PC and Laptop Service

Dead Computer Troubleshooting

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Sat, 14 May 2011 06:20:00 +0000

Dead Computer Troubleshooting

One of the most difficult computer problems for a home user is troubleshooting a dead computer. When we mean “dead” we mean no signs of life at all. Where do you even begin? The average user doesn’t know the internal workings of their computer–and they shouldn’t have to. So when things go wrong, they do not know where to begin to diagnose and either fix the problem or make arrangements to have the problem corrected. The following steps will help give you some general knowledge of what could be wrong with your PC and give you some ideas on how to fix it or provide you with enough knowledge to prevent you getting ripped off at the computer repair shop.
For starters, if the computer is still under warranty, do not open the case, as this will void your warranty. HP, Dell and any other major manufacturer will respond quickly to your problems and arrange for you to send the computer in, or they might opt to send a technician out to work on the computer. If you bought the PC at a shop around the corner, send emails and begin a paper trail on the issue.
With that said, a completely dead computer will usually have either a bad motherboard, bad power supply, or a faulty case. The following steps will help you find out which is the culprit. Well start with the easiest and work our way down to the hardest. One of the first things you’ll want to do is unplug the computer and take it to a table where you can lay it flat. Open the case and check the connections to see if you notice anything blatantly wrong, then proceed with the steps below.

Diagnosing A Bad Power Supply

Power supplies can fail without warning. The worse part is, they can partially fail. This means you might be getting power to the motherboard, the fans and other components, but you do not have the correct voltages to start the motherboard.The power supply is located at the back of the case, and is where the power cable plugs into the PC.

Your first step should be to plug the computer directly into the wall and bypass any power strips. You should also confirm the outlet is working properly.
Make sure the red voltage regulator switch on the back is set to 115 if you reside in the United States, people in some countries will need to set theirs to 230. With the power off and unplugged, try toggling the switch to 230, then back to 115 to make sure it is seated in the right position.
Next, buy a power supply tester. Computer techs will use a multimeter to test for proper voltages. Normal users can just buy a power supply tester. These are cheap and easy to use.
If your power supply is bad, buy one of equal or greater power. If your current power supply is 350WT, be sure to get one that’s 350WT or higher. Shop for a power supply.
If you have an HP computer, read these HP power Supply troubleshooting tips.

A power supply will tend to fail before anything else, as they take the most abuse. They are the front line when a power surge or brown out occurs. The good news is, they are extremely easy to replace should you find this is the problem.

Diagnosing A Bad Computer Case

While a dead PC will either normally be a bad power supply or bad motherboard, the next easiest thing to troubleshoot is the case. How can a case go bad? A case has minimal smarts, but it does have wires leading from the power button to the motherboard that can go bad, and some even have advanced I/O panels that can fail.

You can try bypassing the case switch. This means you are initiating the power-on sequence without using the button on the front of the case. For this, you will need a good set of eyes and a small, flat-head screw driver. The idea is to find the wire leading from the power button to the motherboard that’s marked something like POWER SW or POWER ON. It will cover two pins on the motherboard. Carefully, with the computer plugged in, touch tip of the flat head screwdriver to both of those pins at the same time, thus “shorting” them. You will not get shocked by doing this, but you need to be careful not to scratch the motherboard. Read more on bypassing the case switch here.
If you have a Dell computer, read how to test a Dell I/O panel here.

Diagnosing A Bad Motherboard

The motherboard is the hardest thing to diagnose and replace. If your motherboard is proven to be bad, it must be removed from the case and replaced. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of stuff plugged into the motherboard, such as the CPU, RAM, PCI cards, Video Cards, hard drives, CD / DVD drives, power supply and fans. There are also tricky connections that must be made to the case’s power and reset switches. So replacing a bad motherboard is a long process. A bad motherboard will be determined by the following:

If all of the above are not the problem, the motherboard is the problem by default.
A bad motherboard might have visual signs of damage, such as bulging or leaking capacitors. See below.
With the computer unplugged, try holding in on the power button for twenty seconds. This will drain the capacitors of any excess power. The computer might start up and work fine forever. If the computer starts, then fails again after doing this, then the motherboard is bad.
Try removing any non-essential cards and drives in the computer. You do not need modems, sound cards, hard drives, CD / DVD drives, or floppy drives connected to boot. Our goal is to get a clean power-up situation, not boot into windows. If you remove non-essential parts and you still have no power, then the motherboard is bad.

In Conclusion, technicians will have more advanced tools and diagnostic equipment to quickly find the problem with your PC. But it will usually be one of the above that is causing the problem in a no power scenario.

Via (PCTech)

Speck CandyShell Wrap iPad case folks, serves as stand

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 13:06:00 +0000

Speck's new CandyShell Wrap iPad case doesn't just protect an iPad: the removable front cover folks to serve as a stand.

Speck just got back from showing off iPhone cases and covers at CES, and now the company has debuted its CandyShell Wrap case for the Apple iPad, just in time for this week’s Macworld Expo in San Francisco. In addition to protecting an iPad from bumps, scratches, and dirt, the CandyShell Wrap case features a removable cover that can fold up to serve as a viewing and/or typing stand.

“Our goal was to narrow the function of the CandyShell Wrap case for iPad to the most useful: viewing and typing,” said Speck’s director of design Bryan Hynecek, in a statement. “CandyShell Wrap is the first of our new generation of functional iPad case designs for mobile devices to hit the market.”

