Wireless network setup

I have set up many wireless networks for my customers now and can honestly say that given the right conditions they can be a reliable and inexpensive way to share your Internet connection, printers and files. While you simply cannot beat the reliability of an Ethernet (wired) network for home use, wireless can be the network of choice. Conversely I would not be happy supporting a business that way, and given the mandate to support a business network would have to insist it was wired.

However, for the home user these are my 4 basic guidelines to a successful Router set up:

1. 1. Use a reliable, and simple wireless router that supports 802.11b and 802.11g. I prefer to use the WRT54G from Linksys.
2. 2. Place the router (wireless access point) in a central location so that no PC (or wireless printer) would have to transition more than 3 walls or floors when taking a "line of sight" between router and the end device (PC).
3. 3. Ensure you change the default name of the wireless transmission (SSID) otherwise you will conflict with your neighbor that fails to do the same. It can be anything you want, but keep it short and sweet to make setup easier, e.g. joe, molly, geneva, hotrod, rover, etc.
4. 4. Finally enable WEP network security, don't go crazy, just use the 64 bit key which simply equates to 10 hexadecimal characters. They must be 0-9,a-f, so again keep it simple and use your 10 digit cell or home phone number, that way you won't forget it.

To access the above mentioned settings on the WRT54G Linksys router simply point a browser at the gateway (aka router) address of your network. 192.168.1.1
The default login is Username = [blank], password = admin. You can change the password if you like but just don't forget it, better still, write it on a post it and stick to the underside of the router. Once into the router you can set or check your wireless settings.

Setting up the Wireless on your Windows XP PC or Laptop

In order to connect to your wireless network you will need to setup your wireless system to link to your particular wireless system (SSID, 3 above) and also enter the wireless encryption protocol (WEP) key as described in 4 above. Microsoft Windows has it's own application (Wireless Zero Configuration) that will assist you to do this. However, some wireless adapters, either integrated or after market add-ons, come with their own applications. Usually one has to choose either the Microsoft application or the third party. If you choose to use the third party application follow the directions supplied, usually in the help menu.

Alternately you can follow the Microsoft Wireless setup Wizard as follows:

1. Go to Control panel and select Network Connections.
   
   
2. Assuming you have a Wireless Network Connection right click on it and left click View available connections.
3. You should see your wireless name here, if you do not you need to trouble shoot that first. Click on "Set up a wireless network for a home or small office" under network tasks on the left.
4. Click Next then select "Set up a new wireless network" then click next.
5. Type in your wireless name (SSID - #4 above in router setup) and select "manually assign a network key" then click next.
6. Type in your WEP key twice as set in router set up #5 above and click next.
7. Select "Set up network manually" and click next then Finish.

Your computer should now automatically connect to the router in 30 seconds or less.

Still having problems? Better call your local PC and Network Specialist.

Till the next time..

Ctrl=Alt-Delete

Steve

Drive Failures

For those of you that don't believe in backing up your documents, photos or music, and you are the majority, here is something to think about. I have been seeing an increasing number of hard drive failures over the past few months. Sometimes I am contacted early in the failure cycle but sometimes its just too late. Catastrophic failure of the hard drive means you lose everything. Basically your computer will not start (boot) and in many case the BIOS(the Basic Input Output System) will not even recognize that your computer even has a hard drive. As Monty Python would say you have a "Dead Computer". (see Dead Parrot sketch)

What this means is that all those digital family pictures you have downloaded to your computer are gone. Your financial records from Money, Quicken or your favorite tax program are lost forever, not to mention your address book in Outlook, calender and all those emails you wanted to keep. Gone, gone, gone.. Favorite web sites, music, family trees, and medical records, all gone. Sure there are companies out there that will dismantle a damaged drive and recover any data that still exists but these services run into the $1000s and there are NO guarantees.

So what can you do:

1. Install an automatic backup system, today.
   
2. Pay attention to changes in your computers performance, if it is taking extra time to respond to data opened from your hard drive this could be an indicator of a hard drive failure.
   
3. Ensure your hard drive is monitored by the S.M.A.R.T. system giving you an early warning of pending failure.
4. Have your computer serviced regularly by a qualified technician.
5. Consider replacing your hard drive after 2 to 3 years

Of late I have seen many Maxtor hard drive failures. Now to be fair they are an inexpensive brand and consequently used in high numbers. However, Western Digital drives fall into this same criteria but I feel are not failing as frequently. If you have a Maxtor drive in your PC, and it is more than 2 years old, and you don't have an automatic backup system, I would highly recommend you change it. Fix My PC 2 will change your hard drive over to a Seagate or Western Digital, 160 GByte Drive for $129. Look at your BIOS or Windows Device Manager to determine what drive you have.

So you have been warned.. but let's hope you you don't experience a drive failure, and if you do that you have everything backed up.

Until then Ctrl-Alt-Del

Steve Holder

Memoirs without typing

I just hung up the phone with a customer who is writing a book using a PC, printer and dictation software procured and installed for him 2 weeks ago. He had asked me to follow up with him in 2 weeks, which I just did, and told me he was delighted with the system I had installed for him. Just 2 years ago the technology to dictate accurately to the PC was not quite there yet, sure it was available but took the user hours of training the computer to recognize the idiosyncrasies of their voice and pronunciation. Today the technology is much better and a lot easier and quicker to get started with the real work at hand.

