EggXpert

I would like to point out a few common problems I see as a PC Tech and how to possibly prevent them from happening. I know others on here build/fix computers for a living and others have built so many PC's for themselves and friends that they might as well be a PC technician. So feel free to add to the list. Hardcore gamers and modding fanatics usually know most of this - This is more of a computer maintenance 101 deal.

The first thing I noticed when fixing PC's for friends is you can just about count on them not having the actual Windows CD. They either lost it or bought the computer second hand and didn't get a copy of the OS. Make sure when you buy a computer that you get a copy of the OS not just a backup of it on the hard drive.

Opening computer cases can often be a fun task especially if a person smokes or has pets. As a general rule, you should open the case once a month and use a can of compressed air or Dust-off to blow out the dust and anything else (like pet hair) out of the computer. Dust acts as an insulator and can cause overheating of different components. Blow out the fans and fan grilles (Don't spin the fans with the air - use a q-tip or a straw to hold the fan in place so you don't throw off the balance of the fan).  Thoroughly clean out the entire inside of the case and any areas where dust may have collected. If using compressed air or Dust-off , hold the can straight up and bend the plastic straw or tilt the case to get to tough to reach spots. Tilting the can does not allow for the liquid to immediately vaporize, causing it to be released as a freezing spray. VERY BAD for a computer.

Keeping your components free of dust will prolong the life of your computer. 

As an alternative to canned air check out this thread by Eeyore --- http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/90311.aspx

While you are inside the case make sure all the data and power cables are secure and any expansion cards and RAM are properly seated in the slots. Before touching anything inside the computer make sure to equalize the charge between you and it by touching a metal part of the case or ground yourself with a wrist strap or other device designed to do so....

 
This is barely a start - I will continue to add to this thread and suggest things for other common problems such as malware (spy/adware/viruses) slow or non responsive computers. Mouse/keyboard troubles and display settings and backing up important information! Others, feel free to chime in!!!

Good one, I'll chime in.

If your PC is like mine and is plastic, touch the screw in the middle of your wall outlet often to dissipate any charge between you and your PC. (of course it will have to be plugged in, but the switch on the psu turned off, it will still be grounded to the outlet through the 3rd pin of the cable)

 

"While you are inside the case make sure all the data and power cables are secure and any expansion cards and RAM are properly seated in the slots. Before touching anything inside the computer make sure to equalize the charge between you and it by touching a metal part of the case or ground yourself with a wrist strap or other device designed to do so...."

Especially after blowing it out, as you might loosen them.

Next would be windows updates, even though it is automatic you might still be missing some. Don't forget to manually do it every 3 months or so (more often if it is problematic) and click "custom updates" to make sure it shows you all of the available updates. (view all available updates, in Vista)

I know there is a "how often do I defrag" thread, but it's lengthy. I just do it every month so I know it's OK. (there are also utilities that will warn you if you are getting to a certain % of fragmentation on your hard drive, so you won't have to remember to go check)

Very good suggestion. I add it to my favorite threads.

I'm sliding off my Side Covers about once per month/I don't use Compressed Air..

I will take a very--slightly--damp cloth to pickup the dust laying at the bottom of my TOWERS..my Keyboard being six years old has been cleaned useing a CAMEL HAIR Pastry Brush and a cloth dampened w/Rubbing Alcohol(70%)..but just last month I actually took the thing apart..///the PC Keyboard is not that much differant than a Music Keyboard..the keystrokes on both use a SILICON MAT...the downward actions of the keys place the pressure point to a Printed Circuit Board...basically a three piece part.........The ALPHA-Numerical KEYS.....below that a SILICON PAD.....and a PC-board below the SILICON PAD....press a key downwards...and you SQUISH out a electronic signal....

The care must be taken to not have tiny pieces fall to the ground should your remove the assembly screws from the Plastic Housing.....these would be the LED's that also have a LENS placed in the section-HOLES...I took a small amount of silicon adhesive to keep these in place for the Assembly...

