Our business office is closed on Saturdays now, but we still have appliance service calls available on Saturday! ...read more

Why you need “Hands on Tech Support” By now everyone has use the remote desk support somewhere and as someone who takes over desktops every day I am a big fan. I no longer have to drive half way across the state to do something that takes five minutes. So why do I limit myself to actually going to the clients site and touching the computer when I can just log in and have everything right there in less than ten seconds. 1.      You hear and see things when you are on site you would never know about if you remote in.   2.      You get to talk to the employees who use the system. Ok we are going to look at this because too many times I hear management tell employees to tell them what is wrong and they will get it to the IT Staff. I think this idea ranks right up there with sending my wife to the auto parts store. There is no telling what she is coming back you can be sure it’s not going to be close to what i need. Employees deal with the problems in the network daily they know what all the problems are.   3.      You find out more things that need attention. Remember I am the guy who once was installing a computer for a client and was evacuated because the building was on fire. I assure you the persons QuickBooks problem wasn’t the priority anymore.   4.      You need to know who is controlling your system and yes I mean personally. Before I remote desktop I have been to a client’s site. I have met the managers and usually the owners. I can usually tell you either their wife’s / husband’s name and or their dog’s name. Not only so I know more about them but so they can get to know me. My personal belief is that a computer is like your house…you just don’t go letting everyone in. My basic rule I tell clients, when they ask who should be able to remote into the system “have you had lunch in the past two months with them”, if the answer is no the access has to go. This includes employees, System Engineers, Programmers, etc.                I know that you can get tech support in India for less than a coffee at Starbucks. If all you use your computer for is to post cat photos to Facebook then by all means use them. If however your one of those people that actually use your computer for Banking, Shopping, Email, have a customer list or just have a problem with someone around the world having access to everything you have on your computer then you need a local tech support person. You need someone that you can visit if there are problems and someone who you can call if you need them who you know that they will answer. This leaves me with one last question for you. Since the data breach at Target, Home Depot, and almost every other outsourced company. How much money do you think those companies saved compared to how much trust and business they lost. ...read more

An Introvert Gets the Inside Scoop on Networking Success From introvert to outspoken BNI enthusiast Submitted by Meaghan Chitwood, Executive Director – BNI Alabama When Michael Partain’s boss sent him to a BNI meeting, Michael expected to sit and watch things happen. He was taken aback when he had to stand up and talk to a room full of strangers. “People usually keep computer programmers hidden away,” explains Partain.  “I only shared my name and company name. I didn’t know what was going on.” He made it through that first meeting, and became a member of the Gardendale Aspire chapter in Alabama.  Much to his introverted relief, Partain quickly discovered that 1-to-1 meetings are the heart of BNI. This was something he felt like he could excel at, so he quickly began scheduling face-to-face meetings with chapter members, and everything changed.  Suddenly, relationships developed and Partain had lots of referrals.  “You have to do 1-to-1s, and not just one or two, but three or more a week; otherwise you never will get anywhere,” says Partain. When Partain parted ways with the company with no job on the horizon, he planned to visit his chapter to tell them he was unemployed.  Following a phone call the next day with chapter member Linda Neely, Partain arrived to find that all the chapter members had pitched in to help him start his own company—the attorney filed legal paperwork, the banker helped him open a checking account, and Neely brought in a check for Partain’s work that helped cover start-up costs. Before he knew it, Sites and Software, LLC was born. “Opening my company was the easiest thing I’ve ever done,” says Partain.  “But I still have no idea how to start a business.” But the magic didn’t stop there.  Partain credits BNI for his success in quickly building the business.  “Most of my clients come from word-of-mouth,” he says. Today Partain is so busy that he’s had to hire help and give up the 80-mile round trip to attend the Aspire chapter meetings. But, Partain hasn’t left BNI; he’s busy helping start a new chapter much closer to home, where he’ll serve as chapter vice president.  The Velocity chapter in Vestavia Hills, Alabama, is scheduled to launch with over 30 members on September 16 at The Egg&I restaurant. As for the introvert who first visited BNI, Partain says, “I am probably the most outspoken person in BNI.  I bring people to the chapter because I love it.  I like being able to walk into a room and know that someone will have the answer to any question I ask.” That’s how Partain knows he has the inside scoop on how to succeed in business! Bonus Scoop:  Michael Partain recommends that business owners try to have several different staff members in different chapters.  “Think about what one person in a chapter can do,” says Partain. “If you have several people, it’s the best thing you can do.” For more information about the Velocity chapter, contact Michael Partain at 205-913-2781 or michael@sitesandsoftware.com. About this author: Meaghan Chitwood is celebrating her 10 year as the Executive Director of BNI Alabama. She is widely recognized as a Word-of-Mouth Marketing and Business Networking Expert.  In addition to her expertise in these areas, she’s also a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and holds a Civil Engineering degree from Auburn University. On a daily basis she works hand-in-hand with nearly 850 professionals to generate business worth over $40 million in annual economic impact for the Alabama area. Visit BNIAlabama.com to learn more about Team BNI Alabama. ...read more

