New Outlook Error 080073cf8 New Outlook would not launch, so I tried to uninstall it, But it didn’t uninstall. It would not no matter what I tried. I got the error “You cannot uninstall Outlook” as well. Quick Answer on how I fixed it I typed this in the run line %localappdata%\Microsoft Deleted the OLK […]
Author Archive: Lisa Hendrickson
Lisa Hendrickson is the owner of Call That Girl. She is an Outlook Expert and Microsoft 365 Consultant.
How to avoid mistakes when cleaning your own computer up
Sometimes our clients call in and they will say, “When I was trying to clean up my computer, I think I may have accidentally deleted something because…”
1.) My computer doesn’t work (you deleted something important that keeps your computer running smoothly)
2.) I can’t run XYZ program (you may have deleted some of the program files)
3.) The screen is now much larger, and I can’t access my desktop (you possibly deleted some of the graphics software)
4.) My iTunes collection is gone (your collection was associated with another profile and you may have deleted it by accident)
5.) My computer is running much slower than usual! (new software you installed may have had spyware built right inside)
I could go on and on with possible scenario’s of things that might go wrong, but these are just a few examples of what will most likely happen if you delete the wrong system files, folders, programs, and/or profiles.
The basic computer user should probably avoid doing anything more than a “disk clean” or “defrag” on the computer. If you don’t know what these 2 things are, you shouldn’t probably do any cleaning at all. Most of our clients that say “I did the disk clean and defrag and it’s still slow”…know just enough to be dangerous. These are the types of clients that get a bit curious and will also download programs off the internet to help speed up their computer. (which can have spyware built in) These are also the types of people that may on occasion delete system files, profiles, programs, etc. Are you this type person? If so, read on! If you are not that person, you are our type of client!
Moving along…
If you are the “Google Tech” as I call it and you want to try fixing things yourself, before you start any investigation of your computer for what may be slowing it down, you should always do a full back up of your computer. Not sure how to do this? Call us, we can help with that too.
Then start with the easy stuff, check your hard drive’s available space, check for possible spyware, check your internet speed, clean up your browser (do a full reset, not just cookies and temp files), check memory, and if you’re having a problem with Firefox, just uninstall it and remove that program (easiest fix for Firefox issues). If you want to learn our entire 22 pt checklist, we do offer special training for any client that wants more of a “one on one” session, and we schedule these by appointment for a small hourly rate. This way you can learn it once, and then you can do it yourself properly the next time around! Heck, you can even fix your kids computers then too:)
Keep in mind, we get clients who are technical engineers who will swear up and down that they did everything to clean up their systems, but cannot figure out why it’s still slow. Then they hire us and find that one glitch that was causing problems, outside of normal cleanings. Please also be aware that we do a 22 pt checklist for cleaning, not just to run a program or two, as there are many ways your computer can slow you down outside of a “defrag and/or disk clean”.
To book a computer cleaning or schedule an appointment with us, fill out the form below.
Reasons why we do not recommend AVG 2011
…Or any of their products for that matter. Put simply, viruses, spyware, and malware get right through most free antivirus programs. And AVG 2011 is no exception, it’s one of the free products that we see most often when we remote into a computer that has viruses on it. Not only is AVG 2011 a bad and heavily bogged down product, but it is just not worth the download, free or paid. (And in our opinion AVG 8.0 used to be one of the best). But just like with Norton (we consider AVG Norton’s little brother) or Symantec products, they both took a once good product, weighed it down, and ultimately just ended up ruining it. Sometimes it’s just right to leave things well enough alone.
Check out two Google searches we did:
Here are a few things you should be aware of with AVG 2011
- Firewall can cause several problems–such as block you from trying to do something
- Doesn’t work–viruses/malware/spyware get right through
- Hard to remove (sometimes requiring a removal tool–sometimes it just stalls)
- The social media protection features do not work as I found a Facebook virus on one AVG computer!
