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Do you have a need to frequently access folders and files on a laptop or other computer that is not turned on 24/7? If this is you, you’ll know that you usually have to turn on the laptop and wait for it to boot to a state that allows you to access the data. This could be as quick as two minutes or as long as 10 minutes, depending on the age of your hardware. Even worse, if your battery is low and no ac power is available to plug in the laptop you may have to wait even longer.

You don’t have to wait anymore, there is a solution to your data accessibility problems! You can copy those folders and files to a usb memory stick and, not only will you be able to access to the data from another computer, you will also have a “live” backup just in case something ever happens. On a small memory stick with a small amount of data it is possible to perform the data copy operations and keep the data synchronized manually. As your data grows however, the process will eventually become difficult to manage in an effective way. Just the need to answer “Yes” or “No” to every overwrite dialog could make a regular copy operation turn into a nightmare.

Fortunately, Microsoft provides a free tools called SyncToy which will help minimize the time it takes to keep files in sync between folder pairs on your laptop and thumb drive. Download SyncToy here: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=15155

You will need the proper download based on your existing operating system, your choices are x64 or x32 bit versions. To find out what version you need, click Start, right click on the computer icon, and select Properties. Half way down the page you’ll see the “System” Header, now find “System Type” and look to see if your system requires 32-bit or 64-bit software. Download and install SyncToy then run it, which will bring up the following screen:

To begin, you need to create a folder pair. This pair is how SyncToy manages keeping your files syncronized between the left and right folders. When you click on the Create Folder Pair button you start the process of joining the folder pairs. It is easiest if you browse to the location for each pair:

For this example we will use a “Test” folder with the “left” folder on the local hard drive and the “right” folder on a thumb drive. If a folder does not exist on the right folder destination, SyncToy allows you to create the folder as needed. Once you have folders set, you will be given a choice to Synchronize, Echo, or Contribute. For most applications you should Synchronize. You should carfully consider each option to get the best result. Here are the definitions of the options.

Synchronize: New and updated files are copied both ways. Renames and deletes on either side are repeated on the other.

Echo: New and updated files are copied left to right. Renames and deletes on the left are repeated on the right.

Contribute: New and updated files are copied left to right. Renames on the left are repeated on the right. No deletions.

Choose your Sync

Now name your pair. This should be a simple name, yet descriptive of the pair.

Name your pair

That is all there is to creating folder pairs:

The First Pair

The simpler you keep your pairs, the easier it will be to maintain them. Now you simply need to run the pair(s) as needed, or put them on a schedule, but that is a topic for a future blog post.

my PC Techs provides expert computer consultants to your Arizona business. Let us help your business save money and increase productivity. Call today (602) 456-0150 for a free consultation.

The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is now available to download, giving you the chance to try out the latest operating system from Microsoft. Whether you have a logo PC or you’ve built your own PC, the recommendations for the Consumer Preview include:

– 1 GHz or faster processor
– 1 GB RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
– 16 GB hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
– DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher

This setup gets you going with Windows 8 such that it is functionally equivalent to Windows 7, and as we have talked about previously, you should see measureable improvements in performance in a number of dimensions with a system at this level.

One new element to Windows 8 is the requirement that Metro style applications have a minimum of 1024×768 screen resolution, and 1366×768 for the snap feature. If you attempt to launch a Metro style app with less than this resolution (e.g. 800×600, 1024×600) you will receive an error message.

Since the software is in everyone’s hands now, we will follow up with a more detailed blog post where you can learn more about the work we did for scaling across multiple resolutions and why this is a requirement in order to make sure developers can easily build applications that scale well across resolutions. We chose to allow Windows 8 to install even when a system doesn’t meet this requirement because, even without Metro style applications, your Windows 7 workloads on these PCs will improve and you can benefit from all the other features of Windows 8, including enhancements to the desktop. We have made sure that Start and Settings all scale well on 800×600 resolution screens.

Visit the offical Windows 8 Consumer Preview download page for more details.

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For Immediate Release November 15, 2011

my PC Techs named ASPIRE Award Gold Prize winner by Ready-to-Go Marketing

For more information, press only:

Andre Morris, my PC Techs, (602) 456-0150, andre@mypctechs.com

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Many people still believe that the end date for Windows XP support occurs sometime towards the end of this year (2011). This is not the case.

Mainstream Microsoft support of Windows XP ended over two years ago in April of 2009; which means that we have been without Non-Security Hotfixes (see below), No-Charge Incident Support, Design Changes, Feature Requests or Warranty Claims for some time now. Additionally, in April of 2014, all extended support will end; including ALL Windows Updates and Paid Support.

When it comes to hotfixes the MSLP says that Microsoft will continue to release security hotfixes to keep customers safe throughout the Extended Support phase. However, in order to receive non-security hotfixes after the Mainstream Support End Date a contract called an Extended Hotfix Support Contract must be purchased within 90 days of the Mainstream Support End Date.

There is a ray of hope provided by Microsoft for products that have been phased out: the Retired Product Support Options page. The RPSO page lists about 10 options available for customers using retired products including Microsoft’s Gold Certified Partner program, TechNet, MSDN, and the Knowledge Base.

Additional information about the specifics of these programs can be found via the links below.
Retired Product Support Options
Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy by Product Family
Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy FAQ

If you have not already started planning to migrate your existing business systems away from Windows XP, now might be a great time to start. Prices are historically low on new computers, and my PC Techs is offering even greater discounts on the next technology upgrade for your business through our Dell partner discounts and affordable IT consulting services. Give us a call today if you would like to discuss your options to upgrade from Windows XP to Windows 7.

A recent project has me attempting to install Microsoft Project Server 2010 to a Windows Small Business Server 2008. SBS 2008 ships with SharePoint version 3.0, but Project Server calls for SharePoint 2010. Not only that, SharePoint 3.0 must be upgraded to Service Pack 2 before SharePoint 2010 can be installed.

I went to SharePoint Central Administration, went over to Operations, Clicked on Servers in the Farm and pulled the existing version number: 12.0.0.6535.

Then I ran across this useful link: http://www.sharepointdesignerstepbystep.com/Blog/Articles/How%20To%20find%20the%20SharePoint%20version.aspx. This allows you to match your existing Sharepoint version number with the Service Pack and Version. In this case, I am already running version 3.0, Service Pack 2.

With that done, I can follow the official guide to migrate from Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 to Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 on a server running Windows Small Business Server 2008.

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