share it with you(in case you don't know yet).

Following three simple steps, now you can get rid of this bugging Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) notifications:

1. Reboot Windows in safe mode (hold the f8 key while booting and you will get the option to boot in safe mode-just after POST)

2. Open Registry Editor (regedit.exe) and search for wgalogon folder and delete it. IMPORTANT-You should backup up the registry beforehand, in case something goes wrong.

3. In your windows directory search for files wga* and delete them(all).

You are done,reboot your system and everything should be back to normal.

'Till on my next post,happy weekend!

April 23, 2008

Disabling a Write Protected BIOS Chip!


A BIOS Chip is one of the most important part of one's PC, without it a PC never works.BIOS chip seldom breaks down that's why a lot of us dont mind its function. The moment you encounter a "BIOS check sum error...." or suspect a hardware incompatibility,then you will start to remember how important BIOS is in a PC system.In such a situation the next you will think to do is to flash(replace the program) your BIOS via a utility provided by your board manufacturer.

What if your BIOS chip is write-protected?
BIOS can be write-protected via the software(by entering cmos setup) or via jumper setting on your board.But some manufacturer(refer to manual) don't provide jumper setting on their motherboard, so one option left is to write-enable it via CMOS setup,but the last solution mention above is only good if your BIOS setup is still accessible, in cases where you have a "Bootblock situation......" then it is impossible to enter your CMOS setup.

In this case your last option is to write-enable your BIOS chip directly,you have to disable the write-protect pin in order to flash your BIOS chip succesully.So, next thing you must do is to look(search the net) for the pin layout of a particular BIOS chip in order to bypass the write-protect pin.If your BIOS chip is similar to the figure shown above then you may proceed in write-enabling your BIOS.You may short it exactly as what it was shown in the figure,it will be easier to insert a thin wire in between the BIOS and the socket pin if it is socketed.

After putting a thin wire jumper on your BIOS chip you may now proceed in flashing your BIOS and it should flash successfully otherwise you wrongfully jumper your BIOS chip or has some non BIOS related problem of your motherboard.Remove the jumper after successfully flashing your BIOS chip.

Note:
This trick was successfully tested on the BIOS of a XPC Shuttle CPU, it may work on similar BIOS chip as other claim it, but don't held me responsible in case something worst happen on your motherboard.Its only a last resort solution before replacing a motherboard.If you don't want to take the risk I suggest that you try to order a BIOS replacement from your motherboard manufacturer or have it repaired to them.

April 21, 2008

Another brain buster problem!


Almost everyday in our line of work we encounter unusual problem(if not difficult),just recently I encountered a problem in a XPC Shuttle CPU which is a BIOS Boot Block situation(refer to image), it is a socket 939 with a 1GB DDR1 Corsair Mem(take note-its branded).

By looking the screen when you turn on the unit, you will say that its a corrupted BIOS(its an Award BIOS)program.Basically BIOS program in newer motherboards is divided into two blocks, these are the bootblock and the mainblock.The bootblock loads up if it will sense a damage mainblock portion of the bios.The mainblock is the one that will start when you power up your CPU.The purpose of the bootblock portion is, for you to have a chance to flash you BIOS mainblock so that your PC becomes operational again.

So to cut my story short I downloaded the specific BIOS bin of the particular model and flash the BIOS using the Award Flash utility software, everything went fine during the flashing of the new bios program, but after resetting the CPU it just came back from where I started(refer to image). I try to flash different latest version of BIOS files several times, still it does not work.

I give up troubleshooting and assumed that the BIOS chip itself maybe damage and it needs to be replace.While still looking for a BIOS chip replacement,I decided to transfer its existing memory on another system.And to my surprise the system also display an "Award Bios bootblock ..... please insert system disk......",I inserted a different memory module of the problematic PC and it works normally.

In my entire life as technical support, this is just the first time that I encounter a memory module causing a bios bootblock situation----take note---- its not just an ordinary memory module, its a popular brand.So, next time if your planning to buy a branded memory, choose the right one to avoid problems such this one.

April 1, 2008

Enhance your skills via computer based training!

Want to enhance your skills but don't have time to go to regular class? Worry no more, Computer Based Training(CBT) offers a process of learning that is not executed in the traditional manner one would find in the educational environment. Rather than the conventional classroom and instructor or professor setting, computer based training involves learning using software applications installed in computers, making it easy to replay any lesson you did not fully understand.

