This week, while hundreds of people throughout Beaverton, Portland and elsewhere restarted their computers and got a Blue Screen of Death, Microsoft quickly back peddled on the update they released. They started researching the issue, yanked the update, and now have stated that malware crashed thousands of computers across the world.

Microsoft stated that removing the offending malware caused the computer to be able to boot. This means that if your computer rebooted, blue screened then rebooted again (rinse and repeat), you had a malware infection you didn’t know about.

Read more about this issue on PCWorld.

The affected file is the atapi.sys file, which a lot of computer repair places have seen infected and causing problems recently, but a lot of people just didn’t notice. If you’re still having problems with this isuse, give Protocol16 a call and we’ll be more than happy to help out.
Justin

Riddle me this?

What happens when your family dog decides to use your memory stick as a chew toy?

It seems that one owner found out the hard way. While this wasn’t from a Protocol16 customer, it is an interesting case of exactly how things can go wrong.

It’s absolutely amazing how drives can die. Dropping them, on the floor or in water, having them set afire in a horrible accident, run over after leaving your laptop on the car – we could go on, but we won’t.

This is why Protocol16 always recommends keeping backups. In this poor memory card’s situation, there wasn’t a backup. Luckily, there is a company called Drive Savers that managed to pull the data off the card.

Protocol16 has been a partner with Drive Savers for a bit now and we couldn’t be happier with them. Best of all, since we’re partners with Drive Savers, we have the ability to save you money. While we never want you to be in that situation, be rest assured that Protocol16 is always there for you.
Justin

There has been talk about the “Black Screen of Death”(CNN is also covering it) affecting various installs of Windows 7 (note: this can also happen on all other Operating Systems). Typically, this screen causes minor issues, but can cause other major issues as well. Perhaps one of the things you need to make sure to have is a backup.

I’ve mentioned that you should always have a backup. My personal computers all backup automatically inside the house, the Server at the new office backs locally and remotely in case something happens locally. I’ve also got a smaller home server to handle odds and ends at home since I test products at home as well. That home server backs up to the work server. My backup solution is sort of like the Family Circus when you lay it out on paper, but after 20 years, I have yet to lose ANY data.

Symptoms of the Black Screen Of Death are that there is no desktop after logging in, task bar, system tray or sidebar. Instead you are left with a totally black screen and a single My Computer Explorer window or two.

Fixing it can be a bit of a pain though. Some installs can be fixed quickly, other installs will be much harder to figure out since there are several different scenerios that can cause this type of a problem. If you should fall victim to this type of situation, it’s best to either restore from a backup or schedule a drop off with us.

As always, a best offense is a good defense: backups.
Justin

In an attempt to make things easier for our visitors, Protocol16 made an update yesterday that some of you may have noticed: the chat feature on the bottom right of the website. We haven’t deployed it across the entire site yet (later today), but we’re always looking for ways to make the experience better for our visitors.

If you have any comments about the site or a feature you wish to see, let us know!
Justin

A common question and issue that Protocol16 runs across is someone that’s had to many problems with their computer is if they should fix it or reformat it (some people refer to this as “rebooting” the computer.)

There are Pro’s and Con’s to each option:

Fixing:
Pro’s: You save all your data, no reinstalling and setting programs backup.
Con’s: Depending on how your installation is fixed, there may be odds and ends that can still cause problems. Typically, a lot of shops do not modify your security settings either. This may cause a re-infection within hours of use.

Reformatting (aka: Rebooting)
Pro’s: You start completely fresh. This is typically the equivalent to turning your computer on for the first time.
Con’s: Depending on the shop that handles your repair, you could end up with no extra applications, hardware that doesn’t work (Network Drivers, Screen Colors, etc) and you’ll need to reload some choice programs.

This is a hard decision to make, but one that a lot of PC owners are faced with. While I could throw my opinion out there, I don’t want to sway you one way or another.

I will tell you that Protocol16 does it’s best to make a reformat request as easy as possible for everyone involved. Unless you specifically request it, we backup your data and attempt to make everything easy for you. At the same time, we can do something a little painful by implementing a double-account setup for your security. That’s right, we setup 2 accounts, one as an Admin and one as a Normal User. Typically, this is just a convenience issue during the first week or so, but it can occasionally cause problems with Windows XP due to how security is setup.

At the same time, we also go through and load all the software for your computer directly from your manufacturer. Hunting these programs down can take time, but it’s worth it since you are able to use the special buttons on your computer again.