The CandyShell Wrap features a glossy, hard-shell exterior with a rubberized interior designed to protect the iPad from everyday bumps, knocks, and scrapes. The case’s front cover flips open and closed, and can be folded back to serve as a stand for viewing or typing, and the case has a flip-back panel that enables users to dock their iPads without removing th case.

The CandyShell Wrap case for iPad is available now in black for a suggested price of $59.99.

Despite an army of challengers drawing back their bows, Apple’s iPad may ride out the year without a single arrow piercing its armor. Here’s why.

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 15:20:00 +0000

Despite an army of challengers drawing back their bows, Apple’s iPad may ride out the year without a single arrow piercing its armor. Here’s why.

I was at an Intel sales event this week with a bunch of analysts, and several of us got to talking about Apple, and how confident the company was in the iPad. Despite an army of competitors emerging this year, Apple remains assured that they’ll all look second-rate compared to the iPad and iPad 2. Apparently there is method to their madness, and a number of us have been hearing other OEMs complain that they just can’t get a comparable product to market for anywhere near the same price. They do plan to have smaller products to market at a lower price, but we are working from a rumor that says Apple has a strategy to deal with that problem as well. In addition, a number of us have heard of yet another enhancement the iPad 2 is likely to get.

Let’s talk iPads today!

Apple owns the 10-inch market

Apparently, at the core of Apple’s confidence is the belief that they have virtually locked up the vast majority of 10-inch touchscreen capacity through this year. Only Apple thought that tablets would be successful early on, and apparently no one (who is talking) did the same. As a result, you have a lot of vendors bidding for a constrained resource, and that has caused the price of the remaining capacity to skyrocket. This means that no one can get close to Apple’s price, even if they forego profit. Apple has effectively locked them out of the market.

A lot of screen manufactures did build 10-inch displays for netbooks, but they stopped selling in high volumes, and because theses displays are in the wide-screen format, they don’t lend themselves to much of anything else that is selling in high volume. If someone gets a smartbook right, that could lead to a good opportunity, because these screen manufactures are almost giving the non-touch screens away. I’m not holding my breath.

The 7-inch counter strategy

The counter strategy from a number of OEMs has been to build a 7-inch tablet and sell it at a lower price to compete with the iPad. We saw the beginning of this when Samsung reduced the price of the Galaxy Tab sharply, and started to sell them in higher volumes as a result. Still, at best the Galaxy may have sold 10 percent of what the iPad did, and even that number is likely way overstated. In effect, the Galaxy became what the Zune was to the iPod: a nicely built, but largely uncompetitive offering in a market Apple literally owns.

Countering the counter strategy

Even this small advantage may go away when the iPad 2 ships. Apparently, Apple is considering dropping the price of the entry level iPad to equal the price of many of these 7-inch tablets. That would once again give folks a choice between something big from Apple, and something small from Samsung, for the same price. I expect most will continue to choose the Apple.

HP’s wild card

HP is expected to launch the new Palm Tablet in a few days (February 9). HP has historically been just as aggressive as Apple is in terms of locking up supply for a new product well in advance, and because HP sells far more PCs, it actually has more bidding power than Apple does. There is a chance that HP already tied up screen capacity to make a real run at Apple’s iPad dominance, but it would appear to be the only one, and even that possible advantage is just speculation. The company co

ld just as easily be SOL like every other competitor.

A Retina iPad?

Several of my peers are convinced that Apple will launch a new, high-end iPad that will have a very high-resolution Retina Display sometime this year. Apple likes premium offerings, and because no one can seem to create a product anything like the iPad for a similar price, Apple actually has the value product this round. That would mean Apple is inclined to create a better premium product and drive people to it, while the lower-end offering with the less-attractive display is used for volume, and to assure Apple continues to dominate this segment. If Apple does this, much as it did with the iPhone 4, it will likely double the resolution over the base model with this display. On the other hand, Apple doesn’t like a complex line, which means that if it does a high-end display, it may drop it into the entire iPad 2 line of products.

Wrapping up: Apple has every reason to be optimistic

In the first half of the year, only HP and possibly Research in Motion (RIM) have the positioning to take a bite out of Apple, and few (as in none) believe that RIM has the chops to do this. HP likely is anticipating Apple’s move and should be able to provide a surprise, but “could” and “does” are two very different words. HP, to my knowledge, has never upset Apple’s apple cart before. With the iPad expected to come out before June and possibly as early as March, we’ll know on Feb. 9 whether HP even has a shot. I think HP has a long shot, but my peers don’t even give them that much.

In the end, Apple appears to have a good reason to be confident.

Lets plays music easy from phone, laptop with Weezy Bluetooth Music Receiver plays tunes

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 15:16:00 +0000

Weezy lets you stream music from your phone or laptop to your stereo system without hassle, and looks pretty cool while doing it.

This shiny, alien-like object will make using your home speaker system with your laptop and smartphone a snap thanks to the wonders of Bluetooth. The device plugs into your stereo system and pairs with up to nine different devices via Bluetooth. Weezy ($91) is always ready for a connection, so turning on your stereo from your phone or laptop is quick and painless. Change tracks from your phone while in a different room, or instantly send a new playlist from your laptop to your stereo. It works with Apple products as well as BlackBerry, Android, Palm, Linux and Windows. As an added bonus, when using Weezy through your phone, the device will automatically mute as you receive incoming calls. Considerate, right?

