Ask A Geek

Q: I have an Acer Power computer with Acer empowering technology framework running Windows XP Pro. When I start the computer up I get a message that says “Administrator has prohibited access to USB/1394 mass storage devices”. How do I fix this?

A: There have been many reports over the last few years of the “administrator has prohibited access to USB 1394 mass storage device” error message on Acer computers. It seems the problem is related to software called LanScope. There does not seem to be a logical way to access LanScope to actually unlock the drives so the only way to resolve this that we have been able to find is to uninstall Acer LanScope.

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Q: What are the base Skype rates and what are the Skype rates when calling a toll free number to use a calling card?

A: Skype rates are a little complicated to grasp quickly although not that much different from a calling card. Skype wants you to think the rates are very easy to understand by giving you a very simple and easy to read global rate page but they are not. The first issue is the connection fee, that at best is difficult to grasp at first. As of this writing, if you are setup to use the USD and you are calling to a global rate country then your connection fee is $0.039 but if you are calling to a non global rate country then the connection fee is $0.079. Read the rest of this entry »

Q: What is a reasonably priced television projector that is Macintosh compatible?

A: The good news is that it is difficult to find a TV projector that isn’t Mac compatible. The reason for this is because all computers, Macs and Windows based computers, use the same connections to connect to monitors, which is what a TV projector is treated as. The key would be to make sure that the Television projector has the same connection you have on your Mac or that you can get an adapter from your Mac to match what the TV projector wants. Read the rest of this entry »

Q:I am having trouble getting my ATI Radeon 9250 128 p graphics card working in Windows 7. My computer says that card can not run cause it is not supported by the version of DirectX I have. Is there anything I can do to get the card working with Windows 7?

A: Our friends over at Windows7News.com have a solution in their forum that cover your DirectX issue with Windows 7 and the ATI Radeon graphics card. It also covers how to install the driver for the ATI Radeon graphics card in Windows 7 for those that are unable to get the driver installed. Once the driver is installed it also covers how to make it so your computer does not crash each time you try to shut it down due to the ATI Radeon graphics card driver.

Q: How do I pull up the administrator page when using Task Manager?

A: Getting to the administrator from Task Manager is as simple as going to “File” -> “New Task (Run…)” then typing in “compmgmt.msc” and then clicking “Ok”.

Q: Whenever I run the registry cleaner PC Mighty Max 2009 on my computer it continually show “4 Invalid File Extension Program ID” for Winamp.File .m2v, .mp1, .mps, and .mpv. I found Winamp in My Documents and deleted it but the registry cleaner continues to show these errors. Any suggestions on how to remove them?

A: Sometimes registry cleaners go a little overboard and make you remove every little bit of information that you might not need. In this particular case having invalid file extensions are not hurting you at all. The makers of Winamp just went a little overboard and added in some extra file extensions just in case they ended up being used down the road. This way you would have them already in your computer if you failed to update Winamp. Read the rest of this entry »

Q: I want to replace the battery on my motherboard but don’t want to lose the BIOS settings. Is it safe to replace the motherboard battery while the computer is running?

A: It is not safe to touch any internal parts of a computer while it is plugged in never mind running. You should always make sure that your computer is shut off, unplugged, and that you are grounded before touching any internal parts of the computer because a simple shock (electrical discharge) from you to the computer could ruin your computer. It is no different when it comes to replacing the battery on your motherboard. Read the rest of this entry »

Q: What is the best graphics card for gaming on a computer with only PCI/AGP slots?

A: Gigabyte GV R465D2-1GI – Graphics adapter – Radeon HD 4650 – AGP 8x – 1 GB GDDR2 – DVI, HDMI is about as good as it gets for an AGP graphics card. You will be paying a $20-$30 premium to get it in AGP graphics card instead of PCI-express and the AGP market is pretty dried up. The Gigabyte GV R465D2-1GI should give you a gaming boost but don’t expect to play the latest games maxed out with it. Read the rest of this entry »

Q: Is there a way to boost my WiFi reception for my devices like my laptop and iPod Touch?

A: There are a few things you can do to boost your WiFi signal. The first is a free option you can try which works without buying a WiFi booster so we suggest you start there. It might be possible for you to move your wireless router to a central location in your house or office. By moving your router to a more central location you should be able to cover more of your home or office, which might allow you get signals in spots you were unable to before. Read the rest of this entry »

Q: I am downloading an ISO file with Flashget 1.9.6 on Vista Enterprise with Service Pack 1. Flashget shows a high download speed of 100-200 KB/s, the “Completed” column just shows a number that goes up and down between 8-24 MB. This has continued for a couple of days. Any suggestions?

A: Some servers do not play well with download accelerators so you should try downloading it in your web browser instead of the download accelerator. This will probably take a little longer but it should be successful.