PC Support

Please remember that following the below steps will erase all of the information on your hard disk drive. Once the below steps have been completed, you will not be able to reverse the steps if you want to recover possible lost data. Please make sure that you have checked the above checklist verifying that you have not forgotten a possible important step. Finally, the below steps are the most recommended steps and it is possible that the manufacturer of your computer may have another method of restoring your computer using their software.
 
Erasing the hard disk drive
 
The below steps are for users with MS-DOS 5.0+, Windows 3.x, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, and Windows NT 4.0. 
 
 
1. Place the bootable diskette or disc inside the computer and reboot to get to the DOS prompt. In some cases you may need to boot the computer with CD-ROM support or press a key to boot from the disk.
2. At the MS-DOS prompt type format c: /s
3. The computer will ask you “Are you sure you want to erase everything on drive c:” if you are ok with doing this press “Y” for yes and press enter.
4. After doing this, the computer will begin the formatting process.
5. Once the format process is completed successfully, at the MS-DOS prompt type fdisk /mbr and press enter. This should return you back to the MS-DOS prompt with no message. This step is not required but recommended.
6. Once back at the MS-DOS prompt, reboot the computer with the boot disk still in the computer.
7. Once back at the MS-DOS prompt, insert either the diskettes for MS-DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows 95, or the CD for Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows NT and click the appropriate link
 
 
 MS-DOS users
 
 Place the first MS-DOS diskette into the computer.
 At the A:\> type setup and press enter to being the installation.
 Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
 Note: If you discover a bad diskette during the installation, it is recommended that you contact Microsoft for a possible replacement.
 
 Windows 3.x users
 
 Place the first diskette of Windows 3.x into the computer.
 At the A:\> type setup and press enter to begin the installation.
 Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
 Note: If you discover a bad diskette during the installation, it is recommended that you contact Microsoft for a possible replacement.
 
 Windows 95 floppy diskette users
 
 Place the first diskette of Windows 95 into the computer.
 At the A:\> type setup and press enter to begin the installation.
 Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
 Note: If you discover a bad diskette during the installation of Windows 95 it is recommended you contact Microsoft for possible replacement.
 
 Windows 95 CD users
 
Place the CD into the computer.
Type X: (where x is the CD-ROM drive, generally this is D).
Once at the appropriate drive, type CD WIN95 and press enter to get into the Windows 95 directory.
Once at X:\WIN95> type setup to begin the installation
Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
If you are encountering issues during the setup process, you can add additional switches to the setup command line. These switches can be found on our Windows 95 Setup Switches page.
 
Windows 98 users
 
Complete information about the setup and installation of Windows 98 once the hard disk drive has been erased can be found on document CH000569.
 
Windows NT 4.0 users
 
Windows NT can be installed several different ways. We recommend that Windows NT be installed using the below steps as we feel that these steps by far are the easiest way to install Windows NT 4.0.
 
First, we recommend that all users wanting to simply install Windows NT use the /b switch which allows the users to not need to create the diskettes. We do, however, recommend that the user create the Emergency recover diskettes if they have not already been created after the installation of Windows NT.
 
 Finally, before the installation of Windows NT, it is recommended that you run SMARTDRV, which will help the installation of Windows NT run a lot faster.
 
 Place the CD into the computer.
 Type X: (where x is the CD-ROM drive, generally this is D).
 Once at the appropriate drive, type CD WINNT and press enter to get into the Windows 95 directory.
 Once at X:\WINNT> type winnt /b.
 Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

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Unfortunately, many of the software programs designed to hijack a computer’s browser are intentionally designed to be difficult to remove and/or detect. Below are recommendations on how these types of programs can be prevented and/or removed.

Free programs
When installing free programs such as KaZaA, read the disclaimers and watch for additional programs that are being installed. Many times these programs are supported by automatically installing spyware programs.

If you no longer use these programs on a regular basis, uninstalling these programs will (but not always) also uninstall any associated software that is included with them.

Add/Remove programs
If you are running Microsoft Windows and you have noticed a program that you do not wish to use or want uninstalled, see if the program can be removed through Add/Remove programs in the Control panel.

All of the legitimate companies that install toolbars onto your computer should be able to be removed through the Add/Remove programs icon in the control panel. Some examples include the Alexa Toolbar, Google Toolbar, Yahoo Toolbar, and Windows Live Toolbar.

If the spyware program you’re attempting to uninstall cannot be uninstalled or gets reinstalled when you reboot the computer. Boot the computer into Safe Mode and then uninstall the program while in Safe Mode.

