Qantech's Computer Blog and other helpfull advice

Windows Security Center Service Can’t be Started FIX

qantech — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:28:03 +0000

After removing malware from your computer sometime the windows security service will not start. To fix this just run “services.msc” from the run prompt or search box in Vista. Scroll down to Security Center and double click on it, then change start up type to Automatic and click apply, then click the start button on that window, close the services window and restart your computer then your good to go.

How to put movies in your iPod

qantech — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 14:06:15 +0000

There are a few paid programs popping up around the internet which will enable you to put movies in to your iPod. But we have found a free one just for you…

Go to this web site Videora.com for a freeware program that will convert video to put on your iPod. And yes it is a Windows version and its free . You will then be able to put all types of video and movies into your iPod.

A few words from their site;

Videora iPod Converter is a free video conversion application developed by the creators of Videora. It allows you to convert your regular PC video files (avi, mpeg, etc) into the proper video format that your iPod understands.

When combined with Videora, Videora iPod Converter + Videora allows you to download, convert and copy video to your device, automatically using BitTorrent and RSS technology.

So if you were able to put video or movies into your iPod successfully the tells us about it and leave a comment below.

Step by step guide here

Hope this helps you to put video in your iPod !!

coooo218 (Registry File Failure)

qantech — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 14:05:02 +0000

coooo218 (Registry File Failure)

Hi Guys I thought someone might find this helpful. I came across a customers PC which would boot into Windows XP then flash a blue error screen very quickly and then restart. I disabled auto restart on system failure in the F8 menu.

Stop c0000218 (Registry file failure)

Registry cannot load hive

systemroot\system32\config\security

or its log or alternative etc…..

After some research ( Google really is your friend lol ) I found there may be a problem with ram or the hard drive. I loaded Barts PE disk and ran the scandisk utility and wow….. a lot of errors are on the hard drive. This definitely points to the hard drive as being the source of the problem as I had only formatted and reinstalled the OS 2 days ago. You can try and run the repair installation option off your Windows XP cd, just boot the PC with Win XP disc wait for it to load then select the repair option. This seems to be a rare problem and I hope this info helps someone out in the future. I also found this link on a forum which may help Link Here .

If your hard drive is OK then try using utilities found on various boot CD’s to fix the registry or worst case reinstall Windows XP. Search for UBCD or Bart PE in your favourite torrent directory for the boot CD’s

Good Luck

Peter Parry

Call for Help Computers on the Central Coast

qantech — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 13:51:48 +0000

Call for Help Computers serves the Central Coast NSW Australia. Mobile computers repairs at reasonable rates are offered. Services include free pick up and delivery of your broken computer anywhere on the Central Coast. Data retrieval is no problem, We can back up all personal data such as emails, documents, digital photos, music, anything. Call for help computers have been servicing computers and making repairs to computers anywhere on the Central Coast for people of all levels of computer knowledge who need a little help getting things done. Most workshop jobs have a turn around time of about 24 Hours.

Slow computer ?
Slow Internet ?
Got pop ups ?
Got a virus ?
Got spy ware ?

Then call us and we will come to you and get your computer running right for you. Just go to our web page.

How to Remove or fix Dual Boot Linux Windows System.

qantech — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 13:47:54 +0000

If you have a dual boot system with Linux and Windows on it, you may at some stage want to remove the Linux and keep Windows. The most common type of dual boot system with 2 operating systems that I have seen have been Ubuntu and Windows XP. You may have already deleted the partition with Ubuntu on it and find that Windows will not boot at all. There is an easy way to fix this. If you want to completely remove Ubuntu then you will need to get a copy of ” G-Parted ” Free Download here 28.5 MB ISO Image, you must create a CD from the ISO Image. Boot your computer with the G Parted Boot CD that you have just created. Delete the partitions that hold Linux/Ubuntu. Then you need to allocate the rest of the space on the Hard Drive to the Windows partition thus increasing the size of space to your C Drive. Remove the G Parted boot CD and replace it with your Windows XP CD. Boot the computer so it boots off the Windows XP CD, wait for the 1st blue screen which asks you if you want to install or repair Windows. Select the Repair/Recovery and wait for the recovery console to load. All you have to type is ” FIXMBR ” type “exit” when it has finished, remove the Windows XP CD and restart your computer. It should now boot into Windows.

Hope this helps.

Computer freezes or reboots during startup

qantech — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 13:44:53 +0000

I came across a computer today which would not boot properly, it would restart or freeze and take many reboots just to get it started. I found reading on a forum about a little problem called Capacitor Plague. The problem is that a lot of capacitors were manufactured from an incomplete electrolyte formula causing the capacitors to bulge and leak and ultimately fail.

After a visual inspection of the motherboard of the computer I was working on. A lot of the capacitors were in fact bulging and some were leaking a rusty colored material on the top of them. Replacing the motherboard fixed the problem. I may spend some time replacing all of the old capacitors with new ones but I don’t know if I will ever find the time

How to disable User Account Control warning in Vista

qantech — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 13:41:31 +0000

One thing I hate about Windows Vista is the pop up asking for permission to do anything like changing a setting on the display or installing a program. I know it is an added layer of protection to prevent unauthorized control of your PC but it does get annoying after a while. So to disable UAC click Start->Control Panel->User Accounts, click “turn User Account Control on or off” link if UAC is active, & pops up just click continue. Uncheck the box where is says ” Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer then click OK then restart your computer. There you have it, no more pop up.
Have Fun.