Via: [Digital T]

Increase PC Speed

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 10:48:00 +0000

Increase PC Speed. Everyone wants a faster computer, right? There are several things you can do to make your computer faster. You can get it back to the speed it was when you first bought it, or you can invest in a few hardware upgrades to boost performance. Or you can do some things to make the Internet or network faster. Follow these helpful tips to kick your computer into hyperdrive.

Computer Maintenance

If you were happy with the way the computer use to run, some simple maintenance might help increase the speed of your computer. Over time, a computer will slow down because of temporary files and hard drive fragmentation. Your hard drive might even be going bad. Perform the follow basic maintenance and see if your computer speed improves:

Uninstall unnecessary programs from within the control panel. In older versions of Windows you can do this from Add / Remove Programs. In Windows 7 it is called Uninstall A Program.
Run Disk Cleanup by going to Start>Programs>Accessories>System Tools>Disk Cleanup.
Run Disk Defragmentor from the same location.
Run Error Checking. Open My Computer, then right-click your C drive. Under the Tools tab, look for “Error Checking” and click the Check Now button. Check the boxes for Automatically fix errors and scan for bad sectors.

If maintenance didn’t quite get your PC back up to original speed, it might be time for a System Recovery. This is the act of inserting the recovery CDs you were given by the manufacturer and using them to erase your hard drive and revert it back to original factory condition. If you opt for this method, be sure to backup everything of importance. If you need help with system recovery, just ask.

Upgrade Your Hardware

If your computer is running as fast as it always did, but is still not fast enough to play games or surf the web, It might be time for a hardware upgrade. Upgrading a PC is a slippery slope, as you might ultimately find yourself paying as much to upgrade as it would cost to buy a newer, faster computer. Everything is dependent on the motherboard–the type of RAM you use, the type of CPU and even the kind of graphics card you can install. If you’re looking to improve your PC’s speed, the first upgrades should be the RAM and the video card.

Upgrading your computers RAM – Visit a site like Crucial.com and search for your computer’s brand. Crucial’s memory configurator will tell you what memory your computer currently has, and how much it can hold. RAM is cheap, so try and get it up to at least 4GBs, if possible. In most cases, 2GBs will also be fine.

Upgrading your video card – You’ll need to determine what type of slot your motherboard has in order to buy a faster video card. You will also need to check the specs on your power supply to make sure you have enough power to drive it. If your computer is only a couple of years old, you most definitely will have a PCI-Express video slot. If it’s older, you might have an AGP slot. The video card slot is at the top of the row of slots. An AGP slot is a short, brown slot. A PCI-E slot is white and longer than the others. Be sure to read the system requirements for the video card you want to buy, as video cards can be very demanding on your computer.

Make The Internet Faster

A slow computer can make the Internet slow, too, because your computer needs to be able to process the information it is receiving. If you’re sure your computer is not the bottleneck, your next step will be to improve your network and Internet Service Provider. There are several options for Internet, and we’ll list them in order of our favorites:

Verizon FiOS
Cable
DSL
Wireless 4G
Wireless 3G
Satellite
Dial-up

If you want blazing speed, Verizon FiOs or your local cable company are the best option. Compare speeds and rates, because not all cable companies are as reliable or as fast as FiOS. A good resource for checking speeds in your area is Broadband Reports.

You might also want to look at your network infrastructure. 802.11n is the latest standard in WiFi. This Gigabit router can drastically speed up your network. So if you’re looking to improve your network speed, upgrade your router and the network adapters in each of your computers to take advantage of the speed and range an 802.11n router can provide.

In conclusion, there are several factors that dictate the perceived speed of your computer. Before you spend money on upgrades, determine where the money will be best spent. If you’re not sure, be sure to ask and we’ll try and help.

via: [pctech]

Discussion Forum

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:16:00 +0000

Troubleshooting Blue Screen of Death Errors

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 03:49:00 +0000

Any frequent Windows user has encountered the big bad BSOD, short for the Blue Screen of Death. This common error will make its presence known whenever the system senses that an application, piece of hardware or device driver is experiencing issues behind the scenes. What makes this particular issue so tricky is that it can be an indicator of anything from a minor glitch to a major error that causes your system to malfunction and leave you staring at the infamous blue screen.

On rare occasions, getting rid of a blue screen error is as simple as rebooting the system. Some have been lucky enough to restart their PC and never encounter the problem again. Unfortunately, this error usually means that your system is suffering from a critical error and when this is the case, it will not go away until you address the matter.

There is no standard solution to fixing the blue screen problems, mainly because there are so many problems that can result in such an error. This could be anything from a new program you just installed to a memory stick you added to the computer. In order to eliminate this nuisance, you must first diagnosis the problem to find out what’s actually going on. By doing a little troubleshooting, you can narrow things down and actually find the culprit.

Check Software and Hardware Components

The easiest step to eliminating blue screens is uninstalling any new software or hardware recently installed on the machine. If you encountered the problem after adding on a new component, this is likely the source of your problem. This could be due to a failed installation or incompatibility issues related to the software or a driver the device needs to function.

Check Your Memory Status

Blue screen errors could also appear if you recently added more RAM to your computer. You can find out if your RAM is faulty by running a diagnostic utility. If you don’t have such a tool handy, you will have to get more hands on by opening the computer case and removing the stick of RAM you just installed. From there, you can fire up the machine to see if the blue screen still shows up. This is actually easier than it sounds, but if you don’t feel comfortable opening your computer find yourself a professional technician who won’t charge an arm and leg to do the job.

