When your copy of Norton Antivirus, Norton Internet Security, or Norton 360 expires you can quickly and easily renew it online at the Norton Website.
Simply click here: Norton Software Upgrades and Renewals.
How to Get Apple Snow Leopard OS X for only $9.95!
As many of you know Apple is close to releasing a new update to it’s much applauded Mac Operating System OS X. The update is called Snow Leopard and will introduce several low-level fixes to the Mac. It will also add a few nice new features.
Some of the improvements:
1) About 6GB stripped right out! The new OS is much much lighter.
2) Faster start-up and shutdown.
3) A new version of QuickTime (called QuickTime X) that adds many of the pro features to the free version. You can also now edit in Quicktime!
4) Up to 50% times faster Time Machine Backup.
5) Faster Wireless connectivity.
6) The brand spanking new Safari 4. Which is supposed to be much faster and much more stable then previous versions.
*Note: PowerPC Mac users are unable to install Snow Leopard. They have finally been dropped. Intel Macs only.*
So. How do you get all that and more for only $9.95? Well it’s simple. If you bought a Mac after June 8th that includes OS X Leopard but not Snow Leopard then all you need to do is go to this website: http://www.apple.com/ca/macosx/uptodate/. Fill out the form, mail it off, and your upgrade should come soon after that! You have until December 26th, 2009 to get your copy.
But what if you didn’t buy your Mac after June 8th? What then? Don’t fret. As long as you’re running Leopard you can buy the upgrade from Apple for the awesomely reasonable price of $29. If you’re running an older version (such as Tiger) you’ll need to shell out $169. However that price includes an upgrade to both Leopard and Snow Leopard.
Cheers!
How to Fix a HP Computer frozen and stuck at HP BIOS/CMOS Screen
Encountered a HP Pavilion 900 Series desktop today with a routine “no power” problem. A quick power supply swap restored life to the machine however the strangest problem occurred: The computer was stuck at the HP logo screen!
So what to do?
Thankfully this is pretty easy to solve. My specific problem was being caused by having the two CD-ROM drives connected to the motherboard without having the power supply connected to those drives. Once I connected the new power supply to the drives the system booted fine.
This is what you should do to fix this issue on your computer: simply open up your computer and go through the components (starting with the hard drive and ending with the RAM) to see which one is defective. A faulty device will cause this error. You just need to find out which one it is.
Apps: BlueScreenView
Program:BlueScreenView
Price: Freeware
Site: http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.html
Description: Open “Minidump” information from Windows and tries to isolate a likely cause.
If you’re working on a computer that continually crashes and and gives you grief you can try using a very simple program called BlueScreenView to attempt to fix your issues. Now it won’t automatically solve Blue Screens for you but it will attempt to read error logs that those blue screens leave behind and give you a likely reason (such as a program or driver).
The program is small, portable and extremely easy to use.
How to Fix Your Acer Aspire One Netbook if it Does Not Power On or Display Anything
I’m sure a lot of you have run into problems with the Acer Aspire Netbooks. I’ve personally now seen 6 of the Acer Aspire Ones develop a problem where they will light up their little LEDS but nothing will come on the screen. So far I’ve sent these units to Acer for repairs. But I think I’ve found the solution.
Acting on a hunch that this was a BIOS corruption I searched the net and found this helpful tidbit:
The AA1 has a built-in BIOS recovery routine, making it possible to flash the BIOS even if the system doesn’t boot anymore. It’s only meant for emergencies and may void your warranty, so use at your own risk.
Follow every step carefully!
First format an USB stick with FAT.
Download the latest BIOS, and put both FLASHIT.EXE and the BIOS file in the root directory of the stick. Rename the BIOS file to ZG5IA32.FD, that’s important. Do not remove the USB stick.
Turn the AA1 off, make sure both battery and AC adapter are connected. Press Fn+Esc, keep it pressed and press the power button to turn the AA1 on. Release Fn+Esc after a few seconds, the power button will be blinking. Press the power button once. The AA1 will now initiate the BIOS flash, do not interrupt it under any circumstances. After a while the power button will stop blinking, and the AA1 will reboot shortly after. Wait patiently.
The BIOS has been flashed and all settings reset to default.
If for some reason you made a mistake during the procedure and it doesn’t reboot by itself wait 5 minutes before turning it off, just to be safe that it isn’t still flashing the BIOS.
I have not tried this yet but I’ve decided to post it on the site so that I can update this post as soon as I try it out. If anyone gets a chance to try this please comment below.
Source: http://macles.blogspot.com/2008/08/acer-aspire-one-bios-recovery.html
Windows Vista suddenly tells you it’s not genuine on an HP computer. Here’s how to fix it.
