Techie Now Articles

I have been working on cases for problems on not being able to play in Yahoo!games, PoGo games, flash games. If not everybody, I would say that 98% of computer home users use their systems for gaming. It may be just the pre installed games, or installed games; but the most popular would be browser games.

Browser games are simple online games that are played using the web browser. You can either play against the computer (server) or other human players (thru the internet, of course). Popular examples are Yahoo!Games, PopCap games, AOL games. These games rely solely on common browser plugins like java or flash player. Now when these plugins encounter a problem, you can’t play the game anymore.

My recent customer had problems playing an online card game. There no problems logging in to the site, but it just stops at the loading page. Initially, we had to check it out on my side to see if its just a typical downtime from the website. But no. I checked the browser add-ons, and even reset the browser to no avail. Tried to reinstall java and flash player but it didn’t fix it. Since it wasn’t a plugin issue; I thought it may be another Internet Explorer problem after a recent windows update. Tried to load on another browser.. voila! It loaded!

But that isn’t the end of the story. The next thing I found out is after restarting.. we’re back to square 1; this time with two browsers. The way things are going its seems like its more than the brower in itself… it has something to do with the system files.

It is a possibility that when we install/uninstall toolbars, addons and cracked software, that system files are being replaced. Sometimes, when we try to bring in unregistered software, it may replace good system files with corrupt ones. Good thing that Windows has a built in tool that checks and replaces old or broken system files with good ones in the form of SFC (system file checker). It works in conjunction with Windows File Protection that keeps the system file cache updated with the latest approved Microsoft system files. It works something like a tool that takes off the bad stuff and brings back the good stuff in… like a full body workout!

End result: the browser game loaded and worked on both browsers; thus another happy gaming for a happy customer.

How can Techie Now help?

Playing games is one good way to relax; but it can be more of a frustration when things don’t work out well. Just like in browser games. You can be clueless as to where the problem is at. Let Techie Now, take care of the hassles so you can go back and play your favorite online game in no time. We’ll also give you our expert opinion because we care for your computer as if its our own.

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One of the most surprising cases I’ve worked on was setting up a home network. Quite frankly I’m surprised not because its a one in a million case, but I’m surprised that there are computer users that use it. In my home, for example, we have 5 computers systems at home but never even thought of it. Most computer users (myself included) have overlook the convenience of being in a home network. File and printer sharing, for one. Like I can view pictures on my brother’s laptop without me going over to his room or print documents without physically going over the printer at the family room or wherever the printer is installed.

I must say for this particular case that it’s simple and complex at the same time. What makes it more special is that I have to set it up on a Windows 7 machine (the simple part) and a Windows XP machine (the complex part). Why simple? Windows 7 has a feature of “Homegroup” where setting up a home network was made so easy that you just have to type in an access code to join the network. A “homegroup” link is found in Network and Sharing center, and a wizard that guides you in the process. (ref.http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/2008/12/30/at-home-with-homegroup-in-windows-7.aspx)

And as I’ve mentioned, the complex part is when you would want to add an earlier version of Windows in the network. For this case, my task was to add a Windows XP machine to a Windows 7 homegroup. This is not as simple as the above because “homegroup” only works with Windows 7 computers. In this case, the group’s name on both machines must be the same. (i.e. change the workgroup name to “homegroup” since that cannot be renamed in windows 7) In addition to that, whoever wants access must have a user account on the Windows 7 machine that matches the user name and password on the XP machine.

End result, we had a working home network between 3 computers, 2 on Windows 7 and one in Windows XP. Another happy customer with a working home network.

How can Techie Now help?

There are some some computer related activities that can be complex no matter how simple it sounds. Some may even sound impossible, but not really if you know how to work around it; however that will get you confused in the process. Let Techie Now handle the confusing stuff. We’ll also give you our expert opinion because we care for your computer as if its our own.

www.TechieNow.com