Repair or Replace Boot.ini in Windows XP

The boot.ini file is a hidden file that is used to identify in what folder on which partition and on which hard drive Windows XP is located. Boot.ini can become damaged, corrupted or deleted for a number of reasons and is usually brought to your attention by an error message.

1.Enter Windows XP Recovery Console. The Recovery Console is an advanced diagnostic mode of Windows XP with special tools that will allow you to restore the boot.ini file.
2.When you reach the command line (detailed in Step 6 in the link above), type the following command and then press Enter.

bootcfg /rebuild

3.The bootcfg utility will scan your hard drives for any Windows XP installations and then display the results. Follow the remaining steps to add your Windows XP installation to the boot.ini file.
4.The first prompt asks Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All).

Type Y in response to this question and press Enter

5.The next prompt asks you to Enter Load Identifier:.

This is the name of the operating system. For example, type Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Home Edition and press Enter.
6.The final prompt asks you to Enter OS Load options:.

Type /Fastdetect here and press Enter.
7.Take out the Windows XP CD, type exit and then press Enter to restart your PC.

Assuming that a missing or corrupt boot.ini file was your only issue, Windows XP should now start normally.

Remote managed services are gaining a lot of attraction these days. Companies are looking to outsource the maintenance and monitoring of their IT infrastructure to a third party to improve efficiency and save costs. BizTech2.com caught up with Uday Challu, founding partner and CEO, iYogi, to see what the company has to offer in this space.

As far as Enterprise and SME customers are concerned, which verticals are you focusing on?

Our focus will mostly be on small companies with around five to 100 users and also firms that have multiple small branch offices like travel agencies, retail stores etc.

What kind of support services do you provide to your customers? What is the Green PC service?

iYogi provides the next generation of remote computer support services for consumers and businesses. For consumers, our live 24/7 support extends to technologies we use everyday, including hardware, software applications, devices, peripherals and networking equipment. iYogi also offers a full range of business IT solutions including managed monitoring, managed services, set-up and installation services, and incident-based services.

Green PC Service

With the current state of the global climate and increasing dependency on the computer, iYogi helps PC users reduce their carbon footprint and save money at the same time. iYogi’s Green PC service is the first in the independent computer support industry to offer customers a way to save money, conserve energy and protect the environment by optimising their PC’s efficiency. Consumers and businesses can save up to $200 per year, per desktop, in energy costs with iYogi’s Green PC application. This green application makes the computer environmentally friendly by reducing power consumption by almost 50 percent.

Our Green PC dashboard helps customise power settings and calculate power savings in kWh (kilowatt hour). The Green PC dashboard also gives a status on the reduction of CO2 and how responsible usage will benefit the environment by saving trees. A customised service that increases the energy efficiency of computers, undertakes the below-mentioned three primary initiatives:

- Computer assessment, analysing settings and PC energy use
- Customised efficiency planning geared specifically to the individual’s usage patterns
- Implementing setting changes to maximise the computer’s energy use

What are the technologies that allow you to offer 24/7 support and ensure there is no downtime at the client site?

We have invested significantly in developing a comprehensive monitoring and management tools stack. This enables us to manage and monitor all devices in the office network as well as for branch offices and mobile users. Our tools continuously monitor the customer’s network and notify our NOC (Network Operations Centre) in case of problems. Based on the set of events, tickets are automatically generated and escalated to corresponding teams. Over and above our proactive approach, the customer always has an option to call our 24X7 support line for issues that are not identified via the monitoring tools.

Please throw some light on your proprietary iMantra technology.

iMantra is a CRM system, which is tailor-made to suit the emerging business needs at iYogi. It allows for the formation of individualised customer relationships with the aim of providing personalised services to each subscriber. This tool is built on the latest java technology with a layered architecture that makes it scalable and secure. This architecture provides a seamless workflow and independent channels for various business needs: sales, support, quality and customer service. The entire system can be exposed in the form of secure APIs and Web services, which makes it a re-usable entity.

Your business model is similar to BPOs in India providing technical support to offshore customers. What unique values do you bring to this ecosystem that would help a potential client choose you over a competitor?

iYogi’s business model is different from traditional BPOs. Some key factors that differentiate iYogi include:

- Direct-to-consumer and -small business: iYogi delivers technical support services directly to consumers and small businesses and is a global technical support brand based out of India. Unlike traditional BPOs in India, iYogi does not provide any private label support and/ or work on behalf of large OEMs or software publishers.

