Tech Tip: What to do if you get a Blue Screen error in Windows

Description: Here is a how to guide on what to do with a blue screen error on a Windows computer.

A blue screen error is a critical failure on a Windows computer. They will appear suddenly, provide a little information, and restart the computer. And they can be quite scary for people.

Here's some brief tips for what to do when a blue screen shows up:

1. Write down any Stop error codes that it shows. There are only a few seconds for this before the computer restarts.
   
   • These will typically come in the format 0x… (e.g. 0x00000050)
     
     
     
     
2. On a computer (likely another) do a search for that error code.
   
   
   
   
3. Follow any instructions found in the search. Typically these fall into a few categories:
   
   • Reinstall Device Drivers - For how to do this, click here.
   • There is a virus - For how to start a virus removal, click here.
   • There is a hardware problem - If the malfunctioning hardware is known, replace it or please take it into your nearest Micro Center for service.
     
   • There is a corruption in the Operating System - This requires either running a repair on the operating system or reinstalling it completely.
     
     • To run a System File Check please follow this guide: How to Run System File Checker in Windows 7.
       
     • To reinstall the Operating System follow this guide: How to install Windows 7.
   • The Micro Center Tech Support Chat line is an excellent resource: chat.microcentertech.com.
     

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

Tech Tip: Troubleshooting Audio

Description: Troubleshooting Your Audio.



Ever since Diamond Multimedia introduced the consumer to one of the first MP3 players about 15 years ago, the digital music scene has become a necessity to the common consumer. Starting at that point, you could take tracks from your favorite CDs and transfer them to a portable media player to enjoy the music on the go. Granted, you could only fit about 8-10 songs on the first mp3 players, but the concept was amazing! So what can you do to get the most out of your digital music - whether it be coming from your smartphone, Mac, PC, or digital audio player? What other formats are out there? How do you make sure the quality is as good as it can get?

A Few Things You Should Know
When we say that a format is lossy, it tells us that it will destroy information to achieve a small file size. When we say lossless, a smaller file size is achieved WITHOUT destroying any information from the original file (similar to how a zip file operates). 

Example: A three minute song takes roughly 30MB on your hard drive when it is ripped from the CD. When your conversion software (i.e. iTunes) makes a MP3, the file size goes down to around 5MB. Considering that the new file is about 1/6^th the size of the original, this is amazing!

Chart of Common Audio Formats

Audio Format	Lossy or Lossless?	Where Have I Seen This?
MP3 (MPEG 1/2 , Layer 3)	Lossy	DRM-Free Music Stores, Internet Radio, Converted CD’s from iTunes/Windows Media Player
AAC (Advanced Audio Coding)	Lossy	Pandora, iTunes
WMA (Windows Media Audio)	Lossy	Xbox Music, Rhapsody
Vorbis	Lossy	Spotify, Many PC and Console Games
FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec)	Lossless	(archival purposes)
APE (Monkey's Audio)	Lossless	(archival purposes)
SHN (Shorten)	Lossless	(archival purposes)
WAV/AIFF	No Compression	Retail Audio CDs

Put On Your Thinking Ears

So you've hooked up your Smartphone/Tablet/Portable Device/Computer to some speakers, and the sound that is coming out is awful. What do you do? First off, let's analyze the sound and make some mental notes to help you out later.

1. Is it too soft?
2. Does the sound come in and out at random points?
3. Does the audio sound scratchy during louder sections?
4. Does the band sound like they're playing underwater?
5. Is there any aspect of the music or characteristic that is missing? (assuming you are familiar with the music already)
6. Do cymbal crashes (or other high frequencies) sound artificial, muddy, or loose?

Did your observations match up with points 1, 2, or 3? If they did, then you should start troubleshooting the speakers themselves. If it's too soft (or not heard at all), your volume is probably set too low. Make sure the volume is set to a reasonable level in Windows. To avoid this issue, always keep your computer at maximum volume and only use your speakers to adjust the volume to your liking. This also avoids hiss in the speakers, because they're not trying to amplify a weak signal. If you experience sound fading in and out or you still do not hear anything, double check your speaker connections to make sure there's nothing loose. The connections are usually color-coded (see right). For a set of stereo speakers, you would use the green connection only. If you have surround sound, you would be using the black and orange connections as well. If the connections are good, then you may have a problem with the amplifier in the speakers. If the audio sounds scratchy during loud sections, you probably have the volume set too high on your speakers. This is called distortion. One thing to watch out for is sometimes individual applications may have a separate volume control that is independent of the system (i.e. VLC). This can get complicated, because now you have three separate volumes to keep track of, and three possible chances for distortion. If turning the volume down all around doesn't fix it, then the original recording may be distorted, and there's nothing that can be done to help that.

