Laptop Not Powering on or Battrey Not Charging

  My laptop will not power on is something that happens quite often. The other problem is that the battery will not charge up. The no power problem can come from a few different sources. First it may be a problem with the ac adapter. The ac adapter is also known as the brick due to its shape. This the part that provides the power to the laptop.

  The first thing to do is determine if the ac adapter is defective. You are going to need a digital multimeter.

  You will place the red and black probes on the plug end that will plug into the laptop. Usually on the back of the ac adapter it will indicate what the voltage, current and wattage are. If it does not show the wattage it can be determined by multiplying the voltage times the current. I have found that sometimes the voltage may be intermittent. This is caused by a broken wire going to the plug end. While holding the probes to the plug move it around and watch the voltage. If it is good and then it drops there is a broken wire. This can be corrected buy purchasing a new plug end. You will need to know what the inner and outer dimensions of the plug are. You find the information on the back of the ac adapter or with specifications that came with the laptop. If check on the internet using the ac adapter model number.
  If the ac adapter tests good, then the next problem may be the dc jack in the laptop. You can find various  pictures of dc jacks on the internet. Check out videos of dc jack repair on youtube.

 There are quite a few different types of dc jacks. They vary depending on the manufacturer and model of the laptop. There are dc jacks that solder directly to the motherboard. There are other dc jacks that are self contained and have a wire with a connector on one end that plugs in to the motherboard. The best way to find the dc jack is to go on the internet and search for the dc jack for your make and model of your laptop. When you find a reseller I would advise to check them out first by using resellerratings.com. at this link http://www.resellerratings.com/ . If you are using ebay or amazon check out the ratings for that seller. A couple of tests can be done to determine if the dc jack is defective. Try moving the plug a little while it is plugged into the laptop. Watch the power led on the laptop and see if it comes on and goes off with movement. If it does then the jack needs to be replaced. The other method is to dissemble the laptop far enough to get to the dc jack and measure to voltage at the pins going to the motherboard. You can try to go further in the circuit if you no exactly where to measure the voltage. Always be careful when taking laptops apart, because the plastic can be brittle and break easily. Batteries usually go bad when they have reached their life expectancy. This information is usually given by the manufacturer. Some batteries have to be installed to complete the circuit and if the battery is dead it may leave an open circuit. Sometimes you can measure the battery with a digital multimeter and some batteries have a button with leds to show how much power there is.
  There are also ac adapters available know as universal ac adapters. They may auto select the output voltage for the laptop and provide the necessary current. There are other models that have a selector switch to choose the proper voltage. I have read good and bad reviews by using these. I have heard of no problems and then on the other hand I have heard where the laptop worked and then all of the sudden the motherboard was bad. My advise is to always go with the ac adapter that is for that particular model. The engineers designed that certain voltage and current for the particular circuit.
  If the ac adapter and dc jack are ok ,then it can be a bad battery or the charging circuit on the motherboard may be defective. Try removing the battery and going right off the ac adapter 
   If all of these do not help and it is determined that the motherboard is defective it may be best to take the laptop to a professional. Most of the time it is not cost effective to replace the motherboard due to cost. Generally the cost of the motherboard and the labor involved exceeds the value of the laptop, unless it is fairly new and was an expensive model.
  Thank You for reading and stay safe. All Comments are always welcomed. 

Reparing LCD Monitors

   I have seen quite a few lcd monitors being thrown out in the trash or recycled. I have pulled some from the trash and opened them up to find out that they just had bad capacitors. You can tell because the capacitors are usually popped up on top and leaking in the center. I have also seen some where they are bulged out at the bottom of the capacitor. This is sometimes hard to see. Here is an example of damaged capacitors.

  I did some research on the internet and found that there were problems with bad batches of capacitors from the manufacturers. What you can do is determine the manufacturer of the capacitor and use google as the search browser to see if they are from a bad batch.
  What I do next is look at the capacitor to determine what the voltage of the capacitor is and the the microfarad value is. I also look at what the temperature value is. All of these are visible on the capacitor itself. I also measure the diameter and height of the capacitor with a caliper.

                  

  There are two examples of calipers above. The top is a standard caliper and the bottom has a digital readout. I my self prefer the digital readout as it is easier to read. These can be easily purchased at Home Depot ,Lowes or Harbor Freight.

