Motherboard Selection Criteria's

I am often asked to make recommendations for purchases. Without guidance, many individuals have no rhyme or reason for their selections and instead base their choices solely on magazine reviews or, even worse, on some personal bias. To help eliminate this haphazard selection process, I have developed a simple motherboard selection checklist.It helps...

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Overclock your PC

Setting the processors speed to run faster than the manufacturers rating on the chip is called overclocking. You can get away with a certain amount of overclocking on Intel, AMD, and other processors. So, a chip rated 3GHz might in fact run at 3.5GHz or more but instead being down-rated allows for a greater margin of reliability. By overclocking, you...

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POST Diagnostic Front Panel LEDs and Audible Codes

Activity Beeps Possible Cause Recommended Action Red Power LED flashes two times, once every second, followed by a two second pause. Beeps stop after fifth iteration but LEDs continue until problem is solved. 2 Processor thermal protectionactivated: A fan may be blocked or not turning.ORThe heatsink/fan assembly is not properly attached to...

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POST Error Messages

The error codes, error messages, and the various indicator light and audible sequences that you may encounter during Power-On Self-Test (POST) or computer restart are given below, the probable source of the problem, and steps you can take to resolve the error condition. POST Message Disabled suppresses most system messages during POST, such as memory...

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Password Security and Resetting CMOS

A computer supports two security password features that are established through the Computer Setup Utilities menu: setup password and power-on password. When you establish only a setup password, any user can access all the information on the computer except Computer Setup. When you establish only a power-on password, the power-on password is required...

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Troubleshooting Power Supply

Symptom Possible solution Computer will not turn on or start. Ensure that cables connecting the computer to the external power source are plugged in properly. When the cables connecting the computer to the external power source are plugged in properly and the wall outlet is functioning, the green power supply light on the back of the computer...

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Troubleshoot Keyboard and Mouse

Symptom Possible solution Keyboard commands and typing are not recognized by the computer. Turn off the computer , reconnect the keyboard to the back of your computer, and then turn on your computer. Keyboard Print button doesnot work. Use the Print menu item in the program (usually located on the File menu). Wireless keyboard does not...

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Troubleshoot Display (Monitor)

Symptom Possible solution Screen is blank, and monitorpower light is not lit. Reconnect the power plug on the back of the monitor and the wall outlet. Press the On button on the front of the monitor. Screen is blank. Press the space bar or move the mouse to make the screen display visible again. Press the Sleep button (select models only),...

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Troubleshooting Video

Symptom Possible solution Some video files do not play. Your file may be corrupt or in an unsupported format. Open the video file in a video editor, and then resave the file in a supported format. Codec error messages appear when I play certain video files. Open the file in Windows Media Player. Ensure Windows Media Player is configured to...

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Troubleshooting CD and DVD Drives

Symptom Possible solution The CD or DVD drive cannotread a disc or takes too longto start Ensure the disc is inserted with the label facing up and centered in the tray. Wait at least 30 seconds to let the drive determine the type of media. Clean the disc with a disc cleaning kit, available from most computer stores. The driver may be corrupted...

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Troubleshooting Audio

Symptom Possible solution No sound is produced Press the Mute button on the keyboard to see if the Mute feature is turned on. Or Click the Windows Start Button, and then click Control Panel. Click Hardware and Sound, and then Adjust system volume. If applications are muted, click the mute button to unmute. Click the task bar Volume...

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Bring a dead Hard Drive back to life

Recover data from a dead hard drive by physically changing platters and saving thousands in per GB professional recovery charges Your hard drive though seemingly tough is in fact pretty delicate and contains precious data. HDDs have plenty of mechanical parts and the more there are, the more things can go wrong. One fine day you’ll come across...

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Troubleshoot a buggy system…. Like a boss

We’ve all faced that dreaded moment when we try to turn on our computer and either it doesn’t start at all or stops functioning unexpectedly. At this point we feel frustrated and exasperated, and many of us are clueless as to what to do next. Fret not; this workshop will equip you with many Do-It-Yourself solutions for fixing a crashed or a malfunctioning...

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