Computer Repair Tips

Why isn’t the SATA drive recognized when it is connected to the onboard SATA controller on the Gigabyte motherboard?

Problem:
SATA drive is not detected when connected to the onboard SATA controller of a Gigabyte motherboard.

Cause:
Certain Gigabyte motherboards that have a built in SATA controller have a problem with detecting SATA drives when the system is restarted.

Solution:
Please visit Gigabyte’s website, http://www.giga-byte.com/, to determine if your motherboard has a BIOS fix.

Is Logical Block Addressing (LBA) BIOS support needed when using the Windows 95 or 98 operating systems on drives greater than 528 MB?

Windows needs Logical Block Addressing (LBA) BIOS support to see the full capacity of the drive. If the motherboard BIOS does not support the LBA feature, 3rd Party BIOS support will be needed. we recommends one of the following solutions:

• Upgrade the system BIOS. Contact the system/motherboard for available BIOS upgrades.
• Purchase/Install an UltraATA 100/133 PCI controller (host adapter) card that provides support for large capacity drives.

Problem:

SATA drive is not detected when connected to the onboard SATA controller of a Gigabyte motherboard.

Cause:

Certain Gigabyte motherboards that have a built in SATA controller have a problem with detecting SATA drives when the system is restarted.

Solution:

Please visit Gigabyte’s website, http://www.giga-byte.com/, to determine if your motherboard has a BIOS fix.

When a partition is not set to the bootable partition. This usually occurs when the drive at one time was a slave and now has moved into the primary position. Verify that the hard drive has an "Active/Primary" DOS partition. This can be accomplished with the DOS FDISK utility. Boot your system with DOS system diskette, type "FDISK/MBR" and press [Enter].

Why does Windows NT say the drive is full when there is free disk space during the conversion of the file system during the installation on a previously partitioned drive?

If the drive is fragmented there may not be room for the system files. Windows NT will inform the user that the disk is full. Run DEFRAG, or backup and run FDISK and format, then attempt the installation again.

The Windows Disk Cleanup utility helps to free needed space on your computer’s hard drive and is located in the Windows Accessories folder. When users use Disk Cleanup, they can clear up to 2 GB of space or more. Using this utility can help your PC perform faster and should be run periodically.

Internet Browsing

Use Disk Cleanup if you browse the Internet frequently. Every time you browse the Internet, temporary files are placed on your computer’s hard drive. The more you browse, the more files are placed in the temporary Internet folder located on your computer. The Disk Cleanup utility can help to remove all these files and make more space available on your hard drive. If you frequently browse the Internet, perform Disk Cleanup at least every week.

Unused Programs

It is a good idea to run Disk Cleanup if you download programs from online, such as Java, or Windows components and service packs to your computer. Many users install these programs but after time, the programs are no longer used. These unused programs continue to be installed and take up hard drive space unnecessarily. Using the Disk Cleanup utility can remove these unused programs quickly. Perform Disk Cleanup at least once a month if you periodically install many programs on your computer. The Disk Cleanup wizard will display a list of programs; the user places a check mark in the box next to the name of the program and Disk Cleanup will remove the program automatically.

Program Operation

Consider using Disk Cleanup if you operate multiple programs on your computer. As programs are accessed on your computer, each program saves temporary memory files to a folder on your computer. Over time, these temporary files can use up hard disk drive space. When you access the Disk Cleanup utility, the wizard calculates the amount of space you are able to clear on your hard disk drive. Running the Disk Cleanup utility every 2 weeks can help to keep your computer free of temporary files from using multiple programs.

The convenience and comfort that a laptop provides is the reason behind its immense popularity. However, a dead laptop can lead to several hours of wasted time and stress. Repairing a laptop can be a very expensive process, with costs running into hundreds of dollars. Before doing so, though, follow a few simple methods to troubleshoot a dead laptop.

