Orange County Computer INC.

Advantages of Windows 7

February 25, 2010

Windows 7: Change Can Be Good

So you’re a dedicated Vista user. Or perhaps an unyielding XP aficionado. Nothing is going to pull you away from you’re beloved PC operating system. Your brand loyalty is unshakable. Now this may come as a complete surprise to you, but there’s a new kid on the block that may convince you to alter your thinking and leap headlong into an entirely new OS. The newcomer we’re talking about is Windows 7. Now don’t start turning up your noses just yet. Have a look. See what you think. There are some definite advantages to upgrading your PC operating system to Microsoft’s latest version of Windows. Here are a few.

Take the User Account Control. With Vista, UAC messages seem to pop up non-stop with the warning – ‘are you sure you want to do that?’ How many times have you wanted to shout out, “well nobody’s forcing me to do it!” With Windows 7, you still get User Account Control, but it’s a lot less intrusive than its annoying predecessor.

How much clutter can one user stand? That’s the question that Vista seemed to be asking by including so many extra applications like Contacts, Calendar, Photo Editing, etc. Luckily, Windows 7 has eliminated a bunch of these extra programs. If you’ve really got to have them, they’re yours for the asking. Just download them absolutely free from the Windows Live website.

Let’s face it. Vista never broke any records for boot times. Many users report Vista taking a sluggish 30 seconds or more to boot. The goal for Windows 7 is a peppy 15 seconds. Whether most users get this kind of start-up speed has not been determined. Nevertheless, most folks enthusiastically proclaim that W7 is light years ahead of Vista in the speed department.

So there you have it. Just a few of the many reasons why upgrading your PC operating system to Windows 7 could be a good idea. If you’d like to learn more about the advantages of Windows 7 or are interested in installing it on your system, we’ll be happy to help. We also offer Comprehensive Computer Repair Services and Small Business Managment throughout Mission Viejo and all of Orange County.

Contact our Sales Team for a Complimentary Network Evaluation at 949-699-6619 or Contact Us

Orange County Computer is your Comprehensive IT Solutions Provider.

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Hewlett Packard DV Series Recall

February 22, 2010

HP Laptop Problems? Blame Your Motherboard

You’ve powered up your Hewlett Packard laptop. You’re set to rip through the Web. Then you discover you can’t get a wireless connection. Or maybe the machine decides not to boot up at all. Sound familiar? These and a number of other exasperating inconveniences, such as freeze-up or sluggish performance, have been hitting many owners of Hewlett Packard DV 6000 and 9000 series laptops. The culprit, now well-known, is Hewlett Packard’s faulty motherboard.

Some of these ailing laptops have been rushed to our Tech Repair Center. With due diligence, we confirmed our suspicions – the motherboard in these machines has an annoying habit of overheating. Kudos to HP for their reaction. The company instituted a recall, extending the basic warranty on these machines. Owners of DV series laptops just have to send the units to HP for repair. Simple enough, right? Not exactly.

You see, the problem is a faulty video display chip set on the motherboard. True, Hewlett Packard is replacing the flawed component. But the replacement is an identical motherboard, which of course, comes with an identical faulty chip set. Since this particular motherboard is the only one available for these units, HP basically is swapping one problem for another. Not exactly a winning strategy.

If your Hewlett Packard DV 6000 or 9000 series  laptop is giving you major headaches, take heart. Our tech wizards can help you find a real solution to Hewlett Packard’s faulty motherboard. This includes transferring files onto a new or refurbished laptop and confirming if your computer is or could be potentially affected by the infamous HP Motherboard Recall. And if you need a whole new motherboard, consider it done with maximum precision and speed. No worries about losing valuable info. We back up all your files – text, music, photos, video, right down to the very last byte.

Contact our Sales Team for a Complimentary Network Evaluation at 949-699-6619 or Contact Us

Orange County Computer is your Comprehensive IT Solutions Provider.

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The Waning Days of Windows 2000

February 18, 2010

Windows 2000 came into being in February of 2000 and set the stage for later more advanced versions of Windows to come. Windows 2000 series brought us automatic online updating, USB support, and FAT32 support from the consumer OS version of Windows 98 and Windows 2000 Server introduced us to Active Directory which simplified network administration.

Within a few short years, Windows 2000 Professional was replaced by Windows XP, and Windows 2000 Server was replaced by the 2003 server edition. And while the 2000 series was off of the current product list, Microsoft has continued to support all four versions of its Windows 2000 series with service packs, critical updates and technical support for the last ten years.

