So basically you want to check all the things you would normally think are fine. You’d probably be amazed how many “problems” are fixed by the primary things.

• Go to the back of your PC tower and check all the cables.
• Jiggle cables and make sure things are secure, or to be certain…unplug them all and plug them back in.
• Check that the power from the wall outlet is working if the PC isn’t giving you any power at all. If you need to, plug it into another outlet or reset the surger.
• Check the power cable to make sure it has not been unplugged (especially in office settings, cleaning crews or other folks can sometimes unplug things.)
• Unplug external hard drives and basically anything you don’t need to have plugged in. I once had an issue where I had checked every connection except the video cable that physically plugged into the monitor itself, and had I checked in the first place, I could have saved hours of time.
• Also, if your PC has the small on/off switch in the back on the power supply (where you plug in your PC) make sure it is switched on, so the small line is pressed down, and not the power circle that is usually on the front panel.

After all is said and done, hopefully when you press the power button your computer boots up and everything is in order!  If not, please Call That Girl and have your computer diagnosed at one of our service stations!

Check back next week for part 2 of this simple guide to hardware and getting your computer to boot up!

TIP: Outlook by default opens a PST File (Personal Storage) in a hidden file on your computer. That is where most of your email and folders probably are.  Not everyone knows this and it’s very important that you back up that PST file often. If your computer crashes, the PST is just as important as your pictures and music!

TIP: if your Outlook is getting slow to open, you may want to see how large your PST file is. Some versions of Outlook will lock you out if it gets too large. If you have a newer copy of Outlook, you have a lot more room. But keep this in mind, the larger your PST file, the longer it will take to open. I won’t get into technical talk about this, but if your Outlook is slow to open, call us for a quick review on it, we can help you move off old emails to another PST and get your Outlook in good shape again.

TIP: Using multiple computers and am sick of dealing with mail everywhere? I happen to use a IMAP instead of (Pop3) that synchronizes all of my email and folders. I was at a place a few months ago where I had 4 computers I was checking email on and was just tired of all the extra work I had to do to manage the email. If you are interested in learning more about this, contact us for a review.

TIP: Set up rules and make your life easier! I have been doing this for years and LOVE IT. If I happen to get a ton of email from one person, I give them a folder and a rule. When I get an email from that person, it goes right to the folder I need. Outlook marks it unread, so you know there is new email there.

TIP: Looking for a calendar sync tool? I have been using the Google calendar with my Outlook for a couple of months and have to admit, I really like it. As many of you know, I’m not a big fan of using Google for everything, but I am liking this calendar option. You have to invite yourself to the event, and then it syncs to your Outlook calendar. I have my assistant do all the bookings on the Google calendar and I get the invites on my Blackberry and every computer I have Outlook on. I really dig this!

TIP: Be sure to check your junk e-mail folders! So many of us forget to check that folder, and I have found many important emails sneaking in there! Why is that? Because of the subject line. The person sent it with a title that was caught by spam/junk filters. I think checking that daily is important, you can mark what is not spam/junk to make sure that those emails come to your regular inbox.

1.)  Never restarting. Many of you keep your computers on all day and night. Give it a restart on occasion! It’s good for the computer to refresh itself.

2.) Never do your updates. I can’t tell you how many computers we look at each week that never get basic updates. These include Adobe, Java, Flash, Windows and your anti-virus.

3.) Shutting off with the power button. You should always try to shut down your computer the proper way by going to your start button and selecting “‘shut down”. This allows the operating system to shut down as it was intended. By just pushing the power button, you are forcing a shut off and sometimes the computer’s operating system will be corrupted after doing that. You may see some repair windows come up the next time you turn it on.

4.) Not buying enough memory for your computer. If you have had a tune up done by us, we conduct a 22 pt checklist and part of that checklist includes checking your memory. It’s important to have enough to make your computer time fun and fast! No one wants a sluggish computer experience. We can help you with memory; to set up an appt, give us a call!

5.) Overspending on a computer. Many of our clients have told us that they paid over $1000 for a family home computer. I’m going to guess that was years ago, because now you can get a decent home tower/desktop computer for well under $500. Before you go shopping, call us and get a consultation done and we will help you purchase what you and your family needs, save you money and save you shopping headaches! Many times we can help you buy it online, get shipped to your home and we can come help set it up!

