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  • Top 10 Ways to Get on IT's Good Side.

    The Truth 3:01 pm on February 4, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Error message, , , Personal computer, , , Web server

    10. Verify your problem.

    Example: If you cant load the company website, check another computer. Better yet, check from your iPhone, Android, or Blackberry. Don’t assume that because the site wont load on your computer, the site is down. This is rarely the case. Admins beat their heads against desks when we’re asked to reboot an entire web server because 1 person forgot they were in “Work Offline” mode.

    9. Email first, call last.

    I’m 2  hours into the day, eyeballs deep in code, completely immersed in what I’m focusing on and RIIIIIIIING! My concentration is shattered by the technological shortcomings of Dwayne from HR. He needs his password reset. This however is not all he decides to tell me. He then goes on inform me that his sister’s uncle’s friend’s dog’s computer crashed the other night and would like me to tell him why. Two hours of excruciating explanation later, I whip out my magic hat, cape, and DIY Voodoo kit, and inform him that I’ll either need more information, or the blood of a sacrificed virgin goat to diagnose the problem. All he needed was a password reset, which could have been solved in seconds via email.

    8. Admit Ignorance.

    Nothing pisses off an IT professional more than a user who thinks they’re the hot stinkin’ shit. These are the people who insist they know everything, and will jump at the chance to try and correct you. Some people will challenge everything you say, just to split hairs so they can feel less ignorant. The simple fact is, if you dont work in IT, you probably dont know fuck-all about computers and should approach the situation as such. If you are the boss/owner, this applies especially to you. You hired these people because they are knowledgable about things you are not.

    7. Respect the key holders

    Without your email, network, workstation or phone, you’d be fucked. If any 1 of the aforementioned technologies goes away, so does your paycheck. IT departments work hard to keep interruptions in employee services to a minimum and if they’re doing their job, you should almost never hear from them. Many times this leads upper management to believe that the IT department is busy playing Quake all day when in actuality they’re maintaining status quo as well as holding the hands of your companies technotards.

    6. Dont waste company resources.

    I don’t care how hot or bangin the new Lil’ Wayne album is. If I catch you torrenting or using Limewire on my pristine, well-oiled network, I’ll format your HD at least once a week and replace all your mp3’s with goat porn.

    5. Do not micro-manage us.

    The way I deal with this is actually pretty simple. Everytime someone from ‘upstairs’ asks me that bullshit question “What are you working on?” I immediately start reading off lines of code to them. Then if that doesnt confuse the shit out of them, I’ll hit them with a few random computer terms about something completely unrelated to what I’m actually doing, so when(if) they actually research it, they’ll be even more confused. Misinformation is your ally.

    4. Realize ‘freelance’ doesnt mean free.

    If I had a nickle for every time I was asked to fix a co-worker’s personal computer, or one of their friends/relatives/spouses issues, I could probably actually afford to work for free. Many of us turned to the corporate world out of disdain for the freelancing domain. Feature creep, late payments, picky clients and generally being underapreciated are all good reasons to want a 9-5 office gig. What the bloody hell makes you think that we want to go back to that three ring circus? With that said, if you’re going to ask for our services outside of the domain of the company, you’d better be prepared to at least match our salary, if not more.

    3. Check to see if its plugged in (and turned on!).

    Please?

    2. Take Screenshots, “I got this error” does not help.

    This cracks me up. I’ll get a call or an email stating that someone “Got an error” and coincidently slammed face first into a brick wall. On that wall are painted the words OK and Cancel. Just above that is a cryptic riddle from the tiny gremlins that power your computer. This aparently comes with a nerve-agent that melts a normal user’s brain upon sight. Far be it from the user to actually read the error message, let alone hit the button clearly labled “PRINT SCREEN.”

    1. Learn how to use Google.

    Dont laugh! You’d be surprised how many people have no idea about the awsome power of Google. Chances are, your IT department spends at least 10% of their day on Google, googling things for your employees when they could be focusing on more important tasks. Learn how to use boolean operators and Google-specific query tricks. Become a seeker of knowledge rather than a reciever.

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  • Overclocking Tips

    The Truth 4:43 am on September 5, 2008 | 0 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , Central processing unit, , , Personal computer, , SDRAM,

    AMD Athlon XP Overclocking BIOS Setup on ABIT ...Image via Wikipedia

    Like hot-rodders in the 1960s and 1970s, overclockers are a somewhat-new breed of enthusiasts. When an overclocker’s PC just isn’t fast enough, they don’t whine about it or buy a new CPU. Hell no. That would be too easy, and often times, too expensive. Instead, they do what any hot-rodder would do — they tweak what they’ve got and modify it for maximum speed and stability.

