Fighting Unknown Problems

Hardware problems are quite difficult to tackle, worse if under Windows. There was once when installing a software, I accidentally inserted the Audio hardware diskette. Thinking it was harmless, I went on, thinking I can always "undo" everything again. How wrong was I. The next moment I restarted Windows, I got the blue screen of death. Yeah, Windows is very nasty when it comes to hardware.

Find The Culprit

Always calm down. Try to solve the problem yourself before resolving to formatting or sending to your computer dealer. First, know what's happening and the cause of it. In my case, the installation must have overwrite my old setting and replaced the wrong file. There must be a reason why Windows is acting improperly.

Logging Back On

First, try to log back on. If you can't log into Windows, don't panic. Restart the computer. When the text "Starting Windows 98..." appears, press F8. A menu will appear. Choose "Safe Mode" to continue. Safe mode will take some time to load. When you are in Windows, go to Control Panel, System. Click on the Device Manager tab. Find the faulty hardware driver and delete it. Open autoexec.bat and config.sys (both are hidden files in your root directory) with notepad. If the hardware is a CD-ROM or sound card, it will probably write add some lines. Check whether there are backup file (autoexec.bak, autoexec.b~k e.g.) since most installation will back up the 2 important files. If there is, simply replace them with the backup files. If there isn't, put "REM " in front of every line that loads the hardware.

Repairing

When you restart, your computer is probably ok, since you have deleted all instances of the hardware drivers. But the hardware isn't functioning. re-install the hardware drivers, restart and you're done! If the problem persists, your probably have a system conflict go to the next page for more.

Hard Drive

Your hard drive, or also called hard disk, is a gigantic diskette in your computer. It is one disk big enough to store you Operating System, games and programs. Without it, your PC is just an empty shell.

Check Your BIOS

Better beware of older systems with large hard drives. If you have an older motherboard, your BIOS might not recognize hard drives larger than 2.1 GB. Hopefully, your BIOS is EPROM which means although read only (noticed the ROM?) it can be edited by authorized editors. Nearly all newer motherboards support that. All you need to do is to go online, go to your motherboard manufacturer's website and try to download a flash BIOS update. Install it and it should be done.

Are You FAT Enough?

If you have a large capacity hard drive with more than 2.1 GB, you might have a problem. Windows 95 itself will only recognize a partition with not more than 2.1 GB. You need FAT32. With FAT32, you can have one large capacity hard drive without partitioning. You will also save some space with FAT32. In short, larger hard drives require FAT32.

Consider Partitioning

Although you can have one big fat hard drive as one partition, you should consider partitioning as well, if you have a big hare drive. Partitioning is the method of dividing an area on a disk into smaller portions of lesser capacities that can be recognized by the operating system. Picture this: your hard drive is a cake. It is easier to eat a cake divided into pieces than to eat it whole.

Partitioning enables you to achieve greater efficiency and functionality from high-capacity disks (2.1GB or greater). You can create partitions by using FDISK on a system running in MS-DOS mode or by using a third-party disk utility. Remember that after partitioning, all data will be loss so be careful.

You can set aside a small partition for backup purposes. In case you should decided to format, just format the partition you use to store Windows. Your data in the backup partition is still there. But be careful! If you format a FAT32 partition with a FAT16 formatting utility, your partitions with data in it will all be loss! So never install DOS after formatting Windows. Because DOS utilizes FAT16, your FAT32 partition will all be gone.

Access Time or Seek Time?

If you want to buy a hard drive but are confused with the specifications of access time and seek time, remember that the key to the speed of a hard drive is the average access time. This is the time taken to access a single sector to the time when the drive's head reaches the sector. But beware, some ads quote seek time that is not the appropriate measurement. Access time is seek time plus latency (the time it takes for the chosen sector to come around to be positioned under the read/write head)

Speed, Not Space

A lot of people are confused between speed and space. If you have a Quantum Fireball with 1.2 GB and a Quantum Bigfoot with 3.5 GB surely you should put the Bigfoot as the master and Fireball as the slave right? Wrong! You should always consider speed as well as space. The Quantum Fireball has a faster access time. A faster hard drive means better performance. Make sure your operating system is store in the faster hard drive. You can use the Bigfoot to store your programs or games which makes not much difference to the speed. With speed hungry programs or games, store them in the faster drive too. You must know what to put where.

The status of the drives is determined by setting small jumpers that are usually located next to the IDE connector on the drive itself. 

Backup Your Computer Installed Drivers?

You can easily create the backup of your computer installed drivers (just the particular or all drivers) and use it to troubleshoot any driver problems. This backup will be very useful when you will format your computer window due to any reason. There is no need to search the drivers from internet or drivers CD, just import the driver backup and within five minute, you will complete the driver installation process. You can move this backup from one computer to other computer for installation. 


To complete the all process, we will use a simple tool called DriverMax. Using this tool, we can easily export the backup of any specific or all drivers and then import it for reinstallation later or elsewhere. You can free download (with free registration code) this tool for windows XP and Vista also. Download it and run the easy setup.

After Installation launch DriverMax, the first screen you will get with title "DriverMax - Version" and options "Export drivers, Import drivers and Installed drivers report". Just click on "Export Driver" option to start backup process.

Now after welcome screen, system will take few seconds to create the list of all installed drivers and then show you all installed drivers list.

Here you can select any specific device driver or click on "Select all" button to create the backup of entire installed drivers.

Press the Next button and in next screen you can select the export type (simple backup or in zip format) and then choose the backup location (always choose drive other than C drive).

Again press the Next and system will take some time (depend upon the size of your drivers) to finish exporting the selected drivers.

