It has been featured with our previous entries that a computer cannot have 2 or more antivirus programs installed. Now, how do you uninstall of the other antivirus programs? Simple, thru “add or remove programs” or “programs and features” in control panel. It is pretty simple and it works in most cases.

A previous case had issues with his programs after uninstalling his free antivirus software.  He also mentioned that a lot of icons in his desktop went missing and that several startup programs stopped launching; when all he did was to click on the uninstall button at the Programs and Features list in control panel.

Here’s the problem: there are other add ons on your antivirus program that may not be listed in the programs and features list. Some are, but you can’t uninstall them; thus causing problems like inability to browse, error messages on startup up to losing internet connectivity.

Even I, as a technician, get problems after uninstalling some antivirus program. Most commonly when removing an antivirus software bundle. I’m not saying that these bundles are not good; they are actually good and gives your computers security from all sides. Just like what I’ve previously mentioned; some add-ons are not that easy to remove because they are all over your system – your browser, your firewall, your registry. More often, these components are related to each other and if a component is removed it would just crash down altogether, causing damage on other components of your computer.

I’m pretty sure that this side problem has been raised to antivirus software developers. Some don’t really know this but each antivirus software has its own removal tool. Some of the popular ones I’ve listed below:

• Norton products
• McAfee products
• Trend Micro prouducts
• Kaspersky products
• AVG products

Instructions on how to use them are also included on the page.  Its quite simple really, all you have to do is to download the tool, install it and run it.

However, in cases where problems are encountered, most especially when network drivers need to be reinstalled or the firewall and/or the browser add-ons need to be reconfigured.  Depending on the situation; in worst cases, you just end up reinstalling everything.

End result: not only did we successfully remove other components of the antivirus program; but we also made sure that everything was in good working condition.  Another happy customer with a working computer.

How can Techie Now help?

Antivirus programs can be very tricky when you’re trying to uninstall them.  There are several components scattered all over your PC to give you all around security.  At most cases all components cannot be simply removed by the built in windows uninstaller and may cause instability to system crash on your computer.  Let Techie now take care of the hassles so you can ensure a working and safe pc.  We’ll also give you our expert opinion because we care for your computer as if its our own.

www.TechieNow.com

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.

www.TechieNow.com

Scan disk also known as Check disk for newer version of Windows. This tool is used to check if the hard drive has critical errors that might affect the performance of the programs installed in the computer. The errors in the hard drive can result into system crash such as blue screen, slow performance, user account corruption and corruption of files including personal files.

Scan Disk will check the hard disk for physical damages. It will also check damages on the software that is installed in it. The main purpose of scan disk is to look for bad sectors and restore them to working condition. This is due to improper termination of a running program.

Scan Disk will provide a report that contains the errors it has found and the amount of disk space it has scanned. It’s important to use scan disk to prevent your file from corruption. Aside from this, there is a good chance that your computer will perform at optimum performance level after it has been ran.

This is how you run scan disk or check disk:

1. Double click your My Computer icon. Right-click on the C: drive. Select Properties then choose the Tools tab .

2. Under Error Checking , click the Check Now button. A dialog box will pop up, check both check boxes and click Start .

NOTE: Some people say that when they try to run scan disk or check disk it keeps on resetting itself. It doesn’t happen all the time but if it happens to you there’s a way around this.

Restart your computer, just as your computer starts to boot up (before the Windows “splash screen” appears), keep hitting F8 on your keyboard. A menu should come up. Choose the SAFE MODE option then run Scan Disk following the normal procedure and it should work just fine. When done, re-set your computer and be sure to switch back to normal mode.

How Can Techie Now Help?

If you find the instructions above too difficult to follow or you don’t have time to do it, Techie Now is glad to help. Contact Techie Now and enjoy your computer experience.

www.TechieNow.com

Scan disk is also known as Check disk for newer version of Windows. This tool is used to check if the hard drive has critical errors that might affect the performance of the programs installed in the computer. The errors in the hard drive can result into system crash such as blue screen, slow performance, user account corruption and corruption of files including personal files.

Scan Disk will check the hard disk for physical damages. It will also check damages on the software that is installed in it. The main purpose of scan disk is to look for bad sectors and and restore them to working condition. This is due to improper termination of a running program.

Scan Disk will provide a report that contains the errors it has found and the amount of disk space it has scanned. It’s important to use scan disk to prevent your file from corruption. Aside from this, there is a good chance that your computer will perform at optimum performance levels after it has been ran.

This is how you run scan disk or check disk:

1. Click Start, click Computer and Right-Click on your C: drive icon and select Properties.

2. Click the Tools tab and hit “Check Now” under Error Checking. A dialog box will pop up, check both check boxes and click Start .

NOTE: Some people say that when they try to run scan disk or check disk it keeps on resetting itself. It doesn’t happen all the time but if it happens to you there’s a way around this.

Restart your computer, just as your computer starts to boot up (before the Windows “splash screen” appears), keep hitting F8 on your keyboard. A menu should come up. Choose the SAFE MODE option then run Scan Disk following the normal procedure and it should work just fine. When done, re-set your computer and be sure to switch back to normal mode.

How Can Techie Now Help?

If you find the instructions above too difficult to follow or you don’t have time to do it, Techie Now is glad to help. Contact Techie Now and enjoy your computer experience.

www.TechieNow.com

BitLocker is a security feature that will protect your data by putting a very strong password in to your hard disk. This feature is a very good protection just in case your laptop got stolen or falls into the wrong hands. The computer will ask for the password that you set on the disk that you will be protecting every time that disk needs to be accessed. BitLocker is available on Windows Vista Ultimate Edition, Enterprise Edition and Windows 7. You can also use BitLocker to protect your removable storage such USB thumb drives provided that your Windows Vista is updated to Service Pack 1.

Turning BitLocker On

1. Click Start, click Control Panel and click System and Security.

2. Click on BitLocker Drive Encryption and on the next window click Turn On BitLocker of the drive you want to encrypt.

3. On the next window just choose Use a password to unlock the drive and type your desire password in the boxes. Please read the requirements for the password. Once done click Next.

4. Choose the recommended option which is to Save the recovery key as a file and print it later. Click Next after saving.

5. Click Start Encrypting.

6. Once it is finished click Close and restart the computer for the encryption to take effect.

Important note

BitLocker is designed to prevent unauthorized people from accessing your files and programs but, unless you’re careful, it can prevent you from accessing it as well. Take good care of your recovery password. If you lose it, the data you protected with BitLocker will be permanently inaccessible.

How Can Techie Now Help?

If you find the instructions above too difficult to follow or you don’t have time to do it, Techie Now is glad to help. Contact Techie Now and enjoy your computer experience.

www.TechieNow.com