Check Your Surge Protector(s)!

Check Your Surge Protector(s)!

We had a service call today that reminded us that the surge protector is an incredibly important piece of your computing hardware.

Our customer called complaining that she could not connect to the Internet. Apparently her husband had been on the phone for hours with Verizon and Dell attempting to solve the problem.

Once onsite, a quick look at the surge protector showed a very dimly lit switch light. Additionally, the router lights were all blinking wildly, including the power and Internet lights which should have been solid green.

After replacing the router and surge protector, there still was no Internet connection – unable to assign an IP address to the computer.

The next step was replacing the NIC (network interface card) card which finished the repair – connection to the Internet was successful.

Evidently, the surge protector had failed and allowed the router and NIC card to be zapped.

It’s cheap insurance to inspect and replace defective surge protectors on a regular basis.

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Laptop Keyboard Woes

Laptop Keyboard Woes

Had a panicked call from one of our law firm clients today – seems that he spilled coffee on his old Dell Inspiron 1100 laptop while commuting to work yesterday.

He had the presence of mind to immediately remove the battery and gave it a day to dry out but the keyboard didn’t respond when he tried to boot up today.

Since he was leaving on a trip in a couple of days, he needed it repaired ASAP.

Fortunately, the keyboard for this model also fits many other Dells and we had purchased six off of eBay on a great deal several months ago and still had two left.

After picking up the laptop, our bench technician disassembled the machine and cleaned up the interior residue with a lint free cloth dampened with distilled water.

The laptop was then re-assembled and a new keyboard installed.

Our client was extremely lucky – the computer booted up with no problems and has now been running for over six hours with no apparent issues.

The key to the success of this repair was our client’s immediate removal of the battery after the spill.

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Add Additional Clocks to Vista System Tray

Add Additional Clocks to Vista System Tray

In Windows Vista, you can add additional clocks to the system tray.

Click the clock, and then click Date and Time Settings.

Click the Additional Clocks tab.

You can add one or two additional clocks to the tray and select their time zones.

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Thumb Drives - Great Technology!

Thumb Drives - Great Technology!

The ability to easily move data from PC to PC with minimal inconvenience is just another benefit computers have brought to the current business world.

Over the past few years, the different options to save and move data have multiplied and changed dramatically. Usually the floppy disk (with it's 1.2 MB limitation), ZIP drives, CD-R's & CD-RW's, and even tape backups are the common ways to move data on non-networked PC's.

The latest innovation, the USB Removable Flash Memory (Thumb Drive, Key Drive, Flash Drive, USB Drive, portable storage) brings a whole new meaning to easy transport of data. These USB 2.0 compliant devices are small enough to fit on a key ring or carry in your shirt pocket.

As a way to protect sensitive information, the security of one of these drives can't be beat. It's in your pocket!

Their size belies a huge data storage volume; the current sizes start at 16MB and go up to 8GB. The pricing on these devices is steadily falling, making the purchase of one of these handy drives almost a must have item.

Check out the accessories at your local computer store or go online to get a really good deal.

For very little cost you can now conveniently move data between PC's just as easily as accessing the data on your internal hard drive.

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Router Won’t Connect to the Internet

Router Won’t Connect to the Internet

We had three service calls this week that had the same complaint – the customers were unable to connect to the Internet through their router (2 cable & 1 DSL).

The weather this week has included extremely high winds; power outages have occurred throughout the area due to downed trees and power lines.

The first customer had partially diagnosed his problem by bypassing his router and connecting directly to his DSL modem – successfully!

This made our job easy. After logging into the router setup screen, the status showed a good Internet connection with Verizon.

This meant the user name and password were correct but since there was no connection through the router for the Local Area Network (LAN), we went into the setup screen and cloned the MAC (Media Access Control) address of the desktop PC that is connected to the router.

Voila! – LAN now connected to the Internet.

Apparently during one of the power outages, the router lost the cloned MAC address of the desktop PC and then could no longer connect the LAN to the Internet.

On the other two service calls, one had the identical problem but the other had a dead router – both problems probably related to power outages even though all were connected to surge protectors.

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Win the War with Spyware! – Updated

Win the War with Spyware! – Updated

Our free eBook, Win the War with Spyware!, has been updated with the latest strategies and tools for cleaning up an infected computer and protecting it from further problems.

This valuable resource was written by Mike Burstein, the President of Dominion Repair Service, Inc., who has many years of experience dealing with the dangers of malware on computers and the Internet.

