repairing pcs

padmick

Hi all i spend some of my time repairing pcs for my friends, mostly software problems and now i hope to repair pcs in my college and i was wondering what software ye would use when repairing other peoples pcs?

PatMustard5

Viruses: Malwares Anti Malware and then OTL

I can't really suggest software unless you suggest what problems you have. What did you use on your friends computers or what was wrong with them. I always image the hard drive in case I feck up

excollier

Set them up with dual boot Windows/Linux then they can do their online stuff with Linux (practically no viruses to worry about) and their other stuff with Windows (at least the very few things Linux cannot do as well) offline avoiding the viruses, just grab the updates.
I'll get my coat......

padmick

most of the time i speed up peoples pcs by defraging it and i mostly use d7 and iobit

yoyo

padmick wrote: »

most of the time i speed up peoples pcs by defraging it and i mostly use d7 and iobit

What's D7? Also modern Windows OS's (Vista onwards) should defragment automatically out of the box, so running a defrag on those OS's is a bit of a waste.
For computer maintenance the important items I would be looking at are:

• Windows Updates are all complete and up to date
• Web browsers, flash player, Java plugins are all up to date
• Software such as Office, Adobe Reader, etc. are all up to date
• Periodic Virus scans are no harm (Use something like Microsoft Security Essentials, Avast etc. (not sure Avast! free license covers educational use))

Not exactly an everyday maintenance task but I would ensure that permissions and policys set for the students are secure, not allowing write access to the OS drive, prohibit software installation etc. Although I imagine your colleges IT staff/contractors would take care of all this.

Set them up with dual boot Windows/Linux then they can do their online stuff with Linux (practically no viruses to worry about) and their other stuff with Windows (at least the very few things Linux cannot do as well) offline avoiding the viruses, just grab the updates.
I'll get my coat......

In an ideal world, people could use Linux! Ever tried getting someone used to Windows to use even one of the easier GUIs (Mint, Lubuntu etc.)? I'd rather the computer maintenance any day than have to train people to use Linux. Windows nowadays doesn't have much of a virus problem anymore, provided the systems are maintained and kept up to date.

Nick

excollier

Did you not see my closing line? "I'll get my coat....."? I was a little tongue in cheek.
Actually, until a year ago, I had only used Windows (since 3.1, no internet available then) and I found the transition to Linux very simple ( I am by no means a computer geek, simply a user). The likes of Mint and Lubuntu are very simple to use and need no prior knowledge of Linux usage, I certainly had none. I still use Win Vista for a couple of Windows only programmes, but that's all I need it for, very rarely.
I did say dual boot to, so as not to frighten anyone..you know, give 'em a "safety net".
A little tinkering with Linux may actually draw some into the "real" computer science field, instead of just learning how to use the apps of a closed near monoply. But I digress, it was meant to be a sort of, but not entirely, light hearted suggestion, it has a little merit.
De-fragging- there's another weird concept I don't need to deal with any more.

Torqay

yoyo wrote: »

not sure Avast! free license covers educational use

No, it doesn't, instead Avast! is giving away the commercial version for free, (application required)

Torqay

excollier wrote: »

Set them up with dual boot Windows/Linux

Too complicated, easier to set them up with a virtual Linux box that will seamlessly in Windows and create a batch file to overwrite the virtual disk imadge ("click here to make the bad sh*t go away.bat").

It doesn't get much safer than a virtualized Linux-based browser, isolated from the host OS.

yoyo

Torqay wrote: »

It doesn't get much safer than a virtualized Linux-based browser, isolated from the host OS.

That is an excellent idea. Until the inevitable downloads are needed . Great idea though, I suppose it would be possible to mount a shared directory between the VM and the host, although this would be overcomplicating something the probably will not be an issue if proper maintenance is conducted

Nick

Torqay

yoyo wrote: »

I suppose it would be possible to mount a shared directory between the VM and the host

Yep, no biggie.

Just set shared folder (which is on the host) as the default download directory in the browser settings.

Torqay

yoyo wrote: »

although this would be overcomplicating something the probably will not be an issue if proper maintenance is conducted

That may or may not be an issue. In theory even a virtual machine should receive proper maintenance. In reality you want to disable all automatic updates as they'll be nuked the moment you overwrite the virtual HDD. Instead, run your updates manually every once in a while and replace the clean backup image.

If you miss a few automatic updates, it's not the end of the world, after all it's Linux and infections are much less likely.

padmick

well i use ubuntu but i would just duel boot it. I dont give it to other people because its not what they want. they just want their pc to run faster.

