The Computer Doctor of Richmond

A few days ago we talked about how you should be using bookmarks to help keep your internet life running smooth.  Today, we’re going to tell you about a fantastic way for you to keep your bookmarks backed up and in sync across multiple computers.   Xmarks, formerly known as foxmarks is an internet browser plug in for Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari that allows you to keep your bookmarks or favorites in sync.

So what exactly does this mean for you?  First install the xmarks plug in into your browser and create your free account.  Then xmarks does the rest for backing up and syncing your bookmarks up to the web.  Then install xmarks on any number of other computers, log into your xmarks account and it will take care of the rest.  This will synchronize your bookmarks between all of your computers.
This fantastic tool can be especially useful if you are working on something at the office, and need to continue reading it at home.  Just save yourself a quick bookmark, and when you get home it will pop into your bookmarks automatically.  Moreover, if you use the bookmarks toolbar like we talked about previously, xmarks will take care of synching these too.

For more info, please see xmarks website

If you’re considering buying a new windows based PC you really should wait.  Windows 7, the successor to the battered and bruised Windows Vista, is on the horizon.  Windows 7, for all intents and purposes, is what Vista should have been.  Win7 is a faster, stronger and more backwards compatible than Vista.  With any luck, perhaps it can cool down the fire that Microsoft got burned with from Vista.  Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not bagging on Vista.  But let’s be honest, the world hasn’t exactly been thrilled with it.

But that may come to an end as soon as October.  Windows 7 will officially be released for sale to the public on October 22nd.  It is currently on the verge of being released to the manufacturers (Dell, HP, etc..) for them to start developing new systems with Win7 on them.  So if you can wait until the new systems come out in the fall, you’ll be in good shape.

However, if you can’t wait until then, perhaps you can wait about a week.  A leaked Best Buy memo outlines details about the upgrade plan.  It says that if you purchase a new computer after June 26th, you’ll receive a certificate for a free upgrade to Win7 when it comes out.  However, this program may vary from reseller to reseller.  This is very similar to the upgrade program Microsoft did with Vista prior to its official release.

For more information on the upgrade program see this Computer World article.

One of the common things we see amongst our customers is the use of internet history in place of using favorites/bookmarks for regularly accessed websites.  They will click on the little down arrow in the address bar of their internet browser to get a list of sites they have been, and then hunt through that list to find the place they’re looking for.  While there is absolutely nothing wrong with that method, there are more efficient methods.
For instance, favorites in Internet Explorer or bookmarks in Firefox and Safari are great built in tools to allow you to save the sites you go to on a regular basis.  Then instead of trying to remember all the sites you like to visit regularly, or hunting through your history you can simply click on the link in your favorites.  Moreover, if you do have a number of sites you regularly visit, you should use your Links toolbar (Bookmarks toolbar in Firefox).  This is a little toolbar, typically located below the address bar that has a list of the favorites/bookmarks you put in there.  For example, this is a picture of a very common Internet Explorer setup with the Links toolbar located directly below the address bar.  Notice how there is several links including The Computer Doctor of Richmond, CNN and so on.

Now take a look at the picture below of another bookmarks toolbar with the text labels gone.  Notice how this gives tons more space to add in even more bookmarks for all the sites you visit on a regular basis.  This is because most sites nowadays have favorite icons that identify themselves to your browser with a little icon.  You will typically notice this immediately to the left of the address of where you are visiting.  Take a moment and look at your address bar currently, you should see a little picture of our Computer Doctor of Richmond logo.  These favorite icons also show up beside the link for your bookmark.

So how can you start saving favorite links in Internet Explorer?  There are several ways to do it, you can simply use the keyboard shortcut “CTRL + D” or you can select the “add favorite” button as seen in the picture below as indicated by the highlight in the lower left corner.  Or you can select the favorite menu and then select add to favorites as indicated by the highlight in the middle of the screen.

Also notice how we highlighted “tools” in the bottom right of the picture.  Click this to get a list of tools and how you can customize Internet Explorer.  To turn on the Links toolbar you may need to select Tools > toolbars > and select Links to turn it on.  After turning Links on, if you don’t see the links toolbar below the address bar, it may be to the right, directly above tools.  If you want to move this over like we’ve shown it, you may need to first unlock the toolbars (also found in tools > toolbars > if there is a check beside “lock toolbars” then select it to unlock) and then hover your mouse over the little adjustment dots (as seen in the picture below) and click and drag it to where you want it.

You can also click on the favorite icon in the address bar, and drag it to your links toolbar.  To get rid of the text, right click on it and select properties, then select the general tab, now delete the name of the link and hit ok.
So you’re now likely saying one of two things “wow, this bookmarks/favorites thing is great, tell me more!” or “I already use bookmarks/favorites, what do you have for me in that fancy bag-o-tips?”  Well, stay tuned there is more coming in our next post in a few days…..

Do you have an HP dv2000/dv6000/dv9000 or Compaq Presario V3000/V6000 or similar model?  If so, be aware that your computer may suffer from a manufactures defect.  If your computer suddenly one day fails to boot up, but will partially power on then your computer is likely suffering from a result of poor manufacturing and poor quality control.

The symptoms are typically when you press the power button, the blue media buttons above the keyboard light up, the fan turns on but that is it.  Nothing will show on the screen, nor if you connect it to an external monitor.

The bad news is that the only way to fix it is to replace the motherboard.

The good news is that we can likely get this problem fixed for you at minimal cost.  Do exercise caution of other shops that tell you they will replace your motherboard for $x-hundred dollars.  Also, the good news is that 99.9% likely your data is still intact on your hard drive.

For more information and assistance with this repair, contact us and inquire about our warranty facilitation program.

Well, it’s not like it was hard to see coming.  Circuit City, based in Richmond Virginia announced today that it will start the liquidation process at all of it’s stores.  We, also based in Richmond Va are sad to see a long standing staple of the community shut it’s doors.  We are writing this to let customers of Firedog, Circuit City’s in house computer repair store know that we are hear for you if you need us.

We can assure you that we are not going anywhere anytime soon.  Our business is strong, and is growing through our high quality service and our superior customer care.

Circuit City employees, good luck to you all in your future endeavors.

For more info on the Circuit City liquidation, see Consumerist’s article here