Basically the KEYBOARD parts are WASHABLE in the kitchen SINK....////DO NOT WASH ANY Printed Circuit Boards or Components containing WIRES,,,,

You can wash the LOWER CASE....the UPPER KEYS and CARRIER....and the SILICON PAD.....w/some dish washing detergent and warm water.....BE SURE------no TINY Parts fly down the sink drain.....place some OBSTACLE in the DRAIN-pipe....

I let my parts dry over night so I will do this procedure late at night....you can write NOTES should you find this a serious act of violence....on the computer parts....some ITEMS don't wish to be taken apart.....its like BRAIN Surgury....you want to be very gentile NOT to UPSET the patient....by useing a strength move....

other than a small amount of silicon adhesive for the LEDs LENS...you just place all the parts back like a JIG-SAW Puzzle....I will sometimes glue down a wire.....

Buts lots of junk is inside the keyboard....I really needed to do this procedure because one morning as I brought my pancakes to the PC-area I dipped the dish and the Maple Syrup spilled inside the KEYS....later that day if I pressed on  a KEY....the two next to it would follow it downwards....

The Cooling Fans will get alot of dirt on the FAN BLADE---edges.....this is a problem that needs inspection....if you can safely remove the FAN...I would suggest you just RUB-away the dirt with a dry rag(from the edges)if you can afford a NEW-FAN...I would suggest to inspect and replace....dirt build-up will effect the operation in critical ways....Do Not let dirt accumulate on the FAN BLADES....clean or replace.....

The FLOPPY Drive is a DUST-Trap....I would suggest the Compressed Air Method.....

Motherboard Connections should be fine if you made your CONNECTIONS correctly the first time.....BUT...as you operate and run your hand inside of the CASE...you can cause a mal-function....always double-check when working near the WIRING Harness...if you need to take PICTURES inside the Computer....I would suggest you use a TRIPOD and NO FLASH....do not allow the flash bulb to SHOOT inside the Computer Case....keep a photo File of the interior....

Best Practice...don't smoke tobacco in a room w/any electronics....and keep the floors clean...and GLASS is a receptor of dirt(keep all glass clean)....and wipe all cables with some Rubbing Alcohol(70%)....Isoprophyl.....

Inspect any CD-DVD Disk before laying it in the TRAY....this will save your OPTICAL DRIVES(Optical Drives can't be cleaned safely).....

That's about all I do...I try to keep the room clean so I don't need the options for the PCs....but Cooling Fans can become critically dirty....the dirt can cause a operating problem in current draw....I still have all my Original Cooling Fans still running....

I would NOT place any additional FILTERS onto the CASE////keep the case airflow FREE and RUNNING.

2towers:

The Cooling Fans will get alot of dirt on the FAN BLADE---edges.....this is a problem that needs inspection....if you can safely remove the FAN...I would suggest you just RUB-away the dirt with a dry rag(from the edges)if you can afford a NEW-FAN...I would suggest to inspect and replace....dirt build-up will effect the operation in critical ways....Do Not let dirt accumulate on the FAN BLADES....clean or replace.....

If the fan blades are dirty and compressed air (remember to hold the fan still with something like a straw) doesn't do the trick. Then the best idea would be to use a q-tip with the least amount of pressure possible to wipe them off. Too much pressure and you can throw the fan out of balance.

2towers:

Motherboard Connections should be fine if you made your CONNECTIONS correctly the first time...

Using compressed air inside the case can cause them to come loose. SATA I cables are also notorious for easily coming loose. It is also best to reseat add in cards that don't have retention clips because of possible "chip creep". Chip creep is caused by thermal expansion; the contracting and expanding during system heat up and cool down. This can cause the cards to kind of walk there way out of a good connection.

2towers:

Best Practice...don't smoke tobacco in a room w/any electronics...

Or eat pancakes and syrup over your keyboard.

Been super busy lately, I will come back and add more good ideas later. 

