About Time!  We're opening another Dr PC Fix store in Bellevue around August 1st.  It's going to be a really easy location to access for everyone in Bellevue, right downtown.

This will be a little larger than our other stores, and probably serve all the normal computer repair services in addition to some of the business IT services and network consulting.

 

If you are setting up a home network and find that your computer works, but when you plug in a wireless router it will not get online, THIS is what is happening.  Understanding it gives you the steps to work around the problem.

We are assuming Comcast here, they seem to have the most finicky modems anyways.

DHCP is the protocol that is at work when you ‘get an ip’ from Comcast, or any other server.  when you plug a laptop into a wireless router, you ‘get an ip’ – the laptop is speaking the protocol of DHCP (dynamic host configuration protocol) and asking ‘hey – anyone out there want to give me a configuration?’ then the router answers, ‘sure, have this one’

It is based on the MAC address (hardware physical ID) of the network adapter, every network adapter on the planet has a UNIQUE MAC address.

Your computer detects ‘link’ (plugged in, has voltage) and windows realizes it needs an IP and starts asking out that adapter. 

The first DHCP server to reply (there become problems with more than one unless a very special circumstance) will hand out the address

In a home network, the wireless router hands your computer an address, and Comcast/ISP hands your ROUTER an address.  both of these have to work before you can get online. 

 

What we see when your computer can plug in directly, but the wireless router won't get you online:

 

1.       Laptop network adapter has mac 000000001 for example, it connects to Comcast, says: ‘hi, I’m 0000000001, can I have an IP?’

2.       Comcast says: ‘hi 00000000001, sure, you are: 171.10.90.55, and you can have that for 5 days, then check back’

3.       Computer is online

4.       You change to the wireless router, it says: ‘hi, I’m 010101011, can I have an ip?’

5.       Comcast thinks: they must be plugging in a SECOND device, they can’t have 2 ip’s – I’m not answering.

6.       We reboot devices, play around, etc – Comcast still thinks 2 devices are plugged in and only wants to answer to 000000001

7.       You plug in the network cable to the wireless router, and click ‘clone mac’ – this makes the ROUTER pretend to have the mac 00000001

8.       You plug the network cable back in to the Comcast modem and the ROUTER says: ‘hi, I’m 00000001, can I have an ip?’

9.       Comcast says: ‘hi again, you have one for 4.99 more days, it’s 171.10.90.55’

10.   You are online. 

11.   This all had to happen because the Comcast modem wasn’t smart enough to figure out you had unplugged the machine with MAC 00000001

 

Fun huh…

 

Here is a slideshow I found on DHCP - old and backs me up mostly

 

http://www.cisl.ucar.edu/nets/presentations/DHCP-in-SCD/sld001.htm

 

 

We are now offering Iphone screen repairs of all types - for now we want you to call ahead to schedule the repair but in coming weeks you'll be able to just drop by.  We have parts for all the Iphone 3g and Iphone 3gs screens, glass, digitizers, and LCD's. 

http://drpcfix.com/services/iphone-screen-repair

 They start at like $80 - check out the screen repair page for more details!  Tell your friends!  We are cheaper and faster than the Apple store..

 

Hello!  Android is great!  We've been using iPhones for a few years now, and really thought when the android phones started to come out they were never going to really make it.  (meaning, better than what Apple was doing with iPhones.)

Now that I've had my Nexus One for about a month I can report to everyone what I have learned.  This will come in multiple articles talking about a couple points each hopefully.

Lets get a major problem out of the way, if you are a Microsoft Exchange user the calendar doesn' sync with this phone.  I've setup a google calendar and have my desktop syncing those as a workaround, but this is a problem.

First, the basics.  Apps and Music are a big deal on the iphone, there are LOTS of apps, and it's easy to play music.  Well, the google app marketplace has not been out nearly as long, but so far I have to say I've found everything I wanted and more in the app store.

The apps are just a notch better.  The google maps does turn by turn navigation with your gps turned on.  The speach recognition gives you tips for things like "map of computer repair" and then it does it - and gets it right.  (if you've tried the google search using speach recognition on the iphone you know what I mean)  The browser seems to work as well, maybe better.  Youtube videos in pages show up, and play. 

You have a file manager where you can see the filesystem, you can download and unzip, you can email files off the file system, you can use google docs easier, you have more features that are 'computer-like'.

The apps integrate all the way down in the OS layers like google WANTS you to have fun.  For example, you install a browser and any browser type links ask which browser you want to use, you install a messenger and it'll ask if you want to use that vs. google talk, you install a SIP client (voip client) and it will ask you if you want to call your contacts using the phone,or the SIP phone.  They aren't trying to push you in any direction.  You can check the box to not ask again and move on with your day.

Background apps!  OMG.  Pandora can be minimized, this is coming to iphone, but not like the Android does it.. You can have an app called 'auto responder' that will txt someone back a customized message when you miss a call.  You can have an app that auto creates a contact when you are done talking to someone that isn't in your address book.  You can do MANY more things that Apple is blocking.

Music!  Very important.. I play Pandora and the ipod all the time on the iphone, pandora works BETTER, and the music system will set you free.  Go download doubletwist and you can pretend you have itunes, but without the chains.  You can use the Amazon music store (better.) and get MP3 files instead of proprietary locked files.  You can do WHAT YOU WANT to put it simply.

I can't tell if this is awesome, crazy, stupid, or other.  People are destroying iPads to get views.  What won't people do to get some attention?? 

Will it blend - actually pretty famous

Just watched nerdcore rising on netflix the other day, we actually knew a guy that worked at a local retailer that went and started rapping.. he has his music on a myspace page (forgot the link/name by now..) - but, my brother doing a Seattle Music Blog has got me in the spirit to share this - MC Front A Lot has put out a new album, and will be in Seattle May 8th 2010 at The High Dive - we'll be there!

I'm buying this album from the site to get the high quality version and support him :)  

The music is actually really cool if you like Hip Hop OR Pop.. Listen to a full track or samples here: http://frontalot.com/index.php/?page=cd

We've been open over a week now and had some good foot traffic - pretty exciting!  Check out a 30 second video from when we were about to open..

We are done giving away free repairs, we gave away 16 in 2 days - thanks everyone that came by!

Troy & The Team

Last Saturday (the 21st) I went to an arcade near work that specialized in BattleMech pods.  Inside each pod had a full set of controls for a ‘Mech and was well equipped to do just about anything you could do in the game “MechWarrior.” I spoke with uglyman, the owner and proprietor of the shop, who

New Russian botnet tries to kill rival

'Kill Zeus' removes rival software from PCs, giving Spy Eye access to usernames, passwords

There will be people struggling with this until everyone has Windows 7 or an Apple probably - but for those people trying to upgrade and buying software online, you might need to know how to burn an ISO to a cd/dvd so you can get your installation going. 

Here is how, in just a few easy steps: