Category Archives: computer tips

Building a random name generator

Last night I had fun building a  little random name generator for my friend Adam and my wife. They both write and sometimes it is difficult to come up with names for characters, that is where the new tool comes in handy: Character Name Generator Every time you refresh the page you get a new name 🙂 I used to code a lot of fun little projects like this but lately I have not made time for it. I do

Upgrade Acer Aspire One AO722 memory/RAM

UPDATE: Many readers have asked what memory I recommend for upgrading the A0722. My recommendation is 4GB of 1066MHz DDR3 Kingston memory because it offers a lifetime warranty, solid performance AND it is only about $22 with free shipping! 🙂 Another great way to improve performance is to replace the AO722’s slow hard drive with a SSD. The Crucial M4 128GB (which includes a data transfer kit) or the Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB (drive only) are my top two choices. They both offer 3 year warranties along with

[SOLVED] Shut down Windows 7 at “Set Up Windows” screen, without error?

Q. Hi, I am selling a new laptop after upgrading the RAM. It has a factory fresh install of Windows 7 on it. I booted it up once to make sure the RAM was recognized and now I am stuck at the creating a user name and computer name screen on the Windows 7 setup 🙁 If I power off the system the purchaser will get an error message the first time the notebook boots up saying Windows did not shutdown properly…

Dell E6510 Unknown Device [SOLVED]

Dell E6510 laptops often have an Unknown Device ACPI/SMO8800 when you reinstall Windows 7. Here are the drivers to solve your problem! PS or you can skip the explanation at the above link and just download the driver here: (Dell download link) [download id=”10460″ format=”1″] Top Search Terms:dell e6510 unknown device windows 7 (201)e6510 unknown device windows 7 (144)dell e6510 unknown device (73)e6510 unknown device (54)unknown device e6510 windows 7 (45)unknown device e6510 (31)dell e6510 windows 7 unknown device (20)unknown device

ACPI/HPQ0004 PCI Unknown Device Driver [solved]

Q. Hello, I have a HP laptop showing ACPI/HPQ0004 unknown device and I need to find the right drivers. I saw you helped Dell users with a similar problem… Can you help me with this one too? Here is the deal: Clean Windows 7 install on my HP Pavilion DV6. Every other HP driver is working perfectly and Device manager looks great EXCEPT!!! I have an unknown device with listing ACPI/HPQ0004. Please help as I really want to get the right

Upgrading M4400 -> How to backup/get my favorite folders from XP to Win7

NOTE: you can also view all the entries in this Q & A series… On 10/7/2011 11:38 AM, David wrote: PS. My 4400 is pretty clean (hard drive that I am swapping out). What I mean by that is I only have some evaluation versions of 3D software, my stock trading software, and Windows Explorer etc… I plan on reloading all of my program software onto the SSD. Many of the programs will need to be download again in x64. However,

Ultimate triple monitor setup (for work, not particularly for gaming)

While preparing to redo my office, I am planning the “ultimate” LCD monitor setup. Let me clarify that I mean ultimate for my purposes: server management (RDP/SSH/etc.), email, spreadsheets, some image editing, minimal gaming. This is not ultimate in the gaming sense nor is it going to be as wild as some of the setups I have blogged about! UPDATE: 2011.11.01 [end update] Currently I am  using a Dell M6500 docked with a dual monitor setup: 30″ Dell 3007WFP – I

[HOWTO] upgrading M4400 (RAM, CPU, SSD, BIOS)

NOTE: you can also view all the entries in this Q & A series… I received the following question on my previous post about upgrading a Dell M4400 laptop: Q. Great J.D. Thank you. I also have an M4400. I purchased it a year or so ago so that I could have a portable solution as I explore 3D graphics programs such as 3DSMax etc…Based on your above post (and a few others) I have purchased a qx9300 quad core processor,

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