Posted on March 22, 2019 by admin

When Do You Know Your Computer Issue Needs A Computer Technician?

There are a number of ailments that can curse your PC. Most computer issues can be troubleshot at home however more complex computer problems may require professional computer repair by a trained technician. Do-It-Yourself repairs may seem like a solid idea, however, overtime it may make more sense to take it to a computer repair store.

Software and hardware issues can often complicate the process of computer repair. When Do-It-Yourselfers start digging into their computers they can often have a difficult time getting the pieces put back together. There are some issues that just need an expert’s touch including some of the issues below.

Blue Screen of Death

The most common ailment seen by the experts at CPS have to do with the blue screen of death, commonly referred to as BSOD. Not only is it the most common issue to see it is also difficult to fix. When your laptop or desktop computer screen turns blue it means that the PC’s system has experienced something traumatic in which it had to come to a forced, abrupt stop. More often than not the problem has to do with the computer’s hardware or driver. This causes a STOP code to appear (the blue screen of death) and the computer shuts down.

When this occurs the only way to cure this computer ailment is to take it in to a computer repair store for a technician to diagnosis and repair it. Through a series of computer diagnostic tests, the technician will be able to determine an official computer diagnosis. Many issues give the Blue Screen of Death Error Code. Depending on the error code your computer is displaying, the pc troubleshooting steps differ. This is one of the reasons it is so important to take it into a computer repair technician over fixing it on your own.

Graphical Errors

Another common issue that is known to occur when you turn on your computer is that the screen is a muddled mess. Graphical errors may be common, but the necessary fix isn’t always which is why you should take it into a computer repair store for repair and diagnosis. Graphic issues are most often associated with software. If your screen looks distorted and the images are not displaying correctly it is time to take your PC in for diagnosis.

The technician will run some tests to determine if it is a software issue as sometimes a graphic disruption can involve a video card driver. A computer repair technician will have the capabilities to troubleshoot graphical errors.

Other common computer issues that occur which require a pc technician include blank monitors, operating system errors, virus warnings, and such. Contact the technical professionals at Creative Programs and Systems for any and all of your computer repair issues.

Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, is an all-inclusive IT solutions company offering a variety of services including: managed IT services, IT consulting, residential computer services, custom programming, website design, iphone & android app development, and more. More information can be found at https://cpsmi.com.

Posted on November 8, 2018 by admin

Outsourcing IT Services Through a Managed IT Provider

There are a number of ways in which business of all sizes receive IT support. From in house IT techs, on call IT professionals, and managed IT providers, specialists exist in a number of capacities to ensure that the IT needs of your business, no matter how large or small your company is, are met. Many companies are switching to managed it services simply because it is one less thing on their plate to manage.

In order to choose an IT infrastructure for your business it is important to evaluate your current needs and future growth. Although the services of managed IT professionals allow you to take a hands-off approach it may include more services than you actually need. In this installment we will take a look into the general overview of managed IT plans. It is important to note that different companies offer different services, so it is crucial that you find an IT plan and company that would fit your needs without having to pay for services you do not require.

Vital Elements of Managed IT Contracts

Security

Security within your organization is important for a number of reasons and it truly the first area of concern for many business owners. It is crucial that company and client data is kept secure. A breach in data security not only costs companies millions of dollars to clean up from it puts critical data in jeopardy. Managed IT service providers must have a detailed outline on how they will secure your specific IT systems. Look for areas including intrusion detection and prevention, encryption, and firewalls to be addressed as well as how the services will be carried out.

Infrastructure

The infrastructure of your organization must be well cared for in order for your company to thrive and grow. No matter what size your company is the basics still apply, to run efficiently everything you need must be able to be performed on your systems network. This means that your managed IT service contract must include server & storage maintenance, network administration, backups, and basic services to issues arising within the network. You must work with your IT provider to develop a list of current and future IT services that are required for you business to continue to thrive.

Service and Support

The service and support of IT technicians can occur in a number of manners include over the phone, remotely, and in person. Does your company require 24/7 support to operate? If this is the case and your business will be dead in the water without 24/7 support, you will want to find an IT company that offers a managed IT service contract that supports your company no matter the time a day or day of the week. This type of support will come at a premium. Many IT companies support normal business hours and make accommodations for emergency support when needed. Support outside of normal operation times may require an additional fee above and beyond your monthly managed IT support.

Monitoring your Network

Monitoring your network is critical to successfully managing your IT services. An interruption within the network will mean downtime for your company. Managed IT services monitor every aspect of the network from in house, remote users, mobile devices, and virtual machines. Monitoring services should also include intrusion prevention and detection, firewall configurations, and 24/7 monitoring.