CBT offers excel training that will provide you the basic and advance knowledge in your daily computing needs.CBT also offers proper leadership program that will allow manager and CEO's to enhance their leadership skills and discover what they need to know to be extraordinary leaders.And if you want to be an efficient project manager and want to pass the pmp exam, you can have their pmp training program.

For more info, visit: CBT

Move out IE,Mozilla & Opera here comes Safari?

Since the Internet era has began internet browser has played a major role in delivering the world wide web(WWW) to homes and offices around the globe, One of the most popular internet browser used in every PC is the Internet Explorer(IE), considering it is bundled on Windows. Mozilla Fire Fox came close against IE while Opera has its own share.

And now the competition just got bigger, Apple company which is the manufacturer of MAC just recently released their Safari browser for PC machine. And they claim that its the fastest web browser on any platform, loads pages up to 1.9 times faster than Internet Explorer 7 and up to 1.7 times faster than Firefox 2.

Safari browser are clean, sleek look that lets you focus on the web instead of your browser. The browser frame is a mere one pixel wide. You see a scroll bar only when you need one. One features I like with Safari browser is that whenever you land on a page that offers an RSS feed, it displays an RSS icon in the address field. You can click it and you view the simple RSS feed. Bookmark it and Safari tells you how many updates have been added since your last visit. The RSS view in Safari is customizable, so you can adjust article length or sort and filter articles by date, title, and source. You can also use the built-in search field to find articles relating to topics of interest.

Over all the Safari browser is doing fine in my browsing activity and maybe I will make it my default browser in days to come.

To learn more about it visit their home page: Safari

March 26, 2008

What is RAID(Just the Basic)

Often times we encounter the term RAID, but some dont really know or have little knowledge about RAID, so I try discuss some of the basics about RAID.

This post will give an overview about the RAID system and introduce the basic background and glossary which you need to know before using RAID.

1. RAID-means Redundant Array of Independent Disk Drives, it use several hard drives to increase data transfer rates and data security. It depends on the number of drives present and RAID function you select to fulfill the security or performance purposes or both.

2. RAID 0- Also known as "Stripping". All of the data are distributed evenly to all of the existing drives. You gain benefits on performance because the data transfer rate is multiplied by the number of drives.However, RAID 0 has high risks of data security. All of the stored data will be lost if even any one drive in the RAID set crashes.

3. RAID 1- Also known as "Mirroring".Two hard drives are required. The goal of RAID 0is to ensure data security. Data is written to two or more drives synchronously. That is, 100% duplication of data from one drive to another.

4. JBOD(Just a bunch of drives)-Also known as "Spanning".Two or more hard drives are required.Several hard disk types configured as a single hard disk.The hard drives are simply hooked up in series.This expands the capacity of your drive and results in a useable total capacity.However, JBOD will not increase any performance or data security.

March 10, 2008

Just a short note on another PS problem

I encounter a problem just recently that point to a problematic PS supply.The situation is that the unit turns on normally,but while inside Windows it resets intermittently. At first, I suspect of a problematic memory chip or a problematic OS but as I further isolate the problem, it point to a defective PS supply unit.

If ever you encounter similar problem such as this one, try replacing the PS unit first before thinking of reformatting your hard drive.

My Review on Memory Deal

There are thousands of a computer memory dealer all around the globe, be it for a MAC,PC or a SUN system.In spite of this, there are only a few of them that are selling superior quality memory and Memory Deal is one of them.

Memory Deal sells memory coming from reputable memory chips maker such as Samsung, Hynix, Qimonda, Micron, Elpida and Nanya, the very same brand that are installed in branded PC, MAC and SUN systems.

The company sells a wide range of quality memory products design for servers,desktops and notebooks equipment,making a particular system to perform efficiently on its day to day operation.

Whether its RAMBUS,SDRAM,DDR I or DDR II, all their products are quality tested to ensure costumer satisfaction, enabling the company consistently successful in any computer memory deal they enters.Although, memory from Memory Deal cost a little expensive compare with other memory supplier,but the quality of its products and customer support will balance the price difference its competitors offers.

