A Clean Computer is a happy long lasting Computer
Whether you own a Dell, Sony, Toshiba, Acer or some other brand PC or laptop the first thing you should do before anything is unplug the PC from the wall outlet and unhook all cables going to it and move the PC to a well ventilated area so the dust has somewhere else to go besides in your lungs and in your home.
When repairing a PC or laptop it's always a good idea to take your time and stay organized, Because with the parts there could be as many as 50 screws you need to remove to have everything open and out of the way.
The number one thing that causes PC's or laptops to fail is trapped heat and static electricity. The second thing is viruses and spyware. Keeping a PC or laptop cool is key to long life and mostly trouble free use since other factors can cause sudden down time.
Keeping a PC clean is a whole lot easier than a laptop since you have more room to work and less stuff to take off. Blowing the dust bunnies out helps any way since they're not paying rent, they need to be evicted buy using ether a can of compressed air and/or a brush to get the stubborn bunnies lose or an air hose from a compressor.
A word of warning to these methods is to make sure you are grounded to prevent static shock of the sensitive PC parts and when using the air make sure you don't turn the can upside down when spraying or the water from the compressed air will escape and short something out. After the inside of the PC is clean reassembling it in the reverse order you took it apart.
Spyware and Viruses
Removing viruses and spyware can be tricky since new ones are always being made by lowlife's that have nothing better to do so the removal process is not always the same. The first step in preventing a infection is to make sure you know the websites you visit is safe and have reliable antivirus software such as Avast Antivirus. That you can get here for free and work very well. But if you already have an infection or think you do and Avast didn't stop it you can try this free program call Super Anti Spyware and you can get that here. You can even use it with you antivirus program for extra protection.
But what do you do if nothing you've tried worked?
Well the answer to that is you should always make a habit of backing up all your important files regularly and get ready to reformat the PC, because in some extreme cases reformatting is the only option.
I will get into Reformatting a PC at a later time since some manufactures require different procedures in this process.
Reformatting a Computer
Sometimes you just have to just bite the bullet admit defeat.
Some viruses and spyware are in the system so deep and corrupted (messed up) to
many files and you have to just wipe the HDD (Hard Disk Drive) clean and start
fresh. Sometimes the PC just won’t even boot into windows so you can recover
your important and irreplaceable files the best thing you can have to help you
recover files on a computer that is so badly corrupted that you can’t get onto
your desktop is a Linux Live CD that you can get for free. (I’ll be talking
about this later).
But really reformatting a computer isn’t that hard, In fact
it’s gotten a whole lot easier then I used to be. Since the sale’s of Windows
XP, Windows 7 and soon Windows 8. Reformatting is as easy as booting off the
recovery CD that came with your PC when you bought it and a few click and you’re
pretty much done besides reinstalling your favorite programs.
Now let’s get to Reformatting
Step 1
Take the OS
Recovery CD that came with your PC and put it in the CD Rom and restart the PC
and while the PC reboots and you see the manufacturer logo press F12 for Dell, Delete
key for eMachines/Gateway, F2 or Delete key for Toshiba and other brands.
Step 2
After your
in the boot menu or bios screen select CD/DVD ROM as the boot location and hit
enter and when the CD drive spins up and you see the words “Press any key to
continue in 5 seconds” the hit any key to boot off the CD/DVD and your thorough
the hard part.
Step 3
The CD install
Windows screen asks which Language, Time and currency format, Keyboard input
location. Then select next. Then select Install Windows and select the tick box
that you agree to the TOS (Microsoft’s Terms of Service) then select next and
then Custom install then select drive options (advanced) and select your HDD
dive and click format and after it done click next and wait while windows is
installed. The computer will restart a few times during this process after the
window pops up asking for a username and PC name enter in what you want and
select next. Add a password if you like and hit next then for selecting update
options chose the recommended option and then on the next page select your
network type Home, Work, Private after that is done you should then be at your
desktop. Then you just reinstall your favorite programs and you’re done.