Viruses, worms, Trojans, spyware, adware and malware all cause your computer to run slow, crash, perform as a bot for email spammers, log your key strokes in order to steal passwords and a host of other undesirable problems.

Using the free tools in our eBook will allow you to clean up your infected computer and by installing the free, real time protection tools recommended in the eBook, you should be able to surf the Internet in relative safety.

To download the free eBook - Win the War with Spyware! - click here.

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Remote Support for Seniors!

Remote Support for Seniors!

Our afternoon list of remote support calls included an 80 year old senior in Florida.

Like many seniors, she really surprised me with her mental sharpness – never would have realized how old she was if I hadn’t been told.

Her Adobe Reader program had become corrupted and she had attempted to remove it and then reinstall the program.

Unfortunately, the reinstall halted on a common Adobe error and she was stuck. She was panic stricken since she is an author and was expecting her latest galley proofs to arrive from her publisher in PDF file format.

All ended well after we installed and ran Microsoft’s Windows Installer CleanUp Utility ( http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301) and then rebooted and installed the latest version of Adobe’s free Reader program.

Since the session only took about 20 minutes, her charge was our minimum $45 – she was extremely happy with our remote service and said we didn’t charge enough!

Dominon Repair Service Inc

How to Enable the Hidden Administrator Account in Vista

How to Enable the Hidden Administrator Account in Vista

In earlier versions of Windows, the built-in administrator account is enabled by default. In Vista, it's disabled. This is a better security practice.

However, there are times when you might need to enable it (for instance, if you inadvertently removed administrative privileges from all user accounts and now can't perform administrative tasks).

Here's how to enable it:

Click Start and type cmd in the Search box to find the cmd.exe program.

Right click cmd.exe and click Run As Administrator.

At the command prompt, type net users administrator /active:yes

Press Enter

Log off and now you can log back on with the Administrator account. When first activated, it will not have a password.

You should assign the Administrator account a password and/or deactivate it when you've finished using it.

To deactivate it, repeat the steps above but type net users administrator /active:no

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Memory & Windows Vista

Memory & Windows Vista

Today we helped a longtime client who had been complaining about his new slow running computers that came with Windows Vista Home Premium installed.

He had purchased two inexpensive Dell computers, a desktop and a laptop, that were not meeting his performance expectations.

After checking both computers, each had 512 megabytes of memory which would account for the complaints.

We increased the memory in each computer to 2 gigabytes and wonder of wonders – they actually performed to our client’s satisfaction.

Dell certainly doesn’t do their customers any favor by selling cheap computers that aren’t configured to operate at a reasonable performance level.

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Happy Birthday Windows Vista

Happy Birthday Windows Vista

January 30th, 2008, marked the one-year anniversary of Windows Vista general availability. Vista has taken its’ share of criticism (especially from Apple TV commercials) but we’ve gotten used to it!

It’s not recommended to upgrade your older Windows XP computer to Vista but if you are buying a new computer that was built for Vista, you will probably love it.

Check your printer, scanner, etc. manufacturers’ web sites to be certain that Vista drivers are available for your peripherals. Otherwise, you will end up spending more money than you originally anticipated.

Make sure that your new computer has the following minimum specs:

• Dual core processor
• 2 GB of memory (more is better)
• On desktops – a video card with a minimum 256MB memory and certified Vista Capable
• For home use – choose Vista Ultimate or Premium
• For business use – choose Vista Business or Ultimate
• Lots of memory – again!

Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista will be released this month. If you are running Vista, be sure to download and install this Service Pack as soon as it’s available.

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Windows Home Server – Again!

Windows Home Server – Again!

Microsoft’s Windows Home Server (WHS) is also getting popular for the micro-business niche – ten or less computers.

We installed our second Home Server network this month in a commercial location – this time in a doctor’s office with six computers. Previously, they had a peer to peer network with no file or printer sharing.

The advantages are too numerable to list all of them but the highlights are:

• Automated full backup of each computer on the network each night
• Shared folders on the Windows Home Server that allow common files to be shared across the network
• Server can be used as a print server
• Remote access from anywhere on the Internet to any of the computers on the WHS network
• Online backup service is available to provide off site backup of data
• Minimal server maintenance once the system is set up

Looks like Microsoft really hit a home run with this software – for either home or office use with 10 or less computers!

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Laptop Display Problems

Laptop Display Problems

The increasing popularity of laptop/notebook computers is keeping us busy with repair work.

Today we had two laptops with display problems.

