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Get your digital device in order

1. Marry your smartphones, computers and tablets
“If you have to email something to yourself, or manually re-enter data on your computer, you’re doing something wrong. By syncing browsers, to-do lists, calendars and cloud storage across all your devices, you can save yourself the hassle of re-finding, re-entering and reorganizing data.”

2.Get Rid Of Duplicate Files

Getting rid of extra clutter is the best place to start. I mean, how many copies of your resume, or photos of your cat do you really need? (OK, maybe a lot, but you get my point.) Not only do duplicate files make your desktop look messy, but they obviously take up a lot of memory. “You’d be surprised how much storage is used up by duplicate files, whether they’re files you saved twice to different locations or multiple downloads of the same file,” said Natasha Stokes on Techlicious.com. The best way to track them all down, and delete them, is with an app such as Duplicate Detective. Download that, and get to it.

3. Create Large, Main Folders

Now that you’ve gotten rid of the excess, you’ll want to put the files that passed the test into folders. Which system you choose is up to you, as it should be based on your preferences. But one way to do it is with three large folders: one for things you made (resumes, Word documents, etc.), one for things your friends made (family photos, etc.), and for things made by the rest of the world (MP3s, movies, software, etc.), according to programmer Mark Virtue on HowToGeek.com. Sounds like that would about cover it.

4. Make Some Smaller, Sub Folders
Once everything is separated into your main folders, now you can make sub folders within each folder. (Is this getting confusing? I hope not.) “Each folder will present its own particular set of requirements for further sub – organization,” said Virtue. “For example, you may decide to organize your music collection into sub-folders based on the artist’s name, while your digital photos might get organized based on the date they were taken. It can be different for every sub-folder.” However you choose to organize the miscellany, it will all stay within those three original folders.

5. Erase Your Downloads Folder

No, you’ll never need that old concert ticket PDF, so go ahead and delete the contents of your downloads folder. “Open the Downloads folder, and view its contents by file type, then go through each category and drag the unneeded files to the Trash (Mac) or Recycle Bin (Windows,) or right click and select Delete (both Mac and Windows),” Stokes said. Then, you’ll be ready for all the new tickets and PDFs coming your way.

6. Choose A Pretty Desktop Background

By all means, use whatever image you’d like for your desktop — a serene beach, a hilarious meme, a vacation photo. But do choose wisely, as this is the image you’ll stare at all day long. “Choosing a wallpaper may seem like a trivial thing, but when you’re staring at it every day it can have an impact on your productivity,” noted Dachis. Busy prints? Maybe not the best selection.

7. Get Rid Of All Those Visible Files

Even if you’ve already made the three main folders mentioned above, you still might have some extra files scattered across your background. If so, move everything — including the three main folders — out of sight. Personally, I have one folder on my desktop that says “Desktop.” (Clever, I know.) I keep everything in there to avoid clutter, and so I can actually see my pretty desktop background.

8. Organize With Desktop Templates

If you like (or need) to see folders on your desktop, never fear — this tip is for you. Simply choose a desktop background with built-in organization, like these here, and then drop the folders under each category. “If you’d prefer to have software do the work for you, you have an alternative. Fences (Windows-only) is [an] … app that creates sections for all your current clutter,” Dachis said. Either way, it’s guaranteed to be the stuff your neat freak dreams are made of.

9. Delete Unused Programs

There’s no need to hang onto every program you’ve ever downloaded, especially if they’re just taking up space. “You can delete unused programs by dragging them from the Applications folder into the Trash,” Stokes explained. “This deletes most files associated with the app, such as data generated, but not preference files and support files.” You can click here for further rules for how to properly delete.

10. Do Something About All Those Photos

We all have roughly 55 million photos of sunsets and family and friends. You probably never look at them, but imagine how much it would suck if they were lost. That’s why you should consider putting all your pics in an external hard drive, which also means less clutter, and more space for other files. (Yay!) “Alternately, a cloud storage service for your photos can be a handy means of ensuring a backup even if your devices are lost or damaged,” Stokes said.

11. Put Some Thought Into File Names

It’s one thing to put files into folders, but it’s an entirely different thing to actually know what each file is. This is where file naming becomes very important. “Do not allow files to be created that have meaningless names like Document1.doc, or folders called New Folder (2),” Virtue warned. “Take that extra 20 seconds and come up with a meaningful name for the file/folder — one that accurately divulges its contents without repeating the entire contents in the name.”

12. Create A Working “To-Do” File

If you’re worried that important, current files might get lost in the mix, then create an “Inbox” folder to house all the stuff you actively need. “You can think of this folder as your ‘to-do’ list,” Virtue said. “You can call it ‘Inbox’ (making it the same metaphor as your email system), or ‘Work,’ or ‘To-Do,’ … whatever name makes sense to you.” This will become your go-to spot for current projects.

13. Actually Clean Your Computer

Once you go through all the hard work of making folders, renaming files, and moving photos around, you might appreciate actually physically cleaning your computer, as well. This includes dusting your keyboard, and disinfecting your mouse, but also wiping off that smudgy screen. “To see clearly again, all you need is a microfiber cloth and some simple cleaning solution,” noted John Patrick Pullen on Time. “Make sure your display is powered off (if it’s your laptop, power the whole machine down), and try wiping with the dry cloth first. If that’s not enough, spritz some cleaner onto the wipe, and give it a gentle polishing.” It should be shiny in no time.