Let’s do a quick review now of Hibernation vs. Sleep Mode in non-techie terms

Hibernation mode:

• Primarily a power saving function
• Saves data to the hard drive
• Turns off the computer
• Uses the least amount of power
• Use this mode when you know you are leaving your laptop and might not have a chance to juice up the battery and you don’t want to lose your data.

Sleep mode:

• This function is also power saving on your battery
• Puts the computer into an “as is” condition so when you come back, everything you were working on should be back to where it was
• Should take just a few seconds to resume back to how you left it
• Use of this mode is great for those that are fast laptop people, who up and leave the computer often, travel and those who need to close their lids quickly due to security purposes.

In a nutshell, as you read in the quick review here, sleep mode is the best to use for laptops. Hibernate is more like a shut down mode.

For those having problems, here is a quick guide:

• XP users with low memory – neither should be used if you are having problems
• Vista users with low memory – avoid using the sleep mode if you are having problems
• Windows 7 should not have problems, and if you do, you might want to get your computer looked at. Primarily, this is the best operating system for Microsoft so far and has the least issues we have seen with sleep and hibernate modes.

Then…doh. I look by the small tables in a row and see a strip right by the tables, installed so sharply that you can’t really see them up close, but they were installed as part of the window frame lol. I thought I had read years ago that coffee places had installed these power strips to accommodate the computers for the customers, but I guess I don’t go to coffee houses much to do real work.

So my doh turns to YAY. I plunk down and start to figure out all my junk and stuff; do my computer set up. Plug everything in, including my phone (my car charger just died and I was down to no juice!), turn on the computer, let it boot up and go get some java finally. Come back with coffee and find I can’t read my screen. UGH.

Go back to the counter, get some wet napkins, and clean my screen up. Now I cleaned all the crap off of the screen, but the glare is horrible (not getting a glare screen, because I barely ever need one in my day to day life), so I have to deal with the bit of glare. My body turns out to be a nice shadow against the windows, and I can see it enough to work.

My 8:30 appt starts. Then the next drama begins, the espresso machines are so loud that I can’t hear my client! LOL. I did really LOL out loud because I didn’t think of that noise before. Only now that I am on my phone I recognize it. I tell my client to just hold tight when they make espressos because I can’t really do anything about the noise.

While I am now done with my appt, I am still sitting here blogging, trying to enjoy the coffee shop experience. Now I can’t help but laugh…the guy next to me just made a phone call and immediately cupped his open ear so he can hear better, he has no power cord for his computer and has no bags to deal with. I can tell he’s a coffee shop pro.

Now, let’s begin with what the WSOD is.

Sometimes while working in the internet or especially in Outlook 2010, or just doing too many things at one time, your computer will start to look cloudy and everything you worked on looks transparent. The application you were working in is totally in a white screen of death mode and frozen up. If you go to the bottom tasks, you can usually continue to work in those, as they aren’t frozen up.

Do not start clicking, clicking and clicking in the white screen of death application. Clicking more only causes the computer to stay frozen or continue to white screen.  Your best recourse of action is to just let it ride out. If you don’t need the application and data you were working on (like internet surfing, etc), you can end the task in windows and re-open a new browser window, or do what I do (as I am very impatient!), open a new browser all together, such as Firefox or Chrome. If you do need the data you were working on, the best thing to do is just ride out the storm. Most of the time in Outlook 2010 it will figure itself out and be back to normal in a few minutes. If after five or ten minutes it’s still there, you probably have to hard crash it and the email you were scripting up may be in your drafts or might not be.

If you are getting these WSOD’s often within Outlook, you may want to book some time with me as I have a few setting changes that can help lift that problem, or your email folder size may be too large and you will need to slim it down a bit. The WSOD with Outlook can also come from IMAP settings. I love and adore IMAP, so I had to clean up a lot of my email that was synching with IMAP, works much better now.

What I have learned to do is change settings, clean up the computer more and delete and manage my email better.  For IE white screens, it is just using fewer tabs. All simple solutions to make the WSOD become less frequent.

