xlcomputers

The importance of having the right Video driver that matches the Video Card on your PC or laptop

2011-06-25T16:46:00.000+01:00

I had a customer call in and report that many of her applications were either not running correctly, were causing hanging, or were simply not running at all, and I know from this lady that she is unlikely to bring in malware (the first possible source of all this trouble), and right enough after checking her system it was clean from any malware.....

However her problem was that her system had a nice (ok, old now!) Radeon 9800 VGA card, but she was using Windows XP, which is fine, but she installed the card herself, and because it worked out of the box, she didn't bother to load the software supplied with it (the Radeon Catalyst software), as it was fine as it is.!!!.. This is where she got it wrong, as the software that loaded was the Microsoft default driver, which IS good enough to run basic applications, and the net etc.. In fact this driver is really only designed to get the card going so that the correct driver and software can be applied appropriately. Hence when she (or her daughter) tried to run any graphic intensive applications, such as games, graphical design programs etc, the system simply failed becuase of not having the correct drivers. So whenever you have a system with a good Graphical processor (VGA card), even if it's built in (or on board), make sure you have the correct driver installed for that card, IF you want to get the most out of it!. If you're having any trouble doing this why not contact us (XL Computers), as I'm sure we can help in that regard!..

Norton Virus - This is really the first true ANTI - antivirus I've ever come across!

2011-05-19T20:31:00.000+01:00

I really think they should change the name of that (not-so) wonderful product owned by Smantec from "Norton Anti-virus" to "Norton Virus". I say this because on numerous occassions I have uploaded updates on PC's and various utilities, and on soooo many occassions a little utility called Norton Anti-virus security (or some such words) has crept in and is offering me free security, but if I want the real-deal I've got to pay them!.. Well if that is not (in essense) a virus, I don't know what is. Cause guess what!.. The first thing I do is remove it, and even then I get quizzed: "Are you absolutely sure you want to remove this wonderful protection system from your computer" (hey, don't quote me on the exact words but the essence of what they do is there!)

Free Software Versus purchased / paid for: Pros and cons?

2011-03-27T21:39:00.000+01:00

One thing that has really amazed me in recent years is the blurring of quality between Free software, and those packages you pay for. In this blog, we are going to look at offerings on Office, Desktop Publishing (DTP), Graphical design, CAD, and any other Genres that you the viewer of this site can suggest!. The idea here is to encourage our viewers to compile a general consensus on whether paid-for software is much better than free software, or in fact if the opposite may be true!. Lets forge ahead and find out!.

Connect from your home PC to your office PC: It's probably easier than you think!

2010-12-09T18:55:00.001Z

Mary from Galway: I had XL setup a remote computer connection from my work to my home PC, and WOW! (read on!)...............

When XL set me up with a remote connection to my office (from my home PC), I was amazed how easy it was to do (i.e. just the click of a button and key in my password, and I'm into my Office PC). I also couln't believe the time it saved me in not having to go to the office. So now I can pick up the kids from school on time AND still get my work done!.

Essential Data needs to be protected, backed up on a regular basis

2010-11-13T14:11:00.000Z

Essential Data: The key is to keep essential data backed up that is regularly used or referenced. Such apps as Accounts, Workshop activity, CRM packages etc, all need regular backup, as if they are being used on a daily basis (or almost)....

then they need to be backed up with roughtly the same frequency. But surprisingly enough for the vast majority of organisataions (i.e. Those that exclude large data files, such as found in video editing, bit maniuplation files
or large CAD drawings etc) most of the regular data would fit onto a regular Pen drive (though, I need to STRONGLY emphazise, that I dont' recommend that as a backup method on it's own, better to then transfer it onto anohter more reliable media)

Removable Disk is not formatted, Do you want to format it now? HELP PLEASE!!

2010-09-08T15:08:00.001+01:00

In many cases when removable media (e.g. External Hard disks, pen drives, SD cards etc.) get corrupted, they only way they can deal with it the next time they are used is by displaying the following message when they are plugged in:

Removable Disk is not formatted, Do you want to format it now?

Often the immediate response to this message (having never seen it before, and especially when you have valuable information on the media), is to select yes, without thinking, hoping that will solve the problem of helping you view the important files you want to access.. only to find that by doing this you have made things even WORSE!. However, help is at hand, as even if you have selected "yes" (which we strongly recommend you NOT doing), we can more than often get your valuable information back. The key is to get your media (pendrive, ext hard drive whatever) to us as soon as possible after this event has occurred, and we can make an assessment of the situation and follow up with an estimate of the cost of recovery of this data. Believe it or not, it is often quite cheap / in-expensive to recover in many cases. So it's usually worth your while to check with us.

XP2600 Personal Computer for Sale

2010-05-10T14:43:00.000+01:00

XP2600 Personal Computer for Sale (This PC has just come in, and is running very well -fast):
1Gb ram, 120Gb hard drive, Wireless LAN built in. €120 (make me an offer?).

Computer System information recovery

2010-05-08T17:45:00.000+01:00

Recovering the data off of a computer hard disk can be a tricky and complex job, so rather than make any recommendations on how to go about this, we would always advise to seek professional help (such as ourselves) instead of asking your friend (who may know a bit about computers), as the friend might make the problem worse.

In this case, the information was stored on a Samsung 1Tb hard drive, and in order to restore the data it was necessary to get a system to read the structure of the hard drive, as the information was corrupted, even though the hard drive hardware was fundamentally in good shape. Once the data was transferred onto anohter drive it had to be scanned/repaired and although there were some damaged files, pretty well all of the files were in tact upon recovery.

