Filed under: Uncategorized
Conflicting Accounts
Sys Technology spokesperson Ace Garin says that over the last six months IAI’s tech support service had gone from bad to worse to unacceptable. By the end of last year, Garin says, consumers were lucky to get through to IAI at all. He maintains that IAI failed to fulfill its contractual obligation to supply on-site and telephone tech support of acceptable quality to Sys Technology customers.
“We received numerous complaints from customers about the quality of service IAI supplied,” the Sys spokesperson says. “We finally told IAI we weren’t going to pay them unless tech support got better.”
Sys stopped paying IAI in December, hoping that IAI would improve its service in order to get paid, Garin says. But that didn’t happen, so in February Sys hired a new company, Source Support, to handle the job, Garin says. However, warranty information for Sys Technology systems sold in the previous 18 months directed customers to call IAI for software and hardware support, according to Garin.
Meanwhile, in early February Sys moved from Cypress, California, to new offices in City of Industry, California. The 30-mile move followed Sys’s merger with PC parts maker Axper Technology. Both companies are owned by Gigatrend Technology of Taipei, Taiwan, and the merged entity retained Axper Technology’s name.
Garin says that for seven weeks after the move–from February 7 to late March–Sys was not equipped to receive sales or tech support calls from the public, and therefore did not post its new phone numbers on its Web site. Garin blames “human error” for the company’s failure to post a notice on its Web site to explain the disconnect messages on the old phone numbers.
Another Side
Glen Simmons, president of IAI, tells a somewhat different story about the dispute between IAI and Sys. He denies that IAI’s support was subpar, and says that although Sys stopped paying its bills in December, IAI continues to this day to provide Sys PC owners with telephone tech support. However, IAI says it stopped honoring warranties for on-site service on February 4, after Simmons visited Sys’s offices and was told the company would not be paying its outstanding bills.
“If a company stops paying the bills, we simply can’t afford to continue offering [on-site] tech support for them,” Simmons says, adding that he was willing to allow his reps to assist Sys customers over the phone because he felt sorry for them.
Simmons says he instructed his employees to tell customers that Sys Technology had gone out of business a few days after his visit to the company’s office, when he was unable to contact Sys officials at the company’s old phone numbers. “Sys dropped off the map,” Simmons says. “We thought the company was out of business.”
Simmons says he didn’t realize that Sys had simply moved, until a week or so later, when a customer who had tracked down Sys at its new location told IAI of Sys’s whereabouts. “When I called [Sys] at their new place of business, they refused to discuss the matter [nonpayment of IAI's bills],” Simmons wrote in an e-mail message.
The dispute between Sys and IAI highlights problems that consumers can encounter when computer makers outsource tech support to third parties.
Complaints and Threats
Sys Technology’s Garin acknowledges that dozens of customers have called over the past three months to complain or to threaten to sue Sys because of substandard support, but he blames IAI’s poor service. Records at private and public consumer agencies suggest that Sys Technology customers have, for the most part, been pleased with the company for the past three years, which is as far back as the reports go.
California Better Business Bureau reports, for example, show that over the past three years Sys Technology has resolved four complaints submitted to the BBB, leaving only one recent complaint outstanding. The company maintains a positive rating with the BBB.
According to the California Department of Consumer Affairs, no Sys Technology customers have filed complaints with the state in the past three years.
Meanwhile, the Nevada BBB has logged nine complaints about IAI over the past three years, which the agency considers an “unsatisfactory” record. According to the BBB report, IAI has made no attempt to resolve these complaints, which range from contract workers’ allegations that IAI did not pay them to consumers’ claims that IAI failed to honor extended warranties they purchased from IAI for their PCs.
According to Simmons, as a matter of policy, IAI had not addressed BBB complaints because doing so would take too much time, and because he was skeptical about the agency’s procedures. However, since PC World first contacted IAI, Simmons says he has changed the policy and will be investigating complaints against his company filed with the BBB.
The Nevada Consumer Affairs Division reports no complaints on file for IAI in the past year.
Lights Out–Anybody Home?
At least some of Sys Technology’s problems appear to result from its failure to update its Web site with new phone numbers when it relocated, or to at least provide an explanation for the disconnect messages on the old numbers. Sys says that on February 21 it e-mailed its new contact information to some 18,000 customers who had provided an e-mail address when they bought or registered their PCs. The e-mail message included the new phone numbers, even though the company sent it at a time when Garin says the phone system still wasn’t working well enough to handle calls from the public. Garin says including the new numbers in the e-mail was also a mistake.
On March 21, a new general telephone number appeared on Sys Technology’s Web site, and company representatives answered the phone promptly. But during the seven weeks when customers couldn’t reach Sys via published phone numbers, some of those PC owners didn’t know what to think. “When the phones went dead, I figured I was on my own,” says Gary Bigger of Shelton, Washington. Like Starin, Shelton gave up on his Sys PC’s warranty and paid $168 to have his PC fixed locally.
“We apologize for any inconveniences and urge anyone who has any problems with our systems to contact us,” Garin says.
The phone support issues, Garin adds, should diminish as Sys’s warranty contracts with IAI expire over the next six months, and as fewer Sys customers expect free tech support from IAI for their under-warranty machines. In the meantime, Garin says customers who don’t get satisfactory support when they call the supplied Sys tech support number should call the general toll-free number, 866/834-9155, and press 0 to connect to the company’s operator and ask for him specifically.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Beware technical people…the new scam Integrated Automation International
I listed computer repair services on craigslist.org a free online classifieds service and a short time later received correspondence from a gentlemen named Doug. They offered me a job part time installing TV parts telling me that they needed people to service these telivisions (HD TVS) in peoples homes. All I have to do is make the appointments with the customers and service the telivisions. I began to get suspicious when the gentleman doug could not say the word “automation” without stumbling through the word. He told me that he would email me out a new hire packet and in it would be a W-9 form and a non-disclosure agreement. When I got back to my computer and saw the new hire forms for Integrated Automation International I noticed the forms did not look very professional. There was no company logo on the page anywhere and the text size and color didnt look like anything an authentic company would use. From document to document the address of the company changed from
2250 E. Tropicana – Suite 19-101
Las Vegas Nevada
to
63 Via Pico Plaza, #541
San Clemente, CA 92672
I cannot find any information on this company that supposedly conducts business in California and Nevada. If they contact you please file a report with the FTC www.ftc.gov so we can put a stop to this
Filed under: Computer Help, Hardware, Hardware & Software, Memory, Notebook/Laptops, computer repair, dover nh, exeter nh, hampton nh, newburyport ma, portsmouth nh, rochester nh, seabrook nh, stratham nh
When a BIOS Update Is Necessary
Fowler Computer Mobile Support <–Not Geeks….IT Professionals
The following list shows the primary benefits of a ROM BIOS upgrade:
- Adds LS-120 (120MB) floppy drive support (also known as a SuperDisk drive)
- Adds support for other ATAPI removable drives, such as Iomega Zip drives
- Adds support for hard drives greater than 8.4GB
- Adds support for Ultra-DMA/33, UDMA/66, UDMA/100, or faster IDE hard drives
- Adds support for bootable ATAPI CD-ROM drives (El Torito)
- Adds or improves Plug-and-Play support and compatibility
- Corrects calendar-related bugs
- Corrects known bugs or compatibility problems with certain hardware and software
- Adds support for newer or faster processors
In general, if your computer is incapable of using all the features of new software or hardware, you might need a BIOS upgrade.
Specific Tests to Determine Whether Your BIOS Needs an Update
To determine whether your BIOS needs to be updated because of hard drive capacity limitations, see Chapter 4, “SCSI and ATA Hard Drives and Optical Drives.”
To determine whether your BIOS needs to be updated because of operating system or CPU upgrade issues, consult the technical- support Web sites for the operating system or CPU upgrade.
Fixing BIOS Limitations—BIOS Fixes and Alternatives
Use Table 3.1 to determine which options you can follow if a BIOS update isn’t possible, depending on the BIOS problem noted.
Table 3.1 Alternatives to BIOS Upgrades
| Problem | Alternative Fix | Benefits of Alternative Fix | Limitations of Alternative Fix |
Filed under: Computer Help, Developing Websites, Hardware & Software, IT News, Internet, Internet Marketing, Memory, Notebook/Laptops, Search Engine Optimization, Shopping Online, Web Design, html, keywords, wireless
Top 12 Tips To Writing Effective
Google AdWords Select Ads
By Michael Wong
Fowler Computer Website- Save Money Now Mobile Computer Support in NH
In this article I show you my top twelve tips for creating effective Google AdWords Select ads [https://adwords.google.com/select/].
I’ve been testing the Google pay per click advertising system for a while, with much success. These tips will help you create ads that generate higher click through rates, and lower cost per click.
1. Target The Right Audience
Target the right audience by selecting the language and countries that you want to target. For example, I exclude all countries where English is not understood by a large percentage of the population.