- Optimised Processes: iYogi has developed proprietary processes for consistently delivering on a resolution rate of 87 percent, which is among the highest published benchmarks in the support industry, where averages hover in the range of 50 percent.

- Comprehensive technology platform: iYogi’s global delivery platform, iMantra, gets smarter with every customer interaction. It documents every problem, the solution and relevant hardware and software aspects, while capturing each customer’s demographic information and creating a behavioural profile. All of this information is at the fingertips of iYogi’s Global Tech Experts. This set-up combines a knowledge base with a comprehensive set of tools and technology expertise. iYogi offers a range of tools that complement its remote support services for helping customers maintain technology at peak performance levels. iYogi’s products include iYogi Smart PC Scan, iYogi Support Dock, iYogi Green PC and iYogi PC Optimisation.

How do you plan to move up the value chain in the times to come?

The growing use and penetration of the Internet and new Web-based applications has consequently opened the door to threats and vulnerabilities, which affect the system performance and ultimately lead to degrading performance. If the threats are diagnosed early on, the impact on efficiency can be minimised considerably. Currently, a user only realizes that he needs technical support once the damage has occurred and reactive methods of support are used to recover from the loss.

At iYogi, we are developing our capabilities to not only provide support when demanded, but to also monitor, pre-empt and fix threats before they can cause any damage to the computer. This will be possible only by combining technology with processes that are capable of re-defining the way technical support is delivered today.

What is your India strategy?

Technically, we are capable of servicing any geography including India. At this stage, we are looking for the right kind of partners to find access to potential customers and provide them a consolidated, 360-degree solution and services for issues relating to hardware, software, network etc. We aim to launch our India services in the coming six to eight months. Our services will offer clients a one-stop solution for all their business needs.

Source : BizTech2.com

FIx Windows cannot connect to "Access_point"

This section provides technical support tips if you find Error message when you try to automatically connect to a wireless access point that uses shared-mode network authentication in Windows Vista: "Windows cannot connect to " "Access_point"

This problem occurs when you try to connect to a wireless network access point that uses shared-mode network authentication.

Steps to fix this problems
To work around this problem, manually create a network profile by using the Manually Connect to a Wireless Network Wizard and by selecting shared-mode network authentication

1. Click Start
Start button
, type network and sharing in the Start Search box, and then click Network and Sharing Center in the Programs list.

User Account Control permission
If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click Continue.
2. Click Manage Wireless Networks, and then click Add.
3. Click Manually create a network profile.
4. In the Network Name box, enter the name of the network.
5. In the Security type box, click Shared.
6. If the network uses encryption, select the encryption type in the Encryption type list, and then enter the security key in the Security Key/Passphrase box.
7. Click Next, and then click Close.

Steps to reproduce the problem
1. On a Windows Vista-based computer, connect to a wireless access point that is configured to use Wireless Encryption Protocol (WEP) and shared-mode network authentication.
2. Open the properties of the wireless network connection.
3. Click the Wireless Networks tab.
4. Click to select the Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings check box.
5. Click View Wireless Networks, and then click Choose a wireless network.
6. Double-click the WEP-shared mode access point.

How to Use Windows Defender

Windows Defender is antispyware software that's included with Windows and runs automatically when it's turned on. Using antispyware software can help protect your computer against spyware and other potentially unwanted software. Spyware can be installed on your computer without your knowledge any time you connect to the Internet, and it can infect your computer when you install some programs using a CD, DVD, or other removable media. Spyware can also be programmed to run at unexpected times, not just when it's installed. This post describe how to protect your computer and remove virus or spyware using windows defender

Windows Defender offers two ways to help keep spyware from infecting your computer:

Real-time protection.‍‍ Windows Defender alerts you when spyware attempts to install itself or to run on your computer. It also alerts you when programs attempt to change important Windows settings.

Scanning options. You can use Windows Defender to scan for spyware that might be installed on your computer, to schedule scans on a regular basis, and to automatically remove anything that's detected during a scan.