Click the "Open extraction folder button" to view the backup files or press Close button to finish it.

Now you can use this backup files (using import option) to restore drivers backup or move to any other computer. Copy the Following link to download it.

CD-ROM Troubleshooting Tips

The maximum a floppy disk can contain is 1.44 MB. To play a game with around 200 MB you are stuck with 100 over diskettes. The CD-ROM is a revolutionary invention that allows up to 625 MB at one time. However, it is read only, which means you can't store in anything.

Buttons Fun

Although most CD-ROMs comes with only 2 buttons, do you know you can also skip, play previous track and play the next track as well with a proper combination? Check properly on your instruction manual for additional functions. You just might be surprised what it can do.

Clean Thoroughly

It is important to clean the CR-ROM at least once every month. Get a CD lens cleaner. If possible, choose one with an alcohol solution drop. This should ensure that your CD-ROM will always be able to read properly.

Clean You CDs

It is just as important to clean your CDs often. Why? Because if you have a speck of dust on the surface of one of your CDs, once spinning at high-speed in the drive, the speck of dust is enough to produce scratches on your precious CD.

Running In DOS Run List

Like those cool expensive hi-fi systems, you can customize the run list of your Audio CD, only not with the CD-ROM itself. Use Windows' CD player to customize the run list and you can have your CD running in any track order you like.

Read Ahead

The read ahead buffer is useful to speed up things. Go to Control Panel, System. Click on the Performance tab. Click on the File System... button. On the File System Properties, click on CD-ROM. Make sure you have the fullest cache. Even if you have a CD-ROM with less than Quad speed, just move ahead. You'll be surprised to find your CD-ROM running faster.

Graphic Card Troubleshooting Tips

The graphic card is one of the most important pieces of hardware in your PC. Without it, your super monitor with all the bells and whistles is just a junk box.

Make Directional Input

Most video cards come with simple frame capture programs, but you'll have to do some programming if you plan to integrate video capture with other operations on your computer, such as adding text data as an overlay or changing video-in channels on the fly. In this case you'll need good programming libraries in a language with which you are familiar for the video card. Some companies include libraries with their cards, but most charge extra. Most often libraries, when available, are for C or BASIC, and sometimes Pascal.

Choose Between 24 bit and 32 bit

For True Color mode, some graphic cards offer 24 bit while some offer 32 bit. Which is the best? When True Colour mode was first suggested, it utilizes 32 bit which was very pleasing to the eye, they realize that 24 (with less coolers) won't look much different since the human eye can only take about a certain amount of colors. On the other hand, 24 bit will run faster compared to 32 bit because it uses less colors. So if your card utilizes 24 bit, don't worry, it isn't bad.

Always Use The Latest Drivers

Yes, it is important to make sure you always have the latest drivers. The latest drivers will offer you better performance, more utilities and more compatibility (usually for DirectX or Direct3D). Take the effort to check you card manufacturer's site to look for the latest driver updates.

Some Computer repair tips

Hello,, any problem with your system ???? Your system must be running slow because of certain problems. These problems, sometimes minor sometimes major hampers theperformance of the computer and may even result into: Video Failure

• Motherboard failure
• Hard Drive Failure
• Video failure

Your first reaction matters a lot. So don’t panic and take out your computer manual to do the computer repair.
In my opinion every user, despite he is making personal use of computer, business use or on large scale in the enterprise format, must have the basic skill of computer repair on the first-aid basis.
Let’s take the above mentioned issue, one by one and perform the computer repair task.

No power supply


Listen, the breeze of computer fan if you have good listening ability. If you find it silent, that means there is power failure. Do the following:

• Confirm liveliness of power source
• Ensure power voltage is appropriate
• Closely examine, the 20-24 pin main power connecter and other associated power connecter
• Notice the on screen message provided monitor well connected
• Notice the current demand of your graphic card; it may not be compatible with PCI Express slot
• Notice the Beep codes

You would be able to repair the computer with the hints from above observation.
Note: To avoid power supply failure try to use consistent voltage source.

Video Failure

Make the following observation:

• Proper power connectivity of monitor
• Ensure proper brightness and contrast setting
• Screen message e.g. includes "power" in it, like: "attach graphics card power", "no power to video adapter", etc
• Listen the beep while you turn on (8 Beep)
• Video Connector Pin out

Chances of graphic card damage are very rare. But if they are not compatible with the mother board then they need to be replaced. Frequent problem arises due to break or torn off of your adapter pin.

Motherboard failure


This is a critical aspect of computer repair, observe the following:

• On screen message like "No Video Signal" or anything else
• Check the packing of RAM and Processor
• Any burnt smell
• BIOS Settings
• Beep (5 beep point toward motherboard or CPU problems)

According to above observation do the computers repair in accordance with the manual book?
General issue is related with the heat sink of the processor which may fail. Make sure that you have put enough ventilation for your processor. If required, apply thermal grease from reputed brand.
Premium support services are available to assist you in computer repair. In case of doubt, you just need to dial the contact number or visit the website for online solution.

Tips For CPU Problem

Sometimes, our computer suddenly restarts itself when jamming we're using and make something important. Can we stress what if these problems are upon us, going to the service but it's late or we are lazy to bring us to where service cpu, there are a few tips that can be done, according to the problems faced.

One quick way to fix our computer problems or a sudden something goes wrong, then we should recognize these problems by reading the manual book or we find a trusted source for example a friend or on the internet, than we immediately brought him to the place of service , except when we have really no longer able to fix it.

Computers that are dead / hangs before entering operating system can cause can vary. Here are tips that I have been practicing and almost always successful. Select the appropriate problems, or do it gradually.

