Hardware Tips

Home computer networks used to be just for geeks, there was no practical reason to setup a network at home because most people only had one system and the Internet was only accessible through a dial-up connection that couldn’t be shared.

Today that has all changed. Computer networks are not only practical but they are also easy to setup and in many cases they are absolutely necessary. Over the next few weeks, we will breakdown the process of building a computer network into simple steps that will guide you through the entire process of setting up either a wired or wireless home computer network.

Before we get into the logistics of a network setup, we should cover some quick terminology. Here are a few terms you absolutely need to understand to build a computer network.

Prevention is the best medicine when it comes to avoiding illness in ourselves. Prevention in the computer world is no different. And like a newborn baby, a newly purchased computer is subject to many terrible diseases and problems if not properly cared from the moment it is taken from its cardboard box. I follow these steps when setting up a new computer system for my clients, and recommend this methodology for all new computer setups:

Thankfully, more and more home computer users are securing their wireless networks. Most newer wireless routers offer to automate the whole process which works pretty well. However, if you are wanting a little more control, I recommend the following advice for setting up a wireless router:

I just finished my normal Sunday morning routine of breakfast with the Sunday paper. I always peruse the Sunday high tech ads to keep tabs on prices. Computer prices continue to drop (and I still think manufacturers are getting a kick back from Microsoft) to help spur sluggish sales.

However, the past few weeks, I picked up on another trend; increased RAM.

In this week's big 4 ads (Office Depot, Office Max, Circuit City, and Best Buy), there were 43 desktop and laptop ads. Out of these 43 systems, only one of them had

I picked up my new iPhone late on Thursday night, worked with it on Friday, then left with it for a quick trip to see my brother and my first and only nephew. Prior to this phone, I have used some sort of smartphone since 2000...all Palm software based. Prior to that I used Palm handheld computers since about 1997.

I decided to move to the iPhone because I felt that the Palm innovation had stagnated...about 5 years ago. Plus, with all the innovation and development happening around the iPhone, I knew it was a great opportunity to take my smartphone usage even further than the Palm based systems had. A real quick word about any smartphone; they aren't met for every cell phone user. Smartphones are designed for people who want to check email, lookup information on the web, get maps, send text messages, add specialty programs like conversion programs, time trackers and much more to their phone.

Enough blabber, here are some of my thoughts about the iPhone after only four days of use:

1. The screen is absolutely stunning...clear, bright, and responsive.

2. I really miss being able to select text

If your computer still performs all the functions you want it to do, there is no need to replace it. However, no matter if you've been using the same computer for a month or seven years, all computers need and crave RAM (Random Access Memory).

RAM provides the 'umph' for our computers and an abundance of it helps Windows' performance tremendously.

Hard drive space (physical storage of your data) and RAM (temporary memory for running programs) utilize two distinctly different types of technologies. So, don't equate free hard drive space with RAM. Instead, use these guidelines for figuring out your RAM needs.

Because of the dramatic drop in price over the past two years of RAM, here are my current recommendations for your computer system (the numbers are in megabytes):

Lately, I've run across many printer problems so I'm going to share with you my formula for approaching a printer problem.

1. Shut off computer
2. Shut off printer
3. Check cable from printer to computer and make sure it is securely plugged in on both sides
4. Check cable from printer to power source and make they plugged in well.
5. Turn the printer on and wait for it to go through all of its startup activities (wait until it is quiet)
• If the printer happens to be a HP printer, I will sometimes unplug the power cable from the back of the printer, then
  

The new ASUS Eee PC 900 is finally available in the United States. Like its release earlier this year in Asia, the 900 version is selling like hot cakes in the U.S. too. I have been using the 4G version of the  original ASUS Eee PC since November 2007 and wrote a few articles about it that can be found here. I originally bought it to try it out and see what all the fuss was about, but quickly became attached to its ultra portability and usablity.

Starting with Windows 95 all the way through today's Windows Vista, Microsoft supplied computer users with a great tool listing the different hardware devices attached to and residing in our computers. This tool is called the Device Manager.

Today's tip focuses on how to use the Device Manager to troubleshoot a video card, sound card or other internal hardware problem. If you suddenly lose sound or your monitor's picture lacks the quality it had before, or you can't connect your high speed modem to your computer, this tip will solve the problem a high percentage of the time.

1. RIGHT Click on My Computer from your desktop or Start menu (XP & Vista)

2. Click Properties (or use the Windows key + Pause/Break key to replace these two steps)

3. Click Device Manager (Windows 95-Me, Vista). or in WindowsVista Click the Hardware tab --> then click Device Manager (XP)

4. Click the "+" sign next to the device having the problem

5. RIGHT Click the device itself

6. Click Remove (Windows 95-Me) or Uninstall (XP & Vista)

7. Close any open screens and shut down your computer (don't just restart, shut it all the way off)

8. When Windows restarts, it should re-recognize your hardware and function properly again.

 If these steps don't work, then you get some extra computer help.

Watch the short (2 minutes) video below to see these steps in action!

 

I saw two clients today with slow computer problems. Actually the problems weren't slow, the computers were and that was the problem. But, I digress.

Both computers were Dells of the same age. As it turns out each machine only had 256MB of RAM - too little for XP to run at its full potential.

I added 512MB to each machine and suddenly the systems came alive and ran faster than most brand new machines I setup.

Don't know how to check your RAM?

Here's what to do:

1. Right-click on My Computer
2. Click on Properties in the menu that comes up
3. Look for the amount of RAM that's installed

If it is less than 512MB for an XP machine or 2000MB for a Vista machine, you should add more.