After testing the displays, it was determined on both that the inverter boards for the LCD screens were bad.

A quick search on eBay found replacement inverter boards for less than $10 – both from Hong Kong.

These orders usually take a week to arrive – for a fraction of the cost of purchasing the parts from a US based supplier.

Both customers were very happy to hear that the total bill will be around $100.

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Living with Vista

Living with Vista

The constant negative reviews regarding Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system continue with an unending stream of unflattering articles.

While we aren’t great fans of the latest OS, with a few tweaks, it can be a reliable, secure performer.

1. The unfamiliar screen interface of Vista can be easily changed to “Windows Classic” by the following steps:

Change the menu system by:
• right clicking on the “Start” button
• Select properties
• Select the button for “Classic Start Menu”

Change the desktop by:
• Right click any where on the desktop screen
• Select "Windows Colors and Appearance"
• Select “Windows Classic”

2. If you find the User Account Control annoying with the constant dialog permission boxes, you can turn this feature off (only recommended if you are an experienced computer user) by the following:
• Click on the “Start” button
• Select “Settings”
• Select “Control Panel”
• In the upper left hand corner, click on “Classic View”
• Select “User Accounts”
• Choose your user account
• Select “Turn User Account Control on or off”
• Uncheck the box “Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer”
• Click “OK”

3. There can be many problems with your peripheral devices, i.e., printers, scanners, phones, mp3 players and a multitude of other tools.

• If the manufacturer of your device has not written a driver that is compatible with Vista, more than likely you will have to buy a compatible replacement device. This alone has created many of the negative comments regarding Vista but really has nothing to do with Microsoft – these manufacturers had 2+ years lead time to write device drivers but chose not to, apparently with the intent of forcing users to buy new products that would be compatible with Vista.
• Be sure to check the manufacturer’s website for updated Vista drivers


Keep the operating system up to date by enabling Windows Automatic Updates.

These easy tweaks can remove a lot of the confusion and frustration with the Windows Vista operating system.

Dominon Repair Service Inc

External Drive – ALERT!

External Drive – ALERT!

Backing up your data to an external USB drive is an excellent, inexpensive solution to protect your files.

If you intend to share files from your external drive between multiple computers on your home network, stay away from Western Digital My Book drives.

Unfortunately, Western Digital has decided to be the Digital Rights Management police by creating software that does not allow sharing of any avi, divx, mp3, mpeg, and many other files on its network connected devices; due to “unverifiable media license authentication”.

This means that legally purchased music, videos, etc. cannot be shared from Western Digital My Book external USB drives with other computers on your home network.

Due to this intrusion on your valid right to stream your legally purchased multimedia files across your home network, we strongly recommend that you purchase another brand for your external drive requirements – do not buy Western Digital My Book.

Dominon Repair Service Inc

New Client!

New Client!

Landed a nice sized new client today – a non-profit with a server and twenty-six work stations.

Our initial onsite survey uncovered a frightening problem – neither the server nor any of the work stations had either virus or spyware protection.

Since we are an authorized reseller of Grisoft’s products, we promptly sold our new client the network version of anti-virus and spyware protection.

All of the work stations have Internet access but the cleanup was minimal – only a few computers were infected.

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Windows Home Server Released - WOW!

Windows Home Server Released - WOW!

The long anticipated release of Windows Home Server (WHS) occurred on October 1.

Anyone with two or more computers in their home or small office is a prime candidate for this incredibly useful software. The Home Server allows up to ten computers to join the network.

There are a host of functions that are performed by WHS including daily backups of all networked computers, sharing of files, music, pictures and video, remote access to any of the member computers from any computer in the world with Internet access, media streaming and many other features.

If you don't regularly backup your personal data, i.e., documents, pictures, video, etc, WHS is an elegant and simple solution to this dangerous oversight.

The software is designed for the average home user to setup and configure.

For a quick overview, this Home Server video provides a nice description of the various components.

A number of manufacturers are now selling Home Servers with the WHS software pre-installed. Prices vary but the underlying WHS operating system is the answer to most home computer users major problems and complaints.

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Important Petition

How To Turn Off XP Clean Up Unused Desktop Icons

How To Turn Off XP Clean Up Unused Desktop Icons

Every couple of months, Windows XP pops up a balloon message stating that you have unused desktop icons and offers to place them in a folder for you.

