DieselTekk.co.uk

DieselTekk is now an archive - long live MyEarBooks

2011-12-07T14:34:00.001Z

This site and it's content will no longer be updated (as you may have gathered) since I am now too busy with other activities. DieselTekk has been a joy, however as my priorities have changed a great deal over the past couple of years I can no longer contribute towards this site. It's content will remain for the next year, after which it shall be removed. These days my blogging efforts can be

Windows 8 - New features & REAL video released!

2011-06-02T12:17:00.001+01:00

There has been a great deal of speculation since the launch of Windows 7 as to what Microsoft will be doing with their next operating system and today some real information has come from Microsoft, with video footage, regarding the new GUI interface which has been designed with tablet and touch computers in mind.Windows 8 takes the same 'tiles' form as Windows Phone 7, a rather intuitive

#Apple to Replace Tabletop Product Signage With #iPads - Seriously?

2011-05-23T15:25:00.001+01:00

So according to this article on Mac Format's blog, Apple have decided that normal traditional tabletop signs (indicating features, prices etc) are not good enough and as such replaced them with iPads running a custom app. Are these guys serious? While some of us sit around looking at the iPad, lusting and trying hard to justify purchasing one, Apple are using the damned things to display a

Monolingual for Mac - Removes Unused Language Packs to Save Space

2011-05-21T13:41:00.001+01:00

Monolingual is a free application for Mac OS X which promises to remove unused language files, keyboard layouts and architectures from your hard disk drive in order to reclaim storage space. I came across this app on Sourceforge and liked the idea of reclaiming a few hundred megabytes. Running the app is simple; just tick the boxes against the languages, keyboard layouts and architectures that

iPhone 5 Prediction and Speculation

2011-05-20T11:58:00.001+01:00

iPhones are the hot topic everywhere, all of the time. I love my iPhone 3GS (8GB) and I would love to get hold of an iPhone 4 but alas saving for my wedding is far more important (says my fiance!). However no blog about technology would be holding it's head above water without at least one article about this upcoming new release from Apple. The iPhone 5, (which could also be the branded as the

MarsEdit for Mac OS X [an in-testing review] First Impressions

2011-05-19T14:00:00.001+01:00

I am not keen on paying for software, in fact my company is founded on the belief that the best computing experience for the average user is based on the least expense possible. Most people do not require paid for software, which is why when it comes to blogging I recommend all my customer's use Microsoft's very FREE Windows Live! Writer, which i have mentioned many times on this blog before and

How To: Disassemble the 2TB USB Samsung Story Station External Hard Drive - Photo Guide

2011-05-04T12:41:00.005+01:00

There are many reasons you may want or need to take apart your Samsung Story drive; maybe the drive has failed and you wish to use the caddy for another disk, or maybe the caddy has failed and you intend to use the Samsung Spinpoint HDD inside in another caddy or PC – either way it may not seem at all obvious how to break the device down so I have prepared this guide. Click images for larger view

#iOS #AppStore lacks blogging apps!

2011-05-02T01:00:00.001+01:00

I mentioned in a previous article that one of the reasons I continue to use Windows as well as OS X is that I prefer to write bog posts using Microsoft's excellent (and free) Windows Live! Writer which is arguably the most highly regarded piece of software used by bloggers for creating content. So just a short while ago I took a look on the iOS AppStore to see what blogger friendly apps were

#NowPlaying - Complete with #Hashtags @NCBRadio

2011-04-30T12:33:00.000+01:00

For those interested I have decided that from this point on I shall be formatting my post titles so that they are more useful within the Twitterverse. That possibly means '@'s and #hashtags all over the place but it should help with advertising my posts within that medium. Anyway, moving along I wanted to make mention of my new daily listening habits.It used to be that I would listen to music on

Why I am less inclined to use Facebook

2011-04-28T14:23:00.000+01:00

Facebook has many advantages for it's users. Facebook makes it easy to find friends old and new, it makes it easy to communicate and see what is going on in the lives of your connections. Games, chat, private messaging, photo and link sharing, forums...they're all there in on place. Facebook. People can pretty much live out their entire social life online; from one website alone. Facebook.

Apple's Location data-mining: My View

2011-04-27T14:31:00.000+01:00

There has been a great deal of who-ha of late regarding the location data that the iPhone generates and backs up to iTunes whenever the iPhone is synchronised. Many have commented on this issue, banging on about how Apple are collecting this information and the use of this data that they may have. Well Apple have responded and in that response they claim that the data they collect cannot

An Apple fan I have become, but...

2011-04-27T13:32:00.000+01:00

I own a 2007 white Macbook 13" rocking OS X Snow Leopord, with an upgraded (now 500GB) hard disk drive and upgraded (now 4GB) RAM. I own an iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch and an iPod Mini (retro nowadays). I crave an 11" Macbook Air, I lust for for iMac with a massive screen, I am seriously considering a purchase of Time Capsule for it's effortless backup and restoration functions. I recently bought a

DieselTekk Giveaway-athon–2 more Spotify Invites!