• Check the cable, starting from the incoming cable to the UPS / Stabilizer, Power cable to the Monitor, Monitor cable to the CPU and the cable into the computer. Ensure installation compliance and tight, first unplug the cable in question and insert it tight, and there and enough electrical current, can also occur due to unstable electrical currents, using the stabilizer appropriate capacity of your computer.

• If there is a CD-ROM / DVD-ROM and can be opened / closed, and not to any cd / dvd in it, if the cd / dvd rom is not used, if it is off but it still does not want to flame, then chances are there are problems in computer (CPU), ranging from the power cable into the motherboard or the motherboard itself, check the installation of the cord.

• If the two steps above have been checked, and still not turn on, turn off the computer and reset the BIOS on the motherboard. It can be seen in the motherboard manual, and locate the Reset the BIOS menu. Normally to reset the BIOS can be done on Jumper 1 (JP1). There is 3 pins, which 2 of them associated with a small connector. To reset, just remove and put on 2 pins the other. Eg 3 pins are 1,2,3 and pins 1 and 2 are already connected, then to reset the stay off and put on pins 2 and 3. Location of the jumpers in accordance with the motherboards that we have. Allow about 30 seconds or so and then return to normal. Turn on the computer.

• If the BIOS has been reset and still does not turn, try out the CMOS battery, which is on the motherboard. Let stand about 1 minute, and then installed again and restart the computer. If the battery is long enough, more than 3 years, it's good to be replaced with new ones. Moreover, if the clock on the computer often does not match.

• If the fan Processor / VGA spinning, but the computer still does not return, then chances are there's something wrong with the motherboard BIOS or the motherboard had been damaged. Maybe the BIOS needs to be updated, but prior to the update, thecomputer must be on (enter BIOS) first. To do that, let loose hard drive cable, CD-ROM, Floppy. Then, remove the computer memory (RAM) and replace it in another slot or use another computer's memory. This may be repeated several times, until there are signs of life.

• If the CPU has seemed to work, spinning hard drive and CPU LED lights blinking but the monitor does not exist it looks, then may VGA (Graphics) computer that is problematic. Try to replace with another VGA or VGA check on another computer (This is if VGA does not become one with the motherboard).

Use PC Analyzer which was designed to determine the damage to the motherboard.

Download PC Analyzer here.

Computer Maintenance Help

5 Reasons Your Computer Is Running Slow.

Your computer is running slow–like an old Pentium 2–despite having run lightning fast a year ago. You haven’t changed anything. Your virus checker comes up clean. What happened? This is a common problem that every computer user faces. Before you resort to smashing your computer with a sledgehammer, there are simple steps to revealing why your computer is running slow.

1: Your Computer Is Running Slow Because There’s No Space For The Page File

Here are five often-overlooked reasons why your computer is running slow.

Have you noticed the huge increases in the amount of computer memory (RAM) shipped with computers over the last decade? My current computer has almost 1,000 times as much memory as my first computer. This is in part a result of greedy programs that want to use as much RAM as they can. If your computer is running slow, having as much RAM as your computer can handle installed, will definitely guarantee that your computer will run faster.

Windows is responsible for distributing RAM to each program. So, what does Windows do when it runs out of spare RAM to distribute? It tells programs to write their least-important memory to a special file on your disk called a page file. As long as there’s enough space in the combined memory and page file to hold every program’s memory, Windows doesn’t have to do anything further.

But, when you run low on disk space because your filesystem is filled up, Windows can’t create a page file large enough to hold any significant amount of program memory. That forces Windows to tell programs that they can’t have all of the memory they need.

Different programs handle low-memory situations differently, but every program must run at least a little slower. Some memory-hog programs, such as modern Web browsers, will run a lot slower when they can’t have all the memory they need.

2: Your Computer Is Running Slow Because You Have Bad RAM

In at least one way, computers are remarkably like people: we get very upset when we can’t remember something. Bad computer memory (RAM) prevents software (including Windows) from running correctly, so computers spend a lot of time trying to find bad RAM. Modern computers can often work around bad RAM, but the workarounds may significantly slow down your computer–especially if the rest of your RAM is slowly rotting.

There are three times during which you computer can detect bad RAM:

1. Boot up testing runs a very quick test over RAM, plus a more comprehensive check on a tiny bit of RAM used during the boot process. Any bad RAM found here will be disabled until the next time you turn on your computer.
2. Write errors occur when a program tries to write to RAM. All well-written programs programs report these errors to Windows and ask Windows for permission to write to another part of RAM. Windows keeps track of these errors and tries to avoid using that part of RAM again.
3. Read errors are the the worst–they occur when a program tries to retrieve something it previously stored in memory. When it gets an error and realizes it won’t get the data back, the program may crash. Other programs print obscure errors. Some programs may continue to try running and fail minutes or even days later for no apparent reason.

Windows can’t automatically detect read errors, so it will keep assigning the bad RAM to one program after another, possibly making your computer unusable.

How To Fix Bad RAM When Your Computer Is Running Slow?

All three errors can guarantee that your computer is running slow. Testing and write errors force Windows to keep track of bad RAM (which ironically takes up more RAM) and to assign RAM to programs in smaller, slower blocks. Read errors slow you down by forcing you to recover from program crashes and to deal with strange errors.

There is no way to fix bad RAM except by replacing it. What you can do is determine whether bad RAM is causing your problems using a free memory tester. I highly recommend the free Memtest86 program available on memtest86.com. Download the bootable CD image for Windows, burn it on to a CD, and put it in your CDROM drive. At the end of the day, reboot your computer and let Memtest86 run overnight. It will tell you the next morning if it finds any errors. Remove the CD and reboot your computer again to get back to Windows.