Data Backup and Disaster Recovery

Having a complete backup of your data is crucial. If disaster strikes it is important to know that the data that keeps your company up and running is accessible and up to date. Does the company provide on site backup, cloud backup, or is a private source used to backup crucial company data? Not only should you know where to look for important company backups it is important to have access to this information when you need it. Your managed IT support provider should also include a detailed disaster recovery plan when addressing backup needs. It is essential that this information is readily available to prevent any downtime if your company should encounter an unexpected issue.

There are many aspects to managed IT plans. This installment provides basics to expect when looking into providers of managed IT service plans. Further questions should be asked to help you determine if these services are right for your company. When interviewing IT specialists and different service plans available it is important to note exactly what is and isn’t covered in different managed IT plans. Communication is the key element when it comes to a successful IT solution for your company.

Posted on August 31, 2018 by admin

How Combining Professional Website Design and SEO Can Boost Your Online Business

When an online business launches a new website, careful consideration goes into their online image including the websites design and usability. Websites should be designed in a manner that allows visitors easy access to answers they are seeking. However, all of that is wasted if customers never visit a business’s website in the first place.

Search engine optimization, SEO is one part of a company’s marketing mix that helps to create a strong foundation for your company’s content strategy. On page content that is featured prominently in organic searches that beats out the competition for customer attention is just one goal. Good SEO design begins with the websites layout. Whether your business is currently designing your website or not, it’s important to ensure it’s getting the best search results possible.

SEO

SEO encompasses a series of activities that makes your website rank higher on various search engines. These activities include executing an SEO strategy, choosing to focus on long-tail keywords for website pages, and constantly generating new content on a blog. Search engines frequently update their search algorithm, which can be a problem for marketers and web designers. If you are running your own SEO strategy, you’ll need to monitor the changes and adjust accordingly.

Professional Website Design

Web design is the process of creating a website. This includes, layout design, graphics design, navigation, metadata, responsiveness to different resolutions, and content production. Web design also involves ensuring the website is programmed correctly and optimizing the speed. A professional website design communicates your brand messaging to the world, tells the story of your company, describes your services and products and can even sell directly online.

Combining both boost your online business, below are some aspect of SEO and website design that boost your online business.

Navigation

Navigation involves SEO and web design principles. The easier it is to navigate your site and find the information needed, the longer a visitor will stay on your site. A longer session leads to better SEO rankings. If customers cannot find what they’re looking for easily, they will abandon the site, and this affects your SEO ranking negatively. You can design an easily navigable site by using descriptive URLs, giving readers directions to find certain materials, and limiting the number of drop downs and sub-drop downs in your menus.

Engagement

Engagement on a web page depends on two things: the design and the content. To enhance the engagement on a page, you want the design to be pleasing to a reader’s eye because people make quick conclusions about a website based on appearance. Following the appearance is your content which is also a vital way of keeping a visitor on your site. Your homepage content should hook the visitor and make him want to read on. Content fall under both SEO and web design as content will help your SEO ranking and determine if a visitor stays on your page.

Speed

It is easy to focus on the visual appeal and website content over the mechanics behind how your website functions. This however often leads to a slower than average site that is bloated with useless information. If the website is slow upon loading people will abandon their effort. Many elements can come into play that can lead to a slow site; website elements including plugins, sharing buttons, and JavaScript that has not been optimized. All these are consequences of a poor website design. Search engines incorporate a variety of metrics into the algorithms they use to determine which sites are the most useful to users and therefore deserve higher organic rankings. This can include the use of keywords and long tailed keyword phrases, site links, and individual page load times. If your site loads too slow, search engines will favor other sites over it.

In conclusion, when SEO and a Professional web design come together, the result is a user-friendly, informative, and easy to find website that will maximize your sales.

Learn more about Creative Programs and Systems, CPS, and the IT solutions they provide including IT consulting, computer consulting, network consulting, networking, server installation, IT disaster recovery, computer repair, virus removal, malware removal, computer tune ups, data backup systems, computer troubleshooting, structured cabling, low voltage wiring, website design, graphic design, logo design, website hosting, search engine placement, iphone app programming, android app programming, and custom programming at www.cpsmi.com. To contact one of our IT experts, call 810.224.5252 today or via email at info@cpsmi.com.

Posted on August 22, 2018 by admin

Computer Maintenance: Everything You Need to Know

Computers have become a vital item that everyone needs to use on a regular, if not daily basis. While many people, especially the younger generations, thrive with technology, some of us simply need to take things slow as we learn about each aspect of these devices. Thankfully, the basics are extremely easy to learn about, which means that you can take care of some of your own minor computer needs and repairs.