Restore browser settings
Some web pages and programs are designed to automatically change your browser’s settings. For example, a web page or program may automatically change your default home page to an alternate home page. These types of issues can be corrected by following the below steps.

Close all browser windows so that only one window is open.
Visit an alternate safe site such as Computer Hope or Google.
Correct the settings changed, such as changing your home page back to your original home page. Additional help and information about changing your browser’s settings can be found on our browser help pages.
Once the settings have been changed and applied, close out of the browser window.
The next time the browser is opened it should have the correct settings. However, if the site that changed your browser settings is visited again, it is likely that the settings will be changed again. This issue can be prevented with many of the spyware / adware programs that are available today.

Spyware / Adware / Malware detection and removal programs
Because of the ever-growing threat of these types of programs, many companies and individuals have developed programs that help prevent, detect, and remove these types of programs. Below is a listing of a few of the programs you may wish to consider.

Malwarebytes
Microsoft’s Windows Defender
Ad-aware from Lavasoft
Spy Sweeper from Webroot Software
Spybot Search and Destroy
SpywareBlaster from Javacool Software
HijackThis by Merijn.
A computer can have any number of spyware programs installed at the same time and it’s recommended that you have more than one to ensure your computer is not infected. When running these programs if the spyware returns after rebooting the computer boot the computer into Safe Mode and run the spyware programs while in Safe Mode. Additional information about getting into Safe Mode can be found on document CHSAFE.

Microsoft Windows XP users
If you are running Microsoft Windows XP, updating to the latest Service Pack will help protect your computer against spyware.

Try alternative browser
Because Microsoft Internet Explorer is the most widely used browser today and because of its vulnerabilities, switching to an alternative browser such as Mozilla Firefox can significantly reduce the amount of spyware you get on your computer.

System Restore
Users who are running Microsoft Windows XP and are not able to remove a program that has hijacked their computer or browser may also wish to consider running the Microsoft System Restore and restore their computer to an earlier date.

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Cause:
This issue can be caused by any of the below possibilities.

The file himem.sys is corrupt or missing
Physical memory issue

Solution:

The file himem.sys is corrupt or missing
It is possible that the file himem.sys could be corrupt or missing. To determine this, boot from a known good bootable floppy diskette. If you are able to successfully boot from a bootable diskette, it is likely the copy of the himem.sys on the hard disk drive is corrupt or missing or not setup properly in the config.sys.

Because it is possible that the file may be missing or corrupt, once at the A:\> prompt type the bellow commands.

If you are running MS-DOS 6.x or Windows 3.x type:

copy himem.sys c:\windows <press enter>
copy himem.sys c:\dos <press enter>
copy himem.sys c:\ <press enter>

If, when typing any of the above commands, you receive a prompt that the file already exists, ensure to overwrite it. Note: While this file generally is only located in the Windows directory, it is possible for it also to be located in the root or DOS directory.

If you are running Windows 95, Windows 98, type:

copy himem.sys c:\windows <press enter>

If when typing any of the above commands you receive a prompt that the file already exists, ensure to overwrite it.

Reboot the computer; if the issue continues to occur, verify that the config.sys is properly setup. The line himem.sys should read:

DEVICE=C:\Windows\HIMEM.SYS

or

DEVICE=C:\DOS\HIMEM.SYS

Physical memory issue
If, when booting from a known working bootable diskette, you encounter a himem.sys error, it is likely that your computer has a physical memory or related hardware issue causing this error. Because this could be a physical defect, we recommend that you contact the computer manufacturer, take the computer into a local service center or replace memory / motherboard.

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If you were to use the conventional base 2 or 1,024KB to figure out the capacity of a floppy diskette size it’d actually be 1,474,560 bytes.
 
1.44 * 1000 * 1024 = 1,474,560
 
So then why is a 3 1/2″ floppy diskette 1.44MB and not 1.47MB? Because when the manufacturers first created the floppy diskette they decided to divide by a base 10 or 1,000 value and not 1,024.
 
1.44 * 1000 * 1000 = 1,440,000
 
Although at the time this was not the conventional method of defining a disk space on a computer this value did stick and was one of the first of many confusions regarding disk space on computers.

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If your laptop works fine while plugged in but stops working while unplugged it’s likely that either your laptop battery is bad or your laptop is not charging the battery properly. Below are steps that can be taken to help identify the cause of this issue.

Leave power plugged in

Make sure the computer has been charging from the power plug for at least a few hours before attempting to unplug it.

Remove and reconnect battery

In some situations the battery can become loose. Removing it and then put it back into the laptop.