If you are experiencing the WSOD and would like us to take a  look at it, please ….

Make sure you know how to pair your device/computer with internet hot spots.

Make sure you know how to pair devices.

Do your research before hand to find out if where you are going has free hot spots or if you have to pay. Most hotels offer this for free, but airports usually do not.

Does your insurance cover your computer/device in case of theft, drops, glass replacements…?

Be sure you have a good battery. If you’re seeing signs of your computer shutting off quicker, it’s time to get a new battery.

Check your power supply; be sure there are no tears and that it’s solid. Pets like to sometimes chew on them.

Shut off syncing to your laptop, i.e. Google sync, Dropbox, etc. Usually these programs need to fully sync and if you shut them off before your trip, it takes less time to get online and get going. Once you are connected and have time to sync, do it manually.

Buy a glare screen or privacy screen for your computer/device. Sometimes those bright lights can often not allow you to even view your screen. It happened to me once at the MSP airport, what was the point of getting it all set up; I couldn’t see it!

Bring an extra power source for your phone/device. I almost never leave home without my USB charger that I connect to my computer (almost always, as I have and it sucks to have no battery!)

Buy an international plug set if you plan on traveling abroad.

Have your laptop out and ready to be checked at security or invest in a bag that is designed so that it can be scanned with your computer in it.

Watch your laptops at the airport. Once I asked an older couple to watch my laptop bag when I went to get some drinks, being that they looked fairly safe snugged in for the hour wait to board and didn’t look like they were going to run off with anything. Now the older lady wasn’t thrilled that I asked her (who knows before you ask how someone will react??) but she did say she would watch it, and then…she let someone else take my spot! But the laptop was still there. I think she was trying to tell me something lol.

Now, if you are traveling…be sure to also grab our email address or phone number so you can call/email in a ticket. Our favorite clients are the ones who are on vacation and need us. We do virus support while you are sunning and on your patio/deck/poolside! (Make note of these now! Phone: 952-681-7969, Submit a Request link: http://callthatgirl.biz/submit-a-request/)

Need computer help today?

Here are a few ways to figure out if you may have a virus.   

• Your computer is acting up
• Websites aren’t loading right
• You try to Google something, and it takes you to a whole different page
• You see a “web certificate” page on a website you’re trying to get to
• Occasional blue screen of death
• Internet goes in and out
• Internet just completely goes out
• Mouse and keyboard aren’t working as they should
• There is a new icon in your system tray you’ve never seen before
• You cannot log into your online banking

While most people just blow these off as glitches, you may have a virus and if let go long enough, could result in a computer crash, loss of data and spendy repairs. We recommend that you get a tune up where we do a virus spot check included in our 22 pt checklist.

Click here to submit a request today

Website developers could offer their services to an organization that either needs a new website or needs regular website updates.  You could also sign up to participate in the annual Overnight Website Challenge sponsored by The Nerdery.

Many organizations could use assistance with their social media platforms.  You could offer to setup a Facebook page, Twitter account or blog and teach their volunteers how to keep them updated.  You could also bring them information about other social media platforms that may benefit their staff or volunteers.

Some organizations have older technology that helps them run their offices.  You could offer to update or maintain their software such as databases, spreadsheets, presentations, or templates.  They may also need training or assistance with virus protection, data backup, or computer maintenance for their staff.

Organizations are frequently in need of other professional services such as accounting, marketing, photography, writing, graphic design, and more.  You can reach out to your favorite non-profit to see if they need help.  In addition, websites such as Catchafire.org and Sparked.com help individuals connect with a non-profit that is looking for your specific skills.

You could also volunteer your time to get away from technology.  Find an organization that matches your interests and search their websites for volunteer opportunities.  Opportunities exist for anything from gardening for Open Arms Minnesota, mentoring a child through the Art Buddies program, or making sandwiches for 363 Days, just to name a few.

I hope this post has inspired you to give back.  No matter what your talent or passion is, you can find some organization that could put it to good use.  Please stop by The Blogunteer blog to start your search for an organization to help!

Stacy Pearson is the blogger behind The Blogunteer – a blog about volunteerism, giving, and kindness.  She is also a mom, wife, volunteer, and project manager.