3: Your Computer Is Running Slow Because Your Files Are Fragmented

The solution to this problem is easy: make sure you always leave a little free space on your filesystem. Ideally, you want to leave free an amount equal to the amount of RAM in your computer–so if you have 4 GB of RAM, make sure you always have at least 4 GB free disk space to prevent your computer from running slow.

When you create or save a file, Windows writes the new file starting at the end of the old file. This keeps all the files on your computer’s hard disk close together, but it means that if you increase the size of an old file–say by adding an extra sentence to a Microsoft Word document–Windows needs to split the file into two parts.

Windows hides this split from you–it even hides it from Word–but it still exists. This sort of file splitting is called fragmenting a file.

Fragmented files take longer to load because your hard drive needs to skip around to find each part of the file. You can easily eliminate most file fragments by running the Windows defragmentation tool: from your desktop, open My Computer, right-click your disk and choose Properties, choose the tools tab, and click Defragment Now. It may take several hours to defragment, so we suggest you defragment over night.

4: Your Computer Is Running Slow Because of Data Cable Cross Talk

To prevent your computer from running slow because of file fragments, we suggest you run the defragmentation tool once a month.

You may have noticed that a lot of USB devices take the same cords, but you may not realize that the cords used for high-speed USB disk drives include special hardware to ensure they run at the highest speed possible.

Take a look at the USB cords around you. Notice that some of the cords have an approximately 1-inch (3-centimeter) cylinder near one or both ends of the cord. In this cylinder are several magnets. (If you have a magnet handy, go ahead and hold it up against the cylinder on a disconnected cord to see for yourself.) This magnet reduces interference (cross talk) from other nearby USB cables.

If your USB disk drive connects to your computer without cross-talk protection, it could run at as little as half its maximum speed. If you connect the drive to a USB hub, you also need to make sure the hub’s cable includes the interference-reducing magnets. High-speed disk drives are supposed to come with these special cords, but if you lose the cables, you can buy replacements for as little as $1 for each cord.

5: Your Computer Is Running Slow Because Your Disk Drive Is Failing

By far the most common way for disk drives to fail is by wearing out the tiny ball bearings upon which the disks rotate. It’s these failed ball bearings that cause the distinctive groaning and clicking noises of a failed drive.

Ball bearings don’t wear out all of a sudden; they wear down slowly over time. As they wear down, the performance of your drive slowly degrades until, one day, the tiny motor in your drive doesn’t have enough power to spin the drive anymore.

Your disk drive keeps track of over a dozen statistics related to its performance, called Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T). You can access these statistics using special software–for example, DiskCheckup from Passmark.com.

The results reported will include a description of the state of the drive based on several criteria. You want to look the closest at the Throughput Performance (ID number 02) to figure out if the reason your computer is running slow is its hard disk.

About the author:
David A. Harding is a Linux Professional Institute certified system administrator and freelance writer with over 10 years experience working with Linux. He’s been published in over a dozen magazines and has given over 50 presentations about Linux–including two Software Freedom Day keynotes. Dave always loves to hear from readers and can be reached at dave@dtrt.org.

If you have checked all these possibilities and your computer is still running slow then I recommend you also read 10 tips to speed up your computer. You might find another reason why your computer is running slow.

Computer Repair and Upgrade Services Adelaide

Computer Repair and Upgrade Services in Adelaide by Computer Troubleshooters Hallett Cove

Fixes for Blue Screen problems.

There are many reasons why a computer may show a blue screen. We have the very latest diagnostic tools and software to quickly track down an fix the issue.

Computer not powering on.

We can test and assess all electrical components in any PC, often resulting in a quick inexpensive repair.

Operating system errors, Windows file system corruption.

 Frequently problems occur because of errors in the operating system, missing or deleted system files, corrupted updates or failed installs.

Operating System Reinstall

When problems become so severe a re-install of Windows is the only option. However usually all user profiles including the settings, data and emails can be backed up and saved prior to the re-install, and copied back to the freshly installed machine.
If the worst does happen, we can re-install your operating system, plus all critical and security Windows updates, antivirus and applications. This includes systems without recovery discs and drivers media.

Hardware tips -> Computer Monitor troubleshooting steps

Consider now your computer works properly. But the monitor has a problem. The monitor problems irritate us while we want to get things done fast. Follow these steps to troubleshoot your monitor.

1. First of all check if the power supply to the monitor is ON. In old type of computers the power supply is given in the CPU but in recent computers the monitors have own power cable.. Check if it is fixed correct and If the switch is on. If the power supply comes to the monitor the LED will glow in the monitor. Otherwise it does not glow.

2. After that you have a switch control in monitor for adjusting the monitor setting. You can adjust to get display. Children may change the settings mistakenly. We can check it out.

3. After that check whether video cable is connected to the CPU firmly.

4. If you have any other monitor you can connect with CPU by using the same video cable and also the problem continuous that means the video cable has a problem.

5. If you can connect your monitor with another CPU then we decide the problem is in your monitor. You have to change your monitor or repair the monitor by the technician.

6. When booting the computer the monitor that is identified maybe incorrect then we decide the problems in your display card. Try to change the monitor driver if you have the CD. Or change the video card.

After fixing new display card, if the problem continues then change your monitor. Don’t buy a second hand monitor. Buy a monitor based on new technology releases when you buy a new monitor. Recently the flat LCD monitors are cheep.

Hardware Tips -> What is Four-in-One computer chip?

