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 are using this margin and running the chip closer to its true maximum speed. I don’t normally recommend overclocking for a novice, but if you are comfortable playing with your system settings, and you can afford and are capable of dealing with potential consequences, overclocking might enable you to get another 10%–20% or more performance from your system.
Overclocking is usually applied to the processor, but it can also be applied to other components in the system, including memory, video cards, bus speeds, and more.
When chips run faster, they run hotter, so cooling upgrades and modifications usually go hand-in hand with overclocking. Systems that run cool tend to be more stable and more reliable, so even if you don’t overclock your system, ensuring that it runs cool is essential for trouble-free operation. Many systems are not properly designed or configured for optimal cooling even at their standard speeds, much less when overclocked.
Modern systems allow overclocking without replacing any parts by virtue of programmable timer chips and simple and easy-to-change BIOS Setup options. Some processors, such as Intel Extreme Edition and AMD Black Edition processors, are especially suited to overclocking because they feature unlocked core multipliers. However, some overclocking is possible with almost any processor.
A typical PC has at least two crystals on the motherboard: The main crystal controls the speed of the motherboard and motherboard circuitry, and the other controls the real-time clock (RTC). The main crystal is always 14.3MHz , and the RTC crystal is always 32.7KHz. A special chip called a frequency timing generator (FTG) or frequency synthesizer is used in conjunction with the crystal to derive the actual speeds of the system. A separate 32.768KHz crystal to count time independent from the speed of the system. This crystal is used on all modern motherboards as well.The crystal and frequency synthesizer chip are usually situated near the processor and main chipset component of the motherboard. Most of these chips are programmable and adjustable, so they can change their frequency outputs via software, which results in the system running at different speeds. Because all CPUs are based on the speed of the CPU bus, when you change the CPU bus speed generated by the frequency synthesizer chip, you can change the speed of your processor. Because the PCI, AGP, and memory buses are often synchronized with the speed of the processor bus, when you change the processor bus speed by a given percentage, you also change the speed of those other buses by the same percentage. The software to accomplish this is built into the BIOS Setup menus of most modern motherboards.
The modern motherboards can read the CPU and memory components to determine their proper speed, timing, and voltage settings. Originally, these settings were controlled by jumpers and switches, but in most modern boards you can enter the BIOS Setup to change these settings to manual and then alter the speed of the system. Such alterations can make the system unstable, so most systems are designed to boot into the BIOS Setup at a default low speed. This makes overclocking as simple as changing a few menu options and then rebooting to test the selections you’ve made.
The concept for overclocking is simple: Change the settings to increase the speed of the processor, memory, buses, and so on, until the system becomes unstable. Then you can go back in and reduce the settings until the system is stable again. In this manner, you find the maximum sustainable speed for a system. Because each processor is different, even ones with the same ratings can end up allowing different maximum stable speeds.

Bus Speeds and Multipliers

Modern processors run as a multiple of the motherboard speed, and this selected multiple is usually locked within the processor , all you can do to change speeds is change the processor bus speed settings. Many motherboards allow changes in speed of up to 50% or more, but a processor rarely sustains speeds that far above its rating without locking up or crashing. Also note that, by increasing the speed of the processor bus, you may also be increasing the speed of the memory bus, PCI bus, or PCI Express (or AGP) bus by the same percentage. Therefore, if your memory is unstable at the higher speed, the system will still crash, even though the processor might have been capable of sustaining it.

CPU Voltage Settings

By either increasing or decreasing voltage slightly from the standard, a higher speed of overclock can be achieved in the system. Some motherboards allow adjusting the voltage settings for the FSB, chipset, and memory components, allowing for even more control in overclocking situations. Some motherboards do not allow manual changes to these settings.

Processor Cooling

Heat is a problem in any high-performance system. The higher-speed, processors consume more power and therefore generate more heat. The processor is usually the single most power-hungry chip in a system, and in most situations, the fan inside your computer case is incapable of handling the load without some help. This is where heat sinks and other cooling process come.

Heatsinks

A heatsink works like the radiator in your car, pulling heat away from the engine. In a similar fashion, the heatsink conducts heat away from the processor so it can be vented out of the system. a fan is incorporated somewhere inside your PC to move air across the heatsink and vent it out of the system.  In some systems, the fan included in the power supply is enough when combined with a special heatsink design; in most cases, though, an additional fan must be attached directly over the processor heatsink to provide the necessary levels of cooling. Case fans are also typical in some systems to assist in moving the hot air out of the system and replacing it with cooler air from the outside. The heatsink is normally attached with clips or snap-in retainers. A variety of heatsinks and attachment methods exist.When installing or removing a heatsink that is clipped on, be sure you don’t scrape the surface of the motherboard.

