Sticker Mule is now my favorite resource for stickers, magnets and the like. Not only do they run great specials and have top notch quality, but the ordering process, including text alerts for proof approval, is smooth and fast. The stickers pictured above were from a $1 promo they ran in the fall. Today I ordered similar stickers and magnets to give to customers that will include my phone number and website and they should arrive in about 8 days. The price was very reasonable because of the promotions and multiple item discounts they offer. See my resources page for a link to their website including a $10 discount offer.

This is a picture of a standard hard drive (not the newest SSD technology). My father has a degree in industrial engineering and the hefty part of his career was spent with companies that manufactured hard drives. So, I’ve heard stories of how they are made, the clean rooms and how an invisible speck of dust can make one inoperable. This video tells the tale:

Fascinating, huh? I hope you enjoyed learning about hard drives. Now, please, please make sure you have a good back up of the important files that are on yours! See this older post about backups if you need advice for the best methods. I am a reseller for Carbonite Online Backup, if you would like the “set it and forget it” method! Contact me to get started with Carbonite today!

You turn on your computer only to see it freeze at the manufacturer’s splash screen (Dell, HP etc. logo) and some boot options with the progress bar only at the very start. Nothing happens after that no matter what you do with the mouse or keyboard. The same thing happens even after you decide to do a hard shutdown and turn it off as a last resort. Your thoughts go between the dread of lost data and the price tag of a new computer.

As it turns out, the problem was a faulty keyboard which is a very easy and inexpensive fix for what seemed to be a pretty bad computer situation. If you end up with the frozen screen described above, try unplugging the keyboard from the computer and try rebooting again. (or better yet, plug in another keyboard if you have one) If your computer moves further in the booting process and then shows a message that says “keyboard error” then there is a good chance that your issue is simply a faulty keyboard because that error message now means it is looking for a keyboard and cannot find it where before it was freezing before it got to that point. Plug in a working keyboard and if the keyboard was the issue it will boot normally now.

CCleaner is a very helpful product that I have used and recommended for years. It is the best way to easily rid your computer of the unnecessary junk files that build up over time as you browse the internet and install and uninstall programs or updates. This junk that builds up can drastically slow down your computer if you don’t delete it. CCleaner helps you do that easily and regularly. It also includes the only registry cleaner that I trust. CCleaner has a free version, but the pro-version of CCleaner takes out the guess work out of knowing when you need to run it and automatically updates itself, so that is an option many people prefer. Right now the Pro-version is being offered 50% off the normal price. It normally sells for $24.95, but until October 4, they are offering it for $12.50. Click here or on the graphic to the left to purchase CCleaner today!

The Computer Monkey is an authorized reseller of Malwarebytes Premium. Malwarebytes Premium is an outstanding product for preventing and removing malware infections. Go to the bottom of this page for purchasing information. If you have completed your purchase of malwarebytes, the following instructions show how to change or activate your product using your new license key.

1. Open Malwarebytes using the icon on your desktop or in the notifications area of your computer desktop. Or use Finder to locate Malwarebytes on a Mac.

2. Click on “My Account” which will take you to the Account Details tab. Then click “Change License Key”

3. Accurately enter your new license key and click “Activate License” and you are finished. You can now close Malwarebytes.

Purchasing Malwarebytes Premium

Customers who purchase Malwarebytes Premium directly from The Computer Monkey, receive free remote support of the product as well, but if you would rather purchase it directly from Malwarebytes a link is available through our resources page.

• Contact Us to purchase Malwarebytes from The Computer Monkey
• Visit our resources page for a link to the Malwarebytes Store

I am a big fan of Anker products. They have reliable products that meet a variety of charging needs at decent prices. The prices today, however, are especially nice as is detailed in this article from PC World.

Forget about Christmas in July. This year, you can save big with Black Friday in July. Amazon Prime Day kicks off on July 16 , and the retailer’s warming up for the blowout by offering some steep deals leading up to the event. Today, you can snag all manner of Anker’s popular chargers, cables, and portable batteries at mostly unheard-of savings.

