Monday, 8 April 2013
Steps
- 1Check the POST. POST stands for Power On Self Test. This is generally the first or second thing that appears on a computer after turning on the power. This appears before the operating system begins to load. The POST will display any problems found with hardware that makes the computer unable to boot, POST may also display problems with hardware that allow the computer to boot, but not operate at its full capacity during operation.
- 2Notice the load time of the OS (operating system). A longer than usual load time may indicate seek errors (or other errors) in the hard drive.
- 3Notice any graphics problems once the OS has loaded. Reduced graphics may indicate driver failures or hardware failures with graphic cards.
- 4Perform an auditory test. An auditory test is an unorthodox, but still effective way of judging how hard a computer is working. With the computer on and running, play any decent length audio file (usually above 30 secs). If the audio is choppy or slow, it usually means that the processor is working at an elevated level, or there is not enough RAM to run all programs loading. Changing the startup sound is a great way to apply this test. Another issue associated with choppy sounds is PIO (Programmed Input/Output) Mode. This affects how the hard drive reads and writes data from a drive. Switching to DMA allows for faster reads and writes, and can sometimes repair choppy audio.
- 5Check any newly installed hardware. Many operating systems, especially Windows, can conflict with new drivers. The driver may be badly written, or it may conflict with another process. Windows will usually notify you about devices that are causing a problem, or have a problem. To check this use the Device Manager, this can be accessed by entering theControl Panel, clicking the System icon, clicking the Hardware tab, and clicking on Device Manager. Use this to check and arrange the properties of hardware.
- 6Check any newly installed software. Software may require more resources than the system can provide. Chances are that if a problem begins after software starts, the software is causing it. If the problem appears directly upon startup, it may be caused by software that starts automatically on boot.
- 7Check RAM and CPU consumption. A common problem is a choppy or sluggish system. If a system is choppy it is good practice to see if a program is consuming more resources than the computer can provide. An easy way to check this is to use the Task Manager, right click on the taskbar select Task Manager, and click the Processes tab. The CPU column contains a number that indicates the percentage of CPU the process is consuming. The Mem Usage column indicates how much memory a process is consuming.
- 8Listen to the computer, if the hard drive is scratching or making loud noises, shut off the computer and have a professional diagnose the hard drive. Listen to the CPU fan, this comes on a high speed when the CPU is working hard, and can tell you when the computer is working beyond its capacity.
- 9Run a virus and malware scan. Performance problems can be caused by malware on the computer. Running a virus scan can unearth any problems. Use a commonly updated virus scanner (such as Norton Antivirus or Avast! Antivirus) and a commonly updated malware scanner (such as Spybot Search & Destroy).
- 10Check for the problem in safe mode. As a last ditch effort, check the problem in safe mode. To enter safe mode, tap F8 repeatedly during POST (this works on most systems). If the problem persists in safe mode, it is a fair bet that the operating system itself is to blame.
Monday, 8 April 2013 by NaVeeN · 0
Tuesday, 4 October 2011
Regular computer hard disk clean up is vital to prevent errors and to keep your PC in top form. A healthy hard drive will protect your data and will make your PC fast by allowing fast acceess to files and folders
Here i discribe the some of hard disc clean up methods
1.Scandisk
Scandisk is a PC tools available in Windows Operating System. This is a diagnostic and repair program that scans the data on your hard drive.
Start>all programs>accessories>System tools>Disc clean up
Benefits of Scandisk and types of bug fixing
Scandisk PC tool can verify the file and directory structure of your data and can perform repairs when problems are found. Scandisk can further run a surface scan on your hard drive to determine whether or not any physical damage is present and attempt to move and affected data to another section of the hard drive.
By using this hard drive clean up tool you can increase the speed of your PC, as this will enable faster access to files and folders.
If you hear a strange noise from the Hard Drive ( tick tick sound) use Scandisk immediately. It is recommended to use scan disk once in every two months. However, increase the frequency if you are a regular PC user.
2.Disk Defragmenter
Disk Defragmenter is also a disk clean up PC tool available in Windows Operating System. This is a program which optimizes your PC performance by rewriting the data on you hard drive to ensure that files are written together on the same part of the hard drive or are written in a manner to speed the boot process or the launch of resident applications.
The more a PC is used, the more the hard drive is fragmented. Basic PC operation will create pockets of unused space all over the hard drive, then utilize those unused pockets to store data; in many cases, data from the same file or program will be written to these blank pockets all over the hard drive, often degrading the PC's performance. The operating system or an application program often has to access a wide area of hard drive space to make a program run.
