Tag: call that girl
Buying a New Computer During This Holiday Season?
If you are, then congrats! This is usually the best time of year to buy one. What is your reasoning for buying a new one? Did your old one die or is it very slow? Or is it just time to have a new one for all your new gadgets you are using? In today’s blog we will review what to do with your old computer, guidance for buying a new one and what to do with your new one once you get it home.
What are doing with your old computer?
If you have another computer and plan on keeping it around, Call That Girl and get it spruced up with our 22 pt checklist ($75). If it’s a family computer, then your family will appreciate it getting as cleaned up and fast as possible. Some people are using their old computers to run as a the music jukebox, even though it’s just for music, we can still give it a quick cleaning without the bells and whistles with our Xpress Cleaning (a slimmed down cleaning $45)
Did your old computer just die?
You can get it recycled usually at your local county recycle shop. Call your county hotline or google it. Some counties charge a fee, some do not.
Or you can donate it to Free Geek Twin Cities
I just got wind of a company in Minneapolis in the Powderhorn Park area called “Free Geek Twin Cities”. I will be planning a tour and visit them, but for now here is their link to check it out. Looks like a good program! You can volunteer your time to earn a computer (for those under financial distress, this may be a good option for you!). They do charge a nominal fee for the drop offs.
http://freegeektwincities.org/donate-equipment
You are now out looking for that new computer, what to buy?
To start, I always recommend having a budget (go above a bit or under a bit if you find the perfect one!) and go find your old disks for your software, then head to the store. Many folks go to the big box places, but I recommend you go out to Microcenter in St. Louis Park (next to Burlington Coat Factory on Hwy 100 and Hwy 7) and check out their inventory. Microcenter has the staff and service center to get your new computer up to your liking. You can shop first online, then head in to the store to purchase (link below).
Dell also has great deals right now going on right before the holidays, I would not expect it to be here before the holidays season though. http://www.dell.com
Keep in mind a few things about buying a new computer
If you are buying a laptop, then remember to check the weight (if you plan on carrying it around, you don’t want a real heavy one), play with the keyboards (make sure they keys are comfortable for your hands), make sure you have at least 3-4 gig in RAM/memory and finally check the monitor for glare (You don’t want one that has any glare from lights above).
If you are buying a new desktop computer, just make sure that you follow the same requirements as buying a laptop, but without the keyboard test.
If you want more memory, be sure to tell the sales person! Same goes if you want 2 monitors!
How can Call That Girl help now that you have bought your new computer?
We can help with setting up your new computer with our 12 pt checklist–and almost always this can be done remotely! Many folks forget to do the simple things to set up a new computer, (examples: backup, recovery disks, security, move data, set up a home network and many more!).
For the business home office users, setting up a new computer may include moving all of your data, setting up your Office programs, Outlook, network sharing, etc…we are the right company to assist you with your new computer.
If you would like to book an appt for us to do a home visit for the set up, we offer home onsite service.
$25 off for any new computer set up!
To book an appt or just ask a few questions, fill out the booking form below and we will get back to you!
What to do if your laptop gets stolen
First thing I would do is clap for joy that someone actually would want to steal this very old Dell Latitude that is about to croak! You would think that I have the best of the best, but you know how it goes…the Shoemakers kids always have the hand me downs. That’s how it is with Call That Girl and all our staff. We always get the refurbs, but soon here, I am getting a new laptop.
For those of you with laptops that you care about:
Prevention tactics:
Password protect your computer–don’t make it easy for the thief to get into your stuff. Even though most thieves will just want to sell your computer without caring, some will go through all your personal files and maybe even look for passwords and personal data. Like most of us, we keep log files somewhere of things we should not. It’s very common for people to have these files on the pc, but it’s not safe, but if you think you can name it so the thief won’t know, have at it. Most thieves that steal laptops want the money they can get on the street for it or to resell it. It’s the hardware they are after (from what I have heard anyway). If a cyber thief is going to steal from you, they will do it online of course.