Back when I was still working as a tech I used to see a whole lot of things that people have already mentioned. 

I think the biggest thing though was software related.  The general public is very "naive" and "stupid."  They will click on anything that pops up.  If they didn't, social engineers would be out of "jobs."  I had at least 5 people a day come in because they have "spyware" all up in their system.  While this may be true with most, the rest of the time thier systems were running really slow because they loaded too many programs and had them in startup.  Just dumb.

A IDE/SATA to USB adapter is always a good thing to have on hand....

 
People don't know how to clean out their temp files, history, cookies, etc.....On many occasions I had customers that had over a GB of useless files in these locations.

People always think that a RAM upgrade will always speed up their computer...especially those customers that have their systems bogged down with hundreds upon hundreds of useless programs and files.

Virus scans and removals almost never work 100%....

I once had a customer get all high and mighty with me when he claimed a brand new processor he had purchased at our store had bent pins out of the box because when he tried to put it in the socket, it wouldn't go it...He wanted to return it...I told him that was highly unlikely that the pins could be bent coming from the factory because the pins are usually set in foam and the packaging is pretty sturdy...He told me that he is a computer engineer and bills out at $300 an hour to the government, and that he knows more than me, and I don't know anything about processors...So I was a little pissed (cuz I was a computer engineering student at the time), and I said, well I bill out at $10 an hour, and let me ask you "Mr. Computer Engineer," did you lift the lever lock on the processor socket before you tried to install it?? He hesitated and said no....I then told him to have a good day.

Gotta love those customers....
 

Great thread!

The most common problems I've seen are  outdated AntiVirus software, no or outdated AntiSpyware software, and people thinking Norton works properly.

XyroTR1:

The most common problems I've seen are  outdated AntiVirus software, no or outdated AntiSpyware software, and people thinking Norton works properly.

wow, your customers HAVE antivirus ?   antispyware ?  

 

why is it the ones that do.....never update them ?   AV usually updates itself, but the anti-spy/ad-ware ......are hurting !   They'll ask when they opened....but who can get the user to run them once a month?  set a task I guess.  The one time I tried that the cust complained later when it ran....LOL

 

common issues.....

 Won't boot.  I've been having this problem for a few months now.  It hasn't been acting 'right', and now I can't get the stupid thing to come on.

won't go online, and many pop-ups.

no power. 

and what's with the 'power' cords they keep bringing.......like I don't got 3 doz of them already ! 

No one is going to mention the $300 special computer. How about the customer actually finding out something about what they are buying before complaining that it doesn't work anymore. Nothing burns me more than a customer that brings one of these machines and when told that the cheapest power supply you carry is $45 plus bench fee. The "That's a third of what I paid for the entire computer" reply always cracks me up. They buy the cheapest and expect a Mercedes. Today a lady told me how upset she was that her 8 year old ME computer can't run her new programs and is very slow. She feels that she didn't get a good value when she bought it now that MS no longer supports the OS.

Or better yet, the emergency repair. Told of an approximate repair time according to the amount of work ahead of them and then calls every few hours to see if it's ready even though told to expect 1-2 days. The when you call the customer, the wife says they will be there in a couple of days, maybe. Some people will let you keep their kids for days but not the ole solitare puter, gotta have it now.

The "It came with virus software" is as bad as the "Filter, I didn't know it had a filter" from my HVAC Tech days. Usually this means that there is an icon on the desktop or system tray that say something about AV but never was set up because they didn't know how or just forgot. Updated? You mean......you gotta update it?

 Trying to run Windows anything on 128MB of RAM. Not checking system requirements for software or hardware upgrades. Deleting programs instead of un-installing. Have 78 startup items in the system tray with 128MB of RAM. Did I mention memory?  Never taking responsibility for learning how to actual care for the computer with simple maintainace. And they own cars, Heat Pumps and such.

