Tommy Logic™ | Hardware & PC

Don't freak out... I notified everyone who had a post and a valid email address as to the new locations of their posts.

If you didn't get a notification please let me know and I'll point you in the right direction.

 

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This blog is now FULLY dedicated to computer hardware realted questions.

 

If you have a question on a system that I built for you... look for all the posts such as "How do I operate this awesome beast".

If I didn't build yours.. look for "How do I go about properly disposing of this piece of junk" ..or..  "1yr old and Worthless"

 

I have re-enabled posting {blogging} features, so you can talk amongst yourselves if you like. Otherwise, just post your questions here and I'll address them one by one. I've left some of the most popular ones in the archivessections.

 

Thanks for your patience and cooperation,

Tommy Logic

 

http://www.tommylogic.com/  

Well, its been a while. I've been extremely busy with a little website called Tommy Logic™

How original huh... Well, I gotta say, all the hard work has payed off. Its still in the Beta Phase as I work out a few bugs and get the content coordinate. You shouldn't be able to notice any difference in the site function though. I wrote it all in xHTML 1.0  & CSS 2.1 and yes, of course it is all VALIDATED code!!

 

You can check out the screenshots below. This site is the starting place from where I intend to launch an entire suite of products and services . The current site is for all my Design & Development work.... thats technical jargon for "ART". Yeah, believe it or not, people actually get paid for this so called artwork. Damm Hippies, Ha-Ha. There is actually quite a bit of work on the backend in the programming section of the site too, it may not be as apparent upfront, but as the various phases begin to unfold, you will see more and more.

Oh.. and just incase you were worried; YES, I will be doign hardware still. I will be building the servers required to run this site, thus creating a platform for future hosting opportunities for the rest of you.

 

So what does all this mean for Tommy Logic™? In short, I will build your system, unf*ck the last sytem you didn't buy from me, deploy all the software, updates and security AND I will build a website for you that I will host on my servers {that I built}, create all the artwork, program the backend {all in Valid xHTML & CSS & php} for it AND I will do it all for the Company I probably created or devolped or currently manage for you...

 

And in my freetime, I am starting another buniess on the side called .... well, I can't tell you yet. I'll release that info as soon as I can with an official site launch {after all the proper people sign their names on the dotted lines}.

 

'Til next time,

Tommy Logic

 

 

Question:

Pictures that I printed over a year ago on my HP photo printer are all fading to yellow. What would cause this, the ink or the paper quality, or both? I did go with generic paper and ink cartridge refills to avoid high cost. I need some recommendations on something that will last for years to come without making me broke.


Answer:

First of all, BACK UP YOUR PICTURES!!!
Put them on a CD, a DVD, another hard drive, an Internet storage site--> some place safe.

You answered your own question.

BOTH the ink and the paper contribute to the loss of quality on any printed material over time. I will address ink later, as it is a little more in depth of an explanation. Your question was regarding cost, so we'll get right to that.

PAPER
The first thing you should be sure of is that you are using acid-free
paper.

Bad paper, light, and gases in the air are the top contributors to yellowing in printed material. For maximum print life, you should display all prints under glass or lamination and properly store them.

QUALITY vs. COST
If it's a quality issue, then you should stick with the recommended products from your manufacturer. That is the only guarantee the printer maker will offer you, and it's extremely limited, at that.

There are a few things you can do to reduce the costs of printing your own pictures.

1. Several online photo sites will print quality pictures for a reasonably low cost.

2. Local stores are starting to offer both digital and traditional film-developing options. You will see kiosks popping up all over soon, with trained staff to assist you in printing your own digital images on their machines.

3. Research, research, research--the professional home photographers who print their own work lean toward specialized printers that use a different type of ink (for the most part).

Major manufactures do offer inkjet printers that are comparable in price to other manufacturers' and are available to home users with the benefits of the ink that is used by commercial companies.

NOTE: Most inkjet printers are dye-based and/or offer only two ink tanks (black and color). Sometimes, the upfront cost is more, but the ink is less in the long run. You should look for printers that offer individual tanks for ALL the colors and black. That way, you are replacing only one tank at a time, as opposed to a tank full of all the colors, thus reducing your costs.

INK
Understanding ink and print is something that usually only commercial users concern themselves with. But here's the skinny: There are two basic options available to the home user.