2. Refine Your Keywords
Use square brackets “[...]” around your keyword/s.
For example:
[google]
[google adwords]
Your ad will only show when the search is for the exact keyword phrase you have included within the brackets.
The ad will not show for searches that include other keywords. In our example, this would be for searches such as “google search,” or “google news.”
3. Test Multiple Ads Simultaneously
Always test 2 (or more) ads simultaneously. This is what is known in the print industry as an A/B split test.
Find out which one produces the higher click through ratio. Then replace the weaker performing ad with a new one.
Continue this process in your never-ending quest to get the highest click through ratio possible.
4. Track The Return-On-Investment Of Each Ad
Google tracks the click through ratio of each ad. But it doesn’t track the conversion ratio.
Use a special tracking link in each ad to track its conversion ratio. For example, you could attach each ad with an affiliate tracking system link. Make sure each ad produces a return-on-investment.
5. Include Targeted Keywords In Your Ad
Include the targeted keywords in the headline and the description of the ad. Google will highlight searched keywords in bold in the ad.
When people scan search results, they look for the keywords they have entered. Searched keywords highlighted in bold certainly help to catch the user’s attention. For this reason, ads with searched keywords usually perform better than ones without.
 |
!!! INCREASE YOUR WEBSITE TRAFFIC, use WebPosition !!! Submitting alone is not enough. You now need to track and maintain your website’s position in the Search Engines. |
|
6. Sell The Benefits
Spell out one or more major benefit in your ad. For example, make more money, stay younger looking, lose weight, get healthier, live happier, etc.
7. Include Attention Grabbing Words In Your Ad
Start your headline with an attention grabbing word. For example, “Free:, New:, Sale:, etc.” Make sure you stay within Google’s editorial guidelines
[https://adwords.google.com/select/guidelines.html].
8. Use Words That Provoke Emotion & Enthusiasm
Use power words or call-to-action phrases that provoke emotion, enthusiasm and a response.
Here are some examples of power words:
free, cheap, sale, special offer, time limited offer, tricks, you, tips, enhance, discover, fact, learn, at last, free shipping, etc.
Here are some examples of call-to-action phrases:
* Buy Today – Save 50%
* Download Free Trial Now
* Sale Ends Tomorrow
Make sure the phrase specific to your business, otherwise Google may reject the phrase.
9. Sell Your USP (Unique Selling Proposition)
What makes your product or service better, or different, from the competition? Spell them out in your ad.
For example, one of Amazon.com’s first taglines was “Earth’s Biggest Bookstore.” That’s a powerful USP!
10. Link To Relevant Landing Pages
If an ad is for a specific product or service, create a landing page for the ad. Include relevant and useful information to convert the customer. Generally, a well designed landing page will almost always convert more visitors than if you simply sent the visitor to the home page.
11. Remove Common Words
Remove common words, such as “a, an, in, on, it, of, etc.” Remove every word that does not absolutely need to be in the ad. Make every word count.
12. Deter Freebie Hunters
Deter freebie hunters by including the price of the product or service at the end of the ad. This will improve your overall conversion ratio and lower your average customer acquisition cost.
This may reduce your click through ratio, but that’s OK. After all, you’re not trying to target every body, only potential customers. In most cases, freebie hunters will never become paying customers.
Conclusion
Remember that advertising is a never-ending series of tests. Always track your ads. Never stop testing different keywords and ads to improve your conversion ratio and lower your customer acquisition cost.
Advertising in Google’s AdWords Select [https://adwords.google.com/select/] advertising system works. It may not necessarily produce as many visitors as Overture, but the click through cost can be lower.
Master the art of advertising in Google, and you could outsmart the competitor who’s always outbidding you in Overture.
[http://www.overture.com] ;o)
About the Author Michael Wong is a successful and respected search engine optimization specialist, and author of 3 search engine books. [http://www.SearchEngineOptimizationStrategies.com]
Mike is also the Editor of Mike’s Marketing Tools, the leading review site for the very best web marketing tools. Visit his web site at: http://www.Mikes-Marketing-Tools.com
Filed under: Computer Help, Data Recovery, Hardware, amesbury ma, andover ma, boxford ma, computer backup, computer errors, computer repair, concord nh, danvers ma, derry nh, dover nh, elliot me, essex ma, exeter nh, fix hal.dll, hal.dll, hampton nh, haverhill ma, lawrence ma, manchester nh, methuen ma, newburyport ma, pelham nh, pittsfield nh, portsmouth nh, rochester nh, rye nh, salisbury ma, seabrook nh, stratham nh, toppsfield ma, windham nh, wolfboro nh | Tags: boot loader, boot.ini, corrupt boot.ini, data recover, Data Recovery, hal.dll.error, hard drive recovery, Maine, Massachusetts, missing hal.dll, missing hall.dll error, missong, NH, Vermont, windows 2000 professional, windows xp, windows xp corporate, windows xp home
If you have a crashed hard drive do not reformat your computer. You will lose all of your valuable information.