Fix the Registry

The Windows registry is one of the most common causes of the BSOD. Over time, the registry gets cluttered with invalid files and other unwanted items that can make your system unstable. A blue screen of death occurrence is the ultimate sign of instability. You can run a registry cleaner to find out if the registry is stirring up all the trouble on your PC. These programs are fairly inexpensive and have the ability to automatically detect and remove the questionable items hiding out on your PC.

Conclusion

When the blue screen of death shows up, it will be accompanied by a STOP code that gives details on what caused the problem. Be sure to jot down this information when troubleshooting to better your chances of successfully fixing the issue.

Via [PCTechBytes]

Computer Continuously Restarts

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 02:27:00 +0000

If your computer continuously restarts while running, or if you see the flash of a blue screen before it reboot, then Windows is in a state where the only way it can attempt to fix itself is through rebooting. While this will work with the occasional system crash, it will not fix the issue if there is a drastic hardware or software problem. Instead, your machine will seem to be caught in a loop of starting up, crashing and rebooting. The key to solving this type of problem is capturing the crash message that is flashing on the screen.
Prevent Windows From Rebooting

You can stop Windows from rebooting after a crash by doing the following:

   1. Right-click My Computer
   2. Select properties
   3. Select the Advanced Tab
   4. Under Start-up and Recovery, uncheck the Automatic Restart box and then click OK.
   5. Reboot the computer

Now when your computer crashes, you should see the confusing Blue Screen of Death along with an error code. You can search Microsoft.com for the exact nature of that code and take measures to resolve it. Depending on the error, you might try rebooting into Safe Mode by tapping F8 while booting and running a System Restore to revert your computer back to a time when it was not crashing. Or you might run the error checking utility in Windows to scan your computer’s hard drive for issues. You might also run a popular program called Memtest86 to scan your computer’s RAM for errors that could be causing system stability issues.

The first step in this process is getting the blue screen to remain on the screen, and preventing the automatic restart is the way to do this. If you need more help in diagnosing your crashing computer please join our free computer
forums.

Via [PCTechBytes]

Printer Care and cleaning

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

The printer is very sensitive to damage if we can not take care of and cleaned properly and regularly. Here are some tips you can do to treat and clean the printer to be more durable.

A. Each cleaning the printer, make sure the printer is really in a state of death and no cables connected to either the electrical or computer.
B. Use non-flammable solution to clean on the printer.
C. To clean the head manually, you should use a clean soft cloth and do the scrub on the head slowly.
D. At a certain time, use the command "head cleaning" software contained on the properties of each printer to clean the printer head from the ink spread or spilled.
E. Use quality carbon ribbon, ink, or toner is good because it will affect the quality and age of the printer.
F. Do not ever make changes or modifications that do not conform to the printer as some parts of the printer contain high-voltage components.
G. Never put objects, such as iron, condensation, or food on the printer because if it falls into the printer, it will cause damage to some important components.

Troubleshooting on VGA

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Ilustration: PCI Express

The following will discuss the indications of damage on the VGA and solutions.

A. There are not pictures on the screen because the screen connector is not installed on the VGA card or connectors are not installed properly.
Solution

Make sure the connector is mounted display properly in the appropriate slot on the VGA card that is located behind the casing.

B. At the time the computer is turned on, a beep sounds good or sounds bid two times, but has not issued any image display on the screen. This is due to the installation or the VGA card does not fit properly in the PCI or AGP slot located on the motherboard or the VGA card that is used is broken.
Solution:

Check your VGA card and attach it properly and fit in the slot corresponding with a VGA card that is used on the motherboard.
Replace with a new VGA card.

C. Computer with a normal life, but there are letters on the screen flickering or lines appear due to the VGA card that is damaged.
Solution:

Replace damaged VGA card with the new. Adjust with the use of computers.

Hopefully this article can be helpful and useful.

Borrows Google Packet Speeding Tech of New Linux kernel

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Harnessing a pair of protocols developed by Google, the newly released version of Linux kernel should be able to speed network traffic throughput considerably.

The technique is one of a number of new features that come with the latest update of the open source operating system kernel, Linux version 2.6.35, which Linus Torvalds released on Sunday.

In addition the usual round of bug fixes and optimizations, the new version has a number of new features to make it more usable in today's bustling multicore, networked environments.

Chief among these new features is the inclusion of Google's Receive Packet Steering (RPS) and Receive Flow Steering (RFS). RPS spreads incoming packets out across all of the CPUs available on the machine, and RFS calculates which cores would be best suited for processing, given factors such as which applications will be using the network traffic, according to an explanation offered by the Kernel Newbies Web site.

The site cited a benchmark test showing how an eight-core Intel CPU-based server, with an Intel e1000e network adapter, doubled the number of networking-based transactions-per-second (tps) it could execute with RPS and RFS in place, from 104,000 tps (at about 30 percent CPU usage), to 303,000 tps (and 61 percent CPU usage).

The feature is a timely one, given the recent advances in network traffic protocols that allow for greater throughput. Ethernet vendors, for instance, are in the process of upgrading to the new standards for 40 Gigabit and 100 Gigabit Ethernet. "Network cards have improved the bandwidth to the point where it's hard for a single modern CPU to keep up," explained Kernel Newbies.

Other new features include a new form of memory compression, a front-end for a debugger supplied by SGI, the ability to manage multiple multicast route tables, and a new mode of the XFS file system that bundles logging tasks in order to cut down input/output traffic.

This new version of the Linux kernel comes less than the months after the release of the previous iteration, 2.6.34.