1. Dye-based inks (most common) dissolve in water like sugar. They spread out on paper and don't bond tightly. This makes them more vulnerable to light and air. That's why your pictures faded quicker. A dye-based ink will typically last only about 6 to 12 months before noticeable change takes place.

2. Pigment-based ink is the type that most commercial printers use. Basically, they form a bond, settling with the actual fibers that make up the paper so that they don't reflow (like sugar water). They are more resistant to water and light. Once the bond is formed, they tend not to smudge, and if they get hit by water or humidity, they don't dissolve the colors. You should know that commercial printers use an archival-quality ink on acid-free paper. That's why they cost more.

***REMOVED***

 

Recently I have had to change my view on Epson... Look for my new post coming soon "NEVER BUY ANOTHER EPSON PRODUCT"

Read around and see what others think, but in the end, if you are determined to print your own pictures, check on the costs of the printer vs. the cost of the ink (and type of ink). Also note that some manufacturers make models for other companies.

 

 

Question:

I am running Windows XP and continue to get a warning message from my computer telling me that my system is low on virtual memory. Can someone tell me why this is and how to fix it?

Answer:

Before you can begin troubleshooting virtual memory, you need to understand what it is and how it works.

The easy answer would be to increase your RAM, but there are several factors that could contribute to your issue, so we'll start at the top.

If you are running a Windows XP machine and typically have several programs running, I would recommend no less than 512MB of RAM. A lot of manufacturers recommend only 256MB of RAM, and I believe Microsoft says that 128MB is sufficient. I would argue both of those by saying that most users do more than one thing at a time on their computer and from personal experience, more is better in the world of RAM.

RAM vs. virtual memory:

RAM is the amount of physical memory installed on your computer. It acts like short-term memory, enabling programs to load and operate faster. When you start a program or an application, it uses a part of that memory. Most programs will require at least 32MB of RAM. If you look in your system tray (next to the time), there are usually four or more programs running (antivirus, firewall, and so on). Those background programs alone require 128MB. Then if you use any programs, such as a Web browser or a word processor, it requires more memory.

Windows makes up the difference for that amount of RAM requirement by allocating or reserving a portion of your hard drive to act as though it were RAM. That's what is referred to as virtual memory, or page file. The less RAM you have the more virtual memory is allocated. Windows typically manages that for you. As a standard rule of thumb, Windows creates a virtual memory of 1½ times your physical RAM. So if have 256MB of actual RAM, Windows pagefile (virtual memory) will equal 384MB.


Managing Virtual Memory:

Unless you are an experienced user, you should allow Windows to manage this setting for you. Your issue could arise if somehow the default settings have been changed. To begin with diagnosing your problem you should follow these steps to ensure that Windows is properly managing your Virtual Memory settings.

1. Find out how virtual memory is being managed. Rt-Click "My Computer" and choose "Properties". Click the Advanced tab, then under Performance click Settings.

2. That opens your Performance Options. Click the Advanced tab. For the "typical" home user Processor Scheduling & Memory Usage should be set to "Programs".

3. Under Virtual Memory, click the Change button.

4. That opens you Virtual Memory options. If you have more than one hard drive, make sure that your Main hard drive is selected under "Drive".

5. Under "Paging File Size for Selected Device" check the box that says System Managed Size.

6. Click Ok on all 3 boxes to close out of those settings and Restart your Computer.

Now, if you are still receiving the warning messages and you have ample RAM, you move on to the next step. You should try to eliminate as many background services as possible (all those in the system tray, next to the time, for starters). For safety reasons, you should make sure that your Anti-virus and Firewall are always running. Most of the others can be set not to run in the background by opening the program, select its settings and uncheck or disable the part that says "System Tray". On my personal computer, I only have three that load into the system tray at start up, My Antivirus, Firewall, and an Audio volume icon.


RAM Hogs:

Check your system Tray- A lot of programs that people install, like Real Player or QuickTime, or an Instant Messenger, by default want to run in the background and put an icon in your system tray even though you may not need them to always be on. Eliminating as many of those background services as possible will free up the demand on your RAM. Avoid installing programs that supposedly "Free up" your RAM. They tend to increase your pagefile size and ultimately reduce system performance.