If you would like to disable this annoying nag, follow these instructions:

• Right click your desktop and select “Properties”


• Select the “Desktop” tab and click on “Customize Desktop”


• At the bottom of the dialog box, uncheck “Run Desktop Cleanup Wizard every 60 days” and click “OK” twice

Dominon Repair Service Inc

The Computer Doc

Another Dell Power Supply

Another Dell Power Supply

Seem to be running into an epidemic of Dell desktop power supplies dying just after the warranty expired.

This one was a Dell Dimension 4600 and it just hit it’s thirteenth month of existence - unfortunately, the warranty was twelve months…...

Over the past six months, we have experienced the same power supply failure just past the warranty date on eleven other Dell desktop computers – really strange.

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Getting Ready to Go Back to School!

Getting Ready to Go Back to School

In our last newsletter, we advised our customers to get their children’s computer ready for school now rather than wait until the day before they go back to school!

Every year we are flooded with last minute requests to repair problem computers the day before the child is leaving for school – we just are not able to handle the volume.

The usual spyware and virus problems are being found – usually from some type of file sharing program used to download music and/or videos.

If your child is leaving for school soon, check their computer now!Dominon Repair Service Inc

Make Your Own Icons - Windows X

Make Your Own Icons - Windows XP

It's shockingly easy to create your own icons in Windows XP.

Let's do it:

Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, and then click Paint.

On the Image menu, click Attributes. Type 32 for both the Width and Height of the document, and make sure that Pixels is selected under Units. Click OK to create a new 32x32-pixel document: the size of an icon.















Now add type, color, or do whatever you'd like to your image.
You can shrink photos (headshots work best) to 32x32 and simply paste them into a Paint document.

When you're finished, open the File menu and click Save As. Use the dialog box to choose where you want to save your file, then give it a name followed by ".ico" (without the quotes), and click Save. (The extension ".ico" tells Windows that it's an icon file.)

You just created an icon! Now you can change any shortcut or folder to your own icon—just browse to it on your hard drive.

Dominon Repair Service Inc

The Computer Doc

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hooray for Dell Support

Hooray for Dell Support

Picked up a Dell Dimension desktop from a customer who had attempted to use Dell’s phone support center to fix it.

After three hours on the phone with four different level support specialists (at a per incident cost of $99), Dell support’s final determination was that the customer needed to put the Recovery Disk in the computer and format the hard drive for a clean install.

Fortunately, the customer refused since she did not want to loose all of her data on the drive (no backup - of course).

In our shop, we booted the computer into Safe mode and selected a Recovery Point from three days previous – rebooted the computer and was mighty glad to see the user icons on successful boot.

Ran a couple of spyware scans and removed a large number of malware entries.

Took about thirty minutes total but our minimum labor charge is one hour – still a bargain compared to Dell’s pathetic support.

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Remote Router Support

Remote Router Support

Received a call from a home user who had just set up a home wireless network using a Linksys router and cable modem for the Internet connection.

His complaint was the signal was being dropped by the router continually – both a wired desktop and a wireless notebook.

We had him launch our remote software from his desktop computer and managed to get logged into his router despite several dropped connections.

A quick look at the setups revealed that the Pnp protocol was disabled. I immediately enabled Pnp and restarted the router.

Problem solved – no more dropped connections. Can’t beat remote support!



Dominon Repair Service Inc

Windows XP Boot Loop

Windows XP Boot Loop

We had an interesting trouble ticket from one of our commercial clients today.

They had a computer running Windows XP Professional that was stuck in a boot loop.

After using a Bart PE boot CD to run virus and spyware scans, we determined that wasn’t the problem.

Then we booted up the computer using the XP Pro CD and went to the Recovery Console.

At the Console, we ran CHKDSK /r which found and corrected several errors.

Rebooted the computer and it ran just fine!

Another ticket closed out successfully.

Dominon Repair Service Inc

How to Fix Problems with Blank Email Messages

How to Fix Problems with Blank Email Messages

We hear from readers now and then about receiving messages that are blank. There are a number of different things that can cause this problem.

For example, it can happen when you use Outlook Express as your email client and your Temp and/or Temporary Internet folders get too full. To fix the problem, do the following:

Open Internet Explorer. Click the Tools menu, then select Internet Options.
Click the General tab.
Click Delete Files. Click OK and then click OK again

Open Windows Explorer. In the left pane, expand the partition on which Windows is installed.
Expand the Windows folder.
Expand the Temp folder.
In the right pane, select all files.
Click File | Delete, right click and select Delete, or press the Delete key.
Click Yes when asked if you want to delete the files.


