Posted by callthatgirl on March 1, 2011
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.
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Posted by callthatgirl on May 1, 2010
Are you having problems with your Internet Explorer being glitchy and not working right? Maybe it’s stalling when you try to open it, or just not playing nice. We have created a video for you to watch to reset and configure IE 8 on your own. It’s a short 4+ minute video with no sound to watch and then you can do it on your own.
Remember to close your Internet Explorer 8 window at the end and open it again. You should find that it works much better and faster. Click on the button below and you will be redirected to our YouTube channel.
How to reset and configure IE 8
Posted by callthatgirl on April 26, 2010
Call That Girl will be launching a new business services line of support and to get going, I thought I would do a review of Outlook. Outlook is probably one of the most used software programs out there. I am a big fan of it, have used it for years…but there are a few things everyone should know. The big tips are at the bottom of this blog. We will start with a review of who uses Outlook and for what purposes.
HOME USERS
So, let’s start with the average home user. Why do you need Outlook? You probably don’t unless you have a smart phone and like synchronizing your calendar, tasks, contacts, etc. Most home users use free email services such as Gmail, Hotmail and Comcast. Many Mom’s like Outlook for the kids calendar, home calendar and keeping track of contacts.
SMALL OFFICE/HOME OFFICE USERS
SOHO (small office/home office) crew. Yes, you folks need an email program of sorts if you are going to run a business. Outlook is a great option, and here is why…
- Email from mulitple accounts can be added to Outlook in one profile
- Easy to move from an AOL, Hotmail, MSN to Outlook and start using your professional business email account with easy transition.
- Great for smart phone users, synchronizes all data from Outlook to smart phone.
- Rules and Alerts, use these to organize emails from certain groups, people, companies that need to be organized as they come in your email inbox.
- Easy to back up
- Easy to use with social networks
- Most importantly, give your business that professional edge! Getting your own website and email is where it’s at for running a business.
SMALL BUSINESSES
Small businesses need Outlook help too. If you are in an office with around 20 people, you probaby don’t have in-house help, but rather one person who happens to know the most about the company IT and do it as well as their real job with the company. Sometimes having an outsider who knows Outlook is a great option for the quick fixes (for us!) and less headaches (for you!). With our 15 minute quick fix rate of $25, you can’t go wrong asking Call That Girl to help out on occasion.
CORPORATE USERS
Many corporate users have Outlook and keep all of their contacts/calendar appointments at work. They may also have rules about taking data with you, so we recommend you check with your manager or HR department before calling us and assisting with that. Your company IT department may also be able to assist you in exporting critical Outlook information (email, contacts, calendar).
Are you an Outlook Express user? If so, as you may or may not know, Outlook Express is no longer supported by Microsoft. You can still use it, but support is not an option with them. We at Call That Girl can support you, but many functionalities just do not work so well and we are now moving folks to Outlook. You can also opt for Windows Mail or Windows Live Mail if you are still looking for a free option. But of course, you may have problems importing in your folder list from Outlook Express. I have seen this be a problem for some of my clients.
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, 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 service 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.
I hope this helps many of you, if you have any questions about your Outlook, feel free to comment or give us a call for a review of any problems you are having. 952-681-7969
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