  The most difficult part of the process can be opening the lcd to get at the carious boards inside. Some manufacturers use screws to hold parts together. While other manufacturers use the plastic catch and lock assembly with some screws. I would recommend looking on the internet and finding the assembly and disassemble process for the individual model lcd. Here are just a couple of videos to show how to open a lcd display. I would also recommend that you use some esd protection such as a static wrist strap so you don not zap any parts while handling the pc boards.

    
  The place that I go to once I know what the capacitor values are is Digi Key, because they always have the parts I need and the prices are very good. I have never had a problem with them. Here is a link to their website http://www.digikey.com/ so check them out.
  The other tools you will need is a soldering iron, desoldering tool, solder wick and the solder. I also use a Phillips Head screwdriver and a thin flat blade screwdriver. I did notice in some video that the person used a putty knife. I myself have never used one for this. There are also some plastic tools for this and can be purchased on the web.
  If you are replacing just a cracked lcd itself or an individual board ,then I would research on the internet the various resellers out there. I would look very closely at their prices and polices. I have seen where some have no return polices. One place I have found on the internet when looking at resellers is a website called reseller ratings. Here is a link to their site http://www.resellerratings.com/ this can be very helpful. You can find reviews with good and bad information, then make your choice. 
  I have repaired at least six lcd monitors this way and they are all still working properly. Sometimes you may also find a capacitor replacement kit for the individual lcd monitor. Just remember to go by the manufacturer and model number on the monitor itself.

 There are examples of how to open the lcd case . I would look for videos of repairing lcd displays on youtube.

  Well I hope this information helps anyone out. Thank You for reading and stay safe. All comments and additional information are welcome.

 

Microsoft Called Me Today

  If someone calls you on the phone and says they are from Microsoft don't believe it. Ask yourself why would Microsoft be calling me out of all the people in the world. Also how did they know my phone number. Yes they are trying to scam you and they sure are not from Microsoft. There are so many of these fake scams out there it's becoming ridiculous.
  These are just some of the people they try to convince you of who they are. They may tell you that they are from the help desk support. They may tell you that they are from the windows service center. Another one is that they are Microsoft Tech Support and they heard you had a problem with your computer. I also heard someone tell the person they are windows technical department support group or they are on the Microsoft research and development team. All of these are just some of the fake people or groups they try to portray.
  If this happens to you then you need to know how to report this scam. You should contact the federal trade commission at consumer information for telemarketing scams. Here is a link to their website http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/ . If anyone calls you never purchase any software or service from them, because chances are it's a scam. Ask them if there is a fee involved and then hang up.
  Another thing they may try to do is ask if they can take control of you computer to repair something. This is definitely a red flag. Once they get into your computer who knows what they may take, such as personal information. The thing to do is try and get as much information from them as possible and call the authorities right away. Also never give them credit card information or any other information, such as bank information.
  If you think that they may have gotten into your computer and infected you, follow these steps. One change your computers password. Two scan your computer with programs such as free Malwarebytes http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free/ , Spybot 2.1 http://www.safer-networking.org/private/details/, combofix (not for windows 8 or 8.1 yet) http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/download/combofix/ . You should also make sure your virus software on your computer is up to date and scan the system. The best way is to enter the safe mode with networking and run these one at a time rebooting when necessary. Never click on anything, I would suggest to hold the power button in for 10 to 15 seconds and it should shut down.
  If you feel that your computer may still be infected, then I would look for a good reputable computer service center and take it in. Before you take it anywhere I would check for reviews on the service center just to protect yourself. You can also check by contacting the better business bureau.
  As a final note and the most important always have a BACK SYSTEM of some sort in place. You can use a back up service to the cloud such as carbonite. Just be aware of their packages. The other way is to have an external hard drive for the back up and use the back up program in windows 7 or 8.
  Thank You for reading and I hope this helps you. Any and all comments or additional information is welcomed. Remember to Stay Safe. 