Refresh battery

Some laptop manufacturers allow for batteries to be refreshed through the CMOS. Refreshing a battery can help restore older batteries and give them more life and in some cases can report if the battery is bad.

Replace battery and/or AC adapter

If the above steps have been completed we suggest the next step be to replace the battery in the computer and/or AC adapter. In some situations it can simply be a bad battery preventing it from being charged.

If your computer is still in warranty we suggest skipping to the next step.

Service laptop

If after following the above steps the computer is still unable to charge the battery it’s likely that a component within the laptop has failed and will need to be replaced before it will be capable of charging the battery again.

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Below is a listing of each of the commonly accepted disk drive space values. It is important to realize that not all manufacturers and developers use these values. For example, a manufacturer may consider a gigabyte as 1,000,000,000 and not 1,073,741,824 bytes, we’ve listed the commonly accepted values in their binary base 2 values.

Note: All values expressed below are whole numbers. This means that a GB may show that it can only contain one 650MB CD but in reality 1GB could hold 1.5753… of a 650MB CD. Since we’ve created this document to illustrate how much each value can contain in whole, no decimal values are shown. In other words you can only fit one complete 650MB CD on a 1GB drive since two 650MB complete discs would exceed 1GB.

Bit

A Bit is a value of either a 0 or 1.

Nibble

A Nibble is 4 bits.

Byte

A Byte is 8 bits.

Kilobyte (KB)

A Kilobyte is 1,024 bytes.

Megabyte (MB)

A Megabyte is 1,048,576 bytes or 1,024 Kilobytes

873 pages of plaintext (1,200 characters)
4 books (200 pages or 240,000 characters)

Gigabyte (GB)

A Gigabyte is 1,073,741,824 (230) bytes. 1,024 Megabytes, or 1,048,576 Kilobytes.

894,784 pages of plaintext (1,200 characters)
4,473 books (200 pages or 240,000 characters)
341 digital pictures (with 3MB average file size)
256 MP3 audio files (with 4MB average file size)
1 650MB CD

Terabyte (TB)

A Terabyte is 1,099,511,627,776 (240) bytes, 1,024 Gigabytes, or 1,048,576 Megabytes.

916,259,689 pages of plaintext (1,200 characters)
4,581,298 books (200 pages or 240,000 characters)
349,525 digital pictures (with 3MB average file size)
262,144 MP3 audio files (with 4MB average file size)
1,613 650MB CD’s
233 4.38GB DVD’s
40 25GB Blu-ray discs

Petabyte (PB)

A Petabyte is 1,125,899,906,842,624 (250) bytes, 1,024 Terabytes, or 1,048,576 Gigabytes.

938,249,922,368 pages of plaintext (1,200 characters)
4,691,249,611 books (200 pages or 240,000 characters)
357,913,941 digital pictures (with 3MB average file size)
268,435,456 MP3 audio files (with 4MB average file size)
1,651,910 650MB CD’s
239,400 4.38GB DVD’s
41,943 25GB Blu-ray discs

Exabyte (EB)

A Exabyte is 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 (260) bytes, 1,024 Petabytes, or 1,048,576 Terabytes.

960,767,920,505,705 pages of plaintext (1,200 characters)
4,803,839,602,528 books (200 pages or 240,000 characters)
366,503,875,925 digital pictures (with 3MB average file size)
274,877,906,944 MP3 audio files (with 4MB average file size)
1,691,556,350 650MB CD’s
245,146,535 4.38GB DVD’s
42,949,672 25GB Blu-ray discs

Zettabyte (ZB)

A Zettabyte is 1,180,591,620,717,411,303,424 (270) bytes, 1,024 Exabytes, or 1,048,576 Petabytes.

983,826,350,597,842,752 pages of plaintext (1,200 characters)
4,919,131,752,989,213 books (200 pages or 240,000 characters)
375,299,968,947,541 digital pictures (with 3MB average file size)
281,474,976,710,656 MP3 audio files (with 4MB average file size)
1,732,153,702,834 650MB CD’s
251,030,052,003 4.38GB DVD’s
43,980,465,111 25GB Blu-ray discs

Yottabyte (YB)

A Yottabyte is 1,208,925,819,614,629,174,706,176 (280) bytes, 1,024 Zettabytes, or 1,048,576 Exabytes.

