I had a reader question on this subject, and this is a very good question. There are things that DO need to be on your computer, and things that DON’T. Knowing the difference between the two can determine whether or not your computer still runs after you’re done fixing it. These instructions pertain to Windows…
A motherboard is a printed circuit board that contains the stuff that makes up the computer, or it has slots to put some of that stuff in. Your computer is a box of electricity, and what makes it work and display stuff to you is the flow of that electricity. Each component in the computer…
Dust, in and of itself, is neither good nor bad. If you see dust sitting on top of your computer, that’s not a problem. The problem is when it gets inside, or when it obstructs the airflow generated by the fans. In the Tip on Airflow, I recommended not putting the computer directly on…
what it is–in real people’s terms RAM stands for for Random Access Memory. It’s not storage, and it’s not the hard drive. It’s the thing your computer uses to keep track of stuff it’s working on right now or very recently. Your computer can’t start without it; if you don’t have RAM installed, it simply…
Somewhere on your computer—regardless of whether it’s a laptop or desktop—is a collection of vents. You can probably at times hear fan noises in that vicinity, and if you put your hand near the vents, you should be able to feel air coming out (assuming the machine is up and running). Airflow is…
I can’t possibly keep up with all the websites I like to keep up with. I don’t have time to visit them all every day, and there are some days I don’t have time to visit any of them. And yet I don’t want to miss anything, geek that I am. How ever would I…
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