14. Stick To Your Organization Plan

Once you come up with an organizational plan, make sure you stick to it. “You need to be disciplined — forever,” said Virtue. “Every new file you get, spend those extra few seconds to file it where it belongs. Otherwise, in just a month or two, you’ll be worse off than before — half your files will be organized and half will be disorganized — and you won’t know which is which.”
Being aware of your messy ways can help keep your computer organized. So store photos in one spot, always move your files into folders, and delete unused items, and you should be well on your way to much more organized technology.

Toshiba L350 BIOS password reset

This fix also works for an L300.

If you switch on a Toshiba L350 and get the message “Enter Password” with a blue background and white writing then a BIOS password has been set. You may not have done this especially if the laptop has not been used for a long time.

Switch the computer off and remove the main battery and power connector.

Open the memory compartment. On an L350 you can see the two solder points that you need to short. I have circled them.

On an L300 you have to take the memory out and lift the black plastic cover.

The two solder points are labelled B500 and I used a small flat bladed screw driver held at an angle to short the contacts. Once shorted insert the power adaptor and press the power button, make sure you keep the two points shorted. You should not see the screen asking for a password. If you do then you did not have a proper contact. Switch the laptop off and try again.

Replace the compartment cover and away you go.

 

 

Discover Solid State Hard Drives – make your computer faster!

I had the opportunity to directly compare and normal hard drive (hdd) with a solid state hard drive (ssd) as I had two identical laptops in for sale. The laptop on the left is fitted with an SSD the one on the right with a HDD.

Watch the difference a SSD makes by restarting the laptops.

This video has not been edited in any way, no titles, graphics or cutting. Just a direct comparison of two identical Dell E5410 laptops, one with a SSD and the other with an HDD!

Windows 8 store closes after opening

When you click on the Store icon in Windows 8 the screen goes green as if Store is opening but then crashes. Here’s the fix that worked for me:

 

Press WindowsKey + X

Select Run

Insert the following:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted Add-AppxPackage -DisableDevelopmentMode -Register $Env:SystemRoot\WinStore\AppxManifest.XML

Click Enter and it should now work 🙂

How to change the wallpaper on the Windows 7 login screen

Fed up with the background on the login screen of Windows 7? Well you can change it and here’s how:

  • Click Start button and type regedit
  • Follow the path [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\Current Version\Authentication\Logon UI\Background]
  • Double Click the key oembackground key and set the value to 1
  • Navigate to the folder C:\Windows\System32\oobe\info\backgrounds
  • If the backgrounds folders are not there then create it
  • Copy your image in backgrounds folder and rename it as background Default – THE IMAGE MUST BE OF JPG FORMAT AND LESS than 256 KB.
  • Restart your computer and you are done!

Windows 8 install problem: Your computer ran into a problem and needs to restart

So you have decided to install Windows 8 from a DVD or USB stick and not a recovery partition. You have removed the previous partitions so that this will be the only operating system on your hard drive. You get nearly to the end of the install when you are then presented with the screen “Your computer ran into a problem and needs to restart”

Your computer ran into a problem and needs to restart

Your computer ran into a problem and needs to restart

You try different media and get the same error. It looks bad, it looks like this laptop is going back to Windows 7. However the solution may be simpler than you imagine. It looks like there is a problem with the WiFi driver built into the installation media.

Simply disable your WiFi card in the BIOS (if the option is available) or completely remove it from the motherboard whilst you install Windows 8. The WiFi card looks like this:

Laptop WiFi Card

Laptop WiFi Card

If you are very lucky then the WiFi card will be easily accessible under one of the compartment covers on the underneath of the laptop. The card is held in by one or two screws with one or two wires (aerials) connected to it. In my example though the card was difficult to access under the keyboard and top panel of the laptop.Laptop WiFi Card Removal

The screw securing the WiFi card in place is circled and the arrows point to the aerial cables that need to be lifted off.

Once the card is removed, install Windows 8, install the correct driver for your WiFi card (from the laptop manufacturers website), shutdown the laptop and then put the WiFi card back in. All should now work properly.

 

Accessing memory and hard drive on an Acer Aspire One D257

Acer Aspire One D257

Acer Aspire One D257

The Acer D257 is a lovely netbook but most come with just 1gb of DDR3 memory in its single memory slot. There is no simple cover to access the memory (or the hard drive) instead the keyboard has to be taken out, screws removed to release the bottom compartment helpfully labelled as “door” and then finally working out how the “door” is removed. Below are the step I took to access the memory and hard drive.

Firstly remove the battery from the netbook and then the keyboard has to come out. There are 5 tabs at the top of the keyboard that hold it in.

Arrows indicate tabs that hold the keyboard in place.

Arrows indicate tabs that hold the keyboard in place.

 

Using a small flat-bladed screw driver gently push the tabs in whilst using a sharp instrument such as a Stanley knife to lift the keyboard. I find starting at the centre best.

Once the keyboard lifts out detach the ribbon cable by lifting the brown catch up and sliding the ribbon out.