When you use Windows Defender, it's important to have up-to-date definitions. Definitions are files that act like an ever-growing encyclopedia of potential software threats. Windows Defender uses definitions to alert you to potential risks if it determines that software detected is spyware or other potentially unwanted software. To help keep your definitions up to date, Windows Defender works with Windows Update to automatically install new definitions as they're released. You can also set Windows Defender to check online for updated definitions before scanning. For information about keeping your definitions up to date and how to manually download the latest definitions

How to reset Internet Protocol

One of the components of the Internet connection on your computer is a built-in set of instructions called TCP/IP. TCP/IP can sometimes become damaged or corrupted. If you cannot connect to the Internet and you have tried all other methods to resolve the problem, TCP/IP might be causing it.

Because TCP/IP is a core component of Windows, you cannot remove it. However, you can reset TCP/IP to its original state by using the NetShell utility (netsh).

This post describes technical support ways to reset TCP/IP. You must be logged on to the computer as an administrator.

Use a manual method to reset TCP/IP

The reset command is available in the IP context of the NetShell utility. Follow these steps to use the reset command to reset TCP/IP manually:

1. To open a command prompt, click Start and then click Run. Copy and paste (or type) the following command in the Open box and then press ENTER:
cmd
2. At the command prompt, copy and paste (or type) the following command and then press ENTER:
netsh int ip reset c:\resetlog.txt
Note If you do not want to specify a directory path for the log file, use the following command:
netsh int ip reset resetlog.txt
3. Reboot the computer.

For Advance troubleshooting use computer support service

Google takes on Microsoft’s operating system

Less than a year after taking on Microsoft Corp. in the Internet browser market, Google Inc. announced that it will be going head-to-head with the Redmond, Wash. company in a market with a much bigger impact on its bottom line: the PC operating system business.

It will be called the Google Chrome OS, sharing a brand name with the company's browser. “It’s our attempt to re-think what operating systems should be,” write Google executives in a blog post.

The move puts Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) in direct competition with Windows on PCs, a product responsible for more than half Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) $22 billion in fiscal 2008 operating profits.

Microsoft XP Support Via Remote by Expert

I have been having issues with my Windows XP for a while and I decided to go online to figure what really was the best way of getting online XP support. I really wanted to hear from my peer group as to what they had in their experience as users found to be the best form of XP support.

Before I really get into what I found from other online XP help users, I found recommendations from some (obviously tech savvy) users suggesting that I take a tutorial on Microsoft's website. I don't know about this...to feel comforted and helped you need to feel that someone is out there thinking of your problem. Just wandering through tutorials may somewhat explain a feature or two of windows XP but is certainly no substitute for online XP support. A tutorial is certainly not going to help me when I need to troubleshoot a Windows XP error. Online XP support may be of better use. Hey, its not that my mind is made up but I know what I want out of my XP help; live full time support for windows XP from qualified and trained professionals.

We have grown as a business and one of the first things we need to do is upgrade the version of windows XP that we use. There are choices to be made for which I need qualified advise. Also, Microsoft Windows XP professional I am told has many features like data recovery options and networking tools which are recommended for small business. I believe that there are also higher versions for the product for companies that process more data; how much is more? I wonder? I really need some concrete advice and not scanty piecemeal suggestions. I need someone who will advise with authority and responsibility not only on Windows XP support but also other computer support issues that are always coming up on a daily basis.

What I have understood from various users and articles on the Internet on the subject of XP support is that getting a holistic tech support contract is probably my best option. A good tech support company will not only provide online XP support but also be there for other issues. It is not feasible for me to be on top of issues like network security and virus and other critical updates. Someone needs to watch these issues like a hawk and my hawk or remote XP support is going to come from a good tech support company. Given that tech support companies work with multiple users, they are really on the ball with regard to Windows XP updates and the like.

I travel a great deal for my business and often use the remote file access feature of Windows XP and I have on more than one occasion had issues with this feature. With Microsoft XP support I should be able to continue my work while a qualified technician looks at my problem. Moreover, as I understand it, my job history is kept on record, thus making it easier for any troubleshooting to be done without my having to explain everything all over again.

Microsoft XP tech support is the way that I going to be running my business now. Leaving the everyday business of updates, downloads, firewalls, feature enhancements and drivers to the Online XP tech support professionals.

Really, after all my research and checking and cross checking, it's best to get Online XP tech support from the professionals. Windows XP tech support is responsible and accountable at the end of the day simply because it is their core business. Just as mine is to help you get your taxes done in time.

Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?Microsoft-XP-Support-Via-Remote-by-Expert&id=2408986