Contact our repair shop today at (844) 385-8920 in Hoover, AL, for any phone repair services. iFix and Repair - Riverchase Galleria 2000 Riverchase Galleria, Suite 202 Hoover, AL 35244 Phone: 2059889555 Contact Email: ifixriverchase@gmail.com Keywords: phone repair.repair shop.hoover.al ...read more

by Kaleb M. Felder   Picture the five page email you’ve been working on, two years of saved emails, or your entire contact list disappearing right along with all the lights in the room! In just seconds, hours, months, and in some cases years of work are all lost or at the very least expensive to retrieve. By the time you finish reading this article, you’ll be in a better position to prevent that scenario from taking place or to make sure it never happens again.   To set up a fool-proof fail-safe system that insures you never lose another email again and subsequently spend hours replacing the data, you need just two things: a thumb/jump drive or an external hard drive about 15 minutes of patience   Auto Save   Microsoft Outlook users can save a great deal of time and effort just by activating Auto Save. There are eleven versions of Microsoft Outlook, however this article only covers the last five versions for Windows operating systems.   Lets get started. Listed below are the menu paths and instructions to follow in your version of Microsoft Office. This step by step explanation covers Microsoft Outlook 2000, XP, 2003, 2007, and 2010. Simply follow these menu paths and check the boxes named:   For Windows Click on “Tools” Click on “Options” Look under “Email” Click the button that says “Email Options “ Check the box that says “Automatically save unsent messages” Click the button that says “Advanced Email Options” Check the box that says “Auto save unsent every ___ minutes” In the minute box type the number “1” for one minute Click the button that says “OK” at the bottom right   At this point you have insured that so long as your computer can start up or the hard drive can be retrieved, you’ll never again lose more than a minute’s data!    To prove that this method works, feel free to type up a short test email, wait one minute, and reboot without saving.   Thumb, Jump, or Backup   Most of the time when a system fails the system can be repaired and normal function can continue. There’s no need to utilize backup data because the repair of the main issue allows the user to just continue where he or she left off, as no data has been lost. However, some system failures come with complete data loss. The data lost can be items as small and as simple as the email you were creating at the time of system failure, all the way up to the entire hard drive and the sum of its contents!    To avoid this level of data loss, first purchase a thumb/jump drive or external hard drive. You don’t need the most expensive drive available, just one that comes with its own backup software and suits your size needs. All of your Outlook emails and other information such as contacts are stored in what is known as a .pst file. By default, your .pst file is kept in C:\Users\(Your Account Name)\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook. Configure the software on your device to backup that specific folder every minute that its connected. And voila! You now have a hard backup of your data and if your hard drive should fail, you haven’t lost many if not any of your important emails and information.   In this article I’ve explained how to have both hardware and software backups auto saved to your internal hard drive and any external storage devices you may have. For help with this or any other issues, don’t hesitate to come towww.teksondemand.com/content/microsoft-office  or give us a call at 1-800-843-8357. Thank you for your time and I hope this information has been of value to you. Happy computing!   ...read more

