Computer Repair and Networking Solutions

Resolving IP conflict error

2016-12-06T06:36:00.001+05:30

IP conflict happens when same IP address is assigned to two network devices connected to same network. Network devices can be either computer, printer or photocopy machine, etc. Most of the IP conflict occurs when the network devices are connected through DHCP IP address. Unlike static IP address in DHCP, IP address is assigned automatically to connect to the network device. It happens when two devices on network gets same IP address, then a network error pop up dialog box is appeared with the title "Windows has detected an IP address conflict".

To resolve IP conflict error:

1. Go to RUN from START button or hold down "WINDOWS KEY" and press "R" to open run dialog box.

2. In the run dialog box type "CMD" and press ENTER key to open COMMAND PROMPT.

3. At the command prompt type "IPCONFIG /ALL" and press ENTER key to know all the network devices connected to your system along with IP address of each device.

4. Now type "IPCONFIG /RELEASE" at the prompt to release the IP address assigned to all the network devices connected to your system.

5. Now type "IPCONFIG /RENEW" at the prompt to release the IP address assigned to all the network devices connected to your system. (Make sure the IP address are different to each network devices if not again network error pop up screen will appear. Keep doing the above procedures till all network devices IP addresses are different)

Defragmentation of hard disk for improving system performance in MICROSOFT WINDOWS 7

2016-12-03T22:55:00.005+05:30

Procedure to defragment hard disk for better performance

1. Open WINDOWS EXPLORER.

2. RIGHT CLICK on the partition or the drive where Microsoft Windows has been installed.

3. Click on PROPERTIES to open the PROPERTIES dialog box of the particular partition or drive.

4. Click on TOOLS tab.

5. Under the DEFRAGMENTATION title, click on DEFRAGMENT NOW button to open DISK DEFRAGMENTER dialog box.

6. Click on DEFRAGMENT DISK button to start hard disk defragmentation.

How to remove/disable Low Disk Space message from taskbar in windows

2016-06-14T06:16:00.001+05:30

Steps to remove or disable the message from taskbar:

1. Go to START and click on RUN or hold WINDOWS key and press R to open RUN window.

2. Type REGEDIT in the RUN windows and click OK button or press ENTER key to open REGISTRY EDITOR window.

3. Under HKEY_CURRENT_USER tree go to SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer (ie, HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer)

4. On the right panel of the window RIGHTCLICK and create a new DWORD value and name it as NoLowDiskSpaceChecks.

5. Give the value for NoLowDiskSpaceChecks as 1.

6. Close the REGISTRY EDITOR window and restart the computer to affect the changes.

NOTE: Any changes made in the windows registry will be effective only after restarting the computer.

How to use IPCONFIG command in DOS command prompt(cmd)

2016-05-23T13:20:00.000+05:30

Using command ipconfig /all shows detailed information such as IP address of your system, DHCP enabled or not, default gateway address,DHCP server address if enabled, DNS servers and MAC address of your network card whether onboard or PCI card.

Ex:
C:\> ipconfig /release (will release the ip address)
C:\> ipconfig /renew (will renew the ip address)
C:\> ipconfig /flushdns (will purge the DNS resolver cache)
C:\> ipconfig /registerdns (will re-register DNS server names)
C:\> ipconfig /renew (will renew all network adapters connected to your system)

Remove background from any image online

2014-05-18T13:06:00.002+05:30

Any image background can be converted to transparent or white background online for free. All you have to do is just upload the image of any format and click on the area where background has to be made transparent or to create white background.

For more details visit: http://www170.lunapic.com/editor/?action=transparent

Desktop/Laptop does not detect SATA hard disk when installing windows operating system

2013-12-31T09:34:00.003+05:30

Almost all recent desktop/laptop’s come with SATA hard disk. Specifically, in laptop’s before installing Windows operating system, you need to have SATA drivers which usually comes in CD provided by the manufacturer. Without SATA drivers it is difficult to install operating system. You can try following methods to install Windows operating system provided your hard disk is not dead.

