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Computer Repair - What's Wrong With My Computer?

The top problems that most PCs have when they stop working properly are security/protection related. Windows ( particularly Vista ) has a heap of security settings that can often go overboard trying to protect you from viruses and spyware.

Then after that, the majority of problems are a blown power supply, Windows is corrupt, or the computer simply going slow or slowing down.
Some points about computer repair -

1) Check to make sure all the Windows updates have been done. This includes the latest service pack release ( a service pack basically irons out the bugs after Microsoft identifies an issue with the Operating System ).

2) Make sure that you're not using AVG or Avast ( both freeware ). These only cover you for a small number of the problems that are already out there. Imagine it like this - you buy a new car and have the option to take out free car insurance that covers you for everything except for an accident. By not having the correct internet security you're putting yourself at risk to lose your valuable data, photos etc. Also there's a risk of fraud - online banking, identity theft and other issues that are out there.

3) There are millions of viruses that cause a heap of different problems. A virus is a bit of information that's designed to cause damage to the information that's on your computer, similar to cancer in a human. Sometimes if it can be caught early it can be fixed, but on some occasions its too late, and the computer will need to be re-formatted and the software re-installed.

4) The computer won't turn on at all. This could be due to a power supply fault or a surge that's blown a component in the computer, like the motherboard.

5) Sometimes computers don't work properly due to a hardware fault, and your screen will just go blue. It may not be software related at all and that's when you'll need to get in a professional to diagnose the problem.
6) Sometimes Windows in completely corrupt due to a life of downloading and installing and uninstalling over  a period of time.

7) The windows registry. When you start up Windows there's a list of commands it runs through. The registry can get so bogged down with irrelevant or dead commands ( something that's been uninstalled, but not from the registry ) that the computer slows down. Just like a car needs to be serviced - oil changed etc. a computer needs its registry cleaned and needs defragging at least every six months.

8) Computers that run slow often only need a bit more memory in conjunction with a clean- up to make a big difference and speed it up.

By Josh Fairhall

WD TV Live Hub

WD TV Live Hub With 1TB Hard Drive

What is the WD TV Live Hub? It is a convenient and easy way to funnel all those media files into one central location and watch them directly from your TV. Not just the files on your computer, but it also streams directly from the internet. And when you have all of your files accessible to the WD TV Live Hub, you can then stream it to any other location in your house that's set up to handle the media stream. It even handles sending out several streams at one time. Think of it as a mini media server under your TV. But what really sets this apart from the rest of the streaming field is its onboard 1TB hard drive. Let's break down the features.

WD TV Live Hub File Support

When Western Digital set out to make a device of this kind they no doubt wanted to learn from the mistakes of some of the competition, namely Apple TV's lack of file support. So here are the files that the WD Hub can handle.

Video
AVI (Xvid, AVC, MPEG1/2/4), MPG/MPEG, VOB, MKV (h.264, x.264, AVC, MPEG1/2/4, VC-1), TS/TP/M2T (MPEG1/2/4, AVC, VC-1), MP4/MOV (MPEG4, h.264), M2TS, WMV9

Audio
MP3, WAV/PCM/LPCM, WMA, AAC, FLAC, MKA, AIF/AIFF, OGG, Dolby Digital, DTS

Photo
JPEG, GIF, TIF/TIFF, BMP, PNG

This is very convenient if you have collected a number of odd and different files from multiple locations lost in a sea of folders just sitting on your hard drive. (You know you do.) Well this can assist in sorting it all out very handily, and who knows, you may even rediscover some old videos you loved when you first saw them but simply forgot you had them.

Streaming
A computer is not necessarily needed in order to benefit from the WD Hub. It connects to directly to the internet and gives you access to online services. Here are some of them in no particular order.
Netflix, Blockbuster, YouTube, Pandora, Facebook, flickr, Live 360, Media Fly, AccuWeather.
Storage Capacity
There are several other devices on the market that are similar to this one. But as I said at the beginning what really sets the WD TV Live Hub apart from the rest is the onboard 1TB Hard Drive. How much can 1TB hold you may ask?
  • Up to 285,000 digital photos
  • Up to 250,000 songs (MP3)
  • Up to 25,000 songs (uncompressed CD quality)
  • Up to 76 hours of Digital Video (DV)
  • Up to 440 hours of DVD quality video
  • Up to 120 hours of HD video
Now that's a lot of time spent in front of the TV. And just how will you get all those files in and out of the WD Hub? On the Hub itself it has Gigabit Ethernet, front and back USB 2.0, HDMI 1.4 (that's the latest version), Composite A/V, Component video, Optical audio. The only thing you need to supply is the cables. All this for around $200.00.

Final Thoughts
Now this isn't to say that Western Digital has come out with the perfect device. While the navigation is fairly straight forward and easy to use it still takes a bit of navigation to find what you're looking for. All in all though it's a solid product with good support from Western Digital. After a little bit of set up you'll be watching movies, looking at photos and going through all those forgotten files on the big screen.

By Jason Craig

MSS32 DLL Errors On Vice City - Fix

MSS32.dll (Miles Sound System) is a file used by many advanced games to help your system run as smoothly as possible. It's responsible for helping your computer to read all the important settings and options it requires to help process surround sound, and advanced sound options.

Unfortunately, however, mss32.dll, is continually causing errors on your system. The good news is that if you want to resolve errors caused by MSS32, you should look to repair any of the potential problems that will be leading the file to be unreadable - which can be done by using the steps outlined on this page.

What Are MSS32 Errors?
The errors you're seeing on your computer are generally going to show in this format:
  • MSS32 cannot be read
  • MSS32 unreadable
  • MSS32 Is Missing
The way to resolve these errors is to first understand what the mss32 errors are, and then repair the issues that are causing them. Most of the time, the error will be triggered by the way in the way that your computer will not be able to process the settings that it needs to run, leading it to run much slower and with problems. The way to fix this is to use a program or replacement mss32 file, that's going to fix the problems that your PC may have.

How To Fix MSS32.dll Errors
The first step to fix the mss32.dll error is to make sure that you don't have any problems with GTA Vice City. To do this, you first need to repair any of the possible errors that the program has, by re-installing the software.

This can be done by clicking onto Start > Control Panel > Add / Remove Program. From the list, you should then be able to repair the program by re-installing it.
After that, it's recommended you use a registry cleaner to scan through your computer and get rid of any of the possible problems that your system has inside.

Registry cleaners will be able to get your PC running smoothly again by getting rid of any of the potential problems that your system may have - as it will clean out any of the errors inside the registry database of your system.

By Greg Kahn
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