PC Maintenance and Repair

PC Maintenance. What is it and who does it?
PC Maintenance is a process where a person manages their computer, keeping it clean, secure, and updated and running smoothly. Unfortunately most people do not do it.

Why not?
The average computer user purchases whatever the salesman pushes and never gets enough information on the system they purchase. People are constantly in a bad position because they do not have the necessary information to maintain their computer properly. This result in costly mistakes and many trips back to the shop. Unfortunately most people will not know if what the shop tells them is true. In many cases a five minute fix will take care of the problem yet the shop charges one hour minimum. They also do not truly help the person as they do not provide any information as to the cause of the problem.

Why not?
They make too much easy money due to your lack of information.
- Giving PC Maintenance tips or proper PC Maintenance tools results in less money for the shop. So how do you avoid costly mistakes and getting taken advantage of? Most people try to learn by purchasing books, taking classes, or asking friends. In most cases all of these have very few positive results. The books are too intense so people give up.

The time for classes is limited. Advice from friends can cause problems with your computer and your friendship. What you really need is an easy to use PC Maintenance Guide that provides you with useful information and prepares you to maintain your own PC, in an easy manner. Then you can use and maintain your computer with confidence you are doing so safely. Download the free Basic PC Maintenance Guide from PC Maintenance Guide. It lists some good free PC maintenance tools and teaches you simple steps to begin to properly maintain your computer.
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How To Make A Windows XP Bootup Disk
When you press the power button on your computer and it just sit there with none of those clicking and beeping sounds along with the monitor still having that blank screen, you know that you're going to have a bad day. A computer that fails to boot can be one of the most pain staking things that can happen to a pc user. And in most cases, the user doesn’t have a clue as to what procedures they can take to get the PC up and running again. When you do experience pc Bootup failure, always start your troubleshooting by checking the obvious. It the cord plugged into the wall outlet and is the other end securely plugged in the rear of the system unit. In many cases the cause is a corrupted startup file which prevents the computer from going through the Bootup from start to finish. In this case, an easy way to start your PC is to have an emergency boot disk handy. A Boot Disk contains copies of critical files needed for startup that you should have made earlier. To use the floppy disk, all you need do is to place it in the floppy drive and reboot the computer. As the computer start the boot process, Windows will use the good files to get itself going. The Windows XP boot disk will enable you to resolve a corrupt Ntbootdd.sys driver, missing or corrupt Ntdr or Ntdetect.com files. These files are used by Windows XP and are crucial to its startup and configuration. The boot disk has also repaired a damaged MBR or Master Boot Record. The MBR is a small program executed when the PC boots and resides on the first sector of the hard drive It looks up the partition on the hard drive. You can create a MBR with the FDISK /MBR command A damaged boot sector can also be corrected with the boot disk. Your Windows XP boot disk will be a life saver when you have pc Bootup failure and you need that file for your next interview. A sector is the smallest unit that can be accessed on a disk. When a disk is low level formatted, it will be divided tracks and sectors when making a boot disk make a mental note of the files being copied. This will give you added knowledge when you will need to help in making their boot disk. To make a boot disk, perform the following. Place a blank formatted floppy disk in your floppy drive and go to My Computer in Windows XP.Click the hard drive icon and on the toolbar, click Tools, Folder Options, and then click the View Tab. And scroll down and check "Show hidden files and folders" and just below uncheck "Hide protected operating system files (recommended). Now we're getting a little slower. Take note of this process and as you become more familiar with this task, you'll be able to make a boot disk for others in no time and help them save on down time. After unchecking "Hide protected operating system files, click OK. Some grayed out files will now be visible in the drive window. These files are protected system files. Now you're ready to select the boot, the NTDETECT, and the ntldr files. Now right-click, click Send To, and select Floppy (A:).When you have copied all files to the floppy, you now have a Windows XP boot disk. You should make two or more boot disks and place them in a safe place away from any type of magnetic or static charges. Before putting they away don't forget to label your life saving floppy disks. Should you be unfortunate enough to have to put one of your boot floppies to use, remember to replace the startup files on the hard drive with the ones on the floppy. If you overlook this critical step, you'll have the same boot up problem every time. Take your time as you copy the files and be sure not to reverse the copy procedure. This is why it’s important to make two or more boot disks. This way should you have an accident with one disk, so what, and you paid attention here and made several copies? You've done it. You’re now armed with a repair tool should your XP computer fail to boot. All Windows 98, 2000, and me users also have the resources to create a book disk.
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What to Do When System Hangs?
One of the thing windows is infamous for, is system handling. Everyone has had a run in with the Antarctic PC (A frozen system) one time, or another. The problem is that this is one of the most complicated problems to solve. Almost anything can make a system stop responding- faulty hardware, software, drivers, etc., and with the sheer amount of hardware and software loaded on PCs today, it virtually impossible to prevent. However, if this happens too often, then you know you have a problem at hand. The first thing you need to make sure of is that all devices are installed properly, with up-to-date drivers. Open the system Properties Device manager, and check the yellow exclamatory marks. These signify improperly installed devices. Reinstall the drivers for that device, or just remove it and check if the system has stopped hanging. Check your system for a virus. Make sure that your anti-virus definitions are up to date, and use the through scan option to scan your system regularly. Certain badly written programs can be memory hogs, and refuse to release the memory they had used. This leads to more and more memory being used, until the system is unstable and crashes. Update your Os and with all the Latest patches. Also, upgrade all applications and get all the available patches.
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How to Change Your Computer's Heat Sink
Everyone really wants a fast hot computer when we want to do some business computing and when we want to play those high speed games. But we don't want a fast and hot computer in the literal sense. Heat will destroy any computer component if not removed in time. And the CPU Chip is one of the main components of your system that produces heat. The heat sink has the all important task of keeping the CPU Chip cool so it does not overheat. And there may be times when the heat sink will fail to perform its job and must be changed. Changing the heat sink on your central processing unit or CPU chip is a simple job. And the best part is that you only need a small screwdriver, cotton swabs, and some rubbing alcohol. To change the heat sink remembers to think safety first. This means that you want to be sure you have clean hands, a clean work place, and removing all static charge from your body by touching a door knob or any other metal object.
Once you have a suitable work area and clean hands you should now have a clean suitable mind as Well. Allow this task to be both educational and fun. To change the heat sink performs the following.
Step1.Unplug the computer and remove the cover from the System Unit case.
Step2. Find the CPU Chip and the heat sink will be on top. Find the wires that go to the motherboard and very carefully unplug them.
Step3. Remove the old heat sink and cooling fan assembly. Most Pentium based computers will have two levers that lock the heat sink in place. On older Pentium computers, the AMD Athlon and the Duron processor, look for a ZIF or Zero Insertion Force socket where the processor is mounted. Gently release the clips by sliding a very small screwdriver blade underneath it and lift the heat sink off the CPU. Take great care here do you don't damage the CPU chip in any way.
Step4. Once the old heat sink has been removed, clean away the old thermal paste using cotton swabs and rubbing alcohol. Allow time for the CPU to dry.
Step5. Grab some thermal paste and squeeze a little onto the top of the CPU. Only place enough to have a thin layer between the CPU and Heat Sink.
Step6. Before installing the new heat sink, clean the bottom off with some warm, soapy water. Check to be sure the Heat Sink is dry before installing it.
Step7. Carefully line it up over the ZIF socket and processor if so equipped. If the computer has the newer Pentium or Athlon based chip, lock the two Clips holding the assembly.
Step8. With the CPU and heat sink firmly in place, now its time to re-connect the fan wires for the cooling fan. Plug the assembly into the motherboard.
Step9. Check, double check, and after that, check some more to be sure all connections are in place. See if the heat sink assembly is well secured in its socket.
Step10. Now replace the system unit cover, plug any peripherals you disconnected. Start the PC and the computer should now realize it has a new device in its system.