There are several important components in a laptop that need to be in perfect working condition for the laptop to function properly. First completely and thoroughly check the working of components such as AC adapter, battery, fan, monitor screen, hard drives, ports and the power connector. In most of the cases, the problem is because one of the above mentioned components has stopped functioning correctly. It may be as simple as a loose connection: the Toshiba pictured above needed the power supply port resoldered (at a cost of under $100).

First, check the LED status lights on the laptop. Connect the laptop to the power supply. Check that wires and plugs are firmly connected. Once the lights are on when connected to a power supply, check the laptop battery. Tip: read the owner’s manual given along with the laptop, where you’ll find suggestions about extending the life of the battery. Implement them to make sure that the battery comes back to life. Fully discharge the battery at least once a week.

A motherboard failure can be identified with the absence of sound usually heard when the laptop fan is on. Connect an external monitor with a VGA connector and then check if the laptop lights up or not with the help of the external monitor. According to ElectronicInfoOnline.com, you can change the monitor from the laptop’s LCD to the external screen on HPs with the Fn & F4 keys, Toshibas with the Fn & F5 keys, and IBMs with the Fn & F7 keys for IBMs. If the external monitor does not light up, replace the video adapter and main board. If the external monitor lights up, open up the main body of the laptop and check the connections. The most common problem would be a faulty and cracked LCD display that needs to be replaced.

A laptop needs sufficient cooling: the fan should work properly. If the fan gets really noisy over time or starts at full speed and then slows down to a great extent, it means that the fan has suffered from heat damage. Replace it with a good quality fan. In case of a hard drive failure, buy a new drive and assure its compatibility with the BIOS.

Most of the time, the modem, network port or power connector connections become loose and leads to a laptop shutdown. If you think this might be the problem, reexamine the connections and restore them to their original state.

Just like a car, Windows needs periodic maintenance to keep it running smoothly. And if you don’t keep a close eye on the software you’re installing, it can add things running in the background that might slow your system down. Sometimes these things are legitimate, and sometimes they have to be treated like a dental cavity. You can do a few things, though, to get Windows to run as buttery as it did when you first installed it.

How Much RAM Do You Have?

The System Properties window details your amount of RAM.

The main culprit of performance is having a low amount of RAM (Random Access Memory). Right-click on My Computer and select "Properties." In the "Computer" section at the bottom, you will see your amount of RAM listed next to the speed of your CPU (Central Processing Unit). If you have less than 1 gigabyte of RAM, that is probably a contributor to your computer’s slow performance. 1-2 gigabytes is recommended for Windows XP.

How Many Programs Are Running?

Check to see how much of your RAM is being used. Do you have any programs on your taskbar that have been open for several hours? Sometimes they end up eating more RAM than they actually need, a glitch known as a "memory leak." Try closing and reopening those programs to free up RAM. Also, are there a lot of icons in the System Tray, down on the lower right-hand corner of the screen? All of those are using memory right now. Make sure that you’re running only what you need in the System Tray. Non-essential system tray icons can usually be shut down just by right-clicking on them and navigating a menu (which varies wildly from program to program).

Dealing with Background Programs

This utility shows you everything that starts with Windows

These programs may be set to run as soon as Windows is started, however. If you want to prevent that, press the Start button, click on "Run," and type in "msconfig" (without the quotes). This will open the System Configuration Utility. Click on the "Startup" tab. This panel contains applications that start when Windows starts. Uncheck the boxes next to the things you don’t want to start with Windows, but make sure that you’re not disabling something important, like an anti-virus program. You may need to do a little Google research here to determine safe settings, since the programs are not named clearly and vary a lot from computer to computer.

Spyware and File Fragmentation

There’s also the matter of spyware, which can run invisibly but take up memory and slow down your CPU. If you have a full security "suite" from a vendor such as Norton, McAfee or Trend Micro, it will contain an anti-spyware scanner. If you do not, you can obtain a free one from reputable companies such as Lavasoft and Safer Networking. You will probably want to use both, since one will sometimes identify spyware that the other does not.
Lastly, you’ll want to periodically defragment your files. Over time, bits and pieces of them get scattered about, making it take longer to open those files and interact with them. To open XP’s built-in defragger, go to the Start button, click "All Programs," select "Accessories," then "System Tools" then Disk Defragmenter.