Arrow points to brown catch that needs gently lifting to release the keyboard ribbon cable.

Arrow points to brown catch that needs gently lifting to release the keyboard ribbon cable.

This will allow you to access the 5 “door” screws. Remove these screws.

Arrows point to 5 "door" screws which need removing.

Arrows point to 5 “door” screws which need removing.

The “door” is now only held in with 3 tabs near the battery compartment. To remove the “door” I slid the Stanley knife in at the front of the door pointed to by the red arrow and then moved it backwards using the none blade edge, flipped the knife over and then slid the knife the other way. Once the “door” is lifted at the front you can slide the plastic cover back and all will be revealed.

Red arrow shows where to start lifting the "door". Blue arrows show which way to slide the door.

Red arrow shows where to start lifting the “door”. Blue arrows show which way to slide the door.

Now you can access the memory and the hard drive.

Memory and hard drive in an Acer One D257

Memory and hard drive in an Acer One D257

If you want to use the unedited photos the please feel free to do so. The images are here.

 

 

Windows 7 The user profile service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded error

This error occurs when Windows 7 has a problem, tries to resolve it by backing up the user profile in the registry and creates a new faulty one for the user. This fix restores the original entry in the registry. The problem is that you cannot log on to your computer to edit the registry. Therefore this is a two part fix, the first part is to enable the computers built-in administrator user and the second part is the registry fix. I have added a third part which is what else to try. I have had 100% success with this fix however so far only five machines have come in to be fixed. I have never had to try part 3…. so far!

Part 1 – Activating the built-in administrator user

1. You need to start the computer in “Safe Mode with Command Prompt” to do this start your computer and hit F8 multiples times after the initial BIOS screen. You should see see a menu screen. If you see the Windows splash screen then hold down the power button for ten seconds and then repeat this step.

2. Highlight Safe Mode with Command Prompt and hit [Enter]. Try logging in there. If it still doesn’t work, then go to step 17.

3. If you are able to login, once a command prompt pops up, type:

net user administrator password /active:yes

You can specify whatever password you want for the administrator account.

4. If you get a message saying “The command completed successfully”, then restart your computer by typing: shutdown -r. If not go to step 17.

Part 2 – Editing the registry

5. Boot up again pressing F8, but this time select Safe Mode – not the Command Prompt.

6. You will be able to login as Administrator with the password you set in Step 3.

7. Hold down [Windows logo] key  + [R] key.

8. Type regedit[Enter]

9. Once in the registry editor, use the left window to navigate to the key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE

SOFTWARE

Microsoft

Windows NT

CurrentVersion

ProfileList

10. In the left pane, find the one that starts with S-1-5….. and ends with .BAK. If you don’t find one, skip to step 15.

11. Right click it and click Rename, then change the .BAK to .BK

12. Right click the one with the same numbering but without the .BAK and add .BAK to the end.

13. Right click the one that you renamed to .BK and click Rename, delete the .BK

14. What you are doing is switching the one with .BAK to the one without. This should be enough to fix this problem.

Part 3 -What else to try

15. If you didn’t find a .BAK entry in the registry then open Windows Explorer to:

C:\Users\Default\AppData\Local\Application Data

You will have to show hidden and system files to do this.

16. If you find another Application Data below the one you’re on, then delete it. That should fix your problem.

17. If you can’t login in Safe Mode, then reboot and hit [F8] until you see the menu again, then select “Repair Your Computer”.

18. Wait until all Windows Files finish loading, then hit Next when it asks keyboard language.

19. Try logging in here. Select your user from the drop-down menu, and type the password, then jump to step 23

20. If that still doesn’t work, then if you have your Windows Installation DVD still, put it in and restart your computer.

21. Hit the correct function key to boot from the DVD or change the boot order in the BIOS (Setup).

22. Choose keyboard language then hit next. Find “Repair Your Computer” from a little below the centre left.

23. Choose Open Command Prompt and type:

net user administrator password /active:yes (again you can specify a password)

24. Close the command prompt and click Restart and jump to step 5

Finally

To disable the administrator account, type this in an elevated command prompt:

net user administrator /active:no

Good luck!

Advent Roma 1000 Overheating

Normally when a laptop overheats it just switches off. In the case of this Advent Roma 1000 it would blue screen.

I knew the blue screen was caused by hardware as I had only just installed Windows and drivers before the laptop started blue screening.

Luckily the heat sink and fan are easy to get at on an Advent Roma 1000.

Undo all the screws holding the large compartment cover on and then lift it off from where the arrow is pointing.

Undo all the screws holding the large compartment cover on and then lift it off from where the arrow is pointing.

Undo the 4 screws holding the heat sink in place and undo black tape from fan

Undo the 4 screws holding the heat sink in place and undo black tape from fan

The heat sink should now lift up. Be careful as the copper pipe can bend.

The dust collects between the fan and the exhaust under the black tape.

Clean dust from exhaust

Clean dust from exhaust

Using a paper towel remove the old thermal paste from the copper heat sink. Also remove the residue from the CPU and Graphics Processor (GPU).

Advent Roma 1000 Showing Old Thermal PasteOnce clean use a citric based solvent to completely clean the CPU and heat sink.

Advent Roma 1000 CPU and Heat Sink CleanedApply thermal paste to the CPU.

