In the past year and a half or so I’ve repaired over 300 computers. In this series I’m describing the very repair tools that I use daily. If you would like, you can see the entire series by following these links: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8, part 9.
Part 10: I still carry around several CDs containing tools for various computer repair tasks, but not nearly as many as I used to. Slowly but surely the disks are being replaced by tools that I have on my USB flash drive. How cool is it to go to a clients house with all of your software repair tools on a 3″ flash drive? How many other repair services can boast of a tool kit like that?
In the next few posts in this series I’ll show you the repair tools that I have on my USB flash drives and tell you what they are used for. At the moment I carry around six USB drives so let’s take a look some programs on flash drive #1:
1) BlueScreenView: Diagnosing a BSOD is never easy. BlueScreenView scans all your minidump files created during ‘blue screen of death’ crashes, and displays the information about all crashes in one table. For each crash, BlueScreenView displays the minidump filename, the date/time of the crash, the basic crash information displayed in the blue screen (Bug Check Code and 4 parameters), and the details of the driver or module that possibly caused the crash (filename, product name, file description, and file version).
For each crash displayed in the upper pane, you can view the details of the device drivers loaded during the crash in the lower pane. BlueScreenView also mark the drivers that their addresses found in the crash stack, so you can easily locate the suspected drivers that possibly caused the crash. A very useful tool indeed!
2) Complete Internet Repair: This tool has “saved my bacon” more than once. Complete Internet Repair does exactly what it says. It attempts to repair everything internet related, including networking problems. Rizone Complete Internet Repair can also be used to repair the Windows Event Log Service if you’re having issues with it. All you need to do is click onFile > Event Viewer… Complete Internet Repair will detect any errors with the Event Log and will attempt to repair it.
3) HP Printer Installation Diagnostic Utility: I see a lot of HP printers. The HP Printer Installation Diagnostic Utility was created to help users troubleshoot and correct many common problems on Windows-based computers that can prevent printing.
4) LinkFile Fix: This is another great XP program from Doug Knox. Link files may be associated with malware and virus programs, so deleting them off the machine becomes a top priority. LinkFile Fix is available free for download. This tool is a registry update that restores the original link file associations. Once this tool has been run, the link files should be easily deleted, using the DEL key or right-click and “Delete.”
5) McAfee Consumer Products Removal Tool: Whenever I see McAfee on a machine I take it off, but many times it will not come off cleanly. Running the McAfee Consumer Product Removal tool (MCPR.exe) removes all 2005 – 2011 versions of McAfee consumer products. This tool works on Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7, and will completely remove all traces of the dreaded McAfee.
Professor Randy says:A computer repair technician without great tools is like milk without cookies! Pointless! Fill your flash drive up with great tools and you’ll have the solution to the problem in the palm of your hand!
Wireless printer won’t connect? My computer repair partner came across this situation the other day, and this is what he found:
A client said that she could not print to her wireless printer. My partner Dale checked all kinds of things – settings, network setup, Internet connection, etc., but nothing seemed to be wrong! He finally decided to reinstall the printer and see if that would fix the issue. Just before the reinstall the client mentioned that she had recently taken the laptop with her on a trip and that it had printed just fine before she left. So, my partner looked at the available wireless network list and found that when the client had returned from her trip, she had connected to a neighbor’s wireless network instead of to her own wireless network.
(Windows Xp has something called “Wireless Zero Configuration” which will automatically connect to the network with the strongest signal. Not a bad strategy on paper. But what if two Access Points are broadcasting the same SSID and are not on the same network? WZC will connect to the stronger one, whether you want it to or not. Which might hook you up to the wrong network, possibly interrupting an existing session with your desired network, or not allowing your wireless printer to connect).
Of course, the printer was on her (the clients) network, and would not print when connected to her neighbors wireless network. When my partner changed the laptop to the “correct” network, the printer started “printing away” just fine!
Professor Randy learns a great tip from his partner: When people return from traveling, make it a point to see that they are connected to their own wireless network (and not their neighbors).