Why would you want to build a PC if you can buy one already assembled? Well, a tight budget may be your primary reason for trying to build a PC yourself. While it sounds like a daunting task, it isn’t really. Your first objective is to find PC components at wholesale, discount or second hand prices. A friend in the IT industry is a good place to start, if you want leads as to where to find the best prices for components. I am going to include some specifications, but do remember than in a year or two this will most likely be outdated again:

1. BUY CASE
You may choose from a large range of cases, any type will do, depending on how many extras you want to fit into your case.
Mini Tower
Mid-size Tower – Recommended
Full-size Tower
Slimline Desktop
Desktop – Recommended

2. BUY POWER SUPPLY
Do not settle for a power supply smaller than 400 Watts. 500 Watt is recommended.

3. BUY FANS
The case will need good ventilation, so buy at least one fan for the case. Two Fans are recommended if your case can handle it.

4. BUY MOTHERBOARD
Motherboards come in large ranges with many different specifications. The most import thing to know is if you are buying a motherboard that will work with INTEL or AMD CPUs. Basically, your choice of a motherboard (or CPU) will limit your options when you buy a CPU (or motherboard). The motherboard and CPU work together in a pairing.

5. BUY CPU
As mentioned in the previous step, you will also have to buy a CPU. You may decide to buy a single, dual or quad core CPU, depending on your motherboard capabilities and of course, your budget constraints. A dual core CPU is recommended.

6. BUY CPU HEATSINK and CPU FAN
These items are required to ensure the CPU runs at a cool temperature and does not overheat.

7. BUY MEMORY
The basic guideline for memory is that more is always better. Buy as much as you can afford and your motherboard can handle. You will never regret it. 2 GIG Memory is recommended.

8. BUY HARD DISK
One hard disk will do, and again, the same as with memory, the bigger you can afford, the better. A 500 GIG Hard Disk recommended.

9. BUY PCI-X VIDEO CARD
The price is usually a very good indication as to the quality of the card you are buying. Depending on your needs (gaming, office work, etc) you may want to either invest in an entry level, mid level or pro (gaming) level card.

10. BUY DVD Read/Writer
Essential to have, however it doesn’t really affect the speed of your PC. As long as you have a DVD burner, your are good to go.

11. BUY KEYBOARD
This item is very cheap, any type will do.

12. BUY MOUSE
This item is very cheap, any type will do.

13. ASSEMBLY
If you have managed to buy all the correct components, then building the PC from all these components is fairly easy. It is ONLY difficult if you haven’t bought the correct parts.

As you may know, Google Chrome is not currently supported in Linux. However, there is an easy way to work around this and get Google Chrome for Linux. Google Chrome is a fast web browser that was written by Google.

1. First of all, please note that this is not the OFFICIAL Google Chrome. What Linux coders did was they took the Google Chrome code and modified it to fit the Linux operating system. The browser looks and works just like Chrome.

2. This software is called Crossover Chromium. Crossover is a program similar to WINE Windows Program Emulator, which allows you to run most Windows programs in Linux. This download is completely free and can be set up within minutes.

3. Search up "Crossover Chromium" on your favorite search engine, and download from your favorite software website. A really good one (and also the official one) would be http://www.codeweavers.com/services/ports/chromium/
There is also a FAQ about Crossover Chromium, and also more information if you are interested.

4. Download the file provided:
For Ubuntu/Debian: http://media.codeweavers.com/pub/crossover/chromium/cxchromium_0.9.0-1_i386.deb
For Redhat/Mandriva/SUSE: http://media.codeweavers.com/pub/crossover/chromium/cxchromium-0.9.0-1.i386.rpm
For any other Linux operating system: http://media.codeweavers.com/pub/crossover/chromium/install-cxchromium-0.9.0.sh

5. Once you have successfully run the program, you should be able to use "Google Chrome" on your Linux computer. Congratulations!!