While still in use today, Windows 2000s’ life cycle will be coming to a complete end on July 13, 2010 according to Microsoft. The end of extended support means that clients that are still running a Windows 2000 Server will need to migrate to a Windows 2008 Server in order to continue receiving support from Microsoft and to ensure the latest and best security for their network.

While Windows 2000’s security is fairly light by today’s standards, having no more security updating at all can mean serious problems for client’s who continue to use the OS without migrating to an updated and well supported version from Microsoft. The older architecture of Windows 2000 has been seriously compromised in the past by hackers and sophisticated viruses. In fact, as recently as September 8, 2009, Microsoft skipped over patching Windows 2000 Server for five rather serious security flaws stating that it would be “infeasible” due to the age of the OS and that to even try to patch them would require a re-engineering to a degree that could lead to incompatibilities with current applications that run on it.

So with the Windows 2000 series on life support and Microsoft reaching for the plug, it’s best to finally give the venerable operating system the boot and look at migrating to an updated version before too much longer. Sure, it may be cheaper to beat a dead horse by continuing to run a Windows 2000 Server or workstation. However, in the long run the eventual down-time and potential security breaches from online attacks could lead to serious problems such as data theft or loss which could easily override the cost of a simple upgrade.

The professionals at Orange County Computer are skilled at these kinds of upgrades and can make upgrading your server a painless procedure.

Contact our Sales Team for a Complimentary Network Evaluation at (949) 699-6619 or Contact Us

Orange County Computer is your Comprehensive IT Solutions Provider.

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AdvisePoint Joins Forces With Orange County Computer

February 18, 2010

AdvisePoint Computer Services has merged with Orange County Computer to bring the best of both worlds to its customers.

Both companies working together as one will bring full IT services to businesses and fast professional repair services to both SMB and residential clients with competitive rates.

The combined companies will operate under the 12 year established Orange County Computer name, which has a well known and well respected name in the IT industry for providing excellent service for its clients.

Current AdvisePoint customers can download a special $25 off coupon for computer service. Simply print this blog post and bring it in with your system for service to receive your discount.

“Coupon is applied toward labor only and cannot be combined with other offers or discounts.”

Contact our Sales Team for a Complimentary Network Evaluation at (949) 699-6619 or Contact Us

Orange County Computer is your Comprehensive IT Solutions Provider.

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Why Upgrade to Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2008?

February 8, 2010

Sure, Microsoft Small Business Server 2003 has served you well. But if you’re serious about boosting business productivity, it’s time to give a hearty welcome to the Microsoft Windows SBS 2008. No doubt about it. The newcomer is an astounding leap ahead of Microsoft Windows SBS 2003 system in a number of key ways.

Let’s start with user-friendliness. With the SBS 2008, getting started is a lot easier than it was with its predecessor. Installation is a breeze because of its newly automated settings. All users have to do is enter basic network options to get the whole thing going. Everything else is done automatically. Now take a long at the 2008 console. You’ll see it’s been completely revamped, so it offers far more information and interactivity than the 2003 entry. One of the most amazing features of the revamped console is that it helps Value Added Resellers identify a wide array of problems at customer sites in real time. For business owners, these enhancements translate into definite time savings. And this never hurt anyone’s bottom line.

The SBS 2008 matches time savings with cost savings thanks to vast improvements in energy efficiency. Again, the new system stands far above the SBS 2003 in this department. How? For starters, the new version simplifies power management with features like support for processor performance states (P-states) and processor idle sleep states on multiprocessor systems. Equally impressive is the system’s Hyper-V™ , a technological marvel allowing consolidation of servers onto a significantly reduced number of machines. The upshot is a dramatic drop in power consumption – without impacting performance. Who could ask for anything more?

The energy efficiency of the SBS 2008 was convincingly showcased by a series of tests conducted by Microsoft engineers. One set of tests showed that Microsoft Windows Server 2008 OOB kicked into action with up to a 10 percent power savings over Microsoft Windows Server 2003 at comparable throughput levels. Additional testing revealed that Windows Server 2008 required less power than Windows Server 2003 while running on identical hardware at comparable throughput levels. The SBS 2008 promises the same results for any business.

If you’d like to learn more about how the Microsoft Windows SBS 2008 can boost your business productivity, Orange County Computer is ready to help.

Contact our Sales Team for a Complimentary Network Evaluation at 949-699-6619 or Contact Us

Orange County Computer is your Comprehensive IT Solutions Provider.

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