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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Data Recovery Solutions – How Frequently Should You Back Up?

At Server Sentry, we’re often asked this question.

In practice, there is n’t any one answer.  It depends a lot upon the nature of your business operations and how frequently your data and systems are updated.
To understand why, it’s necessary to think a little bit about the fundamentals of what are sometimes called data recovery solutions.

Let’s assume that your system has had some sort of problem resulting in a catastrophic loss of your data.  The basic principle of data recovery solutions means that you may need to ask yourself just how much of your work and other information you could afford to lose or how much time you could afford to spend in recreating it.

Take, for example, a situation where your catastrophic problem arose at 11:30AM.  If you are unable to resolve the problem, you may need to restore your data files as they were at the last point the backup was taken before you had your disaster.

If you only take a backup of everything at the end of a working day, that means that any work done between (e.g.) 6.30 PM that day previously and when your problem happened at 11.30 AM the following morning, could potentially be irretrievably lost.

You could only restore your system to as it had existed the night before at 6.30pm.

Would that be a problem for you? It’s impossible to say in isolation. At the very least you may have lost several hours’ work. In worst-case scenarios, it might not only be lost but also impossible to replicate – something that might be a disaster.

If the thought of losing several hours’ work is too terrible to contemplate, you might need to take much more frequent backups as part of your strategic data recovery solutions. In some cases, companies actually run what’s called ‘hot standby’ whereby their data is replicated off-site in real-time meaning that in the event of a problem, they could instantly cut over to a virtually mirrored environment where all their data is fully up to date.

What you need by way of data recovery solutions will be driven by many different factors – and we can help you discover what they are.

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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 is 24/7 helpdesk support important?

It might be the case that you are relatively fortunate and are able to operate your business on a pretty much 9 to 5 basis.

However, for increasing numbers of 21st century businesses that simply isn’t the reality, as we at Server Sentry know only too well.

For a start, if you are dealing globally with customers, they may be operating in different time zones and might expect you to be around when they need to work rather than change their schedule to fit yours.

Then there are those businesses who may well be working a standard day but at the end of it, need to still have their IT systems running overnight in order to provide services to net visitors.

The inescapable conclusion in the modern world is that many businesses simply cannot afford to pull down the shutters at 5 and ‘go home’.

If you are one such business, bad luck doesn’t restrict itself to normal office hours either.  IT problems can arise at any hour of the day and if they do, you will want to be sure that you are able to get hold of support as fast as possible.

What you will want, at say 10.00 PM, is to know that you have 24/7 helpdesk support available to you.  What you most certainly won’t want is a recorded message telling you that your IT services and support provider has gone home for the night!

Then there is the related issue of weekends.

The standard two day weekend is not universal around the globe and if your customers are working Saturday or Sunday, your IT systems may need to be live likewise to support them.

Once again, if you hit snags in such circumstances you may need that 24/7 helpdesk support.

So, when you are selecting a provider of IT services, keep this in mind.  Remember also that helpdesk contact is typically only the first link in a chain that should lead you to qualified help as fast as possible.

Having immediate 24/7 helpdesk supportcontact out of hours is fine but not if the only response is to say nothing can be done for two days because all of the technical consultants have gone home for the weekend.

Look at this one carefully when choosing a provider.

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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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