2010-11-06T12:03:00.001Z

I have another two invites to give out for the most excellent music streaming service ever, Spotify! This is for the FULL FREE account, not the crappy 20 hours-a-month limited nonsense! For more info, and to get your FREE Spotify invitation - follow the instructions on my previous article – 3 Spotify Invitation Codes Up For Grabs! Spotify is available for Windows, Mac and even Linux, as well

Yet Another THREE Spotify Invites To Giveaway!

2010-10-15T13:10:00.001+01:00

That’s right, as is now my monthly giveaway, I have yet another three invites to give out for the most excellent music streaming service ever, Spotify! Remember this is for the FULL FREE account, not the crappy 20 hours-a-month limited nonsense! For more info, and to get your FREE Spotify invitation - follow the instructions on my previous article – 3 Spotify Invitation Codes Up For Grabs!

#Acronym Buster – HDD

2010-09-22T09:00:00.000+01:00

HDD stands for Hard Disk Drive which is the main storage medium in most computers (some computers use flash memory, and others may run the operating system from a CD or DVD). Windows, programs (such as Office, iTunes etc) and files and documents (music, video, pictures and so forth) are all stored and retrieved from the HDD.

#Acronym Buster - RAM

2010-09-21T09:00:00.000+01:00

The acronym RAM stands for Random Access Memory which is the most common computer memory which can be used by programs to perform necessary tasks while the computer is on; an integrated circuit memory chip allows information to be stored or accessed in any order and all storage locations are equally accessible. Running programs (what you see on screen) are run from within RAM enabling them to

#Acronym Buster - VGA

2010-09-20T12:44:00.001+01:00

The acronym VGA means Video Graphics Array and is a display system developed and introduced by IBM in 1987. VGA has become a standard for graphical output to monitors from computer systems. The VGA port on a computer can be identified my it’s rough ‘D’ shape and its 15 pin holes. This is the ‘female’ part of the VGA connection into which plugs the ‘male’ cable, the plug of which carries the same

#Acronym Buster – CPU

2010-09-19T09:00:00.000+01:00

The CPU means Central Processing Unit is the part of a computer that interprets & carries out instructions provided by the software. It tests & manipulates data & transfers information to & from other components, such as the RAM, HDD, monitor & keyboard. The central processing units of personal computers are generally implemented on a single chip called a microprocessor. The most common modern

In reply to OllieColeshill.co.uk – E Safety

2010-09-18T11:52:00.001+01:00

I spotted an article at OllieColeshill.co.uk today entitles E Safety and it got me thinking. A few years ago, my son who had his own (shared with his younger brother) email address had signed up to a few of the children's internet gaming networks, such as Club Penguin et al. His Mother and I would occasionally check his email inbox for any nastiest such as ad’s for Viagra and explicit XXX

2 more Spotify invites up for grabs!

2010-09-13T09:27:00.001+01:00

That's right, I have two more Spotify invites to give away to the first couple of people who sign up for and activate a new Dropbox account. I am running this giveaway exactly the same was as I did when I gave away 3 Spotify Invites, so follow the instructions below. Click this ‘Dropbox.com’ link & sign up for a FREE account. Download the Dropbox client and install. Drop a file in your Dropbox,

Use Dropbox as your Documents folder!

2010-09-09T15:40:00.001+01:00

Continuing this mini-series on Dropbox, the fantastic little cloud storage/file sync tool, today you will learn how to simply relocate your Documents folder in Windows to your Dropbox, thus making all of your documents available from anywhere you have an internet connection! I use this method at Evolve to keep all of my work computers files in sync, and available for editing at home, and it works

Dropbox: How to place Dropbox in the Windows 7 Start Menu (with images)

2010-09-06T18:00:00.002+01:00

There are many uses for Dropbox, the fantastic free online storage service the allows you to easily upload and share files to the ‘cloud’ as well as providing an ideal means for backup and emergency data retrieval. Here I show you how to add your Dropbox folder as a place in the Windows 7 Start Menu beneath your other document folder shortcuts, providing easy and fast access to your online

Important Questions To Ask A Computer Repair Service

2010-09-02T12:00:00.001+01:00

As a computer repair business owner it is important to me to be able to give my customers clear guidance and advice regarding my services when they bring in a computer to be repaired. This can sometimes be difficult as customers rarely ask the right questions, but often ask the wrong ones, or get emotional… both of which make it difficult for me to give the information I really need to get

3 Spotify Invitation Codes Up For Grabs!

2010-08-26T10:16:00.001+01:00

I have 3 Spotify invitation codes up for grabs. These invites are NOT for Spotify Open, which limits you to just 20 hours of ad supported listening, but is for the ‘by invite only’ Spotify, which although still ad supported, has NO LISTENING RESTRICTIONS but does allow users to share songs and playlists to Facebook and Twitter as well as among other Spotify users. So, how to get the invite code?