(1) First make sure you have SATA drivers for hard disk with you either in Pen Drive or in a CD/DVD. Start installing Windows operating system. Somewhere in-between during operating system installation it will ask you to install SATA drivers for your hard disk. Plug in Pen drive or remove the Windows operating system CD/DVD and put the CD/DVD which contains SATA drivers and provide the location/path for the SATA drivers. If you have inserted the CD/DVD with SATA drivers, after SATA drivers are taken, remove the CD/DVD with SATA drivers and put back the Windows operating system CD/DVD and continue. The Windows operating system will take the SATA drivers automatically and continue with the installation of operating system.

(OR)

(2) Open the BIOS settings. Usually you can open BIOS by pressing F2 or F10 or DEL. It depends on the BIOS manufacturers. Just check out which key has to be pressed to open BIOS settings. You can see this the moment you switch on the computer/laptop. Change the Hard Disk Configuration from SATA to IDE. If not just disable the SATA option. Now your hard disk will be detected and you can start installing Windows operating system.

How to enter IP address manually in windows xp

2013-12-30T12:13:00.002+05:30

First of all make sure that you have external PCI ethernet or network Card installed if you do not have on your mother/main board. Now most of the mother/main board manufacturers have on-board ethernet or network card mounted. Also make sure you have installed proper ethernet or network drivers.

To check whether ethernet or network drivers is/are installed or not, right click on MY COMPUTER and click on PROPERTIES. Now go to HARDWARE tab and click on DEVICE MANAGER. The shortest way to open DEVICE MANAGER through keyboard shortcut is, hold the WINDOWS key and press R to open RUN window. In the RUN window type “devmgmt.msc” and press ENTER key or click on OK to open DEVICE MANAGER.

Below is the image which shows drivers properly installed.

Below is the image which shows drivers not properly installed. Hardware devices whose drivers are not installed will be indicated by a YELLOW QUESTION MARK.

After making sure that ethernet/network card in installed along with its proper driver, open CONTROL PANEL by holding WINDOWS keyand press R to open RUN window and type “control” and press ENTER key.

Now double click on icon NETWORK CONNECTIONS to open network connections window.

Now right-click on LOCAL AREA CONNECTION and click on PROPERTIES to open local area connection properties.

Scroll down the list to find “Internet Protocol(TCP/IP)”. Doube click on “Internet Protocol(TCP/IP)” or select “Internet Protocol(TCP/IP)” and click on PROPERTIES to open INTERNET PROTOCOL (TCP/IP) PROPERTIES.

Now select the “Use the following IP address” and enter the IP address provided by internet service provider manually in "IP address" textbox. After you enter IP address press tab to move the cursor to “Subnet mask” textbox. Usually the numbers in subnet mask are assigned automatically once you enter IP address. After entering subnet mask press tab again to move to “Default gateway” textbox. Here you need to enter the default gateway address provided by your internet service provider. After all details are entered press OK button to close the INTERNET PROTOCOL(TCP/IP) PROPERTIES.

A part of screen or entire screen color of monitor changed to red or green or blue or yellow or any other combination of colors

2013-12-28T22:11:00.000+05:30

This usually happens when there is problem with the signal cable which connects from monitor to CPU.

Check the end of the signal cable connector for any bend pins which connects to the CPU. If so, slowly, gently and carefully straighten the pins back to straight. Make sure you do not break any pins.

If all the pins of the signal cable connector are perfect and straight, then try wiggling or twisting the end of the signal cable connector slowly to clockwise and anticlockwise and check for the monitor color. If you see there is variation in the color changes then there is problem with the signal cable connector.

Strong advice is to take the monitor to computer hardware technician or any electronics technician and ask him to change only the signal cable connector. The connector cost is very less.

Monitors that come from manufacturers have signal cable connector that is machine/hard molded. Repairing yourself is easy only if you are perfect and have very good knowledge in electronics and soldering because signal cable has couple of wires that has to be soldered to connector with correct combination.