Liquid Cooling

One of the more extreme methods for cooling a PC is to use some form of liquid cooling. Liquids have a much greater thermal carrying capacity than air, and as processors run hotter and hotter, it can be advantageous or even necessary to use a form of liquid cooling to dissipate the extreme levels of heat generated, especially in smaller or more confined spaces.Several forms of liquid cooling are available,including the following:


■ Heat pipes
■ Water cooling
■ Refrigeration
Of all the types of liquid cooling available, heat pipes are the only type that is practical and cost effective in production-level PCs. Water cooling and especially refrigeration are limited to those who are pursuing extreme overclocking and are willing to pay the high prices and put up with all the drawbacks and disadvantages that come with these two options.

Thermally Advantaged Chassis

Chassis that have been specifically designed to improve cooling for the processor by maintaining a temperature of 40°C or less at the processor heatsink inlet are often referred to as thermally advantaged chassis. Using a thermally advantaged chassis allows the processor to remain cool, even under extreme environmental conditions, and it reduces noise. Most modern processors and chassis incorporate cooling systems that can adjust the speeds of the fans.

Best Overclocking Software's :

1. CPUZ and GPUZ
2. AMD Overdrive
3. Intel Desktop Control Center 

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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 icon , or use the keyboard controls to increase the volume.
	Ensure powered (active) speakers are turned on.
	Turn off your computer, and reconnect the speakers.
	Press the Sleep button (select models only), or press the Esc key on the keyboard to resume from sleep mode.
	Replace the passive speaker system with an active speaker system (sold separately). Active speakers have a power cord and On button and connect to the Audio Out (green) connector on the computer.
	Unplug headphones if they are connected to your computer.
Codec error messages appear when certain audio files are played.	Open the file in Windows Media Player. Ensure Windows Media Player is configured to automatically download codecs. If the correct codec is available, the file will play. Note that you must be connected to the Internet to download the codec file. If the correct codec is not available, check to see if there is an update available for Windows Media Player. Download the codec from Internet.

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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 computer. All you need is basic computer knowledge, some tools, a little patience and a can of Red Bull. As with anything to do with PC repair, you need to try different approaches and so this guide won’t try to spoon-feed you, but will provide pointers in the right direction.

Here we present a top down organized checklist to guide you in troubleshooting. We’ll be using the Worst to Best Case Scenario Methodology for diagnosing of the issues in this workshop. This means we’ll start with the Worst Case of your computer not starting at all to the Best Case where it requires a minor tweak, and all the steps in between. Identify how broken your computer is, and start fixing. A word of advice: even if you’re not facing the Worst Case Scenario [the problem], it’s strongly recommended to run through the checklist as the problem might be a result of something mentioned in the previous steps. The guide will apply for both laptops and desktops and either of Windows or Linux operating systems.

Checklist

The first thing to do when faced with a malfunctioning system is to calm down; panic won’t help. To reassure you a bit, there is over a 90% chance that your data is still safe; it’s just not accessible to you, right now. Often it might be a simple issue of loose connections or an inexpensive price of broken hardware or a wrong setting. Let’s begin with the worst case scenario.

Your computer doesn’t turn on at all

1.    Check the basics: Sounds silly but is your power on? Is the display up? Look for any LED activity lights (power, hard disk, and network) and listen to any spinning noises of fan and hard disk. If there are no signs of life then perform the following checks on else skip to the next step.

2.    In case of desktop check if the main power chord is attached to the wall, the switch is on and also if there is power supply in the socket, try putting some other appliance in there.

3.    For laptops ensure your battery is charged, and the laptop is connected to a charger. Try putting in another battery if you have access to the same or one from a similar model.

4.   Check if the reset switch on the front panel from your case is stuck. You can check by pressing it. If you can’t move it, that means that it is stuck, and you need to release it using a small screwdriver. In the worst case you’ll need to replace it.

5.    If you’re on a desktop, try reconnecting all the cables and do a bit of dusting. You won’t believe that number of systems that turn on simply by reassembling and cleaning off all the dust.

If at this point it’s still not turning on, it’s likely that your SMPS has conked off. You’ll need to replace it with new one.

