Tech Stuff

My Computer has no Power

2011-01-12T10:49:00.000-08:00

My husband was on the computer when all of the sudden it shutdown then it no longer power on. As a tech I tried to troubleshoot it. I removed all peripherals and components until all left is the mobo, p/s and proc, still no power at all. When I tested the power supply on another board it does work. I am now left with the mobo and the proc. I am thinking its my mobo. We had this problem before wherein all of the sudden it shutdown. We tried everything and it did not work. But when we left it not in use for a week all of the sudden it started working. But this time it has no power at all. I am planning to replace the mobo and add one more gig of memory once I have a budget.

IE or Firefox

2011-01-11T12:58:00.000-08:00

Which do you prefer Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox? Since I bought our computer I always had firefox installed and been using that at home. At work I am still using IE because of some applications that doesn't work in a different browser. It is recommended though to have at least 2 browsers installed on your computer so that if in case one browser got corrupted you can still use another to get to the web. I prefer using firefox and google chrome. IE is mostly attacked by spywares and malwares. I guess because it is from Microsoft and since Microsoft is most commonly used OS it is most commonly attacked as well. Install 2nd browser now on your computer so you have alternate option if IE failed which do happens most of the time.

RASH File Attributes

2011-01-03T07:13:00.000-08:00

I remember when deleting malware and spyware there are some cases wherein you cannot see the culprit file that you wanted to be gone. Even if you show hidden files, it still doesn't show up. You can try this in the command prompt.

To open command prompt in Windows, you can click on start and click on run. Inside the box type cmd and click on Ok.

- Go to the directory of the drive and folder you want to access. Ex. C:\Windows

- type dir /ah , this will display files and folders with hidden attributes
- type attrib <filename> -r -a -s -h (Ex. attrib cats.jpg -r -a -s -h) Note: if the filename is more than 6 characters type the first 6 characters followed by ~1. (Ex for celebration.doc, attrib celebr~1.doc -r -a -s -h)

RASH File Attributes

R - Read Only attribute - A file having this attribute cannot be overwritten or erased by standard programs or mischievous users.

A - Archive attribute - A file possessing this attribute has been changed or created recently. DOS commands like XCOPY use this attribute to keep track of which files changed since they were last copied or backed up. Similarly, backup programs like Seagate Backup Exec, Microsoft Backup, etc. all use this attribute to handle their bookkeeping on what files need to be backed up.

S - System attribute - A file with this attribute usually is a file that's an integral part of your operating system. The system attribute has a special meaning for DOS, Windows, Windows 9x, OS/2, etc. When the system attribute is associated with a file, that file is hidden and cannot be run from the command line in DOS or a DOS session. The only way such a file can be run is by another program loading and running the file. Under Windows 9x, try to perform an operation like deleting a system file, and you'll get a pop-up box telling you that the file is a system file and asking you whether you really want to delete it.

H - Hidden attribute - A file having this attribute cannot be seen by a normal DOS directory search (like using the DIR, CHKDSK, TREE, DEL, or RENAME commands). A file having this attribute cannot be seen if Windows 9x Explorer or similar programs aren't specifically set up to see them (e. g., Show all files hasn't been checked under View Options in Windows Explorer). Files with an 'H' attribute are effectively "invisible." This attribute is used to hide files from prying eyes. Note that most programs can still run a hidden file, but that the DOS COPY and XCOPY commands cannot copy a hidden file or copy to a hidden file.

STOP 0x000000ED UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME error message in Windows XP

2010-12-29T13:23:00.000-08:00

One of the most popular BSOD or Blue Screen of Death is the unmountable boot volume message with stop code 0x000000ED. This is usually cost by a corrupted boot.ini or possible bad hard drive. To resolve this you will need the OS CD of Windows XP.

How to Fix Unmoutable Boot Volume using the Recovery Console
1. Change the boot setting of computer. Let it boot from CD first.
(BIOS can be access most of the time by pressing F2 or Del when you first powered on your computer. Put CD ROM as the first on the order of your boot sequence).

2. Put Windows XP CD to your CD drive and when you see the message "Press any key to boot from CD...." Hit any key right away so that it will load the OS CD. You only have like 3-5 seconds to do it. If it did not read the CD then reboot your computer and try it again.

3. Once the cd is finished loading you will see this screen. Press 'R' to enter Recovery Console.

4. Below is the screen of Recovery Console.

Choose where you have windows installed. In this case we only have one option. Type '1' and press enter then you will be asked to enter administrator password. Usually the password is the administrator account that you have on your computer or you can just leave it blank if you don't have password. Hit enter once you've enter your password and it will go back to C:\WINDOWS>.

5. At the prompt type 'chkdsk /r' and hit enter. It will run for a while depending on the size of your harddrive. Once its done type 'exit' and let your PC do a normal reboot and see if it would still get that error.

6. If you still have the same problem you can try using 'fixboot' in the recovery console. (NOTE: Don't do fixboot if you have PC Restore or OS Recovery on your harddrive because it may no longer load if you do a fixboot)

If these two didn't resolve the issue you can also try to repair your computer using windows XP CD or just do a reinstall of your OS. One possibility also is you have a bad hard drive.

Techie Daisy

2010-12-28T09:40:00.000-08:00

This is my 3rd blog. My first blog is more of a personal stuff of what is happening around me and my 2nd blog is about family. I decided to have this to share info about technical stuff and also gather info from other people as well.

I am a graduate of Computer Engineering and worked as a technical support for several years. I've dealt with personal computer troubleshooting, basic networking, virus removal, OS installation and deals with battery back ups/smart ups. Starting from today I would post some technical stuff that would be helpful to those who need help with their PC or maybe I would also post other technical information. If you need help, just leave a message and I will try to see if I can help.

Happy New Year to All! (This is my new blog as I welcome the year 2011)