Get the Help You Need

Survival Guide: Desktops and Notebooks

5 Quick Fixes

1. Baffling hardware problems may indicate a virus infection. If you aren't running a virus scanner, head to Trend Micro's HouseCall, a free Web-based service that detects and removes viruses.
   
   
2. You installed new hardware, and suddenly a component stopped working. Check if cables inside your PC are plugged in and cards are firmly seated.
   
   
3. Your PC crashed, so you pressed the power button. Nothing happened. Press it again, keeping it depressed for at least 20 seconds. Some PCs have software-driven power buttons that may fail if Windows crashes.
   
   
4. If your laptop screen goes black, make sure that an errant keystroke didn't put the display into external-monitor mode. Press the key that switches display modes a few times (it's usually a function key) and see if things return to normal.
   
   
5. Your notebook's dead, but you could've sworn you recharged the battery before you left home. Make sure the battery, CD-ROM drive, and other removable components are firmly seated. They may have jarred loose in transit.
   
   

5 Great Resources

1. Pull into PC Pitstop for a free suite of hardware diagnostics, including disk health checkups, speed benchmarks, and more. The site also lists troubleshooting advice for hardware snafus.
   
   
2. Tom's Hardware Guide offers hard-core techie help on topics such as CPUs, RAM, and graphics cards. Message forums let you solicit help from site visitors.
   
   
3. Startdisk's Ultimate Boot Disk, a free alternative to Windows' standard boot disk, has built-in troubleshooting features to help you recover from hardware disasters.
   
   
4. Want a comprehensive PC guide at your fingertips? Invest $50 in Scott Mueller's Upgrading and Repairing PCs (Que, 2000). With 1600-plus pages of clear advice and diagrams, plus a CD-ROM full of videos, it's a hardware honcho's must-have.
   
   
5. Got notebook woes? Try Ojatex's Laptop Tips, which covers everything from ancient 66-MHz portables to current speedsters.