Welcome to Mightor Industries, Inc. ™

Posted by on January 20, 2012 at 8:16 pm Comments Off

Welcome to our little corner of the internet.  We’ve actually been around on and off for the last 10 years (Read about our history).  In that amount of time, there have been several versions of the site.  I believe this iteration is the best yet.

Mightor Industries is a site that is focused on all kinds of computer technology, both old and new. We cover a variety of topics, including computer support issues (either that we’ve encountered or that another user may have run into), the latest news in computer technology and issues related it, and commentary on different areas of IT and computer technology (because every once in awhile, you just have to vent).

The staff at MI (currently just Greg and I) are both very passionate about technology, having worked with it in detail for quite a few years (started in MS-DOS and worked our way forward).  Fortunately for both of us, not only is technology our hobby, but also our job.  Every day, we get all kinds of exposure to a wide variety of computing technology, as well as our fair share of issues that plague both IT experts and end users alike.  We’re not experts in every area of IT, but chances are, if we don’t know the answer, we’ll be able to point you in the right direction.  Our goal is to share our computing knowledge with you.  We know full well how it is to have an issue and spend hours and hours trying to find a solution (because let’s face it, as good as Google is, if the documentation isn’t out there, solving the problem can take a lot more time).  We want to provide you with good, detailed information and knowledge about the issues we’ve come across during our adventures (or misadventures) with these machines.

Read more »

Recent Absence

Posted by on March 1, 2012 at 5:59 pm No comments

Please pardon our recent absence.  Things have been rather busy for both Greg and I.  As such, we have been unable to keep up with the site as of late.  We both hope to be back to it as soon as things calm down a little.  Thanks for being patient.  We’ll be back soon.

 

PortableApps.com

Posted by on February 20, 2012 at 3:43 pm 3 comments
Forum Discussion - PortableApps.com - 4 post(s)

For me, being portable is something that is very important, so that I have everything I need anywhere I go, no matter what.  Mobile devices handle a lot of this, but there’s always the case of having specific applications that you may need (along with the configurations that go along with them), no matter what computer you happen to be using.  Insert PortableApps.com.  PortableApps is a solution that will allow you to run certain applications (there’s quite a few) from a USB stick, saving all of the configuration to said USB stick and that will operate on any Windows computer with the ability to read a USB device.

Some of the applications include the following:

  • Firefox, Chrome, and Opera – Browsing (obviously)
  • Pidgin, Skype – Instant Messaging
  • Filezilla – FTP
  • XAMPP – WAMP stack  (this idea really appeals to me!)
  • Audacity – Audio editing
  • GIMP – Image editing
  • Notepad++ – Text Editing
  • OpenOffice.org – Office Applications
  • FoxitReader – PDF Reader
  • ClamWin Antivirus
  • 7zip – File Extraction
  • And many many more.

To use PortableApps, you will need to dedicate a USB stick.  You can still store data onto the stick, but the stick should be clean prior to installing PortableApps.  Once you install PortableApps, an icon will appear in the system tray.  You can close it at any time.  Reopening the application can be done from the USB stick by browsing to it and clicking on Start.exe.  The menu looks very similar to a Windows Vista/7 type start menu.  There is an eject button that will allow you to disconnect the device once you are finished (which is always a good idea).  Included is the ability to download and install additional apps, as well as backup and restore files.

PortableApps is open source and they have a pretty broad support forum, with separate forums for each application they support.

Using A SATA/IDE To USB Adapter

Posted by on February 15, 2012 at 4:00 pm 2 comments
Forum Discussion - Using A SATA/IDE To USB Adapter - 3 post(s)

There are many things an IT/computer repair person has in their tool bag: screwdrivers, an assortment of screws, RJ-45′s, compressed air, hard drive jumpers (for those still clinging to IDE drives), a shirt that reads “There’s no place like 127.0.0.1″, etc.  But, probably the most important tool one can have, is a SATA/IDE to USB adapter, such as this model from Vantec.  This thing has saved me countless times.

The purpose of this device is that it allows you to hook up any drive (both 3.5″ and 2.5″ HDD’s and optical drives), and use it just like an external device.  The nice part about this device is you don’t have to fiddle with an external enclosure – just hook up your drive, power it up, and stick in the USB, and you’re ready to go.  This makes it easy to retrieve data off an old HDD without having to open your computer, or find a spare enclosure.  If you have a lot of drives to test, this makes it easier then having to put it inside the computer, turn it on, check the drive, turn the computer off, and repeat the process.

In this article, I’m going to give an explanation on the many parts and pieces that are inside the box, how to put it all together, and connect it to a computer.  This might seem a little overwhelming at first (especially if you are not a fan of having to put together lots of pieces of technology), but once you get used to the procedure, you can get a drive hooked up in a matter of seconds.

Read more »

Forum – Not Only For Serious Issues

Posted by on February 13, 2012 at 3:02 pm No comments

Many of the posts in our forum are either related to the site posts we generate on a daily basis or somehow in relation to tech.  However, today, I started this post in the Lounge, just to bring to light a very interesting (and hilarious) spam comment that I found earlier today.  This post also features a message from John Madden.  While we love to dive into the technology, sometimes it’s good to kick back and enjoy a laugh.  Stop by and visit the forum and check us out.  We’re anxious to hear from you.

http://www.mightorindustries.net/forum/lounge/best-spam-comment/

Accidentally Locked Your Windows?

Posted by on February 8, 2012 at 2:58 pm 5 comments
Forum Discussion - Accidentally Locked Your Windows? - 6 post(s)

So, you are the only user on your computer.  Things are good, until you wake up one day, and realize you completely forgot the password to you system, or you did something like take a computer off the domain, finding out afterwards that you have no local accounts setup on the machine (as I have done not once, but TWICE today – will I ever learn?).

At first it may seem like all hope is lost – but, there is hope!  Well, I manged to find a good article on how to get back into your system using the installation disc and modifying the registry to turn on the local Administrator account:

How to Enable the Hidden Windows 7 Admin Account Using the Registry [howtogeek.com]

Read more »

Switch to our mobile site