Computer Repair Tips .net

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

This article continues our series on anti-virus removal tools – standalone programs designed to completely remove an anti-virus program when it goes wrong.

This week we cover the Norton Removal Tool.

It should be noted that the Norton Removal Tool is much more that just a remover for Norton Anti-Virus and Internet Security. (more…)

Technorati Tags: removal tool, repair tool

A Clean Boot is a method of starting Microsoft Windows in Normal Mode (as opposed to Safe Mode) with the minimum of drivers, startup programs and services.

A Clean Boot is one method that can be used in diagnosing Windows startup problems, especially in cases where there is a software conflict or driver problem.

Note: If Windows will not boot into Normal Mode, this procedure can be performed in Safe Mode, as an aid to getting the computer working again in Normal Mode. (more…)

Technorati Tags: startup repair, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP

The McAfee suite of security products, including McAfee Anti-Virus, McAfee Internet Security and the rest of the range, often leave various files and registry entries behind on your computer after an uninstall. This could be because of a crash during the uninstall, a conflict with another program, or just that the uninstaller program does not remove everything that it originally installed.

When one of these products is not fully uninstalled, your computer can still think that the McAfee product is installed, even though most of the files and registry entries are deleted. This can cause problems if you try to re-install the McAfee product again or if you try to install another anti-virus program.

This is where the McAfee Removal Tool comes in. It is a standalone, portable application that has only one purpose – to remove absolutely every file and registry entry from your computer related to McAfee security products. (more…)

Technorati Tags: removal tool, repair tool

AVG Anti-Virus and Internet Security programs, like lots of similar software from other manufacturers, can leave various files and registry entries behind after an uninstall. This can happen for many reasons, like a crash during the uninstall, a conflict with another program, or sometimes the uninstaller program just doesn’t remove everything it installed.

A bad uninstall can mean that your computer still thinks AVG is partially installed, even though most of it is gone. This can cause conflicts if you try to re-install AVG again or if you try to install another anti-virus program. It can also cause problems related to connecting to the internet, where you appear to be connected but no websites will display.

This is where the AVG Removal Tool comes in. It is a standalone, portable application that has only one purpose – to remove files and registry entries from your computer related to AVG products. (more…)

Technorati Tags: removal tool, repair tool

No matter what you use your laptop or desktop computer for, it can usually benefit from additional memory. The more RAM you have in your computer, the easier it is to have multiple applications running at once, meaning your computer does not have to use the pagefile on your hard disk as much, so your computer runs faster and better.

So once you have decided to upgrade your RAM, your next decisions are,

- How much RAM do I get?

- What type of RAM do I get?

- Where do I get good quality memory from?

How much RAM you get depends on how many spare memory slots you have and how much RAM can go in each memory slot. I usually open up a computer and see how many slots it has and how many are free. But the amount and type of RAM that can go in each slot depends on the exact make and model of the computer or motherboard. (more…)

Technorati Tags: RAM, upgrades