Home Computer Talk

By: Mr JM
Once you have all the needed in hardware, in drivers for the hardware and in software installation disks or downloads, things are ready to roll. With Windows installed on the machine, the chances are the video resolution is still set to Windows default. So the first driver to install is the video driver, either for the on-board video or for the add-in video card you’ve installed. Then at least you’ll have a decent looking screen to work with.

For me, the next install is the network drivers – that way I can copy down the rest of the software directly from the current computer.

I probably should do the network ones first but I abhor the default settings on my screen, and it takes little time to copy out the video drivers to a USB memory stick.

Before I run the network drivers and connect up, I make sure the Windows Firewall is turned on. This provides a very basic level of protection against invasion from outside your network. Click [Start] [Control Panel] [Windows Firewall] and turn it on.

Once the network drivers are installed I restart the computer so it will set itself up as part of my network. When I ran the Windows setup and it asks about network settings, I just accept default settings but I name my Workgroup differently than just ‘Workgroup.’ By matching the name of the Workgroup of the other computers on the network, the new computer will join the Workgroup as it starts up.

The next step is to ensure there are ‘shared’ drives or folders on the machine from which you need to copy programs and drivers. You can also share folders on the new machine and then ‘push’ the files across from the old machine. Or you can simply copy all you need out onto CDROM, DVD, or USB memory stick.

Once you have the drivers, install software for the programs you want to run and all your documents and user files on the new machine, you can basically turn off the old computer and move the new one to where you want it and just work on that.

Most computers these days are on the end of an ADSL connection to the internet. So, the first thing to install is the Antivirus software – I run with Symantec Antivirus, but there are good free programs out there, such as AVG, which will guard against nearly all attacks.

You also need to make sure you have Spyware protection, but that isn’t as important until you start browsing – there are viruses out there that will reach across an unprotected link to the internet and infect your machine.

By: Mr JM
For my situation, it’s not as drastic as having to freeze the hard drive. And we have a home network to connect a number of computers so transferring the data is easier than having to copy things out to a DVD or CDROM.

What I did do was buy a new hard disk – we went to the local Computer Swap-Meet (a market where small traders get together once a month) and found a 500GB (GigaByte) SATA hard disk for eighty dollars. It is easily big enough to take all the data I want from the old machine with space left over.

Once I have the new machine set up with all my programs and information, I will clean my current computer and set it up with all the installation software and use it as a server for our network so we can store downloads there and backup our documents and data.

Then every so often, we write out files to a DVD in 4.5GB chunks and store them as extra backups.

The current task is to install the new hard disk in the new machine and get it formatted. Then I make sure the new machine runs on the network as it should and I can start copying the data over.

The first step in getting the new machine set up has already been done – I logged into the manufacturers’ sites and found Windows XP drivers for all the main bits of the computer. The place to start for this is on the Motherboard maker’s web page.

In the CMOS settings, entered by pressing [Delete] (or [Del]) on most machines, although sometimes it’s [F2] or [F1] you will find a motherboard ID or BIOS number. It may look something like RL86510A.86A.0089 on an Intel motherboard, which on checking on the site shows a D865PERL Main board. That will then lead to a variety of drivers to download.

The essential ones are normally onboard ones such as video, network and sound, but there may also be chipset drivers which will tell Windows how to ‘talk’ optimally to the hardware and can give a performance boost to the system

So you want to be a blogger and it’s time to choose a blog host. But who? You could go with what all your friends are going with, but what if you’re the first one to start a blog? Or what if you’re not sure you want what they have?

You’ll want to do your own research, but in this section of this series, I am going to explore the basics of the big three – Blogger, Wordpress, and LiveJournal – to help you make your decision.

LiveJournal is the most recent experiment of mine. I moved from Wordpress to LiveJournal purely out of a networking nature. That’s not to say there aren’t other aspects to the host.

Like Blogger and Wordpress, LiveJournal is easy to sign up for and get going. While there was some fuss a while back about LiveJournal pulling the option to have free blogs, users don’t have to worry about that now.