Two months back Intel started a revolution on P.C by releasing DUAL CORE CHIP. After that now it releases the CPUs with 4 chips in November 2007. In dual core chip we get a new experience on 3D games. But four-in-one chips will increase the potential of the server. The chips would be released on 2007.It would increase the usage to the computer in home and in office. Mr.Ottelni chief of Intel says that the four-in-chip is 70% more effective than the dual core chip. Now Intel 65 Nm Tech, by next year it use 45Nm Tech. (1Nm = 1/109 m). In 45 Nm techs we can fix the transistors closely into the chip. If we fix more number of Transistors in a small space, it will increase the efficiency. If we fix four-chip combination it increases the efficiency and also reduce the heat.

In his seminar Ottenli shows a silicon wafer chapathi. It contains 80 Tera flop chips by using the chips we can execute 1 Lakh crores digital actions within one second. Now it is in starting stage, soon it comes to trade oriented if can execute a job of a computer, which contains thousand chips.

He also shows the P.C named community P.C that is designed by specialist in Bangalore Intel. This computer is more compact and air tight batteries. They are also manufacturing computer named schoolmate, which is used by students. It is a small notebook computer for school students. It doesn’t have hard disk, instead of that flash memory is used. It costs around Rs. 13,500. In future its cost must be reduced and will be used by all school students.

Hardware Tips-> How to reformat boot disk and hard disk?

Whenever an error occurs in an operating system or any important programs or whenever system collapses. The question arising is, is there any boot disk? Some people ask booting disk! What is this all about? Others feel for not creating such things.
To avoid you from facing this problem I am giving this tip.

What is boot disk?

A boot disk & booting disk is all the same. These are not different. Basically the disks that consist of programs, which help a computer to function and startup, are called a boot disk. Mostly the computer boots from their hard disk only. We go for boot disk only when there is the problem in the hard disk. A boot disk can be a floppy disk, ACD, or DVD. For a boot disk to perform its function it should consist of files. Computer should know to understand and accept this files. The disk should consist of all O/S files or at least essential O/S files.

When and how you will use boot disk?

Whenever the operating system or the files of operating system in hard drive does not get loaded properly in to the memory, we use boot disk. How this happens? This happens when the system is not able to read OS files in the hard drive due to data blocks or due to some other error. The data block can be remove using the disk repair or the hard drive can be formatted and the operating system can be reinstalled.
Our friends suggest reformatting the disk whenever small errors are taking place. But before reformatting think carefully and act.

First of all what is formatting?

We can see what happens when it is done. When we start to reformat. Its start from the hard disk of the computer. We here only important information in the computer is saved. Any way it becomes like clean state after you have reformatted. Some people would reformat their disk ones in 6 months or a year. This is the good idea but not essential one as some IT companies will provide boot disk or installation CD this will help us to reformat, because of this computer attains the state when it first came to you whenever you can do a reformat whenever or program crashes without any explanation and the computer collapses and all or measures to repair it fails you can reformat. There are 5 stages in the reformatting. I will explain the basic stages here.

1. First of all you have to take a backup of all the files in the hard drive of or computer. Here the files means not only that data files and also program files, application files, software files, the favorite website addresses and e-mail are to be back up. You have to remove the unwanted files from you are system no need of back up such unwanted files.
2. Next you have to create a boot disk in the case of you don’t have boot disk. You have to select the boot disk as floppy or CD according to your computer and check the boot disk it correct or not because its important for next stage.
3. In the third stage is little more confused don’t work. It’s easy when we understand .In this stage we have to reformat and partition the hard disk partition means dividing the hard disk for our facility. Due to this we can handle the drive partitions. Depends upon our file types. When we reformat the drive the files and in formations are fully deleted, so that only we create the back up. When we partition the hard disk its ready to get the files.
4. The major part of formatting the hard disk is finishes after that we have to installed all the programs first of all we have to install OS for that we should have installation CD feed the CD into the drive and install. It as per the commands
After that you have to install the programs and copy the files from your back up. After finishing this you get a Internet connection to view your favorite website and listen music your hard drive get new look you can use your computer as new.
5. The above all basic hints only it explain the common stages in the process.
Do you want to know briefly you can get it from websites? It contains more explanation and pictures. Down load it to read.

Hardware tips -> Computer buying tips

Today computers have become a necessity in every home. More and more
middle income households are now owning a computer now. That is why there
are many different branded PCs at different prices. It has become a tough
decision to choose the right computer. If you do not know the different
components in the computer and their functions, it becomes even more
difficult to choose. In this article let us see the various components in
a computer to help you in your choosing the right computer for you.

CPU (Central Processing Unit)

Most of the computers have Pentium Processors. Pentium processors are very
popular CPUs. Pentium Processors are manufactured by Intel.

Other than Pentium, Intel also manufactures Celeron processors. AMD
manufactures Athlon processors.

If you want to save money then go for Celeron processors. If you want
higher performance then choose Pentium processors.

Pentium processors come in 2.6 GHz, 2.8 GHz, 3.0 GHz and above while
Celeron processors come in 950 MHz to 2.80 MHz speed.

RAM (Random Access Memory)

There are many types of RAM namely DDR and SDRAM. The type of RAM you
choose depends on the motherboard you choose and what your motherboard
supports.

Get a RAM as big as possible. 256MB of RAM is the minimum RAM required for
a decent computer. But it is recommended that you go for atleast 512MB RAM
or even higher if possible.

Motherboard

Intel, Asus and Mercury are some of the motherboard brands. Generally
computer buyers overlook on motherboards. This is wrong. A good quality
motherboard will provide an efficient and faster computer.

