Articles in Category: Hardware
Computers, computer systems and the physical components and accessories that make them what they are.
Can a USB Flash Drive Wear Out?
While the technology continues to improve, flash memory has a limited number of times it can be written to and can, in fact, wear out.
Can I Use a Higher Wattage Power Supply With My Laptop?
The voltage and polarity of the power supply must match. Amps and watts have some flexibility.
No Signal: What it Means and What to Check
“No Signal” is a message coming from your display device (not from your computer), indicating it has nothing to display. I’ll review possible causes.
Can I Leave a Laptop Running All the Time?
Leaving a laptop running all the time boils down to two things: your convenience and a decision.
Can I Delete a Partition Without Losing Data?
Deleting a partition is a destructive operation, but that doesn’t mean you have to lose the data it contains.
How Do I Turn Off BitLocker on a Drive?
BitLocker is a fine approach to encrypting hard drives, especially the system drive. It’s easy to turn off BitLocker if you decide you no longer need it.
How Do I Get Files From an Old Hard Drive?
If you’ve got an old hard drive and you want to get data off of it, there are several approaches.
Can I Move My Hard Drive to a New Computer and Have Windows Work?
Windows configures itself to the hardware it finds — but changing everything at once by moving the system disk to a different machine might be too much.
What’s the Difference Between CHKDSK /F and CHKDSK /R?
CHKDSK is a powerful Windows utility used to diagnose and repair disks. /F and /R represent two types of repairs.
How Do I Secure a Hard Drive Before Sending It in for Repair?
When sending your computer out for repair, you’re handing over everything on it, including your data. Options to secure a hard drive are limited.
Should I Repair or Replace My Computer?
Repair or replace can be a difficult decision. I’ll review a few factors to consider when deciding.
What Does “CHKDSK Is Not Available for RAW Drives” Mean?
CHKDSK can’t check an empty drive, and Windows considers RAW to mean empty.
What External Drive Should I Get?
I’ll review the characteristics of external drives and include a couple of specific recommendations.
How Long Does a Hard Drive Last?
Hard disks can last a long time, but it’s important to realize that they could still fail at any moment.
Why Do I Get a Black Screen on My Computer After a While?
A black screen is most commonly caused by a screen saver, but there are other possibilities.
How to Use Old HDDs as External Drives
When replacing a hard drive or an entire machine, it can be very convenient to have the old hard drive available in an external drive enclosure.
Can I Just Unplug My Computer to Shut It Down?
Using your computer’s power button improperly or pulling the plug can lead to serious data loss. I’ll look at the right way to turn your computer off.
My Keyboard Won’t Work after Windows Update. How Do I Fix It?
If your keyboard won’t work after a Windows Update, there’s a lengthy list of things to try to get it back.
Is It Safe to Use a Higher Wattage Power Supply in My Computer?
Replacing a power supply is a common solution to some problems. Make sure you have the right wattage power supply. Bigger doesn’t hurt.
My Mouse Cursor is Moving on its Own. Have I Been Hacked?
Occasionally, your mouse cursor may seem to move on its own. There are benign and easily resolved causes of this as well as occasionally malicious reasons.
How to Reformat a Disk
Formatting is the process of erasing a disk for use or reuse. There are a couple of different ways and options.
“Chkdsk Cannot Run Because the Volume Is in Use by Another Process”
Chkdsk checks your disk for errors at a low level, requiring exclusive access to the disk to do so. “Chkdsk cannot run…” means it doesn’t have the exclusive access it needs.
What’s the Best Upgrade for an Older Machine?
Upgrading a computer can be a lot of work, is going to cost some money, and depends on your needs. I’ll show you where to start.
How Long Will My SSD Last?
We keep hearing that SSDs and other flash-based drives wear out. Particularly when it comes to SSDs, there are ways you can see how close to wearing out your drive might be.
How Do I Update Drivers on My Computer?
Drivers are critically important components of your computer, but knowing how and when to update drivers isn’t as easy or as obvious as we might like.
My External HDD Shows Not Formatted — But It Has All My Data!