    This guide is a compilation of my personal favorite CPU overclocking tips. Note that some of these tips can be found elsewhere on the Internet, and other overclockers’ opinions may differ from mine. Also, keep in mind that overclocking is considered by some to be dangerous and risky. This guide was written to help you, the average Joe Overclocker, reach new speeds (with stability) on your CPU overclocking adventure.

    Also note that this article is not for total newbies. You’ve got to have at least a CPU and motherboard combination that allows overclocking and you need to have some overclocking experience and knowledge.
    For more information on how to overclock a CPU, go to the How To Overclock a CPU article. With all that said, let’s get started…

    Cautions and Warnings: Is Overclocking Dangerous?

    Several times you’ve probably heard people say that CPU overclocking is dangerous. Usually it seems like newbies, PC retailers, and CPU manufacturers say these things. Is overclocking really dangerous? Well, yes and no. And keep in mind, it’s “dangerous” for your CPU; not for you, personally. If you truly know what you’re doing, it really isn’t that dangerous. But even an experienced overclocker can kill a CPU if they aren’t careful or overlook certain things like voltage. For the average PC user, overclocking is more dangerous. The safety precautions that an overclocking veteran would take may be overlooked by a newbie. So, when Intel (for example) declares that overclocking is risky and can be dangerous, they are usually saying so for all the newbies out there that are new or unfamiliar to overclocking. It’s simply for liability. If Intel encouraged or even supported overclocking, there would be plenty more Celeron keychains and Pentium II paperweights available.

    What’s the Problem?

    Now that I’ve addressed a few issues, let’s get into the gist of things. Since you are in fact reading this guide, I’m guessing you are looking for a solution to an overclocking problem you’re having. You can’t get into Windows? Your PC flashes up random BSODs (Blue Screens of Death)? Your PC can’t get past the BIOS? Your PC doesn’t turn on when you overclock? Your PC freezes after about an hour of running? Phew. No problem…

    There are way too many possible overclocking problems to cover in one article (or even five or ten articles), so I’m simply going to try to help you solve the some of the most common problems. Once you’ve decided on the problem, read on into the guide for tips on that specific issue.

    Your operating system (Windows, usually) crashes after a period of time (several minutes or more), without running any extremely intensive programs:
    If you didn’t run any intensive programs, this is most likely a heat issue. Consider lowering the voltage (unless it means sacrificing stability) or better cooling. Read on…

    Your operating system crashes immediately after a certain intensive program is run:
    If a single game or program crashes your PC immediately after it has been launched, this is usually a sign of a few possible problems. The issue is most likely the CPU itself, but it could be the memory. The CPU is overclocked beyond its limit with the supplied voltage, or the CPU simply cannot go that fast (eek!). Try increasing the voltage as long as it’s in the “safe” range. Generally a CPU can withstand a .2 or .3 volt increase (over default) for long periods of time. I generally don’t recommend going higher than .3 over the default voltage.

    If you’re sure it’s not the CPU, check to see the speed rating of the RAM in your system. 10 ns SDRAM (PC66) should be good up to around 100 MHz FSB. 8 ns SDRAM (most PC100) should be good up to around 125 MHz FSB. 7 ns SDRAM or faster should be good beyond 133 MHz FSB. Anything beyond those values could result in problems from the memory. Another thing to try would be to set the CAS latency in the BIOS setup to 3 instead of 2 (CAS latency determines how much time the computer allows the RAM to recover between ‘column’ access). This could solve the problem.

    Your PC doesn’t even turn on (maybe it turns on, but the monitor doesn’t receive a signal) once it’s been overclocked, or it can’t get past the BIOS:
    This is one of the most frustrating problems for newbies, because they seem to think their PC is toast when it won’t respond to the keyboard or it won’t even display video. But hey, we all learn the hard way when it comes to these sorts of problems. To recover the original clock speed, you’ll need to do one of the following: 1) Find the jumper on your motherboard that resets the CMOS configuration, 2) Find the key on the keyboard that resets the clock speed, or 3) Re-jumper the CPU for a more stable speed on the motherboard or slocket. If you need to find the key or the jumper that resets the clock speed (usually for software CPU configuration), consult the manual. This is different on just about every motherboard.

    Now that you know how to fix the problem by returning to default values, you probably want to know how to make the old value stable, right? Well, if it doesn’t even receive a video signal, it could be either the CPU is not getting enough voltage (remember, .2 or .3 volts over the default is about the maximum I recommend), or the memory may not be up to it. Make sure your memory can handle such a high FSB speed on another PC if possible. Heat probably isn’t an issue at this point since this is immediately after you start the PC.

    Original Article: Here

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