Temporary Access to a De-Activated Office 2010

This option will return your Office to a 28-day trial and give the user a 'breathing-space' to transfer data, find a legal key or an alternative to Office. It is not a long-term solution.

a) In the Search box (near the start button) type Folder Options and click on the top result of the search. Once the Folder Options box appears, click on the View tab. About halfway down the list you will see the option to 'Show hidden files, folders and drives' click a bullet in that option, then Apply and Ok

b) Next, navigate to:-

C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\microsoftshared\OfficeSoftwareProtectionPlatform

In that folder, you should see a file called:  OSPPREARM

c) Double click on OSPPREARM and you will see a small black screen flash up, then disappear.

d) Close all screens.

e) Office will now return to a 28-day trial. However, the activation screen will still appear when you open Word, Outlook, etc. Simply close that screen by clicking on the X at top right. You can now continue to use your chosen application as normal.

f) Most people will want to access Outlook to recover emails, etc. Is there an alternative to Outlook? Yes, there is. It's called Thunderbird, it's developed by Mozilla and, best of all, it's FREE.

NOTE: Sorry, but we cannot answer any questions on this subject. If in difficulty, please re-read the steps carefully.

Microsoft Office 2010 De-Activates

First of all, I must stress that this article refers to Microsoft Office 2010 with a LEGAL license or key ONLY.

We have recently been getting reports of legal versions of Microsoft Office 2010 suddenly de-activating after having worked for long periods of time. Sometimes after a Windows Update. Do you get these screens after trying to re-activate over the internet:-

Sadly, the news is not particularly good. For the following reasons:-

1) You will not be able to use customer telephone support to report the fault as it has been withdrawn by Microsoft.

2) Microsoft have tightened up security on this particular product. This means that a key designed for ONE computer cannot be used for multiple pc's. Attempts to do so can de-activate Office 2010 on all installations!
So, sharing a single-use key with family and friends can lead to all installations being deactivated by Microsoft.

3) Once the key has been de-activated by Microsoft, you will mot likely never be able to use that particular key again.

PART RESOLUTIONS

1) You could try buying a new fresh key over the internet (Ebay, etc) but these are very scarce, often do not work and are quite expensive. As far as we know, Microsoft do not sell fresh keys for this version of Office, as they would much rather you bought one of their current products.

2) If you are not using Outlook, then there are FREE alternative office versions such as LibreOffice, Apache OpenOffice, WPS Office, etc.

3) A temporary solution to enable you access to Outlook emails and Data in particular can be found in our next blog - 'Temporary Access to a De-Activated Office 2010'

Alter The Size of Windows Desktop Icons

Windows will give you the opportunity to resize your desktop icons to three standard sizes - small, medium and large. Changing sizes is an easy task, even for the beginner. Simply position your cursor in an empty area of the desktop and right-click your mouse. Follow the 'view' menu and make your choice by left-clicking on either 'Large' 'Medium' or 'Small' icons (see picture).

Customise Icon Size

But what if that isn't good enough?  Have you ever wondered how to customise the size of all your desktop icons to suit you? Try this quick and simple shortcut:

With all other Windows closed, left-click on any icon on your desktop to highlite it, then hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and using the scroll wheel on your mouse, adjust the size of all your icons.

Once you have chosen the size you want, release both the ctrl key and scroll wheel, and your icons will remain the chosen size until you alter them again using the same method.

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 "Dead"

The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 was/is a very expensive tablet/laptop. However, there is a serious growing fault. You try to turn it on one day and....nothing! It's totally 'Dead'.

Searching the Internet all you see is 'push this button, hold that button', etc. Nothing works.

However, we have a very good success rate of getting everything up and running and back to normal. The fix is NOT free and we need to have the tablet and charging adapter for less than a day. If we can't fix it, there is NO fee.

Please contact us through the website: www.pcpartners.uk.com

Laptop Power Jack Socket Repair

Laptop Power Jack Socket Repair

No matter how careful you are with your laptop, the power socket will eventually need replacing.

It's true to say that with most laptops this is not an easy job. It involves the careful disassembly of the laptop itself, the removal of the motherboard and some very skillful soldering! Trying to do-it-yourself often results in disaster, whereby the laptop becomes totally unusable! Don't take that chance!

At PC Partners we are fully qualified to safely disassemble your laptop and perform any soldering that is necessary. We carry a wide range of parts and the whole process usually takes 1-3 days. Urgent repairs are a speciality.

Visit our website for more details PC Partners

Cryptolocker - We Can Help!

Make no mistake, the Cryptolocker virus is going to cause a lot of heartache in the next few months, or possibly years.

But what is Cryptolocker and why should you care? Well, if you switch on your computer and are greeted with this screen...

If you see this screen, your docs, pics and music are inaccessible!

...then you are in trouble. For this is no idle threat. Your personal files ARE indeed encrypted and you will not be able to access them. To make matters worse, to release your files, you will have to buy a key before the countdown clock expires or your files will be locked forever!

Choose a 'convenient' payment method!!!

The difference between this and other 'ransomware' is that the threat is real and the release key is virtually unbreakable.

Running Anti-Spyware software can remove the infection but it will not remove the encryption. Your files will remain locked!

SHOULD I PAY THE RANSOM?

Definitely NOT! There is NO guarantee that you will be sent the unlock code or that your PC will not immediately be re-infected (and you will have to pay over and over again)!

THE GOOD NEWS

We have had great success in recovering files locked under this virus. It is a time consuming process and we would require your pc for several days, but you will have your precious data returned to you and the infection removed. Please contact us through our Website for more details.

Use Windows ReadyBoost to Improve PC Performance

How to Use ReadyBoost to Speed Up Windows 7

One of the most useful features of Windows 7 that is often overlooked is ReadyBoost. It was first introduced with Windows Vista but many users found the technology less than impressive. However, Windows 7 has seen a vast improvement and can lead to significant gains in computer speed and data handling.

ReadyBoost is simple to set up and requires no special skills. The only item required is a blank working USB Flash Drive (aka USB Memory Stick) between 1-8Gb in size. Although smaller and larger sizes will work as well.

As the USB drive will be connected to your pc for some considerable time, it would be best to choose a location somewhat out of the way - say, at the rear of your computer.

Ok, let's start:-

1) Plug your USB Flash Drive firmly into the pc and watch for this screen to appear on the monitor:

2) Click on 'Speed Up My System' and the next screen will appear:

3) Choose the option 'Dedicate this device to ReadyBoost' Apply & OK.

ReadyBoost is now set-up and operating.

You will see that in My Computer it shows as a extra drive with a red line underneath it. This informs the user that it cannot be used to store data.

If at anytime the USB Flash Drive is temporarily removed or changed, the ReadyBoost set-up procedure will have to be repeated.