Hal.dll errors…The Whole Story behind Hal.dll
Yesterday at Fowler Computer we had a customer who had tried to install the service pack updates for Windows XP (SP2). He previously had Sp1a that Came with his Dell Dimension 4600 Desktop.
He tried on the phone for hours with Dell to get his dell dimension computer back up and running but could not get into Windows and had very important files. 2500+ pictures for his ebay business, as well as address book, outlook emails, and invoice data would be lost if he simply reinstalled windows without some help recovering the data first.
A technician from the Fowler Computer Repair Office in Rochester NH was sent to his house to assess the situation and had all of the data recovered in just one day.
If you try the solution to the Hal.dll error below and can’t solve it yourself then Call Fowler Computer at 603-343-8331.
Click here for easy Data Recovery options
UPDATE: My phone plan does not reach Outside of the United States please email only shane@fowlercomputer.com I have had a couple calls from the UK and I am not able to return your calls so email me. shane@fowlercomputer.com
Windows XP- Missing HAL.DLL
Error Message: Cannot Find WindowsSystem32hal.dll
TRY THIS FIRST
Get the Windows XP CD, doesn’t matter if it’s one to upgrade, or to install Windows, any of them work.
Let it start the setup process. Then, when it gives you the option, press “R” to go into the recovery console.
once in, it asks you to select which windows installation you want to go into. Just type “1″ and hit enter.
For me, I just hit enter for the admin password, but if you have one, type it in and press enter.
You should now be in the C:WINDOWS directory. If not, navigate there I guess, although you should be there by default.
Next, type in the following command:
expand d:i386hal.dl_
(Replace D with the letter assigned to the CD drive that the Windows CD is in)
If it gives you an option to overwrite the file, type “Y” and hit enter. If it doesn’t, type in the command again, and it should ask you if you want to overwrite it.
Finally, type “exit”, and your PC should reboot normally. =D
Hal.dll might not be missing anymore. You’ll soon find out if you see the error or not.
That is the fix if the problem is actually the hal.dll file, it might also be the boot.ini file.
Click here for easy Data Recovery options
Another possible fix.
So far, this has been traced to an incorrect BOOT.INI file. To gain access to the Boot.ini:
Go to Start/Run and type in: msconfig. Then go to the Boot.ini Tab. Or…Right click the My Computer icon/Properties/
Advanced/Startup and Recovery/Settings/System Startup/Edit.
How to Edit the BOOT.INI File in Windows XP
This user had 1 hard drive, partitioned into C and D drives. His BOOT.INI file looked like this: (the erroneous lines are in “blue”)
[boot loader]
timeout=1
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)WINDOWS=”Microsoft Windows XP Professional” /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINNT=”Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional” /fastdetect
The 3 in the erroneous lines, above, points to the 3rd partition on the first physical hard disk. Since this user only had 2 partitions, this value was incorrect. Changing the value to 2, in both lines, allowed the user to complete Windows XP’s setup.
The corrected BOOT.INI looked like this:
[boot loader]
timeout=1
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)WINDOWS=”Microsoft Windows XP Professional” /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINNT=”Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional” /fastdetect
HAL – Hardware Abstraction Layer (hal.dll)
HAL is Microsoft’s abbreviation for the Hardware Abstraction Layer, the technology and drivers that let the Windows NT, 2000, and XP operating systems communicate with your PC’s hardware. HAL is one of several features–along with the NT file system (NTFS) that replaced the much less secure MS-DOS–that make NT-based operating systems more secure and reliable than Windows 95, 98, and Me.
HAL.dll prevents applications from directly accessing your PC’s system memory, CPU, or hardware devices (such as video and sound cards)–a method that can prevent many device conflicts and crashes. Unfortunately, HAL.dll sometimes also slows or stops DOS games and programs, which need to load their own memory managers or control hardware directly for better performance.
