Adobe Flash Uninstaller is a small, portable application designed to forcefully remove all versions Adobe Flash. While this tool isn’t particularly exciting, it has come in handy a few times on computer repair jobs. The last time I had to use it I had a client who couldn’t play Youtube videos because they got the message:
“Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Macromedia’s Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.”

I checked to see that Adobe Flash was installed and it had been installed. I suspected it was corrupt or something so I removed it using Add/Remove Programs and reinstalled it, same problem. So I used this application to forcefully remove Flash. I then reinstalled Flash and it worked like a charm.
Read the rest of this entry »

There has recently been an increase in the amount of technicians joining our forum and talking about making the jump from a 9 to 5 job to becoming self employed.
Perhaps the company they were working for is downsizing and they preparing for the worst or they have already been laid off. Whatever the cause I want to make sure that any soon-to-be technicians are prepared for the jump.
Read the rest of this entry »

VirtualBox is a free virtualization product which allows you to run another operating from within your current one. While this is technically not a “repair tool”, it is very useful to computer technicians for testing and training purposes. For example, I used virtualization software to create a Windows XP virtual machine and infected it with a virus so I could show Technibble readers via video how to manually remove a virus. Once I was done creating the video I rolled back the virtual machine state and it was a fresh copy of Windows XP again. I also use a virtual machine to test all of the Repair Tools of the Week I recommend.

Computer Technicians can do the same and break or infect an operating system to learn how to fix it without the concerns of damaging live operating systems. VirtualBox is one of the easiest virtualisation software to use since all you really have to do is install the software, press New and follow through the prompts such as what OS you want to install and how much hard drive space you want to give it. You can tell it to use your real CDRom drive to load an operating system on it or you can even mount an ISO which will emulate a CDRom disk.

If you want to learn how to remove viruses, fix certain problems, experiment with other operating systems such as Linux without the fear of messing up your current operating system, this is a great way to do it and increase your skillset.
Read the rest of this entry »

The makers of SUPERAntiSpyware (which is a great malware removal product that many technicians use) have provided me with 10 SUPERAntiSpyware Professional LIFETIME licenses to give away.
Read the rest of this entry »

A few days ago I asked the Technibble readers to ask me a question about the computer business. Here are the answers:
Read the rest of this entry »

In past “Repair Tool of the Week” articles I have posted about a few of the removal tools for the most common antiviruses like Norton, AVG and McAfee. Of course, there are many more antiviruses than these and it wouldnt make sense to have a post for each one so I have compiled a single large list of antivirus removal tools. This makes it easier for you to download them all at once to carry around with you on your USB drive.

I have also included a “More Information” link for most of them that takes you to the tools page in case the download link becomes broken in the future or you want to make sure you get the latest version. As of the date of this post, these are the most recent versions of the removal tools.
Read the rest of this entry »

I often write about how to work on your business, your computer or your client; but in this article I will be focusing on working on ourselves. It takes a certain type of person to become successful in the computer repair business and here are 5 tips on how to become that person.
Read the rest of this entry »

I try to cover as many topics about the computer business as I can when I choose what to write about, but I am sure I have missed some areas. So, does anyone have a computer business related question they would like to ask me? It can be a very specific question or very general. If so, either leave a comment below this post or use our contact form. If you are receiving this via our email newsletter, just hit the reply button and email it to me.

If it can be answered in just a few lines, I will most likely do an “answers post” answering multiple questions at once. If its something that needs to be answered in-depth, I may write a big article about it in the coming weeks.

So, do you have a question about the computer repair business you would like to ask me?

Camstudio Portable is a small, free and portable application designed for recording what is happening on the screen including any mouse movements. While this isn’t exactly a “repair tool”, its highly useful when you are teaching a client how to do certain task and want them to remember the steps after you leave. I personally like it because I don’t have to write the steps down for my clients and show them multiple times. The clients like it because they can refer to it any time if they forget the steps.

The application has the ability to record the entire screen, a region where you specify the size and can move itabout, or a fixed region. It also has the ability to highlight the cursor in the recordings so the client can see the cursor in the video better. By default, the application will export the video to .AVI but you can also convert the video from AVI to SWF (Adobe Flash) so the file is much smaller but still maintains its video quality.

If you teach clients how to do certain tasks on the computer (getting photos off cameras, putting music on portable devices etc.) then this is a must have.
Read the rest of this entry »

Since I first started Technibble I have bumped into some other people who are also providing content for the computer repair industry. Once you are done with your daily dose of Technibble and its forums, here are some other great resources to continue learning about the computer repair business.
Read the rest of this entry »