Via: [networkworld]

RAM Memory Care

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

After the previous post, I discussed about the problems that occurred in RAM, so on this occasion I will give you tips on how to care for the RAM to make it more durable.
Here are some points that can be noticed in the treatment of computer RAM.

Avoid over clocking action if the computer does not support for the over clock.
Keep the temperature stable computer with install more fans inside the casing and a good computer.
Use a memory from vendors who have proven good quality.
Use a memory with the capacity and relevant PC applications that will be used to work so that the computer does not happen often hangs.

Hard Drive Temperature on Your Monitor

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Ilustration

The hard drive is one of the hardest working computer components in your case, yet you rarely see it or need to interact with it until there is a problem. Your computer begins to run slow and lags. While this could indicate a hot CPU, you could also be experiencing the symptoms of an overheating hard drive. Hard drives are made up of moving parts that spin quickly and generate heat. The resulting heat will not only cause the hard drive to slow down, but the heat it generates can cause the CPU and video card to overheat.

So how do you check your hard drive’s temperature? There are many programs you can run to monitor the temperature of your hard drive, but HDD Health is a lightweight applications that quietly runs in the background and accesses the S.M.A.R.T (Self-Monitoring-and-Reporting-Technology) built into modern hard drives. Aside from the hard drive temperature, HDD Health will also display some important information about our hard drive, such as model and firmware version.

Hard drive health

So how do you cool down a hot hard drive? You should clean the intake fans that draw air in through the front. If your case does not have an intake fan, just make sure the grill area at the front of the case is free on debris. You case might also have a fan that pulls hot air out of the case through the back. If it does not, the power supply will. Make sure the grills on the inside of the power supply and the back of the case are clear.

Make sure you do not stack hard drives on top of each other. If you have more than one hard drive, try to space them a couple inches apart.

Another thing you can do to cool off the hard drive is defrag it. The less a hard drive has to work, the cooler it will run. Lastly, make sure the cables are arranged inside the case in such a way that air can flow through the front and out the rear with little resistance.

The cooler your hard drive runs, the cooler the ambient temperature inside the case will be. This will improve the general health and reliability of your PC for years to come.

Download HDD Health

Via: [pctechbytes]

Troubleshooting on RAM

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Below are points to be discussed indications of damage on the RAM and find it.

1. Computer sound "beep" over and over again without long-displaying pictures on screen when the computer starts up. The solution is:

Make sure the RAM are mounted on DIMM slot with a perfect & locked.
Make sure that the installation of two RAM chips with the same PC and preferably by the same vendor brand.
If the RAM is damaged, replace it with a new RAM and better with RAM that has a capacity greater than the damage.

2. Installation of two keeping the RAM that does not fit on a computer often leads to problems, among others:

Computers will often hang and blue screen appears when we work in an application program or playing games.
Computers also often can not survive or when booting up.
The solution to this problem is to replace one RAM chip with a PC and the same vendor brand RAM is only so that both the PC and the brand has the same vendor despite the different capacities second RAM (for the RAM type of single channel).

3. RAM if installed capacity is not sufficient premises, computer performance will be slower in reading data or run applications programs. This can be overcome by increasing the existing capacity of RAM, but it must be with the same RAM and PC will be better if with the same vendor brand.

4. ROM type memory damage will result in blank computer or can not live at all. This can be overcome by replacing the ROM or BIOS upgrade with the same type.

System recovery and data hardware and software

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

People commonly come by looking for advice recovering their data. Both from a dead computer and one with nasty virus infections. Each requires a different approach but can usually be done relatively cheap.

If the computer does not power up the easiest solution is removing the hard drive and connecting it to a working PC. There are basically two ways to connect the drive to another computer, either through a simple cable system or an external enclosure. For ease of use a simple IDE/SATA to USB cable with a power supply is hard to beat, especially if you might be using it pretty often on different drives. Some people prefer an enclosure to ensure no accidental static can harm the exposed drive.

From experience I've learned that some enclosures can be just as deadly to a drive because they can slide. Like off the top of the working computer to the desktop or floor. In the best case you can lose a drive or break the enclosure. Worst case is losing them both. I've found handling the bare drive makes me more likely to handle with care. Any smooth, non-conductive, surface is safe to set the drive on but some people suggest setting them upside down.

Both Newegg (Enclosures, Cables) and Amazon (Enclosures, Cables) have a selection of both. Just be sure you get one that accepts both the size, (3 1/2" for most destops, 2 1/2" for laptops) and type (IDE has large flat data cables, SATA has thin red cables).

For a computer that is powering up but will not boot there are several possible problems. If you know the problem is a virus you can download a bootable Rescue CD. The one most commonly
suggested by our forum members is the BitDefender Rescue CD. This tool is great because you never need the hard drive, it runs solely from the CD/DVD and RAM. The file is downloaded and burned AS AN ISO to a CD or DVD. Usually computers will be configured to boot from this drive before the hard drive so it works with no problems. Because it can be used to transfer files to a USB drive it's great for problems like a corrupted OS. Because most recovery disks format the hard drive this can be used to remove files before you reinstall the OS.