Microsoft Word File (DOC) to Portable Document Format (PDF) or Vice Versa Online Converter

2013-12-27T08:47:00.002+05:30

Many might have been tired of searching for very good online converter for converting Microsoft Word (DOC) to Portable Document Format (PDF) or vice versa. Many website offer online converting tool. But the problem is after converting one or the other problem exists such as text alignment, extra or no spaces spaces, image(s) not aligned properly and so on.

Click on the below link to open the website to convert "Doc to Pdf" or "Pdf to Doc". The conversion is free and fast and above all, you can see all the contents, alignment, images, etc are exactly placed as the original source file.

http://www.pdfonline.com/convert-pdf/

Procedure to switch from Normal Start Menu to Classic Start Menu

2013-12-26T08:27:00.001+05:30

Whenever you install Windows operating system for first time or re-installing Windows operating system you will see the start menu as default Normal Start Menu.

To change this to "Classic Start Menu".

Hold the WINDOWS Key and press R or go to START and click on RUN to open RUN window . Type CONTROL in the RUN window to open CONTROL PANEL.

Double click on "Taskbar and Start Menu" icon to open "Taskbar and Start Menu Properties".

In the "Taskbar and Start Menu Properties" window, click on Start Menu tab and select the "Classic Start Menu". Click on APPLY and OK to close the window.

Click on Start to see the "Classic Start Menu"

How to delete temperory or junk files?

2013-12-22T07:50:00.000+05:30

Temporary files are stored in your hard disk in many ways when you are working on Windows. For Eg: When installing any new software(s) or uninstalling existing software(s) some of the files are extracted into the “Temp” folder of your Windows. These files are junk or obsolete files and is not used by Windows or any of its applications or softwares. It has to be removed frequently to increase disk space as well as to increase the performance of the system.

Procedure to delete temporary files of the current user profile:
(1) Go to “START” and click on “RUN” or hold the “WINDOWS” key and press “R” to open “RUN” window.
(2) In the “RUN” windows type “%temp%” to open temporary folder of the current user profile.

(3) Select all the files from "Temp" folder and delete.

(4) Please note that in many cases all the files cannot be deleted because some files will be still used by the Windows after installing new software(s) or uninstalling existing software(s). In that case, restart the system and repeat the all the procedures again.

Procedure to remove temporary files from “Temp” in Windows :

(1) Right click on “START” and click on “EXPLORE” or hold the “WINDOWS” key and press “E” to open “WINDOWS EXPLORER”

(2) In the left column click on “WINDOWS” under “Local Disk (C:)” and double click on “Temp” folder on the right window to open temporary files.

(3) Select all the files from "Temp" folder and delete.

Installing device driver for computer hardware devices

2012-05-03T17:06:00.003+05:30

In the previous post, I had discussed about viewing installed or not installed devices. This post tells you how to install device driver for computer hardware devices.

PROCEDURE:

If you have installed WINDOWS operating system freshly, some on-board motherboard hardware devices such as display, audio, enternet, etc or if you have installed any additional hardware devices other than on-board hardware devices such as display, audio, enternet, etc need to be detected using drivers manually. All motherboard manufacturers provide drivers CD/DVD along with the motherboard when purchased.

If the drivers CD provided is AUTOPLAY (when CD/DVD is inserted into the CD/DVD drive the drivers application software runs automatically showing the list of motherboard drivers to be installed) select the devices from the list whose drivers needs to be installed and click on install or follow the instructions provided in the drivers application software till you finish the installation. Once finished installation restart the computer if needed to make the drivers detect the hardware devices.

If the CD/DVD provided is not AUTOPLAY, then follow the procedure as shown below.

Go to "START" and click on "SETTINGS" and click on "CONTROL PANEL" to open CONTROL PANEL window. Inside CONTROL PANEL window double click on "SYSTEM" to open "SYSTEM PROPERTIES" window. In the "SYSTEM PROPERTIES" window click on "HARDWARE" tab. Now you should be able to see a "DEVICE MANAGER" or hold the "WINDOWS KEY" and press "R" to open RUN window or go to "START" and click on "RUN" to open RUN window. Now type "devmgmt.msc" in the RUN window and click OK button or press "ENTER" key to open DEVICE MANAGER window.