LiveJournal is the choice that you will want to go with if making friends and joining communities sounds exactly like what you want to do. Moving above and beyond the typical blog host, LiveJournal grants you the ability to compile a friend list (and you will get a ‘friends page’ which is like a feed reader for your LJ friends’ blog entries), create and join communities, and peruse other people’s friend lists and communities.

If you want choice for templates, then you might be shoved into the realm of overwhelmed by how much choice you’ll have with LJ. Paid accounts have more options, but the template options for the free accounts certainly aren’t anything to snub. The thing that may not work so well for some bloggers (and works in Blogger.com’s favour) is that you don’t have the ability to easy copy and past templates not on offer. Paying gives you more options, but again, I’m sticking with what’s available at the free level.

The big negative for LJ, I believe, is that all of these options, choices, and things you can do with your blog can get a bit confusing. If a simple blog to place your occasional thoughts is what you want, LJ might not be the best choice for you right now. Why go for all the bells and whistles if you don’t need them.

However, if you are open to easy click friend making, communities, and much more, then definitely check it out.

So you want to be a blogger and it’s time to choose a blog host. But who? You could go with what all your friends are going with, but what if you’re the first one to start a blog? Or what if you’re not sure you want what they have?

You’ll want to do your own research, but in this section of this series, I am going to explore the basics of the big three – Blogger, Wordpress, and LiveJournal – to help you make your decision.

I first started blogging with Wordpress when I started working for 451press. It was a bit intimidating to switch over to a new service, but I found the transition easy and positive.

One thing that is great about Wordpress is the easy to manage categories. If you’re typing away and see your post doesn’t fit in any of your current categories, then it’s as easy as typing in a new category and adding it to the list - all of which can be done without having to save the post or refresh the page. Categories are a wonderful thing for both you and your readers. If you’re looking for an older post or your readers want to read a specific category only, it’s as easy as clicking on that category name. Plus it’s easy to just go to a page and delete, rename, and otherwise manage your categories.

What sets Wordpress apart from some blogging hosts is that you can have pages, which is one of the things that put me off from using Blogger. Not only do you have your main blog, but you can have an about you page, a page for your business or online shopping, another page for your writing… The list goes on forever. The ability to create and manage pages makes your blog more like a website and less like just another blog.

However, there are its catches. There are a lot of options and things you can do with your blog, but it does take a while to get used to the navigation and exactly how things work. What I found to be the most frustrating is putting in separate categories for the blogroll. While mine looks like it should, it took me a long time to figure out how to make it that way, and I’m still not sure if I did it the way I’m supposed to.

I mentioned the templates as a positive feature above, but you should know that not all templates are created equal. Not all have color options, and not all have customizable header options. This isn’t the most horrible thing in the world by any means, but you might end up finding a template you love but not being able to customize your header.

What about going directly into the template code and doing it there? That brings on my final criticism of Wordpress.

One of my largest annoyances when it comes to Wordpress is that you have to pay to get access to your template. There is no easy tab to click on to edit the code. Yes, there is a space for you to move around your sidebar widgets, but that’s all the designing input you get when it comes to your template unless you pay the fee.

So you want to be a blogger and it’s time to choose a blog host. But who? You could go with what all your friends are going with, but what if you’re the first one to start a blog? Or what if you’re not sure you want what they have?

You’ll want to do your own research, but in this section of this series, I am going to explore the basics of the big three – Blogger, Wordpress, and LiveJournal – to help you make your decision.

Blogger is the host I used when I started blogging for the very first time. I didn’t know much about blogs or blogging then, but Blogger looked friendly and worked for someone learning the ropes. It’s a great choice for those just starting out with blogging as well as with those trying to learn HTML.

When you sign up with Blogger, it’s easy to find your way around with easy-to-understand-and-read terms and fonts. For the new blogger, it’s as easy as signing up with a valid email address, picking your blog title, template, and URL, and then going off to post! The blogger unfamiliar with HTML can step in and start posting without having to worry about any bits of code. However, the basic codesmith can easily switch over to the “Edit HTML” tab and give it a go.

