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Method 1, transfer your files with a USB cable

If  you’ve got a lot of photos, the best way to transfer them is to attach your mobile device to your computer with a USB cable.   “How do I get the files from the camera to the computer?” is the next question.

Moving or copying photos:  If you need to know how to copy and paste, and make folders, I recommend invest in some training.  We can provide training with Justin at a special rate, but if you are over 55 I recommend you go to Seniornet.

Otherwise for instructions on moving or copying photos, use the Windows help on the File Manager or in ‘My Pictures.’  The F1 help key still works.  All the instructions are there and the copy and paste commands haven’t changed since Windows 95.  Store your photos and folders in ‘My Pictures’ with appropriate names so you can find them.

F1, Windows Help and Support

Method 2, use Cloud storage

Store your photos on the internet, “the Cloud,” using sites like Google Photos or Flickr.

Google Photos

If you use Gmail, you can use Google Photos. 

1) Sign into Google and click on the apps button.

2) Click on UPLOAD.  Select the picture from the folder on your computer to store on Google Photos.  You will then be able to view the photo on any computer, cellphone or tablet that can access the internet.

Upload on Google Photos

 Flickr

If you use Yahoo email, you can use Flickr.

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You can forward those those pesky emails to me@rescam.org and they’ll reply on your behalf after stripping off your details.  Later on they’ll give you an update on how it went.

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It can be quite costly time-wise moving duplicate photos from computer to computer, it takes up space, and it makes them hard to find and back up.

A quick and easy way to identify the duplicates and tidy them up is to use Duplicate Finder in CCleaner, a great clean up program made by Piriform.

Here’s how-to clean them up.

We can sit down and do it with you the first time if you’d like an expert by your side, or we can connect remotely and help.  Just fill out the contact form and we’ll be in touch.

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We know the best software to use.  In the case of a file and registry cleaner, we use CCleaner by Piriform.

Here’s the information about the program.

CCleaner is a small, effective utility for computers running Microsoft Windows.

• It cleans out the ‘junk’ that accumulates over time: temporary files, broken shortcuts, and other problems.
• CCleaner protects your privacy. It cleans your browsing history and temporary internet files. Advertisers and websites track your behaviour online with cookies that stay on your computer. CCleaner erases your browser search history and cookies so any internet browsing you do stays confidential and your identity remains anonymous.
• Over time your Windows registry can become cluttered with errors and broken settings which lead to errors and crashes. CCleaner’s patented registry cleaner clears out this clutter to make your PC more stable.
• Quicker Startup, many programs run silently in the background when you start up your computer. CCleaner helps you get to work, or play faster by letting you disable unneeded programs.

CCleaner has four ‘panes': Cleaner, Registry, Tools, and Options. When the program is open, you can access each pane by clicking the associated icon/button at left.

Cleaner:

Click on the ‘Analyze‘ button and you’ll get a summary of what can be cleaned. Then click ‘Run Cleaner.’

Registry:

Click the Registry icon at left.

• Click Scan for Issues. You’ll see a progress bar and a list of potential issues.

Click Fix selected issues… to fix the Registry problems.

• You are prompted to backup the Registry first. We strongly recommend you click Yes.

• Choose a location where to save the Registry backup. The file name ends in .REG. Click Save. Do this several times, as the registry has several parts.

This program is a free offering by Piriform. CCleaner Professional and professional Plus can be purchased from Piriform at https://www.piriform.com

Contact us if you want help configuring the program.

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You’ve been working on your computer all night.  You turn it off, and the next morning you start it up and there’s problem.  A Windows Update failed.  It’s cost you a lot to fix.  Five months later, it’s happened again!

“How do I stop it from happening again?” you ask.

“It’s out of our control, because Microsoft controls the updates …” most shops will say.

There are systems that allow technicians to prioritise Microsoft Updates.  We have a system that allows us to do this, allowing us to be proactive instead of reactive.

For the cost of a latte and a muffin we can monitor your system, approve what updates go on the machine, monitor hard drive space and performance.  We are able to let you know how long you have on your warranty, and prevent piggy-back programs from installing.