  by Kaleb M. Felder   Tired of typing on the same old white background using black letters? Want to spice things up a bit? One simple change you can make is the way the background of your email appears. You can change it from plain old white to just about anything. Outlook has many built in backgrounds you can use, however if you do a web search you will find many websites offering free alternatives. It is also possible to personalize all of your emails by creating your own background.    Choose Your Own Outlook Background   To choose your own outlook background begin by opening Outlook and left-clicking on “Tools” and then “Options.” On the new menu titled “Options” left-click the tab that says “ Mail Format.” On the “Mail Format” tab under where it says “Stationary and Fonts,” left-click the button that says “Stationary Picker.” On the new window that pops up, scroll through the list and choose the stationary that you like and then left-click OK to make the choice effective. From here, left-click OK to get rid of the “Options” menu and you’re done! Go send a test email to yourself to test it out.   Create A Custom Background   To create your own background, repeat the previous steps up until you get to the point where you choose a stationary while in the “Stationary Picker.” Instead of choosing one of the stationeries offered, left-click the option that says “New.” On the next screen, name your stationary in the text box and left-click the radio button that says “Start With A Blank Stationary.” Then, left-click on “Next.” You can left-click the radio button that says “Picture” if you have a picture or image you’d like to use or color if you want to use a solid color. Next, left-click on OK. On the next two screens, left-click OK. And you’re done! Send a test email to yourself to test it out..   Now you know how to choose a pre-created background and create your own customer background in Microsoft Office Outlook.    For help with this or any other issues, don’t hesitate to come towww.teksondemand.com/content/microsoft-office or give us a call at 1-800-843-8357. Thank you for your time and I hope this information has been of value to you. Happy computing!   ...read more

by Kaleb M. Felder   Ever lose a PowerPoint presentation you’ve been working on or had a power failure while working on it? If you haven’t, please know that it sucks! In just seconds, hours of work are just plain gone or at the very least expensive to retrieve. By the time you finish reading this article, you’ll be in a better position to prevent that scenario from taking place or to make sure it never happens again.   To set up a fool-proof fail-safe system that insures you never lose another word document again and subsequently spend hours replacing the data, you need just two things: a thumb/jump drive or an external hard drive about 15 minutes of patience   Auto Recover   Auto Recover is one of, if not the most valuable setting in the Microsoft Office Productivity Suite. Subjectively, Microsoft PowerPoint users can save a great deal of time, heartache, headache, and hassle just by activating it. There are ten versions of Microsoft PowerPoint, however this article only covers the last five versions for Windows operating systems and the most current version for Mac. If you need assistance with other Microsoft PowerPoint issues, please go to TeksOnDemand’s website athttp://www.teksondemand.com/content/microsoft-officeor give us a call at 1-800-843-8357. We’d be happy to help!   Lets get started. Listed below are the menu paths and instructions to follow in your version of Microsoft Office. This step by step explanation covers Microsoft PowerPoint 2000, XP, 2003, 2007, 2010, and PowerPoint for Mac. Simply follow these menu paths and check the boxes named:   For Windows Click on “Tools” Click on “Options” Click on the tab that says “Save” Check the box that says “Save AutoRecover info every: “ In the option box after the words “Save AutoRecover info every,” choose the number “1” for one minute. Click on “OK” at the bottom of the Options Menu.   For Mac Click on “Preferences” Click on “Save” Check the box that says “Save AutoRecover info every:” In the option box after the words “Save AutoRecover info every,” choose the number “1” for one minute. Click on “OK” at the bottom of the Save Menu.   At this point you have insured that so long as your computer can start up or the hard drive can be retrieved, you’ll never again lose more than a minute’s data!    To prove that this method works, feel free to create a test presentation, wait one minute, and reboot without saving.   Thumb, Jump, or Backup   Most of the time when a system fails the system can be repaired and normal function can continue. There’s no need to utilize backup data because the repair of the main issue allows the user to just continue where he or she left off, as no data has been lost. However, some system failures come with complete data loss. The data lost can be items as small and as simple as the file you were working on at the time of system failure, all the way up to the entire hard drive and the sum of its contents!    To avoid this level of data loss, first purchase a thumb/jump drive or external hard drive. You don’t need the most expensive drive available, just one that comes with its own backup software and suits your size needs. Keep all of your presentations in one easy to find place, such as your “My Documents” folder. Configure the software on your device to backup that specific folder every minute that its connected. And voila! You now have a hard backup of your data and if your hard drive should fail, you haven’t lost any of your important presentations.   In this article I’ve explained how to have both hardware and software backups auto saved to your internal hard drive and any external storage devices you may have. For help with this or any other issues, don’t hesitate to come towww.teksondemand.comor give us a call at 1-800-843-8357. Thank you for your time and I hope this information has been of value to you. Happy computing!   ...read more