But wait, there’s a secret most computer shops don’t want you to know… You can do this yourself!

If you have the original disks that came with your computer, you can simply find the Recovery or Repair CD/DVD and stick it into the computer. This will ERASE the hard drive (meaning no more programs, data, music, pictures – NOTHING) with a quick wizard like interface. Some computers have this CD built into the hard drive, you simply have to tell the computer that you want the “Boot Options”. This can be any type of F key on the top row of your computer. Just watch carefully right when your computer comes on and it’ll tell you which key to hit for the boot menu options. This second method typically only works with the newer computers though.

As always, if you’re having problems in Beaverton, Tigard, Portland or even over in Gresham, give us a call and we’ll be more than happy to help out!
Justin

Once again, technicians talk and one poor guy came up with a customer issue about RAID 0.  A lot of the gaming machines or high-end desktops use the mythical RAID 0 set for hard drives. This is touted by many as something to help with speed of your hard drive, and it can, but at a heavy price.

Now, the bad thing: RAID 0 does absolutely NOTHING to help maintain data integrity. This means that when one of the hard drives in that RAID Array crash (you need at least 2 drives in RAID 0), everything goes away. This can also happen if your motherboard crashes as well since most cheap desktops and all laptops offering RAID do not use a dedicated RAID card. They use an on-board chip that has a nickname of “soft RAID” since it’s software controlled.

RAID 0 does work for speed, but it should only be used for temporary storage of unimportant data. When I worked with very large databases, we sometimes used RAID 0 as a primary (temporary) log storage area to speed the server up. It should not, in most technicians opinions, be used as a way to boot windows or store valuable data. If you’re going to use RAID for this situation, use RAID 1, RAID 5 or RAID 10.

If you’re confused about RAID levels, it’s best to speak with a professional so you understand the differences between all the different types. If you’re looking for data to remain intact during a hard drive crash, you’ll want RAID 1, 5 or 10. There are differences between them, and there are more levels to choose from as well, but these are the main types. For desktops, you’ll probably want RAID 1. Servers, depending on the age and data you’re storing, either 5 or 10.

As always, please feel free to contact Protocol16 for your questions or computer repair in Portland.
Justin

I’d like to take some time today to ask that some of you be a little careful with your prized computers…

We got called to a customer site by a customer that was riding the Max and bumped his bag on his way off the train. The laptop was in a backpack, and was “protected”. Needless to say, he got a hefty scare when he got inside his office and found the laptop wouldn’t boot up.

Once we arrived, we quickly found that the laptop had been jarred hard enough to have a memory chip pop out of place (no small feat, since they’re locked in with metal clips). Luckily for him, this 3 minute fix left the computer running once again. We didn’t even charge for the job since the fix was so fast (we may have a 1 hour minimum, but we’re not going to rip you off).

So, the moral of today’s story is to be careful. If you’re using a backpack to haul around a computer, which all of our technicians personally do, please use a laptop backpack. These have padded sleeves inside of them that are hidden, but allow the laptop to feel a little more comfy inside.

Oh, and NEVER put your laptop to sleep or let it hibernate inside your bag – Roasted Laptop anyone?
Justin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Beaverton, OR —Sep. 8, 2009— Protocol16, a computer company focusing on on-site support, has formed a partnership agreement with Carbonite to provide the latest automated backup solutions to it’s customers.

Protocol16 will providing it’s customers licenses for Carbonite when it’s technicians are on-site and a backup solution is needed. The technicians will configure Carbonite to allow for automatic off-site backups so that customers may retrieve lost files without additional assistance.

“This partnership allows us to cover our customers automatically since backing up a hard drive is one of the most needed, but most missed, parts of owning a computer.” said Justin Royce, owner of Protocol16. “This  will allow our technicians to setup and install the Carbonite backup solution on customer computers at a lower price, providing the best bang for the buck for the customer. Ultimately, we can save our customers around of 10%.”

Protocol16 is currently carrying licenses of Carbonite for customers. Activation codes are emailed directly to the customer, when needed.

About Protocol16
Protocol16 was started in 2007 in response to a growing demand for technical services in the military communities of Germany. Since starting, Protocol16 has relocated to Oregon and launched a website and mobile computer repair business in the Portland Metro region. Headquartered in Beaverton, Protocol16 is quickly becoming a leader in mobile repair for businesses and consumers. Protocol16 maintains that customer satisfaction is the absolute primary goal of the business.

