Gadget Guru August 2011
Q: I bought my laptop less than two years ago and now it
takes up to an hour to start up. When I press the On button nothing
seems to happen for ages, then suddenly it pops into life and
starts up normally.
A: First,
double-check your warranty - many computers are sold with two-year
guarantees these days. If it's out of warranty try searching
Google for the make and model of your laptop followed by
'intermittent fault' or 'intermittent boot problem'
and see if there are any known problems. If not, tracking down the
solution could be difficult. First, make sure you've backed up
all your important data and information - next time your laptop
does start up, copy all the files you've created like letters,
pictures, emails and so on to an external hard disc or USB thumb
drive. Try restarting with everything you plug in unplugged, check
your version of Windows is up to date and scan for viruses and
malware. Perhaps most likely is a failing hard disc, which may be
easy to replace depending on your computer. You may be able to do
this yourself or get your local computer repair store to do it for
you - it shouldn't be too expensive and they may also be able
check your laptop over for you before they replace anything to
diagnose any potential faults.
Q: I've been an Apple Mac user for many years and so
have never really had to worry about viruses and so on before. Now
I understand the bad guys are targeting us too, so are there any
precautions I should take?
A: The same basic
precautions apply to Macs as to Windows - don't open unknown
email attachments, beware what links you click and double-check the
address of websites where you type your password. Also, if anything
asks you permission to install a program don't agree unless
you're the one who's installing it. Too many people simply
click OK through dialogue boxes just to get rid of them without
paying any attention to what they're doing. Next, think about
installing anti-virus software. There's any number of such
programs available, I use the one from Sophos as they're a very
reputable company and the software is free. Download it from
http://goo.gl/5gZoJ
Q: Is there anything available now which will replace my
sadly un-repairable Amstrad Emailer? It was very simple to use and
perfect for sending and receiving simple emails.
A: There's
nothing like the old Amstrad any more unfortunately, all available
devices require either a broadband or WiFi connection at your home,
or some sort of paying 3G mobile phone connection. Have a look at
the UbiSurfer9, http://www.ubisurfer.com/html/ubisurfer9.htm
- it comes with built-in, pre-paid internet access and prices start
at £150.
Tips
* You'd probably use your digital camera if
only it were easier to transfer photos to your computer or Facebook
- and if you could find the cable to connect it. Now there's
the The Eye-Fi Mobile X2 card, about £45 from Amazon. It's
a regular memory card with built-in WiFi that will automatically
send your pictures to your computer, Facebook or anywhere else you
like - and, once it's sent them it deletes the pictures from
the card, effectively giving you unlimited storage space without
any need to find the camera cable!
* If you're changing
mobile phones, don't just put your old one in a drawer and
forget about it - sell it! Check http://www.compareandrecycle.co.uk/ where you can
compare what dozens of different operators will pay for your old
mobile - you may be surprised at what it's worth.
* The problem with trying to lose weight is that
there's not enough humiliation involved in going to Weight
Watchers once a week. So try the Withings WiFi Body Scale, http://goo.gl/ISn3E - for under £120
it will instantly send details of your weight loss (or, gulp,
gain!) to your computer, your iPhone - and your Twitter and
Facebook friends. How's that for motivation?
* When your Windows computer takes so long to start up you have
time to make a cup of tea while waiting, try using the Sleep or
Hibernate options instead or turning it off completely. In Windows
7 click the Start button then the arrow next to Shut Down and one
of the options should be Hibernate. This stores all your open
programs and documents on your hard disc, allowing you to start up
back to where you were much more quickly than starting over.
Microsoft gives lots of information on this at http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Sleep-and-hibernation-
* Laptops with broken screens may be hard or even impossible to
repair, and certainly expensive to fix. Before you throw it away,
try plugging in an external screen - most laptops have a socket for
this and may work perfectly well like this. You won't be able
to use it to work on the train but it'll work fine on your desk
at home.
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