Did your observations match up with points 4, 5, or 6? If they did, then your troubleshooting should start with the source and not the speakers.

4. Where did your music come from? Was it downloaded from the internet? Did you make the file yourself from a CD? Did it come from an online music store? Not all music is of the same quality that comes from the Internet. The real question is what is the quality of the file you are listening to? Sometimes, the media player will report the quality of the file (in kbps) as shown below.
   
   
   (Windows Media Player example)

If you don't have this feature, an easy way to guess the quality is to find the length of the song (in minutes). Now find the actual file (on the hard drive) and determine how big the file is. In windows, you can right-click the file and click properties to see the file size. On a Mac, you would right-click the file and click Get Info.



In this example, the song, Kalimba, has a length of 5:48, and its file size is 8.02MB. In this case, size (8) is greater than length (5). You can assume that the quality of the audio is good or excellent if the file size is larger than the length. If you find that your file is about 5 minutes long but is only 4-5MB, you can conclude that the quality of the file is probably not very good, which is why you might think it sounds bad.

Why Does Bitrate Matter So Much?

Bitrate is extremely important. The higher the bitrate is the more information can be retained from the original file. Since seeing is believing, what follows on the next page are a few spectrograms. Don't be afraid! These psychedelic pictures represent all of the sound frequencies used in a particular audio file over a specified amount of time. Each graph has two separate pictures to show you the left and right channels (since it is a stereo audio file).


Left: Original CD and Right: Compressed MP3 (128kbps)

The biggest difference between the original and compressed files is the rather abrupt cut-off of frequencies we see in the MP3 version. Everything past 16,000 Hz is gone. The simple logic behind this is that the encoder needs to get rid of things in order to reduce file size. Another way that the encoder can reduce file size is by eliminating sounds that we may not have noticed in the first place. A classic example is when a loud and soft sound are heard at the same time, the encoder will eliminate the softer sound (if possible). Sometimes the encoder may choose to eliminate certain frequencies that we may not be able to hear that well. These decisions are modeled around human hearing and the encoder is aware of what most people can and cannot detect. The lower the bitrate, the sloppier these decisions are, which is why we think it sounds bad. The higher the bitrate, the more sophisticated these decisions are, making them harder to detect, which is why we may think it sounds good. Some of these decisions are hard to see on the graph and are better left for the ear to decide.

As a closing thought, please remember that your speakers are there to play back what you give them. If you feed them a bad source, they'll play the bad source-simple as that. Also please remember that a truly decent set of speakers will cost you some money. You can't expect a $20 pair of speakers to knock your socks off. The speakers are not always at fault! Please consider the source!

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

Troubleshooting Tenda W311U Wireless Adapter will not connect to network

Description: This tutorial will address common connectivity issues with the Tenda W311U wireless adapter.

1. On the keyboard, hold the Windows Key and type the letter R.
2. This will display the Run dialog box. In the box, type msconfig and hit enter.
   
   


3. Click the Services tab along the top, then scroll to the bottom and look for any running services labeled Tenda or W311U (Note: This differs depending on model, software version, etc). It may also be labeled as Wireless Network Configuration and the manufacturer is Unknown
4. Once the proper services are located, uncheck the box to the left to disable it. Once disabled, click Apply in the bottom right.
5. Now, select the Startup tab along the top, and the repeat the same process as above.
   
   


6. Restart the computer.
7. Once the machine powers back up, open Component Services by holding the Windows Key and typing R, then type services.msc into the box and hit enter.
   
   


8. Scroll to the bottom and look for the Windows Wireless Service (in XP, it will be named Wireless Zero Config and in Vista/7, it is called WLAN AutoConfig)
   
   


9. Right-Click on the Windows Wireless Service and click Start. Now, use the Windows Wireless Utility to connect to the network.
   
   

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

5 things to try when you can't connect to the Internet

1. "Power cycle" your router and your ISP´s cable or DSL Modem.
 

Start with the easiest fix - unplug your router and your ISP’s cable or DSL modem from the AC power supply, give it 30 seconds, and reconnect the AC. If this worked then it was a dropped setting in either of those devices. 

2. Check the "Activity" and "Link" lights on your computer and router.
 

A quick visual inspection of the small "Activity" and "Link" lights on the back of your computer or on the router itself will tell you if your computer is sending anything to your router. If the lights are not blinking, try another port on your router and a different Ethernet cable. If you’re using Wi-Fi to connect, see if the Wi-Fi light on the router is on and blinking. 

