Recovery tip for Dell

For Vista or Win 7

If your operating system is VISTA / Win 7, tap F8 key when you see the Dell logo. It will take you to advanced boot menu options which include `Repair your Computer'. Select that option and enter your password if asked, then you will see a list of options like `system restore', `command prompt', etc. The last option says Dell PC restore or something similar to that. Select that option and follow the screen.
If in both cases, the Factory default doesn't work, then your laptop's factory image defaults partition have vanished (i.e., Corrupted / Deleted). So you have to reinstall the operating system with the Operating System CD / DVD shipped along with the laptop. Follow the link below to install windows XP Pro on your own.

• Start the computer.
• As the computer starts, press the F8 key until the Advanced Boot Options menu appears on the screen.
• Press the (Down Arrow) to select Repair Your Computer on the Advanced Boot Options menu, and then press Enter.
• Specify the language settings that you want, and then click Next.
• Log in as a user who has administrative credentials, and then click OK.
• Click Dell Factory Image Restore.
• In the Dell Factory Image Restore window, click Next.
• Click to select the check box for Yes, reformat hard drive and restore system software to factory condition.
• Click Next. The computer is restored to the default factory configuration.
• When the restore operation is completed, click Finish to restart the computer.

Hiren's BootCD From USB Flash Drive (USB Pen Drive)

Step 1 Connect USB Pen Drive (1GB or more) Step 2 Download and Run USB Disk Storage Format USBFormat.zip (34KB) Step 3 Download grubinst_gui grub4dos.zip (179KB) and Run as Administrator Step 4 Insert the BootCD (10.3 or newer) in the CD Drive and Copy everything from CD to USB Flash Drive Step 5 Copy grldr and menu.lst from grub4dos.zip (or from HBCD folder) to the usb drive Step 6 Test Your USB Drive (read bottom of the page for troubleshoot) Make sure you set your computer to boot from USB Flash Drive To Enter the BIOS press the "Del" button on your keyboard. Alternatives are "F1", "F2", "Insert", and "F10". Some PC's BIOS might even require a different key to be pressed. Commonly a PC will show a message like "Press [Del] to enter Setup" to indicate that you need to press the "Del" key. Some AMI BIOS require you to enable the option "USB Keyboard Legacy support"! For AMI BIOS: Go to "Feature Setup". "Enable" these options: "USB Function Support", "USB Function For DOS" and "ThumbDrive for DOS". Go to "Advanced Setup". Set the "1st Boot Device" to "USB RMD-FDD". Reboot the PC and it now should boot from the Usb Stick. Go to "USB Mass Storage Device Configuration". Select "Emulation Type" and set it to "Harddisk". Go to the "Boot Menu" and set the "1st boot device" to "USB-Stick". Exit the BIOS, saving the changes. you can try "Emulation Type" to "Floppy" or "Forced FDD". For PHOENIX/AWARD BIOS: Go to "Advanced BIOS Features". Go to the "1st Boot device" and set it to "USB-ZIP". Read this and Don't forget to Write a Comment!

TIPS

 Have a Laptop? Care Tips for Laptop Screens

The recent PC "refresh" cycle included 176 laptops to add to the 75 or so purchased in the
last year or two. Using a laptop is almost the same as using a desktop - almost.

The screen on a laptop is an LCD (liquid crystal display) composed of individual transistors
at every pixel (the tiny dots that make up the images on the screen). The screens of the
laptops we just purchased have 1,470,000 pixels. Each pixel is a separate transistor/liquid
crystal combination. If any one is damaged you will have a permanent black spot on your
screen. To be sure, the loss of a single pixel will not make your screen unusable, but if you
physically damage the screen you will probably lose more than a single pixel. The screen is
the single most expensive part of your laptop. Most damage to it is non-repairable. Replacing
it can cost $700 to $1,000, a substantial portion of the $1,483 cost of the most recently
purchased machines.

To keep your screen in good shape, stay away from it - i.e. do NOT poke it with your
finger - or even worse- with a pen or pencil. If you want to show something on the screen to
someone else, point "from a distance" or use your mouse and cursor to point to the item of
interest (incidentally, you can make your cursor much larger and/or change its shape if you
find it hard to see on the screen. Go to My Computer > Control Panel > Mouse). If you do
get fingerprints or dirt on your screen, you can clean it - with care and the proper cleaning
solution. Remember, your laptop screen surface is thin, flexible plastic, not glass. Do NOT
(repeat, do NOT) use glass cleaner. The ammonia that is a primary component of most glass
cleaners will eventually yellow the screen and make it brittle.

