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Hewie's Views and Reviews Welcome to this issue of Hewie's Views & Reviews. Be sure to visit Hewie's Favorites at http://www.hewie.net/ . ++++ Moving computers ++++ Moving computers I'm home! For those of you who are unaware I had a fire in my home which forced me to move out while it was put back together. I lost much of the second floor and some of the first. This week made it 6 months from the fire, and I have moved back home. It's not quite done, but enough for me to move back in. I had to move my 3 computer network to my temporary home a half-year ago and back home this week. Moving 1 computer almost never goes well, but moving 3 almost guarantees some problems. In this month's column I am going to pass on a few tips that I learned from my experience. Before starting to take down your computer(s) there are some tasks that must be done. First, back up all of your files. The computers will know if you don't, and will be sure to crash to make your life miserable. Then quickly sketch your setup, including all wiring and electrical plugs. It is at this point I label every cable. I use mailing labels and fold them over to stick to their other side. I label all power blocks. You know, those big plugs that fill up you power strip. Those pesky blocks all look alike when you go to set up at the other end, and they never stay plugged in to the peripheral, such as your printer or router. Be careful when you take your computer system apart. Be sure to unscrew those cables that need it. Don't yank or pull. Wrap all of the cables and tie them. Some of you may be good at tying them by wrapping, but it never works for me, so I use rubber bands. When moving the computer case itself, look for front or back plates that may come off if you are holding by that particular part. When handing the case, try not to drop it. Computer parts are prone to damage immediately hearing you say, Oops!" Once your computer or network gets to the new location or even the other side of the room, you shouldn't expect it to go together smoothly. Power cords will be an inch or more too short, the keyboard now will not quite reach the plug, network cables won't reach, etc. Most likely either you will have to make some changes or wait to buy extensions, and, of course, your local store will be out of stock. Once you get it all together, you will hit the power button and something won't work. It's a given. Don't panic. First make sure that all of the power cords are plugged in. If you use a UPS (uninterruptible power supply), make sure that it is plugged in and turned on. If you are working with a network, get each system working, then go back to trouble shoot your network. If you have problems with one system, you might want to unplug it, then open the case and reseat all of the cards, including to make sure that the memory is pushed all of the way in. Sometimes the motherboard bends a bit when moving a system and cards need to be re-seated. In my move, this happened, but I did lose a network card and sound card in one system. Be patient when trying to trouble shoot. Your problem may be a plug that came loose and doesn't require you to replace or reformat a hard drive. If you are having a lot of problems, I suggest having a couple of beers or Appletinis and go to bed. Start the next day with a fresh mind, and you will find the solutions much easier. With that, I have to figure out how to get re-connected to RoadRunner to get this article published. Until next time…
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