3. What if the lights aren’t blinking?
 

You may have a hardware problem with the Network Interface Controller (NIC) or the software driver for that device. On your Window’s system go to the Control Panel / Device Manager and look for the "+" next to the Network Controllers group; click on it to expand that group to display the network controllers you have. If there’s a yellow "!" next to a device it means that you need to install the driver from the driver CD or download it from the internet; a red "X" means that the system has detected a hardware problem and the actually device needs to be repaired or replaced. 

Occasionally everything will look OK, but the device is still not working. You can "Uninstall" the device from the device manager and then "Scan for Hardware Changes" which will reinstall the driver software. Often this corrects the problem. 

4. Is it a connection problem or a browser problem? 
 

Often your computer is sending and receiving information to and from the Internet, but your web browser (IE, Firefox, Safari, Opera, etc.) is the problem. A quick way to test the "end-to-end" connectivity is to open a command prompt window ("CMD" in XP’s RUN box or Windows 7’s Start Button/Search Programs or Files box) and use the "PING" command to test access to a well known site. For example,

This shows that your PC is sending and receiving data to/from the internet. If you cannot reach this same website with your browser, then it may be a browser settings issue or a virus.

• Reset your browser settings, usually found in Options, Tools, or Preferences. Use your browser’s Help function (or an Internet search - if you have a second system that does connect) to find the specific details on how to reset your browser’s settings.
• Try an alternate browser to rule out site-specific problems. You may need to download an alternate browser’s installation kit from a different computer. If another computer is not available to you, you can try running your Windows in what is called "Safe Mode". To start in Safe Mode: while the PC is booting up, tap the "F8" key; a list of options will appear, and you should select "Safe Mode with Networking".
• Still having problems? Try removing and reinstalling your current browser from Windows’ Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs and Features, for Firefox, Chrome, etc. or select Windows Features for Internet Explorer
• Check the Internet Connection Settings: Unless you know you use a proxy server, this should normally be unchecked, or set to "automatically detect settings" (Control Panel, Internet Options, Connections tab, LAN settings) Note: Some viruses or malware will change these settings!

5. Scan for Viruses and malicious software! 
 

Make sure that your antivirus/anti-malware software is up to date with the most recent definitions and run a full scan of your system. Even if a virus scan does not find anything, running a search for malicious software with s program such as MalwareBytes, SpySweeper, or SuperAntiSpyware may turn up the source or your problem. These anti-malware programs look for programs that are missed by AntiVirus applications because the software was "approved" for installation by the user, even if you were not aware of it happening.

 If these tips didn´t work for you, the problem is more involved and may require hardware diagnostics or a full format/reload of your operating system, both of which can be performed by Micro Center's Service Department. 

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

Microsoft Outlook cannot start, Cannot open the Outlook Window

Description: You click on the outlook icon and wait, the program never opens and you receive an error "Cannot start Microsoft Outlook, Cannot open the Outlook Window."

Your Outlook program will not open the Window. The error message says "Cannot Start Microsoft Outlook, Cannot open the Outlook Window." The program appears to be starting up, but then crashes.

The way to correct this issue is listed below.

1. Click on the Start button and then Click on Run (for Windows XP only), or Click on start and type run in the search bar at the bottom of the start window.
   
   


2. Then click on Run at the top.
3. The run box will appear, type in the following command: outlook.exe /resetnavpane
   
   


4. Click OK
5. Click on the Outlook Icon, the program should now open without any problems.

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 Internet Explorer 9 in Windows 7

When opening Internet Explorer there can be a multitude of errors that appear or prevent you from accessing certain web sites. There are many troubleshooting steps that will work for several of these errors and get you on to web browsing. The following guide will walk through three main troubleshooting steps for problems in Internet Explorer 9.

Reset Internet Explorer

1. Open Internet Explorer 9 by clicking Start, All Programs, and selecting Internet Explorer
   
   


2. Click the Tools icon in the upper right corner of the screen
   
   


3. Click Internet Options
   
   


4. Select the Advanced Tab
   
   


5. Click the Reset button
   
   


6. Click the Reset button
   • Note the check for deleting personal settings
     
     
   


7. When the reset is complete click Close
   
   


8. A message will appear across the bottom prompting to restart Internet Explorer. Close Internet Explorer.
   
   

Open an InPrivate Browsing session

An InPrivate Browsing session in Internet Explorer is essentially the same web browser but does not keep track of browsing history, temporary internet files, form data, cookies, or any user data. Should an inprivate browsing session solve the problem, then you may try disabling cookies or clearing all personal settings when resetting Internet Explorer.

1. Open Internet Explorer 9 by clicking Start, All Programs, and selecting Internet Explorer.
   
   


2. Click the Tools icon in the upper right corner of the screen
   
   


3. Select the Safety option
   
   


4. Click InPrivate Browsing to open a new session
   
   


5. A new window will open as an InPrivate browsing window. This is indicated at the top beside the address bar. In this new window attempt to view websites by typing www.microcenter.com in the address bar (circled in blue) and pressing Enter on the keyboard. If this works then reset Internet Explorer 9 again, but check the box for "Delete Personal Settings."
   
