Making computers work for you...
Your computer is a powerful tool, and can be used to do many useful and exciting tasks. We can help you get the most out of your computer. Here’s a list of the services provided by Iowa PC Services:
- Computer repair – desktops and laptops
- Software setup, upgrades
- Recommendations for buying a new PC
- Networking – wireless or wired, setup and repair
- Data recovery
- Training
Computer Service & Repair
In just a few short years, computers have become an important part of our lives. We depend on our computer to for many day-to-day tasks from work to play, shopping to entertainment. But if your computer is not working properly, you may be losing time, money, and opportunity.
Iowa PC Services, Inc. provides you with all the services you need to keep your computer running its best. We’re happy to answer your questions, and help in any way we can. If you have an emergency, such as a computer that will not boot, or a hard drive that has crashed, call us for professional assistance in recovering your data and setting things right.
Networking
More and more people have multiple computers in their home, and are finding out about the benefits of setting up a network to connect these computers. With a network, you can share a single internet connection among several computers as well as share files and printers.
When your computer won’t start up, or you can’t get access your documents, pictures, music or other data, give us a call… We recover what you can’t replace!
Laptop Repair
Laptop computers are handy because they’re portable, but this sometimes means they need repair because of physical damage. One very common repair we perform is fixing a power jack that is damaged. You may find that the battery will no longer charge, and the laptop may sometimes shut down when the power cord is moved. This is a sure sign that the power jack needs to be repaired. If you are experiencing this problem, call us for an estimate. Many of these jacks can be replaced, giving your laptop new life.
One of the most common complaints we hear is of computers running slowly. We have extensive experience in making your computer run more quickly. Our process of eliminating unnecessary programs, marketing or promotional software, spyware and viruses is more fully explained on our article on slow computers.
Articles
Using JAWS with Windows Live Mail
Posted: March 5, 2013
Many of our blind customers use the popular screen reading program called Jaws for Windows. Windows Live Mail, the current free email client available from Microsoft, can be used with Jaws, with the proper know-how. An excellent guide to using Jaws with Windows Live Mail 2011, written by David Bailes, is available at the following web site:
http://vip.chowo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/jaws/Windows-Live-Mail-2011-Guide.html
Facebook privacy: Question from a concerned user
Posted: January 30, 2013
Requests from facebook users to keep their posts private are becoming more common. Here is a question from a concerned user, asking whether it is safe to comply with such a request.
Question: I am seeing it on face book. I always hesitate to do things like this as I don’t know if it is for real. Can you help me with this? Should I do this or not? Thank you,
I am not deleting anyone but would appreciate if you could do this. DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THERE IS AN EASIER WAY THAT WE COULD DO THIS WITH ALL OUR FRIENDS I WOULD LIKE TO PERSERVE EVERYONES PRIVACY The next 2 weeks I will be posting this, and please once you have done it please post done! Those of you who do not keep my information from going out to the public, I will have to DELETE YOU! I want to stay PRIVATELY connected with you. I post shots of my family that I don’t want strangers to have access to!!! However, with the recent changes in Facebook, the “public” can now see activities on ANY wall. This happens when our friends click “like” or “comment”… automatically, their friends would see our posts too. Unfortunately, we cannot change this setting by ourselves because Facebook has configured it that way. PLEASE place your mouse over my name above (DO NOT CLICK), a window will appear, now move the mouse on “FRIENDS” (also without clicking), then down to “Settings”, click here and a list will appear. REMOVE the CHECK on “LIFE EVENTS” “STATUS UPDATES” “PHOTOS” and “COMMENTS & LIKES”. By doing this, my activity among my friends and family will no longer become public. Now, copy and paste this on your wall. Once I see this posted on your page, I will do the same. Thanks!Answer: Yes, it’s okay to do what they describe here. By doing so you will be honoring their request for privacy, and setting the privacy setting in your facebook account for the occasions when you may like or comment on their posts. It’s safe, and honors their request.
Make wireless networks reliable, avoid dropped connections!
Posted: August 31, 2012
I’ve heard it time after time: ”My wireless keeps dropping! I’m so frustrated!” If this sounds like you, then read on. And you may be surprised by the answer: it’s probably not what you expected to hear.
Even with the latest and greatest wireless “N” routers, this is an ongoing problem. This brief article will reveal a secret that I have learned from setting up thousands of wireless networks, with many different brands of routers.
The problem is so persistent that I have come up with a theory that the latest wireless-N technology may not be all it’s cracked up to be. In fact, every time I’ve tried it, the problem has returned. This solution is a simple and cost-free way to fix the problem, and you won’t want to miss it.
The disconnecting problem is due to the type of encryption type used in the router.
The solution has four parts:
- Change the wireless mode to G only. Even if this change is not made, the next two settings in combination with each other are not compatible with wireless N mode, and will force the router to operate in wireless G mode.
- Change the encryption type from WPA2 to WPA. Depending on the brand of router, this may also be displayed as “WPA-PSK”, or simpley “PSK”, which stands for pre-shared key.
- Use TKIP instead of AES – it’s in the wireless settings of the router you are connecting to if you poke around.
- Use a password length of 20 characters or longer. This will ensure that the safety of your wireless data when encrypted with WPA. For more information on this topic, see Steve Gipson’s excellent coverage of the vulnerabilities in WPA and WPA2.
As mentioned in the first step, using these settings will actually forces the connection type from N to G, and your router may even give you a warning about this, such as:
“We do not recommend using the TKIP encryption if the device operates in 802.11n mode due to the fact that TKIP is not supported by 802.11n specification.”
You might wonder about using an older technology like the wireless G standard, because it limits the connection speed of your wireless network, but you should test and see the difference. The difference is almost always not detrimental to your actual throughput, because the capabilities are still greater than most internet connection speeds.
If you are comfortable in making these changes in your router, then you will enjoy the benefits of a more reliable wireless connection.
BUT, if you are confused by this, or don’t want to tackle it yourself and you live in central Iowa, then we’ll be happy to help. Give us a call at 515-299-4555, and we’ll make your wireless network more reliable!