Surge Protectors and Battery Back Ups

  When I see a computer that has expanded bulging capacitors someone always asks what caused that. Well it is not always as simple as it seems to determine the cause. It can be from a bad batch of capacitors, a defective motherboard, bad power supply, lightning strike or the power in the house going off and then coming back on. So usually the first question I ask is did the power go out and then come back on. Almost all of the time the person says yes that did happen recently.
  The next question is why didn't my surge protector prevent that ? I then explain that the surge protector does not prevent damage from that situation. It is meant for when you have for example a lightning strike and it travels down the power line and into the house. The surge protector has a device in it call a varistor, also called an MOV. The varistor shunts the excess electricity coming down the main line to the ground line. Thus protecting your electronic equipment.
  Some of the items you want to look for in a surge protector are the clamping voltage, response time, joule rating and the warranty. The clamping voltage is the point when the varistor kicks in. Clamping volts are any where from 330 volts to 500 volts. The response time again is how fast the varistor kicks in, which is usually a few nanoseconds. The joule rating is how much energy the surge protector can handle before it's overloaded. The higher the joule rating the better the surge protector. The rating is usually between 600 to 300 joules.

  Finally you want to make sure the surge protector has a good warranty. The better surge protectors have a lifetime warranty. The better ones will offer the lifetime warranty to replace the damaged or the destroyed components. I have seen in some stores some very cheap surge protectors being sold. The best surge protectors I use and have seen are made by TrippLite http://www.tripplite.com/en/index.cfm .

  The next item is the battery back up. This device usually has the surge protector and the battery, so that if the power goes out the battery kicks in and prevents that sudden spike that causes the popped or bulged capacitors. The best one I have seen is made by APC http://www.apc.com/site/products/index.cfm , while some of Belkins http://www.belkin.com/us/Products/Power/c/WSPWRSP/  high end battery back ups are also very good.

  As a final note make sure all of your electronic equipment is well protected form any surge.
  Thanks For reading. Any and all Comments are always welcomed and stay safe.

What is the best Internet Browser to use

 The internet browsers keep changing to new versions all the time. When internet explorer came out as a critical update it started causing problems with systems. There were problems with the downloading of pictures on to a Face book page. There were all kinds of problems going on. Here is a link to some of the problems that were encountered. Check out this link http://news.softpedia.com/news/IE10-on-Windows-7-No-Thanks-Many-Users-Are-Saying-338753.shtml it has some useful information.
  The only solution was to go into the control panel and then to programs uninstall in vista or windows 7.

You then click on view installed updates and wait until it loads up. The next step is to look down the list and find internet explorer 10. Once found choose to uninstall it and the computer will then reboot. Once the system has rebooted go to internet explorer and make sure it is back to internet explorer 9. Run update again and when it comes back again choose to hide it.  Now run updates again and check the optional updates, because it will come in as an optional update. At this point choose to hide it again, so it will never be reinstalled.
  Well now Microsoft has come out with Internet Explorer 11.

  As usual it is having some problems. After it is installed an audio cd will no longer play. It may play the first song in the track. When it gets to the next song it goes no further. If you try to manually select the next song in the track windows media player just keeps spinning. There is a fix out for this problem.
  Here is just one link to some of the problems internet explorer 11 is causing http://technet.microsoft.com/library/dn338138.aspx check it out. All you have to do is a search on the internet for problems with internet explorer 11 and you will find quite a few. I all else fails with windows 7, go back to internet explorer 9 until all the bugs are worked out. The other choice is wait for internet explorer 12 and then have all new problems.
  Another choice in the browsers category is Mozilla Firefox.

Currently Firefox is up to version 25, which could change at any moment. I use it and have not had any problems. It seems to be pretty stable. I would just always check for updates due to security risks. Once installed you can import your favorites from internet explorer to it.
  Finally the next browser I would suggest using is Google Chrome.

