Tech Tip of the Day: How to manually troubleshoot your Network Connection for Vista or Windows 7

If your computer is having issues with getting on the internet, you may have to reset your IP configuration. Your computer may have an issue renewing its IP address from your router. Below is a guide to manually do this procedure.

1. Open a command prompt using one of the following methods:

• From the start menu, enter "CMD.EXE" (without the quotes) in the search box and press enter.
• From the start menu, select "Run". Enter CMD.EXE in the "Open:" box, and click OK
• From the start menu, select All programs, Accessories, and then click on "Command Prompt"

2. In the Command Prompt window, enter "ipconfig/all" (without the quotes) and press enter. This will display all of your network connection's configurations. You can use the scroll bar to move through the list if you have several logical and physical network adapters. Verify that you do not have a "media disconnected" error for your Ethernet Adapter connection. (If so, check that all cables are connected and that your router or network switch shows activity for your connections.)

3. In the Command Prompt window, enter "ipconfig/release" and press enter. This command will release your computer's current IP address.
4. In the Command Prompt window, enter "ipconfig/renew" and press enter. This command will ask your router for a new IP address using DHCP protocol

If this is the only issue, you should now have access to the internet. If you still have issues connecting to a web site, you may need to check your Internet Options.

1. To do this from Internet Explorer, click Tools and select Internet Options. From the Control Panel, click on Internet Options if you display controls in an icon view, or click "Network and
   Internet" from the category view, and then click "Internet Options" to open the Internet Properties window.
2. Select the "Connections" tab, and click on "LAN Settings"

3. Check to see if "Automatically detect settings" is the only option checked. If it does not have a check mark, add one by clicking in the box. Make sure that "Use a Proxy Server" is unchecked. (Some malicious software will turn this on to control or limit your Internet access to convince you to pay to fix it.)

4. Click OK and apply settings. Refresh the page in your web browser to test if the problem is fixed.

These are the most common fixes for internet connectivity.

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

How To Change Power Saving Settings In Windows Vista

Description: This article will show how to change the default power saving settings in Windows Vista.

1. Click on the Start button
2. In the search bar over the Start button type "power options"
   
   


3. Click on "power options" to open
4. In the power settings window there are 3 preset plans, select one of these or select "customize" to create one to fit your needs.
   
   
   
   
   • On this screen there are settings for when the computer goes to sleep and when the display is to turned off. There are more options available by clicking on "change advanced power settings"
     
     
     
     
   • Here it is possible to customize several more advanced settings such as when the hard drive powers down to sleep etc.
     
     
   
   
5. Click on "OK" to save settings.

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

How to uninstall Internet Explorer 9 for Windows Vista

The following article describes how to uninstall Internet Explorer 9 in Windows Vista.

1. Click on the Start button in the bottom left, then choose Control Panel on the right.
   
   


2. In the Control Panel, select Uninstall a Program or Programs and Features.
   
   


3. Click View Installed Updates
   
   


4. Scroll down the list to find Windows Internet Explorer 9. Click to highlight it.
   
   


5. Click Uninstall above the list of updates.
   
   


6. Wait a moment as it is uninstalled.
   
   


7. When prompted to restart the computer, choose Restart Later
   
   


8. Click on the Start button in the bottom left corner of the screen, then on the list of programs select Windows Update.
   
   


9. In Windows Update, choose the Check for Updates option in the top left.
   
   


10. Once the check is completed, click on the option in the middle that says 1 Important Update is Available
    • Note: it may say that more than one update is available.
    
    
11. Locate Internet Explorer 9 item on the list.
    
    


12. Right-click on the Internet Explorer 9 update and choose Hide Update
    • Note: This step is optional, and is here to prevent Internet Explorer 9 from being automatically installed again. If you want to reinstall it, skip this step and restart your computer.
    
    


13. Once finished, restart your computer to complete the process.

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

Troubleshooting USB wireless adaptor turns off or suddenly stops working

Description: This article will provide steps in troubleshooting the problem of a USB wireless adaptor that powers off and stops working.

Problem: Your newly installed USB wireless adaptor powers off or stops working. It is unable to connect to the internet and removing and plugging the USB adaptor seems to work for a while. Removing and reinstalling the software does not resolve the problem, even though the lights on the adaptor are on.

Resolution: The problem for the USB wireless adaptor is that Windows has control of the power management for that device and USB ports themselves. Disabling this feature in device manager should resolve this problem.

To open device manager for Windows Vista or Windows 7:

1. Click on Start, and on the search bar type in "Device Manager". Then press Enter.
   
   


2. In device manager click on the + or triangle for network adaptors.
3. Right click on the wireless adaptor (name will vary), and select properties.
   
   
   
   


4. In the properties window for the wireless card, click on Power Management tab.
5. Remove the checkmark for "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power."
6. Click on Ok, and restart the computer.
   
   
   
   


7. The wireless USB adaptor will no longer power down or have trouble staying connected to the network.

You can also contact Technical Support here.

Resolving an out of range error on monitor

Description: This article will provide steps in troubleshooting an out of range error when booting into windows.

Problem: Your display stops working and only shows a message of "Out of range." This happens when the computer is first turned on, coming out of hibernate, out of sleep mode, or attaching a new monitor to the computer.

Resolution: This problem is a result of the video resolution for the video card not being set correctly or has been altered unexpectedly by an update or a program shutting down incorrectly.