In the DEVICE MANGER list look for "OTHER DEVICES". The drivers for the hardware devices list shown under "OTHER DEVICES" are not installed.

Now insert the drivers CD/DVD provided by the motherboard manufacturer into the CD/DVD drive. Now double click on the first device under the "OTHER DEVICES" list. A new window opens up showing the properties of that particular device. Now click on "RE-INSTALL DRIVER" button to open "HARDWARE UPDATE WIZARD" window.

Now select "No. not this time" and click "NEXT" to go to next step.

In the next step select "INSTALL FROM A LIST OR SPECIFIC LOCATION (ADVANCED)" and click on "NEXT" to go to next step.

Here select only "SEARCH REMOVABLE MEDIA (FLOPPY, CD_ROM...)" and click "NEXT" to begin installation of driver from the CD/DVD.

It automatically detects the drivers for the particular hardware device. Finally click "FINISH" to complete the device driver installation. Follow the same procedure for installing device driver for all the devices that are not installed and that are shown in the list under "OTHER DEVICES" list.

NOTE:

WINDOWS XP operating system service pack2 or WINDOWS XP operating system service pack3 comes with most motherboard hardware components drivers integrated. It all depends on the type and the manufacturer of the motherboard. As a result, some motherboards drivers need not be installed manually as the device drivers would have been installed when installing operating system. If some motherboard hardware drivers not installed during installation of WINDOWS operating system, then you need to install drivers manually for those hardware components.

How to know devices that are not properly installed in WINDOWS

2012-05-01T11:29:00.000+05:30

In a computer any devices (example: DVD Writer, Display, Network card or Ethernet card or any external devices attached, etc) to work properly you need to install driver for that particular device. If you are facing problem with any devices not working properly or not getting detected properly, then you might have not installed the device driver properly or if already installed then the device driver might have been corrupted or the device hardware itself should be having a problem. All the computer hardware components or devices installed successfully or unsuccessfully can be viewed in DEVICE MANAGER.

To open DEVICE MANAGER, go to "START" and click on "SETTINGS" and click on "CONTROL PANEL" to open CONTROL PANEL window. Inside CONTROL PANEL window double click on "SYSTEM" to open "SYSTEM PROPERTIES" window. In the "SYSTEM PROPERTIES" window click on "HARDWARE" tab. Now you should be able to see a "DEVICE MANAGER" button.

Click on "DEVICE MANAGER" to open "DEVICE MANAGER" window to see the list of all installed devices in your computer.

The easiest way to open DEVICE MANAGER using keyboard is hold the "WINDOWS KEY" and press "R" to open RUN window or go to "START" and click on "RUN" to open RUN window. Now type "devmgmt.msc" in the RUN window and click OK button or press "ENTER" key to open DEVICE MANAGER window.

In the device list if any device which has a yellow question mark with exclamatory symbol on the left side of the device name as shown below, means that particular device is not installed. In order to make that particular device work properly, you should install driver for that device. In the below image you can see that there is a yellow question mark with exclamatory symbol next to "EHTERNET CONTROLLER". This means the network or ethernet driver is not installed. In order to make the ETHERNET CONTROL work, you need to install the ethernet or network driver.

Sometimes some devices will not work even if the driver is installed properly. For example, consider sound driver is installed properly and you are not be able to hear the sound. Then first check whether the volume control in the STATUS bar is MUTE. If it is not mute then re-installing the device driver for sound card. If you still cannot hear the sound, then chances are more that your sound card hardware device is not functioning properly.