Back up your data!!! If your laptop is stolen, at least you can get your data back and change your password asap to the data backup company. I use Mozy for all my data back up and many of my clients are on it as well. It’s a good program.
Write down all of your computer’s information NOW on a peice of paper for safe keeping and insurance purposes. Keep the receipt, model and make and if you can get it, the Windows product key (it’s on the back on the computer usually). I also like to put a personal sticker on the computer somewhere, so it it’s stolen it will make it easier to recognize. Get a good sticker too, one that is hard to pull off.
What to do if your computer is stolen:
Try to remember where it was stolen, car, convention area, bathroom, conference room, etc. Report it to the building security and/or Police in that area. Telling them it was a black Dell will not help much, but having the information that you noted about the computer will help.
The building security or Police should report it to all the local pawn shops, but I would call anyway asap! Tell them anything that would help yours stick out. This is why putting a sticker on the computer will help stand it out in the pawn store line up.
Next up, prepare for the emotional loss. I had a laptop stolen once at my old corporate job and it felt really weird. Even though it was a corporate laptop, I still felt violated. I remember getting the call early in the am, “Lisa, did you bring home your laptop over the weekend”….Me, “Um, no”…”Well, we had a break in and your laptop was stolen”. Creepy feelings set in. Then I had feelings of “where is my document that I didn’t save to the network file share…oh yeah, on my laptop desktop!” So besides the emotional loss of the machine itself, you will miss the stuff on the computer, like your pictures, data, documents, taxes, music collections, etc. Everything will be in the hands of the thief.
To close: If your laptop is stolen, call police, give them all of your computer information, call the pawn shops and change your password on your back up program. If you have software for stolen laptops (many of the newer computers give you a free trial) alert that program as well.
Additional tip: Put the laptop in the trunk of your car, not in the passenger or back seat.
If you have questions, feel free to contact us! info@callthatgirl.biz
Or fill this out and we will contact you shortly.
Gobble Gobble
Happy Turkey Day everyone!
Today is just a regular blog, nothing to tell you or share related to computers. Today is a regular work day at Call That Girl too. Tomorrow is gobble day and my family is actually opting to get together Friday instead, so I have a holiday off for myself! WOO! What will I be doing? Probably enjoying mimosa’s in the morning, plotting out my winter soft remodel for the house and watching the Macy’s Day parade. Whenever I get a holiday like this to myself, I always try to remember my childhood days of waking up on Thanksgiving and enjoying the day off, listen to my mom scurry around the house getting the food and turkey ready. It was usually just a tad bit cold, like it is today already and feeling that “winter is coming” and not really being sad about it. As a winter fanatic, this is the time of year I really love, the calm before the storm.
Since I have become an adult, those days of being around the house all morning while my mom cooks are long gone. I kinda miss those days to be honest, but I also enjoy taking the day off and just showing up when my mom says to come over. The mornings off are a luxury for this enterprising entrepreneur.
One memory that is new for me is that one of my friends from college calls me every Thanksgiving and wishes me “Gooble gooble”, so with hopes he calls me tomorrow and wishes you to you, eat hearty, nap tightly and don’t break the bank on Black Friday!
Lisa
How to Install Memory (RAM) in a Laptop / Notebook
If your computer has been running slow, have you had a computer tune-up lately? If not, now is a great time for it. We have a 22 point checklist of updates, maintenance and cleanings we do, takes about an hour and it’s $75. Right now we have a sale for just $50! In our tune-up, we check your memory. Some folks don’t want to get a cleaning, but just want their memory checked so here is a short blog on checking/installing memory/RAM. Click here to book an appointment!
In our 22 point cleaning checklist, we check your computer memory/RAM and if you can upgrade, we let you know. We also tell you how to install it yourself if you like. It’s very easy believe it or not.
