Tag: computer repair minneapolis

5 Questions a Computer Repair Shop Should Ask You

| October 12, 2012 | 0 Comments

This short list of questions is very important for your computer repair technician to ask you when you bring in your technology to the repair shop. Be prepared to answer questions like…

  1. Do you have your program installation disks? Programs like Microsoft Office and Photoshop cannot be backed up and are therefore at the risk of being lost in the case of an operating system reload and other repairs.
  2. Did you bring in any cords? Most of the time, your computer repair shop will not need you to bring in any cords besides your laptop’s power cord. If you do have to bring in cords, make sure that they are labeled so they do not get confused with the shop’s cords.
  3. Are you backing up your data regularly? If not, you may want to have the computer repair shop back it up for you just in case something were to happen during the repair and all of your data was lost. If you never back up your data, talk to the technician about the options you have; after all, backing up is the golden rule in the tech world!
  4. What problems are you experiencing? Try to provide a detailed description of the problems your computer is experiencing to the technician so they know specifically what they should be looking for.
  5. How old is your computer?After describing the problem, the technician may ask how old your computer is. In some cases, problems are due to old age and it would probably make more sense to just purchase a brand new computer.

Why you should be careful when buying Microsoft Office on the Internet

| September 24, 2012 | 0 Comments

I’ve had a few clients call in this year with problems with the Office products they purchased online. They either downloaded a pirated version and had to get their money back from their credit card, or they just had tons of issues with the installation causing many other problems.

When most of us need software, we go to our favorite search engine (mine is Google) and type in what we are looking for. Many of us want to save money, because software is expensive! But….if you end up buying a product that is from a site selling illegitimate copies, you will have a few more headaches to deal with as Microsoft will not activate products they do not sell licenses for. As well, 30 days after a purchase, you may have problems. Or, if you try to re-install, you will have problems.

Or you may not and get lucky. I recommend just paying full price; own it and use it as you wish.

Here is an example of a search in Google for “Microsoft Office.” These are the top 4 searches. The top 2 are actual paid ads from Microsoft. The 3rd one down…is a store selling products for WAY CHEAP. I would be leary of buying that product.

 

Having issues with your Microsoft Office products? Fill out the form below and we’ll help you out!

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One for sure way to get kids to do their chores

| August 2, 2012 | 0 Comments

I saw this on Facebook today, thought it was funny. Looks like a real winner for families that are struggling to get the kids to do their chores or homework. If you are a parent that wants to learn how to change your password on your wireless router, feel free to submit a request, we can do this for $39 to $59.

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Computer Repair St. Louis Park Minnesota 55426

| June 19, 2012 | 0 Comments

Blog posting for Computer repair St. Louis Park, MN 55426

Call That Girl computer repair and support offers home visits and in store drop off at our location on the corner of Louisiana Ave and Cedar Lake Rd. Half mile from 394, right next to Jerry’s Hardware.

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How to survive the Windows 7 White Screen of Death (WSOD)

| April 24, 2012 | 0 Comments

Goodbye blue screen of death, welcome white screen of death! If you haven’t experienced it yet, consider yourself lucky. (It is annoying.) I get them when I use Outlook 2010 and I have a fast computer, or so I think. My laptop at home that gets the WSOD has 4 gigs of ram. My computer at work has 8 gigs of ram and I get the WSOD occasionally on that computer, too. I do not believe it’s caused by lack of memory. I have tried to troubleshoot this issue for months now and for the most part I have concluded that it’s pushing the bigger programs that are using Windows 7 to their max.

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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, call us at 612-865-4475 or send us an email – info@callthatgirl.biz.

Office365 Podcast

10 signs that your computer may have a virus

| April 16, 2012 | 0 Comments

Boy oh boy is this getting more and more common. We used to take calls from our clients who told us that they had pop ups and weird notifications, or even a huge flashing graphic, “You’ve been infected”. Seems lately, the viruses are doing more damage underneath, and not showing the usual suspects. And no…your AV program may not be catching these buggers either.

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.

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