Recovering files, such as your photos, Videos, documents etc, can be a time consuming task and hence expensive to carry out. Data recovery charges typically run at around €250, and in many cases can exceed €1000 in total depending on the nature of the damaged data, and the processes involved in it's recovery. Hence if you are storing valuable family photos and videos for example, it is important to make sure that they are backed up, otherwise they may be lost forever, in the event of a hard disk failure (which does happen, but thankfully we seem to recover over 90% of what we work on).

Toshiba Laptop DVD+/-RW Drive not reading CD / DVD media

2010-05-08T16:45:00.000+01:00

Found that CD lens appeared not to be reading any media, as normal operation appeared to happen whenever a CD or DVD was placed in the drive, yet nothing would appear, but the original DVD icon in Windows. Tried cleaning the lens using the recommended procedures, but to no avail. Replaced drive with similar model and system then appeared to work normally.

Acer Aspire 5520 Screen replacement job

2010-05-08T16:39:00.000+01:00

We've replaced a screen on an Acer 5520 (original display badly cracked). Replacement screen was glossy (same as original one), and laptop looked really well with new screen.

Hope the laptop works well for you; We never found out how you broke it, but luckily, it didn't cost you a fortune to replace (as we had a replacement in stock). I think you'll agree that it was worth spending €150 on it, rather than dumping it, as you were implying you were thinking about doing!

By the way, when we have the relevant part in stock, we can generally be more flexible on the price of the job.

PLEASE NOTE: We currently have a significant stock of Laptop Screens in stock, so if you've broken your laptop LCD display, and you're looking to have a replacement fitted, it would be worth calling / contacting us.

Requirement to have a Shared internet Connection between an two buildings that are within close proximity

2010-05-08T14:52:00.003+01:00

This Job involved setting up a Wireless Network BRIDGE between the Outhouse network and the Main House.
Setting up a Wireless bridge is the obvious option because of it's comparative simplicity and cost saving (compared with having to run a cable across a path and round a building), and has many other advantages, such as lower maintenance costs, quicker to setup etc.

Howerver, some of the disadvantages are, it can me more complex to setup, and it is important to note that Security considerations MUST BE taken into account when doing this, as Wirless signals can be picked up from outside the building. Hence if you are thinking of doing this it might just be wise to employ the services of an expert (such as XL Computers)

The idea of the Wireless bridge is to make a connection between two LAN segments, so that the two networks appear as one, and can therefore share resources such as One Internet connection, Shared Printer/scanners etc.
Wireless bridges are based on the 802.11(x) protocol and can be set up almost anywhere to transmit data to an router / access point that is wired to the main network. The second bridging router can then be connected either wirelessly or using the hardware ethernet connections to Computers in the other building, thus producing a bridged network. The key to this is to make sure both network segments are in the same subnet for their connection with a wireless bridge. If they have to be in different subnets then NAT is requried which can add to the complexity for a simple network.

When setting up such a network, there are three main things to consider:

1. Make sure the secondary bridge router is set to "CLIENT MODE".
1. Make sure the secondary bridge router is set to a DIFFERENT IP address to the primary, but in the same subnet (e.g. Most routers are set to a default IP, such as: 192.168.1.1, in which case change the second one to: 192.168.1.2)
1. Make sure the secondary bridge router has "DHCP" disabled. This is because the primary router then manages the automatic addressing for the rest (secondary part) of your network, and there will be no address conflicts!. There are many good websites that have detailed instructions on how to setup a specific network bridge, but if you still need help in this regard, feel free to call us on 091 770078 or visit our website ()

MAIN PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG: To post Individual Work / Job Logs

2010-05-08T11:35:00.001+01:00

We thought we'd add individual jobs to our Blog posts in order to provide useful tips to many who experience similar issues, as well as providing our customers with the opportunity give us some constructive feedback on work completed, and to help us to continue to set higher standards of service on an ongoing basis.

Please note that in order to protect customers privacy no information is released about the customer (unless, of course, the customer wishes this to be known, in which case they can add such info to the comments section). We believe we provide a professional service, and at a very reasonable price (given the level of service provided). It is also important to point out (as I'm sure many service companies would agree), it is often impossible to establish a price for a job before doing the job, as it is largely unknown as to how much work will go into sorting out the issue in question. Hence, the variation in job costs is entirely related to the amount of work involved, as well as the current rate for the parts used in the job. We do try to provide the best estimate (where possible) to do a job, and this is sometimes guesswork, having not assessed the job (or after spending some money we can then determine the cost of completing the job).

Remember: Customer confidentiality is assured with us in regard to your data in particular, so no specific information will ever be released in this regard (unless authorised/requested/agreed by the customer).

Current Activity @ XL Computers

2010-05-08T10:11:00.000+01:00

This blog has been recently setup on the site to discuss recent issues (and work types) we've met here at XL Computers, and to give you the chance to save time and money by taking advantage of some of the tips contained therein. - Or better still save yourself the headaches of potential disaster by using the services of XL Computers to sort out those issues for you at our usual reasonable pricing. We are also using this blog to assess Customer satisfaction ratings, and to understand how we can improve the services we already offer.

How is IT doing in Ireland at present?

2010-02-23T14:23:00.000Z

Many of the experts are telling us that the IT Industry in Ireland had a slight downturn, in that the market for IT products and services dropped by about 12% in 2009, but 2010 is showing signs of recovery, and the projected growth by the end of 2010 will be only about -3% which is an improvement on last year. What are your thoughts on this and do you agree with the experts?.

XL Computers - Ireland

2008-10-07T20:45:00.000+01:00

XL Computers are a Computer Service Company...