Netbook Wallpaper Collection: DarkSide

2010-08-22T21:35:00.001+01:00

Here is another collection of wallpapers perfect for the small screen of a netbook computer. All the images below are at a resolution of 1024x600, the standard screen resolution of small netbook computers. Click the images to be taken to the full size wallpaper! Apologies for not adding acknowledgements. If you find an image here that you own, please contact me. You can find

Zotac ZBOX HD-AD01 Un-boxing Gallery

2010-08-17T15:42:00.001+01:00

When I received the Zotac ZBOX HD-AD01 I was sure that a mistake had been made, since the package was tiny, however I was not disappointed! The ZBOX comes very well packaged, and exudes quality. Below is a gallery of photographs taken with my HTC Hero Android mobile phone (hence the poor image quality – sorry about that).

Using Ninite Makes Installing Your Favourite App’s Simple On A Windows Fresh Install Easy

2010-08-16T18:54:00.001+01:00

Ninite.com provides a fantastic and simple method to install many of your favourite Windows applications on a fresh Windows installation. Simply head on over to www.ninite.com and click on the items you wish to install (see image below) When you have made your selections, click the green link “Get Installer” in the lower right hand side of the screen. You will be led to a new page where your

Ubuntu Media PC with Boxee

2010-08-11T10:09:00.001+01:00

I have recently ordered all the parts I need to build a new Digital Media PC (or DMPC). This varies from the usual Home Theatre PC (HTPC) in that it intentionally will have no optical drive for playing CD, DVD or Blu-ray discs. I intend to install Ubuntu 10.04 on this DMPC, then strip it back to the bare essentials; removing standard packages such as OpenOffice, games and so forth – all that

Site changes coming

2010-08-02T16:07:00.001+01:00

As frequent visitors will definitely have noticed, and as occasional visitors may have noticed, DieselTekk has not been updated for sometime, despite many promises that it will be. Well, there is a reason for this, and it is for you, the reader, to decide whether my reasons are good or not. I have recently started my own retail business, Evolve. A computer retail and repair shop in my local town

The Never Ending Spotify Playlist

2010-02-14T13:21:00.003Z

You are invited to contribute to what could easily become the biggest ever Spotify playlist! Today I had an idea, wouldn’t it be great if the whole world could contribute to a playlist on Spotify, that everyone could listen to? So I had a little look into how Spotify could help, and funnily enough, Spotify already has a Collaborative Playlist feature, whereby you may create a playlist

CnM miniBook redux PART 2 – miniBook Games

2010-02-06T08:30:00.001Z

In the second article of this Redux series we revisit the CnM’s linux-wonder-machine, the miniBook and look at the games available. You can read PART 1 – Online Video here and the original CnM Lifestyle miniBook 7” review here. The CnM miniBook is surprisingly well covered in the games area, the CnM website lists no less than 9 games at the time this article was written, which given it’s

GetXboxCodes.com – Cheap Xbox Live! and Microsoft Points

2010-02-05T08:30:00.001Z

Buying Xbox Live! vouchers to enable online play with the Xbox 360 is difficult without a credit card. I don’t have a credit card, nor do I have any interest or need to own one, and my debit card isn’t accepted as valid payment when purchasing Xbox Live! subscriptions. Also, I don’t want to pay the prices in the shops, so I went searching online and came across GetXboxCodes.com where I can buy

CnM miniBook redux PART 1 – Online Video

2010-01-26T18:57:00.000Z

In this article we revisit the CnM’s linux-wonder-machine, the miniBook and find out how to view online streaming video from YouTube etc. You may remember one of my earliest articles on this site; Review – CnM Lifestyle miniBOOK 7”; well it’s proved to be the most searched article on this site, and also has received the greatest number of comments. Therefore I thought it about time to take

Personal Security Spyware Removal Instructions

2010-01-26T12:07:00.002Z

How to remove Personal Security virus/spyware from your Windows PC Since returning to work after the new year, I have encountered over 30 Windows PC’s infected with the very same malware, known (un)popularly as Personal Security aka Personal Antivirus, Cyber Security and other such titles. Personal Security is a rogue anti-spyware. This program is advertised through the use of Trojans that

Jolicloud is Bad

2009-12-19T09:38:00.001Z

Jolicloud “…so bad you can’t use it” I was looking at the homepage of Jolicloud, the latest Linux operating system aimed squarely at the netbook market, and the closest offering to the eagerly anticipated Google Chrome OS currently out in the web. This is what I found, which made me chuckle (click image for larger size in new window) I plan on posting my thoughts on Jolicloud at some point

41 Netbook Wallpaper’s Collection

2009-12-17T12:23:00.002Z

1024x600 wallpapers for your netbook computer. UPDATE: CLICK HERE FOR ANOTHER NETBOOK WALLPAPER COLLECTION 'DARKSIDE' Mini laptops, or netbooks are the fastest growing area of computer sales at the moment. These low power, low cost devices are surprisingly useful, and come with full editions of Windows XP or Windows 7, and are open for many other operating systems also. My own Acer Aspire

Spotify vs. Last.FM

2009-12-15T11:19:00.001Z

Which do you prefer? Spotify has a massive library and support from lots of major labels. As a user I am often easily able to find and play music that, firstly, I have had trouble finding elsewhere, and secondly, I have never heard of. Spotify highlights several albums on the main screen that I have never seen or heard before, and encourages me to listen to music, which I like. I hate being

Review - Acer Aspire D250

2009-12-04T10:01:00.002Z

How does the replacement for my Aspire One compare? [Images for this article coming soon…]You may or may not be aware that some months ago I damaged my first Aspire One netbook, snapping the screen from the rest of the body, thus killing it completely (follow me on Twitter to stay appraised of these events!). It’s been sometime but now I have a new netbook, the Aspire D250, a 10.1” screened

Watch This Space!