And finally there is the Recovery Disks. Most common computers use these to restore the computer and drivers to the original state that you purchased it. You only want to use these if you have your important documents saved to another disk or drive, otherwise it will be lost. For those who have lost their factory provided disks they can be purchased. One of the forums sponsors, Secure Remote Support, carries a complete line of disks for almost any brand and OS. Their website, Recovery-Disks.com, has all their contact information including a phone number for contacting their sales and support team.

via: [pctechbytes]

A System Is Dangerously Low On Resources Message

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

If you receive a system is dangerously low on resources message, this could mean you have a memory leak. A memory leak is less of a problem these days, but can occur if a program is quit or crashes before it completely finished loading. A program is supposed to relinquish the resources it takes when it shuts down. When this does not happen, a memory leak will siphon your system resources until your computer feels sluggish and you begin to get errors.
Regain System Resources

You can easily regain these system resources by rebooting the computer. But you need to figure our what application is causing the memory leaks–especially is this is a reoccurring problem. You can check the task manager to see what programs are running by hitting CTRL+ALT+DEL and selecting Task Manager, then the Processes tab. In the far right column you will see which programs are consuming the most RAM. If you see an application in there that is not running, but still consuming resources, you should end the task or reboot the machine. Check the task manager again when you reboot
. If if the program reappears and you are not running it, go to Start and in the run or search box type msconfig and hit OK. On the startup tab, uncheck that program if it is listed. The next time you reboot, that program should not load.

You can also uninstall any old programs you no longer use through the control panel. Uninstalling old programs ensures they stay out of memory and as a result, your computer should remain stable and run faster.

Keep in mind that memory leaks can be caused by programs that have coding issue and bugs. If you find that a particular program you like is causing a memory leak, check for a patch or a newer version of that program, as the issue might have been corrected in the latest release.

Via: [pctechbytes]

Troubleshooting on Processor and its Maintenance

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 03:22:00 +0000

Problems on the processor generally cause the appearance of the layer blank without any sound. This occurs because:
1. Processors dead or damaged.
2. The processor temperature is too hot burns caused due to over clock or because the processor fan is not working.
The solution is to replace a new processor.

Processor Maintenance
The treatment for computer processors are:
1. Use a good heat sink and fan.
2. Frequently clean the heat sink and fan attached to the processor.
3. Trim the cable is in the casing.
4. Avoid doing the technique is not easy to over clock the processor to heat and age, the processor can be longer.

Troubleshooting on Motherboard

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Often there are problems on the motherboard that caused by faulty hardware components installed on the motherboard or damage to the chipset used on the motherboard and I / O.
The problems that can occur such as:

A. Computers can not be switched on or often referred to by the term "motherboard blank" when the ON button on the casing has been pressed without any sound. Usually this happens because:
Defective power supply or power supply cables to the motherboard is placed incorrectly or loosely.
1. BIOS is corrupted or not functioning.
2. CPU clock setting error due to over clock on a computer.
3. Processor that is installed is damaged or incompatible with the motherboard socket that is used.
4. Fan on the processor die.
5. Damage to the existing chipsets on the motherboard.
Solutions
1. Make sure the power supply lights up and the connectors installed properly on the existing connector on the motherboard.
2. Reinstall the BIOS program that existed at the CMOS / BIOS on the motherboard.
3. Restore all default settings in the BIOS.
4. Use in accordance with the type of processor that the existing motherboard.
5. If it does not rotate, the fan on the processor should be replaced with new ones.
6. Chipset damaged must be replaced with a brand of the same chipset.
7. Clear CMOS / BIOS function from the initial reset all BIOS settings, by removing the "reset jumper" on the motherboard, then installed again.

B. Computers often hang or can not boot.
This is caused by:
1. Chase memory on the motherboard is damaged.
2. BIOS settings are not correct due to over clocking
3. Motherboard dirty or full of dust, so the data points on the motherboard much disturbed.
Solutions
1. Replace IC chase memory with the same type and brand. Because this work requires a professional, you can fix this by disabling the function of memory chase through the motherboard BIOS settings. However, in order not computer performance is slower, main memory capacity are required to be added (eg an existing memory of 256MB, 256MB should be added again to 512MB).
2. Restore the BIOS settings at default or in any way clear the CMOS / BIOS.
3. Clean the motherboard and the fan is in the casing with a soft brush.

C. At the time the computer boots, there is a message "CMOS failure" and "Press F1 to continue". The problem is caused by BIOS CMOS battery has been depleted or damaged. The solution is to replace the CMOS battery on the motherboard BIOS with the new.

D. Damage was also often occurs due to the connector I / O motherboards.
This damage, such as:
1. LPT port (port printer) damaged so that the printer can not work.
2. Serial port (Com 1 or Com 2) damaged so that all equipment that uses this port can not function. Like a mouse model of external devices that use this port.
3. The USB port is damaged. Often there is a presumption that the external device that uses this port is damaged, for example, USB flash, USB mouse & keyboard, digital camera not detected by the computer.
Solutions
To overcome the problem of I / O port, replace the appliances or connector I / O with the new. You can do it yourself by installing a super I / O card as an equipment replacement I / O ports by installing a defective motherboard I / O card on PCI slot. In order for the super I / O cards can work on your computer, you must disable the internal function of I / O is in the motherboard by setting enabled in the BIOS to disable. The motherboard uses the I / O card installed in PCI.

MRAM: Newest Technology Computer Memory, 10 times faster than RAM

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

If you always desired for a fast computer, an ordinary RAM may just not be a solution. German physicists and engineers have thus developed the Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory (MRAM), which is not only faster but also more energy efficient. MRAM seems like it will boost the mobile computing industry and stores the level of charge by changing the north-south direction of a magnet’s field. IBM and other manufacturers are planning to use MRAM, which could spin electrons to flip the magnetic fields, which is also known as the spin-torque MRAM, something that the German physicists have further improvised and built the fastest so far.

