Archive for the ‘Troubleshooting’ Category

Most people do not realize the HUGE amount of emails that are in their Deleted Items Folder in Outlook.  For some reason many people refuse to empty out their Deleted Items Folder.  I’ve even seen some people actually use Deleted Items as a way of sorting their email.

The problem is that the Deleted Items Folder can be absolutely MASSIVE.  I have seen users Deleted Items Folders over 5 GB in size.  Most users do not realize that this effects their Outlook.  All of the data is still kept in the local .pst file and ends up slowing down Outlook and can cause the file to become corrupted.  Additionally when the user migrates to a new computer, or their old one crashes and they need a data recovery, transferring these Deleted Items can take a significant amount of time.

If they decide to migrate their email to Hosted Exchange not only can it take a ridiculous amount of time to upload all of their Deleted Items, but they will also end up paying for storage space just to store worthless email.

Do yourself a favor and regularly empty your Deleted Items Folder.  It seems like a little thing, but not doing it can create a large problem.

I recently setup my WordPress blog on my own server using Comcast Internet service (very good performance)  Everything seemed to work great until I tried to access the site from a computer on the internal network.  When I tried to go to www.EliTheComputerGuy.com the connection was blocked by the router.  Routers do not allow people to “loop” out of a network and on to the internet and back in again.  This is a standard security feature.

What I did not realize is that all links and content in WordPress are tied to the domain name you setup under the general settings.  When I went to the internal IP address of the server the site would come up in fits and starts and be incomplete.  The reason is that all the links and locations are based on www.EliTheComputerGuy.com and not on the 10.1.10.x  IP address.

The solution to this problem is to edit the HOSTS file on the computer that is trying to view the site.  You do a search for HOSTS.  You then open the HOSTS file and add:

<www.YourDomain.com>                        <internal IP address>

Example:

www.elithecomputerguy.com                   10.1.10.45 

Then just save the file.  You may have to restart your browser, or even computer, but now you will be able to access your WordPress blog from an internal computer

Now that I am trying to really do a lot with my web site I’m looking to find the easiest/ cheapest way to get the best performing site.  My little shared hosting plan with GoDaddy.com worked fine for years for a simple little Drupal web site.  It performed well, and I had no significant issues.  As I started pushing the envelope using more automated scripts and services that used more and more resources I ended up getting a couple of polite but firm emails and phone calls from GoDaddy telling me that what I was doing was taxing the entire server that my site and a bunch of others was on. 

So after this I decided to go, and am still with, a 1and1 Virtual Linux Server.  I looked at the specs and picked the right amount of RAM and hard drive space that I needed.  At first I have to say it worked like a champ.  Administration pages opened as quickly as if the site was resident on my PC, and the overall performance of the site for visitors was heads and shoulders above what it once was.

The problem I have found is that my scripts require a lot of CPU power.  Unfortunately when you lease a Virtual Server they tell you about RAM, Hard Drive Space and Networking information, but they leave the CPU to a vague statement about “CPU cycles”.  They tell you that you can upgrade to a better Virtual Server and get more “CPU Cycles” but they don’t give you any real numbers or idea what that means. Is the Economy Level equivalent to a Celeron processor, and the Professional Level equivalent to a Xeon?  What GHz should I estimate the processor running at?  They just don’t tell you.

At this point I’m a bit stuck.  I have no interest renting a dedicated server for $100+ minimum per month, but my resource meter keeps telling me I’m pegging out the CPU allocation that I’ve been given.

At the end of the day I’ll probably end up hosting my site out of home or office.  Although I have a couple of modern Xeon servers collecting dust at the moment, I really liked the idea of paying a few bucks a month and not having to worry about a power supply failing.  But at the end of the day my scripts need more then RAM to function properly and the vague “CPU Cycles” that I have been allocated just don’t seem to be enough.

Within the past couple of years I have seen the growth of the remote tech support service industry.  As high speed internet access has become better, and remote control software for computers has become seamless an industry has arisen to fix computer problems remotely.  You can now just go to a web site for a support service, live chat to explain your problem, enter your credit card information and within a few minutes they can be remotely controlling your computer and fixing your problem.  In less time then it would take a computer technician to get to your house or business you can have your problem fixed and be off on the rest of your day.

The first question that can be asked is, “Does this really work?”  I can say from experience that I have fixed many issues for clients sitting at home in my underoos.  The technology that allows this to happen is 100% proven and reliable.

The second question is, “Can I trust some random technician on the Internet?” The answer to this is, “Can you trust some random technician that shows up at your door?”  I would use the same thought process as if I was hiring a person to come to my location.  Is the company I’m dealing with reputable?  Have I had good experience with them in the past? etc…

The final question is, “How much can someone really do remotely?” and the answer is probably 90% of your problems can be fixed using a remote service.  Office issues, viruses, printer setup and most issues you would call Geek Squad for can be solved by someone sitting at a computer 1000 miles away.

All in all I think the idea, the technology and the industry as a whole is a great thing.  If you are a business you still need an IT guy to handle things that can’t be solved remotely, so don’t fire your geek just yet.  But by using a service like this you can tremendously reduce your IT budget, and get a superior quality of service to boot.

I was looking at a company called iYogi and for a one year service plan it’s only $140 for unlimited problems.  That’s hard to beat.

Check them out at http://www.iyogi.net/

This Class, and many more, are now hosted at EverymanIT.com.