Transfer data or contents from one IDE hard disk to another IDE hard disk (Part 2)

2012-04-30T13:54:00.000+05:30

PROCEDURE FOR CONNECTING TWO HARD DISK DRIVES TO TWO INDIVIDUAL IDE DATA CABLES

Usually the old motherboard has two IDE slots. You can connect one IDE slot to hard disk drive and the other IDE slot to IDE CD-ROM or Combo Drive OR DVD Drive

Now connect one end of the first IDE data cable to hard disk drive ( MASTER or first hard disk drive ) and the other end to first IDE port of the motherboard. Similarly connect second IDE data cable to the hard disk drive ( SLAVE or second hard disk drive )and the other end to the second free IDE slot on the motherboard as shown below.

Note :

(1) Jumper pin settings vary depending on the brand of the hard disk manufacturer.
(2) Most of the recent motherboards will have only one or will not have IDE slot. Instead will have only SATA port.

Transfer data or contents from one IDE hard disk to another IDE hard disk (Part 1)

2012-04-29T15:43:00.000+05:30

If you want to transfer large data or content from one hard disk to another hard disk, it just simply cannot be done by connecting two hard disk and switching on the system. Here is the procedure to copy data from hard disk to hard disk without any hassle.

Always remember whenever you want to copy from hard disk to hard disk, one hard disk must be MASTER and another hard disk must be SLAVE provided if you are connecting both hard disk to a single IDE data cable. If you are connecting two hard disk using two IDE data cables, then no need to make either of the hard disk as MASTER or SLAVE.

PROCEDURE IF YOU ARE CONNECTING TWO HARD DISK DRIVES USING SINGLE IDE DATA CABLE

In SEAGATE brand hard disk there is a jumper pin setting space between the IDE data cable slot where you fix the data cable to hard disk and power slot where you fix the power cable which comes from SMPS (power supply) as shown in the image below

Click here to see the purpose of using a jumper.

By default when you purchase a new hard disk the jumper pin is set to MASTER. To make the hard disk SLAVE remove the jumper pin (In Seagate Hard Disk Drive). Removing the jumper pin makes the hard disk to act as SLAVE.

All the hard disk manufacturers have a jumper pin settings diagram pasted on the hard disk as shown below.

After making sure that one hard disk is master and the other is slave, connect both hard disks as shown below.

Now you should be able to see the drives of both hard disk drives when you switch on the system.

The IDE data cable comes with two and three slots. You need to use three slots IDE cable if you are connecting two hard disk using only one IDE data cable. Out of three slots first slot should be connected to MOTHERBOARD also called as MAIN BOARD and the second free slot should be connected to MASTER hard disk drive and the third free slot has to be connect to SLAVE hard disk drive.

There are chances when two hard disk are connected to a single IDE data cable, sometimes the SLAVE or MASTER hard disk will not be detected. In that case you have to connect both hard disk with individual IDE data cables ie, one ide data cable for MASTER hard disk drive and another IDE data cable for SLAVE hard disk drive.

Note:
(1) Jumper pin settings vary depending on the brand of the hard disk manufacturer.
(2) This method is not required if both hard disk drives are of SATA type. For SATA type hard disk drive, simply connect both hard disk drives to the mother board using individual SATA data cables. After connecting properly you should be able to see both hard disk drives when your windows boots up.

How to remove Windows Security Alert from status bar tray

2011-07-12T14:17:00.002+05:30

Follow the procedure to turn off automatic windows updates and to remove Windows security alert from status bar tray.

Hold WINDOWS key and press R or go to START and click on RUN to open RUN window. Type

" MSCONFIG " without doubles quotes and press ENTER key or click OK button to open SYSTEM CONFIGURATION UTILITY.

Click on SERVICES tab and in the list look for the name SECURITY CENTER and deselect.

Now click OK. You will be asked to RESTART the computer for changes to be affected.

To remove Windows automatic updates:

Hold WINDOWS key and press R or go to START and click on RUN to open RUN window. Type

" MSCONFIG " without double quotes and press ENTER key or click OK button to open SYSTEM CONFIGURATION UTILITY.

Click on SERVICES tab and in the list look for the name AUTOMATIC UPDATES and deselect.