   

Disable Protected Mode

1. Open Internet Explorer 9 by clicking Start, All Programs, and selecting Internet Explorer.
   
   


2. Click the Tools icon in the upper right corner of the screen
   
   


3. Click Internet Options
   
   


4. Click the Security Tab
   
   


5. Select the Internet Zone
   
   


6. Un-Check Enable Protected Mode
   
   


7. Click OK on the ensuing dialogue box
   
   


8. Close and restart Internet Explorer.

For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

Troubleshooting no wireless activity on a Dell Inspiron 15r series

This article will provide some initial steps to troubleshoot the problem of not being able to get online wirelessly on a Dell Inspiron 15r series notebook.

Problem: Your new Dell 15r notebook computer is not able to connect to a wireless network. You get an error stating that the wireless card is not active or installed.

Resolution: This is a problem when the wireless card in the Dell 15r series notebook is disabled or not powered on. To resolve this problem we will be activating the wireless card through the function keys on the notebook.

1. Make sure the notebook computer is on and computer is at the windows desktop.
2. Hold down Fn and press F2. This toggles the power on/off for the wireless network card on the notebook. Each time the F2 is pressed, it will cycle on/off for the wireless network card.

Two status icons will appear on the screen when the function keys are pressed:

When the wireless is enabled:



When the wireless is disabled:



For more assistance contact Technical Support here.

Getting an error for Microsoft Office after installing a different version of Office

This article will provide the steps in troubleshooting errors after installing a different version of Office on the computer.

Problem: Your newly installed version of Office and an existing version of Office are reporting errors, asking for the Product Key Code, will not open, or windows reports there is a problem with Office and needs to be shut down.

Resolution: All of these errors are a result of installing a newer version of Office in the same folder that contains an older version of Office. Several files have been replaced with newer files and the existing, older program cannot access the newer files. While the newer program is trying to read the existing older files in the folder.

To have multiple versions of Office installed on a computer, all versions need to be removed first.

1. Click on Start, All Programs, or Programs, and select Control Panel.
2. Click on Add/Remove Programs, or Programs and Features. Allow the list of all installed software to populate.
3. Click on the first entry for Office on the list then, click on Add/Remove or Uninstall/Change.
4. Follow the prompts on the screen to uninstall the program. Continue to do this until there is no listing of Office displayed in the list of software
5. Restart the computer.

Once the computer is back to the desktop, install the first version of Office onto your computer.

• During the install, you will be prompted on where to install the program. Change the location from the default location to a different location, such as C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Version 2003 or C:\Microsoft Office\2003.
• Continue with the install, until Office has been successfully installed, then restart the computer again.

Once the computer is back to the desktop, install the next version of Office onto the computer.

• During the install, you will be prompted on where to install the program. Change the location from the default location to a different location, such as C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Version 2011 or C:\Office\2011.
• Continue with the install, until Office has been successfully installed, then restart the computer again.

This will allow different versions of Office to be installed on a computer with no conflict or replacement of files.


For more help you can contact Technical Support here.

Troubleshooting Sound Issues in Windows 7: Part Three

This is part Three of the series on the subject of troubleshooting sound issues in Windows 7. In this part we will look at the drivers and installation of the sound hardware within the computer.

1. To begin, click on the Start button in the bottom left.
   
   


2. On the right side of the new Start Menu window, right-click on Computer and choose Properties.
   
   


3. On the new window, click on Device Manager in the top left.
   • After clicking on Device Manager, you may be prompted to allow or grant permission. Choose the option in the affirmative (Yes/Allow) to continue.
     
     
   
   
4. Within this new Device Manager window, locate the section labeled Sound, video and game controllers.
   
   


5. If this section is not listed, check any resource or drivers discs included with your computer for sound/audio drivers. Otherwise, check the manufacturer’s website for a driver download.
6. IIf it is listed, double-click on Sound, video and game controllers to expand that item.
   • In most cases the sound card will be listed as High Definition Audio Device. If that is not listed it may be under another name.
     
     
   


7. Right-click on the sound card and choose Uninstall.
   
   


8. When prompted, click OK to uninstall. If prompted to delete the drivers, do not delete the drivers.
   
   


9. Once uninstalled, close any open windows and save all open work, then restart the computer.
10. After the reboot, ensure that the volume is turned up and then test the sound on the computer. If it still does not function there is typically some form of hardware malfunction, and the computer will need to be serviced.

You can also contact Technical Support here.