PC Troubleshooting Guide

When Beeps mean Trouble!

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Like the motherboard, there are certain beeps that signals error with the graphics card. It is very hard to determine though, because some of these codes pertain to problems with the system memory. A sound of ONE long beep and TWO short beeps, this would indicate a problem with the graphics card possibly connected with a fault from the memory. First thing to do is check the connections by re inserting the card into the socket. If you have a spare graphics card in hand, try inserting it in the socket. This is one way of checking which of the hardware is defective. Resource conflict can also be a factor. It simply means that your graphics may be working just fine but the system is not allowing it to function because there is another application using the same resource. Find out how to resolve this by clicking on Resource Conflict Troubleshooter.

What is Data Backup?

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Data backup is the act of ensuring your important information (which could be customer contact details for a business or cherished photos for a home user) isn’t only stored in a single place, which leaves it vulnerable to being lost through damage or theft. Since a backup system contains at least one copy of all important data, the risk of total data loss is minimized. And any data loss does not result in a total standstill of the business or heartache for the home user. Using the backup data, the system can be restored and normal service resumed.

Finding the right data backup solution can be confusing. It depends on what to backup, how to backup and what type of computer or network is being used. It might sometimes seem difficult to choose the right backup solution. Not because they are difficult to find, but because there are so many of them.

Computer Basics : Essential for troubleshooting Part-1

It is true that not many people know how to tinker with their computers which doesn�t mean that one cannot handle minor repairs. Repairs and preventive maintenance such as cleaning can be carried out by you and me with the most elementary of cleaning tools and a little elbow grease to go with them. First, to ensure you experience less problems try to get the computer CPU cleaned at least once a year. If you live in a dusty environment or if you have a Fido or Fifi in he house then this might become a regular routine. Before you take off the cover which is normally screwed down ( be sure to check for any warranty seals on the casing, breaking them would void the warranty terms) with four Phillips type screws be sure the power chord is removed and all devices are unplugged from the respective connections (tip: if you assume that you won�t be able to return all those wires to the proper places, get hold of your camera phone or digital camera and take a few shots as a visual record). Slide the cover off to get a glimpse of the innards of your personal computer.

Dust may cause your PC or Gadget to malfunction

Every gadget that has electrical contacts will always have some sort of failure sonner or later. Whether it is caused by dust, dirt, corrosion, or just plain wear and tear it will happen.

Moving on, everything from CF cards to flash memory cards, from batteries to USB peripherals can encounter this problem. I remember that the same thing happened to me with my PlayStation Portable unit. When I inserted the Memory Stick Duo, it was not recognized. I was sweating profusely and I restarted the unit and turned it on again, much to my shock that it seems it was empty. All my photos, saved games, or movies seemed lost. It was almost a year since i cleaned my memory card so i proceeded to clean the contacts using the eraser on my pencil and inserted it back to my PSP and Voila! The Memory Stick was alive again.

PC Power Source Issues

When a power supply conks out, the symptoms comes to you as both mysterious and confusing. Several scenarios start to pay inside you head like the computer hanging unexpectedly, shuts down all by itself or may suddenly restart.

Should your PC exhibit some of these annoying scenarios, you might want to check the power supply and if damaged, replace it. But before you do anything, try asking yourself first you’ve done in the past. Have you been using the CPU or chipset too long?If the answer is YES, then this kind of prolonged abuse quickly eats up wattage and harms your PSU bit by bit. Try to remove and disconnect unnecessary stuffs and observe if the computer’s performance improves.

Screech….ing hard drive – Finishing the Job (Part 6)

One drive systems usually have no jumpers while two or more drive systems can have them installed. Set your errant drive as the slave and the master drive (the new one) as the master drive. Install the drive and screw securely while ensuring all power cables and connectors are set in their proper places before you power up. Partition the new drive if desired and format each partition (this ensures no malicious programs might have been innocently???? left in the drive during testing by the retailer or manufacturer) even if the retailer who sold you the drive says it is factory formatted. Re-install the OS, drivers and all the other programs; re-copy all the necessary files and you’re all set to go. Oh, don’t forget to take out the errant drive after you copy all your documents and files (the drive can fail and damage the computer if the controller board shorts due to failure of the mechanical parts damaging the rest of your computer including the new drive).

Screech….ing hard drive – Installing a New Hard Drive(Part 5)

If you do not have a secondary drive, better get hold of one fast but try to determine the type of the drive the system board supports (IDE, SCSI, ATA or SATA) so you buy the right one. If the drive type is no longer available (most areas have already phased out IDE drives being replaced by SATA drives), then you might be in for more of an overhaul rather than a troubleshooting expedition. A change in most of the parts may be necessary and the files that have to be transferred might be done on another computer which still supports your drive type or by the computer shop should you like them to do so(for a fee of course. Professional data retrieval would be too expensive for the ordinary PC and the data stored in it). Remove the plastic sheath or case of the new drive and check the jumper settings.

Blue Screen of Death - Part 2

The �blue screen� as it is more commonly called can be a simple sign that your computer is overheating and more ventilation is needed. This can be addresses with a couple of extra cooling fans or that the existing fans might be dirty and chock full of dust and grime. This can even be a sign of memory module failure which can also be attributed to overheating ( some memory modules literally cook on the boards giving off the nasty smell of burned plastic). Cooling improvements and replacement can remedy the situation granted that no other motherboard components have been cooked to a crisp.

Screech….ing hard drive – Re-configuring the secondary Drive (Part 4)

Now, to make the secondary drive your primary drive (after you have transferred all necessary files to that said drive), open the casing and locate your hard drive. Don’t forget to discharge any static electricity by touching the casing for a few seconds to ground yourself discharging the offending static charge in your body. Turn the power off and remove all the cables from the rear and front of the casing. Unscrew the hard drives and try to find the master and slave which can be seen in the jumper settings near the drive connector, also disconnect the power supply from the drives. If you have managed to identify the master and slave drives, remove the failing drive and change the jumper setting of the slave to configure it into the master drive(this would be easier if the master and slave were both formatted with their own MBR’s or main boot records). Connect all necessary cables and power up your computer and begin the setup procedure of your OS. Once the OS is re-set-up, reinstall all applications, drivers and other programs you may need and you can now transfer the copied files to their rightful place for use.

Blue Screen of Death - Part 1

Many of us have experienced it many times over, the dreaded �Blue Screen of Death� when using personal computers or just about any computer as a matter of fact. Mostly associated with windows errors, this is called a memory dump which signifies that windows in it�s many versions has encountered an unrecoverable error and has ceased to function. This is a signal to panic for the term paper or presentation you�ve just spent the whole week making and refining has turned to dust hopefully which you might have had a back-up file on some other form of medium.