With HAL.dll in the way, developers must rewrite or even abandon their older software in favor of newer, HAL-compatible versions. Microsoft has pressured hardware makers to provide or support technologies such as MMX, DirectX, and 3D graphics language OpenGL, all of which allow fast but indirect access to the advanced high-performance features of video, sound, and CPU hardware. Such access also makes for a better visual experience when using Windows for Web and productivity applications; improved graphics performance is evident all over Windows XP’s new user interface.
Tip: To see which HAL.dll is currently installed, open Device Manager, and expand the Computer branch. The entry that
appears in this branch corresponds to the currently installed HAL.
HAL.DLL is Missing – Updated by MVP Alex Nichol
Option 1:
Boot from your CD and follow the directions to start Recovery Console. If you cannot get into recovery console seek the advice of a professional.
Click here for easy Data Recovery options
Then:
Attrib -H -R -S C:Boot.ini
DEL C:Boot.ini
BootCfg /Rebuild
Fixboot
Option 2:
Boot from your CD and follow the directions below to start Recovery Console.
Insert the Setup compact disc (CD) and restart the computer. If prompted, select any options required to boot from the CD.
When the text-based part of Setup begins, follow the prompts; choose the repair or recover option by pressing R.
If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot system, choose the installation that you need to access from the Recovery Console.
When prompted, type the Administrator password. (if you didn’t create one try pressing enter).
At the system prompt, type Recovery Console commands; type help for a list of commands, or help commandname for help on a specific command.
Most likely you will need to expand the file from the CD. The command would be expand d:i386hal.dl_ c:windowssystem32hal.dll. Substitute d: for the drive letter of your CD. Once you have expanded the file type “exit” to exit the Recovery Console and restart the computer.
TIP: Recovering Windows XP using the Recovery Console
Update:
Shaun Gray (3/2005) states:
Let me review my experience / problem with hal.DLL with you all:
I Received a computer with win XP home sp2 that after uninstalling IML4, and Installing IML5, and rebooting. (IML being Imesh light)
Computer displayed windows rootsystem32hal.dll is missing or corrupt, please re-install.
NO MODES would boot from advanced boot options
Only bootable option was from CD
Repair console would not EDIT system from OEM XP HOME CD
FixMBR did not solve anything
Bootcfg /list, bootcfg /rebuild did not solve anything
Fixboot did not solve anything
Solution Option 1 wouldn’t work with multi attributes with out “|” in between them. ******
Solution Option 1 didn’t solve anything, except inadvertently adding a second OS to boot.ini
Solution Option 2 was unusable with OEM XP HOME SP2 CD.
Solution Opt 2 with XP PRO SP2 Integrated CD “Functioned”, but was “unable to expand file”
REINSTALLING WINDOWS IS NOT AN OPTION.
Final Solution:
Removed hard drive from system.
Added Hard drive to a 2nd WORKING XP PRO System. As Slave on Cable select.
***(all references to “D:” are the Slave Hard drive damaged windows)***
Booted system and enabled – Explorertoolsfolder options
Display contents of system folders.
Show Hidden Files and Folders.
UN-check Hide Protected OS Files.
Go to “D:” open Boot.ini in NOTEPAD, remove the Extra OS’s added with option 1.
Close and Save changes to Boot.ini
Go to “My Computer” Right click on “D:” select SEARCH “D:”
Search “All or Part of the File Name” = “hal”
Hal.dll may or may not be found in “D:WINDOWSSystem32” either way it’s no good.
A working copy of hal.dll WILL be found in “C:WINDOWSServicePackFilesi386”
COPY THAT FILE “D:WINDOWSServicePackFilesi386hal.dll”
And Paste it to “D:WINDOWSSystem32” folder; if it asks to overwrite say YES.
You may now un-do the changes made to Explorertoolsfolder options to RE-Hide files.
Shut Down the computer.
Remove the 2nd Drive and reinstall it to its own tower as Master.
You should Now be able to boot the computer up as if nothing ever happened.
With the exception that it will prompt you to reinstall some drivers, Just say YES and let it auto detect …THEY ARE ALREADY THERE. And will setup fine.
This “FIX” assumes that the computer in question HAS at ther very least service pack1, if not service pack 2.
If these patches have NOT been installed , I dont belive any such Reserve copy of hal.dll will wxist on the drive!
If these tips don’t work and you need your data…
Call Fowler Computer for
- Data Recovery of lost files fast.
-
Custom Built Business and Gaming machines and upgrade parts.
-
Troubleshooting hardware/software
- Virus/Spyware Problems
Call Today or Bookmark (CTRL+D) for future reference
1+(603) 343-8331
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| hal.dll vista | hal.dll corrupt | hal.dll wiki | ntoskrnl.exe |