To overcome this problem, removing the video card driver in device manager and allowing the computer to reinstall the correct video driver will be used in this example.

• Turn on the computer
• Start-tapping F8 continuously until there is a windows menu
• Using the up and down arrow keys on the keyboard, highlight Safe mode and press Enter
• The computer will start to load, log into windows under your name or under Owner
• For Windows Vista or Windows 7, click on Start, type Device manager on the search line
  
  



• Click on the + for display adaptors, then right-click on the video card listed below it (name may be different). Click on Uninstall.
  
  
  
  



• Leave the check box for "Delete the driver" empty and click on OK.
  
  

The display driver will disappear from device manager. Close all the windows and restart the computer. The computer will boot up to normal windows and the display will be fuzzy or blurry. Windows will automatically reload the video driver and the computer should restart on its own. Once the computer is back up into windows, you will be able to set the resolution correctly for your monitor if it has not done so automatically.

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

Troubleshooting Windows Update in Windows XP, Vista and 7: Part Two

This article is the second of a two-part series on the subject of troubleshooting issues with Windows Update, specifically in Windows XP, Vista and 7.

In this example we will use Windows 7, but the steps may be used to get an idea for how it is done in other versions, particularly Windows Vista.

1. Open the Windows Update section of the Control Panel. This can be done in various ways based on Operating System - in Windows XP you may need to go to www.windowsupdate.com to proceed.
2. Click on the Start button in the bottom left, then choose Control Panel on the right side of the Start Menu.
   
   


3. In the top right of the Control Panel, choose the View By: dropdown and then select Category.
   
   


4. On the left side, click on the green System and Security heading.
   
   


5.  In the middle click on the green Windows Update heading.
   
   


6.  On the Windows Update screen, view the available updates by clicking on the Important Updates are Available option.
   
   
7. Locate the KB number for the update that will not install by clicking on the update, then checking in the parentheses on the right.
   
   


8. Visit www.google.com and search the web for the KB number in the following format: KB######## download details site:Microsoft.com
   • This will search the Microsoft.com web page for the download page of that update. Ensure that the page is from Microsoft.com before downloading and installing any application
   
   


9. On that download page, follow the instructions to manually download and install the update. This varies per update, so pay attention to the steps provided on the page.

Troubleshooting Windows Update in Windows XP, Vista and 7: Part One

This article is the first of a two-part troubleshooting series on the subject of troubleshooting issues with Windows Update, specifically in Windows XP, Vista and 7. This is a general troubleshooting guide that goes through some of the steps that can be taken to resolve many Windows Update issues.


In this document we have provided a .bat file. In some cases your virus software may detect this as a virus, in which case follow the instructions below to manually create the file on your machine. This file will remove the contents of the Windows Update cache Download folder.

1. Log in to an administrator account on the machine, or make sure that your account has administrative access.
2. Download the Clear Windows Update Cache batch file by clicking here. Then open the zip file.
3. If using Windows XP, double-click on the file to run it.
4. If using Windows Vista or Windows 7, right-click on the file and choose Run as Administrator
   
   


5. If prompted for permission, choose Yes or Allow to continue.
6. Once the file has finished, the update cache will have been cleared. Restart the computer and check for updates again to proceed. If it still fails, move on to Troubleshooting Windows Update Issues: Part Two. If for whatever reason you are unable to run the above batch file, here is how you can create it yourself.
7. Open a new Notepad document by going to Start, then to All Programs, then Accessories, and finally clicking on Notepad to open the program.
   
   


8. Once open, copy the following information in to the program:
   net stop wuauserv
   rd /s /q %windir%\SoftwareDistribution\Download\
   net start wuauserv
9. The first line stops the windows update service. The second line removes the "Download" folder within the Windows Update (SoftwareDistribution) folder. The third line starts the windows update server again.
10. Save the file as "clear_windows_update_cache.bat". Note that the quotation marks are required. Make sure that you save the file somewhere you remember. For example on the Desktop.
    
    


11. If using Windows XP, double-click on the file to run it.
12. If using Windows Vista or Windows 7, right-click on the file and choose Run as Administrator
    
    


13. If prompted for permission, choose Yes or Allow to continue.
14. Once the file has finished, the update cache will have been cleared. Restart the computer and check for updates again to proceed. If it still fails, move on to Troubleshooting Windows Update Issues: Part Two

How to Run Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool in Windows Vista

Windows Vista has a built-in feature called the Memory Diagnostic Tool. It will check the RAM in your computer for errors and notify the user if the RAM needs to be replaced. This utility will not find all errors, but will check for obvious hardware failures in the memory. This guide will walk-through how to run Windows Memory Diagnostic Tool in Windows Vista.

1. Click the Start button in the lower left-hand corner of the screen.
   
   
   
2. Select Control Panel on the right half of the Start menu.
   
   
   
3. The Control Panel should open to a series of categories. If it does not, click the Control Panel Home link on the left.
   
   
   
4. Click the green System and Maintenance link.
   
   
   
5. Click the green Administrative Tools link which is the last heading in the menu.
   
   
6. Double-click the Memory Diagnostic Tool icon in the next window.
   
   
   
7. Select the Restart now and check for problems option to begin the diagnostic.
   
   
   
8. The Memory Diagnostic Tool will run two passes on the RAM check for errors. If any errors are found they will be displayed on the screen. Once the test is complete the system will automatically reboot back into Windows Vista.