Good Housekeeping:

You should also follow through last week’s submission, "Keeping your Windows machine running lean, clean, and mean" and be sure that you maintain for your computer… Keep Windows Up to date, Virus Free, protected with a firewall, eliminate "SpyWare", clean up your temporary files, etc. Basically, a clean computer is a happy computer.

Those are the "BEST PRACTICES" that can be recommended. Now there are other known causes that trigger the warning that your Virtual Memory is running low. To properly determine what it is would depend greatly on whether it happens when you start your computer, at shut down, or intermittently (just "out of the blue" from time to time).

You should read Microsoft’s Knowledge Base articles to see if either applies to you:

Article #315351:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;315351

Article #811153:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;811153

I hope this helps with your situation. IF you followed all the steps above and are still having issues, then I would encourage you to contact me directly so I can help you further diagnose your particular problem.

 

Best of luck,

 

 

Question:

When I click My Computer > System, a page comes up with some
information, including the name of whom the computer is
registered to. How can I change this name? I am giving my
computer to my daughter and want to put her name there
instead. I appreciate any help you can offer. Thank you.


Answer:

The name to whom the computer is registered is stored in the Windows Registry. If you are not familiar with the system Registry, use EXTREME caution when making any changes here.

However if you are familiar with the Registry, you can go straight to the Registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\Current Version and "RegisteredOwner" (Windows NT/2000/XP users).

or

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion and "RegisteredOwner" (Windows 9x/Me users)

Double-click RegisteredOwner in the right-hand pane and under Value data, change the name to whoever you'd like. Click OK and exit the Registry editor and you're done.


For those who are unfamiliar with the Windows Registry, here's how to perform this task:

When making changes to the Registry, ALWAYS back it up first; in case you make a mistake somewhere, you can restore the original Registry. Altering the Registry can be potentially dangerous and may cause serious problems to the Windows operating system. Even though this procedure is pretty simple and the risks are minimal, it's always best to play it safe. (Note: Steps 1 through 3 explain how to back up your Registry.)

1) Go to Start > Run, type regedit, and press ENTER or click OK.

2) A window opens up (this is the Registry); on the left are a series of file folders, and on the right are the values.

3) On the left side, right-click My Computer and choose Export. Type a name for your file and save it to a location you will remember in case you need to restore the backup. In a event that something does go wrong, to restore your Registry to the previous setting. Go to the location of the file you exported, double click the file and a message will appear and ask if you would like to add this information to the registry, click Yes and this will reload the previous Registry settings. Now, on to changing the registered name.

4) If the + (plus sign) next to My Computer is not already expanded, click it so that it shows a hyphen or minus sign. That will expand five folders with the + in front of them. **NOTE** From here on, clicking the plus sign will be denoted by an arrow or by hyphens, expanding the folders further.

5) Click the + in front of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Microsoft > Windows NT (for Windows 95/98/Me users, it is Windows without NT).

6) Then click the folder icon (not the +) for CurrentVersion.

***NOTE***
The entire path to the KEY for Windows NT, 2000, and XP is:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion

For Windows 95/98, and Me, the path to the KEY is:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion

7) On the right side, you will see a string named RegisteredOwner,
and your name should be beside that.

8) Double-click RegisteredOwner (not your name), and a box will open that will allow you to enter whatever name you like in the field called Value Data.

9) Make your changes and click OK.

10) (Optional step) At this point, if you want to change the organization name value in this field, simply double-click RegisteredOrganization as you did with RegisteredOwner and change the Value Data to the name you want.

11) Make your changes, click OK, and exit out of the Registry editor.

Now you can go back to your system properties and see that the name you entered is in there correctly. (Note: Some Windows OSs may require a reboot in order for the changes to take place.) Pretty simple, really. There are other prewritten programs or scripts that make this process faster and easier, but they often come with additional bloatware and risks.

If you are not comfortable with editing your Registry or would like to read more, go to Kelly's Korner (a very well-known, trusted source, just Google "KellysKorner," and it'll take you straight there). Under Cosmetic Tweaks, she has a script called Change Registered Owner and Organization. Download and run the script (note your virus warning MAY warn you, allow it to run once), and it changes the data for you. There are also programs available such as X-Teq Set-Up, but that may be too much of a tool for the job.