- AVG 2011 install has caused some of our clients worse problems–blue screen of death, won’t start normal
- AVG 2011 has caused computers to malfunction (especially with Google Chrome!)
- AVG 2011 has caused programs to not open properly due to a registry error (with it being installed)
Stay away from AVG 2011
Call That Girl advises that you skip ALL FREE products and be smart and purchase products that are already being proven to work–such as our SuperAntispyware tools. The tools we use at CTG to remove viruses are a mix of our own knowledge, a few fixer programs and SuperAntiSpyware. This blog is not a push to have you buy our favorite products, but to let you know that for the low cost of $40, you can buy a great product, that protects and detects any possible threats with real-time protection–and it’s one of the tools we use at Call That Girl to help your computer be free of these attacks.
If you are a do-it-yourself type, here are the tools you will need to do the removal of AVG and install and purchase the SuperAntiSpyware yourself.
Download SuperAntispyware for free here
Pay for the $40 LIFETIME license for Superantispyware here
Try removing AVG 2011 from your Add/Remove programs first, if it fails…then try the removal tools listed below.
AVG Removal Tool here (32 bit)
AVG Removal Tool here (64 bit)
You will need to configure the SuperAntiSpyware program once you download it. We will have updated instructions here today, so check back.
If you do not understand which version or “bit” your computer requires, call us and we can help you figure that out for free. Just call 612-865-4475. If you want help with uninstalling AVG 2011 and to get SuperAntiSpyware installed, this can be done for $32.50 by one of our help desk techs. It should just take about 15 minutes to do this. Just $40 for the product, and $32.50 for a qualified tech to install…That’s a one time price of only $72.50, so you end up never having to pay for antivirus protection again. More than fair, considering the possible alternatives, don’t you think?
Contact us below or call for a quick appointment so CTG can get you and your system protected today! 612-865-4475
If your Laptop is severely Damaged, can anything be Saved?
Check out this picture of a laptop that was actually recovered from a house fire.
You are going to find this hard to believe, but the computer repair tech that worked on this laptop was actually able to retrieve all of the data off the hard drive. Not everyone would have been so lucky.
At CTG we are often asked if anything can be salvaged from a severely damaged laptop. And the answer is, each scenario can be different. You might be able to salvage a part off of a recently damaged laptop, but in the end what will probably matter most is whether your data can be saved.
We depend on our computers to keep all of our memories, taxes, personal documents, work documents, notes, calendars, emails, family weekend gatherings, weddings, videos, movie collections, just about everything we do in today’s fast moving technology world.
If your laptop was accidentally dropped, in an unfortunate house fire, stolen, or the hard drive crashes repeatedly, what would you do without your data? Starting from scratch can be pretty scary.
This is why CTG always recommends that you back up your data and computers regularly, and if you need assistance please Call That Girl today so we can assist.
Call us to schedule an appointment for a “cost efficient” 30 minute session to insure your hard drive is backed up daily, weekly, or monthly. After all, your “stuff” is very important to us.
If your laptop is damaged severely, it can still be recycled. Please visit http://www.ecyclingcentral.com to find a location convenient for you where you can drop off any laptop or other device. Typically the charge for dropping off a laptop is around $20, but well worth the good karma.
To book an appointment with CTG please fill out our contact form below or simply call 612-865-4475 today.
Does your cursor or mouse move while you type?
Ah, this is a common problem with many our clients.
Does this happen to you? You’re typing like a mad person and all of a sudden you see your mouse/cursor move to another spot on your screen. And you’ve noticed for awhile now.
This is a common problem with laptop users and it actually has a medical term associated with it.
Smallhandwristlaptoptouchpad Disorder, otherwise known as SHLTP.
Ok, that’s a joke.
What is really happening is that your wrists or hands are touching the “touchpad” on the laptop ,the little square soft area under your space bar. This is a hardware piece of your laptop that you can use as a mouse instead of attaching a mouse. Not everyone knows this but if you touch it while you’re typing, the cursor/mouse will move on you.
