The recent flap over a Pennsylvania school district’s use of tracking software on schoolissued laptops, supposedly to locate those that were stolen, makes me wonder how much illegal snooping goes on everywhere, whether initially intended or not.

read the rest of the story here… http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2364473,00.asp

Fortunately most people were using Office 2003 or 2007 so a saved copy was there, however a couple of clients still use Office 2000 and that was a little more difficult.

Today let’s go over how to prevent Windows XP Home, Vista Home and Window 7 Home versions from rebooting automatically after a Windows Automatic Update.

We will need to make the necessary changes to the Windows Registry, as described below. However, before we continue I need to remind you about the dangers ahead.

Dangerous path ahead! Even though the Caretaker brought Voyager into the Delta quadrant unharmed, if you go there without a proper registry backup and without following this star chart exactly you will end up too close to the black hole in galaxy RXJ1242-11, and trust me that wouldn’t be a pretty sight!

Please read my very short article on how to backup the registry if you don’t know how to. On with the show, or article in this case.

Use Task Manager to stop all instances of Windows Update Auto Update Client (wuauclt.exe) by selecting the <Ctrl> <Alt> and <Delete> keys on your keyboard at the same time, and then choose “Start Task Manager” or the equivalent.

When the “Task Manager” window appears select the “Processes” tab across the top.

I would suggest you select the words “Image Name” for the column; this will put the list alphabetically. By clicking on it a 2nd time, it will be reverse order and thus putting wuault.exe towards the top of the list. Do not be surprised if you have two listings for wuault.exe.

Click on wuault.exe thus highlighting it and then click on the “End Process” button in the lower right of the window.

A warning will appear, don’t fret, select the “Yes” button to terminate the process.

Repeat if necessary.

Close the Windows Task Manager window.

Open the Registry Editor by going to the “Start” button and then clicking on the “Run” button in XP and typing “regedit” in the text box.
If you have Vista or Window 7 just skip the “Run” button part and type in “regedit” in the text box and select “OK” to open the registry.

You will need to Navigate to the following registry key “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Microsoft\ Windows \ CurrentVersion \  WindowsUpdate \ Auto Update” by clicking on the plus keys along the left side of the window.

In the right hand window, right-click on a blank area and select “New” and then “DWORD” or “DWORD (32-bit) value” depending on what is available.

A new entry appears, change the name to “NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers” sans quotes and then click on a blank spot.

Double-click on the name NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers and in the new window, set the value data to “1”.

Click on “OK” to finish and then exit the Registry.

Now, you should not receive any of those annoying reminders to reboot your machine nor will Windows Update automatically reboot your machine.

Until we meet again, have a virus free week!

Needless to say, The Weekly Geek was not a happy camper. Four different experienced technicians (with 5 to 20 years experience each) could not get these systems running. I had made up my mind to order prebuilt servers at noon on Monday and send the parts back if we could not get them running by then.

Step back in time with me. The first server a dual CPU Xeon 5500 series was built by our least experienced tech but he does have over 5 years experience. He had been in and out for 3 weeks with a tooth infection and now a cold. The server just would not start. Alright, no big deal we don’t need to deliver it until the Monday before Thanksgiving. Our senior office tech and manager was building 5 or 6 desktop computers for the same project. Now forward to the Thursday before Thanksgiving, the server still does not work. The tech manager gets involved. The Weekly Geek does not worry, he and the other owner are very busy with service calls and the tech manager is a master of figuring out “stuff” and issues with computers.

Now comes Monday morning, “Hey, why is the server in parts on the bench, it is supposed to be delivered for training today.” It seems that we could not figure out what was going on. After a few phone calls it turns out the wrong type of RAM was sent by the parts house. To make matters worse the parts house was 3 days away. Ok, don’t panic, there is a parts house one day away, cancel the RAM at the farthest and return it and order RAM from the closer parts house.

Now we need to rush to the customers and make an older PC a server for training, install Server 2003 setup yadda yadda, a full day’s work.

Tuesday the RAM comes in, and we still have the same issue. Funky BIOS post (2 slow, 3 fast, 2 slow or 2 slow 3 fast or 2 slow and 1 fast) beeps were inconsistent. Now THW is getting into boss mode (those who can fix things are assets and those that cannot are expenses and businesses only cut expenses). The first tech is still sick off and on and told to keep away from the project (too many hands) so tech manager and owner 1 are to get on the phone with Intel and get things done. Remember it is now Tuesday before Thanksgiving, people are just not answering their phones. Intel decides we have the wrong type of RAM again. So no more trusting the parts house, we order from Crucial the part numbers from Intel and pay 2 day delivery. That means Friday before the RAM will come in.

Wednesday the RAM from the first parts house that is 3 days away comes in. Yes, the tech manager was supposed to cancel the order but in the mayhem of business forgot to. It is the right ram from Kingston, yeah! It is of course 3:30 on Wednesday before Thanksgiving. New RAM same issue, TWG is now in ticked off mode but decides to let the other owner take care of it. Thursday, instead of Thanksgiving the other owner is on the phone with Intel for almost 3 hours. Their decision, bad motherboard. Tech support from another country assures owner that a motherboard will be shipped today and arrive Friday, owner questions this due to the Holiday.

