[nfbcs] Computer Expense Upkeep

Fri Jul 8 01:04:42 UTC 2016

Good morning Nicole and everyone,

      We've always had antivirus and other threat protection on all of our
machines. Having the Proactive Monitoring will add an additional layer of
protection.  This program also includes remote backup of all programs and
files offsite. You can never have enough storage be it local or remote. It
will make the job of restoring data to a new or wiped machine much easier.
Since we run a business part or all of this expense can be written off as a
business expense when we file our taxes.
Provided we can prove that the business is growing and producing revenue not
only are we enhancing the protection for our computers but we're putting
money in the bank as well.

Peter Donahue

Nicole Torcolini wrote:
block quote
Out of curiosity, do you have an antivirus on any of your computers,
and, if so, which one? Also, is backing up files really that hard?
Unless you are having a lot of hardware problems, I find it hard to
believe that $252 per year per computer is that good of a deal. I have
Geek Squad subscriptions on mine that cover hardware problems, which
is much more reasonable. I do not remember the price, but I am 99% sure
block quote end
that it is no more than $100 per year.
block quote
Nicole
-----Original Message-----
From: nfbcs [
mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Peter
Donahue via nfbcs
Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2016 9:31 PM
To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List
Cc: Peter Donahue
Subject: [nfbcs] Power Supply, and Computer Expense Upkeep
Good evening again Bryan and everyone,
       Although the gentleman who tried restarting the computer after
the proper shut-down may not have tested the power supply when I
called Computer NERDZ this morning they told me that they confirmed
that the power supply was failing when they got it to the shop. By the
way although it's spelled Computer NERDZ the name of that company is
block quote end
pronounced "Computer Nerds."
block quote
Their Website URL is:
http://www.nerdz.com/and
  they have offices in Austin and San Antonio.
       They have serviced computers for a number of blind people in
these areas and are very familiar with screen access technology.
Unlike many other computer repair services Computer NERDZ will service
your machine onsite and if necessary will take it to their repair
facility to complete extensive repairs and servicing such as replacing
a power supply. Upon successful completion of the work they will
return your unit to you and will set it up and be sure all is in working
block quote end
order.
block quote
Their pricing is not bad and they offer a discount for their customers
with disabilities.
        I'm not sure if other computer repair companies are offering
Managed Services Program (MSP.) Given the trouble we've had with
Mary's computer we enrolled it in their "Proactive Care" program. They
regularly monitor the system for hardware failures as well as scan for
block quote end
viruses and other threats.
block quote
They will alert the user if potential hardware or other
volnurabilities are found so action can be taken to prevent potential
disasters. The Proactive Care Program also includes file and program
backup and restoration should a computer need to be wiped and rebuilt
from the ground up or if one needs to replace lost data.
       Since we've had so many problems with that machine breaking down
we decided to get Proactive Care coverage on it to hopefully keep it
out of the shop. We bought it in 2011. It has been to the shop four
times for various repairs including replacement of the hard drive last
block quote end
year.
block quote
Considering that this is a Dell Computer it strikes me odd that we
should be having so much trouble keeping it in ship shape. You feel
the heat when you know you have other pressing matters to deal with
and all of your funds are going to keep your technology running and
block quote end
up-to-date.
block quote
The monthly charge for Computer NERDZ'S Proactive Care Plan is $21.00
per computer. We'll let you know how this works out. You may want to
check with your computer repair service to see if they offer a similar
plan. They have higher level managed care plans but they're a little
much for our budget for now. It's great to know that Managed Service
Plans are available to individuals and businesses to help keep their
block quote end
technology in top performance.
block quote
Sprint has us covered in the iDevice department where MSP is concerned.
Peter Donahue
Bryan Schulz via nfbcs wrote:
block quote
Hi,
Yep and I bet the tech confirmed it in 30 seconds with his power
supply pod tester.
Bryan
-----Original Message-----
From: nfbcs [
mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Peter
Donahue via nfbcs
Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2016 9:44 PM
To: NFB in Computer Science Mailing List
Cc: Peter Donahue
Subject: [nfbcs] Nas Drive Issue, and Failing Power Supply
Good evening Steve and everyone,
        A technician from "Computer NERDZ" came yesterday to address
this issue and some other concern's with Mary's computer. It turns
out that Buffalo Technology has a feature on its NAS products that is
an equivalent to the "Recycle Bin" in Windows. Buffalo calls this
feature a "Trash Box" where files and folders deleted from the NAS
drive are held until it is emptied. It took the system about 30
minutes to empty the contents of the trash box. Now that drive has
lots of space and Windows recognizes it as such. The only thing I
need to figure out is how to access it using the keyboard and JAWS so
I can take out the trash regularly. I'll need to consult the Buffalo
user manual for this product. Their tech support is next to nonexistent.
        Recall that I mentioned that Mary's computer failed to power
up when it was turned on? I asked the technician to investigate this too.
The same thing happened when the technician powered down the machine
and tried to turn it back on. He took it back to the shop so it could
be investigated further. Our hunch was right. That machine had a
failing power supply. They expect to perform the power supply
transplant in the next day or two as they had to order one from Dell
in Austin. We're hoping to have Mary's computer back by the weekend.
Once the new power supply is installed and the machine is in ship
shape I won't need to worry about Mary having problems with it when I
go to North Carolina in two weeks.
        We hope everyone enjoyed the national convention and that you
all had a safe trip home.
Peter Donahue
Steve Jacobson via nfbcs wrote:
block quote
Peter,
You have likely already thought of this, but check your drive lists
carefully to be certain that your drive isn't mapped to multiple
drive leters.
Best regards,
Steve Jacobson
-----Original Message-----
From: nfbcs [
mailto:nfbcs-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Peter
Donahue
block quote end
via
block quote
nfbcs
Sent: Monday, July 04, 2016 12:22 AM
To:
nfbcs at nfbnet.org
Cc: Peter Donahue
<pdonahue2 at satx.rr.com>
Subject: [nfbcs] Nas Drive Issue
Hello everyone,

                    I have anissue with Windows thinking that my NAS
drive is full when it isn't. According to what I'm seeing in
"Computer" I'm being told that the NAS drive only contains 123MB of
free disk space when in
block quote end
fact
block quote
it has over 100 GB free. I've tried rebooting the computer several
times
block quote end
and
block quote
deleted files and folders I no longer need. This does not change the
block quote end
amount
block quote
of free space on that drive available for storage. What should I do
to address this issue so Windows 7 reports the correct amount of
free space
block quote end
for
block quote
storage. Your help will be very much appreciated.

Peter Donahue

_______________________________________________
nfbcs mailing list
nfbcs at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbcs_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info
for
block quote end
nfbcs:
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/steve.jacobson%40v
i
si.com
block quote
_______________________________________________
nfbcs mailing list
nfbcs at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbcs_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info
for
block quote end
nfbcs:
block quote
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/pdonahue2%40satx.
r
r.com
block quote end
_______________________________________________
nfbcs mailing list
nfbcs at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbcs_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
block quote end
nfbcs:
block quote
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/b.schulz%40sbcglob
a
l.net
_______________________________________________
nfbcs mailing list
nfbcs at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbcs_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
block quote end
nfbcs:
block quote
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/pdonahue2%40satx.r
r
.com
block quote end
_______________________________________________
nfbcs mailing list
nfbcs at nfbnet.org
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbcs_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
block quote end
nfbcs:
block quote
http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbcs_nfbnet.org/ntorcolini%40waveca
ble.co
m
block quote end