Connecting Your PC to a Large Screen - How to do it?

One of the most commonly encountered questions for us at Server Sentry arises from customers who wish to connect a PC to a wide-screen TV of some sort or another.

• Here is a quick overview but things may vary a little from case to case, so don’t hesitate to pick up the phone or contact our online help desk support. 

• There are several different ways of connecting your PC to a TV screen and displaying the results of what you are doing on it.
• At one time some of these were rather tricky but today it’s typically very simple - assuming that both your PC and TV are relatively modern.
• If you look at your PC, you should be able to see a port labelled either ‘HDMI’ or sometimes ‘TV OUT’. Look at your television and you should see a port labelled again as ‘HDMI IN’ or possibly ‘PC IN’. You may see slight variations on the terminology depending upon the manufacturer.
• You will then need to purchase what is called an HDMI cable. These will have a plug at each end that should fit nicely into your PC in one case and the appropriate slot at the back of your TV in the other. These cables are typically very low-cost but remember to make sure to buy one of suitable length in order to give you the maximum flexibility between where your PC and TV will sit.
• All you will typically then need to do is to switch on your PC and TV. You may need to select the TV channel labelled as “HDMI” or “PC IN” with the TV’s controller. From that point onwards, everything on your PC screen should be displayed on the TV. 

It’s also possible to get wireless solutions to this though that involves a slightly different approach and once again, it’s probably a good idea to give us a call before you go forward.

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Why is my Hard Disk Whirring?

Over many years, this has without doubt been one of the commonest questions we’ve encountered at Server Sentry.

It usually arises because a customer is concerned that one of their PCs or perhaps a server appears to be constantly accessing its disk and making whirring noises - even when they aren’t actually doing anything on the system at the time.

As almost always with IT systems support, there is no one sure answer to the question.  It could have any number of causes including:

• Even though you are n’t doing anything on your system at the time, it could be automatic software that is running various routines which are making heavy use of disk access (technically called ‘disk I/O’ for Input/Output). That might include things such as software security scans, updates following the automatic download of new versions of software and so on.

• It could indicate that your disk is seriously fragmented.  That does n’t mean damaged, it simply means that individual databases and files have been split into different sections and placed on different parts of the disk.  That is perfectly normal and is the way disk space utilisation is optimised but when the splitting of logical units of data becomes very pronounced, the disk is needing to do a lot more work in order to access what you may think of as a single integrated file of data.  It is possible to run what are called disk de- fragmentation programs to help the problem.

• In some, hopefully rare, circumstances, it might indicate that you have a certain type of malware on your system.

• It’s possible that it is a symptom of potential disk controller problems.
There’s no need to get overly worried about what’s happening.
Simply call us and we will diagnose exactly what’s going on and if appropriate, assist you to take remedial action.

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Deferring Expensive IT Upgrades

Hardly a month goes past without some manufacturer announcing a new device or new piece of software aimed at business users.

There is nothing unique in manufacturers trying to sell things but the rapid pace of technological change means that it is perhaps rather more frequently seen in IT than other domains.

Another thing that makes Information Technology slightly unusual is that much of it is marketed on the basis not of offering competitive advantage but fear.  The fear stated is that if you don’t upgrade or purchase that new piece of kit, your existing equipment may shortly start to creak and groan at the seams and be unable to cope.

In fairness, to some extent, that has some foundation in fact.

Whilst many businesses marvel at what technology can now do for them, the price being paid for that increased sophistication is usually that ever higher-specification equipment is needed to achieve it.
So, should you be running out every 12 or 18 months and replacing your file servers and PCs?

At Server Sentry, we don’t believe that is necessary and we welcome the opportunity to explain why in the context of the following:

• We believe in cost justification.  That new technology may appear very sophisticated but will it generate business benefit for you?

• Even if your existing systems are becoming a little elderly in terms of their performance or storage capacity, there may be far more cost-attractive options available to you than buying all-new kit. Examples might include buying additional disk storage or upgrading your processors.

• If you build the big resource-consumption components of your IT systems on the Cloud, you are future-proving yourself to a large extent from growing demands for more capacity and processing power.

So, don’t just reach for the chequebook because your existing architecture is proving to be a bit sluggish.  Call us instead and let us do a full analysis for you.

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How to Insulate yourself from Power Supply Problems

Power outages aren’t as commonplace as they once were.

Of course, that won’t be much consolation to you if you lose your power during the middle of the day and are unable to continue working until it’s restored.