System turns on, but absolutely no display or switches off immediately

1.    Ensure that your monitor is plugged in and switched on and is working properly. Try connecting your monitor to another device if possible.

2.    With laptops you’re a little out of luck. The error might not be only with display panel but also the cable that powers it or the graphics card (if nothing at all is displayed) a graphics card error is rare.

3.    Don’t worry, all is not lost yet; you would have noticed your computer beeps when you boot it, at this point most popularly your beeping pattern has changed.

a.   Power on the computer or restart it if it’s already on.

b.   Listen very carefully to the beeps that are being emitted by a small speaker on your motherboard [you don’t need external speakers]

c.    You can restart your computer a few times if you couldn’t hear it properly the first time; it’s unlikely that by merely restarting a few times you’ll make your issue far worse. Of course refrain from doing this if any burning smell or smoke is at play.

d.   Note down the exact beep pattern, the points to note are if it was a short beep or a long beep, and how often was it repeated.

e.     Now Google for the beep codes of your respective motherboard/BIOS manufacturer. For example for AWARD BIOS (one of the most common one), you can find the beep code listening at http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm . You’ll notice that you can find a great deal of information on your issue.

4.   Often in these scenarios, one typical issue can be solved by resetting the RAM. It’s simple to do even on laptops and nearly all manufacturers, except Apple. You’ll have a simple panel at the back which can be removed top access the RAM. You don’t need any specialized tools, but be sure to keep one barefoot on the ground while handling the RAM to prevent damage by static discharge.

Turns on but doesn’t start booting into OS

This issue is typically encountered where either your Master Boot Loader (which tells what to load in Boot Loader, refer to BOX 2) is broken or your Boot Loader is broken. This arises in two typical scenarios. One when you’re trying to install Windows after installing Linux, and then you find yourself with no way to enter Linux after installing Windows, and then deleted Linux partition. Or if you’re simply seeing the dreaded “BootMgr is missing” issue. Read on.

1.    You want only Windows

a.   For windows XP, insert your disk. Press ‘R’ to enter the recovery console. When you reach her command prompt simply enter “fixmbr” let the process finish, reboot the system, remove the disk and voila it’ll start working.

b.   For Windows 7/Vista, insert your setup/recovery disk. After that, click next through the usual options; select “Repair your computer”. It will then list out your installed Operating Systems, select the correct one. Click next and from the following menu for choosing a recovery tool, select “Startup Repair”. Let the process finish, reboot your system and remove your disk. You can also accomplish the same by choosing the command prompt option and simply typing “bootrec/fixboot”

c.    In case you don’t have a setup or recovery disk, or your system doesn’t have CD drive, then take out your Linux Live Pen Drive [refer TOOLBOX]. Boot into Linux. Open a terminal session by Applications > Accessories > Terminal and type in the following

“sudo apt-get install ms-sys”

Followed by:

“sudo fdisk -1”

Look for something like

/dev/sdal XYZXYZ NTFS

At the end of the output and then type:

“sudo ms-sys –m/dev/sda”

Note there is no “1” in the above command, it would be between “sda” or “had” or “sdb” depending on your system.

Reboot the machine, remove your pen drive and you’re done.

2.    You want both Windows and Linux

     Follow step c from the previous set, but instead type this:

“sudo fdisk -1”

Figure out the device where Linux is installed from “sda”/”hda”/”sdb”

And then type:

“sudo grub-install /dev/XXX”

Where XXX is the above mentioned device name. Reboot your system.

Starts booting but shuts down

1.    Keep pressing F8 key while the system boots, to access the startup menu and see if Windows will boot into Safe Mode. If you’re able to get into Windows, the problem is most likely with your graphics card drivers, junk applications, or perhaps some spyware applications. Try remembering your recent changes and revert them from here.

2.    Most Linux distributions will also give you a recovery option right at the bootloader (Grub) stage. Try that and then do the same as above.

3.    For Windows, if Safe Mode doesn’t work, try using the “Last Known Good Configuration” option.

4.   Since Windows 7, the System Restore tool has become a decently mature tool. You can access System Restore via the recovery disk as explained above, where instead of “Startup Repair” you can choose “System Restore”. If you don’t have the disk and can access the command prompt from the F8 menu, then log in as administrator and type

%systemroot%\system32\restore\rstrui.exe to start system restore. If at this point your system still doesn’t start, you might need to reinstall the OS in the case of Windows (Don’t worry, your data will still be safe).