The people having most of the problems with this are women with smaller hands. Some of the touchpads on laptops are wider or more delicate to the touch so you may not even see this problem.
You can disable this function or just keep aware of this and maybe you can avoid touching the touchpad.
If you want help with disabling this feature, Call That Girl today and we can remote in your computer and disable it for you.
Virus Spyware Phone Call Scam
This weeks blog is a warning to all of my readers of a virus and spyware phone call scam that is going around and this is real folks, not fake. No need to check with snopes.com. I am going to ask after reading this, you DO forward this blog link to your friends/family/college kids, etc. Anyone who has a computer and has a phone.
Here is the situation.
One of my networking colleagues calls me a few days ago to tell me that she got a call from someone (named Mark, with an accent appearing to be from India) who said she was sending out “spyware” and they needed to remote in and do a check on her computer. They also said they charged $129. They also said they were representing “Windows Microsoft”.
I called their number on their website to check them out as asked a few questions. They told me that they call people with viruses that are Windows Microsoft owners to alert them, it was very fishy. They also said that once the client agrees to the service, they will not give back refunds. It appeared to be a smaller call center by the sounds in the back and when I asked for a supervisor, the first guy on the phone said, “She wants to talk to a supervisor” and hands over the phone to the supervisor.
First thing folks, no one should ever call you about computer issues but maybe your internet provider or your friends with these following reasons:
- Your internet provider may shut off certain services because you are sending viruses they are checking. Call That Girl can and will assist you with this.
- Your friends may email or call and tell you that your email has been hacked as they are getting tons of emails from you with weird subject lines, etc.
- Your Facebook has been hacked and your friends and family are emailing you to let you know.
Now, moving on…
My networking colleagues moves on to tell me that this company started installing programs and while she watched them work, she took very good notes on what they did. One thing though that happened that caused me a lot of concern was that they talked her into doing things that she said she wasn’t sure she should do, such as log into her bank account to pay them (basically, so they could see her account number) and I’m quite sure they put in a keylogger program (to get her password).
After 2 hours, she wasn’t comfortable with the call, their service and the whole thing so she reported it to her bank to file a discrepancy. She told the company she was going to do it and they said she would see a credit on her account, but she didn’t feel comfortable yet again with that.
Unfortunately, she got scammed. But this is getting more common as I did some research on the internet. Trust me, no one from Microsoft is going to be calling you about anything, PERIOD. They simply do not call you unless you ask them for help with your computer. And you will know that because you contacted them first.
Here are a few things to watch for:
- These calls are coming from India apparently (based on what my new client/networking colleague told me and from what my research shows)
- Be leary of anyone, from anywhere calling you to do work on your computer without you calling them first
- Hang up immediately if anyone tells your computer is sending viruses/spyware
- Never give out your credit card number or phone number, home address, etc to these incoming calls
- Finally, keep in mind…they had a reputable looking website. Do not check into them first, just simply hang up.
As I hate to say that it’s the “people from India” doing this, this is the current scam and I am just playing virus advocate to help spread the word on what’s going on.
Laptop and Virus Repair for Minneapolis Minnesota
After a few months of restructuring the business, we have now reopened our Twin Cities drop off location in St. Louis Park. We offer sit down, side by side service…no counter to stand at and you can see your computer boot up and ask questions when you leave our office. We recommend it!
Interested in having us do your hardware repairs? Call others first and get quotes or save yourself and be sure you get the most affordable, fast turnaround repairs by Calling That Girl! Our St. Louis Park location offers friendly service and knowledable technicians.
Minneapolis Office (Call us first please to insure the best level of support, somtimes our remote services are best!
Hours 10am-6pm
PC/Networking Support
Laptop power jack replacement and repair
Laptop screen replacement
Laptop keyboard replacement
Desktop computer hardware repair
Crashed hard drives
Data recovery
Blue screens of death repair
5871 Cedar Lake Rd. #214
St. Louis Park, MN 55416
612-865-4475