Troubleshooting issues dealing with your software can make one feel pretty helpless and frustrated. Even I get pretty frustrated when I have to troubleshoot software issues. My best advice is to be patient and stay calm. Applications are generally not release to the public until they are nearly completely bug free. However, because almost no two computers are exactly alike there will always be issues with software and computers.

The best way to troubleshoot any software related issue is to reinstall the program. You will either need to find the application media (CD, DVD) or go and download the installer from the website that you found the application. Once you have reinstalled the application then try to run the program again. If you still have issues running the program you might want to try to completely remove the program from your computer from the Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel. Once you have removed the program it is good practice to reboot your machine before trying to install it again. Once your computer has rebooted you can now try to install the application once again. I have found that 70-80% of application issues are resolved by either repairing the installation or completely reinstalling the application.

If you are unfamiliar with any of the above steps from the above article then feel free to contact me through email or phone. If you live in my service area (Carrollton, Dallas, Douglasville, Hiram, or Villa Rica) the call or email to submit a request to schedule a time for me out to your computer and take a look at your software issue.

Troubleshooting Blue Screen of Death Errors

by Jules on May 18, 2009

Simple Care and Maintenance to Extend the Life of Your Computer Hardware

by Bert Moen

Caring for your computer hardware today will go a long way toward extending its life. I’d like to share with you some easy things you can do to keep your computer running in top form.

1. Many of the computer desks available today have a closed cabinet for you to place your computer in. Computers need circulating air to keep them from overheating. I recently replaced a video card that got too hot and blew some capacitors because it was in a closed cabinet. 

If possible try to put your computer out in the open and up off the ground. Also the environment should be moisture, smoke and dust free if possible.

2. I’m often asked if it’s better to leave a computer left on or shut it down when you’re done until the next time you need it. If you use your computer daily it’s best to leave it on. Every time you have to cold start your computer it causes stress to the electrical components. 

Leaving your computer on is better for it but make sure you’re using the energy saving features that turn off your monitor and hard drives after a set amount of time. I don’t recommend the Windows hibernate feature though. Also insure your computer is plugged into a surge protector and that you’re using a firewall if you have a broadband connection. The Windows firewall is sufficient, Comodo’s free firewall is even better.

3. Dust inside the computer case can plug fans and coat components causing your computer to work extra hard and overheat. I worked on a computer recently that the fans were literally plugged with dust and debris. 

The extra stress and heat caused three blown transistors right next to the processor and a fourth was bulging. 

The life of this computer has been cut short due to too much dust. Once a year I make it a point to clean up the inside of my computers. I also clean the inside of every computer I fix.

Here’s how to do it:

A. Shut down the computer and unplug it.

B. Open the case. Usually it’s as easy as removing two screws in the back of the computer or pushing a latch. See the documentation that came with your computer if you’re not sure how to open the case.

C. There’s a huge debate about whether you should use a vacuum or not since vacuums can create static electricity which can cause permanent damage to the computer. Everyone agrees though that using compressed air is OK to use as long as you keep the can upright. If you tip the can it starts blowing moisture and can even freeze components in the computer. 

I’ve always used a combination of compressed air and a vacuum. You might want to do this outside or in the garage if you don’t want a bunch of dust blown into your house. I usually just hold the computer hose outside the case and blow the compressed air to dislodge the dust.

If the computer is really dirty and you can see that the fans/heat-sinks are plugged and components are coated with dust you can carefully use a small paintbrush and/or these great, inexpensive vacuum micro attachments. Personally I would never purchase the special vacuums created specifically for vacuuming out computers because most of them get bad reviews.

4. While the computer is still unplugged, close the case and take a slightly damp rag and wipe down the exterior of the computer. I usually wait at least a couple hours after doing step 3 and 4 before I plug in and turn on the computer.

5. Next I unplug and clean the monitor. It’s very important that you don’t just start spraying Windex on your screen. LCD screens used on laptops and flat screens can be ruined using abrasive cleaners. Personally, I use Monster ScreenClean Display Cleaning Kit that includes a reusable MicroFiber cloth to clean any type of screen. Don’t spray the screen, spray the cloth then wipe the screen gently. You can find other screen cleaning options in your owner’s manual or a quick Google search.

6. You’ll also want to clean your keyboard. I usually just turn the keyboard over and shake it out then use compressed air to blow the dust out.

Following these simple and inexpensive steps to keep your computer hardware clean will extend its life and save you money in the long run so get started today!