Thermal paste applied to CPU

Thermal paste applied to CPU

Carefully reattach the heat sink to the motherboard. Note that the 4 screw holes on the heat sink are numbered, carefully tighten them in that order.

All the photos are here for you to use freely.

 

Dell XPS 15z Location Of Hard Drive

The Hard drive on a Dell XPS 15z is easy to get out when you know how!

Remove all the screws from the base of the laptop

Remove all the screws from the base of the laptop

Remove the plastic cover from the side. It just clips out

Remove the plastic cover from the side. It just clips out

Remove the two hidden screws behind the panel.

Remove the two hidden screws behind the panel.

You can now separate the bottom cover from the rest of the laptop.

Undo the four screws to remove the hard drive from the laptop

Undo the four screws to remove the hard drive from the laptop. The hard drive is connected to the motherboard with a flexible cable. Lift the hard drive out and then detach cable from hard drive.

 

Inside a Dell XPS 15z

Inside a Dell XPS 15z

All the original photos are here. Please feel free to use them in your own work.

Recovery of Outlook Emails and Contacts After Factory Restore

outlookA very disgruntled customer brought an Acer laptop to me. She had previously been infected by a virus and the shop she had taken her laptop to performed a factory restore to clear the problem.

Note: Only in extreme circumstances should a laptop require a factory restore because of a virus.

The shop had backed up her documents and photos but had not backed up the customers email settings or more importantly her Outlook 2010 data (.pst) files.

Recovery of her email settings was simply a phone call to her ISP which she had done but losing her business contacts and emails was disastrous.

I removed the hard drive from the laptop, put it in one of my external USB3.0 hard drive readers and after a two hour scan I recovered both of her Outlook files. I then imported them back into Outlook.

This entire process took about 5 hours and I charged her just £50. She said she would have paid four times that amount as the emails and contacts were so important to her business.

If you have accidentally deleted folders and files then please contact me and let me try and recover them.

Inside a Sony Vaio VPCCW1S1E

This is one of the easier Sony Vaio’s to get into. Undo all the screws on the bottom of the laptop. Remove the battery, hard drive and DVD drive and the base separates away from the keyboard part. There is a clip above the memory that attaches the cable from the USB ports to the motherboard. Undo this before separating the two halves.

Clip fits in here. Attaches USB ports to motherboard

Clip fits in here. Attaches USB ports to motherboard

Sony Vaio VPCCW1S1E motherboard showing heat sink and fan

Sony Vaio VPCCW1S1E motherboard showing heat sink and fan

 

Asus K53E Overheating

Asus K53E laptopIn this article I am going to show you how to inspect and remove dust and dirt from inside an Asus K53E laptop. I will also show you haw to remove the DVD drive from the Asus K53E as it is not like other laptops in the fact that the retaining screw is under the keyboard!

This will take less than one hour and is one of the easier laptops to take to pieces 🙂

Turn the laptop over and remove the battery

Turn the laptop over and remove the battery

Undo the two screws holding the compartment cover in place.

Undo the two screws holding the compartment cover in place.

Slide the compartment cover off.

Slide the compartment cover off.

Remove the 4 screws holding the hard drive in place.

Remove the 4 screws holding the hard drive in place.

Slide the hard drive out of the laptop.

Slide the hard drive out of the laptop.

Detach the two cables from the wifi card. These just click into place.

Detach the two cables from the wifi card. These just click into place.

Remove all screws on the underneath of the laptop.

Remove all screws on the underneath of the laptop.

Turn the laptop over and remove the keyboard. The keyboard is held in by 5 retaining clips that need pushing back in the direction shown.

Turn the laptop over and remove the keyboard. The keyboard is held in by 5 retaining clips that need pushing back in the direction shown.

The keyboard is connected using a ribbon. To detach the ribbon from the laptop gently lift the brown retaining clip.

The keyboard is connected using a ribbon. To detach the ribbon from the laptop gently lift the brown retaining clip.

Detach the other two ribbons.

Detach the other two ribbons.

Remove the screw circled and remove the DVD drive as shown.

Remove the screw circled and remove the DVD drive as shown.

Turn the laptop over and undo the three screws in the top of the DVD bay.

Turn the laptop over and undo the three screws in the top of the DVD bay.

The top cover should now separate from the base revealing the motherboard below. Remove the screws circled. They are holding the motherboard in place. Note that one is different from the others.

The top cover should now separate from the base revealing the motherboard below. Remove the screws circled. They are holding the motherboard in place. Note that one is different from the others.

Detach the ribbon from the motherboard by lifting the brown clip.

Detach the ribbon from the motherboard by lifting the brown clip.

Gently pull the monitor and speaker cables out of the motherboard in the direction show. There are no retaining clips but there is tape holding the monitor cable in place.

Gently pull the monitor and speaker cables out of the motherboard in the direction show. There are no retaining clips but there is tape holding the monitor cable in place.

Top of the Asus K53E motherboard.

Top of the Asus K53E motherboard.

Remove the 4 screws securing the heat sink to the motherboard. Pull the power cables from the motherboard for the fan. Remove the heat sink and fan assembly.

Remove the 4 screws securing the heat sink to the motherboard. Pull the power cables from the motherboard for the fan. Remove the heat sink and fan assembly.

