Troubleshooting

As we all know, computers are not perfect devices, and they sometimes malfunction. And when they do, this can create frustration, wasted time, and unneeded expense – especially for those of us whose computers are as vital to our daily existence as oxygen.

Luckily, many common computer issues can be resolved without professional help – and with excellent results and little or no hair-pulling involved. Here are a few of the problems you might encounter, and how to fix them.

1. The problem: my computer is running slowly

Over time, you might notice that your computer’s performance is lagging – programs take longer to load, and booting up seems to take forever.

The fix: there are lots of them, since there are lots of reasons your computer might have slowed down. First, run a spyware and anti-virus software program (if you haven’t got one installed, you should, and you can download one free from the Internet) to see if your system is infected. If it is, follow the removal instructions provided by the software. If that doesn’t work, try removing unnecessary programs that might be taking up storage space on your computer – things like games you haven’t played in months or that accounting software you only installed for the tax season and haven’t used again. Finally, if you use Windows, try running the Windows defragmentation utility, which can help boost your PC’s performance.

2. The problem: my PC started normally, but there’s nothing on the screen
If this happens, you should first check that all the cables and wires are attached to your monitor and that they’re all securely plugged in. Another idea: make sure the screen brightness isn’t turned down – this can easily happen to monitors with exposed dials.


You should also listen out for the sounds your PC makes when it boots up: if it beeps once, that’s a normal startup. However, one long beep followed by shorter beeps can mean your graphics/video card has a problem and might need to be “reseated” – this means manually removing it from the computer and then returning it to its slot. To do this, first power off your computer and unplug it. Take the case panel off, and locate the card in your machine.

Before touching the card, touch one hand to the metal of the PC to ground yourself. Then, remove the screw holding the card in place, and gently rock the card back and forth until it is released. Finally, reinsert the card gently but firmly until it is completely seated in the slot, then replace the screw and PC cover and plug the machine in again.

3. The problem: my computer crashes and displays a blue screen
Congratulations, you’ve just encountered the famous Windows stop error, or Blue Screen of Death, as it’s lovingly known in the IT community. If this happens to you, it’s likely that you’ve recently added a new program, device, driver or application that your machine just doesn’t like.

Sometimes, a simple reboot of the PC resolves the issue. But sometimes it doesn’t – you reboot, Windows loads, and the computer crashes again. System Restore is a tool in Windows XP and Vista that takes snapshots of your computer's configuration over time, so if your system crashes due to an installation or bad configuration, the tool can roll Windows back to the state it was in before it stopped working without affecting any of your data. Microsoft provides detailed instructions on when and how to use System Restore.

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When an IBM compatible computer is first turned on, the hardware runs a Power-On Self Test (POST). If errors are encountered during this POST test, they are usually displayed via an audio beep or in the form of a code number flashed across the screen. With this audio code in hand, you can determine what part of the system is having problems and find a solution.

The pattern of beeps whether its the number of beeps or the length of those beeps will give you an indication of the actual problem. Its a distress signal from the computer in a morse code like pattern. Here are some beep codes that might come in handy someday.

AMI BIOS Beep Codes


1 Short Beep One beep is good! Everything is ok, that is if you see things on the screen. If you don't see anything, check
your monitor and video card first. Is everything connected? If they seem fine, your motherboard has some
bad chips on it. First reset the SIMM's and reboot. If it does the same thing, one of the memory chips on the
motherboard are bad, and you most likely need to get another motherboard since these chips are soldered
on.

2 Short Beeps Your computer has memory problems. First check video. If video is working, you'll see an error message. If
not, you have a parity error in your first 64K of memory. First check your RAMs. Reseat them and reboot.
If this doesn't do it, the memory chips may be bad. You can try switching the first and second banks
memory chips. First banks are the memory banks that your CPU finds its first 64K of base memory in. You'll
need to consult your manual to see which bank is first. If all your memory tests good, you probably need to
buy another motherboard.

3 Short Beeps Basically the same thing as 2 beeps. Follow that diagnosis above.

4 Short Beeps Basically the same thing as 2 beeps. Follow that diagnosis above. It could also be a bad timer

5 Short Beeps Your motherboard is complaining. Try reseating the memory and rebooting. If that doesn't help, you should
consider another motherboard.

8 Short Beeps Your video card isn't working. Make sure it is seated well in the bus. If it still beeps, either the whole card is
bad or the memory on it is. Best bet is to install another video card.

9 Short Beeps Your BIOS is bad. Reseat or Replace the BIOS.

10 Short Beeps Your problem lies deep inside the CMOS. All chips associated with the CMOS will likely have to be replaced.
Your best bet is to get a new motherboard.

1 Long, 3 Short Beeps You've probably just added memory to the motherboard since this is a conventional or extended
memory failure. Generally this is caused by a memory chip that is not seated properly. Reseat the
memory chips.

1 Long, 8 Short Beeps Display / retrace test failed. Reseat the video card.


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nyaahahahaha tagal kuna nag tro-troubleshot ng pc yong iba d2 di kupa alam buti nalang na post mo sr.