by Kaleb M. Felder   Don’t you just hate taking time out of your busy day to check your email only to find it half filled with spam messages and junk mail? Even if the junk mail filter catches it, isn’t it annoying to delete? Well with this clever trick, you’ll never have to delete those messages again!   Create The Rule   It is impossible to block each and every junk mailing or spam message. However, you don’t have to delete each individual mailing. First, right-click one of the specific emails that you no longer wish to see or have to delete. Second, left click the option on the new menu that says “Create Rule.” Third, on the new dialogue menu box, left-click the box that says “From (annoying email address).” Fourth, left-click the box at the bottom of the dialogue menu box that says “Move e-mail to folder:.” Fifth, left click the button that says “Select Folder.” Sixth, left-click the box that says “Deleted Items.” It usually appears as a recycle or trash bin. Seventh, left click the OK button. Eighth, on the new menu box that pops up, check the only option available which is “Run this rule now on messages already in the current folder.” Lastly, click OK and watch any and all emails from that email address zoom to the deleted items box!   And voila! You’ve not only ensured that you don’t have to hit the delete button each time you see this email in the future, you’ve also learned how to delete all emails from the same email address no matter who or what is sending them!   Other Applications   You can also apply this strategy to emails from individual accounts. It’s the same thought as sending certain phone numbers that call our cell phone straight to voice mail. You can make your email account super secure if you play around with the settings and auto delete items you don’t want. For example, it is possible to create a rule that auto deletes all incoming messages that have attachments. Implementing a rule like this would keep you from getting any attachments, but would also make the likeliness of catching a computer virus via email minimal. Choose your sacrifice, but always protect your investment.   Again, if you need help cleaning up Microsoft Outlook or help with any other computer issue, please check out TeksOnDemand’s website atwww.teksondemand.com/content/microsoft-officeor give us a call at 1-800-843-8357. We’d be happy to help!   Thank you for your time and happy computing! ...read more

by Kaleb M. Felder   Picture your term paper, your memoirs, or your three hundred page thesis being lost in the twinkling of a breaker box! In just seconds, hours, months, and in some cases years of work are all lost or at the very least expensive to retrieve. By the time you finish reading this article, you’ll be in a better position to prevent that scenario from taking place or to make sure it never happens again.   To set up a fool-proof fail-safe system that insures you never lose another Word document again and subsequently spend hours replacing the data, you need just two things: a thumb/jump drive or an external hard drive about 15 minutes of patience   Auto Recover   Auto Recover is one of, if not the most valuable setting in the Microsoft Office Productivity Suite. Subjectively, Microsoft Word users can save a great deal of time, heartache, headache, and hassle just by activating it. There are thirteen versions of Microsoft Word, however this article only covers the last five versions for Windows operating systems and one for Mac. If you need assistance with other Microsoft Word issues, please go to TeksOnDemand’s website athttp://www.teksondemand.com/content/microsoft-officeor give us a call at 1-800-843-8357. We’d be happy to help!   Lets get started. Listed below are the menu paths and instructions to follow in your version of Microsoft Office. This step by step explanation covers Microsoft Word 2000, XP, 2003, 2007, 2010, and Word for Mac. Simply follow these menu paths and check the boxes named:   For Windows Click on “Tools” Click on “Options” Click on the tab that says “Save” Check the box that says “Save AutoRecover info every: “ In the option box after the words “Save AutoRecover info every,” choose the number “1” for one minute. Click on “OK” at the bottom of the Options Menu.   For Mac Click on “Preferences” Click on “Save” Check the box that says “Save AutoRecover info every:” In the option box after the words “Save AutoRecover info every,” choose the number “1” for one minute. Click on “OK” at the bottom of the Save Menu.   At this point you have insured that so long as your computer can start up or the hard drive can be retrieved, you’ll never again lose more than a minute’s data!    To prove that this method works, feel free to type up a short test document, wait one minute, and reboot without saving.   Thumb, Jump, or Backup   Most of the time when a system fails the system can be repaired and normal function can continue. There’s no need to utilize backup data because the repair of the main issue allows the user to just continue where he or she left off, as no data has been lost. However, some system failures come with complete data loss. The data lost can be items as small and as simple as the file you were working on at the time of system failure, all the way up to the entire hard drive and the sum of its contents!    To avoid this level of data loss, first purchase a thumb/jump drive or external hard drive. You don’t need the most expensive drive available, just one that comes with its own backup software and suites your size needs. Keep all of your documents in one easy to find place, such as your “My Documents” folder. Configure the software on your device to backup that specific folder every minute that its connected. And voila! You now have a hard backup of your data and if your hard drive should fail, you haven’t lost any of your important documents.   In this article I’ve explained how to have both hardware and software backups auto saved to your internal hard drive and any external storage devices you may have. For help with this or any other issues, don’t hesitate to come towww.teksondemand.comor give us a call at 1-800-843-8357. Thank you for your time and I hope this information has been of value to you. Happy computing! ...read more