By building tiny pillars of 165 nanometres, which act, as variable magnets at the top end, allow current to pass through from bottom to top and the spin of the electrons take place. The fields are flipped and it takes a while for it to settle to it’s new orientation. Then, the north and south axis draw circles in the air before finally settling which causes a wobble. Since this depends on the magnetic field and the wobble that takes place in a field, the German team developed a way to observe and control a magnetic field’s wobble during and after the flip. Right now, the MRAM is about 10 times faster than a MRAM, which needs 10 nanoseconds, and the conventional RAM needs 30 nanoseconds. This speed will definitely increase in the months and years to come.

[gizmowatch]

Monitor critical terms

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

a. Screen size: Screen size is the length of the diagonal of the screen, measured in inches. At this time, the monitor 17 "(inches) become standard options than the size of the monitor 14" or 15 "which are widely used in the 90s era. However, do not close the possibility to choose size over 17 ".
b. Resolution: the resolution is the number of pixels contained in the image. The greater the resolution, the image will be shown more detail. For example, a monitor with a resolution of 1280 x 1204 pixels means that there are 1204 lines created from top to bottom and each line consists of 1280 separate pixels.
c. Refresh rate: This is the number of times an electron gun firing electrons at the screen. Refresh rate is measured in Hertz (Hz). Instead, the monitor has a refresh rate of 72 Hz or higher. Low refresh rate can cause fatigue in the eye.
d. Dot pitch: This is the density of picture elements called pixels or dot pitch. The more pixels the meeting, the more smooth and sharp display generated by the monitor. Instead, select a monitor that has a dot pitch values less than 0.28 mm.
e. Pixel response rate: This is the amount of time it takes a pixel to be active or not. In general, the pixel response rate is measured in units of ms (milliseconds). The smaller the average time, the better the image quality LCD display.
f. Dead pixels: This is the pixel located somewhere on the screen does not change the color images displayed when a different color. Dead pixel is one problem that often occurs on the LCD monitor. The characteristics of LCD have dead pixels is by paying attention to every part of the screen with color display plain white and black colors. Make sure that no color or a color shown left is not appropriate.
g. Luminance: This is a term that indicates the brightness of the LCD monitor owned. Luminance is measured in units’ candel or can be called nits. The bigger nits owned LCD monitor, the more good and bad of a picture seen. Range owned nits LCD monitor typically is 170 nits and the upper-class LCD monitors ranging up to 300 nits.
h. Contrast ratio: This is the difference between light and dark areas on the screen. Usually ranging from 200:1 to 500:1. in general, the higher the contrast ratio which is owned by the LCD monitor, the better the quality of images displayed. Large contrast ratio is recommended around 300 to 500.
i. Viewing angle: this is on the LCD monitor is divided into two: the horizontal viewing angles and vertical viewing angles. The greater the angle of the LCD monitor is owned, people will more clearly see the text or images on the LCD screen when used for presentations. Today, manufacturers are always improving the quality of the LCD monitor viewing angles to produce LCD monitor.

Robot to picks up the stuff too big for your

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 11:55:00 +0000

WowWee’s Roboscooper is the new guy to help you with picking up stuff. Running on six AAA batteries, the scooper will pick up the stuff for you. However, the bad part is that it only picks up small objects and its storage capacity is very limited. And, in case you are in mood of having some fun, then you can use the remote control, putting it on the whack mode, which will let him swat the objects rather than just picking them up. It is available for $70.
Via: Gizmo

The working principle and advantages LCD monitor

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 00:00:00 +0000

LCD commonly found in digital watches and laptop screen. LCD monitor is the type that uses two sheets of polarizing material with liquid crystal located in the middle. When electric current flows through the liquid and crystal, the crystal was joined so that the light does not enter. Therefore, the crystal works like a valve that allows light in or blocked.

1. Working principle
a. Placing liquid crystals between two surfaces that are smooth grooves. Smooth grooves on the surface make an angle of 90o a (perpendicular) with smooth grooves on another surface. If the molecules are arranged on one surface from north to south and one molecule on the other surface leads from west to east, there are molecules of which will be forced to rotate 90o. As a result, the path of light that followed the structure of this molecule also rotates 90 ° when passing through the liquid crystal. When electricity stress supplied to the liquid crystal, molecules will arrange themselves vertically lets light to pass through without turning 90o.
b. Rely on the polarization properties (is a collection of very fine parallel lines). Through this polarizing filter, the light from background sources is filtered and then rotated by the liquid crystals and is filtered again before exiting.

2. Excess
a. LCD monitor has a sleek shape, flat, lightweight and thin so it does not require a large place to put it down compared to CRT monitors. The bigger the screen size, the greater weight and its shape.
b. Same diagonal size LCD displays with the region so that no area is lost. On the LCD panel, no problems focusing the light beam (convergence) is often the case on the type of CRT monitor because each cell on own switch. This is one reason that makes it look sharper LCD monitor for displaying text and images.
c. On the LCD screen, does not occur, or flickering flicker because the LCD monitor has a constant light source across the screen. One by one pixel on, and will continue to run until it is turned off, unlike a CRT monitor that needs to be refreshed many times.
d. Components on the LCD monitor that can be experienced aging (wear) is the backlight only. CTR on the monitor, which can experience aging, is contained in the oxide layer and the electron gun can cause a decrease in light flow. Phosphorus in the surface of the screen can also be worn out and become less efficient.
e. LCD monitors consume much less power than CRT monitors.