One of the first things that you will want to ensure is completed on your computer is the installation of an anti-virus software. Of course, once you have this software installed, you will want to make sure that it is scanning your computer for viruses frequently and that you keep the software up to date. These scans can be set to automatically run in the background.

If you are noticing that your computer is running slower than usual or that you are having issues with certain websites, you may think that it is time to take your computer in for updates. However, you may be able to solve these issues on your own by simply clearing the cache on your browser.

We know that you are grabbing snacks to devour as you are working on your computer, and while there is nothing wrong with that, you will find that your keyboard and computer can get a little dirty after a while. A buildup of crumbs underneath the keys of your keyboard can also prevent you from typing the way that you want to, which is why we recommend keeping all these areas clean. A damp cloth will keep surface stains away, while compressed air can eliminate all those crumbs and the dust that has become stuck to them.

Many people are tempted to keep their laptops plugged into the outlet for long periods of time, or forever, but it is not something that we recommend that you do. The reason for this is that you will find that after a while, your battery will not be able to hold a charge for any length of time, which means that you will not be able to use it unless you have an outlet nearby.

One of the best things that you can do to prolong the life of your computer is making sure that you turn it off each night, or when you are done using it for the day. This is one of the most important computer services that we recommend, and you will find that your computer will last months or even years longer than any of the ones that you have owned in the past.

It doesn’t take a certified technician to complete certain computer services or computer repairs, which is why we are confident that you can take care of the items above, as well as a few others. Of course, there are certain computer repairs or computer services that only a person well-versed in computers should tackle, and those are the ones that you should steer clear of at all times!

Posted on August 15, 2018 by admin

PC Repair: Is Your Computer Ready for A Trip into The Shop?

Your personal computer contains a great deal of personal and private information. When it needs to go in for service there can be a great deal of anxiety with leaving it in the hands of a computer repair technician. Not only will they have access to your password-protected accounts, technicians will be performing complicated procedures that can often include your computers hard drive. Thus, it is important to take necessary precautions to ensure that your computer and its data are protected before it is services to avoid any unnecessary disasters resulting in lost data.

Preparing Your PC for A Trip into The Computer Repair Shop

Store Important Information on The Cloud: Many people cannot live without their personal computers or the information on them, so it is inevitable that you will more likely than not need to access to the info on the PC while it is in for repair. To be able to accomplish this it is vital to add current projects into a folder on the cloud such as Dropbox or OneDrive. This allows the files to be accessed from another source at any time.
Backup: A backup of your PC is always important but never as much as when your computer is going in for repairs, just in case something was to happen that damages the hard drive. This ensures that the data files can be restored, and your computer returned to its original state. When a backup is restored it is important that the original image was not the cause of the initial need for service.
Protection of Sensitive Materials: For most of us there is information stored within our PC’s that we don’t want people to see or have access to. Some of this could include bank statements, credit card information, tax forms, or anything that is potentially “embarrassing” to you or those to stumble upon it. These files should either be removed, after you have securely backed them up to an external source or encrypted.
Be Prepared for An Unexpected Diagnosis: Many times, over we self-diagnosis our computer problems without much to go on. Even after talking with the PC repair technician we often have a false sense of what is wrong based on their best guess given they have yet to dive in to the system for a proper diagnosis. It is vital to be prepared for a diagnosis that is different than what you had anticipated; also meaning the time frame for fixing said issue could be significantly different.

Often the trip to have your computer worked on will go smoother than anticipated but it is always important to be prepared for the inevitable.

Posted on August 9, 2018 by admin

In-House or Outsourced IT Services: Which is Best for Your Business?

Businesses of all sizes struggle with their own set of challenges. Amongst the challenges for small and mid-sized businesses, is that business owners often insist on doing everything themselves. The age-old adage, jack of all trades, master of none has not lost its meaning in 2018. Far too many business owners try to handle managed IT services on their own or in-house with employees that are not necessarily up on the latest in IT. The problem with this is that they are unaware of all that is involved in creating a successful IT solution for their business.

Properly managing IT systems for a company of any size involves:

Increasing equipment longevity
Boost system uptime
Monitor staff productivity
Secure data and systems
Patch management and updates
Oversee server reliability
Routine disaster recovery drills and tests
Hardware procurement and monitoring
Network management
Software licensing, installation, and upgrades
Filtering for spam
Server setup and management
Email maintenance
Detection and removal of spyware
Data backup systems
Disaster recovery solutions

Of course, this is not an exhaustive list but servers to point out the myriad of services that are typical within managed IT services. Most, if not all these activities require a highly specialized skillsets to perform. Business owners who skirt these issues by attempting to do all of them on their own will quickly find themselves swamped and unable to execute them effectively, not mentioning the hours that go into running their business. Even worse, many try to pass the buck onto employees who are unskilled in IT which causes several other problems, including less time to focus on their own tasks.

