regular computer problems.
Cannot save a file onto your hard disk
First check your hard disk to see if it still has space available. Delete some files if
possible. Run a virus scan on your computer and make sure that there are no
viruses present. Reinstall the application you are using and see if it solves the
problem.
Monitor does not display anything
Check the obvious -- Monitor‟s LED light is on, power is plugged in and cable is
connected to both the monitor and PC. When you turn on your PC, check to see if
there are any strange beeping noises. If so, there could be a problem with your
graphics card. You will need to replace the graphics card in this case. To see which
is the graphics card (VGA card) inside your PC, look at which card the monitor cable
is connected to.
Keyboard/mouse doesn’t work
If it‟s a wireless keyboard/mouse, check to see if the batteries need replacing. If it‟s
not a wireless keyboard/mouse, check to see if the cable is plugged in properly.
It may be that the USB port which you plug your keyboard/mouse cable to is faulty.
Try another USB port if you have one. If there are no USB ports available, buy a
USB hub which will allow you increase the number of USB ports. Plug your
keyboard/mouse cable here. If the device doesn‟t work, you will need to replace it.
Mouse cursor is hard to control
This normally happens with a mouse that has no infrared. It‟s because the inside of
the mouse is dirty due to long usage.
Remove the ball from the mouse and clean it. Use a pin and scrape off the dirt from
the rollers inside the mouse.
Advertisements keep popping up on the screen
These unwanted advertisements are popping up on your screen because a website
has placed spyware or some other annoying code on your PC when you visited or
downloaded something from their website.
To remove these popups, download and use a Spyware application such as Lavasoft
from http://www.lavasoft.com/
This will help you find and remove the code so that you won‟t see the pop ups again.
No internet access
If you cannot access the internet from a browser, then it could be due
to:
1. The website you’re visiting is offline. Try visiting another website
to see if this is the case.
2. Could be a problem with your internet provider. Ring them
immediately and ask if they have a problem.
3. Check to see if the wireless signal on your PC or laptop is weak.
You may need to go to a better location
A USB device is not working
If any of your USB devices are not working such as printer, digital camera, web cam
etc… then unplug the device from your PC. Then restart the PC. Plug in the USB
device again to see if the computer can automatically detect it. If so, it will ask you to
download the driver. If you have the driver on disk, then use it. If not choose the
option where Windows will automatically search for the recommended driver.
If this doesn‟t work then plug the USB device into another USB port to see if the USB
port is faulty. If all these fail, then the problem could be with your USB device. Try
the device on another computer to confirm.
No sound from your PC
Check to see if the speakers are switched on and plugged in properly. Then go to
Control Panel…Sounds and Audio Devices. Check to see if the volume is not muted.
Next go to websites such as YouTube, to see if you can hear any sound. It may be
that a particular application you‟re working with has a problem with sound.
If all the above fails then you need to replace your sound card.
How To Speak To A Technician
When you approach a technician because you need them to replace a motherboard
or check what is wrong with your PC, don‟t give the impression that you‟re desperate
and that they‟re your only option. Make sure they know that you‟re willing to visit
other computer repair shops to get a second opinion or for a cheaper quote.
Approach the technician without your PC, and speak to them first. Tell them what the
problem is and also what steps you have taken to troubleshoot the problem.
If you‟re having problems recording sound on your PC, then explain the problem
clearly and tell them what you did to troubleshoot it. This will make technician know
that you‟re not a computer idiot who believes in everything they say.
Some technicians can tell if you know nothing about computers. They will ask you to
get a new motherboard or purchase some software. If you give them the impression
that you know the basics of troubleshooting, they‟ll think carefully on how to give you
a good answer.
With your PC‟s inability to record sound, the technician will obviously suggest that
the problem is with your sound card. You need to nod your head and agree with the
suggestion. This will tell them that it‟s also what you suspect.
What the technician can do now is to replace your sound card with a new one and
give you a quote.
Do you see how difficult it is for the technician to charge you money for installing the
sound card? You‟re going to purchase the sound card from him and he knows that
installing the sound card will take just 5 minutes of his time.
What you can do now is ask if you can buy the sound card and have the technician
to install it for you, free of charge. Tell them that you can carry the PC to their shop in
the next half hour.
The technician can now either agree to your suggestion or offer a low price to do the
quick replacement.
If it‟s a simple task of replacing a sound card, you can also do it yourself. Just open
the case of your computer and see which card has speaker cables connected to it.
That is your sound card. Try to unscrew the card from your PC and place the new
sound card inside. It‟s really very simple.
However you need to be careful when you touch the inside of your PC because you
may have some static electricity which will damage your computer. Although this is
rare, it could happen.
To prevent the possibility of short circuiting your PC, switch the PC off and
disconnect all power cords and accessories (keyboard/mouse). Then make sure that
one of your hand is touching the metal surface of your computer case (make sure it‟s
not painted). This will eliminate the chance of having static electricity.
If you‟ve created an image of your PC, you should rarely need to visit the computer
repair shop unless you have problems with hardware.
One of the problems which I do recommend you to pay for is replacing the
motherboard. This task is complex and takes a lot of time. It‟s worth paying someone
else to do it.
Summary
If you‟ve read all the way through this manual, you will now have some confidence
with working on a PC. If you‟ve created a mirror image of your PC, do regular
backups and organize your hard disk well, you should rarely have software
problems.
For hardware related problems, this can be self taught and it‟s not difficult. Just
spend some time to open the case of your PC and see the various cards which are
inside such as the VGA card, sound card, video capture card etc… Take a look to
see what a hard disk, DVD drive and power supply looks like inside the computer
and how it is connected to the motherboard.
Once you know how the parts join together, you‟ll have the confidence to touch and
replace things yourself.
A word of caution when you take your PC to a technician. Make sure that your
confidential files are removed or backed up somewhere before you give them the
PC.
It is known that some technicians will look at your confidential data and make a copy
of it themselves and/or distribute it on the internet. Even if you remove and delete the
files from your hard disk, there is still a way to retrieve deleted data by using
software such as the following free software programs:
Disk Digger http://dmitrybrant.com/diskdigger/
MjM Data Recovery http://www.mjmdatarecovery.co.uk/
It‟s unlikely that the technician will go to the extent of using such software to see
what files you‟ve deleted, unless they know you have valuable data which is of
benefit to them.
But as a precaution, try to be with the technician when they repair your PC so that
they don‟t have the chance to browse the files on your computer.
You now have enough knowledge to understand the basics of how computers work
and how to do basic troubleshooting. The troubleshooting guidelines in this book
should be sufficient enough to deal with 90% of the computer problems an average
user has.
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