Friday, no motherboard, Monday no motherboard. Monday 4:30 Owner calls Intel, Intel’s response “oh, we have that on hold for some reason, don’t know why, we will get it out tomorrow.” How about today says owner, “can’t truck left already”. Miracle of Miracles, Tuesday comes and the board does show up. Same issue, motherboard starts POST and the BIOS screen comes up with the Intel logos but nothing else, no keyboard response, no mouse, just an Intel logo screen. Another series of calls and hours on the phone with Intel, “Must be two bad CPUs, well send them right away.” Wednesday the new processors come and the issue stays.

Fast forward to Monday the 7th. Still no working server. TWG requests that tech manager build server 2 now just in case there is an issue. With owner 1 out of town on business and tech out sick it is tech manager and TWG only this week. Guess what, same issue.

Thursday TWG and tech manager have a series of interviews for a full time tech. One, a very young kid who is extremely bright comes into the shop after the interview for a tour, he sees the server and asks a couple of questions and then pops off “it’s the monitor”. Yeah right says TWG to himself, we have built 8 or 9 PC’s during this time on that monitor and bench repaired 5 or 6 more “silly kid”.

Sunday the 13th during church, TWG decides, we have changed every other part, we will swap monitors first thing Monday if that fails we will install a different motherboard in the first system (TWG had ordered a different model board the previous week just in case) and of course if neither worked by noon then pre-built servers would be ordered (yuck!). That evening the other owner calls to say he missed his flight and asked the status of things. While explaining the server dilemma he suggest (without being prompted), “Well if the keyboard and mouse don’t respond and we have swapped every other part, how about the monitor…”

Monday morning arrives. The current monitor is a 17” CRT (tube type) 1280 x 1024 resolution for testing we put on LCD 17” with same resolution and get the same beeps BUT there is text at the bottom of the screen <esc> to continue, f2 to setup … WHAT!!!! So tech manager and THW press f1 and we can get into the BIOS, set it up and begin RAID build. Yes, we did try those keys even when we could not see them!

So lessons learned, Intel’s newest 5500 and 3300 series motherboard will not POST with CRT monitors (we have build several servers this year on the same monitor but they were series 5000 and 3000 motherboards), another lesson, Intel has not heard of this and denies that it could be the problem (yes, I have a lump in my breast, yes the Doctor said it is cancer but I don’t believe it therefore it does not exist mentality) and the final lesson, sometimes a newbie gets a lucky guess (or maybe he knows something The Weekly Geek and staff don’t hmmm… that could not be).

Well, until we meet again, have a virus free week.

Small business owners can take advantage of this package and grow their businesses. The reason I write about this is that some benefits specifically apply to technology purchases and others are “for the bottom line” which means capital for needed equipment (like technology).

The package extends a tax deduction that allows small businesses to deduct up to $250,000 a year in new equipment purchases including technology (laptops, desktops, servers, network security, software upgrades…). Section 179 of the tax code allows small businesses to take a deduction for equipment purchases in one tax year instead of over the life of the equipment (usually 5 to 7 years).

The law also keeps in place the 50 % bonus depreciation President Bush put into place in 2008. Say you buy $500,000 in equipment this year (2009), $250,000 can be immediately deducted with section 179 mentioned above, plus another $125,000 (1/2 of the balance) can be deducted this year also because of the “bonus”. It is my understanding the remaining balance ($125,000 in this example) would be depreciated over the useful life of the equipment.

Both of the above should allow any of you who need new equipment and especially new or upgraded technology to write off in full or almost full the cost this year.

There is one more section that may help, another part of this Act allows businesses that lost money in 2008 to “carry back” that loss to their prior year’s tax returns by amending returns up to five years back. Previously this could be done up to two years back. This does only apply to those who have $15 million or less in gross income.

Since I am not a “tax” lawyer or professional (CPA), this is just my reading the law to you, see your tax professional(s) on how this could help you, and remember this is a government program, there are loopholes, rules and exceptions out the wazoo just to keep some of us from gathering the benefits.

Oh, if you do decide to spend some of that capital, IFix Computers in Beautiful Branson Missouri (417) 337-7184 would be more than willing to help you with professional advice on hardware and software that will benefit your business.

Until we meet again, have a virus free week!

Now, this is not going to be a financial column, if you need wise advice go to Dave Ramsey or Crown Financial Ministries. It is my desire today is to keep you from ending up like the family in the article below. They lost all savings, have 2 mortgages on the house and $200,000 in credit card debt all thanks to one person believing in the ability to make lots of money quickly.

The story is here http://blogs.zdnet.com/Foremski/?p=499&tag=nl.e019

What happened to this lady and family “could never happen to me” you think. Yes, this really could happen to you. We always feel that we are invulnerable. The wife lost everything in desperation for money that would solve all her families problems. Folks, that is just not how money works.

My primary desire here is for you to remember, there is no such thing as easy money, don’t get desperate in these times, if you deleted or blocked the Nigerian type scam in the past, continue to do so now. Talk with your parents and in-laws about these scams, bring it up somehow so they know they are out there and can and will hopefully avoid them.

If someone you know has been “hit” help them break the cycle, just as in the story above, the scammers will continue to prey on the victims, they don’t just make a onetime attempt and walk away.

Snopes has a good article from 2003 here http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/nigeria.asp

You can report these emails or betterr yet help someone by getting them get in contact with United States Secret Service, Financial Crimes Division, 419 Task Force, 950 H Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001-4518 or telephone (202) 406-5850 fax: (202) 406-8203, (202) 406-6390

Until we meet again, have a virus free week.