I purchased Eugene a new DELL Inspiron 530 desktop, complete with 19 inch monitor, HP Laserjet 1018 printer and "Dragon Naturally Speaking" version 9 which even comes with it's own headset and microphone. The total package was less than a $1000 including my setup time.

The point being, if you are like me and have a creative flair for writing but cannot type worth a dam then there are solutions out there that can help you capture those fast fading memoirs as long as your throat does not go dry. Of coarse there is still a learning curve, nothing is for free, we all know that, but today it is a practical proposition to start talking to your computer and let it do the typing for you.

So don't put off that book any longer, there is no excuse. If you live in my area and want me to help you set it up on a new or existing computer just give me a call.

Until then. Ctrl-Alt-Del

Steve Holder

Cyber-Wars

I just heard on the news that we are in the midst of a Cyber-War being waged mainly by hackers located in China. What does that mean? For most of us it means nothing, but pay attention this stuff is IMPORTANT. Let's set the record straight, there ARE people out there on the Internet that, a)have too much time on their hands, b)want to feel like they made an impact on the world, albeit negative and c)do not care about the pain, suffering and lost money they cause to their unsuspecting victims.

Most of you reading this have made the jump to light speed and are on a fast Internet connection, Cable, DSL or even Fiber Optic. It's not that these fast information pipes are the cause of the Cyber-War it just facilitates it. In the blink of an eye a pop-up appears and tells you with a professional looking graphic that your computer is already infected and you need to click on "THIS" button to clean them. You do it and like a fly in a spiders web you are caught. "DON'T CLICK ON ANYTHING YOU DON'T RECOGNISE AS SAFE"

Okay so you did, no worries you have an up-to-date anti-virus right? Please tell me you do.. no it's no good if you did not renew the subscription in 2002, the virus you just downloaded was designed 2 weeks ago, how can anti-virus definitions that are years old protect you from that? Like I said computers are dumb.. we have to tell them how to look after themselves.

See my page on Recommended Software and make sure you computer is protected, there is no excuse, these products are FREE for personal use. Not sure how to install them or maintain your computer to be safe from attack in the Cyber-War? Then call someone who can help you. Don't leave it to chance, there are only 2 ways to protect your computer, keep the protection up-to-date or don't turn the darn thing on..:-)

I'll write more soon and maybe we will all become a little more knowledgeable about our computers.

Till then "Control-Alt-Delete".

Steve Holder

Dumb Computers

So after thirty odd years in the computer industry I decided to go back to my roots and start messing with those dumb computers again. But its not like it was 30 years ago when I worked on mini computers or even 20 years ago when I came across the pond and worked on my first PC, today these little beasts are powerful, connected to everyone around the world with untold access to a global information bank of facts, lies and everything in between. So why is it all so difficult if these personal computers are supposed to make our lives so much easier? Why is it that it takes twice as long to find something, write something, chat with someone than it did before we all had computers? We used to pull the encyclopedia off the book shelf, take pen to paper and pick up a phone. What happened to those days? I guess they are gone, now with a computer we can have instant knowledge, instant mail and instant messaging. Trouble is when they don't work who are you going to call? Ghost busters? The lucky have access to a tech savvy family member or neighbor, but what about the rest of us? Tried calling Dell Computer tech support lately? Although the accent is a dead giveaway you would otherwise never know you were speaking with a technician in Delhi or Calcutta. Not that there's anything wrong with that, except for the lost American jobs, but it's tough to get them to stop by the house and check the machine out if what they are telling you just don't make sense.

Anyway I digress.. this article is supposed to be about helping you understand better about this machine that we are expected to use every day for just about everything. So lets start by setting the record straight, its a computer and as such it is extremely complicated, far more complicated than ninety-five percent of us will ever need it to be. So DO NOT feel stupid, the people that make these machines and write the software have thousands of hours into them, let alone their education to get them to the point of understanding, and guess what, they don't always get it right either.

It is not you that are stupid, it is the computer that is a dumb machine. It's a harmless piece of electronics and as long as you keep it well ventilated it won't burn you house down so don't be scared of it. Finally if you don't know how to do something just ask, there is always a techy out there dying to show you how smart he or she is.

I'll write more soon and maybe we will all become a little more knowledgeable about our computers.

Till then "Control-Alt-Delete".

Steve Holder

Welcome

A 30 year veteran in computers and customer support, Steve runs "Fix My PC 2", a PC and networking support business serving both home and small business users in Northern New Jersey.

Steve started his career back in the 70's developing electronic solutions for an innovative computer image processing company called Crosfield Electronics. Soon becoming itchy to see the world, Steve took on the role of International support engineer and traveled extensively for 7 years to countries around the globe. During these years Steve become adept at fault finding complex electronic systems and has never lost the knack. Working from his UK base Steve was sent to the states for what was supposed to be a temporary management assignment in 1984. The rest is history.

Since 1984 Steve has been heavily involved in computing, networks and the Internet. He has held senior positions in many high tech start ups.

Today Steve is happy to go back to his roots and to simply "fix the customer".