DO I NEED A NEW COMPUTER?

I get this question asked to me a lot!

Some will ask that I look at their computer and see if it can be repaired.  Let me start by saying if your computer is over five years old then the time is nearing.    Don't get me wrong.  I have three desktops running Windows XP.  I have two running Windows 7 and one laptop with Windows 7 (see my earlier post).

If your computer is running slow, has trouble connecting to internet, downloads are slow - then you probably do need to update your computer.  The other reason - XP is old and Windows 7 is new and the supported operating system of Microsoft.

Here are my suggestions:

Processor:  Intel i3, i5, or i7
Memory:    8GB DDR3 RAM
Hard Drive:  500GB or more
USB ports   as many as you can have on the MB Mother Board

For desktops:  A good graphics card  GEFORCE or RADEON  If you are one for multiple screens some of the video cards have additional ports on the card.  You can also use the video on the MB and your additional PCI slots to install additional cards that support multiple monitors.

Here are some links to some informative articles:

CNet Computer buying Guide for desktops

Computer Hope on MAC vs PC

Computer Hope - Why Should I Buy a computer?


If you have any questions just email me.


Rhonda

Anti-Virus Software

I have rebuilt 5 computers in the past 3 months. One of those i have rebuilt twice in the last year! Why? trying to use all my spare computer parts. I found old hard drives (two 80GB) and put them in an old Athlon 64 with 1.5 gb of RAM. worked fine! I was trying to update all of Windows XP and add Office 20007 when bam it hit me! A VIRUS!!! I had not put on a virus protector because I wanted to get all of windows updates before slowing down the computer for the VPA (virus protection Application). Ok, yes I know you need protection but I thought I could - doge it! Scanned computer found virus yeah! I even inquired on the instructions to remove it. Writer was cute in saying repeat and when virus doesn't show up have a cup of coffee and sit back and enjoy. Evidently, the writer doesn't know me because the coffee came first and the virus - well it never went away! So what did I do? I took it part built another computer put a copy of Win 7 on it transferred the data and now trying to put the pieces back. Now that I finally have my new network working in the house, I will put on the virus program. Oh but wait which one? You know me I will not spend the money for a program unless I have to!

Look at this article http://download.cnet.com/Avast-Free-Antivirus/3000-2239_4-10019223.html?tag=mncol and see what you think. I have used Avast in the past on other machines. It has done well for me. I hope you will try it also.

New laptop

I finally replaced my old broken laptop.  I had a lenovo and replaced it with an lenovo!  I replaced my dual core with and i7.  Hey I found it at a good price.

It has the whistles and bows but all in all is a good laptop that I hope will carry me through more than 3 years.  I had looked at the HP’s and really liked the DV6 series.  Some would say that wasn’t good but I look for functionality.  I am not a fan of the Toshiba nor am I a Dell fan.  I see too many refurbished Toshibas for sale and that turns me off.  There are some Lenovo refurbs out there but not as many.  Sony Viaos are rarely seen and I almost replaced my old laptop with a Sony but this Lenovo was an i7 where the Sony was an i5 and the difference in money was only $100.

Most laptops come with the standard webcam and microphone, this Lenovo Ideapad Y560p had a JBL sound system and multi layer DVD/CD optical drive.  Main reason was the price FRY’s had on it.  If you want a good computer and you are at FRY’s in Alpharetta, GA  go see Michael Hill. 

A link I found for typing learning how and timing.

http://www.typeonline.co.uk/index.html


This site is pretty good for learning how to type. It also has timings.

Try it!!!

The Dance

Here is the video I tried to post earlier this month and couldn't. You may have caught it on Facebook. If not here it is: Victoria is dancing at the grand opening of Lenbrook with one of there handsome residents Mr. Oliver.

How to back-up normal user data with Windows Backup

How to back-up normal user data with Windows Backup
The backup drive can be any removable media, a folder on the drive, a second hard drive, a network drive, or an external USB or Network-Attached Storage (NAS) device as long as it has sufficient capacity to contain all of the data. If using removable media, multiple disks may be required. An estimate of the number of required disks should be displayed. Windows Backup does NOT support archiving directly to an optical disk drive. To make a backup to optical media, save the archive on a network or other secondary storage device and then use your regular software to burn the data folder and application to the recordable media.

=> Run Windows Backup on the source system. To do this:

a) Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Backup

b) Close any running programs (especially email!) and click "Next"

c) Select "Back up files and settings" and click "Next"

d) Select what to Back Up and click "Next":

- My documents and settings.
This only backs up the default user's Documents, Favorites, Desktop, and Cookies. It will not include additional files or folders. Files and Settings Wizard is a better choice unless the user needs to be able to selectively restore specific files..
- Everyone's documents and settings. This choice works well for a system with multiple users where there are no additional files or folders that need to be included. Depending on the type and amount of data in the different user folders, the backup archive may exceed standard optical disk capacities.
- All information on this computer. This creates a complete archive of the computer files, and can easily exceed the capacity of a standard DVD or other optical media. Since the archive file does not automatically split into several smaller files, you have no way to span multiple disks.
- Let me choose what to back up. This would be the best choice when there are multiple users of the system or there are additional files or folders that need to be archived. This solution is also best if large amounts of data need to be archived because they can be broken into multiple archives by running the backup for each user or group of files.

e) In the Items to Back Up list, select the files and folders to archive. To archive most of the normal files, favorites, and desktop, add a check mark to the following:

 C:\Documents and Settings\All Users
 C:\Documents and Settings\
 C:\Windows\Profiles (contains legacy user profiles and Outlook Express data.)
 Select any other folders that contain files requested for backup

f) Click "Next"

g) Select the backup destination and name. The destination can be any removable media such as floppy disk or USB flash drive, a folder on the local drive, or a network drive that has sufficient capacity to hold the final archive. If using removable media, Windows Backup will prompt to insert new media as needed.

h) Click "Next"

i) Click "Finish" to start the archive process.

j) Click "Close" to exit the program.

