Peanuts to Profits With Thor Schrock
Peanuts to Profits With Thor Schrock

A few weeks ago I posted about a special offer we put together to help get Vista’s Service Pack 2 safely installed on computers before it is force-fed to our customers via automatic update on June 30th. The response was pretty good, and we were turning around most of the installs (even the problem children) in less than a day.

We cut a new commercial that is running on local Lincoln television to promote the offer as well. Take a look:

All About Vista

This week our show focused heavily on the the latest Vista service pack update. The update was originally scheduled to be pushed via automatic update on June 30, however Microsoft has been making it available on Windows Update now.

If the install is popping up on your computer, you need to install it ASAP. We recommend you bring your computer to Schrock Innovations for our $39.99 installation special. This way you can be assured the update has been installed correctly.

In the News

The latest virus hitting the internet is called Gumblar. This virus attacks websites you trust and infects your computer. An interesting fact is that 37% of the websites you trust actually infect your computer. The Gumblar virus is no exception. The best way to prevent this from happening to you is to stay up-to-date on your security software. As always, we recommend Norton 360.

The Key to Key Words

Have you ever searched for song lyrics or “free” stuff on the ‘net. The majority of us have and the likely hood of you getting a virus is great. Our suggestion, call your radio station and ask for the lyrics to the song and simply stop searching for free things. Here are the most dangerous search terms on the web.

There are, however, key word searches you can type in without worrying about getting a virus. These are phrases such as things about the economic crisis and health questions. Search away about the economy and that agonizing pain in the neck-you’re safe.

Before you get blind sided by a huge automatic update next week, you should know that Microsoft’s latest major update will not install on your computer without some additional preparation.

This morning Microsoft released Vista Service Pack 2 for manual download. It should start automatically downloading to your PC within the next 10 days. You need to prepare your computer for this BEFORE it happens.

If you do not do these things, your computer will not be able to successfully install Vista Service Pack 2.

BEFORE you allow Service Pack 2 to install you must do the following:

* Install Windows Vista Service Pack 1. You can’t install Service Pack 2 without first installing SP1. If you try, the installation will fail and could damage your Windows Vista installation.
* Install the Microsoft Servicing Stack Update. This is the most complicated Service Pack that Microsoft has ever released. For it to even install properly a patch has to be downloaded and installed first!
* Backup your data. If something goes wrong during the installation process, you don’t want to lose everything.

This is not unlike the upgrade program that was offered by many PC manufacturers to avoid the problem that always plagued OEM’s just before the release of Windows Vista. People tend to wait for the new OS rather than continuing to buy PCs as they normally would. The end result is an unnaturally slow quarter for manufacturers followed by a massive next quarter. The upgrade offer tends to smooth things out a bit.

It is important to note that manufacturers may choose to extend this offer back even further at their own expense to include users who purchased computers before July 1.

If you are trying to squeeze every ounce of speed from your Vista computer while you wait for Windows 7, there are a few tweaks you can use to get things moving a little more quickly.

Microsoft put a lot of thought and effort into reducing time required to boot Windows Vista by reworking its boot sequence. The result is an operating system that gets you to your desktop faster than ever so you can start working within seconds – not minutes – of pressing your power button.

Even though Vista is designed to boot faster than Windows XP, many of the same XP tweaks can be used to shave precious seconds off of Vista’s startup time while adding a little zip to its day-to day performance.

While Windows XP still has its place with portable computer users who appreciate its lightweight hardware requirements, consumers buying a standard tower desktop system should insist on Windows Vista.

If you are in the same boat and need your Dell Inspiron 1721 and want to run Windows Vista instead of Windows XP, here are some of the drivers you will need to get the job done.

Word of that success made its way from Nebraska all the way to Pennsylvania where a Vista-strapped Dell Inspiron 1721 longed to run Windows X instead. The owner of that notebook decided to ship it all the way to Nebraska to have our technicians take a crack at migrating it back to Windows XP, even though Dell would not provide XP drivers for the unit.

Each time Microsoft releases a “bigger and better” operating system, it seems that someones favorite program is obsoleted because it is not compatible with the latest version of Windows. While Microsoft’s efforts at improving the compatibility mode settings in Windows Vista will help programs, many others will simply not work with Windows Vista.

A new Wiki posted on www.iexbeta.com lists a number programs that work well with Windows Vista. However more importantly, it also lists programs that have minor issues with Vista, or that are completely incompatible. I have compiled a short list of some of the more popular programs that appeared on their list here. Is your favorite program Vista compatible?

We have been on a quest for the past two months to find firm pricing numbers on Window Vista that has lead us to Microsoft conferences, channel partner phone calls, and countless blogs. Ironically enough, the answer came today on Amazon.com.

After numerous delays that pushed the retail availability of Windows Vista back beyond Christmas, Microsoft has set a firm release date of January 30, 2007.

Amazon had a list of 16 different ways you could purchase Windows Vista, based mostly for the 6 different full and upgrade versions of the operating system. Here’s are the basic prices for those of you who plan on being in line when stores open on the 30th.