I like Google Chrome, because it seems to be a little faster than the previous two browsers. I had heard individuals say that it is less secure and brings in viruses. This is an unfounded fact and just not true. The problem is not the browser, but where the person using it goes. I have had it stop me from going to some sites, because it might see something as a threat. I use it and it works just fine.
  There are other search browsers out there. My advise is before you go and install any other search browser use Google and do a search on it for reviews or problems it may cause. I can not tell you how many times I see viruses that have changed the search browser in internet explorer, Firefox and chrome. If you do get a virus then as part of the cleaning process reset the browser completely. Check the managed ad ons in internet explorer and remove them. You may have to use a program such as highjack this to remove them.
  To reset internet explorer go to tools, internet options and then click the advanced tab. Down towards the bottom of the window is reset explorer settings. remember to check mark the delete personal settings, because the infections may have put something in there. There is also the Microsoft fix it program choice which will do it for you. Here is a link for information http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923737 .
  With Firefox go to help at the top and then to trouble shooting information and the click on the reset
 button. Here is a link on how to perform it http://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/reset-firefox-easily-fix-most-problems .
  To reset Google Chrome click on the chrome menu on the right side of the display. Next select settings and then click on show advanced settings at the bottom of the window. Next click on reset browser settings at the bottom of the now extended window. I would also suggest to clear the history from all time and check the extensions. You can choose to remove them if you did not choose to install them. Here is a link on how to perform the reset https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/3296214?hl=en .
 I hope all this information is helpful. Thank You For Reading. All comments and additional information are welcomed and stay safe.

 

My Hard Drive Is Going Klunk Klunk

  What do you do when your hard drive starts making a klunk noise ? Usually when this happens your computer will not boot up. This is because the hard drive is having a problem called head banging. This is happening because the armature inside the drive is hitting the spindle inside the drive. Whatever you do don`t try and open the drive. A hard drive should only be opened in a clean room by a professional. Once dust gets inside the drive on the disks or platters it is useless.
  Here is a link to some very interesting reading on hard drives. Check it out at http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/op/over.htm it has a lot of useful information. hard drives all vary in size depending on whether they are in a desktop computer or a laptop computer. Here are some examples of hard drives below.

  The first thing to do is shut the computer off and remove the hard drive from the computer. Take the hard drive and place it in a static bag.

Next wrap a dry towel around it and put it in your refrigerator freezer. Leave it in there for several hours. Take it out of the freezer and connect it up to the computer as fast as possible. Act a quickly as you can to get the data off it. You may only have a few minutes. Before you take it out of the freezer have your computer set up with a new hard drive and your operating system reinstalled first. I would note that this does not always work. If there is data that you definitely have to such as for a business, then I would suggest sending it out to a professional data recovery business. They have clean rooms and literally take the disks out of the drive to get the data off. Do Not try it yourself, because you will contaminate it and lose everything.
  With the newer types of hard drive called solid state drives you do not have this problem. They are all solid state electronics and have no moving parts. The only draw back is they are very expensive especially if you need a larger drive. I would check out this link for information on this type of hard drive http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid-state_drive   at wikipedia.

Also with solid state hard drives I do not suggest to try and install them in an older computer. If the computer has sata ports and not the older ide connections then you are probably ok. The solid sate drive may increase the start up time and running of programs. The drawback is that they are generally not very large in space to store programs. A 120gb ssd runs around $100 at newegg http://www.newegg.com/Internal-SSDs/SubCategory/ID-636. A 512gb ssd solid state drive runs around $470.00 dollars. Maybe they will come down in price in the future.
   As a final note the most important thing anyone can do is back up your data. You can back it up to an external hard drive or to the cloud with carbonite. If you go with carbonite just make sure of the plan you choose.  I did talk about this subjet in one of my previous posts so check it out.
  Thank You for reading and stay safe.

Back Up Back Up Back Up

  The one thing I can not stress enough to all my friends is to make sure you always back up your data. My general recommendation is to use an external hard drive to back your system and data to. I would say that it`s best to use at least a 1tb external hard drive. This is because there are so many updates coming through that smaller drives fill up too fast. Some examples of back up drives can be seen below.