----------------------------------------------------------

Make a Windows Backup and Restore CD, DVD, or archive folder.
To do this:

a) In My Computer, open the folder \Windows\System32.

Locate the file "ntbackup.exe"

b) Copy the program file to the same location as selected when you ran the Wizard to archive the files.

c) To create a recordable CD using Windows built-in burning feature:

- Insert a blank CD-R disk in the optical drive
- Select the data folder created by the Backup program and any additional files you copied.
- Right-click, select Send To from the context menu, select the CD-ROM drive from the list.
- Click on the notification balloon "You have files waiting to be written to the CD" and follow the prompts to burn the files.

Outlook 2003 Tips

Post Comments and send questions for more tips to us at rjpwenterprises@gmail.com

 

Outlook 2003

Contacts

The first place most people think of storing contact information such as e-mail addresses is Contacts. Items in Contacts include much more than just an e-mail address or fax number, however. A contact card can include a name, physical address, several phone numbers, multiple e-mail addresses, fax numbers, and lots of other information about the contact, such as birthday, anniversary, and so on. Outlook stores your Contacts with the rest of your Outlook data in a Personal Folders file that has a PST file extension. [Outlook.pst – this file is usually found in C:/Documents and settings/USER/Local settings/Application Data/Microsoft/Outlook.pst-- USER= your account]
If you use an Exchange Server account, Contacts are stored on the Exchange server with the rest of your information (Mail folders, Tasks, and so on). Regardless of the type of account you use, you can use Contacts to store all of your contacts and their addresses, if you prefer.
Bottom line: Contacts is the best place to store contacts because it offers more contact information fields.

Addressing messages and managing address lists

Now that you have a better understanding of what the Outlook Address Book is all about and the other places you can find addresses, let's take a look at how to accomplish some specific tasks in addition to those explained above:

• Address a message: Click the To, Cc, or Bcc button on the message form to open the Address Book, choose an address list from the Show Names from the drop-down list, and, under Message Recipients, click To, Cc, or Bcc.
• Use AutoComplete to address a message: On the Tools menu, click Options. On the Preferences tab, click E-mail Options. Click Advanced E-mail Options. Select the Suggest names while completing To, Cc, and Bcc fields check box. Click OK three times. Open a new message, click in one of the three address fields, and start typing the address. Outlook can use AutoComplete only after you have used an address at least once.
• Send a message from Contacts: Right-click a contact and choose New Message to Contact.
• Specify which address list is shown by default in the Outlook Address Book: Open the Address Book from the toolbar and in the address book, on the Tools menu, click Options. Use the Show this address list first drop-down list to specify which address list gets displayed by default.
• Copy contacts from a Personal Address Book to Contacts Open the Address Book, right-click the contact, and choose Add to Contacts.
• Change the way names appear in the Address Book In Outlook, on the Tools menu, click E-mail Accounts. Select View or change existing directories or address books, and then click Next. Click Outlook Address Book, click Change, and choose the desired options. Click Close, and then click Finish.
• Include or exclude a Contacts folder from the Outlook Address Book In Outlook 2003, in the Navigation Pane, click the Contacts folder. In the Contacts pane, right-click the Contacts folder (under My Contacts) and click Properties. (For earlier versions of Outlook, right-click the Contacts folder in the Folder List and click Properties.) On the Outlook Address Book tab, select the Show this folder as an e-mail Address Book check box to include the folder in the Outlook Address Book list. Clear this check box to exclude the folder.
• Move contacts from one Contacts folder to another Make sure the target folder is configured for Contact items (you specify this when you create the folder), and then select the contacts and drag them to the other folder.
• Copy contacts from a Contacts folder to a Personal Address Book Open the Outlook Address Book, and on the Tools menu, click Options. In the Keep personal addresses in drop-down list, choose the Personal Address Book and click OK. Close Outlook and restart it. Open Contacts, select the contacts you want to copy, right-click the contacts, and choose Add to Contacts. Optional: Open the Address Book and set the default location back to Contacts.
• Set a Personal Address Book as the place to store addresses Open the Outlook Address Book, and on the Tools menu, click Options. Select the Personal Address Book from the Keep personal addresses in drop-down list.
• Import contacts from a Personal Address Book to Contacts Open Outlook and on the File menu, click Import and Export. Choose Import from another program or file and click Next. Choose Personal Address Book, click Next, and follow the wizard's prompts to add the contacts.
• Use Bcc (send to multiple recipients without the recipients seeing the recipient list) If Outlook is the default e-mail editor, start a new message and on the View menu, click Bcc Field. Enter the addresses in the Bcc field. If Word is the e-mail editor and the Bcc field is not shown, on the Tools menu, click Options, and click the Mail Format tab. Clear the Use Microsoft Office Word 2003 to edit e-mail messages check box, and click OK. Follow the steps above to display the Bcc field, close the new message form without sending it, and then on the Tools menu, click Options, and select the option to use Word as the e-mail editor.
• Create a distribution list to send mail to multiple recipients:  In Outlook, on the File menu, point to New, and then click Distribution List.