After Blogger’s switch to “the New Blogger,” it’s even easier to make your blog your own - no HTML experience needed. All you need do is drag and drop elements as you want them to look, and you can have a preview. For the HTML dabbler, this can be a good thing as well because you can drag and drop the main elements as well as add your personal touch in the raw template.

If you’re looking to make a little cash with your blog, you’re likely thinking to go the popular way of Google adsense. Blogger has that covered in an easy add-on in the drag and drop template manipulation section. All you have to do is sign up for it.

However, Blogger has its down points as well.

To sign up for the new Blogger, you have to have a Google account or you will be signed up for one. This isn’t a strong negative, but if you’re like me, you groan at the thought of signing up for yet another thing you won’t use. I have yet to explore to see exactly what I can do with my new account with Google.

Blogger’s main function is for its users to be able to blog. Your posts will go up in diary style format and will be archived all the same. If you want a Bio page, Blogger does give you a profile page. However, it is meager and you want something more, plan on having a blog all about you with its own unique URL just sitting there.

Finally, Blogger is meant mainly for blogging, as I said above. Thus you have a blog, but that’s about all. If you have seen other author sites and like the idea of having a page for your prose, a page for your poetry, a page for your blogging, etc, be prepared to have quite a few blogs. I know quite a few people who manage this and manage it well, but I prefer to have everything I want and need on one site, one URL.

Blogger is my definite recommendation for people starting out and those who want to start experimenting with template HTML. However, if you’ve been using it for a good amount of time now, I recommend branching out and trying a few other spaces so you can find your true fit for your needs.

Okay, so let’s try this again. So you want to be a blogger? In this series I am going to introduce you, step by step, to the world of blogging. I’m hoping to keep things simple and easy to understand, but if there is ever anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask any questions at any time.

When you’re getting started in the world of blogging, the first natural step is to choose a blog host. A blog host is the site that is going to provide you with your free blog. You might want to pay for a site later so you can get everything you want, but that’s not really something you want to jump into right away.

There are plenty of blog hosts around the internet, but the three main ones (at least in the circles I travel in) that are in use are Blogger, Wordpress, and LiveJournal.

Now, just because ‘all your friends’ are using one site doesn’t mean you have to, but it can help having people near who can help you. However, it’s likely that you’re going to stick with what you start with (just because it can be annoying and sometimes a lot of work to switch from platform to platform) so it’s worth it to do your research.

What you want to think about is what you want from your blog. Would you like somewhere to anonymously put your thoughts or would you rather have a place to easily connect to your friends? A place to put your photos or a place where you can build a name for yourself and maybe eventually a business?

In the next post I’ll examine the blogging hosts and the positives and negatives that come with them.

Hello all! I know I promised blogging posts a while ago, but life has intervened. Thankfully Mr. JM has been more than happy to step up to the plate and take a more active role on this site. Before I get started on blogging (and before Mr. JM finishes his series), I would like to take a brief look at the series’ we’ve written since starting here at the beginning of this year.

For just a bit of nostalgia, here is where I say hello.

The first series about your computer slowing down and how to get it up to speed: Old Age? Or just Clogged Arteries? Part One, Part Two, Part Three

Not sure what to do next in buying a new computer? Check out:

How to Buy a Computer: Part One and Part Two

Security on your computer is very important for the survival of the machine. Check out:

Are You Safe?: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five

So you’ve had a computer for a while and it’s not quite up to the quality of the spiffy new things you see everyone else with. Ready to upgrade? Check out these posts:

Upgrading a Computer: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six

Looking to dive into one of the social scenes of the internet: forums? Here’s a quick introduction:

Introduction to Forums: Saying Hello, Choosing a Username, Forum Personalities, A Warning

The Search for Truth: Part One and Part Two

Changing Computers: Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six, Part Seven

I hope you like this handy dandy guide to Home Computer Talk series’. We’ll be back to regular programming tomorrow.