Note how close the heat exhaust is to the charger socket. If the exhaust is blocked the build up of heat will effect the charger socket possibly making the charger plug feel hot.

Note how close the heat exhaust is to the charger socket. If the exhaust is blocked the build up of heat will effect the charger socket possibly making the charger plug feel hot.

The fan is connected to the exhaust with tape. Remove the tape to see the dust build up.

The fan is connected to the exhaust with tape. Remove the tape to see the dust build up.

Clean the visible dust and then undo the 4 screws holding the top cover to the fan.

Clean the visible dust and then undo the 4 screws holding the top cover to the fan.

Remove the dust with a paint brush and vacuum cleaner.

Remove the dust with a paint brush and vacuum cleaner.

Clean the copper heat sink using a citrus based solvent.

Clean the copper heat sink using a citrus based solvent.

Clean the old thermal paste from the CPU. Apply new thermal paste and reassemble.

Clean the old thermal paste from the CPU. Apply new thermal paste and reassemble.

All the original photos are here. Please feel free to use them in your own work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to fix System Fan (90B) error on a HP Pavilion G6 Laptop

02 HP Pavilion G6
This article explains how to resolve a System Fan (90B) error from appearing when you start up your HP Pavilion G6 Laptop. The full error reads:

The system detected that a cooling fan is not operating correctly

And looks like this:

HP Pavilion G6 System Fan 90B

HP Pavilion G6 System Fan 90B

The error is caused by the system cooling fan not spinning. Notice I said “Not spinning”. The most likely cause is that the fan is stuck or has fell off its spindle. Rarely are any new parts required for this fix but you will need thermal compound paste as you have to remove the heat sink from the processor.

In this example I have used a HP Pavilion G6 but this article is also applicable to many other laptop models as well as the CQ series from HP Compaq.

This procedure should take less than one hour. You do risk damaging the fan but it may be all that is required. More likely you are going to have to take the laptop apart which is described as follows:

 

Remove battery

Remove battery

Remove memory and memory compartment cover

Remove memory and memory compartment cover

Disconnect hard drive and remove

Disconnect hard drive and remove

Undo screw that secures DVD writer. This makes opening the case easier later

Undo screw that secures DVD writer. This makes opening the case easier later

Remove DVD drive. Careful so that plastic does not break on DVD drawer

Remove DVD drive. Careful so that plastic does not break on DVD drawer

Pull both cables off wifi card and undo screw. Remove WiFi card

Pull both cables off wifi card and undo screw. Remove WiFi card

Undo all remaining screws on base of laptop

Undo all remaining screws on base of laptop

Turn laptop over and remove keyboard. The arrows point to small clips that hold in keyboard which need pushing back

Turn laptop over and remove keyboard. The arrows point to small clips that hold in keyboard which need pushing back

Undo screws and release ribbon cables

Undo screws and release ribbon cables

Undo circled screw and disconnect power cable (top right) and other ribbon cables

Undo circled screw and disconnect power cable (top right) and other ribbon cables

Remove motherboard from laptop case

Remove motherboard from laptop case

Fan is top right of motherboard. Here you can see there is dust. This dust will not be causing the problem though

Fan is top right of motherboard. Here you can see there is dust. This dust will not be causing the problem though

Turn motherboard over and undo 4 screws that are holding the heat sink and fan to the CPU

Turn motherboard over and undo 4 screws that are holding the heat sink and fan to the CPU

Clean thermal paste from heat sink and CPU using paper towel and cleaning solution. Undo two screws to open up fan

Clean thermal paste from heat sink and CPU using paper towel and cleaning solution. Undo two screws to open up fan

Here we can see the build up of dust that stopped the fan from spinning

Here we can see the build up of dust that stopped the fan from spinning

Clean out all dust using a vacuum cleaner and paint brush. Apply thermal paste to CPU and reassemble in reverse.

Clean out all dust using a vacuum cleaner and paint brush. Apply thermal paste to CPU and reassemble in reverse.

All original photos are here please feel free to use them as you wish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sony plugged in, charging but still reading 0% charged

I bought a compatible battery for a Sony VGN-CR42S laptop but it would not charge. After a little trial and error I found it was down to a Sony application called ISBMGR.exe. This is located in the Sony programs folder. Rename this, restart the computer and hopefully your compatible battery will be charging properly 🙂

On a 32-bit machine the file is in C:\Program Files\sony\isb utility\

If you are on a 64-bit pc then the file is in

C:\Program Files (x86)\sony\isb utility\

When you download a files your browser always says it is a virus

A computer had been infected with a virus. All traces of the virus I removed but when I went to install the free version of AVG Internet Explorer told me the installation file I downloaded was a virus. I also tried to download the file via Google Chrome.

To stop this from happening a registry edit was required:

Open regedit via the command window.

Navigate to:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE> SOFTWARE> Microsoft> Windows> CurrentVersion

and rename “Policies”

After the computer is restarted the download worked as it should

Asus K53U power connector problem

An Asus K53U came in where the charger connector was no longer long enough for connection to be made to the laptop.