To run Disk Defragmenter Click Start button then go to Programs->ACCESSORIES-> SYSTEM TOOLS and select Disk Defragmenter.
It is recommended to use Defragmenter tool once in every two months. However, increase the frequency if you are a heavy PC user.
3.Disk Clean up
Deleting temporary Internet files also a part of disk clean up. But there are other temporary files, which are taking unnecessary disk space. This process is essential if you have a small hard drive and are constantly on the verge of running out of space.
Which computer repair tool to be used?
Computer clean up tools available in Windows. Click Start button then go to Programs->ACCESSORIES-> SYSTEM TOOLS and select Disk Cleanup. This will search and display set of temporary files can be deleted from your computer. Tick on each box and run the tool.
How to uninstall unnecessary programs and clean up your PC?
Click on the "Start" button, then "Settings", then double click on "Control Panel". Find the program you want to remove and select it then hit the Add/Remove button. Follow the instructions and it will try it's best to get rid of the program.
Not always successfully though. You may get a message that "Some files could not be removed". If you are lucky there will be a "Details" button that will give you the information about "Leftover Stuff". Write down the information and then you get to be a detective and try to find them so you can remove them manually.
After you have removed the "Old acquaintances" you should run "Scandisk" and then "Defrag" your hard drive. Removing files and programs will leave holes or spaces all over your drive slowing it down even more. You will be amazed at the performance change.
Tuesday, 4 October 2011 by NaVeeN · 0
Sunday, 2 October 2011
Sign: The mouse freezes and the screen seems to have come to halt and also keyboard does not respond as well.
This is generally a computer hang. Main reasons behind the PC hangs are:
Do you know why Computer Hangs?
1.Overheating of processor / Motherboard. If the cooling fan is faulty, the processor gets heated up and ceases to work beyond a particular temperature.
2.Faulty hard disk drive.Hard disc problems also hangs the computers in case the important Operating System files needed to keep the computer running, become in-accessible.
Solutions : To solve the computer hangs you must follow these steps:
Step1: Check that the cooling fans of the processor is working properly or not. If not, then get the fan replaced.otherwise if the fan is working check is it clean or not.clean the fans as soon as possible,it might increse the speed of the fan. Also check for the additional fans on your computer casing/cabinet(if any).
Step2: To Fix this, run a disk scan which checks for disc errors and fixes the bad sectors (some examples are scandisk and checkdisk utilities in windows). If there are bad sectors which can not be repaired, then you need to replace your hard disc.
Tip for enhanced performance: Once there are no bad sectors and the disc scan is complete, do a de-fragmentation of your hard disc partition(this may take long time), it will help the computer to access files easily and computer runs better(also fast in some cases).
Start, all programs, accessories, system tools, disc defragmentation.(in windows)
These three steps will fix your computer hangs considerably.
Sunday, 2 October 2011 by NaVeeN · 0
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Though the threat posed by computer viruses -- small software programs that can harm your programs and data -- is sometimes overblown in the popular press, it is still real. As the Internet has developed, so has the frequency of virus attacks and the ways they can infect a computer. Viruses can attack via email, via security breaches in the operating system, and other ways.
Virus protection software works at many levels. It can scan every disk you put into your floppy drive and check every program for a hidden virus -- before you run the program. It can even scan all the files on your hard disk for viruses. With the viruses being sent via email nowadays, users should configure their virus utility to run when they start up their computer.
If you do not have an anti-virus utility on your computer, you should go to one of the online antivirus utilities to scan your system.
Online Virus Checkers
Trend Micro Housecall - will scan and remove threats
BitDefender Scan Online - will scan and remove threats
Ewido Online Scanner - will scan and remove threats
Panda Activescan - appears to only scan for but not remove threats
McAfee FreeScan - appears to only scan for but not remove threats
eTrust Antivirus Web Scanner - will scan and remove threats
Symantec Security Check - will scan and remove threats
Dr.Web Online Check - user can upload and test for threats on particular files
You'll also want a good anti-spyware program to help rid your system of spyware, malware, and adware. The best one in my opinion is MalwareBytes Antimalware, you candownload the free version or purchase the full version that allows real-time monitoring of your system for spyware.
If you don't already have antivirus software loaded on your computer. You should download and install an antivirus product immediately. The popular commercial antivirus products like McAfee and Norton are ok, but there are also excellent free antivirus solutions available. Listed below are some of the popular free and commercial antivirus software products.