Memory chips plays an important role in one's system and in my experience there are more problems encountered on low quality (generic) memory compared with branded one's, and if you can shell out a few bucks on a class A memory chips, you better do so for it will contribute years of trouble free computing.

If your planning to get a deal on memory with superior quality,considers Memory Deal

Sponsored Post

March 6, 2008

My way of dealing computer viruses!

As computer hardware advances so was the viruses that infect our PC and sometimes its very difficult to remove such viruses, in spite of the advancement of different anti-virus programs,and still end-user and even technicians end-up in reformatting one's hard drive just to get rid of particular virus(es).

It will be hard to disinfect a computer virus when it loads up at start up(and even if you start in safe mode). Trojan are the most common type of virus that infects everyone's PC worldwide(Window base OS), it(the virus) sometimes disable the functionality of some key Windows utilities(regedit,msconfig,task manager, folder options...etc) to avoid from being deleted or disabled from loading.

As PC repair technician I have deal almost all kinds of computer virus on a PC that is Window base, and often times it is a lot tedious spending time cleaning a PC infected with viruses than just reformat the whole thing and re-load the drivers and needed software.

But, their are situations that a PC has a special programs installed that the owner don't have the installer and need to be preserved, In situation such this one you have no choice but to try everything to clean the virus and have his current installation be preserved by all means.

The best way to clean an infected HDD is to pull-out the hard drive from its CPU and have it scanned by a known clean and well protected PC, normally I suggest installing at least two effective anti virus programs to have a good chance of eradicating the infection(s)of a particular hard drive, and make sure that the virus database of all your anti virus or spyware programs are up to date before inserting a hard drive that is infected with virus.

After being certain that the infection has been removed, install back the hard disk to its CPU and check if its working fine, check also if restrictions on some of the utilities mentioned above has been restored, if some of it are missing or still disabled I suggest that you download a restrictions removal tool(RRT) to solve the problem(search the net).Also don't forget to update virus pattern(s) of your anti virus and make a full scan to check if there was no more infections left.

If in any case after 2 or 3 days the same virus re-appear and mess up your PC's configuration all over again, you have no choice but to re-format the hard drive and loads a fresh copy of your OS and application softwares.

Viruses can be avoided if the user itself is cautions in dealing files coming from the net, FDD, Flash Drives, CD...etc. Plus make sure that its anti-virus pattern(virus datatbase) is always up to date and perform a regular scan at least once every week.In my experience, a lot of end-users dont care if there anti virus database is up-to-date, what most users believed that as long that they have an anti-virus program installed on their PC they are already safe.

A well informed PC user will have lower risk of a virus infection in their PC, compare to PC users that don't have proper know how in dealing computer viruses.

February 26, 2008

Cold solder on CRT monitors!

In my years of servicing PC, I often encountered problems on CRT monitors that is cause by a cold sorder(usually from CRT and vertical circuitry).When CRT module or a particular component heats up over time, it will tend to loosen up its solder and later will cause intermittent problem on your monitor display.

You will know if your monitor is experiencing a cold solder condition if you have an intermittent display problem(disappear or re-appear when its external casing is tap or shaken).Discoloration of display can be also cause by a solder joint.

Cold solder joints is easily recognize by carefully looking its individual solder in the circuit board,normally good solder looks smooth and firmly secured on the PCB, while cold solder joints show some cracks and solder is rough.

Once you suspect or identify a cold solder joint(s), try to remove and clean first the existing solder before re-applying a new solder,in this case it will ensure a good solder contact between component and the circuit board. Others just re-heat a particular joints without cleaning its previous solder, find the problem to re-appear later.

Most cold solder cases appears on class B monitors,if you dont want to experience less cold solder problems on your CRT monitor, I suggest buying class A monitors(LG,Viewsonic,Samsung,HP...etc).

Tools needed to repair a cold solder joints:
30 or 40 watts soldering iron
Desoldering Pump
Screw driver(+)
Soldering Lead

February 23, 2008

A power supply that looks okey, but its not!

Sometimes Power Supply is sometimes overlooked when buying a new PC, and may cause headaches later in your PC computing.To give you and example, a year ago I encountered a problem that seems to point to a non-power supply related, but it turns out to be a power supply problem.

