IT Queries: Computer problems answered

We are starting up a small business and are looking at purchasing a high end computer (and associated hardware and software) to edit and archive the company’s digital media resources: photographs, illustrations, videos etc.

We have a budget of $5000.

The $5,000 budget should pay for a good computer. Our sister site PC Rescue has details of what typical users should buy for home and small office use.

Given your requirements are somewhat higher than the typical user, you’ll want something more advanced. We’d suggest the following.

Hard drive: Given you’re dealing with graphics, you really want to have a bigger and faster hard drive. We’d suggest a 750Gb or higher 3.0Gb per second SATA drive.

Memory: With these applications, the more memory you can throw at it the better. Go for at least 4Gb.

Processor: You’ll need to consider a quad-core processor. Be a bit careful here as specifying something too high can blow your budget out. A 2.4GHz Intel Q6600 should be fine.

Video: Get at least a 512Mb video card with DVI out.

Sound card: For many applications built in sound cards are fine. If high quality sound is important then add something like a SoundBlaster Xtreme.

Warranty: Whatever you get, make sure you add a three years manufacturers warranty.

With a 22″ monitor you should easily squeeze in below $3,000 which should allow for a good quality A3 printer, backup hardware and Internet router.

Good luck with the new business.

I have been given a Compaq Presario C 700 series with Vista preloaded. The PC is operated by XP professional – Compucon . My problem is that I want to transfer my Money 99 programme and MS Office, together with Family Tree Maker, Arcsoft, Personal Historian, and other bits and pieces. Which is the best way to go about this? I intend to take the laptop with us when we go touring and use it to keep track on expenses and also download photos from the camera.

Sadly there’s no easy way to transfer programs between computers. You have to reload the programs from their original disks. If you find the older programs, like Money 99 don’t work on the new Vista system then you’ll have to find replacement programs.

Transferring the data can also be problematic, the easiest way is to use the backup function on the old programs and put the backup on a USB drive then restore to the new system.

If you have had to get a replacement program then you may find the backup doesn’t work properly. This is part of the drama with computers and why you may have to call a computer tech to help you.

One important thing to remember when setting up a new machine is not to get rid of the old one until everything is across.

We’ll answer the second part of this question in the next post.

Hi Paul, have read your article on buying a computer and noted the strong leaning towards MAC. What is the industry particularly your thoughts on purchasing a Sun entry level workstation equivalent to a standard Windows or MAC desktop. I have read that a Sun box is robust and less prone against viruses

I didn’t realise I was strongly leaning towards a Mac. The choice of the Mac versus a PC really comes down to two factors; what you are used to and what your colleagues, friends and relatives use.

For those reasons alone I’d steer you away from a Sun workstation. Other problems you’ll hit are the huge cost of support and the difficulty getting replacement parts not to mention you’ll get no help from friends, the local computer shop or your ISP.

I’d recommend going to the nearest computer superstore and Mac shop and having a play with their computers. See which computers you like and which stores have the best service.

While price is an important factor, it shouldn’t be the main selling point. If a better, faster computer is $200 more, buy it.

Don’t forget to get a three year warranty as well.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays from IT Queries.

If you are struggling with setting up a new computer, visit our sister website PC Rescue for a quick check list on what to do if you’re being challenged by a Christmas gift.

I have been looking at ways of buying Microsoft Office cheaper than recommended retail price.
In my travels I came across an American website (Soft Sales)offering Microsoft Office(OEM) for $79(US)brand new. It says all you need to do is download MS Office(in pdf format). No manual is included but all authentication and verification codes are. What are your thoughts on buying such an item? I haven\’t actually bought the item.
I am currently running Windows XP on a pentium 4 pc.

It sounds extremely dodgy. OEM software is supposed to be sold with hardware and the price is extremely cheap.

What’s more, it appears these guys are expecting you to download the trial edition and they are merely selling the authentication codes to unlock the trial.

To say this is risky is an understatement. Microsoft have a track record of disabling these codes and Office 2007 can be disabled this way. It’s possible you might end up with it simply not working one morning.

With these sort of software deals, if something’s too good to be true it usually isn’t true. If these people are prepared to rip-off one of the world’s biggest companies, then they are not likely to have many qualms about treating the likes of you and I poorly.

We’d suggest avoiding this like the plague.

I Bought a brand new Lenovo laptop with Vista Home Premium installed. Kept disconnecting me from my dialup internet after a few minutes. My Internet provider had me try a few things that didn’t work eg. altering modem speed. They finally admitted they were’nt up to speed with Vista.

Contacted Lenovo, who were very good. Had me return machine to them. They checked it-nothing wrong. Back to me. Still the same problem.Back to them,fully checked and nothing found wrong. Back to me again, still the same problem.

I then took the machineback to where I purchased it and got my money back.

My daughter gave me her old laptop, which the grandkids were playing games on, and said to try it. It has an early version of the system before(XP?) Vista. It works perfectly - no cut offs.

What’s the problem?

I’m frightened to buy a new computer now because of this problem.

The first rule of computing is not to let them intimidate you. Computer are tools, just like a coffee machine or power drill. Sometimes you get a dud one.

In this case, it sounds like there was either a defective modem or some software problem.

When you have a new operating system like Microsoft Vista, it makes finding those problems harder. It also means getting help becomes more difficult. You found this with your ISP.

This is why we recommend avoiding a new operating system for at least six months after its release. That way we get to see the bugs and find ways around common problems.

Technology’s no different to any other product, sometimes it doesn’t work. Don’t be worried about buying a computer in future.

Hi! I am a senior, fairly new to the computer game, and purchased an ex-govt. pc equipped with msn email site, and was going well, then..started having trouble responding. I’ve taken it back, and back and now they have installed FIREFOX which i’m not happy with. How can I get MSN back. Further, the pc is not connecting wth printer. All quite boring and problematic, and wasting time!

Your experience is why we tend to steer people away from second hand computers. These problems are pretty typical of what we see when people buy old systems. We recommend buying a cheap new system rather than wasting time with second hand kit.

To get MSN back, it’s best to visit the MSN website and download the latest version. Make sure your computer meets the minimum system requirements for MSN Explorer on that page.

We’ve discussed a problem previously with MSN Explorer and Internet Explorer 7 which stops MSN responding, you can find the fix here.