Computer FIX and TWEAKS

Interactive Services Detection Error Pop-up every 5 minutes

Sunday, January 27, 2013

I'm having hard time resolving this error that pop-up every 5 minutes and will freeze the screen about one second and sometimes the error window will show up and freeze the whole screen until I click the return option. I've already tried several troubleshooting steps, like removing unnecessary/unused programs in my laptop, disabling some of the start-up programs during boot. There was one time that I'm thinking to reformat the hard disk but it will be a complete overhaul and I have many software installed already in which I don't have the installer files. Until Ive discovered a certain solution while browsing the internet.

You can follow the steps below to resolve the issue:

1) Shutdown your PC
2) Start it again and click the F8 button multiple times, until the menu for Safe Mode etc. comes out.
3) Choose the first selection “Repair your Computer”
4) When the System recovery option appears choose “System Image Recovery”
5) If you see button “Load Driver” or “Advance” click on it
6) If you clicked on “Advance” then it will ask you if you want to load from internet or you computer
7) Choose the computer
8) In any way, you now should be able to see a window which shows your computer
9) Click on “Computer” on the left
10) Then go to Local Disk C\Windows\System 32 and search for the file MsiExec.exe
11) Now move this file to your desktop. MAKE SURE that this file is missing from the System 32 folder.
12) ATTENTION: when you click on “Load Driver” or “Advance” in step 5 and 6, the computer will probably navigate you to System 32 of Recovery Partition. There you will not be able to find the file that you need. So follow exactly the step 9 and 10.
13) That’s it. You are ready. Click everywhere “Cancel” and restart your PC.

Goodluck! Follow steps properly! I advice that you will write down the steps for you to follow during the restart of PC.

Continue reading...

Boost Up Copy Speed using Teracopy

I've been using this software for a long time in my laptop with Windows 7 Operating System. If I'm not mistaken, this tool will run only in windows platform (Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7). Teracopy is one of the convenient tool in copying files from Flash Drive to Computer or vice versa or even copying within your computer directories. It is a lot faster compared to the usual copy and you can also pause the copy process or skip certain file that you don't want to be copied.

Why Teracopy makes your copy experience much faster?

"TeraCopy from Code Sector is a free file-copying utility that offers more speed and security than Windows. It's a compact tool that can quickly copy or move single files or batches of files to any directory you select, but it does much more, such as automatically calculating CRC checksum values to speed up the validation process. It also skips bad files during the copying process, displaying them at the end of transfers so you can see just which ones need replacing or other attention."

The image shows the interface or the actual picture when you will copy a certain file with Teracopy installed in your computer. It will pop-up automatically in which you can monitor if how many bytes were transferred and also you can use the pause or skip feature. After copying all the files it will have a status OK in the status field. and some CRC values in the Source CRC. (see sample below)

If you are looking for faster copying of files, then this will be a good software tool for you! You can download the file here.

Continue reading...

How to Resolve 'Cannot reboot windows, use a system disk to recover'

Thursday, January 24, 2013

This error that you will encounter when turning on your desktop is one of the common computer problems. This will really scratch your head especially if you need to get some files in your computer that you badly needed right away.

The real scenario is that it will have a black screen and an error saying, 'Cannot reboot windows, use a system disk to recover'. Then, you will try to push the reset/power button as an initial troubleshooting but still the problem persists. The common cause of the issue is that maybe the computer might have experienced a physical shock(push,shake,kick, etc.)

Now, you have nothing to worry and no need to go to any computer shop and let it diagnose by a computer expert, then paying dollars for it. Follow the steps that I will share to you. This was based on my experience. I assume that it will work as well in your case.