Here's the situation:

A customer calls me and complained that his unit is not booting, so I went to his place and troubleshoot the unit,the first thing I did was turn off the PC, resocket the IDE cable and re-test the unit, upon testing everything works fine, so I tell him that maybe its just a matter of loose connection.

The next day he calls me again and said that the problem re-occur, so I went back again and check the unit all over again, I resocket the IDE connector again and re-test the unit, this time the hard drive is detected intermittently, so I suspect that its a harddisk problem.I even tell the customer that maybe your harddrive is ailing already.

I went to troubleshoot further, one thing I noticed during the troubleshooting process is that, there are times that the CPU unit, black's-out once in a while when harddrive is connected,but if you don't connect the harddrive, everything's fine.
Its really a very confusing problem, you can mistakingly point to a defective harddrive.Luckily I have one spare harddrive with me, so I install it on his unit,but problem still exist.

With that I now started to suspect the PS unit, so I disassemble it and check its internal components, and I found out that there are lots of bulging filter capacitors in its circuitry, which convince me that its the one that's causing the whole thing.

I tell the customer that it must be the PS unit that's causing the problem and it should be replaced.After replacing the PS unit, everythings works fine.By the way, the PS unit he is using is the generic one's(normally bundled on a new PC casing).

Generic PS unit are a little cheaper that the branded one's but if you compare its performance its difinetely worth the extra bucks you add in purchasing a branded PS unit.

Happy Weekend!

Useful Freebies (Part 3)

Keep Tube Program

Love watching videos at You Tube and want to keep it in your harddrive or burn in CD's? here's a program that can download FLV files from the net to your PC.

KeepTube is a quirky, somewhat amateurish program. English is fractured throughout, the interface is non-standard, and the startup page of the program is festooned with Google Ads--presumably how the free program supports itself. (The program does not appear to install any adware on your system, however.) You can use the limited built-in browser to navigate to YouTube (no other sites are supported yet, but the home page promises that KeepTube will support other "famerous" sic Web sites soon), find a video, and click the "Download" button. KeepTube then saves it, with speeds depending on your Internet connection. It supports multiple concurrent downloads, so you can keep selecting videos and saving them.

>CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD KEEPTUBE

February 22, 2008

Keyboard Lock-up at Windows log-in or installation!

Day after day, I encounter unusual problem on the field, such as this one:

The OS: Windows XP

Problem Found: Keyboard lock-up when you you reach at log-in window(Cant type anything), but mouse is functional

Troubleshooting Done: Check keyboard on DOS mode, its working fine. Try to replace a USB keyboard, problem still exist. Try to fresh install OS without reformatting,still the same problem.

Solution: Reformat the hard drive, problem disappear,the problem was cause by a problematic OS.

February 4, 2008

No Video May Point to Wrong Bios Setting

Just a couple days ago, I encountered a desktop PC that beeps which point to a no video situation. But the problem is that the video adapter is onboard and I did not brought a separate AGP card, so I cant confirm if its the onboard video adapter that is the causing the problem.

I try to trouble shoot to best of my knowledge and use my technician's instinct,when I reset the BIOS setting on the mainboard, the display was restored. I suspect that the primary vga display in the BIOS, was wrongfully set to a different device(let say PCI or AGP, when it suppose to be set on its onboard video) causing the blackout.

Next time when you encounter such a problem, try resetting its BIOS to make sure that its not a case of wrong BIOS settings.

February 1, 2008

Major Benefits of the INTERNET!

Have you ever thought, what would it be if the Internet does not exist? In this post I will discuss the major benefits the Internet brings to mankind,to remind us of how lucky we are to enjoy such a wonderful technology.

Here's some of them:

1. EMAIL - In the early days you have to wait days or even weeks before you can read someone's letter. Now it will only take minutes to reach its destination.

2. Telephone/FAX Services - Before individuals/companies spent huge amount in their long distance communications using the standard telephone line. Now, everyone with Internet can use VOIP phone or online phone service to call anywhere in the world for a fraction of cost.Also companies can utilize the Internet to cater its FAX services,today's FAX technology offers wide variety of services from simple Fax Over IP and VOIP Fax to more complex FAX Server and FAX Blast technology.

3. Video Conferencing - Before your have to converge on one place to meet and discuss something. Now, you can discuss everything face to face even if you are from different lacations.