2009-12-01T11:01:00.001Z

Lot’s of netbook, Windows 7 and other fun news to come! I have been away from blogging for quite a while, I am sorry to say, but due to having a new job to settle in to, and a new home to move in to, I have just not had time to update this site over the last few months, however that is all about to change. Just to give you the heads up on what to expect, here is a preview of some of the

Games For Windows Netbooks Part One – Audiosurf

2009-06-10T08:00:00.000+01:00

Netbooks are kicking up a storm these days, they’re given away with mobile broadband and mobile phone contracts left, right and centre, you can pick them up for as little as £149 (CnM miniBook) and every major, and not so major PC manufacturer seem to have at

Microsoft Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2) Now Available

2009-05-27T10:50:00.001+01:00

Microsoft makes Service Pack 2 for Windows Vista available for download – links below! The update does not provide any performance increase, but does however roll-up all patches since SP1. So, if you are planning to reinstall Vista on your PC or notebook it would be a good idea to go along and grab this latest Service Pack, as well as Service Pack 1 and store them on a flash drive, then, once

The Dirty PC

2009-05-23T11:30:00.001+01:00

I was recently called to a customer’s premises to take a look at their PC which reportedly “crashed a lot”. Well, when I got their, I was told that the machine hadn’t been switched on for a few months, and upon tapping the power switch I found that the PC did not work at all. I took the PC away to work on at home, and upon opening the side panel, I found out why this PC wasn’t working. Here

Playmesh Games – iMafia, Ninja’s, RaceWars, Vampires and Star Command

2009-05-18T14:46:00.002+01:00

First up, I’d like to explain why there hasn’t been any new articles here for quite some time. Simply put, I moved house and it’s taken a while to get my internet connection up and running again. Sorry about that. UPDATE – 17/06/09A new forum to discuss Playmesh games has just opened up! Visit PLAYMESH FANS now! Playmesh produce a series of small and highly addictive games for the iPhone and

OZL#ONE LAN Party – 3 months to go!

2009-04-02T19:22:00.001+01:00

St Austell’s new resident LAN Party organiser, SanOzzelLAN is due to open the doors to it’s first LAN Party in July and I can’t wait! It’s no secret that I am SanOzzelLAN’s Team Leader, and that I am also sponsoring OZL#ONE, a 24 hour PC gaming event through DieselTekk and am offering a couple of prizes, my Optimise I.T. service and a Free PC Clean & Tidy as prizes for a couple of the events.

Announcing the SanOzzelLAN.co.uk LAN Party

2009-03-26T11:58:00.001Z

St Austell’s new LAN Party group’s website and forums open their doors! I have been working on a new project of late, SanOzzelLAN.co.uk, in conjunction with an old friend, Terry aka Cubedout (I don’t know what this handle means, but I’m sure it means something to him at least!). SanOzzelLAN.co.uk is the website for our new LAN Party group, and we plan to hold our first event at the beginning

Join the PC News & Tips Blog Portal

2009-03-20T15:04:00.001Z

Community Aggregators, also know as blog aggregators or Blog Portals are a portal-like web app that displays blog articles from a group of closely related but separately hosted blogs and provides newsfeeds so that readers may subscribe to the group as a whole. Blog Portals are also a great way to receive targeted traffic. So please, jump on board and have your blog included in the PC News &

I could have killed my gaming PC!

2009-03-20T00:21:00.001Z

Its been quite some time, a matter of several months in fact, since my gaming PC started having problems; it crashing to a blank screen whenever I played a 3D intensive game. Not really the sort of problem you would expect from a PC running an Nvidia GTX280 graphics card! I haven’t been too fussed about it though, since I haven’t had a great deal of time to spend on gaming lately, and as such I

Free Windows 7 Themes For Netbooks – Part 5

2009-03-19T12:16:00.002Z

This is the fifth instalment of the ongoing series of free themes for Windows 7 netbooks. For the first four parts of the series, click below Part One Part Two Part Three Part Four Click an image to download Red World Ubuntu We Only Want The OS Don’t forget to leave a comment if you’ve enjoyed this article! Or maybe you’d like to share it? Use the icon’s below.

Looking For Linux, Finding Nothing Here

2009-03-18T12:39:00.002Z

I have just been having a look around the web for some information on Linux, nothing in particular, I guess I was just a little bored. I was surfing the blogs and came across Another Day Wasted by accident, and noticed the header which displayed a nice little avatar of Tux, the Linux penguin, and the faded background of Linux and some commands. Showing promise, I started looking through the

Free Windows 7 Themes For Netbooks – Part 4

2009-03-18T09:47:00.001Z

This is the forth instalment of the ongoing series of free themes for Windows 7 netbooks. For the first three parts of the series, click below Part One Part Two Part Three Click an image to download Cubes Grey Sky Jellyfish Leaves Don’t forget to leave a comment if you’ve enjoyed this article! Or maybe you’d like to share it? Use the icon’s below.