Now click OK. You will be asked to RESTART the computer for changes to be affected.

How to create backup and restore registry

2011-07-07T15:59:00.000+05:30

To SAVE or EXPORT or BACKUP registry.

Go to START and click on RUN or hold WINDOWS key and press R to open RUN window. Type

" REGEDIT " without double quotes and press ENTER key to open REGISTRY EDITOR.

Go to FILE menu and click on EXPORT.

Give a name and path and click on OPEN to save the registry file.

To RESTORE or IMPORT the existing backup registry file.

Considering you have already taken backup of the registry to a file, go to FILE and click on IMPORT.

Now go the location of the saved registry file. Select the backup registry file and click on OPEN to restore the previous stored registry settings.

How to create desktop icons, files and folders without any name in Windows XP

2011-07-05T14:49:00.000+05:30

If you want to remove the names placed under the icons on desktop do the following procedure.

Right click on the icon and click on RENAME or select the icon and press SHIFT + F3 to open right click mouse button and select RENAME or just select the icon and press F2 to RENAME.

Now delete the existing name and type 255 holding ALT button and press ENTER key. You can see no name under the icon.

Note:

This works only with alphanumeric keypad numbers and not the numbers placed in the second row of the keyboard.
This method works even for files and folders placed on desktop.

How to restrict shutdown of Windows XP

2011-07-03T18:54:00.000+05:30

There are many ways to shutdown Windows XP.

Press WINDOWS key and press U twice to shutdown computer
Go to START and click on TURN OFF COMPUTER and again click TURN OFF
Press CTRL+ALT+DEL and select SHUTDOWN and click OK
Go to START and press R to open RUN window. Type " SHUTDOWN –s " without double quotes to shutdown the computer

Procedure to remove the option of shutting down the computer

You have to login as ADMINISTRATOR to make any changes in the GROUP POLICY

Hold the WINDOWS key and press R or go to START and click on RUN to open RUN window. Type

" gpedit.msc " without double quotes and click OK or press ENTER key to open GROUP POLICY window.

In the left window go to USER CONFIGURATION – ADMINISTRATIVE TEMPLATES and double click on STARTMENU AND TASKBAR.

Now in the right window double click on REMOVE LOGOFF ON THE START MENU and select ENABLE

Now just below REMOVE LOGOFF ON THE START MENU double click on REMOVE AND PREVENT ACCESS TO THE SHUTDOWN COMMAND and select ENABLE.

Now in the left window go to USER CONFIGURATION – ADMINISTRATIVE TEMPLATES double click on SYSTEM. In the right window PREVENT ACCESS TO THE COMMAND PROMPT and select ENABLE.

If you want to allow the person to shutdown who has already logged in. Go to COMPUTER CONFIGURATION – WINDOWS SETTINGS – SECURITY SETTINGS – LOCAL POLICIES and double click on SECURITY OPTIONS. In the right window double click on SHUTDOWN: ALLOW SYSTEM TO BE SHUT DOWN WITHOUT HAVING TO LOG ON and select DISABLED.

How to build a desktop computer (part 5)

2011-06-30T18:50:00.000+05:30

Once all the hardware peripherals are connected to cabinet, the most important and final part of assembling computer is providing proper power connection to the motherboard and other hardware peripherals.

Power connections from SMPS to motherboard and other hardware peripherals is very crucial. The 20 or 24 pin power connector and one 4 pin power connector which comes from SMPS has to be fixed to motherboard.

Both 20 or 24 pin and 4 pin power connectors have a lock.

Not all motherboards have 24 pin power connector. Some motherboards will have only 20 pin power connectors.

Look for the 20 or 24 pin power connector on the motherboard and connect the 20 or 24 pin power connector from SMPS to motherboard as shown in the below image.

Now connect the 4 pin power connector from SMPS to the 4 pin connector of the motherboard as shown in the image.

Note that some older motherboard will not have the option of providing 4 pin power connector.