Update, you will need to remove the security warning too

There is no option in Security Center or group policy to prevent the security warning balloon from appearing but it can be disabled via the registry.

How to disable the User Account Control status warning message:

1. Go to Start-> type Regedit in the search bar and navigate to the following
key:

2. HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Security Center

1. Add the following value:
Data Type:
DWORD
Value Name:
UACDisableNotify
Value:
1
2.
Restart the Security Center service for the change to take effect.

Updated Version July 2008
To turn off UAC, the easier version, go to start->control panel-> security center. expand the other security settings bar at bottom of list then click turn off user account control. all done.

Speed up your slow computer. The Easy Guide.

qantech — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 13:32:22 +0000

This guide is an easy to follow step by step guide to get the best possible speed out of your computer. We will not explain what each program is for. To keep it simple all you need to do is follow each step in order to speed up your computer. We recommend you have at least 512MB RAM installed on your PC

Step 1. (Only do this step if you are comfortable with opening your Computer case). Disconnect all cables from your Computers and remove the side panels, some PC’s have buttons instead of screws. Now get a 1 inch soft bristle brush and a vacuum cleaner. Turn on vacuum cleaner & gently using the brush, clean away any dust into the vacuum cleaner hose, do not breath in any dust. Do not put vacuum cleaner hose directly on any computer parts. When satisfied its clean put the covers back on and reconnect the cables. Your computer CPU will run a little cooler. Turn on the computer

Step 2. Download and install Ccleaner. http://www.filehippo.com/download_ccleaner/

Run the program, click “Analyze” wait for the progress bar to stop and the information to appear in the window. Then click “Remove”, and then click OK. When it is complete close the program by clicking the “X” button in the top right corner. Then click Start then All Programs then accessories then system tools then click disk cleanup. Then select the C drive, wait for scan to finish, then click OK, then click YES.

Step 3. Defrag the Hard Drive buy going to “Start-> All Programs-> Accessories-> System Tools. Click “Disk Defragmenter”. Then make sure the “C” Drive is selected single click on “C” will do. Then click “Defragment”. This may take a few hours especially if it has never been done before. When it has finished click “Close” and close the program.

Step 4. Click ‘Start’ then click ‘RUN’. Type msconfig in the box then click ‘OK’ Click the startup Tab and you will see boxes with ticks in them. By removing the tick the computer will not load that program automatically during start. By removing some of the programs you do not want to start you can increase the boot up time of your PC. You can safely uncheck items such as msmsgs to stop messenger from starting. Due to the large amount of startup programs and many different computer setups it is best to visit these web site and browse each item and see if they can be safely removed. Some web site to visit as follows

http://www.windowsstartup.com/wso/browse.php

http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_index.htm

http://www.greatis.com/appdata/

Step 5. Perform a full virus scan make sure virus program is up to date. Get a free virus scanner from here

http://www.filehippo.com/download_avg_antivirus/

Step 6. Perform a full Antispyware scan, make sure you antispyware program is up to date. Get a free one from here http://www.filehippo.com/download_ad-aware/

Step 7. Download and run this program http://www.filehippo.com/download_cwshredder/

Then click ‘FIX’ then click ‘OK’. When finished click “NEXT” then click “EXIT”.

Step 8. Click Start then Control Panel make sure you switch to classic view on the left hand side then double click Add / Remove Programs. Go through the list of installed programs and remove the programs that you don’t use anymore, this helps free up some space and makes the registry a little smaller. Do not remove any Windows or Hot Fix items. When finished close the Add /Remove Programs box down by clicking the “X” in the top right corner of the box. Leave the control Panel window open and proceed with step 9

Step 9. Double click System then click the Advanced tab near the top of the box you will see 3 buttons which say “Settings”. Click the first Setting button. Then make sure the first 10 boxes are unchecked. Then click the Advanced tab then click the Change button, in the virtual memory box make sure the green dot is in the little circle next to “System managed size” then click ‘SET’ then click OK. Click OK again. Restart the computer.

I will add more or amend this guide as needed soon but it is a good start.

qantech — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 13:30:38 +0000

How to put video in the iphone for free.

Videora iPhone Converter is a free iPhone video converter that converts video files, YouTube videos, movies and DVD’s so you can play them on your iPhone. The software, developed by the creators of Videora, can convert all types of video files (avi, divx, xvid, flv, x264, vob, mpeg, DVD’s, YouTube, etc.) into the proper video formats (MPEG-4, H.264) that play on the iPhone.

Videora iPhone Converter + Videora allows you to download, convert and copy video to your iPhone automatically, using BitTorrent and RSS technology.

Go straight to the How To Guide Here http://www.videora.com/en-us/Converter/iPhone/guide/video-to-iphone/

Video to iPhone Converter Guide Converting video files in Videora iPhone Converter is dead easy (when connected to the internet), as it has a built-in online guide to help you convert your videos. This guide will show you how to convert your video files.

Dell RAM Upgrade not working, limited to 256Mb RAM

qantech — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 13:15:03 +0000

I see this every so often when upgrading DELL PC Memory, I get the message
O S Install mode enabled. Amount of available memory
limited to 256MB. Strike the F1 key to continue. F2 to run the setup
utility.

To fix this simply press F2 and scroll down to OS install mode and press space bar once to turn off os install mode, press Esc to exit, saving the changes you made, this will restart the system and the whole amount of RAM will be available. Dont forget to go to control panel–system–advanced tab—-performance click settings then click advanced then click change then check the system managed size circle then click the set button then click OK, then OK again and click OK once more, restart the PC and you will notice a performance increase with the new RAM.