Archive for the ‘repair’ Category
Posted by dvanarsd on July 13, 2009
MakeUseOf has a post on how to Save, Restore, Fix A Broken MBR with MBRWizard.
“MBR, if you are unfamiliar, is the first sector of your hard disk. It is just 512 bytes in size, but boy are those 512 bytes important or what? The MBR is used for bootstrapping operating systems, holding the primary partition table of your disk and other important information. You take this information away and chances are you will not be able to boot the operating system.”
“MBRWizard allows you to save/restore MBR, repair a corrupt MBR, you can hide/unhide hard disk partitions, make a partition bootable or delete it all together, make a flash disk bootable etc.”
Posted in Freeware/Shareware, Hardware, Utilities, repair | Tagged: freeware, hard drive, master boot record, MBR, MBRWizard, repair | Leave a Comment »
Posted by dvanarsd on August 25, 2008
RAM? Random Access Memory, nowadays expressed mostly as “SDRAM” for the latest type commonly available, is part of the intelligence of the computer. As I explained to an elderly lady who asked the difference, “I GB of RAM is just barely thinking, and 2 GB of RAM is twice as smart”. (Hey, I do analogies people can understand, if they are not interested in high-tech explanations.) Usually comes on a “card” or pair of cards, and preferably should be balanced on each card if you have it on two cards (2 GB on one, 2 GB on the other, say).
Dave’s Computer Tips Newsletter has a good overview and some tips on computer RAM (Random Access Memory), and how to tell what you have.
What if you want to install more RAM (or SDRAM)? Once you use something like Dave’s motherboard article to help you find where it is, and one of the vendor site’s scanners to check for your type of memory (such as the one at Crucial Memory that Dave recommends), you’ll need to use the instructions with the memory card and/or your motherboard information to change it. Don’t hesitate to go looking for information on your specific motherboard — quite often, somebody has already posted a how-to on replacing your memory cards.
Just remember – do all your research first, and print it out, before you open up the computer! Use this advice at your own risk, or take it in to a qualified repair place.
Posted in Hardware, repair | Tagged: Hardware, memory, RAM, SDRAM | Leave a Comment »
Posted by dvanarsd on April 20, 2008
Wasn’t that a Paul Simon song? “11 ways to fix your… ” no, wait, that’s “11 ways to leave your laptop”… no, it’s “11 ways to leave your lover”…
Never mind.
Laptop Magazine does have 11 ways to fix your laptop. It covers overheating, a slow hard drive, battery not holding a charge, needing more memory, hard drive failure, a bad keyboard, not connecting to a wireless network, stuck pixels on the screen, system crash, virus or spyware infestation, and outdated video drivers.
Posted in Anti-Virus, Hardware, repair | Tagged: advice, Hardware, laptop, repair | Leave a Comment »
Posted by dvanarsd on March 14, 2008
Okay, so you didn’t mean to drop your cell phone in that puddle… or your handheld in the water fountain when you bent over it… or let the rain leak into your backpack and get to your laptop….
But now that your electronic device is wet, what do you do now?
Windows Secrets has an article on how to handle the situation, called “How to fix that gizmo you dropped in the loo” (‘loo’ is British for ‘toilet’).
All may not be lost!
Posted in Hardware, repair | Tagged: damage, electronics, laptop, phone, repair, water | Leave a Comment »
Posted by dvanarsd on March 11, 2008
[updated 2009.8.10]
MakeUseOf has a review of a program called Killdeadpixel which is intended for LCD screens.
“All you have to do is drag the provided graphic onto a dead pixel and let it stay there for about an hour. The graphic will try to fix it by rapidly changing nearby pixels. Although it won’t work for all cases, it does fix most of the broken pixels.”
“If the first method fails, there are two things you can still try:
* 1. Get a soft cloth and gently massage the dead pixel.
* 2. You can also try using a bigger (800×600 or 1024×768) resolution and leave it on the screen for about 12 hours.*”
Posted in Hardware, repair | Tagged: dead, Hardware, Killdeadpixel, LCD, monitor, pixel, repair, screen | 2 Comments »
Posted by dvanarsd on January 24, 2008
MemTest86+ is a freeware (GNU Public License) way to check the old or new memory in your computer. Download it and burn it to a CD, then run it to test your PC’s memory.
Recommended by SmartComputing magazine, Feb. 2008.
Posted in Hardware, repair | Tagged: DRAM, Hardware, memory, MemTest, MemTest86+, RAM, SDRAM, test, tester, testing | Leave a Comment »
Posted by dvanarsd on December 3, 2007
LCD monitor backlight repair is a how-to on replacing your LCD monitor’s backlight.
This is intended for desk monitors only – not laptops. Be sure that you can’t get it repaired under warranty first, or this will void your warranty.
Posted in Hardware, Help, repair | Tagged: backlight, Hardware, how to, LCD, monitor, monitors, repair, replace, screen | Leave a Comment »