1. Open the CPU Rack/Case (Be sure that the computer is completely shutdown and power is removed from an outlet or Voltage Regulator)
2. Locate a cell in the shape of a circle (a bigger version of wrist watch battery) on the motherboard. This cell is known as CMOS battery.
3. Try to remove the battery or cell.
4. Wait for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
5. Put back the battery and cell.
6. Now, try to restart your PC.
7. Then press F2 button(load default values and continue)

If the above steps didn't work, after removing the battery in step 3, try to check loose cable especially in the hard disk drive side going to the mother board. In addition, try to reseat the RAM (Random Access Memory). RAM is like a chocolate bar shape incase you can't locate it.
That's it!

Continue reading...

Keyboard shortcuts for Windows 8

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Im going to share some basic and simple keyboard shortcuts for new released Operating System of Microsoft - Windows 8! These shortcuts will help you work faster and quicker in the new released OS. Try it out to familiarize.

Windows key + X - open the power user menu
Windows key + . - to pin and unpin Windows applications on side of the screen
Windows key + D - go directly to desktop
Windows key + C - open charms
Windows key + I - open charms settings
Windows key + Tab - to navigate in the open tabs
Windows key + Print screen - creates screenshot and will automatically saves to My Pictures folder.

That's it. You can share more in the comment part of this post (below) if you have a new discovery. :)

Continue reading...

How to start an Internet Cafe Business

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Internet cafe business is very popular nowadays especially in the country where I'm living - Philippines. But this type of business is not that easy compared to other businesses. First, it will need a huge amount of capital and the location should be very strategic. Better and good locations includes near schools and universities, business areas and amongst others.

To set-up internet cafe you need to have of course a location. If you're done choosing the location, then a renovation and design will be the next one. Design a layout that includes the location of the computers, counter and any additional area that you wanted to add like a mini pantry. Aircon should also be needed for cooling purposes for the machines. Next is to layout the cables (cat5e, cat6) from each computer workstations to the rack where you have the switches. You can ask or seek for a cheap but have good quality of works structured cabling contractors for the cable layout.

Now, we are going to discuss the hardware part that comprises the basic internet cafe business. These are computers, switches, router, printers, and most importantly is the internet connection. Let's discuss first on the computer side. For internet cafe, a computer should have these minimum specifications: Processor: Dual Core or Higher, Hard Disk: 250G, RAM: 2G, Video Card: 1G . A higher specs from the given will be of course a lot better and also it will depend on the games that you are going to install like for example, DiabloIII, NBA, Warcraft, Starcraft, etc. The price of each computer unit should not be that expensive. You can go for clone type computers or in short assembled computers to minimize cost compared to branded type. There are certain computer stores that are catering this type of units and you can ask discount if you are going to purchase more than 1 unit.

Next is to choose for the switches and routers. I advise to have cheaper but a highly reliable switches brands like 3COM, Linksys, TPlink but if you have that enough budget you can go for Cisco or HP switches. Choosing a switch is vital as well in the sense that you need to project your expansion of units. Let say you want to start at around 24 units then you need to purchase a 48 port switch so that you can have available ports for expansion and you will have savings in purchasing another switch unit in the future. For the router, there were many brands that is suitable for small business use like Dlink, Cisco, TPLink, etc. But I can recommend having a Dlink or Cisco and Linksys. A router with wireless capability is an option though.

The last part but more important in having internet cafe is the Internet connection and this will be a chunk of your monthly expenses aside from the electricity and maintenance. To have this, you need to consult you Internet Service Provider(ISP) like PLDT, Globe, Smart, Bayantel, Sky Broadband, etc. The internet connection that you are going to purchase will be vital in the operation of you business. A slow internet connection that your user experienced will create a big impact in your income. So I recommend to have a higher Bandwidth. You can divide this bandwidth to the number of users or computers. Let say you have 1Mbps internet connection and having 10 computer units, then you can compute if how much is the estimated bandwidth per computer by dividing 1000000 by 10 (1Mbps/10). Thus, each unit will have approximately 100kpbs bandwidth. So better ask any of your ISP about this part to achieve a smooth and productive internet cafe business!

Continue reading...