Boots into the OS, some hardware not working

In case you have a piece of hardware which was previously working but has now stopped working, try the following:

1.    Check that piece of hardware on another machine to see if it’s a hardware issue or a software issue. If you lack access to another machine, booting into an Ubuntu Live CD and seeing if the hardware works there can provide a good workaround.

2.    If it works, then it’s most probably a driver update issue. Go to Control Panel > Device Manager, then select the malfunctioning device and click on update driver. If it doesn’t fix the issue, go to the respective manufacturer’s website, download the latest device driver from there and install it.

Boots into OS, non-optimum performance

1.    If you can’t find a partition, type Disk management in Start menu and explore what the issue is. If you’re unable to get to this stage, then you can pop up in the Ubuntu Live drive and Open the “Gparted Tool” to investigate.

2.    Blue screen of death: If you consistently find yourself running into the Blue Screen of Death here’s what to do.

a.   On Windows 7 or later a consistent BSOD typically indicates a hardware or driver issue. As mentioned above, try updating your drivers.

b.   Run the MemTest86+ tool and see if your RAM is performing up to the mark. RAM is often the cause of consistent BSODs.

c.    One annoying thing that is that often the system restart without giving you time to note down the error, which you can later Google to get towards a reasonable solution. For this Right click on your “My Computer” Icon and select “Properties”, click on “Advance System Settings” from the right hand side panel. Click on “Settings” at bottom in the “Startup and Recovery” area and simply uncheck the “Automatic Restart” box under System Failure. This will give you all the time you need to note down the error.

3.    Anti-virus and Spyware:

a.   Free antivirus software is a good first line of defence. Install one of them and keep the definitions regularly updated.

b.   Use Super Antispyware & Malware Bytes on a regular basis with updated definitions to keep your system running smooth and Trojan free.

4.   Slow startup

a.   In the Windows 7 menu, type “msconfig” by clicking on the Start Button, or in an older version, in the run command box. From there select “Startup” in the tab and uncheck all the software you don’t want to start automatically.

5.    Install Soluto for automated application updates and general maintenance.

Prevention and basic maintenance

Hopefully this guide would help you recover your system in the event of a crash with a little bit of smart Goggling, a bit of patience and some commonsense. We would like to wind up this guide by iterating the old adage which says, “Prevention is better than Cure”. Here are a few simple tips for keeping your system well-oiled and preempting crashes.

·         Defragment your system often.

·         Keep your Registry clean by using tools like “CCleaner”.

·         Use the built in “Reliability Monitor” tool in Windows 7 & 8.

·         Keep backup images of your OS partition from a point where everything was working and updated. 

HOW DOES A PC BOOT?

It is important to understand how your computer starts and what the words BIOS and POST means. A typical BIOS screen is where you can change some critical settings. The BIOS, which stands for Basic Input / Output System is already present in the computer and is the first code run by it when switched on. This outputs the first thing you see on your monitor. BIOS now calls the POST, which stands for Power-On Self-Test. POST is responsible for the identification and initialization of system devices such as the CPU, RAM, Video display card, IO devices etc. The BIOS then locates the “Boot Loader” software stored on an attached storage medium or over the network (designed as a ‘boot device’, and the priority of lookup from HDD, Pen Drive, CD-ROM, Network can be changed by the User). The Boot Loader then typically loads the designated (or selected in case of multiple OS) Operating System.

TOOLS YOU’LL NEED

Here’s a small list of tools that we’ve mentioned and used in the workshop. Most software will be found on the Internet.

Screwdriver Set: If you want to open your desktop cabinet or reseat your laptop RAM you’d need this.

Ubuntu Live Drive: Even if you’re a Windows user it will be an invaluable tool. It comes pre-bundled with a great partition manager known as “Gparted”. Simply get one from http://gparted.sourceforge.net/download.php . It’s recommended to use a USB disk.

SuperAntiSpyware and MalWareBytes:  Get these from http://www.superantispyware.com/ & http://www.malwarebytes.org/

Memtest86+: Get it here: http://www.memtest.org/#downiso

Windows 7/Vista/XP setup or recovery disk: If you’re still using an OS released 12 years ago, consider an upgrade.

BlueScreenView: Available at http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/blue_screen_view.html will help you a great deal in debugging Blue Screen of Death errors.

Soluto: Obtained from https://www.soluto.com/ for automated system maintenance.

Source: Digit Magazine

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