How to fix slow Itunes movie downloads

For awhile I’ve known of the problem of slow Itunes (specially) movie download speeds. The problem is really well explained by Joe Maller in this post. The solution that he gives is pretty straight forward also, and fixes the problem if you are using a service like OpenDns or Google Dns. However if you still want to keep using any of those two dns services, you need to go back and forth adding, deleting and choosing one over the other.

The solution: Set multiple dns server addresses inside your network adapter

The fix is pretty easy to set, just make sure you get the dns server addresses from your internet service provider, choose OpenDns or Google Dns if you haven’t done so already. Then open your network connections, choose the adapter you use to connect to the internet on your computer, right click and select properties, then choose Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IP v4), click on properties which will open a new window.

At the bottom, you will have two radio buttons and above it will say “Obtain DNS server address automatically” if you are using a dns server address you will see their numbers in there. If not choose “Use the following DNS server addresses:”

Then click on advance, which will open another window with three tabs, choose the middle one that says DNS. If you didn’t have any addresses there before, now you can add them. If you had two addresses before you can still add more in there. With the arrows to the right you can give priority to one over the other.

Keep in mind that these addresses work in pairs, so for example the primary one for OpenDns is 208.67.220.220 and the secondary is 208.67.222.222, don’t mix them if you have others their, and remember that one is the primary and the other the secondary so don’t change their order.

By default Windows will use the first two of the list, so you can have a few different pairs in there, for example the ones for OpenDns, Google Dns and the ones from your ISP.

How to make it work for you?

For most users using a dns service like the ones mentioned above is the way to go, because they offer many benefits over your ISP’s dns. You basically want to have them running on your computer 99% of the time, for that moment that you decide you need to download a movie from Itunes or other services, then just open your network adapter and change the settings, open Itunes and start your download. Once you are done simply go back and change them again.

In that way you can have the best of both worlds and not have to choose one service over the other permanently.

A Facebook post by Anthony Robbins caught my eye, “RT @Debbie_Ford: Most of us are trained to look for what’s wrong in any relationship or situation. Make a choice to look for what is right.“

I am not going to give you any relationship advice, instead I will focus on a situation that many people will have to deal with sooner or later, the dreaded computer virus/malware infection.

So lets find the good that comes out of having problems with viruses, malware and rogueware, that happen to Windows and Mac users alike.

Awareness of computer threats/vulnerabilities

Knowing that you can be infected while doing common tasks like opening an email, clicking on a link or installing a new program, is a great reminder to be careful with what you do online and offline as well.

Be careful with what you receive, where you click, and what you download.

Encourages a good computer maintenance routine

Having an antivirus program, spyware removers and even the latest secure browsers, will do nothing to protect you if they are not up to date. Take the time to create a weekly maintenance plan that includes downloading the latest Windows updates, get the latest protection definitions for the antivirus program and update any other security software you use.

And most importantly after updating make sure to scan your computer, not doing this particular step is like having a pill that will take away an infection and just looking at it, but not taking it.

It makes you take control and protect your privacy

Knowing that your personal information, like name, credit card(s), tax documents and anything else of value can fall in the wrong hands, is a great incentive to keep it safe in the first place. There are many different ways to do that.

• Using strong passwords
• Changing them often
• Using password managers to store those passwords
• Logging off or locking your computer when not using it
• Making sure you are using secure connections when visiting banks or payment websites
• Important files should be kept in secure password protected or encrypted folders

Using all or some of these ideas, will help keeping a close lid on your information.

Makes you think of backing up your important files

Many times when dealing with computer infections, the computer starts or shuts down by itself, it will lock up open documents or corrupt important system files.

Having a data backup will give you peace of mind that your data is secure, and stored in a safe place where it can be restored again, after clean up is done.

A good data back up includes multiple copies, and different locations for the backup. For example only having files burned into a cd or dvd can be good, but not good enough. In case those disks get scratched or lost, your important information can’t be restored.

Having a portable hard drive is also a great solution, it allows you to take it to a different location, for example if backing up your office information, take the backup drive to your home or the other way around.

Conclusion

As you can see, making the choice to look for what is right in a bad situation, can also bring some good practices and new knowledge. You should always be in control and learning something new to enhance your daily habits.

And if you take the computer to get repaired, ask questions. A good computer repairman will show you what happened, ways to avoid falling a victim again, and show you how to keep up your computer running safe and secure.

It turns out that you can still access a lot of content from major tv stations with the help of plugins that you can add to Windows Media Center. This feature will open the possibilities of watching media on your computer or streaming it to your tv via Xbox 360, HP MediaSmart TV, or any other DLNA-compliant device like the PS3 but this one needs to be tested.

So check the many plugins to choose from that can integrate with Media Center what they offer in terms of channels and integration with your devices.

• Hulu Desktop
• Boxee
• Playon
• SecondRunTv
• TunerFree MCE
• PlayIt
• Netflix

Read more: Msdn

Installing Windows 7 from a dvd is a simple task if your computer is equipped with a dvd drive to boot and install from. The problem comes up for example if your dvd drive is not working, or your drive is a cd drive which won’t read a dvd, or you own a Netbook which doesn’t have a drive for space reasons.

A simple search online yields many results that cover ways for you to go through the process but they take way to long, or are complicated for someone that is not technically inclined, and include Installing Windows 7 with some Linux help or this one that guides you to get a third party program to partition and make the usb stick bootable plus using the command prompt to install Windows 7.

The following method is by far the easiest and requires:

• Having an image of Windows 7 because you purchased it from Microsoft’s Online Store
• If you bought a disk at a retail store but still need a usb version  for your Netbook you can “extract” the image with a program called Imgburn
• A usb stick, usb drive, usb pen, usb flash drive, different names for the same thing.
• And the most important piece is the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool  from Microsoft

The steps to run the setup of Windows 7 on a bootable usb drive

First you need to download and install the tool from Microsoft following these steps:

Installation of the program

Step 1

Setup of Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool step 1

Step 2

Setup of Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool step 2

Step 3

Setup of Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool step 3

Step 4

Setup of Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool step 4

Step 5

Setup of Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool step 5

Using the program

Step 1

Using Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool step 1

Step 2

Using Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool step 2

Step 3

Using Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool step 3

Step 4

Using Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool step 4

Step 5

Using Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool step 5

Step 6

Using Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool step 6

Last but not least

Make sure that you go into your computer bios and set it to boot from USB