More on Audiobooks

2009-03-18T08:15:00.000Z

Looking around a few of my favourite blogs last night, I came across an article on Justin Germino’s site from back in December, entitled Audiobooks Are One Of My Favorite Hobbies. It was interesting to read Justin’s article, because he seems to be in very much the same boat as myself, in that he has a very busy life thanks to the responsibilities of children, work and blogging. Like Justin, I

Free Windows 7 Themes For Netbooks – Part 3

2009-03-17T08:46:00.001Z

This is the third instalment of the ongoing series of free themes for Windows 7 netbooks. For the first two parts of the series, click below Part One Part Two Click an image to download Broken Glass Butterflies Cactus Cartoon World Don’t forget to leave a comment if you’ve enjoyed this article! Or maybe you’d like to share it? Use the icon’s below.

Free Windows 7 Themes For Netbooks – Part 2

2009-03-16T18:51:00.001Z

Continuing the series, here is part 2 of my Free Windows 7 Themes For Netbooks collection. There are still many more to come, so check back often for the next part of the series. Part 1 Here Click the images to download A Cloud Balloon Birdhouses Birds On A Wire If you have enjoyed this article, please leave a comment. Also, don’t be afraid to share this post

Free Windows 7 Themes for Netbooks – Part 1

2009-03-16T11:00:00.001Z

I have created a bunch of Windows 7 themes on my Acer Aspire One netbook and am making them available here for you to download and enjoy. I have not tested these on any other PC and therefore cannot say how good they will look on screens wither a resolution greater than 1024x600, however, as all the wallpapers used in the themes are of 1024x600 resolution I don’t expect they would look

Free DieselTekk Desktop Wallpaper

2009-03-16T10:30:00.000Z

You can now get a free DieselTekk desktop wallpaper for your computer! This clean, multi-shaded, blue wallpaper will not obscure icons on your desktop and will not distract you either, plus you get a helpful little reminder of the DieselTekk URL in the bottom right hand corner – here is how it looks on my Acer Aspire One’s desktop! Download – Click the resolution that suits your monitor

Pornography! How Do You Detect It?

2009-03-13T01:12:00.001Z

Today I was contacted by an old workmate through Facebook, we had a quick chat and that was it. I then got to thinking about him, and remembered how one day while he was away from his desk, a series of pornographic images were displayed on his work laptop’s screen. He obviously got into a great deal of trouble for this, but his reason was sincere. He had saved some images from the internet on

Holodomor

2009-03-12T16:03:00.000Z

I’ll be clear on this right from the outset – this is in no way tekk related, nor is it the kind of article you would expect to find on this site. I was just perusing the internet and came across a topic that has never caught my attention before, since world issues are not something that I can profess to having a great deal of interest in, after all, I have more than enough issues at home,

Where Can I Find A Good Source Of Information About File Extensions?

2009-03-12T15:02:00.001Z

It’s happened to me on many occasions, and recently to a client of mine. Files that reside on your computer’s hard disk drive consist of two parts. The file name itself, often one that you have given when saving the file, and a second part, separated form the filename by a period ( . ) consisting of three letters called the file extension. It is this part that determines the type of file,

Windows 7 (and Vista) on the Netbooks – Set Up For Best Display

2009-03-06T09:00:00.001Z

Windows 7 looks great. I don’t think anyone has disputed that, and if they have, then I can’t agree with them. However, just like Vista, it is not without it’s faults when it comes to low resolution screens, such as that found on a netbook such as the Acer Aspire One, upon which I have it installed. The larger taskbar looks great, and works even better when docked to the left hand side of the

Sorry Readers

2009-03-06T09:00:00.000Z

I have still not had a chance to take a look at the Quake Live Beta yet, I haven’t been feeling too well these past couple of days, nor have my children. Plus I've been working on a new blogging project call The Anything Review, where you can have anything you like reviewed for a small fee. At the moment though, if you are one of the first 10 to request a review, you will get it for the grand

100th Article! - Trying Out Quake Live Beta (and a shout to Hawk12Online)

2009-03-03T09:30:00.001Z

One of the people I follow on Twitter, @xwheelsx posted that he was trying out the new Quake Live beta, a browser based game based on the Quake series by id Software. I wasn’t aware that it had gone live yet, so tonight I plan to give it a go. The video introduction gives the impression that it is similar to Unreal Tournament, the game that got me going on PC gaming. If so, it should be

ThePirateBay.org’s Ship Is Sinking! - Updated

2009-03-02T22:09:00.000Z

ThePirateBay is down, the ship is sinking. Apparently due to a Denial Of Service (DoS) attack, and as reported at Sys-Con Media it could also be a hijacked botnet causing all of the fuss! Fun Fun Fun! So, it appears that everyone’s favourite filesharing ship is sinking! UPDATE 03/03/2009 I checked this morning and ThePirateBay seems to be back online, I guess it didn’t last too long