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Protocol16 services both residential and business customers for computer repair and services throughout Portland. One of the biggest things we see, on a normal basis, is that people are not backing up their data.

Why Backup
This may be old news, but the more people hear it, the more likely they are to do it. Backing up data can save your bacon in almost every way. Here are some examples:

• License keys – Backups allow you to retrieve license keys for software that you have installed. How many of you have a hard-copy backup of your license keys? We know we don’t have everything either. Cost can also be attributed here in case you can’t locate licenses for software you have installed – you may need to repurchase software.
   
• Pictures, documents, etc – family or product photos, documents containing works of art (if you’re a writer) or even customer invoices. Losing these can cause both heart ache and heavy losses, on the business side.
   
• Lost productivity – We don’t know about you, but when our computer isn’t working, we pace the room. Computers, these days, are everything. Losing a computer and not having a backup can cause days of lost productivity, even more if you’re a business. Businesses lose the productivity, the cost of the technician to reinstall everything (whether it’s Protocol16 or your own technician), the cost of the worker that is supposed to be using that computer running around everywhere else, etc. If your computer happens to be the billing/invoicing computer, then you can lose past invoices, current billable time, etc. Lots of money…

 

Types of Backups
Did you know there are actually several types of backups? They each do two different things and can help or hurt you, depending on the situation:

• Full – A complete set of all files you wish to back up. Think of this as your ‘reference set’. This helps since you have a full-on backup of your entire data set in one place. This hurts since it can take up a lot of space.
   
• Incremental – A backup of those files which have changed since the last backup of any type. This helps since you can spend less time to backup what has changed. This hurts because it can take more time to restore things, since you need to restore everything in order, it can also make digging for specific files a pain.
   
• Differential – A backup of those files which have changes since the last full backup. Similar to incremental, it picks the files that have changed, but with the express difference that it’s since the last full backup. This can help since it also takes less time to backup everything. This hurts because it can take longer to backup than incremental, can take up a little more space because it’ll backup more redundant type files, etc.

 

Locations
The backup location can make a huge difference as well. What happens if your business gets broken into or your house burns down? Those backups will most likely disappear as well. If you’re storing baby pictures or customer records, this can devistate you or your business. Here are the types of backups:

• On Site – This is where your backups are stored right next to your computer, or in the same building. This helps since they’re right there and you can do things quickly. This hurts in the above situation where your backups can disappear.
   
• Off Site – Your backups are stored at a physically different location. This can be at a neighbors house or even a business owner’s home. This helps since the backups won’t disappear, burn up or get stolen. This hurts since it can take hours, or days, to restore from an alternate location from across the internet. In some cases, your backups can be mailed directly to you as well.

 

Ways To Backup

• Automated – There are a few things out there that can automatically backup your computer for you. There are programs, mobile hard drives (with software added), web services (like Carbonite), and even network automated backups like the Apple Time Capsule and Western Digital’s MyBook. With the automated solutions, you can usually “set and forget”, up until you need something back.
   
• Manual – Manual backups can be a pain, but sometimes they’re needed. Automatic backups, while helpful, can backup a lot of information that doesn’t need to be included. If you’re a professional, a full backup should happen nightly or more often. But, in cases where you’re editing sensitive data (like an Accountant), you should backup the files manually to a different location as well.

 

Protocol16 Recommends
For consistency and easiness of backups, Protocol16 recommends an off Site, automated, differential backup with a local automated full backup solution in place as well. That’s right, Protocol16 recommends having two solutions. This allows you to ensure that, no matter what happens, you’ll always have a backup handy.

The automated local backup should be run at least once a week, for residential customers. For busineses, a minimum of once a day, usually a night. For business customers that rely upon databases and specific records on computers that need to be up to date and live all the time, this may need to change to multiple times a day.

The remote automated backup should be performed at least once a week, in either case. This assures that you have 2 layers of protection in case something happens.

Cost
Cost is an issue, we completely understand that aspect of anyone’s life. Cost for a local backup is usually $100 or less, for residential use. This is typically in the form of an external hard drive. At the moment, Protocol16 is testing backup solutions for customers, we’ll have a recommendation out shortly.

For businesses, this can be anything from a $100 consumer based item to a server that costs several thousand dollars. Please speak with us about solutions for your business. You might be surprised at what we can come up with.