By: Mr JM

So there you are, new computer open and ready for your tender surgical skills, it’s been built into Windows & is ready to run and all you need to do is add in your old failing hard drive so you can get all your precious data from it.

What do you do? Walk, don’t run, to the freezer and find your carefully baggied hard drive, remove it from the coldness, wipe off any moisture from the baggie and then your hands, then remove the drive from the (up till now) sealed baggie.

Wasting as little time as possible, plug in your cold hard drive, both data and cable, check everything is secure and there’s no stray metal bits touching any of the circuitry, then turn on the computer. Wait through the boot process, endure the mostly agonizing wait while Windows decides everything is in place and then click [Start] [My Computer] then click the [Folders] button up in the menu bar.

What you should see in the left side (where the folders are shown) is your C:\ drive, then a D:\ drive which should be your briefly re-animated dying drive. The CD/DVD drive, if still connected (you didn’t need to use the cable for the hard drive) will be the E:\ drive.

Click on the D:\ drive in the left panel and on the right side you will see all the folders on that drive.

Now it gets complex – where is your data?

Unless you’ve set up specific folders previously, Windows will have stored your stuff in several default locations.

Documents – D:\Documents and Settings\Username\My Documents …note that Username is the name you used to sign in – you may never have actually logged into Windows but it happened automatically as Windows started. The default folders are called Administrator, Default User, and All Users. Anything else that looks like a name is probably the one you used.

Emails – if you use Microsoft Outlook, the PST file is found in - D:\Documents and Settings\Username\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook

Favorites – for Internet Explorer they are found in D:\Documents and Settings\Username\Favorites – copy all the files there.

For Firefox they are called Bookmarks and they’re found in -
C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\zxpw2j3t.default\bookmark.html – note – your Firefox folder will have something similar to \zxpw2j3t.default\ but it will be different – it’s a random folder name.

For other locations, leave a comment here and ask, but usually if you get all the above copied, you’ve got most of your life.

By: Mr JM

Now you have your Windows XP computer up and running nicely – the Video card is installed, sound is working and your computer is once more talking on the network or through your ADSL (Broadband) modem to the Internet.

How do you get your precious information from your dead Hard Drive?

Sometimes a hard disk dies for good. If that’s the case, you need to figure if your information is worth the maybe $1000 to get professionals to recover your data. They can open the drive, pull out the platters where all those little magnetic moments happen, insert the platters into a different drive and pull out your bits.

But mostly, the hard disk dies slowly. Here’s what to try – once you have a compatible machine to put the drive in.

You need the new PC to be ready to run, but open so you can insert your old drive. If you aren’t sure about what goes where, get some help. If the new machine is SATA and the old drive is ATA, disconnect the DVD in the new machine so the old hard disk can connect on the ATA cable.

Next, find a nice sealable plastic bag, one big enough to take the hard disk in it. Sandwich bags with the clip-lock seal are great for this. Take your old hard disk from the machine, carefully removing the attached cables – the ribbon or SATA cable should come off easily – the power cable may take a bit of a pull, but try to make sure you pull straight out.

Also be sure that when you are pulling on the power cable, there is nothing of knuckle-busting capability within reach of your freely swinging hand as the cable releases. Computers do like to take a blood sacrifice from anyone who opens them.

Place the drive in the plastic bag and seal it – seal it good – you do NOT want moisture in there. Now place the bag in your freezer overnight.

Yes, that’s right, in the freezer. It doesn’t have to be a standalone freezer – the one in the top of your fridge will do fine. Try to avoid using the one in the local supermarket – not only do they frown on the idea, but someone is going to get a hell of a surprise when they try to carve your drive for dinner.

By: Mr JM

If your old computer died and you’ve bought (or begged borrowed or stolen) another to take its place, you may think you have to start all over. There is however, some good news. If your computer died, the chances are excellent the hard disk is still viable so you can get all your work transferred over to the new machine.

And if your hard disk died, the chances are pretty good your computer is OK and all you need is a new hard disk. If you are one of the six people in the country who have actually backed up their work, you’re smiling. If you aren’t one of them, there’s a possibility of getting your data back from the hard disk.

