September 19, 2007 by AC.

I have an older, but serviceable Dell laptop at home that my kids like to use.  My son is six and has taken to the computer like a fish to water but I am not a fan of him pounding away on our main computers.  Enter the older Dell.  The processor is a little slow compared to todays technology but it was enough to handle Windows XP and run websites and games that my son enjoys.

For me it was too slow - especially coming from my own speed machines.  After a while even my son complained about the startup speed and refresh rates.  After debating whether it was worth pumping money into this older machine I finally decided to grab some extra RAM to upgrade the feeble 256 MB that was in the original configuration.  I searched around eBay and found a steal of a deal for 1 GB RAM under $75 with shipping.  After installing the RAM today I have to admit I cannot believe I waited this long.  The machine is downright zippy now.

Adding additional RAM is always a worthwhile investment and can squeak a couple extra years of usefulness out of a machine.

Posted in Hardware, All Platforms | No Comments »

August 12, 2007 by AC.

I have been using, and loving, the Maxtor OneTouch III Mini Hard Drive.  The size is perfect to fit inside my laptop case and the device is powered and connected using one USB cable.  Simple and lightweight:

Maxtor OneTouch III Mini 160GB Hard Drive - USB 2.0 Interface - External Hard Drive

I purchased mine after troubleshooting a problem for a customer.  I loved the size and simplicity of the device and ran out and bought one after fixing a problem locating the device.  Recently that same problem popped up with a different customer so I thought it would be worth noting and providing two important links in case you ever find yourself in a similar situation.

In both instances the device would connect but be unrecognizable to the PC.  There was no error or problem noted, just no way to access the device once plugged in.  The device itself has built-in software that installs on any PC the first time you connect the device.  Included within that software is a security feature to encrypt and password protect the drive.  In both cases with the customers the device was setup with the password protection.  In one case the user deleted the Maxtor software and in the other a damaged machine needed to be re-imaged.  In both cases the software was gone and the device concluded this was a foreign machine, thus the hidden data/drive access.

Both cases were solved by downloading and installing copies of the Maxtor software on the PC to get access back to the drive and/or change passwords for the device.  This was no easy task because the software is not easily found.  Below are two links, one for Windows XP machines, the other for Windows Vista.  If you find yourself in trouble like this with a Maxtor Mini try reinstalling the software below:

For Windows XP

For Windows Vista

Posted in Hardware, Microsoft | No Comments »