Professor Randy quotes Henry David Thoreau:“If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however, measured or far away”.
In the past year and a half or so I’ve repaired over 300 computers. In this series I’m describing the very repair tools that I use daily. If you would like, you can see the entire series by following these links: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7, part 8.
Without question, my most versatile computer repair tool is the Hiren’s BootCD. This incredible bootable CD contains almost every computer repair software tool known to man! How would you like to have one piece of equipment that contained the following tools:
Hiren’s BootCD is simply a “dream come true” for a computer repair technician. Version 15.0 was just released a couple of weeks ago and it is just awesome. The bootable CD is great, but even better is having Hiren’s on a bootable flash drive. It’s almost unimaginable having all of those tools on a 3″ flash drive, but it is true.
I just put the Hiren’s BootCD on a SanDisk 1GB flash drive and now I have a complete computer repair kit in my pocket! Since the flash drive is bootable, the computers operating system doesn’t even have to be functioning in order for repairs to be made. How cool is that?
This is the video that I followed to install Hiren’s BootCD on a flash drive. Great stuff. Enjoy your tool kit!
Professor Randy says:Be more efficient in computer repair by using the best tools available. It just doesn’t get any better than Hiren’s BootCD on a USB flash drive!
Everybody uses batteries, especially type AA. Which ones are the best? This article taken from Consumer Reports will give you some solid, basic answers.
AAs are still the most widely sold battery type, used in many toys, radios, flashlights, and remote controls, and in some digital cameras, though more of those are using tiny rechargeables. We tested nonrechargeable lithium, nickel oxhydroxide, and alkaline types.
The longest-lasting was Energizer Advanced Lithium. It took 809 photos before dying; the quickest to die, Walgreens Supercell alkaline, took just 133.
Take manufacturer claims with a grain of salt. Duracell Ultra PowerPix, for example, lasted for 174 shots, which is indeed “up to 200 photos,” as claimed—but any number under 200 meets that boast.
randythetechprofessor.com
Rechargeable batteries are a greener choice than any of the tested types. In past tests, precharged rechargeables from the major manufacturers provided about 300 shots out of the box and about 400 shots on their subsequent charge.
If your town doesn’t provide a way to recycle non-rechargeable batteries, it’s OK to toss them in the trash. To find out where to recycle rechargeable batteries, go to www.call2recycle.org.
Bottom line
Lithium batteries took more photos than the other types, so they don’t need to be changed as often. The best performer, Energizer Advanced, costs $5.40 per pair but just 33 cents per 50 shots. The top alkaline battery, Duracell Ultra Advanced, costs $3.65 per pair but ends up costing 70 cents per 50 shots. Use lithiums in high-drain devices such as cameras and alkalines in low-drain devices such as remote controls. For toys that are used a lot, consider high-capacity rechargeables (2,350 milliamp-hours or more).
Safety tips for nonrechargeables
• Use identical batteries of the same chemistry, brand, and age.
• Don’t get batteries wet, expose them to fire, or pierce them; they could explode.
• Don’t carry or store loose batteries next to other metal objects.
• Stop using a battery that feels hot, changes color, or emits an odor.
Professor Randy says:Over time the cost of batteries adds up to a lot of money! Be smart about batteries by doing some basic investigation like reading the above article. Basic battery knowledge could save you hundreds in the long run.
In the past year and a half or so I’ve repaired over 300 computers. In this series I’m describing the very repair tools that I use daily. If you would like, you can see the entire series by following these links: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7.
How would you like to carry around a 5″ USB flash drive that holds as many as fifty different antivirus rescue disks and system tools? Shardana Antivirus Rescue Disk Utility (SARDU) combines antivirus rescue disks and system tools (like partitioning programs or boot managers) in one bootable .ISO image. This gives you the means to run multiple antivirus rescue disks and other system tools from a USB drive. It is one of the coolest repair tools since “sliced bread”, and a repair tool that I can’t live without!
SARDU can be downloaded directly from the developer’s website here. The initial software does not ship with any of the antivirus rescue disks and only a couple of basic system tools. You have to then choose which programs (as .ISO images) that you want to download and then install.