Outsourcing Managed IT Services

The solution, outsourcing managed IT services to an outside firm or team of professionals who specialize in IT services. There are several benefits of outsourcing your business’s IT services including:

Protection against outages and downtime
Cost-effective
Disaster recovery
Increased data security

Outsourcing IT services means that instead of relying on your own knowledge or employees that are unskilled in IT you can trust in a team of experts that are not only trained to perform IT tasks but is resourced to do so with maximum efficiency. No business owner wants to deal with downtime caused by equipment failure or server crashes. Qualified managed IT professionals have all the resources to handle your business while preventing outages.

Outsourcing your businesses IT services can be more cost-effective in the long run. Consider that salaries for technology experts are on the higher end of the scale. Recent estimates show starting salaries for technology professionals hover right above $50,000 a year. This means small to midsized businesses would be hard-pressed to afford to hire a permanent team to staff their IT department. Outsourcing IT work to an outside firm can help mitigate against the costs of hiring a permanent IT in-house team.

Posted on July 25, 2018 by admin

Professional Computer Consulting Saves Time and Money

Nowadays businesses cannot run without technology. Business comes to a startling halt when software or program failures occur. When technology goes awry it affects day to day business. Most companies can’t afford the costs associated with downtime but also can’t absorb the expense of having an IT specialist on their payroll to fix issues with technology as they arise. A middle ground is reached through contract services in the form of managed IT.

Computer consultants are a precious commodity for businesses of all sizes. IT consultants are able to contract with a number of companies to basically be on call for a flat monthly service fee or hourly rate depending on the option that best fits your company’s IT needs. Some IT companies specializing in only one service whereas others venture into the tech world as a whole. Companies, such as Creative Programs and Systems offer clients a variety of services from website design to computer consulting which allows for an all-inclusive approach to IT services.

Hiring an IT consultant can save your company quite a bit of time and money in a variety of ways. For one there is no need for training or continued education to keep employees up to date with the latest technological advancements. There isn’t a need to pay employees overtime to work on computer issues after business hours or benefits which helps save on overhead expenses. Contracted services also don’t require paid sick time, vacation, or the expense of recruiting and training new employees when staff turns over.

Hiring IT consulting services is a win/win for business owners as well. From computer consultants, professionals can also learn how to more effectively run their business as those experts have picked up many new tricks of the trade from working with numerous companies over the years. A more efficiently run business will earn more money with less effort, which is helpful to those who are trying to find time to expand their services and grow their businesses.

Business owners who hire computer consultants will find that they are spending twenty-five to fifty percent less than they would if they hired their own on staff IT specialist. Computer consultant services are available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, that is a great deal for any business. With this comes computer maintenance services, changes with websites, solving emergencies to eliminate downtime, and more.

By hiring computer consultant’s business owners and employees alike can focus more on everyday tasks rather than dealing with technological issues. Instead they can simply pick up the phone and make a call or send an email regarding the issues that are occurring, and a consultant will either remote in to your network or go on-site to ensure your problem is quickly taken care of.

Managed IT services not only save time but also money while making life simpler. Often in business the simple solution costs more, however in the case of computer consulting, it is in fact the most economical option.

Posted on July 19, 2018 by admin

Benefits of Managed IT Services Explained

Regardless of the size of your company, you will need an IT, Information Technology, infrastructure if you are to function within the 21^st century. Qualified IT personnel are essential as the services they provide can save small, mid-sized, and large sized owners. Many times, small and mid-sized companies attempt to perform many IT tasks, roles, and functions in-house. This however can result in poor performance, systems failure, downtime, and even in some cases business failure. Below is a non-exhaustive list of services that a typical managed IT company performs for clients. These skills require

In order to save money many small to mid-sized business owner attempt to perform many IT tasks, roles and functions in-house. The result is poor performance, systems failure, downtime and even bankruptcy. Below is a non-exhaustive list of services required by a typical business and which require highly-skilled staff to complete.