The Chipset of a motherboard is very important. Intel's 845 and 915G
chipsets can take in Pentium processors. Likewise nVidia's nForce 4SLI
chipset takes AMD's Athelon 64 and Athelon 64 FX processors.

Hard Disk

Harddisks with 7200RPM speed are available. Harddisks with 40GB, 80GB,
120GB storage capacity are available. 80GB harddisk capacity is suitable
for home as well as office use.

HardDisks come in two types of interfaces. EIDE or SATA among which SATA
interface is better.

Graphics Card

Graphics card is integrated inside the motherboard. Unlike before the
graphics card and the motherboard are now integrated. Intel's Extreme
Graphics, Graphics Media Accelerator 900 are popular. If you go for nVidia
motherboard then Riva TNT2 graphics card is better.

Sound Card

Like graphics card, sound cards are also integrated in the motherboard.
Many motherboards come with Ac97 Audio cards.

CD Drives

Until 2004 the sale of CDROM drives was good. All computers came with 48x
or 52x CD drives.

But sales of CD Writers took over CDROM drives in late 2004. From 2005 it
is DVD writers and the combo drives that can handle both CDs and DVDs. So
choose either combo drives that can read and write CDs and read DVDs or go
for DVD Writers.

Monitor

15" and 17" monitors are very popular. The CRT monitors occupy more space
on the table and consume more power. Where as the flat LCD panel monitors
occupy less space and consume less power. So choose a LCD monitor

KeyBoard

A simple keyboard is usually sufficient. You may also try multimedia
keyboards or Internet keyboards. But most computer users usually do not
use these additional short cut keys provided in these new keyboards.

Membrane keys or mechanical type keys are available. Of these Mechanical
keys are more durable.

Mouse

Optical mouse is better than the ordinary mouse. The ball inside the ordinary mouse tends to gather dust and therefore the optical mouse is better to use.

Others

If you are an audio buff then you can buy good speakers, earphone and head set.

Try to get integrated network interface card and modem if you will be using networking or dialup internet.

Hardware Tips -> Problems and Tips while using USB ports

Some readers says that while is inserting flash drive in USB port. The system didn’t recognize it how could we overcome it.
First of all we should know the two types of USB ports.

USB 1.1: This is the first type of USB. It designed as per the speed of transferring 1.5mb/sec data’s. This is designed instead of serial and parallel port for the use of USB port. This is basically used only for connecting mouse and keyboard. System would be struggled for data overloading.

USB 2.0: This kind of USB ports is used for large scale into data transfer. More readers ask that how to identify these two kind of USB ports. To identify the model use the following commands. Start=>My computer=> properties. And click Hardware tab after than select Device Manager. Now you got the list. In that list select the plus symbol that is located after “Universal Serial Bus controllers” if your system have USB 1.1 mean it displays as “Host controller (or) Open Host Controller”. Else USB 2.0 is used mean it displays like.” Enhanced host controller (or) USB 2.0 controller.

Your windows operating system says that the connected USB get speeded. When you are connecting the high speed USB to logo speed USB port of the system, but most of the reader saying that while connecting the USB device to the system. The device was not getting detected. Commonly while inserting an USB device to the system. Window XP will say new hardware found. This message will display in the hard disk. While inserting the USB device it will get auto play, and enquire whether to open the files as file (Or) audio format (Or) video format? It assigns a drive letter for it. If all the details mentioned above had not displayed means the inserted device had not matched with your operating system. You can solve this by doing below.

Go to Start => control panel =>Administrative Tools and click in administrative tool. After that double click on Computer Management.
In that left side select Disk Management, at the right side a drive displays with the name of a removable drive. This is the drive thus containing to same name of already using drive.
To change it right click on the while bar then a got a list.
Now select “change drive letters and paths”.
Now you can select the letter that you want. Click the “change” option.
The letter that you selected it should be already used one.
After finishing this you should get a warning message.
Now click ok to it.
Now close the computer management console while clicking the My computer icon.
You can see the USB drive’s letter.

We face more problems on problem on using USB port. Some part may become in accessible due to the power shortage of computer. These kinds of problems happen on USB 1.1 ports only. These problems happen only on windows 2000 and the before edition while getting these kind of problems. We just disconnect the instruments after that connect one by one.

Now a days the new version computer consists of at-least four USB ports. Two ports are fixed in backside and the remaining two parts are fixed in front side. Windows XP packages will manage these ports without any problems.

Hardware tips -> What is Dual Core Processor?

By the invention of new chip Intel organization makes a milestone in the usage of personal computer. The chip contains two new functional processors. The personal computer containing this kind of chip would able act as double-brained system. Past 12years empire of the Pentium chips comes to an end. This new invention had brought on the silver jubilee of the invention of personal computer.

This chip had been brought 40years after the invention of moor’s law. Moor’s law says that the capacity and speed of the processor will be doubling every 2 years while the cost remains same.

By using this dual pc we get high clarity of video, picture and audio’s. even though we get digitalize pictures in 3D effect.

Uses of dual core processor:

It can handle to entirely different type of processes as fast and easily at same time. For example a dual core chip can do the work of making imagination about the four car’s traveling path and also it can observe the path for it. We don’t want improve the speed of cars. by this dual core chip we do the music file downloading and games downloading on same time. At the same time we can also handle high capacity of data’s also. Before the dual core technology we use Hyper-threading technology, which can manage two different processes at single time. But dual core technology handles four different processing at single time.

What is the meaning of chipset?

We know about the word chipset in production of pc. What is mean by chipset? And what is the work of it? Shall we discuss about it?
Chipset is the most important part of our desktop computer’s motherboard. All works are done around it. Chipset manage the work of how to execute commands which would be executed first how the output is get. Work done by using the memory. This the main work of chipset.