1,007,438,183,012,190,978,921 pages of plaintext (1,200 characters)
5,037,190,915,060,954,894 books (200 pages or 240,000 characters)
384,307,168,202,282,325 digital pictures (with 3MB average file size)
288,230,376,151,711,744 MP3 audio files (with 4MB average file size)
1,773,725,391,702,841 650MB CD’s
257,054,773,251,740 4.38GB DVD’s
45,035,996,273,704 25GB Blu-ray discs

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Windows 7 Starter has been specifically designed by Microsoft for the low end market that includes most netbooks and other PC hardware that has to be sold for the cheapest price possible.

The main reason for this edition is to provide manufacturers with a Windows 7 edition that they can put cost effectively on their low end products.

Windows 7 Starter has caused lots of controversy after the publication of the feature differences between this edition and the other – more expensive – Windows 7 editions.

Here is a short overview of what users can expect to get when purchasing a computer that is running Windows 7 Starter.

3 Concurrent Applications
32-bit only support
Home Group join only
Windows Internet Explorer 8
Windows Media Player 12
The limitation to three concurrent applications running on the system has been the focus of criticism.

Some application types, antivirus software for example, are exempt from the limit.

It still means that users will face serious difficulties and often disappointment when they reach the limit. Additional limitations are 32-bit support only and the ability to join Homegroups but not to create them.

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Windows 7 Home Basic is a Windows 7 edition that is not available worldwide. It has been specifically created by Microsoft to be sold in emerging markets.

Its feature set is superior to the Windows 7 Starter edition.

The features that it comes with are the following:

Concurrent Applications Unlimited

32-bit and 64-bit mode support

Home Group Join Only

Windows Internet Explorer 8

Windows Media Player 12

Desktop Window Manager

Windows Mobility Center

Windows Aero Partial

The most apparent differences are that it does not come with the concurrent application limit. Other advantages are 64-bit support and the inclusion of the Desktop Window Manager, Windows Mobility Center and partial support for Windows Aero.

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Update: 9/5/2009

Microsoft has made available a trial version of Windows 7 Enterprise. This trial version is the RTM release of Windows 7 Enterprise.

Users who download this version can test the full functionality of the release for 90 days before it will automatically shutdown every hour and notify the user that the trial version has expired.

The Windows 7 Enterprise trial can be downloaded as a 32-bit or 64-bit edition in the five languages English, Spanish, German, French or Japanese.

No Windows 7 product key is required to register the version as this version comes with a key already preinstalled in the operating system. The version has to be activated in the first ten days after installation. Failure to do so will cause the same one hour shutdown interval until the operating system has been activated.

Users who are interested in the trial version of Windows 7 Enterprise can download it from the following Microsoft Technet website.

An FAQ page has been created to answer most questions concerning the trial.

Windows 7 Enterprise 90 day trial Download Page

Windows 7 Enterprise trial FAQ

End Update

An optimized desktop infrastructure is enabled through a combination of integrated technologies, anchored by Windows 7 Enterprise.

This operating system includes several exclusive features that help organizations better manage and deploy complex desktop infrastructures.

The premium edition of Windows 7 for businesses, Windows 7 Enterprise includes all the features in Windows 7 Ultimate plus extra capabilities designed to help reduce the cost and complexity of deploying and managing corporate PCs.

Windows 7 Enterprise provides higher levels of data protection, easier application management, and improved standardization for global operations. Also, Windows 7 Enterprise offers stronger data protection for a growing, mobile workforce, including more protection of sensitive data in the event a mobile PC is lost or stolen.

Windows 7 Enterprise gives your business an advantage by empowering your most valuable asset: people. The operating system makes it easy for people to communicate, collaborate, and work with greater efficiency and effectiveness, regardless of their location.

And Windows 7 Enterprise enhances your organization’s ability to find, use, and secure data, meet complex regulatory requirements, and manage information technology costs. Windows 7 Enterprise is the heart of any competitive organization’s IT desktop investment.

Features:

DirectAccess keeps mobile users connected on the go

BranchCache makes file access faster

Search information on the PC, mail or SharePoint

BitLocker protects data on a PC and portable drives

AppLocker lets you control what user’s can run

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure made better

Management tools to improve IT productivity

Compatibility with Windows 7 and ease of deployment

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Windows 7 Ultimate is the non plus ultra edition of the Windows 7 operating system as it is the only edition of Windows 7 that is feature complete.

All other editions – with the exception of Windows 7 Enterprise which is Windows 7 Ultimate branded differently – lack features that are included in Windows 7 Ultimate.

Windows 7 Ultimate comes with the following set of features that distinguish it from other Windows 7 editions:

Bitlocker file encryption
Direct Access
Branch Cache
Plus all features of all other Windows 7 editions.

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