This Weeks Top 10 PC games chart 27 June 2008

Here is the weeks Top 10 PC games chart from CUSTOMPC

01 Football Manager 2008 (No change)
02 Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (Last week: 3)
03 Sins of a Solar Empire (New entry)
04 Mass Effect (Last week: 2)
05 Alone in the Dark (New entry)
06 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Last week: 5)
07 Civilization IV Complete (No change)
08 The Sims 2: Freetime (Last week: 4)
09 Lego Indiana Jones: Original Adventures (Last week: 8)
10 World of Warcraft: Battle Chest (Last week: 9)

No wireless networks detected by Windows

When trying to connect to a wireless network with a laptop the windows view available wireless networks section would always be blank and a message saying that no networks were found would appear.
My first thought was to make sure the built in wireless adapter was even turned on by pressing a button on the laptop itself ,after a few seconds available networks were available and I was able to connect to the preferred network.
It could have been a tougher and longer problem to fix if I hadn't had this problem once before.

Other steps one could try is make sure the wireless card is installed correctly by looking in Device Manager and also trying to uninstall and reinstall the card.

How to check if AERO is enabled in Windows Vista

Windows Vista usually automatically enables the AERO graphics engine on Home Premium versions and higher.
But some systems might not have the video card or system to handle it ,to check if it´s enabled do the following:
Right-Click on any empty space on the desktop and choose the Personalise option.
In the Personalise window choose the Window Color and Appearance option ,in the new window make sure that Enable Transparency is checked ,if it is AERO is enabled and working.
If you would like to disable the whole AERO thing then you can also do it in this window just click on the option at the bottom that says Open classic appearance properties for more color options and choose Vista Basic theme.

Whats new in Windows Vista SP1

With Windows Vista now having service pack 1 (sp1) ,Microsoft have fixed some bugs and improved functions these are and not limited to:

Improvements in reliability
Improvements in performance
Improvements in security
Changes to search
Changes in memory (RAM) reporting

For complete details on these improvements go here:
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/ea7577b8-813f-47a5-ba05-2f5b2e436b281033.mspx

To Learn how to install Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) visit the following site:
http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/Help/133c8953-c9cd-4fa5-8883-03e91bb6f2021033.mspx

how to change Windows Vista desktop backround picture

New users to vista who don´t know how to change their desktops background picture need to do this.
Right-Click on an empty space on the desktop and choose Personalise from the menu.
In the personalise window click on Desktop Background to open a new window where you can now change the default picture or browse to your favourite one ,click OK and you´re done.

What program opens the following File Extension

If you want to open a particular file but realise that you don´t have the correct program to open it then you will have to know which file extension it is.
To view this go to the Properties (by Right-clicking the file) and see what extension or file type it is eg: .doc.
when you know this you can go to :
http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/reference/fext/fexta1.htm
Find the file type extension and see which program can open it ,then all you need to do is to get that program.

how much should one charge for computer repair?

Usually jobs can be worked out by charging per hour ,per job or even with a contract.
sometimes a format can be charged just a format and then maybe add an hour or so if they want stuff to be copied or saved from a previous installation.
Per hour can get expensive as usually the computer does most of the work one wouldn't charge per hour for instance on an anti-virus scan as the scanner will take longer and the tech just has to look once in a while but if a tech is constantly working hourly then per hour might be just and fair.
A contract type of fee happens when a business pays a monthly fee for you to go there and do maintenance which can get tricky and sometimes you do more work then what the contract fee is ,and don´t forget about them calling you when they feel like it.

I would like other experienced Techs to leave their comments on what one should charge for repairs.

Find the generic driver for a USB Mass Storage device for Windows 98SE

Those of you who have the older and somewhat reliable Windows 98 operating system might need the driver for a USB Mass Storage device(pen drive ,external hard drive etc.)
If you didn't receive or have lost the install CD you can still get the driver from the manufacturers website.
Sometimes when you can't even find the driver from the manufacturer you can use a universal USB driver that will work.
You can get it here:
http://www.technical-assistance.co.uk/kb/win98se-usb-mass-storage-drivers.php

This weeks Top 10 PC games chart

Here is this weeks top 10 PC Games chart from Custompc

01 Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (No change)
02 Mass Effect (New entry)
03 Football Manager 2008 (Last week: 2)
04 Race Driver: GRID (No change)
05 Lego Indiana Jones: Original Adventures (New entry)
06 The Sims 2: Freetime (Last week: 3)
07 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Last week: 5)
08 Civilization IV Complete (No change)
09 Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War Soulstorm (Last week: 6)
10 World of Warcraft: Battle Chest (No change)

CD/DVD Writer doesnt write on certain empty CDs/DVDs

If you just bought some empty Cd's or DVDs and realise that you cannot record any data to them but you can record to the current stack of Cd's that you had before then the problem might lie in the Firmware of the writer itself.
Certain writers were made to record only with certain tested brands of Cd's or DVDs when they were first made.
As time went buy new media or brands were released into the market that the writer does not support.
The best way to fix this is to go to the manufacturers site of your writer and download the latest software firmware for it.
After doing the update the writer should be able to record to the new bought media.

When pressing letter keys on laptop keyboard numbers or symbols appear!

When pressing some letter keys on a laptop keyboard you might get numbers or other symbols instead of the correct letter.
To fix this make sure that the FN key or Num Lock key is not activated (light must be off)
This should fix the problem.

How to physically tell if motherboard is bad or going bad

One of the best ways to see this is to look for bad capacitors on the board.
Here are images on bad capacitors;http://www.badcaps.net/pages.php?vid=5.
If you have any of these symptoms then it is likely that you could be getting a blue screen of death or even the computer doesn't even boot to the Post screen.
the best solution is of coarse to get a motherboard with the same specifications that the current one had.

Can I run two webcams on Windows XP

The answer is yes as long as you use two different brands.
If you use the same brand then the drivers will conflict ,now you can have Skype with one cam and Messenger on another.

Remove Windows Genuine Advantage Notification

To remove the annoying “Windows Genuine Advantage Notification” from your system you will have to remove it from Control Panel but by default it wont let you remove it that way so we have to make it available to be removed.
You will have to reboot the computer into Safe Mode (by pressing the F8 key repeatedly after the computer boots up and before windows loads)first in order for this to work.
Follow the below steps to make it available:
Open the Search companion then search and delete WgaTray.exe file on your system drive (also check the “Search system folders”, “Search hidden files and folders” and “Search subfolders” checkboxes ), delete the registry key WgaLogon in the following tree: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\ Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\Notify\WgaLogon, and to remove the entry from Add/Remove Programs list, modify the registry key in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Uninstall\WgaNotify. Click on Start.
Click on Run.
Type in regedit in the Run text box.
Click OK or press Enter.
In Registry Editor, browse the the following registry key branch:HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\WgaNotify
On the right panel, modify the value of NoRemove (by right clicking on the key and choose Modify) to 0.
Exit the Registry Editor.
Re-launch the Add/Remove Program, and Windows Genuine Advantage Notifications (KB905474) is now removable.

How to enable or disable Task manager in windows XP

If you want to enable or disable the Windows XP Task Manager then there is a quick way.
Click Start, Run and type Regedit.exe ,now navigate to the following key;
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System ,on the right pane select DisableTaskMgr and open it.
now adjust the values accordingly:
Value: 1=Enablethis key, that is DISABLE TaskManagerValue
0=Disablethis key, that is Don't Disable, Enable TaskManager

when you have changed the value click on OK ,Exit Regedit and restart your computer.