So, what can you do to try and mitigate the effects of a problem arising from adverse weather conditions or someone digging through the main power supply cable in your local area?

Uninterrupted Power Supply

For a surprisingly modest cost, you can purchase battery standby systems that will generate up to a specified number of hours’ worth of electricity to keep your IT systems functioning in the event of a problem.
Cut over to the UPS can be almost instantaneous and automatic and you should be able to continue your work without significant interruption.

Standby generators

The UPS can also be enhanced by having things such as ancillary diesel generators around if you are really trying to protect yourself against extended outages.

Of course, this will increase the cost of your contingency arrangements over and above a basic UPS.

Using laptops and tablets 

One of the big advantages of these devices is that they are entirely independent of mains power supplies, at least for a maximum number of battery hours.

That though won’t be of much help if you have your critical corporate data sitting on a central network supported by larger file servers.

Laptops, handheld devices and the Cloud

If you design and build your IT infrastructure around laptops and the storage of your corporate data on the Cloud then you may insulate yourself a little further from certain types of power outage.

If this doesn’t mean anything to you, please contact Server Sentry and we will arrange for one of our IT technical consultants to explain this approach in more detail

It may change your perception of the potential IT solutions open to you.

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Business IT Support Services and Integration

Are you disappointed with what you’re getting out of your IT?

Perhaps those new super-powerful PCs and servers you purchased just are not doing much to improve your overall software performance.  Are your efforts in videoconferencing still being stymied by pixelated screens and major lags between voice and video?  Do you keep getting error messages on your screens from certain of your applications?

It’s possible that you’re experiencing any of the above or indeed one or more of many other potential problems with your IT.  What’s going on?

Of course, we at Server Sentry Business IT Support Services cannot answer the question without knowing a lot more about your installation and business.  However, it’s possible that you have simply purchased solutions that are not optimal for your needs or perhaps they have been poorly installed and configured to begin with.

The good news though is that sometimes Business IT Support Services can make a huge difference to the way your technology systems work and without involving you in huge expenditure on revised approaches.  In the past, following a short survey of a customer site and changing a few relatively minor parameters, we have been able to resolve long-standing problems that the company had assumed they just had to ‘live with’.

In other situations, we may be able simply to recommend that you change certain of your approaches to the use of your technology and you might find as a consequence that things are far more efficient and successful.

The bottom line is very simple.  You don’t have to put up with Information Technology systems that are holding you back or simply not delivering the benefits you anticipated.  There is almost always something that can be done about such problems and often without large-scale expenditure.

That’s why we would welcome the chance to demonstrate our Business IT Support Services to you in terms of helping you integrate your processes and technology into optimum configurations.  Why not give us a call for an initial entirely free and non-commercial discussion of your requirements?

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Why pay for IT Consulting?

It’s terrifying but true that some companies base their entire IT Services on what might be termed ‘DIY’ computing.

You should be very clear that there is a VAST difference between someone who might be considered by friends and family to be something or a home technical guru with a smartphone or PC software and a professional IT establishment.

Providers such as Sever Sentry invest very significant sums of money in training and maintaining the skills base of their experts providing IT consulting services Melbourne.   They also understand that technical issues can’t just be seen in isolation but also have to be matched to the company’s business culture and overall business model.

It’s important for a professional IT consultant to also be well-versed in a range of different potential solutions and be able to critically evaluate them against each other rather than simply to champion an approach because it’s the only one they know.

The results of amateur, even if well-intentioned, IT consulting are often all too visible.

For example, ‘part-time home IT experts’ may be very well versed in the latest equipment and software but will they be capable of understanding just how compatible it will be with your existing IT infrastructure?

The very latest products also often come with a hidden risk – that of being one of the first in the marketplace to start using it.  Do you really wish your company to be at the cutting edge of IT if that means that you’re also a de-facto guinea-pig site for the manufacturers?

In addition, what will be the payback on your new investment? Will it be the most cost-effective approach?

These and dozens of similar issues is really what IT consultingis all about.  It’s about delivering benefit through IT to your company both cost-effectively and within a managed risk environment.

Amateurs, however, technically gifted they may be, may struggle to have the breadth of professional experience required to deliver warranted solutions to you with ticks in all these boxes.

Of course, you can keep asking your neighbour who knows a “lot about computers” for help and advice – if you’re brave that is.  Maybe he or she will also be around to help out in a crisis rather than on holiday etc.

Alternatively, if you’re not inclined to gamble with your company’s future, use professional IT consulting.

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