July 27, 2007 by AC.

I am sure almost everyone has had a moment when you delete, lose or misplace a file and you get that pit in your stomach.  I have been there myself having seen whole drives get wiped out due to mechanical failure, user error, etc.  It is not a good feeling.  Most commercial data recovery companies charge a premium ($1000 and above).  They are good at what they do and I am not knocking those services at all, but there are some cost effective solutions out there.

Two software titles I have recently come across put the tools of professionals in your hands.

I just had some experience with EASEUS and the product Data Recovery Wizard Professional (http://www.easeus.com/).  A customer had a boot problem and no access to the hard drive.  To make matters worse, the drive itself was not showing its full size and contents in a working machine.  Not a good sign.  Enter Data Recovery Wizard which found three partitions on the drive and gave me a complete accounting of the drive - helping me locate the data I needed.  The trial version completed the scan and saved the results but would not recover the files or repair the drive.  The full version picked right up where the trial left off thanks to the saved results and completed the recovery.  All told 109 GB of the 112 GB of data on the SATA drive were recovered.

A colleague had some experience and recommended a different software solution, from Active @ Uneraser (http://www.uneraser.com/).  He had a problem with a FAT32 formatted USB (pen/key/stick/etc.) drive.  The data on the flash device was lost and not showing in Windows or DOS screens.  Enter Active which located and recovered the data.  No easy task on a simple flash device.

Both require some computer knowledge and experience but are valuable solutions.  As always you can contact ACE Computer Services (732-801-9310, support@acecomputernj.com) for assistance or visit our site at www.acecomputernj.com.

Thanks for reading!   

Posted in Software, All Platforms | 2 Comments »

July 26, 2007 by AC.

After a calm period of very few high profile virus outbreaks it looks as if some ugly stuff is looming on the horizon.  According to an article this week in Information Week (see article) computer worm virus activity could be at its worst point in two years.  Dwight Silverman follows up the same theme in his TechBlog (see posting).

As I had previously written there has been an outbreak of infected PDF files.  All of this reinforces the need for reliable and up-to-date antivirus and/or antiware programs to keep your system protected and clean.

I just recently worked on a machine that had been infected by a pesky Trojan that caused Internet Explorer to open and display random pages.  These type of browser hijack infections are quite a pain and sometimes difficult to track down.  Special thanks to the forums at Lavasoft, which helped me narrow, detect and finally clean the infection.  As you can see the problems are out there and some are extremely complex.

For assistance you can always contact ACE Computer Services (support@acecomputernj.com) or 732-801-9310 or visit the website at http://www.acecomputernj.com/.

Thanks for reading!

Posted in Virus/Malware Alert, Internet, All Platforms | No Comments »

July 23, 2007 by AC.

I recently helped set up a new Mac for a customer - a positively gorgeous 24-inch screen iMac.  The customer is not new to computers but definitely was new to Apple systems and the Mac OS.  I have worked with both and I am comfortable in either operating system, but I respect that the change can be difficult for most people.  Once the customer got into using the suite of software Apple provides, and got comfortable with the interface he was pretty excited.  As I said, this is a gorgeous system.  The color, clarity and picture quality is unlike anything out there and Apple give a lot of bang for your buck - both with system power and included (useful) applications provided.

In following up with the customer I came across a few sites that may help new Mac users get more out of the Mac OS:

http://www.apple.com/pro/tips/

http://www.macosxhints.com/

http://help.cnet.com/9606-12576_39-0.html?kw=mac

Posted in Apple/Mac | 1 Comment »

July 23, 2007 by AC.

I try to stay current and on top of technology news and lately I have come across some great technology sites with information, tips & tricks.  Most are blogs, some by respected IT journalists, some are entertaining and some are really for tech professionals.  The blog concept still puzzles me - as much as I use it (like now) I am seeing more and more news being delivered, even broken through blogs than by traditional media.  But what is traditional media these days anyway.  Here are a few sites worth a read:

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/

http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/

http://www.engadgetmobile.com/

http://webworkerdaily.com/

http://blogs.chron.com/techblog/

http://www.engadget.com/

http://gigaom.com/

Posted in Internet | 1 Comment »

July 11, 2007 by AC.

I have received a bunch of calls lately about dead PC’s that will not power-up.  In almost all of the situations it has been due to a dead power unit.  This is a common problem among machines 3-years and older.  Whether you leave your machine running all the time or turn on/turn off the device, the power unit is a very vulnerable part.  Add to that heat, dust, power surges and power outages and it is a ripe candidate for failure in many systems.

That said there are a few simple, cost-effective tips you can try to get more life out of your power unit.  In each of the systems I recently worked on there was one constant - lots of dust.  Most people place computer towers on the floor or tucked inside a desk, etc.  This attracts more dust and does not allow the system to vent the airflow properly.  One solution is to place the PC tower on a riser or something that gets it directly off the floor.  Try to let the tower have sufficient airflow.  I know this is not always possible.

Another suggestion is to clean the tower regularly with a compressed air canister to clear dust, etc. from clogging up fans, motherboards and drives.  Pay special attention to both the CPU fan and the power unit fan making sure both are free and clear to do their jobs.  Need some compressed air or unsure what to look for?  Below is a link to buy with a graphic to assist you if you are looking for some in a local store:

Staples X80004 Compressed Air Duster - 10 oz. Can (2-Pack)  Staples X80004 10 oz. Air Duster General Features: Two (2) 10 oz. cans Remove dust, lint and dirt with a powerful blast 100% Ozone safe Flammable Precision-dusting extension tube Offers an effective and efficient cleaning method for hard to reach or sensitive areas

Posted in All Platforms, General | 1 Comment »

July 11, 2007 by AC.

Those who create virus and other dangerous malware programs to attack your PC are always trying to stay one step ahead of anti-virus programs and public knowledge of known threats.  One new mechanism of attack is not garnering enough attention but is certainly on the rise.  Infected PDF attachments have been blanketing the internet recently.  These are generally email messages with an infected PDF attachment trying to lure someone into opening the attachment.  It can do no harm to your PC unless opened.

We have grown accustomed to safe and unsafe attachments and PDF has generally been deemed safe.  The message portion of the emails is sophisticated and usually looks legitimate, from an internet service provider, bank or friend.  Sometimes the address is spoofed as well.  Visit the link to the Adobe Update site below for more assistance:

http://www.adobe.com/downloads/updates/

How can you stop or block the threats?  Always use caution when opening an attachment.  Make sure it is from a known source and information you requested or are expecting.  Also make sure you have current, up-to-date virus scanning software installed and running.  It is also worth keeping your Adobe Acrobat program (reader and pro) updated

Posted in Virus/Malware Alert, All Platforms | No Comments »

July 11, 2007 by AC.

I recently starting using the new generation iPod Shuffle and found an interesting difference between this second generation model and the original shuffle.  In the original shuffle you could easily select a playlist or playlists to sync with the device, or fill the device automatically.  The new generation model has a similar feature but it is more disguised.  On first glance I thought I could only manually add songs to the device, but you can tweak the autofill feature to grab a specific playlist.  With that feature you can deselect the random fill feature which is checked by default, essentially allowing you to sync a specific playlist with the device.  Just a quick tip if you are looking to manually control the music going to your iPod.

Posted in Apple/Mac | 1 Comment »