Advice Page

Troubleshooting Your Computer

First, clear your head. There are few things as frustrating as a PC that acts kooky for no reason. In order to troubleshoot effectively, you must be calm so you can think the problem through and apply level headed deductive reasoning. Deep breaths, good thoughts.

Deductive reasoning
Look for evidence and start a process of elimination. If, for example, your monitor stops displaying properly all of a sudden, you can probably rule out such things as the hard drive and processor. Your targets will be the monitor and its cabling, the video card, and its software drivers.

Simple stuff
Check the simple stuff first. Ensure that all your cables are attached firmly and correctly. Look for signs of damage to cables or connectors such as bent pins.

Scan for viruses
Viruses are evil little devil spawns that can enter your system unbeknownst to you and wreak havoc. If you have the skills scan for viruses using antivirus software.

What's changed recently?
Try uninstalling stuff you've recently added, one at a time, and see if the problem goes away. If your system is loaded with software and peripherals you rarely ever use, get rid of them. A spartan system always runs best.

Check the company's web site
If a certain piece of software or hardware starts acting funny or doesn't work at all when you first start using it, check the manufacturer's web site. If you have the skills there may be software patches or driver updates available for download.

Try a troubleshooting application
If you have the skills, you might want to try using a troubleshooting application (like Norton Utilities or McAfee's Nuts & Bolts) in an attempt to identify the culprit.

Read the manuals
Manuals typically contain troubleshooting tips for common problems. Help files are even easier to use than manuals because you can search specific problems by keyword.

Start fresh
If you have the skills, you might consider reinstalling Windows.

When all else fails ? call in an expert from Computer Troubleshooters.
Look under locations to find the computer troubleshooters nearest you.

Computer Frustrations

If you have a problem with a certain piece of hardware, like a hard drive, a modem or some other peripheral device, one of the best places to look is the web site of the manufacturer and/or the distributor.

Many hardware manufacturers and the distributors of their products do maintain a Help or Tech Support segment online for their various products. Those can be virtual gold mines of solutions to known problems.

The documentation that came with your computer or individual piece of hardware will usually include some form of directions to such Help sites online as well as phone numbers and regular mail addresses that you can use to contact Support personnel.

If you cannot find such documentation, you can use any good Web search engine to locate the necessary web sites.

If you are having problems with software, again, search under the name of the company or the name of its product.

For example, search for the Microsoft site and then search for Word if you need a patch or an upgrade for MS-Word software.

For example, if you are using Macintosh, look at maorchard.com

If you're looking for more discussion of problems and tricks, then a newsgroup is for you.

You can also find computer Frequent Questions & Answers (FAQ's) in many sites & newsgroups

However, the simplest solution if you have a problem and need help with a piece of hardware or software for your computer is to contact your local Computer Troubleshooter

Slow Computer

In any computer system, there are four fundamental resources: the CPU, the memory, the Input and Output parts, (e.g., disks and networks), and the Users.
Each resource has its own particular set of problems.

1. The CPU
Many programs want to use the CPU at the same time. Under most circumstances time is allocated fairly; however, each process (or program) requires a certain number of CPU cycles to execute and there are only so many cycles in a day. At some point the CPU just can't get all the work done.

2. The Memory Subsystem
Problems arise when the memory requirements exceed the memory available. To handle this lack of memory, portions of active processes are moved to the disk in order to reclaim memory. At this point, performance decreases dramatically.

3. The Input & Output Subsystem
The I/O subsystem is a common source of resource contention problems. It is shared by all the devices and each kind of device has its own peculiarities and, therefore, its own problems. The disk and network subsystems are particularly important to overall performance.

4. Users
One of the most important factors? The users who submit the jobs. The way you use the computer has a big effect on your system's performance. How many people use the Internet to access remote file systems? How many access large files on your own computer?

5.Virus

A virus may cause your computer to be running slow. Sometimes a virus may be there without you knowing it. This may happen if you do not have anti-virus software or have not kept your virus definitions up to date. Do a full virus scan using the latest virus definitions

6. Spyware

A growing problem caused by programs being loaded on to you computer without your knowledge or without your understanding of what they do. Usually, they will be loaded when you access the internet. These can be removed.

For expert help, call in an expert from Computer Troubleshooters.
Look under locations to find the computer troubleshooters nearest you.

Care of CD ROMs

In order for your CDs to stand the test of time, you must care for them properly. This means placing them in jewel cases whenever you're not using them, not subjecting them to direct sunlight or other extreme weather conditions, and keeping them away from the hands of small children and clumsy adults.

The storage story
If you're short of jewel cases, paper or plastic sleeves are better than nothing. However, where a jewel case suspends a disc in midair, a paper sleeve is in direct contact with the surface of a disc. Dust can accumulate inside a sleeve, turning it into sandpaper, slowly yet inexorably ruining the surface of your disc.

Downside up
If you're not 100 percent diligent about keeping your discs safely tucked away (who is?), then you should always place them clear side down. The labeled/printed face of a disc is actually more delicate than the bottom, clear, poly carbonate layer, and major damage to the label side will ruin the reflective and dye layers as well.

Label issues
Labels are handy for categorizing your discs, but they can also affect performance and damage your discs. A poorly attached label can cause a disc to wobble too much for high-speed reading. If you must use labels, use only those formulated for use on CDs. These have milder adhesives than general-purpose labels and shouldn't react badly with the top layer.

CD markup
Marking a disc with a pen is probably OK if you use a specially formulated CD marker. But the ink formulations in some general-purpose pens can react badly with the upper layer and leak through to harm the reflective and dye layers below. If you want to be completely safe, either mark your discs on the clear inner circle where no data is stored, or better yet, leave the disc unmarked and use the paper jewel case insert to list the disc's contents.

Follow these few simple rules, and you can expect years of service from your CD media.

If you need assistance, call in an expert from Computer Troubleshooters.
Look under locations to find the computer troubleshooters nearest you.

Virus Symptoms

Symptoms of Viruses.
Some common symptoms that may indicate your computer system has been infected with a virus are:

Unusual messages or displays on your monitor.
Unusual sounds or music played at random times.
Your system has less available memory than usual.
Your computer seems to be running slower.
A disk name has changed.
A volume name has changed.
Programs are suddenly missing
Files are suddenly missing.
Unknown programs are created
Unknown files are created.
Some of your files become corrupted
Some of your files suddenly do not work properly.

If you need assistance, call in an expert from Computer Troubleshooters.
Look under locations to find the computer troubleshooters nearest you.