What makes competing for the system builds difficult is any understanding other than how much the system costs. Not understanding the limitations of what they are getting or any upgrade path. How many people really need the laptops they buy but think there are cute? And then try to do extensive graphics work on the $500 laptop, with 128MB of RAM?

The "I have some questions about hard drives. I'm going to build me a computer but don't know if I should use SATA, ATA100 or what ever. Can you tell me the difference?" Boy is this one coming into the shop after the parts are kinda installed. Of course I had to stop being productive in actually repairing something, loose my train of thought and find that I'm begining to strangle the phone. Did I mention memory. Now I forgot where I was on that elusive problem I was working on and almost had solved. I did mention memory didn't I.

Yes folks, our future is secure. These poor people will need use for a very long time. If we can maintain some composure and remain friendly, they may actually keep us busy for a while. Did I mention that "I can get it at WalMart for $300 on sale". Some people should stick to books but then I guess I'd be on a book forum then, huh?

 

Taken from my blog,

 Easy Way to Make $60: A PC TuneUp

As more and more users get ridden with viruses, spyware and malware, I make more money. But honestly, I am tired of doing the same things over and over again. So I am writing this self help PC Tune Up post so that I can do less work.

Reboot as necessary.

EDIT:  These tweaks were originally mentioned for Windows XP, but most will work for 2000.  I doubt they will work for vista.  Any feedback would be helpful on if they do.

#1 - Start -> Control Panel -> Ad/Remove Programs
Look for any programs that you never use, never heard of, or are out of date; and get rid of em.

#2 - Right click task bar -> Properties
Uncheck hide inactive icons.
I prefer to "Show Quick Launch", this way I reduce the number of icons on my desktop.
Click "Start Menu" -> Customize
If you have a low resolution, you may wish to use small icons instead of large.
With smaller Icons, you can have a higher number of programs on start menu.
Click "Advanced"
Uncheck "Highlight newly installed programs".
Uncheck "Help and support", comon who really uses it?
Uncheck "List my most recently opened documents", it stores shortcuts of every file you open, these files add up over a year.
Click "Clear List".
Click OK.
Click OK.

#3. - Right click My Computer -> "Properties"
Click Advanced -> "Error Reporting".
Click Disable Error Reporting.
Click OK.
Click Settings.
Uncheck every item all the way down to "Use Background image for each folder type"(dont uncheck this one.)
Click OK.
Click Remote.
Uncheck "Allow remote assistance invitations to be sent from this computer".
Click System Restore.
check "Turn off system restore on all drives".
Click OK

#4 - Start -> Run
In the text box type "regedit" and press "OK".
In the left frame of the window that appears is a "file" tree. We need to navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Explorer\Volume Caches
To do this we are going to click the "plus" sign next to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE", then the "plus" sign next to "SOFTWARE", and etc... till we reach "Volume Caches".
In the left frame we are going to right click on the entry under "Volume Caches" named "Compress Old Files" and select "Delete".

#5. - Open MyComputer -> Right click c: -> properties
Uncheck allow indexing service to index this disk for fast file searching. This is for searching for files, how often do you search for a file? Also, turning this off will not effect google desktop or msn desktop.
Select all subfolders, click ok. If it prompts that a file could not be accessed, choose ignore all.
When that completes, click Disk Cleanup.
Check all boxes and click ok.
Click Tools -> Defragment Now.
Click your C: and click analyze. If it says it needs to be defraged, then do so. If not close.
Click OK on Local Disk Properties to close.

#6. - Start -> Run
In the box, type services.msc. Hit OK.
This is the services manager. These are all of the services that run your windows operating system. The following is a list of services that can be changed to manual instead of automatic, which will prevent them from starting when your computer starts and will only start them when needed.