Occasionally, when moving a drive to another machine it’ll show up as unformatted. I’ll look at some possible causes and actions to take.
What Comes After Terabytes?
Zetabytes? Petaflops? Gigahertz? Confusing terms for our computers’ ever-increasing capacity and speed.
How Pixels, DPI, Resolution, Picture Size, and File Size All Relate
Photographic images have a number of characteristics that we often don’t consider or understand. I’ll review how digital pictures are constructed and stored, and what you need to keep in mind when sharing or publishing.
Why Is My Fan Running at High Speed?
A fan running at high speed means one thing: heat! The question is how you determine the cause and cool down your machine. It might be easier than you think.
Could a Built-in Tracking Device in My Laptop Detect My Tor Browsing History?
Malware can do anything, but malicious hardware can do even more.
What’s a Disk Partition?
Partitions allow a single physical disk drive to be treated as if it were multiple disks.
Why I Bought My Wife a Mac, then a Chromebook, then a Mac
I recently updated my wife’s computer again. This was unexpected, but the process reinforced a couple of important lessons.
How Often Should I Reboot My Computer?
Rebooting your computer “every so often” is less necessary these days than it once was, but the point is often moot.
Why Is My Computer Crashing Randomly?
Random crashes are annoying and difficult to diagnose. I’ll review common causes and steps you can take to determine what’s happening on your computer.
How Do I Force Windows to Reinstall a Driver?
Sometimes fixing a pesky problem with a hardware device is as simple as forcing Windows to reinstall a driver. I’ll show you how.
Fix Printer Problems with an Uninstall and Reinstall in Windows 10
“Reformat and reinstall” just your printer, and you may find that things start working again. It’s a safe and easy first step to fixing printer issues.
Computer Slow? You Might Not Have Enough RAM for Windows
Windows loves RAM. Not having enough can, over time, cause your computer to slow down.
“Do You Want to Scan and Fix” a Removable Drive?
The message “Do you want to scan and fix” means Windows found an error on a recently-attached drive. What you do next depends on how disastrous data loss might be.
My Shift Key is Stuck. How Do I Unstick It?
Windows has accessibility features that change the behavior of your keyboard. They’re easy to turn on by mistake.
Should I Use FAT32 or NTFS on a Flash Drive? The Differences, and a Third Alternative
File systems are commonly formatted as FAT32, NFTS, or exFAT. Which is best for your thumb drive?
My Computer Does Nothing When Turned On; How Do I Fix It? Something to Look at, and Something to Listen To
A computer that does nothing when you turn it on can be very difficult to diagnose. Spinning disks and blinking lights don’t mean as much as you might think.
What is Defragging and Do I Need It In Windows?
Defragging rearranges the layout of files on your hard disk for faster access. Chances are you need do nothing at all.
What Is SupportAssist and Should I Let It Run?
While I don’t recommend third-party driver update tools, the tools provided by your computer’s manufacturer are a different story.
Why Might Wi-Fi Be Faster than Ethernet?
It does sound strange that a wireless connection could be faster than ethernet. We’ll start by looking at the obvious: the cable connection itself.
“This Device Is Working Properly” – When Device Manager Lies, and What to Do Instead
“This device is working properly” is a often a lie. I’ll review what it really means, and where you need to look instead since it’s not telling you what you really want to know.
What Laptop Would You Buy for $1500? My Choice, and My Recommendation for You
This is a question I generally avoid answering, but I will anyway. The problem is I can’t really tell you what to purchase, since your needs are undoubtedly different than mine.
Why Is My Laptop Running Slower When It’s on Battery?
Laptop settings control power use when running on battery. Your choices affect performance and how quickly you’ll need to plug in again.
Where Do I Get Driver Updates?
Device-driver updates can come from several places. I’ll review the best sources for driver updates and where else you might need to look.
What to Do With an Old Computer You’ve Been Given – What I Did With Mine
When I’m given an old computer, there are a few things I do for the safety of the original owners, myself, and the planet.
Can I Move My Old Hard Drive to My New Computer to Transfer Data?
You can take the internal hard disk of an old computer and install it as an additional drive in a new one, or consider a more flexible alternative.