Dominon Repair Service Inc

The Computer Doc

More Remote Support

More Remote Support

Nice easy day  - administered several client servers remotely.

Setup new users and created a number of new policies.

Even cleaned up a couple of spyware infested PC’s.

Wish every day was like this!

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Intermittent Reboot Problem

Intermittent Reboot Problem

Had an interesting problem on a SOHO HP computer today.

The customer had just gotten his computer back from a local big box store – it was there for four weeks with an intermittent reboot problem. They charged him $200 for diagnosis and parts and claimed they had replaced a defective power supply.

After getting his computer home and using it for less than ten minutes, the reboots started again.

Fortunately, his neighbor suggested that he call us.

After testing the power supply and determining that it was within specs, I checked the memory chips (two 256MB modules) and noted that the end of one didn’t appear to be fully seated.

After removing and reinstalling both memory modules, the computer ran without any more reboot problems.

I suggested that our new customer take his bill back to the big box store and demand a refund – good luck!

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Disable Internet Explorer's Downloading Capability

Disable Internet Explorer's Downloading Capability

Do you support Windows users who insist on downloading files from the Web via Internet Explorer--regardless of what you tell them?

If so, you'll be glad to know that you can disable Internet Explorer's ability to download files by tweaking the Security settings.

To disable IE's downloading capability, follow these steps:

• Launch Internet Explorer


• From the Tools menu, select Internet Options


• On the Security tab, select the Internet Web content zone (if it isn't already selected), and click the Custom Level button


• Scroll through the Settings list box, and locate the Downloads heading


• Under File Download, select the Disable radio button


• Click OK twice

The next time the user attempts to download a file, Internet Explorer will display a warning message stating that the current security settings do not allow the downloading of files.

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Outstanding Refurbs

Outstanding Refurbs

Set up a dozen refurbished HP Pavilion P4’s today for one of our commercial clients.

Every time we have a client buy refurbs from Computer Geeks, we always get the same response – “they look brand new!”

All twelve refurbs came with Windows XP Pro preinstalled. Setup and configuration into the SBS2003 network was a snap.

Glad to be rid of the old Windows 98 machines that these PC’s replaced.

This client usually had several Monday morning trouble tickets – should see them drastically reduced!

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Monday Trouble Tickets

Monday Trouble Tickets

Typical Monday morning – nine online trouble tickets waiting to start the week.

I think some gremlin must make the rounds of our commercial clients on the weekends unplugging computers, disconnecting printer cables, shutting down circuit breakers and a thousand other inane ills.

But at least we’re needed!

Dominon Repair Service Inc

The Computer Doc

How to Join Windows Media Center 2005 to a Domain

How to Join Windows Media Center 2005 to a Domain

How to enable your Windows Media Center Edition 2005 install to join a Windows domain – only to be used by experienced users.

You will need to use Reg edit in Windows XP Media Center 2005 to unlock the previously "greyed out" join domain option. This method is pretty complex but confirmed to work.This will allow you to leave and join domains within Windows Media Center Edition 2005.

1. 01 - Insert Windows XP CD.


2. 02 - Start > Run > X:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons


3. 03 - (replace X: with the appropiate drive letter)


4. 04 - Acknowledge prompt by clicking 'Yes'


5. 05 - Skip updating process by clicking 'Cancel' or by pressing 'Esc'


6. 06 - After installation, acknowledge success msg. by clicking 'Ok'


7. 07 - Start > Shutdown > Restart


8. 08 - At boot menu, select 'Microsoft Windows Recovery Console'


9. 09 - Select proper installation to log onto (default: 1) and press 'Enter'


10. 10 - (If prompted, enter Administrator password and press 'Enter')


11. 11 - Type (without quotes) and press enter: 'cd system32\config'


12. 12 - Type (without quotes) and press enter: 'copy SYSTEM C:\'


13. 13 - Type (without quotes) and press enter: exit


14. 14 - At boot menu, select 'Windows XP Media Center Edition'


15. 15 - Start > Run > Type: 'regedit' and press enter


16. 16 - Click on 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE'


17. 17 - File > Load Hive...


18. 18 - Browse and select C:\SYSTEM


19. 19 - Specify key name 'BANANA' and click OK


20. 20 - Expand: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > BANANA > WPA > MedCtrUpg


21. 21 - On the right-hand side, double-click IsLegacyMCE value


22. 22 - Change selected value to 1 and click Ok. (THAT IS NOT AN L!)


23. 23 - Click on BANANA subkey (under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE)


24. 24 - File > Unload Hive. Confirm.