Asus K53U motherboard viewed from under the keyboard

Asus K53U motherboard viewed from under the keyboard

Once open I could see that the plastic holding the charger socket in place had bent out of the way (red arrow) allowing the actual socket to drift away from the casing.

Asus K53U broken charger socket

Asus K53U broken charger socket

Glue Gun glue now holds the charger socket in place using the existing plastic by bending it back onto the socket.

Asus K53U Charger Socket Correctly sitted

Asus K53U Charger Socket Correctly sitted

Feel free to use the photos, the originals are here: Asus K53U photos

Sony Vaio stuck on VAIO startup screen

A Sony Vaio CR42S laptop came in with a back light issue. Both the screen and the inverter seemed OK. The laptop started up and would work through and external monitor so I took it to bits to check the connections on the other end of the screen connector. All was OK so I put the laptop back together.

I switch it on an all I got was VAIO in the middle of the screen. I have not seen this before.

Turns out that if the DVD/CD drive is not in properly it will prevent the laptop from starting up!

Acer Aspire 5315 switching off after a few minutes

Acer Aspire 5315

Acer Aspire 5315

This article describes how to prevent your Acer Aspire 5315 from switching itself off after just a few minutes of use.

The most likely reason your laptop does this is because the Central Processing Unit (CPU) is getting too hot.

Over time dust builds up inside the laptop and the thermal paste which aids the transfer of heat from the CPU to the heat sink dries up and hinders rather than helps the transfer of heat away from the CPU.

Luckily with the Acer Aspire 5315 it is a relatively easy job to clean out the dust and replace the dried up thermal paste with a new coating. This task does not require the laptop to come completely apart and the keyboard does not have to be removed.

Whenever I am taking a laptop apart I always remove the hard drive. This prevents loss of data. Undo the two screws circled to remove the hard drive cover, once the cover is removed the hard drive slides to the left and then lifts out.

Acer Aspire 5315 Underneath

Acer Aspire 5315 Underneath. Undo circled screws to remove hard drive cover and then slide hard drive to the left to remove

Next undo all the screws on the main compartment cover as shown below:

Undo the screws circled and then lift the cover where the arrow points to.

Undo the screws circled and then lift the cover where the arrow points to.

With the main compartment cover removed you will see the heat sink, fan and other main components.

 

Inside Acer Aspire 5315. Undo screws circled to remove fan. Pull cable from mother board that attaches the fan to the mother board. Pointed to by the arrow

Inside Acer Aspire 5315. Undo screws circled to remove fan. Pull cable from mother board that attaches the fan to the mother board. Pointed to by the arrow

You can see the dust build up on the fan. You need to remove the fan as dust collects at the top of it. You then need to remove the heat sink from the motherboard.

Removing the heat sink from an Acer Aspire 5315

Removing the heat sink from an Acer Aspire 5315

Now you should be able to see the dust. If there is no dust then your laptop is switching itself off for another reason.

Acer Aspire 5315 dust clogged fan

Acer Aspire 5315 dust clogged fan

Acer Aspire 5315 heat sink showing dust

Acer Aspire 5315 heat sink showing dust

Dust from laptop

Using a paint brush and a vacuum cleaner remove the dust from the fan and from inside the laptop (carefully).

Next the heat sink and CPU needs the dried old thermal paste removing, I use a paper towel and some a citrus based solvent. Do not remove the processor from the motherboard as it is easier to clean whilst it is in place.

Acer Aspire 5315 processor showin dried thermal paste

Acer Aspire 5315 processor showing dried thermal paste

 

Acer Aspire 5315 heat sink and fan showing dust and dried thermal paste on heat sink

Acer Aspire 5315 heat sink and fan showing dust and dried thermal paste on heat sink

Once cleaned they should look like this:

Acer Aspire 5315 with cleaned heat sink and fan

Acer Aspire 5315 with cleaned heat sink and fan

No apply fresh thermal paste to the processor.

Acer Aspire 5315 processor with new thermal paste applied

Acer Aspire 5315 processor with new thermal paste applied

Carefully put the heat sink back onto the CPU fix it using the screws, note that each prong on the heat sink has a number 1 through to 4, tighten in that order but not too tight.

Screw the fan back in and reconnect the fan to the motherboard.

Put the compartment cover back on. Fit the hard drive and put the hard drive compartment back on and then test the laptop.

All unedited photos and more for this article are here for you to use freely. Acer Aspire 5315 photos

 

How to fix System Fan (90B) error on a HP Compaq Presario Laptop

This article explains how to resolve a System Fan (90B) error from appearing when you start up your HP Compaq Presario Laptop. The laptop featured in this article is a CQ56. The full error reads:

The system detected that a cooling fan is not operating correctly

And looks like this:

HP Compaq CQ56 showing system fan error

The error is caused by the system cooling fan not spinning. Notice I said “Not spinning”. The most likely cause is that the fan is stuck or has fell off its spindle. Rarely are any new parts required for this fix but you will need thermal compound paste if you have to remove the heat sink from the processor (very likely).

In this example I have used a HP Compaq Presario CQ56 but this article is also applicable to many other laptop models as well as the CQ series from HP Compaq.

If you are very lucky you could poke a straightened paper clip through the holes for the fan and try and get the fan to start spinning. You do risk damaging the fan but it may be all that is required. More likely you are going to have to take the laptop apart which is described as follows:

HP Compaq removing covers

Remove the battery and the screws holding the hard drive and memory compartment panels in place and then remove the panels.