PropJoe10

Best basic tools I've used are probably CCleaner, Malwarebytes and Avast Antivirus. Check the usual stuff like MSConfig for startup programs and defrag any XP-based systems once a month or so. What is D7?

ressem

Cheap tools are:

Ubuntu Rescue Remix Live CD, especially ddrescue which allows a drive with bad sectors to be imaged, with a log file created of irretrievable sectors which permits efficiently retrying and identifying whether files are damaged and might need special attention or can be discarded.

Kaspersky Live CD for virus scanning.
Combofix for the nastier bugs. Be careful to read and understand what you are carrying out with it, don't just click and run.

Windows 8 install CD, in repair console mode for partition resizing and boot repair.
Microsoft Sysinternals tools.

Expensive file system analysis tools stuff include r-studio, and a terabyte or two of storage space, a spare machine which can run these tools for hours / overnight without disrupting other work or locking your laptop to one location for hours as a creaking disk is slowly copied. Having a 2.5" and 3.5" SATA drive in reserve helps.

Torqay

PropJoe10 wrote: »

What is D7?

d7 is a PC technician’s best kept secret.

padmick

Torqay wrote: »

d7 is a PC technician’s best kept secret.

ya d7 is ok it fixes a lot of problems automatically so its handy i have used it on several pcs with no problems

yoyo

Torqay wrote: »

d7 is a PC technician’s best kept secret.

How have I never heard of this! Thanks for linking and OP for mentioning it

Nick

PropJoe10

Never heard of it. Many thanks for the tip

padmick

thanks i found it on makeuseof website under their best of windows software ( sorry no link as i am on my mobile )
:-)

Torqay

Here's your MakeUseOf article.

Note: the article is dealing with an older version of D7 which now is no longer free. Well, it is sort of free... but the "free" edition is cripple ware. The last full free version was 6.7 (July 2012) and can still be found out there (e.g. here).

padmick

that is about right because 2012 was when i downloaded it. does anyone know of any other softwares similar to d7?

invaderzimirl

Torqay wrote: »

d7 is a PC technician’s best kept secret.

didnt know about this prior to this post thanks but the word filter has messed with the URL

you just need to google D7

Neil_Sedaka

padmick wrote: »

that is about right because 2012 was when i downloaded it. does anyone know of any other softwares similar to d7?

There is also F4UBCD

<Snip>

Quite similar to Hiren's boot CD and D7 and a lot of the same programmes.

HTH

Torqay

Neil_Sedaka wrote: »

There is also F4UBCD

Quite similar to Hiren's boot CD and D7 and a lot of the same programmes.

And then some that are not so legal. ERD Commander, Active@ File Recovery, HD Tune Pro, TreeSize Personal are all commercial products.Then there is the Windows Preinstallation Environment (MiniXP) which itself requires a Windows XP license.

riclad

See http://www.ntfs.com/ active boot disk,
this is a live cd ,mini version of windows os.




linux live cd,
eg mint linux 7 fits on a cdr ,JUST to check ,copy folders, files even if windows os won,t load.

10-days Trial
Download
Size: 171 MB
Active@ Boot Disk for unbootable PC
It's a bootable CD/DVD/USB disk that allows you to boot up any computer and fix most startup and PC configuration problems. Full access to non-bootable PC Image-based physical or logical disks backup and restore. Lost folders and files recovery. Create, delete, format partitions on SSD/IDE/ATA/SATA/SCSI hard disk drives Deleted partition recovery by editing partition table. Windows administrator's password and user's account resetting.

10 days use is enough to fix most pcs.


also utimate boot cd,

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

Theres versions of linux, that boot from usb,
if you are fixing a netbook, that has no cd drive.

A older ps2 type keyboard is handy to acess safe mode,
as some older pcs, may not boot into safe mode f8,in windows
if a usb keyboard is connected.
or usb mode may not be active in the bios.

padmick

thanks for the all the replies. it seems there are a lot of softwares that i dident know about :-). Does anyobe know of the best places to purchase stuff like harddrives, windows 7 os discs ect?

Bog Standard User

software tools useful for fixin computers

1. Bart PE with norton ghost
2. An All versions dvd of windows 7 / vista / xp + dvd with service packs on it.
3. Spybot 2.1
4. Malwarebytes
5. Avast
6. Memtest x86
7. CCleaner


useful hardware for fixin computers

1. Sata/ide to usb adapter
2. 8gb usb key
3. spare hard drive for storing disk images

Torqay

Bog Standard User wrote: »

software tools useful for fixin computers

1. Bart PE with norton ghost

Surely you mean Symantec Ghost, not this piece of consumer cr@pware which does nothing but giving Ghost a bad name.

Torqay

WSCC is one of the goodies that belongs on every techie's USB stick. Get all NirSoft and Sysinternals utilities under one handy GUI and keep 'em up to date.