Having computer problems? Maybe I can help

June 29, 2020
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I know its been awhile since I last posted anything on this site but I normally only post things on this site on issues that I find are hard to find solutions for or interesting things I come across in the field.

So I wanted to see if there is some computer issues I could help anyone out there with. If you are willing to work with me via a remote session I would love to help you out and in turn it would give me something to post on this site as to the problem and solution.

Let me know in the comments below and I will pick a couple of people to work with. Leave me a message with the problem and what steps you have taken so far.

RG

How To Send A Text Message From Your Computer

April 5, 2016
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Have you ever had your phone die but still needed to send a text message? Or maybe you are working on your laptop and don’t have a cell phone signal? You can send a text message from your email to the person you are trying to reach. The only catch is that you do need to know the other persons cell phone provider.

send text messages from your computer

Send Text Through Email:
  • AT&T: @text.att.net
  • Boost Mobile: @sms.myboostmobile.com
  • Cricket: @sms.mycricket.com
  • Metro PCS: @mymetropcs.com
  • Sprint: @messaging.sprintpcs.com
  • T-Mobile: @tmomail.net
  • U.S. Cellular: @email.uscc.net
  • Verizon: @vtext.com (or @vzwpix.com to send video & pictures)
  • Virgin Mobile: @vmobl.com

Example: If you wanted to send a text message to your friend who is with Sprint and their phone number is 321-987-6543 you would email 321-987-6543@messaging.sprintpcs.com and they would get your email via text message. If the email is long it will be broken up into multiple text messages. When they respond back it will go to your email inbox where you sent it from.

If there are other carriers you would like me to add to this list make a comment below and I will add to this list. So next time your in the airport, out of the country or don’t have cell phone service you can still keep in contact with friends and family.

 

CrashPlan – Service won’t Start and unable to connect to backup engine

November 11, 2015
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I’ve been using CrashPlan for a couple of years now and have never had any issues with it till the last update that it automatically did. Not sure what happened but all of a sudden my little crashplan tray icon was grayed out and said “unable to connect to the backup engine.”

After making sure my antivirus program wasn’t blocking ports or doing something odd to hinder the operation of Crashplan I downloaded the newest update from their website and proceeded to do an uninstall and reinstall of it thinking that should fix any problems that had happened during the last update. Boy was I wrong!! After doing a couple of hours of research and reading forums and even sending off emails to them about my issue I was able to finally figure out my problem.

The problem was that the Crashplan backup service would not start. If I tried to start the process it would stop immediately.

So here is the fix…You need edit the crashplanservice.ini file. For me it was in c:\program files\crashplan\crashplanservice.ini or you could do a file search for this if you can’t locate it. Open up the file in notepad and edit the line that has Virtual Machine Parameters=-Xrs -Xms15M -Xmx1024M and change the Xmx1024M to Xmx512M then save the file and now try and start the Crashplan backup service again or just reboot the computer.

Hope this helps anyone out there that has this issue and save you the many hours trying to resolve this.

RG

Windows XP – Can’t Access Your Account Profile, Logged In As Temporary Profile

November 12, 2014
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If you ever have logged into windows and your desktop doesn’t come up or your files aren’t showing up, you probably have a corrupted profile. This can happen for a number of reasons as sometimes the computer doesn’t shutdown properly or power outage or hard drive failing.

I was able to find a nice tutorial online at http://www.theonlinetutorials.com/how-to-resolve-windows-xp-temp-profile-problem.html that gives good detail instructions on how to recover from a damaged profile. I have tested this out and it works great.

So if you ever run into this give this a try and let me know if it helps you.

RG

Computer Tip : Removing Dust From Computers & Keyboards

June 28, 2013
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If your like me everyone once in a while you like to clean out the junk that falls into your keyboard and dust balls inside your computer. I usually buy cans of compressed air and try to buy them in bulk at Costco or whenever I see them on sale. But while I was on Amazon and searching for some cans of compressed air I came across this electric hand held duster.

electric-duster-for-computers

I just recevied it today and I have to say this is one of the best purchases I have made in awhile. Not only will this save me money in the long run it is pretty powerful and my hands now longer freeze to death. 🙂 

The only downside with this is that it is pretty loud (almost like a vacuum cleaner), but I can now clean my computers (and my clients computers) without having to worry about running out of compressed air. Plus it’s also good to know that I’m no longer throwing away empty cans of air and adding to waste.

So if your in the market of buying more cans of compressed air you should really consider buying one of these..

If you have one of these let me know what other uses have you found that this comes in handy for.

RG