If you have an HP computer (or perhaps even another brand) with a copy of Windows Vista that suddenly tells you that it’s not genuine you might be pleased to hear that your issue may be resolved with a simple hotfix from Microsoft.
From the Microsoft Website:
This problem may occur because a specific system setting is removed when a program runs with administrative credentials. The removal of this system setting may cause a BIOS validation check to fail. The BIOS validation check is part of the system activation process. Therefore, you may be prompted to activate Windows Vista, even though the system did not previously require activation. For example, this problem is known to occur when you use Intuit QuickBooks 2007. However, this problem may also infrequently occur when you install other programs or device drivers.
You can find the hotfix at this page. Also make sure that you’re running the latest Service Pack (which at the time of this writing is Service Pack 1).
Cheers! As always let me know how it goes in the comments section!
How to fix your Home Theatre System when it says: “Push Power Protector”
This error message could be caused by a few different things. From an online forums post by “Blackknight-UK“:
Follow the steps below to troubleshoot if the word PROTECT or PROTECTOR is flashing on the A/V receivers display.
- Check the speaker wires and speakers for proper connections.
- Reduce the volume level. IMPORTANT: If the receiver is played back at maximum volume level it may enter the protect mode. Maximum volume listening will cause the receiver to run very hot and may drain the output capacitors.
- Disable the surround sound option if both the A and B speakers are being used simultaneously.
- Ensure the top of the receiver has proper ventilation to keep it from overheating.
- If the message only occurs when using a DVD player, the sampling frequency may be set too high. IMPORTANT: Some receivers provide compatibility with the higher sampling frequencies through alternate connections. Consult the owners manual for specific information.
- Unplug the AC power cord for about 1 to 2 hours to reset the output transformers.
Thanks blackknight!
What to do when Apple Mail will not start (Mail not responding)
You’re using your shiny Apple iMac or MacBook and you go to check on your. You click on the Mail icon and low and behold the thing freezes and doesn’t respond. What to do?
Well there are a few things you can do to fix this problem.
Run Apple Update and Restart your computer.
The issue could have already been fixed by Apple with an update or just may need a simple reboot. Try these steps first. You never know when they’ll work and save you hours of headache. Try these steps first for all computer problems.
Your Mail preferences file may have become corrupted.
The Mail preferences file stores- well, your preferences! It’s probably the first file that Apple Mail loads when it starts up and if somethings gone wrong with that file (corruption and so on) the Mail application will just freeze. The easy way to fix this issue is to simply delete the Mail preferences file. This will delete some simple settings but will leave your email intact.
Here’s how to delete the preferences file for Apple Mail:
- Restart your computer and DO NOT open Mail.
- Open a Finder Window.
- Select your User Name folder.
- Select the Library folder and then the Preferences folder.
- Find, in the list that appears, com.apple.mail.plist. Drag it to the trash.
- Open Mail. It should now load.
Hopefully now your Mail app will stop freezing. However if the above didn’t solve your problem read on.
There may be a “corrupted” message on the server.
There may be a “corrupted” message that’s giving Mail pause. Mail tries to either download or open this email and freezes up because it doesn’t know what to do with it. What you need to do is open your email account through a web-based email client. For example if your email comes through a .Mac account you can login here: www.mac.com.
If your email comes through your Internet Service Provider you can try calling their technical support line and asking them to flush the emails waiting on the server. While this will make you lose all of the emails you have not read yet the faster you do this the less emails you’ll lose.
You can also try downloading and setting up your account in another email client such as Thunderbird. Thunderbird is the same thing as Mail only by a different company. It may be able to download the corrupted messages so Mail doesn’t have to.
Comstar Technical Support
Looking for Comstar Technical Support? Perhaps because your external hard drive has bit the bullet? You can contact Comstar through the following ways:
Website: http://samtack.com/comstar/
Technical Support (Canada – English): 1-800-255-8048 stsupport@samtack.com
Technical Support (Canada – French): 1-800-541-2799 soutien@samtack.com
Technical Support (U.S.A): (626) 810-2833 jimmy_lee@samtack.com
Unfortunately their website is very sparse and it might be best to simply return to where you bought your Comstar product if you encounter any problems.
HP Battery Recall (Fire Hazard)
Today HP announced a recall of some of the batteries used in their laptops. The affected batteries could pose a fire hazard. Obviously this means that if you’re the owner of one of the affected laptops you should probably change the battery out. And if you’re a technician please check your customers batteries if they bring in an HP Laptop.
These are the affected models:
Keep in mind that not all of the listed laptop models will have defective batteries and you should verify your batteries serial number before you request a replacement from HP. You can verify your laptop here: Verify your HP Battery.
Having problems with your computer? Simply scan your computer for free to identify problem areas and solutions. Click here to start a free scan.