Source: Anker’s fast-chargers and portable batteries are on sale for unheard-of prices for Amazon Prime users

Apple has released iOS 11.4.1, which offers fixes for some bugs, as well as USB Restricted mode. If you are unsure how to update your device. iMore gives good step-by-step instructions in the link below:

Source: How to download and install iOS 11.4.1 on your iPhone or iPad

Last summer, after our “cord-cutting” experience, many of my friends suggested that The Computer Monkey should offer cord-cutting services. Due to the varied and unique nature of people’s audio-visual equipment and needs, I had no desire to do that, but I did create a post about our experience to help others who might be thinking about cutting the cord themselves. Recently, someone who appreciated that post contacted me. No doubt there are many others with similar questions so I turned the questions and my answers into a post.

Without cable what option does one have to receive local news, an antenna?

Yes, many local channels (like ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and PBS and more) are broadcast over the air and can be received by your TV directly with an antenna or to your whole house with a whole home antenna. See this page to determine the broadcast channels available in your zip code.

How do we watch our favorite cable shows like the ones offered from Food Network, DIY, HGTV, History Channel etc? Is there a way to watch reruns? 

In order to watch other cable shows you need two things: a device and a service. The device is a physical piece of equipment that connects to your TV and audio visual equipment that allows you access to the service of your choice which provides the shows. Just like if you have subscribe to Netflix, you have to have some device that lets you open the Netflix app. Most of the streaming services have several packages to choose from so you can see what channels each one offers. This article covers the Top 10 Streaming Services. See the chart below to help determine which product is a device and which is a service. One important factor to consider when choosing a service is whether live content is available. For example, there are some services that may claim to have the Fox News Channel, but they may only have certain shows from it available after they air, not the actual live broadcast. Most of the services offer “DVR” service so that you can “record” your favorite shows to watch at your convenience. I used quotes because they do not actually record your shows they simply give you access to them when you want them. Finally, most of the services offer trials, so be sure to try before you buy.

My husband is a huge sports fan, where do we watch live sports without cable?

Many live sporting events are available over the broadcast channels. For ESPN, ESPN U, FS1 etc. you will need a streaming service that offers the channels you need.

Do you need a device like a Firestick or Roku for each TV and is there a streaming subscription fee for each?

 Yes, you need a device to deliver the service to each TV but the streaming service typically is for your household. There could be some limits on how many devices can run the streaming service at one time but that varies by service. On your main TV you will probably want a more feature-rich device like a Roku Ultra or Amazon FireTV, on lesser used TV’s you could certainly use a Roku Stick or Amazon Firestick.

In our case, we saved about $100 per month from what we had been paying with cable TV — even more if you consider what our bill would have been after the $3.00 monthly fee for each digital converter box that was going to be required for every TV we had. Please comment below with other questions and I will try to answer them.

Chances are that if your computer runs Windows 10 then you have had a major update in the last few weeks. According to AdDuplex, over 50% of Windows 10 devices have received the 1803 update worldwide, which is significantly faster than the major fall update took. Based on anecdotal and professionally documented information, it is also more likely that you would have had some problems after this update which does not appear to be as “issue-free” as the major update that came out last fall. Not all of the issues are errors, but some are simply changes that may cause difficulty or a learning curve for some users such as the first one in the list regarding the removal of the Homegroup feature. Additionally, listed below are some of the known issues people have experienced. If you are experiencing problems after the update but you are still able to use your computer, check frequently for updates that may come available that will hopefully address some of those problems. If you have problems that cannot wait for an update and you need help resolving them please schedule an appointment.

Some of the most common 1803 update issues and some of the changes to features:

• Problems with printers that can be corrected by uninstalling and reinstalling the printer driver
• Networking issues where shared computers or devices are no longer visible on the network (even on networks where the Homegroup feature was not in use)
• The update fails to install resulting in blue or green screen errors
• Homegroup Removed
• Other Features That Have Been Removed