How To: Disassemble a LaCie Little Disk – Photo Guide

2009-02-28T15:00:00.003Z

While looking for a disassembly guide for the LaCie Little Disk 320GB so that I could use the SATA hard drive within to replace the faulty and failed hard drive in my Acer Aspire One netbook, I read many reports that it was very difficult and gave up trying to find a guide.Instead I decided to look at it logically, and found it to be very simple. Here is how to disassemble the LaCie Little Disk

The Death of Two Acer Aspire One’s

2009-02-28T09:00:00.000Z

Yesterday I was working away on my netbook, an Acer Aspire One when suddenly I heard the hard drive spin up to a volume I've not heard it at before, then as quickly as it happened, it spun down and then ‘clunked’. The screen went blank and there was nothing happening at all. I tried rebooting, but knew it would get nowhere, and it didn’t. I decided to remove the hard drive and place it in an

Transferring Files Over WiFi

2009-02-25T12:00:00.000Z

In a previous article I describe how you could use Microsoft SyncToy 2.0 to backup and transfer your files to an external hard disk drive. I use the same method to backup and synchronise files between my Acer Aspire One netbook and my gaming PC. My iTunes Library and Music is synchronised so that both machines show the same play count, song ratings and playlists etc. I synchronise my Outlook

How I’ve Managed Without Broadband At Home

2009-02-24T09:00:00.000Z

As I have detailed in previous articles of late, I have been temporarily without an internet connection at home for the last couple of months. Keeping this, and my other blog (Our5Kids), up to date has been difficult. As such I decided to instead concentrate my efforts on DieselTekk and allow Our5Kids to fall by the wayside – something I feel incredibly guilty over since Our5Kids keeps many

Vista’s Defrag is SLOW… Let’s speed it up a little

2009-02-23T09:00:00.000Z

It’s no secret among those who have upgraded from Windows XP to Vista that Defrag (the process of reorganising the file structure on a hard disk drive) has slowed down somewhat with Microsoft’s latest OS release (discounting Windows 7 – which has not yet officially launched at this time). It operates on an almost continual basis, defragmenting the hard drive on a regular schedule, which can

The Trouble With BT… again! - UPDATED

2009-02-20T12:00:00.000Z

I’ve discussed previously how bad service from BT seems to be in my opinion, and that is just one more entry in the catalogue of problems British Telecom has caused me in the past, not to mention the problems faced by others throughout the UK. One of my customers who runs a takeaway business in town came to me with a problem he was having with his new broadband equipment; a BT Business Broadband

The Trouble With Broadband

2009-02-18T14:51:00.000Z

BT are rubbish, Sky are better! After a two month battle with British Telecom I have finally managed to get my telephone line reconnected. However, I then found an additional problem in that Sky, who supply my broadband internet connection had been cancelled due to inactivity! I spent a couple of hours yesterday on the phone to the cheerful people at Sky who initially told me that they

How Can I Disable “Send Feedback” In Windows 7 Beta?

2009-02-13T14:17:00.001Z

The Send Feedback link at the top of the windows in the Windows 7 Beta are really annoying. Why? Because the link is placed right next to the minimise/maximise/close buttons and is easily clicked by accident. I have actually sent feedback to Microsoft about this ill-placement of the Send Feedback link, but have not yet received a reply, and to be honest, I doubt I ever will. I had a hunt

How Can I Disable “Send Feedback” In Windows 7 Beta?

2009-02-13T14:17:00.000Z

This Month’s Top EC Dropper

2009-02-06T12:40:00.001Z

Congratulations to this months Top EC Dropper, Internet Marketing & WebSite Tools! This site is now listed in the blogroll in the footer of this site. Want to get on the blogroll? Click here for more information.

1000+ EC Credits To Be Won!

2009-02-06T12:28:00.001Z

Just a quick reminder… I have more than 1000 Entrecard credits to be won in a little competition I’m running. Click here for more details There are currently 1433 credits to be won, with this number going up and up daily, however so far nobody has entered the competition! You only have until the end of this month to get you entries in, so snap to it!

DieselTekk Services – Optimise IT

2009-02-05T13:21:00.001Z

Since I was smacked with the redundancy stick last Friday I have had to take a look at how I am going to keep my family with food in their stomachs. So, after years of learning and gaining experience I am now offering my knowledge and time to people in my local area in need of help with their computer systems. Yesterday I walked around dropping 100 leaflets through the doors of homes in my

2TB Hard Drive? Thank You Western Digital

2009-01-28T13:55:00.001Z

Four 500GB Platters, an aerial density of 400GB per square inch, that’s some achievement! Just a few short years ago, I found myself wondering how I could afford a new 500GB hard drive. I knew I could fill it easily with all my documents, especially my burgeoning MP3 and video collection. I did fill it, within just a few months of installing it, the 500GB drive was running short of space.

Competition – Win 1000+ EntreCard Credits!