 

Best of luck,

 

 

Question:

I find at various times of the day or night that my computer turns on all by itself. What causes this, and how do I get it to stop? Running Windows XP Pro.


Answer:

Computer turns on by itself:

The ghost machine that turns itself on and off is a fairly common problem. When a computer mysteriously does this, it's a BIOS issue. If you are unfamiliar with the system BIOS, read a couple of the previous articles about changing BIOS settings and be sure to see the note below.

You typically enter BIOS by restarting your computer and immediately pressing the Delete key repeatedly until you enter the BIOS Utility Screen (usually in blue). The fix is fairly easy.

1. Once in BIOS, go to Power Options (refer to the owner's manual if you do not know where it is).

2. Scroll down to Wake On LAN and/or Wake On Ring and change them to Disable. This will prevent Scroll down to Wake on LAN and / or Wake on Ring and Change them to DISABLE
This will prevent the computer from being able to come out of its power down mode whenever the phone rings or if LAN activity occurs (ie: you have another computer in the house on a network and someone logs on to the network from there).

Press F10 and choose YES to save settings and exit. Your system restarts and the problem should be fixed.

NOTE: USE EXTREME CAUTION in BIOS. Changing the incorrect settings may cause your computer to not be able to reboot or operate. 

Best of luck,

 

 

Question:

I run Windows XP Pro and am experiencing a couple of problems with my computer. I use Windows Update regularly. After doing an update, I usually defrag the hard drive. However, I now receive a message saying that the hard drive cannot be
defragged. What is the cause of this, and how can I solve the problem?

Answer:

Defrag issues:

The defrag problem can have numerous possible causes. Also, there's more than one issue going on here (and a lot of the answer depends on how your system was built to begin with). So, we’ll tackle these problems one at a time. A couple of scenarios could cause you to be unable to defrag your hard drive, and each of them is very specific.

1. The main key here is that you said this happened after you did an update. The best way to see if it was that particular Windows XP Hotfix is to uninstall the actual Hotfix that caused the issue. To achieve this, go to Start > Setting > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs and scroll down to find the Hotfix that is under suspicion and uninstall it, then reboot the computer and try to run defrag again.

If you aren’t sure which one it was, you will have to do this process multiple times until the computer is back to normal. You can always go back to Windows Update and download them again if you inadvertently removed one that was not causing the issue.

NOTE: It is a BEST PRACTICE to download updates one at a time to avoid this issue in the future. Be sure to read the known issues with Windows Service Pack 2, before you update to that. Windows provides a lot of information at this webpage: WINDOWS SERVICE PACK 2:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;windowsxpsp2

2. Another common issue that causes you not to be able to defrag a hard drive is if you have “ bad sectors” on your hard drive. Bad Sectors are areas on the actual hard disk that is either physically failing or has bad data written to it. It used to be detected & fixed by Scandisk on previous versions of Windows, but has been replaced by “Checkdisk” on Windows XP.


CHECKDISK: Goto My Computer, Right-Click the hard drive you want to check, select Properties > Tools then under Error Checking click the “Check Now” button. A dialogue box opens, select Fix File System Errors and click Start. This can take a while, so be patient.

NOTE: If the drive that you want to fix is the system drive, there will be open files on the drive. You will see a dialog box announcing that the utility needs exclusive access to operate and can't gain that access unless you re-start your computer. Click Yes.
XP will re-start in character mode, meaning that you can't do anything other than run the utility. Unless you strike any key within ten seconds of seeing the restricted boot message, Check Disk will run. After Check Disk has finished, you will either see Disk Check Complete (no errors) or a list of errors and repairs.
IF for some reason you are unable to perform this task, boot into SAFE MODE (Reboot > Press F8 repeatedly, immediately after restarting until a screen opens giving the option to boot to safe mode).

3. If you have upgraded your computer from a previous version of Windows (ie: ME or Win98) and did not choose to convert your filing system to a NTFS, then you are limited by the space that Windows needs to complete the job. If your hard drive has less than 15% space remaining then you would run into this issue.
If you would like to convert your system to NTFS, Microsoft provides a utility in Windows XP and a detailed explication on the procedure here:
Microsoft KB Article: 314097 http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314097


Best of luck,

Tommy Logic

tommylogic.news@gmail.com