A chipset contain two bridges namely south bridge and North Bridge. North Bridge contains the working parts like CPU, system memory and work between graphical memories. This is called as Intel memory controller hub. Intel organization calls the graphical and video processes as graphical memory controller. South Bridge is called as integrated controller hub. It contains 3GB serial ATA, raid level matrix, high definition audio, USB ports. CPU is the central part of computer. It is called as central processing unit up to now we use the CPU, which contain only one CPU, but dual core chip.

While computer is processing CPU should acting very fast for this huge amount of heat will be produced it won’t cool by the fan, which is fixed on the CPU. Instead of this we use dual core chip means it will reduce the heat. New edition software designed as the facility using dual core. So the execution time must be reduced for example in Internet we can view and copy was ten sites at a single time at the same we can also make work on word processor also.
Lets consider that you are hearing MP3 songs in mp3 player, suddenly u want to edit a picture from the Photoshop and mail it to your friends. Computer speed will be decreases when tasks are increases. In future more number of Technologies important take over in dual core chip.

Hardware tips -> How to print on both sides of the paper?

While printing using Laser printers, you need to insert pages one by one to print. Because of this, only one side of the paper can be printed at a time. But most of the times we may want to print on both sides of the paper. If you are facing with a similar need to print on both sides of the paper, then follow these tips.

First insert a paper. Carefully note, which side of the paper is being printed by the printer. After printing the first page, printer will alert saying that the paper tray is empty. Now insert the same printed paper but this time insert it the other way, so that the printer will print on the blank side of the paper. Now press on 'resume printing / continue printing' button. As soon as you insert the paper, the printer will use its sensors to sense and suck inside to start printing the second page.

But the method described above is not the best way to print on both sides of the paper. There is another easier method. When you give the 'Print' command, in the Printer dailog box, look for the 'Pages' section and type numbers '1,3,5,7....' (which is all the odd numbers). Remember to use a comma in between two numbers. In some printers you will see 'Odd Pages' option. If your printer has this option then you can just select this option instead of typing all the odd numbers in the Pages box. Now your printer will print all the odd pages of the document and start printing. Again see which side of the page is the printing page. After all the odd pages are printed, take all these printed papers and place them again in the paper tray (note that you should place them such that the printing side is correct). After you place them, again give the 'Print' command and either type all the even numbers such as '2,4,6,8...' etc or select the 'Even pages' option. Now you will get both pages of the paper printed correctly.

Note that some newer printers are more intelligent and has an option to specify that 'print both sides' of the paper. If your printer has this option then printer will print the first page and automatically the paper will be sucked in for printing the second side of the page.

Hardware tips -> Types of Flash memory cards

Flash memory cards are used in Notebook computers, Digital cameras, Music players, PDAs and Car Stereos. Since these flash memories are cheap and the storage capacity ranges from 8MB to 1GB many people are buying these cards.

There are many types of flash memory cards. There are also USB drives and external hard disks in the market. So before you buy any cards you should first find out whether it is suitable for your notebook or computer. In this article we shall discuss about flash memory cards.

Difference between normal memory and flash memory

In an ordinary memory chip there are many cells. Each cell has either 0 or 1 state. When this cell is charged, its state will change. Which means if it was 1 then it will change to 0 and if it was 0 it will change to 1.

Remove the charge from the memory chip and the cells in the chip will forget their states. It will no longer retain its state.

But a flash memory is different. Even if the power is disconnected from the flash memory chip the cells in flash memory will still remember and retain its last state. This is the speciality of the Flash memory.

Thats why flash memory is better than the normal memory. But even flash memory has its disadvantages. The speed of a flash memory is too slow. Generally the speed of flash memory is 1Mbps. But flash memory with double or triple this speed are also available. The price of flash memory is more expensive than normal memory.

Types of flash memory

1. Smart Media
   
   Smart Media cards were first introduced at 2.7" size and at a thickness of a playing card. Since it could be easily bent the possibility of getting spoiled is high. Smart Media cards can be used in digital cameras and music players. If you want to use this in your computer you need to buy a PC card adapter. The smart media card with 1.8" length, 1.5" breadth and 0.06" thickness are not widely in use.
   
2. Compact Flash
   
   Compact Flash cards are used in Digital cameras, notebooks, PDAs, Music players and car stereos. Compact Flash cards are available with 4GB storage capacity and 1.4" length, 1.7" breadth and 0.2" thickness. Research is being done to increase the storage capacity of compact flash cards to 16GB.
   
3. Memory stick
   
   Many companies are now manufacturing memory sticks. There are many types of memory sticks which are used in digital cameras, notebooks, PDAs, music players and car stereos. Some even get confused between Memory stick, Memory stick duo, Memory stick & select, Memory stick pro. The size of each of these types of memory sticks are different. The storage capacity also differs 128MB, 256MB, 1GB, 2GB and 4GB.
   
4. Secure digital
   
   As though the confusion in memory stick is not enough secure digital type of flash memory are also available. Secure digital flash memory cards can also be used in digital camera, notebooks, PDAs, Music players and car stereos. All popular brands manufacture secure digital cards. Computer experts predict that secure digital cards have very good future. The secure digital cards are very small in size. The size of usual Secure Digital cards (SD card) is 1.2x0.9x0.07.
   
   More recently MiniSD cards are available which are even smaller in size (0.8x0.8x0.5). The storage size is 256MB or 512MB.
   
5. XDPicture cards
   
   Fuji and Olympus cameras use XDPicture cards in their digital cameras. The size of XDPicture cards is 1.0x0.8x0.5. The storage capacity of XDPicture cards are 512MB or 1GB.

