Everyday IT Support and Small Technical Jobs

Try these in order before calling anyone: switch the printer off and unplug it for 30 seconds, then power it back on (this genuinely fixes most cases). Then open the print queue and clear every pending job — one stuck job halts the whole queue. Then check the selected printer is the right one and not “Print to PDF”. Then check it is not set to Offline or Paused. If it persists, message me with the printer model and the exact error text: wa.me/966573784181

The most common cause is the printer holding a changing IP address, so it disappears after every router restart. The permanent fix is pinning it to a static address from the router settings or from the printer’s own panel. The second most common is the printer being put on a 5 GHz network when it only supports 2.4 — most printers do not work on 5 GHz. Print the network configuration page from the printer and send it to me: wa.me/966573784181

Blank pages with ink present usually means a protective strip never removed from a new cartridge, a dried print head needing a cleaning cycle from the printer settings, or a non-genuine cartridge the device will not recognise. Streaks on a laser printer mean a drum or cartridge near end of life. This is a hardware matter rather than software — if it needs a replacement part it is outside my scope, and I will tell you that plainly rather than waste your time.

The four causes in order of frequency: a full storage disk (leave at least 15% free or the whole system slows), too many programs launching at startup, a browser with dozens of tabs and extensions you never use, and an old mechanical HDD. You can fix the first two yourself in ten minutes; the fourth needs an SSD upgrade, which is the single biggest difference you can buy for an older machine.

Usually yes, **on one decisive condition: stop using the machine now**. A deleted file stays on the disk until new data is written over it, and every minute of use raises the chance of that becoming permanent. First check the recycle bin and any cloud backup if it was enabled. And do not install recovery software onto the same disk — the installation alone can overwrite what you are trying to recover. Message me before doing anything: wa.me/966573784181

Separate three possibilities before blaming the provider: test the speed on a cable straight from the router — if that is fine, the problem is Wi-Fi rather than your subscription. If drops happen only in distant areas it is coverage, needing an extra access point rather than a stronger router. If the slowness is at particular times it is congestion: a device downloading updates or streaming. Send me your speed test on cable and on Wi-Fi: wa.me/966573784181

The essentials for an office of up to twenty people: a router rated for that count rather than a home unit, one or more access points depending on floor area and walls, a guest network separated from the work network (security-relevant and easy to set up), static addresses for printers and shared devices, and the router admin password changed from the factory default. Those five prevent most network problems before they happen.

The first step is to **disconnect the machine from the network immediately** — pull the cable or switch off Wi-Fi. Ransomware spreads to shared devices and drives, and minutes matter. Do not pay the ransom and do not keep rebooting. Do not attach a backup drive to the infected machine, because it will be encrypted too. Then photograph the screen and keep the ransom note text — it can identify a strain with a known decryption tool. Message me before anything else: wa.me/966573784181

The practical rule is three copies: the original, one on an external drive, and one in the cloud. The reason is that each medium fails differently — an external drive does not survive ransomware if it stays connected, and the cloud does not survive accidental deletion without version history. And most important of all: **actually test a restore**. An untested backup is not a backup, it is an assumption.

Before anything: unplug everything except the monitor and keyboard — a USB stick or external drive can make the machine try to boot from it. Then try booting into Safe Mode. If Safe Mode works, the problem is a recent program or driver rather than hardware, and that is fixable. And most important: **do not accept a system reinstall before your files are pulled off** — anyone proposing a format first is selling you their easiest fix rather than your best one.

Organise the move into four categories, because each transfers differently: files (external drive or cloud), programs (reinstalled rather than copied — copying breaks them), accounts and passwords (a password manager or a browser export), and email if it is stored locally on the machine rather than on the server. The fourth is the one usually lost, because people assume mail lives in the cloud and it does not always.

You need a domain (your company name) and a mail service connected to it. The step everyone skips and which then lands their mail in the spam folder is configuring the three authentication records: SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Without those three your mail will reach your customers’ junk folder, and your domain can be spoofed in phishing messages. Set up once, and the problem is solved permanently.

The first question before cost: do you actually need an app? Many “simple apps” are better and cheaper served by a responsive website — no store fees, no review process, and nobody has to install anything. An app genuinely earns itself when you need push notifications, offline operation, or the camera and location. What moves the cost is the number of screens and states, and whether it needs login and an admin panel.

A simple site that works answers four questions in thirty seconds: who you are, what exactly you offer, where you are, and how to reach you right now. Add a tappable phone number and a WhatsApp button — not an email form, since most people will not write an email. And make sure it is fast on a phone before it is beautiful on a desktop, because most of your visitors are on phones.

Yes, and it suits anyone whose requests recur rather than calling on each problem. What it typically covers: responding to device, network and email problems, monitoring backups and confirming they actually run, security updates, and setting up new staff machines. What it does not cover and is quoted separately: replacement parts, new projects, and system development. The boundary is written upfront rather than discovered at the first disagreement.

Engineer Saeed Baatiah — a computer engineer in Riyadh whose professional title is Computer Engineer | IT | Web Developer, with certifications including Software Maintenance, SQL Server and Android development. He works on diagnosis, software, networks, configuration, recovery and backups. Anything needing mechanical replacement parts is stated plainly as out of scope. Initial diagnosis free on WhatsApp: wa.me/966573784181