Hardware

Bob put his iMac to sleep and then when he went to wake it up, he got a "bong" with a blank screen. Leo says that those tones indicates different things depending on the tone. Here's a list. It's possible the backup battery in the computer is dead and needs to be replaced. But it could also be a failed hard drive. It could also be an EFI ROM update is in progress. If you hold down the D key when booting up, you'll go into diagnostic mode. If that doesn't work, then you have a major hardware failure.

Henry wants to extend his Wi-Fi upstairs. What extender should he use? Leo says he has a few options. Mesh routers are great because they have satellites that he can plug into each room, creating a wireless grid for his home. These usually come with a base station and a few extenders. They're a bit pricey, but they have the advantage of having full duplex communication, so the speed isn't cut as it's passing along the signal. They also have great security features, they're easy to maintain through the app, and they update automatically.

Mike bought a Logitech Harmony universal remote control but it won't work with his Comcast box. Leo suspects it's because his latest box doesn't use IR, only RF (radio). Leo says that Harmony does make an IR to RF extender that would convert it.

Peter wants to know why his printed color pages have lines in them. Leo says that if he doesn't print a lot with an inkjet printer, lines will occur because the ink simply dries up in the print head. He'll need to run the ink check/self cleaning utility on the printer to clean the printer head. The downside is that will use up a lot of ink. That's why Leo says that inkjet printers really aren't a good idea for people who print seldomly. A laser printer is better because it uses a dry toner.