Hardware tips -> What is an USB drive? USB drive buying tips.

Is it possible to store 2GB to 4GB of data in a device half the size of your pen? If you asked this question a few years back the answer is NO. But now it is very much possible. These are called USB drives or THUMB drives.

Those drives like pen drive or thumb drive that can be inserted to your USB (Universal Serial Bus) port in your computer is an USB drive.

Floppy drives and hard drives are secured to your computer using screws. Therefore they are permanently fixed to your computer. To disconnect and install it in another computer is not an easy task. Moreover these drives need power cables and data cables separately to function. But an USB drive is entirely different.

It is very easy to use an USB drive. You just have to insert the USB drive into your computer's USB port. You need not open the computer's cabinet for this. There is not data cable or power cable in USB drives.

As soon as you insert the USB drive into your USB port you can start using it. You need not install any software to use this. Reason: The newer Operating Systems such as Windows XP and most of the linux distros know how to detect these USB drives automatically. Immediately the OS will mount the USB drive to your computer and assign a drive letter such as E: or F: and will be available in your usual file explorer such as windows explorer.

If your Operating System is old (such as Windows 98) then you may have to install the appropriate driver software for your USB drive. The driver comes in the CD together with the drive or you can download the driver from the manufacturer's website.

What is bootable USB drive?

Just like the bootable floppy disk or a bootable CD you can also boot the computer using a bootable USB drive. But your computer's BIOS should support this facility.

Buying tips for USB drive (Thumb drive, pen drive, jump drive etc)

1. Storage size of USB drive
   USB drives are also called as Pen drive, Thumb drive, Jump drive, Key chain drive etc. These drives come in various storage capacities. USB drives are available from 16MB to 4.4GB.
   
2. Speed of USB drives
   Currently the USB2.0 is the standard widely in use. The speed of USB 2.0 is 480 MBPS. You may think that USB 2.0 based USB drives will have this 480 Mbps speed. But in reality there are three types of speed in USB drives.
   
   They are Low speed, Full speed and High speed. Low speed refers to a mere 1.5 Mbps speed. Do not get misled by the 'Full speed' term. Full Speed USB drives have 12 Mbps speed. Only 'High speed' or 'hispeed' USB drives have 480Mbps speed. Remember to buy USB drives that are faster to read and write.
   
   So do not just see whether it is USB 2.0 but also see the speed.
   
3. Write Protected USB drives
   See if the USB drive has a write protect switch. Because if you do not want to accidentally delete the files or do not want to accidentally write to it then this switch will be useful.

Hardware tips -> Things to do before you upgrade your computer cards

If you open the computer and look at the motherboard you will see many expansion slots. You can insert Modem card, sound card, video card, scanner card, network card or many other computer cards. There will be some free expansion slots for future use.

You may like to upgrade some of the existing cards. For example instead of 33.6K modem you may want to upgrade to faster 56K modem, or instead of the normal video card you are using you may wish to upgrade to a 3D video card.

Here are some tips and things to do before you undergo such upgrades.

Backup your data

If you install any card in your computer, you also have to install the driver software for that card. When you install the drivers be aware that some of the existing files in your computer will change. Or some files may get corrupted and become unusable or totally deleted. Therefore it is always a good practice to backup the existing files in your computer.

If possible, a total hard disk backup is recommended. But if you are unable to backup the hard disk (which is usually the case most of the times) then at least back up the files in the root directory and the windows directory. If you don't have the time to do this then at least back up the windows registry before doing any upgrade.

Gather details about the card

Make sure that you get all the accompanying manuals, cards and getting started guide if any together with the card. Read them patiently before you start doing anything. If there is a newer driver available for the card then download the driver from the website.

Before you buy a particular card, get some feedback from your friends and colleagues if they have already used the same card. If you have any IT friends then get their advice if possible.

Search the Microsoft's knowledge base in their website about the card you are going to buy and see if there are known bugs or problems related to that card.

Release your body's static current

The static current in your body may spoil the card. The chips in the card may be damaged. Hence before touching the card, release the static current from your body.

If you touch any water pipe the static current will be released. If you cannot find a water pipe you can shut down the computer and touch the metal cabinet of your computer. When you do this do not remove the power plug from your computer. Because the static current from your body will get released through the ground wire of your computer's power plug.

Insert the card slowly and firmly

Insert the card slowly into the expansion slot in your motherboard. Sometimes you may need to exert more pressure. But make sure that the motherboard does not bend or break. So carefully insert but ensure that it sits firmly in the slot.
Secure the card using Screws.

After a few months the card may come out from the slot. To prevent this, use the screws to tightly secure the card with the cabinet.

Remove the driver of the old card

It is better to remove the old driver before you install the new driver. TO do this select the 'My Computer' icon in the desktop, right click and select 'properties'. Now select the 'Device Manager' and select the old card from the drive (eg. your old sound card) and then click on the 'Remove' button. For some cards you may need to use the Add/remove programs option in control panel.

You can use the above method to remove the driver of all the hardware except the display driver. Since the display is very important. However you can double click the 'Display Driver' in device manager and then click the 'Update Driver' button.

Install the new driver

The driver will be in the floppy disk or the CD rom that came with the card. Install it. You can refer to the user manual of your card to install the driver. When you are installing the driver do not stop the process in between as it will damage the files. If during the installation process you think you are installing the wrong driver then let it install fully first, then you can remove it as mentioned above.

Keep your driver CD safely

After you install the driver reboot the computer and you can start using your new card. But remember to keep the driver CD in a safe place. Because you never know when things can go wrong. If you have to reinstall then you will need these CDs.