SARDU will then offer to create a single .ISO image which can be burned to CD or DVD, or to copy the files to a USB device and make that device bootable. What an incredibly handy tool!
I have installed SARDU on a 16GB flash drive. I go to a clients house, boot up their machine from the USB flash drive (go into the BIOS first and change the boot order of the computer to USB. Some older computers will not boot from a USB device). I then choose the repair tool that I need and fix their computer (assuming that the problem is software related). It just doesn’t get any better than this!
Professor Randy says:Learn to use the great tools of our computer repair trade! SARDU is definitely one of them, and I highly recommend that you give it a try!
In the past year and a half or so I’ve repaired over 300 computers. In this series I’m describing the very repair tools that I use daily. If you would like, you can see the entire series by following these links: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6.
I just flat out can’t repair computers without bootable rescue disks! Some computers are so badly infected by viruses and other malicious software that you have to attack the infection from outside of the actual computer hard drive. The best thing to do is to boot from a rescue disk and scan the computer from the CD drive.
There are many good rescue CDs available, but here are the two that I most use (and free). I absolutely would be lost without them!
This rescue CD is just the greatest! Download the .iso file and burn to a CD. Boot from the CD, update, and scan. The scan will run (it takes a while) and will identify any malicious software that it finds. When the scan is finished you can choose whether to clean or quarantine the infections. Incredibly effective and thorough – once the infections are removed you will be able to boot up the machine normally.
Once you burn the Trinity Rescue Kit .iso to a CD you have a veritable gold mine on your hands! The disk has all kinds of recovery and repair modules to choose from. You can clone your hard drive, scan for viruses, reset your password, retrieve lost data, clean up junk files, and much more. I mostly use it for the antivirus scans but it’s like a swiss army knife of recovery and repair! I don’t leave home without it.
Professor Randy says: At times you have to attack a repair problem not from “within” but from “without” the machine. Rescue disks are the best! They will “save your bacon” when nothing else will. Burn a couple of these to a CD and you will have the tools to succeed as a computer repair tech.
An elderly couple asked me to order them a new computer to replace their nine year old Compaq desktop (Windows XP, pentium 4 cpu, 512 MB of RAM). I ordered them a brand new Lenovo Essential H405 7723-1MU. They were extremely excited and I was eager to help them set everything up so that they would truly have an enjoyable computing experience.
The computer arrived and I went through my usual set up routine (uninstall crap software, install the necessary good software, get all of the important Microsoft updates, set up their email account, transfer personal data from the old computer, install a good free antivirus program, adjust their display, etc.). I took the computer to their house and it was in pristine condition: dual core processor, 2GB of RAM, 500GB hard drive, Windows 7 64bit, the works. Man what a change from the old Compaq! I turned the machine on for the couple and they were thrilled. I installed their printer/scanner, their wireless mouse and keyboard, and finally a Logitech C210 webcam. I showed the couple how to use their new computer and they were on cloud nine! I was ready to leave.
After one final update I attempted to shut down the machine but it would not shutdown! After about three or four minutes of the spinning blue circle, the machine finally blue screened and then rebooted itself. I immediately figured it was some kind of driver problem and I tried all kind of fixes but to no avail. I went through my whole “bag of tricks” but nothing! The brand new Lenovo continued to blue screen upon shutting down and would then reboot itself immediately. After over three hours at the clients house I was extremely frustrated and more than a bit perplexed.
Then I found it!
The Logitech USB webcam software had installed its own microphone drivers and the Lenovo Realtek sound card software of course had its own microphone drivers installed too. Both devices were enabled and there was a major conflict! I disabled the Realtek microphone recording device and lo and behold – no more blue screen and no more reboot. The machine shut down in normal fashion and behaved just like a new computer should. My clients think that I’m a genius!!
Professor Randy says:If you’re going to fix computers you must learn to be patient and persistent. Two of the fruits of these two characteristics are self respect and customer respect.
Hello everyone,