Once the computer has been booted up, check to be sure the Operating System is working. If possible, look at rear of the computer to see if the fan is operating as it should. The Central Processing Unit is not the only heat producing component in your computer. But since it’s the brains of any computer, you want to be sure the heat sink performs at its best. Take the time to learn this procedure in detail by removing the case and looking at the heat sink in your own computer. Knowing how to perform this task can save you money should you need to change your heat sink in the future.
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How To Avoid Spy ware?
Spyware is a kind of software that monitors the different activities of a user, without his consent or knowledge. Spyware is a major threat and menace to your productivity as well as privacy. Many PC's are affected with spyware and it greatly hampers their performance. Spyware can spy on your personal information, the software installed in your computer and the web pages that you visit. Sometimes spyware can even hack your username and password. Spyware is a big menace for computer users but can be controlled with the use of spyware removal techniques. Spyware can be present in any form of harmless program or software. The spyware is capable of sending information to the creators of the software or program without your consent. Imagine the amount of damage that can be caused to you due to this unauthorized leakage of your personal information. A resent consumer study has found that around 80% of PC's in the United States of America are infected with some kinds of spyware. Another study has indicted that the IT managers rate spyware as the number one threat for networks.It is likely to happen that you yourself have infected your computer with spyware. The free smileys and the cursor that you download from websites are most likely to contain spyware. Be very cautious about whatever you download from the online sites. Most free programs and downloads have spyware attached to them. It is highly unlikely that people read the contents of the different pop-ups appearing on their computer screens during downloads. Spyware distributors take into consideration this aspect and embed the spyware in such program. Spyware puts your privacy at risk. Spyware has become a leading threat to personal computers and online privacy. Spyware interferes with normal functioning of your computer and send information about your online activities to spyware manufacturing companies. Installation of spyware in our computer without your consent amounts to bad netiquette. It is netiquette to seek permission to use personal information of any kind for any purpose. Incorrect use of your personal information online can land you in trouble. You can follow some common and simple steps to avoid spyware installation in your system. The basic rule for avoiding spyware is to practice safe surfing. Safe surfing ensures that you are not lured into doing anything, which you do not wish to do. Be very cautious while you are downloading any thing, as it is very difficult to tell what program contains sypware and what program does not. Many legitimate free download programs come with spyware embedded with them. Install a good anti spyware software, such as XoftSpy, with advanced features in your computer. Do not forget to run your spyware protection every day. It is extremely important for you to read the license agreement terms and conditions very carefully, before you download anything. This can help you in preventing spyware installation in your computer. Spyware threat can greatly hamper your work and other activities.
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