Tuesday, 20 September 2011 by NaVeeN · 0
Software drivers let your applications talk to important peripherals. It's a good idea to check with your computer's manufacturer at least four times a year for the latest updates. The easiest way to do this is to access the manufacturer's Web site; most companies normally make updated drivers available for download. If you don't have Web access, call the vendor's tech-support number.
You should keep your Windows based computer up-to-date via the Windows Update Service on the web.
In addition, there are online sites that help with PC maintenance such as PC Pitstop.
For other misc programs, there is a great freeware program called FileHippo Update Checker that will check for updates for Adobe Reader, Java, Quicktime, Flash, Real Player, and many other programs.
You should keep your Windows based computer up-to-date via the Windows Update Service on the web.
In addition, there are online sites that help with PC maintenance such as PC Pitstop.
For other misc programs, there is a great freeware program called FileHippo Update Checker that will check for updates for Adobe Reader, Java, Quicktime, Flash, Real Player, and many other programs.
by NaVeeN · 0
Technically, dynamic link library (DLL) is a collection of small programs, any of which can be called up when needed by a larger program that is running in the computer. Within a Windows operating system, DLL files can contain the codes used by several different programs.
Problems will arise if a DLL file is damaged, corrupted or a particular program installs an incompatible version of a DLL.file on your system. When this problem happens, you will get an error message such as “… file could not be located in the dynamic link library PSAPI.DLL.”
PSAPI.DLL (Process Status Helper) is one of the possible DLLs may cause error in Windows system. You may get some error message such as below during the boot up process:
PSAPI.DLL (Process Status Helper) is one of the possible DLLs may cause error in Windows system. You may get some error message such as below during the boot up process:
Procedure entry point GetProcessImageFileNameW could not be located in the dynamic link library. PSAPI.DLL
According to Microsoft, there is only one PSAPI.DLL file in your PC and it is under the Windows\System 32 folder. Additional PSAPI.DLL file may be installed by third party programs such as SmartBridge, often the older version. If you have other versions of the PSAPI.DLL file in the system, it can cause your IE 7 or other windows programs that interact with IE7 to crash when you start it up. Beside, you may have annoying error message like above too.
To solve the PSAPI.DLL incompatibility issue and overcome this problem, search your PC or check the program folder of the application that crashes for a PSAPI.DLL file:
- Open up Search from Start Menu.
- Find all instances PSAPI.DLL on your PC.
- Rename all extra copies of PSAPI.DLL files found EXCEPT the one located in \Windows\System32\ folder to some other names like PSAPIOLD.DLL (never delete or do anything with the PSAPI.DLL file in your Windows or Windows/System 32 folder).
- Reboot the system.
After reboot, there will not be anymore conflict and Windows will automatically look for valid PSAPI file in the Windows system folder.
by NaVeeN · 0
Friday, 16 September 2011
How to solve computer problems by clearing the CMOS Jumper
Sometimes when data gets corrupted it causes your computer to malfunction, you might experience startup problems such as missing Operating System, or Hard drive not found or no Video signal just to name a few. Most of these startup problems can be easily solved by clearing the CMOS jumper which basically puts your computer back to its original default settings. Just so you know the CMOS battery is a flat coin cell battery which keeps the data needed to startup the computer alive when the computer is turned off.
There are basically two ways that you can go about clearing the CMOS battery, you can either clear the jumper on the mother board or you can physically remove the battery for a few seconds and then reinsert it. Let’s start with the first option of removing the CMOS jumper. Now bear in mind that in order to clear the CMOS jumper you need to open up the computer, so if you are not too comfortable doing this then it is best that you get a professional to do it for you.
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Turn off your computer and then open the case, now look on the motherboard for the CMOS jumper which is usually located somewhere near the CMOS battery and will be labeled as such. There are three pins written 1,2,3, once you locate the jumper you will see that 1,2 pins are covered while the number 3 pin is uncovered. Simply take off the jumper from the 1,2 pins and put it on the 2,3 pins just for a second and then put it back in its original 1,2 pins position. Be careful not to turn on the computer while the jumper is in the 2,3 position as this can cause serious damage to your motherboard. Now go ahead turn back on the computer and see if it starts up.
The second option of clearing the CMOS battery is very straight forward, actually a no brainer, simply remove the batter from its slot for a few seconds and then replace it and you are done. Keep in mind that clearing the CMOS battery will only be able to solve software related issues on your computer, hardware issues such as broken harddrives and video cards etc, will have to be physically replaced, but that is another issue for another time.
Friday, 16 September 2011 by NaVeeN · 0
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