Laptop shuts down intermittently

My daughter's friend, Lily, brings her laptop to me with a complaint that the computer shuts down intermittently.  After investigating, I determine there is no fan sound coming from the laptop.  The fan has apparently quit working, causing the laptop to shut down when it over heats.  However, Lily does not want to spend the money to purchase a new fan. 

It occurred to me, that while browsing in the computer section of Staples once (one of my favorite pastimes), I saw a laptop desk tray with a fan built into it to keep the laptop from overheating, since laptops have a tendency to overheat while sitting on top of your lap.  At the time, I thought it was a gimmick that no one would ever spend the extra money on.  I quickly took a spin down to Staples and purchased one.  And, would you believe it?  It solved the problem of Lily's laptop shutting down. 

I tested by removing the laptop tray and within one minute, the laptop shut down.  I did this several times to confirm.  As long as the laptop sat on top of the laptop tray and the fan was plugged in, the computer stayed operational!  I instructed Lily to leave the fan on when she uses the laptop.  This was about six months ago.  I just spoke to her last night, and her laptop is still running fine!

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How to Add Google Voice Widget to Your Website

This is an extremely cool widget you can add to your website or blog!

Google Voice

Features of Google Voice

How to Add Google Voice Widget to Your Website

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NTFS Permissions when deleting folders

Image via Wikipedia

What is the least permission that a user should grant others that would allow them to delete folders within a share?

Modify.

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Volume Shadow Copy

Image by Bruce Elgort via Flickr

What situation would the IT Department use a volume shadow copy, instead of a backup strategy?

If the user accidentally overwrites a presentation he spent all day creating. Note that shadow copies maintain a maximum of 64 copies of a file. The copy schedule affects the amount of time that the oldest copies are deleted. Microsoft recommends writing shadow copies to a different volume on a different drive than the shared folders.

You should not write shadow copies to compressed volumes. Compressed volumes cannot have an allocation unit size of greater than 4 KB. Using a volume with an allocation unit size of less than 16 KB can result in loss of shadow copies.
How Volume Shadow Copy Service Works

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Map a network drive

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How would you list a shared network folder location in My computer for quick access?

Map a network drive to the shared folder.

Map a Network Drive in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008

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Folder Redirection

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1. A manager would like to have user folders (like My Documents and My Pictures) automatically backed up by network administrators. What does this manager need?

Folder Redirection allows user data to be backed up to an alternate location, like a network server, normally using group policy.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc778976(WS.10).aspx

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How can you print a printer self test page?

How can you print a printer self test page?


Answer: Through the operator panel on the printer, or, through the printer properties settings.

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How to remove an external USB hard drive

What is the BEST way to explain to a user how to move an external USB hard drive to another computer?

Dismount the drive by right-clicking the device icon in the system tray. When the system displays that it is safe to remove the drive, unplug the device from the computer and plug it into the other computer.

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Hibernation

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You need to configure your desktop computer to maximize the time between recharging your computer that is used infrequently during the day. What mode should you use?

Hibernation is a feature of laptops that allow them to enter into a low power state. This low power state will ensure that the laptop battery is not consumed when it is sitting idle. Hibernation can be configured through the Power Options applet in the Control Panel.

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