Increasing the longevity and uptime of equipment
Monitoring staff productivity
Software upgrades, licensing, and installation
Spam filtering
Securing systems and data
Patch management and updates
Monitoring and ensuring server reliability
Routine disaster recovery drills and tests
Hardware procurements, monitoring, testing, and repair
Network management
Email server setup and management
Spyware detection and removal
Creating secure systems and complete system backups
Server builds, maintenance, upgrades, and installation

Each of the above tasks require highly-trained IT personnel and technical equipment in order to execute. When business owners skirt around this issue, attempting to do all these tasks in-house, will quickly find themselves facing the results that come from incompetent IT repairs.

Outsourced Managed IT Services

The solution to all most company’s IT problems is to hire the services of a managed IT company. Out sourcing professional IT consultants often saves companies time and money. It is important to have once company that is in charge of all of your IT needs. This ensures that accurate records are kept, your goals and objectives are known, and you have 24/7 access to professional IT service consultants.

Companies looking for the best IT solution will hire an outsource IT services company. Not only will it save your company money it decreases downtime and increases the longevity of your technology as maintenance and upkeep is done on a schedule unique to your needs.

Posted on July 11, 2018 by admin

Optimizing Your Blog Posts for SEO Purposes

Blogging is one of the most effective ways of interacting with one’s audience. Regardless of niche, your fan base, prospects, or existing customers and clients need a continuous flow of refresher information about you, your products and services. Research shows businesses and organizations that are constantly engaged with their base do a better job of not only keeping those customers but of staying competitive.

When it comes to interactivity, blogging serves as one of the most effective strategies. This shows in the sheer number of blogs that go are launched every day. But with so much content and competition, how does your blog actually stand out? The answer is SEO (search engine optimization). According to information database Wikipedia, SEO “is the process of affecting the online visibility of a website or a web page in a web search engine’s unpaid results is often referred to as organic results.

There are many wonderful blogs out there. An even greater number stay “undiscovered” and only get a trickle of visitors. This is because their blog posts are not optimized for SEO purposes. In other words, the blogger did a great job of writing but forgot to prep the post for their target audience and the search engines. In this article, we’ll discuss actual steps a blogger can take to optimize their blog post for SEO purposes:

Content uniqueness

This cannot be over-emphasized. Search engines reward content that is unique. Copying content from other sites or engaging in plagiarism can not only have legal repercussions, it can result in the search engines ignoring that particular post.

Keyword research

A lot of bloggers write around the topics they’re either passionate or knowledgeable about. While this is great, they forget that the search engines are scientific tools which rely on complex algorithms to locate relevant content based on targeted keywords. A great strategy would be to first conduct keyword research to determine the most trafficked keywords in that niche then preparing content around those keywords. One of the best free keyword research tools includes the Google keyword planner tool. Others such as Spyfu avail more data for a fee.

Entering correct Metadata

Once the blog post has been posted, the next step would be to ensure the search engines can find it. This step involves inputting the proper metadata to the post. Blogging platforms such as WordPress come with add-ons or plugins that allow the blogger to attach keywords to the page title, description and post itself. Additionally, bloggers can tag their posts with the relevant keywords.

Linking structure

In order to determine how well to rank a post, search engines check for inbound and outbound links. Outbound links point to other similar authority sites. Search engines also check for the internal linking structure within the site itself. This means checking whether the post links to other relevant posts within the same site. Many bloggers overlook this. Inbound links are also important. They are used by the search engines to determine the page authority of that post and thus how well it will rank.

Images and videos

According to the search engines, a good blog post will have relevant images and preferably a video. It is recommended that the blogger embed an image or video within the content. Blogging platforms such as WordPress make this relatively easy. The image should also be tagged with the relevant “alt” text. Embedding a popular video from YouTube can help give the post more authority and thus better rankings.

Social media

Search engines have also been known to check for social signals. Because of the importance they attach to social media, they check whether there are any mentions or links to the post in the popular social media and social bookmarking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, LinkedIn, and Mix.

Posted on July 5, 2018 by admin

Common Problems with The Latest Windows 10 Update

Computer consulting is a term used by someone who offers a wide range of computer services to individuals and businesses. Computer repair is one of the more common of all of the services that consultants perform. Computer repairs can be as simple as replacing or installing new hardware, but it can also include more in-depth repairs like software or OS issues.

A computer consultant may do work for both commercial businesses and also residential computer repair depending on the way they set up their business. The operating system of a computer frequently causes a number of issues that people have with their computers and Windows 10 is the most current version of Microsoft Windows that comes preloaded.

Unfortunately, like most of the Microsoft Windows operating systems over the years, Windows 10 has had its own share of problems that people have complained about. These common problems probably make up a large portion of the computer repair requests. We came up with a list of the top ten common problems with the latest Windows 10 update

Business Babble

Tag: computer repair