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Since you're here, why not get a tune up for your computer done today! $59.99 includes a 22 point checklist (
info@callthatgirl.biz). Schedule some time today, we can do these remotely too
Posted by callthatgirl on January 18, 2012
Morning everyone! Today’s blog has a few tips on how to save money while buying a new computer. Be warned, some of the tips are of course to offer our services, but read the whole blog and you will find many other tips in the reading.
1.) I have to put on the list…is hire us to help you buy it. We can do a remote session with you, remote into your computer and help you find a few computers online that fit your needs, your future computing needs and your budget. Things we can discuss are if your old software is compatible, your printer is compatable, what hard drive size is right for you, backup solutions, antivirus programs you need and just answer every question you have. We book usually 30 minutes for this consult, at $59 for this consultation, we find we save you money because most people go to a store and listen to a sales person and walk out of the store OVERBUYING. Working with us gives you the straight answers because you are paying us. If you want an expensive computer, we will make sure you get it and show you a few different models. If your budget is tight, we can find you many models that are inexpensive and you can get more bang for your buck if you do it right.
2.) Don’t overbuy! Simple, a sale person is making commission so be prepared if you go into a store to be upsold to death. Be sure you’re buying what you need and can afford. What do you need? Everyone wants fast fast fast….most computers out now come standard with what you need and they are pretty fast.
3.) They say skip buying the store’s extended warranty. I am on the fence with this becuase I do think people in business should buy it, mostly because it’s your business computer and you need it fix asap. For home users, it’s iffy…if your last computer worked great for 8 years, this one will probably last that long too. Figure out your repairs you made for the past 8 years (for hardware) and it is equal to what you paid for it, you might want a warranty. If way less, you may not need it. Most extended warranties are $100-$200 and it’s just like insurance, you don’t use it you lose it. Many give you a new battery on the plan, so make sure you get that if anything!
4.) Do you really need Microsoft Office? What do you need with this program that a generic can’t do for you? People today are telling me that the Office programs are very expensive and if you don’t need Outlook, why not try the generic version of Word/Excel/Powerpoint? Try openoffice.org Using these free tools can save you up to $120 if you were going to buy the home and student version of Microsoft office.
5.) Finally the last way to save money. Can you setup the computer yourself? Don’t hire Dell to do the home install…their rates are much higher than paying us or a local company to come out and do the set up. They don’t have many extra’s in their install package, we actually sit and help you figure out all the bells and whistles. Many people hire us to help them or do it themselves until they get in a pinch. We do computer set ups for pc and macs and don’t mind getting on the floor and figuring out all the cords. If you are in business, having a professional company do the set up is worth the money. If you are a home user, it’s worth it if you don’t know what you’re doing. We save you headaches!
To book an appointment with us, please submit a request on the link below. We look forward to helping you before, after or when you have a computer headache and aspirin isn’t helping!
http://www.callthatgirl.biz/submit-a-request/
Posted by callthatgirl on August 14, 2011
Guest Posting by Liam Tidwell of LiamTek.com another computer repair owner from my social networking circles. Enjoy his post today folks!
I hear the above often, very often.
So in this post, we will answer the following questions:
1 What is defragging?
2 Does it really make a difference?
3 Can it hurt my computer?
First things first what is fragmentation? Think of a hard drive as an empty book. You then fill it with programs which we will call chapters. Front to back of course. Now a “chapter” gets longer but it is in the middle of the book, so you just put a note on the last page of that chapter that says see page X for the rest of this chapter. Now after enough revisions of the chapter it becomes pretty hard to read. Think of defragging like taking the book apart and putting it in a 3 ring binder so each chapter can be put in order from first to last page. That is defragmentation in a nutshell.
Does it make a difference? Yes. Does it make a noticeable difference? Maybe… That depends on how you use a computer. The performance difference really is dependent on how old the hardware is and how fragmented the drive is versus how often the drive is accessed for what you do. I’ll just say that defragmenting won’t slow you down any. Most people won’t notice a speed difference on their computer until it is in the 9-11% range and a defragmentation is capable of doing that.
Can it hurt my computer? Yes, absolutely. Will it? Probably not. Running a defragmentation is very demanding on a hard drive and can kill one that is on the verge of failing anyway. But this is why we do regular backups. For most people defragging your computer every 3-4 months will do just fine.
So there you have it, the basics of defragging. Why do people defrag? Simple, they want to speed up their computer. If your PC is slow enough that it is bothering you, chances are you will need more than a simple defrag. There are two main ways to get that new PC speed back. Hardware upgrade & software tune up and defragmentation is a small part of that process.
If you are looking to speed up your laptop or desktop PC, Call That Girl can of course help.
Liam Tidwell – LiamTek
Click here to book an appointment or call us to get some help if you’re scared to defrag yourself! 952-681-7969
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Posted by callthatgirl on February 19, 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 952-681-7969. 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! 952-681-7969
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