If your technology stopped working, would your business stop functioning too?  Is your business totally reliant on the information stored on your computer systems or could you continue to deliver 95% of your products and services and catch up on the computer work later?  No matter which end of this scale your business is at, you will fare much better during a major technology outage if you plan in advance, before it happens.  This month we take some of the mystery out of Business Continuity Planning. Business Continuity Planning (BCP) is the process of working out how your business will continue to function during a disaster.  These threats to your business could include:Flooding (severe rainfall)FireHardware failureTornado/ Hurricane/ CycloneEmployee damageBurst water pipesEarthquakeSoftware failureSevered phone cablingEmployee errorBurglaryInfluenza outbreakInternet outageSecurity breach... And many more!BCP begins with identifying the possible risks and the impact they would have on your business.  What functions would be affected if your main administration PC crashed?  How long could you be without internet access?  It's important to evaluate the probability of these incidents occurring and the severity of their impact.  This will help you to determine which incidents are the highest priorities to be addressed. Next, you look at how these risks can be prevented, or the impact of them lessened.  This could include copying data to a different site or having a laptop that has the same business-critical software applications as your administration PC.   Finally, you plan the actions that would be needed to help you respond when this incident occurs.  Do you need to go to another site to get a copy of your data or bring the laptop in from home?  Do you need to temporarily relocate to another site that does have internet access?  Can you run a paper-based system until you can access your computers again?  Think about who will be responsible for doing what and what resources they will need.  This also needs to include any third-party suppliers of your business, like your local Computer Troubleshooter.Your Business Continuity Plan should be examined, tested and maintained on a regular basis.  This is to ensure it still reflects the changing needs of your business and also to make sure that the key parties within your business understand their roles in the process. Whilst it may seem a little daunting, some forethought and planning will save you a lot of time, stress and money when things do go wrong.  Talk to your local Computer Troubleshooters about the best way to keep your business running smoothly if you're suddenly without your technology.Call Computer Troubleshooters! 205.988.9911 ...read more

No longer are we charging for pickup&return; of televisions. Frankly, our goal is to fix all televisions in the home, but sometimes that is impossible. In the few cases where we need to bring the TV into the shop, we're now offering free pickup and return. That just leaves repair charges and potentially a diagnostic fee (which in the case of a repair is applied). ...read more

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At Home: Share nicely– With most homes now having multiple computers, the ‘HomeGroup' feature makes it easier to share printers and files (including music, pictures and videos). Entering a password connects your Windows 7 computer into the HomeGroup, and settings control which files are shared and which remain private. Take the music with you– Windows 7 and Media Player 12 allow you to access and play media files from your home PC remotely via the internet on another computer. Snap&Shake;– Time to teach your mouse some new tricks! Aero Snap activates when you drag a window to an edge of your screen. Left or right edges automatically make the window resize to a full ‘top-to-bottom but half screen width' size. Drag to the top of your screen, and your window will retain its width but stretch out vertically to fill your screen from top to bottom. Aero Shake lets you literally grab and shake a window to minimize all of the other open windows on your screen.    At Work: Find more– The speed of the Start menu's search feature has improved significantly. You'll see search results from files and Outlook emails stored locally on your computer, including the text contained within email attachments. Search also extends beyond just your PC and can be configured to include results from your company's network drives and public websites, using search connectors.  USB secrets– USB storage (in either keys or portable hard disks) has become more popular for people working at multiple locations or for storing backups. With BitLocker To Go (in Windows 7 Ultimate edition), you can now secure files on these devices by encrypting them with a lengthy password. This password can be remembered on your regular PC, and if it's forgotten, a 48 character recovery key can be used on any Windows 7 PC to restore access to your files. Just don't lose your recovery key too!  On The Go: Performance– Windows 7 requires less horsepower to run than Windows Vista. Independent publications have reported that ageing laptops running Windows XP have become more responsive with Windows 7. Saving power– Numerous features have been added to automatically preserve battery life, such as shutting off power to unused network ports and reducing background activities. There are also more tweaks for creating your own power-saving schemes, including setting the video quality and processor cooling options. Talk to your local Computer Troubleshooter about your options for upgrading to Windows 7.   ...read more

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