Or you can watch this video.
Video from YouTube user ZealKaiser
Why is my computer running at 100% CPU?
I had this question come up recently here is the back story.
I didn't have any applications open,
but when I pulled up task manager; my computer was running at 100% CPU. It's
been running at a solid 100 for about 10-15 minutes now. The only application I
have open right now is Firefox so I can ask this question. This happens a lot
on my computer; only usually it fluctuates instead of riding at a solid 100%. It’s
a four years old Acer Aspire 5100, and it has windows vista on it.
One more bit of info, there is some
kind of java script error that my school's IT couldn't fix...it pops up from
time to time and sometimes, if my computer is connected to the internet, it'll
play audio bits from advertisements and things without an internet browser
being open. I don't know if this is too much info, but I just want to give as
much as possible so someone who understands computers has more to work with.
My answer was this:
you have malware and it would be best to run a full scan of your PC or Laptop using a program called Malwarebytes you can get it Here
Another question was this:
Another question was this:
When it shuts down, it says that it "Found and error and needs to do an emergency crash dump." This one is most common. However, I've also gotten them, "This copy of Windows has an error," and then when it finally restarts, it has a little annotation in the bottom corner that says, "Windows Vista [TM]-Build 6001-This copy of Windows is not genuine."
What the heck is wrong with my PC?
I've already done the Norton scans a bazillion times, Disk Defragmenter, Trojan Scanner and disabled unnecessary programs. I've restarted, I've cleared my backups (after putting them on a USB of course) etc.
Please, anybody, can you tell me what is wrong with my PC? What can do to fix it? If it's dying, that's fine, cause I've been making back-up plans for a new one when this one bites the dust, which I fear is soon. :P
Another question was this:
My computer keeps freezing ?
My laptop keeps freezing, the only thing i have down loaded was Google
Chrome and Adobe Flash Player. i don't know why it keeps freezing though. when it freezes the only thing i can click on is the start button but
even that freezes for a minute. why does that
happen and how can i prevent it ?
My answer was this:
If the laptop is old (3-5 years) then it might be time to replace it
with a new one. if it's new then it may still have a hardware problem but
more then likely you have a virus or spyware and not know it. Try running a virus and spyware scan and see if that fixes the problem.
Another question was this:
What is wrong with my Dell Studio 1535 laptop?
Random
weekly shutdowns
It is only 3 yrs old, was a
refurbished when I bought it. I don't do any video, picture or music editing on
it. No video games. Just Google Chrome, Microsoft Word and recently (within the
past 2 months) Skype (rarely used) and the Scrivener Beta. Within the past 2
months, my laptop will shut down every week at least once, but usually 2-3x.
The problem is not from my Skype and scrivener, I know that much.
When it shuts down, it says that it "Found and error and needs to do an emergency crash dump." This one is most common. However, I've also gotten them, "This copy of Windows has an error," and then when it finally restarts, it has a little annotation in the bottom corner that says, "Windows Vista [TM]-Build 6001-This copy of Windows is not genuine."
What the heck is wrong with my PC?
I've already done the Norton scans a bazillion times, Disk Defragmenter, Trojan Scanner and disabled unnecessary programs. I've restarted, I've cleared my backups (after putting them on a USB of course) etc.
Please, anybody, can you tell me what is wrong with my PC? What can do to fix it? If it's dying, that's fine, cause I've been making back-up plans for a new one when this one bites the dust, which I fear is soon. :P
Here is my answer:
Sounds like you have an illegal version of Windows on the refurbished
laptop. The only way to fix it is to have a Genuine copy of Windows
Vista or Windows 7 to replace whats on it now.
Before you buy a new copy of Windows to stay legal, you need to back up all your important files like photo's, movies, music, etc off of the laptop and re install the legal version with the new key code.
Before you buy a new copy of Windows to stay legal, you need to back up all your important files like photo's, movies, music, etc off of the laptop and re install the legal version with the new key code.