• Distributed Link Tracking
• Error Reporting Service
• Help and Support
• Indexing Service
• IPSec Services - Do not disable if you use a VPN to access your work.
• Logical disk manager
• Machine Debug Manager
• Remote Registry
• Secondary Logon
• Security Accounts Manager
• Security Center
• System Restore Service
• TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
• WebClient
• Wireless Zero Configuration (Do not disable if you use 802.11b/g wireless internet connection, which includes most laptops)

#7 - free.grisoft.com - If you do not have up to date anti-virus and anti-spyware software.
Go here and download AVG Free Anti-Virus and AVG Free Anti Spyware. Install, Update, and scan.

#8 - Spray inside of case with can of compressed air to clean out any dust and debris.

 

http://blog.itrealm.net/2007/07/easy-way-to-make-60-pc-tuneup.html
 

cmm324:

Taken from my blog,

 Easy Way to Make $60: A PC TuneUp

As more and more users get ridden with viruses, spyware and malware, I make more money. But honestly, I am tired of doing the same things over and over again. So I am writing this self help PC Tune Up post so that I can do less work.

Reboot as necessary.

#1 - Start -> Control Panel -> Ad/Remove Programs
Look for any programs that you never use, never heard of, or are out of date; and get rid of em.

#2 - Right click task bar -> Properties
Uncheck hide inactive icons.
I prefer to "Show Quick Launch", this way I reduce the number of icons on my desktop.
Click "Start Menu" -> Customize
If you have a low resolution, you may wish to use small icons instead of large.
With smaller Icons, you can have a higher number of programs on start menu.
Click "Advanced"
Uncheck "Highlight newly installed programs".
Uncheck "Help and support", comon who really uses it?
Uncheck "List my most recently opened documents", it stores shortcuts of every file you open, these files add up over a year.
Click "Clear List".
Click OK.
Click OK.

#3. - Right click My Computer -> "Properties"
Click Advanced -> "Error Reporting".
Click Disable Error Reporting.
Click OK.
Click Settings.
Uncheck every item all the way down to "Use Background image for each folder type"(dont uncheck this one.)
Click OK.
Click Remote.
Uncheck "Allow remote assistance invitations to be sent from this computer".
Click System Restore.
check "Turn off system restore on all drives".
Click OK

#4 - Start -> Run
In the text box type "regedit" and press "OK".
In the left frame of the window that appears is a "file" tree. We need to navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Explorer\Volume Caches
To do this we are going to click the "plus" sign next to "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE", then the "plus" sign next to "SOFTWARE", and etc... till we reach "Volume Caches".
In the left frame we are going to right click on the entry under "Volume Caches" named "Compress Old Files" and select "Delete".

#5. - Open MyComputer -> Right click c: -> properties
Uncheck allow indexing service to index this disk for fast file searching. This is for searching for files, how often do you search for a file? Also, turning this off will not effect google desktop or msn desktop.
Select all subfolders, click ok. If it prompts that a file could not be accessed, choose ignore all.
When that completes, click Disk Cleanup.
Check all boxes and click ok.
Click Tools -> Defragment Now.
Click your C: and click analyze. If it says it needs to be defraged, then do so. If not close.
Click OK on Local Disk Properties to close.

#6. - Start -> Run
In the box, type services.msc. Hit OK.
This is the services manager. These are all of the services that run your windows operating system. The following is a list of services that can be changed to manual instead of automatic, which will prevent them from starting when your computer starts and will only start them when needed.

• Distributed Link Tracking
• Error Reporting Service
• Help and Support
• Indexing Service
• IPSec Services - Do not disable if you use a VPN to access your work.
• Logical disk manager
• Machine Debug Manager
• Remote Registry
• Secondary Logon
• Security Accounts Manager
• Security Center
• System Restore Service
• TCP/IP NetBIOS Helper
• WebClient
• Wireless Zero Configuration (Do not disable if you use 802.11b/g wireless internet connection, which includes most laptops)

#7 - free.grisoft.com - If you do not have up to date anti-virus and anti-spyware software.
Go here and download AVG Free Anti-Virus and AVG Free Anti Spyware. Install, Update, and scan.

#8 - Spray inside of case with can of compressed air to clean out any dust and debris.