Once the panels are removed the laptop should looks something like this:

HP Compaq removing hard drive and wifi card

Pull the tab pointed to at the lower right of the picture above, this disconnects the hard drive from the motherboard. Then undo the three screws holding the hard drive in place. The hard drive will then lift out.

Also unclip the black and white wire from the wifi card pointed to by the two arrows on towards the middle of the photo, the undo the screw holding the wifi card in place. The wifi card should spring up allowing you to remove it from motherboard.

Note: You could remove the memory modules at this point if you want to. However, I leave them in so that I can test the basic functionality of the laptop before putting the whole thing back together once I think the fan is fixed.

Your laptop should now look like this:

HP Compaq with hard drive and wifi card removed

 

Next remove all the screws holding the base to the top including the screws that hold the keyboard in. The screws are all circled in the photo below. Make a note of where the shorter screws come from. Also pull the DVD/CD Drive out from the left of the laptop.

HP Compaq screws to remove to open it up

Make sure you get all 7 screws from within the battery compartment

Make sure you get all 7 screws from within the battery compartment

Next the keyboard needs removing. Using a sharp knife lift the keyboard starting at either of the points pointed to by the arrows and work to the other end.

HP Compaq keyboard removalBe careful as there is a ribbon connecting the keyboard to the motherboard. To release the ribbon carefully lift the brown part of the connection and gently pull the ribbon out.

You should now have a laptop that looks like this:

HP Compaq releasing top coverYou need to undo the screw circled. Undo and remove the 3 ribbons and pull the speaker cable out of the motherboard (top right).

Now put the laptop onto its side so that the DVD/CD drive is easily accessible. Carefully separate the top of the base from the bottom as shown below:

HP Compaq opening the laptop

Carefully work your way around the laptop so that it is open all the way round. The two parts should separate completely showing the motherboard.

Next you need to remove the wires connected to the motherboard and undo the screws holding the motherboard to the base.

HP Compaq removing motherboard

Undo the two screws circled. Then remove the ribbons by un-clipping the brown clips pointed to by the red arrow. Pull the tabs on the connectors pointed to by the orange arrows and gently pull the cables out of the sockets pointed to by the purple arrows. The motherboard is now ready to remove though the power connector pointed to by the green arrow is still connected.

Lift the motherboard from the right hand side slightly so that you can disconnect the power connector. Once removed the motherboard should lift out. Ne careful as there is a metal clip at the top left holding the motherboard in, you need to slide the motherboard down a little before completely lifting it out.

HP Compaq Presario CQ58 motherboard top

 

Turn the motherboard over to see the fan

HP Compaq Presario CQ58 motherboard underneath

 

At this point you may see that the fan is full of dust, has something stuck in it (in my case there was a screw loose in the fan). Try and move the fan, does it spin freely? If not try squeezing the top and the bottom of the fan housing, does the fan click into place? If it does then the fan had fell of its spindle. Clean the fan with a vacuum cleaner and a paint brush to remove dust.

If you need to investigate further then undo the three screws securing the heat sink to the processor.

HP Compaq Presario CQ58 removing the heat sink from the motherboard

Note that if you do this then you are going to have to clean the processor and heat sink of thermal paste and then reapply thermal compound paste to the processor.

HP Compaq Presario CQ56 Heat sink and fan - top

HP Compaq Presario CQ56 Heat sink and fan – top

HP Compaq Presario CQ56 Heat sink and fan - bottom

HP Compaq Presario CQ56 Heat sink and fan – bottom

If you want to test the fan then you need to apply a maximum of 5 volts to the red wire and use the black wire as neutral.

Providing the fan spins then reassemble in reverse.

Original pictures here -> HP Compaq Presario CQ56 photos

 

Computer slowing down after a while

This article shows that dust can cause your desktop computer to slow down.

A customer brought in a Dell E520 desktop computer. He said it ran well for about an hour but then slowed right down.

The reason was heat, the computer processor and motherboard was getting warm because cool air was unable to circulate the computer case freely. To protect itself a processor will reduce its power to lower the heat produced. This then slows down the computer.

Desktop PC showing dustDesktop PC showing dust2

From the two photos of the same Dell E520 computer above you can see a clue to the amount of dust to expect, there is dust in the corners, on the case, on the graphics card and on the motherboard.

The black plastic box with the 6 holes and a clip on covers the heatsink that cools the processor. To remove it you need to use a long positive screw driver to undo the two screws either side. Once they are undone use a little pressure to lift the screw end and it should come out revealing the dust causing the actual problem.

Dell E520 Heatsink covered in dust

The photo above shows dust blocking the cooling fins of the heatsink. This dust is stopping cool air from passing through the fins therefore trapping the heat.

Dell E520 fan showing dust and CPUThis photo shows the processor which is under the heatsink and the large fan which draws the cool air from outside the case across the heatsink.The fan is also covered in dust.

The fix.

The fix requires a paint brush, a vacuum cleaner with pipe attachment, paper towels to wipe the dried thermal compound from the processor and heatsink and fresh thermal compound.