4. On Research - Instead of digging lots of books in the library to find something.Now, individuals will just type the topic you are researching in any search engine and voila! related articles will be available in minutes.

5. Finance and Banking - Instead of calling or going to the bank to check your account balance or transfer funds, now you can just log in online and do the work in front of your PC.

6. Conduct Business - With the introduction of the Internet, businessmen can now market there products worldwide on the net. It also brings opportunity to
individuals to earn on there spare time.

These are just some of the benefits that Internet brings to our life and there are still tens or perhaps hundreds of them, that makes our life easier and we have to thank the US government that started it all.

Now, What would it be if the INTERNET does not exist?

January 30, 2008

A tricky mouse problem!

Everyday on the field as technical support professional you will always encounter unusual problem such as this one:

At first the user complain that his laptop is running very slow, and suspected that it has a virus, the user opted that the harddrive be reformatted so I did backup everything and reformat the whole thing, I reload all the necessary software and drivers,on my initial test everything is working fine already.

The next day, the customer complained that he still has problem when working with Excel and Movie Maker application, so I checked the unit again and found out that when you drag an item or picture on any of the mentioned applications it wont release to the area you want it to be.Take note that the hardware and everything is working fine except of such conditions.

To avoid reformatting the HDD all over again, I tried to replace the current installed MsOffice2003 to Msoffice2007 hoping that it will solve the problem, and it did solve the problem. But the problem on the Movie Maker application still the same.
I left no choice but to reformat the HDD and load Windows all over again. After loading the OS I immediately checked the Movie Maker application if the problem still exist and to my surprise the problem still exist, so I was thinking that its a hardware problem.

By the way the user is using an external usb mouse and by first look the mouse is working fine, I was puzzled actually what causes the problem.I try to disconnect the external mouse and use the built-in touch pad of the laptop(without restarting), the problem still the same.I almost give up and ready to tell the customer that there maybe a motherboard problem that causes the whole thing, then suddenly it just pop on my mind the idea of turning on the unit without connecting the external usb mouse and
when I tested the Movie Maker application the problem disappear and I was relieved.

I troubleshoot further, I reconnect the external USB mouse (without restarting the system) the problem re-appear and when I remove it(External Mouse) the problem still exist. So after a tedious hours of troubleshooting and everything, it was confirmed that it was just a lousy problematic external mouse that cause it all.

Choosing a cheap and generic hardware parts sometimes bring us more troubles than the
branded ones.If you can shell a few bucks for the branded one, go for it.

Until Next time!

January 23, 2008

Sounds Matter!

Often times PC owners neglect the importance of a good sound system in order to enjoy one's mp3, movies or games.One important factor in achieving total satisfaction in one's listening habit is a very good sound system,be it a headphone or a 5 in 1 subwoofer speaker system.

If your aspiring to be a professional sound editor/mixer that uses its PC in performing its work I suggest that you invest on a very good headset that can deliver the whole sound spectrum, you can try sennheiser headphones .

Or maybe you are just an mp3 lover that hook a headphone while doing your work in your laptop or PC, there is a lot of known brand that cater to your needs, just be sure to choose the best that suits your needs and make sennheiser headphones one of your choice.

Whether you are using a PC, an audio or a video equipment, having a high end headphones or speaker system is vital in achieving listening pleasure as if you are hearing a live concert or a part of the movie you are watching.So, if you are one of those who think that sounds matter, invest on a good brand.

For more info about quality headphones visit: sennheiser headphones ,,.,,.

January 4, 2008

When loading a device driver!

Its already 2008 and I wish all my reader a Happy New Year!

Its been a couple of months back, that I presented an actual PC problem in my blog. I will try to post more PC problems when I have the time. Here's one of them:

Just recently I encounter a problem that when you attempt to load a driver(software) of an on board sound card Windows will reset when it is about to finalize its installation.At first I thought that Windows is problematic,but later when I try to manually selected other driver which is on the same CD, the installation was successful.Therefore,I conclude that Windows was trying to load a device driver with just similar chipset of the exact sound device, causing it to malfunction during its installation.

So next time when you encounter problem similar to this one , make sure to try this procedure first before thinking of something else, it will surely save time. Happy Weekend!