Your first attempt to clean a screen should be with a soft cloth (NOT paper towels)
dampened with water. If a gentle wipe with this does not work, then use isopropyl alcohol
(rubbing alcohol) at 50% or less (most isopropyl is 90-95% strength; just dilute it with an
equal amount of water). You can buy commercial cleaning solutions and cleaning pads for
computer screens - but make sure they specifically say "for laptop or LCD screens" -
otherwise they most likely contain ammonia and/or ethanol, both of which will damage your
screen.

And, of course, always pour the cleaning solution onto the cleaning cloth - never pour or
spray it directly onto the screen (where it may run off and damage electronic components).

The same care tips hold true for any LCD screen that you may have - for a desktop
computer or TV as well as for laptops.

If you are a new "owner" of a laptop, were unable to attend any of our recent Personal
Technology Consulting days, and have questions about your new machine, please contact
the Helpdesk for assistance.

10 Tips to make your Laptop Battery last longer

Computer Laptop Battery Care and Usage Tips for getting more from a notebook battery.

1. Turn off Wi-Fi and BlueTooth - Most laptops have shortcut keys to instantly disable wireless networking.

2. Don't play computer games, music or DVD movies - Multimedia activities drain laptop batteries.

3. Disconnect all external device like PC Card modems, Firewire, USB devices and optical drives. Use the notebook touchpad instead of an external mouse.

4. Adjust your screen brightness - Dimming your display saves battery power.

5. Tweak Windows Power Options - Choose a Laptop power scheme that turns off the notebook monitor and hard disk after 10 minutes of inactivity.

6. Decrease or mute the Laptop Speaker Volume.

7. Turn off all scheduled tasks.

8. Turn off Auto-save features in Microsoft Office and other applications.

9. If your PC has a built-in wireless card, turn it off or disable it when not in use.

10. Programs that are run from a CD or DVD can be copied to and run from the hard drive, which typically consumes less power than an optical drive.

Looking for the longest battery life laptop ? Actually, many factors affect the amount of time that a laptop battery can deliver power before it must be recharged.

How to extend laptop battery life? Here are some more tips to improve your notebook's battery life:

1. If you do not use your laptop for extended periods of time (a week or more), remove the battery pack from the laptop.

2. Do not expose the battery to high heat or freezing temperatures. Do not leave your battery in your car in the summer. Hot batteries discharge very quickly, and cold ones can't create as much power.

3. Make sure to plug your laptop charger adapter into a UPS and not directly into a power outlet or surge protector.

4. If you have a nickel-metal hydride battery, completely drain and recharge the battery once a month to maximize its capacity to hold a charge.

5. Fully charge new battery packs before use. New pack needs to be fully charged and discharged (cycled) a few times before it can condition to full capacity.

6. For laptops that work as Desktop Replacement, the battery should be re-installed every 3-4 weeks and allowed to fully discharge.

7. Leaving a battery in a laptop while using an electrical outlet for long periods of time will keep the battery in a constant state of charging up and that will reduce the life cycle of the battery.

Battery-saving sleep modes: Should I use Stand By or Hibernate

Standby mode
Use standby to save power when you will be away from the computer for a short time while working - your monitor and hard disks turn off, all applications and open files are stored in RAM. When you want to use the computer again, it comes out of standby quickly, and your desktop is restored exactly as you left it.

Hibernation Mode
Use hibernation to save power when you will be away from the computer for an extended time while working - your computer shuts down to save power but first saves everything in memory on your hard disk. When you restart the computer, your desktop is restored exactly as you left it.

When you choose Start, Turn Off Computer in Windows XP, your options are Stand By, Turn Off, and Restart. To Hibernate, place the cursor over Stand By, then hold down Shift and click.

recovery key for acer aspire one

Restoring your Acer computer to factory condition is easy. Most Aspires will have a second partition that can be used to restore if you do not have CDs. It is recommended that you make those CDs when you first buy the laptop. If you don’t, you run the risk of not being able to install Windows again if that second partition fails.
Keep in mind that running the recovery will restore the computer to the way it was when you first brought it home. Anything you added will be lost, so make sure you have program disks, passwords, favorite websites, photos, documents and anything else you need backed up before proceeding with the recovery of your Acer Aspire.

Hard Disk Recovery should be enabled by default. If it is not, you may need to go into your system’s BIOS by hitting F2 at boot and enable it under the Advanced tab.

Once Hard Disk Recovery is enabled, restart the system and hit ALT+F10. This will begin the Aspire system recovery process. You will be prompted to type six zeros as a security step. Type 000000 to proceed.
You will then see a screen to select your Operating System. Do this and hit enter and the recovery process will begin.
The process for restoring from the second partition is similar with all major brand names. The most important thing to remember is to always have backups of your data and take a few minutes to burn recovery DVDs using Acer’s built in utility.