If the machine still breaks as a result of a Windows Update, the first half-hour of labour will be free.

Fill out the request form below today for this service.

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Have you ever had a USB hard drive fail?  When they fail all may not be lost. 

A customer brought in an unreadable USB hard drive.

Fortunately we were able to save the day.

I only had one shot at it and was able to copy the data over a few folders at a time.

We take a lot of care with customer’s data and I was able to get everything back.

This is the message I received from the customer;

"I think I have pretty much all the data on the seagate so I am delighted, 
thanks so much!!!"
Joanne Kane, Baby Sensory Auckland – Precious Early Learning for Babies

If the disk cannot be read we can send your USB drive to a Data recovery firm in Auckland who will provide a quote on the job within 24 hours.

We’ve also recovered data when hard drive are accidentally formatted.  I sort the recovered data by file type and copy it to folders marked ‘Pictures’, ‘Videos’, ‘Music’ and ‘Docs’ to help the customer sort through the files.

If you do find yourself in that situation don’t save any files to the disk, just bring it straight in for recovery.

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The reasons to backup data are as varied as the reasons why people utilise computers, but whether it is for home and personal use or for business purposes, everone should have a backup strategy.

Your IT Services computer technician Bert Rolston says data/information should be reliably backed up to ensure it can be recovered in case of an emergency.

“The most imprtant part of a computer is the information on the hard drive,” he says. “Without that your computer is nothing more than a boat anchor.  Whoever uses the computer will know which files and programmes are important. For a business, this could be their accounts package and document templates, while for a home user, it could be their videos and family pictures.”

Bert says the range of backup options depends on how much data there is and how long someone is prepeared to have their computer out of action.

“Back up devices include memory sticks, CDs, DVDs and portable hard drives, which can hold lots of information.

Memory sticks, CDs and DVDs aren’t recommended because of their unknown life span. A lot depends on the quality of the device or disk. If you are going to use these media, use a reputable brand.”

The decision on how often to back up data is based on the risk of losing the data. Bert recommends businesses back up their data on to a portable hard drive at least once a week.

“The most popular method is called ‘Grandfather/Father/Son.’ This involves rotating three external hard drives so that the data will restore to any day within the last week, any week within the last month and any month within the last year.  It is recommended the grandfather and father hard drives be stored off-site until required.  External hard drives are the easiest to recover information from.”

Bert says a cloud database is more suited for business use, depending on how much information needs to be stored.

“If you are going to use a cloud database, ensure it is with a reputable provider so your data is secure.”

Since this article came out, Your IT Services is now offering a monitored online backup service for business and home users.  You can read about it here or on the menu under products.  Please contact us if you’d like to know more.

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Mozilla Thunderbird  is an alternative to Microsoft’s ‘Cloud’ offering or Office 365 subscription.

I’ve been using Thunderbird on my new laptop instead of using Outlook, and I’m very satisfied.  I’ve themed it to look like MS Office 2003 so it has a familiar look – without all the frustration.  You can theme it to your own personal taste – there are hundreds of themes available.

We’ve installed Thunderbird for our customers many times since Outlook Express was discontinued. But I stayed with Outlook.  Why?  It was familiar.

Now I have moved over to Thunderbird because of the frustration factor – the search wasn’t working in my Outlook 2010, even after I rebuilt the index.  So the pain drove me to abandon my familiar Outlook and try something new.  Problem solved.  The search works on Thunderbird exactly as I need it to, across multiple email accounts.

Do you ever have occasions where you need to e-mail a large file?   Thunderbird makes it easy to share large files over email.

We’re using a Dropbox account with a Thunderbird add-on called ‘Dropbox for Filelink’.  It worked seamlessly.  The price?  A bit of time setting it up.  You can also do it using plugins in Outlook.

Please contact us if you’d like to know more about Thunderbird or sending large files through e-mail.

This is what we received after I sent a 37.4MB file attachment.

Clicking on the link on the email takes you to the Dropbox website, where you can open your large file.

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