Let’s start with why you may need more memory first before we show you the video. For starters, you may have an older computer (5 years old) and it’s been running fine but it’s getting slow. Sure, we can do a cleaning on it, and get it faster and after our cleanings, our clients are very happy with our services, but many need to buy more memory/RAM to get that old computer zipping very fast. The cause of the slowdown is many times, these computers only have the bare minimum that came factory installed. If you have XP, to run with the big dog programs such as Office 2010, you should try to get your computer to at least 1gig of RAM or 2gig if you want your computer really fast. For the older computers, the RAM is usually very inexpensive and recommended if the computer seems stable. If you are having other problems with it, like a lot of noise coming from the computer or seeing crashes often, this is a sign of a computer that may need to go to the land of refurbished computers and I don’t recommend putting much money into them.
Vista is another culprit of low memory. Most factory shipped with just 1gig of memory/RAM and that is just too darn slow for Vista. As the complaints are high with Vista, you can help it by just adding in the max memory your computer can take.
How to check your memory, I could write up instructions, but here is a short video from Crucial (the company we buy memory from online).
How to Install Memory (RAM) in a Laptop / Notebook
How to Install Memory in a PC Desktop Computer
http://www.crucial.com has a nice scan tool that you can run and check what type of memory your computer needs. It also tells you what is installed and how much more your computer can take. It also offers a check out system for you to buy it and get it shipped right to your home/office. It’s our favorite at Call That Girl and we have had great success with Crucial.
If you need help with purchasing or installing, feel free to give us a call! This is so easy to do, we can walk you through it over the phone. No kidding!
How To Check Your Internet Speed
Why would you do that you ask? Because you may be on a very old internet plan with Comcast, Qwest, Integra, etc….and need to have your plan upgraded! Many times, these companies will up you for free because you are paying for a plan that has better speeds and will they tell you about it? NOPE. You need to tell them!
If your internet is slow and sluggish but everything else is working fast, then an internet speed test is what you need to get done.
Here’s an easy link to test it yourself.
Click on the green “Begin Test” banner button above the map of the area you are at. (do not click on the orange “free scan” button!) For me, it’s a map of the United States. It also shows you the recommended server to test with, for me who is in Minnesota, it’s Sioux City, Iowa.
After you begin the test, you will see a meter pop up and it will show you how fast your internet is for download and upload speed. Wait until it’s done for you to get an accurate reading.
My test didn’t go that well. I am also on a wireless computer, upstairs from my router. I will go plug my computer in the router and do another test before calling. If you are on wireless, you will get a slower speed than if you were directly connected to the modem/router.
If you are hard wired to your modem/router and see it appearing very low, then you will want to call your internet provider and check into an upgrade if you want your Youtube videos and streaming to be better. This is the main reason why folks want faster internet these days.
Hope this information helps! If you get the test done and it’s fast (4 mg/s or higher) You may just need a computer cleaning. Call us today to get that done remotely!
FedEx Invoice copy email, virus attached
Here is an example of the fake Fedex virus email… Here is an example (given to me by one of my fellow geek friends)
From: FedEx Express Services [mailto:manager.no.7354@fedex.com]
Sent: 12 November 2010 08:57
Subject: FedEx Invoice copy No05486632
Your package has been returned to the FedEx office.
The reason of the return is – “Incorrect delivery address of the package”
Attached to the letter mailing label contains the details of the package delivery. You have to print mailing label, and come in the FedEx office in order to receive the packages.
Thank you for attention.
FedEx Logistics Services.
These usually have a fake invoiced attached, which is a small file that is executed and opened on your computer. So far the reports from my geek friends are that it’s quite destructive. DO NOT OPEN. Just delete the email and if you are waiting on a Fedex delivery/invoice/package, just call them directly to verify.
Here is a link to their website and to contact them (US) http://www.fedex.com/ca_english/
If you are googling this because you have opened it, feel free to call us (612-865-4475) and discuss removal of the virus or click below to book an appointment!