All CPU cabinets will have a set of cables or wires such as power, reset, hard disk LED and power LED, speaker, USB and sound which has to be connected to motherboard.

The USB and sound cables are provided only if you have a provision for connecting USB devices and sound from the front of your cabinet.

Look for the name F_PANEL or FRONT PANEL or PANEL1 on the motherboard. All motherboard manufacturers name the front panel connections differently.

The F_PANEL is a 10 pin connector.

In the F_PANEL you find some times RST for reset, ON/OFF or PWR_BTN or PWR_SWITCH or PW for power, SPK or SPEAKER for speaker, HDD_LED or HD_LED or HLED or HD for hard disk drive LED, POWER_LED or POW_LED or PWR_LED for power LED.

Usually in 10 pin front panel power connector you will find only 9 pins as shown in the above image. The 9th pin as shown in the above image should be always free. Meaning you should not connect able wire or cable to the 9th pin. The two pins next to the block without pin is for power connection and the two pins just opposite to two power pins is for reset and two pins next to reset is for hard disk drive LED and two pins opposite to hard disk drive LED is for power LED. Not all motherboard manufacturers will have the above said front panel power connections design. Always refer motherboard manual for the power connections.

After all the power connections to the motherboard is over cross check once again with the motherboard manual for front panel connections. Then plug the power chord from SMPS to the main power supply.

How to build a desktop computer (part 4)

2011-06-29T21:46:00.002+05:30

After fixing motherboard along with processor and SMPS to ATX cabinet, next step is to fix or install RAM (Random Access Memory), hard disk drive and CDROM-RW/DVD-RW/COMBO DRIVE to the cabinet.

RAM (DDR1 or DDR2 or DDR3) depends on the motherboard you have purchased. Some motherboard supports DDR1 RAM and some support DDR2 or DDR3. Make sure that you check with your hardware vendor for the supported RAM to the purchased motherboard. DDR1 and DDR2 can be distinguished as shown in the below image.

Take the RAM and place it on the motherboard in the RAM slot

as shown in the image

Make sure that when placing RAM in RAM slot the distance between either side of the notch on the motherboard has to match that of RAM.

After placing RAM in the slot, press firmly towards motherboard to get locked by the RAM lock

Below image shows the difference between the RAM which is locked and unlocked.

After RAM is fixed, take the hard disk drive and CDROM-RW/DVD-RW/COMBO DRIVE and fix them to cabinet as shown in the image.

How to build a desktop computer (part 3)

2011-06-27T17:00:00.002+05:30

Take the CPU ATX cabinet and place it horizontally on the soft floor as shown in the image.

Take the SMPS (Power Supply) and place it in the cabinet as shown in the image.

The SMPS has to be fixed with screws provided along with ATX cabinet at the back side of the cabinet.

After fixing the SMPS, take the motherboard and place it in cabinet such a way that all ports (keyboard, mouse, USB, Printer, sound, etc) are placed at the small rectangle opening at the back side of the cabinet. That is the motherboard has to be placed just below the SMPS.

Now the motherboard has to be fixed to the cabinet using screws as shown below.

There are small holes provided in the motherboard for fixing the motherboard to the cabinet with the help of screws. After fixing the motherboard screws make sure your motherboard is not shaking.

Note: Do not screw the motherboard to the cabinet too hard or too tight. Because there are chances that backside of the motherboard getting contact with the metal portion of the cabinet making your computer getting restarted very frequently.

How to build a desktop computer (part 2)

2011-06-23T21:09:00.003+05:30

Fixing processor in processor socket on the motherboard

Take the motherboard and place on any soft surface such as cardboard. All new motherboards have a plastic cover placed on processor socket.

Release the lock handle to open the lid of processor socket.

Now remove the plastic cover fixed to lid. After removing the plastic cover the processor socket has to look like this.

Now we have to place the processor in processor socket

Most of the recent processors come without pins. Handling the processor is very delicate. Do not hold or put your fingers in the middle of the processor. Hold the processor as shown in the image

Always remember the portion which has the name and the speed of the processor (For example: Intel Dual Core 2.8 Ghz) must be on top. Look at the sides of the processor where you can see small cuttings on both the sides.