25. 25 - Start > Shutdown > Restart


26. 26 - At boot menu, select 'Microsoft Windows Recovery Console'


27. 27 - Select proper installation to log onto (default: 1) and press 'Enter'


28. 28 - (If prompted, enter Administrator password and press 'Enter')


29. 29 - Type (without quotes) and press enter: 'cd \'


30. 30 - Type (without quotes) and press enter: 'copy SYSTEM C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM'


31. 31 - (Yes, you want to overwrite - Go ahead and do it)


32. 32 - Type (without quotes) and press enter: 'del SYSTEM'


33. 33 - Type (without quotes) and press enter: 'exit'


34. 34 - At boot menu, select 'Windows XP Media Center Edition'


35. 35 - Join domain.

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Notebook Hinge Problems

Notebook Hinge Problems

Picked up a Compaq Presario notebook two weeks ago with a broken lid hinge.

After disassembling the LCD from the body, the broken hinge turned out to be made from pot metal – poorly cast to boot. Certainly wasn’t designed for heavy-duty use.

After checking the price direct from HP (outrageous!), eBay saved the day – bought two hinges plus the chrome-plated covers for less than $25.00.

I put the notebook back together today, replacing both hinges.

Works great and out customer was extremely pleased with the reasonable repair cost.


Dominon Repair Service Inc

More Remote Support Tales

More Remote Support Tales

Another day with seven remote support sessions scheduled.

Most were spyware/virus removal jobs with one router security check mixed in.

What a great way to fix computers – had three simultaneous sessions running at one point!

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Hard Drive Upgrade

Hard Drive Upgrade

Cloned a 30GB hard drive onto a new 160GB drive today with no activation problem.

Many times, after cloning a hard drive to a larger drive, Windows XP activation shows up on bootup.

That’s exactly what happened today but fortunately, the online activation went through with out requiring a phone call to the Indian call center – never any fun…

Dominon Repair Service Inc

Stop Spam At The Source!

Stop Spam At The Source!

The following quote from Fred Langa – The Langa List – is the most effective and simplest solution to spam – too bad it won’t happen……

“I believe the simplest, best approach to spam is simply to delete it--- silently, without any indication whatsoever that you ever got it. That way, the spammer spent money to try to reach you, but (in effect) wasted it because he got no response--- no sale, no indication that the spam was delivered, nothing.

Spamming is a low-life's business, but it *is* a business. If people never, ever responded to spam--- didn't buy anything, didn't answer back, didn't do anything at all with the spam--- spammers would eventually go out of business: They'd be spending money with no return.

Alas, enough people *do* buy stuff from spam, and do take steps that let the spammers know they've reached a live mailbox, that spamming can be hugely profitable.

Just say no: When you get a spam mail, just delete it, or set your filters to delete it, silently. Don't use the tools that generate complaint letters (it won't help), and don't use the tools that generate false "bounce" messages (because that actually *helps* the spammer make his mail distribution more cost-efficient). Instead, don't respond at all, and never, ever buy anything advertised by spam.

If everyone did that, spam mail would go away in short order.”

The Computer Doc

More Spyware & Viruses

More Spyware & Viruses

Another busy day cleaning up spyware and viruses.

We had five computers in the shop today for disinfection!

Most came from families that shared the computer with children who download music regularly – unfortunately, they tend to get all kinds of malware in addition to the music that they are attempting to download.

One was from a customer who obviously frequents porn sites….

Even though we charge a flat fee of two hours labor for the cleanup, each one actually accumulates 5-6 hours total scanning time from the various programs and tools that we use to get them back to a healthy state again.



Dominon Repair Service Inc

How To Improve a XP Print Server

How To Improve a XP Print Server

If you've set up a Windows XP system to act as a print server on your network, you can improve the print server's responsiveness. All you need to do is move the print spool folder from its default location on the main hard drive to a second hard drive.

The performance gain comes from separating the management of the potentially huge spool file from the same drive on which the Windows system files exist.

Of course, this means you need to install a second hard drive in the system. If you have any older hard drives lying around, this would be a great place to use one of them.

After installing a second hard drive, moving the print spool folder is easy. Follow these steps:

• Create a folder on the second hard drive, and name it Spooler.


• Go to Start | Printers And Faxes.


• Select File | Server Properties.


• On the Advanced tab, enter the full path to the Spooler folder in the Spool Folder text box, and click OK.


• In the warning message dialog box, click Yes.