Computer Repair Tips

If you find that your CD or DVD drive no longer appears in My Computer and you can’t read or write to disks, there is a known Windows registry fix that could help you.

Of course, you should first check that the drive is properly connected, just in case.

This Windows registry fix is based on a problem that can occur related to CD/DVD writing software.  Unnecessary registry entries get created which interfere with how Windows communicates to your CD/DVD drive. (more…)

Technorati Tags: desktop repair, dvd drive, laptop repair, registry, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP

In our repair shop, we are sometimes asked by customers if there is any harm in shutting down their computer by just pressing the power button for a few seconds, rather than going through the Windows shutdown procedure.

As far as the customer in concerned, the end result appears to be the same, the computer shuts down. In fact, from their point of view, holding the power button for a few seconds appears to shut down the computer immediately, whereas a proper Windows shutdown takes maybe 20 to 30 seconds. So is it a good idea to do this?

To get straight to the point, it is a very, very bad idea to shut down a computer by holding the power button. (more…)

Technorati Tags: desktop advice, hard disk, laptop advice

You should find that System Restore is turned on by default, creating restore points automatically on a regular basis, but in case you want to create a manual System Restore point, perhaps just after a virus cleanup, here’s how to do it.

There are a lot of different routes to the System Restore setup screen in Windows 7, but this is the way I use.

Click on the Start button and right click on Computer. Select Properties from the context menu and the System window will open. (more…)

Technorati Tags: system restore, Windows 7

After installing and setting up a fresh copy of Windows, there are times when you check the Device Manager and you see the little yellow exclamation point meaning a driver hasn’t been installed for a device.

If the driver isn’t on a driver disk, and maybe you don’t have a copy of the driver because the original hard disk was broken – what do you do? The device just shows up as unknown modem, or unknown media device or something similar.

What you can do is check the properties of the device, find out its signature and look it up on a great little website www.PCIDatabase.com. (more…)

Technorati Tags: drivers, installing Windows

In our repair shop, customers often ask about their laptop batteries and how to get the best performance out of them. A lot of people don’t realise that the laptop battery, much like the battery in any other device, is a consumable item. After a couple of years it will not hold charge for as long as it used to, or maybe it just won’t charge at all.

There will come a point in time where the laptop battery should really be replaced, and your local laptop repair shop will be able to advise and supply a replacement when the time comes.

In the meantime, there are a few tips and tricks listed here that you can employ to get the best out of your laptop battery and to prolong its useful life. (more…)

Technorati Tags: laptop advice