First you need to have the computer up and running – this probably means getting a new hard disk, a Windows disk, and rebuilding your Windows system. There are some earlier posts in this blog to deal with how to boot to your Windows CD and run setup.

For most desktops, the Windows build process will provide adequate access to all the hardware. The areas where it tends to miss are with Video cards, Network cards and Audio cards. Also, laptops tend to have radically tweaked drivers for the hardware inside – you WILL need to find your laptop drivers and have them ready to install once Windows is up and running.

If you don’t have a list of the hardware that is in your machine, you should make one now. For those with a dead doorstop in front of them, open the machine, touch something large and metal for grounding, then look inside the box to see what identification you can find.

If the PC will start but not boot into Windows, you can usually find the information about what hardware you have in CMOS – this is the hardware setup of your computer – usually pressing [Delete] or [Del]> as the computer starts will get you into it, but on some systems it can be [F2] or even [F1]

NOTE: Change nothing in CMOS!!! Doing so without knowing what you do can kill your machine dead! Knowing in this instance means actually KNOWING what that setting is and what changing it will mean for your chips and circuits.

Once you have your hardware information, go to a friend, to your work or to an Internet Café and find the manufacturer’s website, track down the model of hardware you have and download the drivers for it. If you don’t have one already, get a USB stick. (AKA USB memory, USB flash drive, USB key) You can buy a 2GB one for around $20.

By: Mr JM

At the simplest, the changeover can be simply removing one hard disk from a machine & connecting it into another.

Unfortunately, that simple version is rarely how things go. One immediate issue is whether the old computer is ATA style of hard disk and the new one is SATA. (ATA is Advanced Technology Attachment and SATA is Serial Advanced Technology Attachment – they are standards for connecting hard disks and CD/DVD drives) The problem is they use different cables to attach for data and power.

A lot of new computers or motherboards (also known as mainboards) come with connectors for both types of drive. While hard disks are pretty much converted over to SATA now, there are a lot of CD/DVD drives still connecting with ATA.

How to tell which you have? Easy – ATA have the flat 40-pin cables, usually grey, and 40 thin wires in a flat plastic ribbon, terminating in a rectangular, two rows of 20, plug. If your cable has way less than 40 wires and has a plug less than two centimeters wide (less than ¾ inch) it is SATA.

ATA had a nice system where you could put two devices on each cable; SATA so far seems to be one per cable, so I would think the ATA system will be around for a while so systems can have two hard disks AND a DVD.

So, if you have an older flat ribbon type drive, the chances are pretty good you’ll be able to add it into your new machine, at least long enough to copy your data over, and quite likely as a second hard disk for data storage.

Ideally you’d want the system drive to be the SATA drive as they are faster and pump more data through to the system, but there is no reason not to have an ATA drive in there for data files.

By: Mr JM

So, what is it you want to do with your computer changeover? Are you replacing your computer because it’s old? Has your previous one gone to God & you’ve got a new one to set up and you want all your data, documents, pictures, movies, music etc. from the old one brought onto your new one?

It may be you’ve finally bitten the bullet and shelled out for a new computer simply because your old one simply doesn’t cut it anymore.

Whatever your reason for changing over, one thing is farily sure – you want to bring with the change all the things you want to keep and leave behind all the things you didn’t need or want or that were slowing things down.

In my case, I have a perfectly good computer on my desk which, by good fortune, I can change over into a slightly newer one at no cost. The newer PC has four RAM slots rather than two, which means I can increase the amount of memory without having to scrap memory modules. Also, it has a moderately quicker CPU – the chip that performs most of the calculations that make computers do stuff.

These scenarios offer a range of options as to how you go about changing over. Keep in mind, most of the work can be done by anyone who can use a screwdriver, line up a plug with a socket, and MOST importantly, pause and think before trying to force something to happen.

There is a lot of jargon and all kinds of complexities about computers, but the basics are pretty simple. It’s like the programming side of things – everything seems incredibly complex and wonderful, but at base, it’s all just 0’s and 1’s.

