About.com Focus on PC Support

Cleaning Inside Your PC [Video]

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:34:23 +0000

I occasionally get the chance to promote some computer support related videos on my site thanks to the talented Don Schechter.

Here's one of his newer ones: How to Clean Inside a Computer Safely

Have you ever had any problems cleaning out your PC? (Have you EVER cleaned out your PC?)

Cleaning Inside Your PC [Video] originally appeared on About.com Focus on PC Support on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 14:34:23.

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Laptop Won't Turn On, But Shows Power

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:39:14 +0000

From a guest poster at the PC Support Forum:

Last night my laptop's screen began to jump, much like when watching a movie and it is caught between scenes, and froze in this shot. I tried to press the power button to restart the computer but to no avail. To turn off the laptop I had to unplug the powercord and pull out the battery.

When I pressed the power button to reboot the laptop it wouldn't turn on. Clearly there is power, the "plugged-in" indicator is on.

No real symptoms before the event. I've laid the laptop down less-than-gently when it's been in my bag, but no spillage or significant physical trauma to the laptop.

Any help towards what might be the problem and what I can do would be greatly appreciated : )

Any ideas? If so, reply to the forum post directly.

Laptop Won't Turn On, But Shows Power originally appeared on About.com Focus on PC Support on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 14:39:14.

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We Apologize for the Inconvenience

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:51:43 +0000

From mickinnes in the PC Support Forum:

"We apologize for the inconvenience but windows did not start successfully" message keeps appearing on my laptop.

It gives me 5 starting options of safe mode, safe mode with networking,�safe mode with command prompt, last known good configuration and start windows normally but i can not get my laptop working on any of these.

Help please!

Head over to the forum post and help out!

We Apologize for the Inconvenience originally appeared on About.com Focus on PC Support on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 13:51:43.

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How to Make That Call to Tech Support as Easy as Possible

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:59:14 +0000

Let's be honest - no one enjoys calling technical support. An hour call with a tech support group will probably rank up there with the worst thing you had to do that particular week.

Trust me when I say that it doesn't have to be that way... at least not every time.

Spending considerable time on each side of the phone, I have a unique appreciation of the challenges on both ends. While I'd probably agree with most of the standard complaints concerning tech support (lack of training, long wait times, etc.), there's very little a caller can do to address them.

However, there are lots of things you can do to ease the pain like preparing before you call, being specific, avoiding emotional responses (i.e. "I DID THAT NINE TIMES ALREADY!"), among other things.

Read How to Talk to Tech Support for lots of ways to help keep your sanity and also get your problem fixed!

How to Make That Call to Tech Support as Easy as Possible originally appeared on About.com Focus on PC Support on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 15:59:14.

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Date and Time

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:23:24 +0000

From shezzalle in the PC Support Forums:

Hi all, I am having major problems with being able to change the date/time on the task bar or anywhere else for that matter. It keeps coming up with (cannot find 'C:/WINDOWS/system32/rundll32.exe'.) it keeps saying make sure I have spelled it properly and try again. I have tried a number of things...but still have got no where. Please, please if someone knows how to fix this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart...

Any ideas for shezzalle? Post away!

Date and Time originally appeared on About.com Focus on PC Support on Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 14:23:24.

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Windows 2000, ME, NT, 98,...

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:00:05 +0000

A show of hands please:

Any Windows users still using an operating system older than Windows XP?

If so, why? Do you prefer the older OS? Does it still serve your needs? Are you forced to due to a vital program that you use? Let me know in the comments.

Windows 2000, ME, NT, 98,... originally appeared on About.com Focus on PC Support on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 17:00:05.

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Error Message

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:31:46 +0000

From jwillins in the PC Support Forum:

I also receive the error message (window root)\system32\hal.dll.

I tried the steps� by trying to insert the XP cd to get to the Recovery XP Console, but after the setup process, where I am supposed to hit R for repair, the computer just froze, and would not do anything.

Can you please tell me what that problem is or what can be done at this stage, I need help soon.

Hal.dll errors, and any similar kind of error that gives you little to work with, are very frustrating to solve. It's obvious jwillins took a look at my troubleshooting guide for hal.dll errors but it looks like a unique problem threw the standard troubleshooting off course.

Any ideas for jwillins? Reply to original post to help out.

Error Message originally appeared on About.com Focus on PC Support on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 14:31:46.

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CP1500AVRLCD UPS Review

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:56:45 +0000

I recently had the privilege of reviewing one of CyberPower's popular UPS models - the CP1500AVRLCD UPS.

As it stands today, this is my favorite UPS in the 1500VA class that I've had the opportunity to review. It's attractive, has a small footprint, doesn't weigh a ton, and provides a lot of backup power.

See my complete review here.

CP1500AVRLCD UPS Review originally appeared on About.com Focus on PC Support on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 17:56:45.

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Laptop Freeze

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:32:58 +0000

From billy021108 in the PC Support Forum:

Hi all, please can someone help!

I have a laptop with XP and put a CD in to play which I have done endless times before. The laptop just froze and wouldn't do anything, even after pressing Control, Alt & Delete.

It comes up with the� message that it needs to start in one of the following, safe mode, safe mode with command and safe mode with networking or start windows normally. It doesn't matter which one I try it quickly tries to load the windows XP files but just keeps returning to the same message as above.

I just can't get it beyond any of the stages above - I have very limited IT knowledge so sorry if I'm not giving enough info. I just don't know what else to try.

Any troubleshooting thoughts for billy021108? My guess would be a repair install but maybe you have some other suggestions. Click over to the forum post and share your thoughts.

Laptop Freeze originally appeared on About.com Focus on PC Support on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 08:32:58.

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Disable Automatic Restart on System Failure... Right Now

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:30:24 +0000

No time like the present.

The Automatic Restart on System Failure option is very simple to understand - if Windows encounters a serious error (like a Blue Screen of Death) it will reboot your computer automatically since that's the only way out of it anyway.

However, if your computer restarts as soon as the error occurs, it gives you absolutely no time to read and write down the error message for troubleshooting purposes.

The catch 22 here is that you have to make this change from within Windows, so if you lose access to Windows via a serious error, you're out of luck. Disabling this option right now is easy and will save you a lot of time in the future if you ever suffer from one of these issues.

How Do I Disable Automatic Restart on System Failure in Windows?

I should note, in Windows Vista and Windows 7, there is a way to disable this option from the Advanced Boot Menu, but it's still considerably easier to just do it now, from inside a working copy of Windows.

Disable Automatic Restart on System Failure... Right Now originally appeared on About.com Focus on PC Support on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 15:30:24.

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