-Bert

I’ll assume that if you are reading this that you have some sort of high speed internet (DSL, Cable, etc…) so I will go ahead and tell those users still on dial up that this article will not apply to them. A lot of people will have their ISP come and set up their internet for them at home. The only downside to that is they only install the modem and no router to go along with it. A lot of modems now have some built in security but not the amount of security that most professionals would suggest. Nowadays everyone that connects to the internet needs some sort of firewall between their computer and the outside internet.

The best and easiest way to accomplish this is to purchase router. Routers have a built in firewall that will protect you against hackers.  Here are a few routers I would recommend:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10730619
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833320026 (My recommendation)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833156001

If you live in my service areas of Carrollton, Dallas, Douglasville, Hiram, or Villa Rica then you could email or call me and we could schedule a service call for me to come out and set up a new router for you or give you an estimate on a home office set up.

Before you attempt to do anything in your computer Google it and make sure it can be done with standard household tools. I have access to non standard tools so if you need a special repair and you live around Dallas, Douglasville, Hiram, or Villa Rica then call me up or email me and we’ll set an appointment.

I do not claim to be a computer parts repair expert by any means, however, I will try to provide some helpful advice. First and foremost, if you are needing something like a monitor or television to be repaired then DO NOT try to open it up and repair it yourself. Chances are you will do more harm than good. Don’t justify trying by telling yourself that it is already broken because what most people do not know is how some of the older monitors and televsion sets can maintain an electrical charge large enough to put you on your back. Refer to a television or monitor repair specialist for that sort of work.

With that out of the way I will give you a basic knowledge of what you need to do before attempting to destroy…I mean fix your computer. Computers are very sensitive to ESD (electro static discharge) so please make sure to ground yourself before ever touching anything inside of your computer. The easiest way to ground yourself is to touch the metal from of the computer before you do anything. The next best advice I can give is to never touch the part of the hard that connects up to the motherboard. This applies especially to devices like RAM or expansion card pins. Most of the damage you can do to your computer is from ESD so I will try to not sound repetitive.  It would even be a good idea to wear an antistatic wristband that is grounded if you have it. Never blow into PC to remove dust. Use some compressed air that you can buy cheap at a local Wally World (again for static reasons).  

Pretty much the only tools you need for repairing your computer are some screw drivers and a sledge hammer and/or axe (just kidding!).  Your motherboard documentation should have almost everything you need to know about where everything is located and how to remove and install it.

This link will help you troubleshoot your machine for issues with your computer freezing up while on the internet. These suggestions are more for an advanced user so if you would like assistance then email me. If you live in the Hiram, Dallas, Villa Rica, or Douglasville area then I can come out to your machine and help you out.

Not in the Hiram, GA area and need to recover files on your harddrive? No problem! Just read through this post and learn how you can do it from home!

One thing most people don’t know about “dead hard drives” is that in my experience 90% of the time or better the hard drive is not actually dead. It more than likely just has a problem with the Windows boot sequence and all the data is still recoverable. The only trouble comes in getting laptop hard drive data. This is because there is difficulty in getting the hard drive out of the laptop and into another computer. There is a special converting tool that allows you to connect either PATA or SATA hard drives via USB to another computer. If it you have a desktop hard drive then all you would have to do is plug the hard drive into the mother board and power supply, while the PC is off, and make sure the jumper settings are set to slave. When you turn on your computer you should see another hard drive in My Computer (probably drive letter E:). After you get your laptop hard drive or desktop hard drive you can navigate to your profile folder and copy and paste the data onto your working hard drive. From there you can either try to run a chkdsk /r from the Windows Recovery Console or just format the hard drive and reinstall Windows and all your applications. That is sometimes a good option especially if your computer was moving rather slow.

You should only do following if you are an advanced PC user or if you live in he Dallas, Hiram, Douglasville, or Villa Rica area. That way I can come by and help fix the issue if this and other methods do not work.

This technique of troubleshooting is one of the last things I try when working on a troubled PC. The reason I try it last is because it is one of the slower ways of troubleshooting. Since it is usually the last thing I try I will share it with you in case you are at the point where you have already tried everything else. The Ultimate Boot CD is my tool of choice. I will also sometimes use BartPE but I am still not comfortable with that one yet. UBCD comes preconfigured and is very user friendly. UBCD allows you to boot into several different modes. Here I will tell about the diagnostic tools it is equiped with.
When you boot up with the CD it will load very similarly as Windows XP. Once it finishes loading, again it will look similar to Windows XP. My favorite part about the UBCD are the spyware/virus tools it is pre-loaded with.  The only real problem with the UBCD is that the virus/spyware definitions go out of date and there is no way to update them so you have to frequently make new UBCDs to keep up with possible new viruses/spyware.