If there is no sign of life at all, it’s possible the PSU (Power Supply
Unit) has died, these can be replaced in desktop systems, but in older
Laptops could require buying the manufacturers brand. However, if, when
the system is powered on you hear beeps then it is generally a hardware
fault. Normally, the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) will perform
diagnostics and initialize system components, including the video
system. (This is self-evident when the screen first flicks before the
Video Card header is displayed). This is commonly referred as POST
(Power-On Self Test). Afterwards, the computer will proceed to its
final boot-up stage by calling the operating system. Unfortunately
different BIOS’ use different numbers to indicate the problem, for
example the AMI BIOS is like this –
One beep: DRAM refresh failure. The memory refresh circuitry on the motherboard is faulty.
Two beeps: Parity Circuit failure. A parity error was detected in the base memory of the system.
Three beeps: Base 64K RAM failure. A memory failure occurred within the first 64k of memory… etc.
And the AWARD BIOS is configured thus –
One Long and Two Short Beeps Video Error
Two Short Beeps Any Non-Fatal Error
One Short Beep No Error During POST
Give us a call or send an email.
As time goes by the computer seems to gets slower and slower! There are
many reasons why this happens. Every time you install a new piece of
software your computers operating system has more to deal with. Some
software is poorly written or installs other software you don't need,
putting additional burden on your computers precious resources. But
even worse, the moment you connect your computer to the Internet, or
World Wide Web, your system became an open target for things that are
not so simple to deal with. What if your computer is being used for
some other purpose by someone else? Well, this is something pretty
much everyone deals with. Often I am asked how I keep my computer
running so well – sometimes faster than their new machine
The Registry
The Registry keeps track of everything, from how your computer starts,
changes you made to the way your desktop looks, applications you
install, Internet settings, and how your computer is configured.
Install a new program and your registry is written to, to reflect the
changes - how it opens, the size of its window, etc… Every time you
move, add, or change anything about your computer it is updated. It’s
like a database that tells windows everything about its configuration.
Then you get software that may not be well written, when uninstalled
doesn’t clean itself out of the registry, or include ‘extras’ that you
don’t really need. These all make the registry grow larger, and as it
grows it begins to affect your computers performance. It starts to take
noticeably longer to ‘boot up’ or the system tray icons gets larger
with icons you have no idea what they’re doing. Many times they are not
required for the program to work normally. Download a free Registry
Cleaner now.
Disk Defragmenter
Start / All Programs / Accessories / System Tools: Every time windows
saves a file to your hard disk it tries to write it contiguously in one
chunk. Over time these files become fragmented parts being saved in
different areas of the hard disk - scattered across the surface, so
when they need to be read again the hard disk has to travel all over
the disk looking for the bits. Once a week or so it’s a good idea to
run this as it reorders your files back into single blocks
What is the difference between memory and hard disk?
Hard Drive
A HDD or Hard Disk Drive is a rigid non-removable disk in a computer
and the drive that houses it, it is usually measured in Mega or
Gigabytes (M/GB). It is used for storage of files that you save after
you have finished working on them, ie, the computer writes the
information (magnetically), and you may then turn the computer off,
safe in the knowledge that the file is secure.
RAM
RAM is Random Access Memory and is a volatile (temporary) storage area
that your file is loaded into when you want to work on it. HDD’s are
slow – compared to RAM which works by electrical signals.
Unfortunately, being volatile, once the electrical signals are cut off
(switching off your PC) all that information is lost.
The monitor can only display a 2D image, so why do I need a 3D accelerator?
The reason that they are becoming popular today is that software is
trying to do more in 3D than has ever been done before. The drive for
more realism, more finely-detailed graphics, and faster speeds in such
programs as action games, flight simulators, graphics programs and
Computer Aided Design applications, means that more 3D work must be
done in a shorter period of time.
There is an obvious parallel between today's quandary with 3D and a
similar one that occurred in the early 90s when graphical operating
systems became popular. At that time, most video cards had no
acceleration functions at all. When people started running Windows,
their CPU had to do all the work of drawing all the graphics on the
screen, which caused everything to slow down tremendously. To combat
this problem, accelerators were designed that did much of this work
with specialized hardware, instead of forcing the system processor to
do it.
Similarly today, it is not necessary to have a 3D graphics card to do
3D graphics, but the large amount of computation work necessary to
translate 3D images to 2D in a realistic manner means that without
specialized hardware to do this work, it must be done by the processor,
using much slower software. Using a 3D accelerator allows
programs--especially games, where the screen image must be recomputed
many times per second - to display virtual 3D worlds with a level of
detail and color that is impossible with a standard 2D video card.
So, in effect, they are really only useful in speeding up the computers
ability to display 3D images, e.g. for playing the latest games. If you
tend only to use Solitaire or Mahjong or run office and internet access
the card you currently use should suffice.
Microsoft Update is a Web site that scans your computer and gives you a
list, which you then download and install. High priority updates are
critical to the security and reliability of your computer e.g. security
gaps in your system, or the latest protection against spam for those
who use Microsoft Outlook. Without these security patches, your
computer is more vulnerable to attack from the internet. The most
reliable way to get updates is to have it delivered automatically to
your computer using Auto Updates.
You determine how often, and what time of day or night you want to
connect to the Internet and scan your computer for updates, Auto
Updates automatically keeps your computer protected. Instead of giving
you a list of updates, Auto Updates can download and install them at
your convenience.