You have to look for the same small notches on the motherboard and place the processor properly.

Now close the lid and press the lock handle down and fix it to lock the processor to the motherboard. Make sure that your processor is placed properly in the motherboard processor socket before locking the lid.

Processor fan will have four locking clips which have to be fixed to the motherboard.

On the motherboard you can see four small holes present around the processor socket. Place the processor fan on the top of the processor and push the four locking clips one by one to the holes present in the motherboard to firmly lock the processor fan. If the locking clip is not firmly fixed then remove the locking clip by rotating anti clock wise. You can see a directional image on the locking clip to lock and unlock.

Processor fan comes along with four pin power supply wire.

After fixing the processor fan, you have to plug the processor fan power supply wire to the motherboard for proper running of the fan. Look in the motherboard for the name " CPU_FAN " or " CPU FAN " near to the surrounding area of the processor socket.

You have to plug the processor fan four pin power supply wire to the port called " CPU_FAN " or " CPU FAN " on the motherboard.

How to build a desktop computer (part 1)

2011-06-22T12:59:00.007+05:30

Assembling a computer is very easy provided need to be bit careful while giving power connections and fixing peripherals to the motherboard. I will explain in detail how to assemble a desktop computer.

REQUIREMENTS :

(1) MOTHERBOARD

You can choose INTEL, GIGABYTE, ASUS, MSI and many more depending on motherboard features and obviously your money limit). I personally recommend INTEL

motherboard.

(2) PROCESSOR

Processors depends on the speed (Example: 2.8Ghz (Giga Hertz), 3 Ghz, etc). You have INTEL and AMD processors available in the market. I recommend if you are looking only for gaming purpose, you can choose AMD. Please note that when purchasing processor, whether INTEL or AMD make sure with the vendor that the processor supports the motherboard which you are planning to purchase.

(3) RAM (RANDOM ACCESS MEMORY)

RAM is available in different types like SDRAM, DDR1, DDR2, DDR3. Some motherboards support only DDR1 and some DDR2 or DDR3. So make sure that the RAM you purchase supports the motherboard.

(4) CDROM /DVD-RW /COMBO DRIVE

Many brands are available such as LG, SAMSUNG, LITEON etc.

(5) HDD (HARD DISK DRIVE)

Many brands are available such as SEAGATE, SAMSUNG, WESTERN DIGITAL etc. There are two types of HDD available. They are IDE HDD and SATA HDD which can be fixed inside cabinet.

(6) ATX CABINET

Cabinet is a metal or metal coated box where you fix motherboard and all other peripherals related to computer.

(7) SMPS (SWITCH MODE POWER SUPPLY)

SMPS is the power supply where you connect the computer from main power supply using power chord.

(8) MONITOR

This is an output device available as two types. One is CRT and the other is LCD. CRT monitor is heavy when compared to LCD monitor.

Note: Always remember to check with vendor for compatibility and support of any hardware peripherals with motherboard you purchase.

Cannot open BIOS for changing the settings

2011-06-21T11:48:00.000+05:30

If you want to install operating system through bootable operating system CD/DVD and you are not able to make any changes in BIOS like changing the first boot sequence to CD/DVD drive, then you have to first clear or reset the BIOS settings to factory default and make any changes you desire.

Procedure:

Switch of the computer. Open the CPU cabinet and look for the battery placed on the motherboard.

Remove the battery and switch on the computer. Now you should be able to see " CMOS ERROR " press F2 or F10 or DEL to enter BIOS. The error message varies depending on the manufacturers of the motherboard and BIOS. Switch off the computer now and put the battery back to motherboard and switch on the computer and press F2 or F10 or DEL to enter BIOS depending on your BIOS manufacturers. You should now be able to make any changes to BIOS. Remember, any changes made to the BIOS will not be saved if there is no battery placed on the motherboard.