  The external hard drive enclosure is seen just above. With this type you can purchase a hard drive of your choice and mount it inside the enclosure. This is a nice option, because if the drive goes bad you can replace the drive or if the enclosure goes bad you can replace that as well.
  Another way of backing up your data is to the cloud. here is a good link with helpful information http://www.pcworld.com/article/223354/choosing_cloud_backup_for_pcs.html . There is also carbonite which is an online back up service that is available to pc users as well as mac users. It can back up all your data. There are different packages available. Some packages do not make a mirror back up of your hard drive. Other types of back ups are using a program such as Nortons Ghost to make an exact image of your hard drive as well as the data to an external hard drive. The back up program in windows 7 does work very well.
  I would advise never to back up to your hard drive in the computer to the main drive. I have seen people back up to the recovery partition and fill it up. You could however install a second hard drive in the computer case and back up to that. With programs such as Nortons Ghost you do have to make sure it is set for incremental backing up. This way it will do so many back ups and then remove the older ones. This way it does not keep piling up the back ups and then fill the drive. I remember one situation where the person did not realize it and the drive was filled and had not backed up since two months when it was full, therefore he lost two months of data.
  Some simple ways of backing up data are to a flash drive. Generally you will be performing the copy and paste routine. The problem with this is a flash drive is not very large and will run out of space. It is good for small amounts of data.

  So just remember it is better to back up your system and data, because you never know what will happen. It can be anything from a defective hard drive to a bad virus such as the crypto locker virus.
 Thank You for reading. Any comments or information are always welcomed.

Help My Computer Is Running Slow

  This is one of the most common things I almost hear on a daily basis. So what do you do first ? Well the first thing I do is open the computer and see how much dust has built up inside. Sometimes computers are like wonderful vacuum cleaners. I have seen some where the dust is so bad it actually looks like a home made filter for a furnace. I have seen the heat sink for the microprocessor packed with dust so no heat will dissipate. Usually if really bad the computer will overheat causing the computer to shut off.
  The next step is to get that dust and dirt out of there. I do not recommend using any kind of a brush inside the case because it will not be static safe. You could easily damage the motherboard with esd damage. That is electrostatic discharge damage resulting a bad motherboard as well as other components. What I would suggest is to use an air compressor to blow the dust and dirt out of the case and fans. When you blow out a fan I would use something to keep the fan from spinning. If it spins too fast you can damage it by too much current and also damage the bearings in the fan.
  At this point I also check the motherboard for any bulging or expanded capacitors.

There are occasions when the capacitor is expanded at the bottom. The capacitor expands because heat has built up in the capacitor, which results in the visible damage. There have been bad batches of capacitors through manufacturing. An experienced individual can replace the capacitors. Just make sure you have the correct voltage rating and capacitance. I also measure the height and diameter of the capacitor to try and keep it as close to what the manufacturer used. The other reason it may have expanded is from the power in a house for example shutting off and coming back on. The usual surge protector will not protect the equipment from this. They are for protecting from a lightning strike by absorbing to power coming down the line to the system. The best protection is to use a battery back up system that has a built in surge protector. This way if the power goes out then the battery kicks in and you don`t have that sudden on and off surge. Power supplies in systems can cause the damage as well or just a defective motherboard.
  The most common cause of slowness may be from a virus, malware, spyware or adware that has gotten into the system. I would recommend using programs such as free malwarebytes, spybot, combofix, super anti-spyware and whatever antivirus program is installed on your computer. I would run all scans in the safe mode. With windows 8 you can set the software to always go to a safe boot with networking. Just remember to reset it when done. This link is good as well as others http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windows-8/ss/windows-8-safe-mode.htm . Windows xp, vista and windows 7 can be  placed in the safe mode by pressing the F8 key on the keyboard during the post test when the system is first powering on, then choose safemode with networking.
  Another item I would check is the hard drive. Usually the manufacture will have a diagnostic partition that may be entered by pressing a certain key at start up. See the manufacturers instructions, because they all vary depending on if it`s a Dell, Asus, Acer, HP etc..... You can also run the test on the hard drive within the system or what I prefer is to use a boot disk such as Hirens, Ultimate Boot Disk or Win & PE. These can be downloaded from the internet and are iso files which will be needed to be burned to a cd disk. Western digital and seagate also have programs that can be downloaded and run as well.
  Another item that can cause problems is the amount of system ram memory. In older systems 2gb is usually the most windows xp would use. In Vista, Windows 7 and 8, I would recommend 8gb or more. You can download a free program called Memtest 86+ off the internet and install it on a cd to boot from to test the memory.
  Always make sure windows updates are installed and working properly. If problems are not solved I would save all data, Reformat the hard drive and reinstall all software, drivers and components. If you are not comfortable with this, then I would seek out a professional.
 Thank You for reading. Any comments or questions are always welcomed.  Stay Safe