By: Mr. JM

We all make Backups of our data… right? So the simplest thing to do is set up the new computer with all your programs and then copy your documents, music, videos and personal settings over from the backup.

For those three people out there who haven’t made regular, complete and timely backups of their work and pleasure, there are ways to perform the move to new hardware which offer a chance to clean up the current mess and allow for a better chance in the future to save your electronic treasures.

Now, if your new computer is truly new, fresh out of the box, you can concentrate on the parts following that deal with how to find and save, then transfer, your data – the sections dealing with how to clean the not-so-new computer, how to set it up so it is ready for its new life, will not apply.

A big step to all of this is having a Windows Boot CD or DVD. Unfortunately, most computer manufacturers don’t even provide this with a brand new PC, and if you’ve got a second hand computer, the chances aren’t good it was passed along with your purchase.

But you need it.

Also, you need to have a good idea of what it is you wish to save. If you’ve been saving stuff all over the place on your hard disk, it can be quite a task to find it all. This can also apply if you’ve been using computers for a long time and have gone through a variety of versions of Windows.

Microsoft programmers are paid a lot of money to provide human-friendly environments on computers – given most of them have never met a human in person, they do a fairly good job, but over the years, they have altered how things work, so if you’ve upgraded a couple of times over years, your information can be hard to locate. Windows may know where it is, but chances are, Windows ain’t going to tell you about it.

By Mr. JM

Recently we had a clean out of stock at work. As an exclusively IBM (now Lenovo) company, we regularly replace the older computers and so have a range of machines which, while by no means useless, are not wanted by the company. We cycle laptops every three years and desktops every five years.

However, one of the sites recently replaced a machine that wasn’t IBM/Lenovo with one that was. Before throwing out (or cleaning up and passing to staff for a home computer) the box, I took a look at what was in it.

Turns out it is a better machine than the desktop I have on my desk at home, so I snaffled it.

But that raises a problem – on my home PC there is the accumulation, across two large hard disks, of software, installations, documents, movies and music. I don’t want to run two PC’s so one has to somehow move across to the other.

I thought it might be useful to go through the process I follow in converting one system into my new home system while cleaning the other to act as a network ‘server’ which will run the network, printers and scanner for myself and JM.

It is a complex process to follow if one wants to keep the environment from the original PC. The easiest way is to simply place the new PC in place with the raw bones of your system (Windows, Office, Windows Media Player and other software you use) and let the accumulation process start again.

But that involves also finding all those downloads, reconnecting to sites, rebuilding favourites and contacts for email. It could be months before things get back to ‘normal’ doing it that way.

But how do you find all the stuff on your old PC to move it over? Where do you get a list of what is installed so you can install it over on the new PC? If the PC is second hand, how do you set it up to be ‘as new’ for your own use?

You’ve heard about it from your friends and family. Maybe your children. “Blogs.” “Blogging.” “Bloggers.” Heck, you’ve heard that people are actually out there making money from just talking about themselves and their lives. There are even a few who live off what they make from blogging.

Or maybe you have been faithfully reading blogs for quite a while now but have never taken the leap into writing your own.

But then again, it all sounds a bit complicated with all the different ‘platforms’ and things you can do with them. It can be a bit overwhelming to get a start on it all.

So how do you start? Where do you start?

First off, don’t worry about whether or not you’re too ‘late’ to start blogging. People all over the world are starting new blogs every day and many people have been blogging for years, so you’ll be entering into a massive huge arena with people both new and experienced with the world of blogging.

Second, don’t let other people overwhelm you with all the jargon and lingo surrounding blogging. Starting next week, I’ll be taking you through things step by step, and if you have any questions along the way – no matter how you feel about how they may sound – you can always ask in the comments or using the ‘comment me’ button under the site description on the right.

The most important thing to remember about blogging is that blogging is what you make of it. You reap what you sow, so to say and blogging can be a truly great experience if you’re willing to put the time into it.

We’ll get started next week with what blog platforms are and how you choose the one that’s best for you.

Have a great weekend!