2009-01-24T12:00:00.000Z

Lately I haven’t been spending the EC (Credits) I earn through EntreCard. I don’t know why really, I guess I just haven’t really had the time. Also, DieselTekk has in the last month or so really be taking off on the back of articles alone. Anyhow, because I haven’t been spending any EC I have a fair amount in the bank. So, I am giving away at least 1000 EntreCard Credits at the end of next

GeIL’s New EVO Cyclone RAM Cooler – It’s Got Lights & Stuff!

2009-01-23T14:00:00.000Z

GeIL have jumped on the bandwagon of fans that spin while producing little messages with LED’s, seemingly in mid-air. Promising to deliver a reduction in RAM temperatures by 12.5°C, this new EVO Cyclone RAM cooler could be just the thing for those of us who haven’t opted to cool our system memory with water, and let’s face it, not everyone wants to do that…. I know I don’t! GeIL says that the

Competition Coming Soon!

2009-01-23T12:00:00.001Z

In the next day or two I will be announcing a new competition here on DieselTekk where you could win 1000 EntreCard Credits. The rules of entry will be simple, and the competition will run until the end of February. It seems I have built up a small backlog of EC credits, and I want to pass these on to you. Keep your eyes peeled, the competition will start soon! In the meantime feel free to

Top Tips – Another New Windows 7 Feature

2009-01-23T12:00:00.000Z

Over the last few days I have given a few tips for using the new Windows 7 Beta that I have come across in daily use. This morning I accidentally discovered another one, which upon review I found was also included in Tim Sneath’s excellent “The Bumper List Of Windows 7 Secrets”, and that is a new quick method of opening another instance of a running program via a quick keyboard shortcut.

Top Tips – The Windows 7 Top Five

2009-01-22T12:00:00.000Z

In this article I have created a list of my five favourite Windows 7 features. This is a list that I have compiled through using Windows 7 since the preview Build 6801 through to the current Beta on my netbook computer, an Acer Aspire One. This list is in no particular order, so please don’t think that I consider number 1 to be the absolute best feature of Windows 7, it is just one of the 10!

Free Audiobooks From Podiobooks.com

2009-01-21T14:00:00.000Z

For quite some time now I've subscribed through iTunes to various podcasts. These have mostly been technology and software related. After a few months I noticed that a great many of the podcasts I listen to regurgitate the same news over and over again, so there was no need for me to be listening to more than half a dozen. As such I unsubscribed from a few. So then I found that I was a bit

Top Tips – How Can I Get The Vista Taskbar Back In Windows 7?

2009-01-21T12:00:00.000Z

The new Windows 7 SuperBar is really quite useful, and i think it adds to my productivity, however there will undoubtedly be many users of Microsoft’s latest and greatest OS that hate the SuperBar and would prefer the taskbar from they know and love from Vista to be restored. Fear not. This is possible. Step One – Open Taskbar Properties Right click on a blank area of the taskbar (where

Windows 7 – Libraries Rant

2009-01-20T12:00:00.000Z

As you may have gathered from previous articles that I have written regarding Windows 7, on the whole I quite like Microsoft’s new operating system. However, it is not without it’s issues. When Vista was released a couple of years ago, it was met with all sorts of opposition, and it is still complained about today. Buyers looking for new PC’s are still turning down many available models

Top Tips – How Do You Minimise Windows Live Messenger To The System Tray In Windows 7?

2009-01-19T12:00:00.000Z

The new Windows 7 taskbar aka SuperBar is one of the biggest new features of Windows 7, however it does come with a problem or two. One of the problems I have found is that it changes the way Messenger is minimised. Under Windows XP, and then Vista, Messenger always minimised to a small icon in the system tray, freeing up space on the taskbar for applications you used more frequently. However

Windows 7 Woes

2009-01-16T13:20:00.001Z

Microsoft recently made the new edition of Windows available on there website as a Public Beta. Windows 7 is available for download as both 32bit and 64bit versions. I am currently using the Public Beta of Windows 7 32bit on my Acer Aspire One netbook, and thus far have experienced no major, and very few minor issues, however after installing it on my gaming PC I did notice one major problem,

New Article Drought!

2009-01-14T12:23:00.000Z

Regular readers and RSS feed subscribers will have noticed that new articles on DieselTekk have been few and far between over the last week, and for this I am very sorry. This is due to an issue with my internet connection at home – it seems that BT have got a little confused and stopped my service for both telephone and broadband. This is an ongoing issue that arose a few weeks ago, when I

Are AMD/ATi Planning To Release A Radeon HD 4900?

2009-01-14T11:16:00.001Z

According to my favourite PC enthusiast magazine’s website, CustomPC.co.uk, another tech website, Hardware-Infos has claimed to have spoken to a source who has revealed a detail or two about a new AMD/ATi GPU codenamed RV790. Supposedly it will feature more stream processors than the current HD4850 and HD4870 GPU’s (which each have 800). Hardware-Infos don’t reveal the exact figure,but did

EntreCard - 5 Top Droppers

2009-01-06T15:36:00.001Z

As you may have noticed already (if not please take a look) I have added a new widget called 5 Top Droppers to the sidebar, just underneath the EntreCard drop box. This is my little way of saying thank you to those who take the time each day, week and month to stop by at this little crevice of the web and click on my drop box. Now, the top 5 droppers from the last 30 days will each have a link

How Do You Use Microsoft SyncToy v2.0?

