On this show we answered a question about laptop and desktop memory needs, talked about the last day of the $9.99 Maintenance Checkup Sale, and churned a few rumors about what might be coming next from Schrock.

Click here to listen to the show

Post from: Schrock Innovations

Compute This Radio Show From 8-9-08

If you also consider the fact that there is no one at all in Nebraska who can recover data from fried flash drives, mp3 players and ipods, there is a real market for data recovery - and its growing.

We recently had a customer whose hard drive failed completely.  The drive would not even spin up.  Since we did not have the proper clean room and equipment to do the job, we sent it off to Drive Savers for recovery.

As usual, they did an outstanding job - for $1,800!!!!!!

Data recovery is one of those weird industries where you can charge a pretty heafty price for your work and still be considered a low cost leader.  However the work can be sporadic so recovery centers charge a lot because they can go from feast to famine quickly.

If a local company with an existing base of customers and a consistent cash flow ADDED a data recovery center (clean room and all) it would be the only one in Nebraska and a lower price might just allow that company to poach some national data recovery business as well.  Hmmm

Post from: Schrock Innovations

Lincoln, Nebraska Needs a Real Data Recovery Center

Thor and Chris spent some time explaining exactly what happens durring a PC Maintenance Checkup, what kinds of maintenance your computer needs, and why it’s such a value this week for only $9.99.

This was a pre-recorded show, so there were no callers.

Listen to the show commercial-free here!

Post from: Schrock Innovations

Schrock Innovations’ Compute This
Radio Show from 8-2-08

If you love to test new software programs right from when their trial and beta versions are released, you are likely to have PC problems even after you have uninstalled these beta programs. This is because most of the programs released as beta versions are not completely tested and they are quite likely to leave behind orphan registry entries and program files and folders on the system. For example, if you installed beta version of Office 2007 on the system, you may face difficulties to completely uninstall Office beta version in order to upgrade to its full product release. To get rid of such problems, you can seek help of third-party program uninstallers that are designed to scan your entire system to identify these leftover files and help you get rid of them. You may also look at the software manufacturer’s website to see if any specific program uninstaller is available to completely remove their products from the system.

One very useful tool that helps you prevent several computer problems is the registry tool. Registry problems usually occur due to registry bloating that is caused by accumulation of a large amount of unwanted, obsolete, and invalid registry entries. Using a good registry tool you can clean your registry and remove all this information from it. Regular registry scan and clean-up help you optimize the registry for better performance and speed up your PC.

If you start facing sudden computer freeze problems, it is quite likely that your system has been infected with a virus or a spyware program. These malicious programs infect your system and configuration files to generate several computer errors. Additionally, they copy and install malicious files and software that dramatically slow down your PC. To prevent and remove malware infections, you need to use tools such as antivirus and antispyware to perform regular full-system scans. For the scans to be more effective, you must perform them by starting your PC in Safe Mode.

Frequent addition and removal of programs and other files and folders fills up the hard disk. Over time, the hard disk accumulates more junk information than information that you actually use on daily basis. This unwanted data puts unnecessary pressure on the hard disk and causes it to slow down. Additionally, the lack of storage space increases the amount of fragmented data stored on the disk. To prevent these hard disk problems, you must clean and defrag it on regular basis. For this, you may use the Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter tools that are shipped with your Windows XP and Windows Vista operating systems.

Post from: Schrock Innovations

How You Can Fix Your Own PC Problems

With kids heading back to the classrooms in less than a month, online safety is something that parents should not overlook.

Sometimes its pretty easy to just say that your kids know more about the web than you do. The cool thing about Symantec’s guide is that it gives you the rough overview and if there is an area in which you would like more information, there are links to sites that specialize in those areas.

From the guide:

We’re all trying to manage our childrens’ growing
independence and doing our best to defend them and our
computers from the many serious dangers on the Internet.
We’ll go through the top Internet concerns in this guide
but if you are interested to dive more deeply, I’ll recommend
Web sites and publications that can keep you informed
as the conditions change each day.

If you have a child or a grandchild heading back to school home or away, download their free online safety guide and make sure they have their bases covered.

Post from: Schrock Innovations

Internet Family Safety Guide Available FREE Just in Time for Back to School