 

http://blog.itrealm.net/2007/07/easy-way-to-make-60-pc-tuneup.html
 

 

Reformatting now thanks... 

 

Somehow one of these "tips" causes my web player to not work on video sites like break.com metacafe.com and liveleak.com when I go to watch a video it just sits there saying buffering. I tried system restore and turning back on all the services I set to manual and still nothing.

 

*shouldn't follow online tips anymore rrrrr 

I can't really tell you which of these "tips" caused you the problem but let me give you a "tip". Never ever follow this type of intructions step by step. My first computer had MS-DOS in it and even then I had ways of organizing my folders different than other people.

We all have different ways we like our computer to function and I mean any computer tip should be taken as a suggestion and keep looking further into it. 

For example someone that would follow these tips step by step probably rely on System Restore to save them if they don't want to spend $60 on "someone" that might not fix their problem but set up their computer to their own liking.

Oh and a common problem I keep experiencing is: How come it keeps saying I don't enough disk space?  - some people don't really check their disk space, they have 10 Gigs of HDD and want to run the latest games which are like 1 gig each (I am aware that the LATEST games are like 4gigs each but they probably wouldn't run on a computer with a small HDD). Also WinXp + programs take at least 3-5gig. Be aware of your computer people.

Programs like PC WIZARD(free) or ACE UTILITES(cost$$) would tell you in detail all your computer has. Learn what your computer is running with before asking "stupid" questions.

WannaPiEcE:

Reformatting now thanks... 

 

Somehow one of these "tips" causes my web player to not work on video sites like break.com metacafe.com and liveleak.com when I go to watch a video it just sits there saying buffering. I tried system restore and turning back on all the services I set to manual and still nothing.

 

*shouldn't follow online tips anymore rrrrr 

 I am sorry that something has gone wrong while performing the "TuneUp" I provided.  What browser were you using?  I perform the same tuneup on all of my computers and I was able to run video on all of those sites you listed.

 I used Mozilla Firefox 2.0.

 None of the "tips" that I provided in that post made any changes to your system regarding your browsers or video settings.  Unless of course you uninstalled something in your "Add/Remove" programs that was required for your  video card or video settings.

 Hope this helps.

    I think cmm324s tuneup is nicely done however I wouldn't advocate turning off system restore on all drives. System restore can be a great help when someone has attempted to do things without knowing what they are doing.( I admit once in a while it's me, but usually it's a parent, friend or coworker.) I have three internal and one external drives. I use C only for the OS & programs and the others for storage. I leave System restore  enabled for my C drive but turn it off for the others. No need to have the hard drive making a second copy of the 3 or 400 gigs of recorded material. 

jerry42:

    I think cmm324s tuneup is nicely done however I wouldn't advocate turning off system restore on all drives. System restore can be a great help when someone has attempted to do things without knowing what they are doing.( I admit once in a while it's me, but usually it's a parent, friend or coworker.) I have three internal and one external drives. I use C only for the OS & programs and the others for storage. I leave System restore  enabled for my C drive but turn it off for the others. No need to have the hard drive making a second copy of the 3 or 400 gigs of recorded material. 

 Jerry,

You are right.  I should modify that line, to say for extra performance disable system restore for all drives, but if this makes you nervous, only disable system restore for hard drives that do not contain operating system files.

 
I disable all drives for the performance boost on my computers, plus on my clients.  My thoughts are this, excessive use of system restore ends up causing poor performance over the long hull.  Most of my clients do not know how to use it or let alone that it exists.  So they usually call me in the first place and I can fix the problem without performing a system restore.  While many other users rely upon system restore for their issues in tinkering with things they do not understand, or their addiction to pornographic websites.  Down the road, system restore ends up causing more damage than good.

I find that most problems users encounter that a level 1 technical service rep for HP, Dell, or Sony would advise a system restore as a solution, can be easily fixed with an up to date anti-virus / anti-spyware scan or re installation of the app in question.  But that is just my humble opinion.

 Chris