2009-01-05T23:40:00.001Z

Microsoft SyncToy v2.0 is a great and simple little program to enable backup of files and folders from one place to the next. SyncToy does this by method of duplication. Download SyncToy v2.0 here By this I mean that it copies all the files and folders from Location A to Location B. Each location is set by the user. Location A could be you My Documents folder, and Location B could be an

Creative’s New Zii Processor

2009-01-05T14:29:00.001Z

Creative’s new processor is much much more than another audio chip, this thing is based stem cells! Over the Christmas period, should you have hopped over to the Creative website, you may have noticed a teaser ad on the homepage bragging that everything you know is about to change. According to Creative, this is because they are about to change the computing world with their new Zii processor

Why the new look?

2009-01-04T22:57:00.001Z

For a long time now I have been looking for a good way to incorporate a third column into the design of DieselTekk, and today I found it. This new layout allows me to include more essential information such as links to recent articles, the RSS subscriptions link, blog archives etc above the fold. What this means is that you, as the reader, have to spend less time looking for the information you

New Acer Aspire ONE – ATOM Ninja Edition

2008-12-31T09:17:00.001Z

With the impending New Year comes a new Acer Aspire ONE revision. This latest version of the infamous Aspire ONE is rumoured to be named the ATOM Ninja Edition. There is not a great deal known about this new revision, except that it has the same specs as the other Hard Drive/Windows XP versions, is only available in Sapphire Blue and has a boosted 1.5GB RAM (512MB more than previous models).

How To Increase Gaming Frame Rates

2008-12-30T14:19:00.001Z

It’s impossible to write an article that exactly defines how to enhance and tweak your computer to ensure that it plays all games to it’s maximum possible capability. There are several steps you can take inside the operating system to ensure Windows is hampering your gameplay as little as possible, however to really make a difference you need to play around with the in game graphics options,

Grand Theft Auto IV – Problems?

2008-12-30T00:35:00.001Z

Kindly, my Uncle and Aunty bought me Grand Theft Auto IV for my PC as a Christmas present, and as a ‘thank you’ for sorting out their PC woes. The other day I twittered about how I could not understand what all the fuss was about, as my PC seemed to run the game fine, with no issues whatsoever, however I have been playing the game for a couple of hours tonight and now I do understand. Here are

Old Tekk Utilised

2008-12-28T23:12:00.001Z

Christmas time is when we give and received lots and lots of new stuff. The question though, is what do we do with all the old stuff we no longer need because it’s been replaced by all the new stuff? My Aunty and Uncle bought themselves a new laptop for Christmas, running Ubuntu 8.10 but had no idea what to do with their old laptop. I suggested listing it on a local FreeCycle group, but as

Nvidia Announces GeForce GTX295

2008-12-20T13:47:00.001Z

Nvidia have announced that a new graphics card from the GTX 200 series will be released on 8th January at CES (Consumer Electronics Show). Not just any card, this is a GTX295, a dual GPU graphics powerhouse. For a few months the forums online have been rife with rumour and speculation over what Nvidia are going to do next, since AMD/ATi’s latest and greatest card, the Radeon HD 4870x2 stole

Gifts For Geeks – Christmas 2008 – Part Five

2008-12-07T21:24:00.002Z

£-varies Computer Games Geeks love computer games - well, most of us do! Geeks who like to game like having lots of games, but be careful, just as music has many genre’s, which people either like or don’t, games fall under many genre’s too. The key genre’s in PC gaming though FPS, RPG and RTS. FPS, or First Person Shooter is the kind of game that puts the player behind the crosshairs of a

Gifts For Geeks – Christmas 2008 - Part Four

2008-12-04T08:00:00.001Z

$1.99 USD or £1.30 GBP ThinkGeek.com has some fantastic Geek Gift idea’s, and one of the simplest is the replacement PC case badges. They come in a range of finishes from white to black through brushed metal, with various logo’s printed on them. My favorites are FRAG and l337/h4X0r but there are many more to choose from, and at such a low price there is little reason not to get one for your

Gifts For Geeks – Christmas 2008 – Part Three

2008-12-03T08:00:00.000Z

£36.82 The G9 is an excellent gaming mouse. It has a choice of two outer casings - the small one is textured while the larger one is smooth and broad. The G9 is so light that Logitech has included weights for those who are used to the feel of heavier gaming mice. The cable is braided, so it’s less likely to snag than a plastic cable. The mouse wheel is solid enough for use as a middle

Gifts for Geeks – Christmas 2008 – Part Two

2008-12-02T08:00:00.000Z

Swiftech H2O-220 Compact £124.80 Water cooling you PC can be a pretty scary prospect, especially if you have a lot of very expensive hardware in there, you certainly wouldn’t want to worry about the prospect of water leaking on to it! Which is why the Swiftech H2O-220 Compact would make an ideal choice for any enthusiastic overclocker’s computer. The 220 is a complete water cooling kit in