Using the paint brush gently brush all the dust so that the vacuum cleaner can pick it up. The vacuum should pull all the dust out of the heatsink but a gentle tap may help loosen some of it. Once all dust is removed clean the old, dried thermal paste from the processor and the heatsink. Reapply thermal paste and put the computer back together.

 

Location of hard drive (hdd) on Dell Inspiron N5110

A customer brings in a dead Dell Inspiron N5110.

Dell Inspiron N5110Problem was his invoices were on the laptop and he needed to change one. Normally this would be a simple job. Undo a couple of screws on the bottom and the hard drive would either slide or pull out.

Not the case on a Dell N5110, the hard drive is attached directly to the motherboard and worse still you have to take the laptop to bits completely to get at it.

  • Remove the battery and power supply.
  • Undo all screws on the bottom.
  • Remove the panel covering the memory modules.
  • Pull the DVD-RW drive out from the side.
  • Using a sharp knife and a screw driver gently remove the keyboard. There are four little clips at the top of the keyboard.
  • Detach the keyboard ribbon cable from the motherboard along with all the other visible cables.
  • Separate the two halves of the base. It can be quite tight. I start above the DVD-RW slow and pull apart.
  • You will now see the top of the motherboard. The hard drive is underneath!
  • You could replace the CMOS battery at this point. They last a few years and the first you know they are dead is when the date and time are wrong by years.
  • Unclip the black and white wire from the wireless card. These two cables come out of the right hand side screen hinge.
  • Undo all screws that have a solid white arrow pointing to them on the motherboard.
  • Undo the two screws on each hinge that attaches the screen to the base. Gently remove the screen and the plastic cover from the base that goes from one side to the other.
  • Remove the Dell blanking card from the SD Card slot.
  • The motherboard should now come out.

Dell Inspiron N5110 MotherboardUndo the two screws circled and gently slide the hard drive to the left.

The hard drive is now out.

Sony Vaio VPCEB2M0E overheating and cutting out

A customer brought in a Sony Vaio VPCEB2M0E that was cutting out within an hour of switching it on. This is usually a sign of the central processor unit (CPU) overheating.

Sony Vaio VPCEB2M0E

 

This particular Sony Vaio is not too difficult to take to bits. All screws on the bottom need undoing, there are a couple in the battery compartment. The hard drive needs to come out as does the DVD rewriter. Once all the screws are out of the bottom the keyboard comes out by placing a knife carefully at the top of the keyboard and levering out. Careful as the ribbon cable attaching the keyboard to the motherboard is quite short. Undo the other connectors and then the bottom black plastic will separate from the main unit showing the motherboard.

Inside a Sony Vaio VPCEB2M0EUndo the screws circled and the disconnect the power from the fan where the arrow points and the then gently remove the heatsink from the CPU and motherboard.

Sony Vaio VPCEB2M0E Heatsink with hardened thermal pasteClean the old thermal paste away from the heatsink until the copper part is as smooth as possible.

Sony Vaio VPCEB2M0E with heatsink removed showing hardened thermal paste on Intel i3 ProcessorRemove the old thermal paste from the CPU circled. In this extreme case the past was rock hard, I used a plastic spludger (could use a plastic pen top or plastic knife) to remove the worst.

Once both the CPU and the heatsink are free of old thermal paste clean both items with a CPU cleaning fluid to get the remaining residue from both. Once clean they should look like this:

Sony Vaio VPCEB2M0E after hardened thermal paste removed ready for new thermal paste

 

Now apply new thermal paste to the CPU and fix the heatsink back to the motherboard. Remember to screw opposing corners of the heatsink in first.

Put the laptop back together and all should be well.

Original photos here Sony Vaio VPCEB2M0E images Please feel free to use as you wish.

 

 

 

 

Can you tell if a laptop has been damaged by water or other liquid?

In a word Yes!

You can normally tell very easily if a computer has had liquid spilt over it. A small drop over the centre of your keyboard and your laptop may survive. In the case of a keyboard spillage you may get sticky keys if the liquid contained sugar eg wine, fruit juice, fizzy pop etc.

The keyboard has a backing so there has to be quite a lot of liquid before it seeps beyond the keyboard. When it does then your motherboard is at risk and usually if a laptop of any age requires a motherboard it makes more sense to buy a new laptop!

laptop showing liquid damage on the underside of keyboardThe picture above shows what the liquid has done once it got past the keyboard. The owner of this laptop must have turned the laptop over straight after the spillage to get the liquid out as these marks are underneath the keyboard just along from the track pad.

In this case the laptop was OK.

Other clues that liquid has been present is burnt components and a white powder on the motherboard. Some laptop manufactures (and phone manufactures) have a sticker that changes colour once water has been detected.

If your laptop gets covered in water then quickly turn it so the keyboard is upside down. Whilst upside down remove the power/charger cable and then the battery. Let the excess fluid seep out of the keyboard and then put the laptop somewhere to dry out for a couple of days. Hopefully when you put the battery back in and power up everything will be ok.

 

 

First customer!

First customer!

I still do not open till Thursday which is the day Virgin put broadband into the shop. However I went to the shop today to start getting organised and whilst there a customer brought me two laptops and I got a serious enquiry through my Facebook page, cool! The two laptops which came in have […]

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