Monitor cleaning and maintenance

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In previous posts I have discussed how knowing the damage indicator on the monitor, and the opportunity this time, I will discuss how to perform maintenance and cleaning of the monitor so that the possibility of damage could be mitigated and controlled. Here are some steps you can do:

a. Screen and casing should be frequently cleaned from the dust that often occupy and stack that caused the screen looks dirty and unclear. Use a soft cloth. If necessary, use a special fluid to the tube or LCD screen.

b. To prevent premature failure of power supply on the monitor, use power-management features in the display properties sheet or power management to monitor the condition of low-power standby mode after a period (between 10-15 minutes) and metikan after 60 minutes. Use of this feature is much better than using a switch ON / OFF if the computer will be left for a moment.

c. Ensure adequate ventilation the monitor to get on the side, rear, and up, because the monitor uses only passive cooling. Lack of air flow will affect the life of the monitor.

d. Keep monitoring the position of objects that contain magnets, such as speakers.

e. Keep out of reach of children and avoid the monitor not to get wet.

Indications Problems on monitors

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 02:17:00 +0000

Damage to the monitor mostly occur because the components inside the monitor that is experiencing aging or worn. Typically, repairs can only be done by replacement of components damaged by people who are skilled repair the monitor. Here is a signal or causes damage caused by multiple symptoms that often occur:

1. There is not any image on the screen caused by the connector from the monitor is not connected to the VGA card or connectors are not installed properly. Make sure the connectors of monitors have been installed properly and correctly in the appropriate slot on the VGA card that is located behind the casing.

2. Damage to the power supply monitors the following symptoms:
a. Indicators monitor power off and the screen dark.
b. Screen images appear wavy.

c. Images on the screen to vibrate. Ilustration: Monitor Touch Screen

d. Monitors often die suddenly during use to work.
e. monitors often live and die a sudden for some time.

3. Damage to the horizontal part of the monitor cause the following symptoms:
a. Life indicators monitor power, but a dark screen.
b. Images on the screen too far to the left or right.
c. Figure wide to the right and left.
d. Images on the screen visible lines.
e. Images on screen look too contrast.
f. Images on the screen is not the focus.
g. Images on the screen seemed dim.
h. Picture looks curved at the edge of the left and right on the screen.

4. Damage to the vertical part of the monitor cause the following symptoms:
a. Preview screen looks down-up did not stop.
b. Preview screen was shortened to the middle.
c. Preview screen appears too to the top or bottom.
d. Preview screen was widened or elongated upwards or downwards.

5. Damage to RGB monitor cause the following symptoms:
a. There is no color on the screen.
b. Pictures seem clear on the screen.
c. Color images are not clear and the resulting dominance of a reddish color, green, or blue only.

6. Damage to the coil yoke curve or CRT monitors cause the following symptoms:
a. Raster occurred one horizontal or vertical lines.
b. Picture looks trapezoid on the screen.
c. Circular images appear on the screen.
d. Images appear skewed to the right or left on the screen.
e. Indication of power monitors to live, but the screen looks dark.

7. Damage to the tube CRT monitors (to monitor non-LCD) cause the following symptoms:
a. Indication of power monitors to live, but the screen looks dark.
b. Filament is not lit.
c. Images on the screen seemed dim and unclear.
d. At the time of the monitor off, there is light at the center of the screen like a match.
e. There blanking red / green / blue.
f. There are flecks of color on the screen.

The development and evolution of software

yayan.mr@gmail.com (Muhammad Yandri) — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:42:00 +0000

The development and evolution of the software are:
1. Pioneer era (1950-1960)
Form of software initially in the form of a connection between the inner cables into the computer. The use of computers is done directly and the results of completed computer printout. The process is done in the form of computer instructions in a sequence row in the process, among others:
a. Batch process
b. Limited distribution
c. Special manufacture

2. Stable era (1960-1980)
Computers are widely used and only affordable by the industry and the companies that had impact on software development. Multitasking and multi-user capabilities are also known as database system. Process conducted by the software on this era, among others:
a. Multitasking & Multi
b. Real time (work quickly)
c. Database program

3. Micro Era (1980-1990)
The software in this era has been developed to meet individual needs. The price of software is also readily accessible by individuals. The software can be divided into system software responsible for handling internal and application software that is used directly by users for specific purposes. Existing automation in software leads to a kind of artificial intelligence. Therefore, in this era of software development processes have the following:
a. The system began to spread to some societies.
b. Experienced intelligence software that makes users.
c. The price of each software start affordable by individuals.

4. Modern Era (2000-present)
The rise of the modern era is the era of software with a more familiar interface with the users and has spread to all the equipment that is often used in society, not only are there on a computer. Mobile alone has been equipped with software that can synchronize with PC. Even equipment such as telephones, TVs, up to washing machines, air conditioners, and microwave, has been implanted to regulate the operation of software that equipment. More sophisticated again, any such equipment has been able to connect using the software. Making software is no longer the work of a few, but many people into jobs, with multiple-stage process involving the various disciplines in its design. Level of intelligence shown by its software devices is increasing. In addition to technical problems, the software is now beginning to recognize the voice, image and video. Intelligence software in this era to make the process of their development has expanded into:
a. Media intermediary for PC networks.
b. Media liaisons between different electronic devices.
c. Graphical User Interface (GUI) that increasingly make user in use.
d. Media assistant in completing work tasks users.